Documentaries India

Babri Case: Explained by Prof. Faizan Mustafa. Dr. Faizan Mustafa is the Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He sits on the board of directors of technology incubator, the T-Hub. Before taking charge as VC of NALSAR, he was the founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law University Odisha. Besides teaching and research works in the field of law, he has also authored several books and plenty of papers in national and international journals. He has been credited to explore new areas such as HIV law. Playlist of 7 explanatory videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx9w4BXh1KvVoIQdI3zcT50PvbCPlMgO7

Talk on 'Is Indian Syncretism a Bulwark Against Radicalisation' by Maulana Mahmood Madani This roundtable discussion explored how India's syncretic culture has acted as a bulwark against Islamist Radicalisation. Compared to other countries around the world and in India's neighbourhood in particular, Indian Muslims have shown very little affiliation and sympathy towards a "global jihad," espoused by international terrorist organisations like ISIS or Al Qaeda. Islamic scholar Maulana Mahmood Madani will help us understand these patterns further, highlight the new challenges of radicalisation in India. Maulana Mahmood Madani is the general secretary of Jamiat Ulam-i-Hind, one of the most influential Islamic organisations in India. He was also a member of upper house of the Indian Parliament from 2006–2012. Known for his outspoken criticism of jihad in the name of Islam, he has repeatedly exhorted Indian muslim scholars to issue a fatwa against terrorism. He is the grandson of freedom fighter Maulana Mahmood Hasan Deobandi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9niVEFmxXg

Bharat Ek Khoj — The Discovery of India A Production of Doordarshan, the Government of India’s Public Service Broadcaster Bharat Ek Khoj is a 53 episode television series that dramatically unfolds the 5000 year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of Indian Independence in I947. It is a series of explorations into the different periods of Indian history - political, social and cultural. It traces the crucial and significant landmarks in the evolution of the great Indian Civilization; a unique combination of multi-cultural, multi—religious and multi- ethnic communities constituting a pluralistic society unparalleled in the entire world. The episodes sometimes use the technique of a documentary, at other times drama, in their narratives. Bharat Ek Khoj is based on Jawaharlal Nehrus celebrated book, The Discovery of India. The episodes are anchored by the actor Roshan Seth who plays the role of Jawaharlal Nehru. It was produced and directed by Shyam Benegal and telecast every Sunday on Doordarshan in 53 episodes that ran for a whole year. It is an excellent synthesis of Indian history, culture, myths, mythology, epics, drama, music and film technology. Even after twenty years, we can proudly say that a whole generation was moved by this informative serial which has not only enhanced the historical perspective, but also inspired viewers to have a deeper understanding of our glorious past. Nehru came to India via the West, and looked at her, as a friendly Westerner might have done. But did he know India?- During the election campaign of I936-37, he travelled most extensively throughout India: in towns, cities and villages alike. He was on a great voyage of discovery and the land of India and its people lay spread out before him. India with all her infinite charm and variety began to grow upon him more and more. She was like some ancient palimpsest on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie had been inscribed, and yet no succeeding layer had completely hidden or erased what had been written previously. At the Ahmednagar Fort prison, Nehru sat down in five solitary jail-months of 1944 to record his own voyage of the discovery of India. Doordarshan Archives takes pride in offering this serial to its esteemed viewers in its endeavour to fulfill its commitment towards public service. Playlist of the 58 videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EG23oYcaFu6SNAiofd0uco0sD0JeVji

More details about this mini-series: http://www.filmsufi.com/2010/06/phantom-india-louis-malle-1969.html

Phantom India L'Inde fantôme: Reflexions sur un voyage is a 1969 French seven part television documentary mini-series about India, directed by Louis Malle. It was shown on BBC television as Phantom India Many British Indians and the Indian Government felt that Malle had shown a one-sided portrait of India, focussing on the impoverished, rather than the developing, parts of the country. A diplomatic incident occurred when the Indian government asked the BBC to stop broadcasting the programme. The BBC refused and were briefly asked to leave their New Delhi bureau Playlist of the 7 videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEuQcCpdd9ZHItHCssjjFqJhxlsVzGnZR

Climbing out of the hellhole Children of manual scavengers are daring to dream big with their parents determined to keep them away from the darkness that envelops their own lives https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/manual-scavenging-deaths-in-delhi/article25066854.ece

