Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Rakhi Gathering Revives Tagore’s Message Against Divisive Politics
People gathered in Park Circus to celebrate Rakhi in a special way.
They said the festival should bring people of different religions together.
They remembered Rabindranath Tagore, who used Rakhi Bandhan in 1905 to oppose the partition of Bengal.
The gathering described Rakhi as a sign of friendship and unity.
Organiser Satabdi Das said this message was important because she believes divisive politics is growing.
The event also included a waiter who had been jailed after a food-order dispute at Oly Pub.
He was later granted bail, but still has to attend court, according to Das.
The hotel owner said people should protect India’s secular and shared identity.
The participants wanted the celebration to show solidarity rather than division.
A Park Circus gathering celebrated Rakhi as resistance to divisive politics and a symbol of communal harmony.
Participants invoked Rabindranath Tagore’s 1905 use of Rakhi Bandhan against the partition of Bengal.
Organiser Satabdi Das contrasted Tagore’s inclusive tradition with what she called the BJP’s majoritarian politics.
The event brought together people from different faiths, including a waiter involved in the Oly Pub beef-and-mutton controversy.
Hotel owner Rafay Siddiqui said defending secularism was important amid attempts to replace shared identity with majoritarianism.
- Who
- People from different faiths and backgrounds, organisers including Satabdi Das, and hotel owner Rafay Siddiqui.
- What
- A Rakhi gathering presented Rakhi Bandhan as a symbol of communal harmony and resistance to divisive politics.
- When
- Friday; the tradition being invoked dates to 1905.
- Where
- A hotel in Park Circus.
- Why
- Organisers said they wanted to revive Tagore’s message of communal harmony and resist majoritarian politics and threats to secularism.
- Historical reference
- Rabindranath Tagore used Rakhi Bandhan in 1905 as a symbol of harmony and opposition to the partition of Bengal.
- Event location
- A hotel in Park Circus.
- Organising platform
- Reclaim The Night United.
- Political concern
- Organiser Satabdi Das said the gathering opposed what she described as the BJP’s majoritarian politics.
- Food-order controversy
- A waiter from Oly Pub was jailed after allegedly serving beef to a customer who had ordered mutton.
- Legal status
- The waiter spent a short period in judicial custody and was later granted bail, but still has court appearances, according to Das.
- Host’s statement
- Rafay Siddiqui said it was important to defend secularism and India’s shared national identity.