[Reader-list] Sahar Ke Nishan: Politics & Poetics of Visual Representations

[Jeebesh Bagchi]

Thanks Sadan for posting your tentative formulations from your ongoing 
research. Hope you get some response.

Within this context i will like to draw the attention of the readers to a law 
that is now in force in Delhi. (extended to Delhi after 13th December!). It 
will bring in a tremendous change to the everyday, fluid, liminal visual 
landscape of the city. Unfortunately this law has no sense of everday 
`poetics` of the city! 

The wet Bengal Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1976 (as extended to 
the National Capital Territory of Delhi)

2. (aa) "defacement" includes impairing or interfering with the appearance 
beauty, damaging, distinguishing, spoiling or injuring in any other way 
whatsoever, and the word "deface" shall be construed accordingly;

(b) "property" includes any building , hut, structure, wall, tree, fence, 
post, pole or any other creation;

(c) "writing" includes decoration, lettering, ornamentation, etc., produced 
by stencil.

3. Penalty for defacement of property - (1) Whoever defaces any property in 
public view by writing or marking with ink, chalk, paint or any other 
material, except for the purpose of indicating the memo and address of the 
owner or occupier of such property, shall be punishable with imprisonment for 
a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one 
thousand rupees or with both.
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Think of all the imprisonment - but think then of the revenue loss for the 
state! (..) 

Hope a poetic understanding of spaces will be more powerful than the 
`technocratic` and `stainless` understanding of space. Anyway marking of city 
spaces is now massively getting contained and each mark will cost. Either you 
guy your legality or then buy your punishment.

best
Jeebesh