ABSTRACT
The beginnings of modern Punjabi theatre are marked by several experimental attempts by the early practitioners of the genre. One such attempt was by Bhai Vir Singh who wrote the didactic play Raja Lakhdata Singh (1910) to point out the malaise affecting the contemporary Sikh society of the time. The play propagates the philosophy of the Singh Sabha and tries to drive home the message that only education could save the Sikhs. The play, while not as popular as the novels of Bhai Vir Singh, is still an important commentary on the society of the time and is representative of one of the dominant schools of thought and ideology of the time, namely the Singh Sabha. This chapter tries to assess the play as a mouthpiece for Bhai Vir Singh's didacticism through an analysis of its form and theme. It also tries to situate the relevance of the writer's attempt at propagating his message through a relatively new genre, by placing it in the larger social and religious atmosphere of the time.
