 "Notable film director Satyajit Ray. File image/AFP")
After India expressed displeasure over the demolition of filmmaker and writer Satyajit Ray’s ancestral house in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s authorities stopped the demolition and expressed regrets about the episode.
India on Tuesday said that it was regrettable that Bangladesh was demolishing the ancestral house of Ray , the celebrated filmmaker and writer, who was bestowed India’s highest honour, Bharat Ratna, and was conferred Oscar lifetime achievement award. India also offered to help Bangladesh with the repair of the house.
The Bangladeshi authorities cited the dilapidated nature of the house, which belonged to Ray’s grandfather, the eminent writer Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, as the reason for demolition. They said a new building would be erected on the plot. However, critics have slammed the move as the erasure of Bangla heritage and the destruction of a symbol of an iconic family that has made immeasurable contributions to Bangla art and culture.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished. The property, presently owned by the Government of Bangladesh, is in a state of disrepair.
“Given the building’s landmark status, symbolising Bangla cultural renaissance, it would be preferable to reconsider the demolition and examine options for its repair and reconstruction as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh. The Government of India would be willing to extend cooperation for this purpose.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNotably, the destruction of Ray’s ancestral house was taking place at a time when Bangladesh’s new regime of Muhammed Yunus has been systematically wiping off national icons, such as Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, from public spaces.
‘That was a lapse on our part’: Bangladeshi official admits mistake
Shortly after the news emerged of authorities stopping the demolition of Ray’s ancestral house, a Bangladeshi official admitted that the demolition was a mistake and was initiated out of misunderstanding between multiple elements of the government.
Faisal Mahmud, the press minister of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, confirmed to The Week that the demolition had stopped.
Faisal further said, “First of all, this particular one-storey building in Mymensingh was never listed as a protected heritage structure. That was a lapse on our part. We understand that. Usually, houses like this —especially one connected to someone like Satyajit Ray, who is so dear to us— should have been protected.”
Faisal explained that the house was a property of the Shishu Academy of Bangladesh and it used to hold classes in the building. However, he said that classes and any extracurricular activities stopped in 2007 as the building fell into a state of disrepair.
Faisal admitted that it was a failure on part of the district administration that no one wrote to the archaeological department for the building to be protected as a heritage monument.
Faisal further said that the archaeological department wrote to the Shishu Academy —the Children’s Academy under Bangladesh government— to not go ahead with the demolition.
Faisal further said, “So it’s not exactly accurate to say that the government unilaterally decided to demolish it. One part of the government —the archaeological department— asked another part, the Shishu Academy, to halt the demolition. Since the issue attracted a lot of media attention, the Bangladesh government has now put the demolition on hold.”