'Justice Delayed but Delivered' film shows how person takes claim of constitutional rights, says director

'Justice Delayed but Delivered' is a 15-minute Hindi documentary film that revolves around the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution and tells the story of the struggle and hope of Radhika Gill and Rashmi Sharma who were victims of discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir due to Article 35A of the Indian Constitution, said the film director Kamakhya Narayan Singh on Saturday.

The film was screened at the 51st International Film Festival of India on Friday.

The director of the film said that the 15-minute Hindi documentary film shows how a person stakes a claim to his constitutional rights, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

"I feel proud of what we did through this documentary. The short documentary tells the story of the struggle and hope of Radhika Gill and Rashmi Sharma, both belonging to the Valmiki community in Jammu and Kashmir. The film revolves around the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution."

Radhika and Rashmi were both victims of discrimination due to Article 35A of the Indian Constitution, which provided special rights and privileges to 'permanent residents' of Jammu and Kashmir.

Describing the circumstances which laid the seed for his film, Singh told the media that the idea came to his mind around 2012, when one of his friends who was doing research found that a section of Dalits in Jammu and Kashmir were denied their constitutional rights.

"Dalits from Punjab were taken to Jammu and Kashmir for menial jobs such as scavenging and station and for decades, they were forced to be confined to these very same occupations. They were denied even the fundamental rights of equal justice and equal opportunity, as guaranteed in our Constitution. I was struck as to how our constitution, framed by Dr Ambedkar, could end up being mpulated to deprive some people of these fundamental rights. We did a documentary on article 35A in 2015, and we felt that the people who do not have a voice need to be heard," the director said.

"Their predicaments end in the year 2019 when Article 370 is abrogated and Article 35A deleted from the Constitution of India, thereby conferring all the rights which they deserved since birth," said the Director.

"Justice has been delivered to Dalits, women, Gorkhas, West Pakist refugees and displaced persons living in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Right to Equality is everywhere, the Constitution of India guarantees it to everyone, including to the last citizen. When Article 370 was abrogated, the oppressed people of Jammu got their rights back, on par with other citizens of the country," Narayan Singh said pointing to the change that has occurred in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

The director further asserted that the right of every citizen in the country needs to be met as guaranteed under the Constitution. He pointed out that justice was not prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir when Article 370 was in force and the citizens there were not enjoying many constitutional provisions.

( With inputs from ANI )