Insan Foundation Pakistan (IFP) uses the powerful medium of street theater to captivate audiences in Delhi with its simple message for peace in the region.
The fourteen-member troupe, accompanied by Farah Mallik, Program Manager, IFP, was in Delhi to express solidarity with the People’s Summit Against Poverty (PSAP), an alliance of hundreds of activists from diverse movements spanning the South Asian region.
The Summit was held in Delhi in response to the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) a global campaign – the world’s largest ever anti-poverty campaign, timed so as to sensitize the masses about the upcoming UN World Summit at New York, on September 14-16, 2005.
The campaign demands that world leaders act to eliminate poverty and work towards peaceful international collaboration. New threats to peace and security arise from poverty and inequality, and criminal and terrorist networks are more likely to operate where state institutions are weak.
The troupe had two plays in its repertoire for Indian audiences. The first play carries a powerful message of peace and is entitled Gall Nikki Jaee (meaning ‘A Small Matter’). It portrays simple village folk and is imbued with earthy humor, songs and folk dances. The brief snapshot of the partition is heart rending and the message of peace that follows it is effective in its sharp contrast.
Concluding the performance, director Tipu Sultan expressed his hope that the play would open up yet another channel for peace between India and Pakistan. ‘Continuing links of communication between common people of the two countries will ensure peace’, he said.
Yet another play entitled Haathi ke daanth (meaning ‘Elephant tusks’) critiques the dominant paradigm of globalization and liberalization and highlights its effects upon the common masses.
Since establishment in 1994, IFP has experimented in different forms and with various themes. Presently, IFP performs both on street and stage, performing in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and other cities. Its plays focus on themes relating to child rights and gender. It also assists in furthering the campaign for peace in the region.
‘Art and culture are a strong medium for cementing relationships,’ averred Farah Mallik, the moving force behind the troupe’s India initiative.
As part of the peace campaign, the troupe is now dialoguing with various theatre and cultural groups in India. Together they are exploring possibilities of cultural exchanges as a vehicle to bring common people in the two countries closer to one another, thus furthering the peace process in Asia.