Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's television show Kaun Banega Crorepati 12 (KBC 12) is fast turning out to be among the most-loved shows on Indian television. 

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

On Wednesday, Bachchan welcomed contestant Asmita Madhav Gore in its eighth episode of the season who successfully went past 12 questions, but on her 13th question - worth Rs 25 lakhs - she got stumped. 

The question on which she floundered was, Which of these days was celebrated in a special way in 1905 to protest against the partition of Bengal and to show unity among people? The options were: Dussehra, Raksha Bandhan, Eid, or Easter Sunday. The correct answer is Raksha Bandhan.

How Raksha Bandhan was used as a symbol of unity?

Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, in 1905 had ordered the partition of Bengal, based on religious grounds. The decision was taken at a meeting between Lord Curzon and a Muslim delegation in Assam in June 1905, where the Muslims were convinced of the idea of a separate state to keep their identity.

The order of partition was passed on August 1905 and came into effect on October 16, 1905. That year October 16 was the date that collided with Rakhi Purnima, the last day of Shravan month according to the Hindu calendar.

It was then that Rabindranath Tagore led a protest against the decision of British viceroy Curzon to divide Bengal based on religious grounds and urged Hindus and Muslims to tie Rakh (amulet) on each other’s wrist to express unanimity and solidarity among each other.

Following Tagore's lead, hundreds of Hindus and Muslims in Kolkata, Dhaka, and Sylhet came out to tie Rakhi threads as a sign of unity.

Talking about KBC 12, the current season of the show took off on September 28. As for Asmita, she decided to quit the show as she had exhausted all her lifelines and went home with prize money of Rs 12,50,000.