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Sinister Scarlet Maligning Young Lives

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When a 17 year old is convicted in one of the most horrifying gang rape cases or when a 19 year old goes on a shooting spree, killing 17 people in his school after getting expelled; we must ponder over how and why these youngsters have homicidal tendencies.

Jaques in Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ beautifully explained the different stages of life, from infancy to death in the form of monologue. He associates the stage of youth with peart, passion and an innate push to build one’s reputation. That’s the beauty of being young – untouched by world’s pessimism and on the way to discover new horizons with ‘Carpe diem (seize the day)’ as the battle cry.

The foundation and progress of every state lies in the hands of its vigorous, vivacious youngsters, who are the torch bearers of the present and trustees of the future. They are crucial for national development as it is their toil and dynamic vision that runs the nation. It is observed that India has the relative advantage at present over other countries in terms of distribution of youth population. According to ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 revision’ Population Database of United Nations Population Division, India has the world’s highest number of 10 to 24-year-olds, with 242 million—despite having a smaller population than China. As per predictions in 2017 by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India; India is expected to have 34.33% share of youth in total population by 2020. Thus, it is evident that India has been blessed with the most valuable human resource for fostering economic, cultural and political development, quite magnanimously. But with such a huge youth population, there comes the onus of making them constructive parts of society. And, the whopping rise in juvenile crimes brings out a dark side of our ‘developing and flourishing’ society.

In recent years, juvenile delinquency has emerged as a disturbing trend world over. Petty crimes like pickpocketing, shoplifting etc. as well as heinous crimes like murder, rape, scams, etc. are being committed by juveniles increasingly. As per National Crime Record Bureau, a total of 41,385 juveniles were apprehended during 2015 out of which 40,468 were boys and 917 were girls. More worrisome is the fact of age- crime relationship, which states that these jostle between youngsters and the law and order peaks in adolescence. Subsequently, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded that in 2013 of the 43,506 crimes registeredagainst minors; 28,830 had been committed by those between the ages of 16 to 18, which is more than 60%. Also, most of these crimes were categorized into heinous criminal acts. Owing to increasing brutality of juvenile crimes; in 2015, the Juvenile Justice Act was passed by the Parliament which allows for juveniles between the ages of 16 to 18 years to be tried in adult courts, if they are found to commit any heinous crimes.

It is true that adolescence is an age of thinking abstractly, developing our own views and yearning for identity and independence. Peer influence, acceptance and sexual curiosity get the better of their natural reasoning. But these physical and mental changes are not the only determinants that push them into the dark world of crime; rather it is largely the social and psychological factors that work behind the curtains. Sociologists Richard Clowardand Lloyd Ohlin expounded that juveniles develop different delinquent tendencies depending upon what opportunities areavailable in their surroundings. Consequently, some of the most common causes which are associated with juvenile crimes are – poverty, drug abuse, anti-social peer group, abusive or negligent parents, family violence, and child sexual abuse. These negatively affect the persona and psyche of the individual during the most vital years of his/her growth. Herbert Hoover quoted, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Due to the limitation of opportunities, many youngsters fall prey to fascist and wicked ideologies of a few and act as their foot soldiers. Our education system and traditional family values also seem to be not making much difference when it comes to juvenile delinquency as according to the report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on ‘Crime in India’ released in 2017, juveniles who went to school committed crimes more than those who did not. Media especially, social media also has given impetus, among the youth to the feeling of being noticed and recognized through any means.

All these facts and figures should alarm us as citizens of society as they highlight how we are failing to build a secure future for the youngsters. Intervention at an early stage is essential to make a significant difference. Governments as well as local citizens must initiate educational programmes that educate, enable and empower the youth to become productive elements of the society. A healthy family environment must be made a fundamental right of every child. Dogma regarding mental health issues must be completely removed. Sexual education as a part of health education; awareness about risks in substance abuse and the exposure to inappropriate explicit content must be imparted to every adolescent.

‘Nobody is a born criminal. Circumstances make him so.’

The family, society and the state must work together to provide a nurturing and healthy socio-cultural environment. Every youth is entitled to care and protection with an atmos of equality and social justice. The sooner we realize this truth, the stronger and more virtuous a society we will build and thrive in.

