In the 1960s, which artists moved towards establishing an Indian identity by turning to the past and local artistic traditions?

1) M.F. Husain and Tyeb Mehta
2) Biren De and G. R. Santosh
3) Amrita Sher-Gil and Nandalal Bose
4) Anjolie Ela Menon and S. H. Raza

2

Answer: Biren De and G. R. Santosh
In the 1960s, Biren De and G. R. Santosh, among others, moved towards establishing an Indian identity by turning to the past and local artistic traditions.

Many Indian artists and critics grew worried about their imitation of modern art from the West and felt the need to establish an Indian identity in their art. In the 1960s, Biren De and G. R. Santosh in Delhi and K. C. S. Paniker in Madras moved in this direction when they turned to the past and local artistic traditions to create a unique Indian abstract art. This style became successful in the West and later in India and came to be known as Neo-Tantric art because of its use of geometrical designs seen in traditional diagrams for meditation or yantras. Such works made during the height of the Hippie movement in the West found a ready market, and were sought by galleries and collectors alike. This style may also be seen as Indianised abstraction. In Biren De’s works, this move led to captivating experiments with colours and patterns. G. R. Santosh created a visual sense of cosmic union of male and female energy, reminding us of purusha and prakriti of the Tantric philosophy. K. C. S. Paniker, on the other hand, made use of diagrams, scripts and pictograms that he saw in his region and evolved out of them a style, which was both modern and uniquely Indian.