Samikshavad

Samikshavad is the first indigenous art movement in modern India, which started in North India in 1974. It has a different identity from the western movements of art. It is neither affected nor inspired by western art.

Its main source of inspiration is the present social, political, cultural and economic conditions. Its aim is to make the art free from personalized obligations and to socialize it, to change the art from mystery to something having special aim. By this style, the artist tends to expose the corruption prevalent in society and politics, with a language that is symbolic and satirical. This movement has changed the scenario of modern Indian painting in India in the late '70s. A few of the artists who were inspired by this movement were Ravindra Nath Mishra, Hridya Narayan Mishra, Santosh Kumar Singh, Virendra Prasad Singh, Ram Shabd Singh, Raghuvir Sen Dhir, Ved Prakash Mishra, Gopal Madhukar Chaturvedi, Bala Dutt Pandey etc. Prof. Ram Chandra Shukla, Professor and Head of the Department of Painting at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, at that time, was the initiator and the main source of inspiration for this movement.