Visual artist Raihan Rajiv Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and nephew of Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday alleged that the management of Bikaner House in New Delhi asked him to remove several artworks depicting student-led protests in the capital.
He further alleged that the management directed him to remove two photographs featuring the Indian national flag, or the Tiranga. “I have refused. The photographs show tense scenes in central Delhi, including police personnel detaining protesters. One of the images prominently features Rahul Gandhi standing amid the crowd. The protests are being led by opposition parties, which are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process. The protesters are also calling for the withdrawal of changes being carried out under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In a social media post, Vadra said he was asked to take down most of the artworks ahead of his solo exhibition, No Idea Is Final. He said the management had reportedly objected to the content of the photographs. “Apparently the content is ‘objectionable’,” Vadra wrote, referring to the images documenting youth protests in Delhi. However, the artist said he had refused to comply with the instruction. I will not take down a picture of the Indian flag,” he said in his post.
He also indicated that he would look for another venue to exhibit the photographs that had allegedly been removed.
Despite the dispute, Vadra said the exhibition would proceed, albeit with only part of the collection on display for the time being. “The show will go on in part for now, but I will find another venue and display the entire collection of protest photos,” he wrote. “I made it clear that in view of the fact that I had shared the detailed proposal and layout of the show well in advance with the Bikaner house management it was incorrect on their part to request the removal of 50% of the artworks less than 24 hours before the opening of the show,” he added.
Earlier, Raihan Vadra documented the ongoing protests in Delhi through a series of noir-style photographs.
