Review: 'Satyamev Jayate' Episode 10 clean and crisp

Show: Satyamev Jayate Episode 10
Theme: Untouchability
Time: Every Sunday, 11am
Channel: DD National, All Star channels
Rating: ****

The impact that Satyamev Jayate has on millions of viewers across India every Sunday morning is nothing less than powerful. The show, hosted by superstar Aamir Khan, is not even a season old and has already been applauded, ridiculed and has also created controversies. But one cannot ignore the fact that it picks up issues that not many are willing to deal with in such a head-on and factual manner in mainstream media.

After tackling topics such as domestic abuse, dowry, etc., Episode 10 threw light on untouchability, a practice that is a social evil in every sense. Living in developed cities, most like to believe that untouchability is not prevalent in present day society and that India has evolved. Satyamev Jayate proved how this is far from truth.

This particular episode, unlike others, had fewer case studies with a stronger impact. Instead of featuring different people from various parts of the country personally narrating their experiences, the episode showed clips from the documentary India Untouched directed by Stalin K Padma, which shows how untouchability, or as it is called in Hindi “chhua chhoot”, is practiced in different ways across India.

A powerful speaker on the show this Sunday was Justice (Retd) CS Dharmadhikari, a dynamic man who put his ideas across in an interesting and concise manner. His statement, “jo kabhi nahi jaati usko jaati kehte hai, chipak gayi so chipak gayi (caste is something that the society never allows you to get rid of, it literally sticks to you)", was a strong way to express his thought.

The highlight of the show, however, was Bezwada Wilson and his story of having been raised in a family of manual scavengers. Wilson saw his family suffer through humiliation at every step and being treated in an inhuman manner which spurred him to take action against this injustice.

A powerful story combined with powerful visuals can work wonders. This is exactly what Episode 10 did, though I was expecting to see some mention of how women face double tyranny due to their status as bhangis (untouchables) along with being the weaker sex in a patriarchal society.

This omission however did not diminish the essence of what they did include. The issue was clearly dealt with, and like every episode of Satyamev Jayate, this one too had elements that touched the viewers’ heart.