Abdur Rahman Chughtai:
Unfolding a Pakistani Artist’s Association with the Bengal School of Art
Mallika Chakrawarti

Abdur Rahman Chughtai was one of Pakistan’s leading personalities in art. It is interesting to note that Chughtai shares his legacy with India, for he was born in Lahore, erstwhile British India, in 1897. His skills as a painter, etcher, engraver, draughtsman, calligrapher, naqqashi (decorative art) artist, photographer and photo-lithographer brought him recognition and acclaim very early on in life. He was declared as Pakistan’s national artist soon after partition.


During his years in India, the Swadeshi movement had gained momentum and Independence from the British Raj was imminent. In 1947, with the oncoming of freedom, the world woke up to a new nation— Pakistan. Once the partition had come into effect, many artists including Chughtai, were no longer a part of the Indian subcontinent. Across the border, Chughtai carried with him the rich influences of Persian and Islamic art, Art Nouveau, and the Bengal school of art.During his years in India, the Swadeshi movement had gained momentum and Independence from the British Raj was imminent. In 1947, with the oncoming of freedom, the world woke up to a new nation— Pakistan. Once the partition had come into effect, many artists including Chughtai, were no longer a part of the Indian subcontinent. Across the border, Chughtai carried with him the rich influences of Persian and Islamic art, Art Nouveau, and the Bengal school of art.

In the pre-independence era, the Bengal School of Art led by Abanindranath Tagore asserted itself as an entity unique in its Indian ethos and disassociated itself entirely from western influences and traditions. The tradition of oil paintings and realistic rendering was replaced with watercolors and avant-garde themes. In this period, the countrymen took immense pride in their heritage and roots. Anything western was looked upon as alien and contradictory to the collective Indian conscience. Mural paintings of the Ajanta caves, Rajput and pahari miniatures, legends of Hindu mythological deities, classical literature from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the writings of Kalidasa, Khayyam and Ghalib were influencers that shaped the philosophies of artists.