President awards documentary on deaf athlete's fight against sports politics

Prateek Gupta receiving award from the President

By Our Representative
President Pranav Kumar Mukherjee has conferred the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) and a Certifiacte of Excellence to the three directors and the producer for their documentary film, "Goonga Pahelwan", which the jury of the 62nd National Film Awards said, has championed the cause of a deaf athlete, with a a pointed question on how politics impedes "this capable athlete's route to the Rio Olympics."
"Goonga Pehelwan" is a biopic documentary on Virender Singh, India's most successful deaf athlete, of his grit, fierce dedication and hope. The film has come at a time when Virender is gearing up for his third appearance in Bulgaria. It delves into his life from the bylanes of a small village of Haryana to his dream to make it to the Rio Olympics 2016.
"Through the prism of the hardships that Virender endured in this journey, this film makes an effort to bring the policy-level change in the way disabled athletes are treated in India", said a statement by the film's producer, who is attached with an Ahmedabad-based NGO, Drishti Media Arts for Human Rights.The producer and each of the directors were awarded a cash prize of Rs 75,000.

Virender Kumar (extreme left) with the three directors

"Goonga Pehelwan" is a film made by Mit Jani, Prateek Gupta and Vivek Chaudhary, the three directors, with produced by Drishti Media Arts for Human Rights. It was awarded in the category of,' Best Debut Film of a Director' in the 'Non-Feature Films' section.
A chartered accountant by qualification, Jani was involved in film-making and theatre during his college days. Gupta has been inclined towards the visual arts since his teenage years and remained so even after getting a degree in chartered accountancy. And Chaudhary is an alumnus of the Faculty of Management Studies.
The producer, Drishti Media Arts for Human Rights, is a development communication organization that uses arts and communication tools to cultivate awareness of human rights and grassroots-level development in India through training, producing films and audio for strategic communication planning. Drishti was founded in 1993.

Comments

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha* The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza* An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas* Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco* Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam* First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma* Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Search This Blog