Book Event On Undertrial Prisoners At Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Cancelled After Right-Wing Uproar

‘Incarcerated: tales from behind bars’ an event part of the renowned Kala Ghoda festival in Mumbai has been cancelled by the organisers at midnight of February 3. Participants Anand Teltumbde, eminent writer and under trial prisoner of the Bhima Koregaon case, journalist and writer Neeta Kolhatkar and journalist Naresh Fernandes were among the panellists. The event was scheduled on February 5, from 8 to 9 pm at the David Sassoon public library garden, now called off by the organisers after an outrage on social media.

Few social media users- believers of the right-wing ideology objected to the event. Teltumbde’s participation in the program was particularly targeted citing him being accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and his brother Milind Teltumbde killed in the state operations against nasalism. Use of the term ‘Urban Naxals' again surfaced with respect to the event.

The social media graphic promoting the event shared by the organisers cited the event was about : “What does it mean to lose one’s freedom for an idea : drawing on political prisoners narratives, Anand Teltumbde, Neeta Kolhatkar and Naresh Fernandes discuss how imprisonment becomes both a site of punishment and profound reflection.”

“Yesterday, I received an email at midnight from the organisers that they had to cancel this event because of the police. My book is not banned, rather it is welcomed everywhere with book reviews. Calling off an event is absolutely ridiculous and irrational as well as illegal. It is a fascist display of crushing diverse voices.” Anand Teltumbde told Outlook.

Neeta Kolhatkar, senior journalist and author of the book ‘The feared’: conversation with eleven political prisoners’ was one among the panellists. She was informed by the organisers via email about the cancellation of the event at midnight of February 3. Kolhatkar was also told to take down all the social media posts promoting the event.

“Right wing trolls started a narrative on social media about taxpayer’s money being used for an event which challenges their narrative and uncover the reality of the Indian under trial prisoners. My book however is not about the particular Bhima-Koregaon case. It traces the journey of under trial prisoners since an emergency which the right wing fondly talks about. Not allowing people to speak about their research, experiences is certainly not a democracy! This is a silent emergency.” Kolhatkar told Outlook.

“Why are right wing trolls scared of the truth to be told to the society? Patrons of Arts and such festivals should have stood up to the truth and in favour of the freedom of speech, if one doesn't show the courage to speak up - Arts and exhibitions become meaningless.” adds Kolhatkar.

As a lifetime member of the David Sassoon Library, Kolhatkar said such events play a crucial role in informing the public and widening access to knowledge, especially for students and readers who otherwise lack exposure to diverse books and critical panel discussions. She noted that many people were keen to attend the discussion, and argued that when the judiciary fails to adequately protect the rights of undertrial prisoners, public discourse becomes one of the few remaining spaces for citizens to stay informed. Cancelling the event, she said, denied audiences the opportunity to engage with an issue as urgent and under-discussed as the condition of undertrial prisoners in India.

Another program in the city ‘Adv Shahid Azmi memorial lecture’ organised by the Innocence Network India is set to release a book by a former prisoner. This event is also objected to by right wing social media users. The infographic of the event shares pictures of the under-trial prisoners Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots conspiracy case 2020, naming guests of the program- Sayyed Qasim Rassol Ilyas - father of Umar Khalid and others. The social media users who objected to this event are making buzz about it on Facebook and X. The comments these posts received are loaded with misinformation and hate.

Both these events are crucial for echoing the voices of the under-trial prisoners in India - making their experience heard well within the Indian constitutional and legal framework.

“As a humanities student, I wanted to attend the book and panel discussion at Kala Ghoda festival. I am curious to know about the Indian prison system. Such events are also opportunities for us to meet and interact with authors, buy signed copies of books which are otherwise difficult, especially for students. Cancelling such events is a huge loss to our society.” said a post graduate student on the request of anonymity and added, “Why wasn’t there an uproar to ban Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s public speeches when she was out on bail but not acquitted. She contested elections, made few hate speeches, yet she was not prevented from public addresses before her acquittal in 2025. This exposes the double standards of our system.”