Acts of Authority, Acts of Resistance: Theater and Politics in Colonial and Postcolonial India

Acts of Authority/Acts of R.esist8nc�

Acts of Authority/Acts of R.esist8nc� Theater and Politics in Colonial and Postcolonial India

Nandi Bhatia

The University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor

Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2004 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America @l Printed on acid-free paper

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means , electronic , mechanical , or otherwise , without the written permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bhatia , Nandi, 1 9 63Acts of authority, acts of resistance : theater and politics in colonial and postcolonial India I Nandi Bhatia . p.

em.

Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-472- 1 1 263-5 (cloth : alk. paper)

l. Theater-India-History-20th century. asp ects-India- 19th century. 4. Women in the theater-India. PN 2883 .B43

2. Theater-Political

3. Protest movements-India-History. I. Title.

2004

792'.0954'09 04-dc22

2003 0 2 1 623

Acknowledgments

This proj ect has benefited tremendously from the support of Barbara Har­ low, Elizabeth Richmond-Garza, and W. B. Worthen. Their critical input, generosity with time, and confidence in my work has been a constant source of encouragement. I would also like to thank Anne Cvetkovich, Herman van Olphen, and Timothy Brennan for reading and commenting on earlier ver­ sions . Their interest has meant a lot. Parts of this book have also been researched and written with the aid of a University of Texas Continuing Fel­ lowship , a University of Western Ontario Vice-President's grant, and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant. I am grateful for such support. I owe special thanks to friends and colleagues at the Univer­ sity of Texas at Austin for their engagement with my work and, in some cases , their involvement in it after we graduated: Katie Kane, Karen Steele, Shoba Vasudevan , Zj aleh Haj ibashi, Salah Hassan, Fran Buntman , Esi Dogbe , Purnima Bose, and Laura Lyons. Shoba's and Katie's friendship and willingness to engage in endless discussions and conversations were always enriching and inspiring. And I owe special thanks to Esi for devoting some of her very precious time to read and comment on parts of the book. For her friendship and continual support since Panj ab University, I am very thank­ ful to Prabhjot Parmar. Dr. Rama Aga's interest in my personal and profes­ sional well-being since class lO continues to be a source of inspiration. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the University of Western Ontario for their support and encouragement. Others who have contributed to discussions and helped locate relevant materials include Kamna Sharma , Tarun Tejpal, Indira Gupta , Lata Singh, Indira Gupta , Raj en Prasad and Madhu Prasad at SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust) , Henri Boyi , Raj a Seera , Raj esh Gulati, Teresa Hubel, Sarah Green and Katy Arens . Spe­ cial thanks are due to them. I really appreciate research assistance from Deepa Parakh, Margaret Toye , and Ruchika Arora . My gratitude goes to Lisa

Acknowledgments Lloyd and David Lloyd for the opportunity to present my chapter on the Indian People's Theatre at the "Other Circuits" colloquium at the University of California, Irvine , and also for their detailed response to the essay. The colloquium afforded me the opportunity to meet and discuss my work with engaging critics whose comments were most helpful. I would also like to thank the " O ther Circuits" participants , in particular Dipesh Chakravorty and Pragna Patel, for raising important questions . The detailed, insightful, and generous comments made by two anonymous reviewers were very inspiring and useful for the final shape of this book. Thanks also to LeAnn Fields at the University of Michigan Press for being extremely supportive of the proj ect and to Marcia LaBrenz and Allison Liefer for their help . I have benefited tremendously from the support of many libraries . The staff at the Perry Castenada Library at the University of Texas at Austin was very resourceful in procuring materials otherwise difficult to locate . In par­ ticular, material from the India Office Library, London, allowed me to locate important sources on indigo plantations . The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas was a great resource for materials on the Indian People's Theatre . Libraries at Michigan State University, the University of Western Ontario , and Temple University have also been useful. The staff at the National Archives of India in Delhi and the Nehru Memorial library was very generous with help in locating materials . Finally, I wish to thank my families-Bhatias and Aulakhs-for their con­ stant support, for their generosity during my research trips to India, and for passing on relevant information. My sister , Ruby, took tremendous interest, always asking questions and saving important source material. Her concern and friendship made a huge difference, as did Bony's and Neetu's interest in my work . My most heartfelt thanks go to Preet Aulakh, my partner and best friend, for his sustained involvement at every stage of the proj ect. This book is for my parents , Shyama Bhatia and Harbans Singh Bhatia , and for Preet, whose unfailing interest, discussions , insights , compassion, and compan­ ionship enabled its successful completion. I gratefully acknowledge the following for permission to reprint, as parts of the book, the following articles: Duke University Press for "Staging Resis­ tance: The Indian People's Theatre Association," which appeared in Lisa Lowe and David Lloyd's edited book, The Politics of Culture in the Shadow of Capital (I997), 432-60; johns Hopkins University Press for "Staging the I857 Mutiny as the 'Great Rebellion' : Colonial History and Post-colonial Interventions in Utpal Dutt's Mahavidroh," Theatre journal, 51, no. 2

(1999): 167-84; and A!iJ journal of Comparative Poetics for granting per­ mission to reprint, as a section of chapter 3, '"Shakespeare' and the Codes of Empire in India," Alif, 18 (1998): 96-126. vi

Contents

1. Introduction : The Theoretical-Historical Context 2. Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama

3. Multiple Mediations of "Shakespeare"

51

4. Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre Association 76 5. Colonial History and Postcolonial Interventions : Staging the 1857 Mutiny as "The Great Rebellion" in Utpal Dutt's Mahavidroha 95 Epilogue: Bringing Women's Struggles to the Streets in Postcolonial India l l l Appendix: A Bill to Empower the Government to Prohibit Certain Dramatic Performances 121 Notes

125 Bibliography 169 Index 189

l

19

Introduction The Theoretic8I-Historic8l Context

Postcoloniality and the Question of Genre

[ T ] here is the special consideration . . . directed not at all against any mere publications of whatever sort, but against representations on the stage . Such dramatic acting conveys ideas in a manner quite different from that of any other sort of publication, and among other things has a much more vivid effect. It, therefore, by no means follows that the law regarding publication would suffice for the stage . In short, dra­ matic representation does require a law peculiar to itsel£. 1 These remarks by the lieutenant-governor of Bengal regarding the regula­ tion of drama in India are indicative of at least two trends . First, they reveal that imperial authorities in India perceived theater and drama as potentially threatening modes of anticolonial expression. And second, they indicate that the fears of the authorities were not unfounded; that by I876, the year of the passage of the Dramatic Performances Censorship Act, and not too long after the mutiny of I857, the official transfer of power from the English East India Company to the Crown in 1858, and the indigo revolt in 1859-60, theater in India had indeed become an expression of political struggle against colonial rule and a space for staging scathing critiques of the oppression and atrocities inflicted upon colonial subj ects by rulers on the indigo plantations and tea estates . Based on stories about the lived expe­ riences of laborers in the tea and indigo plantations , eyewitness accounts by playwrights such as Dinabandhu Mitra , and newspaper reports , dramatic representations disseminated stories of colonial excesses to large and varied

I

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance audiences , in order to raise awareness of existing social evils , forge commu­ nity bonds , and mobilize collective action. While the political content of the plays was the reason for the growing panic among the rulers , the performative aspects of such cultural produc­ tions further aggravated existing tensions . British authorities feared that drama's interactive relationship with its viewers could generate an immedi­ ate response , such as that witnessed in 1875 during a performance (in Luck­ now) of Nil Darpan (The Indigo Mirror), a play exposing the oppression of indigo planters . 2 At the moment when an Indian character attacked the actor playing the British planter who assaulted an Indian actress playing the part of the wife of an indigo laborer, some European spectators rose from their seats and moved toward the stage to stop the performance. Thus the play was disrupted, and to prevent a rio t, both the audience and the actors had to be escorted out under police protection. 3 While the staged act demanded recognition of colonial abuse, the reaction of the European spec­ tators represented their anxieties regarding the ability of theater to incite audiences . Such anxieties also derived from the knowledge that theater con­ stituted a significant part of public entertainment and religious festivity in its various manifestations including popular and regional folk theaters such as the nautanhi, jatra, tamasha, and burrahatha, and religious-mythological drama such as the ramlila. 4 Additionally, the formation of numerous theater companies by I876 that traveled to various parts of the subcontinent and, through a complex mixture of imagery, stage design, and dialogue , launched attacks on colonial policies and practices , further sharpened con­ cerns about the genre . As such , they established for the authorities that in reproducing and acting out dramas of colonial exploitation and domination, theater had become an invigorating arena for anticolonial cultural resis­ tance. Such theatrical campaigns make the question of drama's role in liberation struggles in colonial societies generally, and in India in particular, especially distinctive . For as part of the cultural institutions that play a significant role in mobilizing the populace toward political activism , theater in colonial and postcolonial India has consistently participated in providing possibilities for resistance to and reassessment of ruling ideologies through multiple meth­ ods of engagement ranging from mythology, folk forms , reenactment of oppressed histories , revival of historical stories , and hybrid Anglo-European productions . Historiographers of South Asian history and culture have pointed out the need to acknowledge the role of the subaltern in anticolo­ nial resistance movements . As early as I98I, Sumit Sarkar proposed that " [w] ritten literature in a largely illiterate country . . . can be a guide to the ideas and values only of a minority."5 Despite Sarkar's urgings to examine oral cultural forms for the purpose of recovering a "history from below,"

2

Introduction there have been few systematic attempts to examine the role of theater in order to identify what Ranajit Guha calls " the element of subaltern protest . . . [ and] challenge the condescending assumption about the passivity of the masses. "6 While the representational proj ect of theater, through its fictional dramatization of events , is not identical to the historiographical proj ect of these historians , who reinscribe into history "authentic" accounts by subal­ terns themselves, scholars and literary critics have repeatedly underscored the "interpenetration" of historical and fictional writing and argued for the centrality of cultural texts in intervening in discourses of history_? As such, their critical insights have also provided careful directions regarding what Gayatri Spivak calls the literary critics' responsibility to "wrench" the subal­ tern narratives out of their "proper contexts . " 8 The proj ect of recuperating alternative histories through cultural texts also necessitates discussion of modes of representation of those histories as well as the ideological function of form, a context in which the representational apparatus of theater acquires special relevance. Theater's visual focus , emphasis on collective participation and representation of shared histories , mobility , potential for public disruption, and spatial maneuverability impart yet another layer to the cultural investments of colonial and postcolonial texts in framing, orga­ nizing, and presenting alternative stories . It is precisely the attempt to reach the subaltern populace and solicit its involvement through the efficacy and force of theater that led Ngugi Wa Thiong'o to organize a "people's theatre" in Gikuyu .9 The power of performance to capture the public imagination and sway public opinion, thus, cannot be minimized. After all , even Plato's Republic works against the power of performance to shape opinion, as opposed to the written word. And the now burgeoning attention to theater movements in colonized societies further attests to the key role of theater as a powerful tool of political engagement. 10 To ignore theater, therefore , is to ignore a large piece of subaltern history. In locating and retrieving experi­ ences and voices of those visibly engaged in dismantling the exercise of power at national , regional, and local levels , Acts of Authority/Acts of Resis­ tance uncovers forgotten stories of powerful theatrical resistance. While engaged with Indian materials, this study also addresses important theoretical questions regarding the method of recovering contentious voices from the margins of colonial societies , a concern that necessitates discus­ sions of postcoloniality and the question of genre . On one level, the charac­ teristic features of theater prompt this question. Unlike literature that finds its ultimate expression in print, theater's incompatibility with infinite mechanical reproducibility, its ephemeral and live aspects , cultural and the­ atrical conventions-such as the folk performances of the jatras, which could last from several hours to several days-pose the problem of docu­ mentation and recovery. Yet on ano ther level, concern regarding theater

3

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance also arises from the dominant trend in colonial and cultural studies to repeatedly tum to print commodities and genres such as the novel for a recovery of dissenting voices . Scholarship exploring the relationship among nationalism, colonialism, and literature has pointed out an array of cultural sites ranging from narrative fiction by the colonized to prison memoirs , songs and poetry , and autobiographies , where marginalized groups pro­ duced challenges to colonial domination. Despite such emphases , for the most part, critical assessments of literature as representative source material for retrieving alternative narratives characteristically privilege the authority of genres such as the novel . 1 1 This reliance on novels as obj ects of study for the retrieval of anticolonial voices is the result of a number of issues related to literary studies , including the institutional location of postcolonial stud­ ies and the publishing industry. Because the novel , as critics have pointed out, 1 2 became the most important aesthetic form in Europe to emerge in the late nineteenth century, it is (inappropriately) seen as the appropriate form and obj ect of study for an analysis of postcolonial literatures . It was the novel , argues Benedict Anderson, that offered "spectacular possibilities for the representation of simultaneous actions in homogenous empty time . " 1 3 Yet its dominance i n Europe does n o t automatically make it the relevant form of resistance in colonized societies . The rupture that technological innovation created in Europe through mechanical reproduction and print culture cannot be assumed to be the same in all societies . 14 In most colonized constituencies , the exigencies of the material realities of literacy, the heterogeneous contexts of language , and the vitality of cul­ tural life brought forth an outpouring of energy through popular forms and oral and performative genres . Of these, theater, which constituted a significant part of the cultural life of the "people ," functioned as a com­ pelling form of anticolonial expression when it came into conflict with authoritarian structures . 1 5 However, as Elleke Boehmer argues, because of its "recognizability in the west-a recognizability which has been reinforced by marketing strategies-it is the polyphonous novel above all other post­ colonial genres which has enj oyed success in European and American acad­ emies . In contrast, poetic genres , [ and theater] usually more closely tied to indigenous cultural traditions , are believed not to translate so well . " 1 6 An index of such oversight of "postcolonial literary texts that remain outside the canons already in formation" 1 7 is the focus of the vast maj ority of post­ colonial courses on the novel, with theater studies comprising only a frac­ tion. Additionally, critical work in colonial cultures reveals this lacuna. To date , in the expanding corpus of critical work on postcolonial literatures , there are only a handful of studies on drama . 18 This is not to argue against the relevance and importance of the vast body of novelistic writing that attests to the importance of the genre for resistance

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Introduction writing and practice. Yet the flip side of this predominant focus on the novel is that it fosters simplistic claims such as the one made by Kyong-won Lee in a recent article in Cultural Critique. In this otherwise informative article , Lee contends that " [ w] riting was for the British a means of containment, of legitimating and naturalizing colonial rule ; but simultaneously, writing was for natives a subversive act, namely, a practice of resistance and emancipa­ tion. And unlettered natives, by contrast, remained silent throughout." 19 There is no disagreement with the first part of the author's statement. The issue of writing as a subversive activity and a practice of resistance has received con­ siderable attention in postcolonial studies . However, it is the latter part of the statement that becomes questionable , as it presents a crisis of represen­ tation in unhistoricized systems of reading, writing, and practice that con­ tinue to focus on "written" (equated with "literate" ) forms to the exclusion of more popular cultural practices . Feeding on this trend construes the unavailability of certain modes of resistance in print as "silence," and forces into obscurity those who did not express themselves through literate forms , did not possess the means to do so, or preferred oral discourses for reasons of social and cultural contingency. Since theater constituted an important part of cultural life in India from precolonial times-whether performed in enclosed theater houses or on the street, in the form of puppet theater , folk drama , or mythological drama­ examining theater as a locus of sociopolitical struggles takes on special significance . While the primacy of theater as a powerful cultural force cre­ ates the need to be attentive to the genre , the material conditions of literacy make an examination of theater even more relevant. Even as late as 1911, literacy figures in India were reported as only 1 percent for English and 6 percent for the vernaculars .20 Hence, in the context of India, the argument regarding the formation of "imagined communities" as a result of print cul­ ture remains limited. For it presupposes both a mass reading public as well as mass circulation of the printed text, and in so doing fails to consider that in largely nonliterate cultures (depending upon the language and translata­ bility of texts) printed materials would only reach a small percentage of the educated elite . This is not to minimize the impact of printing in generating new ideas and nationalist consciousness . For even in India , printing by the late nineteenth century had created a new readership and had become an irritant for the colonial government. 21 Yet literacy also restricted the printed text to those who had access to the languages-for as Aij az Ahmad points out, in India , linguistic fragmentation prevents monopoly of any one lan­ guage over another . 22 Because English was (and continues to be) the lan­ guage of the elite , the materials printed in English would remain in the hands of the privileged few. With its wide oral base that offered possibilities for the production, circulation, and consumption of ideas among a large

5

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance body of people , theater formulated and sustained communities , both literate and nonliterate . While the distinctive features of drama as a tool of resistance inform this study, the colonial government's attention to theater and its eventual regu­ lation, especially after passage of the Dramatic Performances Censorship Act of 1876, invite further emphasis on the genre . In the presence of theater as a powerful cultural force , colonial authorities resorted to keeping regular checks on drama through the Anglo-Indian press and agents of the state . This becomes evident as early as 1837 in a report about native drama in the Asiatic]oumal-an organ of the Royal Asiatic Society: The puns in the [performances ] are numerous, the Hindostaanee lan­ guage being particularly adapted for indigenous plays upon words , double meaning, and droll associations , and to those who have made any progress in their study of the native dialects , the dramas afford instruction which it would be difficult to obtain by any other means .23 The article posits that " the natives take great delight in the dramatic enter­ tainments . . . shewing, though in a covert manner, when Europeans are pre­ sent, the enj oyment produced when these Christian strangers are made the subj ect of ridicule . " 24 Therefore , concludes the article , "The songs , tales , histories , in fact everything connected with Asiatic amusements and litera­ ture , are , with few exceptions , more or less licentious . " 25 And such a dis­ course extends to all ranges and varieties of performances. For example , the same article presents the following about the festival of Kali : In Calcutta . . . although very large sums are expended upon the festi­ val in honour of the goddess Kali . . . performers of every denomina­ tion are admitted, Mussalmanee women , as well as the real worship­ pers of the goddess ; these people, it may be supposed, must be of a very low class and very loose morality, since they can thus lend them­ selves to the assistance of idolatrous worship , and they are so consid­ ered by the whole population. 26 Not surprisingly, the Asiatic journal concludes that "there can be little hope of any striking improvement in the Asiatic character, until the importance of the influence extended over by Christian countries . . . shall be fully rec­ ognized. " 27 Clearly, the subtext of such attacks is one that reflects anxiety on the part of the authorities and asserts their own cultural and moral supe­ riority in order to justify their presence. By the second half of the nineteenth century, one finds the colonial discourse on drama intensifying. Consider

6

Introduction the following statement, issued in 1876 by Mr. Hobhouse, an official in the colonial government. Certain it is that we accept conduct and language on the stage if we read these same things in a book, we should at once rej ect as false , absurd and incredible , so powerful i s the effect produced b y the actual living representation before our eyes . And in times of excitement, no surer mode has been found of directing public feeling against an indi­ vidual, a class or a Government than to bring them on stage in an odi­ ous light. It is doubtless for these reasons that the laws of civilized countries give to their Government great controlling power over the stage .28 Issued by the Anglo-Indian press and by colonial officials , statements such as the above acquire immediate relevance. Collectively, they form an archive that reveals the authorities' fears about drama's ability to influence via meth­ ods that were not easily accessible to them-linguistically, theatrically, or spatially. Whether or not the dramas about which the Anglo-Indian press wrote contained seeds of discontentment is difficult to ascertain. Because of their unavailability in documented form, we are limited by our circum­ scribed information. Yet even if we take the above statements and biases to be assumptions on the part of colonial authorities, by assuming a particular kind of function of theater, such reports assign theater an active presence . As such, these reports provide us with a story about drama. Their interpreta­ tions present the performance in question not simply as a performance, a political act, or plain entertainment but as an "uncivilized" activity. Those attending the performance are presented not as mere spectators but rather as persons of "loose morality" and "low class . " And the language of plays is reported to be full of "double meaning . " Instead of an " obj ective" assess­ ment, these records present opinions , judgments , and biases through adj ec­ tives that describe theater as an activity that is "more or less licentious . " On the one hand, these records reveal what Guha calls "the voice of committed colonialism" preparing its grounds for the "civilizing mission. " 29 Yet, on the other hand, they also enumerate elements of a colonial awareness and anxi­ ety that articulates the power of natives and their cultural practices . Although these statements may not function as definitive proof of drama's subversive po tential, by indicating the need to regulate it, they produce some knowledge about theater as a potentially subversive cultural medium of expression . What the above statements bear are the material traces of a genre , which , by virtue of its political content, mobility, and linguistic and spatial elusiveness had attracted the attention of the colonial government.

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Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance One of the aims of this study, then, is to advance a critical approach for a rethinking of colonial and cultural studies with particular emphasis on the­ ater as an important cultural terrain for retrieving marginalized voices of dissent. To this end, absence of direct sources need not be read as "silence . " Rather, the power of theater can also b e gleaned from colonial documents , which reveal imperialism's investment in silencing the Other as a gesture that speaks of a "legitimate history" of voices that remain unnoticed.

Method and Organization

Together with an analysis of specific plays , this book draws upon historical documents , governmental policies , acts , official correspondence, and j our­ nalistic accounts in order to reconstruct, from this vast cultural archive , a historically grounded analysis of the intimate links between theater and colonial history from the late nineteenth century until the postindependent years . This is accomplished in four chapters , following this introduction, and an epilogue. These chapters examine the politics of colonial censorship following the official banning of Nil Darpan and the rise of a nationalist drama ; local hybrid reconstructions of Shakespearean plays ; grassroots per­ formances organized by the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) ; a theatrical reassessment of the 1857 mutiny; and women's street theater in postindependence India . Revealing new understandings about the contra­ dictions and conflicts , and multiple layers of protest and power struggles among colonizers and colonized, such an archive enables a move beyond simplistic categories of colonizer and colonized to examine theater as a dif­ ferentiated phenomenon. As some of the plays reveal, the responses of the playwrights had a complex quality, which also reflected their ambivalence about anticolonial and nationalist sentiments .30 Shaped by notions of class , caste , gender, and religious differences , some dramas retained patriarchal positions and replicated the social and communal patterns within Indian society. Related to such differentiation is an important aspect that warrants attention: the use of the term subaltern, which, according to the definition provided by scholars , deno tes a people defined by their subordination in terms of class , caste , gender, race , religion, and so on. Since subalternity is a shifting concept, it needs redefining according to its specific contexts . With­ out dismissing or minimizing the efforts made by playwrights to organize and produce political dramas of protest and the impact of these dramas , his­ torical and contextual specificity enables a class-aware and gendered analy­ sis of the subaltern voices and prompts the following questions : To whom are these voices of resistance being directed? Who were the audiences ? In whose interest was resistance being staged?

8

Introduction It would be incomplete to analyze the contribution of theater to the anti­ colonial process without taking into account its connections with the rising tide of imperialism after the transfer of power from the East India Company to the Crown, and the empire's constitutive role in such formations of resis­ tance. For even though drama had always been a site for social critique, the publication of Nil Darpan in 1860 became a turning point in the history of anticolonial theater in India. Even in contemporary discussions of political drama , Nil Darpan is invoked as the seminal text that initiated a powerful tradition of political drama . Apart from claims about theater's possibilities of establishing direct and verbal links of communication, and the immedi­ acy with which it brings alive social realities, this book also raises the fol­ lowing question: why did theater in India come to be identified as overtly political soon after I860? In this regard, the second chapter reconstructs the dramatic and highly politicized display of colonial politics as manifested in the indictment and imprisonment of Reverend james Long of the Church Missionary Society for translating and circulating Nil Darpan in India and in Britain, in order to show the centrality of this historical moment both for the development of theater as a powerful medium of protest and as a target for the repressive policies of the British government. Without minimizing the importance of the genre as a means of social communication, this chapter illustrates the extent to which the colonial machinery, which ultimately responded to increasing dramatic threats through heavy censorship and control, was critically responsible for strengthening perceptions about drama as a political weapon. At the same time , the colonial power struggles underlying the banning of Nil Darpan and the imprisonment of Long enable a reading of the ways in which theater disrupts notions about the empire as a singular entity, revealing instead its history in India as fraught with inter­ nal tensions among various colonial groups . The documents also help us understand the need to return to a theater of roots , and the use of indige­ nous folk traditions and mythology. In recent years , claims about a return to roots, to mythology, and to traditions has given rise to fundamentalist movements in India whose attempts to instill a sense of nationalism through the rhetoric of a Hindu India can neither be erased nor excused. While it is not possible to ignore the metatext of Hindu nationalist formations on the stage even during the colonial period, historical contextualization and doc­ uments pertaining to colonial censorship enable , in the latter part of the chapter, an examination of the tangible connections between theatrical cen­ sorship and the rise of mythological drama for anticolonial protest. Censorship of indigenous drama also led to the use of Anglo-European drama, especially the plays of Shakespeare , popular in the metropolitan cen­ ters of Calcutta and Bombay. Connecting the rise of a vernacular Shakespeare with the official controls exercised on dramatic productions , chapter 3 dis-

9

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance cusses rearticulations of "Shakespeare" in Hindi such as Bharatendu Har­ ishchandra's Durlabh Bandhu (Dependable Friend, 1880) and the film Shake­ speare Wallah in order to demonstrate the ways in which local reconstruc­ tions imparted a plurality to "Shakespeare ," subverting and disrupting, in the process , colonial notions of Western superiority perpetuated through the dissemination of Shakespeare as "universal ," "timeless ," and "unchanging. " Another useful outcome of bringing together a variety o f materials is that they provide sociological information and contexts that not only reveal the unique creativity of theater to recast itself in specific and local contexts of resistance, but also highlight more complex questions about the internal politics regarding issues of language, the politics of high and low culture, and canon formation. For example , aside from the links between the repro­ ductions of Shakespeare in Hindi and the policy of censorship , Hindi trans­ lations of Shakespeare were also connected with Hindi-Urdu language poli­ tics : the translation of Shakespearean works into Hindi at a time of heightening linguistic nationalism was also linked to the pro-Hindi literati's efforts to elevate the status of Hindi literature and language through trans­ lations and comparisons with the works of Shakespeare . An examination of Hindi j ournals such as Sarasvati provides such a traj ectory, which, if limited to analysis of texts , may be lost. Hindi-Urdu politics also reveal questions about the exclusion of plays written and performed by Parsi theaters from the canon of Hindi drama and stage. Because of Parsi theaters' use of Hin­ dustani , which was seen as possessing Urdu vocabulary instead of purer forms of Sanskritized Hindi, literary leaders condemned their plays . In addi­ tion to recognizing their contribution to anticolonial nationalism , it was largely the acknowledgment of their services to the Hindi language by dramatists such as Radheyshyam Kathavachak that somewhat reinstated the reputation of Parsi theaters . At the same time, close scrutiny of local and specific cultural conditions also reveals the usefulness of playwrights' return to local languages and traditions . Accordingly, an analysis of the Indian Peo­ ple's Theatre Association in chapter 4 demonstrates the possibility of subal­ tern agency and activism within anticolonial nationalist struggles through an engagement with culturally and linguistically specific dramatic forms to forge community bonds and awareness among nonelite audiences . In postindependence India , the role of theater in attacking social prob­ lems such as dowry , female infanticide , and sati and in demanding the rights of workers , students , and other subordinated groups further attests to its function as a central cultural force where political, social, and ideological struggles engage one another. Despite censorship , social activists , doctors , university students , teachers , workers , and women's groups have sought the critical attention of the state and the public , through dramatization of pre­ vailing injustices and processes of disempowerment. Crucial to the methods

10

Introduction in which these battles for human rights are waged is the genre of historical drama . By returning to history, playwrights carefully scrutinize and destabi­ lize colonialist myths of the past and use historical lessons of liberation struggles to challenge myths of Indian unity sustained by official versions of nationalism that are detrimental to the interests of minorities . Chapter 5 explores such theatrical interrogations through a detailed analysis of Utpal Dutt's The Great Rebellion 1 857 (Mahavidroha), a play that uses an anticolo­ nial heroic subj ect to comment on the profound class and caste conflicts in postcolonial India . Finally, through a discussion of feminist theater in postindependence India in the epilogue, Acts of Authority/Acts of Resistance updates questions of feminist agency and activism within nationalist, anti­ colonial, and antipatriarchal struggles, pointing out processes of feminist struggles within the context of Indian nationalism and the implications of drama's thematization of gender at different historical moments .

Colonial Encounters and the Stage in India

Colonial and postcolonial texts often face the charge of being derivative of colonial originals . In her article "Resistance Theory: Theorizing Resistance ," Benita Parry criticizes those who suggest that nationalist organizations , movements , and moments of resistance in colonized countries are mimetic, borrowing from the very structures they seek to dismantle .31 In this context she takes up Anthony Appiah's analysis of the idea of the West as the initia­ tor and the native as the imitator, which, even as it stresses the reciprocity of the colonial relationship , privileges the power of Western discourse. From this position, she says , Appiah calls the Third World intellectual "Europhone" who rearticulates the imaginary identities to which Europe subj ected the colonized "in the language and literature of the colonial coun­ tries . " 32 Arguing against Appiah's position, Parry posits that " Europhone colonials transgress their immersion in European languages and literatures , seizing and diverting vocabularies , metaphors and literary traditions . " 33 Parry's contention can be usefully extended to modern Indian drama , which some critics accuse of imitating Western traditions and consequently pro­ ducing poor adaptations and translations of European texts . For example , in his detailed study of drama between 1818 and 1947 in Maharashtra , India , Patil argues that due to the lack of linguistic and generic competence, bor­ rowings from Western theater remained at the superficial leveP4 However, one could argue that politically committed playwrights , influenced to a large extent by the Anglo-European theaters in India, appropriated Western traditions for their own anticolonial outlook. Therefore , while recognizing the imitative or derivative nature of Indian drama , which appeared to serve ll

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance the colonial structures it sought to repudiate, it is also necessary to establish the differences and look at points of departure in the dramas that were con­ ceived and constituted according to the local conditions and ethos. To appreciate the extent to which modern drama was a direct result of its interaction with colonialism and the influence of Western theater, we may return to an examination of the theatrical milieu before 1860. British the­ aters formed part of cultural life in India as early as 1757, when Bengal came under the rule of the East India Company from the Nawab Sirajuddaulah of Bengal . The prominent playhouses included the Calcutta Theatre , the Sans Souci Theatre , and the Chowringhee Theatre . Built in 1775,35 the Calcutta Theatre was patronized by leading members of Calcutta society, encouraged by the governor-general , and consisted of actors who "were all respectable people. "36 Supported by the governor-general, Lord Hastings, the Chowringhee Theatre , initially called the "Private Subscription Theatre , " was built i n 1813 under the patronage of British officials .37 Similarly, the Sans Souci Theatre , which opened in 1839, continued to be active until 1841.3 8 By the turn of the nineteenth century, European theater in Calcutta had been consolidated as a popular activity and a number of theaters set up . Among the smaller theaters were the Chandranagore Theatre of 1808, the Athenaeum, which opened in 1812, the Kidderpore Theatre (1815), the Dum Dum Theatre (1817), and the Wheeler Palace Theatre (1817). At all these theaters , maintenance of distinct European standards remained a mat­ ter of deep concern, and the selection of drama was primarily European .39 Although a few collaborative efforts at dramatic productions were made as early as 1795 when, inspired by the success of European theaters , a Russ­ ian adventurer, Heresim Lebedeff, began organizing Bengali plays in Cal­ cutta with the aid of the Bengali linguist Babu Golaknath Das, and staged, with the permission of the governor-general Sir j ohn Shore , his first two productions , The Disguise and Love is the Best Doctor, attendance at these theaters was restricted to the English sahibs and memsahibs . Sometimes plays were performed for charity to aid local Europeans "in a manner that would not disgrace any European stage . "40 Exclusion of Indians extended even to doorkeepers , who were generally European, as it was believed that "black people in an office of that nature would have no authority with the public . " 41 However, this pattern of separation was to change soon. With its distinct segregation between natives and Europeans, such exclusiveness would only prove to be detrimental to colonial interests , and ultimately, colonial authorities would profit from expanding theatrical activity to the inclusion of natives. Because educating natives in the colonial language and culture could help to win the support of the upper crust of Indian society­ the class of Indians who could usefully aid in the task of governance in a country where a multitude of languages and cultural traditions posed a huge

l2

Introduction barrier-exposure of Indian elites to European theaters was in the interest of the colonizers . Consequently, in 1813, the exclusive British theaters opened their doors to elite Indians such as the aristocrat Dwarkanath Tagore . Gradually, the attendance of the Indian elite in European theaters began to rise, as evident from this remark by the India Gazette: "It affords us pleasure to observe such a number of respectable natives among the audi­ ence every play-night, it indicates a growing taste for the English Drama which is an auspicious sign of the progress of general literature amongst our native friends . "4 2 Over time the participation of Indians in European theatrical activity did not remain restricted to their attendance as viewers but changed to involv­ ing them as actors as well. In 1848, for example , one Mr. Berry started giv­ ing performances at his private residence (at 14, Wellington Square) and invited a Bengali, Baishnava Charan Adhya (Addy) , to play the part of Oth­ ello (on August 17 and September 11). Why would it be necessary to have an Indian play Othello in 1848 when Othello had been played several times before? 1848 was a crucial time for the expansion of British power. It was only a decade before the official transfer of power from the East India Com­ pany to the Crown . Meanwhile, the British defeat in the war against Afghanistan in 1842 had caused a setback to British interests and generated large-scale disaffection from the natives. In Afghanistan, the British had left a lot of enemies and in India , where the war cost nearly fifteen million rupees , alienated the people on whom fell the burden of such expenses . It was necessary at such a time to seek the alliance of upper-class natives and to win their support. So even though Adhya's performance made the Cal­ cutta Star anxious about the possible cultural contamination of the English stage , as evident in its calling the actor "a real unpainted nigger Othello ," for the rulers such an investment was necessary for disseminating English cul­ ture among a class of natives who would function as a buffer between them and the rest of the natives . That the creation of this buffer class was necessary for effective colonial control is indicated by the inadequacy felt by the British over their inability to comprehend popular indigenous theater. A significant form of entertain­ ment at religious ceremonies and festivals , indigenous popular theater pro­ vided the space for the convergence of large numbers of people in various parts of the subcontinent. Apart from providing entertainment, theatrical activity-which sometimes continued for several days-also became a place for people to socialize, exchange notes, and forge friendships. As is evident in the following extract from the Asiatic journal, ignorance of local social customs and the inability to understand the languages in which dramas were staged generated anxiety among the rulers , especially regarding unfa­ vorable portrayal of Europeans:

l3

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance [ Some ] of these extemporaneous pieces . . . are fond of shewing their knowledge of the European character, and the style and conduct indulged in by the young civilians whom they have had an opportu­ nity of caricaturing. These exhibitions are frequently ventured upon before the parties who are satirized, and if, as it is to be hoped, the picture is somewhat exaggerated, it is impossible not to admit that there is a good deal of truth and character in the delineation. The scene is a kutcherry, or hall , in which the European magistrates of India administer the law. One of the actors , dressed in the English costume , white j acket and trowsers , and a round hat, enters whistling and slapping his boots with a whip . . . . A prisoner is brought in, charged with some crime; to which the judge pays no sort of atten­ tion, being occupied by a young girl, who appears as one of the wit­ nesses . While the depositions are taking, he does nothing but ogle and make signs to the damsel, totally regardless of every thing else, and apparently indifferent as to the issue : at length, the principal ser­ vant of the judge comes in, and approaching his master with j oined hands , and a countenance expressive of the most humble submission, whispers " Sahib , Tiffin tiar hi" [ Sir, tiffin is ready] . The j udge imme­ diately rises , and, as he is going away, the officers of the court enquire what is to be done with the prisoner. The dispenser of the law, turn­ ing round upon his heel, exclaims "D-- his eyes , hang him ! " and then makes his exit, leaving the people in the greatest consternation. It will be seen from this description, how very sorry a figure the Eng­ lish gentleman is made to cut.43 The nervous energy of the colonial age with its mission to expand seemed to be jeopardized by such portrayals of the foreign occupants . To subdue such theaters that were perceived as potential threats to the colonial mission, the rulers condemned them on the basis of their "low" quality and "immoral" content. An example of such dismissal is manifested in the earlier attacks foisted on Bidya-Sunder, a tragicomedy of love (much like Romeo and juliet) staged in 1835 at the house of a Bengali gentleman, Nabin Chandra Bose. Following the conventions of the classical Sanskrit theater, the play started with a prayer to the gods and prologues and was accompanied by Indian musical instruments such as the sitar, saranghee , and pakwaj . Angrily, the Englishman and the Harkaru, pro-English newspapers published in Bengal , attacked the play on grounds of public (im) morality. The Harkaru called it "indecent, " and arguing that such plays offered no "moral or intellectual" advantage since they were " devoid of novelty, utility, and even decency, " the Englishman commented: " Our correspondent has lifted the veil with

l4

Introduction which the writer of the sketch sought to screen the real character of these exhibitions and we hope we shall hear no more of them in the 'Hindu Pio­ neer' unless it be to denounce them. "44 Simultaneously, to create a greater appreciation for Anglo-European cul­ ture among upper-class natives, colonial authorities encouraged the prolif­ eration of European theatrical activity through the establishment of native theaters patterned after European theaters . In search of a cultural identity "that could, at some level , set them on a par with their European overlords , " the bourgeoisie i n Bengal adopted the standards of the colonizers and s e t u p their own "respectable" theaters , including the Hindu Theatre i n I83 I and the Native Theatre in 1833 .45 These patrons of the new theaters were edu­ cated men in whose hands wealth was concentrated. The growth of a West­ ern-educated middle class that pursued "surplus creative energy seeking channels of expression" provided the requisite support for the sustenance of these theaters .46 The Hindu Theatre emerged from the efforts of Prasanna Kumar Tagore , a man of wealth who had also donated charitably to Calcutta University. On December 28, 1 83 1 , it opened with a translation of Bhavab­ huti's Sanskrit classic Uttar Ram Charita (translated by orientalist scholar Horace Hyman Wilson) and act 5 of julius Caesar. According to the Asiatic journal of May 1832, the two plays were enacted at the garden house of Babu Prasanna Kumar in Belliaghata and watched by an audience consisting of Europeans including Sir Edward Ryan, the chief j ustice of the Supreme Court of Calcutta . On March 29, 1832, the Hindu Theatre staged Nothing

Superfluous, presented amid elaborate sceneries with actors wearing expen­ sive costumes . Most of these productions were ostensibly "for the amuse­ ment of their native and European friends who [ were ] admitted by invita­ tion. " 47 Located at the residence of Nabin Chandra Bose at Shambazar, the Native Theatre ( 1 833) staged five plays during the year for an audience con­ sisting of Hindus, Muslims , and Europeans . In contrast to popular folk drama , this emergent stream of urban drama that emulated European tradi­ tions was appreciated as a civilized, sophisticated, and cultivated activity that would lead to the moral improvement of Indian society. Authorities thus lauded the proliferation of these theaters at their very inception, as reflected in the following remark by the Asiatic journal in August 1 829 : In the extensive city public institutions of various kinds and moral descriptions have lately sprung up for the improvement and gratification of its inhabitants ; but their amusement has not yet been consulted and they have not, like the English community, any place of public entertainment. . . . It is therefore desirable that men of wealth and rank should associate and establish a theatre . . . as the English

15

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance gentlemen have done . . . [ and] exhibit a performance of song and poetry once a month conformably to the written nataks or plays . . . such a plan will promote the pleasure of all classes of society. Even at these theaters , however, authorities kept a close watch and carefully monitored them to determine their quality. Consequently, while the British appreciated efforts by natives to present European drama , they condemned the hybridization of the plays for contaminating the " essential" qualities of their culture . To give the natives a taste of "authentic" British culture , English officials henceforth encouraged "proper" productions of plays in schools . In I837, students at Hindu College and Sanskrit College presented plays of Shake­ speare on special occasions such as prize ceremonies . On March 3 0 , I837, the Government White House staged The King and the Miller, the Seven Ages scene from As You Like It, and The Merchant of Venice. The Oriental Seminary initiated similar efforts , through which Herman Jeffrey, a French barrister in the Calcutta Supreme Court, organized with the help of a Mr. Reshi, a performance ofjulius Caesar. Such attempts continued, and in 1852 former students of the Metropolitan Academy trained by Jeffrey and Reshi staged julius Caesar, selling tickets for the performance . In 1 8 5 3 , students at the David Hare Academy staged Merchant of Venice, a performance attended by seven hundred Europeans and Indians .48 Efforts at "faithful" productions that began in schools were channeled into public theaters . In 1 8 5 3 , former students of the Oriental Seminary, with the help of Babu Prianath Dutt, Babu Dinonath Ghosh , and Sitaram Ghosh , started the Oriental Theatre on the school premises . The theater lasted for two years and, with a cast of Indian actors , performed primarily the plays of Shakespeare including Othel lo, The Merchant of Venice, and Henry IV, Part I. The Harharu, a newspaper that had earlier criticized the Hindu Theatre for distorting English plays , on September 28, 1 8 5 3 , approved and praised the productions of the Oriental Theatre : "The Performers were , all of them, young men . . . and the character which we feared would be the worst rep­ resented, was the best represented-Iago by Babu Prianath Dey was acted with an evident knowledge of the character . . . the mode in which they acquitted themselves must have given much satisfaction to every member of the audience who cares for the intellectual improvement of his fellow citi­ zens . " By the 1850s, Shakespeare was beginning to have an impact, and the Bengali elites increasingly produced his plays . When Babu Pyari Mohan Bose arranged for a staging of julius Caesar at his house in 1 854 and appeared in the play himself, the Bengali j ournal Sambad Prabhahar noted the following:

16

Introduction Pyari Babu's house was illuminated and decorated in the nicest way. The audience numbered about 400, and would have been more but for rain and storm. Babu Mahendra Nath Bose acted in the role of Caesar, Kistoodhan Dutt of Brutus and jadu Nath Chatterj ee of Cassius and the artists were thus all of culture . Even the performance by the ama­ teurs of the Oriental Theatre stood inferior in comparison, and they were astonished at the excellent way the performance of such a difficult play was rendered.49 Such systematic reorganization of theater resulted in generating hierarchies that relegated indigenous theater forms to a "low" status, as opposed to the high and privileged status accorded to European "high" drama , notably Shakespeare . Hierarchical stratification was further reinforced by indigenous social reform organizations such as the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal and Arya Samaj in N orth India. 5° Aimed at reforming Hindu society and perceiving theatrical activity as detrimental to Hindu society, these organizations uncompromis­ ingly condemned theater along with other activities such as gambling, going to prostitutes , smoking, and drinking. They also prohibited women from performing. 5 1 One result of this development was the containment of upper-caste women in the stranglehold of patriarchy. This is because popu­ lar theaters such as jatras comprised a principal pastime and entertainment for women, especially those in the zenana .52 In an attempt to consolidate their own position, the bhadralok prevented these women from watching popular dramas and pressured them "to conform to British standards of ideal womanly conduct. " 53 Viewing women's popular songs as sensuous , they labeled them a threat " to the new ideal of domestic order and heavily restricted elite women's association with female performers . Over time the campaigns against popular culture dramatically diminished the number of practitioners , leading to their eventual exile from urban society . " 54 In the field of literature , writers such as Bharatendu Harishchandra of Benaras "declared most kinds of popular theatre 'depraved' and lacking in theatri­ cality . . . [ and] championed a refined form of drama limited largely to draw­ ing rooms and school auditoriums whose purpose would be to assist in the moral regeneration of the nation . " 55 In Bengal , this distaste for " folk" cul­ ture coincided with the rise of a bhadralok56 culture associated with the emerging middle and upper classes, who attempted to differentiate them­ selves from the populace by increasingly associating popular forms with the "licentious and voluptuous tastes" of the "vulgar. " 57 Consequently, by the late nineteenth century, as a result of European contact, a cultural stream of urban drama developed that was , to a large

l7

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance extent, influenced by Anglo-European traditions , performed selections from European plays or classical Indian drama , and was patronized by men of wealth and respectability, who performed plays in their homes or in theaters that operated on astronomical financial budgets . They often imported elab­ orate sets from England and performed plays for the public through a policy of tickets . The style of dramas also became Western, adopting the conven­ tions of the proscenium and footlights , the drop curtain , and prompting from behind. This emergent theatrical culture did not completely supplant indigenous theatrical genres , but, as Hansen points out in the case of nau­ tanhi, " the reformist discourse that resulted from the colonial experience pushed [popular folk] theatre to the margins of respectability. "5 8 As the empire consolidated itself, the first noticeable burst of anticolonial energy and resistance to imperialist practices came from this class of natives , who were well versed in colonial cultural traditions and education. Hence , the dramas they produced can be seen as bearing the influence of Western conventions . Yet as censorship of dramatic performances became progres­ sively worse after I876, these literary figures opportunistically made use of colonial forms . Therefore , it is necessary to examine the dramatic produc­ tions as embedded in their political circumstances . What needs to be recog­ nized is that, born out of the interaction with colonial models , the strategic use of Anglo-European drama produced oppositional and independent dra­ mas that transformed the imperialist authority of colonial texts . Interactions with colonial drama and censorship of indigenous theater resulted in new and innovative theatrical forms that both departed from existing indigenous dramatic conventions of classical theater and appropriated traditions suit­ able for the historically specific audiences . Another claim of this book, then , is that the suppression of indigenous drama ultimately invigorated a politi­ cally committed Indian theater, facilitating, as it did, a creative appropria­ tion of European traditions and stimulating the use of indigenous perfor­ mance and practices drawn from local popular traditions . In demonstrating this phenomenon, Acts of Authority/Acts of Resistance brings to attention a corpus of dramatic writing and practice that theorized strategies of resis­ tance through the complex processes of mixing indigenous popular tradi­ tions and Anglo-European forms in hybrid theater performance in which new global and transcultural links were made out of the historical processes of colonial intervention and the specificities of local, regional, and national struggles.

18

Censorship and the Politics of N ationalist Drama

The Censorship Act of 1876 empowered local government authorities to "prohibit dramatic performances which [were ] seditious or obscene , or oth­ erwise prejudicial to the public interests . " Extending to the whole of British India, the act authorized local governments to prohibit any performance "likely to excite feelings of disaffection to the Government established by law in British India ," or "likely to deprave and corrupt persons present at the performance , " or was "otherwise prejudicial to the interests of the pub­ lic . " Any building or enclosure " to which the public . . . [was ] admitted to witness a performance on payment of money" constituted a "public place . " 1 And anyone participating in the prohibited performance either a s a n actor or as owner of the place of performance was liable for punishment "on con­ viction before a Magistrate with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine , or with both . " 2 Clearly, the government's need t o manage and control institutions such as the theater marked its rhetoric of " obscenity," "morality," and "public interest. " The act was passed in the wake of the production of a number of plays in the 1 8 70s that attacked discriminatory colonial policies . Since the first translation and circulation of Nil Darpan, political plays that attempted to expose colonial power structures had begun to draw the attention of British officials . These included Upendra Nath Das's Surendra-Binodini ( 1 875) , Gaekwar Durpan (The Mirror of Baroda, 1 8 75) , Gajadananda Pra­ hasan (Gajadananda and the Prince, 1 875) , and Dakshina Charan Chat­ topadhyay's Chakar Durpan (The Tea Planters' Mirror, 1 875) . Running through all these plays was a nationalistic impulse that constituted attacks on the British government in one form or another. Chakar Durpan attacked 19

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance the cruel and licentious behavior of British planters toward the natives on the tea plantations in Assam. Upendra Nath Das's Sure:ndra-Binodini showed a European magistrate sexually assaulting his maid, who jumps out of the window to save her honor. Gae:kwar Durpan represented the farcical trial of Malhar Rao , gae:kwar of Baroda , who was forced to abdicate his throne in 1875 on trumped-up charges of attempting to poison Colonel Phayre , a British resident of Baroda . And Gajadananda Prahasan attacked the visit of the Prince of Wales to the house of an esteemed Bengali gentleman and his visit to the zenana. The plays incurred the wrath of British authorities , whose reaction resulted in various forms of censorship . Charges of "obscen­ ity" constituted the ban on Sure:ndra-Binodini, following the production of which the government arrested, tried, and sentenced the author and direc­ tor to a one-month prison term under sections 292 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code.3 A performance of Gajadananda Prahasan resulted in the arrest of managers of the Great National Theatre . And spectators disrupted a per­ formance of Nil Darpan at Lucknow in 1 8 7 5 . However, even though the Indian Penal Code had provisions for the gov­ ernment to act on a complaint filed by some "aggrieved person," the absence of clearly stated guidelines either prevented proper censorship or resulted in arbitrary banning of plays , as in the case of a jatra performance (of the mythological legend of the Hindu god Shiva in the vernacular) in jessore in 1 8 74 that is said to have shocked the assistant magistrate so much that he enforced the prosecution of actors and banned the play on charges of obscenity.4 The Censorship Act enabled more stringent measures against drama . The method of scrutiny demanded submission of playscripts to the special branch of police for careful examination by selected officers who were to identify obj ectionable passages in the plays . They also required the theater manager to visit the police commissioner's office before the sched­ uled performance . Here the officer in charge pointed out obj ectionable pas­ sages , and the manager was to either omit or alter the passages and put his signature on the script containing passages marked as obj ectionable . Fol­ lowing this procedure , another officer was to report on whether the man­ ager deleted the obj ectionable passages during the performance and intro­ duced any new ones . The act also authorized local governments to take action at all future times , whenever necessary requiring thus that the special branch of police maintain a register of all scrutinized play.5 Not only did such measures continue throughout colonial rule ; the government revised them when needed. Thus, with the intensification of the nationalist senti­ ment by the early decades of the twentieth century, the government stepped up its surveillance, introducing, in 1 9 1 0 , the Press Act in order to expedite seizure of printed plays , in addition to stopping performances . 6 Because the beginnings of censorship are concurrent with the production 20

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama of Nil Darpan, this chapter analyzes the interconnections between the ban­ ning of Nil Darpan in 1 86 1 and the rise of a nationalist drama . Most read­ ings of Nil Darpan link the ban imposed on it to its political content and val­ orize its author, Dinabandhu Mitra , for his commitment to the cause of indigo laborers in Bengal . Among these, Amiya Rao and B. G. Rao's recent study, useful as it is , ascribes a singularly anti-imperialist position to the play.7 Whereas the dramatization of critiques of indigo planters need not be dismissed, the censorship of Nil Darpan belongs in a more complex history of colonial struggles than such interpretations allow. Examination of the microhistory of the politics surrounding Nil Darpan opens up news ways of thinking about the relationship between colonial censorship , the law, and nationalist drama in India-a relationship that sheds light on the fraught history of colonial struggles in nineteenth-century India . How theater emerged as a powerful weapon of protest from the complex interplay of colonial politics constitutes a central concern of the first part of this chap­ ter. 8 The British India government's attempts to stifle political drama through policing mechanisms inspired a search for techniques and methods that were beyond the reach of censoring authorities . This pursuit initiated a recuperation of historical and mythological themes , which were relatively free of censorship because the censors perceived them as less controversial. Stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, for example , formed the basis of the most prominent plays , evoking nationalist sympathies through repre­ sentations of a Hindu nation that needed to be defended and rescued from the perils of foreign rule . This chapter , thus, concludes with an investigation of this shift in mythological drama as a consequence of censorship .

