India Untouched- Stalin K charts the forbidden route

Stalin K spent 4 years traveling through this poised country of ours gathering footage to prove that the caste system propounded by scriptures nearly 4000 years ago still exists in India. Given the obviousness of the proposition, it could not have been a very tough job but what makes India Untouched a piece de resistance is the staggering range of evidence he has managed to strew together.
He covers villages and towns from southern, northern and western states and even the larger metros. There is a comprehensive account of the various forms that discrimination can take, beginning with symbolism like not being allowed to enter tea stalls and temples and having to take their shoes off in upper caste areas through issues of marriage and education, right up to the brutality of forced occupations like scavenging and violence and rape used to “show them their place”.
There are Rajput farmers and Brahmin scholars on record talking about how dalits “have no rights” and quotes from the Manusmriti which lay down these rules of segregation. Not content with exposing the rot beneath the surface of the world’s oldest religion, Stalin goes on to show that Islam, Christianity and Sikhism as they are practiced in India, are just as wrought with casteism. He follows the trail of bias into an urban hospital and the JNU. But perhaps his strongest point is made as children from various classes reiterate these values without really knowing where they come from.
Cinematically the presentation is basic with only an occasional split screen device to break the monotony. The film maintains an emotional distance from stories for most part even though there is an obvious attempt to exclude any sort of counterpoint to the thesis.
The impact is chilling but there is little in terms of insight. The film is aimed at anti affirmative action with a clear pro reservation stand but it does little to explain its merits or politics or the impact of Mandal recommendations on the issue. Besides, there might be a danger in advocating economic empowerment as the supreme solution to the problems at hand. Caste bias is a psychological issue, woven into our rituals, faith, tradition and even our names. The Brahmins and Rajputs who have lost their privy purses and economic monopoly are more now likely to tout their ‘superiority’ to rescue a floppy ego. The documentary itself shows how abusive forms of discrimination morph into “hi-tech” forms among the educated classes. Even after the reservation argument is won, you wonder, what about those who will not migrate to cities to attend college, as surely there should be some? And even those who do stand merely to be in a better position to ignore oppressors. What about their quota of dignity, pride and peace? The token hope this film offers in the end is purely romantic. There is a long way left to go and this is a good place to start for the uninitiated. But even for those who have read treatises on the issue watching the perpetration will be an experience apart- such is the power of good cinema.
(The article originally appeared in Mumbai Mirror)