By Aakshat Sinha
As one sits across the border, almost two thousand kilometres from it, it is difficult to comment on the hows and whys, especially of a nation where one has never been. I’ve had many friends from Bangladesh over the years, including those who studied with me in Moscow and those who were my seniors I’d met at the alumni summits. Then there are the Bangladeshi artists who’ve studied in India or have been part of common residencies and art meets, along with those who the internet brought closer to me. I have followed the events of the last month or so, through the lens of the global media, never sure which parts are true and partial truth being more of a selected lie. As an artist and a person, I am sharing this piece of writing from my personal conversations with people who are across the border in the thick of things. Some had requested anonymity for fear of persecution which I plan to honour.
Before things came to the boil as they have now, Abu Kalam Shamsuddin who is an artist and more importantly an ‘Artist-Teacher’, as defined by him, ‘…any teacher in an educational setting who maintains an ongoing artistic practice’ (from his article, The Artist-Teacher: A Collaboration of Scholar, Researcher, and Teacher Focused on Art, 2023) shared many times in our messages and calls that there is a lack of genuine opportunities for artists in Bangladesh to find financially viable avenues for the art they’d wish to create. He was and continues to research and document the gaps in training and market for art to be a proper career in the country. He also shared at times how there are 64 Shilp Kala Academy centres in the country but this extensive reach hasn’t translated to art being a favoured vocation. There are other issues with entrance examinations and the general societal apathy towards art practices beyond the stereotypical forms, but which country is blessed with better provisions or support in general. He shared that the recent period was marked with the focus shift of the student community towards overhauling the nation as a whole, marred by charges of widespread corruption, nepotism and quotas. Classes were obviously not happening, but the recent turn has made the road forward a possibility. The students were expected to join classes on 1st of September and he hopes that the wounds will heal of the lives lost and will be a brighter day tomorrow. The teachers are ready and are making plans on how to complete the pending course material as the Bangladeshi academic year is January to June and July to December as the year splits into semesters. How the national art market will evolve and what it’ll mean for their international standing, only time will tell.
Other artists mentioned how over the years it has been not just difficult but near impossible to keep religion out of art. The result is more representational art and little or no practice or display of human figures, especially in a semi-nude or nude form. Even awarded works of past artists are impossible to be featured in public or be painted in public if they include a nude human figure. The fear is that the steps forward might not be in the right direction; more radicalisation of opinions in the open. The government of the day has been appealing for sense and understanding towards all but, on ground, fears do not seem to abate as easily. If we look at most of the upheavals that have happened in the last decade or so across the world, the narrative and the powers have been snatched by the right wing more often than not, and radical religious elements, have gained prominence in the resultant flux.
An alumnus senior shared, ‘It is true that there was huge corruption and nepotism during the regime of Hasina and she could not realise or understand the feelings of the general students. As a result, police killed many students indiscriminately across the whole country.’ Another mentioned, ‘According to UNHRC, more than 600 students and common people were killed. Many dead bodies are still unidentified in the morgue. Many clashes between angry mobs and police happened, with around 400 police stations being burnt. We fear that power can shift to radicals and then liberal thinkers and minorities will suffer. Radicals already took advantage of the situation. Many alumni could be affected by the changed scenario, as some were either involved or supporters of the Awami League government…’
On a personal level, I am reminded of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha and many such incidents across the changed power states across the world where random acts of violence against perceived objects take place or centres of art are desecrated, damaged or destroyed, like the bringing down of the statue in Bangladesh or Ritwik Ghatak’s house being targeted. Rewriting histories by erasing proofs of counter points and erection of fresh proofs are just another chapter for an Orwellian world that we exist in. It is the human lives lost that shall leave wounds for future upheavals to take place, cyclically.
As a new dawn approaches, there is a night we have to live through and as is said, ‘the night is the darkest before the daybreak’, we should keep the lamp of hope lit, held jointly with purpose, honour, and compassion to all.
(Aakshat Sinha is a Delhi based artist and curator who has organised art shows in many parts of India and the world.)
