A poet under British watch

Rabindranath Tagore was under constant surveillance of the British intelligence of  the pre-independence era that viewed the Nobel laureate as a close associate of underground revolutionaries.

Documents retrieved from the archives of the Intelligence Branch (IB) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal to be made public shortly will throw light on the lesser known episodes of Tagore’s life.

The IB and CID, in association with the West Bengal State Archives Department, started compiling important records of the pre-independence regime almost six years ago.

These are expected to reveal interesting facts about people from the fields of literature, music and theatre, who were perceived by the British as clandestine associates of the revolutionaries.

The State Archives Department has decided to make public the documents pertaining to Tagore in the week marking his 150th birth anniversary. These will also include recordsof documents supplied by the detective department and special branch of the Kolkata Police.

The documents will reveal details of how plainclothes policemen of the British police intelligence and their informers used to keep constant surveillance on Tagore’s movements at his residences at Kolkata, Shantiniketan and Darjeeling. The intelligence officials deputed would also take notes on the people Tagore would interact with at his residence or outside. His literary works were also examined on a regular basis, as per the archives.

A senior IB official told DNA that British intelligence admitted to being unsure of whether Tagore was a supporter of the Gandhian principle of non-violence or sympathised with the revolutionaries.

“Some reports mention that some of his poems, songs and stories had subtle sympathy for armed revolution. However, as per records, the British intelligence consciously restricted surveillance to the level of watching his movements and the people he used to meet,” the IB official said.

The initiative for making these documents public was taken by retired additional director general (IB), Shyamal Dutta, and retired inspector general (IB), Shandhi Mukherjee. However, the compilation concluded only a year-and-a half ago under the supervision of former IG (IB), Gaurav Dutta.

“After the compilation was done, a conscious decision was taken to publish notes on Tagore on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary. People can also visit the State Archives Department on the specified dates to read these documents,” the official said.