Of India's Politics of Caste：

2018-10-26

Of India's Politics of Caste："The Unbearable Being of Lightness" Documentary Screening & Discussion

Trailer：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-ciHCPLSaY

Time：2018／10／26 (7:30pm-9:30pm )
Venue ：Stranger Cooperation x Hsinchu Dongmen Market 3rd Floor (No.86,Datong road)

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【Film & Discussion Abstract】

《The Unbearable Being of Lightness》/ 2016 / 45mins 
The filmmaker travels to University of Hyderabad on the aftermath of the suicide of Dalit scholar and activist, Rohit Vemula. The incident sparked series of subsequent protests when he was conducting a documentary film workshop for a group of students. There, he was confronted with the questions of Dalit issues that have been historically plaguing the country from the perspectives of the grassroots Dalit’s activists. 

Through the discussion, we are going to look at the complexities of caste politics in India from the British colonial historical period to contemporary socio-political milieu of India. In tracing the formation of caste in India, the discussion will be driven to focus on the intertwining questions of class, culture, religions and customs to the political resistances by the Dalits. 

【Filmmaker】 

Ramchandra PN is an Indian filmmaker graduated from ‘Screenplay writing and Direction’ in the year 1991 from ‘FTII’, Asia’s premier film school. His first feature won him the Best Indian Film at the Osian Cinefan Festival of Asian Films in 2006. His second film won the Best Children’s film at the Indian National Film Awards in the year 2009.

【Discussants】

Dipak Barkhade, is a senior PhD research scholar at Hyderabad Central University, India. Currently, he is working on Bundeli language which is spoken in Central India in the context of linguistic minority discourse. A Dalit himself by his social background, he has been a supporter of ASA (Ambedkar Student Association) an organization of Dalit students.

Tushar Ghadage, trained in Law and received his Master's degree in Social Work with the specialization in Criminology and Justice from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences [TISS], Mumbai, India. His current research is focusing on multiple religious identities of Dalits and the implications of caste atrocities in Maharashtra. He is attach to the Department of Anthropology, University of Hyderabad (UoH), Hyderabad, India.

【Moderator】Zikri Rahman 

 

FREE ENTRANCE

Organization: Stranger Cooperation x International Center for Cultural Studies,NCTU