Book discussion featuring Anand Teltumbde cancelled at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival

A book discussion featuring scholar and civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival was cancelled on Thursday, allegedly on the directions of the Mumbai Police, according to reports.

The session, titled ‘Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars’, was scheduled for February 5 and was to be reportedly moderated by Scroll editor Naresh Fernandes. It was also to feature author and journalist Neeta Kolhatkar, whose book ‘The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners’ formed the basis of the discussion.

As per reports, Teltumbde was slated to speak about his memoir, ‘The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir’, which chronicles his experiences during his incarceration.

However, after the event was publicised on social media, a section of users raised objections, questioning the organisers and the Maharashtra government over what they alleged was the promotion of “anti-national” voices and “urban Naxals”, referring to Teltumbde.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Maharashtra tourism department and UNESCO are among the principal collaborators for this year’s festival, while private companies and the Mumbai Police are listed as supporting partners.

Festival organisers informed the panellists late on Tuesday night via email that the session had been cancelled, sources said. They were also reportedly instructed to delete all social media posts, photographs and discussions related to the event.

The Kala Ghoda festival, an annual week-long cultural event in Mumbai, showcases art and literature through sessions featuring music, theatre, dance and other performances. This year’s festival is being held from January 31 to February 8.

As per reports, no response has been issued by the festival director, Brinda Miller, the Kala Ghoda Association or the Mumbai Police in regard to the cancellation of the event. 

Teltumbde was arrested in April 2020 in connection with the 2018 Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He spent more than two years in jail before being granted bail by the Bombay High Court in November 2022. He wrote his prison memoir during this period.

Kolhatkar reportedly stated that the cancelled discussion was intended to focus on the conditions inside Indian prisons and the experiences of political prisoners who remain under trial.

Questioning the motives behind the cancellation, she added: “Citizens should know the stories of prisons and prisoners. By cancelling such an event, what is it that they are afraid of? That fear, in a way, vindicates the very issues the book seeks to highlight.”