The State , the Church , Indigo, and Nil Darp an

But this production [Nil Darpan] is , after all , but a fiction, a degrada­ tion of the drama , the most powerful mode of appeal to the half-civi­ lized mind, to the purposes of sedition, and the fostering of the popu­ lar hatred against the dominant race . 9 Literature of this class , however worthless i n itself, has nevertheless its value ; it is of importance relatively to the time , as tending to throw light upon the temper, taste , talent, and tendencies of the several sec­ tions of society . l 0 In 1860, james Long of the Church Missionary Society published and circu­ lated an English translation of Nil Darpan under the official frank and seal of the Bengal government. 1 1 The circulation of the play generated hostility 21

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance from indigo planters , who brought a lawsuit against Long on the charges that the preface of the play slandered the editors of the two proplanter news­ papers , the Englishman and the Harkaru, and that the text of the drama brought the planters a bad name . On july 1 9 , 1 86 1 , the British India gov­ ernment tried and sentenced Reverend Long to a one-month imprisonment and fined him one thousand rupees for circulating the translation . 1 2 Despite Long's plea that his purpose for having the play translated was to keep the British government informed of native feelings toward the planters , 13 the government banned the play and convicted Long for "the offence of wilfully and maliciously libelling the proprietors of the Englishman and Harkaru newspapers , and under the second count, of libelling, with the same intent, a class of persons designated as the Indigo Planters of Lower Bengal . " 14 But was Nil Darpan so subversive and threatening to British interests in India as to warrant a lawsuit against Long? This section addresses this ques­ tion, arguing that despite its exposition of the planters' brutalities at the indigo plantations , Nil Darpan was, in fact, a loyalist play that became embroiled in the struggle for power among three colonial groups : the British India government, the missionaries, and the indigo planters . Because of the play's antiplanter content, the planters used it as cause for a libel to get even with the government and the missionaries who posed a threat to the planters' commercial interests . However, through the public arena of the nationalist, proplanter, and missionary presses , and courtroom hearings and gossip , the public trial of Long in the Supreme Court brought tremen­ dous publicity to Nil Darpan in both India and England. This had long-last­ ing implications for nationalist drama in India . Not only did it establish Nil Darpan as the first nationalist drama ; it also inaugurated the theater as a powerful weapon of resistance in the struggle for independence from colo­ nial rule . The controversy surrounding Nil Darpan emerged from specific historical developments pertaining to the indigo industry in Bengal. The indigo trade was started through the efforts of a Frenchman named Louis Bonnaud, who established, in 1 77 7 , two indigo factories at Gondalpara near Chandan­ nagore . Gradually, the number of factories increased to four hundred, fol­ lowing which Bengal became the biggest producer of indigo in India and exported large quantities of the crop to England. The capital value of indigo is said to have been about two million sterling pounds a year , a maj or part of which was profit . 1 5 T h e production of indigo involved rampant exploitation. Planters intimi­ dated ryots (peasants) through extortion, violence, kidnappings , murder, sabotage , destruction of their homes , and sexual assaults on women . 1 6 As well , planters forced ryots to take advances from their masters and sign con­ tracts to sow indigo . 1 7 In February 1 85 9 , Ashley Eden, magistrate of Barasat, 22

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama issued a circular making it optional for ryots to enter into contracts for sow­ ing indigo, allowing them instead the liberty to sow any crop they liked on their own land. Encouraged by this circular, peasants rebelled against their colonial masters and collectively refused to sow indigo. In the wake of the indigo rebellion, or "blue mutiny" as it was called, peasants attacked facto­ ries and planters' homes and beat up their European managers , often attack­ ing them with bows and arrows , spears , earthen pots , bricks , and thalis, or brass plates . 1 8 Such disturbances soon engulfed all the indigo districts of Bengal, and resulted in the closure of several factories . Alarmed by the situation , the planters sought government protection. On behalf of the Indigo Planters' Association, a delegation consisting of ] . P . Wise, leader of the association and a planter; F . A. Goodenough, secretary o f the Bengal Indigo Company; and Alexander Forbes , editor of Harkaru, met with ] . P. Grant, lieutenant-governor of Bengal , on March 1 3 , 1860, to request the enactment of a special legislation that made breach of indigo contracts punishable by a magistrate . Following this , Grant proposed a bill " [ t] o enforce the fulfillment of Indigo contracts" and ordered a thorough inquiry into the system of indigo plantation in order to save "a great com­ mercial interest." A. Sconce , a member of the governor-general's legislative council in Bengal and a former j udge at Nadia , introduced the bill on March 24 , 1860. After due deliberations , the governor-general sanctioned the enactment of Act XI of 1 860 " to enforce the fulfillment of Indigo Con­ tracts . " 19 As initially stipulated, Act XI was declared as a temporary measure and was to expire after six months . According to the act, a ryot was liable to pun­ ishment by imprisonment or payment of fine for breaking a contract. On the other hand, intimidating a ryot to break his contract was also punishable by imprisonment or fine or both. Willful destruction of indigo crops also car­ ried a penalty. The act empowered magistrates to try ryots who committed such offenses. This gave criminal j urisdiction to magistrates in civil cases of breach of contract, and the party under trial was denied the right to appeal against his decision. Dubbed the "ryot's coercion act," it resulted in mass­ scale ill treatment of the ryots at the hands of the planters . As the Indian

Field reported on October 20 , 1860, Never was justice more wantonly frustrated, . . . never was partisan­ ship so scandalously displayed as by the officers in whose hands the administration of suits under the new law at first entrusted. The inves­ tigation of those cases was a mockery of justice . . . . We have the testi­ mony of the Lieutenant Governor himself that blind men who could not have contracted to sow indigo were sent to j ail-that persons against whom no complaint whatever had been brought shared the 23

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance same fate , and that a mo oktear whose only fault was that he pleaded for the ryots was punished with six months incarceration . . . . Besides these enormities damages exceeding in amount the most sanguine expectations of the planters were awarded, and without notice being given the poor ryots' houses were pulled down and their cattle and goods sold for a nominal value. 20 By 1860, the indigo question had "acquired political dimensions" that could have serious consequences .21 Indeed, the rebellion had "fixed the attention of Parliament and England. " 22 If the rulers were to secure their power, they could not afford to "neglect to redress the wide-spread griev­ ances under which the ryots in the Indigo districts groan [ ed] . "23 It was only three years earlier during the 1 8 5 7 mutiny that British rule had been ques­ tioned. With this past experience, the British India government was far­ sighted enough to know the ramifications of peasants' discontent. Hence , section XII of Act XI of 1 860 provided for the appointment of a Commission of Enquiry into the practice of indigo planting. This stipulation led to the formation of the Indigo Commission on April 4, 1860, with W. S. Seton­ Karr as its chairman. After long deliberations on the issue of labor exploita­ tion, which was corroborated by extensive testimonies from natives, judges , magistrates , and missionaries, the commission issued a report in August 1 860 and decided to put into practice a law that would eventually make the ryots free agents and thereby grant them justice . 24 At the height of the indigo controversy, Reverend Long received, in the autumn of 1860, a copy of the Bengali version of Nil Darpan, six weeks after it was published in Dacca in September 1860. The play dealt directly with the severe oppression of the ryots by two indigo planters , ] . ] . Wood and P . P . Rose, who forced the ryots t o plant indigo without remuneration, beat and confined the villagers to factory godowns, or warehouses , and pitted the Indian servants against the ryots . Planter Wood even raped the ryot's daugh­ ter, Kshetromony. The oppressiveness of the planters resulted in the death of almost all the Indian characters in the drama . The play also showed the helplessness of the ryots in court, where corrupt judicial officers of the gov­ ernment refused to take interest in the pleas of the ryot defendants . Long brought Nil Darpan to the notice of W. S. Seton-Karr, secretary to the gov­ ernment of Bengal , who commissioned him to have the play translated into English because some officials , including the lieutenant-governor, had asked to read it. Under the personal responsibility of Seton-Karr and at its own expense, the government printed five hundred copies of the play. Of these, two hundred were distributed to prominent members of Parliament, philan­ thropists , Indian officials , and newspaper editors in India and England.25 In May 1 86 1 , the Lahore Chronicle received a copy of the play addressed 24

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama to the editor with the following words : "On Her Maj esty's Service only . " 26 When the Lahore Chronicle forwarded the copy to the Englishman, a pro­ planters newspaper published from Calcutta , the latter expressed immense unhappiness and angrily accused the Bengal government of officially dis­ seminating the play because the play praised the present governor, Grant, in the following quote: "If God preserve our present Governor, then we shall be able to procure something for our sustenance; and the great burden of indigo shall no more hang on our shoulders . " 27 As long as the lieutenant­ governor and his secretary used the play to get some insights into the native mind and circulated copies to their friends as "literary curiosities , " it was all right, said the Englishman, but not at public cost. "We cannot," the newspa­ per said, " think it in the public interest that a whole class , their wives included, should be disgustingly libelled in order to lend force by the con­ trast to one sentence in praise of 'our present Governor. ' " 28 The newspaper saw the official publication of the play as the government's endorsement of its contents , and claimed that "certainly no other Government of the civilised world would have done so . " 29 The planters were not wrong in their insights about the government's action. Even as it attacked the planters , Nil Darpan, as Ranajit Guha asserts , exhibited immense "reverence for the raj . " 30 Even though Mitra condemned the planters , his assumptions were what Guha calls "liberal-humanitar­ ian . " 3 1 Despite the criticism of the lawlessness of the planters and of a few inconsiderate English officials , Mitra expressed tremendous faith in the rationality and impartiality of English law and in the good intentions of colonial administrators , only distinguishing the "bad" sahibs from the "good" sahibs .32 A passage from the author's preface to the play demon­ strates Mitra's faith in British j ustice: The most kindhearted Queen Victoria, the mother of the people , thinking it unadvisable to suckle her children through maid-servants , has now taken them on her own lap to nourish them. The most learned, intelligent, brave , and open-hearted Lord Canning is now the Governor-general of India ; Mr. Grant, who always suffers in the suf­ ferings of his people , and is happy when they are happy, who punishes the wicked and supports the good, has taken charge of the Lieutenant­ Governorship , and other persons , as Messrs . Eden, Herschel , etc . , who are all well-known for their love of truth , for their great experience and strict impartiality, are continually expanding themselves lotus­ like on the surface of the lake of the Civil Service. Therefore , it is becoming fully evident that these great men will very soon take hold of the rod of justice in order to stop the sufferings which the ryots are enduring from the great giant Rahu , the Indigo Planter.33 25

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Nil Darpan not only exhibited faith in the government but in the Chris­ tian religion. This compounded the problem for the planters , because among all classes of Europeans in India , the play made the planters look bad. The planters viewed Long's publication of Nil Darpan under the official sanction of the government as a complicitous enterprise of the missionaries and the government, against them. Circulating the play reinforced the planters' atrocious behavior, which won the government and the missionar­ ies the goodwill of the natives . Moreover, circulation of the play among officials in England made it worse for the planters , as it reinforced that natives viewed them with con­ tempt but loved the government and the missionaries. This belief was plau­ sible because translations of vernacular literature were often sent to Eng­ land as evidence of native feelings toward Europeans . Long himself was instrumental in translating and exporting vernacular texts . Ostensibly, Long had received the copy of the play because he was involved in the Ver­ nacular Literature Society and had already commissioned a number of translations from the vernacular languages into English.34 England had already displayed its hostility toward the planters in its reply to the planters' pamphlet titled Brahmins and Pariahs. Published from London in 1 86 1 , the pamphlet was an " appeal by the Indigo planters of Bengal to the British Government, parliament, and people for protection against the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. " 35 The planters had complained that the lieutenant-governor interfered "with [ the] free course of j ustice , " destroyed "capital and trade of British settlers i n India , " and created " the present disastrous condition of incendiarism and insurrection now spread­ ing in the rural districts of Bengal. "36 In addition to the British India government, the planters also looked at the missionaries grudgingly. Ever since 1 848, when missionary activity first started in the plantations , intense hostilities had developed between the planters and the missionaries .37 Both parties had high colonial stakes in the indigo belt. For the planters , indigo was a highly profitable trade . For the missionaries , the indigo labor force was a significant body of po tential con­ verts to Christianity. The planters' exploitation of the laborers or ryots spoiled the reputation of Europeans , jeopardizing, in this way, the mission­ aries' goal of seeking converts . On the other hand, the missionaries inter­ fered with the planters' policies regarding wages and discipline, and dis­ rupted their control over the cultivators . The planters correctly viewed such attacks as attempts on the part of the missionaries to appease the ryots in order to seek their initiation into Christianity. The planters' suspicion of the missionaries was well founded. As early as 1 85 5 , Reverend F. Schurr of the Kishnagur Mission prepared an essay titled "On the Influence of Indigo Planting on the Spread of Christianity" for the 26

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama general Conference of Bengal Protestant Missionaries ; it was read before them on September 6, 1 85 5 , in the presence of forty-two members . The report gave a detailed description of the injustices meted out to the ryots . According to the report, " The planting of Indigo, in the districts of Nuddea , Jessore and Pubna [ was] another protected system, where individuals profit by the property and misery of tens of thousands. "38 The report further stated that if "the planter enjoys the friendship of the Civil Servants, he can oppress,

imprison and ill-treat the ryots with impunity. By some planters' orders, villages have been plundered and burned, and individuals killed. "39 Also included in the report were descriptions regarding methods of coercion, forced cultiva­ tion, punishment of the ryot upon refusal to sow indigo, forced advances , and unfair court proceedings ; it posited that "the helplessness and oppressed

conditions of the ryots calls loudly for sympathy from the philanthropist, and from justice from the Government. "40 Additionally, missionary j ournals such as the Calcutta Christian Observer and the Christian Intelligencer presented vivid accounts of the formation and working of the indigo industry. For example , in an 1 860 editorial entitled "The Troubles in the Indigo Dis­ tricts ," the Christian Intelligencer discussed the disinclination of the ryots to sow indigo in the district of Kishnagur and their determination to dissuade other ryots . What irked the planters most was that after the passage of Act XI in 1 860 the missionaries had informed the ryots that they had the choice not to sow indigo. But missionary involvement in the indigo question was not limited to Act XI . When the government set up the Indigo Commission to look into the problem of indigo, the Calcutta Missionary Conference on April 5, 1 860, appointed Sale, Hill, and Long to watch and report on the proceedings of the commission. Their involvement was to ensure that "every means would be adopted to allow the full disclosure of opinion and

complaints on the part of the ryots. "41 Animosities between the two groups increased when the missionaries presented, before the Indigo Commission in 1860, evidence of the oppres­ sion of laborers on the plantations .42 Long testified before the commission and cited instances of planter brutalities. Fluent in Bengali, he presented translations of articles from the weekly Sam Prakash that blamed planters for widespread disaffection among the Bengali public and the ryots , and produced songs and plays that portrayed the planters' exploitation. To this end, Long also referred to the British government's indifference to the con­ ditions of the hopeless ryots . Long's sympathies for the ryots are evident in his introduction to Nil Darpan: Nil Durpan, which, though exhibiting no marvellous or very tragic scenes , yet, in simply homely language , gives the " annals of the poor" ; pleads the cause of those who are the feeble ; it describes a respectable 27

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance ryot, a peasant proprietor, happy with his family in the enj oyment of his land till the Indigo System compelled him to take advances , to neglect his own land, to cultivate crops which beggared him, reducing him to the condition of a serf and a vagabond; the effect [ sic] of this on his home , children, and relatives are pointed out in language , plain but true; it shows how arbitrary power debases the lord as well as the peasant; reference is also made to the partiality of various Magistrates in favour of Planters and to the Act of last year penally enforcing Indigo contracts .43 In exposing the conditions of the indigo laborers , Long purported to uphold the missionary sense of j ustice as opposed to the injustice inflicted on ryots by planters and local magistrates . The missionaries' interest in exposing the planters was clear. In his May 29 , 1860, testimony before the commission, Reverend ] . H. Anderson, Bap­ tist missionary of Chukramankatty, jessore , recalled that in two villages , the ryots said, "Save us from the oppression of the planters and then we may become Christians . "44 Moreover, Reverend G. G. Cuthbert, secretary of the Church Missionary Society, testified before the commission that his involvement in the discussion about indigo stemmed from the missionaries' desire to see in our Christians and in the native peasantry, generally, . . . an independent spirit, an ability to stand on their own legs, as it were. It seems to me, that the connection of ryots with indigo planting tends to repress that spirit; and further still it is found in a thousand instances most difficult to improve the moral condition of a people , whose social condition is extremely low . . . and we have thought that the poverty, distress , and unsettledness of mind, which the people complain of in indigo districts , stand in the way of their moral improvement, and their attention to religion: to use an eastern proverb , "An empty belly has no ears . " 45 Cuthbert was concerned that the planters' behavior foiled their attempts to convert the peasants , a concern that became especially evident when the reverend recalled that upon reaching a village , where his fellow missionar­ ies had gone to preach , the people asked them: "Is your religion that of Nee!

Sahibs (Indigo Planters) because if it is, we wish to have nothing to do with it on account of the klesh (trouble, misery) which they inflict upon us." 46 As Cuth­ bert reported, the villagers further chastised the same missionaries , saying , " [Y] ou profess to be our friends , and to come here to speak to us for our benefit, show us that you are so by delivering us from these troubles and then 28

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama

we will hear you. "47 Reverend ] . C . Lincke of Kishnagur, during his exami­ nation under oath on May 3 1 , 1860, blatantly told the commission that the indigo planters' system was "unfavourable" to the "progress of Missions . "48 In 1860, eleven missionaries petitioned to the legislative council against the renewal of a penal contract law for the ryo ts . For the commission it was useful to have the missionaries testify against the planters . Not only did it show "the ryot that Missionary sympathy was on his side" ; it was also useful for winning the favor of the ryots and other natives .49 The commission attributed such usefulness to " the advocacy by Missionaries of the cause of the feeble and friendless ryot, even against their own countrymen , [which] has had a most favourable effect on the minds of

natives, both educated and uneducated in Calcutta and in the Mofussil towards Christians and Christianity."5° Consequently, the commission lauded the missionaries for their involvement and exonerated them of the planters' charge that they interfered with the successful cultivation of indigo. "On the contrary," said the commission, " they have advised the ryots to obey the laws, to commit no illegalities , to sow indigo this year, and, if oppressed, to appeal to higher authorities . " 5 1 The commission's support for the missionaries p u t the planters o n slip­ pery grounds . Even though the planters had asked the government to look into matters , the "mass of irrefragable evidence" that it had gathered against the planters made them avoid it. In fact, during the proceedings, the planters even sent word to the commission that they could not come to tes­ tify because they were "all deeply engaged in the manufacture of the blue dye . " 52 After the proceedings, the commission concluded that the indigo system had indeed been unj ust to the ryots , that planters employed unlaw­ ful means to force the ryot to sow indigo , and that the government had not adequately protected the ryot against such exploitation. At such a time, when the planters found themselves cornered by accusa­ tions from all sides , Nil Darpan came as a perfect opportunity to get back at the government and missionaries . Because the play was written in the wake of the indigo disturbances , the planters found a justification for directing their anger against the government for publishing what they called " foul and libellous" material. The proplanter newspapers condemned the Bengal officials, arguing that the play was circulated so that the planters came across as "the low people of Belat [ England] " as opposed to the compli­ ments received by the governor, Mr. Grant.53 Since Nil Darpan was sent postage free, under a government frank from the office of the government of Bengal to the Lahore Chronicle, the Harkaru, and the Englishman, they charged that the author expressed the sentiments of Lord Canning and ] . P . Grant. Otherwise , concluded the Lahore Chronicle, "surely they would not have given them currency at-we repeat the idea-the cost of the state , and 29

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance under the sign-manual of the Registrar of the Office of the Bengal Secre­ tariat. "54 The Harharu blamed Seton-Karr for commissioning a "wretched Bengalee to write the slander for him" and then sending it forth "to the world on Her Maj esty's Service . " For such an act, claimed Harharu, Seton­ Karr was "ruined in character for ever as an Englishman, a Christian, or a gentleman. " 55 The Englishman charged the Government of "disseminating the grossest libels upon Mofussil Europeans , male and female , and reiterat­ ing incendiary charges against indigo planters as a class . " 56 For circulating Nil Darpan, the planters required complete vindication for the conduct of Seton-Karr and the lieutenant-governor, Grant. These officials became the target of the planters' attacks primarily because of their repeated interference in magisterial offices in the indigo districts of Nuddea and jessore , especially after the indigo rebellion. An instance of government interference in the planters' affairs was Seton-Karr's report regarding the abduction of Seetul Turrufdar, a ryot, who was forcibly carried off to the Hanskally factory and later died. The report speculated that "Seetul Turruf­ dar was wounded in the course of an unlawful assault . . . was carried off and concealed . . . received no medical advice . . . [ and] died either from the nec­ essary effects of his wound, or from the aggravation of those effects by the treatment he was subj ected to after he was wounded. " 57 Irritated by such interference, the planters sought revenge. In a threatening footnote , the Lahore Chronicle announced that for circulating "a set of libels" Mr. Seton­ Karr "will be called upon to answer . " 58 Thus, Nil Darpan brought the strug­ gle for power among state officials , church missionaries , and the indigo planters to its culminating point. The planters' charge made the government nervous . At a politically volatile time , it was not wise for the government to slander the planters , as it brought a bad name to Europeans in general and jeopardized the colonial mission . Peasant insurrections such as Titoo Mir's revolt in 1 83259 and the 1 8 5 7 mutiny had already made the government insecure about the possibil­ ity of another rebellion. Publishing a drama that was full of antiplanter sen­ timent was a mistake indeed. The testimonies given by the ryots to the com­ mission clearly conveyed that the enraged ryots were ready to rebel. The extent of their rage and frustration could be gauged from their declarations that they would willingly face bullets , but under no circumstances would they sow indigo . 60 Initially, Long's involvement in the case was unknown to the planters because the preface did not carry his name . This gap in the planters' knowledge came as a bonus to the government, which had been put on the spot by the planters . To save face, Seton-Karr resigned from his seat in the legislative council and renounced his claim to the office of senior secretary. In separate minutes , both Grant and Seton-Karr described the cir­ cumstances connected with Nil Darpan and disproved " the charges of unfair 30

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama dealing and personal hostility to planters . " 6 1 Seton-Karr urged that in circu­ lating Nil Darpan he neither meant to put the government in an awkward position nor intended offense to any class of persons . After reviewing Seton­ Karr's case, Lord Canning, the governor-general , while acknowledging Seton-Karr's resignation over the circulation of Nil Darpan, stated that "he should not be allowed to return to the Office of Secretary to the Government of Bengal . " 62 Canning's dismissal of Seton-Karr was calculated to avert a trial against Seton-Karr in the face of mounting tension and changed the dynamics of the situation . As a result of Seton-Karr's dismissal and Grant's resignation, the onus of the translation and circulation of the play fell on Long, who became the target for the planters' libel suit. "Incredible as it may seem , " wrote the Englishman, "we assert that this precious translation was made under the auspices of a minister of the Gospel. " 63 Canning's move , in the meantime, not only saved Seton-Karr but also reestablished the reputa­ tion of British rulers as the upholders of j ustice. For his "j ust" action, Can­ ning received high praise from the colonial press in Calcutta . Consequently, the Landholders and Commercial Association instituted legal proceedings to " ascertain" only the publisher, translator, and author of Nil Darpan 64 The planters could confidently execute action against Long because they realized the profitability of the indigo industry for the government, for which indigo generated large revenues. They knew it was not in the govern­ ment's commercial interests to alienate the planters . Additionally, planters were also aware that they formed a second line of defense against antiestab­ lishment peasant insurrections . 65 This defense was particularly useful to the government in 1 86 1 , when disaffection among the natives was high and the indigo rebellion had challenged British power. Also, indigo planters were independent settlers , and the British government feared a settler rebellion. Hence, it was important for the government to keep the planters appeased, who could otherwise rebel against the colonial government in India. 66 Following the trial, the j udge announced the verdict in favor of Long's conviction: a fine of one hundred pounds (one thousand rupees) and one month in the common j ail. It was unwise for the government to attack the play's author in the politically volatile climate of 1 86 1 . Indigo atrocities and Nil Darpan had generated immense disaffection among a segment of the nationalist intelligentsia and the patriotic native press. Attacking the native author and translator meant alienating the Bengali intelligentsia with whom it was necessary for the government to maintain ties in order to facilitate the task of governance.67 And not condemning Long would offend the planters . In such circumstances , the only recourse for the government was to take action against Long. So when the secretary of the Landholders and Com­ mercial Association, W. F. Fergusson, questioned the government regarding its responsibility in distributing the "foul and malicious libel" that Nil 31

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Darpan was , it became necessary for the government to support planters over missionaries , and Long emerged as the victim in this raging battle for power between the church and indigo capitalists .68 The author escaped unscathed in the trial. The printer, H. H. Manuel, was tried but let off on payment of a fine of ten rupees after he named Long for being responsible for circulating the translated play. The controversy that Ni l Darpan generated and the final outcome of the trial are telling statements about the larger colonial processes in the running of the empire . Clearly, the trial resulted more from threats imposed by one colonial group , the missionaries , to the profits of another colonial group , the planters , and the possible obstacles these might pose to the larger mission of empire building, than from the content of the text of the play. This is not to say that the play was devoid of anticolonial content. The play's attacks on and condemnation of the atrocities committed by planters , an unquestioned reality in the indigo plantations , can neither be overlooked nor minimized. Yet as mentioned earlier, despite its social commentary, the play did look up to Queen Victoria as the savior who would ultimately rescue the laborers from the clutches of the "bad" planters . So even as it criticized the planters , the play apparently endorsed the imperial government's " civilizing mission. " Moreover , a s Guha asserts , Nil Darpan, t o begin with, was a n obscure play by a relatively unknown writer. It was published for the first time in 1 8 6 1 in Dacca , far from the metropolis . And in terms of its artistic merit, it received an unenthusiastic response from contemporary writers such as Dwarkanath Vidyabhushan and Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. In terms of information, points out Guha , there was nothing that was not known to the Calcutta intelligentsia. Many of the intellectuals came from the indigo districts , and a number of them such as the Tagores of jorasanko and Pathurighat were planters themselves. Moreover, the press reports on the plight of the indigo workers left little doubt about the tyranny of European planters . 69 There­ fore, had it not been for planters' anger with missionaries , the play might have gone unnoticed. So the initial attempts to censor the play were less about Ni l Darpan in particular and more about the British India govern­ ment's efforts to resolve the internal rifts among the various colonial groups in the interest of continuing its imperial enterprise at all costs. However, in the ensuing conflict of power in the Supreme Court at Cal­ cutta-the seat of British j ustice in India-Nil Darpan attracted an interna­ tional audience. Becoming the focus of attention for the press, the Bengali intelligentsia , and the nationalist bourgeoisie , the public trial brought tremendous attention to the play as well as to the genre of drama . Thus , in 1862, within a year of the libel suit, Simpkin, Marshal published the second English edition of Ni l Darpan. Simultaneously, some editions appeared in other European languages as well as in Hindi. Having received little notice 32

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama in 1 860 when the play was first published in Dacca , Nil Darpan now came to be recorded in the annals of dramatic history as the first maj or nationalist play and Mitra as the first maj or nationalist playwright. Additionally, impor­ tant English newspapers such as the Lahore Chronicle, the Englishman, the Harkaru, and the Madras Times printed sections of Nil Darpan with exten­ sive commentaries on the play. Since the charges brought against Long were based on passages from the play, the trial came to be centered around the text of Nil Darpan and prompted questions regarding not only the content but even the genre of drama . For example , during the trial, Alexander Forbes , editor of the Harkaru and previously a planter, found Nil Darpan dangerous because, he argued, "drama [ was] a favourite mode of represent­ ing the state of society among Bengalees . " And since " [ t ] hese dramas [ were ] looked upon as fictions with a great deal of truth in them, " the play "would be believed by natives not acquainted with Indigo planters as a true repre­ sentation of their conduct. " 7° Forbes also posited that there was "a large body of Natives who have a strong feeling against the Europeans , " and that Nil Darpan would intensify those feelings . 7 1 Long's counsel opposed the charge of libel b y resorting t o definitions of the genre of drama . The publication, he said, "was a drama and not a pam­ phlet, and by every principle of propriety, usage , and custom no other char­ acter but that of a fiction could be assigned to a drama . " 72 About the char­ acters in the play, he agreed that there were atrocious characters such as Wood and Rose , represented in the play, but the Jury's dramatical experience would teach them that every play had its evil genius. Because a certain barrister , clergy­ man or merchant is a scoundrel of the deepest dye , is that a reason that all barristers , clergymen, and merchants are of the same stamp ? It could not be denied that personages embodying half-a-dozen vices were introduced; but because one possesses vices is he to be consid­ ered a representative of his class? 73 To strengthen his argument, the counsel further compared the play to "the finest literature of ancient and modern times" such as the works of Moliere and Dickens , which illustrated " the state of society" 74 and drew par­ allels with The Confession of Maria Monk, a work that exposed malpractices carried out in convents and nunneries. He also evoked similarities between the play and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and alluded to a work in Hindustani, Panchkowrie Khan, on the system of the mofussil courts . In all of these works , stated the counsel, no legal steps had been taken. In order to convince the court regarding the harmlessness of the drama , the counsel for the defense read passages from the play that spoke 33

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance well of the planters , arguing that "if this pamphlet fell into the hands of the ryots they would know that there was a bright side to the picture as well as a dark one . " 75 Comparisons of Nil Darpan, which was stigmatized as "filthy," "foul , " " disgusting," "licentious , " and " obscene ," with works such as Oliver Twist and Uncle Tom's Cabin excited much attention and provoked further discussion: The Drama is the favourite mode with the Hindus for describing cer­ tain states of society, manners , customs . Since the days of Sir W. J ones , by scholars at Paris , St. Petersburgh, and London, the Sanskrit Drama has , in this point of view, been highly appreciated. The Bengali Drama imitates , in this respect its Sanskrit parent. The evils of Kulin Brahmanism , widow marriage prohibition, quackery, fanaticism, have been depicted by it with great effect.76 Even after Long's release from prison, Nil Darpan continued to occupy the attentions of the press. Soon after the verdict, leading English and vernacu­ lar newspapers and j ournals in India covered the story with great interest. In England, the Saturday Review on july 1 3 , 1 86 1 , made an extensive report of the play, calling it " a very curious document," and discussed the status of the genre among Indians : "The drama is a form of composition in which the higher natives take as much feeble delight as they ever take in any literary work, and the view of indigo planting which this play presents is one which, when exhibited in a popular form, may meet with many eager and interested readers . " 77 While dismissing its artistic merit, the Saturday Review treated the play as a valuable sociological document: "To us in England the drama has no interest except so far as it enables us to conj ecture what are the mis­ deeds of which the natives accuse the planters , and what is the truth of the accusation . " 78 After discussing the play in detail , the Saturday Review fur­ ther asserted that "we must not look at Nil Durpan to see what the English in India are but it is not unprofitable to see in these pages what they might be if men of wisdom and authority did not set and maintain the tone of pru­ dence, moderation, and j ustice . " 79 For the British government, the publication and translation of Nil Darpan into English increased suspicion of vernacular drama. Because of the lan­ guage barrier, authorities feared they overlooked information regarding sub­ versive aspects of dramatic productions . The increasing production of radical dramas by 1 875 and the reaction of the press from various sections of the Bengali populace became immensely threatening to the rulers, who began pursuing a policy of caution with respect to dramatic productions . Nil Darpan thus catalyzed a policy of dramatic censorship that was to become another legal mechanism of imperial control over the cultural life of the colony.

34

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama In terms of nationalist sentiments , Nil Darpan proved rather favorable. Long's translation of the play not only made him a hero who let himself go to j ail for the cause of the oppressed people , but also inspired nationalist feelings : if he as a European could go to j ail for the sake of the ryots , then why not the Indians, was a question that Long's suffering provoked.80 Long's imprisonment also dispelled faith in British j ustice, and those who had paid little attention to British inj ustice started questioning the govern­ ment's racist policies . For example , it was only after Long's trial on August 26, 1 8 6 1 that a few prominent Indians in Calcutta sent a memorial request­ ing "Her Maj esty's Secretary of State for India" to recall Sir Mordaunt Wells to England, the presiding j udge at the trial and a highly racist government official who had in 1859 called the Indians a nation of " forgers" and "per­ j urers . " 8 1 The appeal for recall was made on account of Wells's racist atti­ tude toward natives , which they found incompatible with the impartial administration of j ustice .82 To the native intelligentsia , Nil Darpan became exemplary of the role that drama could play in the fight against colonial rule . Consequently, following Nil Darpan, political developments in India became the subj ect of numerous plays . Even the polemical text of Nil Darpan began to be performed on the public stage in the 1 870s, largely as a way of portraying the excesses of the indigo planters and to elicit responses from the public to demand the rights of indigo laborers . As imperialism increased in scope, resistance on the stage mounted and the number of political plays dealing with colonial oppression increased. Dramatists such as Sisir Kumar Ghose , Manmohan Bose, and Girish Chan­ dra Ghosh, among others , began to take a keen interest in the building up of national theaters for the express purpose of awakening a sense of national­ ism and patriotism. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of the Great National Theatre in Calcutta . In 1875 , nationalist drama moved beyond the geographical boundaries of Bengal when the Great National Theatre toured Agra , Mathura , Vrindavan, Lucknow, and Delhi with Nil Darpan as part of its repertoire . In this way, the ideological conflict among the indigo capital­ ists , the government, and the missionaries not only revealed the connec­ tions of law, colonization, and theater; it brought out an overt questioning of colonial policies and initiated a new phase in the life of the stage in India .

Two Anticolonial "Mirrors" and the Dramatic Performances Censorship Bill

Gaekwar Durpan and Chakar Durpan are two notable anticolonial plays that followed Nil Darpan. 8 3 Both plays were written in the wake of exploitative circumstances and lashed out against British policies in India. Although 35

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance indigo plantations virtually ceased to exist after 1860, oppression of peas­ ants continued in the tea plantations of Assam. For the most part, the labor­ ers working on tea plantations were forced to sign contracts to work for a specified period of time. With false promises of prosperity, planters cheated laborers into signing contracts to work in plantations away from their homes . Upon arriving at the plantations , laborers lived at the mercy of the planters , who routinely beat, kicked, and flogged them and assaulted their wives and daughters . Through the efforts of missionaries and through news­ papers , news about their oppression began to circulate , generating public awareness of the conditions , and prompting protests from important social reformers , writers , and activists . 84 With the exploitation of the tea laborers as its central focus, Chakar Durpan exposed the legal malpractices by the rulers and the complete subordination of the laborers in the process involv­ ing the trade , consumption, and production of tea . The plot of the play revolves around two peasants , Sarada and Barada , who are cheated into signing contracts to work in the tea plantations because of their meager pecuniary resources and the failure of the rice crop that year. Accompanied by their wives , Sarma and Nrityakali, the brothers arrive at the plantation only to find themselves being brutalized by the sahib as well as by other native employees . Despite the depot inspector's warning about the prevailing conditions in the tea estates , they are unable to escape. The exploitation reaches its high point when planter Mclean rapes Sarma , who dies as a result. In the last act, Mr. Mclean orders Sarada's and Barada's deportation to an island and causes Nrityakali, after she is raped, to slit her throat in a fit of insanity. When Sarada and Barada threaten to take the mat­ ter regarding Sarma's rape to the court and seek the Company's protection, the peons and Nidhuram, a native employee, scoff at the futility of their efforts : " this Sahib is your Company. Who else is the Company in this coun­ try? Do you not know the proverb , 'The country is his who has the strength. ' "85 To show the power of the sahib , Nidhuram further tells the two brothers : "The thana [ police station] and police are in my Sahib's fists ; do you know that? If my Sahib had committed a thousand murders instead of one, no thing could be done to him. "86 When Sarada and Barada plead to the sahib for mercy, Barada corroborates Nidhuram's opinion: Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! you will complain at the court? The Sahibs do not fear that. The thana and police are in my hands . She died of herself. If I were to kill you , nothing would happen to me. With the Bible in my hand, I would say you had the spleen. I am acquainted with the Inspector of the thana, the judge, the Magistrate , the Commissioner, and all . They are my brothers in caste . 87

36

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama The play took on a special significance in drawing the critical attention of the native press, which responded by pointing out that " [ p ] ossibly the oppressions actually practiced on the labourers are [ more ] severe than these depicted in the 'Chakar Durpan."' 88 Gaekwar Durpan attacked the political process of British expansion in the late nineteenth century through the gradual annexation of the princely states to the empire. In 1 8 74 , Colonel Phayre , a local British resident and commanding officer of the British army at Baroda , accused Malhar Rao Gaekwar, the maharaj a of Baroda , of attempting to poison him and initiated an investigation into the matter. In consultation with his legal advisor, the governor-general, Lord Northbrooke, committed Malhar Rao to trial on charges of complicity in the poisoning of Colonel Phayre . Rao was to be tried in public by a special commission and divested of his authority until the trial was completed. Accordingly, a proclamation of the British India government led to the arrest of Malhar Rao on january 1 4 , 1 874 , on the charge of holding through "his agents and in person . . . secret communica­ tion for improper purposes with some of the (Residency) servants" and bribing " some of these servants or caus [ing] bribes to be given" for the pur­ pose of spying on Phayre in order to poison him. 89 The actual reason for Rao's indictment was the government's plan to annex Baroda . Early in the century , the East India Company's government had followed a policy of annexation of the princely territories and, on the pretext of maladministration and lack of natural heirs, annexed a number of states . 90 Lord Dalhousie , governor-general of lndia from 1 84 7 to 1 8 5 6 , who postulated that "we are lords paramount and our policy is to acquire as direct a dominion over the 7 , 1 7,000 sq. miles still possessed by the native princes as we already have over the other half of India , " aggressively pur­ sued the policy of annexation through his "Doctrine of Lapse . " 9 1 Even though in 1 802 Anand Rao Gaekwar had concluded a subsidiary treaty with the British, until 1 8 75 Baroda was not under the direct jurisdiction of the British. In the alleged poisoning of Colonel Phayre , the government found a reason to expel its ruler and annex Baroda to the empire . The India Council as well as the Anglo-Indian press agreed that if proven guilty , Malhar Rao would be deposed and Baroda would come under the rule of the empire. In the trial that began on February 23 , 1875 , and lasted for twenty days , it became evident that Malhar Rao had been framed and that witnesses had testified against him under pressure . The trial generated tremendous sym­ pathy among Indians for Malhar Rao , and opinion regarding the validity of the case became divided between the Indians and the British serving on the commission . The secretary of state feared that "in the face of a divided report . . . it was impossible to treat Malhar Rao as guilty of poisoning. "92

37

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance N onetheless , authorities deposed Malhar Rao on grounds of maladministra­ tion. In its dramatization of the incident, Gaekwar Durpan exposed the mal­ practices of planting false courtroom evidence , the framing of witnesses, the power exercised by the British army, and the ways in which the British pit­ ted natives against each other. Such representation of the humiliating processes of colonial subj ugation through the public forum of the stage exhibits a firm nationalist commitment toward dramatizing concerns that reveal the contradictions between the colonial government's claims about its " civilizing mission" and its prac­ tices .93 Presenting the colonial power in a position clearly oppositional to the interests of the ruled, Gaekwar Durpan and Chakar Durpan show the condi­ tions that forced natives into subordination. Unlike the ambiguities toward imperial rule in Nil Darpan, the attitudes toward the rulers are now clearly antagonistic . Further, as in Nil Darpan, in both these dramas the mirror motif is persistent: The Mirror of Baroda, The Tea Planters' Mirror. The strategic use of the word mirror in the titles purports to convey that the representations of the conditions are accurate renditions of the processes of colonial domina­ tion and exploitation. For an audience , this recurring motif acquires a certain currency; its repetitive use seeks to validate the dramatizations as truthful representations of what the audience may not have witnessed firsthand. By conveying this sense of accuracy, playwrights attempted to evoke a collective oppositional response to the inequities of colonization. Moreover, the pub­ licity surrounding Nil Darpan had conveyed at a popular level that the descriptions of inj ustices meted out at the plantations were accurate . Hence , perceiving these plays as anything but reality was difficult. To the rulers these plays represented the gradual consolidation of an oppositional current in the realm of theater . Alarmed by the two plays at a time when British j ustice was being questioned, the lieutenant-governor of Bengal , Sir Richard Temple , urged the immediate passage of the Censorship Act, expressing his fears that it would be "bad and unwise to permit the British name to be publicly vilified, evening after evening, in the presence of a susceptible , quick-witted and impressionable race like the Bengallees . " 94 In his proposal for introducing the censorship bill , Hobhouse reinforced the authorities' concerns : On seeing in the English (Indian) papers a translation of a native play called " Chakar Durpan" (The Tea Planters' Mirror) which if correct was a scandalous libel against the English planters . . . . There is I think an obvious necessity for some power to prevent the acting of political plays . I can conceive nothing more calculated to do serious harm than the acting of such plays at a time of political excitement, and I am not disposed to look quite so indifferently . . . at the recent representation 38

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama in Calcutta of the Gaekwar's trial-again, the representation of such plays as the Chakar Durpan would be a serious evil.95 In August 1 8 7 5 , Lord N orthbrooke, along with a number of officials , dis­ patched a letter to the India Office in London explaining the necessity of the passage of legislation enabling the prohibition of " theatrical representation, which in their opinion may be prejudicial to the public interests . " Among others , they listed the following reason: A few months ago our attention was directed to a Native play called the Chakar Durpan or "The Mirror of Tea Planting, " which had been published in Calcutta . This work contains a scandalous libel on the tea planters in Assam, and if represented on the stage would be calcu­ lated to excite feelings of personal hostility against them . Yet the Gov­ ernment have no power to prohibit its representation. The circum­ stances connected with the recent trial of the Gaekwar of Baroda have been dramatised and represented in Calcutta . . . it is obvious that at a time of political excitement representations of this class might give rise to serious consequences . 96 Following approval from the marquis of Salisbury, the secretary of state for India introduced the proposed bill regarding theatrical performances in the Legislative Department97 and circulated the same among all the provincial governments of the subcontinent (including British Burma) . After receiving a unanimously favorable response from the various local and provincial governments , the British India government proposed to the secretary of state for India " to proceed with the Bill and pass it at Calcutta . " 98

Censorship , Nationalist Drama, and the Politics of Gender

In staging their protests , dramatists built nationalist themes around women , showing women's choice of death after being raped by Englishmen as a sign of their nobility and devotion. After being raped by their colonial masters , Kshetromony of Nil Darpan, Sarma and Nrityakali of Chakar Durpan, and Biraj mohini of Surendra-Binodini perform the "honorable" act of killing themselves . 99 Scholars writing about the nationalist construction of women in the nineteenth century attribute the recasting of women as pure, sacrificial , and honorable to the revivalist ideas of orientalists , nationalists , and social reformers who identified the ancient Hindu era as the "Golden Aryan Age . " Such revivalism, according to Uma Chakravarty, asserted an exclusive Hindu identity as representative of the Indian nation. Orientalist

39

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance scholars such as Max Muller constructed a theory of Aryan identity derived from an Indic past (for Hindus) , giving prominence to the notion that the males in the golden age of the Hindus "were free , brave , vigorous , fearless , themselves civilized and civilizing others , noble and deeply spiritual," and its women "learned, free and highly cultured. " 100 Social reformers such as Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekanand, and Dayanand Saraswati constantly compared Hindu women to Vedic ancient women who ostensibly possessed these qualities . A woman's social behavior, thus, played an important role in consolidating a respectable social identity for the Hindu male, in the inter­ est of whom careful control had to be maintained over her sexuality.101 This discourse found its manifestation on the stage in the characters of women as good mothers and wives, whose violation represented a violation of com­ munity honor, and was dramatized through the trademark symbols of melo­ drama-the virtuous wife and mother being important features . 102 With playwrights seeking to perform the function of anticolonial protest, the cre­ ation of an archetypal virtuous woman-sexually violated by the colo­ nizer-functioned as a potentially subversive device. This apparently melo­ dramatic tactic of showing the tortured, troubled, and raped wife and mother who goes insane or commits suicide served as a powerful mode of representation for evoking the audiences' emo tions and displaying the mag­ nitude of colonial oppression. The brutality of Indian women being raped by white men at the tea and indigo plantations was shown to be an evil wor­ thy of attention. It served to challenge notions regarding white masters as the saviors of brown women-a belief that had been perpetuated since William Bentinck's 1 829 reforms outlawing sati. 103 Showing white men rap­ ing instead of rescuing Indian women contradicted claims that the British had stopped barbaric practices carried out against Hindu women. Moreover, through the image of the ideal woman, or the sugrahini, play­ wrights also contrasted images of British women with those of Hindu women as a way of counteracting British portrayals of Hindu society as "backward" and "uncivilized" and of Hindu social norms as being morally detrimental to Hindu women . In Chakar Durpan, Nidhuram, McLean's diwan (a native employee on the supervisory staff of an indigo factory) , asserts Hindu pride when he tells McLean, " [ O ] ur women consider it a shame to go out in the streets" and any Bengali women on the roads "probably do not belong to the families of respectable people . " 104 What good were the Hindus, posits Nidhu , if they, like their rulers , let their "mother [ s ] and sisters . . . wander about the streets . " 105 In " Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Colonized Women," Partha Chatterj ee describes the nationalist bourgeoisie's construction of the spiritual and the material spheres, corresponding with the outside world and the home respectively, in which the former was deemed morally superior. 106 What we find in the plays are constructions of the private and the public

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Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama sphere in which Hindu women reside in the private space, as opposed to the "immoral" public space that British women occupied. 107 This trope of respectability related to space became a powerful one in the melodramatic imagination of nineteenth-century nationalist playwrights , as is apparent in the play Gajadananda and the Prince, written after the visit of the Prince of Wales , later Emperor Edward VII , to Calcutta on December 23 , 1 8 7 5 . During his visit, a Bengali bhadralok, Babu Jagadananda Mukherjee, invited the prince to the zenana. Many Bengalis viewed the prince's glimpse into the zenana of a "respectable" Bengali as a great dishonor and expressed their outrage by attacking the prince's action, and by severely condemning Mukherj ee for encouraging his visit. News of the incident spread far and wide , and even the Bengali press expressed its anger , as exhibited in the response of the Amrit Bazaar Patrika: "The Hindu society can bear all oppression, but no shock to its womanhood. Any person, who allows the family to be defiled from outside , is a disgrace , nay a great enemy, to the Hindu society . " 108 Another leading daily, the Hindu Patriot, opined that " the national feeling had been outraged at the price the Babu paid for his hon­ our. " 109 What we find in these responses is that for the purpose of attacking the colonists , the issue of gender had acquired central importance . l 10 However, such gendered protests against the imperial power did not come without consequences both for women and for further repression of drama. The purportedly oppositional portrayal of colonial rule on the issue of gen­ der became detrimental for women in that it effectively contained their social position within traditional patriarchal structures . Women's acts of suicide invoked the idea of pativrat-dharam (devotion to the husband) as prescribed in ancient Hindu texts . 1 1 1 Their unconditional devotion to their husbands and the choice of " death rather than ravishment" constituted what Uma Chakravarty calls an act of upholding kshatriya 11 2 values of duty and honor. It conveyed that " [ t] he brave warriors who would not give in to the might of alien rule were supported by the female Kshatriya values of courage and bravery which made no demands on their menfolk; indeed, their values enabled their men to resist to the very end. " 1 13 In upholding the honor of their men, women became the saviors of the nation. In Chakar Durpan Nrityakali's praise for Sarma's devotion to her husband reflect this sentiment: When Sarma was coming away to this country, her mother and father wept much. But Sarma would not stay behind; she said "what shall I do if I remain with you ? I will go wherever my husband goes . If my husband takes me to forests and j ungles , or beneath a tree, I will go with him . " Hearing this , they said nothing more Y4 Nrityakali's speech evokes the image of Sita , the heroine of the Hindu epic

Ramayana, who too preserved her family's honor by going with her husband 41

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance Rama to the j ungles during his fourteen years of exile from the kingdom of Ayodhya . Like Sita , Sarma became a feminine model of women of the ramra­ jya, or the ancient kingdom of the Hindu god Rama . Through dramatizations of Indian women's moral and spiritual superiority over their British counter­ parts , intended for the consumption of a middle-class public, playwrights thus sculpted a limited identity for women that was based on imagined images of ancient Vedic women culled from the "golden age" of Hinduism. Aware of the Hindu fetishization of a woman's "honor, " the authorities used such protests to justify the need for censoring plays . To downplay the reality of sexual atrocities at the plantations as represented in the plays-a reality that exposed a most ugly side of colonial rule-the rulers launched into a rhetoric of "respectability," "honor, " and "morality," banning a num­ ber of plays on the pretext that the women in the plays received bad treat­ ment. Images of white men assaulting women , they claimed, were detri­ mental to Hindu women. Hence , after the staging of Surendra-Binodini, the police reported that the drama was "libellous and obscene , " implying that the blood on the girl's sari was the result of an outrageous act against the girl by the European magistrate . The censors also asserted that "as the girl was not married, no Hindu would ever marry her but a fallen one . " 1 15 Conse­ quently authorities imprisoned the play's author and director on grounds that they used obscene language and "wilfully exhibited to public view an obscene representation of a woman having her saree stained with blood in front, carried in the arms of a man having his shirt stained with blood in front, intending thereby to represent the immediate results of such woman having been defloured [ sic] by such a man . " 1 16 The underlying mo tive for banning the plays was not to protect Indian women but to suppress dissent. Nonetheless , intertwining the rhetoric of morality with the issue of gender enabled authorities to legitimize colonial rule . By showing sympathy for Hindu women, British rulers reinforced their position that the males in Indian society were too "effeminate" to take care of their women, and that if the Hindu men were unfit to take care of their women , then the " civilized" Europeans would take care of them. In this way, they validated their reasons for censoring native drama and made the nationalist playwrights seem like betrayers of their own women. The rhetoric of obscenity and morality for Hindu women was also strategic , as it won the rulers the sympathy and support of the conservative Brahman ele­ ment on whom, argues Uma Chakravarty, they heavily relied. Implementing policy against drama on the pretext of (mis) representation of women, there­ fore, became a strategic means of preventing rising disaffection with colo­ nial rule . Seeping into the rhetoric of morality and respectability, on both the British and the nationalist side , the real issue of the suffering of women at

42

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama the hands of the planters , as a result, became marginal. What got reinforced instead was the entrapment of women in the stranglehold of patriarchal norms and ideologies . Women's roles came to be defined by the ideals of honor, sacrifice, and duty to one's nation. The interplay of power between the censors and the censored thus proved detrimental to the position of women . Promo ting an identity for women as "good" mothers , daughters , or wives , the plays defined the parameters of the roles that the nationalist bour­ geoisie allocated to them. Even in the years that followed, this continued to be the trend for most drama. For example, when in 1 889 the Star Theatre presented Girish Chan­ dra Ghosh's Profulla, about the turn of fortunes of a wealthy merchant who becomes a beggar and takes to drinking, the Statesman, along with its cele­ bration of the portrayal of Hindu brotherhood, especially praised the play for its representation of the female protagonist: "his wife Jnanada showed how Hindoo ladies adore their husbands (even if they are drunkards) that they do not scruple to sacrifice their lives for their husbands' comforts . . . Profulla , the wife of Ramesh . . . is the model of chastity and moved the audience to tears . " 1 1 7 Such an image also affected the role of women as actresses in plays . For women to act in the profession became increasingly disrespectable , as evident in 1 873 and 1879, when the troupe of the Star Theatre faced stiff resistance at performances in Dacca because of the participation of women . U 8 Consequently, even women who devoted their lives as actresses to theater remained on the margins of respectability. For example , Binodini Dasi, "the Prima Donna of Bengalee Stage, " who helped build the Star The­ atre by donating all her financial resources and even helping with physical labor, received practically no recognition by either her coworkers , or by the larger society of Hindus and Brahmos, who looked down upon her . 1 19 This association of actresses with a lack of respectability also had wide-ranging consequences for Hindustani theater. For example , the participation of actresses tarnished the Parsi theaters' reputation for literary respectability and contributed to their exclusion from the canon of Hindi drama .

Censorship , Protest, and Mythological Drama

Despite the censors' approval of a number of plays for some time after 1876, theaters saw a lull in political dramatic activity. 120 European attendance at the theaters , police surveillance, and coercion of theater managers made it difficult to present dramas that openly attacked colonial rule . This led to the dwindling of the National Theatre . 1 21 At such a time, playwrights searched for a drama that could elude censorship and at the same time disseminate nationalist ideas . Because of its religiously affiliated characteristic , which 43

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance made it less susceptible to strict censorship measures , mythological drama seemed quite appropriate for these purposes. As one official noted regarding religious performances , " [ T ] he danger lies in our interfering with religious performances and those . . . of a quasi-religious character , and these we have no means of knowing , much less preventing these being held . " 122 Since authorities perceived interference with religious customs as a way of alien­ ating natives, the Censorship Act did not apply to plays associated with reli­ gious rituals or ceremonies . To escape censorship , moreover, playwrights could camouflage political plays in the garb of stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. And through analytical representations of mythological stories that commented on contemporaneous sociopolitical events , they could continue to challenge authoritarian structures and state apparatuses . The genre would also have popular appeal at a time when revivalist Hin­ duism recuperated mythological characters such as Krishna , Abhimanyu , Yudhishtar , Prahlad, and others as the ideal men and nation builders . This revivalism was also sought through inspirations by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , a seventeenth-century spiritual leader. Evidence for such revivalism in the 1 890s became visible in the ideas of Swami Vivekanand, founder of the Ramakrishna Mission . At the Congress of Religions held in Chicago in 1897, Vivekanand evoked the "glories of the Aryan tradition and Hinduism" before Western audiences with bitter attacks on religious and spiritual degeneration . 1 23 In Maharashtra , the evocation of a lost Hindu and Maratha glory found increasing support in the Ganpati Utsav (ganesh festivals) . In Punj ab and Western Uttar Pradesh, the Arya Samaj , founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati ( 1 824-5 3 ) , had a long-lasting impact. Even as he criti­ cized social practices such as idolatry, polytheism, child marriage, and taboos on widow remarriage , Swami Dayanand aggressively asserted the superiority of a "purified Hinduism based on Vedic infallibility" over other faiths including Christianity, Sikhism , and Islam . 1 24 Such ideas permeated the theater . In Calcutta , Girish Chandra Ghosh brought together a number of well-known theater artists and began to build a reputation for the theater through mythological plays . 125 For Ghosh , there was tremendous hope to be derived from mythological plays , because all high class books of each nation have been based upon mythology. Homer, Virgil, Milton and Michael [Madhusudan Dutt] produced their best pieces on mythology . . . . [ T ] he best three novels of Bankim Chandra are based on the most popular religious piece-the "Bhagbat Gita . " No poet's conception can surpass that of Vyasa or Valmiki nor has any poet or dramatist or historian been able to depict a more sub­ lime ideal than of Rama or Krishna, Lakshman or Visma , Sita or Sub­ hadra . 1 26 44

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama Ghosh's plays Ravan-Badh (The Destruction of Ravana, July 30, 1 88 1 ) and Sitar-Bonbash (The Exile of Sita, September 1 7 , 1 88 1 ) met with great success and unabated enthusiasm , receiving high praise from Amrit Bazaar Patrika: There was a grand performance of National Theatre last Saturday and we congratulate the management on the signal success achieved on the occasion. A new drama Ravonbadh destruction of Ravana-written in verse by the "Garrick of the Hindu Stage" and the new and splendid sceneries and dresses, to say nothing of the histrionic talents of the actors and actresses, called for the repeated and enthusiastic applause. We hope all lovers of Hindu drama , will muster strong on the next occasion. 127 The success of these plays made the genre of mythological drama popular, and theaters in Bengal , such as the Star Theatre , Emerald Theatre , City The­ atre , Minerva Theatre , Classic Theatre , and the Unique Theatre , staged a number of other mythological dramas before enthusiastic audiences . 1 28 By the 1 920s mythological drama became a prominent part of theatrical fare in most of North India. It is not within the scope of this section to give a comprehensive account of individual productions . Rather, analysis of specific plays samples the ways in which local and national theaters carried out their protest through mythology at a time of violent repression of polit­ ical drama . With the protection of the nation as the dominant theme , most dramas focused on specific incidents from Hindu mythology and incorpo­ rated the poetry, music , and dance-drama conventions of ramlila (folk the­ aters enacting stories and events from the Ramayana) and raslila (operatic dramas dealing primarily with the life of Lord Krishna , who is a pivotal character in the Mahabharata). These were interspersed with commentaries and contained elements of melodrama : pointed sentimentality, theatrical utterances , songs , and comic scenes . Elaborate stage sets and theatrical devices such as scenes from heaven showing the gods watching over their subj ects on the earth and showering blessings upon them added to the melodramatic mode . Playwrights such as Radheyshyam Kathavachak also presented themes centering on uncompromising resistance to the enemy. In Vir Abhimanyu [Brave Abhimanyu, 1 9 1 6 ] , a story taken from the Mahab­

harata, the play's chief protagonist, Abhimanyu , along with the other Pan­ davas , refuses to compromise with their enemies , the Kauravas , and vows to avenge them at all costs . Similarly in Bhakta Prahlad [Faithful Prahlad, 1 9 1 4 ] , Prahlad expresses his opposition to the tyrannical rule of his father, Hiranakashyap . Even at the risk of losing their husbands or sons , the women in these plays exhibit tremendous nationalist zeal. Abhimanyu's mother and his wife Uttara send him to the battlefield with their blessings. 45

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance At the same time , the play represents them as willing participants in the wars . Intending to mobilize women toward the nation's independence , such utterances as "Show me how to use the sword . . . I will go the battle and show my valor" by Uttara's girlfriend in Vir Abhimanyu are commonly voiced sentiments in most plays . Replete with the themes of honor and duty to the motherland, the plays are liberally interspersed with such statements as "This is not the time to cry. This is the time to be brave . " 129 Recast in highly theatrical modes , the familiar stories created tremen­ dous excitement among viewers , who , according to Kathavachak, drowned the theater with cries of " Once more ! " after certain scenes or songs . By the same token , the dialogue conveyed messages about the evils of the Raj and attempted to inspire viewers to oust the enemy from the nation. Allusions to the battlefield, the urge for fulfilling one's duty to the country, the need to sacrifice one's life for the nation became themes that sharpened the ques­ tion of freedom . In Maharashtra, for example, Khadilkar's Kichahvadh ( 1 9 07) presented a story about the Pandavas taken from the Mahabharata to attack the colonial government. According to Solomon, the molestation of Draupadi at the hands of Kichak, who is eventually killed by Bhim , one of Draupadi's five Pandava husbands , became a metaphor for the policies of the Raj . Kichak represented Lord Curzon, Draupadi represented India, Yudhishtar, the eldest of the Pandava bro thers , represented the moderate nationalists , and Bhim represented an extremist nationalist. 130 Through such stories playwrights contrasted the aggressive and hateful acts of the enemy (who, by implication, were the rulers) with the resistance offered by those who sought to rescue the nation from colonial evils . Thus , in Vir

Abhimanyu, Abhimanyu gives up his life for the sake of the kingdom of the Pandavas , and his legacy continues through his son Parikshat, who assumes the leadership of Hastinapur. The last scene of the play shows the crowning of Parikshat with the divine blessings of Lord Krishna, and with Abhimanyu showering blessings upon his son from heaven . The play por­ trays an enemy that is evil but also possesses formidable strength-a strength that acquired the form of aggressiveness and tyranny. In addition to the goal of instilling a sense of duty to one's nation, this trope conveyed that defeating the enemy was no easy task and required the utmost dedica­ tion and commitment. Another distinctive aspect of the play is that it provides explanations regarding the usefulness of theater for mobilizing public support, and out­ lines, in the opening scene , the larger implications and purpose of the drama . Hence , after the prelude , Vir Abhimanyu initiates the following con­ versation between the Nata (actor) and the Nati (actress) whose function is to introduce the play :

46

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama

Nata: Aryan woman, today there is tremendous enthusiasm in the the­ ater. We should shower the drama rasa [ the taste , savor, flavor, or essence of drama ] on the devo tees . We should arrange for a play.131

Nati: . . . The truth is that indecent plays have destroyed the chief pur­ pose of theater. They have corrupted the viewers' means of merri­ ment. The art of drama is the ancient art of the Aryans. Whenever, in accordance with prevailing times, some failing occurs in the behavior of mankind, then through drama reform is brought about . . . in soci­ ety. This is because the effect that cannot be reached through lectures or song alone can be achieved through acting. Therefore . . . it is our j ob to bring those who are lost onto the right track. Nata: This is precisely our duty, but . . . Nati: Interests are now changing. There is a tradition of mythological drama . At such a time, we should think about playing a significant drama ; along with entertainment, we should also preserve our soci­ ety and our nation. Nata: Is that so? Then, to show to the children of India the pride of India's brave ones , today let's play Bareilly resident Radheyshyam Kathavachak's drama Vir Abhimanyu . . . Let us play Abhimanyu Natak for the benefit of our countrymen. .

