Ban on Play Mr. Jinnah

dear drlokraj,

I think the only sane and mature and non judgemental posting that has come into this forum so far, was from you. We really appreciate your viewpoint, which we find is very mature and progressive and not marinated in hatred for 60 yrs.

(The hatred between the two countries has been created by the politicians of both sides to hide their own blunders and people have been deliberately kept blind about the facts.)

Its true, but now many people can face upto it

(To an average Indian, Jinnah has been made to be believed as a villain and likevise all Hindus have been turned into hateful creatures on the otherside. )

You are so right and that is why we the children of free India do not want to carry on this burden of hatred. I don`t hate pakistanis and don`t want my children to live a life of hatred. this is what is the msg that we want to pass on to the next generation.

THAT to heal first we need to forgive and to forgive we need to know the truth. Otherwise what is the use of such hypocrisy as buses and trains connecting the countries. If Jinnah was a villain to Indians, then I can say that Nehru and Gandhi were villains to bengalis. Because we still feel senstivie about the mysterious deaths of Bose and S.P.Mukherjee. Does that mean that we will hate our own father of nation? No. We have to learn to forgive to forget. Or else we will remain enemies forever.

(Now when people are becoming aware of the facts and also the governments have been forced to talk of peace initiatives and exchange of trade,culture,tourism,art etc.,such acts as banning a play indicates that either they (rulers) dont have faith in what they are doing(improving the bilateral relationships) or they are just idiots of the highest order who donot know that in this age of IT, no information can be held back from people. Such acts will actually raise curiosity and urge people to know what it was. )

That is what is happening and people are reading so much abouit Jinnah. I myself have changed my views from nonchalance to acceptance.

Somebody rightly pointed out that ``Any society which is weak in it`s faith bans artistic introspection because it has no trust in it`s intelligent adults.``

(Whether Jinnah was a villain and what were Gandhi, Nehru and Patel doing in those fateful days, let people know it and decide for themselves. People have right to know and now they have the means as well.........they will surely ask questions. )

Even if he was a villain, we have all the right as artists to analyse his character. ANd that is what the play is all about.
To me he was nothing other than a name in the historybooks, as infamous as Aurangzeb, as awe-inspiring as Hitler or fearful as Osama. Yet I want to know about them. And not keep living in fear like they are some unsolved mysteries, like the Lochness monster.

In the play he is more like Macbeth, or Othello or even King Lear, Hamlet or Ceasar. Where an ambitious protagonist falls for his one major flaw, and the antagonist takes over. The play has glimpses of a classic tragedy.

And believe me with the reaction of the system to this play, we are now determined to dig deeper and learn more and more about Jinnah.

What is it about this man that the police force of the capital city of a free country still fears his name after 60 yrs of his death. Some smart alecs even suggested, ``change the name and stage it.`` like the system was a chile which could be fooled with a lollypop.

(Delhi has been notorious for its problems with artists because artists speak the truth.I am sure people have not still forgotten Safdar Hashmi and his theatre group.)

Police needs an excuse to divert our minds from the increasing crime rate on women. So they start on a different agenda. But everytime it is a minority community.

We women of delhi are treated like a second-class citizen. And so are the artists.

Sorry. I don’t share the same gene pool as the Delhi Police. And I don’t think foolishness and cowardice are genetic, it comes from upbringing and community and social conditioning.

I think you once again reacted to my posting without even reading it properly. I wish to have no dialogue with you, until you learn to stop making assumptions.

The only reason I made a posting earlier today was because I thought that the people here need to get some facts clear. We at Asmita were shocked to read the crass language and the crude attitude people have for artists and directors in this city in more than 5 different postings by different people.

I am an ASMITA member. I really don`t have time or else I would have answered all your 9 points. But with your latest posting, I think I will change my mind. I feel I would be constantly repeating what I have already written and it`s falling to deaf ears.

anyhow, I think most people, including you are so presumptious and judgmental that you can`t really see the actual fact. Most people have only related the work of art to a political event. People have made films on Hitler, Osama, or even count Dracula, but the very Indians who enjoy such movies don`t want to revisit their own history.

In the name of freedom of speech you are freely calumnizing, and passing rude judgments about a group of people and even gloating on it. People even go to such lengths as to make fun of the names of the members of Asmita.

The Police found nothing objectionable in the script. They just deferred it on a whim. And that is all the whole point is. Got it?
The commissioner himself has said, ``we haven`t put a ban on the play, we have just deferred it...`` and then when we ask ``why``,... they go numb or cite vague excuses.

SO FAR THE POLICE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO GIVE ONE VALID REASON FOR THE DEFERANCE.

SO FAR MOST FUNDAMENTAL GROUPS ARE AWARE ABOUT THE PLAY AND SOME ARE EVEN AWARE ABOUT THE CONTENTS. BUT NONE HAVE OBJECTED TO IT.

