Make Ritwik Ghatak's home a film museum

Ritwik Ghatak, one of the legendary figures in Bengali cinema, was born in the Miyapara area of Rajshahi. It was in this house that he spent his childhood, adolescence, and early youth. After the partition of India, Ghatak’s family moved to Kolkata, leaving the house vacant for many years. In 1989, the then government leased 34 decimal of the property to the Rajshahi Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, and a modern building for the college was constructed on the northern part of the land. The southern portion, where Ritwik Ghatak’s house stood, became a point of contention, with attempts to demolish and encroach the property continuing for several years.

In response, the Ritwik Ghatak Film Society in Rajshahi has long been advocating for the preservation of the house. Thanks to their persistent efforts, the Ministry of Culture took action during the previous government to protect the property.

On the occasion of Ritwik Ghatak’s 99th birth anniversary, film activists organized an event where they painted posters of his films on the walls of his dilapidated house using colors and brushes. However, the authorities of the Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital directed that the wall murals depicting Ghatak's films be erased. According to media reports, on August 5, just one day after the fall of the government in a student uprising, the house was demolished. Local cultural activists claim that the staff of the Rajshahi Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital were responsible for destroying the house. We believe that the collapse in law and order following the student uprising was exploited by the authorities of the Homeopathic College.

The question is, how did the Rajshahi Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital have the right to destroy such a significant site of history? The way they treated cultural workers was downright audacity. We suspect that powerful vested interests may have been behind the demolition. The government must investigate this matter and hold those responsible accountable. Film lovers and cultural activists argue that the best way to preserve Ghatak’s memory is by establishing a film museum in his name at the site of his childhood home. The Ministry of Culture should take the initiative in this regard.

We know that our country lacks a culture of preserving the memories of our eminent personalities. Instead, there is often more enthusiasm in seizing their homes and properties by any means possible. However, failing to preserve the history of these famous cultural figures weakens and impoverishes a nation’s culture. The house of Ritwik Ghatak should have been converted into a film museum long before the Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital was established. Had that been done, we wouldn’t be facing such complications today.

There is still time to transform the house into a museum and relieve the nation of this responsibility. We urge the current government to quickly take steps to turn the house into a museum, preserving the memory of this great filmmaker for future generations.