Gujarati society remains communalised: Mallika Sarabhai

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 13 (UNI) Post-Godhra, the situation in Gujarat has improved a little and society remains divided on communal lines, danseuse Mallika Sarabhai said today.

Talking to reporters here, she said the huge investments and development, as claimed by the state government, were not reflected in society which ''is being communalised''.

Ms Sarabhai is in the state with her latest musical play 'Unsuni' (unheard voice).

Though Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took pride in attracting investments to the state, it still had the highest mortality rate, suicides and female foeticide. ''This shows that the society has not changed,'' she said and alleged that a village in Gujarat had no women below the age of 20, which showed that for the last 20 years, female foeticide was in vogue in that village.

''No political debates take place in Gujarat. In Kerala or West Bengal, one could see people engaged in political discussions even at the local tea shops. But such debates are absent in Gujarat,'' she alleged.

She said the opposition parties in the state were ''disorganised''.

On 'Unsuni', she said it was the story of courage and strength that gave voice to the ''voiceless and marginalised'' people of the country. ''It is a story of the deprived, which lends courage to fight.'' ''The real face of India is not what we see. The society is completely blind and if India should shine, the people should know the reality,'' she said and added that most of the urban children grew up seeing Bollywood films and were completely oblivious of real issues. ''They should have to see the reality and know India better if the country has to shine.'' 'Unsuni,' based on Harsh Mander's book 'Unheard Voices', to be performed in the colleges across the country would create a sense of ''voluntarism'', she said and noted that it elicited a good response from the people. The youths had volunteered teach street children and the beggars in some places, inspired by the play.

Ms Sarabhai's Darpana Academy of Performing Arts had already performed about 32 programmes in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Mussorie and Pune. Ten shows of 'Unsuni' will be performed in Kerala.

UNI