The debate in not on the script. The debate is on strangling art in the city.

And what `trampling on pain` are you talking about??
you don`t even know the contents and you are assuming that we are trampling on the pain of people???
I am a second generation victim of partition. And there are many like us in the group. WHAT makes you think that Arvind Gaur or Narendra Mohan have done such a thing?? where are you geting this information??
And why are you spreding rumours about somthing you don`t know about???

What right do you, to say that the play is being insensitive to the victims of partition???



As for your information. the right to print the script it with the author Dr.Narendra Mohan. And any insult directed at the scripts is not directed at ASMITA or ARVIND GAUR ALone but to Dr. Narendra Mohan. So we will not put up the script. The script which is now getting made into a play will be staged and then you can come and use your loud voices to your content. ANd get as many as you can.

I dare you to do so, and not leave the auditorium with a profound silence.(as most of our viewers have so far done).

THANKS MR. VEERESH,

YES, i post these articles to make the interacts more wider & obiously more meaningful....

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about script....
u can buy it from any book shop within 2 weeks.

about inernet...
without writer & publishers permission we cant place any script on internet.


about ur shouting in my play...
( according u , it may be for the argument sake but i am taking it very very seriously )

so ,most welcome dear, if u have any problem with my work i am ready to stop the play & i wl listen to u. ..any time ...i am serious ( this statement is not for the sake of argument, u can try any time).

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we always respect our audience `s point of view.
for instance , in Mahesh Dattani `s play Final Solutions we always hv a discussion after the play.
even in my latest solo plays Pinki Virani`s Bitter chocolate & Untitled solo ( both solo by Lushin Dubey ) and Manjula Padmanbhan`s
Hidden Fires & Bhishma Sahani`s Madhavi ( both by actress Rashi Bunny) ,
we did the same in Mumbai, Channai, Calcutta, Jaipur, Delhi etc.
we r trying to develop dialouge between actor & viewers.
pls come any time in our rehearsals, its near ITO, New Delhi.

u r most welcome to watch our play Final Solutions at Nehru Centre, Mumbai in august last week & be a part of open discussion /house.
with warm regards
arvind gaur

Ah, finally we have Arvind Gaur himself on these interacts, with his tips on how to make interacts more ``meaningful``.

(I love these intellectuals, making a virtue out of poverty while aspiring to wealth.)

Gaur ji, why don`t you simply place the script on the Internet as well, along with the editorials? You and I know about editorials, I write a few myself every now and then.

For arguments sake, Mr. Gaur, let us say your freedom of speech extended to lesser mortals like me, too. And for whatever reason, which is our personal business and something I am entitled to, I along with say a dozen others landed up at your theatre, with nothing but our loud voices, and indulged in some freedom of speech of our own while your play was going on.

Now you can not stop me because I have freedom of speech too, right?

You can`t throw me out because if you touch me it becomes an assault.

The theatre staff and other patrons better not touch me either, for similar reasons.

So what do you do, Gaur ji?

You call the police. Right?

Kuch samajh aa raahaa hai?

So before calling us a ``police state`` and talking about ``bans`` that do not exist, put your script up, and let us have a debate on the contents.

The law, Arvind Gaur ji, is supposed to be equal for all of us. So is freedom of speech.

And if it extends to your friends calling me a North Indian Gutter or similar on this website, well, so be it, why should I object. But then you please be prepared to listen to some of my friends during your ``play`` too.

+++

I am so touched that you feel the pain that Mr. Jinnah must have suffered. But was the pain you felt more or same or less than the pain that millions of others on both sides of the border suffered at around the same time in history?

No, Mr. Gaur, you didn`t. You`re an insensitive person, trampling over that pain without even giving them a chance. And that`s where I come in.

+++

Let us see and discuss and debate your script, Mr. Gaur.

And then, using the same freedom of speech, Mr. Gaur, that both of us cherish so much, we can carry the debate further.

+++

FRIENDS, ONE MORE INTERESTING ARTICLE FOR U...

Just beat it! ..... Society
From ‘skimpy’ clothes to fashion shows and dance bars,
the moral cops will have none of it

By K. Sunil Thomas/ THE WEEK

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Anil Shukla, Delhi’s Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, is a very busy person. But from June 21, for the better part of a week, he has not been occupied with major law and order issues. Instead, Shukla’s job has been to ensure that Arvind Gaur’s play Mr Jinnah is not staged in the capital.


Gaur himself does not know why the play has run into trouble and can only presume that it has something to do with the recent political storm over BJP president L.K. Advani’s comments on Pakistan’s father of the nation. The official reason given is that the copy of the script Gaur had submitted to the police for review was not ‘legible’, and that the venue, the India Habitat Centre, did not have fire safety clearance.

