A village oppresses its Dalit community by cutting them off from social, economic and political processes and spaces. The caste system seeks to maintain the status quo of keeping "highs" high and "lows" low. The paranoia of the other castes against Dalits manifests itself in bullying, boycott, force and violence.
ARTICLE 17
A Campaign to End Untouchability
ARTICLE 17 is a campaign launched by Video Volunteers on April 14th, 2012, to urge the National Commission for Schedule Castes, (the government body that is constitutionally appointed to direct and implement the safeguards against untouchability), to prosecute cases of untouchability. Community Correspondents across the country are documenting video testimonies of different forms of untouchability. The first 22 videos are featured here and more will be added as the campaign continues.
We want to give viewers the responsibility, as witnesses, to end this age-old oppression once and for all.
Sign the petition being sent to the National Commission on Scheduled Castes.
The Student Teacher Ratio and School Area needs improvement
In this video of UPS Manwan Awoora school, Kupwara, Kashmir, the community correspondent Pir Azhar shows us that there are nine classes for 250 students, and due to lack of space, the lower primary classes are held outside in the open. Also the school has only 7 teachers.
The Sinking Houseboats of Kashmir
Houseboats are a major tourist attraction in Kashmir. History says that this tradition started in the 1800s and since then it has created a unique heritage in the tourism industry.