More concerning is the university and police’s promptness to align with ABVP’s ideology, disregarding their obligation to operate within the framework of the Constitution of India. Instead of penalising those who commit violence, they punish the victims of violence… The list of such institutions is long where the administration has acted like the authorities of Pondicherry University…
The head of the Performing Arts department at Pondicherry University has been removed from his position, after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) complained of hurting religious sentiments over a play based on a version of Ramayana. The play was staged on March 29. The head of the department was asked to resign on April 1. The police booked some students and others on charges of “outraging religious feelings”, reported the Hindu.
Meanwhile, violent propaganda is being carried out against the students, especially women. Some of them have been forced to leave the campus and go to their homes because they are being threatened with sexual violence. Many women have reported to professors that they have been receiving vulgar and threatening messages on Instagram.
All this happened after the play, titled Somayanam, was performed as part of the annual drama festival ‘Ezhini 2K 24’ organised by the department. The authorities had approved the play’s script. The performance was open to all. The play was staged successfully to a packed hall. The audience appreciated and applauded the play. However, the real drama took place the next day, by those who were not from the department and who had not even watched the play.
When the second play of the festival was being performed, at least 15 to 20 members of the ABVP raised ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans and waved saffron flags at the festival venue. They demanded action against the actors and director of the play staged the previous day, as well as others who, according to them, had hurt their religious sentiments.
The play was inspired by the Ramayana. An educated woman is thrilled by the prospect of solitude in the forest with her husband. But her brother-in-law to the chagrin of the woman is also ready to accompany them. The wife gets disappointed with them after some incidents happen in the jungle such as violence against another woman. That woman’s brother, Bavana, gets angry and comes to take revenge for his sister. The woman and Bavana talk, and she tells him that she is married but the two can be friends.
The play was an experiment in Terukkuttu style. The audience enjoyed this experiment. The administration promptly announced an investigation into the play following the ABVP’s violent demonstration. However, various forms of punitive action against the students and teachers were taken even before the investigation was initiated….
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