Police deny permission to host solidarity event for Palestine at Ranga Shankara in Bengaluru

The event was a curation of a set of poems, short stories and a letter, all written by renowned Palestinian poets and authors and performed by singer and actor M.D. Pallavi and theatre makers Ramneek Singh and Swetanshu Bora

As November 29 marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a Palestinian theatre group called for a worldwide artist solidarity action. In response to this, artists from Bengaluru planned to gather at Ranga Shankara to read poems, short plays and other readings on Palestine.

However, a day before the event, on Tuesday, the J.P. Nagar police asked Ranga Shankara for details of the event, and later denied permission to conduct it.

The event was a curation of a set of poems, short stories and a letter, all written by renowned Palestinian poets and authors and performed by singer and actor M.D. Pallavi and theatre makers Ramneek Singh and Swetanshu Bora. The artists said they were asked to submit their ID proof to the J.P. Nagar police, along with details of what was to be performed at the event, before denying permission.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Ramneek Singh said, “On one hand, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah says permission would be given for protests in support of Palestine, on the other hand, a peaceful indoor event was planned at an institution like Ranga Shankara, the police enter the space and questions the institution. No law says that permission must be acquired for an indoor reading event like this. The police asked for our Aadhaar cards and details of the programme too. Despite providing them with these, we were not given permission to perform.”

Ms. Pallavi added, “I am surprised the event was cancelled. This was an indoor event; we were going to read poems and stories. I do not understand what was wrong with that and have no idea why the police have denied permission. This is all strange. Ranga Shankara is a venue where it is absolutely fine to perform whatever you want to, and we were forced not to perform by the police. I am completely surprised and shocked”.

Meanwhile Mr Bora said it was surprising that though from the law-and-order perspective the police must look out for anything inflammatory, they were denied permission even after the materials were submitted.     

DCP South Bengaluru, Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad claimed that permission was denied as the organisers and artists did not provide details on the event. “We did not receive details of the event; the participants, and the nature of the event were not provided, which is why we could not give them permission to go on with the event”. 

Actor and director, B Suresha, a trustee at Ranga Shankara, termed it a worrying situation, “Any performing space can do any kind of performance. As far as I know, nobody can stop them. The city has been having this issue only regarding Palestine since the last 30-40 days. A group tried protesting at M.G Road, and police arrested the protesters. Another event was planned elsewhere, and the entire space was locked up by the police. This is the third incident now. Are we in a country where we have free speech or not? It is really worrying”.