Image credit: Press Trust of India 

Ipshika Ghosh

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Arts & Culture

Hunters: Al Pacino’s Foray into an Ott Media Series

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A look at one of Amazon Prime’s latest offering, Hunters, a show which is fictional in nature but is based on reality.

 

The story of this web series takes into account many historical factors, such as the holocaust, Operation Paperclip, which was a post World War 2 american operation in which around 1600 Nazi scientists were brought to the U.S.A, wih the legacy of nazi hunters such as the Mossad and Simon Wiesenthal. The show features many familiar faces such as Al Pacino, who needs no introduction, Logan Lerman, who played Percy jackson, and Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother. The show revolves around how Jonah (played by Logan Lerman) sets out to seek revenge for the death of his Grandmother and encounters Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) and his crew of nazi hunters, and the story revolves around the uncovering and foiling of a nazi plot to establish a fourth reich.

 

Before getting into specifics about the show, it would be remiss not to point out the major controversy around the show. In the first episode, Meyer describes an incident to young Jonah of human chess in Auschwitz. The gruesome and dark incident had been made up by the director, perhaps to elicit an emotional response from the audience. The Auschwitz memorial called out the show on twitter stating “Auschwitz was full of horrible pain and suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for Amazon Prime’s Hunter is not only dangerous foolishness and caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy.” This certainly brings into question ideas of responsibility even in the realms of fiction, especially if borrowing factors from history, even more so when these are based on the pain and suffering of real survivors.

 

Coming to the show itself, it follows most tropes that you would associate with a show like this, a young protagonist being led by an older mentor/ father figure, a group of rag tag individuals fighting a great menace, the antagonists and their henchmen being completely one dimensional. Where the show does differ is that there is a sense of self awareness about it, not in terms of over the top violence or gore, even with several torture scenes, the gore is not excessive. Where the show is self aware is in little skits placed around every episode which divert completely from the show while explaining a plot point or social commentary, an example of such is the use of a game show in the episode to look at the reasons for anti semitism in America.

The plot line of the show was interesting and well written, and It is definitely a good and easy watch to waste away the hours in quarantine, but prepare to be left with a cliffhanger which is an glaring indicator of a season 2.

Feature Image Credits: Techradar

 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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Arts & Culture

Hunters: Al Pacino's Foray into an Ott Media Series

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A look at one of Amazon Prime’s latest offering, Hunters, a show which is fictional in nature but is based on reality.   The story of this web series takes into account many historical factors, such as the holocaust, Operation Paperclip, which was a post World War 2 american operation in which around 1600 Nazi scientists were brought to the U.S.A, wih the legacy of nazi hunters such as the Mossad and Simon Wiesenthal. The show features many familiar faces such as Al Pacino, who needs no introduction, Logan Lerman, who played Percy jackson, and Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother. The show revolves around how Jonah (played by Logan Lerman) sets out to seek revenge for the death of his Grandmother and encounters Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) and his crew of nazi hunters, and the story revolves around the uncovering and foiling of a nazi plot to establish a fourth reich.   Before getting into specifics about the show, it would be remiss not to point out the major controversy around the show. In the first episode, Meyer describes an incident to young Jonah of human chess in Auschwitz. The gruesome and dark incident had been made up by the director, perhaps to elicit an emotional response from the audience. The Auschwitz memorial called out the show on twitter stating “Auschwitz was full of horrible pain and suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for Amazon Prime’s Hunter is not only dangerous foolishness and caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy.” This certainly brings into question ideas of responsibility even in the realms of fiction, especially if borrowing factors from history, even more so when these are based on the pain and suffering of real survivors.   Coming to the show itself, it follows most tropes that you would associate with a show like this, a young protagonist being led by an older mentor/ father figure, a group of rag tag individuals fighting a great menace, the antagonists and their henchmen being completely one dimensional. Where the show does differ is that there is a sense of self awareness about it, not in terms of over the top violence or gore, even with several torture scenes, the gore is not excessive. Where the show is self aware is in little skits placed around every episode which divert completely from the show while explaining a plot point or social commentary, an example of such is the use of a game show in the episode to look at the reasons for anti semitism in America. The plot line of the show was interesting and well written, and It is definitely a good and easy watch to waste away the hours in quarantine, but prepare to be left with a cliffhanger which is an glaring indicator of a season 2. Feature Image Credits: Techradar   Prabhanu Kumar Das [email protected]]]>

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DUB Speak

Fake News Shall Only Worsen the Crisis

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With the danger of an outbreak looming upon us, the news we share on social media becomes even more important. 