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``It is simply the name of the play that has invited trouble,`` said theatre personality Ram Gopal Bajaj. ``This action is based on a draconian law made by the British in 1886 on performing arts,`` he said. Auditoriums in the capital are scared of staging the play and Gaur is still seeking a reason.

``Our collective social freedom is more important than individual freedom,`` Gaur
admitted. ``But we can respect social freedom only if individual freedom too is respected.``


Theatre personality Anasuya Vaidya said that a regulatory code for perfoming arts ``has to come through discussion and consensus``.
Are our personal freedoms under threat? So it would seem, from the spate of seemingly unconnected incidents and rulings across the country. India’s so-called beacon of liberal mores, ‘maximum city’ Mumbai, has been making news for the last few months over the closure of its dance bars—a sleazy, but perfectly legal, sexual tension release for thousands of men. In banning it for, apparently, being an immoral den for prostitution, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance, seemed to take over the moral-policing role played by its main opposition, the Shiv Sena.

That’s not all. The rape of a girl in Delhi in early May prompted the principal of the city’s Kirori Mal College to ban western attire, like jeans. A backlash from student organisations and women’s groups forced the principal to tender an apology and withdraw the ban, but dress code proposals for girls are pending in at least two other colleges in the capital.

``If skimpy clothes are the provocation for rapes, why are such atrocities on women more common in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttaranchal, than in cities like Delhi?`` asked Rohit, Delhi University student leader. He says colleges take the easy route to escape from the obligation to offer counselling and to form an elected body to deal with issues of sexual harassment.

Why are Indians averse to change? Economist Asit Roy said that it is because of a ``psyche averse to change and doings things differently``.

Small towns are not new to curbs on freedom. A few years ago, in Kanpur, activists of the BJP youth wing, the ABVP, succeeded in making girls’ colleges enforce a dress code allowing them to wear only the salwar-kameez with a dupatta. Two girls who refused to conform were refused entry into college and received death threats. Right wing activists in the city also hogged headlines a couple of years ago when they went around vandalising restaurants and greeting card shops, and scaring away boys and girls on Valentine’s Day.

In Lucknow, the Students` Islamic Movement of India decreed that all Muslim girls venturing out of their homes must wear a burqa, and not use lipstick. Men were to wear a sherwani at least once a week.

One of the first moves of the BJP government which took over in Madhya Pradesh was to call for a dress code for girls in college campuses in Bhopal, though finally it was not carried through. However, it banned fashion shows and film-based cultural programmes on campuses.

No go: Women giving `Ayurvedic` massages to men could be banned

The Congress government in Kerala, too, banned fashion shows and cinematic dances on college campuses in June, besides banning students from carrying mobile phones. Apparently, a ban on women giving ayurvedic massages to men and vice versa, will soon be in place, as the government feels that it is a cover for ‘sex tourism’.

Many people probably thought that the Sushma Swaraj brand of puritanism would be shown the door when the NDA government lost power. The former I&B minister had been more concerned about the necklines of Doordarshan news readers and the risqué fare on Fashion TV (though, one closed-door meeting with FTV president Michel Adams was enough to give a clean chit to the channel, even if the programming remained unchanged) than issues like streamlining the chaotic industry. More authoritarian infringements on personal liberty have been passed, however, over the last few months under the Congress government.

Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss’s attempt to ban smoking in films is one such. ``Seventy six per cent of the 800-900 movies made in India had smoking scenes,`` he said. ``I have definite information that the tobacco industry directly pays cinema stars to smoke in films.`` Anil Kapoor, who has ``smoked in several films``, denied he had ever been paid me to endorse a brand. ``The ban would mean that certain stories cannot be made into films, such as a film on Winston Churchill,`` said actor Shah Rukh Khan. ``I do not think youngsters take to smoking because film stars are shown smoking in films.``

Kamal Mitra Chinoy, sociologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, feels that Ramadoss’s worries would have been better directed to the Aids pandemic or the resistant strains of tuberculosis. ``The whole effort [towards banning smoking in films] seems based on the presumption that individuals lack judgment and that the state knows what is best for them,`` he said. ``The whole process has been undemocratic. There was no discussion with the ministries, the censor board or film-makers.`` Tarot card reader Mita Bhan suggests a ``statutory warning on screen when a star lights up on screen``.

The campaign against tobacco picked up momentum in the late 90s with a spate of rulings in Delhi, Goa and Kerala. It reached a crescendo when Sushma took over the health ministry and got her colleagues to ban tobacco advertisements. Following it came restrictions on gutka and paan consumption. Y.P. Chhibbar, general secretary of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, is now planning to mobilise public opinion through seminars and meetings on what he calls the ``whims of ministers.... people who are new to political power trying to push their way up at the expense of personal liberties.``

Sanjeev Bhargava, member of the Censor Board, says that while ``in India, we tend to bind people in a code of conduct, countries with liberal laws and an open society have actually only prospered``. He feels that we need to enforce the laws that are in place. Chinoy agrees. ``The only kind of moral policing we need is an honest cop,`` he said.

