Chittaprosad

"What does 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷 truly mean? Is freedom achieved at a single historic moment or period, or must self-rule be continually imagined, questioned and renewed? India's journey towards Swaraj was shaped not by one voice or one path, but through reform and resistance, revolution and non-violence, political thought, public protest, art, print, photography, cinema and the collective will of its people. The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) presents 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝: 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, a pioneering exhibition curated by Neville Tuli. Bringing together rare artworks, prints, photographs, books, film publicity art, political propaganda and visual-textual-audio archives, SWARAJ traces India's complex journey towards political self-rule and self-discovery. From early European coastal encounters, the Bengal Renaissance and the First War of Independence in 1857 to the rise of Bharat Mata, the Tiranga, Gandhiji's inspired satyagraha, civil disobedience and mass mobilisation, the exhibition explores how the idea of India was envisioned, contested and transformed. It journeys through revolutionary movements and non-violence, subaltern uprisings, the Partition, the Constitution, the integration of the Princely States, the Emergency, wars, civic dissent and people's protests. It also foregrounds the vital role of artists, photographers, publishers, newspapers, journals, cartoons and cinema in recording and shaping the nation's political consciousness. SWARAJ invites us to encounter history not as something distant or settled, but as a daily living inheritance that continues to influence who we are and how we understand freedom, identity, and ourselves today. Watch the video for a glimpse into this expansive visual journey, and follow the exhibition as it revisualises India's political history through art, image, text and sound.

"A poster calls for food and work. A drawing records the human cost of famine. A painting bursts with colour and the energy of folk theatre. Chittaprosad made room for all of these. During the Bengal famine of 1943-44, he travelled and visually recorded the plight of those he encountered. His drawings appeared in political publications and were later brought together in Hungry Bengal. Working with pen and ink and linocut, he made images that could be printed and seen well beyond a gallery. In this video, Neville Tuli asks us to look beyond the familiar label of “political artist”. Chittaprosad's commitment to people runs through his work, but so do satire, tenderness and a restless curiosity about what an image can do. Look at the exuberance of his paintings and the urgency of his prints. Both belong to the same artist.

On Gandhi Jayanti, 2 October, we invite you to read “Gandhi through the eye of the artist” in The Hindu, written by Neville Tuli, Founder & Trustee of the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies. Article link: www.thehindu.com/society/gandhi-through-the-eye-of-the-artist/article71526987.ece For more detailed context regarding the artworks and their creators, visit our website www.tuliresearchcentre.org where readers can learn more about the artworks and explore our pioneering efforts in building the first undergraduate curricula for Contemporary India Studies.