Nati: Abhimanyu? Which Abhimanyu? . . . In the battle of Mahab­ harata when the Indian field was being marked with the sacred blood of the brave ones , the one who gave up his life to fulfill the pledge [ to his nation] . . . that Abhimanyu ? Nata: Yes , that Abhimanyu , son of Aryans . . . the one who immortal­ ized his name by giving up his life . Let us sing the praises of that brave and powerful one. Nati: As you please ! If after listening to the praises of our brave and val­ orous one , our viewers are instilled with a valorous spirit and these passion-filled devotees become brave enough to enter the battlefield on behalf of the Indian forces to break the enemies of India , then . . . . Nata: . . . that will be great. But our countrymen are overcome by iner­ tia . Nati: That's true . . . this inertia is a terrible demon that is gradually establishing its stranglehold on the nation. It is turning this sacred land into a cowardly place . Nata: N ow don't lament, let's begin the play. 132 This opening dialogue is in fact a theoretical statement that grounds the social and political role of theater, one that invites the audience to seek crit­ ical engagement with the genre and examine its relevance to the political

47

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance and historical context of the time. It simultaneously engages the issue of mythology and articulates the need for staging stories from the repertoire of heroic tales of the past during a period of anti-imperialist struggle. Such a frame, thus, clarifies at the outset the distinct goals of drama in politically charged times and the specific goals of a return to the past, one whose obj ec­ tive is not nostalgia but an attempt to shake the nation out of its stupor and awaken its people to recognize the need for collective mobilization and challenges to colonial rule . Given the dangers attached to political dramas at a time when imperialist expansion required the suppression of all politically subversive material , playwrights also found in mythological drama a means to wrest the theater from repression and make it a "free" space to speak out and express them­ selves . This is not to say that mythological drama was completely free of censorship . Even though the Censorship Act had been careful not to touch religious drama , the mythological dramas performed by the jatra parties had aroused the suspicions of the authorities . 133 Moreover, since the act was specifically concerned with places of "public entertainment," by which it meant places where people paid money to watch plays , even mythological plays performed in public theaters were liable to the laws of censorship . 134 However, reasons related to religious sensibilities made authorities more reluctant to censor such plays . As Ganpat Daangi, who acted in mythologi­ cal plays staged by the Parsi theater companies , reported, " [T ] he censor board never listened very carefully to religious/mythological and historical dramas . Carelessly, it would stamp the play for approval. But it listened to and read social plays very carefully. And sometimes the drama wallahs also managed to deceive the censor board . " 135 To escape the censors , playwrights also, at strategic moments , changed the dialogue and added parts to the performances that appeared to be reli­ gious or mythological allusions , but contained covert messages about British rule. In one such situation, in Ishwar Bhahti, Kathavachak added the following monologue to the performance : Respected sages and holy men, what is this bundle of bones? Is this a disgrace to this holy earth , or is it the tyranny of the present rule? What a cruel, difficult, and ugly scenario it is . . . What is this , tell me, why are you quiet? Are you scared? Whose garden has been destroyed, the flowers in which are now scattered? 136 Kathavachak writes in his autobiography of an occasion in which Bhakta

Prahlad came under the censor's eye . The company's electricity manager, Mr. Manikshah Balsara , told me that an officer of the local censor police came thrice with his diary in 48

Censorship and the Politics of Nationalist Drama an attempt to catch the play on the basis of its opposition to the British and have it stopped, but he failed. Prahlad and Pramod [ characters in the play] certainly spoke very openly against oppression and domi­ nance in the play, but the question was-whose dominance? 137 Kathavachak's claims only corroborate the fears that authorities harbored regarding the difficulty of keeping a check on performances . Even if written plays could be obtained, there was "no information as to any 'gag ,' which might have been interpolated during the performance," making it difficult for officials to take action under the act of 1876 or under the Indian Penal Code. 138 As a cultural phenomenon, therefore , mythological drama can be seen as a vital and invigorating activity that challenged the political machin­ ery and, on occasion, rendered futile its attempts to suppress drama . Its cel­ ebrations of mythological heroes and warriors and questioning of tyranny and inj ustice through manipulation of dialogue and language that concealed attacks on the British rulers , disseminated oppositional ideas to large and varied audiences . Increasing demand for such plays led to their production in various urban and suburban centers , at country fairs , at exhibitions across the country, at theaters in Bengal and in Uttar Pradesh, and in cities such as Bombay, Lahore, and Delhi. In some cases , theater companies performed on tempo­ rary stages . The demand for tickets often restricted attendance on the open­ ing night to people traveling from neighboring areas to watch the play. Most plays underwent considerable preparation, with elaborate sets and scenery. 139 Over time, mythological plays , notably Vir Abhimanyu and Bhakta Prahlad, became household names and attracted national attention. When the New Alfred Company opened Kathavachak's play Ishwar Bhakti in Delhi, it was inaugurated by the Congress president Motilal Nehru , accom­ panied by the feminist nationalist activist Sarojini Naidu . The plays thus suc­ ceeded in engaging the attention of multiple audiences that ranged from lit­ erary writers to political activists and nationalist figures. At a time when the political sloganeering by dramatists and activists was frequently silenced with imprisonment and others forms of punishment, the re-creations of leg­ ends and mythology alerted audiences to the excesses of colonialism. Another consequence of mythological drama was that it helped reinstate the reputation of theater. As discussed earlier, the rhetoric of " obscenity" and "morality" used by colonial as well as bourgeois nationalists and social reformers had imparted a dubious reputation to theater, including political plays . This also affected attendance by the "respectable" gentry, resulting in a loss of patronage and support. The sanctimonious character of religious and mythological drama challenged the perception of Indian drama as "immoral" and " obscene" and accomplished at the same time its intended 49

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance political purpose . l40 Its rhetoric of spirituality and morality, thus, became a means to raise the reputation of theater , as in the case of Parsi theaters such as the New Alfred Company, which now found a more attentive literate audience. For example , Premchand, one of the leading Hindi writers and spokesman for the nationalist cause, sang the following praises about Vir Abhimanyu in Madhuri, the j ournal he edited: "We understand that before this no Hindi play of such calibre has come on a Parsi company stage . . . . The ways in which descriptions , characters , and presentation of the nation­ alist sentiments of time and the ways in which they gave strength to Hindu society, is highly significant. " 141 By virtue of its content, mythological drama also increased the participation of women as viewers . Images of the ideal Hindu women such as Sita , Subhadra , and Uttara made it "respectable" for women to attend these performances . Hence, it brought middle-class women back into the theater. As N arayan Prasad Betab , whose Mahabharata delighted audiences in 1 9 1 3 at the Sangam Theatre in Delhi, wrote in his preface: "With my drama , the people who considered it a sin to show drama to their women now started bringing them to the theater without hesitation. The women [ the term used in Hindi translates as "goddesses" ] showed so much respect for these plays that the manager had to specially arrange a play once a week only for women, in which men were not admitted. " 142 However, for all its well-intentioned efforts , the kind of nationalism prop­ agated by mythological drama remained a deeply problematic enterprise. Clearly , the plots and stories of most plays reinforced the superiority of the Hindu race . As in Vir Abhimanyu, the plays declared the supremacy of the Aryans in ancient times . And even as mythological drama opened up the­ atrical activity for middle-class women and promoted their participation in the nationalist cause , the core of its nationalist ideology fashioned a conser­ vative identity for women defined according to the patriarchal tenets of Hin­ duism. Theatrical demands for freedom from colonial rule did not necessar­ ily translate into freedom from patriarchal expectations . Rather, the demands for freedom dramatized social positions that reinforced and reified the roles of women as good mothers and wives. While on the one hand such identities for women bo osted the self-image of Hindus and helped instill nationalist pride , the assertion of an Aryan identity also propagated ideas about Hindu supremacy over other religious groups , at a time when divi­ sions within Indian elites along religious, regional , and caste lines were on the rise. 143 Aimed at challenging colonial structures , such Hinduistic revivals consequently fostered the simultaneous growth of a Hindu nation­ alism. In this context, besides a story of repression and resistance, dramatic censorship and anticolonial nationalist drama are also part of the story of the consolidation of an elite Hindu nationalism.

so

Multiple Mediations of "Sh akespeare"

" Cymbeline in a Hindoo Playhouse"

Baroda, India , I 880 . Tara, a Marathi adaptation of Shakespeare's play Cy m ­ beline, was performed on the occasion of the marriages of "His Highness the Gaekwar," ruler of Baroda , to a Tanj ore princess , and his sister, Tara Bai, to the prince of Savantwari . Translated from English into Marathi by Vishnu Moreshvar Mahaj ani, headmaster of the Umraoti High School, Tara was performed by the ltchal Karanj ikar Company in a temporary structure of bamboo poles and canvas . According to a report in Macmillan's magazine, the stage , "a whitewashed sandbank forming an oval about three feet in height, twenty feet in breadth, and forty feet in depth , was partly concealed behind a drop-curtain, on which an elephant and tiger-fight was depicted, and by a proscenium of canvas , adorned with full length portraits of three­ headed gods and mythic heroes in strange attire . Three uprights-one of them a growing tree-on either side of the stage , sustained the 'foot­ lights'-some twenty kerosene lamps . " 1 Following the decorum of Sanskrit drama , the sutradhara (stage manager) introduced the play along with the "god Ganpati , a vermilion-faced, elephant-trunked monster, with golden turban, blue and gold tunic , and white legs , seated on a very terrestrial-look­ ing , cane-bottomed chair , in front of an Indian house . " 2 The context of the play shifted from Britain to Suvarnapuri (golden city) and from Italy to Vij aipura (land of victory) . Additionally, the names of persons and the cos­ tumes of actors were Indianized. Within the confines of a "Hindoo Play­ house , " Shakespeare entered a different space in an entirely different cul­ tural context and acquired a new language . As Tara, Shakespeare's play 51

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance became an instrument of entertainment to an audience of about five hun­ dred Hindus who largely spoke Guj arati and Marathi. 3 What the audience viewed was not the story of Cymbeline, Imogen , or Posthumus set in Britain and Rome during the era of Augustus Caesar but the localized story of Sambhaj i and Tara . In a space where , according to the report, the " classes" of men and children sat in the first two rows on chairs and couches , " the third on benches , while the fourth squatted placidly on the ground," the theatrical experience provided a glimpse of the cultural context of Baroda , of Hindu social practices , and hierarchies of caste , class, and gender.4 The translation and adaptation of Tara is just one of many examples showing that Shakespeare did not remain confined to European playhouses after being introduced in India. Translated into several Indian languages , including Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali , Punj abi, Guj arati, Marathi, Tamil , Tel­ ugu , Oriya , Malayalam, and SindhV the last century and a half saw at least two hundred translated and adapted versions of the plays of Shakespeare in vernacular languages . 6 Aside from printed translations , Shakespeare's plays became the subj ect of Bollywood films , dramatic productions , social con­ versations , advertisements , and popular Hindi songs . Over time, versions of Shakespearean plays emerged that were deployed for multiple purposes : for the subversion of colonial ideologies , for upholding orthodox Hindu social practices and hierarchies , for reviving ancient Hindu culture during a time of rising anticolonial nationalism , and for popular entertainment. In the context of expanding colonialism, local reconstructions of "Shakespeare" disrupted the "singularity" accorded to Shakespeare through claims about his "universality" and " timeless transcendentalism , " and imparted new meanings to the Bard. 7 To demonstrate these multiple mediations and to understand the ideo­ logical conditions that gave rise to alternative productions , it is first neces­ sary to situate the discursive representation of Shakespeare in its historical context and show how colonial power operated by legitimizing Shakespeare as the authoritative English text. To this end, this chapter begins with an overview of the colonialist function attached to "Shakespeare . " However, the strategic appropriations by playwrights , directors , and literary figures , especially in the context of censorship , add another critical dimension to the cultural value attached to colonial representations of Shakespeare .8 The subversion of colonial authority through local versions of Shakespeare informs the second part of this chapter. As a way of documenting the con­ tinuing extension of and resistance to colonial ideology through Shake­ spearean productions even after independence , this chapter concludes with a reading of the Merchant-Ivory film Shakespeare Wallah. Set in the postin­ dependence period, and produced in I 9 6 5 , a year after the fourth-centenary celebrations of Shakespeare , the film, through its unraveling of the story of 52

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" Shakespeare performance in India, exposes the continuing nostalgia for the "unique" qualities of "Shakespeare overseas . "

The Politics of Colonial Representation

In his introduction to Political Shakespeare, Jonathan Dollimore traces the cultural connections between "signification and legitimation: the way that beliefs , practices and institutions legitimate the dominant social order or status quo-the existing relations of domination and subordination . " 9 Such legitimation, he argues, is found "in the representation of sectional interests as universal ones . " 10 On the pretext of working in the interests of the com­ munity as a whole , those who are in positions of power in fact serve their own interests and those of their class . And through legitimation the existing order of things and social relations is "naturalized . " The institutionalization and dissemination of "Shakespeare" in India through the education system, traveling companies from abroad, and literary critical representations in academic and j ournalistic discourses , crucial to producing a narrative of cultural colonialism, validate Dollimore's claim . The initiation of Shakespeare into the Indian academy coincided with the introduction of the discipline of English literature in India, which became an important part of the educational curriculum after the establishment of universities in Bengal, Bombay, and Madras in I 8 5 7 . In Masks of Conquest, Gauri Vishwanathan shows the link between English literature and the con­ solidation of empire , asserting that the introduction of English language and literature , on the pretext of offering a liberal education , actually served as an instrument for the British administration to maintain control over the natives. She points out that the "humanistic functions traditionally associ­ ated with literature-for example , the shaping of character or the develop­ ment of the aesthetic sense or the disciplines of ethical thinking-were con­ sidered essential to the process of sociopolitical control. " 1 1 In India, argues Vishwanathan, the discipline of English literature was invested with "human and moral attributes , " an investment that was intertwined with the "civilising mission" of English literature in relation to various subordinate classes and groups . As the British consolidated their presence in India, the impulse to educate the natives gained wide approval based on the percep­ tion that the rulers could rule only by co-opting an influential class of natives as the "conduit of Western thought and ideas . " 1 2 While orientalists and Anglicists debated as to whether the Indian elite class should receive an education in classical languages or in English language and literature , the Anglicist faction emerged victorious with the passage of the Indian Educa­ tional Act of I 8 3 5 . Therefore , in introducing English literature to the Indian 53

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance elite , says Vishwanathan, the colonial rulers attempted to secure the consent of the ruled through intellectual and moral manipulation rather than through military control. Like English literature generally, whose humanistic function was crucial to imperialist strategy , Shakespeare was defined by the same attributes of "humanism," "morality," and "wisdom," and presented as the universally transcendental text. Constituting the core of English literature courses , Shakespeare's works became the central texts for upholding the "humanis­ tic" ideals of British "civilization ," and as the legitimate obj ect of study in India . Shakespeare thus entered into a complex relationship with the native intelligentsia that was shaped by colonial politics and served as an icon of British cultural superiority. Within the educational system, the importance of Shakespeare was promoted in many ways . One among these was the inclusion of Shakespeare on the syllabus of the civil services examinations . In the India Act of I853 the British Parliament stipulated that positions in the Indian civil service be awarded by competitive examination. In 1 8 5 5 , a commissioned report on the East India Company's civil service recom­ mended the inclusion of English language and literature as a subj ect tested in those exams that could earn a candidate a thousand points-the same as mathematics and more than any other subj ect. 13 This change facilitated the infiltration of English literature into the colleges of India . Because Shake­ speare constituted a dominant part of English literature , knowing Shake­ speare became a necessity for those aspiring to j oin the civil services . Like the curriculum of English literary studies , the system of civil services too affirmed the necessity of studying Shakespeare . Mediated by the civil ser­ vices , English literature (and Shakespeare) , as Gary Taylor no tes , became a means to establish British cultural au thority and "Anglicize the Indian sub­ continent. " 14 The dominance of Shakespeare in English literature also made the staging of his plays a popular activity in most schools and colleges . 1 5 Thus, even a s late a s 1 9 2 6 , C . ] . Sisson, professor of English, remarked: "It is interesting to observe the unmistakable zest with which school and col­ lege amateur theatricals busy themselves almost exclusively with Shake­ speare in English . " 1 6 A s a result o f the dissemination o f Shakespeare , b y the late nineteenth century, the vogue of Shakespeare had spread to most urban centers . In Ben­ gal, as the number of private theaters in Bengal increased, so did Shake­ speare performances , and to watch and study Shakespeare became "fashion­ able" among the Bengali elites Y In addition to the theaters in Bengal, numerous theater companies , especially the privately funded Parsi theaters , were also formed in Bombay, Delhi , and other regions . 18 Available accounts show that the Parsi theater companies did not perform the plays of Shake-

54

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" speare to propagate any political ideology. The early contacts of their pro­ prietors with English education familiarized them with Shakespeare , and their adaptations were mainly apolitical, meant primarily for the purposes of entertainment. Even the names of their companies , such as the Victoria Natak Mandali (Victoria Theatre Troupe) and the Imperial Company, indi­ cate a somewhat loyalist affinity to colonial culture. These companies dis­ seminated Shakespeare to a cross-section of the population, which had no access to his works through the educational curriculum or in the elite the­ aters , bringing, in the process , " Shakespeare" into the popular cultural life of the nation. Traveling companies from abroad further secured the iconic place of Shakespeare . During the rule of the empire, several famous Shakespearean actors and acting companies regularly visited India to stage plays in educa­ tional institutions as well as on public stages . Between 1872 and 1876, Lewis's theatrical troupe produced several Shakespearean plays in the Cal­ cutta Maidan. In 1882, Herr Bandmann visited Calcutta with his troupe and staged Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and juliet, Richard III, and Othello. 19 The patronage provided to theatrical companies from abroad was central to the colonial enterprise. Apart from the dissemination of colonial culture, the "naturalized" superiority of their productions also functioned to protect the dominant society. Through the proliferation of English theaters that attracted elite native audiences , authorities attempted to suppress and con­ tain cultural threats to the existing order by simultaneously repressing "seditious" productions . Thus , it is no coincidence that when the Swadeshi movement for self-rule ( 1 90 5-8) spawned a fresh debate regarding methods of policing drama , visits of companies from abroad increased. Following the partition of Bengal in 1 9 0 5 , the Swadeshi movement brought renewed nationalistic energy expressed in native drama , literature , and pamphlets , which had became maj or tools for communicating political ideas . For exam­ ple , between 1 898 and 1905 , nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak attempted mass politicization through popular festivals in Maharashtra . Similar efforts were expended through the jatra parties in Bengal , perpetu­ ating messages of peace building and national independence. In this climate of political ferment, the government sought to enforce more stringent mea­ sures of censorship through the 1 8 76 Censorship Act as well as the Press Act in 1 9 1 0 ,20 making a number of Indian plays , especially in Bengal , the target of government censorship . Coinciding with the suppression of native drama , troupes from London such as those of Charles Allen ( 1 909) , Mathe­ son Lang ( I 9 I I and 1 9 1 2) , Allen Weekly ( 1 9 1 2 ) , and Harding and Howitt ( 1 9 18) visited India to give performances of Macbeth, Romeo and juliet,

Hamlet, julius Caesar, Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, 55

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance

Twelfth Night, and Othello. In the same years Matheson Lang and Hutin Brit­ ton visited from London and performed The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and Much Ado about Nothing.2 1 If the colonial rulers represented Western literary knowledge as "univer­ sal," " transhistorical, " and "rational , " then they had to ensure that this knowledge was learned by rote , memorized and reproduced faithfully in order to produce "a class of persons" who were , in the imagination of Macaulay , "Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions , in morals , and in intellect. "22 The image of Shakespeare , therefore , was further secured in schools and colleges through emphasis on memorization of speeches from his plays , for which contests were held and prizes awarded to those who could reproduce them without forgetting a single word. Emily Eden, who spent a few years in India with her brother in the first half of the nineteenth century, recalled a scene at a college in Calcutta in a letter addressed to her friend in England: "Yesterday we had an examination at Government House of the Hindu College, and the great banqueting-hall was completely filled with natives of the higher class . Some of the boys in their gorgeous dresses looked very well, reciting and acting scenes from Shake­ speare . It is one of the prettiest sights I have seen in Calcutta . " 23 The empha­ sis on memorization as an indispensable aspect of "good" educational ethics among colonial subj ects served to achieve the " enlightened" claims advanced by the colonial imaginary of Charles Trevelyan and his ilk: By conversing "with the best and wisest Englishmen through the medium of their works , " the Indians daily formed "higher ideas of our (British) nation than if their intercourse was of a more personal kind. " 24 However, behind such mechanisms of discipline and proper learning also lay the colonial function of inducing a state of forgetting among those they governed-a for­ getting of the colonialist implications of the English text. Introduced through an emphasis on mimicking Shakespeare and instrumental in the dissemination and legitimization of British culture , this practice of memo­ rization and reproduction continued as well in independent India , bolster­ ing through such disciplinary mechanisms the dramatic appeal of the plays of Shakespeare . On his tour of Shakespeare performances in India in 1 948, N orman Marshall recalled with pride the ability of Indians to recite memo­ rized speeches : The Indian has an exceptional gift for memorizing. On the one or two occasions when an actor hesitated for a word he was instantly prompted by several members of the audience. In the past many Indi­ ans began reading Shakespeare merely for practical reasons , because during British Rule in India a knowledge of the English language was

56

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" essential for the young man with ambitions . But a great many Indians who at first studied Shakespeare merely to improve their knowledge of the English language eventually developed a very real appreciation of him as a poet and dramatist.25 The encouragement given to Shakespeare studies and performance during the colonial period continued in postcolonial India through government­ sponsored agencies, theater groups , and touring companies from Britain that kept alive " the myth of English cultural refinement and superiority . " 26 Par­ ticularly significant among these companies was the Shakespeareana , which, owing to the encouragement and hospitality of the state governments , toured a riot-torn India , still suffering from the subcontinental partition of 1 94 7 into India and Pakistan, to perform the plays of Shakespeare . In his autobi­ ography, Geoffrey Kendal, owner of the Shakespeareana , recalls , " [W] e had invitations [ from the state governments in India ] to Hyderabad, Patiala , Gwalior, Travancore , and Cochin; all with state guest-house or hotel accom­ modation and the promise of assistance with the shows . This was mar­ velous . " 27 Between june 1953 and December 1956 Kendal's company gave 879 performances to an audience of royalty, schoolchildren, urban middle classes , and semiurban masses . In 1 948, Marshall presented The Merchant of

Venice, Hamlet, Romeo and juliet, and julius Caesar in the cities of Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Calcutta , and Bombay.28 And in 195 1 Eric Eliot brought his act­ ing troupe to India , presenting performances of Shakespearean plays includ­ ing The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and Othello 29 Sponsored by agencies such as the British Council, these tours were not free of attempts to exercise neocolonial control. In an essay on English literary studies in India , Raj esh­ wari Sunder Raj an points out that "organisations [such as the British Coun­ cil] perceive English and American literatures as the cultural products of their respective countries and promote them accordingly. There exists there­ fore a well-established system of funding, grants , patronage, publications , libraries , centres for advanced studies , seminars and workshops that is administered by these institutions . . . . [L] iterary criticism in India is defined by the very material conditions created by these institutions . " 30 This trend is affirmed by S. Prema's earlier observation in 1958: Whatever the future of English studies in India, for the time being Shakespeare is being taught in our colleges as a compulsory subj ect. Most educated Indians are familiar with the plays in the original or at least in translation or adaptation. Film versions of several of the plays have been widely shown in the country. Earlier this year ( 1 957) , the British dramatic troupe . . . Shakespeareana produced at the Andhra

57

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance University Experimental Theatre two of Shakespeare's plays The Merchant of Venice and Othello, on the 23rd and 27th july respec­ tively-before appreciative audiences .31 -

Moreover, the patronage given by the Indian government to homegrown productions of Shakespeare in the 1950s and 1 9 60s contributed to the fur­ ther valorization of Shakespeare , as manifested, for example , in the perfor­ mance of verse translation in Hindi of Macbeth and Othello by Harivansh Rai Bachchan , a leading literary figure . Government-sponsored companies such as Delhi's Little Theatre Group performed Bachchan's Macbeth in December 1 9 5 8 , and on january 4, 1963 , the Fine Arts Theatre at Delhi staged Othello for an audience comprising cabinet ministers and Prime Minister jawaharlal Nehru . In contrast, political theater organizations such as the Indian Peo­ ple's Theatre Association (IPTA) struggled for survival during this period due to lack of funds and impetus .32 As opposed to the censorship that the IPTA faced at this time, Bachchan's plays received full coverage in leading newspapers . Further , a renewed interest in Shakespeare's "human wisdom" and "phi­ losophy" in the academy during the 1 950s and 1 9 60s under the influence of New Criticism and modernism reinforced the myth of a "universal" Shake­ speare . For example , K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, a highly influential critic in the Indian academy, presented Shakespeare as "one of the great universalists , " basing his assertion upon the logic that the "withdrawal of Britain from India in 194 7 as a political force hasn't seriously affected the study of Shake­ speare . . . in our colleges and universities . " 33 Similarly, New Critical stud­ ies on Shakespeare by A. C. Bradley, a prominent critic who won tremen­ dous intellectual respect for his work Shakespearean Tragedy, began to dominate the academic curriculum, contributing to the preservation of a monolithic discourse.34 That such criticism continues to dominate both the academy and the mainstream theater in India is evident in a recent kathakali adaptation of Othello by a Delhi theater troupe that performed the play all over India. In a comment on the production, Sadanam Balakrishna, director, designer, choreographer, composer, and star of the production, says that he saw in Othello "a very good character" and was "intrigued by the trap of sus­ picion and j ealousy set for the noble moorish warrior who weds and then murders his beloved Desdemona . "35 Analysts of Shakespearean studies in India have shown that the focus on character development and the human mind obliterates the specific his­ toricity necessary for readings of Shakespeare in the Indian context as well as issues of gender and race . Ania Loomba considers the effects of the pre­ dominance of such readings in the Indian classroom, which commit the vio­ lence "of imposing universalised models of human relationships upon sub58

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" altern readers , " excluding the points of intersection with the lives of women who are surrounded by the violence of dowry, sati, female infanticide , and so forth.36 Giving the example of undergraduate students at Miranda House, a women's college in Delhi , she says that portrayals of Othello as a "univer­ sal text of love" overlooks , for instance, Desdemona's murder and passivity that "comes uncomfortably close to the battered wives that now crowd the Indian (especially urban) scene. "37 Yet the severity of such effects continues to be overlooked, as critical discourses in both India and the West continue to bolster a universalist idiom through celebrations of Shakespeare . In this regard, one might recapitulate 1964, the four-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare , which became a significant year for the continued pro­ motion of Shakespeare in India . As part of the global homage paid to Shake­ speare during the celebrations , universities and governmental agencies such as the Sahitya Akademy (National Academy of Letters)38 launched collec­ tions , published articles , and held symposia on Shakespeare . In 1 9 64 , the Sahitya Akademy's j ournal , Indian Literature, produced a special issue prais­ ing Shakespeare for his "humanistic" and universal appeal. In the same year C. D. Narasimhaiah edited and published a collection titled Shakespeare Came to India and provided the following rationale for his volume : "The title is not so fanciful as it appears when we remember that of the many things that came to India from England, few in the long run are really as important as Shakespeare . For the England of trade , commerce, imperialism and the penal code has not endured but the imperishable Empire of Shakespeare will always be with us . " 39 And the National Library at Calcutta put together

Shakespeare in India: An Exhibition of Books and Illustrations to Celebrate the Fourth Birth Centenary of William Shakespeare, printed by the Government of India Press .40 A common theme of all these accounts , epitomized in Iyen­ gar's "Shakespeare in India , " was the "universality" and "wisdom" of Shake­ speare . With their virtually complete disregard of the sociopolitical context of colonial history, such analyses , which only serve to reinforce the authority of the Shakespearean text, are further recapitulated by similar celebrations in the West. In this regard, there is no better summary than the one pro­ vided by D . ] . Enright in his account of the status of " Shakespeare Overseas" in a commemorative issue of the Times Literary Supplement in 1 964: Shakespeare was the great recording genius of our Renaissance. Now Africa and Asia are experiencing their Renaissance. These regions received their industrial revolution, their scientific and medical revo­ lution, in a lump sum, from us . . . . [ Their] arts lagged an era behind . . . . Their art was inviolate , shackled to the past. But they came to want it to yield its long preserved virginity, to be free. They knew they 59

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance could not go on forever producing haiku or Kabuki or variations of the Ramayana . . . . Naturally they would turn first to the . . . literature of the West. What holds them . . . is pre-eminently the plays of Shake­ speare . . . . Therein is a Renaissance which they can understand and feel, with its fresh challenges, fresh hope . . [ and] sense of discoveries . [ I ] t will hardly do . . . to find Shakespeare unviable on the grounds that some or other peasant won't be able to understand him . Every country may not have its peasant, but every country has its illiter­ ates .41 Enright's remarks epitomize the privileged role that culture plays in the modern colonial experience . In one broad sweep he connects the formerly colonized territories of Africa and Asia to the unique qualities of Shake­ speare , the representative figure of the culture of empire. At the center of Enright's opinion lies an imperialist attitude about Western "greatness . " In an age when direct colonialism came to an end with the retreat of the British from India in I 94 7, these remarks exhibit the continuation of cultural impe­ rialism through an assertion of the primacy of Western cultural texts that are presented in direct contrast to the literatures of Asia and Africa. Doing so, Enright proposes that the people of "Asia" and "Africa" are subordinate , inferior, and less advanced; their cultural improvement will occur through readings of Shakespeare . Circulated across the globe through j ournals such as the TLS, Enright's remarks sustain ideas about the authority of Western culture " overseas . " That Enright's legacy continues is further evident i n Christina Mangala Frost's I 992 article in Modem Drama. Chastising critical studies that discuss the "coercive political agenda of Western Orientalism" as " fashionable , " Frost erringly claims that Indian drama was only "a medley of all-too-famil­ iar didactic tales rehashed from the epics and the puranas, or, a crude pot­ pourri of song, dance, mime and farce that hardly qualified as legitimate drama . "42 This deficiency, she argues , made attending the plays of Shake­ speare a highly popular activity that attracted Indians and British who would willingly pay thirty rupees to view a Shakespearean production. Such proclamations regarding the universal admiration for Shakespeare , pre­ sented by Enright and supported by critics such as Frost, engage in an impe­ rialism that occurs , as Said says , "beyond the level of economic laws and political decisions . . . by the authority of recognizable cultural formations , by continuing consolidation within education , literature , and the visual and musical arts . " 43 By presenting Shakespeare as an unchanging and timeless icon , universally admired all across the globe, these critics obliterate the specific context of the empire surrounding the Shakespearean presence in

60

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" India and mask the process of colonial , cultural , and racial domination in which Shakespeare's works played a central role . Because of such indomitable presence of Shakespearean drama , the aura of Shakespeare con­ tinues to dominate the education system in India , which still considers Shakespeare as the mainstream of English literature ,44 and continues to revere his plays as depositories of timeless wisdom. A specific incident that highlighted the inequalities of race occurred in I 848, when Baishnava Charan Adhya performed the role of Othello at the Sans Souci Theatre in Calcutta . The racial difference was highlighted by a newspaper account of the play that called Adhya "a real unpainted nigger"45 and by an English reviewer's comment in the Bengal Harkaru that measured Adhya's performance by his accent: "His delivery was somewhat cramped, but under all circumstances , his pronunciation for a native was remarkably good. " Such comments reveal the reviewers' assumptions about the inferi­ ority of natives-comments that derived from a racialist discourse of differ­ ence. As such, they demonstrate the complex discourses operating in the larger civil society imbued, as they were , with a power differential in which the native was the other of the civilized colonial culture. Comments such as the above also represent the colonial desire to privilege British culture within the confines of an activity supervised and duly attended by a body of spectators that was primarily European. However, the assertion of European superiority through such discourses simultaneously produced the conditions for the possibility of resistance. Thus , Adhya's entry marked such a moment of generating possible resis­ tance through what Jyotsna Singh identifies as " an alternative choice of 'playfully' disrupting rigid categories of difference through simultaneous mimicry and resistance . " 46 Singh arrives at her conclusion by drawing upon Fanon to explain the perpetual polarization between blacks and whites , which forces blacks to find ways of becoming white . However, Adhya's role as Othello is marked by an additional complexity . Although the colonizer views Adhya as black, class and caste , and the influence of orientalist ideas that linked Aryan origins with ancient Indic culture , might have prevented an Indian in Adhya's position from identifying with "black . " Given the insularity of the European theater in India , only an upper-class Indian would have played Othello . Therefore , even though the act of playing Oth­ ello gives Adhya agency to disrupt the European stage , his identification with the black subj ect may only be partial . Othello thus enters a third space that is neither black nor white and in which he is not the demonic other but a tragic hero , something that would have a particularly important reso­ nance in a society suffering from colonial excesses . Adhya's entry into the exclusive British theater, therefore, can be seen as an important moment of

6I

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance intervention in the cultural discourse of colonialism that raises the possi­ bility of undoing the "master discourse," not in entirely oppositional terms but through partial displacement of the English text via his speech and color, which act against authorized colonial versions . Additionally, Adhya's intrusion becomes a moment of acquiring firsthand knowledge of a Shake­ speare production in an exclusive British theater . Coupled with the famil­ iarity with Shakespearean drama , such knowledge can be especially enabling when the ideological dimensions of the empire begin to be mani­ fested in colonial censorship through the brutal suppression of native drama . Reproductions of Shakespearean drama in the vernacular at such a time allow for interventions to be made in ways that subvert the authority of the colonial state .

Vernacular Appropriations

In " Colonialism, Literary Models , and Literary Production," Prabhakara jha points out two changing trends in indigenous productions of Shakespearean drama . First, between 1 8 5 7 and 1 870 there was a reduction in the produc­ tion of Shakespeare's plays in Bengal: "from 1 8 5 7 on no Bengali playhouse ever presented an English play . " And second, a reversal of this trend from the 1 870s : " From the 1870s onwards , the plays of Shakespeare began to be staged in Bengali translations and adaptations by the commercial play­ houses of Calcutta . "47 It is worth considering the development of these trends against the backdrop of dramatic censorship . By the 1 8 70s, cultural productions that provided the nationalist intelligentsia with another avenue for circulating political literature had complicated the political life of the British leaders .48 Disaffection among the educated segment, from frustration regarding employment, had resulted in a backlash from natives , who openly criticized governmental policies . Colonial education had prepared gradu­ ates of Calcutta , Madras , and Bombay Universities , as well as other colleges , to seek better employment opportunities in the public service. Yet most educated Indians were excluded from high executive posts in the civil ser­ vices , which were reserved foWSr Europeans . Moreover, Indians holding the same positions as Europeans were paid smaller wages . The colonizers' decision to maintain unequal standards rested on what the viceroy wrote to Sir E. Perry in 1877: "we hold India as a conquered country . . . which must be governed in all essentials by the strong , unchallenged, hand of the con­ quering power. " 49 At this time , artists and playwrights who turned to the­ ater as an avenue for protest found Shakespeare not only familiar but also relatively safe from the rigors of censorship . Shakespeare , thus, became the model for such nationalist playwrights as Girish Chandra Ghosh of Bengal 62

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" ( 1 844- 1 9 1 2) and Hindi writer Bharatendu Harishchandra ( 1 85 0-85 ) . 50 Consequently, in the 1870s and 1 880s , there appeared a number of transla­ tions and adaptations of Shakespearean plays in the vernacular. Harishchandra, who translated and adapted Shakespeare's plays to express nationalistic ideas , was one of the leading figures of Hindi theater. Being keen on the dramatic genre , he formed his troupe at Benaras in 1 868 and wrote a number of political plays , such as Bharat Durdasha (The plight of India) and Andher Nagari, about the tyranny of the colonial government. His interest in drama also inspired a lengthy dramatic treatise titled "N atak" (Theater) in which he made a plea for the establishment of a national the­ ater. The Censorship Act, however, seems to have affected Harishchandra's drama and impeded the growth of drama in the Hindi region. 51 Nonetheless , Harishchandra, who played a leading role in assimilating Shakespeare into Hindi drama , continued his contributions by directing the National Theatre in Banaras and inspiring the setting up of various theaters such as the Bhara­ tendu Natak Mandali (Bharatendu Theatre Troupe) , Kashi Nagri Natak Mandali (Kashi Theatre Troupe) , and Arya Natya Sabha (Aryan Theatre Committee) . He also initiated theatrical activity in Kanpur, Allahabad, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, and Balia .52 Harishchandra's most popular rendering of Shakespearean drama was

Durlabh Bandhu (Dependable friend) ( 1 880) , an adaptation of The Merchant of Venice. Written soon after the passage of the Vernacular Press Act of 1879, the play exposed specific colonial practices through its focus on issues per­ taining to legal j ustice and economic drain, and the struggle for identity and power between two oppositional groups . As a translation of the Merchant of Venice, Durlabh Bandhu plots the same story as the Shakespearean play. Anant (Antonio) , who has lost his fortune in a shipwreck, borrows money for his friend Basant (Bassanio) from Shailaksha (Shylock) , a moneylender. In case of inability to return the loan, he promises to give Shailaksha a pound of his flesh. When his ships do not return on time , he is obliged to keep his word. In court, Purushri (Portia) , dressed as a man, along with her assistant (Nerrisa) , saves Basant from the clutches of Shailaksha by her wit and intel­ ligence , demanding that no drop of blood be lost with the flesh , as it was not part of the written agreement. In the end, Anant is saved from Shailaksha's plans to destroy him . Ultimately, the court of Vanshnagar, where Anant resides , confiscates all of Shailaksha's property on the legal pretext that he is an "alien" who threatened the life of a citizen of Vanshnagar. The names of the characters also resemble closely the names in The Merchant: Anant for Antonio, Basant for Bassanio , Purushri for Portia , Narashri for N erissa , and Shailaksha for Shylock. Even the name of the place, Vanshnagar, where the action is set, sounds similar to Venice. Harishchandra's rewriting of Shake­ speare's play thus frames the central struggle between Indians and British, a 63

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance struggle in which Arrant resembles the colonized, and Shailaksha , a foreigner in Vanshnagar, symbolizes the foreign foe. Rendered in Hindi at a time when the rulers' official policies became increasingly repressive toward Indians on legal grounds , Durlabh Bandhu becomes a parable for a strategy for independence from the growing encroachment of British authority. Shailaksha, in this parable , represents the colonizer, who with his deceit, cunning, and manipulative legal rhetoric attempts to kill the honest citizen of Vanshnagar and appropriate his wealth . Arrant, his victim, is at his mercy, and in order to keep his word he must give up the pound of flesh he promised, until Purushri , his lover and companion, finds , through her intelligence, loopholes in the deed drawn by Shailaksha. Arrant's eventual victory and escape from the manipulation of Shailaksha affirm the victory of the nation over its enemy. In rewriting the play, Bhara­ tendu's message at once becomes clear: subverting the rhetoric of the oppressor is crucial to the resistance strategies of the oppressed. On another level, the appropriation of the play conveys that knowledge of colonial mod­ els can be turned into a tool for striking back at the colonizer. In the wake of the controversy that emerged in the years before the intro­ duction of the Ilbert bill of 1 883 under Ripon's administration, the rewrit­ ing of the Merchant becomes especially significant. According to the bill, Indian judges and magistrates could now try Europeans . Not surprisingly, the bill generated a very hostile response from the European community, revealing yet again the racist attitudes of the British community in India. Within the context of the Ilbert and judicial laws , the courtroom trial of the Merchant would have served as a particularly effective theme . 53 Hence, it may be no coincidence that in the years that followed, a number of transla­ tions of The Merchant of Venice came out. These included Munshi Ratan Chand Sahib's Venice Nagar ka Vyapari (1879); Venice ka Vyapari ( 1 882) , published from Lahore ; Thakur Dayal Singh's Venice ka Saudagar ( 1 885 ) ; Gokul Chand Sharma's Venice k a Banka ( 1 888) ; and Gopinath Purohit's

Venice ka Vyapari (1896). Additionally, the construction of the virtuous, chaste , honorable, spiri­ tual, highly educated, and intelligent woman in the role of Purushri (Portia) provides an occasion to counteract colonial portrayals of Indian women as oppressed. As opposed to passivity and submissiveness, Purushri's name also evokes vigor and energy. Finally, although the story line sticks closely to The Merchant of Venice, Harishchandra's play can also be seen as a literary challenge to the Shakespearean drama . The title Durlabh Bandhu, meaning " dependable friend, " itself is an example of this challenge. Instead of focus­ ing on the merchant, it evokes the theme of friendship and solidarity and speaks to the necessity of collective bonding to free the nation from the oppressive conditions of colonial rule . 64

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" Because Shailaksha belongs to an Indian community instead of being British, critics view this portrayal as reflective of Harishchandra's ambiva­ lence toward the British colonizer. Both ]. P. Mishra and Sarah Green attribute such ambivalence to the ambiguous position that Harishchandra and other writers occupied in the late nineteenth century. 54 While critical of British colonization, Harishchandra, Green argues, also expressed reverence for the British in articles on the subject of nationalism and colonial rule. Harishchandra's statements " express both gratitude for salvation from Mus­ lim ruin and the expectation that the generous and merciful British will improve deleterious conditions , such as heavy taxation and economic 'drain. ' "55 She bases her argument, in part, on the absence of any acknowl­ edgment on the part of the playwright that the representation was explicitly about British colonial rule . Yet, given Harishchandra's own position as a critic of British imperialism, and the choice of adapting The Merchant of Venice in 1 880, the anticolonial resonance can hardly be overlooked. Within the specific context of censor­ ship regulations , Harishchandra's seeming "ambivalence" may be deliberate . Shailaksha's belonging to another Indian community (the Jains) instead of the British seems strategically deployed for camouflaging the anticolonial message. If this remains a matter of speculation, then Harishchandra's own nationalistic position affirms that it was not a play against the jain commu­ nity. For in the nationalistic interest, as Green herself points out, Har­ ishchandra , himself a Vaishnava , accepted jainism, the community to which Shailaksha belongs , as a Hindu sect and saw the unity of all sects within Hin­ duism, including jainism and Buddhism, as crucial to India's regeneration. It is also possible that to avoid censorship the play was not performed publicly. The play may have been performed at Harishchandra's private res­ idence or at the house of a friend. 56 The performance of the play in a private residence throws light on another interesting consideration of space . As audiences multiplied by the day at theaters , "public" places of entertain­ ment became increasingly liable to supervision, resulting in an escalation of theatrical activity in private residences and clubs . In such a context, the choice of space becomes significant, especially in rendering difficult the policing enforced by the rulers . In considering the anticolonial representation of Harishchandra's Durlabh Bandhu, one finds however, not a simplistic oppositional position, but one that invokes a much more complex desire for Hindu hegemony over other religious groups. This is articulated through the exclusive vocabulary of Aryanization as manifested in Harishchandra's assigning to Anant the high­ caste position of an Aryan. Anant's eventual victory over Shailaksha and the latter's expulsion from Vanshnagar seeks to establish the ultimate victory of the Hindus and the successful expulsion of the "alien . " Even Vanshnagar, 65

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance which literally translates as " city of high lineage , " is a nation-space reserved for Aryans or high-caste Hindus. (Vansha means "of high lineage ," and

nagar means "city . " ) Finally, the court of Vanshnagar orders Shailaksha to become an Aryan. Thus , in addition to assuming a position that lashes out with great fury at the foreigner and ensures the end to his cunning and deceit, we find in Harishchandra's play a narrative of an orthodox national­ ism that privileges Hindu society as the norm and uses it synonymously with Indian society. The oppositional politics in such local renderings of Shakespeare thus remained contradictory. In seeking to challenge the ideo­ logical authority of colonialist discourse and practices , plays such as Durlabh Bandhu also constructed the authority of an internal hegemonic order. Such consolidation of a Hindu identity had begun through literary-criti­ cal comparisons of Shakespeare with Indian writers such as Kalidasa . That critics chose Kalidasa for comparison is significant, as Kalidasa's Shahuntala was a text for which orientalist scholars William J ones and Horace Wilson admired Indian literature . Impressed by the lyricism and the pastoral charm of Shahuntala, jones, who had himself undertaken a translation of the play, had called Kalidasa "the Indian Shakespeare . " 57 Nonetheless , even though Shahuntala was an exo tic representation of Indian art, it was perceived, the Asiatic journal noted in 1 8 3 5 , as "of a somewhat subordinate genius . . . [ and] a cold and lifeless specimen of the national drama of Hindustan. " 58 To counteract this strand of colonialist derision of Hindu culture , critics found in the revival of ancient writers such as Kalidasa a way of restoring their cul­ tural historicity and recuperating the civilizational qualities of their litera­ ture . Comparisons of Kalidasa's works (the best of Hindu literature) with the works of Shakespeare (the best of English literature) became an enabling strategy for bolstering the reputation of Hindu literature and cul­ ture . This resulted in studies such as N. A. Narasimhan's Kalidasa and

Shakespeare: A Parallel, which compared Shahuntala with The Winter's Tale and traced similarities between Shakuntala and Shakespeare's female pro­ tagonists . 59 So much so that Indian critics began to call Kalidasa the " Indian Shakespeare . " To this end, valorization of Hindu texts continued through comparisons between Shakespeare and ancient Hindu epics such as the Ramayana6 0 and through translations of Shakespeare's works into Sanskrit in leading maga­ zines such Sahridaya 6 1 As V. Raghavan notes , Sanskritists not only came to hold Shakespeare as the model or high watermark of dramatic [ art] but even when they studied Kalidasa and other Sanskrit dramatists , they applied to their appreciation of Sanskrit drama the conceptions and values which they had learnt in their study of Shake66

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" spearean criticism . . . . Even among the celebrated writers and thinkers such as Tagore and Aurobindo , the evaluation of Sanskrit drama or of Kalidasa in particular always brought in comparisons with Shakespeare and his plays .62 While countering colonial attitudes toward Indian texts , such analyses thus also became a means for promoting Hindu culture as superior to other religious groups . At a time when Hindu identity was complicated by its links to Hindi as the national language , as manifested in the movement toward the promotion of Hindi language and literature , such comparisons and translations of Shakespeare into Sanskrit (a language from which Hindi is said to have derived its roots) also came to serve the cause of Hindi.63 Coinciding with pro-Hindi activism in the early part of the twentieth cen­ tury, leading Hindi j ournals such as Sarasvati also began to produce trans­ lations and critical articles on Shakespeare in Hindi. Such literary-critical undertakings were to have important consequences . Drawn to raise the stature of Hindi and Hindu culture , they resulted in shaping literary criticism and thought in ways that reinforced the iconic image of Shakespeare . This trend is reflected in ] . P. Mishra's comment in I 9 7 0 , which attributed the Indians' understanding of their "own ancient classical lore" to " the intrinsic merit of . . . [ Shakespeare's ] works . " 64 Simi­ larly, in 1 9 7 6 , Wells and Gowda contended that "whoever has sympatheti­ cally and intensively studied Shakespeare's plays will be in a more advanta­ geous position to understand and enj oy the Sanskrit drama than anyone who has not. " 65 Combined with claims that insist on Shakespeare as the supreme token of English literature and culture , such comparisons rein­ forced the image of the Bard as the life force of "great literature . " Nonetheless, the polyphonous responses t o Shakespeare provide an important illustration of the complex interplay of colonial power and its subversion, and race , class , and religious politics in a situation born out of imperialist expansion and specific local struggles. Recorded in texts such as Durlabh Bandhu, the multiply mediated re-presentations of Shakespearean drama demonstrate that despite an unwitting complicity with colonialist thought through accommodation and consent and reverence for the Bard, segments of the colonized subj ects did view the English text with suspicion. In spite of the continuing presence of Shakespeare in education and on stage in postcolonial India, playwrights and theater practitioners continued to appropriate the Shakespearean text for oppositional ends . Among these , Utpal Dutt, a prominent Marxist playwright, theater practitioner, theorist, and director from Calcutta , was highly creative in his use of Shakespeare for political purposes. When governmental censorship of political drama intensified in the 1 960s and 1 9 70s, Dutt began to deploy his knowledge of 67

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance Shakespeare in ways that enabled him to tackle topics pertaining to the political turbulence of post-independence India and effectively convey his social messages to his target audience. Accordingly, he turned to localized productions of Shakespeare in the 1950s. Notable among these was a ver­ sion of Macbeth taken to villages , where it was presented without the con­ ventions of the proscenium in the style of the jatra, in which Shakespearean language was transformed into a form of incantation the villagers were accustomed to hear. According to Dutt, the response from the villagers was encouraging. They identified with Macbeth's "impulses and vacillations , " the " demoniac portrayal of Lady Macbeth's ambition" appealed t o them, and they also appreciated the supernatural elements of the play.66 Other notable productions included a Bengali adaptation of Macbeth performed in several villages and remote areas of Bengal in the wake of the emergency declared by Indira Gandhi in 1 9 7 5 . In his interview with Samik Bandhopadhyay, Dutt professed that he found the play perfectly suited " against autocracy and the Emergency . . . a play against Indira Gandhi . " 67 Continuing appro­ priations of Shakespearean drama , exemplified by Dutt's productions , and manifested recently in a Manipuri version of Macbeth (about the rights of tribals) performed in England in August 1 9 9 7 to commemorate India's fifty years of independence,68 invoke their immediate relevance to the specific historical contexts of their productions and the significance of the political events they seek to highlight. In so doing, they subj ect traditional criticism to broader political inquiry, one that shows how these re-presentations seek to transform traditional analyses of the Bard in India.

Performing Nostalgia and Resistance: Shakesp eare Wallah

In addition to such appropriations , numerous other examples of local alter­ native re-presentations can be found. These include independent films such as When Hamlet Came to Mizoram and popular Indian films such as 36

Chowringhee Lane and Angoor. But while such examples are many, their lack of availability and circulation within the metropolis imposes the difficulty of documentation and analysis . In this context, James Ivory and Ismael Mer­ chant's film Shakespeare Wallah-a text that is itself firmly anchored in the metropolis and produced in the English language-becomes an important intervention in the dominant discourse surrounding the Shakespeare indus­ try in India .69 Its focus on the complexities of the reception and construc­ tion of Shakespeare confronts the continuing ideologies of imperialism that underscore official discourses about the " classical" status of Shakespeare . Juxtaposed with a thriving film industry, the declining appeal of Shake­ speare in postindependence India proposes a critical rethinking of the cul68

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" tural implications of eurocolonialism and its aftermath, the material legacies of celebratory imperial histories , and the politics of "high" and "low" cul­ ture . To this end, the production of the film in 1965 makes it especially rel­ evant to the celebrations of the quadricentennial of Shakespeare's birth that took place in the previous year. Showing the continuing extension of colo­ nial authority via Shakespeare productions , the film historicizes the phe­ nomena of Shakespeare in India , establishing, through the figurative death of Shakespeare , the literal death of empire. 70 As a film about a figure that carries enormous symbolic value, Shake­ speare Wallah exposes the attempts of an English theater company, the Buckingham Players (based on Geoffrey and Laura Kendal's Shakespeareana troupe) , to continue the symbolic authority of British civilization in the wake of the official demise of the empire and an upcoming Indian film industry. Because it is based on the travels of the Shakespeareana , an analy­ sis of the film should first take into account the autobiographical reflections of Geoffrey Kendal , who vivifies the contours and developments of the com­ pany during their travels from preindependence until the mid- 1 980s .71 The growth of the Shakespeareana as a transnational company was fostered by World War II, when Kendal's group had an opportunity to perform and entertain troops stationed overseas . Supported by governmental networks , educational institutions , and organizations such as the British Council, the Kendals continued to tour India until 1985 , performing and doing " Shake­ speare" for the natives, alongside a repertoire of other English plays . In 1 9 6 3 , Ivory was given the diary that Kendal kept during the Shakespeare­ ana's travels in 1947. Kendal's account provided a picturesque description of the adventures of the English actors in India who , as he describes , put on Shakespearean plays across the subcontinent amid flash floods and hurri­ canes , and slept on deserted railway stations along the way. Kendal also recorded his views on the transfer of power from the British government to India. Collectively, Ruth Prawar jhabwala and Merchant decided to make a film about actors attempting to bring Western theater to local Indian towns to function as a "metaphor for the end of the British Raj . " Thus Kendal and his troupe became a model for the Buckingham Players in the film, with the Kendal family cast as themselves. Like the Shakespeareana , the Bucking­ hams in the film travel by trains , buses , or lorries , sleep on station platforms , "doing Shakespeare" in schools , club houses , and private palaces . In Kendal's autobiography, Shakespearean drama appears to provide the tools for transcending the ideological and political divisions through a cul­ tural remapping of the colony and serves as the link for the fragmented nation, a fragmentation especially manifested in the 1947 partition of the subcontinent. The Shakespearean troupe also remains the locus for trans­ mitting "culture" to local spaces of schools and like institutions , whose 69

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance audiences become the happy recipients and consumers of the English text. The representation of the Bard becomes exceedingly iconic , imparting a cul­ tural authority to the figure of Shakespeare . While there may be some truth in Kendal's assertions regarding the popularity of Shakespeare among Indian audiences , what is inadequately theorized is the historically posi­ tioned nature of audiences . Rather than locate the specific cultural engage­ ments and historical contexts of colonialism to account for the appeal of Shakespeare to an Indian audience, his autobiographical narrative elevates the Shakespearean text to the realm of the "universal" and " transcendental . " Further, Kendal's accounts of the (apparently) overwhelming response to Shakespeareana mask the multifaceted responses to Shakespeare and the varied and heterogeneous nature of the audiences themselves, reinforcing the pervasive ethos of colonialist discourse that naturalizes the presence of Shakespeare in India . In contrast to the triumphant representation of the appeal of Shakespearean drama in his diary, the film represents the ventures of the Buckingham Players as a failure in order to convey that they were "no longer wanted . . . as dispensers of truth , the truth of literature . " 72 Merchant's motivation for making such a film came from his experiences of growing up in colonial India. From the beginning, nationalist politics and world events influenced Merchant's life . But the most important event that influenced this theme was the country's partition. Merchant's father, who served as president of the Bombay branch of the Muslim League, a political organization formed by Muslims in I 90 6 , suffered in the Bombay riots that preceded the partition. Most of his extended family left for Pakistan , but his immediate family stayed in India because of his father's insistence. "I still have nightmares about those riots ," recalled Merchant years later in an interview with j ohn Pym . " Our politics then centered on the feeling that, simply, the British must leave . My friends and I drove about in lorries wav­ ing banners . We grew up on slogans . " 73 Thus, Shakespeare Wallah evokes Merchant's sentiment about the inevitability of British departure from India. The choice of filmic representation is significant in capturing the dissemi­ nation of the authority of Shakespearean drama , and in providing a window on resistance to Shakespeare from popular audiences . Moreover, the choice of making the film in English is equally significant in identifying an appro­ priate audience. Given the implications of the unhistoricized critical val­ orizations of Shakespeare both in the West and among elite and academic representations in India, and the fact that its subj ect matter is predicated upon a knowledge of Shakespeare, Shakespeare Wallah caters largely to Western audiences and an English-speaking elite audience in India. The complex yet declining interest in Shakespeare is revealed through the film's multiple audiences . On the one hand, we see an elite body of specta­ tors such as the maharaj a of Betawar, Sanj u Rai (a wealthy Indian) , and 70

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" schoolchildren, all of whom view the Buckingham Players' productions in British-style schools , clubs , and palaces-spaces that carry traditions and standards set by the empire. Set up during the days of the Raj by the colo­ nial rulers and the missionaries to provide a westernized education to the upper crust of Indian society, the La-Martiniere Boys School in Lucknow and the private schools in Mussoorie , Kasauli, Simla , and Punj ab, for instance, bear the mark of a colonialist ideology and upbringing. Likewise , the maharaj a's palace marks the abode of Indian royalty that was co-opted to serve the interests of the empire. Thus , the opening scene reveals the maharaj a of Betawar, reciting passages from Shakespeare with great flourish . He tells the Buckingham Players , "We go to Shakespeare not only for his poetry but also for his wisdom. How well he expresses all the turbulence of the heart ! " The familiarity of such audiences with Shakespearean drama reinforces the rhetoric about its "transcendental" appeal, which is repeated by a starry-eyed Sanj u , who , impressed by Shakespeare and the actors after a performance of Hamlet, tells Manj ula, the Hindi film actress and his girl­ friend: "What words he spoke ! I wish I could remember the words . Such philosophy ! Such poetry . " Praising Lizzie Buckingham for her artistry in the role of Ophelia, he further comments , "For such people one can always have respect. Don't you ever get tired of your [Hindi masala ] films? Always the same-singing, dancing, love , tears . " That this contrast, which places Shakespeare above Hindi films , is highlighted by upper-class Indians is significant. It is indicative of elite attitudes , which replicate the colonialist divisions of "high" and "low" culture and treat popular Hindi cinema as "low" art. However , to highlight a relationship to Shakespeare that is in flux and even contradictory, the film focuses on varied audiences to call attention to what Ella Shohat and Robert Starn identify as the situational nature of spec­ tatorship and the alterity of reception caused by the contexts of colonialism, and the racial , gendered, and class differentiation of spectators . 74 Doing so, the film contrasts the "high" cultural world of Shakespeare with Hindi cin­ ema , where performers-such as the man with his monkey show (ano ther kind of performance associated with "low" cultural performance , which hardly receives attention, as opposed to the governmental funds that the Shakespeareana group receives)-rehearse under trees and amid crowds of people . Such j uxtaposition between Shakespearean drama and the Hindi film industry accomplishes a number of things : First, it acknowledges the obliteration of a popular indigenous genre from the mainstream of the cul­ ture industry that continues to privilege and patronize colonial culture. Additionally, the introduction of Hindi film and its growing audiences also shows an alternative audience that caters largely to popular cinema and shuns Shakespeare . In so doing, the film highlights India's very different 7l

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance demographic composition, the different languages and varying degrees of appreciation for Shakespeare among different audiences , challenging, through this multiplicity, homogenous assumptions about the "classic" appreciation of Shakespeare . This differentiated reception becomes especially visible in the whistles , catcalls , and hooting by the spectators during the Buckingham's staging of Romeo and juliet. The spectators' disruption of the performance is represen­ tative of their rej ection of a foreign ideology and is commensurate with the mood of rej ecting foreign domination in the wake of independence. To the English actors , who display a keen sense of discipline, as witnessed in the opening scene of the film at the palace of the maharaj a , where the members of the Buckingham Players sit and discuss Shakespeare over dinner with the maharaj a , the spectators' lack of appreciation may appear as a lack of disci­ pline or civility. But from the viewpoint of the colonized, these voices dis­ play an opposition to a declining dominant culture imposed from the out­ side and one that seems increasingly incomprehensible and alien to their own . In this way the film records voices of resistance to cultural imposition in the theater space , which, in a milieu perpetuating notions about the greatness of Shakespeare , may otherwise remain obscured. The declining appeal of Shakespeare also symbolizes the loss of colonial authority, a loss recorded in the dissimilarities between the hotels that Sanj u and the Buckinghams occupy. The hotel where Sanj u stays i s far more opu­ lent than that of the Buckinghams , revealing declining British privilege. Similarly, Mrs . Bowen, the owner of the Gleneagles Hotel in Kalikhet where the Buckinghams stay, sadly reveals to Carla her plans to go back to England because of poor business . Gleneagles does not get good business anymore because "nowadays people like that new hotel opposite , all cheap flash . " Mrs. Bowen advises Carla , "You ought t o start thinking about i t too , Carla. There's no place like home . Though we always used to think this our home . " Frustrated b y the lukewarm response from the school headmaster at Kalikhet, a weary Tony quizzes Carla : "Why are we here ? Instead of, say, somewhere like Bristol or Sheffield or someplace like that. Did I have to come all the way to India because I wasn't good enough for those places? N o , it wasn't that. We were idealists , weren't we , you and I ? " Bobby, another actor, reminisces about the old days as he sadly shows Lizzie and Sanj u empty racks that earlier contained a wide variety of wine bottles i n the porch of the British club at Kalikhet. Referring to the empty racks as "a mute testimonial," he says : You know what this is? Each one of these used to hold a bottle . Those were the days when you could still get bottles . Look, the whole , the whole room-burgundy, madeira , champagne, the lot. You should 72

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" have seen it, from top to bottom. On gala nights two or three bottles each would be nothing. Those days galas were held every blooming night. Plenty of nice English girls , with pink cheeks and silk stock­ ings-a smashing band-the officers in their dress uniforms-take your partners for a waltz . In a moment of nostalgia , Bobby tries to recapture the spirit of the old days as he sweeps Lizzie onto the abandoned dance floor to waltz with her. However, his attempt to recapitulate the Raj days is foiled as he stumbles and gasps for breath. The club , he realizes, is no longer the privileged seat of British power. During the days of the Raj , the British club was also another site of colonial authority. The chief venue of English social life in any town , the club was a microcosm of larger colonial relations . British clubs followed the same hierarchical patterns created in a colonialist state : the bearers and servants were Indians and the visitors exclusively British. For the most part, Indians were not allowed membership in the clubs . 75 Bobby's frustration emerges from the reversal of this pattern in an India no longer under the Raj . The bearers no longer pay attention to the British and follow instruc­ tions given by Indians . For instance, when Lizzie wants to put up a poster for the Buckingham performances in the club , the barman tells her in Hin­ dustani that she would have to ask the club secretary. In contrast, when Sanj u tells him to put up the poster and be quick about it, instead of refus­ ing Sanj u , the barman instantly follows Sanj u's instructions and salutes him. During a time of declining colonial authority, Shakespeare becomes a vehi­ cle for recuperating this loss . The appeal of Shakespeare Wallah, notably in Britain and at the I965 Berlin Film Festival, was its realism, its " elegiac tone" and "the detailing [ that] was precise and on the whole , notably unromantic . " 76 Among other things , the film's realism, in its attention to details such as the train j ourney , the car breakdown, and the bazaars and landscapes, was to Westerners "a genuine revelation: the feel of riding in an Indian train; of sleeping outside on string bed-charpoys-under what lo oked like muslin cheese-covers ; the sense of coping with or being defeated by the Indian bureaucracy (the finality of a deputy headmaster bouncing a ping-pong ball as he refused to pay for more than one performance by the players) ; even the sight of Indi­ ans caricaturing themselves . " 77 The involvement of Kendal, his wife , and their daughters in the film "lent an aura of reality to the picture , both in the scenes in which they perform on stage and in those in which they are behind-the-scenes strolling actors . " 78 For this reason, the film's omission of the stereotypical portrayals of India as a land of "spiritual enlightenment" was seen as one of its strengths . Ivory himself said that he was never inter­ ested in people trying to enlighten themselves through the East. "When I 73

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance have to provide this sort of thing it is against my nature . . . . The European actors depicted in Shakespeare Wallah weren't wound up in the mystic won­ der of it all . " 79 Such a shift from the portrayal of the East as "spiritual" rup­ tures stereotypes about the "East," reinforced in critical analyses such as those advanced by Enright in the TLS: [ O ] n the whole Eastern art has hitherto been tied to religion or mysti­ cism or ethics , or else it has remained pronouncedly "aesthetic"-del­ icate sensations for the sake of delicate sensations . English literature helps to supply a deficiency, a deficiency especially felt as the East grows more western , more industrial , more technological , more democratic-the lack of humanistically inspired writing, writing which explores and reports on and helps to mould the relationship between the individual and his rights and the society and its demands . 80 Realistic details , such as the school tours conducted by the Buckingham Players for the entertainment of Indians , reveal the imperial designs of the troupe to conduct a cultural and territorial mapping of the former colony and to reestablish the authority of the former colonials . The breakdown of the car, however, which interrupts their j ourney, symbolizes a disruption in this remapping, or in attempts to link the fragmented parts of the nation through Shakespeare . As stated earlier, Merchant-Ivory had intended Shakespeare Wallah to become a "metaphor" for the end of the British Raj . While the death of Shakespeare fulfills this metaphor, his demise as a cultural icon is further reinforced through the failed romance between Sanj u Rai and Lizzie Buck­ ingham. The romance between Lizzie and Sanj u goes through a variety of conflicts , some emanating from the complications of a cross-cultural rela­ tionship , and others because of Manjula, who has prior romantic claims on Sanj u . In the end, the two lovers separate . Realizing that the new India holds no future for Lizzie , either as a Shakespearean actress or as an English­ woman , Lizzie's parents , Tony and Carla Buckingham, send her back to England. The unsuccessful love affair, simplistic as it may be, becomes a metaphor for the failure of the two worlds to unite . If Rudyard Kipling and E. M. Forster insisted that the East and West could never unite in India, then in the postindependence era Shakespeare Wallah confirms it. Only this time, it is the colonial subj ect, Sanj u , who foils the union by refusing to marry Lizzie . We thus have a reversal of the rej ection pattern. While the for­ mer colonialists are attempting to embrace India, the previously colonized cannot respond in the same way. Even native elites such as Sanj u and the maharaj a , despite their loyalty to the Raj , clearly convey to the colonizers 74

Multiple Mediations of"Shakespeare" that in the postcolonial era , foreigners such as Tony Buckingham and Lizzie need to "make adjustments [ and] come to terms with reality."

