The defaced mural was part of a broader Khulna City Corporation project commissioned along the Khulna Railway Station boundary wall ahead of a prime ministerial visit. While surrounding depictions of cultural figures like Kazi Nazrul Islam and political icons like Khaleda Zia were untouched, posters labeled the Nobel laureate as hostile to East Bengal. Local officials and cultural activists have sharply condemned the targeted vandalism as narrow-minded extremism. Investigators are currently reviewing the scene, though Friday commercial closures around the railway station have slowed efforts to pinpoint the exact timing of the incident.
Key points
Police face investigative delays in identifying suspects because adjacent businesses were…: Police face investigative delays in identifying suspects because adjacent businesses were closed when the vandalism took place on Friday.
Cultural activists suspect an organized campaign is targeting Tagore, referencing a prior…: Cultural activists suspect an organized campaign is targeting Tagore, referencing a prior mural desecration that occurred in Dhaka during October.
Four individuals, including a leader from the State Dialogue Forum, were previously detai…: Four individuals, including a leader from the State Dialogue Forum, were previously detained in connection with the October vandalism in the capital.
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Two posters had also been put up beside the mural, one of which carried a message directly targeting Tagore. (IANS)
A portrait of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore has been defaced with black ink in Bangladesh's Khulna, with posters rejecting his place in the country's cultural heritage put up beside it. The incident has drawn criticism from local officials and cultural activists, while police have begun an investigation.The mural, painted on the boundary wall of Khulna Railway Station, was among several portraits of prominent personalities from the region's art, literature and cultural history. However, the murals of other figures on the same wall were left untouched.These included those of folk singer Fakir Lalon Shah, painter SM Sultan, poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, former president Ziaur Rahman and writer Michael Madhusudan Dutta.The wall also carries paintings depicting the July uprising, the Sundarbans, the Sixty Dome Mosque and Bangladesh's jute industry. Khulna City Corporation (KCC) had commissioned the artwork ahead of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to the city.
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