Artists, sculptors, heritage connoisseurs and Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, have voiced their disapproval over the application of silver paint on an iconic Gandhi statue, sculpted by Ramkinkar Baij, one of the pioneers of modern Indian sculpture, at Gandhi Mandap here.

The 18-feet bronze statue standing on a pedestal used to stand tall until its prominence was overshadowed by a 120x80-feet Tricolour hoisted on a 319.5-feet flagpole, which was inaugurated on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Tuesday.

The statue was a subject of intense controversy. Last year, the district administration had made plans to dismantle the statue on the grounds that it was an alleged distortion of Gandhi’s actual physical description.

This led to an outcry among citizens, heritage connoisseurs and the artists’ community, which led to a public campaign and the Heritage Conservation Society of Assam (HeCSA) shooting a memorandum to the state government to retract steps in bringing down the statue.

The replica with silver paint in Guwahati. Picture by UB Photos

“Sources told me that the public works department did the silver coating. Nowhere in the world is an iconic work subjected to such tampering. It shows ignorance. In other parts of the world, Baij’s works are preserved but here we want to destroy it,” said Jayanta Sharma of the HeCSA.

Peace activist Tushar said, “This is reprehensible. Giving a coat of silver paint over the original colour is a callous

action. Authorities should have consulted a panel of artists and experts. This shows that no one cares about ideology or principles. Setting up a tall flagpole near a Gandhi statue is a competition to show patriotism.”

Santiniketan-based sculptor Janak Jhankar Narzary, who was a witness to the crafting of the statue, said, “Any paint over the original colour affects the statue. Bronze is an expression of grandeur. If Baij was alive he would have protested. I was a student when the statue was made in Santiniketan. This action invites legal action.”

The statue depicts Gandhi with a staff on one hand and a bag in another. It is believed that Baij had sculptured the statue based on Gandhi’s iconic Noakhali peace march in Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 1946-47. Gandhi toured riot-affected Noakhali and was on a peace mission when people were being killed in the name of religion.

The original statue was made out of cement, which was then bronze-cast. The cement statue is still in Santiniketan.

The work had been commissioned by the state government back then and started in 1970.

And by 1972, the statue was sent and set at Gandhi Mandap. The original colour was blackish brown. Since then, the original colour has been subjected to tampering.

Artist Noni Borpujari said, “We have to draw people’s attention. No civilized nation does such a thing.”