Is Art Education in Maharashtra coming to an end?

JJ School of Art has got De-Novo status. Just now AICTE has de-recognized JJ. Is the de-accreditation by AICTE part of the conspiracy as soon as corrupt politicians have their eyes on JJ? What will happen next? No one can tell. If the AICTE has taken this action as per the order of the Supreme Court, it is certain that neither the Maharashtra government nor the Central government can change that. What will happen then? 400 to 500 students are now studying in JJ, and those who have taken CET this year with high hopes, where will they study now? In this article, Satish Naik, Editor of ‘Chinha’ asks these questions.

I graduated from JJ School of Art in 1981. But a year before that, I had already entered mainstream journalism in Mumbai. I wanted to become a painter and so I joined JJ. In those days it was difficult to earn a livelihood from art education and since I was very fond of reading since childhood, I naturally started writing as soon as I joined JJ. I wrote a lot and read a lot during my six to seven years of education at JJ. It was because of this that I got a call from journalism and since it was my field of interest, I instantly accepted it.

At JJ, teachers and students have a very close bond. So, the canteen and Lal Katta were their regular meeting points with extended chat sessions. It was during the same time some 2-3 strikes took place at JJ campus. Of these two were teachers’ strikes and one was that of students’. Due to this teachers’ strike, many good teachers left their jobs at JJ. The consequences were felt immediately. For example, teachers who can be called very impolite joined JJ and that is when the downfall of the great institute started. I have seen these changes very closely. Some of the good teachers became my friends. Of course, their problems became understandable. Since I started working in a newspaper, I started giving all the news to my journalist friends. I was able to experience the excitement, the action, etc. very closely when the news was published. And without realizing it, I was dragged into this mess. Very exciting news. So, the government had to take note of that news. Now, it is not my nature to present all that again and show greatness, so I will stop here.

Do you know why I am writing this? Because as soon as the Cabinet decision on ‘De-novo’ came in some painters and the art education community started arguing with my friends about I taking credit for it. In fact, I, myself did not take any credit in that regard. However, it is difficult to understand what unsettled them so much. Well, were they of my generation? No!! In fact, when I started reporting on JJ, they were not even born, or if born they must have been in school. Therefore, there was no reason, I should give any importance to their criticism. My friends shut their mouths by saying exactly this.

The reason this topic has come up now is because of a haunting fear since the very beginning i.e. from the time I got admission at JJ. It was and is the fear of the ruler’s eyeing the beautiful premises of JJ School of Art. It was a constant fear in those days for everyone who loved the JJ area. Even Captain Solomon was not spared. Even during Solomon’s era, there was a movement to save JJ from prying eyes and Captain Solomon himself had to step in against his own government i.e. the British government. He loved the JJ architecture and JJ surroundings so much.

Had it not been for Dhond Sir, who helped us absorb the history and beauty of JJ, we would not have become such die-hard advocates of JJ. The love and attraction percolated deep down in our hearts, so much so that it did not wither away despite the 40 yr long fight for the recognition. And mind you, forty years is not a short period. The struggle lasted for 40 years and finally, the state government announced the De-novo category for JJ. At last, I felt, and started working on the final stage of book ‘Je Je Jagi Jagle’ which had been delayed for a long time.

And just four days ago there was news that JJ School of Art was de-accredited by AICTE. This meant JJ School of Art, a 166-year-old college started at the same time as Mumbai University, was no longer a legal entity. It had now joined the long list unauthorised colleges in India.

The culprit behind all this was the Directorate of Arts of Maharashtra and the Higher and Technical Education Account of the Ministry. In the last 35 years, the Department of Higher and Technical Education first destroyed the Directorate of Arts and then the JJ School of Art. I have brought this issue on every platform I can. The criticism I have made was not in some small newspapers, but I have been writing for a newspaper which was respectable in the cultural field of Maharashtra. The story would have its impact for some time and then things would be back to square one. Unfortunately, this went on for thirty-five years. A few days ago, I found one of my old story cuttings from 1982. The story said out of the sixteen (may be 14?) professors in JJ, two seats are vacant and this was affecting the students and so on. But the Higher and Technical Education Department had not pay much attention to it. And in 2023, it’s an irony that out of those sixteen (may be 14?) professors, only two or three positions are filled. Rest are still vacant. What would you say now?!

As many as 166 teaching faculty posts in four art colleges namely JJ School of Art, JJ Institute of Applied Art, Government Art College Aurangabad and Nagpur are vacant today. I criticized it heavily in the newspaper. In 2008, I openly condemned the authorities in their faces at a meeting called by the then Minister of Higher and Technical Education. The Minister later gave a public assurance that the posts would be filled. But till date, in 2023 those posts are vacant. After De-novo, however, the authorities concerned are now in rush to fill those posts. It is said that a price of Rs. 50 lakhs per post has been ‘fixed’ for filling the posts. It seems there is no control of the higher officials or the ministers over this recruitement. Sadly, things have gone to such a bad situation that we cannot do anyting about it.  

Let’s not forget that AICTE has withdrawn the recognition of JJ School of Art. Sometimes I feel this is part of some big game. It may be recalled that in 2008, there was a plan to shift the JJ School of Art from its present location to a plot next to Deonar abattoir. The plan was to hand over JJ’s historic building to a fashion designer from Delhi, and to construct a 25-30 storied tower in the open space in front of JJ Canteen and Dean’s Bungalow. The building layout was already on paper. But it was found that the PhD degree of the Architect college principal, who made that plan, was a bogus. The minute this news was published, the whole plan was foiled and thus, the big conspiracy was exposed.

Despite all of this, everything happening at JJ was as per the plan made by the ruling party or politicians. Unqualified people from minister’s villages were put on positions of power while corrupt persons were appointed as officials in the art directorate. They played their roles well and virtually destroyed JJ’s British-era legacy. As a result, the post of art director which was managed by legends like Dada Adarkar, Madhav Satwalekar, and Baburao Sadvelkar was given away to people with criminal mindset. Though a lot of stories were done by newspapers from time to time, politicians and vested interests kept on trying their luck. However, for the first time, it was due to the efforts of former Education Minister Vinod Tawde that concrete steps were taken which led to JJ getting the De-novo status.  Yet, whoever had planned to destroy JJ School of Art continued to do so and the final act of this conspiracy was the de-accreditation of by the AICTE. 

Now, what happens next?. If the AICTE has taken this action as per the Supreme Court order, it is certain that Maharashtra or Central government government can do nothing about it. What happens then? What happens to the fate of around 500 students studying at JJ? What will happen to students who have appeared for the CET this year? What about the money their parents have spent? What will happen to their dream of studying at JJ?

Should we conclude that JJ’s great position in the field of art education in India is over now? As I write this, another terrible news has arrived. The AICTE has also de-accredited Government Arts College Aurangabad and Nagpur. This means, those who have decided to close all art colleges in Maharashtra is likely to come true. I have taken serious note of this. That’s all for now.

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Satish Naik

Editor, ‘Chinha Art News’

www.chinha.in