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A
searing indictment of the institutionalised discrimination that condems
India's 150 million 'Untouchables' or 'Dalits' (people in revolt)
to a life of degradation and serfdom. Hamermesh's direction quietly
draws us from privelege to squalor, as we are forced to observe the
daily humiliation suffered by toilet cleaners and and road sweepers
- all inevitably untouchables...The most eloquent testimony against
the caste system comes from the Dalits themselves. In spite of their
anger and grief, Hamermesh seems to win their confidence. |
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Rajan
Datar on CASTE AT BIRTH for City Limits, June 1990
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Mira
Hamermesh's powerful documentary left little room for doubt that,
in rural Hindu areas at least, the 'Untouchables' are still living
in quasi-feudal conditions, condemned to follow the dirtiest and most
degrading occupations, and even to semi-slavery. |
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Richard
Last on CASTE AT BIRTH for THe Daily Telegraph, June 1990 |
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