Three-day Joint Celebration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore began in Dhaka

A three-day joint celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore by India and Bangladesh began in Dhaka on 6 May 2011. The three-day programme was inaugurated by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. Also present to grace the occasion was Indian Vice-president, Hamid Ansari who is currently on a visit to Bangladesh.

At the inaugural session, a replica of Padma Boat, used by Tagore during his frequent visits to Bangladesh, was handed over to Ansari. The programme is to comprise elaborate programmes on the great poet, who represents much of common heritage and philosophy of India and Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister announced her government’s decision to set up Rabindra University at Shilaidaha in Kushtia, where the Nobel Laureate spent a considerable period of his creative life. The government would also preserve the poet's memories in Patisar and Shahzadpur. Bangladesh also proposed to construct a Bangladesh House in Santiniketan.

The programmes to commemorate the Nobel Laureate’s 150th birth centuary in India were inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 7 May 2011. Senior Bangladesh Minister A.K. Khandker will lead a delegation on behalf of the Bangladesh Prime Minister to India for the occasion.

The decision to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore was made during Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January 2010. Tagore was born on 25th Baisakh in 1861, according to the Bengali calendar.