Scavenging Dreams The film looks at the world of rag pickers and waste dealers in Delhi - a world which thrives on the waste that the city generates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vlM4mdusrA

Moti Bagh - Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHfTKPUBY1g

Documentary about a farmer, whose story is emblematic of Uttarakhand’s ‘ghost villages’, is going to the Oscars The documentary, titled 'Motibagh' is based on the life and struggles of a farmer hailing from Pauri district who works towards sustaining himself in harsh conditions of the Himalayas. https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/documentary-farmer-uttarakhand-ghost-villages-moti-bagh-juliet-oscars-2020-6052323/

Reporting from Kashmir, 1989 to 1994 - Part 3 Alpana recalls covering the Hazratbal Siege and the matter of what she describes as “feeding biryani to the terrorists”. The siege exemplified, she says, that “there is a place for deflating and calming down situations rather than going all guns blazing”. Manoj remembers interviewing K Doraiswamy, the Indian Oil official who had been abducted by Kashmiri militants and released in exchange for nine of their comrades. “Doraiswamy spoke a language that was shocking,” Manoj says, suggesting the official suffered from Stockholm Syndrome. “He said Azad Kashmir for PoK, etc.” At the time, Madhu recalls interviewing Sudhir Kakkar, a psychoanalyst at the University of Chicago, US, about Doraiswamy. Kakkar explained how captivity affects the psyche of a hostage. Madhu asks Alpana about interview of Mast Gul, the central figure in the Hazratbal Siege whom she describes as the “first Pakistani militant to be captured on camera in Kashmir”. Recalling her first encounter with Gul, Alpana says, “His chest was full of grenades. He was a flamboyant character, he thought he was a filmstar.” They talked about Gul’s “fight for Islam” and the militancy, she adds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtYpdjtDx7o

Reporting from Kashmir, 1989 to 1994 - Part 2 Alpana remembers covering the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ekta Yatra, or Unity March, to Srinagar in 1992. It turned out to be a farce, dogged by contradictory statements from BJP leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi, then the party’s president, and Narendra Modi, a key organiser of the yatra. They claimed theirs would be a massive march, that they would not ask for security cover, that they would conclude the march by unfurling the Indian flag in Srinagar “in a celebratory manner with Kashmiris”. None of this came to pass. The flag was unfurled amidst a massive security cover and strict curfew. There was, of course, no celebration as the BJP leaders hurried back as soon as the flag was up. “In 13 minutes it was all over,” Alpana recalls. She remembers asking in her report, “What advice does the BJP president have to give to enthusiastic party workers and loyal supporters who were unceremoniously ditched at the last minute?” Alpana also recalls reporting on the abduction of some Kashmiri Pandits by the militants. She talks about the vulnerability of such hostages and the practice of exchange and negotiation between the militants and security officials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuBfzbD7lXE

Reporting from Kashmir, 1989 to 1994 - Part 1 To preempt mass protests against its dismantling of Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy, the Indian government put the Valley under a security lockdown and communications blackout. The lockdown, nearing a month and a half, has been so severe that even journalists have been finding it difficult to do their work. Not that it was easy to report from Kashmir before. Since the armed insurgency broke out in 1989, journalists covering the region have often had to negotiate tricky situations. In this series, “Reporting from Kashmir, 1989 to 1994”, Madhu Trehan and her former Newstrack colleagues Manoj Raghuvanshi and Alpana Kishore recount their time reporting from Kashmir, and what they learned from their experiences. “These two I would say are the ones in India and perhaps in the world who have done the most remarkable stories on Kashmir,” Madhu remarks, introducing her former colleagues. Manoj recalls that, on occasion, he had to risk his safety to record interviews and collect stories from Anantnag and Shopian in South Kashmir. “Shopian is a place where we almost got killed, twice,” he says. Among the stories he covered in the early years of the insurgency was the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. He remembers interviewing Bitta Karate, a militant who was accused of killing Pandits and who told Manoj he could kill his own brother or mother if the situation so demanded. It became dangerous for Manoj to report from Kashmir, so his colleague, Alpana, took over. She tracked the rise of Hizbul Mujahideen, the strongest indigenous militant group in the Valley, and the shifting of the Kashmir movement’s focus “from Azadi to an Islamic jihad or radicalisation”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb34Ap2muJI

