Bhopal Lit-Fest cancels filmmaker's talk on LGBTQ issues

Bhopal: Because of a threat of protests, a talk on LGBTQ issues by filmmaker and gay rights activist Onir Dhar at the Bhopal Lit Fest (BLF) was cancelled, PTI reported.

PTI was told by a member of the organising committee Abhilash Khandekar that government sources informed them that the presence of the filmmaker would trigger security issues.

Writer and journalist, Khandekar said, "It is obvious that any author should be sad in such a situation, but we were told by government sources that they do not want this kind of author (Dhar) in Bharat Bhawan due to security reasons as it may ruin the event."

The BLF started at a government-owned complex in Bhopal named Bharat Bhawan on Friday. Dhar was scheduled to speak on the opening day itself.

Earlier, Dhar himself broke the development on Twitter. He said, "Shocked and Sad that an event I was really looking forward to speaking at had to drop me. Apparently, there was a group threatening protest and violence, and the police told the organisers that they could not guarantee my safety. So, they cancelled the event. Let me process this..."

Organising committee member Kandekhar said that they thought it was better to cancel his speech rather than cancel the entire fest itself.

"We respect freedom of speech. Therefore, we invited Onir Dhar to the BLF. Even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has recently spoken on the LGBTQ issue. The Lit Fest organised by the Centre in Shimla last year also had sessions on this subject," he said.

He added, "So when we were told that a question of his safety and security could arise in Bhopal, we requested Dhar (about agreeing to cancellation). Someone suggested that police can be called, but we believe police should not be there in a literature festival..."

According to him, the organisers wanted to put Bhopal on India's literary map. The Ministry of External Affairs has officially supported the fest, which was organised by a private group.