News Type: Event

As part of the NLS Public Lecture Series, the University will be screening the documentary film ‘From the Shadows’ followed by an interaction with the film’s Director Miriam Chandy Menacherry, at the NLS campus on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

Director’s statement on the film: 

Child sex trafficking seems a distant reality from our lives. Yet in a single image, the shadow of a girl on a wall disrupts my sense of normalcy with the message #missing. Can shadows speak? I relate to Leena spreading a powerful message through art but when she steps into unchartered waters to support a survivor in a prosecution case, the story takes a series of twists. Samina is from a family of fisher folk without Leena’s support, she stands little chance of enduring the trauma of a relentless battle that raises uncomfortable questions. Hasina provides answers. A veteran activist who learns courage from survivor Ella. Together they convict a political kingpin and repatriate cross border trafficking survivors.

From the Shadows is different because it shuns sensationalism for a dignified approach. After most of the filming Samina wanted her face concealed as the verdict is nowhere in sight. As a woman I understand her but as a filmmaker I enter the edit room conflicted. Samina’s expressive face is edited to become a form much like the shadow whose story one must dig deep to discover,. A new canvas emerges forcing the audience to listen hard to layer the story with what is `unseen’. If we respect constraints that define the world of survivors we can navigate the legal minefield around cases of sexual violence to construct important narratives. Through observational footage and rare conversations, the film sensitively handles stories from the shadows gently placing them in the spotlight.

Festivals and Special Screenings: 

The film was:

• Selected by the South Asian House and Global Media Makers for Special International Women’s Day Screening in a run up to the SXSW Festival in Austin March 2022
• Nominated at the Toronto International Women’s Film Festival March 2022,
• Semi finalist at Angeles Docs, Nominated One World Media Awards (UK) for Feature documentary,
• Official selection at the International Social Change Film Festival.
• Selected in the competition at International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) August 2022,
• Headlined the Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival November 2022,
• Selected as part of Samabhav, a travelling film festivals organized by Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA) in campuses across India.

Website: www.thefilmfromtheshadows.com

About the Director

Miriam Chandy Menacherry, Director/Producer/Screenwriter.
Miriam makes films that celebrate everyday heroes, approaching every story through the lens of popular culture to find the intersection of social cause and the arts. She shoots for years to capture intimate accounts of real people whose stories we do not notice, whether it is a Bollywood dancer who moonlights as a rat killer in Mumbai (The Rat Race), or children choosing music over violence in an area known for gang warfare (Lyari Notes). Her films have premiered at IDFA, nominated for the Alliance of Women Film Journalists – EDA award, won the Mipdoc Coproduction challenge at Cannes and nominated `for the youth jury award at Sheffield (UK). Broadcast internationally on channels like Arte, DR1, NGC, Al Jazeera, YLE and Netflix. In India, her films have had theatrical releases. Her latest film turns the spotlight on survivors of child sexual violence as they emerge `From the shadows’ through a viral wall art campaign. Miriam is one of 18 fellows selected for the Global Media Makers Fellowship by Film Independent (USA) and the US State Department.

About the Team 

From the Shadows #missingirls has been backed by an almost completely all woman team who bring to the table strong skill sets in every facet of filmmaking from Co-Producer Aliya Furniturewala and Sheena Matheiken, DOP Ranu Ghosh, Editor Irene Dhar Mallik, Co Editor Anuja Thakkar, Screenplay Writer and Impact Producer Triparna Bannerjee, Production Controller Sharon D’Mello and Researcher Nandini Dar. They also have widely experienced Consulting Producers in the doc fraternity Claire Aguilar formerly the Director of Programming and Policy at IDA and Alysa Namhias. Their impact advisers are Rebecca Lichtenfeld an Emmy award-winning New York based human rights advocate and Ragnhild Ek an award-winning filmmaker and communications expert. The film is a testimony to the collaborative effort of women to bring to the screen a difficult and hard hitting story of our times.

Awards & Recognitions 

The film was selected for 12 international forums and awards as a work in progress. The awards and grants received include `Hatched 2023’ grant for social impact by Chicken & Egg pictures (USA), Docaviv Award (Israel), Yes Foundation’s Social Documentary Award, Global Film and Media Initiative Award (Sweden 2021), the Global Media Makers fellowship and 2021 microgrant (USA), a production grant from InMaat Foundation (USA 2021), EIDF South Korea (2021), Industry Choice Award and Shortlisted for Breaking Through the Lens Cannes (2022), Docs for Sale IDFA (Netherlands, 2022), Visions Du Reel Market (Switzerland, 2023), and Thessaloniki Agoda Market (2023).

