BY: Syeda Ambia Zahan
GUWAHATI: Over a hundred artistes, including writers, poets, painters, and sculptors, from across the state staged protests in Guwahati against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Wednesday.
The Gauhati Artists’ Guild, Assam Fine Arts Society, Assam Dirshaya Kala Sanstha supported by All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) filled the air in Guwahati with songs, poetries and painting to express their dissent in a creative way regarding the act.
Pulak Gogoi, a senior filmmaker and an artist, while painting the theme “People”, said, “BJP government’s initiative to give citizenship to Bangladeshis will not be tolerated. Look at what Tripura has become. There if one is not good in Bangla, he or she cannot even contest an election. Are the BJP trying to sell the people of Assam or they are trying to make it another Bangladesh?”
Aasu, which has been spearheading the movement against the Act in every district of the state, supported the unique protest. Sammujjal Bhattacharya, chief adviser of Aasu, said, “The artists have chosen a unique way to protest against the CAA. They are leading from the front in a powerful way. The Act has been opposed by students, homemakers, doctors, government employees and people from all walks of life. People of Assam are united against this.”
Over 50
paintings
were drawn on the spot with slogans of “No CAA”, “Jai Aai Asom”, “Support the protest”, etc. Eminent sculptor Biren Singho curved out a portraitsize statue of Dipanjal Nath, the first among the five protesters who lost his life in police firing during the protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on December 12. “This is my way of paying tributes to the child who has lost his life while trying to save his culture and language. It is so disheartening that he had to leave the world at such a young age,” Singho told TOI. Senior artist Neel Pawan Baruah while participating in the protest said, “Despite my age and the cold weather I am coming out to extend my support to the artists so that they can march towards their objectives and bright up the world with their noble cause.”