Students of Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology are terrified in the wake of visit by an MLA and his supporters to their campus last week.
Metrolife called several students and a faculty member. While they were willing to talk about what happened, the students were afraid to have their names mentioned in this story.
On January 14, a group led by Vishwanath painted over an ironic piece of graffiti in front of the institute, using saffron paint.
Students say the group, said to be BJP workers, heckled the faculty and students over what had appeared on a wall opposite the institute. The graffiti featured the face of Prime Minister Modi with the writing: ‘Sab changa si.’ (All is well). The visit was co-ordinated, with a citizen appearing to complain, and the police arriving to take away students’ vehicles, eyewitnesses say.
Students’ take
‘Feeling unsafe’
Painting graffiti is not new to art students anywhere. Students of Srishti have in the past gone around Yelahanka New Town and requested locals for permission to paint on their walls.
“There have been times when residents gave us permission, and water to drink while we worked,” says a student who doesn’t want to be named for the story. Following the fracas, the student posted a piece of art on Facebook and Instagram. A response popped up with remarks like ‘You are a communist, you are a disgrace to Indian culture.’ “I freaked out and deleted my post and also deactivated my account,” he says.
Later, that day, the student got a message on Instagram from someone claiming to be from BJP. “You Srishti people should be burnt alive like communist dogs. Paint one more and you will see. You don’t know BJP,” the message read.
“I was in complete shock that someone could say such things to 19-year-olds. My parents back home are worried and I am traumatised. The college is doing everything to ensure our safety but at the end of the day, I have to get out on the street alone,” he says. He agrees party workers can take objection to graffiti, but says “they cannot threaten the existence of the institution.”
“We, at Srishti, have always been respectful of the locals and worked with them as a community. When all of a sudden they turn against us and make the whole thing ‘us vs them,’ it is upsetting and terrifying,” he says.
‘What is the real problem?’
A student describes what happened: “We were in class when we were informed that our vehicles were being towed away. We have been parking in the same place for many years. A little later, a group came and started painting over a Modi graffiti. We still don’t know whether it was our students who made it or someone else. A resident, who stays two lanes away, came and commented on how our girl students dress. She was joined by BJP workers. One of
them was aggressive even as the faculty was asking him to calm down and sort it out.”
What started with towing of vehicles ended up in dress shaming. “As students of an art school, we wear comfortable clothes because of the nature of our work,” he says.
While MLA S R Vishwanath and his workers showed up claiming to be offended by the graffiti, they had never cared about the problems faced by students.
“We have filed police complaints about cat-calling, groping and mugging but nothing has been done,” he says.
‘Art is expression’
As students of an art college, it is unfair to ask us to not express ourselves. Art is all about questioning the status quo, says a girl student.
Srishti students have been beautifying the walls of Bengaluru for years. “It is only within our college and nearby that we feel free to be ourselves. Clothes are also a way to express oneself. It is unconstitutional to tell us what to wear,” she says.
She adds students have seen men masturbating on public roads. “We choose routes that are not dark at night or walk around in groups. I have friends who have gone to the police, but it led to nothing,” she says.
Don’t care what they wear: MLA
S R Vishwanath, MLA of the Yelehanka constituency, says he visited the institute because he had received complaints that students park haphazardly creating traffic blocks. What he told Metrolife: “They smoke in public places and create hindrances. I went with officials and karyakarthas to the college to discuss the issue with the management. We asked them to have the students park their vehicles within college premises.We asked them to tell their students not to smoke in public, as Yelehanka is a residential area. They agreed to both. We also brought up the fact that the students have painted over the walls across Ward No 3. They made a cartoon of honourable PM Modi to which the management said that their students are not responsible for that particular art. We said we would file a complaint with the police so an investigation is conducted. They said they would take action if the culprit was found to be their students. We were within the premises for 10 minutes. Later that day, I got calls saying my workers were abusing students. No such thing happened. We don’t care about dress code. The college has been around for 10 years. We don’t care about what they wear.”
‘Where’s the permission?’
Students can’t just paint “whatever they want,” says MLA Vishwanath, who, contrary to institute accounts, says the interaction was amiable.
“Let them take permission from residents in the area first. They were creating a nuisance and we wanted to address it. They are making us out to be some ‘gundas’ and this small, friendly interaction has been made into a national news event. Yelahanka has been so peaceful through all these CAA protests. This is the first issue with students that has cropped up,” says Vishwanath.
Time to remain calm: Faculty member
Mahesh Bhat, faculty member, says, "Somebody painted a figure resembling a political figure on the wall, with a finger on his lips and it read, 'Sab Changa Si'. We just want our faculty and students to be safe. The authorities want to work with us and so do we. We want to keep a cordial atmosphere."
"We have always been parking bikes on the road in front of college. Some residents in the nearby areas had a problem with this and made a complaint with the BBMP. The police came and towed away the bikes. But the students were able to go and get them back," he shares. "It seems that people complained about the parking and when they came they saw the graffiti, which upset them. But, it was not done by us. It is the opposite wall and not our wall. They assumed that our students are responsible."
"I don't know if I can call it an attack. It's a complex issue. Things get muddled up. It is time when everyone should remain calm," he adds.