New Delhi: India and Bangladesh will hold
year-long joint celebrations of the 150 birth anniversary of
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee said today.
"India and Bangladesh have signed a Joint Communique to
jointly celebrate this occasion in a befitting manner. Details
are being worked out at the diplomatic level," Mukherjee said.
He released commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 50 at a
function here. Rs 5 coins in memory of Tagore would be in
circulation from today, official sources said.
Government has also taken several initiatives to
celebrate 150th birth anniversary of the great poet, writer
and painter. This includes formation of a National
Implementation Commission. Zonal level Commissions would also
be formed for the purpose.
The Prime Minister, Finance Minister as well as other
central ministries will be involved in it, he added.
"The Indian government has also submitted a dossier to
UNESCO to give Vishwa Bharti (the university founded by
Tagore) a world heritage site status," Mukherjee said.
He maintained that Tagore stood for equity, equality and
individual freedom and wrote on issues like gender equity,
oppression of the state and nationalism, among other subjects.
Mukherjee said Tagore's work was relevant in these times
when the country is facing "divisive forces".
Applauding Tagore's Gitanjali and other works, the
Finance Minister said the great litteratuer's relevance has
persisted well into the 21st Century.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, May 09, 2010, 23:06