The sculpture of Rabindranath Tagore with duct-tape over his mouth, which had disappeared overnight on Thursday - drawing parallels with 'goom' or enforced disappearances among the public - has been returned to its original spot near Raju Memorial Sculpture.
A group of Charukala (Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University) students had unveiled the original sculpture on February 14, as a symbolic protest against censorship.
The sculpture portrayed Tagore's mouth shut with duct-tape, and the copy he is holding of his famous collection of poems, Gitanjali, seems to be bleeding from a nail running through it.
However, it mysteriously vanished two days later, and the broken-off head of the sculpture turned up near Suhrawardy Udyan. The removal was interpreted as a move by the authorities, and sparked criticism.
When it disappeared, the team behind the sculpture had hung a banner inscribed with the words 'Rabindranath has been disappeared' at the spot where it stood.
On Sunday though, the sculpture was back, although looking much the worse for wear and without its most radical feature: the duct tape was removed.
In this regard, Shimul Kumbhakar, president of a faction of Dhaka University's Student Union, who was involved in the construction of the sculpture, told UNB, "Dhaka University's proctor removed the sculpture in the dark of night and cut it into two parts. We collected the broken parts from Suhrawardy Udyan and re-installed it."
When Kumbhakar was asked about lacking permission from the authorities to install the sculpture, he said, "There is no precedence of a protest that was organised and staged with permission from the opponents. Protest doesn’t require any permission. That's why the question of seeking permission is illogical."
He also said it is clear that the sculpture was torn down by proctor Prof. Golam Rabbani's team, that "again proved their intolerance towards other people."
Responding to the Chhatra Union leader's comment, the proctor told UNB: "We did not tear down the sculpture, we just relocated it from there. What they are doing is a complete violation of the regulations of the University."
Source: United News of Bangladesh