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Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The Aziz-Dube saga: A sleight of copyright?
Artist Anita Dube recently found herself in the middle of a controversy after she used lines from activist and poet Aamir Aziz's poem, Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, in her art without his permission. The Patna-born poet alleged that the lines were used without his 'knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation' by Dube and exhibited at the Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi. The poem and the artwork both fall under the purview of copyright law in India, governed by the Copyright Act of 1957. A wide range of creative works are protected under this legislation, which does not extend to ideas, themes, or plots but only to the particular form in which those ideas are expressed. The author is typically the first owner of copyright. Independent contractors may retain ownership unless a contract specifies otherwise. When work is created under a contract of service (employee-employer relationship), the employer is generally the first owner. Copyright arises automatically upon creation of an original work, and registration provides evidentiary support in disputes. The Aziz–Dube matter highlights enduring ethical and legal questions about adapting the works of both living and deceased artists, in terms of consent, attribution, and commercialisation. In India, the general rule for original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works is that copyright protection endures for the author's lifetime plus 60 years. For other categories of work such as cinematographic films the period of protection is 60 years from the date of first publication. Indian copyright law grants copyright owners the exclusive right to create derivative works, which include adaptations, translations, and other modifications. Adaptation, a subset of derivative works, usually involves changing the format or medium of the essence of the original work is retained, but it is presented differently to reach new audiences or serve new purposes. Derivative works are also protected and copyright in the derivative work vests with the adapter to the extent of the new, original contributions — subject to the subsisting rights in the original work. The right to adapt a work is one of the exclusive rights conferred upon the copyright owner. In the absence of a licence from the from the copyright owner, the adapter may be exposed to legal consequences for copyright infringement. Unauthorised derivative works typically constitute infringement. However, the fair dealing doctrine allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission. There are specific exceptions for purposes such as criticism, review, reporting of current events, and private use including research. Fair dealing seeks to strike a balance between protecting intellectual property and facilitating access to knowledge. While some political expression may intersect with public interest, there are limits to this doctrine. Moral rights protect an author's personal and reputational interests in their work, distinct from their economic rights. These rights survive the assignment of economic rights and are often described as inalienable. A legal claim by an author against unauthorised modifications to their work must succeed in establishing that the treatment of the work has been prejudicial to their reputation. In her public statement, Dube acknowledged an 'ethical lapse' in not seeking Aziz's permission, although she had credited him. She also clarified that the artwork has since been withdrawn from sale. Aziz, for his part, objects to the manner in which his poem was used. Dube also invoked the spirit of the commons and 'copyleft', referencing frameworks the Creative Commons framework, which encourage the free sharing of copyrighted material provided all derivative versions are shared under the same terms. The incident has reignited a discourse on the commercial appropriation of politically resonant and marginalised voices in art. Using the work in a commercial context without consent may be seen as a modification that violates the integrity rights of the author irrespective of any assignment of economic rights. WH Auden, in Law, like Love, likens law to love that 'we seldom keep'— a fitting metaphor for the delicate balance between artistic inspiration and the safeguards that ensure a more equitable field for both emerging and established artists, as well as those who support and facilitate their work. Sana Javed is a lawyer focused on policy and contract advisory. The views expressed are personal
Mint
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Mumbai poet Aamir Aziz accuses Anita Dube of ‘theft;' claims she ‘renamed, rebranded, resold' his anti-CAA poem
