The preeminence of partition and the refugee crisis persists as a focal theme within the various spheres of Bengali literature in West Bengal throughout the course of a century, asserted Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“De-colonialisation is increasingly becoming the mainstay of our spiritual, political, and financial narratives, not to speak of cultural narratives; certainly there is. But whether the speed, momentum, and depth of decolonization movements in Bengal would gain further momentum is a point to see,” he said.
In a candid chat with Dhaka Tribune’s Special Correspondent following his lecture in a literary assembly at the Kolkata International Book Fair last week, Bandyopadhyay, the former chief secretary of West Bengal, expounded further on the impacts of colonisation on literature and society, saying the nation is presently in a state of profound transformation.
“Particularly within the sphere of political theology, the Indian nation is undergoing a process of decolonization.
“The nation is still in a churning mood. Especially in the realm of political theology, the Indian nation is decolonizing,” he added.
During the literary discussion spanning a century of Bengali literature on the margin of the book fair, Bandyopadhyay presented the poetry of his esteemed father-in-law, Nirendranath Chakravarty, delving into the socio-political factors intricately woven into his works and reflecting upon their profound implications.
Offering the context of Singur-Nandigram, he distinctly articulated how colonialism and neoliberalism have influenced the literary creations of poet Nirendranath throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Born in undivided Bengal in 1924, poet Nirendranath Chakravarty is remembered for his notable poems such as “Ulongo Raja,” “Kolkatar Jishu,” and “Amal Kanti.”
Bandyopadhya took voluntary retirement from the central bureaucratic service as the chief secretary to become the top aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and penned the book “Amlar Mon” (The Mind of a Bureaucrat). His wife, Dr Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, is a former vice chancellor of Calcutta University.
“I am too much of a cog in the entire game. As a bureaucrat, I had a very limited role and wished I had a more meaningful role in policymaking,” he recalled.