Safdar Hashmi: Towards Theatre for a Democracy

Safdar Hashmi (1954–1989) became a national icon of resistance after his death on 2 January 1989, following a brutal attack while performing a street play. The firebrand artist, actor, playwright, poet, and activist was at the forefront of the development and subsequent popularity of street theatre, and his group, Jana Natya Manch (Janam), is still considered a leader in the genre of political theatre. There is little reliable scholarship on the history of theatre in India and on Safdar Has...