One Day Ahead of Democracy
Director: Amlan Datta
Logline: Malana, a remote mysterious village in the Himalayas, has been practicing an ancient form of democracy built on trust. They’ve also been producing some of the finest quality hashish in the world.A unique story of transition, an isolated age old form of democracy for the people getting invaded and overpowered by the modern form – rule of the majority. A real life drama where a fire destroys the village, followed by a process of reconstruction, which blows the horn of extinction for this ancient civilization. Microcosm of a global phenomenon.
This village, cut off from the outside civilization for thousands of years, had been living an innocent pure existence in harmony with nature. It was never invaded or ruled by an external administration. They had their own democracy. A bicameral assembly chosen by the village folk through a process of unanimous selection – and not an election! Their court solved all their internal disputes. No manipulation, no favoritism, they had their God in front. All decisions were unanimous; every individual’s opinion mattered – unlike the present form of democracy that leads to dictatorship of the majority. And the secret of their civilization was trust. They believed in trust, the democracy of trust. A given word is taken as absolute. So they never felt the need for formal education.