A modern day painting of lord Hanuman had to removed from a wall in the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai after few members of the Shiv Sena staged a protest against.
The Shiv Sena party workers claimed the painting that was put up as part of the college’s annual cultural festival, Mood Indigo, apparently “hurt the sentiments of the people” and was “inappropriate”. The painting that had a similar appearance to lord Hanuman donned shorts, shirt and a tie in the picture while wearing headphones in the picture.
According to reports, the party workers stormed the campus during the annual fest and asked the organisers to extend an apology for the act.
Objecting to the idol being depicted in a “modern avatar”, the party workers white-washed the painting following a written apology from the organisers of the event.
The incident took place on 26 November after local MLA Sunil Raut and Shiv Sena leader Datta Dalvi directed the local party workers to take stock of the situation.
The party leader claimed that the painting was “derogatory” and that students should not have gone ahead to portray Lord Hanuman wearing socks, tie, shirt, pen. The workers also reportedly asked the organisers to reveal the name of the person who had painted it but the students or the organisers did not share the name of the artist.
The organisers, however, maintained that they did not intend to hurt anybody’s sentiments.
The workers further claimed that they had even clearly told the organisers of the event that they would not allow the event to function until and unless the painting was removed.