Shakespeare Wallah thus frames the many contradictions , ambivalences , and complexities central to the proclaimed "natural" love for Shakespeare . In so doing , Shakespeare Wallah reminds us that contrary to singular claims about the bard as a unanimously admired figure , the theatrical discourse surrounding Shakespeare in India remains contested. Not only does the film expose the European performance of Shakespeare as a site of Raj nostalgia ; its focus on the retreating interest of Indian audiences in Shakespeare also provides the film's audience a viewing frame for the reinterpretation of the many meanings assigned to Shakespeare , opening in the process a space for an alternative discourse.

75

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre Association

If the theatre loses its mass-audience , it loses its life , its meaning , its rai­ son d'etre. To alienate the theatre from the masses is to alienate oneself still further from the so cial activity of men, and end in an intellectual madhouse . 1

I n 1942, a group o f progressive writers who recognized the potential o f pop­ ular theater as an effective weapon in the fight for national liberation from British imperialism and from fascism and in the struggles of peasants , work­ ers , and other oppressed classes formed a group called the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) . The primary aim of the IPTA, as its organizers identified it in the "All Indian People's Theatre Conference Draft Resolu­ tion," was to mobilize "a people's theatre movement throughout the whole of India as the means of revitalizing the stage and the traditional arts and making them at once the expression and organiser of our people's struggle for freedom, cultural progress and economic j ustice . " 2 Accordingly, they described the IPTA not as "a movement which is imposed from above but one which has its roots deep down in the cultural awakening of the masses of India," not "a movement which discards our rich cultural heritage, but one which seeks to revive the lost in that heritage by re-interpreting , adopt­ ing and integrating it with the most significant facts of our peoples' lives and aspirations in the present epoch . " 3 What began in 1 942 as an organization in Bombay and Calcutta expanded by 1 945 into a nationwide movement organized around three divisions : the song and dance division, the drama division, and the film division. This chapter examines the ways in which the drama division of the IPTA participated in the political process before independence in 1 94 7 and in the postindependence years . Through an innovative and experimental drama 76

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre that derived its inspiration and ideas partly from Western and from Chinese practices , but was rooted in India's own cultural and social practices , the IPTA challenged existing hegemonic structures , both colonial and those intrinsic to Indian society. For example , the Little Theatre Groups in Eng­ land, the Works Progress Administration theater proj ect in the United States in the I930s, the Soviet theaters , and the strolling players in China who staged antifascist plays to protest Japanese exploitation exerted tremendous influence on the IPTA .4 Inspired by these cultural challenges abroad, IPTA members turned to theater as a political weapon amid the political turmoil at home , created by the war in Europe, increasing repres­ sion from British imperialism, and deepening nationalist sentiments mani­ fested in the Quit India movement of 1942. In order to seek the "widest possible mass basis for its activities , " the IPTA turned to indigenous popular traditions of different regions such as the jatra of Bengal , tamasha of Maharashtra , and burrakatha of Andhra Pradesh . 5 Given the linguistic , cultural , and geographical diversity of the Indian subcontinent, choices about language , theatrical space , and stylistic devices were important, involving, as they did, questions of viewership and audience. For instance, an audience in a working-class district in Bombay might appreciate a play in Marathi instead of English, or a peasant audience in a Bengal village might need to see a play about the famine in a familiar dialect and surroundings . Linguistic and cultural diversity among a group of people can cause what Immanuel Wallerstein refers to as "problems of cohe­ sion . " According to Wallerstein, however, " [ To] the extent that 'national' sentiment develops , these threats [of internal chaos and colonial consolida­ tion] are lessened. " 6 To intervene collectively in counterhegemonic schemes , a "national sentiment" that overcomes this lack of cohesion has to be generated. By presenting the same plays in a range of different languages , the IPTA organizers attempted to overcome the "lack of cohesion" among a heterogeneous populace. This was done in the interest of establishing links among the "people" through the people's identification with day-to-day struggles . Performing for "mass" audience in villages , towns , and working-class dis­ tricts required open-air presentations . Hence most of the IPTA plays were performed in outdoor theaters such as the Kamgar Maidan in Bombay, which-instead of the limited capacity provided by an enclosed theater­ could accommodate up to twenty thousand people . Similarly, stylistic con­ siderations constituted an important feature of IPTA productions . In Cal­ cutta , for example , Nabanna, a play about the Bengal famine , was performed on a revolving stage to achieve the desired realistic effects for a citified audi­ ence viewing the lives of starving Bengali peasants . Outside Calcutta , the same play had to be performed on makeshift stages , and much of the real77

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance ism was derived not from a naturalistic stage but from use of the peasants' dialect, the details about village life, and local traditions , combined with jatra songs and props . 7 The IPTA thus inaugurated a theater of collective resistance and liberation, yet heterogeneous in its constitution, which var­ ied according to the geographical, linguistic , and cultural differences of a diverse populace. IPTA organizers thus theorized questions of language , space , geography, culture , and ethnography in light of their broader agenda of dramatizing and disseminating messages regarding contemporaneous issues of fascism, imperialist oppression, and exploitation of socially disad­ vantaged groups. Because of its affiliation with "popular" drama , canonical assumptions of "proper" literary and aesthetic values and its association with the Commu­ nist Party of India , which, on account of its antifascist support for the allied powers , was branded by the nationalist bourgeoisie as a party of traitors , the IPTA has remained largely unacknowledged in the dominant discourse of Indian cultural history. A study of the IPTA, therefore , is important espe­ cially because it provides an alternative understanding of the complex events that transpired in nationalist politics on both the eve of indepen­ dence and after.8 An adequate understanding of the IPTA requires us to situate it against the backdrop of historical developments in Indian society during the 1 940s and 1 9 5 0s. Intending to mobilize plays "to propagate antifascist ideology and espouse the cause of world democracy, " the IPTA emerged as a sister organization of the Progressive Writers' Union , which was formed in 1 9 3 6 . 9 Its organizing group consisted of men and women from diverse back­ grounds , including lawyers , professors , students , musicians , j ournalists , playwrights , farmers , trade union leaders , and workers groups. Some of the most talented figures from the world of theater participated in the IPTA: Bal­ raj Sahni, Shombhu Mitra, Bij ana Bhattacaryara, Anna Bhau Sathe , and Khwaj a Ahmed Abbas , to name only a few. Female IPTA members who were organizers , artists , playwrights , directors , and even protagonists of plays made women's issues an important aspect of the IPTA program. Among these were Sheila Bhatia , Rasheed Jahan, Binata Roy, Uma Chakravarty, Sarojini Naidu ( 1 879- 1 949) , Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay ( 1 903- 1 989) , and Siddiqua Begum Sevharvi. 1 0 In Lucknow, Rasheed J ahan staged plays that she and her companions had written or translated. Kondapalli Koteswaramma (b. 1 925) wrote poems for children about the lives of peas­ ants and artisans . Moturi Udayam (b. 1 9 24) composed and acted in bur­

rakathas. 1 1 The first people's theater was set up in Bangalore in April 1 9 4 1 but stalled because of severe police repression. Anil de Silva , who was instrumental in organizing the theater in Bangalore , came to Bombay, where she initiated a 78

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre "people's theatre " in 1 942. This became the Indian People's Theatre Asso­ ciation, and Bombay became its headquarters . In Bengal , the movement consolidated through the efforts of the Anti-Fascist Writers Association and the Youth Cultural Institute , which collectively presented plays on contemporary sociopolitical issues. By 1 944 , the IPTA expanded into a movement that included a Central Cultural Troupe that organized dances and ballets on political issues , and provincial and regional units in Mal­ abar, Andhra Pradesh , United Provinces, Assam , Punj ab , and Delhi . Until around 1 9 6 0 , the IPTA presented hundreds of plays on a range of topics such as J apanese aggression on Southeast Asia , Hitler and Mussolini , war and fascism, the Bengal famine of 1 94 3, the cholera epidemic of I 944 , the problems of food, landlordism, debt, and workers' exploitation, and the partition of 1 94 7 . 1 2

Roar China, Four Comrades, and Nabanna The !PTA's earliest attempts to intervene in the political process came through its presentation in 1942, the year of the launching of the Quit India movement, of two one-act antifascist plays : Roar China and Four Com­ rades. 1 3 Adapted from the Russian play of that name and modified according to the Indian context of 1942, Roar China deals with the persecution of Chi­ nese by Western imperialists and the subsequent anti-imperialist revolu­ tionary feelings in a small village of fishermen and boatmen in China . 14 Finding the theme of imperialism applicable to the situation of British impe­ rialism in India , the IPTA in 1 942 produced a section of the drama in Eng­ lish, shifting the context to India. Written j ointly by IPTA members , Four Comrades dramatizes an incident in the battle of Singapore that recounts the fight that four labor agitators-two Chinese , a Malay, and an Indian-wage against Japanese aggressors . Upon their release from j ail on the eve of the Japanese invasion, the four comrades immediately take up arms against the assailants. Set in the context of war and imperialism, the two plays purport to explain the phenomenon of fascism and its hazards to the marginalized masses in India . According to a note at the beginning of Roar China and Four

Comrades, These two anti-fascist plays should always have a simple explanation given to the worker and peasant audience before their performance. This explanation can be given by one of the actors , and should give the audience a clear short background of each play , and the political events which brought this about. This is very important, otherwise the 79

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance full significance of the play will be lost. At the end, perhaps , there can be a few words said to them which will link up the play with India and what it means to us to have a Fascist invader in this country . 1 5 A s they intervene between Congress nationalists who declined t o partici­ pate in the war at all costs and the leftist intelligentsia who felt that imperi­ alism would end only if fascism ended, the two plays take on a political significance for handling the situation at home . In 1 942 , Congress national­ ists refused to support the British in their battle against the Axis powers and passed the Quit India resolution, calling for "mass struggle on non-violent lines on the widest possible scale . " 1 6 Within the colonial context, Congress leaders visualized immediate freedom from the British as a more pressing need than averting the threat of fascist forces , which, in their view, only peripherally affected India. The Communists found this policy of the Con­ gress limited in its vision . They saw the war as a conflict between imperial­ ist and fascist powers for a redivision of the colonies and hence urged action against Fascist Japan and Germany before action against the British. These fears seemed hardly unfounded in 1942. In December 1 94 1 , the Japanese had driven through South East Asia , seized Singapore, Burma , and Malaya , and threatened to attack India on the eastern frontier. But since Japan's attack on India also meant an end to colonial rule , the Congress reacted dif­ ferently to the situation. Gandhi , who foresaw a Japanese victory in 1 942 , reasoned that "if India were freed her first step would probably be to nego­ tiate with Japan . . . India bears no enmity towards Japan . " 1 7 Both Roar China and Four Comrades point t o the fitting connections between fascism and imperialism and urge the necessity of viewing the sit­ uation in India within the global developments of 1 942. In Four Comrades the connection is invoked in the climactic moment of the play, when Ratan , the Indian comrade , refuses the Japanese officer's offer of freedom in exchange for doing propaganda work in favor of the Japanese in India. "You are an Indian and we have no quarrel with Indians ," the official tells Ratan . To which Ratan replies : "The Japs coming to free India ! That would be a good j oke. Ha. Ha. Just as you freed Manchuria and Korea and China-No , w e Indians are n o t such fools a s t o exchange our present bondage for a worse slavery." 18 Upon this retort, the Japanese soldier kills Ratan . Ratan's death at the hands of the Japanese criticizes the hopes expressed by Gandhi for the possibility of negotiation with the Japanese. The story of Four Com­ rades is thus more than an attack on fascism. Implicit in the play is an attack on the Congress leadership for trivializing fascism's potential consequences for the Indian populace, especially when Japan posed a real threat on the eastern frontier. The link between fascism and imperialism is drawn to encourage " the people" to view their oppression within the context of global 80

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre politics . It is conveyed through Ratan's assurance to the Chinese comrade , Chin: "We are not narrow nationalists . We must do what is best for the workers of the world, for the defeat of Fascism is of urgent importance. Without that there is no hope for the toiling masses . " 19 The plays' attacks on Gandhi's recommended strategy of nonviolence during the Quit India movement represent the IPTA's opposition to Con­ gress policies . This is conveyed through the actions of the four comrades who counter the japanese in an armed struggle and die fighting for freedom. The revolutionary action that the comrades undertake may be construed as a message to the public about the ineffectiveness of nonviolence and the necessity of adopting the revolutionary path of the four comrades . The attack on nonviolence becomes more overtly visible in the prologue of Roar China. Within the context of Chinese retaliation, the play discusses the lim­ its of nonviolence : But there is a limit to non-violence and peace When the waves of tyranny and j ustice rise high The oppressed, the hungry, the poor, the workers , the peasants-all take arms to resist it.20 Ostensibly, the commentaries provided at the beginning and end of the plays are attempts to reconstruct the history of the freedom struggle and the relationship between fascism and imperialism from the viewpoint of mem­ bers of the Left who had been branded as traitors because of their support for the British against fascism. As such, they also provide access to contem­ poraneous international developments and the ramifications of these devel­ opments for India to audiences who may have been denied access to the world's events in 1 942 . A description of the connections between fascism abroad and imperialism at home was particularly instructive for those who by this time , in Shahid Amin's words , treated "Gandhi as Mahatma" and his message of nonviolent protest as the words of a saint .21 The commentary also has another function: since it is separated from the play's action, it cre­ ates the potential for a direct participation of the audience through discus­ sion. As Four Comrades progresses, the audience is given the time and the opportunity to think through the situation and place the rest of the play within the perspective of the commentary. The last scene , in which Ratan is shot by the japanese soldier, seeks to inspire the collective participation of the audience as Ratan's individual resistance changes to collective resistance through echoing sounds of his last words : "I will live again. I will be reborn in the spirit of every Indian who will take up arms against you . . . . I will be everywhere you go in India-in Calcutta and in Bombay, in Madras and in Karachi . You will not escape me (]aps start running) . I shall not die ! " 22 81

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance While the specific geographical markers that Ratan uses invite the audi­ ence to see themselves as Ratan , their voices echoing his words reiterate his sentiment. Presented initially in English, both Roar China and Four Com­ rades were soon translated into a dozen provincial languages and presented in the different regions of the country by the IPTA's provincial squads . The translations of the plays into different languages suggest a collective politi­ cal agenda on the part of the IPTA members : to ensure the widest possible participation of "the people" in the political process. The next maj or IPTA play that followed Roar China and Four Comrades was Bij ana Bhattacaryara's Nabanna, about the Bengal famine of 1 943 . Under Shombhu Mitra's direction, the Bengal IPTA squad performed the play in many parts of the country as part of a festival called the Voice of Bengal . The purpose of the festival was to collect money for the relief of famine victims in rural Bengal . The play became a maj or success and helped in the collec­ tion of hundreds of thousands of rupees . Nabanna presents the intensity of the famine through the starving family of a Bengali peasant, Pradhan Samad­ dar. The range of disasters that the family goes through are emblematic of the state of the Bengali peasantry during the famine. But Nabanna is more than a play about famine. It is also an attempt to expose the sordid reality that the famine was not a natural disaster but a man-made calamity. Ironi­ cally, far from there being a shortage of food, the per capita availability of food supply was 9 percent more in 194 3 than in 1 94 1 , which was not a year of famine. The famine was a result of international political developments . The war in Europe had led to inflated prices and shortages of rice and salt. Even though the war economy in England was being run most efficiently, the British government made practically no attempt in its Indian colony to check a rampant black market. Inflation and shortages led to profiteering, black-marketing , and hoarding of food. Rising prices and shortages of food, as a large number of Allied troops entered onto Indian soil, created a fear that the country's food supply was being depleted to feed the army. 23 Burma's fall to the japanese, on the other hand, cut off rice imports into Ben­ gal, thus aggravating the food crisis. Nabanna implicates a combination of the war in Europe and imperialist policies at home as being ultimately detri­ mental to the economically marginalized groups. These phenomena are con­ veyed through the play's central character, Pradhan, who , as his family is devastated, reflects on the reasons for the famine. To find answers , his fam­ ily, along with other peasants from the village , moves to Calcutta . The peasants' movement from the village to the city is emblematic of the famine victims' realization of the significance of collective mobilization. Their choice to collectively relocate to Calcutta is an attempt to understand the politics of the famine . In Calcutta , where they are reduced to the worst possible state of poverty despite the surplus of food, they learn that the 82

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre famine , caused by international politics, could have been averted. Although the peasants return to their village hungry and desolate , their return is a hopeful one , a hope inspired by a new awareness of their basic human rights . The title of the play, which translates as New Harvest, is symbolic of the new crop that will be generated through this reawakening of the peas­ ants' consciousness.

The Popular and the Realistic

Nabanna's challenge to imperialism also occurs in the play's violation of the conventions of "high" realism presented in the "well-made" play that dom­ inated the metropolitan theater in India in the early decades of the twenti­ eth century. 24 This disruption occurs through the episodic structure of the play, which prevents the action from being resolved at the end, frustrating interpretive closure . Nabanna moves in quick succession from one episode to another to depict the lives of the suffering peasants . These range " from the woes of the peasants in their village homes to the hoarder's den, from relief kitchen to charitable dispensary, from the wedding feast to the beggars scrounging for food near the dustbin , from the child dying of malnutrition to the village-wife being approached by the city tout. " 25 By converting the stage into a platform on which spectators are shown various aspects of the famine through sharply contrasting images of opulence and poverty, pre­ sented, for instance, through the j uxtaposition of the sumptuous wedding feast with the sad plight of the beggars , such an episodic structure violates the rules of realism. In so doing , Nabanna purports to evoke "recognition" from the audience as the operative and critical political response. juxta­ posed in this way, such contrasting images serve to draw the audience's empathetic attention to the economic unevenness generated by colonial policies . The episodes also shift the focus from the life of the individual peasant Pradhan and his family, and provide spectators with a multifaceted view of the ramifications of the famine so that spectators recognize these familiar instances of life and intervene in the existing problems . The possibility of popular access to the IPTA's productions was facili­ tated, in part, by its concept of a traveling theater. The " chronicles and doc­ uments" of the IPTA reveal that its provincial squads emerged out of the closed halls of city theaters to stage plays five or six times a day under open skies , in public parks , on street corners, in village and city courtyards . Trav­ els to remote areas , villages , and working-class settlements brought direc­ tors , producers , and playwrights into direct contact with their audiences . Close interaction provided direct access to the "lived experience" of people and raised the directors' awareness of the ways in which hegemonic struc83

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance tures affected the masses . This experience provided the IPTA's organizers with fresh insights into ways of connecting their productions with their viewers' subj ectivities , contributing to the proj ect of a "people's theater. " What the IPT A directors learned during their travels was that the stories of imperialism and exploitation should be taken from the "lived experience" of "the people . " According to james Clifford, ethnographic stories "simulta­ neously describe real cultural events and make additional . . . ideological . . . statements . " 26 Dramatizing the stories of "the people" provided patterns or associations that pointed to coherent additional meanings . The meanings would be provided in two ways : first, by virtue of the spectators' familiarity with a story, so that they could recognize them and understand the processes that caused oppression, and through identification with the pop­ ular traditions of specific regions . While the familiarity of a story had the ability to elicit audience participation in the political process , the knowl­ edge of the intimate cultural details was useful for directors to engage in addressing the problems of a particular community. For example , in Pun­ j ab , a mainly agricultural community, the IPTA invoked the relationship between war and poverty through themes related to the food crisis during the war period: the impact of black-marketing and the hoarding of crops by capitalists . The realistic themes pertaining to the contemporary political struggles were interspersed with folk devices such as songs and dances , puppets , clowns , and mimes , which were adj usted according to cultural specificity. According to the I944 reports provided by the Punj ab IPTA, the plays performed in Punj ab on issues of national unity and antifascism emerged from discussions with workers and peasants and took into account the local histories , legends , religious beliefs , and traditions . The songs , dances , and puppetry were not only entertaining but also served, by virtue of their familiarity, to capture the audience's attention. In the industrialized cities of Bangalore and Bombay, on the other hand, where workers' exploitation was rampant in mills and factories , stories about millworkers functioned as an effective theme . Hence, in these places the IPTA presented Dada (Brother, 1942), about the lives of the Bombay millworkers and their exploitation. Written by T. K. Salmarkar, a mill­ worker, and produced by Prabhakar Gupta , the play was presented on the occasion of May Day, 1942. Written at a time of rising capitalist production in the wake of World War II, it was filled with " [ t] opical illusions to Prohi­ bition, War, Congress Ministries , [ and the ] Trade Union Movement. "27 The war had created a demand for the production of automobiles , ships, and air­ craft and brought for Indian businessmen and traders the opportunity to make quick profits . Between 1939 and 1941, the capitalist bourgeoisie, for whom the war brought gains , restrained labor unrest by paying workers a substantial allowance and supplying basic goods at subsidized prices . 28 Crit-

84

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre ically aware of the spuriousness of the situation , the playwright attempted to warn the six hundred millworkers who watched the play that their inter­ ests were being co-opted only for the immediate gains of big business , on the one hand, and workers' exploitation on the other. As the play climaxed with a scene portraying a workers' rally on May Day, it evoked collective participation of workers through the popular workers' song: "Nakarepe danka laga hai I Tu sustra ko apne sambal (Bugles are sounding, shoulder your arms) . " 29 What took place was the participation of audience and actors alike through a song that was familiar to the audience. As actors and audi­ ence j oined in a collective spirit to sing, they attempted to forge a comrade­ ship against oppressive structures . The open-endedness of the dramas further enabled "popular" participa­ tion on a large scale . The IPTA bulletin of 1 943 reports workers' participa­ tion as actors , as scriptwriters , and as creators of stories . According to the 1 944 report of the Punj ab IPTA, most of the plays presented in Punj ab vil­ lages and the districts of Amritsar, jullunder, and Lahore emerged from this process . For instance, T. K. Sarmalkar's Dhani (Land, 1 942) , depicting conflict between a peasant and his landlord, involved peasants as actors in the play. To write a play, two or more people would sit together and devise a rough outline for a plot based on a contemporary problem . Then someone would write its dialogue. The play would be discussed further and alter­ ations sometimes made even after the first performance to prepare for the second one. Such strategies involving collective authorship , acting, produc­ tion, and direction of plays suggest a collective political undertaking through a "popular" theater. Through these formalistic alterations and innovations , which shifted from "high" realism to a "popular" social real­ ism, the IPTA took the plays beyond the confines of the profit-oriented com­ mercial theater in cities to its target audience-"the people"-and made their struggles open for intervention. For example , Nabanna, the play on the famine of 1 943 , was performed in villages to peasant audiences , to Kisan Sabhas , and to workers in different parts of North India that included Pun­ j ab , Maharashtra , and Guj arat. The interweaving of the popular and the political through socially realis­ tic plays had important ramifications for women. The !PTA's close interac­ tions with the "people" forced open the problems of women and their oppression in factories where women constituted a large part of the work­ force . The IPTA members participated in exposing the questions of female oppression both by composing plays about women and by catering to large female audiences . Ali Sardar Jaffri's Yeh Kis Kaa Khoon Hai ? (Whose blood is this ? ) , a play about peasants' and workers' resistance to the first japanese bombing in Chittagong, staged its last performance for an audience of beedi workers ,30 most of whom were women . According to the Bombay provincial 85

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance report of 1 944 , the audience responded with great enthusiasm to the song at the end that invoked the workers' freedom. Woh jang Hai jange Azadi . . . Woh jang hi Kia , wah am hi kia, dushman Taraj na ho Wah duniya , duniya , kia hogi jis dunya main Swaraj na ho Wah aazadi, aazadi kia , jis maim mazdoor k o raj na h o . . . [ That war is a war of freedom what is that world where the enemy is not confronted what must be that world Where there were no freedom What is that freedom In which the workers don't rule . ] S o charismatic were the IPTA productions that some of the women i n the audience took off their ornaments to donate for a humanitarian cause . At ano ther show in Bombay, workers who were given free tickets offered to pay after the performance . An index of popular response is also provided by Bal­ want Gargi, a firsthand witness to a production of Nabanna in Punj ab : The lights went down. From the middle of the audience a man sud­ denly rose to his feet, gave three beats on a drum and made his way towards the stage . Three men and two women seated in the audience bustled and shoved to follow him. They howled like beggars , "We are hungry ! We are hungry ! We come from Bengal , the land of plenty , the land of hunger. We are hungry ! " The audience buzzed, annoyed. Who were these people? What were they doing? Why were they causing a disturbance? What did they want? The broken voices merged into a song as the six mounted the stage . They formed themselves into a group and sang , their eyes burning. All the suffering of famine and poverty was expressed in their voices and strained faces . Their movements , gestures , expressions and speech had no theatri­ cality; it was as real as the street scenes we experience daily. These faces were familiar to us in the poor quarters of Lahore . . . . [T] hey mirrored Indian life , the poverty and suffering under the heel of a foreign power. 86

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre Women in the audience sobbed; the eyes of the men misted; two college girls who had wrinkled their noses at the players now wiped their tears . . . . People and players , the two halves of the theatre , kept apart for so long , j oined and became one whole .31 The enthusiasm that the IPTA generated, the attacks it launched on exploitative structures , and the expectations it aroused are indicative of the initiation of a process that could help the "people" conceptualize the turn­ ing upside down of their world. And the people's participation as spectators , as actors , as storytellers , and as donors of money became a seal of their approval of defying the authorities . Their attendance and applause were tes­ timony that the events on stage , the acting out of history, had gone beyond the stage itself to the hundreds of "people" to whom the IPTA had intended to take its message .

Appropriation of Western Drama

The !PTA's attacks on colonial structures did not mean that it was cut off from European theatrical traditions . British rulers' attempt to co-opt the Indian bourgeoisie from time to time (even though it was done to make British control stronger) had led to the circulation of British and European drama and an increasing awareness of Western dramatic theories and con­ ventions . These included the use of box sets , footlights , and proscenium stages .32 Through British clubs and playhouses also filtered Shakespeare and other Western plays , which subsequently flowed into Indian artistic and intellectual life and were gradually disseminated among the public . Such circulation subj ected Anglo-European forms to open scrutiny by the IPTA organizers , some of whom were well exposed to Western theories of drama . IPTA artists usefully appropriated these theories for their own needs . For instance, when IPTA directors revived the folk tradition of jatra, they learned to cut the performances from several hours to a three-hour duration and tone down the overwhelming presence of songs and dances that consti­ tuted the original jatra performances . This editing was especially useful for those who had to work in factories the following morning, and for that rea­ son could not spare the time needed to watch a traditional performance. On numerous occasions , the IPTA organizers also adapted and presented European plays , tailoring them according to the perceived needs of the audi­ ence. For example , Ibsen's antiestablishment play Enemy of the People was produced sometime between 1 949 and 1 9 5 2 (the exact date is not available) and presented to an urban audience in Calcutta as well as to peasants in vil­ lages . But instead of following the realistic convention of an Ibsen play, the 87

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance directors used experimental techniques in this production: actors were asked to extemporize according to the mood of the audience; there was no written script and no sets . According to the producers , the extemporizing was a success: "We invited the audience to imagine that we were sitting in a cosy drawing-room, or walking on a road, by pantomime and certain sym­ bols . The audience did believe , first laughingly, then deeply as the story takes a turn. "33 Since the IPTA was inspired by the antifascist Progressive Writers' Union in Europe, its members were also aware of the progressive theaters abroad such as the Group Theatre of the 1 930s in the United States , the popular agitprop theaters in Germany during the 1 9 20s and 1930s, Workers' The­ atres in Britain, and the Soviet Shock Troupes in Russia, which had propa­ gated the ideas of socialist reconstruction after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1 9 1 7 . Adapting plays and formalistic devices from these theaters and shap­ ing them according to the Indian cultural context, the IPT A presented plays such as Clifford Odets's Waiting for Lefty, about a taxi driver union's strike in New York.34 The IPTA version showed capitalist exploitation of workers and ways to counter that exploitation , by calling for a revolution, as work­ ers do at the end of Lefty. In attempting to create a national identity through native drama , the IPTA did not thus dismiss Western dramatic practices but selectively appropriated them to advance its counterhegemonic agenda . Progressive plays such as Waiting for Lefty would have served another func­ tion: they also exposed the corruption rampant in Western systems , ruptur­ ing in this way the falsely perpetuated ideas about the "superior West. " Some scholars find the !PTA's Western orientation elitist and see an inherent contradiction in the ideology of the organizers , which, they posit, impeded !PTA's eventual success .35 However, we need to consider the larger context that gave rise to these contradictions and ironies , from which the IPTA sought to impart an "Indian" character to the movement. The !PTA's use of European theories and dramatic practices to counter colonialism may be attributed to the existing historical reality of the Indian stage . A number of playwrights , directors , and producers who sponsored the IPTA (which included intellectuals such as Mulk Raj Anand, K. A. Abbas , and Anil De Silva , the daughter of a Ceylon minister, among others) belonged to the metropolis . Their interaction with the colonizers through British education and participation in British plays had trained them in European theories and practices . For example , Utpal Dutt, a member of the Bengal IPTA from 1950-5 1 , had worked in Geoffrey Kendal's Shakespeareana company after the Kendals came to India in 1 947. Dutt professes to have learned all the lessons of the repertory theater from Kendal. Therefore , he assimilated Anglo-European techniques in his plays .

88

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre More important, however, was the British India government's censorship policy on dramatic practices , which played an important role in expediting the !PTA's use of Western plays and practices . The IPTA angered the gov­ ernment with a number of its dramatic productions and felt the heavy hand of censorship through police atrocities and disruptions of performances and official scrutiny of plays prior to performance.36 To escape censorship , play­ wrights sometimes engaged with European dramas and theories so as to camouflage their messages and propagate their anti-imperial ideas in covert ways . Censorship of drama continued after independence. The new govern­ ment that took over the country after I947 was no less autocratic in this regard, and severe government repression continued through the censor­ ship laws that had been passed by the British government. Following inde­ pendence, the Indian government revised the laws empowering the police to raid places of performance , arrest actors , remove stage property, and confiscate manuscripts of the play . So in most cases , the IPTA squads were required to submit playscripts before their performance . An example of this is the following text of a notice served by the commissioner of police in Cal­ cutta to the Bengal branch of iPTA in 1 9 5 2 : "In accordance with the provi­ sion laid down under Section 7 of the Dramatic Performance Act, I876, you are hereby requested to furnish this office by 1 8th February, I 9 5 3 , at the lat­ est with the printed or manuscript copies of the dramas mentioned in the statement enclosed . . . . The dramas are required by this office for review so as to ascertain the character of each of the same . " The notice also threatened that failure to submit the dramas would "be treated as violation of the pro­ visions of the Dramatic Performance Act and legal action . . . taken . . . as contemplated under Section I 76 of the Indian Penal Code . " 3 7 In the same year in Punj ab , police authorities banned the staging of socially significant plays . In Lucknow, authorities prosecuted four IPTA members including Razia Sajj ad Zaheer and Babulal Verma for staging a drama without permis­ sion. And in Cochin, the government banned the drama You Made Me a Communist.3 8 Censorship also continued through disruption of perfor­ mances and beating up of actors . Continuing censorship resulted in the ban­ ning of a number of popular jatra plays in Bengal and tamashas in Bombay. In I955 Haripada Master was banned in Murshidabad in Uttar Pradesh. For the all-India cultural festival organized in Assam in I 9 5 5 , the IPTA was required to submit the scripts of the plays " for censor under the Dramatic Performances Act of 1 876. "39 In the wake of heavy censorship , European plays were useful in camouflaging the IPTA's intended messages of social protest. A I953 list of the plays of the Bengal IPTA that were banned includes only Indian plays written by progressive writers : Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya's Mahesh, Rabindranath Tagore's Gora and Bisarjan, and

89

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance Dinabandhu Mitra's Nil Darpan. 40 Using plays such as those of Shakespeare and Ibsen may have been useful, since their content was apparently free from the danger of censorship . This continued use of a socially committed theater grounded the IPTA in acts of resistance to colonial and neocolonial structures .

Independence and After

After I 94 7 , the IPTA started losing its mass character. In its stead, "a num­ ber of splinter groups claiming their origin from the IPTA were gradually formed on the fringe of the theatre movement."41 It is clear, however, that the !PTA's Eighth National Conference , held in Delhi during December I 9 5 7 , was its last. Some scholars attribute the !PTA's dilution to its strict adherence to the Communist Party line , which, after 1 948, aligned with the Congress gov­ ernment in the development of a national culture and for the maintenance of world peace . Malini Bhattacharya finds a parallel development in the propagation of social harmony and world peace taken up by the IPTA. She contends that " this is precisely the point where in spite of its broad call to cultural workers and writers irrespective of caste , creed and religion . . . [ the IPTA] began to lose its mass character. . . . It seems to me that it was this non-intervention and not too much interference which split up the theatre movement . " 42 However, several other factors such as the partition in 1947, heavier government control through censorship , lack of government patronage to IPTA, and ideological splits among IPTA members , con­ tributed to this development. The postwar years were marked by increased corruption and black-mar­ keting . This , in turn, raised problems of inflation and poverty because of a sharp increase in prices aggravated by a maj or food crisis .43 As India pre­ pared for independence in 1 94 7, it felt the cruelest impact of imperialist policies in the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan. The partition was accompanied by extreme human misery, bloodshed, and loss of lives and property on both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. The vio­ lence of colonialism that ultimately resulted in the violence of partition uprooted many IPTA organizers and members . One such example is Balraj Sahni , an active IPTA member, who was in the Rawalpindi district of Pun­ j ab (now in Pakistan) on the eve of the subcontinental divide . The "whole­ sale genocide" of partition, says Sahni, was "enough to curdle one's blood."44 Despite the horror of communal riots , Sahni made desperate attempts to mobilize peace activities by singing songs about Hindu-Muslim unity at street corners in order to collect crowds and then persuade them to 90

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre keep the districts free of riots. In his autobiography, Sahni writes: "From morning till night, we would roam the entire city on our bicycles, taking our message to the people . " 45 N onetheless , in this state of communal disarray, it was difficult to collect actors and organize plays . The turmoil of the parti­ tion ultimately forced Sahni to dislocate from Rawalpindi . With no room for Hindus in Pakistan and having lost all his wealth and property, Sahni moved to Bombay, where he pursued a career in films . Despite such upheavals , the IPT A continued to function as a politically committed theater. The documents and chronicles of the 1 9 50s reveal the association's continuing efforts to intervene in the political process . The provincial IPTA squads continued staging plays on the themes of partition, landlord problems , workers' exploitation, and so forth at a time when the euphoria of independence brought its own disappointments . Numerous dra­ mas attacking the continuing power structures in postcolonial India were staged. For example, the Kerala stage presented You Made Me a Communist, a play on landlordism. Pannu Pal's play Chargesheet, which urged the release of hundreds of Communists who were thrown in j ail without trial after the government banned the Communist Party of India , was taken to working­ class bastis (settlements) and remote villages of Bengal. Portraying the story of a man who becomes a victim of the Hindu-Muslim riots on the eve of the country's partition into India and Pakistan , K. A. Abbas's Main Kaun Hoon ? (Who am I? 1 94 7) was shown to different strata of people in order to save the country from religious bigotry and hatred. Ritwik Ghataka's Dalil ( 1 9 52) , which dealt with refugee problems after the crisis of partition, was performed by the south drama squad in many different parts of the country. In 1 948, Sahni wrote jadoo Ki Kursi (The magical chair) , a play that in his own words "devastatingly lampooned jawaharlal Nehru and his policies . "46 Along with the !PTA's presentation of politically subversive material, one also discerns a shift toward classical "Indian" forms . This shift occurs from the !PTA's "peace building" in the wake of Hindu-Muslim discord emanat­ ing after partition and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1 948, the problem in Kash­ mir, and the attempt to build a united nation to prevent the economic and political neocolonialism that threatened to creep in through the domination of British capital over India's economy as well as increasing U . S . interfer­ ence, especially over the Kashmir issueY At such a time , the !PTA's mem­ bers held on to an identifiable " Indianness , " using the rhetoric of a lost "Indian" heritage to carve out an "Indian" identity. Therefore , during its annual meetings , organizers emphasized the greatness of India's cultural heritage by invoking images of a national past whose glory had faded under the heel of a foreign power. While exploring the relationship between "peace and people's theatre ," Anna Bhau Sathe , the IPTA's general secretary, posited in 1953 in Unity, the association's official j ournal, that peace could 91

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance be achieved through " our great dramatists , their dramas and immortal say­ ings" and evoked names of classical dramatists from the past such as Bhasha and Shudraka (200 B . C . ) as exemplars for social change.48 Abbas too called for peace through an invocation of the ancient Hindu texts such as the Rig­ Veda , the Yajurveda , the Upanishads , and the Mahabharata, contending that "in ancient Indian culture . . . in spite of wars and strife , friendship and brotherhood pervade the literature of the past."49 While the government endorsed the IPTA's effort to propagate its "Indian" heritage, it kept the IPTA's subversive character in check. Regular subj ection to censorship in various regions was a maj or impediment to the !PTA's activities and succeeded, to a large degree , in preventing the IPTA plays from being taken to villages and towns . A number of performances were in fact disrupted by the police . The government also attempted to crush the movement through its entertainment tax policy. This policy was a maj or detriment for the IPTA, which was a nonprofit organization and often performed free of charge . On the other hand, the government patronage to the development of "Indian" arts and culture was provided through the Sangeet Nataka Akademy, the Lalit Kala Akademy, and others . "The various akademies , the All-India Radio, the proposed Book Trusts , the institution of prizes and rewards-all these . . . [were ] so worked [ out] as not to give any scope for the thousands of worker-peasant artists and writers who look upon culture as the weapon of struggle for genuine people's democracy and lasting peace . " 50 At a time of nation building in the life of the newly independent nation, all cultural productions that appeared to be subversive or political were obliterated from state-controlled university curricula and various govern­ ment-funded cultural organizations. It is no coincidence that at this j unc­ ture , the trends of N ew Criticism and modernism were taken to be ideally constituted for defining culture. Mainstream Indian critics launched into a New Critical rhetoric of " an 'authentically Indian sensibility' while embrac­ ing a universalist metaphysic . " 5 1 A combination of the above factors led to the ultimate dwindling of the IPTA, which in its current phase conducts workshops and performs plays on a regional rather than a national scale . 52

Conclusion

The IPTA was not an undifferentiated phenomenon. Its themes varied from fascism and war to imperialism and exploitation, both British and Indian. It recognized the many layers of oppression that existed in society and sought to rectify the vexing wrongs committed against the marginalized classes . To effectively disseminate its messages to a geographically and linguistically 92

Performance and Protest in the Indian People's Theatre diverse population and establish intimate links among the masses from var­ ious regions , the formalistic and linguistic concerns of its plays were con­ stantly reconfigured. Such concerns imparted a rich significance to its polit­ ical agenda . For instance, the translation of plays into different languages suggests a political action on the part of IPT A organizers. Through linguis­ tic diversification, IPTA artists used the theater as a vehicle for awakening a spirit of protest among " the people" that would merge into a collective antifascist and anti-imperialist consciousness . Similarly, j oint authorship of plays also indicates a collective political undertaking on the part of the orga­ nizers . Keeping a theory of social realism as its central concern , while forg­ ing an interpretive relationship with the audience, IPTA organizers con­ stantly experimented with an amalgamation of theater forms , both indigenous and Western. Borrowing from European theories , forms , and themes and altering these theories according to the cultural traditions of the people , the space of the performance , and the time required to engage the attention of huge audiences often resulted in the production of one-act plays . The result was the emergence of a heterogeneous theater that was unique and innovative and acquired a multifaceted character. This hetero­ geneity of the theater became a strategic tool for enabling the IPTA to carry out its subversive attempts at interrogating existing power structures . Thus , the IPTA inaugurated an alternative model of cultural production that became a significant site of sociohistorical struggle. The multifaceted character of the IPTA enabled its organizers to counter the colonial authorities' repressive policies of censorship through dramatic formulas and spaces that tried to escape the reach of the censors and chal­ lenge the status quo . The accomplishments of the IPTA were thus crucial . It initiated the entry of the masses into active political life. As well, it revived an indigenous drama that had suffered a great setback because of the valoriza­ tion of European theaters and the imposition of censorship on native drama . The IPTA also changed the structure and conception of theater in various parts of India . By mobilizing plays that were constructed according to the sociopolitical environment, the IPTA altered the use of theater from merely a means of entertainment to a forum for people's struggles . By performing for the rural and the nonliterate public instead of a limited elite audience, the IPTA made political theater available to those who previously had little or no access to it. An important ramification of the process was that the plays provided exposure of political problems in the public space to those women whose lives were largely confined to the domestic sphere . However, while the IPTA provided exposure to women, dealt with the problems of female workers in the public spaces such as factories and tea plantations , and sought women's involvement in the movement, it rarely staged the problems confronting women in the domestic sphere . This oversight 93

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance emerged from its homogenization of all marginalized classes under the cat­ egory of " the people . " For instance, in Zubeida ( 1 944) , a play about the relief work done by a young Muslim girl during the 1 944 cholera epidemic, Abbas provides no context for Zubeida's own difficulties in stepping out of the domestic space . 53 The cholera epidemic was largely a result of the famine in 1 943 ; shortage of food and lack of clean water facilitated disease and death . This , combined with a shortage of medical supplies that were being channeled for the troops abroad, resulted in the epidemic. Affected by the funeral processions of the cholera casualties , Zubeida casts aside her purdah and moves out of the domestic space to a public one to volunteer for relief work.54 However, like the people she tries to help , Zubeida dies because of a scarcity of vaccine . Zubeida's role in the cholera epidemic signifies two challenges: her stepping out of the home is a challenge to the male-dominated domestic space that can no longer keep her confined, and her efforts to save the cholera victims represent an act of intervention in policies that were responsible for the epidemic. While Abbas recognizes Zubeida's contribution, his construction of Zubeida is problematic . In focusing on her activism, Abbas mystifies the politics of religion and purdah in the private space from which she emerges . Moreover, Abbas confines Zubeida's activism to the role of a nurturer who tends to the cholera victims and sacrifices her own life to save them . Zubeida may step out of the domes­ tic space to participate in the nationalist process but only in a desexualized and feminized role that Abbas conceived for her. 55 Such a portrayal becomes all the more stark in contrast to the "masculine" roles of the male activists in Four Comrades and reveals that even revolutionary movements on the Left constructed and defined the role of the female activist in accordance with traditional roles allocated in a patriarchal society. 56 The IPTA left a strong legacy for political theater groups in India . Most contemporary theater groups draw on the !PTA's concept of a traveling the­ ater for propagating political activism. These groups include, among others , numerous theater groups in Calcutta , one of the largest centers of political theater activity in India; Karnataka's community theater Samudaya , formed by R. P. Prasanna in 1975 during the state of emergency to campaign against Indira Gandhi ; the Association of the Rural Poor in Tamil Nadu (ARP) , composed mainly of dalits, untouchable landless farmworkers ; and the Cul­ tural Caravans in Kerala . 57 The work carried on by these organizations amid official and unofficial censorship and with practically no financial support from the state shows that as long as there is commitment, theater will con­ tinue to force to the surface questions of exploitation and will fight against violations of human rights .

94

Colonial History and Postcolonial ! nterventions Shlging the 1 857 M utiny 8S "The Gre8t Rebellion" in Utp2l D utt's f\1ahavidroha

The subj ect of "history" constituted a crucial element of anticolonial the­ atrical movements in India under the British Raj , as is evident in the histor­ ical dramas of Girish Chandra Ghosh for the Great National Theatre in the nineteenth century, the Tilak Festivals at the turn of the century , and the experiments of the Indian People's Theatre Association in the 1 940s and 1 9 5 0s . 1 In the face of colonial indignities to which they were subj ected by orientalist constructions , artists involved in campaigns of anticolonial protest excavated India's heroic past (however imagined) to generate a sense of Indian unity, instill patriotism among audiences , and foster a sense of national identity via (mythical) revivals of India's golden age . 2 Such engage­ ment with history survives in postindependence theater, where the imperial discourses of history receive careful scru tiny by politically committed artists who repeatedly return to the colonial archive to excavate, emplot, and restage historical events . 3 Doing so, they rewrite dominant versions of his­ torical truths and accord the subaltern subj ects of colonial history their proper roles in anticolonial struggles . Of key importance to this genre of historical drama is the theater of Utpal Dutt, who made a significant contri­ bution to political theater in postindependence India through his Little The­ atre Group , which, formed in 1 94 7 in Bengal , became a central site for stag­ ing the struggles of oppressed groups against repressive forces .4 Inspired by Girish Chandra Ghosh's model of historical drama , Dutt, whose theater emerged at the intersections of European and Indian culture , sees the rele95

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance vance of recuperating history to disrupt and destabilize its colonialist myths . 5 Implicating colonialism as a vicious instrument of exploitation, he discusses the necessity of producing a theater that "concretize [ s ] the destruction of the system that was responsible for such suffering" 6 by not merely exposing facts but through an "unveiling of history" that interro­ gates what he calls "bourgeois truth" or distorted versions presented on the pretext of unbiased reportage and "pretensions of impartiality . " 7 Yet i n the politically fraught milieu of postindependence India, which, by the early 1 9 70s, saw Chinese aggression against India , wars against Pak­ istan, and ensuing state violence in the wake of the Naxalite movement, notions of a " national" identity come under careful scrutiny and contesta­ tion. Unlike the national theaters of earlier decades that deployed historical themes to spread the message of Indian unity and anticolonial solidarity, Dutt's return to historical events is marked by the need to comment on the profound divisions in postcolonial India that challenge the myth of Indian unity sustained by both alternative and official versions of nationalism. In this manner Dutt's theater engages a dialectic that examines history in all its complexities and contradictions and explores its implications for official narratives of nationalism in postcolonial India.8 This chapter presents Dutt's interrogation of the postcolonial sociopoliti­ cal conflict through a detailed analysis of The Great Rebellion 1 857 (Mahavidroha), a play that enables a reinterpretation of the 1 8 5 7 mutiny as a vigorous anticolonial nationalist insurgency against British colonial rule through its use of an anticolonial heroic subj ect.9 Aided by documentary evidence drawn from Marx and Engels, who chronicled the causes and nature of the revolt in articles written for the New York Daily Tribune between 1 853 and 1 8 5 9 , 1 0 and from neglected archival sources , j ournals , newspapers , and statistical data , Dutt inserts an alternative interpretation into the play that explores the discursive links between the politics of eco­ nomics , class, gender, nationalism , and colonialism. Through these links , the play restores to significance the constitutive role of "ordinary" people in the insurgent movement. Further , by evoking the memory of the mutiny in 1 9 73 at the height of the Naxalite rebellion, which was severely suppressed by agents of the Indian government, Dutt teases out the continuities between colonial power and an emerging antiminority state nationalism in postcolonial India . Initi­ ated with its first uprising in 1 9 6 7 , the Naxalite struggle was the fight of landless peasants and oppressed tribal agricultural laborers against the priv­ ileged feudal elite , the landlords, and a government complicit in the oppres­ sion carried out by landlords. A movement that began with agricultural workers , it was ultimately led by Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) cadres , most of whom, like Dutt, were urban-intellectual activists of middle96

Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions class ongm. Intellectuals and activists in the Marxist tradition saw " the cause of the poverty of the Indian masses in the 'semi-feudal , semi-colonial' character of the country, in the exploitation of these masses by a feudal rul­ ing class . " 1 1 Between 1 9 6 7 and 1 9 72 , the N axalites fought the police sent by the government to safeguard and protect the landlords and, as such , posed a political challenge to the state . 1 2 Interpreting this challenge as a "law and order" problem, the United Front government in West Bengal took massive repressive measures to crush the movement. 13 For Dutt, the repression of N axalites and minorities carried out by the government was a reminder of the brutal repression of the 1857 insurgency, and the fight put up by the rebels in 1 8 5 7 exemplified a collective struggle and coalition across caste and class lines . By playing out the tensions between a repressive govern­ ment machinery and dissidents fighting for their rights , Mahavidroha pro­ duces new knowledge of past records at a time when similar struggles char­ acterize the postcolonial milieu , and purports , through this knowledge, to evoke from the audience an identification of itself as a community with a historical tradition of resistance to oppressive modes of domination. Dutt's recapitulation of the 1 8 5 7 insurgency at a politically fraught moment of postcolonial India , then , enables a theater that reevaluates con­ temporary repressive forces through critical recognition of the continuing similarities between historical and contemporary modes of hegemonic power and the importance of resistance struggles that respond to these configurations of power. Such analogies between the postcolonial national­ ist state and British colonial power provide a differentiated understanding of nationalisms against the state : an anti-British populist nationalism that exposes the exploitative behavior of the colonizer in the nineteenth century, and the neocolonial state nationalism in postindependence India that repro­ duces the structures of colonialism through a rhetoric of nationhood that, at its worst, remains detrimental to the nation's minorities . The proj ect of excavating the past from the viewpoint of the subaltern populace in Dutt's drama thus performs a dual task. First, it exposes the limitations of colo­ nialist (mis) interpretations of the first war of independence as constructed through dominant historical accounts and through literary , staged, and tex­ tual representations . Second, it prevents a premature celebration of what Anne McClintock calls the "pastness" of colonialism that underlies the "idea of linear, historical 'progress' " when the word post is prefixed to the term colonialism. 14 In so doing, Dutt's play not only rewrites what the colonial rulers called the "Great Mutiny" into an anticolonial rebellion; it also dis­ rupts the mythical claims of Indian unity by exposing the ongoing caste and class conflicts in postcolonial India . The following analysis explores the crit­ ical importance of Mahavidroha in providing the discursive contexts for a reassessment of history that locates the role of the subaltern populace in the 97

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance first war of Indian independence, and in so doing , establishes its relevance for minority struggles in postcolonial India . This involves first a return to the "mutiny" itself and Dutt's dramatic intervention in this history, followed by the j uxtaposition of such intervention with the political context of the Naxalite rebellion of the 1 9 70s.

