New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Wednesday alleged that the management of Bikaner House asked him to remove "bulk" of his artworks at an exibition which were documenting student protests and other demonstrations.
In a social media post on Instagram, Raihan wrote, "Five hours ago, the Bikaner House Management forced me to remove the bulk of the artworks displayed in my show "No Idea Is Final", which opens this evening at 7 pm. The photos were of the youth protests in Delhi. Apparently, the content is "objectionable". They also directed me to remove two photos of the Tiranga. I have refused. I will not take down a picture of the Indian flag."
Raihan said the show will go on in part for now, and if necessary, he will find another venue and "display the entire collection of protest photos".
Coming out in defence of Raihan Vadra, senior Congress leader and Chairman, Media & Publicity Deptt, AICC, Pawan Khera questioned what exactly the offence was for such censorship over a mere art show.
"When even the Tricolour isn’t safe from the censor’s scissors, perhaps the problem isn’t the art. It’s the regime. Just hours before @raihanrvadra was to open his art show ‘No Idea Is Final ’, 74 artworks - nearly half the exhibition - were taken down for being 'political ' by the Bikaner House. The photographs merely documented protests, and not one was derogatory or inflammatory. So what exactly was the offence?" he said.
Khera further claimed that out of the retained photographs was the one of the Tricolour, further stating that the Centre is not just threatened by ideas, but also by the protests, and that the photographs related to them and that the National Flag has become a concern.
"One of the works Raihaan had to 'fight' to retain was a photograph of the Indian flag. Otherwise, the walls meant for art were left with nothing but exposed iron nails, gleaming under the spotlights - a chilling metaphor for censorship. Imagine a government so threatened by ideas that not just protests, but even photographs of protests - and the Tricolour itself - have become intolerable. The end must be close," he said.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also condemned the alleged censorship of the art exhibition, terming the administration's behaviour "obtuse" and "churlish."
Chidambaram on X wrote, "Absolutely churlish & obtuse behaviour by the establishment which controls Bikaner House."
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Legal Cell echoed similar sentiments.
In a post on X, the IYC Legal Cell stated, "IYC Legal Cell's tweet: YOU CAN CENSOR THE FRAME. NOT THE TRUTH. Saheb dara hua hai (sir is scared)." (ANI)
