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Activist Anand Teltumbde.
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A week after a book discussion at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival featuring activist Anand Teltumbde was cancelled on police orders, the director of the festival said it was best to “avoid controversy and unnecessary sensationalism”, The Indian Express reported.
Brinda Miller told the newspaper that she was unaware of the matter till the police contacted her.
“I then reached out to my literature curator, who told me that the event is only about his book [The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir], more from the psychological point of view,” Miller was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “The book had already cleared the censor board.”
She said that after the police contacted her, the organisers cancelled the event and told the panelists to take down their posts. “But they spoke to the media and people overreacted,” she said.
The discussion, titled “Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars” was scheduled for February 6, and was to feature Teltumbde, Neeta Kolhatkar, the author of The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners. It was to be moderated by Scroll editor Naresh Fernandes.
However, on February 4, the event was cancelled and participants were asked to delete social media posts about the event.
Teltumbde had been arrested on allegations that he was among the 16 who conspired to trigger caste riots in the village of Bhima Koregaon near Pune in 2018. He is currently out on bail. He is the author of several books, including The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir.
Miller was on Thursday quoted as saying by The Indian Express that she had not read the book and does not intend to either.
“I am not saying I am for it or against it,” she said. “I am neutral because I have a bigger responsibility towards Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, and as Festival Director, its safety is paramount to me.”
This year’s edition of the annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival started on January 31 and ended on February 8. Among the collaborators for the event were the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Maharashtra Tourism Department and Unesco. The Maharashtra Police and the Mumbai Traffic Police were listed among the supporters of the festival.
The programme contains a wide range of events relating to dance, stand-up comedy, theatre, music and heritage walks.
Also read: Shutting down Anand Teltumbde talk, the authorities are imprisoning our imaginations
