Pabitra Sarkar

Pabitra Sarkar in an author and former Vice Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

Language Controversies in 19th Century Bengal

The very fact that a language identifies and defines a specific human group often leads to controversies and conflicts.

3w ago

75 years of Partition: A young boy's loss

I belong to a generation that was overtaken by the pestilence called Partition.

Dr Muhammad Shahidullah: A tribute

Dr Shahidullah is one of the greatest linguists that the South Asian region has produced. This is a universally acknowledged fact and one can easily use it as the beginning statement of an article on him.

Tagore’s idea of nationalism

If you look for a definition of the word ‘nationalism’ on Google, or in an encyclopedia, you will find quite a few.  However, this word, like many such words, is ‘notorious’ in its own way, as no single definition seems to define it thoroughly.

Language Worries Bangla in West Bengal

From the later decades of the last century, a new worry has descended on mankind — that about the endurance, decay and death of the language.

A Squirrel’s Tale

All of you know about the squirrel from the Ramayana, who rolled himself on the sand at the Indian seashore and then dipped into the Indian Ocean, to shed the sand off its body on the presumption that he was helping to build the bridge across the sea that would enable Rama’s forces to reach Lanka.