Society is a group of people who live and work together in harmony. The main aim is peace and growth. To ensure this, people have created a system that makes policies and programmes for the same. This system or body is known as Government. It is the primary role and function of the government to ensure proper resource allocation and to maintain egalitarianism. When this governing body does not perform the required functions properly and sincerely, there grows an unrest among people which affects the overall growth of the country. It becomes the duty for a group of people to act as pressure groups and make the govt. perform its duties through mass participation. Such groups are Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
It was this backdrop that was explained by an NGO- Centre for Civil Society (CCS) in our institute Pioneer Media School, New Delhi, where I am pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism (PGDJ). They have taken up such issues for making the govt. sensitive towards the requirements of the people and the various malpractices active in different govt. departments which affect their job status. CCS screened a few commendable documentaries for us filmed by some individuals highlighting the plight of different people involved in different professions.
The evening began with a documentary that highlighted the lives of various people involved in pre- Multiplex-era cinemas earning bread and butter on the meager share they receive by selling movie tickets at low prices. These people represented different age groups and social strata. If the growth of the multiplexes continues with the contemporary pace, the day would come when these cinema halls will have shutter down their business and resolve to begging alms. There is a need on the govt.’s part to adopt a balanced approach so that everyone could be benefited. This was followed by a documentary on the life of the rag pickers in the goldsmith’s area. Their tactics to extract gold through the cleansing and dusting of the ash is amazing. This was a new experience for us to come across an industry growing in this fashion. These people are dependent on the gold that they extract which fetches them around Rs.300-400/ day.
In the next documentary we saw the story of a courtesan named Zarina. This movie cleared all our doubts between Mujra and prostitution which of late have been made synonymous. It also traced the history of Zarina whose voice resembled with the legendary Beghum Akhtar. The story that followed suit was of the Elephants of Assam who are unemployed. Their primary work was loading and unloading the logs of wood and since Assam govt. has put a ban on timber trading, these elephants have become jobless. So, in order to save themselves from starving they have come to begging for exisence. Lastly, we saw the story of a man who left his village and agriculture and came to the city to earn his livelihood. But, again, due to govt. rules and regulations, he had to wash hands of his shop followed by his rickshaw. He again comes to his village only to realize that his father had passed away. So, this confers on him the total responsibility of his family. He takes a turn back to the city but the consequences of abject poverty and unemployment makes a beggar out of him. This situation is a result of the strict govt. regulations levied on its people.
After the documentaries, we understood the functioning of the NGO (CCS). They asked us to volunteer for them and made us aware about the various loopholes which the system has. They emphasized on the fact that if we come together and fight for our cause, we can make a difference. In the end, they distributed some fliers and pamphlets which talked about an internship programme with the NGO. These documentaries were really nice and helped us in finding our own perspectives towards seeing things differently. They gave us many things to think about and highlight so that we can make a difference and serve the people in a better manner.
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