Беделіне тиюші пьеса: «Бехти» және тудырған даулары

Behzti (Punjabi ਬੇਇੱਜ਼ਤੀ, Dishonour) is a play written by the British Sikh playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti. The play sparked controversy in the United Kingdom in December 2004. A controversial scene set in a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) included scenes of rape, physical abuse and murder, with some members of the Sikh community finding the play deeply offensive to their faith. On the opening night, 18 December 2004, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Rep), in Birmingham, England, a protest was organised by local Sikh leaders which turned violent, with the Rep cancelling performances of the play two days later. The case became part of a wider discussion in Britain about the limits of free speech and whether this can be curtailed where it offends the faith of religious groups.

The plot revolves around the elderly Balbir and her daughter Min who have a difficult and tempestuous relationship. Though both Sikhs, they have been largely ostracised from the local Sikh community following the suicide of Balbir's husband Tej some years before. Seeking to secure her daughter's future, Balbir presses Mr Sandhu, a respected figure in the local gurdwara, to look into potential marriage partners for her daughter. Subsequently it emerges that Mr Sandhu had been conducting a gay affair with Tej, and that Tej had killed himself out of shame that it would be revealed. Mr Sandhu goes on to rape Min in the gurdwara, though this is covered up by others in the temple. Balbir later kills Mr Sandhu with a kirpan, and Min forms relationship with Elvis, her mother's black care worker.

Supporters of the play said the cancellation was an affront to freedom of speech. More than 700 arts figures, including Prunella Scales, Tariq Ali, Terry Jones, Andrew Motion, Jude Kelly, Richard Eyre, Ayub Khan Din, Willy Russell, Jonathan Coe, Sheila Hancock, Timothy West, and Samuel West signed a letter in support of the playwright. The letter read, in part:

We all have the right to protest peacefully if a work of art offends us. We do not have the right to use violence and intimidation to prevent that work of art from being seen by others. Gurharpal Singh, professor of inter religious relations at the University of Birmingham, writing in The Guardian, criticised the protestors for promoting an essentially outdated view of Sikhs rooted in the concerns of early Sikh migrants rather than the modern British born Sikh youth, and the Labour government of Tony Blair as backing the "promotion of religion in public life", ignoring internal tensions in communities and stifling dissent. The author responded Religion and art have collided for centuries, and will carry on doing battle long after my play and I are forgotten. The tension between who I am, a British born Sikh woman, and what I do, which is write drama, is at the heart of the matter. These questions of how differences in perspective and belief are negotiated in Britain today will, I hope, continue to bring about a lively and vital debate. Stephen Glover, writing for The Daily Mail, as reported by The Skih Times, commented that while deploring censorship, he did feel a "degree of sympathy for the Sikhs", and found it hard "not to admire" the defence of their beliefs. Sarita Malik, writing for ArtsProfessional magazine, noted that the reaction to Behzti showed a sharp divide between minorities and the art community. One protester, Pritpal Singh, unsuccessfully appealed his conviction, arguing that the assembly was legal and that his rights were violated by the order to disperse. Lady Justice Hallett, speaking for the majority, said the defendant's claim failed to address the rights of those who were frightened or endangered by the protest.