BEGC-114( EM) 2025-26

The human wall in Vijay Tendulkar’s “Ghashiram Kotwal” is far more than a theatrical device. It is at once stage setting, chorus, metaphor, and political symbol. It embodies the society that produces and sustains tyranny, critiques hypocrisy and conformity, and dramatizes the collective forces that make oppression possible. Its ambiguity—sometimes protective, sometimes oppressive, sometimes ironic—makes it one of the most innovative aspects of the play. By using the human wall, Tendulkar not only draws upon Indian folk traditions like tamasha but also creates a modern political theatre that resonates with Brechtian techniques. The wall reflects the play’s central theme: that tyranny is not only the work of individual despots but the outcome of a society’s collective complicity. In this sense, the human wall is both a mirror and a metaphor, forcing audiences to confront their own role in perpetuating injustice. Thus, the human wall is the true “character” of “Ghashiram Kotwal”—not flesh-and-blood individuals but society itself, caught between conformity, fear, and hypocrisy. Tendulkar transforms this innovative device into a powerful critique of politics, morality, and human behaviour.