Introduction

The Indian caste system segregates people into four hierarchical Varnas based on their birth. The upper Varna is Brahman, followed by Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Unfortunately, there is also a group that is considered as ‘outcastes’ or ‘untouchables’. Paradi is a nomadic tribe that falls under the Shudra Varna, constitutionally referred to as the Other Backward Classes (OBC). According to the Indian caste system, nomadic tribes survive by depending on villages; they roam from village to village throughout their lives. In the British India, they could not stay in a village or buy land and a home to stabilize their lives. A significant portion of nomadic pastoralist tribes are referred to as Vimukta Jatis or 'free/liberated Jatis' because they were categorized as such under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, enacted during British rule in India (Nigam 1990: 143 & Srinivasulu 2021: 93). Under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, the police, without any proof or allegation, could arrest the person who belonged to the nomadic tribes (Safdar 2020: 32). Significantly, the system had exposed them to live as thieves and rovers. In India, the population of Nomadic Tribes and De-notified Tribes is approximately sixty million, with around five million residing in Maharashtra. Despite being victims of societal and legal discrimination due to their caste, individuals born into certain communities are often labeled as thieves and bandits, regardless of their actual involvement in criminal activities. Indian filmmakers have largely neglected their stories and lived experiences, primarily because these individuals belong to lower castes and often resort to thievery for survival due to harsh circumstances. The Indian film industry is dominated by upper-caste artists, which further contributes to this exclusion. Director Nagraj Manjule, a Dalit [part of the ‘out of caste’] and the first in his family to receive formal education, has sought to address these issues in his short film, particularly focusing on the Paradi community. This study highlights the film’s unique aesthetic and narrative style that depicts the lives of nomadic children and women.

The short film Pistulya (2009) tells the story of wandering groups in India. Its director, Nagaraj Manjule, sheds light on the voiceless community and their struggles from the perspective of nomadic tribes. Nagraj Manjule is a pioneer in accurately portraying Dalits-Bahujan and Nomadic tribes on the silver screen in India. The Indian film industry has produced many films that showcase the struggles of Dalit-Bahujan and tribes as victims of the caste and Varna system (Kamble & Biswal 2023: 392). It is worth highlighting that the protagonist of Pistulya is consistently portrayed as a constructive, enthusiastic, and awakened child who brings an optimistic perspective to the screen.

The protagonist of the story is a schoolboy named Pistulya (Suraj Pawar), which means a shooter. He lives with his parents in a shelter located outside the village. During the British India era, certain nomadic tribes were considered criminal by birth. The Paradi caste was included in the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, which classified certain communities as criminals. This caste has still been excluded from civil society for over a century. Usually, they live outside villages, towns, or cities for a temporary period, and are constantly moving from one village to another, thereby remaining permanently homeless and landless. This results in their exclusion from mainstream society, education, awareness, and progress. Since they are not registered with the government as citizens or part of the population of India, they are absent from the government data. As a result, they are often excluded from government facilities. It is noteworthy that the Indian government has not made any significant efforts to bring the nomadic tribes into the mainstream of the country. In fact, the Republic of the Indian government had continuously exploited, tortured and arrested these tribes right after independence for five years. However, in 1952, the government repealed this act. Nowadays, these communities are attempting to receive schooling and work as laborers in developing cities. Some of the work they do includes collecting plastic on the roads and in garbage depots. The Paradi community still lives under the pressure of the police, as they have a reputation for larceny, theft, and other crimes. As a result, the police regularly check on the people living outside the village where they reside. The community members are required to report to the nearest police station whenever they leave the village and are always under police surveillance. Under these circumstances, Pistulya's father passes away due to excessive alcohol consumption. Before his death, he made his son a promise to pursue higher education and avoid engaging in activities like stealing, scavenging, or working as a garbage collector. Pistulya's mother, a young widow, lives with two kids in a wandering community on the outskirts of the village. Faced with financial difficulties, she applies pressure on them to engage in traditional work such as thievery and crafting stone pots. Pistulya, however, aspires to continue his education and attends school sporadically. Unfortunately, his mother cannot afford to educate both children.

