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Tharoor criticises removal of photographs from Vadra exhibition (Img: X)
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday criticised the removal of photographs from Raihan Vadra’s exhibition at Bikaner House in New Delhi. He said that the decision damaged India’s reputation as a democracy that upholds freedom and raised serious questions about freedom of expression.
In a post on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP described the incident as a “disgrace at so many levels”. He argued that photographs documenting protests captured events rather than necessarily expressing a political position.
“This is a disgrace at so many levels,” Tharoor said, explaining his objections to the decision to remove photographs from the exhibition, “No Idea Is Final”.
He questioned why images of demonstrations should be treated as political content when they documented events that had already received widespread public and media attention.
"The images are of events that have already been burned into the public consciousness, and many of the photos would have echoed similar images that the public has already seen in the media and online," Tharoor said, adding that "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 Congress MP also alleged that the decision had further weakened India's standing internationally.
"And worst of all, this censorship has driven one more nail into the coffin of India's global reputation as a freedom-loving democracy," he said.
Congress MP said the controversy had also brought considerable attention to Vadra’s photographic work, potentially reaching a much larger audience than the exhibition would have attracted on its own.
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"Anyway, the publicity this episode has received will have reached a far larger audience, in Delhi and worldwide, than the exhibition itself might have, had it been allowed to proceed undisturbed. I thank heavy-handed officials for giving a well-deserved boost to the photographic talents and career of Raihan Vadra," Tharoor said.
The controversy began after Raihan Vadra, son of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, alleged that Bikaner House management had asked him to remove several photographs shortly before the exhibition was due to open. He said the images included photographs of student protests and two pictures of the Indian national flag.
The Bikaner House Management Society said some photographs did not comply with its policy and that their removal had been requested. It maintained that images meeting the venue’s guidelines remained on display.
