movie "Article 15" is adapted from real events, telling the crimes of the Indian caste system and the darkness of the collusion between police and bandits, which aroused strong resonance among the lower audiences in India. The film focuses on the untouchable class in India, which is called inaccessible by other castes. The movie
tells the story of a real story that happened in the rural villages of Uttar Pradesh, India on May 27, 2014. Two girls "untouchables" demanded a salary increase of 3 rupees (about a few cents in RMB) because their wages were too low. ), but was raped and killed and hung from a tree for public display.
When the film was released in India in 2019, it caused strong dissatisfaction from the Brahmin Samaj, who believed that the film deliberately stirred up social opposition and did not respect the foundation of Indian culture. It filed a petition to the Supreme Court requesting that the film be banned, and Brahmin organizations held protests in major theaters.
Article 15 of the Indian Constitution stipulates that no one shall be discriminated against because of caste, religion, or place of birth. However, the reality is that discrimination has never stopped. Especially the untouchables at the bottom of society, they have been engaged in the dirtiest, hardest and most dangerous work for generations.
According to statistics from the Cleaners Movement of India (SKA), sanitation workers often do not get paid for several months. Every year, dozens of people die of suffocation while cleaning sewers.
To understand the plight of untouchables, we must first understand how the Indian caste system is divided, and what position untouchables are in Indian society.
The Indian caste system originated from Hinduism, also known as the Varna system, with a history of more than 3,000 years. This system artificially divides people into 4 levels, namely Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisha and Sudra.
"High Caste" are Brahman (priest, scholar), Kshatriya (warrior, king) and Vaisha (craftsman, merchant, landlord). According to the 2011 census data, this group of people accounted for about 15% of the total population. The fourth category is considered to be a "low caste", called Sudra (civilian, peasant, servant), and is now officially classified as "other backward class", accounting for 42% of the Indian population. "Dalits", or untouchables, are another social class outside the original Hindu caste system and are at the bottom of the social structure.
If you compare Indian society to a person, you will find that Indian society does not have the position of untouchables. They are the bottom of the middle and bottom of society. They can only work as cleaners, responsible for haircuts, cleaning toilets, cleaning sewers, etc.! These people who were born as untouchables have naturally been robbed of their dreams. The jobs in society are controlled by the caste class. It is more difficult for them to stand up than to climb to the sky.
According to the National Criminal Records Bureau (NCRB) of India, the number of crimes committed against Dalits has continued to increase in recent years, from 38,670 in 2015 to 40,801 in 2016, but the conviction rate has dropped significantly. The
movie "Article 15" fictionalizes the role of a young upper-caste policeman. He was ordered to investigate the case there, which in turn triggered a series of thinking about caste, oppression, justice and identity.
"Article 15" director Anubaf Singh talked about the original intention of the film, said that discrimination and oppression are happening in Indian society every day, but we are used to it and choose to ignore it. He is indifferent and numb to society. I feel very indignant and hope to use the film to draw attention to the equal rights of all citizens!
However, the reality is too skinny. Realizing equality in India is tantamount to revoking the privileges of high caste people. Other castes in society are also unwilling to see this situation. This is tantamount to adding a lot of competitors and moving most people. cheese!
For some castes, untouchables are similar to talking animals, and may sometimes be inferior to animals. For example, people of high caste can get close to their pets, and they can avoid untouchables. In addition, it is ironic that the hero in the movie is a Brahmin. Will the Brahmin save the untouchables?
tragedy is still happening~