Friends,

pls read again H.T. & T.O.I. editorials on paly Mr. Jinnah. it can help us to do more

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meaningful ``interacts`` on CHOWK.

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Hindustan Times(Editorial)
Friday, June 24, 2005

Theatre of the Absurd

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There`s something to be said about Delhi Police`s commitment to duty. What else could have prompted such swift action to stop staging f a play on Mohammad Ali Jinnah? We have been told that the script was confiscated not because of its contents, but because the auditorium that would host the play had its commercial-use licence suspended. This is rather absurd. The pendencey of licence renewal hadn`t stopped other plays from being staged at the same venue. So where was the need for drama?

Whether the police are trying to score brownie points or simply latching on to the latest intellectual fashion statement-Jinnah-bashing-we still don`t quite know yet. But why at all it is the police`s job to `inspect` works of entertainment?

The law says that the police can stop the staging of a play if it threatens to `upset` public morality or creates an unmanageable traffic situation or is liable to spark off law and order problems. The theatre goers as well s civil libertarians eagerly await the police`s confirmation as to what prompted the seizure.

The nebulous reasons cited for cancelling the play only go to show just how robbed we are as a society of any sense of moderation. The police will be shocked if we were to charge it for harbouring a colonial type mindset. But that is pretty much what the police action has been about. Again, it is an equally curious deal if our law does require the police to vet, prior to public viewing, form of entertainment.

A society that boasts of its democratic tradition and temperament cannot possibly allow-very literally- the moral police to decide what can or cannot be put on the stage. If the police does have the power to censor, it must use it with caution and sensitivity in the larger interests of a democracy`s right to free _expression.

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The Times of India, New Delhi(Editorial Opinion)
Friday, June 24, 2005



Muzzling Dissent
Delhi Police bans play on Jinnah

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It`s the timing which has landed it in trouble. The play would have probably sailed through smoothly had L K Advani raised so much heat and dust on Jinnah`s persona. With all the attention focused on Pakistan`s founder, Arvind Gaur`s play, Mr. Jinnah, ran into rough weather.
A day before it was to be staged at the India Habitat Centre in the capital, the Delhi Police asked for its script and even though it was promptly submitted, the play was `deferred`. The police say that the script was submitted late, it was illegible and that the IHC auditorium`s licence had expired.
The police may even argue that it was only playing safe given the kind of passion Jinnah has been evoking in recent weeks. Such arguments are specious. The police action is outrageous. It`s a sinister assault on creative freedom. ``Especially since it is not a political portrayal, the script revolves around the personal life of Jinnah``, says Gaur. But even if it was, the police have no business proscribing or even vetting the play. Are they competent to do so?
The police`s role is to maintain law and order.
They cannot ban a play anticipating trouble.


Of course, this is not the first time a play has been banned. Earlier, Vijay Tendulkar`s Sakharam Binder and Ghasiram Kotwal and Vijay Apte`s Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy were stopped being staged. Few will disagree that orchestrated disruption of law and order to get a work of art banned is becoming a regular feature of our social life.

The dogmatism which seeks to suppress artistic and creative _expression is gaining ground. Giving in to such demands only encourages and strengthens the forces of intolerance.
In the process the citizen`s constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of _expression is trampled.
The most reprehensible aspect of such suppression of artistic liberty is that the threat of public violence and the official action to counter it end up serving the same objective-of silencing dissent and stifling creativity.

friends,
want to share one e- mail from Mr.kaiser Asghar, from Pakistan.





Dear Folks,
Your article has been directed to me by Mr.Badruddin Sayani.
The banning or deferment of the play by the Indian Police has nothing
to
do with democracy in India or Pakistan but has everything to do with
the
excellent and far sighted planning by the British and this underlying
fact is totally or partially ignored (purposely) by our
politicians,fanatic intellectuls and religious people
Make no mistake I am a proud and staunch Pakistani but a firm believer
that the split had nothing to do with issues such as muslim minority or
cultural and heritage difference but simply and simply on commercial
lines to protect the interest of the western world and the issue which
is a bone of contention between our countries has been very carefully
thought out by the British with long term effect.
What they have done is
equivalent to what a Muslim or Hindu mother teaches her children right
from the beginning,that is a Hindu mother teaches her child not to
consume meat of the cow which is considered a holy and sacred animal,
and the muslim mother teaches her child not to consume pig meat
forbidden by Islam,ninety nine percent of us are indulging in other
acts
forbidden by our respective religions but will not consume the meat as
indicated above. It is drilled deeply into us as
taboo,forbidden,unhygenic etc,a lot of us may not belive in it but will
not do it.
In much the same way the British have drilled into our minds to the
extent of perfect programing that for an Indian anything Pakistani is
forbidden and Taboo and the same goes for Pakistani where Indian issues
are concerned, and to ensure this they had to make sure that our people
remain poor and illitrate and that these people are ruled(not governed)
by the white sahib`s system of colonial days--unfortunately we have a
lot of people in both countries who are still willing and still serving
their colonial masters directly or indirectly.
Our intellectuals,sports and art personalities and media will have to
get together in a very strong and committed fashion to drop this ``
Berlin Wall`` otherwise we will be complaining about this ``so called``
undemocratic attitude even a hundred years from today.

