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This story is from October 30, 2005
Govt skips clean-up man
A 94-year-old retired IAS officer recalls how he cleaned up the old statue in 1971, then defiled by the Naxalites.
As Manmohan Singh inaugurates the new Vivekananda statue on Sunday, a 94-year-old retired IAS officer recalls how he cleaned up the old statue in 1971, then defiled by the Naxalites.
It was a rainy afternoon in 1971. Biren Bhattacharya, IAS, was returning home from his Howrah office after a crucial meeting with Dipak Rudra, then the DM of the district.
The topic was a much-flogged one in those days: how to round up the notorious Naxalites of the area.
A slightly pre-occupied Bhattacharya, who had already earned kudos from the late Bidhan Chandra Roy, the legendary Chief Minister of West Bengal, for his work among the refugees of Basirhat, suddenly spotted the statue of Swami Vivekananda, face criss-crossed with black tar.
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Nobody from the Ramakrishna Mission even came out to help me, as I cleaned up the idol of Vivekananda. I had to hoist up a young street urchin to do the same," the 94-year-old Bhattacharya told CT.
What appalled Bhattacharya was the fact that a group of young boys, hanging around Ganguram, refused to help him in cleaning up the mess. "What if the Naxalites attack us?" shot back an angry youngster.
"I was crest-fallen. Thousands of pedestrians - all Bengalis - must have passed by the defiled statue of Swamiji since morning. Nobody cared to stop by and wipe off the tar.
That day, I felt, Bengal had been put to shame," said Bhattacharya. What also bothered Bhattacharya was the fact that the Ramakrishna Mission, "who swear by the name of Vivekananda", did not even bother to thank him in 1971 or invite him for the inauguration of the new statue by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on Sunday.
"Of course, all Bengalis worship Vivekananda. But I also knew that Vivekananda's brother once came to stay with us in our home in Bolpur," quipped Bhattacharya, all set for his birthday bash today.
catimes@timesgroup.com
It was a rainy afternoon in 1971. Biren Bhattacharya, IAS, was returning home from his Howrah office after a crucial meeting with Dipak Rudra, then the DM of the district.
The topic was a much-flogged one in those days: how to round up the notorious Naxalites of the area.
A slightly pre-occupied Bhattacharya, who had already earned kudos from the late Bidhan Chandra Roy, the legendary Chief Minister of West Bengal, for his work among the refugees of Basirhat, suddenly spotted the statue of Swami Vivekananda, face criss-crossed with black tar.
"As the car swerved near Gol Park, I saw the marble bust, face covered with tar. I went home, asked my daughter to give me a cup of tea, and then walked back to the statue, aghast that our young boys - the Naxalites - could do something so dastardly.
...
...
Nobody from the Ramakrishna Mission even came out to help me, as I cleaned up the idol of Vivekananda. I had to hoist up a young street urchin to do the same," the 94-year-old Bhattacharya told CT.
What appalled Bhattacharya was the fact that a group of young boys, hanging around Ganguram, refused to help him in cleaning up the mess. "What if the Naxalites attack us?" shot back an angry youngster.
"I was crest-fallen. Thousands of pedestrians - all Bengalis - must have passed by the defiled statue of Swamiji since morning. Nobody cared to stop by and wipe off the tar.
That day, I felt, Bengal had been put to shame," said Bhattacharya. What also bothered Bhattacharya was the fact that the Ramakrishna Mission, "who swear by the name of Vivekananda", did not even bother to thank him in 1971 or invite him for the inauguration of the new statue by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on Sunday.
"Of course, all Bengalis worship Vivekananda. But I also knew that Vivekananda's brother once came to stay with us in our home in Bolpur," quipped Bhattacharya, all set for his birthday bash today.
catimes@timesgroup.com
End of Article
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