From coolzanny at hotmail.com Sun Feb 1 20:21:19 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 20:21:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Singer and The Acrobat Message-ID: 29/12/2003 >From VT to Byculla Time: 5:30 PM The Singer and the Acrobat Today�s was a difficult journey, difficult because my mind was mostly preoccupied with fact of whether I would be able to get off at Byculla station with relative ease or not! I stepped into the train at 5:30 PM in the evening. It was a Monday evening. The train was bound for Ambernath; it was a fast train which meant that it would not stop at the in-between stations and would only halt at junctions like Byculla, Dadar, Ghatkopar, etc. Evening travel time by trains is popularly known as �peak hours� or �rush hours�. I am not at all a seasoned train traveler and am definitely not the long distance traveler. So, I have no clue how to juggle around and deal with the crowds during the rush hours! By the time I got into the train, it was already �packed to the teeth� (what does this phrase mean? I have quite a few gaps between my teeth!). The ladies compartment was full of women who were returning home from office. Here is when one gets the chance and the flavour of the concept of �Saheli� among women. In Marathi, a female friend is called �Maitreen�. During the evening rush hour (which means that there is also a morning rush hour), workingwomen normally travel in groups with their Sahelis or Maitreens. These female companions are either office mates or co-passengers whose journey timing and destinations is the same everyday. Seasoned travelers are well aware of the train timings and destinations in the evening. The Sahelis and Maitreens chat along all their way back home. The conversations and discussions are usually about the day�s happenings. If the Sahelis are office mates, you can imagine the amount of �bitching� (such an appropriate word nah??) that takes place � �usne aisa kiya aur usne waisa kiya!�� It�s great fun listening to who did what and all the twists and turns the bitching takes. When I stepped into the train, I simply stood guard near the door. I was among the rare passengers in that compartment who wanted to get off at such a short distance. Most of the women were long distance travelers. In the compartment, an old woman was singing and dancing. She was not what we would think of as a �typical old woman�. She might have been in her mid-forties. Her hair was dark and she had freckles on her face and on her slim waist. She was singing a Hindi song and dancing on that song. The song she sang was: �Kya karte the saajana, tum humse door rehke? Hum to judaai mein, chup, chup ke roya karte the!� [What were you doing or beloved when we were away from each other? During the period of our separation, I would hide and sob!] This old woman had a peculiar way of dancing. She was not exactly dancing. She was acting out the song, as little children do when they recite poetry for a recitation exam or competition. She was moving various portions of her body while acting out. She sang the entire song. There was no sense of shame while she performed. She was singing and dancing and this was her routine way of earning for her daily meals. She kept saying how she hoped to make at least twenty rupees in this train journey. She said she was confident of eking out this amount today because the compartment was packed and her goddess was showering her blessings on her. While she was singing and dancing, two women standing by the door were watching her. One of them was a middle class Maharashtrian workingwoman. She kept scorning at the lady. She hated the lady�s movements and she kept making faces which suggested that to her, this singer�s dance movements were nothing less than vulgar. From her facial expressions, I could make out that this lady seemed to be saying to herself, �What a shameless old woman! She should just get lost from here!� When I look at someone like this old lady who was singing and dancing without any sense of hesitation, I feel that here is someone who is unpretentious and who does not have shame in doing something like this to earn a living. I did not think of this lady as shameless; in fact, I found that I did not have the guts to look at this lady all the time. I thought this old lady had her sense of dignity. At least, she was not begging. I did not look at this old lady myself because her presence was very confronting to me. I felt that here is someone who has enormous courage. She is courageous because she can sing and dance in front of so many people with the least inhibitions. She did not have a great voice, neither was she a very good dancer. Her accent was wonky! One could just about manage to understand her Hindi. To many, she would have been a nuisance because she was mirroring every woman�s image in each one�s own eyes. She was a mirror for all our pretensions that we wear on ourselves in order to survive in this city! She made a lot of us appear naked in our own eyes. And yet, she really didn�t mean to do all this. She was just being herself!!! After she finished singing her Hindi song, a young playful lady, standing next to me, gave her a rupee and complimented her. She truly seemed to have enjoyed this old lady�s performance. The old lady took the coin, looked up (there was no sky! Only the ceiling of the train compartment could be seen!), thanked her goddess, and announced, �Now, I will sing a classic Asha Bhonsale song in Marathi!