Through plays and poetry, artistes unite against hate politics of our times

A unique two-day event protest raises questions through plays, poetry, art and conversations

“Agar ab bhi nahi bologe, toh kab bologe (If you don’t speak up now, when will you speak up)?”

These were the first few words I heard as I entered 15 August Park at the Red Fort in New Delhi. Before I could stop and take a moment to reflect on what I had heard, I was in the midst of artistic anarchy, with poetry being recited close to where I stood, hip-hop playing on the other end of the park, a man walking around with a sack covering everything but his legs, and a lot of people from diverse backgrounds hopping from one spot to the other to engage with different kinds of art — from short films to art installations — in every nook and cranny.

I was here to witness “Artists Unite! for Democracy against Hate”, a unique two-day event held last week. Contrary to the way it was organised, replete with food stalls and performances by the likes of singers like Shubha Mudgal, it was not merely a cultural gathering but a protest by artistes who feel the right to life, the right to love and food choices, cultural expression, language and histories are under assault by a politics of hate in India.

Saba Dewan, the documentary filmmaker who spearheaded the “Not In My Name” campaign at Jantar Mantar in Delhi two years ago against lynching of Muslims and Dalits, was one of the core organisers of Artists Unite in Delhi. Just like the idea behind Not In My Name resonated with many in different cities across the country, Artists Unite, too, made its way to cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chandigarh. While Mumbai witnessed a parade from Dadar to the Carter Road sea face with performers who belong to different art disciplines, artists in Chennai organised a film festival at the Panuval bookstore.

Third Space Collective puts up a performance about the student protests that broke out at Ramjas College, Delhi University, in February 2017

The uniqueness of this protest, organised like a cultural gathering, lies in the fact that there is no singular body responsible for organising it. In fact, the reins are in the hands of artists from different cities who wish to use their art as a language to reach out to people and spread the message of peace.

According to Dewan, the idea to organise Artists Unite gained momentum in September last year. It all started with a declaration, which served as “a call for a national convention of artists to weigh in with a collective voice, and with creative energy that makes arts and literature a site of resistance to the hate politics that is sweeping the country”. To date, more than 750 signatories have endorsed this declaration. Among them are actor Naseeruddin Shah, writer Arundhati Roy, Bharatanatyam exponent Navtej Singh Johar and Carnatic music vocalist T M Krishna.

The declaration mentions how new cultural narratives, driven by the ideology of hate, revenge, aggression and violence, have taken shape in the form of lynchings, murderous attacks on writers and artistes, disruption of cultural events and the re-writing of history, all of which have made headlines in the last five years. Whether it was the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017 or Eidgah ke Jinnat, a play on stone-pelting in Kashmir, being cancelled in Jaipur a few weeks ago as protesters stormed Jawahar Kala Kendra, the protest was aimed at drawing attention to issues and events that have in some way or the other marred India’s cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.

The protest, a peaceful gathering of artistes and non-artists, comprised many stages, or manch, which were named Ekta (Unity) Manch, Lok (People) Manch and Zindabad (Long live) Manch. These stages in fact were areas in the park that could be accessed without any barriers. There was also a Tasveer (Films) Ghar, Azad (Free) Manch and Khula Manch, or open mic. These had the artistes either dancing, singing, displaying their creations, playing chess, acting or simply moving around. Khula Manch was for people attending the protest, not necessarily artistes, to voice their opinions.

A protester performs his poetry at Kula Manch

At Lok Manch, Third Space Collective, a group of theatre practitioners from Delhi, put up a performance with seven actors enacting the role of bystanders at the student protests that broke out at Ramjas College, Delhi University, in February 2017. Devoid of dialogue, the performance relied on descriptive narration and acting to take the audience back to the scene of the clash between students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and those who were protesting the violent manner in which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-linked organisation had disrupted a programme at Ramjas College held the previous day. The brutal beating of the students by the police, stone pelting, acid attacks and sexual harassment, among other atrocities, made their way into the narration, making each audience member a bystander to the violence as well.

“We need to speak to people who don’t belong to these arts,” says Neel Sengupta, a member of Third Space Collective. “Our actors for this performance are those who have just finished college and were witness to these student protests,” he adds. By playing with form in theatre, using Hindi or non-verbal methods of communication and experimenting with socio-political content, the collective plans to reach out to the masses to begin conversations about the challenges of our times.

Aishwarya Srivastava, a young poet, recited her poem titled “I Am Not a Kashmiri and I Am Sorry”. Lines like “forced to choose between hunger or grief” dealt with compassionate employment given to next-of-kin of civilians killed in militancy related incidents, while “if free is something your really were” pointed towards the many curfews and disruption of daily lives of those in the Valley of conflict.

A nukkad natak (street play) organised by students of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, drew a large crowd as it raised questions about the disdain of the powers that be towards critical thinking and dissenting opinions. The dialogue “Sawaal karne waale yahaan Naxal kehlata (One who questions is deemed a Naxal),” received roaring applause from the crowd gathered around the performers.

Similarly, a tent called the “Memorial of Mourning” played graphic scenes from movies like Fandry (2013), a Marathi film about a young Dalit boy, while the track “Azadi” from Gully Boy played in the background.

Madhavi Kukreja, a women’s rights activist who has been organising the Sanatkada Lucknow Festival for the past 10 years, was one of the many known figures who attended the protest. “The idea is to appeal to people through such cultural events so that they can connect with art and the artistes and experience the politics of love and diversity.”

With 20,000 people turning up on the second and last day of the protest, and with no entry charges, Artists Unite managed to bring people of different classes, religions, castes and communities together to experience unity and love. 

Choosing Red Fort as the venue was a conscious decision, explains Dewan. “Why should such protests take place only in South Delhi or Central Delhi? More importantly, Red Fort holds historical significance as the first Independence Day was celebrated here. Performing and displaying their work here is extremely emotional for all these artistes,” she adds.

Aparajita Jain, director at Nature Morte Gallery in Delhi, argues that art has broken beyond attracting merely a niche crowd due to growth in contemporary art forms like street art, community-led art projects and the emergence of public art spaces like The Sculpture Park in Jaipur, which is accessible to all. 

“Events such as this [Artists Unite!] showcase the diversity and plurality that is at the heart of contemporary art in India, and bring out concerns regarding social justice, equality, and inclusive growth at a public platform, towards which we are all driven but perhaps fail to collectively address. These events allow us to come together, and cross our differences through art.”