On our T.V. channels we can watch all programs aired by our two
countries but we cannot watch the ``News`` of one another.
We can find newspapers from around the world but you cannot find a copy
of ``Dawn`` or ``Jung`` in India and we cannot find a copy of the Hindustan
Times or similar dailies so foolish when all info is already available
on electronic media .
Try staging a play re Hitler,Musolini or any such person and you will
find a perfectly democratic Government down there.
We have to get rid of this TABOO-how ? is a million dollar
question,because in addition to our own beliefs the west will ensure no
such move succeeds,because our success will be their defeat and they
are
not going to like that.
In short they have colonialised us till kingdom come.
Take care
Best Regards
Kaiser Asghar

Dear friends,
This article publised in Business Standard ( written by Kirti Jain ,ex. director N.S.D.) might be able to address some of the questions raised / ignored during the interacts at CHOWK .


Policing the theatre

ON STAGE

Kirti Jain / New Delhi July 02, 2005 / Business Standard



Are we living in a police state? Is all this talk about the largest democracy a sham? It would seem so from what one heard about a play performance being deferred...because the police did not permit the group to perform!

The play in question is Asmita’s Mr Jinnah, written by Narendra Mohan and directed by Arvind Gaur. It had been in rehearsal for a month before L K Advani got involved in the Jinnah controversy, and had obviously been written some months before that.

In the morning preceding the performance, the police informed the group that they were not granting permission to stage the play, at least not then as they had not read the play.

Why the police would want to read the play instead of looking after traffic, or enforcing law and order, is beyond comprehension.

There is every reason to believe, for arguments sake, that if the play had been called Mr Sharma (for instance), it would not have suffered this high handedness on the part of the police.

This raises many questions. By what law, or rule, does the police get the right to grant (or not grant) permission to perform a play? If there is such a rule, is it desirable?

How is the police qualified to judge the merits and demerits of a piece of art? If not them, then is there a committee of qualified experts to do this? Does anyone know how this committee is constituted? And then, of course, there is the larger question of censorship of art and its validity that is constantly under debate.

I can only attempt to answer one of these questions. In 1876, the British government, when it was uncomfortable with political plays that attacked it, and which were drawing popular acclaim from the audience, had promulgated a law that was called the Dramatic Performances Control Act.

As a result of this act and its draconian powers over the performing arts, the Indian audiences were completely deprived of any political or protest plays for almost a hundred years till the middle of the twentieth century. In effect , the law changed the shape of the Indian theatre during those years when theatre was really at its peak.

The British left but, unfortunately, this repressive act stayed on. For the last 60 years , several theatre people have approached the authorities to revoke the act.

They have also been given assurances that this would be done. But the law stays on. By and large it remains dormant but it is there to be imposed whenever the authorities feel shaky or in disagreement about the contents (and even, as in this case, the title of a play).

It is ironic that this law is used against theatre which is otherwise considered insignificant by most sections of our society, not least of all by the government.

So, any performance can be stopped at any time, as has been done in this case. So an amateur group, which is in any case cash-strapped, will now suffer further financial loss?

Who will compensate for this loss, apart from the loss of time and energy of a large group of artists, who have probably worked on the play for two months?

And why in independent India should any group wanting to perform, even non-commercially, have to run to four different departments of the police for permissions, before every performance? When, invariably, the authorities will keep you on tenterhooks till, quite literally, the very last moment.

It is a surprise that Delhi theatre practitioners still carry on doggedly in spite of these disincentives.

It must be their commitment that drives them — a commitment to create meaningful art; a commitment to share new insights with their audience; a commitment to bring to light what they perceive is wrong in society; and a commitment to entertain. Surely these people deserve better!

Dear friends,
This article publised in Business Standard ( written by Kirti Jain ,ex. director N.S.D.) might be able to address some of the questions raised / ignored during the interacts at CHOWK .


Policing the theatre

ON STAGE

Kirti Jain / New Delhi July 02, 2005 / Business Standard



Are we living in a police state? Is all this talk about the largest democracy a sham? It would seem so from what one heard about a play performance being deferred...because the police did not permit the group to perform!

The play in question is Asmita’s Mr Jinnah, written by Narendra Mohan and directed by Arvind Gaur. It had been in rehearsal for a month before L K Advani got involved in the Jinnah controversy, and had obviously been written some months before that.

