Noted artist Sanatan Dinda resigns from Bengal art body over RG Kar issue

Kolkata, Sep 5 (IANS) Noted visual artist Sanatan Dinda on Thursday resigned from the Rajya Charukala Parishad, an autonomous body under the West Bengal government’s Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, as a mark of protest against the rape and murder of a junior doctor of Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last month.

The Rajya Charukala Parishad was set up to promote visual arts in West Bengal.

Making the announcement on social media, Dinda also expressed his anguish over the ‘silence’ of his fellow artists associated with the autonomous body on the R.G. Kar issue.

Claiming that although being autonomous in nature, the body is not free of political influence, Dinda said, “Several other reputed artists are attached to this organisation. But I could not see any reaction from them on the gruesome murder of the victim. Their silence in such a moment of crisis has hurt my sentiments. I am an ordinary citizen. But as a conscious artist, I feel it is better not to remain associated with them.”

Explaining his claim that the Rajya Charukala Parishad is not free from political influence, the artist said taht any advertisement related to any programme of the body carries the picture of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“So how can it be described as an autonomous body? Any decision of the executive committee of the Parishad needs the sanction of the state government. I do not want to get into further details since I do not want to divert the focus of the mass movement demanding justice for the R.G. Kar victim,” Dinha said.

The Rajya Charukala Parishad was established in 1987 during the previous Left Front regime led by late Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.

On Tuesday, noted playwright Chandan Sen announced his decision to return the Dinabandhu Mitra Award, the highest state award in the field of theatre conferred on him in 2017 by the state government. Sen also offered to return the award money as a mark of protest against the R.G. Kar incident.

–IANS

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