Press

That no one has seen the animal in full hardly dents its appeal. People are taken by its grandeur, seduced by its monstrosity. This is a curious arrangement but not entirely unfounded. During the course of the documentary, Pallavi argues that the animal — authoritative despite its invisibility — is a stand-in for power by proposing that the texture of both their allures is similar: created and sustained by terror.

If the violence of history is monopolised by oppressors, then the history of violence is revealed through the oppressed. In her latest work, Pallavi shifts this vantage point by revisiting decades-long instances of brutality — the Emergency (1975-1977), the 1984 riots, and the ghastly attack on the students of Jamia Milia Islamia University by Delhi Police in 2019 — through the perspectives of those who were agents of it: the officials involved. She speaks truth to power by excavating truth in power.

Read the entire article here: https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/emergency-1984-jamia-attack-the-blind-rabbit-speaks-truth-to-power-by-excavating-truth-in-power-7349715/