Mahavidroha: Colonial History and Its Subversion The title of the play, Mahavidroha, or The Great Rebellion, indicates its con­ nection with the historical context of colonization. Considered the first maj or nationalistic revolt against the British, the "Sepoy Mutiny," as it is referred to in colonialist interpretations , represents a powerful moment of anticolonial resistance in Indian history. The subj ect of numerous studies , both literary and historical , the revolt has been variously referred to as a mutiny, rebellion, and "first war of independence . " 1 5 The immediate cause is almost always given as the greased-cartridge incident, when eighty-five soldiers in Meerut on April 24 , I 8 5 7 , defied orders to chew off the top of the cartridges of Enfield rifles that were greased with pig and cow fat, initiating the first phase of the revolt. As the cartridges ostensibly violated the reli­ gious sensibilities of both Muslims (because of pig fat) and Hindus (for whom the cow was sacred) , the soldiers refused to defile themselves by touching the cartridges . Following this defiance, the soldiers were subse­ quently taken off duty, court-martialed, convicted, and imprisoned. How­ ever, far from being a spontaneous uprising, the revolt was the result of alienation caused by the colonial political economy. By I 8 5 7 , tremendous rural wealth had drained out of India through land revenue. Moreover, by allowing the zemindars (landlords) the right to evict cultivators , the rulers had created large numbers of landless peasants and changed the structure of rural land ownership . Increasing debts from land revenue had led to large­ scale disaffection among landless laborers . Additionally, to fulfill the needs of Britain's manufacturing industry, especially for cotton, indigo, and jute, the rulers encouraged the cultivation of cash crops that resulted in a short­ age of food. Such violence was aggravated by the systemic assault on Indian textiles and the weaving industry, especially through the imposition of heavy duties on Indian muslin imported into England. Heightened by a ten­ fold increase in British exports to India by I 83 7 , this imbalance ruined Indian textile towns , forcing large numbers of weavers out of work , and resulted in large-scale unemployment and poverty . 1 6 In foregrounding this context, Dutt translates Mahavidroha, the vernacular term for the revolt in the title , as the " Great Rebellion" instead of referring to it as the " Great

98

Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions Mutiny . " This shift from mutiny to rebellion itself serves to challenge colo­ nialist references to the insurgency. From the viewpoint of the rulers , the term mutiny connoted the pej orative sense of "faithlessness " or "ingrati­ tude . " Instead, the word rebellion invokes a conscious political effort and resistance on the part of those who participated in the war, a deliberate defiance and a refusal to compromise with the forces of oppression. Dutt's selection of the title to describe the subj ect matter of the play is itself significant in highlighting the importance of the insurgency, defying, as it does , the colonial versions of the insurgency as one of the most no toriously violent events in the history of Anglo-India . Moreover, the use of the term rebellion also challenges the connotation of a military insurrection that the term mutiny suggests . Further, to foreground the exploitative contexts that provided the grounds for the rebellion, Dutt creates , at the outset, the ambiance of an ongoing colonial process of economic exploitation and violence, setting up the connection between the uprising and the larger process of colonial pen­ etration. He can thereby provide an analysis , from the viewpoint of the sub­ altern , of the reasons , ideological debates , maltreatment, exploitation, and alienation that conditioned their solidarity during the rebellion. Colonialist assessments of the mutiny (regarding its nature and scope as a national revolt, a spontaneous uprising of Indian troops against their colonial mas­ ters , or an organized conspiracy) 1 7 have largely ignored what Said calls " the constitutive role of an enormous mass of subaltern Indians , the urban poor and the peasants , who throughout the nineteenth century and earlier, resisted British rule in terms and modes that were quite distinct from those employed by the elite . " 18 Gautam Bhadra goes even further to point out the "curious complicity" between the radical and the principal modes of histo­ riography on the mutiny. In its representation of the I 8 5 7 insurgency as essentially elitist in character, radical historiography , he argues, continues the paradigm "within which the bourgeois-nationalist and liberal historians operate . " 19 Consequently, the representation of the role and participation of the ordinary rebel remains absent. Although the rebellion was initiated by eighty-five soldiers who refused to operate Enfield rifles at Meerut, the uprising went far beyond the military ranks , encompassing a varied cross­ section of the populace. Bhadra provides a representative sample of what he calls the " fairly large number of ordinary and yet complex insurgent per­ sonalities, " including a small landlord, a cultivator belonging to a peasant community, a poor tribal youth , and a Maulvi , who organized the insur­ gency in different localities . 20 Writing about the revolt, Karl Marx too reported that " the Sikhs , like the Mohamedans , were making common cause with the Brahmins , and . . . thus a general union against the British rule . . .

99

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance was rapidly progressing . . . . By and by there will ooze out other facts able to convince even j ohn Bull himself that what he considers a military mutiny is in truth a national revolt . " 21 As evident in the presence of historical characters-Mian Muhammad Amin Khan Panj akush (an Urdu writer at the Mughal court) , British officer Maj or Tombs , Simon Frazer, Brigadier Archdale Wilson, Bahadur Shah Zafar (emperor of Hindustan) , Empress Zeenat Mahal, and Prince Mirza Mughal-the excavation of the history surrounding the revolt, therefore, becomes central to the drama . The historical representation of the charac­ ters transforms the drama into the history of the period from the outbreak of hostilities at Meerut on May 1 0 , 1 8 5 7 , until the arrest of Bahadur Shah Zafar in September, which facilitates the task of registering the drama of imperial domination and exploitation. Yet instead of focusing on the trials and tribulations of the Indian princes and rulers alone , Dutt's drama focuses on the popular base of the insurgency to bring alive the constitutive role of the marginalized in the uprising-weavers , women , untouchables , the urban poor, prostitutes , and peasants-through the subplot of the family drama of three generations , which inserts the history of British exploitation, labor appropriation, and sexual exploitation into the framework of the imminent uprising. To articulate the sociological reasons for the rebellion, Dutt arranges the action of the play in nine scenes . These alternate between incidents before the outbreak of the rebellion, to scenes on the battlefield, and events in the court of Emperor Bahadur Shah until his final execution by the British. Since Dutt's commitment lies in rendering this history through a form that speaks to multiple audiences ranging from peasants and working classes to the urban elite audiences of the metropolis , the action unfolds in accor­ dance with Dutt's highly syncretic theater-one that combines a mix of street theater, or pathnatika (a panorama of action that includes sensational scenes , extravagant gestures , tempestuous action, violent death, songs and spectacles that characterize the jatra), and Brechtian conventions . The recovery and representation of the mutiny is interwoven with the drama of the changing fortunes of three generations of a family of weavers : Budhan Singh, who pro tests against the British policy on Indian textiles by refusing to raise the prices on indigenously woven cloth; his son Bishen Singh, Bishen's wife Kasturi , and their young son Kalu . As a punishment for selling handmade cloth at a price lower than the prices of cloth imported from Britain, the court of the East India Company orders Budhan's thumb to be cut off. This incident causes his son, Bishen, to escape. He turns up seven­ teen years later as Risaaldar Heera Singh, a soldier bearing the marks of sev­ eral battles and nursing revenge against the colonizers . To escape the

100

Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions tyranny of the British, Kalu too runs away, changes his identity to Lachman Singh (now an orderly of General Nicholson) and returns in the third scene at the Meerut Barracks in a military camp j ust before the outbreak of the rebellion. A wrongful charge of treason followed by a death sentence brought against Heera Singh casts father and son on opposing sides . As yet unaware of his relationship to Heera Singh, Lachman fully endorses the court martial and the death sentence bestowed upon Heera . In a highly melodramatic scene toward the end of the play when Heera Singh is about to be hanged, their relationship is revealed to the audience through Kasturi , who shows up on the scene in search of goods that she collects from the bodies of dead soldiers in order to sustain herself. By the time Lachman rec­ ognizes his father, it is too late , and the family has been ruined. Although the temporal frame of the drama spans three generations of weavers , the play's climactic moment is the battlefield, where the family drama explodes into the larger drama of anticolonial resistance that manifests itself in a vig­ orous insurgent movement against colonial forces . The play ends with the imprisonment of the emperor of Delhi by the British. As a drama that com­ bines conventions of street theater , a medley of popular oral traditions such as songs , informal dialogue , comic improvisational techniques, and intense action in nine scenes of alternating action, the play's formalistic apparatus is in itself an ideological disruption of the teleology that frames dominant nar­ ratives of the mutiny. Set in 1 840, several years before the mutiny, the first scene serves as a prologue that introduces a range of Indian and British characters-histori­ cal and fictional-in a mobile court of the East India Company in a small village . Before the arrival of the English sahibs , the Indian characters , pri­ marily Budhan Singh and Panj akush, discuss the economic exploitation by the East India Company and its policy regarding the imposition of unfair tariffs and duties on Indian textiles. Their conversation introduces statisti­ cal figures revealing the scale of the destruction of India's indigenous weav­ ing industry:

Panjahush: They've done it everywhere else. Bengal in the East has become a desert. There was a city called Dhaka . . . Bishen: Yes , that's where they make muslin. Panjahush: They used to make muslin there , but no more . The Eng­ lishmen have burnt down the weavers' settlements . Dhaka had 1 5 0 ,000 citizens ; now it has less than 30 ,000. I hear tigers prowl the suburbs now. The Englishmen are taking away cotton from this country, turning it into cloth in their own , and selling it again to us at huge profit. 22

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Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance Mediated by the entry of Simon Frazer, an English official , and the subse­ quent trial of weaver Budhan Singh for the offense of selling handmade cloth, this conversation turns into an instructive device through which Pan­ j akush educates Frazer. When Frazer insists that India is traditionally and primarily an agricultural country that does not need artisans , Panj akush replies , Agricultural , is it? You think this cloth grows in fields? You think the Cashmere shawl and the Dhaka Muslins are found in paddy fields? You are destroying the manufacturers of this country and reducing it to absolute dependence on agriculture . You are trying to set its history back by a few centuries , to destroy its civilization.23 The political purpose of this short scene is to recall the stories of exploita­ tion, and through this recollection, set up the connection between colonial exploitation, colonial violence, and the beginnings of organized resistance. Together with the punishment meted out to the weaver, Panj akush's reply reveals the colonialist "untruths" about India's economy, and highlights the effects of colonial violence on the bodies , families, and aspirations of the colonized subj ects. While implicating the colonial political economy in the alienation of the subaltern populace, the conversations among Panj akush , the weaver, and the British also set the stage as a debating arena that con­ tests the excesses of colonialism-economic , political, and physical-inter­ rogating, at the same time , the cultural contradictions of society and the fail­ ure of native leadership . Such debates continue throughout the play in varied but related spatial and temporal contexts that include the barracks in Meerut in the third scene , where soldiers describe their experiences in pre­ vious battles and provide reasons for their alienation and participation in the mutiny. Scene 2 acts as an intermediary scene that quickly references the colonial occupation of Indian territories . In Brechtian fashion, Dutt sets up a quick montage to provide the range of territorial seizures made by the British by 1 8 5 7 through subtitles flashed on the screen : Afghanistan, 1 84 1-42; Sindh , 1 843 ; Satara , 1 848; Punj ab , 1 849 ; Nagpur, 1 8 5 3 ; Jhansi, 1 854; Lucknow, 1856. The purpose of such subtitles is to recall the history of past conquests for the audience and to foreground-along with the systematic destruction of an indigenous weaving industry that forced out fine artisans , all in the interest of Britain's industrial revolution-systematic political control of the colony as a leading cause of the rebellion. By turning the stage into a debating ground, the play also exposes the treatment accorded to the Indian soldiers by the British. During the conver-

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Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions sations and contentions with Indian soldiers , British officials use a language of violence, force , and coercion, revealing the facts about how colonial power unleashed its violence on sepoys within the regiments . Within the army, Indians could not rise above the rank of "sepoy," and they were often ill treated, with little respect given to their religion or culture . Rough treat­ ment was rampant and common forms of address included "nigger" or "suar" (pig) , as officers asserted their sense of superiority over the sepoy by treating him as an "inferior animal. " 24 In rendering visible such colonial vio­ lence, the drama openly contests colonialist refractions of the rebellion. In order to appreciate Dutt's subversion of elite refractions of the rebel­ lion, we may return to the construction of this revolt, in all its dominant cul­ tural modes , as a violent and traumatizing event for the British rather than a war waged by the colonized subj ects against exploitative forces . Along with historical accounts , the rebellion, as represented in nineteenth-century lit­ erature , art, the press , and theater was constructed as a horrible, violent, and excessive revolt against British men , women, and children. Images of violent natives attacking Englishmen and children and raping Englishwomen were rendered through official reports and reinforced through the popular media . These images seized the imagination of the British public both in India and at home in England, and produced a racist discourse that entered the British public's memory for decades following the mutiny. 25 Additionally, accounts of such exaggerated horror began to be acted out on stage . For instance, melodramas such as Boucicault's jessie Brown, a play that portrays an episode in the mutiny at Lucknow, participated in the dominant sociopolit­ ical discourse surrounding the mutiny by advancing arguments in favor of the discourse of "advance Britannia" on the nineteenth-century stage in N ew York. 26 Through melodrama , and the medium of comedy, plays such as jessie Brown engaged in a specific historical proj ect, skillfully displaying the unequal power relations between colonizer and colonized, and repre­ senting natives fighting for their land as savages and the British as heroesY In the context of India's first war of independence, such colonialist dis­ courses acquired grave significance. Collectively, the stories represented in the Anglo-Indian and English presses, personal letters , lectures , and the stage resulted in the formation of an archive that engaged in the production of negative knowledge about the insurgency, establishing such biased ver­ sions as " truths , " and disseminating them on a wide basis both in the mother country and in the West generally. Established as official discourses about the rebellion, such colonialist versions not only sanctioned the legiti­ macy of grossly exaggerated images ; they also served as source material for the construction of subsequent discourses about this momentous anticolo­ nial event. Dutt's revisionary dramatization, one that not only renders visi-

103

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance ble the intensity of colonial violence but also protests against such violence, constitutes an aesthetic strategy that counters such imperialist versions of the "mutiny . " While the rebellion against colonial excesses i s a dominant theme i n the play, Dutt's drama refuses the simplistic binary logic of colonizer and colo­ nized that heaps indiscriminate attacks on the colonizer, and displays , as well , the complexity of inner dissensions within a community organized on the basis of caste , class, and religious prej udice, and the failure of native leadership to aid in the rebellion's success. Combined with the insincerity of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah and his officials, instances of bickering on the battlefield over social prejudices provide a probing analysis of the cultural complexities that prevent sustained collective action. The Hindu­ Muslim dissensions on the battlefield are shown as being further aggravated by British administrators , who , ensuring that Hindu and Muslim food is served separately in the camps, perpetuate the imperialistic principle of " divide and rule . " Discrimination from other high-caste soldiers on account of his caste also forces Lachman to hide his low-caste identity. In a moment of frustration, he chastises his fellow soldiers , reminding them about the need to unify against their colonial masters . We are merely pawns in the hands of princes and merchants . Pawns can't go backward, but only forward; they made these rules . But the queen, the bishops , the rooks can [ move ] as far back as they wish . And the king only moves one square this way or that in drugged iner­ tia . I say, our real enemy is not the English, but our own princes and moneylenders . We should turn our guns around, cut their throats and play polo with their severed heads . 28 Essential to such analysis is Dutt's demand for a self-critique of religious and caste boundaries caused by the rigid structures of traditional society, and a reappraisal of indigenous leadership-factors that prevented sus­ tained collective resistance against the colonizer. Lachman's attempt to con­ ceal his identity at a time of urgent need for unification, however, suggests a conscious attempt on his part to overcome such prejudices in the interest of mobilizing collective resistance. If Dutt raises questions about the prob­ lems posed by cultural and caste prejudices in maintaining solidarity in this collective struggle, he points out, at the same time , the revolutionary spirit that initiated efforts to band together against the enemy in armed struggle. Thus, Lachman denounces his caste and religious affiliations in favor of ties based on revolutionary kinship. Further, Dutt complicates these potential hindrances to the struggle by highlighting the complicity of Indian leaders with their imperial masters . When Prince Mirza Moghul, Bahadur Shah's 1 04

Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions son, frames Lachman's long-lost father as a traitor and pronounces the death sentence, Lachman endorses the verdict. Lachman's apathy toward his father is Dutt's strategy to unmask for audiences the hidden instances of betrayal by those in power, and the obstacles imposed by such deceit to the successful execution of collective effort. The play culminates with the rebels inspiring even the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah to pledge to fight the British through appeals for greater commitment to freedom.

Gender, Nationalism , and Resistance

Dutt's commitment to recovering subaltern voices from dominant history makes the question of resistance staged by women during the rebellion cen­ tral to his drama . As indicated in historical accounts of the fight put up by Rani Laxmibai of jhansi to protect her kingdom, instances that have been celebrated in literature , the rebellion of 1 8 5 7 brought together a coalition of forces of feminism and nationalism.29 Barring leaders such as Rani Laxmibai in most discussions of the rebellion, the participation of ordinary women has received little attention. Even Gautam Bhadra's highly informative essay on "ordinary rebels" of the 1 8 5 7 rebellion remains focused on the participa­ tion of males .30 To account for the role of the women in this historical moment, Dutt brings into focus the nexus of gender and nationalism. How­ ever, he complicates this nexus by casting one of his female protagonists , Waziran , in the role of a prostitute, who has Lachman as her lover and sleeps with Englishmen at night. Dutt's emphasis on the figure of the prostitute is significant, especially in the context of nineteenth-century nationalist discourse , which focused on the "good" wife and mother as inspirational figures . By putting into ques­ tion the status and role of women in the nineteenth century and giving women such as Waziran-who is neither the "respectable" mother nor wife-a voice to speak on their own behalf, Dutt ruptures the dominant bourgeois discourse. Here , Waziran becomes the central inspirational figure for the soldiers , who harangues them over their caste and religious parochialism, and makes them aware of their own hand in expediting the British strategy to keep them divided over issues of religion and caste in order to prevent unified nationalistic action. Contrary to the identification of women's roles in the domestic space that imposed certain restrictions upon them, Dutt pulls his female protagonist out of the realm of the domes­ tic and places her as an equal among the soldiers . Through Lachman's mother , Kasturi , Dutt also disrupts the trope of "mother India" that dominated anticolonial (middle-class) nationalist thought. Instead of being confined to the domestic space , Kasturi, like 105

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance Brecht's Mother Courage , comes to the battlefield in search of resalable material that she removes from the corpses on the field, for her own suste­ nance .31 However , unlike Mother Courage , whose strictly capitalistic motives and lack of emotional display are presented to elicit a shocked response from spectators , Dutt's Kasturi occupies a different position. Placed in a doubly Othered position of a colonial economy governed by unequal power relations on the one hand, and the nationalist equation of the Indian mother as the "mother of the nation" on the other, Kasturi's role defies these differentiated tropes of entrapment. Chastising the soldiers in full emotional rage , she says : "Tell me, while I am still in this world, what son of a bitch guarantees me two meals a day? I want you all to die , so I shall have a fresh supply of merchandise . " 32 And instead of the idyllic platitudes expected of the inspirational mother figure , she screams at the soldiers for their inability to raise arms : There were so many of you here , each had a gun , but no one raised it. Such is the fear of the princes in you , a fear which is many centuries old. There are two battles raging at the same time-between us and the English, and between us and the princes . If you don't see that, you see nothing. The enemy is before you and behind you . While you fight for freedom the enemy behind stabs you in the back.33 Through both Waziran and Kasturi, Dutt not only recovers the role of the subaltern woman that remains masked behind accounts of the participation of queens such as Rani Laxmibai of jhansi and Zeenat Mahal; in assigning Waziran control over her sexuality, he also disrupts patriarchal notions about women as pure , weak, and submissive , complicated as they were by the Victorian stress on the sexual purity of women. 34 Further , by thematizing the rape of Indian women by British officials through the treatment accorded to Waziran, the play also reverses the colo­ nialist rhetoric about black savages raping white women . Waziran's discus­ sion regarding her own conflicted relationship with the colonial masters invokes a critical look at imperialist attitudes . They want, she tells the sol­ diers , to "break the back of the native , so that we lie happily at their feet and never raise our heads again . Hunger weakens the body; an outraged religion weakens the mind. With the nation prostrate , they can rob it without hin­ drance . " 35 By bringing Waziran into the play to speak for herself, Dutt grants her agency and allows her to give her own version of the treatment accorded to her by the Englishmen: My body is nightly mangled by hungry Englishmen . No one knows better than I in what contempt they hold us. After enj oying me , they 106

Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions are overcome by shame and they wash themselves all over , openly insulting me. Don't you realize why they are trying to destroy our reli­ gion?36 Waziran's description of her body being "mangled" by "hungry English­ men" breaks the code of British racial superiority, exposing at the same time the barbarism of colonial violence exercised on the bodies of Indian women . The dominant image of the "mythic brown-skinned rapist" (to use Sharpe's phrase) that pervaded Anglo-Indian novels such as E. M. Forster's

A Passage to India is here replaced by the representation of white men as molesters of Indian women , to which an Indian woman can actually testify. Accordingly, Dutt is careful to not have other characters in the play speak on behalf of the absent woman , but evokes the strong voice of a woman who asserts her concerns . The colonial violation of the native woman's body also exposes the con­ tradictions in colonial male attitudes toward Indian women, pointing out, at the same time , the prevailing misconceptions about the colonial discourse around sati: "Why do you think the English want to save Indian widows from burning? You think they really care about black women? Is it possi­ ble ? " asks Waziran .37 Waziran's chastisement of the soldiers serves as an eye-opener, especially for Lachman, whose condemnation of his peers for their caste prejudice brings with it a defense of Englishmen: "Have you ever seen a widow being burnt with her husband's body? Have you heard her screams ? I was a witness to one such ceremony last week . You will be glad to hear that my fatherly enemy, the general, has rescued the girl and is shel­ tering her with honour and dignity. "38 While Dutt's play purports to partic­ ipate in the discourse of this indefensible practice, it exposes at the same time the limits of the colonialist discourse on sati, a discourse in which, as Mani argues , the debates that ensued even among the "staunchest aboli­ tionists , " on both the English and the Indian sides , treated the death of the woman as a marginal concern.39 Waziran, thus, pushes the parameters of the issue of sati, especially in terms raised by Lachman .40

Postcolonial Interventions

As a play about a maj or historical insurgency in India , The Great Rebellion was first performed in Bengali on February 1 0 , 1 9 7 3 , at the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Auditorium in New Delhi by the People's Little The­ atre under the title Tota (The bullet) . The choice of performing the play in Bengali was significant, representing , as it did, Dutt's defiance of the colo­ nial language in which he was educated. However, instead of engaging in a 107

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance reductive dialectic about the issue of language, Dutt chose to circulate the play in both English and German. This was particularly important for bringing international attention to the violence of colonization as well as for indicating the inspirational importance of local resistance. Thus , Dutt himself undertook the task of translating the play into English so as to reach a more global audi­ ence, and renamed the play The Great Rebellion 1 857 (Mahavidroha) in 1 985.41 In addition to the various international performances, it was equally significant to restore the play's historic significance in India. Therefore , a spe­ cial performance of the play was also given at the Red Fort in Delhi on Febru­ ary 1 9 , 1973, where one of the scenes during the rebellion recounted in the play actually took place. The performance of the play in the historic Red Fort, the place of Emperor Bahadur Shah's final captivity by the British, played out the tension of the rebellion spatially, functioning as a visual signifier that forced an interrogation of colonial schemes of domination. Nonetheless, what makes Dutt's play particularly useful is not just its recovery of the subaltern voices that were denied agency or a presence by the colonialist proj ect of (mis) representation but also the implications of such recoveries in the postcolonial present, where the power structures of authoritarian rule continue to perpetuate earlier colonialist proj ects by denying subaltern groups of landless peasants and laborers autonomy or power. Mahavidroha not only exposes , confronts , and challenges the histor­ ical processes of political and economic subj ugation; it also restores and acknowledges the significance of battles waged by the oppressed against oppressive forces of control and regulation that are an integral part of the postcolonial condition. This is particularly useful in the evocation of refer­ ences to the Naxalite movement that remains, at best, tacit. Although the play makes no explicit reference to Naxalites , the resonance with the strug­ gles of the Naxalites is implicit in Dutt's reference to the Santal rebellion of 1855-56 and the violence with which the colonial government responded to it. Dutt alludes to the rebellion's marking of the catastrophic consequences of British rule and intervention for landless peasants and laborers ; the rebel­ lion functions at the same time as a necessary plot for revealing the histori­ cal context of the repressive state machinery in the present. Such referenc­ ing of another rebellion of equal import becomes all the more relevant when we consider that the Naxalbari movement, in addition to the organized armed peasants' struggles led by the Communists in Telengana in the 1 940s , " drew inspiration from the Indian j acqueries of the 1 8th and 1 9 th Cen­ turies . " 42 As someone who himself participated in the struggle of the N ax­ alites , Dutt seeks , through his reinterpretation of the 1857 rebellion, to rein­ force visually the Naxalite movement's insistence on "going back to the source of all revolutions . . . the peasantry-which had a long tradition of

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Colonial H istory and Postcolonial Interventions fighting against imperialism and feudalism. "43 Emphasizing the inspira­ tional importance of historical insurgencies , Dutt writes : I have tried in the theatre and the Yatra , to select stories of revolu­ tionaries of the immediate past and show the continuity of struggle . . . . I have written and produced "Kallol, " "Rifle" (about the Bengal revolutionaries of the early thirties and I drew the story forward to 1 94 7 to show that the collaborators of 1 93 0 had become congress ministers in 1 94 7) , "jallianwalabagh" (about the Punj ab revolutionar­ ies) , "Storm Clouds" (Baisakhi Megh-also about Bengal rebels) , "Kirpan" (about the Ghadr party in the Punj ab and the mutiny of the 23rd Indian Cavalry) , "The Forest Awakes" (about Udham Singh in London and the assassination of Sir Michael O'Dwyer) , "The Greased Cartridge" ( " Tota" [ or Great Rebellion] , about the struggle of Delhi in 185 7) and a few others , and I have watched at first hand the response of the proletarian audiences to these patriotic battles of the past. In the villages , the working masses often burst into slogans against their pre­ sent-day enemy, when they watch their ancestors sing their way to the gallows .44 That the Naxalite struggle is evoked mostly by way of analogy and only peripherally through direct reference to the Santals may be attributed to the climate of governmental censorship in the 1 960s and 1 9 70s, when the West Bengal government severely cracked down on theater . Dutt's theater, in fact, suffered numerous attacks and faced severe oppression, including his imprisonment in the Presidency jail for six months without trial. His earlier play Teer (Arrow, 1967) , which dealt directly with police brutality in vil­ lages during the N axalbari uprising, led to his arrest and a second term of imprisonment. When the government's attempts to suppress them­ through stoning the productions and issuing bomb threats to packed audi­ ences-failed, the government officially banned his plays "for their unequivocally Marxist politics . " 45 Dutt's play Angar (Coal) , a play about miners , also resulted in the introduction of a bill in the legislature of the state assembly, subj ecting the theater to "total and unconditional police­ control" and threatening to wipe out drama altogether in its various mani­ festations including "melodrama , tragedy, comedy, farce , play, opera , inter­ lude , and any other scenic , musical or dramatic entertainment. "46 In the face of severe censorship and political vulnerability at the high point of the Naxalite movement, the performance of Du tt's drama in 1 9 73 acquires renewed relevance. It imparts an urgency to the historical rebellion that forces a reevaluation of an event of momentous historical importance,

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Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance and allows through this reevaluation a rethinking of antiestablishment insurgent movements in the present. Like colonialist discourse that created a myth of the savage Indian, the Indian government constructed a similar mythology about Naxalites . Reporting the situation to the Parliament, the minister of state in the Indian Home Ministry stated on April 1 , 1 98 1 : "The Naxalites have been indulging in violent activities at various places . These activities include murder, dacoity, attacks on police and other government officials , and other acts of violence . " 47 Such reports resonate strongly with colonialist accounts that define the struggles of the insurgents in 1 8 5 7 against colonial oppression i n terms of "violence" and "savagery." Throughout his career, Dutt remained a committed critic of repressive forces , both national and internationaL48 His sympathies with the Naxalite cause were concurrent with the contemporary, worldwide impulse among radicals to return to the roots of revolutionary idealism. According to Baner­ jee, in "the late l960s-when the Naxalbari uprising opened the floodgates of the revolutionary movement in India-radicalism in Europe, Asia and America was marked by reading Marx , to rediscover the sources of revolu­ tionary humanism and to revive the ideals that inspired courage and a readi­ ness to be sacrificed for a cause . . . . This was reflected in the civil rights and anti-war movements in the USA; in the students' agitations in Western Europe . . . in Che Guevara's . . . pursuit of the old dream of international solidarity of all revolutionaries and in China's Cultural Revolution. "49 Du tt's basing the play on Marx's articles on the "first war of independence" to evoke the context of revolution in 1 9 73 seemed consistent with this trend in creating international networks of solidarity through revolution that could counter the web of imperial relations . For this reason, the international stag­ ing of the play itself seemed congruous with Dutt's own vision of global alignments . Dutt's campaigns toward a politically committed theater, accompanied, as they were , by the government's relentless attempts to crush such campaigns , not only reveal his own significant role in political struggles ; they also make the larger question of his theater's contribution to liberation struggles espe­ cially important. Along with a critique of contemporary state nationalisms and the struggles that characterize the postcolonial milieu , his representa­ tion of colonization's disruptive forces enables a cultural practice that reen­ acts local histories to urge a rethinking of the continuing inspirational importance of such histories to the formation of new alignments in post­ colonial cultures .

1 10

Bringing Women's Struggles to the Streets in Postcoloni2l l ndi8

From Dinabandhu Mitra's Nil Darpan to Harishchandra's Durlabh Bandhu and the plays presented by the IPTA, the exploitation of women under colo­ nialism and their participation in nationalist struggles were compelling themes . N onetheless , such themes remained centered primarily around the question of nationalism. Playwrights either proj ected the violence commit­ ted against women as a violation of the community or national honor, or constructed the image of the female activist as one willing to sacrifice her life in defense of the nation. As the preceding chapters show, the changing roles of women were thus formulated primarily in the interest of patriarchal nationalist discourse. Consider Parivartan, a play by Radheyshyam Kathavachak, a prominent Hindi playwright who made a remarkable con­ tribution to nationalist discourse through his mythological dramas in the early part of the twentieth century . 1 The title of Kathavachak's play itself implies change or transformation, and Parivartan was performed in 1926 in various parts of the subcontinent by the New Alfred Natak Company of Bombay at the height of the uationalist movement, a time when women's participation in the nationalist cause was high on the political agenda . The play deserves mention in that it foregrounds the theme of social reform and desh bhahti (devotion to the nation) through a triangulated plot that brings three women into focus-Lakshmi, a dedicated and virtuous housewife , Chanda , a prostitute , and Maya , an anglicized Indian woman who has aban­ doned traditional values . However, while women have central roles in the drama , the play itself becomes a way of resolving the moral dilemma of the male protagonist, who becomes attracted to the prostitute and has to choose lll

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance between her and his wife , eventually making the moral choice of going back to his wife . Through this emplotment, the play becomes a debating ground for the role of the prostitute, the virtuous wife , and the anglicized woman , and the place that each occupied within the nation. Finally, the play ends with the reformation of Chanda , who pledges to sacrifice her own life for the cause of the nation's women by opening up a women's university with the money that she had coerced from her lover. Chanda's ultimate transformation from a prostitute to a virtuous woman comes with the discovery that she is the younger sister of her lover's wife , Lakshmi, a connection that removes any taint of her former profession. The playwright ultimately elevates Chanda to the status of a goddess , calling her several names from Hindu mythology: Savitri , Damyanti , Gargi, and Gand­ harvi. And Maya , shown to be desperate for marriage , learns her lessons for being too anglicized when she mistakenly marries the wrong man-a local servant who had disguised himself as an Englishman. Her reformation comes when she denounces her "fashionable" ideas in favor of Hindu norms to become the ideal Hindu woman like Lakshmi . What we have in this drama , like a number of anticolonial plays , is a moral lesson for women, which suggests they assume the role that was deemed most appropriate for the well-being of the nation. Clearly, in such a representation, and others like it (discussed in earlier chapters) , we have a theater that enlists itself in the service of dominant nationalist discourse, which, under colonial condi­ tions , accommodated certain demands that Hindu nationalism placed upon its men and women . 2 The point of introducing the epilogue with this play i s t o say that under colonial conditions , the question of women in theater came to be formu­ lated in terms of the male nationalists' definition of women's roles that demanded their willingness to be good wives and mothers . The prescription of such roles , in turn , provoked comparisons between "modern" and " tradi­ tional" women and initiated discussions regarding the morality surrounding women's roles . In so doing, the nationalist patriarchy carved out "respectable" roles for women in which neither the prostitute nor the angli­ cized woman had much to share . And even if the woman did become " angli­ cized" through her "modern" education, her credibility as a sugrahini (the ideal homemaker) lay in her dedication to the home , a space that became a site for the nationalist patriarchy to articulate and resolve the question of women and the nation. 3 A n important ramification of setting such parameters of "respectability" was that women's voices were suppressed or remained marginal. The pri­ mary focus on nationalist concerns obscured women's experiences of subju­ gation within the confines of patriarchal structures . And since women's roles were conceptualized as primarily "contributive" to the political domain of 112

Bringing Women's Stru83les to the Streets in Postcolonial india nationalism, most attempts toward women's autonomous contribution to theater and nationalism were appropriated. Additionally, actresses came to be stigmatized as "prostitutes . " Hence , in most theaters , alluring gestures and dances were seen as acts of lewdness and outside of the norms of social respectability. It is no surprise then that even in Kathavachak's mythological plays , men performed women's roles . The New Alfred Theatre Company did not employ women for fear of having its reputation tarnished,4 as women's participation in theater relegated its reputation to the margins of respectabil­ ity.5 Such attitudes toward actresses and dancers also became visible in the anti-nautch campaigns in 1 94 7 that outlawed temple-dancing and prohibited dedicating women as devadasis (temple dancers who devoted their lives in the service of god, with the term literally translating as "servants of god" ) in South India . 6 And we have the case of Binodini Dasi, the celebrated nine­ teenth-century Bengali actress who dedicated her life to the theater but was denied social respectability, partly because she was the daughter of a prosti­ tute but also because of her profession. Even among the more Left-oriented organizations of the latter decades such as the IPTA, which was initiated by a woman and had a number of women in its organizational body, the agenda seemed geared toward national interest, as a result of which women's issues in the domestic sphere remained overlooked. This oversight has been redressed over the last few decades , particularly since the 1 9 70s, through the efforts of a number of groups that have begun to raise critical awareness about women's issues and brought their struggles to the streets through street theater . Some of the names include organiza­ tions such as Jagori; Stree Mukti Sanghathan (Women's Liberation Move­ ment) , a nongovernmental organization (NGO) from Maharashtra ; Garib Dongari Sanghathan in Pune; and Theatre Union and Saheli in Delhi . While lack of financial patronage , limited time for the volunteers (many of whom hold j obs elsewhere) , and the ephemeral nature of the medium prevent large-scale documentation, there exist several reports and case studies on the work undertaken by activists to bring women's issues to the forefront. Collectively these reports constitute an important archive that shows the ways in which these autonomous organizations bring women's stories of "everyday" struggles into the external and public domain . The proliferation of women's street theater was accelerated by the need for social change and women's empowerment after 1 94 7, when a renewed focus on the nation appeared and the custodians of independent India promised equality for all its citizens . Despite the constitutional declarations of equality for both men and women after the end of colonial rule , feminists viewed the years following independence as a setback for women, particularly in light of the Hindu Code Bill. Passed in 1 9 5 5 , the bill "sought to create a uniform law l l3

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance ensuring women some rights to property and succession and treating them as equal to men in relation to marriage and divorce. " 7 But such promises toward equality were, at best, partial, and women continued to suffer numer­ ous social inj ustices , both in the domestic and the public spheres. By the 1 9 70s, social excesses and violence against women became increas­ ingly evident in the escalating " dowry murders , " with little attempt made on the part of the state to alleviate the situation.8 "Dowry murders" involved the barbaric act of setting women on fire because of unfulfilled demands of dowry. The demand for dowry had its source in cultural as well as in socioe­ conomic developments . By the 1 9 70s, the Nehruvian model of a mixed economy had begun to collapse. The per capita income of the country did not increase with the rising costs of essential commodities , unemployment remained high, and large sections of the population lived below the "poverty line. " With a growing multinational capitalism, the liberalization of the Indian market brought an increasing fascination with consumer goods that poured in from abroad. High costs of living and a growing consumer culture increased the burden of dowry on women's families by raising the grooms' expectations of goods , from traditional items such as gold and utensils to additional items such as VCRs , televisions , cars , and air conditioners , which were often beyond the financial means of most families . As Gauri Chawdhry argues, dowry has "become an easy way of acquiring goods and cash in a society where the rising cost of living does not have a parity with income opportunities . . . . Marriage is a socially and legally acceptable way of acquir­ ing cash to invest in business , build a house , buy a truck, pay for the boy's further education; anything that will eventually earn money for the bride­ groom and the family. " 9 She further asserts that " [ a] dvertisements on the A.I.R. [All India Radio ] and Doordarshan [national TV network] , the news­ papers , magazines and billboards , are crying out to buy more , creating needs for luxury goods which become status symbols in a highly competitive soci­ ety. " 10 Most dowry deaths , according to Ranj ana Kumari , were recorded as accidental or merely dismissed as family quarrels . Statistics released in the Parliament regarding dowry deaths pointed out that 42 1 deaths were recorded in 1982, 6 1 0 in 1 983 , 690 in 1 984 , and 558 in 1 985 . Of the 2,806 cases of dowry incidents reported between 1 982 and 1986, "not a single con­ viction" took placeY In Delhi alone, 350 women had been burned to death in 1 9 75 and 200 women in 1 9 78. The plastic surgery unit of a maj or hospi­ tal in Delhi revealed 400 cases of body burns . Fifty percent of these cases were newly married women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five . 1 2 The climate of political unrest-manifested i n a variety of oppositional movements that emerged through student protests , labor strikes for higher wages in the industrial sector, and agrarian struggles for the redistribution of land-followed by protests after the excesses committed during the state 1 14

Bringing Women's Stru83les to the Streets in Postcolonial india of emergency ( 1 9 75-77) , ushered in a renewed energy among feminists . Their efforts resulted in the formation of numerous women's organizations including the Forum against the Oppression of Women in Bombay , Vimochana (Redemption) in Bangalore , Stree Shakti Sangathan (Organiza­ tion for Women's Power) in Hyderabad, and Saheli (Friend) in Delhi. These organizations directed their attacks against the state for not paying adequate attention to the violence committed against women and urged the govern­ ment to take action . 13 In I 9 7 9 , a group of activists in Delhi University launched Manushi, a feminist j ournal that became extremely vocal in protesting the practice of dowry and provided an important forum for the emerging women's movement. 14 In Delhi, Stree Sangharsh (Women's Strug­ gle) , formed in I 9 78 by Subhadra Butalia , 1 5 made dowry a central issue of protest. Among other things , these organizations raised slogans , held demonstrations outside the homes of dowry victims , and conducted inquiries into police records . 1 6 I n order to enlist the participation o f women whose lives were directly affected by dowry-related issues , but who were unable to approach these organizations for a variety of reasons , activists turned to street theater in order to bring social issues directly to women through a medium that was instructive as well as entertaining. For example , after months of campaign­ ing against dowry through demonstrations , Stree Sangharsh resorted to street theater as a "more direct method of communication with people . " 1 7 Through the efforts o f Anuradha Kapoor (who brought her own training in theater when she returned to India in I980 after receiving a Ph . D . in theater studies from Leeds University) , Rati Bartholomew, and Maya Rao , Stree Sangharsh formed the Theatre Union for the purpose of raising critical mass awareness about women's rights . One of the most striking examples of successful plays presented by the Theatre Union is Om Swaha (Unholy offering) , which was performed first in I 980 and subsequently staged several times . 18 With dowry as its subj ect matter, the play begins with an auction of young men , a scene that enables , through a comic device, an introduction to issues of harassment, torture, and humiliation faced by women. To draw out the story of women's victim­ ization, the play focuses on the life of a young woman from birth; her col­ lege years ; her ill-treatment after marriage at the hands of her in-laws ; her parents' refusal to bring her back, out of shame and fear of social dishonor; and finally her death in her husband's home . Throughout, says Kapoor, Punj abi folk songs accompany the action in order to hold the attention of the viewers and solicit their involvement through a familiar language. 1 9 Aside from raising awareness , the play, a s Kapoor describes i t , purports to encourage mass involvement in urging an end to the violence of dowry. The dual ending of the play is designed to achieve this goal : liS

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance In the final image of the play, the young woman is held by her in-laws . They shoot demands at her like bullets from a machine gun : "we want a fridge , we want a television . " At that moment we stop and tell the audience that the girl has two options : either she dies or she gets out of the situation. We would then play both endings. In the one she dies , because her old parents can't deliver the goods . In the other one she seeks help, gets educated, and learns to stand up for her rights .20 While the first ending displays the reality of dowry demands , the conclud­ ing scene offers an alternative to a life of despair, and proj ects possible changes in the lives of women in the future . Moreover, in alluding to the material demands made on the girl and her family, the play intervenes in the record of failed promises about equal rights for women as stated by the constitution of independent India . In

I96I, a few years after India's independence from colonial rule, the govern­ ment passed the Dowry Prohibition Act " to prohibit the evil practice of giv­ ing and taking of dowry . " 2 1 The act's definition of " dowry," however, had numerous lo opholes . For example , it excluded "presents in the form of clothes , ornaments , etc . which are customary at marriages . " 22 Overall , the act proved highly inadequate in preventing women's harassment and con­ victing the guilty party. In a number of cases , the police dismissed deaths involving dowry as " family quarrels" and therefore outside the purview of legal action. By enacting such issues on the streets , Om Swaha brought out into the public space what remained hidden in the private spaces of enclosed homes . 23 The efficacy of the play can be gauged from the fact that several people approached the group to perform it in their neighborhoods . In an interview, Kapoor tells van Erven that at the end of a performance, a number of women often asked performers where they could seek help. 24 Considered " one of the first maj or events of India's developing women's theatre ," the Theatre Union has subsequently dealt with themes such as sati and the problem of rape of women in police custody. The issue of rape was addressed in the play Dafa 1 80 (Law ISO) following a discussion in the Par­ liament regarding a new legislation for the rights of women in custody. The group presented the play in colleges , parks , and slums in order to raise awareness about the frequency with which the police raped women in pris­ ons and often escaped from being charged by accusing the women of being prostitutes . 25 Apart from the Theatre Union in Delhi , several theater groups operate in maj or cities and in villages , where they regularly conduct theater work­ shops .26 Among the better-known groups are ] ana Natya Manch (People's Theatre Forum) , or Janam , run by Mala Hashmi ;27 Shamsul islam's Nishant

116

Bringing Women's Stru83les to the Streets in Postcolonial india (Dawn) ; groups run by activists such as Habib Tanvir28 and Badal Sircar;29 and organizations such as the Ahvaan Natya Manch (Summons Theatre Stage) .30 Emphasizing collective action and creativity, most of these groups write and direct their own plays , constantly improvising and modifying them to perform at street corners , public parks , footpaths , university cam­ puses , and city slums . Some of the lesser-known organizations are also doing remarkable work in bringing to the fore issues that do not get cover­ age in the mainstream media. For example, Garib Dongari Sanghatana, organized by fifteen peasant women and two men under the direction of Hema Rairkar in 1 99 1 , held group discussions on " deserted women" (i . e . , widows o r women abandoned b y their families , husbands , o r in-laws) , and eventually presented their exchanges in the form of a street drama called Social Trap.3 1 And Stree Mukti Sangathana staged The Girl Is Bom, a play that was performed for over two hundred thousand people in Maharashtra by a cast made up primarily of female members of the N G O . According to Jyoti Mhapsekar , director of the NGO that wrote the play, the play inspired some women to leave abusive situations , while others j oined the organiza­ tion after watching it.32 Initiated by Sheela Rani , another group organized a two-month-long street theater campaign in Tamil Nadu as part of the education campaign on health care to deal with female infanticide and urged the spectators at the end of the play to take a pledge to fight against the practice.33 Most theater activists agree on the relevance and popularity of the medium for giving public expression to issues faced by women. Because of its mobility, theater, they argue , can be taken to the people , instead of peo­ ple coming to theater. For those with little time or the opportunity to make special arrangements to watch a play, or even participate in demonstrations , the performance outside their homes makes women's struggles immediately visible . Often plays also allow women to bring in their own voices . Because street plays need minimalist props , they are inexpensive and can operate on small budgets and are performed free of charge . Moreover , when other media , such as the press and radio, are controlled, the " flexibility and adapt­ ability of this form makes it invaluable as a medium of communication. "34 According to a Saheli volunteer and theater activist who organizes plays on social issues , street theater allows the group to stage protest on roads , cam­ paign for better rights for women , and intervene actively in issues pertain­ ing to "media, politics , and government. " She discusses the effectiveness of improvisation for presenting important issues such as women's health , dowry, and so forth.35 One of the most striking features of women's theater is its participants' resorting to popular songs and folk traditions to display and discuss their domestic problems . " Songs in particular, " says the above-mentioned Saheli 117

Acts ofAuthority/Acts of Resistance activist, "make the plays interesting and entertaining without making them preachy . " Additionally , they help forge a mutual camaraderie by emphasiz­ ing the idea that " our songs are your songs" and " our struggle is your strug­ gle . "36 Most theater groups also go with titles that impart the flavor of col­ lectives. The titles of the organizations , in fact, give audiences an insight into the nature of their agenda . Further, the problems faced by women are simply not to be subsumed under other social causes but are foregrounded to constitute a distinct theatrical methodology and pedagogy for addressing women's issues. Hence, a number of these groups include women as actors , scriptwriters , and storytellers . By narrating their stories , women actors not only bring into focus and discussion personal experiences ; they also reveal the ways in which social norms and expectations are intricately tied into their own subj ectivities . The most commonly deployed device is the method of sharing stories where women talk about their everyday lives , then work this material into a plot, and perform it. This , in turn , is meant to provoke questions from the audience and turn those questions into discussions about female self-empowerment. For many women , participation in street theater provides the impetus for turning their domestic identities or limited roles into new independent social identities . A report on street theater mentions the experience of a woman performer who , after graduating from class 10 in her village , was not allowed to continue with her education. When a women's group came to perform in her village , she j oined the group . Not only does she find her work with the theater group self-empowering; her independence and con­ tribution to women's issues also inspire other men and women in villages , where sometimes women are not allowed to come out of their homes .37 For some women, participation as actors helps revise ideas about "social respectability . " While the achievements of street theater activists are encouraging, opera­ tion of these groups under varying social, financial, and geographical condi­ tions and constraints enables different levels of success. Moreover, like the dramatists and political theater organizations of the colonial era , theater activists in postcolonial India must also contend with both official and unofficial state censorship . In 1989, for example, during a performance of Safdar Hashmi's Halla Bol (Attack) , a play about governmental oppression of (male and female) workers staged in Sahibabad-an industrial town east of Delhi-armed (suspected) agents of the Congress party attacked Hashmi and his troupe and killed him along with another factory worker.38 Hashmi's brutal death merits serious attention: it reminds us of the far­ reaching implications of theater in the cultural and political life of India. Beginning with the 1 86 1 ban on Nil Darpan and the subsequent suppression

l l8

Bringing Women's Stru83les to the Streets in Postcolonial india of drama during colonial rule , the repression of theatrical campaigns for human rights , now again in the postindependence period, leaves little doubt about the utter centrality of theatrical activity, in its varied forms , to sub­ versive cultural practices . And the proliferation of political theaters in numerous parts of the country, despite such repression, only demonstrates that subaltern struggles continue to be waged in the arena of theater.39

1 19

Ap pendix

A Bill to Empower the Government to Prohibit Certain Dramatic Perfor­ mances Whereas it is expedient to empower the several Local Governments to prohibit dramatic performances which are scandalous, defamatory, sedi­ tious, obscene or otherwise prejudicial to the public interest; It is hereby enacted as follows : 1 . This Act may be called "The Dramatic Performances Act, 1 8 76" : It extends to the whole of British India : And it shall come into force at once . 2. In this Act "Magistrate" includes a Presidency Magistrate . 3 . Whenever the Local Government is of opinion that any play, pan­ tomime , or other drama performed, or about to be performed, is(a) of a scandalous or defamatory nature , or (b) likely to excite feelings of disaffection to the Government established by law in British India , or (c) likely to deprave and corrupt persons present at such perfor­ mance, or (d) otherwise prejudicial to the interests of the public , the Local Government, or such officer as it may generally or especially empower in this behalf, may by order prohibit such perfor­ mance. 4. A copy of any such order may be served on any person about to take part in the performance so prohibited, or on the owner or occupier of any house , room or place in which such performance is intended to take place ; and any person on whom such copy is served, and who does , or willingly permits , any act in disobedience to such order, shall be punishable, on conviction before a Magis121

Appendix trate, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months , or with fine , or with both. 5. Any such order may be notified by proclamation, and a written or printed notice thereof may be stuck up at any place or places adapted for giving information of the order to the persons intend­ ing to take part in the performance so prohibited. 6. Whoever after the notification of any such order(a) takes part in the performance prohibited thereby, or in any per­ formance substantially the same as the performance so prohib­ ited, or (b) in any manner assists in conducting any such performance , or (c) is present as a spectator during the whole or any part of any such performance , or (d) being the owner or occupier, or having the use of any house, room or place , opens , keeps or uses the same for any such per­ formance, or permits the same to be opened, kept or used for any such performance , shall be punishable , on conviction before a Magistrate , with impris­ onment for a term which may extend to three months , or with fine , or with both. 7 . If any Magistrate has reason to believe that any house , room or place is used, or is about to be used, for any performance prohib­ ited under this Act, he may, by his warrant, authorize any officer of police to enter with such assistance as may be requisite , by night or by day, and by force , if necessary, any such house , room or place , and to take into custody all persons whom he finds therein, and to seize all scenery, dresses and other articles found therein, for the purpose of such performance. 8. N o conviction under this Act shall bar a persecution under Section l 24A, or Section 294 , of the Indian Penal Code. 9 . Whenever it appears to the Local Government that the provisions of this section are required in any local area, it may, with the sanc­ tion of the Governor General in Council, declare , by notification in the local official gazette , that such provisions are applied to such area from a day to be fixed in the notification. On and after that day the Local Government may order that no dramatic performance shall take place in any place of public enter­ tainment within such area except under a license to be granted by such Local Government, or such officer as it may empower in this behalf. 122

Appendix The Local Government may also order that no dramatic perfor­ mance shall take place in any place of public entertainment within such area unless a copy of the piece, if and so far as it is written, or some sufficient account of its purport, if and so far as it is pan­ tomime , has been furnished, not less than three days before the performance, to the Local Government, or to such officer as it may appoint in this behalf. A copy of any order under this section may be served on any keeper of a place of public entertainment, and if thereafter he does or willingly permits any act in disobedience to such order, he shall be punishable, on conviction before a Magistrate , with imprison­ ment for a term which may extend to three months , or with fine , or with both.

Statements of Obj ects and Reasons

The primary obj ect of this Bill is to empower the Government to prohibit Native plays which are scandalous , defamatory, seditious or obscene . The necessity for some such measure has been established by the recent perfor­ mance in Calcutta of a scurrilous Bengali drama , to prevent which the exist­ ing law was found to be insufficient. The Bill , first, empowers the Government, or such officer as it empowers in this behalf, to issue on order prohibiting any dramatic performance which, in the opinion of the Government, comes within any of the classes above-mentioned. The order may be served on intending performers , or on the owner of the place in which the play takes place . The order may also be notified by proclamation, and penalties are provided for disobedience thereto . Power is then given to the Magistrates to grant warrants to the police to enter, arrest and seize scenery, dresses , &c. Lastly , the Local Government is empowered to order in specified locali­ ties that no play shall be performed in any place of public entertainment, except under a license from Government, and that a copy of the piece, if written, or a sufficient account of its purport, if it be in pantomime , shall be previously furnished to the proper authorities . Calcutta ; A. Hobhouse The 9th March 1 8 76.

1 23

Notes

Chapter l

l. Home D epartment Proceedings , "Dramatic Performances Bill. Minute by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal , dated 13th june 1 8 7 6 , " August 1 8 7 6 , National Archives of India , D elhi. 2. For the full text of the play, see the 1 9 72 reprint of the 1860 version of Dinabandhu Mitra's Nil Durpan; or, The Indigo Planting Minor, translated from the Bengali by a Native , ed. Sankar Sen Gupta (Calcutta: Indian Publications , 1 9 72) . All subsequent references are to this edition of the play. This 1860 ver­ sion invited the initial ban against the play. For the sake of convenience and because most discussions of Nil Darpan and other plays discussed in this book use the vernacular titles , I generally use the vernacular titles rather than their English translations , which I have provided in parenthesis with the initial refer­ ence to each play. Nil Darpan has also been spelled variously as "Nil Durpan," "Neel-Darpan" or "Nil Darpan . " 3 . This famous incident i s recorded a s a n eyewitness account b y Binodini Dasi, an actress in the play, in her autobiography, My Story and My Life as an

Actress, ed. and trans . Rimli Bhattacharya (Delhi: Kali for Women, 1 998) , 146. Binodini writes : "Immediately there was a hue and cry from among the saheb spectators . They all rose from their seats and the people behind them rushed up to gather before the footlights . It was quite a sight! Some of the red-faced goras unsheathed their swords and j umped on the stage. Half a dozen people were hard-pressed trying to control them. Such a running away and such a rushing around there was ! The drop was pulled down immediately. We trembled and cried. We thought that this was the end, there was nothing to be done, now they would surely cut us up into pieces . " 4. Most of these folk theaters have their roots i n local legends , rituals , and 1 25

Notes to Pages 2-3 oral histories . For example, the jatra, which literally means "to go in a proces­ sion," is a traveling theater popular in Bengal , Orissa , and eastern Bihar. A typi­ cal jatra performance contains about sixty songs and lasts a couple of days . According to Kironmoy Raha , Bengali Theatre (New Delhi: National Book Trust, 1 9 78) , 4 , the jatra has its roots in religious mythology. The commonly accepted view, says Raha , traces the origins of the word in "the ritualistic musical pro­ cessions that formed part o f religious festivals in which the deity was carried from one place to ano ther. " Some scholars trace its origins to the dialogue and hymns of the Vedas, the ancient Hindu texts or in the fertility rites of tribals inhabiting the borders of West Bengal. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the newly rising middle class in Bengal relegated the jatra to the status of "low" culture. Tamasha, a popular theater form of Maharashtra , contains songs that are accompanied by two drummers. Burrahatha is a popular folk narrative of Andhra Pradesh that depicts the lives of ordinary people in song and dance with the aid of the burra, a clay instrument. For a description of the different regional languages folk theaters , see Balwant Gargi, Folk Theatre of India (Seattle: Uni­ versity of Washington Press , 1 966) . For a descrip tion of the ramlila, see Richard Schechner , "The Ramlila of Ramnagar," Drama Review 2 1 , no . 3 ( 1 977) : 5 1-82 , and Anuradha Kapoor, "Raj a and Praja: Presentational Conventions i n the Ramlila at Ramnagar, " in Ramayana and Ramayanas, ed. Monika Thiel­ Horstmann (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz , 1 99 1 ) , 1 53-68. 5 . Sumit Sarkar, Modem India, 1 885-1 947 (Delhi: Macmillan, 1 983) , 10. 6 . Ranaj it Guha , preface to Subaltern Studies III, ed. Ranajit Guha (New York: Oxford University Press , [ 1 984] 1 992) , viii. 7. Aparna Dharwadker in "Historical Fictions and Postcolonial Representa­ tion: Reading Girish Karnad's Tughlaq," PMLA 1 1 0 , no. 1 ( 1 995) : 43-58, astutely reveals the strategic function of fictional forms of historical writing in intervening in historical discourses . In a similar vein, Stephen Slemon in "Read­ ing for Resistance in Post-colonial Literatures ," in A Shaping of Connections:

Commonwealth Literature Studies-Then and Now, ed. Hena Maes-J elinek, Kirsten Holst Peterson, and Anna Rutherford (Sydney: Dangaroo, 1 989) , 1 0 3 , argues i n favor of the political function of postcolonial texts i n reconstructing history in the cultural sphere: "This social emplacement of the literary text," he contends , "affords post-colonial criticism a material referent in so cial struggle. " 8 . I n " A Literary Representation of the Subaltern: Mahasweta Devi's 'Stan­ dayani,' " in Subaltern Studies, vol. 5 , Writings on South Asian His tory and Society, ed. Ranajit Guha (D elhi: Oxford University Press , 1 992) , 9 1 , Gayatri Spivak urges that historians and teachers of literature "must critically 'interrup t' each other, bring each other to crisis , in order to serve their constituencies. " 9 . See Ngugi W a Thiong'o , Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Theatre (N airobi: Heinemann, 1 986) .