 

CCL is hosting a two-day national consultation titled “A Decade of the Food Security Law in India: Reflections and Way forward” on 20th and 21st September 2023 at the Training Centre, NLSIU campus, Bengaluru. Commemorating the significance of a decade since the enactment of the food security law in India, this consultation seeks to reflect on the journey that effectively translated benefits into entitlements. Furthermore, it seeks to provide a platform to discuss a plethora of issues beyond the scope of the legislation, that are necessary to achieve food security in a holistic, equitable and sustainable manner. This consultation envisages a platform to host six technical sessions across a wide spectrum of themes including food systems, water, climate change and governance.

The two day consultation is expected to throw light on a plethora of avenues at legal, policy, institutional and implementation levels, to strengthen food security in India. These discussions will be pivotal in deriving solutions and practices to strengthen the implementation of the legislation. Insights from this discussion will factor into a larger discourse on achieving food and nutrition security in the country.

Background 

In it’s 77th year of independence, India is at the cusp of achieving incredible progress and scaling great heights economically, technologically and demographically. Yet, nutrition and health indicators remain a grave concern. As per the global hunger index 2022, India has the highest number of children with wasting (19.3%). Although stunting and underweight rates have reduced, anaemia in women (at 53%) aged 15-49 years is perhaps among the countries with highest prevalence.

India has to it’s credit a wide array of policies, programmes and plans that were aimed at combating the challenges associated with malnutrition and children. The National Food Security Act (NFSA) , 2013 was one such milestone that laid the foundation for a rights based approach for food and nutrition security in India. Enacted on 5th July 2013, the Act emerged as a beacon of hope for lakhs of people belonging to vulnerable communities, children, pregnant women and lactating mothers who were largely dependent on state-funded provisioning of grains and supplementary nutrition to overcome the ordeals associated with food and nutrient shortages. As of today, with a budget allocation of approximately Rs. 2,40,876 crores (for 2022-2023), across four crucial schemes-Targeted Public Distribution System  (TPDS), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme (MDMS) and Maternity Benefit Schemes (MBS), the NFSA, 2013 facilitates the realization of right to food and nutrition security for 92 crore rights holders in the country.

Ten years since the enactment of the legislation, challenges continue to persist. Poor coverage of eligible right holders, disrupted supply chains, poor quality of entitlements, lack of nutrient cultural diversity, poor governance and lack of awareness are some of the challenges that impede the effective realization of the objectives envisaged in the legislation. That apart, a wide array of challenges have emerged in the context of climate change, evolving food systems and depleting resources.

Technical Sessions:

Technical session 1: Food security and the Indian Constitution

Brief: The food security law in India is deeply governed by the principles laid down in the constitution of India. Although the right to food is not explicitly mentioned, Article 21-Right to life and personal liberty clearly recognises the role of the State to facilitate the realization of the right to food for all. This technical session aims at revisiting the foundational principles of the constitution, role of the judiciary and significance of the normative and legal frameworks in protecting the right to food of the marginalized and vulnerable sections of the society. This session will be moderated by Dr. Sarau Thomas, faculty of Law, NLSIU and will facilitate insights from three key speakers-Prof. Babu Mathew, Faculty of Law, NLSIU, Mr. Sachin Jain, VIKAS SAMVAD and Adv. Rajendran, Former member-Kerala State Food Commission.

Technical session 2: A Rights Based Approach to Achieving Food Security in India

Brief: The enactment of the National Food Security Act, 2013 in India was a watershed moment, marking a significant transition from a welfare based to a rights based approach. The realization of food security must be rooted in the recognition of components-accessibility, adequacy, availability, stability and sustainability, and principles-participation, accountability, non-discrimination, transparency, human dignity, empowerment and rule of law (also known as PANTHER principles). This session aims to capture how a rights based approach can be leveraged to ensure food security for all. This session will be moderated by Mr. K. Thirumal Reddy, Former Chairperson Telangana State Food Commission. The speakers for this first half of this session are Shri. Haldhar Mahto, Social Audit Unit, Jharkhand and Shri. Gurjeet Singh, Mission Manager National Resource cell for social audit. The second half of the session will facilitate insights from Ms. Kavita Srivastava (PUCL) and Ms. Aysha Khan (Right to Food Campaign) and will be moderated by Dr. Ujjaini Halim, IMSE

Technical session 3: Nutrition-Vulnerabilities, Barriers and Opportunities

Brief: The access and utilization of nutritious food by an individual is largely determined by household factors such as income, gender, distribution of resources and prioritization and control of expenses. This session is aimed at highlighting some of the challenges and barriers that impede access to adequate nutrients in vulnerable groups. This session will entail discussions on how responses can be devised at policy, institutional and implementation channels. This session will be moderated by Ms. Sasmita Jena, Welthungerhilfe. The speakers for this session are Dr. Sudeshna Sengupta (independent researcher) , Ms. Anuradha Talwar (Paschim Banga Cha Majdoor Samiti, RTF Campaign, West Bengal), and Mr. Nagesh Hegde (senior journalist).