� The playful lady standing next to me squealed in delight and said to her Maitreen standing next to her, �Aiyaa! This is a classic! It will be so much fun!� I felt that this lady provided a breathing space, a space to unwind in the midst of enormous crowd. She was not really an artist (I failed to fit her into my conventional mindset of artists!). Mumbai City does not exactly have an artist square, except the one outside Jehangir Art Gallery at Colaba where three to four artists sit down and make portraits and several crowds stand there, watching the sketch and the people posing. Each one among the crowd likes to give their own comments, as if knowing a lot. Yet, it is such a unique space where people just come and stand; they stop running and they just get awed and they stand still and they watch! An artist square gives a sense of leisure and space in the midst of the speed and blind traffic! An artist square is a sort of breathing space, a reminder that life need not always be a rushed business, that success does not only mean running with the time and trying to compete against it! I wish Mumbai City had artist squares, several of them, without specialized artists, with just everyday, simple, experimenting, ordinary people who are being themselves! Anyway, coming back to the train journey. It was time for me to get off. I moved closer to the door. Two ladies were standing there. I asked them, �Where do you want to get off?� One of them said, �Vikhroli!� I said, �Then move aside and let me get off at Byculla.� The other young girl standing there realized that was a novice. She said to me, �Don�t worry, we will let you get off when Byculla comes.� She smiled at me. I realized that some system of unspoken understanding exists about getting off at various stations which I am not aware of. As Byculla approached, this young girl dexterously swung around the pole to make space for me to get off (and the train was in motion before it stopped completely!). When I got off the train, I found her hanging outside the train, by the pole! I was a bit horrified and worried for her, but then, in my heart of hearts, I knew that she must be used to such acrobatics, everyday! They are now a part of her system by which she lives and survives in this city. This is her adjustment mechanism to the trains. I wonder whether death scares her at all? - Zainab Bawa - For communication, email zainabbawa at yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Contact brides & grooms FREE! http://www.shaadi.com/ptnr.php?ptnr=hmltag Only on www.shaadi.com. Register now! From nilanjanb at 123india.com Mon Feb 2 01:08:02 2004 From: nilanjanb at 123india.com (nilanjanb at 123india.com) Date: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 11:38:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] khetro Broad Sheet 01 Message-ID: <20040201113804.4958.h013.c009.wm@mail.123india.com.criticalpath.net> Dear Friends, Khetro, is an open space for interaction innovation and implementation in the domain of community culture, old and new media, and ecological existence. Khetro has come up with publication of a Broad Sheet, which discusses the issues like ecological existence, poetics & politics of free code, intellectual property law, net culture, media & the city. The intention is to generate open-ended interactions and exchange of thoughts. The Broad Sheet will be available in Calcutta Book Fair(28th Feb.04 to 8th Feb.04) at Camp publication, stall no: 243, Seagull Publications, Seriban, stall no:131, Earth Care Books, stall no:176 and Nandimukh. The Broad Sheet will also be available at Sarai, Centre for the study of Developing Socities, 29, rajpur Road, Delhi-110054, Tel: 011 396 0040. We hope that you will be interested to pick up one and then to get back to us once you go through the pages. You can contact us in these Numbers : Tel: 033-24169568(Calcutta), 011-23960040(Delhi) E-mail nos.: khetro3i at yahoo.co.in , >joy at sarai.net for the copies of Broad Sheet and also for your feed back. Hope to get a chance to interact with you. Best wishes, Nilanjan Bhattacharya Mrityunjoy Chatterjee Calcutta 31st January 2004 From horrorkatze at modukit.com Mon Feb 2 10:33:29 2004 From: horrorkatze at modukit.com (horrorkatze) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 10:33:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Realisation of the situationist projections Message-ID: many greetings and enjoy the text! #rena+vladan even better with explaining illustrations at : http://www.modukit.com/horrorkatze/tekstovi HoRRorKatze Realisation of the situationist projections The movement of the Situationist International is defined as speech, thought and engagement through critical strategy, publication of anarcho-marxistic truth, falsification of repressive behaviour and terrorism of different sociocultural significations. The representants of this movement, known and unknown, right and left, were working with synchronical treatment and affirmation of parallelity in time until to their proclaimed self-dissolution in 1972. In the beginning of nineties the Situationist International enters the museum archives of the unstable market space. With this act situationism is decorating the armour of management knowledge and