In the morning preceding the performance, the police informed the group that they were not granting permission to stage the play, at least not then as they had not read the play.

Why the police would want to read the play instead of looking after traffic, or enforcing law and order, is beyond comprehension.

There is every reason to believe, for arguments sake, that if the play had been called Mr Sharma (for instance), it would not have suffered this high handedness on the part of the police.

This raises many questions. By what law, or rule, does the police get the right to grant (or not grant) permission to perform a play? If there is such a rule, is it desirable?

How is the police qualified to judge the merits and demerits of a piece of art? If not them, then is there a committee of qualified experts to do this? Does anyone know how this committee is constituted? And then, of course, there is the larger question of censorship of art and its validity that is constantly under debate.

I can only attempt to answer one of these questions. In 1876, the British government, when it was uncomfortable with political plays that attacked it, and which were drawing popular acclaim from the audience, had promulgated a law that was called the Dramatic Performances Control Act.

As a result of this act and its draconian powers over the performing arts, the Indian audiences were completely deprived of any political or protest plays for almost a hundred years till the middle of the twentieth century. In effect , the law changed the shape of the Indian theatre during those years when theatre was really at its peak.

The British left but, unfortunately, this repressive act stayed on. For the last 60 years , several theatre people have approached the authorities to revoke the act.

They have also been given assurances that this would be done. But the law stays on. By and large it remains dormant but it is there to be imposed whenever the authorities feel shaky or in disagreement about the contents (and even, as in this case, the title of a play).

It is ironic that this law is used against theatre which is otherwise considered insignificant by most sections of our society, not least of all by the government.

So, any performance can be stopped at any time, as has been done in this case. So an amateur group, which is in any case cash-strapped, will now suffer further financial loss?

Who will compensate for this loss, apart from the loss of time and energy of a large group of artists, who have probably worked on the play for two months?

And why in independent India should any group wanting to perform, even non-commercially, have to run to four different departments of the police for permissions, before every performance? When, invariably, the authorities will keep you on tenterhooks till, quite literally, the very last moment.

It is a surprise that Delhi theatre practitioners still carry on doggedly in spite of these disincentives.

It must be their commitment that drives them — a commitment to create meaningful art; a commitment to share new insights with their audience; a commitment to bring to light what they perceive is wrong in society; and a commitment to entertain. Surely these people deserve better!

Yo Stuka,

Here is what happens to brown-skinned US citizens in the War on Terror by your beloved Dubya.

Now let us see you talk about the freedoms you enjoy in the US but not in India.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050710/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_american_released

Iranian-American Filmmaker Freed in Iraq By FRANK GRIFFITHS, Associated Press writer
58 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iranian-American aspiring filmmaker who has been detained by the U.S. military for nearly two months without being charged was released Sunday, officials said.

Cyrus Kar, 44, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody May 17 near Balad when potential bomb parts were found in a taxi in which he was riding. His family had filed a lawsuit accusing the federal government of violating his civil rights when it continued to hold him after the FBI cleared him of suspicion.

Kar`s Iranian cameraman also was released from U.S. custody Sunday, but the military said it would continue to hold the taxi driver pending the results of an investigation.

``Kar was detained as an imperative security threat to Iraq,`` the military said Sunday in a statement. ``After his initial questioning, the military notified the FBI, who initiated an investigation to determine if Kar had engaged in terrorist activities.``

The U.S. military then convened a review board hearing on July 4 to determine whether Kar was an ``enemy combatant.``

``Based on the FBI investigation, the testimony of Kar and the witness he called, and other witness statements, the board determined Kar was not an enemy combatant and recommended his release, which was approved,`` the statement said.

The U.S. military defended its detention of Kar.

``This case highlights the effectiveness of our detainee review process,`` spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston was quoted as saying in the statement. ``We followed well-established procedures and Mr. Kar has now been properly released.``

Kar was born in Iran but immigrated to the United States as a child. He served in the Navy and worked in the computer industry before becoming interested in documentary filmmaking.

With help from independent producer Philippe Diaz, Kar began working on a documentary about the ancient Persian king Cyrus the Great. He interviewed experts and shot of footage at archaeological sites in Afghanistan and Iran, according to his family and Diaz.

On May 17, officials and relatives say, Kar was in a taxi that was stopped at a checkpoint near Balad where Iraqi security forces allegedly seized several dozen washing machine timers, which can be used in bombs.

Balad is about 50 miles north of Baghdad.

Kar`s relatives say the FBI told them weeks ago that he had been cleared and that the taxi driver was transporting the parts to a friend.

He was one of five U.S. citizens the Pentagon has acknowledged were captured separate and being held on suspicion of insurgent activities in Iraq.

Quid-novi/90, Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus. Saepe creat molles aspera spina rosas. Nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit. Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis. Salus populi suprema lex esto.

In other words, your freedom of speech is as important as dullabhatti`s, and if you don`t know Latin, then study Indian history at least?

