Some
years before the release of Sandstorm (Bawandar),
Sanwari (played by Nandita Das) of the Untouchable caste
works as an organizer for a feminist organization in India
to make some extra money for her family. Shobha Devi (played
by Deepti Naval) hired Sanwari on learning of an incident
when she demanded full payment for her work at a landfill.
Going from village to village, Sanwari spreads the message
that women have equal rights; for example, she preaches
that elders should not pair off young girls and boys at
the age of 4 or 5 as irrevocable marriage partners, thereby
condemning girls to prepare for a domestic career when
their intellects might be suitable for academic success.
In the countryside, where casteism and sexism are assumed
to be the natural order, such a message is radical, especially
when delivered by an Untouchable. Accordingly, Sanwari
is first taunted and then raped one day by five Brahman
men, including a village council chief and a priest, some
of whom beat and hold down her spouse Sohan (played by
Raghuvir Yadav) so that he cannot defend her honor. When
Devi finds out about the rape, she shepherds Sanwari through
the Indian criminal justice and political systems, where
Murphy's Law operates at almost every turn, until a trial
is held. In reporting the rape, the police inspector on
duty (played by Ravi Jhankal) requires evidence in the
form of a physical examination, which in turn can only
be provided to a victim when an order is signed by a magistrate.
The magistrate, however, is too busy getting dressed for
a party to sign the order on Friday night, so his Monday
order comes when the bruises in her body have partially
healed. On Monday, when the inspector collects her undergarment,
blood and semen have already dried. Since police take no
action to investigate, Devi goes to the local parliamentary
representative, Dhanraj Meena (played by Govind Namdeo),
who gives a rousing speech but later secretly blocks an
investigation. Devi then takes Sanwari to New Delhi to
meet the head of an NGO, whose board of directors agrees
to pursue the matter, some primarily because they will
gain political advantage. In any case, Prime Minister Narasimha
Rao (played by his brother) rallies to Sanwari's cause,
providing funds for her legal defense, and the lawyer (played
by Gulshan Grover) who prosecutes her case is firmly committed
to seek justice on her behalf. Nevertheless, the five are
acquitted in 1991 by a judge whose reasoning is based on stereotypic
casteism and sexism, showing that he has no idea about
the real-world conditions of a female Untouchable in India.
Five years later, Amy (played by Laila Rouass), a mythical
journalist of Indian descent from England, and her Indian
boyfriend Ravi (played by Rahul Khanna) arrive in India
to do their own investigation, and most of the film consists
of interviews and flashbacks based on their recollections.
The film ends with some obvious propaganda, a statement
to the camera by Devi indicating that the case is still
on appeal and that neither Sanwari nor her supporters have
given up hope that she has provided the paradigm case that
may bring fundamental social change to India. Nevertheless,
questions emerge from the presentation, directed by Jag
Mundhra in the manner of a docudrama about Bhanwari Devi,
the actual victim. (1) Why not also charge the five defendants
with assault and battery on Sanwari's husband, a much easier
case to win? (2) The film speculates that the semen present
on Sanwari's undergarment matches neither those of the
accused nor of her husband because the sexist police officer
later jacked off into the garment. (3) The New Delhi NGO
activist fabricates evidence by tearing Sanwari's upper
garments. (4) Some of Sanwari's supporters use her case
for their own political ends, but of course so do those
who oppose her case. Nevertheless, for raising consciousness
about serious political problems in India, the Political
Film Society has nominated Sandstorm for
best film on democracy, best film on human rights, best
film on peace, and best film exposé of 2003. MH
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