Abstract
The article looks at the career trajectory of an anti-sectarian, nationwide, artists’ platform in India, the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat), since its inception in 1989. Sahmat's foundation parallels significant changes in India polity: the neo-liberalization of state economic and cultural policy, the rise of the Hindu right, the emergence of a new consumerist class, and significant political fragmentation. The article traces different schisms in Sahmat's history, both internal and external, superimposed onto these larger, structural changes within society. In doing so, it examines the particular convergence of aesthetic and political strategies employed by this unique organization.
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