Those questions are swirling after the sudden appearance of Bangladesh's best-known protest icon on a bridge wall in Sikkim's Rangpo, near the strategically vital Siliguri Corridor, triggered a police investigation and drew attention far beyond the world of street art.
The graffiti, executed in stencil and spray paint on concrete and measuring roughly 20 ft by 12 ft, was discovered recently on the Majitar Nala Bridge along the Gangtok-Rangpo Road. It depicts "Subodh", the anonymous character that has become one of Bangladesh's most recognisable symbols of political dissent over the past decade.
What we know about HOBEKI and Subodh
The Artist: HOBEKI is an anonymous street artist who has successfully maintained total secrecy for nearly a decade. Despite being one of Bangladesh's most influential protest figures, the artist has never granted an interview, made a public appearance, or revealed a real identity, turning this persistent anonymity into a core part of their artistic legend.
The Icon: "Subodh" is a recurring, iconic character—a gaunt, tattered young man—who first appeared on Dhaka's walls in 2017. Initially depicted as a frightened figure trapped by political repression, the character evolved to become a symbol of silent resistance, with murals often appearing alongside the signature "HOBEKI?" (a Bengali play on words meaning "Will it happen?").
Bearing the signature "HOBEKI?" ('Will it happen?'), the mural has raised a larger question: Why has Bangladesh's best-known protest symbol appeared near one of India's most strategically sensitive frontiers?
Symbol of political dissent
The Gangtok-Rangpo Road is the principal highway connecting Sikkim with the rest of India. It feeds into the Siliguri Corridor, the narrow strip of land linking the country's northeastern states with mainland India.
Flanked by Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, the corridor is among India's most strategically significant transport and security arteries.
"Any unusual activity in the region, however symbolic, inevitably attracts official attention. And that is exactly what has happened here," Probir Pramanik, a Siliguri-based journalist who has covered the strategically sensitive region for more than three decades, told The Federal.
The HOBEKI legend
Sikkim Police have launched an investigation into the mural and are examining who painted it and whether it has any connection with the anonymous Bangladeshi artist, known by his pseudonym HOBEKI.
Investigators suspect the artwork may have been created by a Bangladeshi student studying at a private university in Sikkim who has since returned home during the university vacation. "We suspect the mural is the handiwork of a Bangladeshi student studying in Sikkim. We have already questioned him over the phone," a senior police official familiar with the investigation told The Federal on condition of anonymity.
For the security personnel, the mystery lies not merely in the artwork but in the identity behind it.
Since "Subodh" first appeared on the walls of Dhaka in early 2017, successive governments, journalists and art enthusiasts in Bangladesh have failed to conclusively establish who the artist is. This is because HOBEKI has never appeared in public, never granted interviews and revealed a real identity. The person has maintained anonymity even as the artwork evolved into one of Bangladesh's most enduring symbols of political resistance.
That anonymity has become part of the legend.
The Subodh legend
For nearly a decade, "Subodh" has appeared unexpectedly on walls across Dhaka, usually accompanied by cryptic messages questioning authority, injustice and political repression.
The character first emerged during a period of increasing political polarisation under the Awami League government. Captions accompanying the murals carried messages such as "Subodh, run away. The times are not in your favour" and "Subodh, there is nothing in your fate."
Without naming politicians or parties, the graffiti captured anxieties surrounding censorship, disappearances and the narrowing space for dissent. Its impact extended far beyond the walls on which it appeared. Every appearance generates public curiosity, multiple interpretations, and, at times, controversy. That same combination has also meant that several of the artist's earlier murals in Bangladesh have disappeared shortly after attracting public attention.
Artists, students and activists reproduced the imagery across Bangladesh. The figure became instantly recognisable even to people unfamiliar with contemporary art, for it had entered popular culture as a visual expression of silent resistance.
Defining symbol in 2024 student-led uprising
The movement acquired fresh significance during Bangladesh's July 2024 student-led uprising.
As protests against the Sheikh Hasina government spread across the country, fresh "Subodh" murals began appearing across Dhaka. While remaining anonymous, HOBEKI encouraged supporters to download stencil templates and recreate the artwork themselves, allowing identical images to spread rapidly without requiring the artist's physical presence.
By the time the movement culminated in the collapse of the Awami League government, Subodh had become one of the uprising's defining visual symbols.
HOBEKI's Sikkim version
It is against that backdrop that the Sikkim mural has acquired significance. Unlike earlier depictions, the figure no longer appears frightened or fleeing.
Instead, the Sikkim version portrays Subodh lying shirtless in a hammock tied to strands of barbed wire. In one hand he holds a wire cutter. Beneath him sits an empty bucket. The familiar signature "HOBEKI?" appears beside the image.
The barbed wire in the mural could be interpreted as a reference to international borders. The wire cutter appears to suggest breaking through barriers, while the hammock may symbolise rest, arrival or refuge after an escape. The bucket placed beneath the hammock, in the Teesta river basin, could also be read as an allusion to the unresolved Teesta water-sharing dispute between India and Bangladesh.
None of these interpretations, however, can be independently verified. HOBEKI has offered no explanation of the mural, and the artist's anonymity makes any direct clarification impossible.
The timing
"The timing of the mural's appearance has added to both the intrigue and the concern," pointed out Pramanik.
India resumed tourist visa services for Bangladeshi citizens on June 28, after suspending them for nearly two years following political developments in Bangladesh. And, soon after the resumption, Bangladesh's most recognisable protest figure appeared on Indian soil for the first time.
Moreover, in recent months, the Siliguri Corridor has been thrust into the geopolitical spotlight amid debates over China's expanding engagement in Bangladesh, including Dhaka's decision to seek Beijing's support for the long-pending Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project.
New Delhi has publicly said it is closely monitoring these developments because of the project's proximity to the strategically sensitive corridor.
Line of inquiry
A Sikkim police official, however, said that prima facie the mural did not appear to pose any security threat. The official added that investigators were trying to ascertain what prompted the artist to create a work that, while not overtly provocative, carried potentially sensitive symbolism.
Another line of inquiry is to determine whether the mural was painted by HOBEKI himself, or by one of the anonymous artist's followers, or is it just an admirer reproducing an internationally recognised protest symbol. "We are in touch with the suspect and are trying to find answers to those questions," the official said, declining to divulge further details as the investigation is still underway.
It is, however, learnt that no charges have been pressed against the suspect as yet.
Meanwhile, the mural has been defaced by unidentified person or persons, reflecting the curiosity and controversy it has generated in the strategically sensitive region.