becomes quasi contra-criticism. On the marketplace of the social field such contra-criticism is only weapon of cultural management or similar mediators, that are responsible for building the image of the superconsumer. In this analysis we rely on existing archives and resources containing material and relations referring to the situationists. Of central importance for understanding the realisation of the situationistic projections is their application on the social field and beyond it and the general spreading of meanings. Socio-field can be defined as first field of projection/fiction, on which is imposed totalitarian homogenity after the annihilation of the economical, political, cultural or ideological frame. Information and communication processes are groups that project themselves into the frame of this field and other integration systems like it is the system of market. Management is defined as global acting in the sense of organisation of information- and communication-processes on the first field of projection. Passwords or slogans show up like keys on the surface of the first field of socio-projection/fiction. On their link-relations we read the instruments for the administration of cultural politics and ideological sharing of power. Anarchistic background, dadaism, lettrism, situationism, communication guerilla, neoism and all kinds of terrorism leave us back in a simple mode of dialectical definition and create a climate of power that constructs the cultural product for the constitution of terrorist models of market. (We can explain this on the example of neoism: The neoist is like a maniristic rest of situationism, knocked out by the economies he was following. He does not offer a way out of the project's multilayers, which situate themselves like unstable criticism inside of the parodistic contra-cultural worshipping of all subfields and models of marketing economy.) This climate is able to connect and to penetrate all levels of the hierarchical patriarchal materialist heritage with a legal product of terrorism, that is a terminology manipulated according to market- and political engagement in the name of a totalitar bureaucratic model with polyimperialist intension. An example for this process can be seen at the term of culture. What remains from the cultural engagement like an evidence of mediation and management terror is only economical political cultural ware, i.e. product. This "cultural acting" will be transformed into the password "artistic work", in relation with the managemental-economical-ideological act. This new "password" will have the right to enter specific architectures and to applicate on this fundament. (Cultural management corrects the romantic tails of art according to the current ideological political reality.) Passwords for entering a special cultural field show up like keys i.e. "key words" or parameters that can be measured through statistic methods of advertising strategies. The intention of profit groups in ideology and politics is calculating with the frequency of their occurance. The real arrangement of moving or statical values can be seen through slogans of discoursive groups, their outcomes, the size of archive, the way of movement and the transformation of the term itself. The password "situationism" can be expressed in relation to other statistical keys. In september 2003 it was around 2,38%, whereas "fluxus" could reach only 0,02 percent points. That means in relation with other pop slogans inside the discours of cultural politics "SI" is very high rated. Representation and functioning of this password and also its application on the extension of the cultural subfield is a factor for the predatory act of management strategy. A row of parameter like the velocity of changes of links, new archives and repetition through quotation give measureable values which determinate further strategies. Speaking about the Situationist International is a problem of language itself and turns into megainterpretation. The question, if Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" can be understood like a didactical material about polydialectical systems of pop guerilla, piercing, games, neo punk and tatoo culture packed inside of the situationistic lowbudget frame of interpretation.... it seems like this attempt is not possible. The antagonisms of the fragmental field of projection show the following applications: Situationism realized itself in two aspects: 1. market (extends to the first field of projection, might correspond with the idea of the "intergrated spectacle") 2. subjective personal plan (in this direction situationistic idea about realisation of the world revolution might be possible) 1. According to the first application: The Idea of the Situationist International is absorbed by manager's activism. In fact the situationist activist is the ideal manager. He is playing with value ranges, provokes conflicts on the scene of the projected media field, profiles categories and instruments, distributes skandals and boomerang collages in the discourses of expectation, he is constituing fake identities, performances PR and para-advertizing. The manager is the flower of the situationist tradition, but also its bastard. The failed megadreams of situationists transformed into bureaucratic agencies, which are selling the last pieces of neo-avantgarde. Techno-romantism, décor