Author:

Sankhya Jana
Scholar(Postgraduate)
Department in History
University of Delhi
Delhi Enclave,Delhi,India

Email: pannajana8@gmail.com

Abstract::Abstract::This paper explores the history of theatre censorship in colonial India; focusing on
how socially provocative dramas that carried anti-colonial sentiment provoked the anxieties of
the colonial state. Centered on the Dramatic Performances Act of 1876, it argues that colonial
law functioned performatively, asserting authority in response to theatre’s emotional and
political power. Comparing British and colonial censorship, the paper shows that while colonial
enforcement was harsher, both systems grappled with the same core tension between law and the
disruptive force of theatre. Ultimately, censorship reveals how colonial governance sought to
control not just dissent but public emotion, exposing deeper anxieties about imperial authority.

Key Words:: Colonial India, Censorship, Drama, Imperial Authority,Protest,Theatre etc.