Artist and photographer Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and businessman Robert Vadra, on Wednesday alleged that the administration of Bikaner House in Delhi removed more than 70 photographs documenting recent protests ahead of his solo exhibition, citing the prevailing political climate.
Titled “No Idea is Final”, the exhibition was previewed on Wednesday and is scheduled to open on Thursday. The show, which will continue until Sunday, will proceed as planned, with around 40 photographs remaining on display.
Raihan told news agency PTI, that the Bikaner House management had informed him at 3.30 pm on Wednesday that the photographs had to be removed by 5 pm or the exhibition would be cancelled.
“They told us at 3.30 pm today if the images are not taken down by 5 pm, the show will be cancelled. They said it is not the right time for such photos to be shown,” he told PTI.
He alleged that the administration had raised objections to the political nature of the photographs despite having received the exhibition's detailed proposal and layout well in advance.
In a statement , Raihan said the management had contacted him at 6 pm on Tuesday and requested that the protest photographs be removed.
He said it was inappropriate to seek the removal of nearly half the artworks less than 24 hours before the exhibition opened, particularly as the organisers had been informed about the proposed display beforehand.
Raihan maintained that the photographs did not convey any political message but documented protests over the past six months.
“I felt it is my duty as an Indian artist, not just because I am doing a show right now, but it is my duty as an Indian artist to document what is going on... They are censoring the work of artists, I don't know what they are scared of. They even went to the extent of removing the picture of the Indian flag,” he said, PTI reported.
According to Raihan, the administration justified its objection by saying that, given the current context and political climate in India, it was not the right time to display the images.
He disagreed with the reasoning, arguing that art could not be separated from politics.
“I made the argument that first of all, you can't say don't show political art because all art is political. There is no art without politics,” he said.
The photographs were displayed in two large rooms on the first floor of Bikaner House's CCA building. By Wednesday, the rooms had been largely cleared, with around 74 photographs removed and bare nails left on the red walls. The Preamble to the Constitution ran along the now-empty walls.
The exhibition initially featured more than 100 photographs covering wildlife, abstract art and street photography documenting recent youth movements in India.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the decision, describing it as an attempt to muzzle the voices of young people across the country.
“I think it's ridiculous. What do you think? He is a young boy but I suppose you know, they are muzzling the voice of the youth across the nation. So it's only expected that they'll do it to anyone,” she told PTI.
She said the photographs were visual documentation of protests and contained no commentary or derogatory material directed at anyone.
“His photographs of the protests, not a single commentary, not a single thing that was either derogatory towards anyone, just a visual documentation of the protest,” she said.
Questioning the implications for artistic freedom, she added: “It's not a democracy anymore. Today it's him, tomorrow it'll be another artist.”
A Bikaner House official declined to comment on the matter, saying the administration was not authorised to speak on it, PTI reported.
Despite the removal of the photographs, the exhibition will open as scheduled on Thursday, with the remaining works on display until Sunday.
