India is coming alive and flourishing economically. In fact, Citigroup estimates that by 2050, India will have the world’s largest economy, larger than China and the United States. For many centuries, only the politically connected and elite prospered in India, while the rest of the population lived in poverty. However, since 1991, 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty and are finding new ways to flex their personal and economic power. “India Awakes” reveals the enormous power of unlocking human potential and ambition, and how doing so could establish this country as a preeminent world leader.
Ambrish Mehta, a founding member of ARCH-Vahini, helped the Sagai Village map out the land they farm so that they might ultimately be given a deed to their land.
The successful Chairman and Managing Director of MMR Group, Mannem Madhusudana Rao, is seen with his children outside his home.
Banwari Lal Sharma, the president of a street vendors association in India, leads a meeting in “India Awakes.”
You can also stream this full program on our Free To Choose Roku Channel. For channel details click here.
Ambrish Mehta, a founding member of ARCH-Vahini, helped the Sagai Village map out the land they farm so that they might ultimately be given a deed to their land.
The successful Chairman and Managing Director of MMR Group, Mannem Madhusudana Rao, is seen with his children outside his home.
Banwari Lal Sharma, the president of a street vendors association in India, leads a meeting in “India Awakes.”
One of the three stories featured in India Awakes involves property rights. After India gained independence in 1947, the Forest Department took control of millions of acres of forestlands across the country. The local tribal people were seen as a hindrance and they were told they had no right to farm, hunt or forage. The government left them landless and impoverished, resulting in near-starvation living conditions for decades. 
A recent property rights law has allowed tribal people to obtain deeds to their land, and in this new program we show how GPS technology and Google Maps were instrumental in their property rights victory. Such a high-tech solution may not seem extraordinary at first, until one realizes that Sagai village (where we filmed) has no electricity or plumbing. One of our crew members had to drive 90 minutes each night to the nearest electrical outlet to charge our camera batteries. In a world without electricity, using a GPS unit to solve a problem was bold and unexpected. No electricity also means no television. The villagers invited us to film their story not fully understanding what a television documentary was.
One goal in our filming was to recreate how the villagers mapped their land with the GPS units. So we recruited three or four villagers to demonstrate what they did for our camera. However, our volunteers did not quite know what to expect since they knew little or nothing about television. The GPS mapping process involved holding down a button on specially programmed GPS unit, then walking the perimeter of the land plot.
To find out more about this new program, being released in the fall of 2015, visit our program website.
