Bhopal Lit Fest cancels session on Babur book over protest fears, author calls out Culture Dept

Author Aabhas Maldahiyar, whose ‘Babur: The Quest for Hindustan’ was to be discussed on January 10 at Bharat Bhavan, said he received no explanation from organisers beyond a claim of administrative pressure. (Representational image)

The Bhopal Literature and Art Festival cancelled a scheduled discussion on a new book about Mughal emperor Babur after police warned of possible protests.

“My scheduled session on my new book, ‘Babur: The Quest for Hindustan’, at the Bhopal Literature Fest 2026 was cancelled after the newspaper, Swadesh, published false and defamatory reports alleging that I intended to glorify Babur. These unfounded claims triggered threats from certain so-called Hindu organisations, including calls to burn my book and vandalise bookstores,” Maldahiyar said.

The author said what was “even more disturbing” was that the “Culture Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Dharmendra Singh Lodhi, publicly condemned the session without reading even a single page of the book”.

“This raises serious concerns about the functioning and intellectual integrity of the Culture Ministry of Madhya Pradesh, where literary works are being judged without being read,” he said.

He also criticised Madhya Pradesh Sahitya Akademi director Vikas Dave, writing that Dave, too, dismissed the book “solely on the basis of rumour”.

At the venue, festival posters announcing the talk were reportedly covered over with white paper.

Organisers said the decision was taken reluctantly. Festival co-founder Abhilash Khandekar told The Indian Express that police warned of disruption by right-wing groups.

“There was a session on January 10 that was cancelled. It was cancelled because police said right-wing groups would come and ransack the event based on a newspaper report,” he said.

“The author has exposed Babur in his work, and anyone could have challenged that. We wanted to save our festival, that’s why we had to call it off,” Khandekar said.

Khandekar also said the organisers feared the episode could overshadow the three-day event. “We chose to protect the idea of Bhopal and the author, and to make this a successful event,” he said. “Most people objecting haven’t read the book,” he added.