Legacy at Risk

The threatened demolition of Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, is not merely a matter of bricks and mortar. It is a deeper rupture in the fragile fabric of a shared cultural and historical legacy that India and Bangladesh have painstakingly preserved, often in the face of political and logistical neglect.

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The structure, built by Ray's grandfather Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury—himself a towering figure of Bengal's literary and intellectual renaissance—is more than just the birthplace of a legendary lineage. It is a silent witness to the rise of modern Bengali thought, art, and identity. This is not the first time South Asia's cultural history has stood at the edge of irreparable loss. But what makes this instance particularly poignant is the symbolism it carries.

At a time when geopolitical relations between India and Bangladesh are relatively stable, cultural diplomacy could and should serve as a potent tool to strengthen bonds. Unfortunately, acts like these—dismissive of shared memory and historical depth—end up doing the opposite.