Dalit theatre, after emerging from the Dalit political movement of 1960s, flourished in different directions shaped by the Ambedkarite movement and the emergence of the Republican Party of India. A prominent form of expression in the anti-establishment socio-political movements in India, Dalit theatre has changed with the times and faced dilemmas, especially since the post-Ambedkarite Dalit movement rearticulated its own vision and politics by accommodating other anti-establishment movements representing marginal communities like Adivasis. In the recent past, Dalit theatre has been revisiting its vision and addressing newer artistic concerns thrown up by socio-political changes. This grant provides partial support to Pyara Kerketta Foundation (PKF) to hold a conference titled Dalit Adivasi Theatre Akhra in Ranchi to facilitate debates on Dalit Adivasi theatre in India. Akhra, a place of verbal debate, will critically address the dilemmas, frustrations, anxieties and the new directions of Dalit and Adivasi theatre in India.

Founded in 1984, PKF is an NGO based in Ranchi in Jharkhand. Named after a social reformer and political activist, Pyara Kerketta alias Pyara Master, the foundation focuses on empowering marginalised communities in Bihar, developing Adivasi cultural resources and conducting community-centred projects for Adivasis. Besides publishing books and journals on arts and culture in Santali and Hindi, PKF publishes Rangavarta, an e-theatre magazine.

According to Ashwini Kumar Pankaj, the coordinator of the conference, ‘Dalit’, as a caste based category of subordination, has expanded to include any individual or community exploited socially, politically or in the name of religion. This broad understanding of Dalit identity has enabled PKF, according to Pankaj, to address concerns of creation and appreciation of contemporary practices of theatre in other marginalised communities.

Primarily, Dalit Adivasi theatre has been looked upon as a tool to bring about social change. While acknowledging the need for “a meaningful change in the lives of the poor and deprived people” through community-centric projects, PKF believes in theatre as an art form to “experiment, innovate and bring in new ideas shaped by the changing socio-political conditions”. Therefore, the key thrust of the proposed conference will be to vouch for exploratory performance practices that extend beyond prevailing idioms and forms of performance within contemporary practices of Dalit Adivasi theatre and provide new perspectives on the politics of discrimination in the context of new social values and economic changes.

The first day of the conference will address the social and cultural conditions that have influenced the practices of Dalit Adivasi theatre in different linguistic and genre contexts in India. Also, the first two sessions will throw light on conceptual underpinnings of Dalit Adivasi theatre in India. Since PKF considers it important to link the concerns of Dalit Adivasi artists’ to other performance practices in India, the second day of the conference will bring together a range of performing artists to discuss their respective roles in shaping contemporary Dalit Adivasi theatre practices. Attention will be given to critical discussion on experimental practices by artists who are interrogating their own practice and/or the context of their practice. Another session on the second day will enable artists to share their views on the current understanding of Dalit Adivasi theatre as limited to theatre produced by Dalits or Adivasis. The last session will open up a dialogue towards the formation of networks. Meetings will be organised among participants to explore possibilities for cross-fertilisation of ideas, to foster collaborations, and to provide those who work in this field with opportunities to address important issues with colleagues. The seminar is expected to outline possible actions that might help artists strengthen Dalit theatre’s impact on the contemporary anti-establishment politics in India and vice versa.

Importantly, the conference is taking place as a part of a national theatre festival of Dalit and Adivasi plays with fresh content and meaningful, unexplored themes. By integrating the seminar with the festival, PKF will encourage critical engagement with the performances presented in the festival and the larger issues they throw up. Additionally, Rangavarta, PKF’s tri-monthly journal will publish papers presented at the conference in its special issue on Dalit Adivasi theatre.

 

This description is part of the institutional records created by IFA at the onset of the grant. The project may have changed in due course as reflected in the deliverables from the Grantee.