1 26

Notes to Pages 3-4 10. For example, Pankaj K. Singh in "Reconstruction of Legend in Contem­ porary Panj abi Drama in India ," Modern Drama 38 ( 1 995) : 1 0 9 , details the ways in which drama in both nineteenth- and twentieth-century India engaged with "subj ects derived from myth, legend, and history of India . . . . [as] a conscious attempt to infuse the country with cultural vitality and to awaken the national spirit. " joanne Tompkins's " 'Spectacular Resistance' : Metatheatre in Post-colo­ nial Drama ," Modern Drama 3 8 ( 1 995) : 42, on the postcolonial drama of Athol Fugard, john Kani , Winston N tshona , Louis Nowra , Wole Soyinka , D erek Wal­ cott, and Monique Mojica, points out ways to "re-read metatheatrical moments as locations of deliberate dis-location of colonial power." Other significant chal­ lenges are manifested in the work of South African playwright Zakes Mofakeng, who organized theater for political protest during the antiapartheid campaigns . One also finds similar examples in Rakesh Solomon's article " Culture, Imperial­ ism, and Nationalist Resistance: Performance in Colonial India ," Theatre journal 46 ( 1 994) : 323-47, about the role of drama in attacking British rule in Maha­ rashtra , India , in the nineteenth century. And in his The Playful Revolution: The­

atre and Liberation in Asia (Bloomington: Indiana University Press , 1 992) , Eugene van Erven devo tes an entire volume to "resistance theaters" in the Philippines , Korea , India , Pakistan, Indonesia , and China. For more informa­ tion, also see Brian Crow and Chris Banfield , An Introduction to Post-colonial

Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 1996) , and ] . Ellen Gainor, ed. Imperialism and Theatre: Essays on World Theatre, Drama, and Performance (London: Routledge, 1995) . 1 1 . Examples of such preference include Edward Said's influential study Cul­ ture and Imperialism (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1 993) , xii , in which he makes a case for the novel, arguing that narrative fiction is " crucial" to his argument because "stories are at the heart of what explorers and novelists say about strange regions of the world." This form, argues Said, also "become [ s ] the method colonized people use to assert their own identity and the existence of their own history. " While narrative does not necessarily mean the novel, a fair sampling of Said's own resources for discussion in Culture and Imperialism reveal his fo cus on the novel. Additionally, in Imagined Communities: Reflections

on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Vers o , 1 99 1 ) , Benedict Ander­ son regards print capitalism as the primary force for mobilizing nationalist com­ munities via mass literacy and its large-scale production of proj ects bearing eth­ nic affiliations that made them free of the need for direct or indirect communication between persons and groups. This contributes to the growing preoccupation with literate forms , a point reinforced by Arjun Appadurai in "Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy," in Colonial Dis­ course and Post-colonial Theory: A Reader, ed. Patrick Williams and Laura Chris­ man (New York: Columbia University Press , 1 994) .

127

Notes to Pages 4-5 12. See Anderson, Imagined Communities; Said, Culture and Imperialism; and Hayden White , Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century

Europe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press , 1 9 73) . 1 3 . Anderson, Imagined Communities, 1 94. 14. In Realism and Reality: The Novel and Society in India (D elhi: Oxford Uni­ versity Press , 1985) , 4, Meenakshi Mukherj ee argues that "industrialization or the rise of the middle class [ determinants that are said to have sustained the growth of the modern novel in the West] need not be a necessary precondition" for the development of the novel in India. 1 5 . While the concern for the "people" has been an explosive question in col­ onized so cieties and one that has provided the springboard for theater move­ ments to thrive, grassroots theater movements also played an active political role both in Europe and in North America, as in the case of the Workers' The­ atre movements in the 1 930s. While conceived and op erative in national con­ texts and in response to the so cialist wave of the 1 930s and the Great Depres­ sion, these movements also inspired international networks of solidarity. Thus , we find the impetus for the Indian People's Theatre in the Russian, Chinese , British, and American models of theater activism. Ironically, the mainstream academy has accorded marginality to such drama , as exemplified by the case of American political theater of the 1 930s. Such marginality, while attributable to the red hunts during the McCarthy era , is also in large part to be found in dis­ approval of these movements' polemical aspects , their subordinating art to ide­ ology. 1 6 . Elleke Bo ehmer, " Questions of Neo-orientalism," Interventions 1 , no. 1 ( 1 998-99) : 2 1 . 1 7 . Boehmer, "Questions of Neo-orientalism," 2 1 . 1 8 . Some recent book-length studies include Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins , Post-colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics (London: Routledge, 1 996) ; Crow and Banfield , Introduction to Post-colonial Theatre; Gainor , Imperi­

alism and Theatre. 1 9 . Kyung-won Lee, "Is the Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full? Rethinking the Problems of Postcolonial Revisionism," Cultural Critique 36 (spring 1 997) : 102; emphasis added. 20. In India , these literacy figures in 1 9 1 1 belonged, for the most part, to the traditional "literary" castes , which tended to adap t more to the colonial edu ca­ tion. According to Sumit Sarkar , 84 . 7 percent of the Hindu College students in Calcu tta in 1 883-84 came from the three upper castes of Brahman, Kayastha , or Vaisya (Modem India, 65) . Taking the number of matriculates as a rough indi­ cator, Sarkar also points out that by the 1 880s , the total number of English-edu­ cated Indians was approaching the fifty thousand mark. Only five thousand had B.A. degrees . 2 1 . According to Gerald N. Barrier, Banned: Controversial Literature and Po lit-

128

Notes to Pages 5-7

ical Control in British India, 1 90 7-1 94 7 ( Columbia : University of Missouri Press , 1 9 74) , 5-6 , in the wake o f an emerging indigenous publishing industry , the British government passed several acts to ensure systematic surveillance of political literature and control over its circulation. For example, Act XXV of 1867 stipulated " the regulation of printing presses and newspapers , for the preservation of copies of books printed in British India , and the registration of such books . " The act required b o oks and newspap ers to bear the names of printers and publishers and set up mechanisms that transmitted information to Indian officials and the India Office about what was being printed. Copies o f printed matter had to be sent to a designated representative o f the lo cal gov­ ernment, who then came up with a quarterly catalog of periodicals and b o oks. The report included title and content of the title page , language accompanied by a translation into English, author, editor or translator, content, names and places of publishers and printers , date , p agination, size, edition, price, num­ ber of copies , and copyright details . The government circulated these lists to o fficers and sent copies to the secretary of state. In order to ensure effective bureaucratic control of the press , the government introduced several amend­ ments to the Indian Penal Code. In 1 8 70, the government added section 1 24A, "a 'sedition' clause aimed generally at actions that caused 'disaffection,' " a term that was defined as exhibiting "disloyalty and all feelings of enmity . " According t o section l 24A: "Who ever b y words , either spoken or written , or by signs , or by visible representation, or otherwise , brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contemp t, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards Her Maj esty, or the Government established by law in British India shall be punished. " 22. Aij az Ahmad, "Indian Literature: Notes towards the D efinition of a Cate­ gory," in In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures (London: Verso, 1 992) , 243-85. 23 . "Dramatic Amusements of the Natives of India ," Asiatic journal, January-April 1837, 27. 24. "Dramatic Amusements ," 28. 25. "Dramatic Amusements ," 28. 26. "Dramatic Amusements ," 26. 27. "Dramatic Amusements ," 29. 28. Cited in F . K. Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage ( Calcutta: Barnali, 1 989) , 49-50 . 29. Such records also raise a n important methodological concern that relates to the issue of documentation and information retrieval, concerns raised by the subaltern studies scholars whose work on the need to acknowledge "the subal­ tern as the maker of his [ or her ] destiny" has given impetus to some of the most valuable recent critical discussions of alternative/autonomous resistance move­ ments from below. Guha in "The Prose of Counter-Insurgency," in Guha and Spivak, Selected Subaltern Studies, raises concerns about the inherent elitism in 1 29

Notes to Pages 8-1 2 the official records of insurgencies and modes of resistance in the nineteenth century. In such discourses , argues Guha , the biases contained in the language of reportage function as an interpretive proj ect that obliterates or occludes voices of peasants who played a conscious role in insurgent undertakings . In his own readings of insurgent movements in the nineteenth century, Guha points out the gaps in o fficial record-keeping. Guha's methodological directive pro­ vides us with useful strategies for rethinking the modes and methods and cul­ tural terrains where social and political meanings such as the life pro cesses of the peasantry, women, and o ther marginalized groups are produced, and where we may record and retrieve accounts of their resistance. 30. While a number of plays were either generated under collective author­ ship or remained unscrip ted or documented, I use the term playwright here for pragmatic reasons and to draw attention to plays that had identifiable authors and available scripts . 3 1 . Benita Parry, "Resistance Theory/Theorizing Resistance; or, Two Cheers for Nativism," in Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial Theory, ed. Francis Barker et al. (Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1 994) , 1 77. 32. Parry, " Resistance Theory," 1 77. 3 3 . Parry, " Resistance Theory," 1 77. 34. Anand Patil , Western Influence on Marathi Drama: A Case Study (Goa: Raj hans , 1993) . 3 5 . The Calcutta Theatre was also called the N ew Play House to distinguish it from the Old Play House. According to Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, vol. l ( Calcutta: Metropolitan Printing and Publishing House , n.d. ) , 1 8 7 , the theater itself was built at the cost of a one hundred thousand rupees , a substantial bud­ get at the time. The monthly salary of an Indian employee in a high post (for example at the Fort William college to assist the English professors) in the early 1 800s was about two hundred rupees. 36. Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 187. Simultaneously, according to Patil,

Western Influence, the British also set up theaters in Bombay. These included the Bombay Amateur ( 1 775) , the Grant Road Theatre ( 1 846) , the Gaiety Theatre ( 1 878) , the N ovelty Theatre, the Prince of Wales Theatre, and several dramatic clubs. In 1 79 5 , the theaters initiated the concept of season tickets and charged 1 20 rup ees for the six p erformances per season per family. 3 7 . Lord Moyra , who took charge in October 1 8 1 3 , op ened the theater that month in the presence of the governor-general and his wife , Lady Hastings . The theater continued to put up English plays until 1 83 9 , when a fire destroyed the building. 38. The last performance of Othello was on April 2, 1 844. The theater build­ ing was sold in 1 846 to the Archbishop Honourable Dr. Carew and reopened as St. Xavier's College in 1859 under the management of Belgian J esuits. 3 9 . This included a repertoire of comedies , farces , plays by Shakespeare , and

130

Notes to Pages 1 2-17 dramas such as Tragedy of Venice Preserved, Musical Lady, The Filch of Bacon,

Richard III, Tragedy of Mohomet, Sultan and the Upholsterer, and the two parts of Henry IV. Male actors traditionally played female roles . In 1 788, through the ini­ tiative of Mrs . Bristow, who herself became an accomplished actress and owner of a private theater at her Chowringhee house during Lord Cornwallis's time in 1 788, the Calcutta Theatre introduced female artists , a move that was lauded by the lo cal English newspapers and reported by the Calcutta Gazette on January 22, 1 78 9 , as the mark of a "liberal society" (cited in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage,

l: 1 98-99) . See Calcutta Gazette, May 7, 1 789, for details on Mrs. Bristow's the­ ater. 40. Quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 1 9 1 . 4 1 . Quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 20 5 . 4 2 . Quoted i n D a s Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 277. 43 . "Dramatic Amusements ," 27. 44. Quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 293 . The Theatre of Nabin Bose soon shut down because of debts . According to available accounts , the play was performed before an audience of over a thousand people consisting of Muslims , Hindus, and Europeans. 45. Sudipto Chatterj ee , "Mise-en- ( Colonial) -Scene: The Theatre of the Ben­ gal Renaissance , " in Gainor, Imperialism and Theatre, 20. 46. Chatterj ee , "Mise-en- ( Colonial) -Scene ," 20. 47. Calcutta Courier, April 4 , 1832, quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 283 . 48. A second performance followed on February 26, 1853. 49. Quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 1 : 305-6. 50. The Brahmo Samaj was formed in 1 829 by Raj a Rammohan Roy, who sought to reform Hindu society and attacked class and caste distinctions as well as the practice of sati. Its influence spread to different parts of the country, and its ideas channeled through the Ved Samaj set up at Madras in 1 864 and the Prarthna Samaj at Bombay in 1867. Formed in 1875 at Bombay and later at Lahore, the Arya Samaj propagated the Vedas , the ancient Hindu scrip tures as the infallible source of knowledge. 5 1 . Meredith Borthwick, The Changing Role of Women in Bengal, 1 849-1 905 (Princeton: Princeton University Press , 1984) , 1 1 7. 52. Also called the antahpur or the andarmahal (which literally translates as "inside palace" ) , the zenana was the center of the female world in Bengali soci­ ety. According to Borthwick, zenana women contributed largely to the suste­ nance of theaters in Calcutta. 53. Kathryn Hansen, Grounds for Play: The Nautanki Theatre of North India (Berkeley and Los Angeles : University of California Press , 1 992) , 2 5 5 . 5 4 . Hansen, Grounds for Play, 25 5 ; also s e e Sumanta Banerj ee, "Marginaliza­ tion of Women's Popular Culture in Nineteenth- Century Bengal , " in Recasting

131

Notes to Pages 17-21

Women: Essays in Colonial History, ed. Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1989, 1997) , 132.

55. Hansen, Grounds for Play, 253 . 56. Sumanta Banerj ee in "Marginalization, " 1 28 , refers to them as "sons of absentee landlords , East India Company agents and traders who made fortunes in the eighteenth century, various professionals and government servants . . . all of whom, in spite of differences in economic and social status, were moving towards the development of certain common standards of behaviour and cul­ tural norms. They played a leading role in implementing a model of formal edu­ cation in Bengal that was primarily fashioned by contemporary English mis­ sionaries , educationists and administrators . The Bengali bhadralok's concept of the emancipation of women was derived from these new teachers but was , at the same time, considerably modified by the patriarchal norms of traditional Hindu society. It was a concept shared over time by the women of their families . " 57. Sumanta Banerj ee , The Parlour and the Streets: Elite and Popular Culture in Nineteenth Century Calcutta ( Calcutta : Seagull Books , 1 989) . 58. Hansen, Grounds for Play, 253 .

Chapter 2

l. Home D epartment Proceedings, "Draft Bill to Empower Certain Dramatic Performances ," March 1876, National Archives of India , Delhi.

2. Home D epartment Proceedings, "Draft Bill to Empower Certain Dramatic Performances" ; emphasis in originaL

3. Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, voL 2 ( Calcutta : M. K Das Gupta , 1 938) , 27 1 ; P. K Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage ( Calcutta : Barnali, 1 989) , 36. 4. However, the district magistrate intervened and released the prisoners .

5. For documentation of surveillance methods see Bhattacharyya's Shadow over Stage. 6. This clause (which had been left out of the Censorship Act of 1876) was to prevent preparations for the plays' performance. Bhattacharyya in Shadow over Stage, 82, provides the following notice, issued on january 1 8 , 19 1 1 , as an example of the implementation of the Press Act of 1 9 1 0 : "it appears to the Lieu­ tenant-Governor that the publications mentioned below contain words of the nature described in section 4, sub-section ( l) of the Indian Press Act, 1 9 1 0 ( 1 of

1 9 10) in as much as they have a tendency to bring into hatred and contemp t His Maj esty or the Government established by law in British India , or the adminis­ tration of j ustice in British India or any class or section of His Maj esty's subj ects , or to excite disaffection towards his Maj esty or the said Government. "

7. Amiya Rao and B. G . Rao , The Blue Devil: Indigo and Colonial Bengal, with 132

Notes to Pages 21 -22 an English translation of Nee! Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra (D elhi: Oxford Uni­ versity Press , 1 992) . 8. Theater censorship in India has received little attention from scholars in the field, the two critical studies being Bhattacharyya's Shadow over Stage and Pramila Pandhe's The Suppression of Drama in Nineteenth Century India (Cal­ cutta: India Book Exchange, 1 9 78) . For the most part, existing scholarship unproblematically places the history of dramatic censorship into categories of censor and censored, attacking the censors for repressing the growth of drama and glorifying the patrio tism of playwrights such as Mitra. Guha , on the o ther hand , in "Neel-Darpan: The Image of a Peasant Revolt in a Liberal Mirror ," jour­

nal of Peasant Studies 2, no. 1 ( 1 9 74) : 1-46, dismisses Nil Darpan on the grounds that elites such as Mitra and the rulers were actually hand in glove. Both posi­ tions are problematic. Guha's argument overlooks the complex makeup of the colonialists and its intricate connections to the politics behind the banning of

Nil Darpan. Additionally, the valorization of Nil Darpan by Amiya Rao and B. G . Rao masks the ambivalent character of the play, which even a s it criticized colo­ nial practices , affirmed faith in the imperial power. In The Nation and Its Frag­

ments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories (Princeton: Princeton University Press , 1 993) , 22, Partha Chatterj ee argues that the Nil Darpan affair revealed "the con­ tours of state-civil society relations in the new context of the Raj . " 9 . "Nil Darpan, o r Indigo Planter's Mirror, " Lahore Chronicle, June 5 , 1 86 1 , 359. 1 0 . Madras Times, june 25 , 1 86 1 , 5 8 6 . 1 1 . Some critics argue that Madhusudan Dutt was the translator of the play. However, the 1 9 72 reprint of the 1 860 edition of Dinabandhu Mitra's Nil Dur­

pan argues against this claim. 1 2 . The Church Missionary Society ( CMS) was the evangelical wing of the Anglican Church. Its representatives , along with those of the London Mission­ ary So ciety, accounted for nearly half the total number of British-based mission­ aries. In 1 85 1 approximately 339 ordained Protestant missionaries worked in India. Some 228 were connected with British missionary societies and were British in nationality. Born in Ireland in 1 8 1 4 , James Long came to India in 1 840 at the age of twenty-six . Before coming to India he was ordained a deacon in the Church Missionary Society of London. In India , he took charge o f the CMS in Mirzapur near Calcutta. See G. A. Oddie , "India and Missionary Motives , c. 1850-1900," journal of Ecclesiastical History 23 , no. 1 ( 1 974) : 6 1-74 , 1 3 . See "Address of the Reverend ] . Long to the Court before Sentence Was Passed, " in Mitra , Nil Durpan, 1 69-76. 14. Calcutta Supreme Court, July 19, 20, and 24, 1 86 1 , "Trial of the Rev. james Long of the Church Missionary Society for Libel," in Mitra, Nil Durpan, 166.

133

Notes to Pages 22-24

1 5 . The European planters were primarily English or Scottish and occasion­ ally French or Eurasian. An Indian never held the position of manager or assis­ tant manager in a Europ ean-owned concern. The Indian employees were grouped into three separate divisions: administration, production, and police. In administration, the leading Indian employee was the diwan, who was in charge of landholding , factory accounts , legal matters , and leases. He was often assisted by clerks and writers who were educated men of the Brahman and Kayastha castes . In production, the chief employee was the gomastha, or stew­ ard, who supervised the cultivation of indigo. He was assisted by overseers . The police consisted of lathiaals, professional warriors armed with lathis or sticks . The maj ority were natives of Faridpur and Pabna , where entire villages were hired out as lathiaals. For further information see Blair Kling , The Blue Mutiny:

The Indigo Disturbances in Bengal, 1 859-1 862 (Philadelphia : University of Penn­ sylvania Press , 1966) .

16. According to the introduction in Mitra , Nil Durpan, lxxvi, for the British officials the term ryot, as C. Anderson and Boyle defined it in 188 1 , meant " the immediate occupant of the soil, whether he be considered as proprietor or ten­ ant. The word, in its most extensive signification means a subj ect; but it is usu­ ally applied to the numerous and inferior class of people, who hold and cultivate small plots of land on their own account. "

1 7 . For details on the functioning of the indigo system , see "Indigo Cultiva­ tion in Bengal , " Indian Field, May 1 9 , 1860, 99-100. The article reports the cor­ respondence and the opinions of officers recorded in the Office of the Commis­ sioner of Nuddea regarding the ways in which the indigo system in Bengal op erated. The article deals primarily with the report provided by ] . Co ckburn, deputy magistrate in Moorshedabad, who was an indigo planter for several years.

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23 . 24.

Rev. C. Bomwetsch, "Letter, " Indian Field, January 26, 1860. For details see "The Indigo Bill," Indian Field, April 7 , 1860, 27.

"Ryots and the Coercion Act," Indian Field, October 20, 1860, 363. Indian Field, June 23 , 1860, 158. Indian Field, June 23 , 1860, 158. Indian Field, June 23 , 1860, 158. According t o Pulin Das , Report of the Indigo Commission, 1 860 ( Calcutta: North Bengal University, 1992) , the report was submitted on August 27, 1860, and published in November 1860. Excerpts of the proceedings were published in both English and vernacular pap ers from time to time. On October 1 7 , 1860, the Hindu Patriot announced the publication of a Bengali translation of the report, which was finally published in February 1861 and cost one rupee per copy. The report is a do cument of 762 pages and comprises three parts : the report, minutes of evidences , and appendices . Some of these are reproduced by Das.

134

Notes to Pages 24-26

25. According to the "Statement of W. S. Seton-Karr. Esq. , C . S . , in Regard to the Nil Durpan, " in Mitra , Nil Durpan, 1 77-86, presented to the court on july

27, 186 1 , most of these copies were destroyed or recalled (p. 1 80) . Later, Andini and Co. also published the Indian edition. The third and fourth editions were compiled by Sudhi Pradhan in collaboration with Sailesh Sen Gupta and pub­ lished by the Eastern Trading Company in Calcutta. The 1972 edition entitled

Nil Durpan repeats the text of the earlier (third, fourth, and fifth) Indian edi­ tions . Amiya Rao and B. G. Rao's The Blue Devil is the most recent translation. 26. "We Received on Thursday Through the Post Office a Package Addressed thus:-On Her Maj esty's Service Only," Lahore Chronicle, May 1 8 , 186 1 , 3 1 6. 27. "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 358. 28. "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 359. 29. "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 359. 30. Guha , "N eel-Darpan, " 1 1 . 3 1 . Guha , "N eel-Darpan, " 3 . 32. Guha , "N eel-Darpan, " 13-14. 33. Mitra , Nil Durpan, 6. 34. T h e translations were a method of surveillance t o keep the government informed of the contents of the literary pieces and to discover any native feeling against the rulers . Long was involved in vernacular teaching and promoted Christian vernacular literature. In 185 1 , Long published "Bengali proverbs" from the "mouth of folk-women." Long's other works , listed in Mitra , Nil Dur­

pan, li, include Oriental Proverbs in their Relation to Folklore, History and Sociol­ ogy, Eas tern Proverbs and Emblems Illustrated Old Truth, Prabadmala or the Wit of Bengali Ryots, Popular Bengali Proverbs, On the Importance and Best Mode of Mak­ ing a Collection of Oriental Proverbs. The British government entrusted Long with the responsibility of translating native literature into English to acquaint the former with its colonial subj ects. Long even advocated the appointment of a permanent official to review Indian publications in order to keep the British government informed of the sociopolitical views of the colonial subj ects. In the absence of such an official, Long undertook this responsibility. In his Statement

by the Rev. james Long of His Connection with the Nil Darpan ( Calcutta: Sanders , Cones , and Co . , Loll Bazar, 186 1 ) , Long claimed that the translation of the play was his attempt to draw European attention to native feelings in order to pre­ vent another mutiny. In his address to the Calcutta Supreme Court, "Trial of Rev. Long," 1 70 , Long said: "I have aimed for the last ten years in my leisure hours to be an exponent of Native opinion in its bearing on spiritual, so cial and intellectual welfare of Natives of this land; as for instance, when applied to , on the part of the Court of Directors , seven years ago [ 1855 ] , to procure for their Library copies of all original works in Bengali , or as when, lately I sent to Oxford by request copies of all Bengali translation from Sanskrit; or when I have pro­ cured for missionaries , Government, Raj as &c. Vernacular books of all kinds . "

135

Notes to Pages 26-28 Long was also connected with several literary and educational organizations . He was a member of the Calcutta Book So ciety, where he compiled textbooks on various subj ects for students . In 1 843 , with the help of William Jones he was elected to the Asiatic So ciety. In 1849 , he was put in charge of the sociology sec­ tion of the Bethune So ciety, to which he submitted a report on April 26, 186 1 , entitled "So ciology-recently elevated to the rank o f a Science and replete with practical benefit to man." In 1862, he published Five Hundred questions on the

Subjects Requiring Investigation of the People of India, Indian Folklore Series no. 10, 1862 ( Calcutta: Indian Publications , 1966) , to produce, as he claimed, "a kind of knowledge not to be found in books , but in the memories of the people . . . . Collectors , Magistrates , and Commissioners in Districts , who associating much among the people , might through their native employees secure a large amount of valuable information on various points . . . . European Settlers would find these questions of use in gaining a better acquaintance with the so cial con­ ditions of the natives with whom they are thrown so much in contact. " In 1869, he published Selections from Unpublished Records of Government for the years

1 748 to 1 767 inclusive, relating mainly to the Social Condition of Bengal, with a map of Calcutta in 1 784 ( Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1973) . 3 5 . Das , Report of Indigo Commission, xix-xx. 36. Quoted in Das , Report of Indigo Commission, xx. 37. According to Avril Powell, Muslims and Missionaries in Pre-mutiny India (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press , 1993) , in the eighteenth century the English East India Company had made efforts to prevent the settlement of Protestant missionaries in its Bengal presidency. This was because a policy of "noninter­ ference" with the religions and customs of the natives was best suited to the company's commercial interests. For the most part missionaries of o ther so ci­ eties were refused permission to reside in Bengal. The Charter Renewal Act of

1813 permitted them limited access by granting residence licenses to those wishing to improve the moral condition of Indian people.

38. "Missionary Testimony against the Indigo System, " in Bengal Planters and Ryots, by Hodgson Pratt, reprinted from the National Review, January 1862, 7 1 ; emphasis in original.

39. 40. 41. 42.

"Missionary Testimony," 72; emphasis in original. "Missionary Testimony," 72; emphasis in original. Quoted in "Missionary Testimony," 74; emphasis in original. The missionaries did acknowledge that there were some planters who

were kind to the ryots but who could do little to improve their conditions of life .

43 . Mitra , Nil Durpan, 3 . 44. "Missionary Evidence before the Indigo Commission in 1860," in Pratt, Bengal Planters and Ryots, 39. 45. "Missionary Evidence," 47; emphasis in original. 46. "Missionary Evidence," 47; emphasis in original. 136

Notes to Pages 29-34

47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59.

"Missionary Evidence," 47; emphasis in original. "Missionary Evidence," 50. Quoted in "Missionary Testimony," 74; emphasis in original. "Missionary Testimony," 74; emphasis in original. "Missionary Testimony," 75; emphasis in original. "Black and Blue," Indian Field, june 23 , 1860, 1 60. "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 358. "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 358. Reproduced i n "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror, " 358. Reproduced in Lahore Chronicle, june 5 , 186 1 , 358. Quoted i n "Indigo Cultivation, " Madras Times, May 1 8 , 186 1 , 463 . "Nil Darpan, or Indigo Planter's Mirror," 358. Titoo Mir was the leader of the peasant revolt of 183 1 i n Barasat near Cal­

cutta.

60. See "Native Petitions Against the Indigo System in 1855," in Pratt, Bengal Planters and Ryots, reprinted from the National Review, january 1862. 6 1 . "Supreme Government on the Nil Durpan," Indian Field, August 1 7 , 186 1 , 1 5 8 . Grant was ultimately prosecuted after ten months of Long's trial for supporting the ryots , and was fined one rup ee.

62. Quoted in "Supreme Government on the Nil Durpan, " 158. 63 . Quoted i n Supplement to the Lahore Chronicle, june 8 , 1 86 1 . 64. The Landholders and Commercial Association was the successor o f the Indigo Planters' Asso ciation after August 1860. 65. Abhijit Dutta , Christian Missionaries on the Indigo-Bengal Question (1 855-1 861 ) ( Calcutta : Minerva , 1989) . 66. The East India Company had minimized the possibilities for the forma­ tion of settler colonies by restricting the planters in two ways: ( l) through Reg­ ulation 23 of 1 79 5 , which permitted private entrepreneurs licensed to settle in the mofussil to hold no more than fifty bighas of land (2) the company's gov­ ernment endeavored to bring the planters under j urisdiction of its own court.

67. In his article "N eel Darpan, " Guha discusses the necessity of an alliance between the "babus" and the British India government in the nineteenth cen­ tury.

68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73 . 74. 75. 76.

Kling , The Blue Mutiny, 20 1 . Guha , "N eel Durpan, " 2. "Trial of Rev. Long," 1 22-23 . "Trial of Rev. Long," 1 24. "Trial of Rev. Long," 137. "Trial of Rev. Long," 1 3 7-38 . "Trial of Rev. Long," 138. "Trial of Rev. Long," 139. "Trial of Rev. Long," 3.

137

Notes to Pages 34-35 77. Saturday Review, july 1 3 , 1 86 1 , from "Nil Durpan, " Indian Field, August 24 , 1 86 1 , 1 74. 78. Saturday Review, july 13, 1 86 1 , from "Nil Durpan, " Indian Field, August 24 , 1 86 1 , 1 74. 79. Saturday Review, july 13, 1 86 1 , from "Nil Durpan, " Indian Field, August 24 , 1 86 1 , 1 74. 80. According to Kling , The Blue Mutiny, 207, Long's fine was paid by Kali Prasanna Sinha , a wealthy Zemindar and patron of literature. Raj a Radha Kanta Deb on behalf of the wealthy orthodox Hindu community thanked Long for promoting the cause of vernacular literature and disseminating the feelings and views of natives , and nearly thirty thousand Indians signed an address to Long. 8 1 . "To the Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood, Bart. Her Maj esty's Secre­ tary of State for India. The Humble Memorial of the Undersigned Native Inhab­ itants of Bengal, " signed by Maharaj ah Suttish Chunder Roy Bahadoor of Nud­ dea, Raj ah Radhakant Deb Bahado or, Raj ah Kali Krishna Bahado or, Raj ah Pertaub Chunder Singh Bahadoor, Raj ah Sutishurn Ghosal Bahadoor, Baboo Romanauth Tagore , Baboo Dbendranauth Tagore, and 20 , 786 others , August 26, 1 86 1 , Indian Field, September 28, 1 86 1 , 236-37. 82. Kling , The Blue Mutiny, 2 1 1 . In April 1 8 5 9 , Charles Trevelyan, governor of Madras presidency, in an official minute spoke in favor of a larger proportion of purely native j urors being impaneled. His minute created discontent among the European and Eurasian communities of Madras and led to a political demonstration that did not change Trevelyan's views . According to "To the Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood," 23 6 , on july 1 3 , 1 8 5 9 , Mordaunt Lawson Wells opened the criminal sermons of the supreme court with an address to the grand jury and clearly reproached Trevelyan's stand, alleging that "a knowledge of truth and a respect for it are amongst the best qualifications of a Juryman. " Since h e saw "a mass of false evidence" among native witnesses , "he could not allow them to enj oy this privilege. " A greater number of natives on juries , he said, was "p erilous to the safety and lives of his countrymen here. " Connecting Wells's racist attitude to the trial of Long, the memorialists petitioned that the verdict was but an instance of the judge's biased judgment. According to Kling ,

The Blue Mutiny, 2 1 1 , over twenty thousand people secretly printed and circu­ lated a memorial: "Such was the unity of the Bengali community," reported Sam

Prakash on April 1 4 , 1862, that despite offers by the editors of the Englishman of five hundred rupees for a copy of the petition, " they could not get hold of a sin­ gle copy. " The petition, however , was rej ected by Canning, who considered it a "poor production" and insisted that Wells's allegations against the Indian com­ munity for being perjurers and forgers were justified. 83 . The Mirror of Baroda (Gaekwar Durpan) , and Dakshina Charan Chat­ topadhyaya , The Tea Planters' Mirror (Chakar Durpan) , in Suppression of Drama

in Nineteenth Century India, ed. Pramila Pandhe ( Calcutta : India Book 138

Notes to Pages 36-39 Exchange, 1 9 78) , 13-3 5 , and 3 6-87. Both versions are official translations undertaken in 1875. 84. On January 25 , 1875 , Som Prakash contained an article condemning the system of contracts forced upon laborers in the tea districts. Others such as the

Sambad Prabhakar and The Dacca Prakashan also attacked the conditions in the tea districts of Assam. 85. Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 76. 86. Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 78. 87. Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 80. 88. " Comments by Contemporary Newspapers , " in Pandhe, Suppression of

Drama, 1 22. According to " Comments ," 1 2 5 , after the play's publication, Bharat Mitra, on March 1 8 , 1 8 7 6 , carried a letter titled " Oppression on the Bengali Coolies in Assam" and brought attention to the rising number of deaths of coolies on the Pavai tea plantations in Assam. 89. Quoted in M. K Ray, Princely States and the Paramount Power: 1 858-1 876 (Delhi: Raj esh Publications , 1 98 1 ) , 1 77. 90. The Company annexed Oudh in 1 8 5 6 on grounds of maladministration and occupied the principalities of Mandavi ( 1 839) , Kolaba and Jalaun ( 1 840) , Satara ( 1 848) , Sambalpur , Jaitpur, and Bhagat ( 1 850) , Udaipur ( 1 852) , Nagpur ( 1853) , and Jhansi ( 1 854) on the pretext that these territories had no natural heirs . Sind and Punj ab were annexed through conquest (Ray, Princely States, 19) . 9 1 . Quoted in Ray, Princely States, 1 9 . 92. Quoted i n Ray, Princely States, 1 8 1 . 9 3 . This incident was also dramatized by Hindi writer Bharatendu Har­ ishchandra in his play Visaya Visamausadham (Poison: the antidote of poison) and published in his j ournal Harishchandra Chandrika, October 1876. Accord­ ing to Vasudha Dalmia in The Nationalization of Hindu Traditions: Bharatendu

Harischandra and Nineteenth-Century Banaras (Delhi: Oxford University Press , 1 999) , 308-34, unlike the patrio tic response to Chattopadhyaya's play, Har­ ishchandra adopted a more balanced view. While he acknowledged the arro­ gance of British imp erial power, he could not overlook the corrupt practices of the gaekwar. However , the Censorship Act of 1876 seems to have stalled the political dramatic compositions by Harishchandra. For more discussion of the play and the impact of the Censorship Act in the N orth Indian region, see Dalmia , 3 08-34. Dalmia also suggests that the act was to have a detrimental impact on the "critical-political theatre of the Presidency towns , " and meetings were held in Kanpur and Lucknow regularly regarding the act. 94. Home Department Proceedings , "Dramatic Performances BilL Minute by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, dated 1 3 th June, 1 8 7 6 , " No. 1 0 1 , August 1876, National Archives of India , Delhi. 9 5 . Home D epartment Proceedings , "Proposed Introduction of a Bill to

139

Notes to Pages 39-41 Empower the Government to Prohibit Certain Dramatic Performances ," Pub­ lic-B , 25 1-54, Confidential Proceedings , November 1875 , National Archives of India , D elhi, quoted in Pandhe, Suppression of Drama, l-2. 96. Home Department Proceedings , Government of India , 1875 , "To the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, Her Maj esty's Secretary of State for India ," in Pandhe, Suppression of Drama, 89. 97. See appendix. 98. Home D epartment Proceedings , "From-The Government of India . To-Her Maj esty's Secretary of State for India ," no. 5 1 , Simla , August 14, 1876, National Archives of India , Delhi. 99. That such an identity had become the hallmark of Hindu pride for the conservative Bengali community has been a subj ect of much recent critical thought, but has received little attention regarding its manifestation in nine­ teenth-century drama. Because of the preo ccupation with the nationalist ques­ tion, the issue of gender is often overlooked, as in Guha's analysis of Nil Darpan, which ignores the question of women in the play. 100. Uma Chakravarty, "Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasi? Oriental­ ism, Nationalism , and a Scrip t for the Past," in Sangari and Vaid , Recasting

Women, 46. 1 0 1 . Borthwick, Changing Role of Women, 6. 102. For a useful discussion of melodrama in the Indian context, see Vij ay Mishra , Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire (New York: Routledge, 2002) . 103. Such a discourse had gained currency when the British, under the aus­ pices of governor-general William Bentinck and with the support of Indian social reformers , banned sati in 1829 after a debate that recorded 8 , 134 instances of sati mainly among upper-caste Hindus, with 63 percent in the area around Calcutta. In " Contentious Traditions : The D ebate on Sati in Colonial India , " in Sangari and Vaid , Recasting Women, 9 0 , Lata Mani analyzes the many faces of the debate: the official position of the judicial department, Rammohan Roy's tract favoring its abolition, and the orthodox community's petition protesting its regulation. Mani argues that the "horror of the burning of women [in British viewpoint] is . . . a distinctly minor theme." Nonetheless, it allowed rulers to claim that they were liberating Hindu women from oppressive tradi­ tions . 1 04. Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 66. 1 0 5 . Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 66. 106. Partha Chatterj ee, " Colonialism , Nationalism, and Colonized Women: The Contest in India ," American Ethnologis t 1 6 , no. 4 ( 1 989) : 622-33. 107. This theme of the home and the world was a dominant one in nine­ teenth- and twentieth-century nationalist literature and has been the subj ect o f numerous critical studies .

lOS. Quoted in Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 23. 1 40

Notes to Pages 41 -43 109. Quoted in Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 23 . 1 1 0 . In response to the hostility toward the prince's visit, the Sunday Mirror made the following comment: "The proudest peers of England take it a very great honour if Royalty pays them a visit to their own houses . For such a per­ sonage to visit a subj ect Hindu , a private and obscure individual, a heathen, is to raise him and his nation to the seventh Heaven. Under such circumstances the English community exp ected that the Hindu nation would be highly flattered for the kind condescension of His Royal Highness in paying a visit to one of them . " Quoted in Amrit Bazaar Patrika, March 1 6 , 1 876. 1 1 1 . See Chakravarty, "Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasi?" and David G. Mandelbaum, "Sex Roles and Gender Relations in North India ," Economic

and Political Weekly, November 1 5 , 1986, 1999-2004. 1 1 2. A member of the second caste in the Hindu caste system. Chakravarty, "Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasi? " 5 1 . 1 1 3 . Chakravarty, "Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasi?" 5 1 . 1 14. Chattopadhyaya , Chakar Durpan, 74. 1 1 5 . Quoted in Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 3 1 ; also in Das Gupta , The

Indian Stage, 2 : 27 1 . 1 1 6 . Quoted in Bhattacharya , Shadow over Stage, 34. 1 1 7. The Statesman, May 2 l , 1889. 1 1 8 . According to Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, vol. 3 ( Calcutta : M. K. Das Gupta , 1 944) , 78-79 , "Miscreants began to throw stones on the corrugated iron-shed of the stage , and the house to the west was suspected to be their ren­ dezvous. The theatrical party was much dis-spirited and information was given to the police. The district j udge Mr. Place also took up their cause favourably and asked lawyers of Dacca to help them . But the trouble continued; Mr. Clarke, the Sup erintendent of Police, himself came to attend the scene every night, and matters came to a climax when two students were brought to him with stones in hand." 1 1 9 . See Srabashi Ghosh, '"Birds in a Cage' : Changes in Bengali So cial Life as Recorded in Autobiographies by Women," Economic and Political Weekly, Octo­ ber 25 , 1 98 6 , 88-96. According to Ghosh, 88, Bino dini's lower-class back­ ground contributed to her reputation, and her contributions to the theater were not recognized during her lifetime. Her "bitterness prompted her to write her own biography to expose the hypocrisy of the contemporary society. " For addi­ tional critical readings , see Chatterj e e , Nation and Its Fragments, 1 5 1-5 5 ; and Dasi, My Story. 1 20 . Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 1 5 7 . 1 2 1 . Babu Upendra Nath Das , the director and dramatist, left for England. The financial situation of the proprietor, Bhiban Mohan N eogi, also deterio­ rated. On December 2, 1876, the Great National Theatre opened with a few op eras , which were not popular and disappointed spectators . Unable to sustain 141

Notes to Pages 44-48 the theater, N eogi soon afterward rented it to one Krishnandhan Mukherj e e , who incurred debts because of the p o o r sales at the theater. 1 22. Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 138. 1 23 . Sarkar , Modem India, 72. 1 24. Sarkar , Modem India, 74. 1 2 5 . A number of nonmythological plays were also performed but did not do well. According to Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 3 : 1 8- 1 9 , the National Theatre took a while to achieve stability and passed through many different proprietors , until 1880, when a Marwari j eweler , Pro tap jauhri, bought it. jauhri at once approached Girish Ghosh, who gave up a 1 50-rup ee-a-month j ob with an Eng­ lish firm, Messrs Parker & Co . , for a monthly salary of 100 rup ees at the National Theatre in order to make it a "useful and nation-building institution for the country and its people . " 1 26. Quoted i n Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 1 14. 1 27. Quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 3 : 23-24 . 1 28. These included Abhimanyu-Badh (The Murder of Abhimanyu, November 26, 1 88 1 ) ; Lahshman Barjan (December 3 1 , 1 88 1 ) ; Sitar Bibaha ( The Wedding of Sita, March 1 1 , 1 882) ; Ramer Banbash ( The Exile of Rama; April 1 5 , 1 882) ; Sita Haran ( The Abduction of Sita, july 22, 1 882) . The Star Theatre staged Dhrub Chartitra ( The Character of Dhrub, August 1 1 , 1 883) and the mythological romance Nala-Damayanti (December 1 5 , 1883 ) . 1 29 . Radheyshyam Kathavachak , Vir Abhimanyu (Bareilly: Sri Radheyshyam Pustakalay, 1 9 74) , 82-83 ; translation mine. 130. Solomon, " Culture, Imp erialism, and Nationalist Resistance," 32-47. 13 1 . According to Pravas ]ivan Chaudhury, "The Theory of Rasa, " journal of

Aesthetics and Art Criticism 1 1 ( 1 9 5 2) : 147-5 0 , "Rasa is regarded as extraordi­ nary or unworldly; the pleasure which accompanies it is transcendental" ( 14 7) . 132. Kathavachak , Vir Abhimanyu, 8- 1 1 ; translation mine. 133. Rep orting in an official correspondence with authorities, R. T. Dundas , the commissioner of police in Calcutta, discussed the measures taken by him for the "prohibition of obj ectionable plays , " based on "evidence . . . that a good deal of sedition has been preached on the stage of these jatra' parties . . . . the mytho­ logical plots of the wars between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) . . . hav­ ing been largely resorted to . . . as a means for portraying the state of India , the Devas representing the Indians being trampled upon by the Asuras , the foreign conquerors" (Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 1 5 7-58) . 134. The private jatras escaped such measures, largely because of the loop­ hole in the Censorship Act about "public" space. In fact, because of this loop­ hole, subversive activity continued in private theatrical clubs in Calcutta and elsewhere , and no admission fee was charged at jatra performances in the mofussil. Since these places did not come under "public" places as defined by the act, the government had no power to forbid the staging of these plays . This 142

Notes to Pages 48-50 also led to an increase in jatra parties . Threatened by the jatras, however, the government revised the laws of sedition and prosecuted Mukundalal Das , Gour Mohon Sutradhar, and Anath Guha , who organi z ed jatra theaters , on charges of sedition. 1 3 5 . Ranvir Singh, Farsi Theatre, Qodhpur: Raj asthan Sangeet Natak Acad­ emy, 1 990) , 88; translation mine. 136. Laxminarayan Lal, Parasi-Hindi Rangamanc (Delhi: Rajpal and Sons, 1 9 73) , 50; translation mine. 137. Kathavachak , Mera Nataka Kaal [ My time in the theater] (Bareilly: Sri Radheyshyam Pustakalay, 1 9 5 7) , 44; translation mine. 138. Bhattacharyya , Shadow over Stage, 1 3 6 . 1 3 9 . A typical stage (of the N ew Alfred Theatre Company, for example) was 70 feet wide, including stage and wings , and about 60 feet long. Dressing rooms were separate. The space for audiences was about 1 1 5 feet long and 60 feet wide. A hole in the middle of the stage served as a path for actors to go into the earth, especially useful for scenes such as that in which Sita , the heroine of Ramayana, is swallowed by the earth. Often gods would emerge from spot as welL In accor­ dance with the theatrical style, there was also a machine on which the actor could be made to sit and propped up or dropped down. 140. That mythological and spiritual drama saved the theater from the noto­ riety it had acquired as a "degenerate" genre is evident in the defense that Shambhoo Chandra Mukherj e e , editor of Reis and Rayat, offered in an article entitled "Defence of the Stage-Expostulation with the Puritywalahs , " quoted in Das Gupta , The Indian Stage, 3 :49-5 2. The defense followed the staging of Girish Chander Ghosh's Chaitanya Lila, about the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his faith at the Star Theatre: " [W] e have been to the Theatre . . . spiritually we distinctly profited by the healthy recreation-the noble diversion. Let the morality-mongers try a dose of the sublime Morality of the Chaitanya Lila . . . .

The Chaitanya Lila indeed is a moral exercise alike for players and audience. The language is chaste throughout. The make-up , in the gross as well as in every particular-the attitudes-the bearing and conduct-all were unexception­ able. " 1 4 1 . Quoted in Lal , Parasi-Hindi Rangamanc, 4 5 ; translation mine. 142. Quoted in Lal , Parasi-Hindi Rangamanc, 99; translation mine. 14 3 . Such divisions , according to Sarkar in Modern India, 20-60, had been on the rise since the later part of the nineteenth century. Conflicts over scarce resources in education and administrative j obs sharp ened Hindu-Muslim dis­ sension. In Punj ab and the United Provinces Hindu-Muslim tensions escalated because of the introduction of elected municipalities and separate electorates that forced community leaders to cultivate their own religious followings alone. These dissensions resulted in communal rio ts in the years following 1 880. They became common in the United Provinces and Punj ab , and rio ting , especially 143

Notes to Pages 51 -52 over cow-slaughter , spread over much of North India. In Maharashtra , rio ts occurred between 1 893 and 1895 and in Bombay, a Guj arati mill owner orga­ nized a cow protection so ciety in 1 893. To add to the tensions , the ganapati (Hindu god Ganesha) festivals , organized by the Hindu nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak, were openly inflammatory and urged the Hindus to boycott the Muslim festival, Muharram. In Calcutta , the first recorded riots occurred in May 1 89 1 , followed by the disturbances in some suburbs during Bakr-Id in 1896 and a large-scale riot in North Calcutta in 1897.

Chapter 3

l . Harold Littledale, " Cymbeline in a Hindoo Playhouse," Macmillan's, May-O ctober 1880, 65-68. 2. Littledale , " Cymbeline ," 66. No te the vocabulary used to describe " Gan­ pati," which represents him as a "monster" rather than a "god. " 3 . Littledale , " Cymbeline , " 65.

4. According to Littledale, " Cymbeline , " 6 5 , the playbill indicated that "Resp ectable ladies" were required to pay four annas (twenty-five paisa) and Naikins and Kasbins (mentioned as "disreputable woman") eight annas (fifty paisa) . 5. Volume 7 ( 1 964) of Indian Literature, a special issue on Shakesp eare , contains articles on Shakesp eare in different languages. 6 . See ] . P. Mishra , Shakespeare's Impact on Hindi Literature (New Delhi: Munshi Manoharlal , 1 9 70) for an extended bibliography. 7. My use of the term singularity owes to Gary Taylor, who in Reinventing Shakespeare: A Cultural History from the Restoration to the Present (New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1 989) , 3 74, questions "proposed defences of Shake­ speare's singularity," arguing that those who must have endorsed him as uniquely great must define "Shakespeare's preeminence, his sup erlative unique­ ness-what has been called in our own time, the 'singularity' of Shakesp eare . " 8 . Critical studies b y Jyotsna Singh, "Different Shakespeares : The Bard in ColoniaVPostcolonial India , " Theatre joumal 4 l ( 1 989) : 445-5 8 ; Ania Loomba,

Gender, Race, and Renaissance Drama (Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1 989) ; and Prabhakara Jha, " Colonialism, Literary Models , and Literary Production: Notes on Shakespeare's 'Influence' on Modern Indian Drama , "

Archiv Orientalini: Quarterly journal of African, Asian, and Latin American Studies 5 1 , no. 3 ( 1 983) : 226-3 8 , have situated the reception of Shakespeare in India against the backdrop of British colonization and serve as very useful introduc­ tion to the influence of the colonialist model of Shakespearean drama and its various local manifestations . A discussion of local appropriations of Shake­ speare , especially in the context of colonial censorship of dramatic production,

144

Notes to Pages 53-54 however (missing from these studies) , adds another critical dimension to analy­ sis of Shakesp eare in India. 9. Jonathan Dollimore, introduction to Political Shakespeare: New Essays in Cultural Materialism, ed. Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield (Ithaca: Cornell University Press , 1985) , 6 . 1 0 . Dollimore, Introduction, 7. 1 1 . Gauri Vishwanathan, Masks of Conquest: Literary Studies and British Rule in India (New York: Columbia University Press , 1 989) , 3 . 1 2 . Vishwanathan, Masks of Conquest, 34. 13. Taylor, Reinventing Shakespeare, 194. 14. Taylor, Reinventing Shakespeare, 196. 15. This pattern continues in schools and colleges even today. See Ania Loomba, Gender, Race, and Renaissance Drama, for details on Shakesp eare in the Indian universities . 1 6 . Charles Jasper Sisson, Shakespeare in India: Popular Adaptations on the Bombay Stage ( Oxford: Oxford University Press , 1 926) , 1 5 . 1 7 . A s S. K . Bhattacharyya no tes i n "Shakespeare and Bengali Theatre,"

Indian Literature 7 , no . 1 ( 1 964) : 29-30: "While the English play-houses by their production of English, specially Shakesp eare's, plays created an appetite for theatrical performances , the foundation of the Hindu College in 1 8 1 6 , and the teaching of Shakesp eare by eminent teachers like Richardson [who also founded the Chowringhee Theatre] created in the minds of the students-the intelligentsia of modern Bengal-a literary taste for drama as such, and taught them not only how to appreciate Shakespeare critically, but also to recite and act scenes from his plays . This fashion spread to every academic institution. In 1837 Bengali students staged scenes from The Merchant of Venice in the Governor's House, in 1852 and 1853 the students of the Metropolitan Academy and David Hare Academy staged Shakespeare's plays , while the old and new students of the Oriental Academy staged . . . Shakespeare's Othello in 1853 , The Merchant of

Venice in 1854, and Henry IV in 1 8 5 5 . . . . Shakespeare's dramas became an indispensable part of English education and a popular item in all cultural func­ tions . The Bengali theatre that made its mark in the later decades was the nat­ ural outcome of this new-found passion. " 1 8 . According to Mishra , Shakespeare's Impact, 82, local companies such as Bombay's Original Theatrical Company (established by the playwright Seth Pes­ tanj i Frame in 1 870) , the Victoria Theatrical Company in Delhi, the Alfred The­ atrical Company, the New Alfred Company, the Shakespeare Theatrical Com­ pany (formed by Aga Hashra in 1 9 14) , the Farsi Theatrical Company (Lahore) , the Jubilee Company (Delhi) , Alexandria Company, Imperial Company, Light of India Company, Survij ai Company (Kathiawar) , and the Vyakul Bharat Com­ pany (Meerut) adapted the plays in vernacular languages . The repertoire included adaptations such as Gorakh-Dhandha (The Comedy of Errors) , Ek Aurat 145

Notes to Pages 55-58

Ki Vaqalat (The Merchant of Venice) , Bhul Bhulaiyan (Twelfth Night) , Khune Nahaq (Hamlet) , Safed Khun (King Lear) , Shaheede Vafa (Othello) , and Kali Nagin (Antony and Cleopatra) . By the early twentieth century, a number of Indian touring companies had appeared. These adaptations held the stage from 1 870 to 1 9 1 2. Hired playwrights wrote plays for these theater companies. Young boys played women's roles . Training of actors entailed singing, dancing , and fencing. The performance began on the third sound of a bell. A prologue, which was a prayer or a welcome address by the chorus girls (played by boys) , initiated the play. Costume received heavy attention, and exp ert tailors were employed to prepare the required dresses, which incurred a heavy expenditure for the com­ pany. Costumes were important as they indicated a character's profession, trade , and class. Popular productions , hence, accommodated issues of class, caste and gender, central to Indian so ciety. 1 9 . jha, " Colonialism, Literary Models , " 23 1 . 20. According t o Barrier in Banned, 9- 1 0 , by 1905 hundreds of printing presses regularly churned out books and pamphlets of a political nature. The cheap cost of printing facilitated this trend. For example, at a cost of less than twenty-five rupees , one could "publish a 16-page tract distribution to the liter­ ate or to be read aloud to the villagers. " By 1905 , reports Barrier, over two hun­ dred vernacular newspapers , such as Kesari, Bengabasi, Bande Mataram, and

Yugantar, were commenting on political issues. The British government viewed most of these as disloyal or pursuing dangerous political policies . 2 1 . Mishra , Shakespeare's Impact, 80. 22. Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Minute on Indian Education," in The

Post-colonial Studies Reader, ed. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths , and Helen Tiffin (London: Routledge, 1995) , 43 0. 23 . Emily Eden, "Miss Eden to Mrs. Lister," letter from Barrackpore, March 24 , 1836, Miss Eden's Letters, ed. Violet Dickinson (London: Macmillan, 1 9 1 9 ) , 265 . 24. Quoted in Loomba, Gender, Race, and Renaissance Drama, 1 76. 25. Norman Marshall , "Shakespeare Abroad," in Talking of Shakespeare, ed. john Garrett (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1 9 54) , 103. 26. Singh, "Different Shakespeares ," 446. 27. Geoffrey Kendal, The Shakespeare Wallah: The Autobiography of Geoffrey

Kendal (Middlesex: Penguin, 1 986) , 84. 28. Marshall, "Shakesp eare Abro ad, " 9 1- 1 1 0 . 29. Virendra Narain, "Erric Eliot-Ek Bhaint," Nai Dhara, April-May 1 9 5 2 , 90-93. 30. Raj eshwari Sunder Raj an, "After 'Orientalism' : Colonialism and English Literary Studies in India , " Social Scientis t 1 5 8 Quly 1 986) : 3 1 . 3 1 . S . Prema , "Producing Shakespeare in India , " Shakespeare Quarterly 9 , no. 3 ( 1 958) : 3 9 5 . 146

Notes to Pages 58-61 32. See chapter 4 of this text. 33. K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, "Shakespeare in India ," Indian Literature 7, no. 1 ( 1 964) : l. 34. See A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (New York: St. Martin's Press , 1985) . In India , even in the 1 980s , A. C. Bradley was considered the authority on Shakesp earean tragedy and constituted the core of critical studies on Shakespeare. 35. Donna Bryson, "Traditional Indian Dance Troupe Tries Shakesp eare , "

Lansing State ]ournal, April 1 4 , 1997, 5D. 36. Loomba, Gender, Race, and Renaissance Drama, 39. 37. Loomba, Gender, Race, and Renaissance Drama, 40. 38. The Sahitya Akademy was one of the three academies established in 1953 and 1954 by the Indian Government for the promotion of the arts . The two oth­ ers included the Sangeet Natak Akademy (Academy of Dance, Drama and Music) and the Lalit Kala Akademy (Academy of Art and Architecture) . These academies , according to Sumita Chakravarty, Indian Popular Cinema: 1 94 7-1 987 (Austin: University of Texas Press , 1 993) , 63 , encouraged the study of the vari­ ous arts and, under the auspices of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Cul­ tural Affairs , "organized exhibitions , sent delegates abroad and instituted awards for artists . " Chakravarty posits that although "the three national acade­ mies and the Indian Council of Cultural Affairs were set up as quasi­ autonomous bodies , a certain bureaucratization of culture was inevitable, and by the end of the fifties many writers and artists were quite cynical about the official patronage of culture. " 3 9 . C . D . Narasimhaiah, ed. , Shakespeare Came t o India (Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1 9 64) , 5 . 4 0 . Calcutta National Library, Shakespeare i n India: A n Exhibition of Books and Illustrations to Celebrate the Fourth Birth Centenary of William Shakespeare ( Calcutta: Government of India Press , 1964) . 4 1 . D . ] . Enright, "In States Unborn-Shakesp eare Overseas ," Times Literary

Supplement, April 23 , 1964, 352. 42. Christine Mangala Frost, "Thirty Rupees for Shakesp eare: A Considera­ tion of Imp erial Theatre in India ," Modern Drama 3 5 , no. 1 (March 1992) : 93. 43 . Said, Culture and Imperialism, 1 2 . 4 4 . Harish Trivedi i n "Shakesp eare i n India : Colonial Contexts , " i n Colonial Transactions: English Literature in India (Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1995) attributes this phenomenon to ELT , i.e. , English language teaching in postcolonial India , which requires the teaching of Shakespeare in higher edu­ cation. 45. Rustom Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution: The Political Theatre of Bengal (Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press , 1983) , 8 . 46. Singh , "Different Shakespeares ," 446 . 147

