IPTA theatre festival cancelled in MP over Bajrang Dal opposition to plays by Vijay Tendulkar, Prema Janamejaya

The annual theatre festival of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), which was to be held over the end of February and early March at Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly called off due to opposition from the Bajrang Dal over the staging of two plays. These plays are said to be Jati Hi Poocho Sadhu Ki (Ask Only the Caste of the S_adhu_) written by the Padma Bhushan awardee Vijay Tendulkar, and Besharammev Jayate (Shamelessness Alone Triumphs) by renowned Hindi playwright Prema Janamejaya; the group had raised concerns that these satirical plays were “anti-national” and “anti-Hindu”. Jati Hi Poocho Sadhu Ki is the Hindi translation of the Marathi play Pahije Jatiche written by Tendulkar; it debuted in 1976 and been since staged multiple times across various locations in India. It is a dark, satirical take on the life of a poor Indian born in a low-caste family and how he struggles to find a footing in society. Besharammev Jayate, a wordplay on the national slogan Satyamev Jayate, is a montage of four satirical stories dealing with corruption and social evils in the country. In a report published by The Guardian, Surendra Shivharay, head of the Bajrang Dal wing in Chhatarpur, said, “People like this want to divide India. These play titles were very disrespectful to the Indian flag and to our holy men. How long should Hindus have to tolerate this, why are they putting on plays that target Hindus? Why not put on a play about Muslim autocracy or about the Christians?” He mentioned that he and his party hadn’t read the plays and didn’t need to either. “The titles are objectionable, that’s all we need to know. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can do anything that you want and we will not tolerate this, at least not in my district,” Shivharay added. Speaking with article14.com, Shivharay said, “Why should they ask what is the caste of a sadhu (saint)?" and “It is shamelessness that they even fiddled with Satyamev Jayate, which is part of our national emblem.” Shivharay had also issued a statement under the letterhead of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) which is the parent body of the Bajrang Dal. “Such anti-religious programmes must be stopped and the permission should be cancelled otherwise Bajrang Dal will launch an aggressive movement for which the administration would be responsible,” read the statement, a copy of which was published in a report by the National Herald. A video of a part of the statement being read was shared on Twitter which was also retweeted by IPTA:

#BajrangDal / #VHP are the new sensor boards.

5-day drama event of @iptaindia called off after RW men opposed to stage dramas "Jati Hi Pucho Saddhu ke / Besharm Mev Jaite" citing it against Religious sentiments. @ManojMehtamm @msirsiwal @srivatsayb @Rajivku89138445 @aaadubey1 pic.twitter.com/YJLvdEO5s6

— India Awakened (@IndiaAwakened_) February 26, 2021

Shivendra Shukla, state secretary of IPTA, Madhya Pradesh, told the National Herald that VHP and the Bajrang Dal “initially had problems with the IPTA, then they had problems with some plays, and then they came up with a statement threatening violent protest” against the theatre festival. IPTA had reportedly decided on reducing the 5-day theatre festival to a two-day event removing the two contentious plays from their roster, but later decided to cancel the entire festival after a discussion as they “did not want to put anybody’s life at risk.” Shukla further told the National Herald that IPTA had “asked for police protection in advance, made several requests to the district administration but they kept procrastinating.” [caption id=“attachment_9410691” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  A statement put out by IPTA on 26 February condemning the violent threats sent out by VHP and Bajrang Dal. Image via Twitter/@iptaindia[/caption] An online petition has been doing the rounds which has been signed by over 6,800 people including the likes of theatre veterans and actors like Lillete Dubey, Rohini Hattangady, Shabana Azmi, Arundhati Nag, Sharmila Tagore, Atul Kumar and Faraz Ahmed to name a few. Launched by the noted art entrepreneur Sanjoy Roy, the petition reads: “The cancellation of the play and the festival is a huge loss to all theatre lovers and the people of India. As a theatre lover myself and a member of the theatre community, I regret the inaction by the District Administration, Chattarpur, Madhya Pradesh, for not supporting the staging of the play and not assuring the organisers of protection in light of the threats.” The Guardian reports that despite the cancellation and an incurred loss of about Rs 1.5 lakhs, IPTA still intends to hold the festival sometime later this year and also perform all the plays. The publication quotes Shukla saying that they would make VHP and Bajrang Dal members sit and watch the two plays, and thus make them realised that there is indeed no “anti-national” sentiments in the plays. “The cultural movement will not stop because we are afraid of them and their violence,” he said to The Guardian.