Combler le fossé entre l'Inde et Bharat-Mgnrega
Channel: Indian Diplomacy
Date: 2012-09-06

Combler le fossé entre l'Inde et Bharat-Mgnrega, The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is considered to be one of the most revolutionary policies in India with respect to labour and rural poverty. Structured as a personal exploration of the predicament that marks Indian growth and development - an ever widening chasm between the rich and the poor - the film travels to four states in the country and looks at the implementation of the MGNREGA as the resolution to some of these problems. One of the most important revelations of this expedition is that despite the many loopholes in it's implementation, the MGNREGA has in fact entitled labour to better citizenship by giving them the option of collectively bargaining for their rights. Besides, related processes like social audits have been nothing short of a revolution - ensuring not just transparency and accountability but also challenging feudal power relations and restructuring society in favour of the marginalised. Set in post-independent India, the film 'Bridging the Gap between India and Bharat' sets out to explore the intent of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act, and its implementation over the past 5 years. The film journeys through districts in Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh, in search of visible change that has happened on the ground level. Speaking to beneficiaries, sarpanches, district collectors, state secretaries and social activists, one message that echoes through the film is that the potency of this Act is undeniable!