Author in hiding as Sikhs revolt over play

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A London writer is in hiding in fear of her life today after her play was forced to close by protests from the Sikh community.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, who is Sikh herself, has received threats of murder and abduction after she refused to rewrite her play depicting scenes of rape and violence at a fictional Sikh temple.

Following violent protests by the Sikh community outside the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Saturday managers yesterday announced they were axing the controversial work "Behzti", the Punjabi word for " dishonour", 10 days early.

But, with another theatre now offering to stage the production, Ms Bhatti has sought to escape the more militant protesters amid claims from her friends that "mob rule" was endangering freedom of speech.

Ms Bhatti has refused to speak to the media for fear of making the situation worse but one friend, filmmaker Shakila Taranum, said: "She has been threatened with murder and told to go into hiding by the police.

"She is personally paying a high price. She feels this is an attempt to censor her. It is mob rule."

Another friend, Nirjay Mahindra said:"I spoke to her after the play was axed and she feels she is in the eye of the storm."

On Saturday there were chaotic scenes at the theatre when a crowd of 400 protesters turned violent during a performance of the play.

Some 800 theatregoers had to be evacuated after a section of the demonstrators stormed the theatre smashing windows and throwing missiles.

Theatre bosses had sought assurances from Sikh community leaders that the violence would not be repeated and, when they were told no guarantees could be made, took the decision to cancel.

Executive director Stuart Rogers explained: "We are determined not to go down the road of censorship but when one stands in the foyer with 800 women and children and sees stones being thrown and police officers injured, then security and safety issues come to the fore.

"We cannot continue it solely for safety reasons."

Behzti is the second play written by Ms Bhatti and follows her critically acclaimed first work "Behsharam" - meaning Shameless - used the lives of two Asian women to depict what Bhatti described as "a highly dysfunctional Sikh family setting".

Today there was no sign of Ms Bhatti at the Highbury home she shares with her boyfriend Michael Buffong.

The decision to cancel the play has been received with joy by much of the Sikh community and despair by civil libertarians.

Dr Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said: Freedom of expression does not extend as far as deliberately disparaging a people's religion."

Terry Sanderson, vice-president of the National Secular Society, countered: "Far from denigrating religion this has denigrated this country's long tradition of free expression. You cannot have mob rule."

Officials at the Birmingham Stage Company, based in the city's Old Rep theatre, said they would be prepared to put on the play.

 

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