Mumbai-based poet Aamir Aziz has alleged that artist Anita Dube used lines from his poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega for her art without his “knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation”. “This is outright cultural extraction and plunder — stripping authors of autonomy while profiting off their voices, especially those from marginalised backgrounds. Their work is used without their knowledge, precisely so they can be excluded from the wealth produced through it,” wrote Aziz in a social media.
He noted that he became aware of the use of his work on March 18, when a friend informed him after noticing the artwork on display at Dube exhibition’s “Three Storey House” at Vadehra Art Gallery in . “This is my poem, written in velvet cloth, another carved in wood, hung inside a commercial white cube space, renamed, rebranded, and resold at an enormous price without ever telling me,” wrote Aziz, who also shared photographs of the artworks. He added, “I have sent legal notices. Demanded answers. Asked for accountability. In return: silence, half-truths, and insulting offers. I asked them to take the work down. They refused. The exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery is now extended till 26th of April.”
In a statement, Dube responded: “I realise that I made an ethical lapse in only giving credit, but not checking with Aamir using words from his poem. However I reached out and called him, apologized, and offered to correct this by remuneration. Aamir instead chose to send a legal notice, and then I had to go to a lawyer as well. As far as the accusation of my wanting to monetize the poem goes; I immediately put the works not for sale. I hope to resolve this issue in a fair manner.”
An alumnus of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, Aziz has written popular poems and songs of dissent, such as Achche Din Blues and The Ballad of Pehlu Khan. His poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega gained prominence during the anti-CAA protests in Delhi. Pink Floyd’s co-founder and English rock musician Roger Waters also recited the poem during a protest in London in 2020.
Dube is known to engage with her socio-political environment through her art that often questions hierarchies.
Having exhibited at prestigious venues and events the world over, she was also the curator of the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2018-19.
In his post, Aziz also alleged that Dube has used his poem for her work in the past as well. “I discovered she had been using my poem for years — including in a 2023 exhibition titled Of Mimicry, Mimesis and Masquerade, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala and then again displayed in the India art fair 2025.”
Aziz added: “It’s shameful how far she’s gone and how far her gallery is willing to go just to dodge a simple truth: that Anita Dube built her art on a living poet’s words, and they both refuse to acknowledge or compensate him.”
In a statement issued on social media, Vadehra Art Gallery said: “We have been in touch with Aamir Aziz and his legal representatives for over a month. This is a situation that we have taken very seriously. We immediately ensured that the works Aamir Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale. We hope that the discussions that are ongoing between Aamir Aziz and Anita Dube can be resolved in an amicable and constructive manner.”
Dube also noted: “I have been in love with Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, especially some lines which swirled around in my head like dervishes. As a visual artist I work with materials that I love, that become means to critically comment, and the intent of quoting words from Aamir Aziz’s poem was to celebrate them. ‘Haman hai ishk mastana, haman ko hoshiyari kya’ is a good way to describe this. It is the lost old world where there were fellow-traveler solidarities, spirit of the Commons and Copy Left. I have quoted Martin Luther King, Bell Hooks, and others in the same spirit in this exhibition and elsewhere.”
