Freedom fighters labelled ‘terrorists’ in West Bengal University exam; VC blames ‘printing error’

Kolkata: A major controversy has erupted at Vidyasagar University in West Bengal after a history examination paper reportedly referred to Indian freedom fighters as ‘terrorists’. The Vice Chancellor has since clarified that the reference was the result of a printing mistake.

The issue came to light when the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared an image of the question paper from the sixth semester of the History Honours course. The paper, part of Paper C14 – Modern Nationalism in India – reportedly included a question that stated:

“Name three District Magistrates of Medinipur, who terrorists killed.”

The question listed names of prominent revolutionaries including Bimal Dasgupta, Jyoti Jiban Ghosh, Pradyot Bhattacharya, and Prabanshu Pal.

BJP slams Mamata government

Sharing the picture on social media platform X, the BJP wrote:

“Freedom Fighters are now Terrorists in West Bengal!!! In Vidyasagar University History Honours (6th semester, Paper C14 - Modern Nationalism in India) exam included a shameful question branding legendary Indian revolutionaries as ‘terrorists.’ The question asks: ‘Name three District Magistrates of Medinipur, who terrorists killed.’ And the so-called ‘terrorists’ listed are none other than our great freedom fighters.”

The BJP used the incident to criticise Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government, alleging it was trying to undermine the legacy of Indian nationalism.

“Bengal was once the cradle of intellectualism and nationalism. But today, under Mamata Banerjee’s government, the very idea of Indian nationalism is being vilified, and freedom fighters are being equated with criminals. This is a deliberate rewriting of history to poison young minds,” the party claimed.

University issues clarification

In response to the backlash, Vidyasagar University Vice Chancellor Dipak Kumar Kar issued a statement clarifying the situation and attributing the incident to a printing mistake.

“A printing mistake occurred in the question paper of the undergraduate history examination yesterday... I inquired about the matter with the Controller of Examinations and asked for a report from the Controller of the Examination as well as from the Chairperson of the Undergraduate Board of Studies of History. After getting the report, we came to know that the error occurred during moderation, which was unintentional and not detected during proofreading,” he explained.