Rupali Ganguly Condemns Demolition Of Satyajit Ray's Ancestral House In Bangladesh: Disgusting And Unforgivable

The news of demolition of Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh, has sparked outrage on social media. The property belonged to Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, a prominent Bengali writer and Ray's grandfather. Television actor Rupali Ganguly has also strongly condemned it.

She called it "disgusting and unforgivable!" in a post on X, and added, "Under the so-called ‘moral leadership’ of Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh has demolished the ancestral home of Bharat Ratna Satyajit Ray. This wasn’t just a demolition - it was a message. They fear art. They erase legacy." 

"They glorify violence, not culture. This act exposes their true colours," added the Anupamaa actor.

After the news of the demolition surfaced, Indian government intervened and requested the Bangladesh's interim government to stop the demolition. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement mentioned the historical importance of Ray's heritage house and its connection with Bengali culture and requested Bangladesh to reconsider the decision. India also offered help to reconstruct the property.

The demolition of Ray's ancestral home has been halted. The authorities have formed a committee to look into how the structure can be reconstructed, reported NDTV. This comes after India expressed concern.

Faisal Mahmud, minister (press), Bangladesh High Commission, told the portal that Ray never lived in the Mymensingh house, and his grandfather Upendrakishore "probably never lived here".

"He used to live in Kotiadi in the neighbouring Kishorganj district. His house there is a protected structure. We have 531 protected structures in our heritage list. This house belongs to Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury's ancestor. It is an oversight by the Mymensingh administration that this was not included in that heritage list, so it was not a protected structure," Mahmud said.

As reported by India Today, Mofidul Alam, the Deputy Commissioner of Mymensingh, stated that local authorities did a thorough verification which confirmed that the demolished property had no links to Ray’s ancestral lineage.

The administration also confirmed that the filmmaker's ancestral home, locally known as 'Durlov House', remains untouched.