'No association' with Satyajit Ray: Bangladesh on house in Mymensingh that is being demolished

Dhaka: Bangladesh on Thursday said that a house in Mymensingh district that is being demolished due to "dilapidated, risky and unusable" structure has "no association" with eminent filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray.

India on Tuesday called on Bangladesh to reconsider its decision to demolish the ancestral property of Satyajit Ray and offered help to preserve the iconic building as it symbolises Bangla cultural "renaissance".

In a statement issued on Thursday, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said a "detailed inquiry into the archival records re-confirmed that the house in question never had any relation with the ancestors of the esteemed laureate Satyajit Ray".

India had urged Bangladesh to convert the "landmark" building into a museum symbolising the shared culture of the two countries and pledged to extend cooperation for it.

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said the house was built by local Zamindar Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury next to his bungalow for his employees. Upon the abolition of the zamindari system, it came under the control of the government, which allocated it to the ‘Shishu Academy, it said.

"The district authorities have reviewed the land records related to the house and confirmed that, as per the past records, the land belongs to the Government and has no association with the Ray family whatsoever," the statement said.

It added that local senior citizens and individuals also said that "there is no known historical connection between the Ray family and the house and land currently leased to the Shishu Academy. The house is not listed as an archaeological monument, either".

However, the road in front of the house, 'Harikishore Ray Road', is named after Satyajit Ray's great-grandfather Harikishore Ray, the statement said, adding that the Ray family had a house on Harikishore Ray Road, which they had sold long ago and thus no longer exists.

"A multi-storied building was constructed there by the new owner. The building that is now being demolished was dilapidated, risky and unusable," it added.

"Since 2014, the Academy had shifted to a rented property elsewhere in Mymensingh city, and the abandoned house became a den for unlawful activities by local anti-social elements. Hence, an initiative was taken to construct a semi-permanent building at the site in the first half of 2024," the ministry said.

It said that during a meeting of senior citizens, literary and cultural personalities, journalists and local community members on Wednesday, eminent writer Kangal Shahin said that the building does not belong to Hari Kishore Ray or Satyajit Ray.

"All attendees were in unequivocal agreement that the abandoned building of the Bangladesh Shishu Academy has no historical or familial ties with Satyajit Ray or his family. In this regard, Swapan Dhar, an archaeology researcher from Mymensingh, also stated that the house in question is not the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray," it added.

Media reports and public outcry, however, prompted the district administration to halt the demolition work.

A recent letter by Archaeology Department field officer Sabina Yasmin to the Shishu Academy, describing the house to be of Ray's ancestors, went public and sparked an outcry.

She said she had spoken with Shishu Academy and local administration officials, urging them to protect the house, but her request was ignored.

The controversy mounted after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and representatives of the Indian government raised concern over the building's reported link to Ray, who is admired and celebrated by people on both sides of the border.

Mymensingh’s deputy commissioner Mofidul Alam said the house was not the ancestral home of the legendary filmmaker as reported by some news outlets.

“Drawing on the factual and meticulous re-examination of all records, the government of Bangladesh urges all quarters to refrain from spreading misleading or factually inaccurate narratives, in any form, that end up creating confusion and disrupt harmony amongst the people,” the statement added.