Wikipedia

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj is an Indian journalist, documentary film-maker and men's rights activist.[1][2] Bhardwaj rose to prominence after producing the documentary Martyrs of Marriage, which covered abuses of criminal section 498A (Anti-dowry law) by brides and their families.[3][1][4] She also exposed a conspiracy of alleged victims in the Rohtak sisters viral video controversy by interviewing the witnesses and collecting proof.[5] She has produced and directed the documentary India's Sons in 2021.

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj
दीपिका नारायण भारद्वाज
Born4 December 1986
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • film-maker
  • activist
Known forMen's rights, family rights, false case prevention during marriages
Notable workIndia's Sons

Minor Rescue cases,

False Rape Cases

Early career

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Bhardwaj left a job in the information technology industry to pursue film-making.[6] Her first documentary film Gramin Dak Sevak was a student film winner at Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival in 2009.[7]

Activism

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498-A and Martyrs of Marriage

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Bhardwaj alleges to have been the victim of a false 498A case, after she and her cousin were charged under the provisions courtesy a police-complaint by her ex-sister-in-law; the issue was resolved in an off-court settlement involving a huge sum of money.[1] This brought her into contacts with Save Indian Family Foundation, and she has since often collaborated with them in demanding an outright repeal of the law or amending to a gender-neutral version.[8][1] Bhardwaj's personal episode also went on to serve as the motivations for making a documentary on the locus.[9][10][11] Martyrs of Marriage (2017) narrated first-person tales of various victims who alleged of being at the receiving ends of abuse of 498A and interviewed politicians, judges et al. for their take on the issue.[11][9][12]

False sexual harassment allegations

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Bhardwaj campaigns against false sexual harassment allegations.[13][14] She had supported the #Mentoo movement, a campaign that was started in response of false allegations of the #MeToo movement in India and wrote about how the me-too movement turned men into disposable or collateral damage.[13][15][16] In the Rohtak sisters viral video controversy, she interviewed several witnesses and released videos that held the accusers of lying.[5][17][18] In 2021, Bhardwaj played a proactive role in busting the case where a female student of Atma Ram College of B.A English named Ayushi Bhatia who had filed a series of sexual assault and rape cases to extort money.[19][20]

 
Deepika Bhardwaj with Dr. Edmond - global health physician at a meeting

National Commission for Men

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Bhardwaj campaigns for the establishment of a National Commission for Men in India that would deal with men's issues including domestic violence and sexual assault.[21][22]

India's Sons

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In 2021, she produced another documentary called India's Sons, which was focused on the condition of India's men due to false rape cases.[23] She said that the documentary "inspired" men to tell their side of the story.[24][25]

Special Cases handled

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a. Deepika rescued a minor from Gurgaon who was being assaulted and subjected to abject cruelty of all forms.[26]

b. In an instance where a woman hired cab for over 12 hours then refused to pay Rs 2,000 in Gurgaon, Bhardwaj claimed the woman had previously harassed other drivers by doing the same thing and threatened to file molestation cases against them if the issue was raised.[27]

Filmography

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Documentary

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Year Title Notes
2016 Martyrs of Marriage[28] Netflix (2018–2020)
2022 India's Sons

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The woman who fights for men's equal rights". BBC. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. ^ "International Women's Day: Woman activist fights for men abused by women". WION. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  3. ^ Desai, Rahul (25 May 2018). "The Indian venal code". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Haryana woman's film lends voice to harassed married men". Hindustan Times. 21 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Rohtak eve-teasing case gets another turn with a fourth video surfacing". DNA India. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ^ "In pursuit of purpose: Tales of alternative careers from Gurugram". Hindustan Times. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  7. ^ "International Men's Day: 'I'm a Man Who Faced Domestic Abuse'". The Quint. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ^ Jha, Aditya Mani. "India's radical meninists come out of the closet". The Caravan. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Martyrs of Marriage - documentary on misuse of IPC sec. 498A". India Today. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Deepika Bhardwaj, Martyrs of Marriage, and Men's rights in India". sheroes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Documenting the martyrs of marriage". DNA India. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ^ Desai, Rahul (25 May 2018). "The Indian venal code". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Filmmaker Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj: #MenToo is as important as #MeToo - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Knowing man's side of the narrative". DNA India. 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Men's rights activism on the rise in India in response to #MeToo". The Independent. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  16. ^ Pundir, Pallavi (6 June 2019). "#MeToo Has Shaken Up Men's Rights Activism in India, and The Result is #MenToo". Vice. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  17. ^ IANS (8 December 2014). "Haryana's headline-grabbing sisters: Local heroes or serial beaters?". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Women In The Cause Of Men In Distress". HuffPost India. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  19. ^ Madaik, Devyani (7 January 2022). "'Ayushi Bhatia Serial False Rape Case': How This Gurugram Woman Ruined Multiple Lives With Vicious Calumnies". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  20. ^ "7 लड़कों पर फर्जी रेप केस करने वाली आयुषी भाटिया गिरफ्तार, ऑडियो वायरल". livebharatnews.in (in Hindi). 31 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  21. ^ Jha, Aditya Mani. "India's radical meninists come out of the closet". The Caravan. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  22. ^ Masih, Niha (11 November 2018). "The looking glass world of angry men". www.livemint.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  23. ^ "India's Sons: Charged falsely, acquitted, but never really free". www.mid-day.com. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  24. ^ "India's Sons: Documentary Inspires Men To Voice Their Side Of The Story". News Nation English. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Spotlight on struggles: Documentary on men falsely accused of rape". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Exclusive: Journalist who rescued minor domestic help in India's Gurgaon relives horror of abuse". WION. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Woman hires cab for over 12 hours then refuses to pay Rs 2,000 in Gurgaon". The Economic Times. 24 July 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Martyrs of Marriage". IMDb. 2016.
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