Acid attacks and epistemic (in)justice: Violence, everyday resistance and hermeneutical responsibilities in the Indian Hindi film Chhapaak

Abstract

By taking into consideration films as a method of dissemination of knowledge, the article examines the relationship between epistemic change, an understanding of epistemic injustice, and the prior epistemic convictions of characters, as well as everyday resistance, in the film Chhapaak, translated as Splash, an Indian Hindi‐language biographical drama film that portrays the life of Laxmi Agarwal, a survivor of an acid attack. The first section of the article contextualizes the story of the film through the trajectories of acid attacks in India. This is followed by discussions on epistemic injustice and collective wrongdoing through the lived realities of acid attack victims and survivors as depicted in the film. The article also highlights how these individuals exhibit everyday resistance and strive to bring about transformation in society. The article concludes with discussions on the epistemic, socio‐cultural, and hermeneutical responsibilities of people that can make society a safe place for all, especially girls and women in India. The article concludes by examining the epistemic, socio‐cultural, and hermeneutical responsibilities that individuals must undertake in order to create a secure environment for all members of society, with a particular focus on girls and women in India.