Street performer Varun Dagar accuses Delhi Police of harassment. Is busking legal in India?
Varun Dagar, a contestant on the reality show India's Best Dancer, and a regular busker at Delhi's Connaught Place claimed in an Instagram post on April 18 that he was dragged, manhandled and abused by parking managers and Delhi Police when he was performing on the street at CP.
Dagar claimed that Delhi Police first came to stop him from performing in public place and was soon joined by some parking managers. He said as he was packing up his stuff, a parking manager pulled him by the collar and started abusing him. He also claimed that a policeman dragged him by his hair.
It is not yet confirmed when the incident happened. However, this is not the first time that a busking artist was harassed by the police in Delhi.
What is busking?
- Busking is the act of performing an art form, music or dance, in the street or other public places for voluntary donations.
- In several Western and even Asian countries, in movies or otherwise, you must have seen someone strumming away at the guitar or singing or dancing.
- For example, in Emily in Paris, Mindy performs with Benoit and Étienne at various public places, showcasing her talent.
- Artists who perform in public for voluntary donations (not begging!) are called buskers.
- However, these scenes are quite uncommon in Indian cities, because there is no law concerning busking and the police are often hostile towards the artists as they do not recognise busking at all.
Busking in India
- Is busking legal or illegal in India? We don't know because there is no specific law or rules governing busking artists.
- There are several people like Varun Dagar and Anshul Riaji who are regular buskers. The reasons for busking are different for the artists.
- Some want to make a living, others are looking for a break and want to showcase their talent; while some like Riaji just do it for a sense of connection.
- Earlier on New Year's Eve this year, Anshul Riaji was rudely interrupted by a policeman at Connaught Place, who confiscated his guitar while he was performing.
- Riaji, who works as a lighting product designer according to TOI, has been performing at CP for the past four years part-time.
- However, they are often on the radar of local parking goons and the police who use discriminatory laws like the 1959 Bombay (Prevention of Beggary) Act and the colonial-era Dramatic Performances Act of 1876 to harass street performers.
- The lack of laws and rules protecting street performers makes it difficult for them to seek justice or even permission to perform.
- In Western countries like the US and the UK, there are specific rules and laws governing busking and it is allowed in several regions, though rules might be different in different parts of the country.
- There are also busking unions in these countries where artists audition in order to be picked to be able to perform on the streets. They also help protect the artists from arbitrary rules by the authorities.
- Busking has also given these countries their popular artists such as Ed Sheeran, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, BB King, etc.
Busking is not begging!
There is a misconception among the police and much of the general public that busking is begging. Buskers are not beggars; they seek donations without anything in return. They do not hound people for money. There needs to be recognition of this distinction.