Aamir Aziz, a poet who gained prominence in 2019, and is known for his 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' anti-CAA poem, recently accused artist Anita Dube of taking the same poem and turning into her 'art.' Accusing Anita Dube of 'theft', Aamir Aziz claimed his poem was 'written in velvet cloth, another carved in wood, hung inside a commercial white cube space, renamed, rebranded, and resold.' Aamir Aziz had published the poem on his YouTube channel in January 2020 during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens protests, which gained immense prominence. Later in 2020, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters had also recited an English translation of Aamir Aziz's poem during a London event. As per his series of latest posts on X, Aamir Aziz came to know of the incident after a friend of his saw Aamir's words stitched into a work on display at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi and informed him. Aamir Aziz claimed Anita Dube 'stole' his poemaa Earlier, the Vadehra Art Gallery had also shared a video on their Instagram account, of Anita Dube speaking about her artwork 'After Dr. Ambedkar'. Aziz has reportedly requested equal compensation for works incorporating text from his poem, and the issue is currently being discussed by the legal representatives of both parties. On April 20, just a day after Anita Dube's solo exhibition concluded, Aziz took to X to share a series of posts. 'My poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega has been used without my knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation by the internationally celebrated artist Anita Dube,' he wrote. Vadehra Art Gallery, in its latest statement, stated that following the controversy, the Gallery immediately 'ensured that the works Aamir Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale.' Vadehra Art Gallery's statement Aamir Aziz further claimed that Anita Dube had been using his poem for years. He stated that Dube had used the poem in a 2023 exhibition titled Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, and then again used it in the India Art Fair 2025. In 2020, a video of Pink Floyd's Roger Waters reciting an English translation of Indian poet-musician Aamir Aziz's 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' went viral. Filmed at a London event calling for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Waters introduced Aziz as a young poet from Delhi involved in protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and what he described as the 'fascist and racist Citizenship law.' Anita Dube is yet to comment about Aamir Aziz's claims. First Published: 21 Apr 2025, 09:34 PM IST
New Indian Express
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega': Poet Aamir Aziz accuses renowned artist Anita Dube of 'stealing' his poem
NEW DELHI: Five years after it caught headlines in the context of the historic anti-CAA protests across the country in 2020, poet Aamir Aziz's revolutionary poem "Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega" is back at the centre of debate on the "rage against injustice." Aziz put out a series of social media posts across various platforms on Sunday to allege that renowned artist Anita Dube has used his poem without his "knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation" in her works currently exhibited at Vadehra Art Gallery in the national capital. In his posts on Facebook, X and Instagram, Aziz wrote that a friend called him on March 18 after seeing his words stitched into a work on display at the Vadehra Art Gallery. "That was the first time I learned Anita Dube had taken my poem and turned it into her 'art'," Aziz said. He said that upon confronting, Dube made it "seem normal like lifting a living poet's work, branding it into her own, and selling it in elite galleries for lakhs of rupees was normal." "And the irony? The poem raged against injustice. Anita Dube turned it into a luxury commodityproof not only that injustice is alive, but that it now wears silk gloves and sells itself as art. That a poem written in defiance was gutted, defanged, and stitched into velvet for profit," the Jamia Millia Islamia alumnus said. Aziz had composed the poem in 2020 in response to the Centre's passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was widely seen as a law that discriminated against Muslims by allegedly mandating religion as a basis for Indian citizenship. It reached international popularity when Pink Floyd's musician Roger Waters recited the poem's translation at an event in London. In his posts on social media, Aziz went on to say that Dube had been using the poem since as early as 2023 in an exhibition titled "Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala" that was later displayed at the India Art Fair this year. "She didn't mention this in our first conversation. She hid it. Deliberately. Let's be clear: if someone holds my poem in a placard at a protest, a rally, a people's uprising I stand with them. But this is not that," Aziz said. He added that his poem "written in velvet cloth, another carved in wood, hung inside a commercial white cube space, renamed, rebranded, and resold at an enormous price without ever telling me". "This is not solidarity. This is not homage. This is not conceptual borrowing. This is theft. This is erasure. This is entitled section of the art world doing what it does best extracting,consuming, profiting while pretending radical," the 35-year-old said. Terming it "outright cultural extraction and plunder", Aziz said it stripped authors of autonomy "while profiting off their voices, especially those from marginalised backgrounds." "Their work is used without their knowledge, precisely so they can be excluded from the wealth produced through it. I have sent legal notices. Demanded answers. Asked for accountability. "In return: silence, half-truths, and insulting offers." He also claimed the gallery refused to take the work down even when asked to. "What Anita Dube has done isn't a gesture of solidarity or resistance, it's the oldest trick in the book, inherited from the same colonial masters: steal the voice,erase the name, and sell the illusion