A study by Microsoft found that over 64 percent of Indians have encountered fake news online, the highest among the 22 countries surveyed. A public health crisis can shoot up the dissemination of irrelevant and fake news, which may include hoaxes to prevent or cure the virus. Famous Chinese messaging app, TikTok and WhatsApp have frequently been victims of videos and messages that claim to provide solutions to stop the virus.

The problem is not limited to facts. A large proportion of messages shared by people have little to do with verifiable facts and peddle prejudiced opinions. This includes influential people as well. Union Minister of State for Health, Ashwini Choubey, claimed that sunlight can improve immunity and kill coronavirus. There have been instances of people claiming that cow urine can cure people of the disease, which has been denied by scientists and the World Health Organisation (WHO). This vividly reflects that people choose to ignore facts owing to a repetition of certain messages within their circles.

Most of such messages reach the least informed people. They are prone to believe the things that they come across. Research published in 2018 has shown that during the Zika Virus outbreak, most popular messages contained fake headlines and content. Rumours obtained three times more shared than verified stories. Interestingly, rumours (20% of them) also portrayed Zika as a conspiracy against the public. This largely captures the behaviour of people when faced with a disease outbreak.

However, stories like these only worsen the situation. People fail to understand government policies and credible news, which do not reach people owing to an overwhelming number of irrelevant news in their inboxes. In a huge pile of messages and articles, the relevant ones are either ignored or are discredited.

By curbing down on such stories, right and requisite information can reach the people. With a dense population, India can get fatally affected by an outbreak, if it ever happens. One form of prevention lies in our hands, by selectively sharing information from verified sources. This boosts our self-interest as well

This obligates media houses as well. As the world of news has become faster due to the internet, media houses rush to get their hands on anything that can pacify their readers. They are notorious for capitalising on unverified stories using captivating headlines and vocabulary. As a need for legitimate news grows, media houses should act as India’s first line of defence to counter fake and irrelevant news.

The Press Information Bureau, along with other fact-checking organisation should work towards curbing the circulation of news and messages that claim unverified prevention measures. People should share correct preventive measures which are verified by organisations like the WHO or the Indian Council of Medical Research.

A truly reliable source of information these days is the WhatsApp contact of the WHO. It is a chat-bot that answers all queries pertaining to the novel coronavirus. Government websites are also equally effective.

The need to change our behaviour is immediate and intense.

 

Featured Image Credits: The Guardian

 

Kuber Bathla

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DUTA Releases Set of Demands Regarding COVID-19

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In a press release dated 19th March 2020, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) released a set of demands for the Vice-Chancellor regarding COVID-19.

In the midst of the global pandemic, DUTA has released a set of demands for the working conditions of the DU faculty regarding COVID-19. The statement contained five sets of demands brought forth by DUTA, pertaining to the management of the faculty and teaching done by the university regarding the pandemic.

DUTA has requested the administration of a few colleges that are still insisting that teachers working on ad-hoc and guest basis should necessarily be present in the College to desist from doing so and not request the physical presence of the teachers, and instead adhere to e-learning and online resources to continue with the teaching in the university, and to not discriminate ad-Hocs and guest teachers in relation to the preventative measures put forth by the university to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They have also asked for financial compensation for guest teachers who are making themselves available through e-resources during their assigned teaching hours, and to use the online resources and assistance that they’re providing to students as a record for the payment. DUTA also insists that the semester exams and activities be pushed back and rescheduled accordingly, as e-resources and online classes can not compensate for in-class lectures and that various students of the university residing in other parts of the country do not have access to a stable internet connection. The organisation has, therefore, urged the administration to make an example of the other universities who have pushed back and/or rescheduled their exams and semester schedule for the same purpose. They have also urged the administration to think of the students and teaching faculty of SOL and NCWEB, and ensure that the stipulated contact hours are met, and also to keep in mind the financial need of the guest-teachers of these organisations. Lastly, DUTA has urged that the University implements similar preventative measures to reduce the contact points of non-teaching staff as it has for its teaching faculty and to decrease in theworking days and staggered working hours for those on duty, to prevent the spread of the disease for this section of the workers of the university as well.

