- 36 minutes ago
A major controversy has erupted at Delhi's Bikaner House after visual artist and photographer Rehan Vadra was asked to take down 74 photographs from his solo exhibition just hours before its opening. The administration objected to the political nature of the artworks, which documented youth protests, street photography in the national capital, and images featuring the Indian tricolour. Vadra stated that he was served an ultimatum requiring the removal of the artworks or facing the cancellation and sealing of the exhibition space. He complied by removing the disputed works to storage while asserting that he would exhibit the entire collection at another venue. The move prompted strong political reactions, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speaking out on social media in support of her son, criticising the curtailment of artistic expression. The incident has triggered a wider debate between political factions over creative liberty and booking policies at state-managed cultural institutions.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00What happened in Delhi's prestigious Bika Nair house was an art exhibition of Rehan Wadra
00:04asked to be removed because it had the Delhi protest pictures.
00:09Now Rehan Wadra, speaking exclusively to India Today, has given out a certain clarity also on what happened.
00:15He's the son of Robert Wadra and Priyanka Gandhi Wadra.
00:18He's claiming there was deliberate censorship.
00:22Wadra Jr. is saying that this was three years of artwork that was forcibly removed.
00:26And he had basically with a post also said, I'm not going to remove certain bit or certain section of
00:32that exhibition
00:32simply because it's about Delhi protests.
00:35Rehan is claiming this was political bias that was by the exhibition house.
00:39Rehan is saying it was heartbreaking for any artist to be going through this and to be told that certain
00:44artwork needs to be removed.
00:46I be complied with the rules. Officials wanted more.
00:49Art does not see who is in power, he says.
00:53Remember coming from a prestigious political family.
00:55Also to tell you about Bikaner House, it is a popular, well-known location when it comes to art exhibitions,
01:03conclaves, events.
01:05And therefore, what happened in this one and what is the authority also saying about it?
01:09Let's listen in. Rehan Wadra speaking to India Today.
01:17If you can describe, you know, what really happened last afternoon, because we were informed that you were going to
01:25hold an exhibition about the, you know, photographs of the ongoing traditional national capital.
01:32What really transpires it?
01:34So actually, my exhibition was, I was holding an exhibition for the first time after two, three years.
01:42And it wasn't just about the protests, but it was a, it was a exhibition of my body of works
01:49over the last, taken over the last three works, three years.
01:54In that, I had two rooms, you know, which had a huge amount of photos, 74 photos, which documented not
02:03just protests, but youth movements and street photography over the last year or so.
02:08You know, it included pictures from Jantar Mantar, it included pictures from the last few weeks of protests, but also
02:17just general street photography in Delhi.
02:23I, you know, had shared a layout with Bikaner House last week on the 15th of October.
02:29They responded to the layout saying, note it.
02:33They yesterday told me that, oh, that layout was not legible, we couldn't see it.
02:37So I said, yeah, you didn't tell me, you know, I would have sent you a better layout, we could
02:42have had this conversation a week earlier.
02:45But they, 24 hours before my show opened on the 20th of October, they reached out to me and said,
02:53some of these pictures may be objectionable or against our booking policy.
02:59I said, I am not inclined to remove any of these, but if you really have a problem, you can
03:04give it to me in writing.
03:07And you can, you know, explain which are the photos that you have a problem with and why, and then
03:11we can discuss, maybe I'll replace a few.
03:14They said, okay, we'll get back to you.
03:15I never heard back from them until around 2 p.m. on 21st of October, which was the day my
03:21exhibition was opening.
03:23They then said, you have to remove all of these.
03:26I said, I said, listen, it's five hours to go for my exhibition, what am I going to put there?
03:30You can't, you know, I had given you the information, you've raised this objection very late.
03:37Then they, the head of, who runs Beacon Head House, he came, the principal resident commissioner, and he gave me
03:46an explanation that because of the context and the timing of what is happening in India and in Delhi,
03:54that makes these works political in nature, and therefore, they're against the policy.
03:59So, I tried to argue that how can timing or outside context make artwork political, and that's not in their
04:08policy.
04:09But anyways, they did not listen, and I got a notice at around 3.30 p.m. saying that if
04:16you don't remove the artwork, 74 artworks by 4 p.m.,
04:20you will have to, we will have to cancel the exhibition and seal the building.
04:26So, then we flipped the photos, so, you know, we, the back of the frame was, was facing the viewer,
04:33so that you couldn't see the photo.
04:35We did that for all the photos.
04:37They came and said, no, this does not work.
04:40You have to take them down.
04:42Merely flipping them does not work.
04:43So, we took them down, piled them up on the side of the room.
04:46They said, no, you have to put them in storage.
04:49I objected to, there were two photos, which there was just the Indian flag.
04:54There were other photos of the Indian flag, which had, you know, other people, etc., but there were two photos,
04:59which were just of the Indian flag.
05:00I said, you cannot object to these.
05:02How can you object to just a photo of the Tiranga?
05:05So, they first tried to tell us to take it down.