Director Nagraj Manjule has highlighted the struggles of nomadic tribes, who have long endured life without permanent housing, access to healthcare, education, adequate nutrition, proper clothing, and basic dignity. Despite their ongoing wait for the fulfillment of these fundamental human rights, they still remain in extremely difficult living conditions. It seems that Pistulya's family and community may have been affected by societal norms and legal regulations. The protagonist has been trained to steal jewellery and other valuables, and hunt in the forest. As a result, Pistulya becomes an expert in stealing and hunting. His mother is unable to pay for her children's education. Because of his socio-economic situation, he accepts the profession associated with his caste. However, he still tries to achieve his dreams through his sister. With this intention, he robs a school uniform for his sister so she can continue going to school. A dream moves from generation to generation with the hope of quitting the brutal caste-based occupations and subjugation.

The female character of Laxmi (Vaishali Kendale) is portrayed as a strong woman who faces difficult circumstances. After her husband's death, she becomes the head of the family, taking on the responsibility of parenting her children and working to support them. Despite being a victim of caste discrimination and challenges within the legal system, she remains resilient and works hard to earn money for future emergencies. She strives to be an ideal mother to her two children. In addition, Pistulaya’s mother is the first portrayal of a lower-caste woman who does not sacrifice everything for upper-caste people. This is altered from the common theme in films by Savarna filmmakers, where lower-caste women always sacrifice for higher caste individuals (Kamble 2024: 361). Additionally, director Manjule has created assertive and complex lower-caste women characters in films such as Sairat (2016), Pavsacha Nibandh (An Essay of the Rain, 2020), and Jhund (2022). His portrayals offer a truthful representation of individuals who, in the mainstream society, are often denied both identity and dignity.

Feminist scholar Gayatri Spivak, in her seminal essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (Spivak 1988: 280), critically examines who holds the power to tell stories about the subaltern. Today, filmmakers from marginalized lower-caste backgrounds in the Indian cinema industry are entering the field to narrate the lived experiences of the subaltern from the Ambedkarite perspective. According to the caste system, individuals belonging to the Shudra caste and women were prohibited from receiving an education. In the case of Paradi, Pistulya's family were forced to engage in traditional occupations such as making stone pots, hunting, and thievery, which were restricted to their caste alone. For instance, the Valmiki (also known as Balmiki) caste, which is the most common group among Dalits, has historically been engaged in manual scavenging and sanitation work, and continues to do so (Srinivasulu 2021: 89).  In India, the caste system has traditionally dictated the type of work that people can do based on their birth. If someone is born into the Dalit caste, they are expected to work in Dalit occupations for their entire lives, without any opportunities to switch to a different occupation or caste. This has resulted in significant discrimination against people based on their caste, and this still persists in the country today. Pistulya is a great example of the multi-layered discrimination, oppression, and depression faced by the Shudra community in India. They have been historically restricted from education, which is why they are not aware of their rights and duties. Despite the Indian constitution protecting their rights, the subalterns have struggled to come into the mainstream society. Artists such as Nagaraj Manjule, Pa Ranjit, Niraj Ghaywan, and Mari Selvaraj are emerging from Nomadic tribes and Dalit communities, are narrating their own experiences using their unique language and perspective, which is playing a vital role in raising awareness about the challenges they have faced and continue to face.

Manjule portrays the struggles of marginalized children through an optimistic and enthusiastic narration style, creating subaltern aesthetics throughout the film. Nagraj Manjule's film aesthetics embody the essence of subaltern film aesthetics by focusing on the lived experiences and struggles of marginalized communities, particularly Dalit culture. His films, such as Pistulya, Fandry, Sairat and Jhund utilize a raw and realistic narrative style, effectively immersing the audience in the socio-economic conditions faced by the subaltern. Manjule employs a minimalist approach to cinematography, utilizing natural settings that authentically reflect the environments of his characters. This choice not only grounds the story in reality but also enhances the proscribed resonance of the narratives, allowing viewers to connect with the protagonists' struggles. His use of regional language (Marathi) and local dialects further amplifies the authenticity of his storytelling, making the voices of the marginalized heard in a way that mainstream cinema often overlooks. Manjule's films often challenge traditional cinematic tropes by centering Dalit protagonists, showcasing their resilience and agency. He creates spaces for dialogue around caste and identity, pushing against the dominant narratives typically portrayed in Hindi cinema. By doing so, Manjule's work contributes significantly to the discourse on subaltern representation, positioning his films as critical reflections of societal issues while celebrating the complexities of Dalit lives.

