Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) reportedly cancelled a book discussion on Mumbai police’s orders, which was featuring Anand Teltumbde, a civil rights activist and academic.
The event was titled “Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars,” and was scheduled to be held on Thursday, February 5, where the speakers would have discussed Teltumbde’s book, The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir. The discussion also included the author of The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners and the editor of Scroll.in Naresh Fernandes.
Following the event’s announcement, Hindutva accounts strongly objected on social media. Several questioned why the Maharashtra government, which is even collaborating with the festival, would allow the organisers to invite an ‘Urban Naxal’ like Teltumbde.
The participants of the event were notified late Tuesday night, February 3, via an email after the Mumbai police saw a social media post promoting the talk session.
Teltumbde was quoted by The Wire as saying the police interference was “ridiculous.” He said the police action was unusual, as his book had been published for some time and focused on public events
“This is the first time such an objection is raised,” Teltumbde said. “The police could have raised an objection, but it was for the organisers of the festival to defend the event. They simply gave in,” he added.
Neeta Kolhatkar, who was also supposed to attend the book discussion, said she was “infuriated.”
“My book is about the people who, from independence to now, have been feared by authorities because they held contrarian views and questioned authority. So, when they are cancelling something which should be in the public domain, you’re denying the right of the citizens to be empowered and informed,” she was quoted by Newslaundry.
“We also have to condemn this cancel culture and the actions of authorities who are overpowering public spaces, denying the right of the citizens to be informed, and denying the rights of the people who we’ve written about. These are true stories,” she said
On terming people ‘urban naxals,’ Kolhatkar said, “People need to know what the conditions of our prisons are. You can’t keep calling everybody [who disagrees with you] an ‘Urban Naxal’,” she added.
Anand Teltumbde’s arrest in 2020
Teltumbde was arrested in 2020, following the accusation of being involved in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and his alleged links to Maoists. He had denied the allegations and was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He was released in 2022 from Taloja Central Prison after the Bombay High Court granted him bail and the Supreme Court found no evidence of his involvement in terrorist activities under the UAPA.
