How a Rakhi festival was used as a symbol of unity?
In the year 1905 the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon ordered the partition of Bengal, based on religious grounds. The decision was taken at a meeting between Lord Curzon and a Muslim delegation in Assam in June 1905, where the Muslims were convinced of the idea of a separate state to keep their identity.
Curzon believed that the Muslim population dominated the region of Assam and Sylhet should be separated from the Hindu majority region of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
The order of partition was passed on August 1905 and came into effect on October 16, 1905. That year October 16 was the date that collided with Rakhi Purnima, the last day of Shravan month according to Hindu calendar.
Tagore urged Hindus and Muslims to tie Rakhi to each other
Rabindranath Tagore led a protest against the decision of British viceroy Curzon to divide Bengal of religious grounds and urged Hindus and Muslims to tie Rakh (amulet) on each other’s wrist to express harmony and solidarity among each other.
Following the lead of Tagore hundreds of Hindus and Muslims in Kolkata, Dhaka and Sylhet came out to tie Rakhi threads as a sign of unity.
Artist:
Suvrodeep Saha
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