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Synopsis

It is the true story of two remarkably courageous young people who believed in their vision of a united nation free of state-sponsored oppression. Khudiram Bose, a sixteen-year-old, is in prison charged with sedition and terrorism against the British Raj. His final wish is for a free country, but that is denied. So, he chooses to meet his sister the night before he is to be hanged. He narrates the incidents that led to his arrest to his sister, who raised him like a mother would. He grew up feeling strongly about the injustice to mill workers in the country. Imported cloth meant the local weavers and dyers would go hungry, while the British used the money to build their military infrastructure. Encouraged by his teacher and older revolutionaries, he sets out to kill Kingsford, a governor known for his unjust actions against the young men of India, to curb radical thought and action against the Raj. By a tragic miscalculation, Khudiram ends up bombing the carriage with Kingsford’s wife and child. Khudiram begs his sister for forgiveness for having caused her immense pain. The question is, would he have killed his sister and her child had they been in the carriage with Kingsford? He answers in the affirmative. He would sacrifice his kin for the sake of the larger cause. Ironically, the same mills he fought to save are today's malls that house foreign apparel brands like Versace and Calvin Klein. Thillaayadi Valliammai was a Tamil girl born in Durban when Gandhi set out his peaceful protests against the South African government for restricting the movements of people of colour. At age eight, Valliamma ran away from home to hear Gandhi speak to the crowd. She jumped on stage and addressed a large crowd. Gandhi was impressed and visited her at home with his comrade Thambi Naidoo. Valliamma strongly believed in action. “We must do something instead of simply talking.” In her childlike innocence, she questioned Gandhi’s approach to the protest. She sang the songs of the Tamil Goddess. She wished there was a song that she could sing about her country. A country she did not know because she was born in South Africa. In a few years, Valliamma became a fearless speaker against apartheid. She moved from area to area and challenged the segregation in treatment towards people of colour. She fought for the rights of both Indians and Africans. On her final protest and call for a strike, she was thrown in jail, where she was rebuked for fighting for a country which did not exist, one that the British Empire created. She tears off her sari and waves it like a flag. The colours of her sari are the inspiration behind the design of the Indian national flag. She died at fifteen, fighting for the dignity of people of colour. Her sacrifice is forgotten by a culture obsessed with light skins today. We missed capturing these heroic sunrises because we woke up too late.

Duration

40   Minutes

No of characters

2