Recently, renowned Pakistani playwright and theatre director Madeeha Gauhar passed away after a four-year battle with cancer. She was 62. With her death, another link promoting peace between India and Pakistan has snapped.
Before establishing a career in theatre, Gauhar taught in a college and actively participated in social movements, raising her voice against government policies. This cost her her job. Due to her bold stance against the Pakistani government, she also faced a jail term.
Organising a candlelight vigil at the Wagah border on August 14 amid threats from Pakistani extremists and a police lathi-charge, Gauhar never gave up hope for peace between the neighbouring countries. In 1983, she founded Ajoka Theatre to fight religious fanatics and communal forces flourishing on both sides of the border.
Gauhar started her theatrical journey with the play Jaloos written by Badal Sircar. The government banned the play in Lahore, but she performed it in the lawn of her mother’s house in Lahore cantonment. Refusing to give up, she continued to advocate for peace and harmony between India and Pakistan.
Gauhar regularly travelled to Amritsar, as though her soul belonged there.
To promote the shared cultural heritage of both countries, Gauhar held theatre festivals regularly. She invited theatre groups from India and Pakistan to Lahore and organised Panj Paani, Hamsaaya, Janani, Mitrata and Aman theatre festivals.
Gauhar also founded an organisation called the All Performing Arts Network (APAN) to bring artists from both countries to a single platform.
Born in Karachi in 1956, Gauhar used theatre to address sectarianism and the plight of women. Through her plays, she fought against social, feudal and political evils, as well as terrorism.
Toba Tek Singh, Bullah, Mera Rang De Basanti Chola and Kaun Hai Ye Gustakh are among her prominent plays. Even today, her plays hold a special place in the hearts of theatre-lovers in India. She was awarded the prestigious Prince Claus Award of the Netherlands in 2006 for her unparalleled contribution to the field of theatre. She had also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
Despite being severely ill, she remained indefatigably active, organising festivals and participating in seminars. She boldly proclaimed that her plays were ‘theatre against Taliban’.
Challenging the burkha tradition, she staged a play called Burqavaganza. The play caused an uproar and was banned by the government, but this did not deter Gauhar from staging it.
When the Pakistan government put a ban on celebrating the Basant festival in Lahore, Gauhar came up with a play in protest, Lo Phir Basant Aayi. By staging Mera Rang de Basanti Chola, a play on Bhagat Singh’s life, not only did she introduce the people of Pakistan to the legend of India’s freedom fighter, but also rewrote history that was being coined in Pakistan. Today, Bhagat Singh is a household name in the country.
Once, Gauhar was in India to perform her play Bullah in Kerala. Three thousand people had gathered to watch it. Gauhar was worried whether they would understand the play since it was in Punjabi. As the performance was about to start, a Hindutva group arrived at the venue and began shouting anti-Pakistan slogans. They said that no Pakistani team would be allowed to stage a play. The organisers panicked and asked Gauhar to pacify them.
Gauhar met them without fear, talked to them and invited them to watch the performance. The play was finally staged. When the performance ended, amidst a roar of applause, the man who had previously been raising anti-Pakistan slogans came to the dais and warmly congratulated Gauhar.
She never forgot that incident. It bolstered her faith in the power of theatre. She was closely associated with Amritsar-based playwright Kewal Dhaliwal for a long time. She used to send fresh artists from Pakistan for a month’s training under Dhaliwal every year in June. Artists from Amritsar and Lahore prepared a joint play, Yatra 1947, which has been performed several times.
Gauhar last came here on December 11, 2017. On leaving, she had promised Dhaliwal that she would return, but could not keep the promise. In the words of Dhaliwal, she was the “epitome of humanity in these inhuman times”.
Devendra Pal is a Ludhiana-based independent journalist and theatre person.
Translated from Hindi by Naushin Rehman. You can read the Hindi original here.