RG Kar Protest: Prominent Artist Steps Down from Bengal Art Body

Noted visual artist Pradosh Paul, has 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.

He has already forwarded his resignation letter to Jogen Chowdhury, another noted artist and the president of Rajya Charukala Parishad, which was set up to promote visual arts in West Bengal.

Paul is the second noted visual artist to resign from the art body within less than a week.

On September 5, noted visual artist Sanatan Dinda resigned from the body as a protest against the rape and murder.

In his resignation letter, Paul said that like thousands of people, he is deeply saddened by the ghastly crime.

."As a socially conscious person, I cannot keep myself away from the public agony in the matter. My demand is the same: let the truth be revealed and the real culprits are punished. In such a situation I do not want to get associated with any state government body. In such a situation I request that my name be deleted from the membership of the Parishad. I do not want to continue with any section of the body," his letter read.

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

Recently 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.

Chandan Sen returned the award after Trinamool Congress MLA Kanchan Mullick's snide remarks on protesters.

In his letter, Sen wrote that he felt insulted after a legislator made sweeping comments about the recipients of the state awards who were protesting on the R.G. Kar issue. "Hence I have decided to return the award to the state government. I have also decided to return the award money of Rs 25,000 to the state government. I want to stay just as one of the protesters...," Sen said.

(With inputs from IANS)