Green yet Barren

According to The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from 2009,more than 2,16,000 farmers killed themselves between1997 and 2009. The number was 1,50,000 in 2005 and it has crossed 2,50,000 now. “The irony is that it is taking place in the most progressive states of India,” says US-based filmmaker Harpreet Kaur,pointing out that maximum number of cases have been reported from Punjab,followed by Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh,Karnataka and Kerala. The appalling figures made Kaur swing into action and record tragedies in Punjab through a documentary titled A Little Revolution — A Story of Suicides & Dreams,produced by Manmeet Singh,under the banner of Sach Productions.

Visiting Chandigarh for the Punjab premiere of her film at the Press Club,Kaur recalls the impact made by her first film,The Widow Colony,in 2008. Narrating the plight of the widows of 1984 riots in Punjab,the movie won her critical acclaim in the festival circuit and was also the first Sikh film to be shown at the UK Parliament. “Following this,Jagdish Tytler’s visa was rejected to the UK,” recalls Kaur.

With A Little Revolution (Ek Nikki Kranti),she has taken a journey back to her roots,in search of children of farmers who have committed suicide. “I came to India two years back,to research the history of human rights and stumbled on these figures. It’s the worst form of violence,economic violence. Unfortunately,the government has failed to address it,” says Kaur.

The film documents the lives of a generation of children who are poor,powerless and deprived of hope,education and family. The camera zooms into homes in Sangrur,Punjab. With the breadwinners gone,families are dependent on Baba Nanak Education Society,run by Inderjit Singh Jaijee. “The film is dedicated to his daughter,Aman Sidhu,who single-handedly researched and documented the data by making more than 1,800 visits to villages in Punjab.

Unfortunately,she died in a car crash during one of the trips,” says Kaur.

Filmed over a period of two years,Kaur and Singh,hope to create an impact with the documentary. “We are not here to give solutions or answers. We want to provide a perspective to these children and give them the confidence to stand up and fight and break the vicious cycle of suicide,” says Kaur,who focuses on four children — Jasvir,Manpreet,Sher and Salma. She travels with them to villages and to Delhi,where they met the Union Minister of Agriculture,Sharad Pawar. “As a result,Rs one lakh each was given to their families,” reveal Kaur and Singh.

“The Mughals could not crush us,nor could the British,but ironically the green revolution,with its sops and subsidies,has led to debt-driven suicides,” says Kaur,who has worked with Singh to design the campaign ‘Every Farmer Counts and Every Child Dreams’,that has a renewed approach to the age-old idea of Jai Kisan. The duo hope that the film leads to international intervention aimed at tackling the crisis. “I realise that the audience sitting in the US will not be able to visit these villages and families. The film would take the villages to them,” says Kaur.

For more information,log on to http://www.alittlerevolution.com.