Technical session 4: Safe and Nutritious food

Brief: Access to safe and nutritious food has emerged as a key concern in the global scenario, given the challenges associated with food production, processing, storage and distribution systems. This session aims at facilitating critical discussions on poor nutritional and health indicators in children and women in the backdrop of riveting political, economical, environmental and systemic changes including recent food fortification and policy on genetically modified crops. This session will be moderated by Ms. Jyotsna Sripada, Research Associate, Centre for Child and the Law and the speakers for this session are Dr. Veena Shatrugna, Former Deputy Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Dr. M. S Tara, Former regional director, NIPCCD and Dr. Mallesh Kariyappa, Professor and Head, Department of Paediatrics, Vani Vilas Hospital.

Technical session 5: Political Economy of Food Security 

Brief: The political economy landscape of any country determines the political will to prioritize food security, while ensuring a feasible, sustained and operational funding mechanism. Given the trends associated with funding of major food and agricultural programmes in the country, budget allocations for various domains responsible for achieving food security including agriculture and nutrition programmes will be examined as part of this session. This session will be moderated by Dr. Neetu Sharma, Centre Coordinator and Programme Head, Centre for Child and the Law and the speakers for this session are Prof R Ramakumar, TISS, Mumbai, Mr. Madhusudan, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Bangalore and Mr. Nesar Ahmad, Budget Analysis Research Centre, Jaipur.

Technical session 6: Environment and it’s impact on food security

Brief:  The changing environment has a direct implication on the availability, accessibility, adequacy and stability of food production. This session on impact of environment seeks to highlight some of the concerns associated with environmental degradation and it’s impact on food systems. This session will be moderated by Ms. Bhargavi S Rao, Researcher and Senior Trustee, Environment Support Group. The speakers for this session will be Dr. Sairam Bhat, Professor of Law and Centre Coordinator, Centre for Environmental Law Education, Research and Advocacy (CEERA) and Mr. Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group.

About Centre for Child and the Law

The Centre for Child and the Law (CCL) was established as a specialized research multi-disciplinary centre of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, on 1st April 1996. CCL NLSIU strives to contribute to a world where all children live with dignity, achieving their full potential. The Centre adopts a child centric society in which the State is accountable to children, empowers communities, especially marginalized children, to claim and realize their rights. It also focuses on inter-disciplinary policy research, legal reform, systemic reform, advocacy and lobbying with Central/State governments to ensure accountability for effective realization of child rights. The three prominent programmes are Food Security, Child Protection and Education.

Email:

 

 

Prof. Rahul Singh will present his paper “SEBI’s Sandbox” at the Faculty Seminar on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

Abstract:

The paper captioned as ‘Sebi’s Sandbox’ posits that in the backdrop of a legacy of under-enforcement of directors’ duties (and auditors’ liability) in India, Sebi has embarked on their enforcement through its statutory instruments. This enforcement is innovative and has the characteristics of a ‘regulatory sandbox’.

The paper has descriptive and prescriptive aims. Descriptively, the paper seeks what Jolls, Sunstein and Thaler have, in a different context, said ‘a higher R square — that is, greater power to explain the observed data’. Prescriptively, the paper outlines certain internal and external challenges that the observed behavior is likely to face in the future.

Please note, this paper is a working draft and therefore, cannot be shared externally.

 

In this week’s faculty seminar, Dr. Madhubanti Sadhya will be presenting her paper titled “The Dynamics of Doctor-patient Relationship in Elective Aesthetic Medicine” on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Prof. Mrinal Satish will be the discussant.

Abstract:

Cosmetic surgeries diverge from the principles of medical paternalism that have traditionally governed the interactions between doctors and patients in therapeutic medicine. In this paper, an attempt is made to categorize the relationship shared by individuals opting for elective cosmetic procedure with their cosmetic surgeons within the framework of four prominent doctor-patient relationship models. These relational dynamics have significant medico-legal implications, particularly concerning informed consent and the determination of cases of medical negligence. An evaluation of the four models and a review of judicial decisions that have influenced the development of the informed consent doctrine reveals that the relation between cosmetic surgeons and persons undergoing cosmetic procedures resides at the intersection of the patient autonomy model, the consumerist model, and the shared decision-making model.  However, considering the unique nature of this medical sub-specialty, there is a case for the state to assume a paternalistic stance by imposing  rigorous disclosure and consent standards on medical professions offering these procedures.

This week’s faculty seminar will be held on 6th September, 2023.  Dr. Aniket Nandan will be presenting a paper titled ‘Populism and Caste in contemporary India: Socio-political pragmatisms of caste associations’.  Dr. Karthikeyan Damodaran will be the discussant.

