New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- The terms 'political consciousness' and 'intent' recur quite often in curatorial notes of recent months. They seem to have emerged as the year's buzzwords, much like 'memory' and 'identity' were last year. But beyond these statements, one wonders whether politically charged art is truly palatable to many white cube spaces.

This week, visual artist and curator Raihan Vadra was all set to show his photographs at Bikaner House in Delhi. His show, No Idea is Final, was to feature a mix of wildlife images and photos of the recent protests in the Capital "but through the lens of movement and rhythm", as he mentioned in his statement. A few hours before the opening on 21 October, he was asked to "remove/replace 74 of 105 p...