The Hindu : New Delhi News : Play on Jinnah deferred for want of police nod

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 22, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Play on Jinnah deferred for want of police nod

Staff Reporter

Producers allege censorship, police say script not legible

NEW DELHI: A play on Mohammad Ali Jinnah scheduled to be staged at India Habitat Centre here this Wednesday and Thursday has been "deferred" by the Delhi police on the plea that they were not able to scrutinise the script as it was not legible. Following the order, the producers of the play accused the police of censorship.

Members of Asmita Art Group -- which is producing the play "Mr. Jinnah" written by Narendra Mohan, a Delhi University professor, and directed by Arvind Gaur -- said they had got all necessary clearances to stage the play but the district police were trying to stall the show at a time when even the tickets had been sold.

"We procured clearances from the traffic police and the entertainment tax office on May 22. The district police asked for a script of the play, which was given to them on June 16. And now the permission has been denied without assigning any clear reason," complained a member of the group.

However, the letter issued by the South Delhi Deputy Commissioner's office states that the script was not only illegible but was also received late. A police officer said the producers had given a hand-written copy of the script which was making their task difficult. He added that the licence of the theatre in which the play was to be staged was also under scrutiny.

"The producers have only been asked to defer the play and there is no attempt whatsoever to ban it," said the officer.

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