Rangayana directors axed for no reason

The new government cites no grounds for the sacking of four distinguished theatre people from top repertory positions. Everyone knows it’s just politics

On September 13, the theatre community was rudely woken up by a government order sacking all four artistic directors of Rangayana, Karnataka’s prominent theatre
repertory, and dissolving Ranga Samaja, its governing body.

The marching orders given to Rangayana directors, Bhageerathibai Kadam (Mysuru), M Ganesh (Shivamogga), Pramod Shiggaon (Dharwad), and Mahesh V Patil (Kalaburagi)
and to all seven nominated members of the Ranga Samaja much before the completion of their three-year term was unequivocally condemned by all theatre artistes.

Well-known director Prasanna, who was the first to speak out against the government’s decision, called it a “dangerous precedent”. What’s more, the order does not mention any reason for the removal of the directors, appointing in their place the secretary of the Department of Kannada and Culture.

“If there is a complaint of mismanagement of funds or misconduct, you can cite that reason and sack them. The government cannot simply shunt out artistic directors of autonomous bodies. It’s illegal,” says playwright and director S Raghunandana.

The politics is no secret. Every time a regime changes, the new incumbents appoint artistes who support it or are willing to toe its line. The biggest contention that Bhagirathibai
Kadam makes is that Rangayana directors are not government employees.

Based on a theatre person’s body of work, it is the Ranga Samaja that appoints them. And while the Ranga Samaja is formed by the government, neither its members nor
Rangayana’s directors have any political affiliations, she says.

“So the government has no legal or moral rationale to remove us. We are artistes and we aren’t here to serve any party. The government’s meddling is an insult to us,”
she says.

What’s hurt them the most, however, is a loophole in the by-law that has been exploited by the government. “The appointment letter given to us states that we will continue to hold the position ‘until further orders’ from the government, whereas the by-law clearly mentions that our tenure is for three years. To have ignored this was our first biggest mistake,”
Bhageerathibai says.

The ousted directors argue that it is the Ranga Samaja that should have taken this up with the government and safeguarded their interests. But there are more deep-rooted systemic issues.

Gopalakrishna Nayiri, a member of the recently-dissolved Ranga Samaja, says the governing body’s power exists only on paper. “There is no officer with whom we can communicate regularly,” he says. He cites the case of Kalaburagi Rangayana’s director, Mahesh Patil. “His misconduct and anti-theatre activities necessitated an enquiry committee, which I headed. It’s been a year and a half since we submitted the report, but we haven’t been able to implement it yet! So what power does Ranga Samaja have when none of its resolutions and decisions are enforced?”

Nayiri says. Chidambara Rao Jambe, former director of Rangayana Mysuru, fears the government is making puppets of cultural organisations. But such ill-advised moves are not
restricted to the BJP.

“The removal of artistes like C S Krishna Setty or Vyjayantji Kashi solely because they were appointed by the BJP was wrong on part of the Congress. If we had the courage
to express our displeasure back then, regardless of which party was at fault, our protest today would have some meaning now. Whether Umashri does it, or C T Ravi does it, it is wrong,” he says. Meanwhile, the directors and Ranga Samaja members are not considering legal action against the government.

“When I was appointed, I was assured that the honorarium I was getting at Ninasam would be matched. But my pay was lower at Rangayana... I faced a lot of (financial) difficulties. So while I support those who take up our cause, I will not actively seek to fight this legally,” says M Ganesh, director of Rangayana Shivamogga. “This is all part of the Sangh Parivar’s
larger attack on cultural and educational institutions in the country. They did that with JNU, FTII, ICHR and they are trying to do it with NSD. They will now stage mediocre, indifferent plays that never touch upon fundamental questions of human existence that art must ask,” says Raghunandana.

But while the BJP-led government can politicise cultural bodies all it wants, film and theatre-person Achyuth Kumar says, at the end of the day, it still does not have plays that suit its ideology. “All plays are against right-wing ideology. Just like they are rewriting history to suit their ideology, they will now have to write new plays that fit their agenda. All this is foolishness,” he says.