Notes to Pages 62-64 47. jha, " Colonialism," 230-3 1 . 48. Barrier , Banned, 4 . Barrier leaves drama out of his discussion. 49. Quoted in Anil Seal, The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century ( Cambridge: Cambridge Uni­ versity Press , 1 968) , 140. 50. C . Monckton, an Englishman and a student at Fort William College at Calcutta , did the first translation of Shakespeare into Bengali. Fort William Col­ lege was an institution for the training of the English clerical staff in India. As one of his class assignments he translated the Tempest. Among the plays trans­ lated were Girish Ghosh's The Merchant of Venice as Bhanumati Chittavilas in 1 883 , Charumukha-Chittahara, a translation of Romeo and juliet ( 1 8 79) , and a translation of Macbeth in 1 893 , which was staged at the Minerva Theatre. jyotindra Nath Tagore published his translation of julius Caesar in 1909. 5 1 . In Nationalization of Hindu Traditions, Dalmia points out that despite the contribution of Harishchandra to drama in the nineteenth century, sociopoliti­ cal theater, aside from nautanki, lacked the momentum that other provinces exp erienced. In this regard , she argues, the contribution of the 1 876 Censorship Act should not be underestimated. 52. Mishra , Shakespeare's Impact, 87-88. 53. At the height of the controversy over the Ilbert bill , some Anglo-Indians in Calcutta who planned to oppose the bill used Hamlet's soliloquy to oppose the measure . The soliloquy, quoted in Arnold Wright, Babu English as 'Tis Writ:

Being Curiosities of indian ]oumalism (London: T. Fisher Unwin, n.d. ) , 63-64 , is as follows (italics in original) : To rise, or not to rise,-that is the question:­ Whether 'tis manlier in the White to suffer The ills of Ilbert's Jurisdiction Bill, Or to take arms against Old England's rule , And , by opposing, end it?-To arm,-to fight;­ No more; and, by sheer force, to say we end The heart-ache , and the fear of equal law Of British Zubberdusts (oppressors) , why, 'tis an end D evoutly to be wished. To arm,-to fight;To fight! Perchance to bolt:-ay, there's the rub ; For in that flight for life what ills may come, When we have shuffled off our Sovereign's yoke , Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes a long howl o f an exile's life; For who would bear the scorns of Ripon's rule , The Moslem's wrong, the Hindu's contumely, The pangs of despised pride , the law's restraints , 1 48

Notes to Pages 65-66 The insolence of Babus , and the spurns That free-born Britons of the Government take , When he might save himself from thraldom vile With volunteers' arms? Who would not unfurl Rebellion's red flag on Fort William's heights But that the dread of failure in the field,Of transportation home, home from whose wants We hither all have fled,-puzzles the will , And makes us rather bear this Ilbert Bill, Than fly to o ther ills we know not of? Thus fear makes simple braggarts of us all; And thus the British hue of resolution Is blackened o'er with nigger cast of thought; And Anglo-India schemes of independence, With this regard, become mere sound and fury And lose the name of action. 54. I am grateful to Sarah Green for giving me access to her unpublished the­ sis , "Shylock Becomes Sailaksa: Harischandra's Durlabh Bandhu and the Late Nineteenth- Century Indian Quest for a National Identity," University of Texas , 1995. 5 5 . Green, " Shylock Becomes Sailaksa," 98. Green also points out his ambivalence in plays such as Bharat janani (Mother India) ( 1 877) and Bharat

Durdasha (The plight of India) . In the former play, Harishchandra hoped that the "merciful Empress" Queen Victoria would save her powerless children (the colonial subj ects) from the clutches of colonial rule. 56. Green, "Shylock Becomes Sailaksa," 5 1 . 57. I n Siting Translation: History, Post-structuralism, and the Colonial Context (Berkeley and Los Angeles : University of California Press , 1 992) , 1 3 , Tejaswini Niranj ana examines Jones's translation of Shakuntala (among other works) "to show how he contributes to a historicist, teleological model of civilization that, coupled with a notion of translation presupposing transparency of representa­ tion, helps construct a powerful version of the 'Hindu' that later writers of dif­ ferent philosophical and political persuasions incorporated into their texts in an almost seamless fashion . " She subsequently discusses the influence of j ones's translation of Shakuntala on James Mill's History of British India, in which he derives evidence about Indian history and laws from the play Shakuntala. Apparently, Jones's translations of Shakuntala saw wide distribution in Europe and had especially appealed to the German Romantics-Schiller, Humbolt, and Go ethe. According to Sue-Ellen Case in "The Eurocolonial Reception of San­ skrit Poetics , " in The Performance of Power: Theatrical Discourse and Politics, ed. Sue-Ellen Case and Janelle Reinelt (Iowa: University of Iowa Press , 1 99 1 ) , 1 1 2 ,

149

Notes to Pages 66-67 marking "such reception was a colonialist ideology . . . [ hinging] upon the reception of Sanskrit in European studies and the studied promulgation of the English language and literature in colonial India. " What these critics neglect to mention is that Indian nationalists avidly seized upon orientalist images of Indian literature and dramatic arts in order to reconstruct India's past glory and generate pride in its past. As Banerj ee argues in The Parlour and the Streets, 6, the glorification of the cultural achievements of the past Hindu era , "set in motion by the nineteenth century Orientalists , contributed to the awakening of a national self-consciousness among the . . . Hindu intelligentsia . " 58. "Wilson's Hindu Theatre , " Asiatic joumal, january-April 1 83 5 , l lO. 59. V. Raghavan, "Shakesp eare in Sanskrit," Indian Literature 7, no. 1 ( 1 9 64) : 109. 60. As its title, "Portia Aur Sita" (Portia and Sita) reflects , one article in Saras­ vati even compared Portia with Sita , the heroine of the Ramayana, often glorified for upholding Hindu ideas of femininity. 6 1 . According to Raghavan, "Shakespeare in Sanskrit," one scholar translated

Cymbeline as Sribalacarita. Other adaptations of Shakespeare's works in Sanskrit included P. L. Vaidya's Vijayini. A number of other works appeared about the same time: Raj araj a Verma wrote the prose version of Othello under a Sanskri­ tized title Uddalkacarita. Bharativilasa, an adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, appeared in 1877 from Madras. In 1 933 , M. Venkataramanacarya published the Sanskrit version of Charles Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare entitled Shakespeare­

Nataka-Kathavali. In 1 924 , P. V. Ramchandra published a collection of poems called Laghu Kavya, Malika series no. 2, which included passages from As You Like It and Hamlet. In the same year, Pandurang Mahadev Oko of Poona , a Marathi Sanskritist, published a book of quotations of wisdom, of which twenty-seven were taken from Shakespeare. In 1 9 25 , ] . V. Kulkarni of Dhulia brought out an anthology of parallel quotations , which contained passages from Shakesp eare . The theme of caste distinctions in Hindu society was played out in R. Krishnamacharya's Vasanti Karvanpana, an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream ( 1 892) in which the lower-class characters speak Prakrit (the lan­ guage of the commoners) . 62. Raghavan, "Shakesp eare in Sanskrit," 109. 63 . Pro-Hindi activism arose because of a debate that developed in the nine­ teenth century over the status of Hindi and Urdu as separate languages . While the Hindu leadership , including organizations such as Arya Samaj , stressed the need for popularizing Hindi as the national language , Muslim leaders made the case for Urdu . Pro-Hindu activism was channeled through the introduction of Hindi newspapers , introduction of Hindi in law courts and schools in the Hin­ dustani belt, and an additional emphasis on a Sanskritized Hindi. According to Sarkar, Modem India, 85-8 6 , "differences in scrip t and language came to be pro-

150

Notes to Pages 67-68 gressively identified with differences in religion, embedding communalism at the very deep level in the popular consciousness. " For more on the Hindi-Urdu controversy, see jyotirindra Das Gupta , Language Conflict and National Develop­ ment: Group Politics and National Language Policy in India (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press , 1970 ; and Christopher King , One Lan­ guage, Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement in Nineteenth Century North India (D elhi: Oxford University Press , 1 994) . For a detailed analysis of Shakespeare and Hindi , see Nandi Bhatia , '"Indian Shakespeare' and the Politics of Language in Colonial India , " in The Vulgar Tongue: medieval and Postmedieval Vernacular­

ity, ed. Fiona Somerset and Nicholas Watson (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press , 2003 ) , 1 98-2 1 9 . 6 4 . Mishra , Shakespeare's Impact, v. 65. Henry Wells and H. H. Anniah Gowda , Shakespeare Turned East: A Study in Comparison of Shakespeare's Last Plays with Some Classical Plays of India (Prasranga: University of Mysore, 1 9 76) , 9 . 66. Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution, 62. Also s e e Utpal Dutt, Towards a

Revolutionary Theatre ( Calcutta: M. C. Sarkar and Sons, 1 982) . 67. "Interview with Utpal Dutt," interview by Samik Bandhopadhyay, in

Contemporary Indian Theatre: Interviews with Playwrights and Directors (New D elhi: Sangeet Natak Academi , 1 989) , 1 7- 1 8 . In 1 9 7 5 , Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of internal emergency in the country after the opposi­ tion party made a case against her in the Supreme Court about rigging in the national elections . Every citizen's fundamental rights were suspended during this period, and any kind of protest against the ruling government was banned. 68. The play was presented at the Watermans Art Center in Brentford, Eng­ land , in August 1997. 69. Shakespeare Wallah was produced on a budget of eighty thousand dol­ lars . It was taken to the Berlin Film Festival in 1 9 6 5 , where it was accepted as the "Indian" entry following a letter of recommendation from Satyajit Ray, and where Madhur jaffrey won the prize for best actress. In September 1 9 6 5 , Mer­ chant and Ivory took the film to the N ew York Film Festival, and it was released in the following March. Since no one in the United States showed an interest in the film, Merchant and Ivory launched it themselves at the Baronet Theatre on Third Avenue and gave the proceeds of the premiere to UNICEF. The film did well and played for eight weeks. Merchant-Ivory gave an option to Walter Reade-Sterling , the owner of the Baronet Theatre, as well as to a numb er of o ther art houses in New York that had also gone into distribution. Fox too bought the film for some overseas territories. Shakespeare Wallah, says Merchant, "started to play all over: but still the exhibitors were slow in coming. We played in Long Island , the West Coast a little later, Washington, Boston. In San Francisco it did very well." Quoted in john Pym , The Wandering Company: Twenty-one Years of

151

Notes to Pages 69-74

Merchant-Ivory Films (London: British Film Institute; N ew York: the Museum of Modern Art, 1 983) , 40. 70. According to Pym, The Wandering Company, 18, Merchant met Ivory at a screening of The Sword and the Flute in New York. Merchant was immediately struck by Ivory's empathy for India and Indians . In May 1 9 6 1 , they decided to form an Indo-American company to make English-language films in India aimed at the international market (Pym, The Wandering Company, 1 8) . In 1 9 6 1 , they approached Ruth Prawar Jhabwala , who lived with her husband in Delhi at the time and agreed to collab orate with them on the screenplay. 7 1 . See Kendal, The Shakespeare Wallah. 72. Pym , The Wandering Company, 37. 73 . Quoted i n Pym , The Wandering Company, 14. Merchant also recalls a boyhood incident that had a tremendous impact on his filmmaking career. Because of his father's position in the Muslim League, "he was charged with learning a long religious speech spiked with political references to Partition. Merchant was coached by a mullah, and the speech was delivered to acclaim before a crowd of 1 0 ,000 Sunni Moslems in Bombay at the culmination of the ten-day observances of the Moslem New Year, Muharram" (Pym, 14) . Merchant told Pym: "I was aware that I could speak to people and somehow make them believe in me . . . . Although I don't think I understood then what I was really saying-the political undertones-I did understand that I had stirred up that crowd, and there was no way in which I could calm it down. Now, once one of our films starts , it is like that crowd, there is no going back, no stopping. I knew I could move the crowd and I know I can finish the film. This is the attitude I have always adopted. " 74. Ella Shohat and Robert Starn, "From the Imperial Family to the Transnational Imaginary: Media Spectatorship in the Age o f Globalization , " in

Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, ed. Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake (Durham. N . C . : Duke University Press , 1 996) , 1 5 9 . 75. Both Forster's A Passage to India (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1 9 5 2) and George Orwell's Burmese Days (London: Seeker and Warburg, 1 949) portray the lifestyle of British clubs. Burmese Days depicts the tension of Veeraswamy, a Burmese doctor who desperately wants to become a member of the club . Much to his chagrin , the British members deny him such privilege. 76. Pym , The Wandering Company, 38. 77. Pym , The Wandering Company, 38. 78. Robert Emmet Long, The Films of Merchant Ivory (New York: H. N. Abrams , 1 99 1 ) , 48. 79. Quoted in Pym , The Wandering Company, 3 8 . 80. Enright, " I n States Unborn," 3 5 2 .

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Notes to Pages 76-78 Chapter 4

l. Utpal Dutt, Towards a Revolutionary Theatre, 1 9 . Dutt j oined the IPTA in 1 9 5 0 and left the organization in 1 9 5 1 after an ideological falling out with o ther members. 2. Indian People's Theatre Association Bulletin 1 Quly 1 943) , quoted in "Indian People's Theatre Association," in Nukkad ]anam Samvad: People's Art in the Twentieth Century: Theory and Practice (Delhi: Jana Natya Manch, July 1999-September 2000) , 3 73-74. 3. Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements in India: Chronicles and Documents, vol. 1 , 1 936-1 94 7 ( Calcutta: National Book Agency, 1 9 79) , 1 29 . 4. K. A. Abbas , "India's Anti-Fascist Theatre," i n Asia and the Americans, D ecember 1 9 5 2 , 7 1 1 . 5 . Abbas, "India's Anti-Fascist Theatre. " 6. Immanuel Wallerstein, "The Construction of Peoplehood: Racism, Nationalism, Ethnicity," in Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities, ed. Etienne Balibar and Immanuel Wallerstein (London: Vers o , 1 99 1 ) , 8 1-82. Wallerstein discusses this "problem of cohesion" in the context of South Africa. 7. According to Malini Bhattacharya, "The IPTA in Bengal, " journal of Arts and Ideas 2 Qanuary-March 1 983) : 5-22, on one occasion at a Kisan Sabha con­ ference, the Bengali IPTA troupe had to stop the p erformance because of a heavy storm and rain. The audience of around twenty thousand people waited for the rain to stop so they could watch the entire performance. 8. It is generally alleged that the IPTA was a cultural wing of the Commu­ nist Party of India , was involved primarily with Communist propaganda and rigidly followed the dictates of the Communist Party. The chronicles and docu­ ments of the IPTA , collected in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, reveal that most members such as the Kisan Union leaders and cultural and student fronts had a leftist orientation and were immensely influenced by the Leninist brand of Marxism, the revolution of 1 9 1 7 having inspired them. Therefore, they also endorsed the viewpoint of the Communist Party of India ( CPI) . The keynote of the IPTA program during the years 1 942-47 regarding Hindu-Muslim unity, release of Congress leaders from j ail, and opposition to the Quit India move­ ment followed the political line of the CPI during 1 942-47. However, it needs to be specified that not all of its organizers were card-holding members of the CPl. They were progressive intellectuals from all walks of life committed to the task of mobilizing a "people's" theater. The IPTA, thus, was not bound by the Party in any way. 9. Abbas , "India's Anti-Fascist Theatre," 7 1 1 . The inspiration of the Pro­ gressive Writers' Union came from the antifascist cultural organizations in Europ e , especially the International Asso ciation of Writers for the Defence of

153

Notes to Pages 78-79 Culture against Fascism, which was supported by Romain Rolland, Maxim Gorky, Thomas Mann, and Andre Malraux, among others. At its first conference the members of the PWA unanimously resolved the need for a progressive liter­ ature, defining progressive literature as that which "must deal with the basic problems of our existence to-day-the problems of hunger and poverty, so cial backwardness and political subj ection" (quoted in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural

Movements, 1 : 2 1 ) . In the same year, progressive Indian intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chatterj ee, Munshi Premchand (a great proponent of progressive so cialist realism in his Hindi writings of this period) , P. C. Roy , jawaharlal N ehru , Nandlal Bose, and others sent a letter to the Second Congress of International Writers' Association in London, declaring their open hostilities to war. 1 0 . I have provided only those dates that are available. 1 1 . Susie Tharu and K. Lalita , eds . , introduction to Women Writing in India,

600 B . C . to the Present, vol. 2, The Twentieth Century (New York: Feminist Press , 1 993) , 80-8 1 . 1 2 . This chapter discusses a few plays a s examples of the I PTA's participation in the political process through cultural productions . I am grateful to the Humanities Research Centre at the University of Texas at Austin for providing me access to the plays Four Comrades and Roar China. Most of the IPTA plays were created during discussions among members and then acted out extempo­ raneously. Therefore, most playscripts are not available. Some remained unpub­ lished, and typ ed or handwritten copies were made available to provincial IPTA squads for a charge of one rupee for the paper and typing (Pradhan, Marxist Cul­

tural Movements, 1 : 1 6 1 ) ; thus they are difficult to obtain. Other scrip ts , such as Balraj Sahni's jadoo Ki Kursi, were destroyed. In his autobiography, Sahni admits that he tore up the only available copy of the play. 1 3 . According to the "Provincial Reports , Bombay," in Pradhan, Marxist Cul­ tural Movements, l: 148, one IPTA branch performed Four Comrades at a Kisan (farmers') rally of twenty thousand peasants. 14. The Russian play was written in 1 9 24 by Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov, an important leader of the "Left Front" movement in Soviet literature. In 1924 Tretiakov went to China and taught at the National University of Peking. Dur­ ing his stay in China , on june 22, 1924, a dispute broke out between the British Navy and the native Chinese. Captain Whitehorn of the British gunboat

Cockchafer ordered two innocent Chinese put to death. The British cap tain received a decoration. Appalled by the British behavior, Tretiakov based the play The Cockchafer on the episode. The play was rej ected by the Proletcult The­ atre as well as the Theatre of the Revolution. In the meantime, French, Ameri­ can, and English imperialism continu ed to grow in China and Tretiakov expanded the play to cover the methods of these aggressors in China and the consequent ill-feeling among the Chinese working classes. On january 23 , 1 9 2 6 , 154

Notes to Pages 80-83 the play was "rechristened" Roar China and produced by Meyer hold's Theatre in Moscow. Later the play was produced in Berlin and elsewhere in Europ e. In America, the Theatre Guild produced it on October 22, 1930. Because of its crit­ ical portrayal of the British navy, the public staging of Roar China was not per­ mitted in England. Later, in November 1 93 1 , the play was produced privately by Mr. F . Sladin-Smith of the Unnamed Society, and was published with certain alterations , which included the substitution for the British navy of the French navy. See H. W. L. Dana , introduction, in Roar China, by Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov, trans . F. Polianovska and Barbara Nixon (New York: International Publishers , n.d. ) , 3-5 . 1 5 . Indian People's Theatre Association, Roar China and Four Comrades (Bombay: Indian People's Theatre Association, Dramatics for National Defence, 1 942) , l. 1 6 . Quoted in Sarkar, Modem India, 388. In 1 942 Gandhi called for a nonvi­ olent protest during the Quit India movement, but as Gyan Pandey asserts in

The Indian Nation in 1 942 ( Calcutta: Center for Studies in So cial Sciences, 1 988) , the movement went well beyond the confines of what Gandhi had envis­ aged. 1 7 . Gandhi quoted in Sarkar, Modem India, 390. 1 8 . Indian People's Theatre Association, Roar China, 9- 1 0 . 1 9 . Indian People's Theatre Association, Roar China, 6 . 20. Indian People's Theatre Association, Roar China, 1 3 . 2 1 . In "Gandhi a s Mahatma: G orakhpur District, Eastern UP, 1 9 2 1-2 , " Sub­ altern Studies, vol. 3, Writings on South Asian History and Society, ed. Ranajit Guha (Delhi: Oxford University Press , 1 984) , 1, Shahid Amin explores the ways in which the idea of Gandhi as "Mahatma" was thought out and reworked in the popular imagination. 22. Indian People's Theatre Association, Four Comrades (Bombay: Indian People's Theatre Association, Dramatics for National Defence, 1 942) , 1 1 . 23 . Sarkar , Modem India, 392. For a detailed study o n the causes o f famines see Amartya K. Sen, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Depriva­

tion (Delhi: Oxford University Press , 1 98 1 ) . Arguing against the commonly held views that attribute famines to overp opulation and a scarcity of food, Sen posits that, among other things , people starve when their "entitlement" is not enough to buy the food necessary for sustenance. 24. Conventionally, European realism concentrated on reproducing the appearance of so cial reality to the minutest details . Through an "accurate" imi­ tation of life , the realist writer attemp ted to create the illusion that the staged presentation reflected life as experienced by the spectator. Its purpose was to evoke empathy through identification with the action and induce forgetfulness on the part of the spectator, who became an unobserved listener through an invisible fourth wall. To achieve this illusion of reality, the dramatic realist typ-

155

Notes to Pages 83-89 ically chose an ordinary person as protagonist and preferred the commonplace and the everyday to the rarer aspects of life. Characters lived through the same exp eriences and problems as those o f the common person. Their speech was the colloquial idiom of everyday life , devoid of the mechanics of rhetorical speech. The play unfolded through a logical sequence of events . The rigors of realism thus involved, in addition to its subj ect matter, a special literary form that was to be the very mirror held up to real life. Although a lifelike reproduction invited the spectators' empathy and subsequent understanding, it also pre­ vented their ability to act by inducing only passive consumption as invoked by the classical model. In the 1 930s, Brecht ruptured the illusionism of realism, introducing through his epic theater a nonillusionistic apparatus that sought to destroy the verisimilitude of a realistic performance in order to create a critical distance between the stage and the spectator. However, according to some crit­ ics , the Brechtian model was as elitist as the realist mo del he dismissed. The nonillusionist drama that he proposed was too intellectualized and put pressure on the spectators to grasp the nuances of his plays' messages . IPTA artists often debated among themselves over the use of Brecht and Stanislavski , who sought identification by eliciting a realist drama through an actor's transformation into the character played. Bij ana Bhattacharyara did not particularly like the Brecht­ ian model but was willing to try it so long as it was altered according to the cul­ tural context of rural Bengal. 25. Bhattacharya, "The IPTA in Bengal , " 9 . 2 6 . James Clifford, " O n Ethnographic Allegory," i n Writing Culture: The

Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, ed. James Clifford and George E. Marcus (Berkeley and Los Angeles : University of California Press , 1 986) , 98. 27. K. A. Abbas , I Write as I Feel (Bombay: Hind Kitabs, 1 948) , 3 1 . 28. Sarkar , Modern India, 384. 29. Quoted in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, l: 144. 30. A beedi is a cigarette made by rolling tobacco in dry leaves. 3 1 . Balwant Gargi , Theatre in India (New York: Theatre Arts Books , 1 962) , 1 88-89. 32. Gargi, Theatre in India. 3 3 . Unity Quly 1 9 5 2) , quoted in Sudhi Pradhan, ed. , Marxist Cultural Move­ ments in India: Chronicles and Documents, vol. 2, 1 94 7-1 958 ( Calcutta : Navana , 1 982) , 90. 34. According to Som Benegal, A Panorama of Theatre in India (D elhi: Popu­ lar Prakashan, 1 9 67) , 1 0 , Mulk Raj Anand produced the play in Bombay in 1953. 3 5 . Hemani Bannerji, "Language and Liberation: A Study of Political Theatre in Bengal , " Ariel 1 5 ( 1 984) : 1 3 1-44. 3 6 . Throughout the asso ciation's career , IPTA directors attempted to fight

156

Notes to Pages 89-94 state censorship , pledging at every annual all-India conference to challenge the government on this front. 37. Quoted in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, 2: 1 8 7 . 38. T h e b a n was ultimately revoked because of pressure from the public. 39. Quoted in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, 2:252. 40. Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, 2: 1 88. 41. Bhattacharya, "The IPTA in Bengal , " 14. 42. Bhattacharya, "The IPTA in Bengal , " 14. 43 . Sarkar in Modern India, 4 1 9 , points out that on january 29 , 1 946, Wavell estimated a deficit of three million tons , while imports from United States remained uncertain, leading to a drastic cut in rations . 44. Balraj Sahni , Balraj Sahni: An Autobiography (D elhi: Hind Pocket Books, 1 9 79) , 140-4 1 . 4 5 . Sahni , Balraj Sahni, 1 4 1 . 46. Sahni , Balraj Sahni, 1 53-54. 47. In the report about the !PTA's All-India Peace Conference of 1 9 5 2 , Nara­ hari Kaviraj vehemently stated the following: "Constant attempts are being made by certain powers to intensify their control over India. These intrigues are leading to certain new developments in the Indian situation-the most impor­ tant being the increasing U . S . interference in the affairs of our country. In the economic sphere, due to the domination of British capital over our economy, the conditions in our country are as bad as they can be. The increasing integra­ tion of Indian and American economy through the Point Four programme, the World Bank Loan, the Food Loan and other private U . S . investments , signifies an additional burden upon our people" (quoted in Pradhan, Marxist Cultural

Movements, 2:3 1 5 ) . 4 8 . Quoted i n Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, 2: 1 76 . 49. Quoted i n Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements, 2:32 1 . Abbas invoked the ancient texts of all communities , including Bengali , Hindi, Urdu , Telugu , Malayalam, Raj asthani , and Punj abi. This pride in India's past heritage became visible in Anna Bhau Sathe's praises for Kalidasa's Shakuntala (when he dis­ cussed the !PTA's role in creating peace for the nation) , which he said was even hailed by "Goethe, the great German poet," who upon reading the play "danced with j oy." 50. Quoted in Sudhi Pradhan, Marxist Cultural Movements in India: Chroni­ cles and Documents, vol. 3, 1 943-1 964 ( Calcutta: Santi Pradhan, 1985) , 486. 5 1 . Susie Tharu and K. Lalita , Women Writing in India, vol. 1: The Twentieth Century. (New York: Feminist Press , 1 993) , 92. 52. See http ://www. iptamumbai. org/history_frame.htm , accessed on August 1 2 , 2003 . 53. For a discussion on Zubeida see Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution,

157

Notes to Pages 94-95 4 1-42; Tharu and Lalita , Women Writing in India, 1 : 80-8 1 ; and Sahni , Balraj

Sahni. 54. Tharu and Lalita , Women Writing in India, 1 : 8 1 . 5 5 . Radha Kumar in The His tory of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements

for Women's Rights and Feminism in India, 1 800-1 990 (London: Vers o , 1993) , 94, discusses the problems pertaining to the "nationalist feminist woman activist" during the freedom struggle, who , as Kumar posits , "was seen both as a symbol and a bulwark of women's emancipation: [but] the fact that the image of a woman activist which had been constructed in this period itself limited and restricted women was not questioned. Though activist women did not them­ selves dwell on this , clearly nationalists , revolutionary terrorists and commu­ nists saw a certain threat in women's activism, for each, in their different ways , tried to restrict it. Their chief desire seems to have been to somehow divest women of the sexuality asso ciated with them: either through to tal de-sexualiza­ tion, as preached by Gandhi , or through domestication and subj ugation, as for example , in the communists' preference for women who were married to male activists . " 5 6 . I n Rehearsals of Revolution, 4 2 , Rustom Bharucha posits that one histori­ cal importance of Zubeida lies in the fact that "many of the spectators . . . included women who had never seen a play in their lives. " While Zubeida's action was an attemp t to mobilize women's participation in the colonial insur­ gency, its sanctioning of women's roles as sacrificers sends a message of subju­ gation. 57. See van Erven, The Playful Revolution, l l 8 . Also see Jacob Scrampickal, Voice to the Voiceless: The Power of People's Theatre in India (New York: St. Mar­ tin's Press , 1 994) .

Chapter 5 l . For recent scholarship on the nexus of theater and politics in colonial India , see Rustom Bharucha's Rehearsals of Revolution, which fo cuses on the the­ ater in Bengal for over a century with particular reference to Utpal Dutt and Badal Sircar; Solomon's " Culture, Imperialism, and Nationalist Resistance " ; and Chatterj ee's "Mise-en- ( Colonial) -Scene . " Chatterj ee gives an overview of politi­ cal theater in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Bengal. 2. Owing in part to colonial censorship of native drama under the 1876 Dra­ matic Performances Censorship Act, which was less rigorous in its regulation of historical drama, and on account of the revivalist phase of Indian nationalism that turned back to a golden age of Indian history in the bid to counter colo­ nialism, there occurred a revival of historical themes . In the 1 880s and 1 890s, the Great National Theatre of Bengal dramatized plays such as Rajput ]iban

158

Notes to Pages 95-97

Sandhya (The eventide of Rajput history) , Maharashtra]iban Prabhat (The dawn of the Maratha race) , Banga Bijeta (The conqueror of Bengal) , and Siraj-ud­ daula. 3. Aparna Dharwadker in "Historical Fictions and Postcolonial Representa­ tion" reminds us of the " complex epistemological and cultural functions" that a play such as Tughlaq performs through its emplotment of a historical figure and its engagement with the discourses of European and Indian history. Likewise , the English-language drama of Mahesh Dattani , Asif Currimbhoy, Pratap Sharma, Prithipal Vasudev, and Cyrus Mistry, among others , constitutes a vast corpus of theatrical practice that engages in a recuperation of significant colo­ nial and historical moments as a way of both documenting the violences of the past and making the past relevant to the sociopolitical concerns of the present. For an overview of English-language theater in India , see Karen Smith, "India ," in Post-colonial English Drama: Commonwealth Drama since 1 960, ed. Bruce King (London: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's Press , 1 992) , 1 1 8-3 2. 4. In 1969 Dutt renamed his group and called it "People's Little Theatre . " For more scholarship o n Utpal Dutt and Bengali drama generally, see Raha , Ben­ gali Theatre; and Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution. Bharucha devotes a whole chapter to Dutt, tracing his career through the various stages of development, and presents an analysis of selected plays . 5. Dutt's other history plays include Sanyasir Tarabari (The Sanyasi's cru­ sade) , which dramatizes the Sanyasi rebellion of eighteenth-century British India to expose the corruption during the rule of Warren Hastings and the sup­ pression of the Sanyasi rebellion; Rifle ( 1 969) , which presents the revolutionary activities in Bengal in the 1 930s; and Kallal (Sound of the Waves, 1965) , a play about the 1 946 naval mutiny of Bombay that exposes the complicity between the British rulers and the leaders of the Indian National Congress in plotting to overthrow the armed rebellion. 6. Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution, 65. 7. Bharucha , Rehearsals of Revolution, 6 5 , 70. 8. In addition to his political engagements with theater that continued until his death in 1 993 , Dutt's role in commercial Hindi cinema as well as in English­ language films , such as the Ivory-Merchant production Shakespeare Wallah and james Ivory's The Guru, earned him an international reputation and following among theater and cinema audiences . 9. Utpal Dutt, The Great Rebellion 1 857 (Mahavidroha) (Calcutta: Seagull Books , 1 986) . 1 0 . The articles are compiled by Karl Marx and F. Engels in The First Indian

War of Independence, 1 857-1 859 (Moscow: F oreign Languages Publishing House, n.d. ) . 1 1 . Rabindra Ray, The Naxalites and Their Ideology (Delhi: Oxford University Press , 1 988) , 6 .

159

Notes to Pages 97-99 12. In India's Simmering Revolution: The Naxalite Uprising (London: Zed Books , 1 984) , i, Sumanta Banerj ee asserts that the term Naxalite, from Naxal­

bari, "has continued to symbolize any assault upon the assumptions and insti­ tutions that supp ort the established order in India. " The movement erupted in several parts of the country before it was crushed by the government. 1 3 . Although scholars disagree over the nature and ideology of the Naxalite reb ellion, the broad consensus among most is that it was a failed movement. Ray in Naxalites and Their Ideology, 5-6 , discusses the paradoxes of the history of the CPI (M-L) , and finds a fundamental discrepancy between theory and praxis in its commitment to agrarian mass revolution on the one hand and involvement in "urban terror" on the other. Writing from a Marxist perspective , Banerj ee , on the other hand , sees the movement as an important one that marked a solidarity between CPI (M-L) cadres and the struggles of landless peasants . He under­ stands the movement's origins in the context of socioeconomic exploitation. 14. Anne McClinto ck, "The Angel of Progress: Pitfalls of the Term 'Post­ colonialism ,' " in Williams and Chrisman, Colonial Discourse, 292. 15. For work on the 1857 rebellion, see Gautam Bhadra, "Four Rebels of Eighteen-Fifty-Seven , " in Guha and Spivak, Selected Subaltern Studies, 1 29-75 ; Sashi Bhushan Chaudhuri, Civil Rebellion in the Indian Mutinies ( Calcutta : Cal­ cutta World Press , 1 9 5 7) ; R. C. Maj umdar , The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of

1 85 7 (Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1 9 63) ; and Eric Stokes , The Peas­ ant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion in Colonial India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 1 9 78) . 1 6 . A brief discussion such as this can neither provide the full force of the causes of the mutiny nor access the micrology of the colonial political economy. For an in-depth analysis , see Majumdar, Sepoy Mutiny; and Stokes , Peasant and

Raj. 1 7 . See for instance , john Kaye's history of the Indian mutiny, which, as Ranaj it Guha in "Not at Home in Empire , " Critical Inquiry 23 (spring 1 9 9 7) : 485 , argues , i s written "in the manner of grand narratives of war and revolu­ tion. " 1 8 . Edward Said, foreword to Guha and Spivak, Selected Subaltern Studies, vi. 1 9 . Bhadra, "Four Rebels , " 1 3 0 . 2 0 . Bhadra, "Four Rebels ," 130. Also s e e Eric Stokes , The Peasant Armed: The

Indian Revolt of 1 85 7 (Toronto : Oxford University Press , 1 986) for a discussion of the local background of the popular upsurge. For an analysis of the role of landed chiefs in the mutiny, see Sashi Bhushan Chaudhuri, Theories of the Indian

Mutiny, 1 857-59: A Study of the Views of an Eminent Historian on the Subject (Cal­ cutta: Calcutta World Press , 1965) . In his opening descrip tion of the popular base of the reb ellion, Chaudhuri describes the heterogeneity of the rebellion: "The villagers imp eded the march of the British avenging army by withholding supplies and information which they freely gave to the rebel forces; wage earn-

160

Notes to Pages 1 00-105 ers vented their rage on the system of foreign exploitation by a wholesale destruction of the British-owned factories ; the social destitutes to whom bor­ rowing was the only means of livelihood turned against the bankers , mahaj ans (capitalists) and usurers , the class pro tected by the British courts ; the priests and prophets preached j ehad against the feringhis; and attacked police and rev­ enue establishments , destroyed government records and court-buildings and telegraph poles , in fact everything which could remind them of the English" ( l). For more details on the participation of the landlords and the taluqdars see Majumdar, Sepoy Mutiny. 2 1 . Marx and Engels , Indian War of Independence, 56. 22. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 3 . 23 . Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 6. 24. Surendra Nath Sen, Eighteen Fifty Seven (D elhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India , 1958) , 23 . 25. In her highly informative article "The Unspeakable Limits of Rap e: Colo­ nial Violence and Counter-insurgency," in Williams and Chrisman, Colonial

Discourse, 227-28 , jenny Sharpe deconstructs the impact of the colonialist dis­ course of the mutiny on E. M. Forster's novel A Passage to India and describes the circulation of negative images after the mutiny and their long-lasting impact upon the popular imaginary. War correspondents and press artists who returned to England after the rebellion, asserts Sharpe , gave public lectures , and "as letters , stories and eyewitness reports slowly made their way back from India , " they invited the "British reading public . . . to share the terror of the white settlers . " Years of mythmaking, notes Sharp e, based on "accounts of white settlers in a state of exhaustion, terror and confusion have since been sealed with the stamp o f authenticity that guarantees all eyewitness reports . " She fur­ ther asserts that "Anglo-Indian descriptions of the tortures drew on a sto ckpile of horrors culled from the great works of Western civilization. The Bible , Homer, Virgil, Dante and Shakesp eare , all provided the Mutiny narratives with their charged plots of martyrdom, heroism and revenge . " 2 6 . Boucicault, jessie Brown; o r The Relief of Lucknow. A Drama i n Three Acts. Founded on an Episode in the Indian Rebellion (New York: Samuel French, 1858) . 27. Using jessie Brown as one of the numerous examples in "Melodrama, Realism , and Empire on the British Stage , " in Acts of Supremacy: The British

Empire and the Stage, 1 790-1 930 (Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1 99 1 ) , 1 3 3 , Heidi ] . Holder discusses the function of melodrama in the latter half of the nineteenth century. She asserts that "colonial melodrama , increas­ ingly a vehicle for 'facts,' was used to educate an English public in the business of Empire. " 28. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 46. 29. See joyce Lebra-Chapman, The Rani of]hansi: A Study of Female Heroism in India (Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press , 1 986) .

161

Notes to Pages 1 05-8 30. See Bhadra , "Four Rebels . " 3 1 . In the introduction t o the 1 9 8 6 edition of Mahavidroha, Samik Bandhy­ opadhyay finds a parallel between Brecht's Mother Courage and Kasturi, who , like Mother Courage , apparently takes advantage of the war to serve her own ends. The parallel between Kasturi and Mother Courage is hardly surprising when we consider that Dutt's drama was influenced by Brecht. Yet, while Dutt exhibited great admiration for Brecht, he considered this influence marginal, dismissing Brecht's use of "alienation" in favor of identification. Despite an apparent similarity to Mother Courage, Kasturi's role departs from the Brechtian device of inducing alienation to evoke critical distance from the audience. Instead, Dutt's distinctive dramatic display of a "mimetic element, [ and a] robust and unashamed use of every emotion, every passion, every violence"

( Towards a Revolutionary Theatre, 145) seeks to evoke recognition as the op era­ tive critical response that draws attention to the violence generated by colonial policies . 32. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 5 1 . 3 3 . Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 5 1 34. See Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi, Daughters of Independence: Gender, Caste, and Class in India (Delhi: Kali for Women, 1 986) . 3 5 . Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 24. 36. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 24. 37. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 24. 38. Dutt, The Great Rebellion, 8. 39. Mani, " Contentious Traditions , " 106. 40. The practice of sati has received much coverage in the aftermath of the death of eighteen-year-old Roop Kanwar on September 4, 1987, who was burned to death on her husband's funeral pyre in Deorala Village in Raj asthan, India. Raj eshwari Sunder Raj an's analysis in "The Subj ect of Sati: Pain and Death in Contemp orary Discourse of Sati , " in Real and Imagined Women: Gender,

Culture, and Postcolonialism (London: Routledge, 1 993) , 3 1 , provides a useful intervention in this discourse. She attempts to reconstruct the subj e ctivity of the women who commit sati through a "phenomenology of pain and a politics that recognizes pain as constitutive of the subj ect. " Among the several significant sites of recent discourse of sati that she analyzes , she endorses "the forms of agitprop representations in theatre, film and posters as bringing us closer to the 'reality' of sati than does either the lib eral discourse denouncing it or the popu­ lar and religious discourse glorifying it. It is not naturalistic or symbolic images , but a certain specific mode of stylization that points to the idiom for pain . " For more critical essays see John Stratton Hawley, ed. , Sati: The Blessing and the

Curse. The Burning of Wives in India (New York: Oxford University Press , 1 994) . 4 1 . The translated version premiered in the same year at the Rabindra Sadan,

162

Notes to Pages 1 08-1 2 Calcutta , on September 6. The play subsequently opened on October 1 2 of that year at the Gorki Theatre in Berlin during the Berlin festival, and following the Berlin performance, it was staged eight times in the German Democratic Repub­ lic at Rostock, Karl-Marx Stadt, Strasbund , Weimar, Plauen, and Leipzig. According to Dutt's "Stage History," in The Great Rebellion, xiv, the Berliner Zeitung of October 1 5 , 1 9 8 5 , reported the acting style as " 'realistic, and the play easily understandable ,' though the 'conflict' was conveyed 'primarily through dialogue' and there was no provision for 'simultaneous translation."' The "Stage History" xiv, also cites another report by Gerhart Ebert in the Neues Deutsch­

land, who found "the long controversy on how to use the epic style of the Ben­ gali ]atra in the modern theatre . . . successfully settled; with the choric com­ mentary and the elements of music and dance enlivening the action." The newspaper further reported that "the production restricts itself to a simple stage design. A big, white sheet, simply operated, changes now into a hill, now into a tent, now into a canopy. The atmosphere around Bahadur Shah is built with grandiose ceremony interrupted by a lone singer with a tanpura. " 42. Banerj e e , India's Simmering Revolution, iii. 43 . Banerj e e , India's Simmering Revolution, iii. 44. Dutt, Towards a Revolutionary Theatre, 62-63 . 45. Sudipto Chatterj e e , "Utpal Dutt, 1 9 29-1993 ," TDR 3 8 , no. 1 ( 1 994) : 29. 46. Dutt, Towards a Revolutionary Theatre, 42. Other political plays by Dutt performed during this period of severe state repression include Teener Talwor (The tin sword) ( Calcutta : jatiya Sahitya Parishad, 1 9 73) ; Barricade ( Calcutta : jatiya Sahitya Parishad, 1 9 77) ; and Surya Shikar (Hunting the Sun) , in Collected

Plays, vol. 2 ( Calcutta: jatiya Sahitya Parishad, 1 9 78) . 4 7. Cited in Banerj ee , India's Simmering Revolution, ii. 48. Conditioned in his theatrical politics by global histories of oppression, Dutt also expanded his fo cus to include a dramatization of international issues. Hence, the war in Vietnam in Ajeya Vietnam, the 193 1 Scottsboro trial in Alabama in Manusher Adhikarney (The rights of man) , and Hitler's rise to power (the subj ect of Barricade) became pivotal to his overriding concern with the exploited and the disadvantaged. In addition to dramatizing such politically charged global instances , Dutt also wrote plays about Lenin, Mao , and Stalin. 49. Banerj e e , India's Simmering Revolution, ii-iii.

Epilogue

l. Radheyshyam Kathavachak , Parivartan (Bareilly: Shriradheyshyam Press , 1 962) . 2. In The His tory of Doing, Radha Kumar asserts that even during the Dandi

163

Notes to Pages 11 2-1 5 March, Gandhi did not allow prostitutes to participate on grounds of immoral­ ity. The exclusions practiced by nationalists in the political sphere then came to be reinforced in theater. 3. According to Partha Chatterj ee, this is how Indian nationalism defined its difference from the colonial rulers . I have already discussed, in earlier chapters , Chatterj ee's and other scholars' arguments regarding the construction of women under colonialism. 4. See Kathavachak , Mera Natak Kaal. 5 . Hansen in Grounds for Play, 256, argues that the nautanki theater of North India , for example, "owes its absence from the annals o f history to its association with a prohibited category of womanho od." 6 . Amrit Srinivasan, "The Hindu Temple-Dancer: Prostitute or Nun? " Cam­ bridge Anthropology 8, no. 1 ( 1 983) : 73-9 9 , and "Reform and Revival: The Devadasi and Her Dance , " Economic and Political Weekly, 20, no. 44 , Nov. 2 1985 , 1 869-76. 7. Tharu and Lalita , Women Writing in India, 2:45. Also see Lotika Sarkar, "jawaharlal Nehru and the Hindu Code Bill ," in Indian Women: From Purdah to

Modernity, ed. B. R. Nanda ( 1 976; N ew Delhi: Radiant Publishers , 1 990) , 8 7-98. 8 . Since the 1 9 70s, the subj ect of dowry has generated numerous debates among scholars and received immense critical attention. In the present context, the term dowry, according to Kumar in The History of Doing, has become a euphemism for wife battery. 9. Gauri Chawdhry, " Guest Editorial , " How, March 1 983 , 2. 1 0 . Gauri Chawdhry, "Guest Editorial ," 2. 1 1 . Ranj ana Kumari , Brides Are Not for Burning: Dowry Victims in India (Delhi: Radiant Publishers , 1 989) , 83-84 ; emphasis in original. 1 2 . Prabha Krishnan , " Catalyst Theatre," Indian journal of Youth Affairs, March 1 980, 32. 13. Other challenges to the exploitative patriarchal and state structures were manifested in the antialcohol agitation of 1 9 72-73 , during which women in Maharashtra went from one village to another breaking liquor pots to pre­ vent men from beating their wives after getting drunk , and the campaign against price rises that involved pro tests from thousands of housewives who demanded that the government fix the prices of essential commodities . The declaration of 1 9 7 5 as the International Women's Year gave a further boost to the women's movement. For an illustrated account, see Kumar's The History of

Doing. 14. Indian feminists regard this period as the third phase of the women's movement. 1 5 . Butalia formed the group after she witnessed an incident in Delhi involv­ ing the death of a young woman who was burned alive by her in-laws for not bringing sufficient dowry. Frustrated by the inadequate investigation by the 1 64

Notes to Pages 115-1 6 police, Butalia spoke to the members of Mahila Dakshata Samiti ( Committee for Women's Empowerment) , a group of women activists . Collectively they held a demonstration outside the house where the victim was burned and conducted an inquiry into police records. 1 6 . According to Krishnan in " Catalyst Theatre ," the first pro tests against dowry were made by the Progressive Organization of Women in Hyderabad in 1 9 7 5 . After two years , a new movement against dowry started in Delhi. The most sustained agitation against dowry has been in D elhi. 1 7 . Kumar, The History of Doing, 1 20. 1 8 . During the 1 980s, the play was p erformed nearly three hundred times. In 1 983 , students at the Government College for Girls in Chandigarh presented

Om Swaha on various college campuses as part of an attempt to raise awareness about the issue. 19. For Kapoor's detailed description of the play see van Erven, The Playful

Revolution, 1 1 8. 20. Quoted in van Erven, The Playful Revolution, 1 1 8. 21. ] . P. Bhatnagar, Cases and Materials on Dowry Prohibition Act, 1 961 (Amended by Act No. 43 of 1 986) along with Dowry Death and Bride Burning Cases (Allahabad: Ashoka Law House, 1 988) , l. 22. Bhatnagar , Cases and Materials, l. 23 . The pressure exerted by women's groups and the antidowry campaigns also resulted in a lawful revision of the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1 9 6 1 . In D ecember 1 983 , the government passed the Criminal Law Act (second amend­ ment) , introducing section 498-A to the Indian Penal Code. This amendment made " cruelty to married women . . . [in the form of] co ercing her or any per­ son related to meet any unlawful demand for any property by her husband or any of his relative punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years as also with fine" (quoted in Kumari, Brides Not for Burning, 79; also see "Suggested Amend­ ments to the Dowry Prohibition Act of ' 6 1 ' , " How, May 1 983 , 3-6) . Additionally, according to Kumar in The History of Doing, 1 24 , section 1 1 3-A was amended to assist the courts to draw an "inference of abetment to suicide. " Finally, the act amended section 17 4 of the Criminal Pro cedure Code to make postmortem mandatory for any woman who died within the first seven years of marriage . Although the amendments were by no means fully adequate, especially in their definition of " cruelty," the changes did lead to the reversal by the Supreme Court of some verdicts that had acquitted the accused parties and led to convic­ tion in some cases . 24. Van Erven, The Playful Revolution, 1 1 8. 25. Van Erven, The Playful Revolution, 1 1 9 . 26. S e e Lal Bahadur Verma, "Not Only for the F u n of It," How, january-Feb­ ruary 1 983 , 27-34; Tripurari Sharma , "Diary of a Theatre Workshop . " How, jan­ uary-February 1 983 , 5- 1 0 .

165

Notes to Pages 1 1 6-1 8 27. A columnist for the newspaper Economic Times, Safdar Hashmi organized the theater group Janam (Birth) in 1973 , in order to dramatize on the streets the concerns of the peasantry and the working classes. 28. In the 1960s Habib Tanvir (who had earlier worked with the IPTA) also emerged as a central figure whose "theatre on wheels" traveled on lorries and trucks in villages , often performing on trucks . See Meher Dastoor, "Between the Acts , " Illus trated Weekly of India, March 23 , 1986, 50-5 1 . 29. Badal Sircar, i n his "third theatre , " a name that distinguishes his theater from both folk theater and the urban proscenium theater , communicates politi­ cal messages in both cities and villages . Sircar and his group , Shatabdi ( Cen­ tury) , regularly conduct workshops in various parts of the country. 30. Started by a group of students at Bombay University, the Ahvaan Natya Manch organized street theater after the passage of the Preventive Detention Ordinance 1 25 by the university in the early 1 980s. According to a report titled "Bombay: Playing in the Streets , " Sunday Standard, November 3 0 , 1 980, the ordinance empowered college principals and the vice-chancellor to take disci­ plinary action if a student was found guilty of "unbecoming" behavior. The rea­ son for doing a play instead o f putting out pamphlets and posters was to build a two-way communication. 3 1 . For more information on this group see Hema Rairkar "Street Theatre in Maharashtra , " http ://www.iias. nVhost/ccrss/cp/cp2/cp2-street. html , accessed on July 12, 200. 32. Lou Furman, "Beyond the Stage: Reflections on Street Theatre of India , Part 1 , " http ://www.wsu . edu : 8080/-furman!BeyondStage. html, accessed on July 1 0 , 2000. 33. Geeta Aravamudan, " Chilling Deaths , " The Week, January 24 , 1999, http ://www. the-week. com/99j an24/life2. htm, accessed on July 1 2 , 2000. 34. Meena Menon and Anj ali Mathur, "Bringing Theatre to the People ,"

Indian Express, October 28, 1 984, 5 . 3 5 . Personal interview, December 2000. 36. Personal interview, December 2000. 37. Furman, "Beyond the Stage. " 38. S e e van Erven, The Playful Revolution, 1 4 1 ; Qamar Azad Hashmi , The

Fifth Flame: The Story of Safdar Hashmi, translated from the Urdu by Madhu Prasad and Sohail Hashmi (New Delhi: Viking, 1 9 9 7) ; Safdar: Safdar ka Vyak­ titva or Kritiva (D elhi: Rajkamal Prakashan, 1 999) ; Madhu Prasad, ed. , Safdar (representative selection of media coverage of Safdar Hashmi's death) (Delhi: Moloyoshree Hashmi on behalf of SAHMAT , n.d. ) . Hashmi's death resulted in the formation of SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust) , an organization committed to secular and progressive principles. Since his death, his widow, Mala Hashmi , has run the theater group Janam. For more on the ideology of

166

Notes to Page 119 janam, s e e Safdar Hashmi, The Right to Perform: Selected Writings of Safdar

Hashmi (Delhi: SAHMAT , 1 989) ; Vij ay Prasad, "Safdar Hashmi Amar Rahe (Long Live

Safdar Hashmi) !

Communist

Cultural Activism in India ,"

http ://www. proxsa. org/culture/safdar. html (accessed july 7 , 2003 ) . 39. F o r contemporary street theaters i n India s e e Scrampickal , Voice to the

Voiceless.

167

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187

Index

Abbas , K. A. , 78, 88, 9 1 , 9 2 , 94,

Ahvaan Natya Manch (Summons

1 53n. 5, 1 5 6n. 27, 1 5 7n. 49; I

Write as I Feel, 1 5 6n. 27; Main Kaun Hoon ? 9 1 ; Zubeida, 94

Theatre Stage) , 1 1 7 , 1 66n. 30

Ajeya Vietnam (Dutt) , 1 63n. 48 Alexandria Company (Farsi theater) , 145n. 1 8

Abhimanyu , 44 , 45 , 46, 47

Abhimanyu-Badh (mythological

Alfred Theatrical Company (Farsi

drama) , 14 2n. 1 28 activist theater groups: Ahvaan Natya

theater) , 145n. 1 8 alienation, 76, 1 62n. 3 1

Manch (Summons Theatre Stage) ,

Allen, Charles , 5 5

1 1 7 ; Asso ciation of the Rural Poor

All India Fine Arts and Crafts Audito­

(ARP) , 94; Cultural Caravans , 94; Garib Dongari Sanghathan, 1 13 ,

rium, 107 All India People's Theatre Conference

1 1 7 ; ]ana Natya Manch (or Janam;

Draft Resolution, 76

People's Theatre Forum) , 1 1 6 ; Nis­

All-India Radio , 92

hant (Dawn) , 1 1 6- 1 7 ; Saheli

Amin, Shahid, 81

(Friend) , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 1 7; Samudaya ,

Amrit Bazaar Patrika (newspap er) ,

94; Stree Mukti Sangha than, 1 1 3 , 1 1 7 ; Theatre Union, 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 1 6

4 1 , 45 , 1 4 1 n . 1 1 0 Anand , Mulk Raj , 88, 1 5 6n. 34

actors , prosecution of, 20

andarmahal (inside palace) , 1 3 1n. 5 2

actresses: Bino dini Dasi, 1 1 3 , 141n.

Anderson, Benedict, 4, 1 27n. 1 1 , l 28n. l 3

1 1 9 ; Mrs Bristow, l3 1n. 3 9 ; stig­ matized as prostitutes , 1 1 3 Act XXV of 1867 (on censorship of political literature) , 1 29n. 2l Adhya , Baishnava Charan (Bengali actor in Othello) , 1 3 , 6 1-62 agitprop theaters , 88

Anderson, Rev. ] . H. (missionary) , 2 8

Andher Nagari (Harishchandra) , 6 3 Angar (Dutt) , 1 0 9 Anglican Church, 133 Anglicists , 53 Anglo-European drama, 9, 1 1 , 17, 1 8 ,

Ahmad, Aij az , 5, 1 29n. 22

87

189

Index Anglo-Indian press , 6 , 7 , 3 7 , 1 03

56, 1 50n. 57, 1 60nn. 12, 1 3 ,

Anglo-Indians , 148n. 53

1 63nn. 42, 43 , 47, 49 Banfield, Chris , 1 27n. 1 0 , l 28n. 1 8

Angoor (Hindi film based on Comedy of Errors) , 68 antahpur, 1 3 1n. 52

Bangabasi (vernacular newspaper) ,

antialcohol agitation, 1 64n. l 3

Banga Bijeta (historical drama) ,

146n. 20 1 59n. 2

Anti-Fascist Writers Association, 79

Bannerji, Hemani, 1 5 6n. 3 5

anti-nautch campaigns , 1 13

Baronet Theatre, 1 5 1n. 6 9

antipatriarchal struggles , 1 1

Barricade (Dutt) , 1 63nn. 4 6 , 48

antiwar movement (U. S.) , 1 1 0

Barrier , G erald N . : censorship of controversial literature under British

Antony and Cleopatra (Shakesp eare) , as Kali Nagin, 146n. 1 8

India , l 28-29n. 2 1 ; on printing

Appadurai , Arjun, 1 27n. l l

presses and political content, 146n.

Appiah, Anthony, l l

20, 148n. 48

Arvamudan, Geeta, 1 66n. 33 Arya Natya Sabha (Aryan Theatre Committee) , 63

Bartholomew, Rati , 1 1 5 Battle of Singapore, 79 Benegal, Som, 1 5 6n. 34

Aryans , 6 1 , 65-66

Bengal famine of 1 94 3 , 79 , 82-83

Arya Samaj (so cial reform organiza­

Bengal Harharu, 6 1

tion) , 1 7 , 44 , 13 1 , 1 5 0Q 63

Bengal IPTA, 8 2 , 1 53n. 7

Ashcroft, Bill , 146n. 22

Bentinck, William , 40, 140n. 1 03

Asiatic journal, 6, 1 3 , 1 5 , 66, l 29n.

Berlin Film Festival, 73 , 1 5 1n. 6 9 , 1 63n. 4 1

23 , 1 50n. 58 Asiatic So ciety, 1 3 6n. 34

Betab , Narayan Prasad, Mahabharata,

Association of the Rural Poor, 94

As You Lihe It (Shakespeare) , 1 6 ; passages in Laghu-Kavya, 1 50n. 6 1 Athenaeum, l 2

50 Bethune So ciety, l 3 6n. 34 Bhadra , Gautam, 99, 1 6 0 , 1 62 ; on radical and principal modes of his­ toriography on mutiny, 105

Aurobindo , Sri, 6 6 authentically Indian sensibility, 92

bhadraloh, 17, 4 1 , 1 3 2n. 56

Bachchan, Harivansh Rai , 58

Bhakta Prahlad (Kathavachak) , 45 ,

"Bhagbat Gita , " 44 48, 49

Bahadur Shah Zafar, 100, 1 04 , 1 0 5 , 1 0 8 , 1 63n. 4 1

Bhanumati Chittavilas ( Ghosh) , 148n. 50

Balraj Sahni: A n Autobiography, 1 5 7n. 44

Bharat Durdasha (Harishchandra) , 149n. 55

Bande Mataram (vernacular newspa­ p er) , 146n. 20

Bharatendu Natak Mandali (theater

Bandhopadhyay, Samik, 68, 1 5 1n. 67, 1 62n. 3 1

troupe) , 63

Bharativilasa (The Comedy of Errors) ,

Banerj ee , Sumanta , l 3 1n. 54, 132n.

1 50n. 6 1

190

Index

Bharat ]anani (Harishchandra) , 149n.

Bradley, A. C . , Shakespearean

55

Tragedy, 5 8 , 147n. 34

Bharat Mitra (newspaper) , l39n. 88

Brahmans , 1 28 , 134, 135

Bharucha , Rustom, 147n. 45 , 1 5 1n.

