Management cites policy; photographer says demand came hours before opening
New Delhi — The Bikaner House Management Society has asked that a large number of images from photographer Raihan Vadra’s exhibition, titled No Idea Is Final, be removed because they were deemed “inconsistent” with the venue’s policy, the society said on Wednesday. Vadra, son of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said the management instructed him to remove 70 of 105 photographs just hours before the show was due to open.
In an official statement, the Bikaner House Management Society said the exhibition and associated activities must comply with the society’s policy and that certain photographs were found to be inconsistent with that policy. The statement made clear that photographs that conformed to policy were allowed to remain on display.
According to the booking policy cited by the society, artwork containing “nudity, communal or political content” will not be permitted and may be removed immediately. The photographs at the centre of the dispute were taken during protests and agitations earlier this year, the photographer and the society said.
- Total images booked: 105
- Images management asked to remove: 70
- Images remaining on display: Those deemed consistent with policy (not quantified in the society statement)
Vadra said he was first approached a day before the opening and told some pictures might be “objectionable or against their policy”. He said he asked the management to provide the concerns in writing. On the day of the opening, he told reporters he received a phone call from the Deputy Resident Commissioner at about 12.30pm directing him to remove 70 photographs because they were allegedly against policy.
“Once we had removed them, the officials came back to inspect the exhibition and said that the arrangement still did not work,” Vadra said, recounting the sequence of events. He said officials subsequently asked for the removal of two photographs of the Indian flag.
Vadra said he had already removed most images that physically showed political parties and leaders and was willing to replace any photographs found to violate policy. He added that he did not think pictures of the national flag fell under the policy grounds for removal. The Bikaner House Management Society, in its statement, reiterated its requirement that exhibitions comply with posted rules and that the photographs inconsistent with policy be removed.
Local and institutional context
Bikaner House, a centrally located heritage property in New Delhi, is managed by the Bikaner House Management Society and is used for cultural events and exhibitions. Booking rules for such publicly managed venues typically include clauses intended to prevent displays that could offend public order, communal harmony or official norms; in this instance the society invoked those grounds.
The incident highlights tensions that can arise when contemporary documentary photography — especially images taken at protests and demonstrations — is exhibited in government-managed heritage spaces. The demand for removal on policy grounds came at short notice, according to the photographer, leaving little time to negotiate replacements or curatorial changes before the scheduled opening.
| Item | Number |
|---|---|
| Photographs booked for exhibition | 105 |
| Photographs asked to be removed | 70 |
The management’s reference to policy identified categories such as nudity and political content as disallowed; however, the society did not provide a frame-by-frame list of the images it found inconsistent with the rules. Vadra’s account indicates the contested images documented youth protests in Delhi earlier in the year and included at least two photographs of the Indian tricolour.
For residents of Rajasthan who follow Bikaner House as a cultural outpost of the city in the national capital, the episode is likely to renew interest in how public venues balance artistic freedom with administrative regulations. The society said photographs consistent with its policy have continued to be displayed.
As of the society’s statement, the matter remained framed as a compliance issue under the booking policy; further clarification on specific images or a written list of objections was not released publicly by the society in the statement cited here.
