Netflix’s Jamtara Sparks Row Over Use of Casteist Slur

Netflix’s Jamtara Sparks Row Over Use of Casteist Slur

Netflix's most recent original series from India - Jamtara - has been called to use a racist solution aimed at the Dalit community, sparking debate over the use of pejorative terms in the field of fantasy entertainment. This is consistent with the ongoing debate over the use of racial slaves in America. While directors such as Quentin Tarantino - his work includes Django Unsolicited, and Pulp Fiction - have used the term as a fair representation of the characters' reality, others such as Spike Lee have taken offence. At the same time, the likes of Samuel L. Jackson have supported Tarantino, noting that this context is important and its use is not limited to African-American artists.

In Jamtara, the racist abuses in question are mentioned in the fifth episode of the Netflix series by Brajesh Bhan (Amit Sial), a corrupt, corrupt local politician who belongs to the so-called upper castes, and is aimed at Rocky (Anshuman Pushkar). , An aspiring thief artist who belongs to the so-called lower castes. Gadgets 360 reached out to Netflix for commentary by writer Trishant Srivastava and director Soumendra Padhi, but the streaming service said that it has always respected the freedom of its actors and has little to say. Netflix also pointed to a disclaimer associated with the beginning of every Jamtara episode that clarified that the show is a piece of fantasy.

Meanwhile, users on social media, including an influential fan page of BR. Ambedkar - a prominent architect of the Constitution of India, and a prominent leader of social reforms for Dalits - has called for police action against Netflix to allow a racist solution in its production. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 prescribes punishment for the use of racist murderers, but it is unclear whether it applies to "atrocities" committed by fictional characters on a fictional series. Nevertheless, many believe that applying it there makes its use normal.

In a statement to Gadgets 360, the Department of Asian Studies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Associate Professor of South Asian Languages, Literature and Culture, Drs. Afroz Taj said, "Although I have not seen you show mentioned, I am inclined to say that racist abuses should not be used for authenticity or constructive license either. This question is similar to the debate in the United States about racist slaves, which have been banned from commercial film and television. "