Cobra Gypsies Cobra Gypsies offers a contemporary and colorful window to the amazing ancient culture of the nomadic Kalbeliya tribes, living in rural Rajasthan, Northern India. The film explores their culture of eternal dance, syncopated music, snake charming, colorful fashion and the nomadic way of life of these exotic looking castoffs, ancestors to the modern Roma Gypsies living in Europe today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNUYGRn3W9Q

For saving the school's reputation and earning some more money, some people are even ready to defend child rapists. For last SEVEN years, her mother is fighting this lonely battle. The witnesses haved turned hostile, forensic report missing and the school authorities call the child a 'liar' . Imagine what the child and her mother, will be going through. This gudiya shouldn't suffer because of the endemic rot and greed, our system breeds. If you're a concerned parent or a vigilant citizen of this society, please do read the article once and share it with others. —- Rape of 7-year-old in Bengaluru: Top lawyer gets school plumber off the hook | The defence first suggested that the child – the seven-year-old – was sexually active. When this line was objected to, the defence maintained that she had a vivid imagination. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/rape-7-year-old-bengaluru-top-lawyer-gets-school-plumber-hook-109602

Government to set up 1,023 special fast-track courts for rape, POCSO (sexual abuse of minors) related cases. Each of these courts are expected to dispose of at least 165 cases every year https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/government-to-set-up-1-023-special-fast-track-courts-for-rape-posco-cases/cid/1705152

India is planning one of the world’s largest and China-style facial recognition program Govt will open bids next month to build a system to centralise facial recognition data from surveillance cameras across India.. It would link up with databases containing records for everything from passports to fingerprints to help India’s depleted police force identify criminals, missing persons and dead bodies. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/71213132.cms

Is there a Youtube channel/playlist or anyother website you're subcribed to or follow for documentaries? Please do suggest on @samvaadbot Currently compiling a personal list of those, your suggestion will be helpful. :) Compilation links: https://t.me/joinchat/AAAAAFKQZKVp4ppFCkmxqQ

Shock Therapy, Forced Marriage: Life of Small-Town Lesbian Couples | The Quint When Sanjana* was 8, doctors gave her shock therapy to 'cure' her homosexuality. At 14, she was forcibly married off to a man ten years older than her. For the one year anniversary of Section 377 verdict, we spoke to women in same-sex relationships from small towns and villages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON7g_8Lm6lE

India's Sons | Tale of False Rape Case Survivors | First Trailer | 2020 Release India's Sons is a documentary film that traces journey, ordeals and escape of innocent men who were falsely accused of a rape charge in India. It's a first person account of men and families who bore the brunt of being called a rapist and a rapists family, only to be eventually honorably acquitted of the said crime after years of trial, on basis of credible evidence proving beyond doubt that they were falsely accused. The film brings out voices that matter, facts that are shocking and tales that are moving. The documentary aims to bring to the fore an issue that poses a big threat to sanctity and strength of the rape laws. It makes a case that false rape cases aren't just a threat to men who suffer false accusations but also women who actually suffer trauma of rape. The film sends a message to the society that while its working tirelessly to protect its daughters, it's time for it to wake up to plight of India's Sons! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPH6DMCSC6Q

Men - The forgotten gender | Deepika Bhardwaj | TEDxIIFTDelhi Deepika talks about the how men in the Indian society are suffering due to the draconian Indian Penal Code which is made for the protection of women but ignores men and their issues. She addresses the Indian Dowry Act from the perspective of men. Deepika talks of men who are victimised and sustematically abused by laws that are made for women but are abused to victimise men. Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj is a Journalist, Anchor and a Documentary Filmmaker. Her first documentary ‘Gramin Dak Sevak’ was Jeevika All Asia Livelihood Film Festival 2009, student film winner. Her second documentary ‘Youth Count’ was broadcast on India’s leading News channel NDTV 24x7. Her third project ‘Garima’ was a commissioned, short documentary film by USAID and Counterpart International. A software engineer turned Journalist, she was one of the ten media professionals selected from around the world for ‘Future Media Leaders Course’ conducted by Thomson Foundation, UK. She is currently making documentary called “Martyrs of Marriage” which is a commentary on the issue of Men’s right and abuse of one-sided gender centric laws in the Indian Penal Code. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_2gl7lz25E