Abstract

The essay is part of the forthcoming article as contribution for Springer Encyclopaedia on New Populism and Responses of the 21st Century, edited by Joseph Chacko Chennattuserry, Madhumati Deshpande and Paul Hong, in the section Society, Reflexivity and Populism. This essay assesses the core principles of populism in order to understand the trajectory of populist discourses in India. In doing so, the role of caste and its associational structures as a socio-cultural and political category finds significant attention. The essay argues that, in contemporary India the core value of populism, aimed at addressing the ‘will of the people’ or popular demand of the majority, has found itself stifled in the clutches of ‘will of the few’ who not only reproduce the socio-cultural hegemony but have also been able to postulate and dominate epistemic positions. However, this argument is not devoid of the foundation that India indeed witnessed phases of constructive populist discourses which in present times seems to be enmeshed within the metanarratives of a caste society.

 

The Law and Technology Society, NLSIU, a student-run committee of the University, invites students, practitioners and academicians across all areas of law to a panel discussion on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. The event will take place on September 2, 2023 from 2.30 pm to 4 pm.

Abstract

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 was gazetted on 11 August 2023. This legislation has been the culmination of discussion and deliberation for the past 8 years and stands to have a transformative effect on individuals and businesses in India. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to evaluate the ramifications of the bill from a multi-disciplinary perspective including inter alia the academic, business as well as practical perspectives.

The distinguished panelists include:

Ms Malavika Raghavan (Moderator): Ms Raghavan is a doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics undertaking cross-disciplinary research across disciplines of Law and Information Systems. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Future for Privacy Forum, and Visiting Faculty at the Daksha Fellowship, Sai University. Through these roles, and her previous role as Head of the Future of Finance Initiative at Dvara Research she has engaged deeply with various versions of proposals for an Indian data protection bill.

Mr Arun Prabhu: Mr Prabhu is a Partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and heads the Technology and Telecommunications practice. He specialises in offering sector-specific, cutting edge advice about technology to clients who are exposed to increased industry-specific risks.

Mr Vivek Reddy: Mr Vivek Reddy is a Senior Advocate of the Telangana High Court and the founding partner at Vivek Reddy Law Chambers. He is a graduate of NLSIU and Harvard Law School. He had worked on the initial Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the Data Protection Bill and represents technology companies in various litigation matters.

Ms Sriya Sridhar: Ms Sridhar is currently a part of the in-house legal team at Setu, a fin-tech company (part of the Pine Labs group), prior to which she practiced at a law firm within the IP and Technology practice. Her practice focuses primarily on technology laws (currently with a focus on fin-tech) and contracting, privacy laws and regulatory compliance.

Ameen Jauhar: Mr Jauhar is the senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and leads its Centre for Applied Law & Tech Research (ALTR). He is well-versed in Global South tech policy issues, with specialised knowledge of and practice in the Indian landscape.

E-Certificates will be provided to the attendees.

About L-Tech

The Law and Technology Society (‘L-Tech’) is one of Asia’s oldest student-run tech-law groups and is committed to exploring the boundless contours of the intriguing interface between law and technology.  It is one amongst the many societies at National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The main objective of the committee is to build up-to-date scholarship in this field by making research panels and by organizing a series of interesting events including seminars, conferences, policy-making competitions, essay competitions, etc.

This week, NLS faculty member Atreyee Majumder will discuss her essay “To have a country so important: on Law as a Sign for War”. Professor Diya Deviah will be the discussant.

Abstract: 

This paper, written for a special issue of NLSIR led by Rohini Sen, shows the international legal order as a sign system that stands for the threat of or imminence of war. It further shows that the order treats young sovereigns as trainee sovereigns who in turn are keen on transacting in the currency of international law to access greater and more meaningful sovereign power.

NLS faculty members Dr. Atreyee Majumder, Dr. Sushmita Pati, and Dr. Karthick Ram Manoharan will be speaking during a discussion on “In Conflict and Conversation – Indian Cities, Livelihoods, and Politics” on 29th August 2023 at the Bangalore International Centre. The event is being organised by the Cambridge University Press and will be conducted from 2:30 pm onwards. The details of the sessions are provided below:

Session 1 – Contours of the City
2:30 PM onwards 

• VIKAS KUMAR, Azim Premji University
• ANANT KAMATH National Institute of  Advanced Studies
• NEETHI P., Indian Institute for  Human Settlements
• ATREYEE MAJUMDER , National Law School of  India University

Session 2 – An India Then, an India Now  
4:45 PM onwards 

• SUSHMITA PATI, National Law School of  India University
• ADIL HOSSAIN, Azim Premji  University
• SUPRIYA ROYCHOWDHURY, National Institute of  Advanced Studies
• KARTHICK RAM MANOHARAN, National Law School of  India University

To register, click here.