For the Khatik community from Derwada, life in Rajasthan has been a constant struggle for recognition. With hollow promises made at each election, the community seems to have no hope that their hardships will ever come to an end. Shambhulal Khatik wants to become the voice of this disenfranchised community and others like it. He wants to report on the…

Shambhulal Khatik

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The Delwara region of Rajasthan has thousands of daily wage workers who travel to Jaipur, the nearest city to earn a living. Many of them are employed in marble and stone cutting units. These workers predict that the end of lockdown will not end their miseries as businesses will only limp back to normalcy and will offer fewer jobs and lowered wages.

Shambhulal has been filming various issues in his community for more than 7 years and has produced watch worthy stories. His deep commitment to his community compelled him to film these villagers in distress. "The first couple of days of the lockdown I was afraid to step out of the home because I had gotten into an argument with the cops. They assaulted me and I got injuries on my foot during the incident. However, I managed to gather the courage to film the video thinking of my less fortunate people", says Shambhu. He further adds "I was sure that the poor people I wanted to interview won't have masks with them and so I took some masks with me before leaving. These people not only had any masks but sadly had no food too." Shambhu thinks the situation will worsen unless the government steps in and takes strong measures to help the daily wage earners.