Raihan Vadra, visual artist and son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Thursday criticised the Bikaner House administration for removing several photographs from his exhibition over their alleged political content, arguing that art institutions cannot prohibit political expression.
Vadra said he was particularly upset that the administration removed a photograph of the national flag in his absence, amid a row over his solo exhibition featuring images of recent protests in Delhi.
"My show, 'No Idea Is Final', was supposed to start at 7 pm yesterday at Bikaner House. Twenty-four hours before the opening, I was approached by the Bikaner House management and told that some of the pictures might be objectionable or against their policy. I said that I did not believe they are, but I am happy to discuss the matter and asked them to get back to me in writing as to what the objections are," he told PTI Videos.
"I did not hear from them till 11 am next day when their team came, saw the exhibit and left, they even complimented me on some of the photographs. Then, around 12.30 pm, we received a call from the deputy resident commissioner saying that you have to remove 70 of the 105 photographs in the exhibition because they are against the policy," he said.
Vadra said he asked the administration to give him in writing what the objections were.
"After all, it was their venue. In any case, after reviewing their policy, I had already set aside and removed some images that contained overtly political slogans. A few images had flags and political leaders and I was happy to have a discussion on that," he said.
The principal resident commissioner then came and explained that in the context of the protests and everything happening in Delhi, the artwork was political, and he had to remove the said photographs, according to Vadra.
He said despite his team removing some photographs, officials came back to inspect the exhibition and insisted that all the "objectionable" pictures be removed, otherwise the show would be cancelled.
"So, we took them down except two photographs of the Indian flag which also they asked me to remove. I said, 'But they are just pictures of the Indian flag. I do not think there is anything in your policy that says photographs of the Indian flag have to be removed'. At that point, I firmly told them to put their demand in writing if they wanted me to remove the photographs of the Indian flag," Vadra said.
They did not send anything in writing, he said.
"They left one photograph in place, but while I was at home changing for the opening, they removed the other photograph of the Indian flag themselves. I have a video of them doing that," he said.
Vadra said he told the administration that an art institution should not have such a policy.
"I mean, most art is political, right? You cannot function as an artistic institution and then say that political content is not allowed," he said.
"But that was my interpretation. Either that, or they should have reviewed the images a week earlier. I had shared a layout with them a week before, and they responded to it. I told them this, but yesterday they said that they had not been able to view the layout," he said, hitting out at the Bikaner House administration.
The Bikaner House Society on Thursday said it had sought the removal of certain photographs from Raihan Vadra's exhibition after finding them inconsistent with its policy, adding that the remaining pictures continued to be displayed.
In a statement, the society said it is a public cultural institution dedicated to promoting art and culture, and that exhibitions and associated activities must comply with the Bikaner House Management Society Policy.
Raihan's father Robert Vadra said he was proud of his son for the hard work he put in.
"This was yet another exhibition Raihan was holding at Bikaner House. Given the prevailing situation in our country, he also attended the protests, keeping his friends in mind and considering the support students needed. He followed them with his camera, as he always carries it with him, capturing photographs and expressions.
"He then thought of organising an exhibition on the subject and worked hard towards it. About a week in advance, he submitted a PDF file to the authorities at Bikaner House. They did not raise any concerns or respond in any way that suggested the content was controversial," Robert Vadra said.
However, in the last 24 hours, after Raihan and his team had worked extremely hard to set up the exhibition and put up the displays, some authorities arrived at the last minute and said they wanted to double-check everything that had been put up, Robert Vadra said.
"There was a lot of pressure on him to remove everything, and this happened just two hours before the opening of his exhibition. It was shocking because the authorities had received the PDF file a week in advance and had been informed about the exhibition. ...Despite this, I think he was brave enough to go ahead with the exhibition using whatever remained," he said.
(With Inputs from PTI)