“We hope that the University responds by providing necessary institutional help to all sections of the University in this hour of crisis,” the press release stated.

The university has suspended classes till 31st March to provide relief and prevent the spread of COVID-19 amongst students and faculty and urges students to practice social distancing to stay healthy.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

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Democracy, Conservatism and Echo Chambers

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As we shut our ears to the cacophony of the other side, the institution of democracy loses its ability to hold people together. 

If the numbers are right, we are moving towards a world where everything is stretched and tied to two ends. Cass Sunstein, a Professor at Harvard University, argued whether the new public sphere woven by the internet acts as ‘echo chambers’ or not. In a paper published in 2002, Sunstein uses activities on Facebook to quantify people’s engagement with the other side. Several studies suggest that while interactions across the ideological divide are almost negligible, the ability to selectively exclude certain pages and people to pop into one’s feed can lead to both polarization and convergence.

 

Birds of a feather flock together

The idea of homophily is intrinsic to human beings. There’s a tendency to bond and associate with similar others. That is why people of a community tend to hold together in foreign lands. It is also the reason why Indians and Pakistanis bond so well as immigrants in a western country, particularly due to a South Asian affinity.

The feathers begin to rot when they’re painted with political colours. People begin to ignore facts and constantly attempt to prove the other side wrong. Political polarization then extends to sensitive issues like LGBTQ rights, climate change and abortion. The Red states in the US actively deny climate change, even after being exposed to facts which claim the opposite. Groups, therefore, have shared opinions on most issues.

Political Echo Chambers allow think tanks and entrepreneurs to exploit voters by fooling them using certain tactics. They help leaders to present different images to different people, which helps them to secure a place in the heart of every voter. A single leader can be present at many places ideologically, by presenting themselves differently to different kinds of voters.

 

The Internet as a ‘Public Space’

The bricks of these chambers are placed by the invisible hands of the Internet. With its invention, people believed that the world will now be able to interact with each other in a better manner, thereby filling chests with tolerance and empathy. As a fact, on Facebook, 99.91 per cent of the two billion people on it belongs to a single huge component, and hence everyone is connected to everyone in some manner. Unfortunately, none of this has led to fruitful conversations among people.

For one, sites like Twitter and Facebook function as echo chambers. The design of such websites allows people to adopt a homophilic approach, which narrows the divide between the Internet and the real world. A study of 2.2 million politically engaged users on Twitter in the US finds that while there are roughly 90 million network links among these users, 98 per cent of first retweets of Republican voters come from conservative voters. The corresponding number for Democrats is 86 per cent.

 

Offline Polarization

But polarization is not limited to the internet users. Fake news was invented long before Facebook, and partisanship existed through newspapers and TV channels. News Channels, to maintain their viewership, picked sides and broke their supposed vow of remaining unbiased. While Fox news moved towards the right, channels like MSNBC started appealing more to liberal voters of the US. A homogeneous audience pushed them towards their extreme sides, something that these channels might not have anticipated. Polarization has increased the most for an older audience, who are least likely to be on the internet and consume articles produced by traditional media houses.

 

Effect on Preferences

Economists like to assume that preferences are both stable and coherent. But the former might lose ground if the idea of Echo Chambers yields the expected results. Absurd preferences, such as a hatred for blacks, can get intensified with repetitive exposure to similar views. Such peculiar opinions keep persisting due to limited exposure to the other side. Furthermore, the opportunity to choose the news one consumes adds fuel to the fire.

 

An Ailing Civic Discourse

An understatement would be to say that Echo Chambers do not encompass matters of civic importance. Social media has made it easier for news to originate and circulate, which means that virtually anyone can produce a rumour within seconds, and these chambers can, in turn, empower such people. It kills the production of reliable news and analysis. Moreover, original pieces aren’t credited, since copying something is easier than ever now.

Facts cease to matter after a point. Constant repetition of certain ideas targeted at certain people pushes them into a cult. Ideas become elements of belief for people, an ideology they must hold onto to ‘prevent’ the other side from attacking them. Conversations become violent and stop yielding results. Lack of confrontation in the virtual world erodes mannerism, which encourages sharp language that only results in chaos. As Plato pointed out in Allegory of the Cave, ridiculing the uninformed is the worst form of enlightenment, and radicalization is the only fruit.

