No? Neither did I until yesterday.

There I was sitting at Juhu’s Prithvi Theatre watching a compilation of short documentary films, organized by an NGO called Vikalp (formed in 2003, a group of documentary film makers fighting against censorship) and all I could think of was Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.

Though the film turned out to be the biggest box-office failure of 2007, to me the film’s depiction of modern day daaku raj (Babban Singh) vs. Ex-Police Chief and his hired goons Heroo & Raj – seem perfectly in sync with the Naxalite situation in the State of Chhattisgarh. No laughing matter this, the reality is as dark and horrifying. However unlike the movie, the Naxalite condition doesn’t have as clear a hero-villain divide as the movie.

In order to free the state’s people from the tortures of the rebellious Naxalities (dakku raj), the government put in action the Special Public Security Act (SPS, 2005), and have also created an army of villagers called the Salwa Judum giving them bows arrows and guns, under the pretext of self-protection against the bad guys. The Chhattisgarh government wants us to look up to them in the same way as the villagers regarded the Ex-Police Chief in the film. Their life-savior, their messiah.

According to the Planning Commission 2008 report, that is not only unconstitutional, but also a form of state sponsored terror. So, no happy ending in sight here, only a spiral result of violence and more of it.

And this is where filmmaker Ajay TG’s story comes in.

Click here to continue reading ‘Do You Know Ajay TG?’

The continuing inconsistencies and drawbacks in our judicial system are regularly highlighted with cases such as Jessica Lall’s Murder Trail, Priyadarshini Mattoo Rape & Murder Trail and the on-going mother’s struggle to procure justice for her dead son, Nitish Katara. The reason we know about these unlawful acts is solely because of the keen participation of the main stream media. Agreed, many of the media channels just use these cases for their personal TRP benefits but I guess as long as they serve the society at large in the process, then there is no harm done.

What about those struggles which do not catch the media's attention - Where do they go to make their voices heard? Will their years of labor actually pay off? Will they ever get justice?

Nope. No way. Yes, you can call me pessimistic but come on who are we kidding here. When a mass-murder trial took more than 11 years to reach a judgment (and still guilty ones are walking about freely) - are there really any possibilities for individuals who are fighting without the backing of acclaimed lawyers, political assistance and endless cash flow!

So does this mean we continue to let the rich and the powerful walk all over us? Certainly not. And as they say “No good deed goes unanswered”, we should lend a helping hand and be the voice for those who are not being heard, for who knows tomorrow we could be the ones in need of desperate help.

And so here I am doing a deed, hoping that you will do more than just read.

This is Anthia Mishra’s fight for justice.

Click here to continue reading ‘What Happened To Parmanand Mishra?’

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