Fowl = bird for eating. (Not what you think, though)

Videre est credere!!

Re: # 33

I think the primary reason why Asmita members have refrained and will refrain from directly interacting with chowk members in the utterly fowl, (primarily north indian) guttaral language that the members use to refer to each other, and the interactors.
IF I WERE IN THEIR PLACE I WOULD BURN MY HAND TO HAVE ADDED THE ARTICLE AND ASSUMED THAT ONE OF THE MOST VISITED SITES IS for PROgreSSIVE THINKING PEOPLE.
WHILE IN FACT IT IS TEEMING WITH SOME UNCOUTH NORTH INDIAN MALE POPULATION.


I wonder how can chowk autorities open this as a open forum debate.

A) the mombers don`t even respect the other member`s views as it should be in a debate.
B) most of the members are already sitting on their high chairs with their preconcieved
notions of assumed knowledge about the topic and the people they are speaking about.
C) Most seem to be venting out their personal anger, hatred and religious and communal
feelings against any particualr religion or country or community. (though I am not sure
yet I think most are indians or of indian origin)
D) None of them were present when Jinna was alive yet they think that they know all they
had to know about him.
E) Most of them consider themselves true indians and true Hindus, yet take pride in hating
other contrymen and religions, which is diametrically oppsite from Hindu values.

I think it`s too much to ask from some supposedly ``educated`` well placed Indians and NRIs who have free access to net and a PC, to be mature enough to politely ask for the details about the topic from the concerned persons rather than squirming in their pants to how quickly they can beat each other in the race to --

ABUSE, ASSUME, AND MAKE VERBAL ATTACKS AND CALUMNISE A MEMBER WHO MIGHT HAVE A GENUINE REASON for POSTING AN ARTICLE.

answer for Kaal chakra

I think one can`t respond to you until you open you mind and get your facts straight. YOU ONLY SEE WHAT YOUR EYES WANT TO SEE.

So, kindly consider whether,
ASSUMPTION no.1 -- hiding behind some noble causes, (Hiding behind grand english vocabulary, you still don`t seem to have forgotten your narrow pessimistic mind)
ASSUMPTION no.2 -- You slid down the path of dishonest tripe and blatant demagogue, (look who`s talking)
ASSUMPTION no.3 -- aiming to press all emotional buttons, (what button? why are you so emotional about Jinnah? were you present during the partition or were you a member of congress? Oh let me say you just love to hate anything to do with pakistan)
ASSUMPTION no.4 -- by fair means or fowl. (My goodness no you are talking like a priest)

GOD KNOWS WHATEVER ASSUMPTION no.5 -- There are established writers on this site who do this every fortnight. (so you think that you can be the next censor board on writers` freedom. Well you could join delhi police for that)
ASSUMPTION no.6 -- Yet, after years of incessant, hard work, they have not persuaded more than two Indians of the wisdom of their views. (This goes to show that at one hand you want the play to be staged while assume such vies about other writers)

Such HYPOCRITES


And what a name dulla bhatti sounds like chuna bhatti.
are you a dictionary of all hinu names ..... susan is a man`s name and pronounced
Sushan, if you please.

Sanguine/85:- thank you for responding, since your profile does not say anything, and is absolutely fresh, I do not know who/what you represent other than yourself.

I shall therefore, with humility, respond accordingly, and hope that we can carry this dialogue further, between two individuals.

I am not representing the cops, that`s for sure. I am just me, reacting because I am fed up of seeing how things are twisted around.

I think the Delhi Police is part of the same gene pool as are you and I. They can`t answer here, that`s the only difference.

1) Since the Delhi Police said the script was illegible, why would you not, simply, supply them with a fresh one? Place it on the Internet? Publish it? Semantics on calligraphy are not the point when the solution is so simple.

2) The Delhi Police has the right to investigate anything and everything in Delhi that falls under its purview and power. Theatre in a public place is positively included. Furthermore, please read up about our Rights to Privacy (or lack thereof) under the Indian Constitution before claiming theatre to be exempt.

3) The IHC authorities have in the very recent past themselves stopped a political discussion half-way. While this is in no way connected to your play, fact remains that ``Mr. Jinnah`` is political in nature. The licences at theatres at IHC are not for political discussions or meetings. Without a firm script, what is your ``Mr. Jinnah``, if not a political discussion?

4) More importantly, what does ``Mr. Jinnah`` say that has not been said again and again already in various media over the last few weeks? And how does the next generation get impacted if one theatre group is delayed by a while?

5) Ofcourse the rest of IHC, including the terrible bar upstairs which waters down the vodka, is functioning. It is a huge place. The theatre where Mr. Jinnah was scheduled had a suspended licence. I stand by that.

6) Excise & Entertainment is for tax. Traffic Police is for the road. There are a host of other statutory and mandatory requirements to satisfy, some by the theatre owners and some by the commercial entities involved, before you commence, and I am sure Asmita are aware of these.

