The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has cancelled a discussion on incarceration featuring writer Neeta Kolhatkar and activist Anand Teltumde, reportedly on Mumbai Police orders. The move has sparked debate over free expression and artistic freedom
Neeta Kolhatkar, journalist and writer. PIC/X/@neetakolhatkar
The ongoing high-profile Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) has been hit by a controversial curveball. Festival organisers have cancelled an event/discussion titled ‘Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars.’ This discussion was scheduled for today (Thursday) evening and featured journalist and writer Neeta Kolhatkar, author of the book The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners, and activist Anand Teltumde.
The event has been reportedly cancelled on orders of the Mumbai Police. Teltumde was implicated in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2018 and spent over 2.5 years in prison. He has a recently published book called The Cell and the Soul: Prison Memoir (2025). Teltumde and Kolhatkar were supposed to be speaking to editor and writer Naresh Fernandes, who was the event moderator.
Kolhatkar said, “The commonality between both speakers was the prison experience, incarceration. I cannot fathom how we can cancel events like this and be called a democracy. All social media posts related to the event are also ordered to be taken down. There have been so many accounts published on incarceration. Right-wing trolls on social media have been branding me an 'Urban Naxal'. You may differ from my views, but how dare you call me names? How dare you label me?”
A festival spokesperson said, “The safety of Kala Ghoda is of utmost importance. I would not like to comment on this.” Fernandes reacted, “I am surprised at this decision by the police. Especially since Teltumde has spoken out on different platforms about his book. He writes three columns a month in different papers. He is a public intellectual with an equal emphasis on both words and certainly not a Naxalite or Maoist. He has spoken often that he has never been for violence.” The festival, which began on January 31, will run till February 8.
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