>Palmsandbeaches at 13:12, 14 November 2020

2020-11-14T13:12:57Z

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{{notability|date=November 2020}}
'''Dalit Camera''' is a [[YouTube]] channel set up around 2012 by Raees Mohammed (previously Ravichandran Bathran) to document life in India from the perspective of [[Dalit]], Adivasi and Bahujan people and other minorities living in India.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mohammed|first=Raees|date=2020-02-05|title=Why I converted to Islam and buried my Hindu identity: Dalit Camera founder|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/why-i-converted-to-islam-and-buried-my-hindu-identity-dalit-camera-founder/359849/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref> It has been described as the first use of videos uploaded on social media to highlight the difficulties faced by Dalit students.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-01-07|title=YouTube channel becomes rallying point for India's Dalits|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-25502849|access-date=2020-06-13}}</ref> They recently announced plans of starting a website to publish news. <ref>{{Cite web|last=Dalit|first=Camera|date=9 June 2020|title=Dalit Camera's official Twitter page|url=https://twitter.com/dalitcamera/status/1270075331488083969|access-date=13 June 2020|website=Twitter}}</ref>

== Evolution of Dalit Camera ==
By 2014, Dalit Camera had a 23-member team working with four video cameras. Initially attracting attention in Andhra Pradesh, by then it was also being viewed by significant numbers in the states of [[Kerala]] and [[West Bengal]], and was gaining viewers elsewhere in India and worldwide.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|last=Mehta|first=Vanya|date=7 January 2014|title=YouTube channel becomes rallying point for India's Dalits|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25502849|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> It has been described as the first use of videos uploaded on social media to highlight the difficulties faced by Dalit students.<ref name="chaudhuri">{{cite news|last=Chaudhuri|first=Prasun|date=1 May 2016|title=Posts, hashtags, action|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1160501/jsp/7days/story_83136.jsp|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

Aside from documenting, for example, the reaction of Dalit women to an incident of rape, it has showcased Dalit music and the activist-writer [[Arundhati Roy]],<ref name="BBC" /> whom it has also criticised.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shanmugavelan|first=Murali|date=16 December 2014|title=Arundhati Roy’s book on caste rejected by some anti-caste activists|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/arundhati-roy-s-book-on-caste-rejected-by-some-anti-caste-activists-9929233.html|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> Being online, it by-passes the distribution problems of previous attempts to provide a media outlet for the Dalit people — print publications struggle to survive because sales outlets are often reluctant to be considered associated with the [[Dalit movement]].<ref name="BBC" />

== Digital censorship ==
YouTube briefly terminated the Dalit Camera account in January 2017. The channel's page carried a notice that this was due to concerns about copyright infringement, although Ravichandran claimed that "YouTube has never welcomed depiction of content related to Dalit issues. A lot of explicit content is usually uploaded by YouTube but the site has a distaste for videos depicting Dalit and minority issues."<ref>{{cite news |work=The New Indian Express |title=YouTube flip flop: Dalit Camera taken down, then restored |date=1 February 2017 |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2017/feb/01/youtube-flip-flop-dalit-camera-taken-down-then-restored-1565679.html |access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> There was some speculation that YouTube might have bowed to pressure from [[Hyderabad Police]] following the conviction for defamation in December 2016 of some EFLU research scholars who had been featured on the channel. The channel had covered reaction to work posted by [[Suicide of Rohith Vemula|Rohith Vemula]] and his death.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Ladies Finger |url=http://theladiesfinger.com/dalit-camera-youtube/ |title=Why Has Dalit Camera’s YouTube Channel Been Terminated Without Notice? |date=31 January 2017 |access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

A collection of essays and debates from Dalit Camera has been published as ''Hatred In The Belly'' by Round Table India, which is an influential Dalit activist platform.<ref name="nagpaul">{{cite news|last=Nagpaul|first=Dipti|date=31 January 2016|title=Write back in anger|work=The Indian Express|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/write-back-in-anger/|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>

== History ==
The Dalit Camera YouTube channel was created by Raees Mohammad (previously Ravichandran Bathran) after he had been attacked by a group of [[Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad]] supporters on the campus of [[English and Foreign Languages University]] (EFLU), [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]],<ref name="nagpaul" /> for being a left-wing student leader.<ref name="chaudhuri" /> He says he started the channel to give a voice to give Dalit movements a voice on the internet because mainstream media doesn't cover their issues. He is a Dalit from the state of [[Tamil Nadu]] and has finished his Phd from Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shimla.<ref name="BBC" /> <ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-07-31|title=Connecting the dots|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/ravichandran-bathran-filmmaker-dalit-caste-architecture-5865016/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> The members of Dalit Camera have pooled in money from their own resources to cover stories for their YouTube channel. They also claim to have raised funds from their funds.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Banerji|first=Mahika|date=2017-10-23|title=Interview With Dalit Camera: Eradicating The Dominant Savarna Lens In Media|url=https://feminisminindia.com/2017/10/24/interview-dalit-camera/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Feminism In India|language=en-US}}</ref> In order to leave the caste system and 'bury his Hindu identity', Ravichandran Bathran converted into Islam and became Raees Mohammad on 20 January, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mohammed|first=Raees|date=2020-02-05|title=Why I converted to Islam and buried my Hindu identity: Dalit Camera founder|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/why-i-converted-to-islam-and-buried-my-hindu-identity-dalit-camera-founder/359849/|access-date=2020-04-23|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite news |work=Deccan Chronicle |title= Hyderabad: Eflu professor wins defamation case |date=14 December 2016 |url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/141216/hyderabad-eflu-professor-wins-defamation-case.html?fromNewsdog=1 |accessdate=2017-07-20}}

== External links ==
*{{official website|http://www.dalitcamera.com/}}

[[Category:Dalit culture]]
[[Category:2012 establishments in India]]
[[Category:YouTube channels launched in 2012]]

Dalit Camera - Revision history

>Palmsandbeaches at 13:12, 14 November 2020