Badaga people demand removal of pictures on them from Ooty photo exhibition

UDHAGAMANDALAM: The Badaga community people have demanded the immediate removal of a series of photographs from a photo exhibition in Ooty -- held as part of the Nilgiris Summer Festival -- as they show them in a poor light.

The exhibition, titled ‘Remembering and Reimagining,’ is considered a visual journey through the history of the Nilgiris. It is conducted by the Nilgiris district administration in the RCTC hall.

The series of photos and a portion of the text above them outraged the Badaga community. The text reads, “Many from the community converted to Christianity in the 19th century………”

The Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC) also demanded the removal of the photos. “In the name of a photography exhibition as part of the summer festival, misleading, mischievous and demeaning displays were exhibited wounding the sentiments of the indigenous people of the district,” the NDC said in a statement.

“There is a clear bias towards conversions in the images and the writeup given. This is not only provocative but also an insult to the good work done by the missionaries in the past. An impression has been created that the indigenous people of the Nilgiris have been frozen in history. Some of the accounts are capable of causing ill will among the communities,” said NDC director Dharmalingam Venugopal.

The district administration should have been careful and vetted the exhibits before putting them on official shows, the NDC said. It said those who put up those exhibits should be cautioned for distorting history and facts for their narrow personal goals. “These offensive displays should be removed forthwith before they cause further damage,” the NDC release said.

Activist Yukesh Saravanan from Kannerimukku village said describing the Badagas as followers of a different faith since the 19th century is blameworthy and condemnable. “The display of pictures is frivolous and exhibits the poor quality of the collection,” he said.