Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar recently visited the Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal and made some outrageous comments on Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore was the founder of the university.
‘Rabindranath Tagore काले थे इसलिए उनकी मां ने गोद में लेने से इनकार कर दिया था’
— Dheeraj Kumar Jha ( Fan Of Ak & MS) (@AapActive123) August 19, 2021
BJP केंद्रीय मंत्री Subhas Sarkar#RabindranathTagore pic.twitter.com/tITwqgBgpK@SanjayAzadSln @attorneybharti @PreetiSMenon @ReallySwara
He said that Rabindranath Tagore was discriminated against by his family because of his complexion. He claimed:
Tagore’s mother and some other relatives would not hold him in their arms because he was ‘dark-skinned’.
Elaborating further on the colour of his skin, the minister said:
There are two types of fair skinned people. One that are very fair with a yellowish hue and those who are fair but with a reddish tinge.Tagore had the second type of skin tone. But that same person became world-famous.
His remarks have triggered an uproar on Twitter. Netizens are labelling the minister ‘illiterate’ for making such comments for a nobel laureate.
No one:
— Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) August 19, 2021
Union Minister Subhas Satkar: Rabindranath Tagore’s mother discriminated against him because of the colour of his skin …Which was a darker, more reddish shade of fair then the rest of the family. @Monideepa62 #whateven
कपडों के बाद अब चमड़ी के रंग से भी पहचाने जाओगे.
— Harishchandra Sukhdeve (@AskAmbedkar) August 19, 2021
जागते रहो… https://t.co/L1MLAh59wF
Patriotism that is skin deep: A Union minister no less, and that too one for education, goes to great lengths to describe the skin colour of Rabindranath Tagore as a new born…”considered dark”, “reddish”, and what have you, are the terms he employs…
— pamela philipose (@pamelaphilipose) August 19, 2021
It is another way of enunciating the principle of colour, race. Those manuvadis who are upholding caste system will always look for anything new to divide and discriminate. This is disease. https://t.co/AdwS6mMic7
— Tathagat (@tathagat_Budha) August 19, 2021
@ndtv Most ridiculous and outrageous remarks by @sbhashSarkar for Tagore ji. He must apologise. https://t.co/sLoSBrS824
— Col. Pramod Yadav (Veteran) (@pktresath) August 19, 2021
Political parties like TMC and students of the university have called his comments racist and insulting.
