BJP leaders stall Tanveer’s play again, can’t agree why

After a performance of Ponga Pandit by Habeeb Tanveer’s Naya Theatre group was called off last night in Hoshangabad due to protests led...

After a performance of Ponga Pandit by Habeeb Tanveer’s Naya Theatre group was called off last night in Hoshangabad due to protests led by BJP MLA from Itarsi Sitasharan Sharma, the performance scheduled for today in Narsinghpur has also been cancelled. Surprisingly, despite opposing the play, the senior leadership of the BJP in MP cannot even agree on what they find objectionable about the play.

Accusing the BJP of fascism, Habib Tanveer, addressing mediapersons in Bhopal, said he would continue with his Sadbhavna Yatra, in the course of which the play is being performed. He pointed out that the satire Ponga Pandit — or Jamadarin as the play is sometimes called — belongs to the Chhattisgarhi oral tradition and has been performed since the 1930s. ‘‘It is a classic pointing to the creative powers of the ordinary people. It was performed on streetcorners of every district in the region by actors usually from the scheduled caste,’’ he said.

State leaders when contacted gave a bewildering replies. State BJP organising general secretary Kaptan Singh Solanki said: ‘‘Ponga Pandit and Jamadarin are two separate plays through which bhartiya sanskriti pe hamla hua hai.’’ When asked what was objectionable, he, while admitting that he had not seen the play, said he had been told ‘‘a man is shown entering a temple with his shoes on. A jamadarin is shown striking a Brahmin. This is a direct attack on our sanskriti.’’

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Former leader of Opposition Gauri Shankar Shejwar, a Dalit, again admitting he had not seen the play said: ‘‘I object to the name. It clearly shows a desire to drive a wedge based on caste. Panditon ko Ponga nahin kehna chahiye (Pandits should not be called Ponga).’’

BJP MLA S.C. Sharma, who spearheaded the opposition to a performance yesterday, said: ‘‘We had opposed the staging of the play. The SDM said if we found anything objectionable he would stop the play. Then the play Lahore was staged. When Tanveer said kattarwadi rajneta (political extremists) were responsible for the communal riots in the state in 1992, the audience then objected.’’

Asked if he had seen the play, he admitted he had not. Finally the BJP state office was asked for the name of a functionary who had seen the play and could voice the objections. The office gave the name of BJYM functionary in Gwalior, Yogendra Sanger. According to him: ‘‘In the play when an agarbatti can’t be found the pandit’s assistant uses a beedi.’’