India's Forgotten Children

This powerful exposé sheds light on the longtime plight of India's Dalit population, a lower-caste group numbering in the hundreds of millions in the populous nation. Given their low social status, the Dalit are easily exploited by nefarious forces who know the country will do nothing to enforce laws intended to bar child labor, abductions, and sex trafficking. Featuring interviews with non-governmental organization officials concerned with human rights, as well as Dalit individuals who have endured years of servitude to loan sharks, forced prostitution, or hazardous labor, India's Forgotten Children captures footage of appalling situations involving kids and women. One boy hand-mills rice for hours before school, breathing in dust that makes his chest hurt. A woman talks about her inability to escape prostitution, while another is seen cleaning the houses of upper-caste families. Shedding light on the oppression of a large population (equal to the entire U.S.), this documentary also holds out some hope for the much beleaguered Dalit. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)