IFFI removes anti-caste poem by former BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh from daily newspaper, lands in trouble

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa is under fire due to their decision to not publish an anti-caste poem written by late Goan writer and former BJP MLA from St Andre Vishnu Surya Wagh.

The controversy began when the Sunday edition of the IFFI daily, The Peacock, only featured an illustration of Wagh by anti-caste artist Siddhesh Gautam. The artist shared a post on his Instagram about this controversy and said that he was asked not to publish a poem by Vishnu Surya Wagh for the Sunday issue.

Moreover, PhD scholar Kaustubh Naik also shared a post on his Instagram in which he said that he was asked to translate a poem from his uncle Vishnu Surya Wagh's collection. Naik further said that he was told that the poem would appear alongside a double-page illustration by artist Siddhesh Gautam. But, later he got to know that the officials did not give the go-ahead for the publication of the issue.

On the other hand, Ankita Mishra, the CEO of the Entertainment Society of Goa, the nodal agency that organises IFFI on behalf of the Goa government, said that the decision to not publish the poem of Wagh was an editorial call and it was purely taken for creative reasons.

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