March 29, 2024
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Over 600 theatre artistes has recently issued a statement appealing the public to not vote for the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and its allies in the upcoming general elections in a statement released in 12 languages on 4 April.

The list of artistes includes the likes of Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amol Palekar, Dolly Thakore, Girish Karnad, Lillete Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Mahesh Dattani, MK Raina, Chandana Roy Sanyal and Sanjna Kapoor.

Criticising the current government, the artistes wrote that “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 artistes appealed to the citizens to “vote bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power” and “vote to empower the weakest, protect liberty, protect the environment, and foster scientific thinking.”

“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 statement reads.

The entire list of 616 signatories has been released on the website artistuniteindia.com.

This appeal from theatre artistes comes after 103 filmmakers, including Anand Patwardhan, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, Sudevan, Kabir Singh Chowdhry and Praveen Morchhale, came together to issue a similar statement against the BJP on the same website recently.

Here’s the complete statement issued by the theatre artistes.

“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.”

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