Here is the link to, Nothing But Our Chains..............................

It will be available from the 26th of November 10 am, Constitution Day to 28th of November 11.59pm on the Working Peoples' Charter YouTube Channel.

A panel discussion around the film will go live on our page here on Facebook as well as our YouTube page.

The panel will be moderated by Meena Menon, Trade Unionist and Working president Working Peoples' Charter

The panelists are,
Seema Chisti- Senior Journalist
Surabhi Sharma - Filmmaker, Educator, Curator
Rajiv Khandelwal - Eminent voice of migrant workers, and Co-Founder Aajeevika Bureau
Isha Pungaliya - Independent Filmmaker

During the Covid 19 lockdown, WPC alliance partners were relentlessly involved in relief and advocacy for the working class; the migrant as well as non-migrant labourers that found themselves out of employment, without food, amenities and often, shelter. The lockdown period was arguably the most difficult period for India's poor, and the most arduous, and challenging, for civil society; such as the WPC and its partners.

This film was meant to document these efforts. However soon there was a realization that the film needed to explore the bigger systemic issues that had created this horrifying situation for the working class.

What is certain beyond any form of doubt or reason, is that this period of ordeals was not caused by the lockdowns, but only compounded because of a certain logic of development and urbanization that is by design, exclusionary. The COVID19 lockdowns only exacerbated the lives of India's poor; constantly on the brink and perpetually a struggle.

We are confronted with the following question; How do we look at workers? The worker who has built every bridge, every business center, every school, made every product in the market… the worker is at the centre of all that is made, built, changed and formed.

How does India treat its workers? The country witnessed the largest exodus of workers in its independent history. This can only suggest that the migrant seldom features in most imaginaries, from most narratives.

This film is an attempt to unravel this national attitude towards the working class. Why must the worker migrate? What is this economics that invisiblizes the worker? How are women workers more exploited than men? What do cities do to the working poor?

And most importantly, how must we collectively respond to this longstanding predicament ?

The film is directed and edited by Isha Pungaliya, a Pune based independent filmmaker.

Along with testimonials of several migrants and workers the film also consults experts such as Dr. Prabhat Patnaik, Dr. Ravi Srivastava, Rajiv Khandelwal, Kiran Moghe, Chandan Kumar, Nirmal Gorana and Trade Union leader Ram Nalawade.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/based-on-footage-sent-by-relief-workers-film-by-pune-director-looks-at-migration-crisis-during-pandemic-challenges-of-relief-work-7062973/

For more information please write us @ workerscharterprocess@gmail.com