India Condemns Demolition of Satyajit Ray’s Ancestral Home in Bangladesh

The Indian government has strongly condemned the demolition of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, urging the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to reconsider the destruction and preserve the site as a cultural landmark. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed “profound regret” over the demolition, offering cooperation to restore the property, which holds significant cultural value for India and Bangladesh.

The century-old house on Horikishore Ray Chowdhury Road, once home to Ray’s grandfather, writer Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury, and father, poet Sukumar Ray, is being razed to construct a semi-concrete structure for a Shishu Academy, as reported by Bangladesh’s The Daily Star. On July 15, 2025, the MEA stated, “Given the building’s landmark status, symbolising Bangla cultural renaissance, it would be preferable to reconsider the demolition and examine options for its repair and reconstruction as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh. The Government of India would be willing to extend cooperation for this purpose.”

The demolition follows attacks on other cultural sites, including the partial destruction of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Dhaka residence in February 2025 and vandalism of Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral home in Shahzadpur, Sirajganj district, in June 2025. India has consistently voiced concerns over these incidents, emphasizing the shared cultural heritage of these figures, whose contributions shaped the literary and artistic identity of the region.

Since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, Bangladesh has faced political instability, with reports of 2,442 attacks on minority communities, primarily Hindus, escalating India’s concerns about cultural and communal tensions. The toppling of a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known as ‘Bangabandhu,’ in August 2024 further underscored the targeting of symbols tied to Hasina’s legacy.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the demolition, posting on X on July 15, 2025, “The Ray family is one of the most prominent torchbearers of Bengal’s culture. Upendra kishore was among the pillars of the Bengal Renaissance. I appeal to the Bangladeshi government and to all right-thinking people of that country to preserve this edifice of rich tradition.”

India urged Bangladesh to protect its cultural heritage as the nation prepares for elections in April 2026, stressing the importance of preserving the shared historical and literary legacy of the region. (Rh/Eth/RS)