Reclaim the wall with graffiti by the sfi students union at ju…..Debobrata Shome
“The state stance is that quotes and poems by writers associated with foreign countries, such as Cuba, China and Russia, should be avoided,” said a higher education department official. An official said the department also frowned upon the graffiti, “Remove ban on CPI (Maoist)”, beside Triguna Sen auditorium and asked the university to wipe it out at the earliest. VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said, “Writings, like ‘Remove ban on CPI (Maoist)‘ is highly objectionable. I would encourage students to write quotes by Tagore, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and figures associated with the Bengal Renaissance and our national freedom struggle,” he said. Reacting to the slogan, “Reclaim the Wall”, by students, Bhattacharjee said it was similar to “Reclaim the Night” cry but it should be viewed differently. So, “Reclaim the Night” and “Reclaim the Wall” should not be viewed in the same light.”
“Instead, students must focus on our national icons and their works for graffiti. This makes no sense on the JU campus as we did not ban them. A nation-wide ban has been implemented from the ministry of home affairs. We will erase that writing. The VC pointed out that he personally did not encourage political graffiti on campus though it was part of university’s tradition for a long time. “Those who visit us from outside, including my international project collaborators, do not appreciate it. It is unimaginable in foreign universities, and even in many reputable universities in our country. The political graffiti, posters and banners on the walls give the university a dirty look. “The wall is ultimately the property of Jadavpur University. It is not anyone else’s property.
Kolkata: The state govt has reportedly told Jadavpur University (JU) that any graffiti with “links to foreign countries”—Cuba, China, Russia—will not be encouraged and may be dealt with sternly, prompting the campus authorities to consider forming a committee to check the wall paintings and decide what is “acceptable and what is not”.