1. Who am I- The Plight of Pakistani Hindus
Pakistani Hindus, the largest minority in the state of Pakistan, has been put to persecution and human rights violations from the last several years. Every year about 5000 Hindus from Pakistan arrive in India to take refuge. In India, there are about 400 Pakistani Hindus refugee settlements and most of them are in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi.
The idea of the documentary film
Pakistani Hindus are the most disregarded and abandoned by the concerned national and international authorities. There always has been a non-cooperative and ignorant attitude of authorities who should have otherwise apprehended and addressed this crucial human rights issue of Pak migrants. The issue hasn’t received enough media attention as well.
Being young filmmakers, when we accidentally visited Pakistani Hindu refugee camp in New Delhi, we thought of making a documentary film with the purpose of global awareness on their plight. We were stunned to hear their stories of Pakistan and seeing their deplorable condition in India.
How we started
We started off with a crowdfunding campaign to fund our film in 2016. We had to cover the major refugee camps across India to dig up the details of Pak migrants. The campaign received a huge amount of support from NRIs and Indians.
The Documentary Film – “Who am I- The Plight of Pakistani Hindus”
We visited all the major refugee camps in Rajasthan, Gujarat and New Delhi, listened to their heart-wrenching stories of Pakistan and after coming to India and covered everything which was needed to portray before the world. The 63 minutes feature length film is the first ever detailed documentary on their plight. It consists of interviews of victims who have been subjected to gravest human rights violations in Pakistan. The film deals with issues they face in Pakistan such as bonded labour, abduction, and conversion of young Hindu girls, discrimination by the majority group and authorities in the day to day life, teaching intolerance in school textbooks, kidnapping of traders for ransom and many more. In India, we have covered every possible hurdle they face in refugee camps, discrimination by locals and their struggle in getting the citizenship of India even after spending several years.
They were never accepted by their homeland for being a Hindu in Pakistan, never accepted by India for being a Pakistani, their generations have spent their lives fighting for their identity and that’s what the title of the film signifies.
Screening of the film
The film has been screened in national and international platforms. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2017, in the Netherlands by GHRD (Global Human Rights Defence). It has been screened in FTII in India and several other institutions. However, not all educational institutions and organisations have been supportive in the screening of the film in India due to its sensitive content.
The film will be screened in House of Commons (UK Parliament) on 20th June 2018. It will be screened in various temples and organisations in the UK in the month of June and July in 2018. A documentary film is a tool for making their voices heard by the concerned authorities is what we are trying to achieve as much as possible.
2. Saviour to Seeker – Documentary on Mother Ganga
The Ganga is the third largest river in the world by discharge, which begins as a crystal-clear river in the freezing Himalayas, but excessive pollution in expanding cities and industrial hubs has transformed it into a flowing form of toxins. Worshipped by millions of Hindus and considered as a mother by Indians, Ganga is dying despite decades of government efforts to save it.
The State of Ganga
Its way through burgeoning cities has transformed it into a flowing form of toxins. Thousands of Indians immerse idols in the Ganges believing that it absolves lifetime sins, industrial hubs put their waste directly into the river without proper treatment and sewage pour from open drains are the main reasons behind the sorry state of Ganges. The river which begins as a crystal-clear water in the icy Himalayas turns into dark grey and then red in Kanpur and Varanasi.
Why this film
The purpose of making the film is to remind the general public how the holy river is on the verge of its death and what they can do to save it. The water source for 400 million people dies there will be no future. The film along with its history and the current state will also educate the general public about the ways they can help save the river. The purpose is to start a campaign and appealing to the government to take the adequate steps on factors which are the cause of slow death of the river.
Production
The film will cover all the states and places the river passes through to show the metamorphosis of the water. We have completed the first phase of the project by completion of shoot of Uttarakhand starting from Gaumukh in Himalayas.
Trailer of the film
Be Our Supporter
Please join us in the campaign by being our generous donor, saving “Mother Ganga” is the need of time.