management, politics of the corporational investitions and power, 5th observation field, multilevel marketing of copy left and unformal economies of the flee markets, NGO-re-watch experiments, copies of dead presentation, anti-globalist movements, para-economies of agencies, peasant's neo-anarchism, open source, disgusting architectural transparence of signification are victims, who are neither accepting the modesty of economical materialism nor the death like outsiders. Actions on the street, sixtyeight-contra-paroles, RAF underground, unbelievable strategies of political parties in postcommunistic systems, students parodical nonprotests, neo-nazism of populist leaders that are hunting unstable identities to stick nationalist quotations on them, bombing and terrorist performances with non-existing fundamentalist expression, quasi dictatorship practice, police violence - attempt to control body and informations, all together is contra-situationistic practice and overtakes the public sphere in desinformative manner. picture A. in the dark zone of the first socio-economical projection field Situationist International (SI) was sucked from manager's side (M). picture B. Mutant manager activist, good armoured, using many techniques and strategies produced by situationist actionism (SI) together with the following "pro-situ" phenomenon. To criticize the SI phenomenon is affirmation through the practice of quantity, which situationists are suggesting themselves. This is almost didactic method. With repetition and quotating of this name itself we are building a fundament of value that stands undisputed in the floating systems of para-advertising. In this space of accumulation context really does not exist. With quotating and mentioning this name we are filling archives already full of confirmations, opinions and recipies about the Situationist International. These archives can be used with any purpose, and this pure quantity is showing the nature of term itself. It is erased, transformed and emerges again like a password. Incredible lists of quotations are expanding from disappeared authorships to custom values of the tribal urban elite. From the very beginning dealing with SI heritage should have been transformed into nothing. This means not to mention and not to write it. We beg for euthanasia of the name and to exile SI from language and text. 2. But what is happening on the personal projective plan, on which we can build defence and where management terror can not harm us? There is a moment when the integrating performance is not enough equvivalent and valid, then only subjective truth released from utilitaristic fundaments can give this kind of solution. To be recognized by the group of expectators, you have to sacrifice your subject like a first step into the field of market. You become a victim of the economical strategies. The biggest problem is inside of the repetitive affirmation system. The main characteristic for every unstabile subject surrounded by knowledge inside the space of the first field of projection is repetition. The reference of the matrix is the presentation of repetition. Affirmation through sedimented repetitive practices like breathing air, eating and drinking, perform a strong factor to keep the cult of progenitors. Language and text are the most scary products of this repetitive practice. Without repetitive affirmation communication is not possible. The recipe is simple. Stay in your own personal-subjective space and don't let any information interrupt your personal power. Do not receive information! To be in uninformative modus means not to absorb meta-economical strategies from the space of market. Not to have answer about things and aspects from the socio-political reality. Not to participate. The space of uncommunication is space of revolutionary idea. Sabotage of the communicational channels can offer a real chance to leave the totalitar homogene situation. According to the algorithm of language we don't have rhetorical ability to name this uncommunicative saboteurs. This recipe can be considered like a simple solution: Our algorithm is catastrophy! Rejection of repetitive affirmation demolishes the basic matrix of thinking inside the materialistic spectrum of projections. This act calls upon to the brutal act of erasing the everyday life. It disqualifies representation and it is based on the idea that the first field of projection is built like a construction of reality. This reality is constantly dissolving and can be seriously disturbed in its fundament of practices and wishes. This kind of unsystematical acting can be realized in: Creating an absolutely personal space without legimation through context and repetitive affirmation. Not to participate in any kind of "creative or uncreative" animation. Not to base criticism on spatial relations and not to criticize the first field of projection. Not to transform communicational information, not to spread information, not to use or share information or "desinformation". To work under the "OUT" amateur quasi regime. OUTpraxa is Sendipraxa, Lipstic Collectors, Subjective Totalitarism, Belgrade Zeros, Displaced Dilemma. archive and material: http://modukit.com/horrorkatze http://modukit.com/3dsf3/sendi http://zampa.various-euro.com http://various-euro.com http://n0name.de http://217.160.178.83/~modukit/displaced-dilemma/ polygonal theory: http://modukit.com/horrorkatze/tekstovi/ Documentary of the lecture "Situacionisti I pop kultura" D. Ambrozich, 2002 center for new media_kuda.org, Novi Sad, Serbia. http://kuda.org http://neoist.org "Demanding of the Impossible", Peter Marshall, Fontana Press, 1992 "La Veritable Scission dans l'Internationale", Guy Debord & Gianfranco Sanguinetti, 1972, from http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/sistime.html "Society of the Spectacle", Guy Debord, Black&Red, Detroit, 1970 http://nothingness.org Thanks to: various euro Sezgin Boynik Stephan Kurr Susanne Bosch From monica at sarai.net Mon Feb 2 10:40:37 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 10:40:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] cyber cafe controls in mumbai? Message-ID: Bombay plans cyber cafe controls By Zubair Ahmed BBC correspondent in Bombay Internet cafe owners in India's commercial and entertainment capital, Bombay, are angry at plans to regulate the city's cyber centres. They object to plans which would force them to keep records of people using their internet facilities. The proposals will be put to the state legislature next month. Police say they need new powers to prevent the misuse of the web by what they call terrorists, hackers, paedophiles and users of adult sites. If the proposals are adopted by the state of Maharashtra, cyber cafe owners will need to buy a license to set up shop. They will be legally required to install software filters to screen out pornography and unsuitable content. They will crucially have to ask potential surfers to fill out lengthy forms listing addresses, telephone numbers and other details. All of these would legally have to be made available to the police, if required. Cyber cafe customers would need to display photo identity cards. Only then could they go online. 'Irrelevant regulations' On the one hand we are opening up our economy, on the other hand we are introducing irrelevant regulations Dilip Chitalia, Asiatic Cyber Cafe Bombay's several thousand cyber cafe owners are furious at the plans. They say it is important to prevent increasingly internet-savvy India from going down the China route of regulation and control. If passed, the new law would come just weeks after Cuba controversially tightened its grip over internet access by making it impossible for many Cubans to dial up the internet from their home telephone lines. Bombay's plans could set a precedent for other Indian cities, such as Calcutta and Delhi. They are known to be watching closely to see if the tough cyber policing works. "On the one hand we are opening up our economy, on the other hand we are introducing irrelevant regulations," said Dilip Chitalia of Asiatic Cyber Cafe. "We have no problem with taking down names and addresses of our patrons, but who's to check if the names and addresses are genuine. Who'll be responsible?" Net boom Until now, Indian cyber cafes have been relatively simple to use. They are increasingly easy to find as well, even in small-town India. And they have been relatively inexpensive. According to a recent industry estimate, 60% of India's internet users access the web through a cyber cafe. Gone are the days when the customs men would seize your Playboy edition, so why are the police trying to curb our freedom? Ashish Saboo, Association of Public Internet Access Providers Experts say the cyber cafe has contributed to the boom in internet usage in India, now estimated at four million subscribers and 18 million users. But many like Chitalia believe it could all go badly wrong if the police start the crackdown on cyber cafes. In a sign they are ready to do battle, Bombay's cyber cafe owners have set up the Association of Public Internet Access Providers. Its president, Ashish Saboo says the plans would be an invasion of the individual's right to privacy. He believes the police plans come from "a lack of awareness about how the business operates and over-hyped apprehensions of security hazards". The police have refused to comment. Seeking permission In recent months, police are reported to have increasingly found hackers and credit card fraudsters using cyber cafes. Mr Saboo admits cyber cafes could be used by criminals, paedophiles, those who surf adult websites. But he rejects police plans to, as he puts it, penalise, all cyber cafes. If regulated, cyber cafe owners would need permission from no fewer than 13 separate government agencies in order to set up shop and do business. 60% of India's net users access it through cyber cafes "The internet has challenged all the close societies, because of the free flow of operations," said Mr Saboo. "Gone are the days when the customs men would seize your Playboy edition, so why are the police trying to curb our freedom?" Cyber cafe owners fear their patrons might resent handing over personal details and it could lead to a sharp drop in business. But interestingly, many younger users seem not to mind handing over personal information. "I would like to give my personal details, because I believe it would reduce the crime," said Vaishali, a regular cyber cafe user. Another visitor, Dennis Abraham, added: "There's nothing wrong with giving your name and address. "It's like going to a residential complex in Bombay, where a watchman is standing guard. You have to write your name and address before you enter the building. "Why can't we do the same when we visit a cyber cafe?" PC penetration is low in India. There are just seven million PCs in a country of one billion people. That is why the internet cafe is considered the driving force of internet usage with most Indians relying on them to send e-mails and do research. There are no official figures but the cyber cafe owners' association believes there are at least 200,000 across the country. