THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A group of youngsters have launched a YouTube channel to break silences surrounding caste and gender issues. What silence in the age of social media, some might want to ask.
“Many choose to use the word ‘poor’ when they are referring to someone from a caste, which was historically denied rights,” says its founder M.K.. Balamohan.
“There are issues which are not directly addressed even by student political outfits. We have launched ‘Camerasutra’, so that, at least the students can come out of this silence.”
Apart from the channel, they plan to have sessions on social justice for the beginners. Children, in all their innocence, might make fun of their classmates calling them ‘kattu jathi’ or ‘pulaya’.
The sessions, apart from lessons on political awareness, would share with students on what is wrong with the most oft-used insults.
The collective Rainbow Raven Camerasutra also intends to address the silence that cultivates misinformation.
“There are student unions, considered progressive, which have used the word ‘hijra’ in a derogatory sense,” he says.
“Recently, a protest against the murder of the young tribal Madhu, organised by a Dalit outfit, used the term ‘kattalan’ for the ones who killed but missed the irony. This is only because they don’t know why it is incorrect. We want to reach out to students so that they learn.”
The channel has a couple of teaser videos, at the moment. Shortly, they will be uploading interviews as well as informative videos.
They are planning to launch web series, the first of which is called ‘Emi’.
‘Emi’ was a character created by Sreekutty Hari, for a cartoon strip, through which she addressed various contemporary issues. Now, in the series, Sreekutty plays Emi.
“Emi comes from a Utopian idealist world. The real world is a new experience for her. It provokes questions,” says Ms Sreekutty.