of originality. It is the systematic erasure of authorship in favour of profit," Aziz alleged. Responding to Aziz's post, Dube claimed the intent of quoting his poem was to celebrate it and she had reached out to him to apologise. "I have been in love with 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega', especially some lines which swirled around in my head like dervishes. As a visual artist I work with materials that I love, that become means to critically comment, and the intent of quoting words from Aamir Aziz's poem was to celebrate them," Dube said in a statement. She added that she has quoted Martin Luther King, Bell Hooks and other in the same spirit of "fellow-traveller solidarities and spirit of the Commons and Copyleft." "I realise that I made an ethical lapse in only giving credit, but not checking with Aamir using words from his poem. However I reached out and called him, apologised, and offered to correct this by remuneration. Aamir instead chose to send a legal notice, and then I had to go to a lawyer as well," the artist said. Her ongoing show, "Three Storey House", showcases her recent body of works, including sculptures, mixed-media compositions, and a kinetic installation. Dube said the works were immediately put "not for sale" and hoped to resolve this issue "in a fair manner." The gallery also issued a statement, expressing the hope that the issue between the two artists can be "resolved in an amicable and constructive manner." "We have been in touch with Aamir Aziz and his legal representatives for over a month. This is a situation that we have taken very seriously. We immediately ensured that the works Aamir Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale. We remain committed to all artists and their creative expressions, and for building respectful dialogue across the art community," the gallery said in a statement.
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Business Standard
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
'Sab yaad rakha jayega' poet Aamir Aziz accuses artist of lifting his work
A Delhi-based poet and activist has accused contemporary artist Anita Dube of using his popular protest poem 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' without his permission, credit, or compensation. Aamir Aziz, an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, called the act 'cultural extraction and plunder'. The 35-year-old poet said he first discovered the alleged unauthorised use of his work when a friend noticed the poem stitched into an exhibit at Vadehra Art Gallery on March 18. The gallery, one of India's most prestigious art institutions, is currently showcasing an exhibition of Dube's work. Aziz alleged that his poem had been renamed and recontextualised in the gallery, making it appear as if it were Dube's original creation. 'That was the first time I learned Anita Dube had taken my poem and turned it into her 'art'. When I confronted her, she made it seem normal — like lifting a living poet's work, branding it into her own, and selling it in elite galleries for lakhs of rupees was normal,' Aziz stated in a social media post. According to Aziz, this was not an isolated case. He later found out that his poem had been previously displayed without permission in a 2023 exhibition titled 'Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade', curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, and again at the India Art Fair in 2025. 'When I confronted her, she didn't mention these previous exhibitions. She hid it. Deliberately,' Aziz alleged. He drew a clear distinction between solidarity and exploitation, saying, 'Let's be clear: if someone holds my poem in a placard at a protest, a rally, or a people's uprising — I stand with them. But this is not that. This is not solidarity. This is not homage. This is not conceptual borrowing. This is theft. This is erasure.' Aziz further claimed that sections of his poem were altered and embedded into wood carvings and velvet cloth installations, showcased in commercial gallery spaces — all without credit or acknowledgement. He accused Anita Dube and the galleries involved of exploiting marginalised voices for profit. 'The oldest trick in the book, inherited from the same colonial masters: steal the voice, erase the name, and sell the illusion of originality,' he wrote. 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' rose to prominence during the anti-CAA protests, becoming a symbol of resistance. It even caught international attention when Roger Waters, co-founder of the legendary band Pink Floyd, read it aloud at a London event in February 2020. The poem also became widely known during the violent anti-CAA protests in Delhi. Now, Aziz says, the poem that once stood for defiance has been 'gutted, defanged, and stitched into velvet for profit.' Aziz said he sent legal notices to both Anita Dube and Vadehra Art Gallery, demanding accountability and the removal of his poem from the exhibition. However, he claims his concerns were dismissed. 'In return: silence, half-truths, and insulting offers,' he wrote. 'I asked them to take the work down. They refused. The exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery is on till the 26th of April.' Anita Dube, known for her use of text, found objects, velvet, beads, bones, and ceramic eyes to explore personal and collective histories, often addresses themes of loss, regeneration, and resistance in her work. A public response from Anita Dube regarding these allegations is still awaited.