 

The Democracy of the Future

As people get disconnected over a network of connections, the idea of democracy weakens. Polarization, as is evident, happens offline as well, which affects people of all ages. Radical views are supported by numerous people now, and the truth loses its value. Democracy, which is supposed to work for everyone, folds itself into the world of a group of self-conforming individuals who hold mirrors and reflect similar ideas. The walls prevent interaction with the outside world. An example of how a Radio company’s actions in Rwanda led to a mass genocide of fifty thousand people is chilling. The way out of these chambers is unknown since people can customize what they view.

But this choice itself can be a saviour. Experiments show that people choose to move towards the centre when informed about the leanings of all media houses. But such laboratory customized experiments can only reveal a little about this world. We are yet to solve most of our problems.

 

Featured Image Credits: BBC Future

 

Kuber Bathla

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Mera Jism Meri Marzi: Pakistani Womxn March For Their Rights

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The Aurat March is an annual political demonstration organised in various cities of Pakistan. 

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Pakistani womxn organised Aurat March across various cities in Pakistan. The Aurat March is organized under the banner of “Hum Auratain” (we women), an umbrella term for a collective of feminist women, transgender individuals, nonbinary persons, and gender and sexual minorities who stand against the patriarchal structures that result in the sexual, economic, and structural exploitation of women.

It all started two years ago when a couple of feminist groups from Karachi decided to hold a march on International Women’s Day, 8th March. Nighat Dad, the founder of Digital Rights Foundation and one of the organisers of the march in Lahore wrote, “The agenda of the march was to demand resources and dignity for women, for the transgender community, for religious minorities, and those on the economic margins, but more importantly, to acknowledge that women’s emancipation is inherently linked with improvement of all mistreated groups and minorities”.

According to the ‘Hum Auratain’ collective manifesto, there was no NGO or corporate funding and no political party alliance. It demands economic justice including implementation of labour rights, the Sexual Harassment against Women in the Workplace Act 2010, recognition of women’s input to the ‘care economy’ as unpaid labour and provision of maternity leaves and day care centres to ensure women’s inclusion in the labour force. It also demands environmental justice.

Women’s right to climate justice and resilience must be recognised and ensured, it said, access to safe drinking water, safe and clean air, protection of animals and wildlife, including cessation to the culling of stray dogs, and ensuring and protecting women’s food sovereignty, and recognition of women’s participation in the production of food and cash crops.

Other points in the manifesto included accountability and restorative justice against violence, access to a fair justice system, the inclusion of women with disabilities, the inclusion of transgender community, reproductive justice, access to public spaces including transport services and clean public toilets, inclusion in educational institutions, etc.

Then there were the more sedate messages. Five coffins were placed at one end of the park, with chilling signs stuck to them. ‘Honour Killing’, Transgender Killings’, ‘Child Victims’, ‘Domestic Workers/Polio Workers murdered’, and ‘Domestic Violence’ – a reminder of why women are killed every day.

The rally, organised by a collective called ‘Hum Auratain’ was huge and held in different cities – Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Hyderabad.

 

Feature Image Credits: Zuneera Shah for Dawn

Paridhi Puri

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DU Teachers Demand Permission to Work from Home

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With the advent of the novel Coronavirus pandemic, Delhi University (DU) teachers demand permission to work from home, DU administration releases press release to accept their demands. 

On 15th March, Delhi University sought permission for teachers from the Varsity administration to work from home as the classes were suspended for all students till 31st March,2020 due to COVID-19.

Four Academic Council members sent a letter to Yogesh K Tyagi, Vice Chancellor, DU, wherein they requested extending the semester session to make use of the time lost due to regular classroom teaching coming to a halt and make necessary changes to the examination schedule.

The members said in a joint letter, “The University must seriously consider extending the semester session by a fortnight to make up for the teaching time lost due to this temporary cessation of regular classroom teaching.”

In addition to this, they also added, “Teachers should be permitted to work from home to avoid unnecessary travelling of around 10,000 citizens.”

Assistant professors Deo Kumar, Kanchan and, Saikat Ghosh, and Associate Professor Rajesh Kumar, requested work from home permission in a letter they wrote to the Vice-Chancellor as some Principals of colleges affiliated to Delhi University had asked the faculty members to report to college despite the suspension of classes. Many faculty members from various colleges extended their support to the members of Academic Council.