7) Most of all, Asmita did perform parts of the play/show on the road in front of the Lodi Road Police Station (right next to IHC), blocked traffic, provoked the cops from what I hear, and nobody stopped them. So where is the freedom of expression being mauled? Happens outside colleges every day, same stuff.

8) Not getting a theatre, that is a commercial issue. What stops you from running it at a college festival or similar? Why not try the Coronation Memorial area, it would be kind of apt in those surroundings, no?

9) I know it was scheduled for the IHC basement. I meant that it would not last even 2 days at the smaller SRC basement. Yes, I heard that stuff about how the theatre enthusiasts are living hand-to-mouth and they feel that the rest of the society at large owes them. That`s patent b/sif I ever heard b/s in my life. Nobody owes anybody anything. Someboy wants to make a virtue out of poverty, well, find another storyline.

Or a properly type script.

The whole thing revolves around placing a script for public consumption. What is so difficult about that, dear Sanguine?

(Nice handle, and I wonder who you are?)

Re: # 67

to besharm

--> please read the latest article on ``Quaid-e-Azam Jinxed: Ban on Artistic Freedom``

--> Do you personally know Mr. Gaur, in no then don`t issue statements like ``Gaur type too who are ready to play with sentiments and sensationalize everything just to earn something (Money, Name, invitation to international forums etc.). ``

FOR YOU INFORMATION

---

> you don`t seem to know anything about theatre neither the director. Cause if you knew then you would have known that he is very famous. Read very famous.
He doesn`t need to get into media gimmicks to get fame, name or international repute. A glimpse into his biodata will give it all to you and your TYPE.

--> statement like these are nothing else than character assasinations and fatwa on a creative career of a much talented person. search on google as much as you can on Arvind Gaur and his 12 yrs of career and then make your statemnts.

-->At one hand you are flogging the cause of ``rational criteria of filters`` yet on the other hand you yourself were so quick to assume such a lot about someone you don`t even know.

Re: # 5

Mr.Jinnah is about Mr. Jinnah and his family, friends, ambition, fears, hopes, dreams, and hatreds...

And not totally about partition..... please don`t assume things and don`t spread it around read the latest article.

Whatever he was he was after all a human being. the play is about the human being Jinnah and not the demon that the Indian historians have made him to be.

Hitler, Mussolini, Osama, or even Conunt Dracula were human beings. I am sure plays and movies on these people will never be banned, then why Jinnah?

I agree with Stuka, miriamk and Kaura sach.

``BULLSHIT. Free speech is not a goddamn loophole. Iit is a Fundamental Right. It is amazing that u will blame the Leftists for ``exploiting loopholes`` but defend the right of a Bhindranwale to call the Prime Minister of India a Brahmini.``

``Ally you are 100% correct. Along with bigotry and shortsightedness, hypocricy is also a hallmark of the Indian establishment / upper middle class.``

``So what is the moral authority by which India gave lectures to the world on democracy and freedoms... Yes, by claiming Free Speech. And the very fact that an Indian puts free speech in quotes proves that it is a facade. No different from Pakistanis having complete freedom of speech to give gaalis to Indians.
Complete freedom of speech as long as you get the approval of the establishment. What a fraud. ``

``The cloak that leftists/ Fifth Colunm like you hide behind to undermine a nation. Lahanti. Is there ever a limit to the ``free speech``. You guys are notorious to ghol all type of kanjarpana under this free speech loophole.``


And Veeresh Dear, can we please stop comparing between US and India. Tomorrow they will need US citizens to take permission to breath does it mean we should follow that as a yardstick and imitate that in our society. Censorship on art forms have been removed from this city 20 yrs ago. I think Indian theatre directors are mature enough to understand what they are staging and why they are staging. Art is like oxygen for Indians, stopping a work of art from being staged is like putting a tax on air.

As for freedom of speech, most of the poeple on this interaction have been enjoying it for quiet sometime now. Veeresh for outsiders it may seem that ``in my opinion, probably an attempt by the author as well as Asmita to drum up some free publicity for a play. The fate of a play on Jinnah in India, or elsewhere, can hardly be any different from the fate of a movie on Jinnah, likewise.``

But it`s not your opinion but your assumption on half baked knowledge. Opinions are based on truth and facts. Wake up -- it was not the SRC basement but scheduled at IHC basement.

``Asmita is a very small group of people working for art and theatre. Most of us are jobless, living away from homes, living on very meagre means. Some even have an hand to mouth existance. We work under a lot of monetary difficulties and insecurities. Yet we work day and night for the cause of theatre. With passion, with love and with faith. Sitting in front of you PC you can`t even begin to imagine the amount of loss we have incurred and how the entire team was goaded and pushed by the media and how we hated it all. All we wanted was a play to be staged.``