[2]On 20 December 2004, after an emergency meeting of the theatre management and discussions involving the local Sikh community, West Midlands Police and the Commission for Racial Equality, The Rep decided to cancel the play.

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.

[6]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.

[7] Sarita Malik, writing for ArtsProfessional magazine, noted that the reaction to Behzti showed a sharp divide between minorities and the art community.

[9] Jasdev Singh Rai, director of the Sikh Human Rights Group, writing for The Guardian, criticised the play as sensationalist.

Rai defends the "subjective inscrutability of sacred icons" and cites the work of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault in their criticisms of "the constructed paradigms of rationalism".

He states that "freedoms are never absolute, least of all in multicultural, multiracial societies where responsibilities to co-exist must limit them" and concludes that "the legacy of colonialism lingers, now disguised as a defence of 'free speech'.

She noted that much of the action took place in a Gurdwara, and described the play as a "searing comedy" that included rape, abuse, murder, but was "hugely funny, touching and tremendously important."

"[citation needed] The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, said the play was offensive to people of all faiths: "The right to freedom of expression has corresponding duties to the common good.

"[19] The cancellation of the play is discussed in Nigel Warburton's 2009 book Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction, where he states that "the effects of the storming of the theatre are far wider than the particular case: the danger of such episodes is that they cause writers to self-censor for fear of violence.