In response to the letter, Delhi University issued a press release that said, “Teaching-learning process shall continue through e-resources. The teachers have the option to work from home.”

The study material will be provided to students on a weekly basis on the website of every college till the suspension of classes. However, the teachers are unclear about how successful this arrangement will be.

The members also said, “Online teaching cannot be a substitute for practical learning and laboratory work where regular teaching-learning is essential.”

Feature image credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat

Suhani Malhotra

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Women Behind the Camera: Zooming the Lens towards the Creators

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Not just monotonously draped women in Sarees and custom roles designed by Men, women craft their own niche on the Indian Celluloid perfectly and permeably.

Ever since the ‘release’ of Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love and Fire in 1996, stirred rows of controversies among the audience, the population was laid exposed to multiple cultures that were about to ferment in the decades to follow. The perception of women in Indian imagination sought to have a great thrust now, but what was more monumental were the two directors – Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, who re-narrativised the ‘Bhartiya Nari and Sabhyata‘ in a post modern view.

The global egalitarian debate has pulled the female representatives at multiple fronts to collect together for achieving gender neutral objectives in – politics, business, sports and perhaps the most important the arts and entertainment industry; without any doubt the women in entertainment business exercise the highest influence and its Indian counterparts are no different, in recent times Indian celebrities have found a global following and new icons are emerging every year.

The Indian Film Industry occupies a central space in every household and it’s Pan India reception makes it even more desirable and challenging. The glamorous lead women over the years have instilled a feeling of aspiration among many young girls who dream to get a slice of ‘The Dream Pie’ and this in fact has turned true in many cases. From Durgabai Kamat to Rekha, Waheeda Rehman to Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi to Priyanka Chopra many female leads have made the marks on the world memory, apart from lead actresses, playback singing seemed to be the only alternative for women for many years in this male dominated industry. But, in the last two decades the industry has witnessed many talented women who have impressed everyone with their skillful exuberance of potential as directors, screenwriters, music directors, cinematographers, etc.

My discussion on the professional female enterprise in Indian film industry has a tripartite perception – firstly, as an avid Cinemaphile general output; secondly in terms of the political depictions, thirdly as a demarcation between the West and the East.

Women making Films not your Food

1926 release ‘Bulbul Ae Paristaan’ saw a major moment in Indian Cinema when Fatima Begum became the first female writer, producer and director. Female Filmmakers like Kalpana Lajmi,  Sai Pranjpaye and Tanuja Chandra might be alien to many but their productions ‘Katha’, ‘Rudaali’ or ‘Dushman’ have captured an audience of its own. Similarly, Aparna Sen and Sumitra Bhave have successfully exploited Bengali and Marathi regional cinema with films like ’36 Chowringhee Lane.’

To reiterate the genius of Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair are beyond words, their movies have garnered critical acclaim not only in India but globally with topics that were really necessary.

Promising female directors like Meghna Gulzar of ‘Raazi’, Kiran Rao of ‘Dhobi Ghat’, Reema Kagti of ‘Talaash’, Nandita Das of ‘Manto’, Zoya Akhtar of ‘Gullyboy’, Farah Khan of ‘Main Hoon Na’, Gauri Shinde of ‘Dear Zindagi’, Shonali Bose of ‘The Sky is Pink’, Alankrita Shrivastav of ‘Lipstick Under my Burkha’ or Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari of ‘Bareily ki Barfi’ have been received well both by audience and critics and have severely diversified into script writing, editing, short films and online content.

Instigators of New Ideas

Female filmmakers have brought a range of topics like Surrogacy, sexuality, same sex relationships and horrors of patrirarchy and misogyny to attention. Depiction of lives of a lesbian relationship in ‘Fire’, a widow’s condition in ‘Water’, mental health in ‘Dear Zindagi’ or surrogacy in ‘Filhaal’, the women have hit the bell hard for others; parallely movies like  ‘Firaaq’ and ‘Salaam Bombay’ comment about the socio political condition of India in a sharp tone.

