Plant Based News Launches New Vegan Documentary ‘The Land of Ahimsa’

The world’s leading vegan news platform, Plant Based News, has launched a new feature-length documentary on vegan living, called The Land of Ahimsa, on its YouTube channel, with the aim to restore the meaning of ahimsa – respect and non-violence towards all living beings – across India. The term ahimsa dates back roughly 4000 years and is inspired by the notion that all living beings share a spiritual energy, and therefore, to harm another being is to harm oneself.

The film has won the best documentary award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and WRPN Women’s International Film Festival and has been nominated in five categories at the BFI London Film Festival, Barcelona International Film Festival, and Boston Film Festival.

Ahimsa is a central part of the dhārmic religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. But India has become disconnected from the meaning of this term, according to vegan activist and filmmaker Dolly Vyas-Ahuja. As a result, the South Asian country has seen a rise in the mistreatment of and violence towards animals, especially in industries that confine and kill them for food.

“Once I found out about the cruelty of dairy and animal agriculture, I started to see the world through animals’ lens. Their baby being taken away was my baby, their milk being stolen was my milk being stolen, their anxiety, fear, and pain became a part of me,” says Vyas-Ahuja, granddaughter of freedom fighter Chhaganlal Joshi. “I had to take action and share my truth with the rest of India.”

Directed by Aryeman Ramsay, son of the late Bollywood film producer Keshu Ramsay, The Land of Ahimsa sees Vyas-Ahuja journeying across India and the US. She speaks to physicians, environmentalists, philanthropists, and experts in nutrition, spirituality, and advocacy about the importance of ahimsa and its role in modern-day India.

The country’s growing health crisis, for example – India is known as the diabetes capital of the world – has strong ties to the population’s rising consumption of dairy, meat, and other animal products. Dr Neal Barnard, who appears in the film, states that more and more vegetarians are suffering from diabetes due to increased consumption of dairy and oils. Meanwhile, the planet as a whole is seeing the effects of the climate catastrophe, which is largely driven by unsustainable animal farming practices.

The Land of Ahimsa is a call to action and a demonstration of how reconnecting India with the meaning of ahimsa, along with vegan living, can bring us closer to a non-violent world and ease the suffering of all living beings.

The Land of Ahimsa is produced by Dolly Vyas-Ahuja and Mayur Ahuja. The executive producers are Dr Sailesh Rao (credited for Cowspiracy, What the Health, and Prayer for Compassion) and actor Jerome Flynn (known for Game of Thrones and Ripper Street).

The documentary features author and Advaita teacher Acharya Prashant; politician Maneka Gandhi; philanthropist, environmentalist, and animal rights activist Philip Wollen; documentary filmmaker Keegan Kuhn; founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Dr Neal Barnard; founder of UnChainedTV Jane Velez-Mitchell; authors Dr Rupa Shah and Dr Will Tuttle; founder of plant-based meat brand GoodDot Abhishek Sinha; radiologist Dr Munish Chawla; physician Dr Bandana Chawla; founder of Ahimsa Land Foundation Darshana Muzumdar; founder of SHARAN Dr Nandita Shah; optometrist Dr Deepak Kotecha; mountaineer Kuntal Joisher (considered the first vegan to climb Mount Everest); animal activist Arvind; founder of the Jain Academic Foundation of North America Dr Sulekh Jain; and many more eminent personalities.

The Land of Ahimsa is available to watch for free on the Plant Based News YouTube channel for the next 90 days.

Inspired to choose non-violence and compassion over cruelty? Order our free vegan starter kit today!