4 plays on nationalism dropped from festival
College principal P.C. Tulsiyan said that it was the students' decision to cancel the plays.
New Delhi: Controversy does not seem to end for Delhi University’s Ramjas College — which saw violent protests last month — as four plays themed on nationalism were not allowed to be performed during its annual street play fest on Friday.
While the members of Ramjas’ drama society claimed that the college administration decided to cancel the plays as their subjects were “sensitive,” the principal maintained it was the students’ decision and not that of the authorities.
The cancelled performances were: SGTB Khalsa College’s play Trump Card, Dyal Singh College’s Jokistaan, Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce’s Sawal to uthega (questions will be raised); and Gargi College’s Main Kashmir, aur aap? Main Manipur (I’m Kashmir, and you? I’m Manipur).
“Seven teams were scheduled to take part in the street play festival and perform on their respective subjects. However, our administration asked us to present the scripts to them, which has never happened before. After presenting the scripts, we were asked to cancel the performances of four plays as their subject was related to nationalism, freedom of speech, and the evergreen issue of Kashmir,” said a member of the drama society on the condition of anonymity.
College principal P.C. Tulsiyan said that it was the students’ decision to cancel the plays. “The administration did not cancel the plays but Ramjas students who are the members of the drama society, did it themselves. We had just advised them to not include anything which may hamper the peaceful atmosphere of the college,” he said.
Meanwhile, the drama society’s annual street play festival, ‘Mukhatib,’ also witnessed silent protest by Ramjas’ students who wore black hand bands and sealed their mouths with black tapes, protesting against the cancellation of the plays. From the three teams that were allowed to participate, Lady Shri Ram College refused to perform in protest against the decision while Miranda House and Kirori Mal College went ahead with their performances ‘Hadsa-e-paidaish’ and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist respectively.