Authorities at Bikaner House in Delhi asked artist and curator Raihan Rajiv Vadra to remove or replace 74 of the 105 photographs in his exhibition, No Idea Is Final. The request came just hours before the show was due to open on Wednesday. Raihan is the son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and businessman Robert Vadra.
Many of the photographs were linked to the recent protests by students and youth in the Capital. They cover the last six months of public movements in Delhi, seen “through the lens of movement and rhythm”. The 26-year-old shot them as a participant as much as an observer. By evening, only about 35 exhibits remained. Authorities also objected to the blank frames his team put up in place of the removed photographs.
The objections came late, according to Raihan. The first one was raised at 6 pm the day before the show, and he was told the venue would revert. The first written objection reached him at 3.30 pm on Wednesday, three hours before the opening. It gave him 30 minutes to act. The only reason he was given was that the “timing and the context” of the works was inappropriate and overtly political, and that this was not the right time with the whole city fortified.
Raihan had already taken down photographs with political slogans, since the venue has a policy against “political content”. He had also shared the layout with the venue on October 15. The venue now says it was not legible. His proposal was approved on June 30, 2025. It stated that the exhibit would feature themes of choice, control and unity. At no point, he says, was he told that each artwork would be reviewed.
Photographs showing the national flag were also marked for removal. Raihan refused to take them down. He says officials removed the image themselves as soon as he left the premises.
“As a citizen and an artist, for me it was my duty to take and display these images,” Raihan said. He called any restriction on art wrong and futile. He also said all art is political, and that public cultural venues have a duty to the wider public, not just to those who run them.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the move ridiculous. She told PTI it was “muzzling” the voice of the youth across the country. “Today it’s him, tomorrow it will be another artist,” she said.
The remaining works stay open to the public until October 25. Raihan has said on Instagram that he will soon display the full collection at another venue.
Source: Indian Express