Brahmins and Pariahs, 26

6 6 , 1 5 7n. 53, 1 5 8n. 1, 1 59n. 67

Brahmo Samaj (social reform organi­ zation) , 1 7 , 13 ln. 50

Bhasha (classical dramatist) , 92 Bhatia , Sheila , 78

Brecht, Bertolt, 1 0 0 , 1 0 2 , 1 5 6n. 24 ,

Bhattacaryara , Bij ana, 78, 82, 1 5 6n.

1 62n. 3 1 ; and Dutt's The Great Rebellion, 1 0 5 , 1 62n. 3 1

24; Nabanna (New Harvest) , 82-83 , 86

Bristow, Mrs (English actress in

Bhattacharya , Malini , 9 0 , 1 53n. 7, 1 5 6n. 25 , 1 5 7nn. 4 1 , 42

India) , l 3 ln. 39 British clubs, 87

Bhattacharya , Rimli, l 25n. 3

British Council , 57, 69

Bhattacharyya , P. K. , Shadow over

British imperialism, 77, 79

Stage, 1 29n. 28, l 3 2n. 3, l33n. 8 ,

British India government, l 3 7n. 67

140n. 1 0 8 , 1 4 1 n . 1 20 , 143n. 1 3 8

British Raj , 9 5

Bhattacharyya , S. K. , 145n. l 7

British theater , 6 1

Bhavabhuti , Uttar Ram Charita, 1 5

Buckingham Players , 69, 70, 7 1 , 74

Bhul Bhulaiyan (Twelfth Night) , 146n.

Burmese Days (Orwell) , 1 5 2n. 75 burrakatha (folk theater) , 77, 78,

18

1 26n. 4

Bible, 1 6 ln. 25

Bidya-Sunder, 14 Bisarjan (Tagore) , 89

Butalia , Subhadra , 1 1 5 , 1 64n. 1 5

black-marketing , 90

Caesar , Augustus, 5 2

"blue mutiny" (indigo rebellion) , 23

Calcutta Book Society, 136n. 34

Bo ehmer , Elleke , 4, 1 28nn. 1 6 , 1 7

Calcutta Christian Observer, 27 Calcutta Courier, l 3 ln. 4 7 Calcutta Gazette, l 3 ln. 39

Bollywood, 5 2

Hollywood Cinema (Mishra) , 140n. 102

Calcutta National Library, 14 7n. 40

Bolshevik Revolution, 88

Calcutta Star, l 3

Bombay Amateur (theater) , l30n. 36

Calcutta Supreme Court, 1 6

Bomwetsch, Rev. C. (missionary) ,

Calcutta Theatre, 1 2 , 1 20 , l3 ln. 39

134n. 1 8 Bonnaud, Louis , 22

Canning, Lord, 25 , 29 , 3 1 , 138n. 82 Carew, Archbishop Honourable Dr. ,

Borthwick, Meredith, l 3 ln. 5 1 , 140n. 101 Bose, Manmohan, 3 5

l30n. 38 Case, Sue-Ellen, 149n. 5 7 censorship of drama, 1 0 , 1 9 , 2 1 , 3 4 ,

Bose, Nabin Chandra , 14, 1 5 , l3 ln.

3 9 , 43 , 44 , 5 5 , 5 8 , 62, 6 5 , 67, 89;

44

Bill to Empower the Government

Bose, Nandlal , 1 54n. 9

to Prohibit Certain Dramatic Per­

Boucicault, Dion, ]essie Brown, 1 03 ,

formances , 3 5 , 1 2 1-23 , 1 25n. 1 , l 39-40nn. 94-9 5 ; Dramatic Perfor-

1 6 1n. 26

191

Index Chrisman, Laura , 1 27n. 1 1 , 1 60n. 17

censorship of drama (continued ) mances Censorship Act of 1 8 7 6 , 1 ,

Christian Intelligencer, 27

6 , 1 9 , 20, 44, 48, 49 , 5 5 , 63 , 8 9 ,

Church Missionary Society, 9, 2 1 , 28 , 133n. 1 2

1 3 2n. 6 ; and historical drama, 1 5 8-59n. 2 ; implications in North

City Theatre, 45

India , 139n. 9 3 ; and jatras, 142n.

civilizing mission, 7 , 38

134; of mythological drama , 43-5 0 ;

civil rights movement (U . S . ) , 1 1 0

i n postindependence India , 89-90,

civil services , 54, 62

109, 1 18

classical Indian drama , 1 8

Chaitanya Lila (Ghosh) , 143n. 140 Chakar Durpan (The Tea Planters' Mirror) ( Chattopadhyay) , 19, 3 5 ,

Classic Theatre, 4 5 Clifford, james , 84, 1 5 6n. 2 6

Cockchafer, The (Tretiakov) ,

3 6-3 9 , 40, 4 1 , 138n. 83 , 139nn.

1 54-5 5n. 14

85-87, 93 , 140nn. 1 04-5 , 141n.

collective authorship , 85

1 14

colonial discourse on drama, 6-8

Chakravarty, Sumita , 14 7n. 38

colonial education, 62

Chakravarty, Uma , 39, 4 1 , 42, 78,

colonial melodrama, 1 6 1n. 27

140n. 100, 141n. 1 13

colonial representations of Shake-

Chandranagore Theatre, 1 2

Chargesheet (Pal) , 9 1 Charumukha-Chittahara (Ghosh) , 148n. 50 Chatterj ee , Partha , 40, 133n. 8 , 140n. 133, 141n. 1 1 9 , 1 64n. 3

speare , 52 comedy, 109

Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare) : as Bharativilasa, 1 5 0n. 6 1 ; as Gorakh-Dhandha, 145n. 1 8 Communist Party, 90, 96; Commu-

Chatterj ee, Sarat, 1 54n. 9 Chatterj ee , Sudipto , 13 1 nn. 45 , 46,

nist Party of India (CPI) , 1 53n. 8 Conference of Bengal Protestant Missionaries, 27

1 63n. 45 Chattopadhyay, Bankimchandra , 32

Confession of Maria Monk, The, 33

Chattopadhyay, Dakshina Charan,

Congress, 80, 84 , 90

Chakar Durpan (The Tea Planters ' Mirror), 1 9 , 3 5 , 3 6-3 9 , 40, 4 1 ,

Cornwallis , Lord, 13 1n. 39

138n. 83 , 1 3 9nn. 85-87 , 9 3 ,

Cultural Caravans , 94

140nn. 1 0 4 , 1 0 5

cultural heritage , 76

Chattopadhyay, Kamaladevi , 78

Crow, Brian, 1 27n. 1 0 , 1 28n. 1 8

Culture and Imperialism (Said) , 1 27n.

Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra,

Mahesh, 89

1 1 , 147n. 43 Currimbhoy, Asif, 1 59n. 3

Chaudhuri , Sashi Bhushan, 1 60n. 20

Curzon, Lord, 46

Chaudhury, Pravas ]ivan, 14 2n. 1 3 1

Cuthbert, Rev. G. G . , 28

Chawdhry, Gauri, 1 14 , 1 64nn. 9 , 1 0

Cymbeline (Shakesp eare) , 5 1-5 2 ,

China , 9 6 , 1 1 0

144nn. 1-4; Marathi adaptation as

cholera epidemic of 1 944 , 79

Tara, 5 1-5 2; in Sanskrit as Sribal­ acarita, 1 50n. 6 1

Chowringhee Theatre, 1 2 , 145 192

Index

Dacca Prakashan, 1 3 9n. 84 Dada (Salmarkar) , 84 Dafa 1 80 (Theatre Union) , 1 1 6

dowry, 1 0 ; campaigns against, l 65n.

Dalhousie, Lord, 3 7

Draupadi , 46

Dalil (Ghataka) , 9 1 dalits, 9 4

Dum Dum Theatre, l 2

Dalmia , Vasudha , 1 3 9 n . 9 3 , l48n. 5 1

Durlabh Bandhu (Harishchandra) , l l ,

23 ; deaths , 1 14; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1 1 6 , l 65n. 23

Dundas , R . T . , 142 63-6 6 , 6 7 , l49n. 54

Dandi March, l 63-64n. 2 Dante , l 6 ln. 25

Dutt, Madhusudan, 44 , 133n. 1 1

Das , Babu Golaknath, l 2

Dutt, Utpal, 1 0 , 6 7 , 88, 95-1 1 0 ,

Das , Mukundalal, l43n. 134

l 5 ln. 6 7 , l 53nn. 1 , 5 , 8 , l 58n. l ,

Das , Pulin, 134n. 24 , 13 6nn. 3 5-3 6

l 5 9nn. 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , l 6 l nn. 22, 23 ,

Das , Up endra Nath, Surendra-Bino-

l 62n. 3 1 , l 63n. 48; Ajeya Vietnam,

dini, 1 9 , 20, 3 9 , 42, l4ln. 1 2 1

l 63n. 46; Angar, 1 0 9 ; Barricade,

Das Gupta , Jyotirindra, 130n. 3 6 ,

l 63nn. 46, 48; The Great Rebellion

l 3 l nn. 40-44 , l 4 l nn. 1 1 5 , 1 1 8 ,

1 857 (Mahavidroha) , 95-1 1 0 ; ]al­ lianwalabagh, 1 0 9 ; Kallal, l 59n. 5 ; Manusher Adhikamey, l 63n. 46; Rifle, l 59n. 5 ; Sanyasi Tarabari, l 59n. 5; Surya Shikar, l 63n. 46; Teener Talwor, l 63n. 46; Teer, 109; Tota, 1 0 9 ; Towards a Revolutionary Theatre, l 62n. 3 1 , l 63n. 46

l42n. 1 25 , l43n. 1 4 0 , l 5 ln. 63 Dasi, Binodini , 43 , 1 13 , l 25n. 3 , l 4 l n . 1 1 9 ; My Story and My Life as an Actress, l 25n. 3 , l4ln. 1 1 9 Dastoor, Meher, l 66n. 28 David Hare Academy, l45n. 1 7

Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Theatre

Dutta , Abhijit, 1 3 7n. 65

(Thiong' o) , l 26n. 9

desh bhakti (devotion to the nation) ,

East India Company, l, 9 , 12, 13, 3 7 ,

111 de Silva , Anil (founding member of

1 0 0 , 1 0 1 , 1 3 7n. 6 6

Economic and Political Weekly, l4ln.

IPTA) , 78, 88

devadasis (temple dancers) , 1 1 3 , l 64n. 6

1 1 9 , l 64n. 6

Economic Times, l 66n. 27 Eden, Ashley, 22

D evi , Mahasweta , l 26n. 8

Eden, Emily, 56, l46n. 23

Dhani (Salmarkar) , 85 Dharwadker, Aparna , l 59n. 3

Ek Aurat Ki Vaqalat (The Merchant of Venice) , l45-46n. 1 8

Dhrub Charitra (mythological

Emerald Theatre, 4 5

drama) , 14 2n. 1 28

emergency, state of, 68, 94, l 5 ln. 67

Dickens , Charles , 33

Enemy of the People, An (Ibsen) , 8 7

Disguise, The, 12

Engels , Friedrich, 9 6 , l 59n. 1 0 , l 6 ln.

Dissanayake , Wimal, l 5 2n. 74 Doctrine of Lapse , 3 7

21 English-language films in India , l 5 2n. 70

Dollimore, Jonathan, Political Shake­

speare, 5 3 , l45n. 9

English literature in India , 53

193

Index

Englishman (newspaper) , 1 4 , 22, 25 ,

Forum against the Oppression of Women, 1 1 5

29 , 3 0 , 3 1 , l38n. 82 Enright, D . ] . , 59-60, 6 1 , 74 , l47n.

Four Comrades, 79-82, 94, l 54n. 1 3 , l S Sn. 22

4 1 , l 5 2n. 80 entertainment tax policy, 9 2

Frame , Seth Pestanj i (playwright and theater proprietor) , l45n. 1 8

European drama, 1 6 ; appropriation of, 87-90 European planters , 134n. 1 5

Frazer, Simon, 1 0 0 , 1 0 2 Frost, Christina Mangala , 60, 6 1 ,

European realism, l 5 5-5 6n. 24

l47n. 42

European stage , 1 2

Fugard, Athol, l 27n. 10

Europhone, 1 1

Furman, Lou , l 66n. 32

experimental drama, 76 Gaekwar, Anand Rao , 3 7 famines , 1 5 5

Gaekwar, Malhar Rao , 3 7-3 8

Fanon, Frantz , 6 1

Gaekwar Durpan (The Mirror of Baroda) , 1 9-20 , 3 5 , 3 7-3 9 ,

farce, 1 0 9 , 130 fascism, 76, 79-8 1

138n. 83

female infanticide, 1 0

gaekwar of Baroda , l39n. 93

feminism: and antialcohol agitation,

Gaiety Theatre, 130n. 36

l 64n. 13; and Dutt's The Great

Gainor , ] . Ellen, l 27n. 10

Mutiny, 1 05-7 , l 62n. 3 1 ; empow­

Gajadananda Prahasan (Gajadananda and the Prince) , 1 9 , 20, 4 1 ganapati festivals , l44n. 143

erment through street theater, 1 13- 1 9 ; and the "nationalist femi­ nist woman activist," l SSn. 5 5 ;

Gandhi , Indira , 94, l S ln. 67

resistance t o patriarchal nationalist

Gandhi , Mohandas , 80, l SSn. 55;

discourse, 1 05-7. See also women's

Dandi March, l 63-64n. 2; as

organizations

Mahatma , l S Sn. 2 1 ; and prosti­ tutes , l 63-64n. 2

Ferguson, W. H. , 3 1

feringhis, l 6 ln. 20 Filch of Bacon, The, 1 3 1

Ganpat Daangi , 48 Ganpati, 5 1

Fine Arts Theatre a t D elhi, 5 8

Ganpati Utsav, 44

folk culture, 1 7

Gargi , Balwant, 86, l 26n. 4, l 5 6nn. 3 1 , 32

folk drama, 5 , 1 5 folk theaters , 2 , l 25-26n. 9

Garib Dongari Sangathana , 1 1 3 , 1 1 7

folk traditions , 1 1 7

" Garrick o f the Hindu Stage , " 45

Forbes , Alexander, 23

gender relations : in Abbas's Zubeida, 93-94 , l SSn. 5 6 ; bhadralok's con­

Forest Awakes, The (Dutt) ,

cept of women's emancipation,

109

l 3 2n. 5 6 ; impact on theater, 1 7 ,

Forster, E . M. , 74; A Passage to India, 1 0 7 , l 5 2n. 75 , l 6 ln. 25

1 1 2- 1 3 ; implications for sati, 40, 1 0 7 , l40n. 1 03 , l 62n. 40; in IPTA,

Fort William College at Calcutta ,

93-94 , l SSn. 5 5 ; in Kathavachak's

l48n. 50 194

Index

Parivartan, l l l - 1 2 ; in mythologi­

Green, Sarah, 6 5 , l49nn. 54-5 6

cal drama , 45-46 , 50; in nationalist

Griffiths , Gareth, 146n. 22

drama in the nineteenth century,

Group Theatre (U. S.) , 88

39-43 , l l l- 1 2

Guevara, Che, l l O

genre of drama , 33-34

Guha , Ranajit, 3 , 7, 25 , 3 2 , l 26n. 6 ,

Ghataka , Ritwik, Dalil, 9 1

l 29-30n. 29 , l33n. 8 , l 3 5nn.

Ghose , Sisir Kumar, 35

30-3 2 , l3 7nn. 67, 69, l40n. 9 9 , l 60nn. 1 5 , 1 8

Ghosh, Girish Chandra, 35, 44 , 62, 9 5 , l42n. 125, l48n. 50; Bhanu­

mati Chittavilas (The Merchant of Venice) , l48n. 50; Chaitanya Lila, 14 3n. 140; Charumukha-Chittahara (Romeo and juliet) , l48n. 50; Pro­ Julia, 43 ; Ravan-Badh, 45; Sitar-Bonbash, 45; translation of julius Caesar, l48n. 50; translation of Macbeth, l48n. 50 Ghosh, Srabashi , l4ln. l l 9

Guru, The (Ivory) , l 59n. 8 haiku , 60

Halla Bol (Hashmi) , 1 1 8 Hamlet (Shakespeare) , 5 5 , 5 6 , 5 7 , 7 1 ; soliloquy adapted to oppose the Ilbert bill , l48n. 53 Hansen, Kathryn, 1 8 , l 3 ln. 5 3 , l 3 2n. 58, 1 64n. 5 Harding and Howitt (theater troupe) ,

Gilbert, Helen, l 28n. 1 8

55

Girl Is Born, The, 1 1 7

Haripada Master, 8 9

Go ethe, ] . W. von, l49n. 5 7

Harishchandra, Bharatendu , 1 0 , 1 7 , 63-6 6 , 1 1 1 , 139n. 93 , 148n. 5 1 ,

golden age : o f Hinduism, 42, 9 5 ; of Indian history, l 58n. 2; Aryan Age ,

l49n. 5 5 ; Andher Nagari, 63; Bharat Durdasha, 63 ; "Natak" (Theater) , 63 ; Durlabh Bandhu, 1 0 , 63-66; Harishchandra Chandrika, 139n. 93 ; Visaya Visamausadham,

39 Goodenough, F. A., 23

Gora (Tagore) , 80 Gorakh-Dhandha (The Comedy of Errors) , l45n. 1 8

l39n. 93

Gorki Theatre, l 63n. 4 1

Harkaru, 1 4 , 1 6 , 22, 23 , 29 , 3 0 , 33

Gorky, Maxim, l 54n. 9

Hashmi, Mala , l l 6 , 1 6 6-67n. 3 8

Gowda , Anniah, l 5 ln. 65

Hashmi, Qamar Azad, l66-67n. 38

Grant, ] . P . , 23 , 25 , 29, 3 0 , 3 1

Hashmi, Safdar, l l 8 , 166-67n. 38

Grant Road Theatre, l30n. 3 6

Hashra , Agra , l45n. 18

Great D epression, l 28n. 1 5

Hastinapur, 46

Great National Theatre, 3 5 , 43 , 9 5 ,

Hastings , Lady, l 30n. 37

l 4 l n . 1 2 1 , l42n. 1 2 5 , l 58n. 2

Great Rebellion 1 857, The (Mahavidroha) (Dutt) , l l , 96- 1 0 9 ,

Hastings , Lord, l2 Hawley, john Stratton, 1 62n. 40

Henry IV (Shakespeare) , 1 6 , l3 1n. 3 9 ,

l 6 l nn. 20 , 22, 23 , 28, l 6 2nn. 3 1-33 , 3 5-3 8; influence of Brecht,

145n. 1 7 Hindi: cinema , 7 1 ; a s national lan­

l 62n. 3 1 ; performance history, l 62n. 3 l

guage , 67 Hindi-Urdu politics, 10, 1 5 0-5 1n. 63

195

Index Hindoo Playhouse, 5 1 , l44n. l

Indian Literature, 5 9 , l44n. 5 , l47n. 33, l 50n. 59

Hindu College , 1 6 , 5 6 , l 28n. 20, l45n. 17

Indian People's Theatre Association

Hindu-Muslim dissension, l43-44n.

(IPTA) , 8, 1 0 , 5 8 , 76-94, 9 5 , l l l , 1 1 3 , l 28n. 1 5 , l 53nn. 2 , 8 , l 54n.

143 Hindu-Muslim unity, l 53n. 8

1 2 , l 5 5n. 22, l 5 6nn. 24 , 3 6 , l 66n.

Hindu Patriot, 4 1 , l34n. 24

28; All-India Peace Conference of

Hindustani , 1 0 , 3 3 ; theater, 43 ; trans-

1952, l 5 7n. 47; Eighth National

lations of Shakespeare , l45n. 1 8

Conference, 90

Hindu Theatre, 1 5 , 1 6

"Indian Shakespeare," 66

Hiranakashyap , 45

Indian textiles, 1 0 l

historical drama , 95

India Office, 3 9

"history from below, " 2

indigo : A c t X I of 1 860, 23-24 ; Bengal Indigo Company, 23 ; blue mutiny,

History of British India (Mill) , l49n.

23 ; factories , 22; Indigo Bill, l 34n.

57

1 9 ; Indigo Commission, 24 , 27,

Hitler, Adolf, 79 , l 63n. 48 Hobhouse , Mr. (colonial official) , 7

l34n. 24; Indigo Planters' Asso cia­

Holder, Heidi ] . , l 6 ln. 27

tion, 23 ; plantations , l , 40;

Homer, 44 , l 6 ln. 25

planters , 22-3 5 ; revolt, 1859-60 , l ,

How U ournal) , 165

22-3 5 ; system, 23 , l 34n. l 7

humanism, as attribute of Shake­ speare's plays , 54

Indo-Pakistan war o f 1 948, 9 1 industrial revolution, 5 9 , 102

Humbolt, l49n. 5 7

interludes , 109

hybrid theater, 1 8

International Association of Writers for the Defence of Culture against Fascism , l53-54n. 9

Iago , 1 6 Ibsen, Henrik, 8 7 , 9 0

International Women's Year, l 64n.

Ilbert bill, 6 4 , l48n. 5 3

Illus trated Weekly of India, l 66n. 28

13 IPT A. See Indian People's Theatre Asso ciation

"imagined communities ," 5 Imogen, 5 2

Ishwar Bhakti (Kathavachak) , 48,

Imperial Company, 5 5 , l45n. 1 8

49

India A c t of 1853 , 5 4

Islam , Shamsul, 1 1 6

India Gazette, l 3

Ivory, james , 68, 6 9 , 73 , l 5 ln. 6 9 ,

Indian Council of Cultural Affairs ,

l 5 2n. 70, l 59n. 8 ; The Gum, l 59n.

l47n. 38

8 ; Shakespeare Wallah, 52, 68-75 ,

Indian Educational Act of 1 83 5 , 53

Indian Express, l 66n. 35 Indian Field, 23 , l 34nn. 2 1-23 , l 3 7n.

l 5 ln. 6 9 , l 5 9n. 8 Iyengar, Srinivasa K. R. , 5 8 , 6 1 , l47n. 33

6 1 , l38n. 8 1

Indian journal of Youth Affairs,

]adoo Ki Kursi (Sahni) , 54, 9 1 , l 54n. 12

l 64n. 1 2

196

Index jaffri , Ali Sardar, Yeh Kis Kaa Khoon

Hai ? 85

Kathakali, 58 Kathavacha , Radheyshyam, 1 0 , 1 1 1 ,

jagori, 1 1 3

1 1 3 , 142nn. 1 2 9 , 1 3 2 , 143n. 1 3 7 ,

jahan, Rasheed, 78

1 63n. 1 , 1 64n. 4; Bhakta Prahlad,

jallianwalabagh (Dutt) , 109

45 , 48, 49 ; Ishwar Bhakti, 48, 49;

]ana Natya Manch (or janam; Birth) ,

Mera Natak Kaal, 1 64n. 4; Parivar­ tan, 1 63n. 1 ; Vir Abhimanyu,

1 1 6 , 1 66n. 27

45-5 0 , 142n. 1 29

Japanese aggression on Southeast Asia , 79

jatra (folk theater) , 3, 1 7 , 20, 48, 5 5 , 68, 7 7 , 78 , 87, 89, 1 0 0 , 1 0 9 , 1 26n.

Kayastha caste , 1 28 , 1 34n. 1 5 Kaye , john, 1 60n. 1 7 Kendal, Geoffrey, 6 9 , 88; The Shake­

4; censorship of, 14 2-4 3n. 134

speare Wallah, 146n. 27

jeffrey, Herman, 1 6

Kendal, Laura , 69

jessie Brown (Boucicault) , 1 03 , 1 6 1n.

Kesari (vernacular newspap er) , 146n.

26 jha, Prabhakara , 62, 144n. 8, 146n. 19, 148n. 47

20 Khadilkar, Kichakvadh, 46

Khune Nahaq (Hamlet) , 146n. 18

jhabwala , Ruth Prawar , 6 9 , 1 5 2n. 70

Kichak , 46

j oint authorship , 93

Kichakvadh (Khadilkar) , 46

jones, William, 66, 136n. 34,

Kidderpore Theatre, 1 2

149n. 5 7 , Joshi, Rama , 1 62n. 3 4

King, Christopher, 1 5 1n. 63

King and the Miller, The, 1 6

jubilee Company, Delhi, 145n. 1 8

Kipling, Rudyard, 74

julius Caesar (Shakespeare) , 1 5 , 1 6 ,

Kirpan (Dutt) , 109

5 5 , 5 7 , 148n. 50

Kisan Sabha , 8 5 , 1 53n. 7 Kisan Union, 1 53n. 8

kabuki, 60

Kishnagur Mission, 26

Kali, 6

Kling, Blair , 134n. 1 5 , 1 3 7n. 68, 138nn. 80, 8 2

Kalidasa, Shakuntala, 66, 1 5 7n. 49

Kalidasa and Shakespeare: A Parallel (N arasimhan) , 66

Kali Nagin (Antony and Cleopatra) , 146n. 1 8

Koteswaramma , Kondapalli , 78 Krishna, Lord, 44 , 46 Krishnan, Prabha , 1 64n. 1 2 , 1 65n. 1 6 Krisnamacharya , R. , Vasanti Karvan-

Kallal (Dutt) , 1 0 9

pana (A Midsummer Night's Dream) , 1 50n. 6 1

Kamgar Maidan, 77 Kani, john, l 27n. 10

Kumar , Radha , 1 58n. 5 5 , 1 63n. 2 , 1 64n. 1 3 , 1 65n. 1 7

Kanwar, Roop (sati) , 1 62n. 40 Kapoor, Anuradha, 1 1 5- 1 6

Kumari , Ranj ana, 1 1 4 , 1 64n. 1 1 , 1 65n. 23

Karnad, Girish, Tughlaq, 1 26n. 7 , 1 59n. 3 Kashi Nagri Natak Mandali (theater troupe) , 63

Laghu-Kavya, passages from As You Like It in, 1 50n. 6 1 197

Index

Lahore Chronicle, 24 , 25 , 29, 3 3 , 133n. 9 , 13 5n. 26, 13 7nn. 5 6 , 63 Lakshman, 44 Lal , Laxminarayan, 143nn. 1 3 6 , 1 4 1 -42 Lalita , K. , 1 54n. 1 1 , 1 5 7n. 5 1 , 1 58n. 53, 1 64n. 7 Lalit Kala Akademy, 9 2 , 14 7n. 38

Macbeth (Shakesp eare) , 5 5 , 58, 68 Macmillan's, 5 1 , 144n. 1 Madhuri, 50 Madras Times, 33, l33n. 1 0 Mahabharata, 2 1 , 44 , 4 5 , 46, 5 0 , 9 2 Mahal, Zeenat, 1 0 0 , 106 Mahaprabhu , Chaitanya , 44

Maharashtra ]iban Prabhat (historical drama) , 1 59n. 2

Lamb , Charles , Tales from Shake­

speare, as Shakespeare-Nataka­ Kathavali, 1 50n. 6 1 Landholders and Commercial Asso ciation, 3 1 , l 3 7n. 64

Mahavidroha. See The Great Rebellion 1 857 (Mahavidroha) Mahesh ( Chattopadhyay) , 89 Mahila Dakshata Samiti ( Committee for Women's Empowerment) ,

Lang, Matheson, 5 5

1 64-65n. 1 5

Laxmibai, Rani , 105 , 106 Lebedeff, Heresim , 12 Lebra-Chapman, ] oyce, The Rani of

]hansi, 1 6 1n. 29

Main Kaun Hoon ? (Abbas) , 9 1 Maj umdar, R . C . , 1 60nn. 1 5 , 1 6 Malraux, Andre, 1 54n. 9

Lee, Kyong-won, 5 , 1 28n. 19

Mandelbaum , David, 141n. 1 1 1

Left Front movement, 1 54n. 14

Mani, Lata , 140n. 1 03

legitimate history, 8

Mann, Thomas, 1 54n. 9

legitimation, 53

Manuel, H. H . , 32

Lenin, V. I . , 1 63n. 48

Manusher Adhikarney (Dutt) , 1 63n.

Liddle , Joanna , 1 62n. 34 Light of India Company (Parsi theater) , 145n. 1 8

48

Manus hi (feminist j ournal) , 1 1 5 Mao Tse-Tung, 1 63n. 48

Lincke , Rev. ] . C . , 29

Marathi drama, l30n. 34

Littledale, Harold, 144n. 1-4

marginalized groups , 4

Little Theatre Groups, 5 8 , 77, 95

Marshall , Norman , 5 6 , 146nn. 25 ,

London Missionary Society, l33n. 12 Long, Rev. james (missionary) , 9 , 2 1 ,

28 Marx, Karl , 96-9 7 , 1 1 0 , 1 59n. 1 0 , 1 6 1n. 2 l

22, 24 , 27, 28, 3 0 , 3 1 , 3 3 , 34, 3 5 , 133n. 1 2 , 1 3 5-36n. 34, 1 3 8n. 82.

Masks of Conquest (Vishwanathan) , 53

See also Nil Darpan Long, Robert Emmet, 1 5 2n. 98 Loomba, Ania , 5 8 , 144n. 8 , 146n. 24 , 147nn. 3 6-3 7

Mathur, Anj ali, 1 66n. 34 McCarthy era , l 28n. 1 5 Mc Clinto ck, Anne, 9 7 , 1 60n. 1 4

Love is the Best Doctor, 1 2

melodrama , 1 2 , 4 0 , 1 0 3 , 1 0 9 , 140n.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 5 6 ;

Menon, Meena , 1 66n. 34

102, 1 6 1n. 27 Minute on Indian Education, 146n.

Mera Natak Kaal (Kathavachak) , 1 64n. 4

22

198

Index Merchant, lsmael, 68, 6 9 , 70, 1 5 1n. 69

Moliere , 33 morality, as attribute of Shakespeare's

Merchant-Ivory Films , 52, 74, 1 5 1n. 69

Merchant of Venice, The (Shake­ speare) , 1 6 , 5 5 , 5 7 , 5 8 , 64, 80 ,

plays , 54 Moturi, Udayam, 78 Moyra , Lord, l30n. 3 7

Much Ado about Nothing (Shake­

145n. 1 7 , 148n. 50

Merry Wives of Windsor, The (Shake­ speare) , 5 5

speare) , 5 6 Mughal, Prince Mirza, 1 0 0 Muharram (Muslim festival) , 144n.

Metropolitan Academy, 1 6 , 145n. 1 7

143 , 1 5 2n. 73 Mukherj e e , Meenakshi , 1 28n. 14

Meyerhold, Vsevolod, 1 5 5n. 1 4

Muller, Max, 40

Mhapsekar, jyoti, 1 1 7

Musical Lady, 1 3 1n. 3 9

Midsummer Night's Dream, A (Shake­ speare) , as Vasanti Karvanpana

Muslim League , 70, 1 5 2n. 73

(Krisnamacharya) , 1 5 0n. 6 1 Mill, ] ames , History of British India, 149n. 5 7 Milton, john, 44 Minerva Theatre, 4 5 , 148n. 50

muslin, 1 0 1 Mussolini , Benito , 79 mutiny, 1 8 5 7 , 1 , 8, 24 , 9 6- 1 0 5 , 1 60-6 1 nn. 20, 25. S e e also The Great Rebellion 1 857 My Story and My Life as an Actress (DasO , 1 25n. 3 , 141n. 1 1 9

Minute on Indian Education (Macaulay) , 146n. 22

mythological drama, 5 , 9 , 2 1 , 45 , 48,

Mir , Tito o , 30

49 , 1 1 1 , 1 43n. 140; censorship and

Miranda House, 59

protest, 43-5 0; consequences for

Minor of Baroda, The. See Gaekwar Durpan

theater , 49-5 0; and Hindu nation­ alism, 50; and women, 50; plays :

Abhimanyu-Badh, 142n. 1 28 ; Bhakta Prahlad, 45 , 48, 49; Dhrub Charitra, 14 2n. 1 28 ; Ishwar Bhakti, 48, 49; Lakshman Barjan, 142n. 1 28 ; Nala-Damayanti, 142n. 1 28 ; Ramer Banbash, 142 n . 1 28 ; Sita Haran, 142n. 1 28 ; Sitar-Bibaha, 142n. 1 28 ; Vir Abhimanyu, 45-48,

Mishra , j . P . , 65 , 6 7 , 144n. 6 , 145-46nn. 1 8 , 2 1 , 148n. 5 2 , 1 5 1n. 64 Mishra , Vij ay, Bollywood Cinema, l40n. 102 missionary activity, 2 1-3 2 Mistry, Cyrus, 1 59n. 3 Mitra, Dinabandhu , 1 , 2 1 , 25 , 90, 1 1 1 , 1 25n. 2 , 133nn. 7 , 8 , 1 34n.

49 , 5 0 , 142n. 1 29

1 6 , l35n. 25, l 3 6n. 43 . See also Nil

Darpan Mitra, Shombhu , 78

Nabanna (Bhattacaryara) , 77, 83 Nai Dhara, 146n. 29

Modem Drama, 60

Naidu , Saroj ini, 49

modernism, 58, 92

Nala-Damayanti (mythological drama) , 1 42n. 1 28

Mofakeng , Zakes , 1 27n. 1 0 Mojica, Monique, 1 27n. 1 0

Narain, Virendra, 146

199

Index Narasimhaiah, C. D . , Shakespeare

nostalgia , 5 3 , 68

Came to India, 5 9 , 14 7n. 39 Narasimhan, N. A . , Kalidasa and Shakespeare: A Parallel, 66

Nothing Superfluous, 1 5

"Natak" (Harishchandra) , 63

Ntshona , Winston, l 27n. 1 0

N ovelty Theatre, 130n. 3 6 N owra , Louis , l 27n. 1 0

National Library at Calcutta , 59

National Review, l 3 7n. 60

Odets , Clifford, Waiting for Lefty, 8 8

national theaters , 9 6

O'Dwyer , Sir Michael, 1 0 9

National Theatre (Banaras) , 6 3

Old Play House, 130n. 3 5

National Theatre. See Great National

Om Swaha (Theatre Union) , 1 1 5- 1 6 ,

Theatre

l 65n. 1 8

Native Theatre, 1 5

opera , 1 0 9

nautanki (folk theater) , 2 , 1 8 , l48n.

Oriental Academy, l 4 5 n . 1 7

5 1 , l 64n. 5

orientalism , 3 3 , 3 9 , 60, 6 1 , l46n. 3 0 ,

Nawab Sirajuddaulah of Bengal, 1 2 Naxalites : Naxalbari, 1 1 0 ,

l 50n. 5 7 Oriental Seminary, 1 6

l 60nn. l 2- 1 3 ; Naxalite movement,

Oriental Theatre, 1 6 , l 7

9 6-9 7 , 1 0 8 , 1 1 0

Original Theatrical Company, l45n.

N ehru , jawaharlal, 5 8 , 9 1 , l 54n. 9 , l 64n. 7

18 Orwell , George, Burmese Days, l 5 2n.

N ehru , Motilal, 49 N eogi, Bhibhan Mohan, l4ln. 1 2 1

75

Othello (Shakesp eare) , 1 3 , 1 6 , 5 5 , 5 6 ,

N ew Alfred Company, 5 0 , l45n. 1 8

5 7 , 58, 5 9 , 6 1 , l30n. 3 8 , l45n. 1 7 ;

N ew Alfred Natak Company (Bom-

i n Hindustani a s Shaheede Vafa,

bay) , 1 1 1 , 1 1 3 ; a typical stage ,

l46n. 1 8 ; in Sanskrit as

l43n. 139

Uddalkacarita (Verma) , l 5 0n. 6 1

N ew Criticism, 58, 92

New Harvest (Bhattacaryara) . See Nabanna

Pal, Pannu , Chargesheet, 9 1

N ew Play House, 130n. 35

Panchkowrie Khan, 33

New York Daily Tribune, 9 6

Pandavas , 46

Pakistan, 96

N ew York Film Festival, l 5 ln. 6 9

Pandey, Gyan, l 5 5n. 1 6

Nicholson, General, 1 0 1

Pandhe, Pramila , l33n. 8 , 138n. 83 , 139n. 88

Nil Darpan (The Indigo Mirror) (Mitra) , 2 , 8 , 9 , 1 9 , 20, 2 1 -3 5 , 3 8 ,

Panj abi drama , l 27n. 1 0

3 9 , 90, 1 1 1 , 1 1 8 , l 25n. 2 ,

Panj akush, Mian Muhammad Amin Khan, 1 0 0 , 102

l 3 2-33n. 7 , l 3 3 n . 1 1 , l3 5n. 25 , l40n. 99 Niranj ana, Tej aswini , l49n. 5 7

pantomime, 1 23

Parivartan (Kathavachak) , 1 1 1 - 1 2 , l 63n. l

Nishant (Dawn) , 1 1 6 nonviolence, 8 1

Parry, Benita , 1 1 , 1 30n. 3 1

Northbrooke, Lord, 3 7 , 39

Parsi theaters , 1 0 , 48, 5 0 , 54; Alexan200

Index dria Company, 145n. 1 8 ; Alfred

Prince of Wales Theatre, l30n. 3 6

Theatrical Company, 145n. 1 8 ;

print capitalism, 1 27n. 1 2 7

Imp erial Company, 5 5 ; Light o f

print culture , 4

India Company, 145n. 1 8 ; Farsi

Private Subscription Theatre, 1 2

Theatrical Company, 145n. 1 8 ;

Profulla (Ghosh) , 43

Victoria Natak Mandali , 5 5 ; Vyakul

Progressive Organization of Women

Bharat Company, 145n. 1 8 Farsi Theatrical Company, 145n. 1 8

in Hyderabad, 1 65n. 1 6 Progressive Writers' Union, 7 8 , 88, 1 53n. 9

partition ( 1 947) , 70, 79 , 90, 1 5 2n. 73

Passage to India, A (Forster) , 1 5 2n. 75 , 1 6 1n. 2 5 ,

pathnatika, 1 0 0 pativrat-dharam (devotion t o the hus­ band) , 4 1 People's Little Theatre (Dutt) , 1 0 7 ,

Proletcult Theatre, 1 54n. 14 provincial IPTA squads , 9 1 puppetry, 84 puppet theater , 5

puranas, 60 Purohit, Gopinath, Venice ka Vyapari,

1 59n. 4 people's struggle, 76

64 Pym , john, 1 5 1n. 69, 1 5 2nn. 70-73 ,

"people's theatre , " 3 , 79 , 84, 9 1 ,

76-77 , 79

1 53n. 8 Perry, Sir E . , 62

questions of viewership and audi­

Peterson, Kirsten Holst, l 26n. 7 Phayre, Col. , 3 7

ence, 77 Quit India movement, 77, 79-80,

Plato , Republic, 3 Political Shakespeare (Dollimore) , 5 2 popular songs , 1 1 7

1 5 5n. 16 Rabindra Sadan, 1 62n. 41

popular theater, 1 7 , 85

Raghavan, V. , 66, 1 5 0nn. 5 9 , 62

postcoloniality and theater, 1-8

Raha , Kironmoy, l 26n. 4 , 1 59n. 4

postcolonial revisionism, 1 28n. 1 9

Rairkar, Hema , 1 1 7 , 1 66n. 3 1

Powell, Avril, l36n. 3 7

Raj nostalgia , 75

Pradhan, Sudhi , l35n. 2 5 , 1 53n. 3 ,

Rajput ]iban Sandhya (historical drama) , 1 5 8-5 9n. 2

1 54n. 1 3 , 1 5 6nn. 29 , 3 3 , 1 5 7nn. 48-50

Rama, 44

Prahlad, 44 , 45

Ramakrishna Mission, 44

Prarthna Samaj (so cial reform organi-

Ramayana, 2 1 , 4 1 , 44 , 45 , 60, 66,

zation) , l 3 1n. 50 Prasad, Madhu , 1 66n. 38

1 26n. 4 , 143n. 139

Ramer Banbash (mythological drama) , 142n. 1 28

Prasad, Vij ay, 1 67n. 38 Prasanna , R. P . , 94

ramlila, 2, 45 , 1 26n. 4

Prema , S . , 146n. 3 1

Rani, Sheela , 1 1 7

Premchand, 5 0 , 1 54n. 9

Rao , Amiya , 2 1 , l32n. 7

Press Act (of 1 9 1 0) , 20, 5 5 , l32n. 6

Rao , B. G . , 2 1 , l32n. 7

Prince of Wales , 20

Rao , Malhar, 20 20 1

Index Rao , Maya , 1 1 5

Sahridaya (magazine) , 6 6

rasa, 47, l42n. 1 3 1 raslila, 45

Said, Edward, 60, 9 9 , l 60n. 1 8 ; Cul­

ture and Imperialism, l 27n. l l , l47n. 43

Ratan Chand, Munshi , Venice Nagar

ha Vyapari, 64 Ravan-Badh (Ghosh) , 45

Salmarkar , T. K . : Dada, 84; Dhani, 85

Sambad Prabhahar (j ournal) , 1 6 ,

Ray , M. K. , l39n. 89 Ray , Rabindra, l 59n. l l

l39n. 84 Sambhaji, 52

Ray , Satyaj it, l 5 ln. 69

Samudaya (community theater) , 94

realism , 73 , 83 , 85

Sangam Theatre, 50

Renaissance, 59, 60

Sangeet Natak Akademy, 9 2 , l47n. 38

resistance struggles , 9 7

Resistance Theory: Theorizing Resis­ tance (Parry) , 1 1 Richard III (Shakesp eare) , 5 5 , l 3 ln. 39

Sanskrit: adaptations of Shakespeare, l 50n. 6 1 ; drama, 5 1 ; poetics , l49n. 57 Sanskrit College , 1 6

Rig-Veda , 92

Sanskritized Hindi , 1 0

Rip on, George, 64

Sans Souci Theatre, 1 2 , 6 1

Roar China, 79-82, l 54n. 12, l 5 5nn.

Santal rebellion, 1 0 8

14- 1 5 Rolland, Romain, l 54n. 9

Sarasvati (Hindi j ournal) , 1 0 , 67 Saraswati, Dayanand (social reformer) , 40, 44

Rome, 52

Romeo and juliet (Shakespeare) , 14,

Sarkar, Sumit, 2, l 26n. 5 , l 28n. 20,

5 5 , 5 7 , 72, l48n. 50

l42nn. 1 23-24 , l43n. 143 , l 50n.

Roy, P. C . , 1 54 Roy, Raj a Rammohan (so cial reformer) , 40, l3 ln. 5 0 , l40n. 1 03

63 , l 5 5n. 23 , l 5 7n. 43 Sathe , Anna Bhau , 78, 9 1 , l 5 7n. 49 sati, 1 0 , 40, 1 0 7 , 1 1 6 , l40n. 1 03 , l 62n. 40

Royal Asiatic Society, 6 Rutherford, Anna , l 26n. 7

Saturday Review, 34, l38nn. 77-79

Ryan, Sir Edward, 1 5

Schiller, ] . C. F . , l49n. 5 7

ryots (peasants) , 22-3 5 , l 34n. 1 6

Schurr , Rev. F . , 2 6

ryot's coercion act (Act XI of 1 860) ,

Scrampickal , jacob , l 5 8n. 5 7 , l 67n. 39

23 , l 34n. 20

Seal, Anil , l48n. 49

Safed Khun (King Lear) , l46n. 1 8

Section 1 76 of Indian Penal Code,

Saheli (Friend) , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 1 7

89

Sahitya Akademy, 5 9 , l47n. 38

Sen, Amartya K. , l 5 5n. 23

SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial

Sen, Surendra Nath, l 6 ln. 24

Trust) , l66-67n. 38 Sahni , Balraj , 78, 90, 9 1 , l 58n. 5 3 ;

Sen Gupta, Sankar, l 25n. 2 Sepoy mutiny. See mutiny, 1 8 5 7

autobiography, l 5 7n. 44; ]adoo Ki

Seton-Karr , W. S . , 24 , 3 0 , 3 1

Kursi, 9 1 , l 54n. 1 2

settler colonies , l 3 7n. 66 202

Index Sharma, Pratap , l 59n. 3

Shah, Bahadur. See Bahadur Shah Zafar

Sharma, Tripurari, l 65n. 26 Sharp e , Jenny, 1 0 7 , l 6 ln. 25

Shaheede Vaja (Othello) , l46n. 1 8

Shatabdi ( Century) , l 66n. 29

Shakesp eare , William, 9 , 1 0 , 1 6 , 9 0 , 130n. 3 9 , l 6 ln. 25; and femininity,

Shohat, Ella , 7 1 , l 5 2n. 74

l 50n. 60; and Hindi drama , 63-66;

Shore , Sir John, l 2

and Hindu identity, 65-67; and

Shudraka , 9 2

Hindu literature, 66-67 ; Hindus­

Siddiqua, Begum Sevharvi , 78

tani translations , l45n. 1 8 ; impact

signification, 53

on local companies , l45-46n. 1 8 ;

silence, 8

and imperial nostalgia (in Shake­

Sinfield, Alan, l45n. 9

speare Wallah) , 68-75; imperish­

Singh, Jyo tsna , 6 1 , l44n. 8 , l46n. 26, l47n. 46

able empire of, 5 9 ; and the politics of representation, 53-62; reception

Singh, Pankaj K. , l 27n. 10

of, l44n. 8 ; Sanskrit versions ,

Singh, Ranvir , l43n. 134

l 50n. 6 1 ; Shakespeare Overseas,

Singh, Thakur Dayal , Venice ka

52, 59, 14 7n. 4 1 ; singularity, 5 2 ,

Saudagar, 64

l44n. 7; as a n unchanging and

Singh, Udham , 109

timeless icon, 60; vernacular

singularity, of Shakespeare, 52

appropriations of, 5 1-5 2 , 62-68.

Sinha , Kali Prasanna , 138n. 80

See also individual plays

Siraj-ud-daula (historical drama) , l 59n. 2

Shakesp eareana (theater company) , 5 7 , 69, 88

Sircar , Badal, 1 1 7 , l 58n. l ; Shatabdi (theater group) , l 66n. 29

Shakespearean Tragedy (Bradley) , l47n. 34

Shakespeare Came to India (N arasimhaiah) , 59

Shakespeare-Nataka-Kathavali (Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare) ,

Sisson, C . ] . , 54, l45n. 1 6 Sita , 44

Sita Haran (mythological drama) , l42n. 1 28

Sitar-Bibaha (mythological drama) , l42n. 1 28

l 50n. 6 1

Shakespeare Quarterly, l46n. 34

Sitar-Bonbash ( Ghosh) , 45

Shakesp eare Theatrical Company,

Slemon, Stephen, l 26n. 7

145

Shakespeare Wallah (Merchant-Ivory) , 52, 68-75 ,

Smith, Karen, l 59n. 3 so cial realism, 85 , 93 so cial reform organizations : Arya Samaj , 1 7 , 13 ln. 50; Brahmo

l 5 l-5 2nn. 6 9 , 7 1 , l 59n. 8

Samaj , 1 7 , 13 ln. 50; Prarthana

Shakespeare Wallah, The (Kendal) ,

Samaj , l3 ln. 50; Ved Samaj , l 3 ln.

l46n. 27

50

Shakuntala (Kalidasa) , l49n. 57, l 5 7n. 49 Sharma, Gokul Chand , Venice ka

Social Trap, 1 1 7 Solomon, Rakesh, 4 6 , l 27n. 1 0 , l42n. 1 3 0 , l 58n. l

Banka, 64 203

Index Somerset, Fiona , 1 5 1n. 63

Sutradhar, Mohon Gour, 143n. 134

Sam Prakash, 27, l38n. 82, 139n. 84

sutradhara (stage manager) , 5 1

Soviet Shock Troup es , 88

Swadeshi movement, 5 5

Soviet theaters , 77

Sword and the Flute, The, 1 5 2n. 70

Soyinka , Wole , 1 27n. 1 0 spectatorship , 7 l

Tagore , Dwarkanath, l3

Spivak, Gayatri, 3 , 1 26n. 8 , 1 60n. 1 8

Tagore , Jyotindra Nath, 148n. 50

Sribalacarita (Cymbeline) , 1 50n. 6 1

Tagore , Prasanna Kumar, 15

Srinivasan, Amrit, 1 64n. 6

Tagore , Rabindranath, 6 7 , 8 9 , 1 54n.

Stalin, josef, 1 63n. 48

9; Bisarjan, 89; Gora, 89 Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb) , 1 50n.

Starn, Robert, 7 1 , 1 5 2n. 74

61

Stanislavsky, Konstantin, 1 5 6n. 24 Star Theatre, 43 , 45 , 143n. 140

tamasha (folk theater) , 2 , 77, 89, 1 26n. 4

Statesman, 43 Stokes , Eric , 1 60n. 15

Taming of the Shrew, The (Shake­

Stowe , Harriet Beecher , Uncle Tom's

Cabin, 33 Stree Mukti Sanghathan (Women's Liberation Movement) , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 Stree Sangharsh (Women's Struggle) ,

speare) , 56 Tanvir, Habib , 1 1 7 , 1 66n. 28

Tara (Marathi adaptation of Cymbe­ line) , 5 1-5 2 Taylor, Gary, 54, 144n. 7, 145nn.

1 15 Stree Shakti Sangathan (Organization for Women's Power) , 1 1 5 strolling players in China , 77 St. Xavier's College, l30n. 38 subaltern groups, 3, 8, 10, 95, 9 7 , 99, 105, 108, 1 26n. 8 , 1 29n. 29 subaltern studies , 1 26n. 8; method­ ological concerns , 1 29-JOn. 29 Subhadra , 44

13-14 tea plantations , 36

Tea Planters' Mirror ( Chattopadhyay) . See Chakar Durpan Teener Talwor (Dutt) , 1 63n. 46 Teer (Dutt) , 109 Telangana , 108

Tempest, The (Shakespeare) , 148n. 50 Temple, Sir Richard, 3 8 Tharu , Susie , 1 54n. 1 1 , 1 5 7n. 5 7 , 1 58n. 53-54, 1 64n. 7

subordinated groups. See subaltern groups

Sultan and the Upholsterer, 13 1n. 39 Sunday Mirror, 141n. 1 1 0 Sunday Standard, 1 66n. 30

theater censorship in India. See cen­ sorship of drama Theatre Guild (U . S . ) , 1 54n. 14 "theatre on wheels" (Tanvir) , 1 66n.

Sunder Raj an, Raj eshwari, 5 7 , 146n. 3 0 , 1 62n. 40 Supreme Court at Calcutta , 32

28 Theatre Union, 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 1 6 ; Dafa

Survij ai Company, 145n. 1 8

1 80, 1 1 6 , Om Swaha, 1 1 5- 1 6 Thiong'o , Ngugi W a , 3 ; Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Theatre, l 26n. 9

Surya Shikar (Dutt) , 1 63n. 4 6

"third theatre" (Sircar) , 1 66n. 29

Surendra-Binodini (Das) , 1 9 , 20, 3 9 , 42, 1 4 1 n . 1 2 1

204

Index

36 Chowringhee Lane, 68

Vaidya , P. L. , Vijaiyini, 1 5 0n. 6 1

Tiffin, Helen, 146n. 22

Vaisya caste , l 28n. 20

Tilak , Bal Gangadhar, 5 5 , 144n. 143

Valmiki, 44

Tilak Festivals , 95

van Erven, Eugene, 1 1 6 , l 27n. 1 0 , 1 58n. 5 7 , 1 65n. 20

Times Literary Supplement, 5 9 , 147n. 41 Tombs , Maj or , 100

Vasanti Karvanpana (A Midsummer Night's Dream) (Krisnamacharya) , 1 50n. 6 1

Tompkins , Joanne , 1 27n. 1 0 , 1 28n. 18

Tota (Dutt) , 107

Vasudev, Prithipal, 1 59n. 3 Ved Samaj (social reform organiza­ tion) , l3 1n. 50

Trade Union Movement, 84 tragedy, 109

Tragedy of Mahomet, 1 3 1n. 3 9 Tragedy of Venice Preserved, l3 1n. 39 tragicomedy, 14 transcendentalism, 52, 54 translations as surveillance, l35n. 34 traveling theater , 83 , 94. See also Indian People's Theatre Asso cia­ tion

Venice ka Banka (The Merchant of Venice) (Sharma) , 64 Venice ka Saudagar (The Merchant of Venice) (Singh) , 64 Venice ka Vyapari (The Merchant of Venice) ( 1 882) , 64 Venice ka Vyapari (The Merchant of Venice) (Purohit) , 64 Venice Nagar ka Vyapari (The Mer­ chant of Venice) (Ratan Chand) , 64

Tretiakov, Sergei Mikhailovich, The

Cockchafer, 1 54- SSn. 14

Verma , Babulal , 89

Trevelyan, Charles , 5 6 , l38n. 82

Verma , Lal Bahadur, 1 6 5n. 26

Trivedi, Harish, 14 7n. 44

Verma , Raj araj a , Uddalkacarita (Oth-

Tughlaq (Karnad) , 1 26n. 7 , 1 59n. 3 Turrufdar, Seetul, 30

ello) , 1 50n. 1 6 vernacular languages , 5 , 2 6 ; drama in,

Twelfth Night (Shakespeare) , 56; as Bhul Bhulaiyan, 146n. 18

34; literature, 26, l38n. 80; news­ papers , 146n. 20; Shakespeare , 9 Vernacular Literature Society, 26

Uddalkacarita (Othello) (Verma) , 1 50n. 6 1 uncivilized, native drama as , 7

Vernacular Press Act of 1879, 63 Victoria , Queen, 25 , 149n. 55 Victoria Natak Mandali (theater troupe) , 5 5

Uncle Tom's Cabin (Stowe) , 33 UNICEF, 1 5 1

Victoria Theatrical Company (D elhi) , 145n. 1 8

Unique Theatre, 45

Unity, 9 1 , 1 5 6n. 33

Vidyabhusha , Dwarkanath, 32

universalist metaphysic, 92

Vijaiyini (Vaidya) , 1 50n. 61

universality, of Shakespeare's plays ,

Vimo chana (Redemption) , 1 1 5

5 2 , 59

Vir Abhimanyu (Kathavachak) ,

Upanishads , 92

Uttar Ram Charita, 15

45-48 , 49 , 5 0 , 142n. 1 29 Virgil, 44 , 1 6 1n. 25 205

Index tee for Women's Empowerment) ,

Vishwanathan, Gauri, Masks of Con­

quest, 5 3 , 54, 145n. 1 1

1 64-65n. 1 5 ; Progressive Organi­

Vivekanand, Swami (so cial reformer) ,

zation of Women in Hyderabad,

40, 44

1 65n. 16; Saheli (Friend) , 1 1 3 ,

Voice of Bengal (festival) , 43

1 1 5 , 1 1 7 ; Stree Mukti Sanghathan

Vyakul Bharat Company (Farsi the­

(Women's Liberation Movement) ,

ater) , 145n. 1 8

1 13 , 1 1 7 ; Stree Sangharsh

Vyasa, 44

(Women's Struggle) , 1 1 5 ; Stree Shakti Sangathan ( Organization for

Waiting for Lefty (Odets) , 88

Women's Power) , 1 1 5 ; Theatre

Walcott, Derek, l 27n. 1 0

Union, 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 1 6 ; Vimo chana

Wallerstein, Immanuel, 77, 1 53n. 6

(Redemption) , 1 1 5

Watermans Art Center, 1 5 1n. 68

women's street theater, 8, 1 1 3- 1 9

Watson, Nicholas , 1 5 1n. 63

workers' exploitation, 7 9

weaving industry, 1 0 1

Workers' Theatre movements i n the 1 930s, l 28n. 1 5

Week, The, 1 66n. 3 3

Works Progress Administration the­

Weekly, Allan, 5 5 well-made play, 83

ater proj ect, 77

Wells , Henry, 1 5 1n. 65

World War II, 69

Wells , Mordaunt Lawson, 35, l38n.

Wright, Arnold, 148n. 53

82 Wheeler Palace Theatre, 1 2

Yajurveda , 92

When Hamlet Came to Mizoram

yatra (folk theater) . See jatra Yeh Kis Kaa Khoon Hai ? Qaffri) ,

(film) , 68 White, Hayden, l 28n. 12

85

Williams , Patrick , 1 27 , 1 60n. 14

You Made Me a Communist, 89, 9 1

Wilson, Brigadier Archdale, 100

Youth Cultural Institute, 79

Wilson, Horace Hyman, 15, 6 6 , 1 5 0n.

Yudhishtar, 44

58

Yugantar (vernacular newspaper) ,

wisdom, as attribute of Shakespeare's

146n. 20

works , 54, 59 Wise, ] . P . , 23

Zafar, Bahadur Shah. See Bahadur

women's organizations: Forum

Shah Zafar

against the Oppression of Women

Zaheer , Razia Sajj ad, 89

in Bombay, 1 1 5 ; Garib Dongari

zemindars (landlords) , 98, l38n. 80

Sangha than, 1 1 3 , 1 1 7; Jagori, 1 13 ;

Zenana , 1 7 , 13 1n. 52

Mahila Dakshata Samiti ( Commit-

Zubeida (Abbas) , 1 5 7n. 53, 1 58n. 56

206