Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday criticised the Bikaner House administration’s decision to remove certain photographs from Raihan Vadra’s exhibition in Delhi, arguing that the move has further damaged India’s international reputation as a democracy that values freedom of expression.
Describing the decision as a “disgrace” on multiple levels, Tharoor said that the photographs documented events already familiar to the public through media coverage and online platforms. Raihan Vadra had recently said that several photographs showing recent protests in Delhi were taken down by the Bikaner House administration ahead of his solo exhibition.
It clarified that the remaining photographs continued to be exhibited. In its statement, the society described Bikaner House as a public cultural institution committed to promoting art and culture. Because they did not comply with its policy, responding to the controversy on Thursday, the Bikaner House Society said it had asked for certain photographs to be removed.
“While Bikaner House is free to have a policy against political stands, photographs of a protest demonstration are a depiction of an event and not political in themselves; they would almost certainly have passed muster had the matter been brought to a court as an issue of freedom of expression,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. He also expressed concern about the international repercussions of the decision, saying, “And worst of all, this censorship has driven one more nail into the coffin of India’s global reputation as a freedom-loving democracy,” Tharoor said. The controversy has drawn attention to Raihan Vadra’s work on a scale that the exhibition might not have achieved on its own, according to the Congress MP. It said exhibitions and related activities must adhere to the Bikaner House Management Society Policy.
