DOCUSHOP Resources of the Month

Dear Friends
Greetings! With May 2013 we re-start our regular sharing of selected information and communication resources available at the Kriti team's Docushop. These are available on contribution and can be posted to you wherever you are in India or abroad. Postage charges will apply in addition. Payments will be possible through e-transfers to start with or you can use snail mail too!

We look forward to your accessing these resources, which are not an exhaustive listing of our resources on these issues but are in line with the important days and dates to remember for this month!

In the spirit of sharing knowledge and power
Kriti team

Documentary Films

Whispers in the Night

By Sushmit Ghosh & Rinku Thomas/ Kriti Team Productions (16 min, Hindi, Bengali (with English Subtitles)/ DVD), 2011

Contribution: Rs. 250/-

 In every city, is an army of anonymous men and women who brave the scorching blaze of the sun, the chill of winters and the monsoons to guard our lives and property. In the face of increased global security concerns, these security guards belong to a burgeoning industry that is growing annually at a rapid pace. Whispers in the Night journeys with these security workers as they share their hopes, dreams and disappointments about a job that is both challenging and thankless. At its heart, the film raises concerns about the need to protect the rights of the very people who steadfastly protect us.

Woman Become Proprietors

By Anandi (34 min, Gujarati, DVD)

Contribution: Rs. 250/-

Those women who used to work and earn daily wage have now started their own business unit and have transformed themselves from labourers into proprietors. Their story is depicted in this documentary film.

Rikshawala

By Abhishek Kukreja (18 min, Hind, English subtitled, DVD), 2012

Contribution: Rs. 250/-

Peddling his way in a mad city rush, he not only gets food for his body, but also discovers something for his soul.  “Rikshawala” is a self - narrated story of transformation. It exemplifies that in the university called ‘Life’, difficulty is perhaps the harshest teacher, but has most virtuous lessons to impart. As we watch him taking his trips, let’s hope we find inspiration in his journey.

The Lijjat Sisterhood

By Kadhambari Chintamani @ Ajit Oomen, PSBT (30 min, English, DVD), 2003

Contribution: Individual Rs. 400/- Institutional Rs. 700/-

The film documents the success story of a three hundred crore women's cooperative-the Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad - through the eyes of four key protagonists, their colleagues and families and explores what it means to be part of this sisterhood.

Goddess of Food: Annapurna

By Paromita Vohra (25 min, English subtitled, DVD), 1995

Contribution: Rs. 500/-

Started in 1975 by 14 khanawalwalis – women who prepared meals for migrant workers, thus earning the name food-lady – the organization has today swelled to a membership of 150,000 and has it’s own credit co-operative bank, short-stay home and catering centre.

The film observes the everyday life of these women and intertwines it with the story of how the organization grew. An exploration of the politics and economics of women’s work, the film is a tribute to the fearless women who started Annapurna, and the feisty women who carry it on. The film is part of an international series on women’s initiatives entitled Half the Sky : Women of the World,  made for the Beijing conference, in 1995. It has been telecast in 11 countries.

Health Matters

By Shikha Jhingan (60 min, Hindi, Marathi/English with English Subtitles, DVD), 2005

Contribution: Rs. 750/-

Economic reforms since the 90s have led to unprecedented changes in the Indian health care system. Health Matters takes a panoramic look at health care in India through the everyday experiences of patients in both public and private hospitals, covering a range of rural and urban locations. Stories of a retired mill worker, a domestic help, a daily wage labourer and some women bare foot doctors are women together with fictional explorations, prosthetic bodies and narrative text. As market forces start driving the ‘health industry’, words like healing and accountability acquire new meanings…

A Drop of Sunshine

By Aparna Sanyal, PSBT  (35 min, English, DVD), 2011

Contribution: Individual Rs. 400/- Institutional Rs. 700/-

Schizophrenia. It may be one word, but conjures up multiple connotations - Mad. Incurable. Violent. Suicidal. Chemical imbalances. Crazy. A lifelong condition. Inevitable dependency on Medicines. Dark. Terrible. The Film takes us through the story of Reshma Valliappan, a 30-year old Indian woman, and charts out her journey of eventual triumph over her condition. It takes a controversial and contrarian view towards recovery from Schizophrenia, proposing that the only treatment method that can work in the condition is one where the so-called ‘patient’ is encouraged and empowered to become an equal partner in the process of healing.

Adha Asmaan

By Samina Mishra  (32 min, English Subtitled, DVD),1996

Contribution: Individual Rs. 400/- Institutional Rs. 700/-

Heera, Deepa and Susheela work the fields, cut grass, tend cattle, and care for their families. They contribute as much as men to sustenance of their families and the economy of their villages. But their labour is rarely recognised as work. The reason is as inescapable as it is simple – they are women. And so, they never stop working even when they are sick, and never have their sickness taken care of till the work begins to suffer.

Women’s health in India continues to be seen in the restricted light of pregnancy and motherhood so that health initiatives for women focus mainly on family planning and maternal health. Shot in Almora and Sitapur districts in Uttar Pradesh, this is a film about the attitudes that deny women their share of healthcare.

BOOKS

Summaries of International Labour Standards: Second edition, updated in 1990

By International Labour Office, Geneva, published 1991

Access Contribution: Rs. 20/-

The significance of these international labour standards is in their practical effect. A country that has ratified a Convention must report regularly on its application in law and in practice. Employers’ and workers’ organization have the right to provide information as well.

The summaries in the book, grouped by subject, reflect a selection of international labour Conventions, accompanied in some cases by extremely succinct overviews of selected recommendations; their purpose in the first instance, is to help employers’ and workers’ organization to provide information to their members in a form which is as simple and clear as possible.

