Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Chandra Mohan, a student from the Department of Graphics at the Fine Arts College in Baroda continues to be in police custody after he was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly making controversial paintings depicting nude figures and hurting religious sentiments.
Chandra Mohan
The arrest followed the storming of the university premises by a group of outsiders, according to media reports. VHP and BJP activists lead by BJP leader Neeraj Jain stormed into the exhibition hall of the faculty, where Chandra Mohan had displayed his paintings for critical evaluation by his teachers for an internal assessment. They vandalised the paintings and assaulted the students, said a report on NDTV website.
The activists filed an affidavit in a local court alleging that art student Chandra Mohan had hurt their religious sentiments by using the symbolism of the cross in sexually explicit images.
Ironically, when the police arrived they arrested Chandra Mohan even though a faculty official said that the paintings were not being displayed to the public and were part of a display in the college premises for assessment by a team of examiners for a Master’s degree in Fine Arts. Mohan has been charged with sections 153 and 114 as well as sections 295 A and 295 B. He is presently in Central Jail, Baroda and has been denied bail. According to The Indian Express, the Maharaja Sayajirao University’s top brass has refused to get bail for Chandramohan. Instead, they have asked Fine Arts Faculty in-charge Shivaji Panikkar to issue a public apology for the student’s work.
Dean suspended: The university has suspended the dean for refusing to obey the orders for closing a controversial art exhibition, says Press trust of India.
Vice Chancellor Manoj Soni decided to suspend Panikar from all positions with immediate effect for three months and a notice conveying his suspension was pasted at his residence midnight last night, Pro Vice Channcellor S M Joshi said on Saturday.Panikkar was directed not to enter the campus without the permission of University Registrar or Registrar (In charge) unless he notifies them in writing during suspension.
What a real ***hole looks like : Manoj Soni (in white shirt)
Panikkar, who was out of the town, said his suspension was “illegal and condemnable”. He said he would fight his suspension legally.
Protest: The students and staff of the Fine Arts College have condemned the assault on students by outsiders and the arrest on Chandra Mohan.
“In a civilised society any dispute on a controversial depiction or content of a work of art can be dealt with through dialogue and consultation with experts in the field rather than left to self-appointed moral police,” says Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, former teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts. He says such an instance of assault on a student by outsiders in the university premises is unprecedented in the history of the faculty and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.
The students and staff have organised a dharna and Prof Shivaji Panikker has planned to undertake a hunger strike on the college premises against the assault on the student and callous attitude of the university authorities. A solidarity demonstration of artists, intellectuals and cultural workers from all over India is called on May 14 on the Fine Arts College premises.
“As an alumnus and former teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts, I fear these developments may imperil the working of an institution which in many ways has formed our lives; and is indeed an integral part of what we are today. I hope all other alumni and teachers as well as concerned artists and intellectuals of the country will come forward to protect it in its moment of crisis when the values it stands for are threatened,” says Sheikh.
Chandra MohanThe arrest followed the storming of the university premises by a group of outsiders, according to media reports. VHP and BJP activists lead by BJP leader Neeraj Jain stormed into the exhibition hall of the faculty, where Chandra Mohan had displayed his paintings for critical evaluation by his teachers for an internal assessment. They vandalised the paintings and assaulted the students, said a report on NDTV website.
The activists filed an affidavit in a local court alleging that art student Chandra Mohan had hurt their religious sentiments by using the symbolism of the cross in sexually explicit images.
Ironically, when the police arrived they arrested Chandra Mohan even though a faculty official said that the paintings were not being displayed to the public and were part of a display in the college premises for assessment by a team of examiners for a Master’s degree in Fine Arts. Mohan has been charged with sections 153 and 114 as well as sections 295 A and 295 B. He is presently in Central Jail, Baroda and has been denied bail. According to The Indian Express, the Maharaja Sayajirao University’s top brass has refused to get bail for Chandramohan. Instead, they have asked Fine Arts Faculty in-charge Shivaji Panikkar to issue a public apology for the student’s work.
Dean suspended: The university has suspended the dean for refusing to obey the orders for closing a controversial art exhibition, says Press trust of India.
Vice Chancellor Manoj Soni decided to suspend Panikar from all positions with immediate effect for three months and a notice conveying his suspension was pasted at his residence midnight last night, Pro Vice Channcellor S M Joshi said on Saturday.Panikkar was directed not to enter the campus without the permission of University Registrar or Registrar (In charge) unless he notifies them in writing during suspension.
What a real ***hole looks like : Manoj Soni (in white shirt)Panikkar, who was out of the town, said his suspension was “illegal and condemnable”. He said he would fight his suspension legally.
Protest: The students and staff of the Fine Arts College have condemned the assault on students by outsiders and the arrest on Chandra Mohan.
“In a civilised society any dispute on a controversial depiction or content of a work of art can be dealt with through dialogue and consultation with experts in the field rather than left to self-appointed moral police,” says Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, former teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts. He says such an instance of assault on a student by outsiders in the university premises is unprecedented in the history of the faculty and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.
The students and staff have organised a dharna and Prof Shivaji Panikker has planned to undertake a hunger strike on the college premises against the assault on the student and callous attitude of the university authorities. A solidarity demonstration of artists, intellectuals and cultural workers from all over India is called on May 14 on the Fine Arts College premises.
“As an alumnus and former teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts, I fear these developments may imperil the working of an institution which in many ways has formed our lives; and is indeed an integral part of what we are today. I hope all other alumni and teachers as well as concerned artists and intellectuals of the country will come forward to protect it in its moment of crisis when the values it stands for are threatened,” says Sheikh.
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