They even ask employees to report relatives who may indulge in “subversive” activities against the government. Whew! Preparing for birthday parties is tough. And protecting law and order is obviously much more important than any free speech gibberish. They would be released, assured the police, after the PM finished his two-day birthday celebrations in the state and left for Delhi.

So while we were pushing dalit and Patidar activists behind bars in Gujarat, we did a similar exercise in Srinagar. You see it all around you. His successor Sitaram Yechury, exhibiting charming pirouettes on a tightrope while skipping between “fascist”, “fascism” and “fascistic” explained that “what we have in India today is not fascism of the variety we had seen in Germany of the 1930s. Any conventional war between India and Pakistan may at any point lead to one nuking the other, which will destroy both countries. Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, who had organised the Una protests, was whisked away as soon as he landed at Ahmedabad airport, and put behind bars.Meanwhile in Kolkata, the erstwhile bastion of the Left, The National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) has come up with a new set of service rules that throws the freedom of its employees out of the window.com.So you see, we care. We, a nuclear power, seem to want to attack Pakistan, a nuclear power.You think that is fascist Ha ha! You are so outdated. As I write this, I see that we are raring to go to war with Pakistan. Hailed as one of the greatest American playwrights, Albee is best remembered for plays like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf , The Zoo Story or A Delicate Balance.

And words, images, bits and pieces of scenes and dialogues tumbled out of the crevices of memory to flood the mind. They think our present government is merely authoritarian. Wherever you look. The question is, shall we be The writer is editor of The Little Magazine.Wait. So we have preventive detention. We picked up Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Pervez from his home at midnight and locked him up.The theatre of the absurd is back. Everyone was happy. Members of PAAS objected, threatening to stage a demonstration, so the smart Gujarat police swiftly locked up around 400 of the grumblers. Make sense Even after Edward Albee bows out, absurd theatre is alive and well. Do you Can’t we just get on with poll alliances and poll planks and curious deals and shameless speeches Why do we need a public debate on European history and political philosophy And that too from people who don’t usually open their mouths except in closed door politburo meetings. To protect law and order, guard nationalism and save birthday parties.Take Gujarat.Isn’t it curious that the PM of India, who once ruled Gujarat with an iron fist as its chief minister, is now so scared of demonstrations that he needs to get all protesters locked up before he sets foot on Gujarati soil But isn’t it so brave of our PM to be the supreme leader of the world’s largest democracy in spite of his fright of free speech and democratic freedoms Not that we are narrow minded — and only concerned about grumblers in Gujarat. The ma-beta photos were great.

“A play, at its very best, is an act of aggression against the status quo,” Albee believed. Wouldn’t it be awful if there were demonstrations during the PM’s birthday celebrations Thank god for preventive detention. But they are engaged in a meaningful debate on whether we are going towards fascism, or inherently protected against fascism and happily stuck in authoritarianism. The day before, Pervez, chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, had been stopped at the immigrations at Delhi, and prevented from going to Geneva for a meeting with the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Nonsense! Law and order is sacred, almost as sacred as the holy cow. Well, everyone who mattered, anyway. And devastate our future generations for decades. Even the comrades — the arch enemies of fascists forever — don’t think we are fascist. So was Reshma Patel, leader of Hardik Patel’s Patidar Amanat Andolan Samiti (PAAS). But frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. Yes, of course we have no patience for rubbish like freedom of speech and expression. A university that is to shape the future protectors of our democracy. We are very conscious of what the whole world thinks of us.”How nice to know. Nice. But who cares Because 18 jawans were killed in the despicable Uri attack we are willing to risk a nuclear war that could kill 12 million of us on either side of the border.

So much for democratic freedoms in a premier university of law. Just start out by spying and snitching on your family and loved ones. But more than any particular play, he will be remembered for the impact he had on the world of theatre, the influence he had over generations with his sharp chiselling of a curious, scary, violent, absurdly tangible reality that provoked you out of your comfort zone. And we will not have any of it. We care as much about your loud protests in the streets of Ahmedabad as about your refined dialogue with people at the UNHCR in Geneva. But if this situation is allowed to progress, then it could lead up to that. Because our Prime Minister wished to visit his mother in Ahmedabad on his birthday, hundreds of innocent people were swiftly arrested in Ahmedabad. Keep your eyes and mouth shut on all other matters. This the comrades agree on. So there!Not fascist. Edward Albee, 88, the master of absurd theatre, died last week. All went well. “In India today, neither has fascism been established, nor are the conditions present — in political, economic and class terms – for a fascist regime to be established,” said Prakash Karat, the scholarly comrade who as general secretary of the CPI(M) brilliantly oversaw the downsizing of the Left in Parliament. She can be contacted at: sen@littlemag. When he went back home to Srinagar, he was locked up and kept in police custody for 24 hours before being sent off to Aluminium Roller Blinds Manufacturers jail again at midnight. And once the theatre of the absurd comes flooding back, there is no escape. Especially in a democracy where everyone seems to have a voice and intends to use it. This is apart from barring employees from criticising the NUJS ever, and generally prohibiting them from talking to the media or being on radio or television, or writing articles or books, without the permission of the university