Street of the Art

A new wave of politically charged murals is transforming India's city walls into some of the country's most outspoken public forums

- ANJALI KOCHCHAR

The mural in Bengaluru lasted barely a few hours. By the time the city was fully awake, the artwork, an audacious critique of rising food and fuel prices, had already been whitewashed.

But the erasure came too late.

The photographs had gone viral, and with them, a reminder that India's walls have become the country's boldest political commentators. "Walls are where power once spoke to the people. Now, we speak back," says artist Utkarsh Verma. In a landscape where political art faces censorship, scarce funding, and the gatekeeping of formal galleries, the street has emerged as one of the last truly democratic spaces.

Murals that once existed simply to beautify now crackle with dissent, urgency, and defiance.

Surfaces that earlier sagged under election posters erupt in colour, confrontation, and critique.