Agartala: Students of the Tripura Government College of Art and Craft staged a protest on Wednesday against an idol of Hindu goddess Saraswati that was termed ‘vulgar’.
The protest was taken out by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and other student bodies affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The students said that the idol was not in line with Indian culture and religious sentiments.
“This idol is vulgar and hurts religious sentiments. We want to know which statue or idol’s sculpture it followed. We don’t want anyone to play with the sentiments of our tradition,” said Dibakar Acharjee, ABVP Tripura state general secretary.
The college principal in charge Abhijit Bhattacharjee said that the idol had followed the sculpture style of different idols in different temples of northern and southern India. He added that the idol did not copy the statues but followed the style of sculpture. However, he clarified that the intention of the college was not to hurt anyone’s sentiments.
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The issue soon got traction on social media. Several netizens questioned the decision of the college to allow the idol to be installed. They also demanded that the idol be removed from the premises as it was not in line with the spirit of Hindu culture.
The college administration eventually agreed to replace the idol.
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