05:09And I said, no, you give it to me in writing and you write that you are wanting me to
05:14take down a picture of the Indian flag.
05:15They never gave that to me in writing.
05:17They left one photo up.
05:19I went home to change for the opening.
05:23But as soon as I left the premises, they went in and took it down.
05:26And I have a video of them taking down that picture.
05:32Yeah, so that was, that was the, and then, you know, we left the walls.
05:37But as an individual artist, as an upcoming photographer, how do you view this as an artist, you know, artistic
05:44point of view, you know, removing 70 to 80 percent of your collection, which you're saying you've worked for almost
05:49three years?
05:51I, I feel, you know, it's basically, I was quite surprised.
05:55I worked in Beacon Air House, you know, I did my first show there in 2021.
06:01I've regularly, I don't think I've skipped a year in which I have done a show there.
06:05You know, and I've always considered it to be a space where any artist should be able to come in,
06:13you know, voice their, their, you know, platform their voice and be able to express themselves about anything.
06:24You know, I think any type of curtailing of art is wrong.
06:28I would understand if there's a, if, you know, if there is something that's a little too overtly political, that,
06:34you know, there are slogans being put, or that, you know, there's graphic nudity in some artworks, that, that is
06:41understandable.
06:44But, you know, just blanket removing 75 photos, because they may be objectionable to somebody does not work, you know,
06:52and, and it's wrong, then you can't call yourself a cultural institution, or you can't call yourself a stakeholder in
06:59the arts, if you're going to curtail freedom of expression.
07:03So, and, and what is the way forward now? I, has it been taken completely down? You're going to continue
07:08with it? You're going to look for it, will you?
07:10So, so, so obviously, I had, I had two flaws in the exhibition. And, and, you know, me and my
07:16team had worked quite hard to put it together. So I obviously didn't want to go down the route where
07:23they would cancel the entire show, and we'd end up with showing nothing.
07:26So the, the two rules that had the object, allegedly objectionable images, those we have taken down. And the rest
07:38of the exhibition is continuing till Sunday. And those images I'm finding, I'm trying to find a place in Delhi,
07:45where I can exhibit them, my this exhibition anyways, travels to Bangalore in December. So they'll be on view there.
07:51But I'm trying to find a place in Delhi that I can exhibit them in the next month or so.
07:58So that was an exclusive first reaction that's come in from Rian Vajra, explaining to us what exactly happened at
08:04Bikan Airhouse. But after the showdown, this storm is over art expression, creative liberty, political nature at art exhibitions, and
08:12also the tricolor itself.
08:14After the Congress, Sadak Par Faisla, now photographs about storm that's brewing, over the photographs about the protest.
08:21At the centre is Rehan Vajra. You heard from what he was saying. Now, he's, he claims that he was
08:27asked to remove 74 artworks, documenting most of them as the Delhi protests.
08:31Rehan says the management objected to the political nature of it, and he claimed that there was nothing derogatory or
08:37inflammatory about it.
08:38So what was the reason to pull it down? He said he even complied with rules, possibly pulled down a
08:43few of these images, but it just kept increasing.
08:46And this happened barely hours before the opening.
08:49And a striking assertion, he says, he refused to take down the photographs of even the Indian tricolor that he
08:55was asked to.
08:56Remember, this is going to turn into a political showdown as well, if there was certain political pressure on him
09:01to not put up those images.
09:04So what happens here?
09:06Rehan Vajra is claiming that he said, we will not take down the India flag image as well, even if
09:13it is a part of the protest.
09:14It's after a tricolor, there's nothing wrong with it.
09:16According to him, no photograph contained derogatory content.
09:20Photographs are simply of visual documentation, and especially to what happened.
09:24And as an artist, he was only portraying what he shot, what he clicked, and what he had framed.
09:2950% of artwork were asked to be removed by the BKNR House authorities.
09:34Ultimatum came just four and a half hours before the show was set to open,
09:38and was told if he doesn't comply, the exhibition will be halted, even the building could be sealed.
09:44Proposal was approved on 30th June 2025.
09:53So he said he's not going to show any kind of censorship here, but will ensure that the same with
10:00every image will be shown as an exhibition somewhere else.
10:05Priyanka Gandhi Vajra, in fact, has taken to social media site over this as well.
10:10It's already escalating.
10:11It's the mother also coming to the rescue of her son, and she's, of course, after all, the Member of
10:15Parliament as well.
10:17So that's the big news.
10:18Priyanka Gandhi Vajra has taken to social media to say, when someone with power becomes afraid of expression of another,
10:23he doesn't know it, but he's already lost the very power he's trying to protect.
10:28You stand for what is true, and everything will find beautiful in the way you see it.
10:33I'm proud of you, she says to her son.
10:36Always will be.
10:37So that's a message from a mother to a son, but also, remember, with that, a political messaging.
10:44She is, of course, without any names that she's taken.
10:47When someone with power becomes afraid of the expression of another, he doesn't know it, but he's already lost the
10:52very power he's trying to protect.
