Installations — Nehal Vyas

GULISTAAN
Installation exhibited at California Institute of the Arts, 2020.

“The desire for revolution is in our hearts

Let us see what strength there is in the arms of our executioner”

written by Bismil Azimabadil in 1921 and immortalised by Ramprasad Bismil during the freedom struggle.

On December 12th 2019, a Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Indian Parliament. This act provides a path towards Indian citizenship towards people of all religions minorities, except muslims. This, accompanied with the National Register of Citizens, is a move by the government to strategically change the nation into a predominantly Hindu one. The Indian constitution, written to safeguard the values of India states that secularism is a fundamental right — and this new law stands to challenge that.

The Indian citizens are on the streets, every single day, protesting against the right-wing government. They sing songs of freedom and revolution. They read the preamble to the constitution together. They fight the police batons with their free words. They walk hand in hand, guided by the revolutionaries of a freedom struggle that once was.

Gulistaan documents these everyday acts of resistance. It links its arms with those it showcases and joins the resistance.

We filled the space with soil, and in that soil were envelopes that contained the sounds of revolution. To access the piece, one would move closer to the soil and hear the words. On the walls were images from the protest, the Indian constitution and Whatsapp messages that we had collected from our friends and loved ones.