Latest news with #anti-Citizenship(Amendment)Act
The Hindu
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Akhil Gogoi apologises for comment on pro-BJP Muslim voters
GUWAHATI Sibsagar MLA and Raijor Dal president has apologised for saying Muslims who vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party are kafirs and would be punished by God. He made this remark while campaigning for the panchayat polls in areas under the Naoboicha Assembly constituency in northeastern Assam's Lakhimpur district on Saturday (April 26, 2025). The comment triggered criticisms within and beyond his party, making Mr Gogoi issue an 'unconditional apology' on social media platforms in a late-night address. 'I deviated from progressive and rational thinking to make a statement I should not have. I made a mistake and seek forgiveness from all,' he said with folded hands. An activist-turned-politician who was jailed in 2019 for alleged instigation during the violent anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act movement in Assam, Mr Gogoi has been making headlines in the run-up to the panchayat polls scheduled for May 2 and 7. He first attacked the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front, calling it the 'B-team' of the BJP and complementing the latter's communal politics. He then called Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma a man who thrives on creating divisions. The Raijor Dal chief also targeted the leaders of his party's ally, Congress, for not adhering to the principles of alliance, particularly in the Sivasagar district. He suggested a political alignment between Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and the BJP.
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega': poet Aamir Aziz accuses artist Anita Dube of ‘theft, erasure' of his work
Mumbai-based poet-activist Aamir Aziz has accused noted artist Anita Dube of using his widely known protest poem — 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' — 'without his consent, credit, or compensation'. 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega' gained prominence during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. In February 2020, English singer-songwriter Roger Waters had read out Mr. Aziz's poem at a London event. The artworks in question are part of an ongoing solo exhibition of Ms. Dube's works, 'Timanjala Ghar: Three Storey House', at New Delhi's Vadehra Art Gallery. Ms. Dube, 66, is a renowned artist and art critic. She was the curator of the Kochi Biennale in 2018. The 35-year-old said he first learnt about the unauthorised use of his work when a friend spotted his poem stitched into a display at the Vadehra Art Gallery on March 18. 'That was the first time I learnt 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,' Mr. Aziz wrote in a statement on social media. He said this was not a one-off incident. He later discovered his poem had been previously used in a 2023 exhibition titled 'Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade', curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, and showcased at the India Art Fair in 2025 without his knowledge.'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. This is not solidarity. This is not homage. This is not conceptual borrowing. This is theft. This is erasure,' he said. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Aziz said he didn't have anything more to add and is taking legal advice. On Monday, Ms. Dube admitted there was an 'ethical lapse' on her part in only giving credit, but not checking with Mr. Aziz about using words from his poem. 'However, I reached out and called him, apologised, and offered to correct this by remuneration. He instead chose to send a legal notice, and then I had to go to a lawyer as well.' Known for politically charged works, in one of her interviews, she said she was 'interested in how a word can become architecture'. In a statement, Ms. Dube said she was responding to the social media trial initiated by Mr. Aziz with sadness. 'I have been in love with 'Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega', especially some lines which swirled around in my head like dervishes.' Hoping to resolve the issue in a fair manner, the artist further said, '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. It is the lost old world where there were fellow traveller solidarities, the spirit of the Commons and Copy Left. I have quoted Martin Luther King, Bell Hooks, and others in the same spirit in this exhibition and elsewhere.' As far as the accusation of her wanting to monetise the poem, Ms. Dube said, 'I immediately put the works not for sale.' The Vadehras also issued a statement. 'We have been in touch with Aamir Aziz and his legal representatives for over a month. We immediately ensured that the works Aamir Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale. We hope that the discussions that are ongoing between Aamir Aziz and Anita Dube can be resolved in an amicable and constructive manner.' The exclusive rights of owners of literary works (like poems) includes, inter alia, the right to reproduce, the right to issue copies, the right to communicate it to the public. Arguably, all the rights would be violated if a poem is used without consent in an artwork. Such use may not qualify to be a transformative use (whose applicability under Indian copyright law is anyways debatable), said Sneha Jain, advocate who specialises in intellectual property rights.
