‘No affiliation’ with Satyajit Ray: Bangladesh on home in Mymensingh that’s being demolished

India on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) referred to as on Bangladesh to rethink its determination to demolish the ancestral property of Satyajit Ray and supplied assist to protect the long-lasting constructing because it symbolises Bangla cultural “renaissance”.

In a press release issued on Thursday, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry stated a “detailed inquiry into the archival records re-confirmed that the house in question never had any relation with the ancestors of Satyajit Ray”.

India had urged Bangladesh to transform the “landmark” constructing right into a museum symbolising the shared tradition of the 2 international locations and pledged to increase cooperation for it.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry stated the home was constructed by native Zamindar Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury subsequent to his bungalow for his workers. Upon the abolition of the zamindari system, it got here underneath the management of the federal government, which allotted it to the ‘Shishu Academy, it stated.

“The district authorities have reviewed the land records related to the house and confirmed that, as per the past records, the land belongs to the Government and has no association with the Ray family whatsoever,” the assertion stated.

It added that native senior residents and people additionally stated that “there is no known historical connection between the Ray family and the house and land currently leased to the Shishu Academy. The house is not listed as an archaeological monument, either”.

However, the street in entrance of the home, ‘Harikishore Ray Road’, is called after Satyajit Ray’s great-grandfather Harikishore Ray, the assertion stated, including that the Ray household had a home on Harikishore Ray Road, which that they had bought way back and thus not exists.

“A multi-storied building was constructed there by the new owner. The building that is now being demolished was dilapidated, risky and unusable,” it added.

“Since 2014, the Academy had shifted to a rented property elsewhere in Mymensingh city, and the abandoned house became a den for unlawful activities by local anti-social elements. Hence, an initiative was taken to construct a semi-permanent building at the site in the first half of 2024,” the Ministry stated.

It stated that in a gathering of senior residents, literary and cultural personalities, journalists and area people members on Wednesday, eminent author Kangal Shahin stated that the constructing doesn’t belong to Hari Kishore Ray or Satyajit Ray.

“All attendees were in unequivocal agreement that the abandoned building of the Bangladesh Shishu Academy has no historical or familial ties with Satyajit Ray or his family. In this regard, Swapan Dhar, an archaeology researcher from Mymensingh, also stated that the house in question is not the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray,” it added.