New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Raihan Vadra has strongly objected to being asked to remove certain photographs from his exhibition 'No Idea is final' at the Bikaner House.
A day after detailing out the circumstances of being asked to remove photographs that allegedly included those of the Tricolour, Raihan told India Today News that curtailing of any form of art was wrong.
Speaking to India Today News network Raihan said, "I think any type of curtailing of art is wrong. I would understand if there is something that's a little too overtly political—that there are slogans being put, or that there's graphic nudity in some artwork—that is understandable. But just blanket-removing 75 photos because they may be objectionable to somebody does not work. And it’s wrong. Then you can’t call yourself a cultural institution or a stakeholder in the arts if you’re going to curtail freedom of expression."
Vadra claimed that the Bikaner House management had told him that some of the photographs were political in nature and thus against policy, however he maintains that he was informed of this only 24 hours before his show which opens later this evening.
"I had two rooms which had a huge amount of photos—74 photos—which documented not just protests, but youth movements and street photography over the last year or so. It included pictures from Jantar Mantar, it included pictures from the last few weeks of protests, but also just general street photography in Delhi...The head who runs Bikaner House, the Principal Resident Commissioner, he gave me an explanation that because of the context and the timing of what is happening in India and in Delhi, that makes these works political in nature, and therefore, they are against the policy," Vadra told India Today.
Raihan further claimed that two of the photographs objected to were just pictures of the Indian flag and that the management of Bikaner House had not given their reasoning for taking down the pictures in writing,
"There were two photos which were just the Indian flag. There were other photos of the Indian flag which had other people, etc., but there were two photos which were just of the Indian flag. I said, “You cannot object to these. How can you object to just a photo of the Tiranga?” So they first tried to tell us to take it down. I said, “No, you give it to me in writing, and you write that you are wanting me to take down a picture of the Indian flag.” They never gave that to me in writing," he told India Today.
Raihan's mother, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had earlier sent a subtle message to the government as she backed her son.
In a post on X, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "@raihanrvadra. When someone with power becomes afraid of the expression of another, he doesn’t know it, but he has already lost the very power he is trying to protect. You stand for what is true and everything beautiful will find its way to you. I am proud of you, always will be."
Her husband Robert Vadra had also shared the post by his son which had alleged that the establishment had asked him to removed photographs of the Delhi Protests from his exhibition. For now, Raihan's exhibition will continue in a limited manner with it scheduled to be held in Bengaluru next month. (ANI)
"Curtailing of art is wrong:" Raihan Vadra says he was asked to remove some exhibition photos as they were 'political'
