Kolkata: Renaming North 24-Parganas zilla parishad’s ‘Titumir Sabhagriha’ (Titumir Auditorium Hall) as ‘Syama Prasad Bhavan’ in Barasat has triggered controversy in the district. The change was announced during a programme organised by Hindu Jagran Manch on Thursday.The meeting hall of the zilla parishad office was named after freedom fighter Titumir since its inception on June 26, 1986. A portrait of Titumir was also removed from the wall and replaced with one of Syama Prasad Mookerjee.Titumir, born Syed Mir Nisar Ali, was a prominent pioneer of anti-British resistance in 19th-century Bengal. “A resident of Baduria in North 24-Parganas, he organized peasants against the oppression of local zamindars and British colonial rule. He fought the British from a structure built near his residence, which later came to be known as Titumir’s Bamboo Fort,” a local schoolteacher said.Sources said Hindu Jagran Manch organised a programme at Titumir Sabhagriha on Thursday as part of its ‘Akhand Bharat Sankalp Saptah’. “During the event, members of the organization removed Titumir’s portrait from the wall and replaced it with a portrait of Syama Prasad Mookerjee. They also announced that the hall would henceforth be known as Syama Prasad Bhavan,” an official said.The move has drawn widespread criticism and sparked resentment across Barasat and other parts of the district. “Now the history of Indigo Revolt and Titumir’s Bamboo Fort has been erased from the soil of Barasat. The name of Titumir Sabhagriha at North 24-Parganas zilla parishad building has been changed to Syama Prasad Bhavan. It is not merely a change of name; the portrait of Titumir, a freedom fighter who stood up against the oppression of British indigo planters, has also been removed,” a retired professor from Barasat Government College said, requesting anonymity.He added that replacing Titumir’s portrait with that of Syama Prasad Mookerjee appeared intended to project Mookerjee’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle as greater than Titumir’s.Hindu Jagran Manch functionary Sanjib Mahato defended the move, saying, “There has been a political change, but Hindus have not achieved social victory. The hall has been renamed Syama Prasad Bhavan with the resolve of building an Akhand Bharat (undivided India).”
