Priyanka Gandhi’s son says 74 photographs removed from his Delhi exhibition

Visual artist Raihan Rajiv Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and businessman Robert Vadra, has alleged that authorities asked him to remove or replace 74 of the 105 photographs scheduled to be displayed at his exhibition in New Delhi, hours before it was to open at Bikaner House.

The exhibition, titled No Idea Is Final, features images documenting public movements in the capital over the past six months. Raihan said many of the photographs related to recent protests by students and young people in Delhi.

According to the artist, the first objection was raised at 6 pm on the day before the opening, and he was told that the authorities would get back to him. He said the first written communication reached him at 3.30 pm on Wednesday, just three hours before the exhibition was due to open, giving him only 30 minutes to remove or replace the photographs.

Raihan said the only explanation offered was that the timing and context of the works were inappropriate and overtly political. He was reportedly told that, with the city under tight security, it was not the right time to display such images.

The artist said his team replaced the removed photographs with blank frames, but the authorities objected to those as well and asked for them to be taken down. By evening, only about 35 exhibits remained on display.

Raihan said he had already removed photographs containing political slogans, as the venue has a policy against political content. He added that images featuring the national flag were also among those sought to be removed, a demand he said he had refused to comply with. According to him, the image was removed by the authorities after he left the premises.

In a statement circulated at the venue, Raihan said he had shared the exhibition layout with the authorities on October 15. He said the proposal was approved on June 30, 2025, and had clearly stated that the show would feature images on themes of choice, control and unity.

Defending his work, Raihan said it was his duty as a citizen and an artist to capture and display the images. He said restrictions on art were wrong and futile, and that art would always find a way to reach people.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the move, calling it ridiculous and an attempt to muzzle the voice of the country’s youth. She said that if an artist could be silenced today, another could face similar treatment tomorrow.

Raihan, who founded the Usual Suspects gallery and the You Cannot Miss This art collective, said all art is political in some form. He said public cultural venues have a responsibility not only to those who run them but also to the public, and that censoring artworks regardless of whom they offend is wrong.

The exhibition, which also includes wildlife and abstract photographs, will remain open to the public until October 25. Raihan said he plans to display the complete collection at another venue soon.