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3431645.stm -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From shveta at sarai.net Mon Feb 2 09:19:24 2004 From: shveta at sarai.net (shveta) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 03:49:24 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: The Singer and The Acrobat In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <200402020349.24311.shveta@sarai.net> Dear Zainab, Thanks for the beautiful diary entry from your daily travels and the special human contact and warmth, rhythms and eccentricities they hold. I am sending here a text written by a friend and colleague who lives in Delhi. best shveta *** Dilli Gate Yashoda ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dilli Gate, which is a well known landmark in Delhi. Where there is always too much traffic. A pigeon cote which separates two roads stands here. It has become well known because of people who, despite leading busy lives, try to do some good work and earn some goodwill. Today when I passed by here, I witnessed a strange relationship between these people who are related with the place, and which I had not noticed before. I had stepped out just after a bath, so I was feeling slightly cold. And the sun here seemed very warm. I sat down on a low, broad coping. Inspite of all the noise, an unknown calm was making its way inside me. Silently, I was turning my eyes about, examining the place. I could see the Emergency Ward in front of me. Outside it were a number of fruit vendors with their carts. Amidst the coming and going of the patients were also the groups of healthy people, passing by in either direction. Behind me were buildings of big companies. Sunlight was falling directly on them, so their names could be read clearly. The rally of people passing by this road is never-ending. Looking at the crowds passing by, I remembered a friend who had asked a question, "If we were to stand in a crowd and look at one another, what would the eyes of the crowd say to us? Move! Get out of the way!" The question hammered in my brain. I began to look at the people on the road in front of me under the pressure of the question. I saw a woman. Her face was dark complexioned and experienced. She was trying to cross the road, and was coming in my direction. Four to five men were passing from in front of her. I wasn't looking at them, I could see only the woman. My eyes were fixed on the woman's eyes, to see how she reacts while passing through these people. But it wasn't just her eyes that were reacting. The expressions on her whole face were changing. A face that had looked normal till then, now had an expression of distress. Her hands, fixing the dupatta, were playing on her body. Her eyes were raised towards those people, and mine towards her. In her eyes I could see the need to hurry past. She passed by those people in one second. But in that second, how many expressions had adorned her. She walked on, past me. But what the eyes of those people said to her was not revealed to me. I still didn't have an answer to that question. My mind felt tired. And I started looking at the pigeons, pecking on their feed in front of me. I had decided I was not going to turn to look at this question again. I was looking affectionately at the pigeons. And also at an elderly man who was short and wearing a kurta-pyjama, with plastic shoes on his feet which were quite worn out. His hair were white with age, and his skin looked like it had burnt in the sun. His features were alright. He was filling water in earthen bowls. The bowls were half-filled with water, and so their top half was dry. When the man would pour water into them, the smell of wet earth would pass through me. It was a beautiful sight. And around it was spread a web of soft emotions. There was no room for anyone in these feelings - not friends, not dear ones, not strangers, and not for the past, which I had left behind for some moments after so many years. I didn't know what unknown calm this was that flowed out from my body like soft light, and spread out. My eyes wouldn't leave the pigeons and the man. The man would go among the pigeons again and again, and fill water in the bowls, and collect the seeds with a broom. He was very close to the pigeons, but they were not frightened of him. Because between him and the pigeons flowed the understanding of the seeds, and it secured their relationship. The man finished his work and went and sat with the millet seller. I was also getting up to leave, when my eyes fell on a pigeon which was pecking at another pigeon for seeds. There were many seeds scattered around him, but he was still trying to snatch away seeds from the other pigoen. Seeing this, my look on the pigeons became more intense, and many words started circling in my head. In the middle of all of this, the loud pi-pi sound of a two-wheeler from behind me broke my concentration. I