Kolkata's Academy of Fine Arts embroiled in controversy
BJP workers painted a room used as the academy's ticket counter saffron, sparking a row.
From saffron to white and back to saffron. A room at Kolkata's Academy of Fine Arts has become the new center of controversy between the ruling BJP and the Left. Two months after the BJP, led by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), came to power in the West Bengal Assembly elections, some BJP workers painted a room used as a ticket counter at the Academy saffron on July 12. It was believed to be a show of support for the new government.
According to a report by Indian Express, many left-leaning intellectuals and artists strongly opposed this. The Academy of Fine Arts is one of the state's leading cultural institutions, housing artworks by several prominent artists alongside a gallery. Subsequently, some leftist intellectuals, led by renowned theatre actor Chandan Sen, met with Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya. They protested against painting the Academy's ticket counter saffron and appealed to him not to politicize the institution.
In response, Samik Bhattacharya said,
Those who did this have made a mistake. Changing colors is not the BJP's objective. Painting everything everywhere is not part of the BJP's agenda. Identify those people, and we will take action.
About a month later, on August 11, a group of leftist activists and theatre artists arrived at the Academy and changed the color of the ticket counter room from saffron to white. CPM leader, former MP, and lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya was also present with them. To prevent any untoward incident, police personnel from the local Hastings police station were deployed there. However, just a day later, a group of BJP workers, led by the party's Shibpur MLA Rudranil Ghosh, arrived at the Academy premises. In the presence of film actor and director Rudranil Ghosh, BJP workers repainted the ticket counter room saffron amidst chants of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Vande Mataram."
Addressing the BJP workers, Ghosh claimed,
You can see in the picture here that the original color of this ticket counter was saffron with chocolate-colored edges. We only want to restore its old color, which the previous TMC government had changed. But some leftists are trying to fool people and put up red flags here. They never spoke a word during the TMC regime when wrongdoings happened at the Academy. These artists never protested when the administration did wrong.
Ghosh also alleged that leftist intellectuals had misinformed Samik Bhattacharya.
He said, “Samik Babu called for freedom from politics. We are following that path. If the color is changed again, it will be made saffron again. When saffron is India's favorite color, why are you speaking in anti-India language? They misled Samik Bhattacharya. He is a busy person. No one told him what the original color was here.”
Meanwhile, Samik Bhattacharya said, “Initially, some people put up red flags there. Then some others painted the Academy's room saffron. Later, some intellectuals came to me. I assured them that there would be no political activity at the Academy. Despite this, why did CPM go there, why did Bikash Bhattacharya go there? They changed the color again. Naturally, if there is an action, there will be an equal reaction. We are against painting every building and place saffron, as saffron is the color of renunciation.”
Theatre actor Chandan Sen said,
The ticket counter room was never saffron and was originally terracotta in color.
He said, “After this room was painted saffron, we wrote to the state government, the BJP state president, and the trustee board of the Academy of Fine Arts. The BJP state president called us. Our delegation met with him. He asked for 15 days. When he did nothing after 15 days, we decided to take action ourselves and thus painted it white.”
Targeting the BJP over this controversy, leftist filmmaker Kamaleswar Mukherjee wrote on social media,
No political idea or ideology can be established through the use of force.