10:54You stand, referring to the son, you stand for what is true, and everything beautiful will find its way to
11:01you.
11:01I'm proud of you, always will be, she says.
11:04So clearly, that's a mother's love, a productive nature, but also, remember, the fact that she's a Congress leader.
11:11He's, after all, from, and he is the son from the Gandhi family as well.
11:16It's obviously taking political overtones.
11:19Likely, other Congress leaders will also speak on this.
11:21What is the BJP saying about it?
11:23Nothing yet.
11:24Now, remember, Bikaner House is usually where progressive exhibitions are known to have been put forth for years now.
11:32It's a popular, popular location, right in the heart of Delhi, very close to India Gate.
11:37And that is where non-stop exhibitions, conclaves, events are held, discussions are organized, and possibly, political nature also is
11:46a part of it.
11:47What happened then, that at this juncture, certain images were not acceptable?
11:53Priyanka Gandhi says to Rehan, stand for what is true and everything beautiful will come to you as well.
11:58Rehan is claiming that, one, there were certain pictures about the protests that recently happened in Delhi, and possibly he
12:05shot them.
12:05So, he said, it was part of my artwork, that was not allowed, he said he looks like complied with
12:12certain rules.
12:13And then, apart from that, he was then asked to remove certain pictures that had the Tiranga as well.
12:18And he said, there's nothing wrong with it.
12:20What's wrong with the Tiranga pictures?
12:21And then, he said, I was not going to pull that down, and I will broadcast all these pictures at
12:28another exhibition, somewhere.
12:31So, we are using and putting forth some of the representational images from the Bikaner house.
12:37Like I said, it's an extremely popular location, but also, possibly for the first time,
12:42that such a controversy has erupted vis-a-vis Bikaner house.
12:47We'll try and get clarity if the authorities have said anything on this.
12:51Rahul Gautam is joining me, meanwhile.
12:53Rahul, in fact, got us that exclusive conversation with Rehan, the young man who's had this exhibition put up.
13:00Rahul, tell me, one, now that Priyanka Gandhi Vajra has spoken of,
13:03do you see this turning into a political showdown as well, something that the Congress will want to pick up?
13:08Or are they going to treat it as, let's say, an individual case about art expression and an artist and
13:14authorities?
13:29Well, Pooja, undoubtedly, it's the beginning of a political showdown between BJP and Congress,
13:35given the fact that Bikaner house is being governed and managed by Rajasthan government,
13:40which is essentially a BJP government.
13:42And given the fact that I myself spoke with Rehan Vajra,
13:45and he told me that it's not the first time when he is holding an exhibition at this place.
13:51But this time around, given the fact that, you know, there were protests in the national capital,
13:57you know, pertaining to Meach, BJP, Boat Shori,
14:01and he told us that he was informed just hours before, you know, going live,
14:07as far as the exhibition is concerned, that he has breached the booking policy of the Bikaner house
14:14and that, you know, around almost 80, 70 to 80 percent of the pictures that he was about to showcase
14:22were basically political in nature, which they were saying were actually a breach of the booking policy.
14:27And therefore, he was asked to, you know, remove those pictures.
14:32In fact, Rehan Vajra told India Today that when he said that he is going to cover up these pictures
14:38and going to put them in an inverted manner,
14:41at that point of time also the management insisted that all these pictures,
14:45objectionable pictures, as they are calling it,
14:48should be put in a storage room and should not be there for public view,
14:52to which Rehan is saying that this is actually just a very, you know,
15:00heartbreaking for an upcoming artist like him.
15:02And in fact, he said that...
15:04But here's the question.
15:05I was listening to that conversation.
15:07Of course, I understand he didn't take political names directly,
15:10but did he believe, does the family believe that this was,
15:14and I'm asking it point blank, directly because possibly there was a concern
15:18if the BJP government will disapprove of it,
15:21was there political pressure on Bika Neir House?
15:26Well, I asked this question specifically to Rehan Vajra,
15:29to which he said that he would not wish to comment it on political lines,
15:34but obviously he said that, you know, it should not be like this,
15:38that, you know, there is a BJP government today
15:40and if they are not liking any stuff,
15:42then they should go, you know, for putting it down.
15:46Similarly, if there is a Congress government tomorrow
15:48and if they don't like any stuff,
15:51they should also not do the same thing.
15:53So, in a way, you know, he was speaking more of like a,
15:56you know, of like a visual artist or an upcoming photographer,
16:00rather, you know, somebody who comes from, you know,
16:03from a political background.
16:05And he said that it's absolutely, you know,
16:08heartbreaking for him, given the fact that the collection was not just about...
16:11Also, the fact is, Rahul,
16:13it's not going to be as much about Rehan Vajra,
16:15but about Priyanka Gandhi Vajra, the Gandhi family, Robert Vajra and more.
16:18So, we'll see how this goes.
16:20And if the BJP will also have something to say about it.
16:23We'll be tracking that and more.
16:24You heard the first words from this young artist
16:25and clearly about the political tone, overtones also.