turned my neck, and saw a young man who was wearing black pants and a parrot coloured shirt. He was light-skinned, his eyes were brown. He was looking at me. Casting a wary glance at him, I turned my neck and looked at my watch. It was 11:30. Then the pi-pi sound came again. Brushing my hands through my hair, I turned again to see the boy was still standing there, looking at me. I looked at him carefully. There was anger in my eyes, but there was mischief in his. He looked at me for two minutes, and then moved on, smiling. I turned my neck, and started looking at my nails. And I started thinking I have so many encounters, which I remember for a long time. Then instead of peeping inside the mould of my own mind, why am I pecking here and there, trying to look for feed. When I pass through the crowds of a market, of a bus, of a street, so many eyes meet, clash with mine. And in that crowd, in those eyes, somewhere I see lust, somewhere a compelling need to quickly pass, somewhere shyness, somewhere the lines of distress, and somewhere an emptiness - where there is no interest in either the self, or in those around them. A crowd's eyes don't just tell us to get out of the way. Because they are not comprised of just one person with a single thought. There are kinds and kinds of people in a crowd. In a crowd one doesn't necessarily always see only goons, brothers or friends. It depends on our mood - our eyes change with our mood. This could be said about the eyes of a crowd. Eyes that are unfamiliar, which depend on their mood. But what can be said of the looks that are not from strangers, but well-wishers? They seem unfamiliar sometimes. What are these looks? They leave a trace of suffocation in my life which otherwise seems to be going on just right. Even if I want to tell others about these looks, I can't. Because I don't understand them myself. Because in the court house of glances, there are no eyewitnesses. Yashoda Singh http://www.sarai.net/community/cybermohalla/book02/pages/pdfs/beforecoming.pdf From sallykenin at yahoo.com Mon Feb 2 19:29:04 2004 From: sallykenin at yahoo.com (sallykenin at yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 05:59:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] first report, Madarsa's of Delhi, A Study about the instiutes of Taliban. Message-ID: <20040202135904.1194.qmail@web10707.mail.yahoo.com> Hi and Hello dear friends, I am a new and proud member of this prestigious readers list My name is ������Salahuddin. I have been working as freelance journalist in New Delhi, India, Presently working on a research proposal supported by Sarai, which is about the Madarsa�s of Delhi. The name of the proposal is Delhi Ke Madarson Ki Ek Jhalak[ a glimps of Delhi�s Madarsas]. I am a graduate in Arabic literature and there after have completed my masters in Mass communication from MCRC Jamia, New Delhi 25. DELHI KE MADARSON KI EK JHALK. As the name suggest the research is ;basically, about the Madarsas of Delhi, Madarsa is an Arabic world which means school. They are generally minority institute where religious education is provided. The students of these institute are generally called Taliban. Madarasa allover the subcontinent are functioning almost the same way, so discovery about Delhi Madarsas will present a broad picture of these particular minority institute spread all over the country, but we will mainly focus on Delhi. In Indian context its really interesting to know that Delhi was the first place where a Madarsa took place first time in Sultanait dynasty. After the 11 September attack on Twins tower in the U.S.A. the discussions and dialogue about terrorism Taliban, fundamentalism and Madarsas are getting more and more space day by day among the world community, there are many notions about these religious institutes. In India there are three common school of thought about these institutes, one is totally against of these institutes, and says there is no use of these Madarsas in the modern society, the other group says no, they are useful but need to be reformed, but the last group of Ulamas and Maulana�s consider any kind intervention in Madarsas unnecessary and reject any kind of modernizations of Madarsas . Apart from these discourses there r so many other things related to madarsas which need to be come out openly before the common people. All over the subcontinent Muslims are very much influence by the Madarsa culture ,weather consciously our unconsciously, but most of them are also actually unaware of the whole Madarsa business. Now there are so many things to be discovered like, What is teaching methods of Madarsa education? Who are the student[ Talibans]?What they gain from Madasas? Highlights of their particular culture[Madarsa culture?] how they live and what are the restriction impose on the Taliban? How are these talibans? How they function? What is the purpose of these institutes? Weather they contribute any thing to the modern culture and life? There is growing concern among the Malouna and Muslim community and they feel afraid of these day today developments regarding there religious intitutes. We all know what is happening around the world today regarding Madarsa, Islam and fundamentalism, in this scenario research about Madarsas is really full of interest. These and these kind of many other questions will be explored through our research. . To