Anand Teltumbde Book Discussion Event At Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival Cancelled
Organisers told participants that the police saw the event's promotional material and directed them to cancel it.
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A scheduled book discussion featuring activist Anand Teltumbde at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was cancelled on police orders. The event, titled 'Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars,' was to take place on Thursday, 5 February.
WATCH: 'Bhima Koregaon Accused a Test Case for Urban Naxal Theory': Anand Teltumbde Interview
Organisers informed participants that the Mumbai Police required the session to be called off and requested the removal of related social media posts. The festival, which began on 31 January and runs until 8 February, is a major annual cultural event in Mumbai.
According to Maktoob Media, the organisers communicated to participants that the police had seen promotional material for the event and instructed them to cancel the session. Participants were also asked to delete any social media posts about the discussion. The event was to feature Anand Teltumbde and Neeta Kolhatkar, author of 'The Featured: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners,' and was scheduled to be moderated by journalist Naresh Fernandes.
As reported by Scroll, the festival’s director declined to comment on the cancellation. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is supported by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Tourism Department, and UNESCO. The programme includes a range of events, but the cancellation of this session has drawn attention to the constraints on public discussion of contentious topics.
Coverage revealed that Neeta Kolhatkar described the cancellation as another example of silencing uncomfortable conversations. She stated, “Stories and facts that need to go out in the public domain are being disallowed. Unfortunately, a cancel culture dominates across our institutions, and people are not given an opportunity to hear the other side.”
Anand Teltumbde, a noted academic and activist, was arrested in April 2020 by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. He spent over 31 months in Taloja Central Jail before being granted bail by the Bombay High Court in November 2022, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court. He remains out on bail while the case is ongoing as details confirm.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Front Line Defenders, have criticised the charges against Teltumbde, arguing that they are intended to silence voices speaking on caste discrimination, tribal rights, and government policy. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has described Teltumbde as a “prisoner of conscience” detained for advocating for marginalised communities as reporting indicated.
Teltumbde is the author of several books, including 'The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir,' which documents his experiences during his incarceration. The cancellation of the event has been viewed by some participants as part of a broader pattern of restricting discussions on sensitive issues in public forums according to event updates.
The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, which features collaborations with civic and cultural bodies, has not issued an official statement regarding the police directive. The session’s cancellation follows a trend of increased scrutiny and intervention in events addressing dissent and human rights topics as further coverage revealed.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.