Abstract
The film’s protagonist is a troupe called Budhan Theater, a
“protest theater” run by a group of youths in an urban slum in
the western Indian state of Gujarat. Members of the theater
all belong to a caste called the Chhara, which is one of nearly
200 South Asian communities once classified as Criminal
Tribes under British colonial administration and still treated
as “born criminals” in wider society today. Like other similar
groups, Chharas live in a single-caste urban ghetto with few
prospects of legitimate employment and in perennial fear of
the police. The film documents the troupe’s efforts to undo
the stigma of criminality and to find recognition in ordinary
society.
“protest theater” run by a group of youths in an urban slum in
the western Indian state of Gujarat. Members of the theater
all belong to a caste called the Chhara, which is one of nearly
200 South Asian communities once classified as Criminal
Tribes under British colonial administration and still treated
as “born criminals” in wider society today. Like other similar
groups, Chharas live in a single-caste urban ghetto with few
prospects of legitimate employment and in perennial fear of
the police. The film documents the troupe’s efforts to undo
the stigma of criminality and to find recognition in ordinary
society.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 369-370 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST |
| Volume | 114 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Jun 2012 |