Our journey started in 1992 when two young professionals Shabnam Virmani and    Stalin K. armed with degrees in films and development communication came together. Their effort was to challenge the mainstream media that portrayed the marginalised and the poor as victims and objects of pity. Such a portrayal was a gross misrepresentation and often offensive. It failed to capture the success, strength and struggles of the marginalised.

To address this situation, they along with Mr. Gagan Sethi of JanVikas, Ahmedabad collectively started taking small steps to form an organisation named Drishti. In 1993 Drishti was registered under Society’s Registration Act. Drishti believed that the inherent problems of representation within media could be challenged by a new generation of media professionals. Drishti’s objective was to create alternative media space and it’s first intervention in 1992 was a film for a non-profit organisation, SEVA Rural called “Kali Kem Mari”.

This was followed by another film in 1992 “Ek Potlu Beek Nu” (A Bundle Full of Fear), which was a dramatized narrative of five village women and their struggle for gender justice. The women field workers of Mahila Samakhya who had experienced violence and raised their voice against it, wrote the script and acted in this film. This process laid the cornerstone for Drishti’s future work.
In 1999, this belief in DRISHTI was consolidated and strengthened through our work in Community Radio. We believe that the medium of radio, if democratized and entrusted in the hands of local communities, can become a true vehicle of cultural expression and affirmation. The capacities of the communities is built to own, control and create their own media based on a sound developmental perspective. DRISHTI has set up two community radio units, one in Kutch with Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) and one in the Dangs district of Gujarat in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
DRISHTI has been at the forefront of a movement to democratize India's airwaves and fight for the community's right to run and manage their own Community Radio Stations along with other organizations and individuals. This struggle culminated in a major victory, as the new Community Radio Policy was announced by the Government of India, in December 2006. Communities can now apply for setting up and manage their own radio stations through NGOs.
In an effort to broaden the base of our media work, Drishti has also designed campaigns and events. Our first encounter with campaigns was to design and implement a fair on environment at Kutch in 1995 and was followed by several such campaigns. One of the milestones was the 2001 World Conference in Durban that highlighted caste discrimination through art and music.

Our work in film making, radio production with communities, creating campaigns and holding trainings have come together to strengthen and create the present avatar of Drishti. Presently three clear streams have emerged in our work, Community Radio, Community Video and Nazariya. 

In a natural progression from our Community Radio experience DRISHTI extended it’s work into the realm of Community Video. The Camera can prove to be one of the most effective and revolutionary tools through which marginalized communities are empowered to change their lives. The Community Video Programme, partners with organisations in the grassroots to set up Community Video Units. Here community members are trained to create and control a media of their own. This media empowers community voices and can prove to be a vital trigger of social change.
In July 2006 Drishti partnered with Video Volunteers an organisation based in the United States to set up 6 Community Video Units with NGO’s doing intensive work in the grassroots. The Community Video Programme has trained more than 70 community members to creat videos and lead change locally.
The Community Radio Programme through its long history of gestation in Drishti is one of our strongest programmes today. Over the next three years, DRISHTI plans to support the setting up of three Community Radio Stations (CRS) in collaboration with NGO partners. Drishti will also launch a Community Radio Station for the youth of Ahmedabad.
Our third stream is Nazariya. Here, Drishti aims to bring in an alternative perception into our society by screening documentaries, short films and short fictions that reflect a broader reality of people. Nazariya was started in September 2005 and since its inception has set up 26 film clubs in educational institutes of Ahmedabad, two film clubs in public spaces and organized seven film festivals in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Rajkot. Nazariya reaches out to unreached audiences with a meaningful, innovative and explorative perception of filmmaking and viewing. It seeks to sensitize young people towards social issues and encourages them to take actions as socially responsible citizens.
These three streams of Drishti together culminate to form a pool of media experiences through which we aim to…