Author - News (Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay)
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: September 22, 2001.
Tension built up today at Kumartuli,
the colony of traditional idol makers in Kolkata when the police late yesterday
evening, prevailed upon an artisan to reshape the idol of a demon resembling
Osama Bin Laden.
Personnel from the Shyampukur Police
Station told Mintu Paul, the artist who had made the idol to change the
figure of the asur (demon). "They told me to change the idol so that it
does not look like Osama," Paul said. "I told them that I will not do it
on their orders. They called the organisers and told them that this might
stoke communal tension", he said. The artisans are quite unhappy about
the police action and are in fact planning to take a delegation to the
Chief Minister. "It's encroachment on the freedom of artists," Swapan ,
spokes man for Kumartuli Sanskritik Samity, the association of artisans
at Kumartuli said.
After the police order artisans
have cancelled all orders of making asur resembling bin Laden. I got two
orders but I have cancelled them now." Swapan said.
"We thought that if the demon is
shaped like Osama bin laden and displayed during the pujas it might create
communal tension," explained Kundanlal Tamta, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
