Defacement of celebrated poet Himadri Nandan Deb’s statue sparks outrage in Tripura

Condemning the incident, Kailasahar municipal council chairperson Chapala Rani Debroy has sought the intervention of the local administration in identifying the culprits involved in the incident. “I learnt of the incident through the media. I urge the administration to take strict action against the culprits,” she said.

The statue, which was built in 2010, but was demolished by miscreants a year later. Debroy suggested that the same persons could be involved in the incident.

Taking to social media, a person familiar with Deb’s work, wrote: “…..Himadri Nandan Deb is an eminent and famous poet, writer and literary critic of this city (Kailashahar)…one of my favourite people. He was everyone’s favourite ….He used to recite his poetry for us. The local Yuva Samaj club set up a bust of his after his death. Some unidentified persons vandalized this statue in the darkness of the night . Condemn this. Everyone with good sense must come out in protest.”

Renowned litterateur and poet Asoke Deb said, “Someone vandalised a busy of Himadri Deb at Kailashahar. I demand that the miscreants be punished after proper investigation. A permanent statue should be built, instead of the statue of plaster of Paris full of sand.”

In July 2022, the statue of former Tripura Health Minister and CPIM leader Late Bimal Sinha was defaced by unknown miscreants at Halhuli village in the outskirts of Kamalpur town in Tripura’s Dhalai district, 90 km from Agartala.
In 2018, shortly after the incumbent BJP-led government came to power for the first time, a statue of VI Lenin was bulldozed at Belonia in South Tripura by a group of people brandishing saffron flags. The BJP had denied involvement.