Arundhati Roy's Chobi Mela talk in trouble as Dhaka police denies permission

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has revoked writer-activist Arundhati Roy's talk at a venue of the photography exhibition Chobi Mela and it will now be held in another place, the organisers said on Tuesday. The organisers were informed at 10 pm on Monday that permission for Roy's talk at the Krishibid Institute Auditorium, one of the venues of the exhibition, was cancelled due to "unavoidable circumstances".

No further details were provided, the Chobi Mela Secretariat said in a statement. The talk, scheduled for Tuesday evening, would now be held at the Midas Centre in the Bangladesh capital, it said in its email statement.

"It's happening. At another venue," the Booker Prize-winning author told PTI from Dhaka. Roy's session titled, 'Utmost Everything', will be moderated by Bangladesh photojournalist and festival director Shahidul Alam.

The activist-teacher was behind bars for over 100 days last year for expressing solidarity with students protesting Dhaka’s dismal road safety infrastructure. According to a notice on the festival's website, the entire session will be recorded and the video will be made publicly available. It will, however, not be live-streamed.

"Arundhati has specifically requested that there be no live-streaming," the notice reads. While old registrations will continue to be valid, visitors have been requested to not make "unreasonable requests", "bring bags" or "other large items". "There will be no signings and no Q&A or selfies," the website said.

This is the 10th edition of Chobi Mela, touted to be one of the most prestigious photography festivals in Asia. It features 33 exhibitions with works from 44 artists from 21 countries.

The festival that began on February 28 this year has the spotlight on the production, compilation, reminiscence, physical existence and social responsibility of archives in a global context, the Chobi Mela statement said. "Chobi Mela has and will continue to be about bringing people together and, more importantly, bringing them to Bangladesh," Alam, who is currently out on bail, said. The festival is scheduled to continue till March 9.

(With inputs from agencies.)