Since it was formed in 1989, Sahmat has brought together diverse artists, performers, and writers on a common programme of resistance against attacks on freedom of artistic expression and dissent. Today, as the idea of India is being revamped into a singular, homogenised nation, severed from its composite and diverse heritage, ICF celebrates plurality and building of political solidarity of cultural expression.
In this ten-part series, the Indian Cultural Forum will showcase Sahmat’s work over the years — in visual, theatrical, musical or written form.
Slogans for Communal Harmony
“Go ahead and drench the streets in blood
but what would you do when the nation needs it?”
On January 1, 1992, Sahmat launched a public art project involving auto-rickshaw drivers in a contest to create slogans for communal harmony in New Delhi. The project was successful and those slogans circulated through the city for years.
In this video, Ram Rahman and Sohail Hashmi talk about the project and share some of those slogans.
