The birthplace of legendary director and Academy Award winner Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, is being demolished to pave the way for a new semi-concrete structure — an action that has been widely criticized and led to intervention by the Indian government.
In response to the destruction, New Delhi has promised to help restore the building and convert it into a "museum of literature" in order to celebrate the common cultural heritage of India and Bangladesh.
As a report in The Daily Star said, the building, which was earlier the home of Ray's grandfather, the renowned writer and editor Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, was also used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy since 1989. The building, constructed well over a century ago, is being demolished to enable fresh construction.
India Reacts with Sadness, Proposes Cultural Cooperation
In response to the news, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) released a statement stating deep disappointment at the development. "We regret deeply that ancestral home of renowned film director and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and great litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being destroyed. The building, which is now under the possession of the Government of Bangladesh, stands in a dilapidated condition," said the MEA.
The ministry asked Bangladeshi authorities to revisit the decision and suggested that they work together to save the historic building. "Considering the building's landmark status, representing Bangla cultural renaissance, it would be better to reconsider demolition and explore possibilities for its repair and rebuilding as a museum of literature and a symbol of common culture of India and Bangladesh.". The Government of India would be ready to provide immediate cooperation for this," the statement further added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed her disappointment at the demolition. On X (formerly Twitter), she posted, "I learned from the media that the memory-infused ancestral home of great writer-editor Upendrakishore Roychowdhury in Bangladesh's Mymensingh city is being destroyed. The media reports that the demolition had already been underway. This is tragic news."
Emphasizing the cultural importance of the Ray family, Banerjee asserted, "The Ray family is one of the most shining torchbearers of Bengal's culture. Upendrakishore was one of the pillars of the Bengal Renaissance. I feel that this house cannot be separated from Bengal's cultural heritage. I urge the Bangladeshi government and all right-thinking people of that nation to save this monument of rich tradition. The Indian government must also step in."
The Department of Archaeology in Bangladesh recognized that the house, which is about 120 km north of Dhaka, was built over 100 years ago by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury. After the Partition of India in 1947, the building fell into the ownership of the government and then was turned into an academy for children.
One of the local officials, in an interview with The Daily Star, assured that the demolition process was ongoing "with proper procedures and necessary approvals." The official justified the action, saying that the building had become hazardous for children coming to the academy's events and threatened the safety during events. A new semi-concrete structure with several rooms is proposed to resume the academy's activities.
Even with these reassurances, the destruction of such an historically and culturally important site has raised an outcry among historians, cultural groups, and Indian and Bangladeshi citizens alike, many of whom consider the property a symbol of the long-standing literary and artistic connections between the two countries.
As events continue to play out, attention will continue to be drawn to whether or not bilateral cooperation can assist in saving a portion of the subcontinent's richly shared heritage.
