Safdar Hashmi (12 April 1954 – 2 January 1989) was an Indian communist playwright and director, best known for his work with street theatre in India. He was also an actor, lyricist, and theorist, and he is still considered an important voice in Indian political theatre. He was an activist of the Students' Federation of India (SFI).
He was a founding member of Jana Natya Manch (People's Theatre Front; JANAM for short) in 1973, which grew out of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). He was murdered in 1989 in Jhandapur, while performing a street play, Halla Bol.
Early life
Safdar Hashmi was born on 12 April 1954 in Delhi, to Haneef and Qamar Azad Hashmi. He spent the early part of his life in Delhi and Aligarh, where he grew up in a liberal environment, and went on to complete his schooling in Delhi. He was the brother of activists Shabnam Hashmi and Sohail Hashmi, and actress Saba Azad is his niece.
Hashmi graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with a degree in English Literature, and went on to complete his M.A. in English from Delhi University. During this period, he became associated with the cultural unit of the Students' Federation of India, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and eventually with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). In the years before and after his graduation, he worked on several plays with IPTA, such as Kimlesh, and Dekhte Lena.