A graffiti at JU that ABVP wants removed
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Kolkata: Students at Jadavpur University on Sunday called for the campus walls to be reclaimed in response to a drive by the authorities to whitewash “offensive” graffiti on the campus, launched the day before following an ultimatum from CM Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari said the graffiti should have been erased much earlier. Bengal higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay described the graffiti as “garbage”. JU, he said, has done what should have been done. Udita Bedajna, a JU student and member of AAO, said, “The walls of JU constitute a democratic space, where one can freely express oneself. Indranuj Ray, of Revolutionary Students’ Front, said they, too, would start reclaiming the walls. Late on Sunday, students started the “reclaiming” process. They deserve a bullet in the head”, the students wrote quoting Karl Marx: “We have no compassion. VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said the university would decide which artworks should be removed. Registrar Selim Box Mandal said, “A campus should not have controversial graffiti. Subhajit Saha, spokesperson for ABVP’s JU unit, said, “The authorities have removed some anti-national and objectionable graffiti. At the UG Arts and Science parking lot, a mural on menstrual destigmatisation bearing the words “We bleed proudly” sits alongside Mao Zedong’s quote, “Women hold half the sky”. Near Nazrul Bhavan, political expressions ranging from anti-police profanity and “Naxalbari zindabad” share space with a graffiti depicting a kissing couple alongside a portrait of artist Chittaprosad Bhattacharya. Among other slogans that have drawn ABVP’s ire are “Remove ban on CPI (Maoist)” and “Long Live Comrade Madvi Hidma”. Saha said ABVP has no issue with Chittaprosad’s portrait and welcomes creativity on campus. “But those advocating Maoist ideology and anti-national activities must be removed,” he said. JU sociology student Anubhab Gupta said: “The kissing couple drawn beside Chittaprosad’s portrait is from one of the painter’s works. Targetting ABVP activists calling for the removal of graffiti, Gupta said, “The demand has exposed the mindset of people who claim to have no issue with Chittaprosad, but still label his artwork as obscene. History student Rijupalika Mukherjee said, “A woman talking about menstruation and her liberation should not be viewed as obscene. A senior professor at the university said many artworks on campus walls carry social messages.
The call followed a demand by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ( ABVP ) that JU continue its drive. The RSS-affiliate flagged at least six more graffiti that it considers objectionable. “Were the slogans in favour of the country or in the interest of education? What is Palestine? What is red salute for? How many innocent people were killed? You want me to remain CM and police minister and you will write ‘Kashmir Maange Azadi’! “If they do not do it, the govt will get it done. Build barricades, build resistance. Reclaim the walls. They (ABVP) fear the walls and we want to prove that we are not intimidated. We will resist repression through art… Where the authorities had whitewashed a slogan that read, “Fascists do not deserve democracy. And we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror. A few obscene and vulgar graffiti remains. There is no place for them in an educational campus. Our CM highlighted two such graffiti. The graffiti targetted by ABVP is spread across the campus. I fail to understand what they find obscene in it. Is it love that disturbs them? In a progressive society, people talk about menstrual hygiene to break the stigma. People who find the graffiti obscene has an anti-woman mindset. “They should not be removed… Some graffiti content has created controversy, but that doesn’t mean all graffiti is controversial. Download the TOI App.
Art Against Oppression (AAO), a cultural organisation comprising JU students, posted on social media on Sunday, “Pick up your brushes, pick up your paints. Across campus on Monday and Tuesday. Abhinaba Basu, secretary of SFI’s JU local committee, said, “We will take back our walls and paint resistance on Monday.