Kabir Kala Manch, a Pune-based protest performance art troupe, has been a target of the State since its inception in 2002. The group propagates the anti-caste and equality ideology of Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar and Marx through songs and street plays.
Poetic License: Outside of Village Periphery
Artists in Kabir Kala Manch are struggling to earn a living due to state-sponsored censorship
From the Protest Series Artwork by Vikrant Bhis Photo: Anant Art Gallery
From the Protest Series Artwork by Vikrant Bhis Photo: Anant Art Gallery
In 2019, police arrested three members, Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe and Jyoti Jagtap, in the Bhima Koregaon case for allegedly inciting communalism through songs at Elgar Parishad. Rupali Jadhav, a member since 2009, wrote a poem Gaavkus on December 31, 2019, after she received Section 144 notices, preventing them from visiting the Dalit war memorial at Bhima Koregaon village. Today, the group has only eight members, who are struggling to earn a living.
Outside of Village Periphery
Rupali Jadhav
Even yesterday we were outside the village periphery
And even today
Even yesterday we were on your blacklist
And even today
Even yesterday we were under your surveillance
And even today
Even yesterday you were using the tactic of saam, dand, daam, bhed
And even today
Even yesterday you held on to our caste
And even today
Even yesterday your justice was based on class and gender
And even today
Even yesterday you attacked our right to expression
And even today
Even yesterday you suppressed our freedom
And even today
Even yesterday you prohibited us from literacy and gatherings
And even today
Even yesterday you hanged the aesthetic instead of the thief
And even today
Even yesterday this was the law of the country
Not adhering to equality, fraternity, freedom and democracy
And even today
Rupali jadhav is a member of Kabir Kala Manch and an activist
(This appeared in the print as 'Poetic License')
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