Not just Makers

Women are known for their adorning skills, their presentation has nuances of meticulousness which has been visible in recent times not just as directors or filmmakers but also in music production like Sneha Khanwalkar and Bombay Jayshree or the lyrics business like Anvita Dutt Guptan and Kausar Munir. Where Choreographers like Farah Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Geeta Kapur have grooved their way, designers like Niharika Khan, Anaita Shroff Adjania and Bhanu Athaiya have marked their own style.

Cinematographers like Priya Seth, Fowzia Fathima and Archana Borhade have captured stories that must hit film Critics like Subhash Jha hard when he comments as, “It comes as a surprise that the film is shot by female cinematographer Priya Seth. The images her camera captures are rugged, virile and predominantly masculine.”

The Critical Women

Nikhat Kazmi to Anupama Chopra and Namrata Joshi, women have been acclaimed critics for years, reviewing movies and it’s various aspects they have derived the opinions for the Indian Masses particularly and successfully.

It won’t be enough to say that these women are merely talked here for the sake of being one but particularly to affirm the success of these women in a misogynistic environment where their efforts have striven hard in order to see results. The male dominated land had to send out a message for the viewers who voraciously consume what is screened and pretended by their stars on and off the screens and in a state, where the patriarch and opressing society needs to acknowledge these women substantially.

Image Credits: ForbesIndia

 

Faizan Salik

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Crushing Dissent: Aaya Police!

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“Our democracy will not sustain if we can’t guarantee freedom of speech and expression,” PM Narendra Modi said in June 2014. But the recent police action against protestors showcases that in India what you preach is not what you practice. 

Our country is currently being rocked by protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in various places. Although there exist divided views on the issue, the major concern that has arisen is the importance of expressing dissent in a democracy and the biased stance of the police in the matter. 

Dissent can be defined as non-agreement with an idea, policy or entity. Democracy sustains and strengthens because of its ideals as well as voicing the collective will and diversity in views. It is only through acts of dissent that we can truly assess the efficacy of a democratic system. But in recent times, any kind of objection to the current government or its policies are blatantly termed as ‘Anti-national and seditious’ by the government, members of the ruling party and some other organisations. A large number of people who have criticised the government policies or even Modi, have either been arrested or brutally trolled on various social media platforms. Student protests against CAA – NRC have been ridiculed as immaturity and propaganda of the opposition. In places like Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, Assam, etc. non-violent protests have been aggressively curbed using police force. 

The matter in question is not whether these policies and decisions are worthwhile, but the growing intolerance towards any form of opposition or disagreement to the popular decision and the police using its powers in a prejudiced manner. Scores of images, videos and other evidence have come up that have questioned the integrity of ‘kanoon ke rakhwale (Law Keepers)’. Victims of police brutality have shared horrific accounts of how they were detained on falsified charges, abused and even labelled as ‘Pakistanis’. This clampdown on civil society activists and critical minds is not a recent phenomenon. For instance, in the Bhima-Koregaon case of 2018, activists speculated to have Maoist links were arrested. Later, a fact-finding committee found that Hindu extremist groups planned Bhima-Koregaon riots, but the police targeted the activists due to pressure from the state government to protect the perpetrators. The recent transfer of the case to NIA by the Home Ministry raises further questions. Same accusations have been levied during CAA protests as the police raised their lathis and guns against some groups of protestors only. Hostility of the police is often justified on the grounds of maintaining peace and unity and colonial era laws of sedition and criminal defamation are used as crutches to support the lies. This rampant silencing by police is worrying and aggravates dubiety – whether the scales of justice always favour the privileged and the majority. 

Nurturing dogma, which restraints criticism and disapproval, will surely befall great doom upon our country. With increasing education and awareness, the police cannot act as bigoted individuals, launch a ‘witch – hunt’ on a sectarian basis and then expect the people to stay mum. 

 A democracy is prosperous when it comprises active citizens who dissent against the unjust and express their devotion and respect towards its ideals through nonviolent means and in turn, the government and its agencies too welcome their revolutionary views. That is when we become truly free and enjoy the true essence of our existence as a human. 

‘The Constitution gives us a voice

to raise against any unjust.

But they try to steal our choice

and tell us, to their whims we must adjust.

No longer will we be played as toys

cos it’s time to rise and voice our dissent.’

 

Image Credits: Manav Ahuja and Jassman for DU Beat

Ipshika Ghosh 

[email protected]

 

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