For
over a century, a substantial number of Adivasis, or tribals
of the Chottanagpur plateau, have been converting to Christianity
in order to free themselves from bonded labour and feudal
oppression still prevalent in rural India. A combination of
education and Christianity have helped the Adivasis establish
an alternative identity outside the Hindu caste system, undermining
feudal and Hindu authority. While the demand for a tribal
homeland called Jharkand has been gaining momentum from a
number of sources since independence, Hindu fundamentalist
organisations such as the Rashitriya Swayamsevak Sangh and
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have held the Christian missionaries
singularly responsible for encouraging the Jharkand movement.
In the absence of dialogue between Hindu revivalists and Christian
tribals, this feature length documentary represents an effort
to understand how the two communities will co-exist within
a secular Indian fabric.
About the Director ...
Ranjan Kamath
graduated with an associate degree from Trinity School of
Music in London. He began working in Calcutta's theatre and
music world soon after, both as an actor and stage/lighting
designer. He then went on to work as an assistant director
in Bombay on documentaries and short films. He has completed
his post-graduation from the London International Film School,
with a distinction in Cinematography, and has been working
as a producer and director/ cinematographer on Indian features,
international co-productions and short features for the BBC,
Channel Four, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and others.
Padmavathi Rao straddles
the performing arts, which includes theatre, commercial and
documentary film making. She started her career in feature
films at the age of 15 and has been performing on stage in
various Indian languages, including Kannada, Gujarati, Hindi,
and English since. She has also worked as an assistant director
and scriptwriter to some of India's notable filmmakers, aswell
as on numerous international documentary and short feature
projects, for the BBC and Channel Four.
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