Director: Arun Kumar

Synopsis (HRFF): In 1994 the “upper” caste militias [in Bihar, a State of eastern India] coalesced to form the highly armed Ranvir Sena under the leadership of the Bhumihar caste and masterminded nearly a dozen massacres to quell the emerging movement of the poor and the landless. A section of the Left, known as the People’s War and Maoist Communist Centre, parallely killed upper caste landlords in championing its cause for the lowly and the deprived.

Hashiye Par Zindagi – Life on the Margin documents the voices of widows of these massacres in the State. The women filmed represent both the “lower” and the “upper” castes of Bihar. The film tries to bring out what women think of killings; how they cope with loneliness, hunger and insecurity after the incident. They also tell us what they see as a possible way out from the current quagmire of violence.

The film has been made by the Violence Mitigation and Amelioration Project (VMAP). It is central to a State-wide campaign against violence, initiated in Bihar a year ago. It has to date, been watched by over 50,000 people. It is hoped that the Campaign will start a debate on the futility of violence.