Stalin K

Stalin K. is an Indian documentary filmmaker, media and human rights activist. His films, Lesser Humans and India Untouched, on the issue of caste and untouchability in contemporary India, have galvanized international attention to caste discrimination and won numerous film awards. He has done pioneering work on new models of community media to empower marginalized groups. His interview and clips from his film were featured in Episode 10: Dignity for All of Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate TV series on the issue of Untouchability.

He co-founded the community media initiative Video Volunteers in 2003. In 2018, allegations were made against him of inappropriate conduct at the workspace. In 2020, the charges were dismissed.

Biography

Stalin K. was born in Pune, and grew up in Gujarat. He studied Development Communication in Ahmedabad. Today he lives and works between Goa and New York.

Work

Stalin K. co-founded Drishti Media Collective as a trust in 1993. The media and human rights organization is based in Ahmedabad, India. He was director of the organization until 2008. His work involved training marginalized groups in participatory media techniques as well as producing and distributing community stories to give these communities a voice in the public sphere.

He is the President and co-founder of Community Radio Forum of India, an association of community radio broadcasters and advocates. Along with other founders of the Forum he drafted the new Community Radio Policy. The policy is in operation since 2006 and secures communities the right to own and run their own radio stations. He set up one of the first community radio projects in Kutch, which covered stories from local communities.

In 2005 he co-conceived the Community Video Unit model of Video Volunteers. As Founder & India Director of Video Volunteers he set up media projects to empower community voices, until he stepped down from his role as Director of Video Volunteers on 13 October due to allegations of sexual misbehavior. In 2010 he launched the world's first ever Community News Feature Service, IndiaUnheard.

Campaigns and Events

Stalin K. designed more than 20 campaigns and events on various human rights issues including Cricket for Peace, Game4Change, Asia Social Forum and Making Caste Visible at UN World Conference Against Racism. Stalin K. documented caste discrimination against the Dalit communities throughout India with his films IndiaUntouched and Lesser Humans. These films raised international attention to the discrimination of the Dalit communities in India. Metoo Allegations & Inquiry

In October 2018, 2 women who have worked with Stalin K accused him of sexual harassment in the workplace. The allegations included inappropriate touching and unwanted advances. Institutions like The School of Media & Culture Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and WITNESS released statements disassociating themselves from Stalin.

Stalin K issued a statement on Twitter denying any wrongdoing. In response, many more women, some of whom were ex-employees and associates, came out with further allegations of sexual harassment against Stalin K that they had either undergone and heard about.

In July 2020, the Video Volunteers Board announced in a statement on its website that the Local Complaints Committee at the Office of the Collector North Goa dismissed the charge of sexual harassment against Stalin K. The note mentioned that the finding was in alignment with the results of an independent investigation by the Video Volunteers Board of Directors.

Filmography

1992: 'Kali Kem Mari?/ Why Did Kali Die?', this film follows a social health worker dealing with the death of a village woman, Kali. 1992: 'A Bundleful of Fear/ Ek Poltlun Beek Nu', this is a dramatized narrative of 5 village women and their struggle for justice and gender equality. 1999: 'Patta Patta Akshar Hoga/ Every Leaf A Letter', the film documents the emergence of 'Jago Behna' in Dumka Jharkhand – a rural women's collective that was formed as result of the literacy campaign but went on to take up several other issues affecting their lives. 2007: 'India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart', documents Untouchability all over India showing the gravity of discrimination against Dalits and critiques the justification of this systematic oppression by the caste system.

Awards and recognitions 2007 India Untouched:

Silver Dhow, Second-best Documentary, Zanzibar International Film Festival, Tanzania, July 2008 Golden Conch, Best Documentary, Mumbai International Film Festival, February 2008 Best Film of the Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, February 2008 Best Documentary, Mahindra IAAC Film Festival, New York, November 2007 Best Film, One Billion Eyes Film Festival, Chennai, India, August 2007

1993 Lesser Human

Excellence Award, Earth Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, 1999 Best Film, New Delhi Video Festival, 1999 Silver Conch, 5th Mumbai International Film Festival, 1998

The film has been analyzed in academic literature, including in Prakash Louis's 2008 study published in *Contemporary Voice of Dalit*, where it is examined as a Dalit-perspective film. *India Untouched* has been used in educational settings internationally; it was screened at the Harvard Kennedy School in November 2024 as part of a program organized by the school's Casteless Caucus on caste discrimination.

In 2012, Stalin K. appeared in Episode 10 ("Dignity for All") of Aamir Khan's television program *Satyamev Jayate*. Clips from *India Untouched* were featured in the episode, which focused on untouchability in contemporary India.

Drishti Media Collective

Stalin K. co-founded Drishti Media Collective in Ahmedabad in 1991, a media and human rights organization based in Gujarat that uses media and arts in community-based programs. He was Director of Drishti until 2008. During his tenure, the organization produced more than 25 films on development and human rights issues, designed multiple rights-based campaigns, and conducted training workshops with NGOs across India.

Shabnam Virmani, the documentary filmmaker known for her work on Kabir, was a co-founder of Drishti Media.

Community Radio Forum of India

Stalin K. was a co-founder and the former Convener (until 2009) of the Community Radio Forum of India, an association of community radio broadcasters and advocates. He was part of the group that helped draft India's Community Radio Policy, which came into effect in 2006 and allowed non-profit organizations to apply for community radio licenses.

He participated in setting up community radio projects in the Kutch region of Gujarat, in collaboration with the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, which launched its first radio series in 1999 and produced programming throughout the period after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake.