We are shocked to learn from press reports that within two months of the death of noted playwright and social activist Padma Bhushan Habib Tanvir, the BJP government of Chhattisgarh has banned his classic, Charandas Chor. Based on a folktale from Rajasthan & a story by Vijaydan Detha, Habib Tanvir worked on this tale, introducing into it elements of the art and beliefs of the Satnami community.
The government banned this play encashing their age old communal ideology, treading on the emotions of the Satnami community. But all theatre lovers and social thinkers know that the essence of Tanvir’s theatrical endeavour was in and around the folk artists of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Many a times, Satnami singers and dancers have performed in this play, and it has been seen and cherished by members of the community over a period of more three decades, but they never felt any objectionable element in the play. Now all of a sudden, to settle some political scores, the communal government curves and ban the voice of the masses as in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, there are several rural troupes who are today performing some version of this play, due to its
rich content and topical relevance.
The play, a classic of the modern Indian theatre, itself is the story of a thief who, under the influence of a guru, pledges never to tell a lie. He sticks to his pledge, even at the cost of his life. This superb tragic-comedy, in a thoroughly entertaining and artistic manner, brings into focus the moral and ethical degeneration of our society, in which, paradoxically, it is a thief who ends up being more honest than those who supposed to be the custodians of our morality.
Charandas Chor--The signature play of Tanvir’s Naya Theatre Group has enthralled audiences in India and in several countries across the world for nearly three decades with its vivid portrayal of the protagonist — a thief who ends up being a honest one.
Made into a film by Shyam Benegal, with Smita Patil in the lead, in 1975, and was the first Indian play to win the prestigious Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 1982. It then did a successful run on the London stage. Tanvir won critical acclaim for this play’s entertaining exploration of society’s moral and ethical degeneration.
We demand that the Chhattisgarh government immediately revoke this absurd ban.
[press references:- Hindustan Times dated 3rd August '09,
Joint statement issued by SAHMAT, dated 3rd August' 09<www.sahmat.org/192003.html>>,
