Kansat: The Untold Story

Proposed Name: Arek Kansat / Another Kansat

Documentary on the protest of Kansat people agitating electricity 
Genre:    Documentary 
Format:  DV/HDV 

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    Language: Bangla with English subtitle 

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    Location:  Kansat, Abbasbazar, Shibganj, Chapai Nawabganj, Rajshahi, Dhaka 

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    Interviewees:  Families of those who died, Protestor woman, men, and children, leaders, local MP, DC, SP, TNO, witnesses, journalist, duty police, and Member of People’s Investigation Committee. 

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    Research:  Newspaper clipping, TV footage, Kansat-Shibganj visit, Consultation with the activists and others related to Kansat movement. 
     

Summary:

We have seen Kansat with the lens of media. We have known Kansat-bashi (Kansat residents) for their courageous protest. We have heard the third persons’ narratives. Have we heard much directly from kansat-bashi? The voices of Kansat-bashi mingled and came out as one voice – the voice of protest. Very rarely have we heard the pinned down voices of the genuine cornered people. The proposed documentary will let the Kansat-bashi speak directly to the audience. This documentary will not analyze the roots and causes of Kansat protest from any third party’s point of view. This documentary will let Kansat-bashi tell about the protest from their very own point of view.  
Synopsis:

Chapai Nawabganj is the largest mango producing district of Bangladesh. And Kansat produces the largest share of mango in the whole Chapai Nawabganj area. For the people of Kansat, producing mango means more than mere livelihoods. Kansat-bashi would rather cut off their own arms than cut off a branch of a mango tree. Kansat-bashi, who have such strong bond to every mango tree of Kansat, did not pay any attention to the mango tree this time. For the very first time in the history, when the season came to take care of their beloved mango trees, Kansat-bashi spent the time cutting their beloved trees, making barricades, and standing in front of bullets. Is it that same Kansat? Is it the same air of Kansat where blood smell prevails over the sweet mango smell?  
From May 2005 to April 2006 – Kansat had been flaring in protest for one year. They demanded uninterrupted supply of electricity and withdrawal of minimum usage charge. Kansat-bashi’s voice for legitimate claim became stronger during the last four months of the protest. The most intense moments of protest were January 4, January 13, April 6, and April 12. In those days, the angry residents of Kansat came out of their houses to join the procession and show solidarity. For the first time in 100-year history of electricity in Bangladesh, 17 people were killed in police firing and political encounters. More than 600 were badly injured and became disabled. After sacrifice of so many lives, they only got assurance from different quarters, and not what they demanded.  
Power shortage is everywhere. High electricity price, fixed meter charge, and continuous unanticipated load shedding are some of the very common complaints of people in Bangladesh. Leaving all those people behind to speak ill of public services, Kansat-bashi stood up for their rights. The brave young and old men appeared fearlessly to brave the nearing bullets. Women, leaving their kitchen, came down to the street with daa-boti in their hands. They proved themselves as the successors of “Nachole bidroho” and “Tebhaga andolon”. They set a splendid example of upholding the spirit of solidarity among Bangladeshis. 
Political resentment is not new in Bangladesh. But example of such heroic feats by non-partisan protestors of all ages is rare in our history. Never before did people of all ages gathered together for electricity and joined procession like Kansat-bashi did. Never before did so many people come out of their houses leaving their livelihoods and holding daa-boti-lathi to claim their rights. For this reason, there are more to explore about Kansat. There are more to rethink. We all tried to understand Kansat through the eyes of media – newspaper, website, and television. But the media did not say everything. It could not say everything. Kansat-bashi steadfastly refused to accept the validity of some of the news and stood firm against some overly biased views. Through the documentary, we are going to explore those unspoken words and capture the stories we have not heard so far.  
 
Objectives:

The objectives of the documentary are

• To present the true story of Kansat-bashi – what brought them together, how they question the accountability of the state, how they set their collective interests above individual interests, and what differentiates them from the residents of other towns and villages of Bangladesh. The objective is not to re-iterate the views of any third party including government and media, but to explore the reasons that intensified the movement.
• To rethink and re-examine the state policy about the basic human rights and services.
• To search the origin of inspiration from kansat-bashi’s narrative and to understand why Kansat movement may inspire other citizens to raise voices against any unfair exploitation.
• To understand the extent to which Kansat-bashi’s interests rose above any other interest including political interest, communal interest, religious interest, or class interest.

 
Core Questions: Common Dilemmas

When Kansat appears in a short documentary, a number of issues invade our minds and leave us to deal with some dilemmas. “Arek Kansat” will categorize those dilemmas under three lines of thinking: (i) accountability, (ii) intervention, and (iii) inspiration.  
The documentary would rather throw open questions to the audience than answer any question. The underlying questions that will appear in different forms are:

• Accountability question – who should be held accountable? Public service sector (Power Development Board) or people’s organization (Palli Biddut Samity) or any other party?
• Intervention question – for whom does the police work? Public interest or private interest?
• Inspiration question – why should both affected and unaffected people protest? Individual interest or collective interest?

 
 
 
Why make “Arek Kansat”? 
The documentary “Arek Kansat” aims to target a variety of audiences: local and international; conscious and unconscious; and, urban and rural. Counter Foto, a center for Communication, will consistently try to show the documentary in as many places as possible. The purpose is to create awareness among people about what happened to Kansat and about their own rights. “Arek Kansat” will play the role of an inspiring documentary for all the people in Bangladesh who have complaints but do not have the ability to create a common platform for voicing their concerns. Another purpose is to make people know about those brave people who sacrificed their lives, and those who became seriously injured and disabled. Counter Foto, by showing the film in different places, intends to raise funds for the families of affected people who set the example of how to stand strong in front of tear-gas, batons, and bullets. The long-term vision of making “Arek Kansat” is that it will remain as a historical witness for the people of tomorrow.  
Preparation and Pre-production:

The Counter Foto research team will use both primary data and secondary data to do the research. For primary data collection, first, two persons from the team will visit Kansat to do initial research. They will talk to as many people as possible. After two visits and consultation with the whole team, the scriptwriter will prepare the final script. The team will collect secondary data from media and other sources. For secondary data, the excellent sources are paper clippings and TV footages from January to April 2006. An independent people’s investigation committee (gono-todonto committee) was formed by the civil society to investigate the case of Kansat. This committee has talked to more than a thousand of people of Kansat. The research team will also interview them for a broader understanding of the situation. The objective of the research team is to present the true story and not to present any biased view. 
Production:

The production team plans to spend at least 7 days for shooting in Kansat. The team will also need to go to Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Shibganj, and Dhaka to interview some people from different offices. The research team has already started to collect TV footages from the private TV channels. After all the footages are compiled in an orderly manner, the production team will start working on putting them together.   
Post Production:

After editing, the production team will start adding up audio, soundtrack, and subtitle. The final product will come in CD and DVD. 
Premiere show:

The owners of the documentary are the Kansat-bashi who witnessed and participated in the Kansat protest. Counter Foto, a center for communication, aims show the documentary for the first time to all those who own the documentary. For this reason, Counter Foto plans to do the premiere show in Kansat. 
Making of the Documentary and Deadline:

The research for the documentary “Arek Kansat” has already started. Those who are involved directly or indirectly in this project have already started collect information from May 1, 2006. Counter Foto plans to finish the documentary by July 2006. However, in case of any unexpected circumstances, Counter Foto may need one or two more months to finish. There is risk involved in making the film. In case of injury of any person during shooting, Counter Foto may consider allocating some funds for emergency medial situation of the injured.   
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“Arek Kansat” will be a production of Counter Foto, a Center for Communication.