HIV/AIDS and labour rights: a study of vulnerability of the workers in Wazirpur industrial area delhi.

By Richa Singh and Nasir Ateeq, published 1999

Access Contribution: Rs. 20/-

The HIV/AIDS Pandemic is a new, but complex phenomenon, challenging accepted ways of understanding health and human development in our societies. The response to it can only be holistic as well as urgent. Accordingly to UNAIDS, 6 million have died of AIDS worldwide and 30 million are living with HIV. The number is growing every minute.  In 1977 alone in 1977 alone it increased by 16,000 people per day. Unfortunately, a well accepted estimate of HIV prevalence in India does not exist. According to the South East Asia regional office, World Health Organization in March 1997 there were 2.5 million HIV positive persons in India. NACO, at the end of October 1998 reported 79,574 HIV positive persons among 3.35 millions people screened.

Child Labour – Hindi (set of 7)

By ILO, Published 1994

Access Contribution: Rs. 20/-

This is a training module on child labour in Hindi.

Readings on Women Workers in India: Selected Annotations

By Preeti Bhat (Ed.), Published 1999

Access Contribution: Rs. 75/-

This publication begins with a brief conceptual and methodological introduction, and includes readings classified under nine subject areas concerning women workers. The bibliography includes books, journal articles, reports and other materials, which have been collected from primary and secondary sources. The readings are selected by subject area, and they offer a range of material on the theme of women and work. The final section provides a list of useful reference sources including some existing bibliographies on women workers’ issues.

Limited Options: Women Workers in Rural India

By A.V. Jose (Ed.), Published 1989

Access Contribution: 20/-

The studies included in this volume mark the completion of the ARTEP research project titled ‘Labour Force Participation of Women in India’. The studies on completion were also taken up for discussion at the “South Asia Regional Consultants Workshop on Women in the Labour Force” organized under the Asian HRD Network Project of the ARTEP in New Delhi during 1-2 September 1988.

Women Workers’ Rights: Modular Training Package

By International Labour Office (ILO), Published 1994

Access Contribution: Rs.30/-

A training package and the information kit on women workers rights that can be used internationally.

Freedom of the Press

By Shobha Desai and Colin Consalves, Published 1989

Contribution: Rs. 20/-

Freedom of the Press authored by Shobha Desai and Colin Gonsalves is published as the 19^th booklet under the auspices of the C. G. Shah Memorial Trust. It is being published in association with the Bombay Union of Journalists.

Apart from the all the above Acts, all labour  laws apply to True Freedom of  information required three conditions: The opportunity to read and watch anytime  available a diversity of sources from which to choose and media systems that provided access for those who wish to reach their follow citizens. While the first condition is technically met in our country, the scope of the other criteria is rather narrow-given the economic and politically system we are living in.

Buddha or Karl Marx

By B.K. Ambedkar, Published 1987
Contribution: Rs. 20/-

A comparison between Karl Marx and Buddha may be regarded as a joke. There need be no surprise in this. Marx and Budda are divided by 2381 years. Buddha was born in 563 BC and Karl Marx in 1818 AD Karl Marx is supposed to be the architect of a new ideology-polity a new Economic system. The Buddha on the other hand is believed to be no more than the founder of a religion, which has no relation to politics or economics. The heading of this essay “Buddha or Karl Marx: which suggests either a comparison or a contrast between two such personalities divided by such a lengthy span of time and occupied with different fields of thought is sure to sound odd.

Karl Marx: Life of a Revolutionary

By Alex Callinicos, Published 2007
Contribution: Rs. 20/-

Karl Marx was born on 5^th May 1818 in Trier, an ancient cathedral town in the German Rhineland. Both his parents were Jesish, the descendants of many generations of rabbis; his family name had been Mordechai, then markus, before Marx. Marx’s father, Heinrich, however, had converted to Lutheran Christianity in 1817, in order to evade a decree excluding Jews from public office. The Rhineland, although annexed by the reactionary Prussian monarchy in 1815, remained the most economically and politically advanced part of Germany, heavily influenced by the French Revolution.

The Dalit Liberation Movement in Colonial Period

By Bharat Patankar & Gall Omvedi, Published 2007
Contribution: Rs. 20/-

First published in February 1979. This is the first part of a path breaking article on the Dalit Movement in the mainstream media. It was path breaking because mainstream discourse had until then consistently denied or tried to studiously ignore the existence of the Dalit movement and its vital role in Indian politics before independence and later-Round Table India. The paper attempts to survey the history of dalit struggles in relation to the national movement and the communist movement, and to bring to the fore the important role the dalit movement has played in the democratic movement of the country and is going to play in the new democratic struggles in the future

Claiming Dignity: Reproductive Rights & The Law

By Anubha Rastogi, Published 2009

Contribution: 350/-

This book introduced the understanding of reproductive rights etc.  The main three parts of this book: - Part-I. Introduction: Understanding and contextualizing Reproductive Rights: Identifying Reproductive Rights within the Indian Legal System. Part-II Identifying Specific Issues under the broader concern of reproductive rights and the judicial response on the same and Part-III Text of Cases.

We and Our Fertility: The Politics of Technological Intervention

By Chayanika, Swatija, Kamaxi, Published 1999

Contribution: Rs. 75/-

We and Our Fertility is about reproduction and the range of technological interventions into the reproductive processes. While the emphasis is on information about various techniques, for both contraception and assisted reproduction, this book is also about the making and breaking of values circumscribing their development and uses.

We and Our Fertility includes the experiences of many women who have used these technologies and has evolved through discussion with several women and groups who are struggling against the technological violence unleashed on women’s fertility even as they are initiating efforts to realize their dreams of alternative to these violence methods. This book is written from a perspective that reflects their experience and does not separate technical interventions from the experiences they leave behind.

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