Moreover, his other movies have strong alternative aesthetics and narration that have come in the genre known as Dalit cinema (Yengde 2018: 512). Yengde argues that there is a specific perspective in Indian cinema called ‘Dalit cinema’, which showcases the life experiences of Dalit-Bahujans and tribes from their own perspectives. Although many films in Indian cinema feature Dalit-Bahujan characters, they are usually portrayed as victims through the Savarna (dominant caste) perspective (Yengde 2018: 512; Kamble & Biswal 2023: 392). However, Dalit artists such as Manjule, Pa Ranjith, and Niraj Ghaywan have contributed to the development of the Dalit cinema movement in India. The short film under study is a significant contribution to the emergence of Dalit cinema in India.

Over the past decade, Indian cinema has become more diverse and inclusive by presenting stories of marginalized groups such as minorities, disabled individuals, migrants, subalterns, women, and oppressed classes from India. This study argues that the last decade has been remarkable in Indian cinema's history because the digital era has provided opportunities for marginalized artists to produce movies and showcase their work. Short films are an ideal medium of expression for Dalit-subaltern artists. The pandemic has led to the emergence of new platforms like OTT, which have provided opportunities for marginalized artists to enter the mainstream cinema industry. Moreover, the Indian film industries are now breaking stereotypes in the representation of women and marginalized sections, experimenting with atypical story narratives and exploring previously untouched issues for movies. The cultural-political stance of Dalit filmmakers aims to raise social awareness through film, suggesting that the critique of caste should primarily be the responsibility of Dalits, lower castes, and, more broadly, Bahujan. Dalit filmmakers are increasingly creating cinematic works that not only reject stereotypical representations but also generate meaningful discussions that affirm their presence.

As of this writing Pistuyla is availabel on Youtube with subtitles.

Endnotes:

Criminal Tribes Act 1871: The wandering groups of India, whom the British criminalized through the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. However, after India gained independence, the Government of India repealed this act in 1952.

De-Notified Tribes: The term ‘De-Notified Tribes’ refers to the communities that were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts enforced by the British rule between 1871 and 1947. These Acts were repealed by the Independent Indian Government in 1952, and as a result, these communities were ‘De-Notified’.

Dalit-Bahujan: People who belong to the outcastes/untouchables are known as 'Dalit' and the Shudra Varna is considered as Bahujan. As per the Indian constitution, Dalits are referred to as the Scheduled Caste. The Bahujans are considered the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Paradi: The Paradi is one of the nomadic tribe castes from Maharashtra, India.

Sawarna: According to the Varna system, Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaishya are considered as privileged (Savarna) while Shudra is considered impure (Avarna).

Varna System: The Indian Varna system segregates people into four hierarchical Varnas based on their birth. The upper Varna is Brahman, followed by Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra.

Caste System: Beyond these four main Varnas, there are numerous sub-castes (Jati) which further stratify society. Certain communities, often referred to as Dalits or "Untouchables," have been historically marginalized and excluded from the varna system, facing discrimination and social ostracism.

Vimukta Jatis: According to the gazette state government of Maharashtra, the wandering groups of Maharashtra include many castes and sub-castes called Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT).

References

Kamble, Chandrakant, & Santosh Kumar, Biswal (2023), ‘The Changing Role of Marginalized Women in Hindi Cinema: A Shift from Cinematic Negotiations to Empowerment’, Media Watch, 14: 3, pp. 386-402.

Kamble, Chandrakant (2024), ‘Portrayal of Dalit Women Protagonists in Geeli Pucchi and 200 Halla Ho: A Revisit of Hindi Cinema’. in Giri, A. K., & Biswal, S. K. (eds.), Rethinking Media Studies, India:  Routledge, pp. 353-366.

Manjule, Nagaraj (2016), Pistulya, India: Department of Mass Communication.

Nigam, Sanjay (1990), ‘Disciplining and Policing the 'Criminals By Birth', Part 1: The Making of A Colonial Stereotype—The Criminal Tribes and Castes of North India’, The Indian Economic & Social History Review, 27: 2, pp.131-164.

Safdar, (2020), Criminalizing the Natives: A Study of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871: University of British Columbia.

Spivak, Gayatri (1988), ‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’. In Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, pp. 271–313. Retrieved from http://www.mcgill.ca/files/crclawdiscourse/Can_the_subaltern_speak.pdf

Srinivasulu, (2021), ‘Dr Ambedkar and Annihilation of Caste’, The Routledge Handbook of the Other Backward Classes in India, India: Routledge, pp. 87-99.

Yengde, Suraj (2018), ‘Dalit Cinema’, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 41: 3, pp. 503-518.

Volume 29, Issue 3-5 / May 2025 Film Reviews   hindi cinema   indian cinema   lower caste   nagaraj manjule