Sudharak Olwe: In Search of Dignity and Justice
© Sudharak Olwe from Thrice Oppreseed
Curatorial Statement
I have been a silent observer of Sudharak Olwe’s work in the last few years. At an exhibition in Delhi years ago, I came across an extremely disturbing image of a manual scavenger without any protective gear, buried down to his neck into a manhole full of what looked like human waste. I was new to his work at that time, but my curousity to know more about him led me to discover a photographer, with an immense visual story telling power and commitment to reach out to the inner depths of his subject.
Sudharak comes from a strong photo journalistic approach and uses this power an an activist to reveal various harsh humanatarian conditions that can easily get lost in the glitter of what our eyes and mind choose to see and accept.
The two body of works “ In Search of Dignity and Justice” and “ Thrice Opporessed” might look like completely separate stories and issues as well as dealt with a completely a different sensibilty respectively by Sudharak Olwe. The two have a very strong connection together. Both issues have emerged out of the same society and history of an ancient Indian culture, that has found it convenient to oppress the other in the name of Cast and Gender to create a power that can control the two. Both have been given definit roles to play in their society, but have been barred from questioning about their equality and rights, somewhere islolating both.
Sudharak in both the visual stories, while taking the onus of telling their untold stories, has made a genuine effort to reach out to these communities, and questioned these probably intentionally ignored human violations. In both cases somewhere it seems as if each person is nothing more than a biological machine to satisfy certain needs of the higher beings. They can be expendable as well as replacable in case of a functional failure.
The images in the series “ In Search of Dignity and Justice” expresses about a world of Dalits or the untouchables, a community lowest in the highly complex Indian Social Structure. The community for centuries had learnt to accept their roles as garbage collectors and cleaners of spaces. Today in the modern times, very little has changed for them. Their rights as equal citizens and their value as human life, even today is struggling to rise and find another future.
The images in the series shows these people in their everyday work and life as manual scavengers. Each image is a witness to a disturbing world of their contribution towards over population and a crumbling infrastructure of the cities . How they repeatedly and mechanically just are busy clearing the manholes and streets without being provided or being able to afford any sort of protective gear or totally unaware towards their own hygiene, so that the classes above live in their ideal spaces.
The images in the series “Thrice Opressed” are an extremely quiet and powerful portraits of women, some faces identifiable and some not. Most living in an unequal world from smaller towns or villages. In one image we even see what looks like a very young girl dressed in a boys clothes, yet she remains the girl probably her family or society does not need. There are even a few who have gathered the strenght to face the camera to reveal atrocities they have faced over the years. Living in a highly partriarchal world, they are subjected to the dictatorial men of their society. Objectified by their own families and their societies before and after getting married, these women are brought up never to question their existence, while the men are given every right to use and abuse their rights, they are brought up to learn to live and die with a role to always please, but rarely be given the opportunity of getting pleased.
The two stories are from India, but not of India. In a country where we are constantly working on creating a change and raising our voices. We are moving towards a highly modern world, but a country that has held on to a very strong and rigid system is not easy to change over night. The solidarity of photographers like Sudharak Olwe and many more in these changing times, along with many selfless sacrifices by millions of such sanitary workers and women with their stories, has immense hope that time will heal and make India an equal world for all. Not only the change is required for the oppressed, but also the voluntary and involuntary oppressor. A thought that will need to evolve and a new world will evolve.
© Sandeep Biswas 2019