Kolkata: Lok Bhavan has invited students to participate in its first State-Level Essay Competition, which has two topics — Great Calcutta Killings of 1946 for students of classes 9-12 and Muslim League’s Direct Action Day for those in colleges and universities.A notification issued by Lok Bhavan over the weekend says the initiative aims “to encourage serious research, independent thinking, and informed engagement with a critical chapter of our national history”.While school-goers have been urged to write 3,000-4,000 words on ‘Calcutta Massacre of 1946 — Causes and Consequences’ , college and university students have to write 5,000-6,000 words on ‘Direct Action Day by All India Muslim League — A Fatal Assault on Civilisational Bharat’. The essays have to be in Bengali or English and sent to Lok Bhavan by Nov 15.The contest comes amid a renewed debate over Kolkata’s history, triggered by the recent controversy over the renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road and references to the violence of 1946. It has drawn criticism from opposition parties, with Mamata Trinamool and CPM netas accusing Lok Bhavan of promoting a biased political narrative.“This is highly objectionable,” said Mamata Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh. “The governor’s job is not to propagate BJP’s narrative. He should protect the Constitution.”CPM senior Sujan Chakraborty questioned the relevance of the gubernatorial office, saying, “If the governor works as BJP’s representative, why not make him the state BJP president?”Bengal BJP spokesperson Bimal Shankar Nanda stressed that the topics are linked to events that are an intrinsic part of history. “The Left has always attempted to prevent true history from coming to the forefront. Everyone will come to know how they hobnobbed with Muslim League if the facts come to light. TMC has also joined hands with the Left on this,” Nanda said.All India Muslim League had called for ‘Direct Action’ on Aug 16, 1946, to mobilise support for its demand for a Muslim homeland, Pakistan. The call triggered widespread communal violence in Kolkata, which came to be known as the ‘1946 Calcutta Killings’ or the ‘Great Calcutta Killings’. Thousands of people were killed and displaced over four days of rioting, setting off a chain of events that led to the Partition of India.Santanu Mukherjee, grandson of Gopal Mukherjee (widely known as ‘Gopal Pattha), after whom Suhrawardy Avenue in Park Circus was renamed in June, welcomed the idea of the essay contest, saying it would allow young learners to know about a chapter in history that has long been suppressed. “The young generation will have to read and research in order to write about the topics. People will re-discover what has been suppressed for all these years and learn about my grandfather’s true contribution to our freedom struggle,” he said.The contest carries cash prizes — Rs 50,000, Rs 35,000 and Rs 25,000 for those coming first, second and third in the school category. In the senior category, the prizes are Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000. The winners will be felicitated at a function in Lok Bhavan on Jan 26, 2027.Only students enrolled in educational institutions in Bengal are eligible to participate in the contest. Participants have to certify that they have not used AI-generated content in preparing their essays.(With inputs from Tamaghna Banerjee in Kolkata)
