RN Documentary: Durga's Court
From Radio Netherlands
| Part of the RN Documentaries series
| 00:29:29
Producers: Dheera Sujan
Shabnam Ramaswamy runs an informal court of law in a small village in India. For the illiterate and the poor, India?s unwieldly, corrupt and slow justice system is inaccessible, so she has started her own court on the verandah of her home. There she arbitrates on cases ranging from murder and torture of women to dowrty negotiations and land arbitration. Shabnam is totally untrained in the law, but she uses folk stories, the different law structures in the area and her own common sense as guidelines.
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Review of RN Documentary: Durga's CourtWhere to go when you can't find justice? Dheera Sujan introduces us to a court of common sense with no lawyers - just one woman on her porch in West Bengal, India, trying to make a difference in her community. |
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Review of RN Documentary: Durga's CourtEngaging 30-min. documentary that keeps you wanting to hear more. It's the stories of Shabnam Ramaswamy that keep you listening and have you laughing from one minute to outraged the next. Ramaswamy was chosen to run an informal court in her small Indian village. She may not have the proper legal training but she commands respect from her villagers as well as listeners to this piece. There is no host cue and there is an interruption in the middle for station ident. But this is definitely worth airing during a weekend or evening news magazine programme. |
Transcript
You?re listening to Durga?s Court: social justice at work in India, from Radio Netherlands. The programme is produced and presented by Dheera Sujan.
Sound ? marriage fight ?35
?jao. Bang
It may not sound like it, but this is a court of justice in action. We?re in rural India, and two parties have come, each with their supporters, and they?re having a blazing row before the judge.
Sound ? crying
In this particular case, a young woman who is from a slightly higher class family than her husband refuses to live in his joint family but neither will she agree to a separation. Her husband is demanding his marital rights and says that she must either to come back to his house or divorce him so he can re-marry.
Sound ? marriage fight end ?12
In this particular court, the judge may just disappear for a moment to finish off some errands in her house while the parties...
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Additional Information
- Produced: Oct 24, 2006
- Added to PRX: Oct 26, 2006
- This piece is in English
Victorino Fernandes
Posted on September 04, 2007 at 01:30 PM | Permalink
Review of RN Documentary: Durga's Court
This "Judge" is an unusual character who has managed to inspire local Lawyers in an Indian village to look into their conscience & help the villagers, without having to spend their life savings. It is also sad that the Indian Government seems to have done very little to eradicate bribery & corruption among its law enforcement bodies.