Taking On The Firangs

With a friendly BJP government in place, the Sangh parivar has stepped up its campaign to spread "nationalism" in the state. The latest effort: Janatha Raja, a play on Shivaji. A play on the legendary Maratha king would normally have gone unnoticed, but the Sangh making it into a mega event has raised suspicions. Critics point to a play based on emperor Chandragupta Maurya’s life, staged in the city a couple of months back. Its publicity brochure drew parallels between Chandragupta’s battle with the Greek invaders and the "current struggle of nationalists against foreigner domination". The obvious reference: Sonia Gandhi. It is not known what the parivar has in mind this time with the Shivaji play. But it will be on in Bhopal in an 6,000-seating open air theatre in a few days.