This incident is an ironic way, a combination of some of the incidents documented on this blog — protests against obscene paintings, arrest warrants, vandalism, et al.
On Wednesday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists stormed into the exhibition hall of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Vadodara's MS University and vandalised the paintings by a final year student.
The student, Chandra Mohan, who had displayed his paintings for critical evaluation by his teachers for an internal assessment, was beaten up by the ruffians. Of all people, the police arrested the student.
The marauders were led by BJP leader Neeraj Jain.
Reactions:
- ''This was an internal assessment of the students. The teachers evaluate their works and are not open to the general public. We will inquire how the outsiders came in,'' said Shivji Panikar, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts.[Link]
- "The attack was pre-planned. It wasn't just the paintings it was part of our annual evaluation. We are shocked over this. Students should be allowed to express themselves through the painting medium,” says a student, Sushma Raghav. [Link]
- Vadodara nuclear physicist professor J.S. Bandukwala, whose house was burnt in the 2002 Gujarat riots, said: "If such attacks on freedom of expression continue, it will scare away good artists from the MSU fine arts faculty, renowned all over the world." [Link]
