States In India Ban Movie About Low-caste Quotas In Education
Three Indian states have banned a new film on the controversial issue of education quotas for people in India living in poverty. Aarakshan, which translated means Reservation , was directed by well-known Bollywood filmmaker Prakash Jha and stars acting legend Amitabh Bachchan, was recently released on Friday.
The northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh in the south, have all banned the film due to fears it may cause law and order problems, as well as an uprising. Flyers advertaising the movie have been vandalised by protesters, who accuse the film of making derogatory references to low-caste Dalits, who were formerly known as the untouchables.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan took to his blog to question the ban saying “Without any knowledge of what the film contains, without any desire to determine the trust and the most basic principles of law of democracy, it has merely strengthened my and many others’ fear of the weakness it conveys of our belief in governance and its ethics.”
Under the quota system in India, seats in colleges and government jobs are reserved for socially disadvantaged groups. Critics of the system say reservation promotes mediocrity and divides people on the basis of caste or region.
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