Six Yards to Democracy

In the build-up to general elections, even the inhabitants of poor neighbourhoods are interesting for politicians. One politician conceived the idea to distribute free saris in the poorer parts of the Indian city of Lucknow to secure some votes. It turned into a disastrous day. Many women got trampled and were killed. Except in election times, politicians ignore the poorest of the poor. Often, the neighbourhoods they live in are simply cleared out to make space for the advancing districts of the rich: a bulldozer starts at the edge of such a district and flattens everything in its path, and some inhabitants barely manage to escape this destructive action. Local politicians are deaf to the pleas from a few brave women who start a petition. The only thing the impoverished can do is hope for a better future. As long as the city authorities refuse to help them, they will have to do without a toilet and relieve themselves outdoors. Raw images of the sad sari day, interviews with the women who witnessed it and with the city's marginalized people about their lost houses provide a poignant picture of the dead-end situation at the bottom of Indian society