India: We Do Not Want To Know

Singh: A victim of upper-caste violence who decided to sing against his oppressors. Even after his arms and legs were cut off. An unsung Dalit Hero, from a village in Punjab, supporter of the Communist Party of India Marxist Leninist (liberation party) his daughter was raped and his limbs broken for speaking against the upper caste. His medical bill and lawyers fees and the agrarian struggle in the rural punjab against oppression need money, expertize and relentless devotion understanding and compassion.

The making of the police-state (Largest recruitment by the Government of India is not of Teachers, Doctors, Engineers but that of “men in uniform” un-informed if not mis-informed and illiterate with gun pointed against it’s own people) Janmadhyam undertakes sensitization workshops for the police officials. And work for a world that doesn’t need arms and ammunition. Disarmament and non-aliening with forces that boasts fear and an end to arms race in the minds of men is a dream worth the entire world to strive for… ! Don’t you agree?

Since early 1990’s Jan Madhyam is a part of many significant events. The most well crafted among them is the 1999 “The Rally for the Valley” along the river Narmada in central India: a civilization threatened of extinction. An initiative to support the 20 year old non-violent struggle that made about 500 city folks from across the world to travel and see for themselves large scale destruction caused by development projects destroying the indigenous and farmers along with the entire eco-systems.

We were the forerunners in organizing the Road Shows under the banner ‘Free the Narmada Campaign’, where we visited more than 40 universities and collages in India screening our films such as “How Do I survive, My Friend” along with writer Arundhati Roy, film-maker Anand Patwardhan as co-speakers. At a time when the people in the Narmada valley were most de-moralized they embarked on this journey with a view to sensitize judges, politicians, media persons, along with the masses of students and city folks, arm chair scholars, mothers and Gandhian to take a stand and act against not only destructive development projects but IMF, World Bank, JP Group, BJP rule, Gujarat Government, Bush’s elections, Iraq war, pulp n violent cinema, MNC’s like Vedanta, Coca Cola n the national n international pimps.

Yet we were naive to assume that the Indian Courts would support the people of this country… wish we were right… for once… in our might.

* In the battle against nuclearization, with artists performing plays from epic mythology, experimentation with film and story-telling and distribution of written material. This has been one of the most fascinating experiments, as an effort towards nuclear literacy in India.
* Taking films to various activist groups and non-governmental organizations; basti’s, villages, on issues as diverse as communalism, casteism, trade union and labour movements, globalization, patent and intellectual property rights, environmental and human rights issues;
* Training of communities and individuals in using the audio-visual medium – to make documentaries accessible and to muster the courage to ask the right questions.
* To facilitate local groups and communities that can use films/DVD/CD as an instrument for social transformation.
* Our skills have got us invited to the UN, ILO, Indian and International Parliaments, the administrative and police academy for sensitization workshops. (often seen as such a waste of time…!!)
* Many international universities; schools; colleges use our films and invite us for talks.
* We try to co-pt those on the other side… especially those who sell their souls…knowingly or unknowingly.

We documented for Greenpeace , a film that was screened at the Basal Convention against illegal export of  Zinc Waste to India.

The people of India are fighting multi-national companies like UNION CARBIDE (since 1984) to protect the rivers, the waterfalls n the fragile eco-systems (including the vulnerable among the human race).  More than 20,000 family are still suffering due to this industrial disaster and sheer negligence. Millions of dollar worth of  law suits were filed and won by the companies… but the people who were unduely thrown into living a life of a lesser human being still do not receive compensation for basic health care, leave alone the need for specialized health care instead of all the insurance fraud that millions invest and are cheated until it is too late. (Watch: if you don’t believe bhopal.org )

Black – Water of India: There is a growing campaign against Coke/Pepsi among the many MNC’s that are plundering this planet at a breakneck speed.

NREGA: The National Rural Employment Gurantee assures the poor people of India at least 100 days of work. Since 1997 an organization in Rajasthan is battling under the banner of “Power to the Laboring and Farming Communities” (MKSS)asking the transparent governance and the Right to Information.  In 2010 the demand for transparency was extended for the 1st time to the corridores of the the judicary.

Murder of Lalit Kumar, NREGA activist in Palamu, Jharkhand

Renewable Energy:  Bihar needs your help URGENTLY

Banner by Fascist Right-wing group in New Delhi: Hang Afzal Guru (fighting the right-wing forces that talk of hate) {Watch: Ke Naam} It is no less that the bloody wars that Europe witnessed and still is frightened of it’s fall-out. We got to work together for this blind-madness that allows the human mind to hate. We at Janmadhyam carry on this work in places where even the most liberal fear to work.

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