BHOPAL: An arranged talk at a literature festival in Bhopal by filmmaker Onir Dhar - one of the most heard gay rights voices in India and abroad - was cancelled at the 11th hour, supposedly due to the fact that a group threatened to oppose his presence.
Onir was due to speak on Making Literature LGBTQ Neutral at Bharat Bhavan on the opening day of the festival on Friday.
Shocked and unfortunate that an occasion I was really looking forward to speaking at needed to drop me.
Obviously there was a group threatening demonstration and violence, and the authorities informed the organisers that they can not guarantee my safety.
They cancelled the event.
Let me process this ...
Onir tweeted.On his way to go to the Kolkata Literature Festival when TOI spoke with him, the write-director said he was rather upset that his session was arbitrarily cancelled .
Im horrified that no main reason has actually yet been provided for the cancellation of my session.
I was simply informed that there would be a risk to my safety if I went to the venue.
The event wasnt cancelled, just my session was nixed.
I would like to know why I was singled out and who was giving risks against me, he said.Onir stated he found out about the cancellation a couple of hours prior to his flight to Bhopal.
The organisers didnt even have the guts to call me.
On Thursday early morning, I got a text from the travel agent that my ticket had been cancelled.
When I called the organisers to understand what was going on, I was informed that they were preparing to text me, whatever that implies.
It was very unprofessional, obviously they were required to drop me.
Im not one to keep quiet.
I will raise my voice versus injustice, he said.When TOI contacted celebration director Raghav Chandra to understand who was threatening Onir, he didnt name anybody or group.