Blank walls, missing protests: Inside Raihan Vadra’s curtailed show

An exhibition at Delhi's Bikaner House, featuring the work of photographer Raihan R Vadra, drew attention on Thursday after 70 photographs were removed from the 105-piece collection. Most of the images documented recent protests in New Delhi, including at Jantar Mantar in July. The removed prints, deemed "political content," included two images of the national flag being waved at rallies.

Vadra, who is the son of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, expressed his disappointment over the last-minute removal, stating that public and private institutions should respect an artist's freedom of expression, regardless of the party in power. He argued that the censored images featured regular people and did not contain political slogans or context.

The 26-year-old photographer also noted that the removal of the prints contradicted the guidelines he had previously shared with the organizers. Despite the controversy, the exhibition, titled "No Idea is Final," is set to continue until October 25, with the censored photographs potentially featured in a later showcase called "No Art Show is Final."