More than 600 theatre practitioners have issued a joint statement that implores Indians to, “vote bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power”.
The statement has been endorsed by Amol Palekar, Abhishek Majumdar, Choiti Ghosh, Dadi Pudumjee, Dolly Thakore, Danish Husain, Lillete Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, M K Raina, Mahesh Elkunchwar, Mahesh Dattani, Konkona Sen Sharma, Navtej Johar, Ramu Ramanathan, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sanjna Kapoor, Vrajesh Hirjee amongst others.
It was released at 7 p.m. on April 4 on the website: artistuniteindia.com and has been translated into 12 languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Assamese, Telugu, Panjabi, Konkani and Urdu. Several of the signatories will also be posting the appeal on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtags: #savedemocracy and #constitution #Theatre4democracy #Artisteuniteindia.
The signatories draw attention to India’s diversity and the use of theatre as an art form and as a way to protest harking back to Colonial times. “Theatre makers in India have a long and proud tradition of standing against forces of religious sectarianism, chauvinism, narrowness and irrationality. We have spoken from the margins, we have spoken of the margins. With song and dance, with humour and pathos, with compelling human stories, we have, for over a 150 years, imagined a secular, democratic, inclusive and just India.”
Making a case for “the freedom to dream”, the appeal states that the coming Lok Sabha Elections “are without doubt, the most critical in the history of independent India”. The group, while calling on all Indians to vote with wisdom, says that it’s the idea of India that is under threat. “Today, song, dance, laughter is under threat. Today, our beloved Constitution is under threat. The institutions that have to nurture argument, debate and dissent have been suffocated. To question, to call out lies, to speak the truth, is branded ‘anti-national’. The seeds of hatred have entered our food, prayers and festivals.”
Highlighting the functions of a democracy, – questioning [of governance] debate and vibrant opposition – the signatories say that the current government formed by the BJP which came to power five years ago, on the promise of development, “has given free rein to Hindutva goons to indulge in the politics of hate and violence”.
Here is the full statement:
Since colonial times, Indian theatre makers have celebrated India's diversity through their work. We have done plays as part of the freedom struggle, we have taken on social ills through our art, we have stood for social equity and inclusion, we have struck a blow at patriarchy, brahmanism and caste oppression. Theatre makers in India have a long and proud tradition of standing against forces of religious sectarianism, chauvinism, narrowness and irrationality. We have spoken from the margins, we have spoken of the margins. With song and dance, with humour and pathos, with compelling human stories, we have, for over a hundred and fifty years, imagined a secular, democratic, inclusive and just India.
Today, that very idea of India is under threat. Today, song, dance, laughter is under threat. Today, our beloved Constitution is under threat. The institutions that have to nurture argument, debate and dissent have been suffocated. To question, to call out lies, to speak the truth, is branded ‘anti-national’. The seeds of hatred have entered our food, prayers and festivals.
The ways in which this hatred has seeped into our daily fabric are alarming and it has to STOP.
The coming elections are without doubt the most critical in the history of independent India. A democracy must empower its weakest, its most marginalised. A democracy cannot function without questioning, debate, and a vibrant opposition. All this is being concertedly eroded by the current government. The BJP, which came to power five years ago with the promise of development, has given free rein to Hindutva goons to indulge in the politics of hate and violence. The man who was portrayed as the saviour of the nation five years ago has destroyed the livelihoods of millions through his policies. He promised to bring back black money; instead, rogues have looted the country and run away. The wealth of the rich has grown astronomically, while the poor have become even poorer.
We, theatre practitioners of India, appeal to the people of India to help safeguard the Constitution and our syncretic, secular ethos. We appeal to our fellow citizens to vote for love and compassion, for equality and social justice, and to defeat the forces of darkness and barbarism.
Our appeal – vote bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power. Vote against the BJP and its allies. Vote to empower the weakest, protect liberty, protect the environment, and foster scientific thinking. Vote for secular democratic, inclusive India. Vote for the freedom to dream. Vote wisely.
