Bolpur: From noted artist Jogen Chowdhury to professors of Visva-Bharati, all regretted exclusion of 22 illustrations by renowned artist Nandalal Bose from new copies of the Indian Constitution. They have demanded that the illustrations present in the original Constitution should be immediately included in the new copies.
A heated debate was witnessed in the Rajya Sabha recently over this matter. BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal raised this issue in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had directed the government to ensure that only the authentic copy of the Constitution is available.
The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had entrusted Nandalal Bose with the task of creating the illustrations. At that time, Nandalal Bose was the principal of Kala Bhavan of Visva-Bharati. He and his students had conceived the paintings and worked on those in Santiniketan.
To use Ashoka Pillar as a symbol, he had chosen a sobre lion. Then to reflect India's heritage and architecture in the Indian Constitution, he depicted Sri Krishna, Arjuna, Rama, Gautam Buddha, Indus Valley Civilization, Harappan Civilization, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Nataraja, Mughal court, King Vikramaditya, Nalanda University, Maratha Empire, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Shivaji, in his illustrations.
The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949 and it came into effect on January 26, 1950. The chief designer of this Constitution was Nandalal Bose. However, the new copies of the Indian Constitution does not have his 22 illustrations.
The Constitution Day celebrations are being held and this year is the Constitution's 75th anniversary. Amidst this, artists are complaining as to why the illustrations present in the original Constitution have gone missing in the new copies.
Artist Jogen Chowdhury has expressed his anger over exclusion of the illustrations of Nandalal Bose, who was loved and supported by Rabindranath Tagore. Slamming the Centre, Chowdhury said, "Those who cannot create anything new are destroying the creations of others. This is highly condemnable and unacceptable. It is absolutely incorrect to drop the illustrations of renowned artist Nandalal Bose from the Indian Constitution. A committee should be set up with people having understanding on this topic and restore the illustrations."
Professors of Visva-Bharati's Kala Bhavan have also expressed their regret as Nandalal Bose was also known as the architect of this place. In 1923, Kala Bhavan, one of the centres of art, was built under his supervision with only 14 students. So, he was known as 'master mashai' (teacher).
Kala Bhavan principal Shishir Sahana said, "There is a copy of the Indian Constitution with Nandalal Bose's illustrations in the Nandan Art Gallery of Kala Bhavan. We have seen that various aspects and traditions of India have been perfectly depicted there. Nandalal Bose is our pride. We want his illustrations to be restored."
Prof. Sutanu Chattopadhyay of Kala Bhavan said, "Illustrations depicted Nandalal Bose's extraordinary sense of art. It is not justified to exclude the work of such a legendary artist."
Sheikh Shahjahan, another professor of Kala Bhavan, said, "History cannot be changed. 'Master Mashai' Nandalal Bose created history. As an Indian and professor, I think it is not right to exclude his illustrations from the Constitution. This is a extremely condemnable."
Explaining the importance of ornaments illustrated by Nandalal Bose, Prof. Bidyut Pator of the department of history at Visva-Bharati said, "These ornaments are monuments of civilization. They were designed keeping in mind the provisions of the Constitution, meaning which ornaments can be given in place of fundamental rights. An important fact is that Nandalal Bose did not take any remuneration for these work. Rather, he had requested the Prime Minister to have his signature in the Constitution. So, it is utmost necessary to bring back his illustrations."
Notably, earlier, there was a controversy over the change in the design of the Ashoka Pillar, the national symbol, illustrated by Nandalal Bose. The sombre-looking lion drawn by Nandalal Bose was replaced by a ferocious-looking lion in the bronze statue installed on the new Parliament building.
