‘Partition happened because of Lenin’: Remark at Jadavpur protest triggers political controversy
Kolkata: A protest in front of a Lenin statue in Kolkata’s Jadavpur has triggered controversy after a member of the Hindu Suraksha Samiti allegedly claimed that India was partitioned because of Vladimir Lenin.
A video of the protest, circulated on social media, shows the organisation’s member remarking while addressing demonstrators gathered in front of the statue.
The statement has drawn attention because Lenin died in 1924, nearly 23 years before India was partitioned in 1947.
The protest was directed against Lenin and communist ideology, with participants raising objections to the presence and symbolism of the communist leader’s statue. Check the video below:
The remarks during the demonstration subsequently spread on social media, prompting debate over the historical claims being made at the protest.
Historically, the Partition of British India took place in 1947, resulting in the creation of India and Pakistan.
The political developments leading to Partition involved multiple factors and actors, including British colonial policy, the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and communal politics.
Lenin, the Russian revolutionary and founder of the Bolshevik movement, died in Moscow on January 21, 1924. He therefore had no direct role in the political events surrounding the 1947 Partition of British India.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of longstanding political contestation over communist symbols in West Bengal.
Lenin statues and other communist landmarks have previously become flashpoints between left-wing and right-wing political groups.
The latest incident has once again brought the politics surrounding Lenin and the history of Partition into focus, with the remark by the Hindu Suraksha Samiti member becoming the central point of discussion.
No independent confirmation of the full context of the viral video or an official response from the organisation was immediately available.