Titumir Sabhagriha renamed Syama Prasad Bhavan in Barasat, sparks row
Times of India | 21 August 2026
Kolkata: Members of Hindu Jagran Manch on Thursday announced that North 24-Parganas zilla parishad’s “Titumir Sabhagriha” in Barasat will henceforth be known as “Syama Prasad Bhavan”, sparking a controversy. While conducting a meeting at the hall as part of “Akhand Bharat Sankalp Saptah”, members of the outfit also removed freedom fighter Titumir’s portrait and replaced it with one of Syama Prasad Mookerjee. North 24-Parganas district administration, which runs the zilla parishad, has not issued any statement on the development, even as local residents demanded administrative intervention.
The meeting hall of the zilla parishad office had been named after freedom fighter Titumir since its inception on June 26, 1986.
Titumir, born Syed Mir Nisar Ali, was a prominent pioneer of anti-British resistance in 19th-century Bengal. A resident of Baduria in North 24-Parganas, he organised peasants against the oppression of local zamindars and British colonial rule, fighting from a structure that came to be known as Titumir’s Bamboo Fort.
The move drew widespread criticism across Barasat. “History of Indigo Revolt and Titumir’s Bamboo Fort has been erased from Barasat. It is not merely a name change; the portrait of a freedom fighter who resisted British indigo planters has also been removed,” a retired Barasat Government College professor said.
Defending the move, Hindu Jagran Manch functionary Sanjib Mahato said: “There has been a political change, but Hindus have not achieved social victory. The hall has been renamed Syama Prasad Bhavan with the resolve of building an Akhand Bharat.”