Stalin K


Stalin K. is an Indian documentary filmmaker, media and human rights activist. His films, Lesser Humans and India Untouched, on the issue of caste and untouchability in contemporary India, have galvanized international attention to caste discrimination and won numerous film awards. He has done pioneering work on new models of community media to empower marginalized groups.
He co-founded the community media initiative Video Volunteers in 2013. In 2018, after allegations of sexual misconduct, he stepped down as the Director of the organization.

Biography

Stalin K. was born in Pune, and grew up in Gujarat. He studied Development Communication in Ahmedabad. Today he lives and works in Goa.

Work

Community Media

Stalin K. co-founded Drishti Media Collective as a trust in 1993. The media and human rights organization is based in Ahmedabad, India. He was director of the organization until 2008. His work involved training marginalized groups in participatory media techniques as well as producing and distributing community stories to give these communities a voice in the public sphere.
He is the President and co-founder of Community Radio Forum of India, an association of community radio broadcasters and advocates. Along with other founders of the Forum he drafted the new Community Radio Policy. The policy is in operation since 2006 and secures communities the right to own and run their own radio stations.
He set up one of the first community radio projects in Kutch, which covered stories from local communities.
In 2003 he co-founded Video Volunteers and co-conceived the Community Video Unit model in 2005. As managing trustee and director of Video Volunteers he is setting up media projects around the world to empower community voices, until he stepped down from his role as Director of Video Volunteers on 13 October due to allegations of sexual misbehavior. In 2010 he launched the world's first ever Community News Feature Service, IndiaUnheard.

Campaigns and Events

Stalin K. designed more than 20 campaigns and events on various human rights issues including Cricket for Peace, Game4Change, Asia Social Forum and Making Caste Visible at UN World Conference Against Racism.

Teaching and Workshops

As a visiting lecturer, Stalin K. has taught workshops on development communications and the use of media for empowerment at Universities and NGOs in India and the United States, like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Centre for Development Communication and Boston University.

Films

Stalin K. made documentaries on social and human rights issues, like the riots in Gujarat against minorities, gender based discrimination and rights of tribal people in India and America. He filmed the riots against Muslim minorities in Gujarat 2002. The footage was used in court to prove that high rank officials of the state were involved in the riots.
Stalin K. documented caste discrimination against the Dalit communities throughout India with his films IndiaUntouched and Lesser Humans. These films raised international attention to the discrimination of the Dalit communities in India.

#Metoo Allegations and Controversy

In October 2018, 2 women who have worked with Stalin K accused him of sexual harassment in the workplace. The allegations included inappropriate touching and unwanted advances. Institutions like The School of Media & Culture Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and WITNESS released statements disassociating themselves from Stalin.
Stalin K issued a statement on Twitter denying any wrongdoing. In response, many more women, some whom were ex-employees and associates, came out with further allegations of sexual harassment against Stalin K that they had either undergone and heard about. On 18 October 2018, Video Volunteers released a statement which mentioned that Stalin K had stepped down from his position of 'Director' at 'Video Volunteers'.
Despite the organisational statement claiming that Stalin will no longer be engaged with the daily activities and programs of the organization as well as not represent the organization, leaked internal emails in December 2018, show that Stalin continued to engaged in various capacities. Even as the allegations against him are under investigation, Stalin has continued to be associated with the organisation as the Managing Trustee.

Filmography

2007 India Untouched:
1993 Lesser Human