One can observe by studying histories of Nations who got independence from former British Empire carry concealed influence of the colonial era on their present position. Even after being independent most of the Nations still struggles to come out of that rule shadows thus no colonial nation can be completely decolonized hence colonialism affected and still affecting every facet of society from culture and customs to politics and ideology.
It seeded inferiority complex and fractured sense of identity in people that still follow us and permeate through our society. Being a post-colonial nation we have a long history that haunted many and will always be with us. Many attempts to revive former glory of pre-colonial era failed as people couldn't come out of that slave period as forgetting that time was seemed to be impossible.
By remembering post-colonial period through paintings Ahmed wanted to revisit the facts and realities that became the reason to earn freedom from the rule that denied our social and human rights and recruit us to fight their war.
The cultural and social structures of our post-colonial nation were beautifully depicted in his paintings with subjects painted in antique style having monochrome compositions with white, black and ochre splashes throughout the canvas.
The theme of all paintings touched that era that once affected this region. One can easily understood and relate to the characters revealed in the paintings showing traces of bygone era. The paintings described the complex power dynamics between the colonizer and the colonized.
He tried to interpret the feelings and situations experienced by the people of that time one being the master the other servant. The Khidmatgaar / Servant series focuses on this particular aspect of those days. He presented the exploitation of the local population for their own luxuries. This witnessed the birth of the inferiority complex that haunts our nation till today. He displayed a subjugation of a nation and their treatment as inferiors, as servants and servers, and the power disparities thus created.
Works such as Koh-e-Noor and Medal of Honour look at two different kinds of exploitation of resources used to serve specific agendas of the Imperial power.
Another aspect of the colonial era was looting of a nation's wealth that somehow became acceptable under the umbrella of colonialism, and remains uncontested to this day. A big example of this is the famed diamond Koh-e-Noor that was portrayed in a painting titled "Koh-e-Noor", initiating a dialogue how one of the largest diamonds in the world, which was originally originated in the subcontinent therefore, was a property of the region was ceded to Queen Victoria upon the conquest of Punjab in 1849 and became part of the British Crown Jewels.
In another painting titled "Medal of Honor" on can see a soldier being honoured a medal by his senior pointed towards the exploitation of men power to serve specific agendas of the Imperial power. By giving ranks and medals men were allured to be recruited into positions of respect to have greater and more effective control over the population. This can be witnessed in paintings titled "Risaaldaar".
The series portrayed faceless figures thus focusing on the uniform that was an object of desire and instrument of control. This illusion of power and rank became an effective strategy; and paradoxically subjugated a nation. A large portion of the local ruling class thus became pawns in the larger game and facilitated the takeover for near-sighted self-interest, while the common man was set to suffer.
Following the divide and rule policy the colonizers gained a more firm hold over the subcontinent. Ahmed discussed it in the paintings series titled "End of an Era". He used the photograph of Mirza Jawan Bakht, the son of Bahadur Shah Zafar; this time a thin red streak runs across his neck representing the violence that officially ended the Mughal era.
After the emperor was deposed the prince, along with his brothers, was promised safe passage out of the danger zone, but was caught and murdered by a British Commander and hung for all to see - put on display to set an example.
Withering in memory yet still maintaining a firm hold on the present those days still define our future.
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])