Happy Birthday Kolkata posts put celebs in trouble – Times of India

A host of celebs, including singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo and actress-MP Mimi Chakraborty, may face a lawsuit for posting birthday greetings for the City of Joy, which many still believe was founded by Job Charnock on August 24, 1690. However, according to a 2003 judgement by the Calcutta High Court, following a PIL filed by Sabarna Roy Choudhury Paribar Parishad, it’s difficult to pinpoint the city’s birthdate or identify Charnock or anyone else as its founder.
When CT contacted Devarshi Roy Choudhury, the secretary of the Parishad, he said that they have been noticing these posts since Monday morning on various celebrity handles on social media “Prominent names such Parambrata Chatterjee, Swastika Mukherjee and Joy Sarkar have also posted such birthday wishes. It is not just wrong but leading to spread of misinformation and twisting of historical facts. Many of these individuals took down their posts right after we contacted them,” he added.
“If someone wishes Kolkata on August 24, the person is indirectly saying that Job Charnock was the founder of Kolkata. But the fact is Kolkata has been in existence from a time that was much before Charnock’s tenure,” Devarshi explained.
Interestingly, last year on this day, superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee had also wished Kolkata via a video. After the Sabarna family contacted the actor, the video was taken down. When CT got in touch with Prosenjit, he told us that someone from his team had unknowingly put up the post. But, taking the responsibility for it, he said that it was not intentional. It was only a way to shower his love for Kolkata. The moment he heard about the controversy, the post was immediately removed.
“Even after the High Court’s judgement, if such renowned people spread misinformation, it’s just unfortunate,” said Devarshi, adding, the Parishad is contemplating strict action against two celebrity MPs who had not taken down their post till late evening.