This new film by Dakxin Chhara explores the criminalization of large numbers of indigenous people in British India. These communities had been wanderers, pastoralists, nomads, gypsies, entertainers & tradesfolk. After the Indian Mutiny in 1857 they became "the usual suspects.” In the US we call this racial profiling. With India's independence in 1947 the criminalized groups were given a new identity as “de-notified tribals” or DNTs. They are still viewed with suspicion by police and society at large. The film explores the complex logic of criminalization and how some communities have been rehabilitated through dramatic theater, filmmaking and community development.
Sundays at 8pm in May & June