During the pre-Independence period, the message of freedom and nationalism were spread via various media, plays and theatres being one of them. There were several writers who wrote plays on nationalist themes, one amongst them being T. P. Krishnaswamy Pavalar. He joined the national movement following the arrest of Annie Beasant in 1917. His tryst with stage, plays and theatres had begun in various degrees, and subsequently began his own troupe ‘Bala Manohara Nataka Sabha’ in 1920. He however closed the company and started the ‘Pavalar Boys Company’. One of the patriotic plays performed was Khaddarin Vetri.
Khaddarin Vetri (Victory of Khaddar) was staged in 1921, and soon ran into a controversy. The British authorities had objected to a particular scene in the play wherein the Police were beating Congress workers. He was refused permission to stage the play at many places since the authorities wanted that scene removed. Pavalar however refused and instead stopped staging the play for a while. He also wrote to Gandhi for his advice regarding the predicament. Gandhi advised him to remove the scene as he did not want Khadi to be portrayed as a medium for inciting violence against the British. Pavalar thus modified the scene and renamed it as Khadar Bhakti.
The play was performed several times thereafter and became supremely popular.
Source: Indian Culture Portal