On February 3, 2024, the police arrested a professor and five students from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) for their performance of a controversial play. The six were charged with several violations of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On February 2, the Lalit Kala Kendra, also known as the Center for Performing Arts, performed a play based on Ramleela, a folk re-enactment of Rama’s life based on the Sanskrit Hindu epic, Ramayana. The group’s play was focused on behind-the-scenes conversations between various characters in Ramleela. According to a First Information Report (FIR) later filed with the police, the play featured a male actor depicting Sita, a female character, smoking a cigarette and using offensive language.
In the middle of the third performance, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members–the student branch of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh party–interrupted the play. The students in the play and ABVP began heckling each other.
The following day, February 3, ABVP members submitted a formal complaint to the police department under Section 295(A)–“offending religious sentiments”–of the IPC. Shortly thereafter, police arrested the five students and the professor, who is also the head of the performing arts department. The police department charged the six with additional violations under the IPC, including Sections 294 for “obscene acts and songs,” Sections 143 and 149 for “unlawful assembly,” Sections 147 for “riot-related offenses,” and Section 323 for “voluntarily causing hurt.”
All six individuals were released on bail that same day. In response to the arrests, the university formed a “fact-finding” committee, headed by a retired district judge, to investigate the incident and determine if further action would be taken. At the time of writing, there was no publicly available information indicating what the outcomes of the charges or investigation were.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about police arresting and levying charges against a professor and students in retaliation for the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression–conduct which is protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party. State and university authorities have an obligation to refrain from restricting or retaliating against expressive activities so long as they are peaceful and responsible. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, penalties intended to restrict student expression undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/savitribai-phule-pune-university-news-professor-students-ramleela-play-parody-sita-smoking-11707019874739.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/sita-smoking-pune-university-students-professor-arrested-for-ramleela-play-101706969205032.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/play-staged-on-ramleela-sppu-professor-five-students-held-get-bail-101706988578816.html
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/controversy-at-pune-university-professor-and-5-students-arrested-for-play-based-on-ramleela/articleshow/107381366.cms