'Her Fear is Society's Failure': Artist Neelim Mahanta Explains Graffiti Behind Detention

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Guwahati: Assamese painter and graffiti artist Neelim Mahanta said that the wall graffiti at a Guwahati underpass behind his recent detention was meant to ask why women in a country that reveres goddesses still live in fear. He made the point in a social media post on Monday about the message of his work, which dealt with violence against women.

Mahanta, who is from North Lakhimpur, explained the idea behind the graffiti in the post. He wrote, “Her fear is society’s failure. In a country that worships goddesses, there is no place for rapists. If the goddess is power, why must our daughters step out in fear? Why do women fall victim to violence? This was the idea of the wall graffiti I was detained for….”

Mahanta was detained by Dispur Police in Guwahati on Saturday, October 17, on allegations of damaging public property. Police seized his vehicles and painting equipment, including brushes. According to reports, a Chennai-based sculptor and painter, Shyam Kumar, was also taken into custody after being brought from Kerala in connection with the same allegations.

His detention came days after another artist was held in the city. Noonmati Police detained artist Marshall Baruah as a preventive measure amid suspicions that he might organise public protests or paint politically themed murals, and he was released the following day.

Mahanta has been in this position before. Arunachal Pradesh Police arrested him in March 2022 over anti-dam graffiti, and an Itanagar court granted him bail within days. He is known for murals on public walls across Guwahati and many small towns and villages of Assam.

The detentions follow a tougher official line on public art. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier this month directed deputy commissioners and superintendents of police not to permit unauthorised paintings on flyovers and other public infrastructure, after a controversy over the erasure of a mural of singer Zubeen Garg during a beautification drive in Guwahati. Soon after, Dispur Police arrested two youths for painting a portrait of Sonam Wangchuk on a public wall.

The city’s beautification drive has its own questions. Underpass walls and pillars that were painted earlier are being covered with hanging-garden structures. Every wall that goes green is also one fewer surface for artists, whose work is often critical of those in power.

Also Read: ‘Paintings Now Scare the Government’: Marshall Baruah After Detention