People's Democracy

WHAT is happening in Gujarat affects all of us. So said the noted actress Nandita Das at Sonia Vihar in north east Delhi on April 19. She was addressing a large crowd of workers and their families who had gathered to watch street plays, listen to poetry and call for the resignation of the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat. The programme was organised by Jana Natya Manch and Democratic Youth Federation of India.

"Gujarat may be physically distant from us, we may not know anyone there, we may feel helpless and powerless, but unless we all come together, do something, no matter how small and insignificant it may appear to us, we cannot stop another Gujarat from happening," Nandita Das added.

A month and a half after the carnage began, the selective targeting of minority establishments, properties and lives continues. To take the truth of Gujarat to the people, the All-India Meeting of Street Theatre Activists, convened by Jana Natya Manch on March 31 to April 2, had decided to observe the week from April 12 to 19 as Combat Communal Fascism Week. April 12 is observed every year as National Street Theatre Day, in memory of martyr Safdar Hashmi whose birth anniversary falls on that day.

As part of this campaign, Jana Natya Manch has already performed its own play Aatankvaad Bahana Hai (Terrorism Is Just An Excuse) about a dozen times all over Delhi. It also provided a platform for the Act One group to perform its street play Mukhote (Masks) at a number of places. About a dozen poets have taken their anti-communal poetry to the people in several working class areas of the city. The poets who have travelled with Jana Natya Manch include Manglesh Dabral, Uday Prakash, Devi Prasad Mishra, Javed Naqvi, Nirmala Garg, Ram Kumar Krishak and others. A mobile exhibition on the Gujarat carnage has also been accompanying the programme.

If one were to look at the all-India profile of the campaign, this is probably the most extensive cultural initiative on the question of Gujarat. It is estimated that about 10,000 -- 12,000 performances of various kinds took place all over India in this one week in response to the call. These include street plays, poetry readings, film shows, mobile exhibitions, songs and other forms of cultural protest. At a conservative estimate, five to six million people have directly participated in these programmes across the length and breadth of the country.

Significantly, though the all-India campaign culminated on April 19, the campaign in Delhi went on till the end of the month, because more and more areas wanted to host the programme. By the end of the month, Jana Natya Manch had taken its campaign to more than 40 different areas of the city.

A number of speakers have also shared their concerns with the audience. These include Jogender Sharma, member of the Central Committee of the CPI(M), who spoke on April 19. Sharma analysed the Gujarat events at length, saying that while the Gujarat genocide is somewhat similar to the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984, what is different and more ominous is the fact that the Gujarat violence was systematically planned for months in advance. Also, while a large number of Sikhs were killed in 1984, in Gujarat the effort is to exterminate the entire minority community, or at least force them to migrate. He made the point that while the target of the immediate attacks are Muslims, the viciousness of the Hindu Rashtra ultimately turns against the majority of Hindus as well. Hindutva violence encourages retaliation elsewhere in the country, and the people who suffer are Hindus. As a matter of fact, those most affected are always the poor and the powerless of all communities. The fascist notion of the Hindu Rashtra has nothing else to offer to those who are hungry, poor and oppressed, except more hunger, more poverty and more oppression. Other speakers included Professor Ghanashyam Shah, Professor Prabhat Patnaik and Dr Vijender Sharma.

Several cultural organisations across the country have been involved in this initiative. These include, besides Jana Natya Manch, the Praja Natya Mandali that has about 1,000 units all over Andhra Pradesh; Samudaya that too has units in several districts of Karnataka; IPTA, West Bengal, with about 350 units across the state; several units of the Janvadi Lekhak Sangh and the Ganatantrik Lekhak Shilpi Sangh; Chennai Kalai Kuzhu, Chennai; Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Rohtak; Jana Natya Manch, Jaipur; Samahar Natya Goshthi, Guwahati; Jagar, Mumbai; Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangam, Kerala; Disha, Mumbai; Gazar Sanskritik Manch, Nagpur; SAHAS, Cuttack; Prerna, Patna; Kalam, Lucknow; Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Shimla; Jana Sanskritic Manch, Bihar; Bhavaikyatha Vedike, Karnataka; Janayana, Thrissur; Mukhouta Kala Manch, Guna; and Jana Natya Manch, Gwalior. (INN)