‘Drama’ As a Pedagogic Tool For The Marginalised in India: Routes from a Rhizomatic Past-Present Exploration

With India’s National Education Policy (2020) giving focus to quality education especially for historically marginalized and disadvantaged groups like Adivasis and Dalits, this review paper provides a past-present kaleidoscope on which to reflect for pedagogic transformation. The paper makes connections by tracing through strands of past and present educational landscapes of India, exploring the scope for locating a future for ‘drama’ as a pedagogic tool for marginalized communities in India. This integrative approach to a literature review connects across times, representing routes within a rhizomatic (Deleuze and Guattar 1987) pattern.
The paper flushes out inconsistent relations present between the Adivasi/tribal communities and their state educational provision, which instil in children values and traditions associated with mainstream rather than local culture. The issue highlights tensions tribal populations experienced in the past, in the hands of colonial rule and later during the nationalists phase (Xaxa, 2021). Continuing into the historical route, the paper then takes a closer look into the impact of a colonial system of education in which there came a prevalence of a “textbook culture” (Kumar,1991). As a response, there emerged sprouts of movements turning to alternative educational ideals and practice by Indian educational thinkers, for example, Tagore and Gandhi, with an emphasis on ‘learning by doing’ (Gupta
2010). At this point the review paper takes a re-route, focusing upon certain historical milestones in drama and theatre traditions of India. The scope of Indian traditions in drama and theatre in the review begins with an overview of ‘Natyasastra’ a traditional Indian text on the "the science of theatre" (Bharhanpurkar,1992). Opening windows into the colonial period, theatre
was used as a tool for political education and propaganda during the nationalist
movements (Richmond, F., 1973). The post-colonial period, again presented theatre as a wayto promote progressive ideologies and also science education (Richmond, F., 1973, Mannathukkaren, 2013). The final re-route occurs by connecting present and past, narrating various discourses which are about the struggles of the oppressed for gaining voice and altering social hierarchies through education. This again points to the present in which the conditions of marginalized communities, reflect a ‘hegemony of knowledge’ in which the privileged still prevail. Through
the past-present non-linear connections, I shed light on possibilities for connecting the potential of drama pedagogy to various other routes discussed, leading to questions about the possibility of drama becoming a tool for a ‘transformative and liberative pedagogy’ (Heredia,1995) for the marginalized. By taking the notion of routes from a rhizomatic way of making connections, the paper provides a platform for routes to emerge, conceptualizing past-present connections, enabling possibilities to re-route and re-connect at various interjections. This raises imperative questions for the education of marginalized communities in India for quality education.