accomplish our research we have to visit the Madras�s again and again and talk widely to the people around, students [Tailbanes] teachers, and the principal of the various Madras�s situated all over the Delhi. Apart from this we have to interview the people of different organization who have already done lots of work in Madras�s, and have done their own services etc. In this regard we have been visiting the famous and large Madras�s of Delhi for last two weeks and have gathered lots of information which has its own dimensions, we have also met few scholars who have done lots of work to reform Madras�s education and few of those who are totally against of any reform. But all this is not enough .We have to do a lot to collect comprehensive information and for that lots of time is required, how they live and how they behave? what is their living stander and discipline standers? These are few important aspects for which we have to be there for some time to observe the reality. Right now instead of visiting the Madarsas we are concentrating on the literature of Madarsa history and its ethos. When Madarsas are full of students [Talibans] teachers [molavyees and maolanas] then it creates totally different atmosphere, which will be good to click their pictures too, so day by day we are our level best to get all kind material which could provide a good and well information about the Madarsas. No doubt till now whatever we have done has been successful and there is so much to discover ahead so we will keep that process up an what ever we will get keep u mailing with the progress report . I request to my dear friends that if u have any query, doubt , or confusion please ask me, I will try to come with the requirement ,at the same time I request u please let me know if any of u have any information or any thing u can contribute to the research. All my friend are invited for open discussion on the same topic too. Thanks Salahuddin __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ From nilanjanb at 123india.com Tue Feb 3 01:45:56 2004 From: nilanjanb at 123india.com (nilanjanb at 123india.com) Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004 12:15:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] khetro Broad Sheet 01 Message-ID: <20040202121556.26130.h002.c009.wm@mail.123india.com.criticalpath.net> Dear Friends, Khetro, is an open space for interaction innovation and implementation in the domain of community culture, old and new media, and ecological existence. Khetro has come up with publication of a Broad Sheet, which discusses the issues like ecological existence, poetics & politics of free code, intellectual property law, net culture, media & the city. The intention is to generate open-ended interactions and exchange of thoughts. The Broad Sheet will be available in Calcutta Book Fair(28th Feb.04 to 8th Feb.04) at Camp publication, stall no: 243, Seagull Publications, Seriban, stall no:131, Earth Care Books, stall no:176 and Nandimukh. The Broad Sheet will also be available at Sarai, Centre for the study of Developing Socities, 29, rajpur Road, Delhi-110054, Tel: 011 396 0040. We hope that you will be interested to pick up one and then to get back to us once you go through the pages. You can contact us in these Numbers : Tel: 033-24169568(Calcutta), 011-23960040(Delhi) E-mail nos.: khetro3i at yahoo.co.in , >joy at sarai.net for the copies of Broad Sheet and also for your feed back. Hope to get a chance to interact with you. Best wishes, Nilanjan Bhattacharya Mrityunjoy Chatterjee Calcutta 31st January 2004 From db at dannybutt.net Tue Feb 3 07:18:34 2004 From: db at dannybutt.net (Danny Butt) Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:48:34 +1300 Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Understanding the Patenting of Traditional Knowledge-In response In-Reply-To: <200401310521.31800.jeebesh@sarai.net> Message-ID: Greetings Jeebesh/all Thanks for this thoughtful response. Firstly, my apologies if in my haste I suggested that you were translating open source ideas into traditional knowledge practices. You were of course very careful to outline your notes as an intervention into a property discourse, which as you clearly point out is not a traditional form of knowledge. I agree with you strongly on this. I guess my question then becomes about the perspective from which we engage in cross-cultural dialogue about the political dynamics of traditional knowledge, when custodians of traditional knowledge identify 'property' as the most useful framework to protect their control, when it is under threat from neocolonial interests. The first question which comes to mind immediately is our desire to have a conversation about traditional knowledge and its implications. That is a whole new discussion in itself and I won't pursue it except to say that I have conversations with owners of traditional knowledge and this does come up. I also think the dialogue holds great potential for disrupting some pernicious aspects of transnational capitalism, though I am still unsure about the ethics of my role in trafficking between those particular discussions about traditional knowledge and a broader political project. But an implication is this: we acknowledge indigenous self-determination as a significant part of international anti-capitalist protest activity, and an important social movement. But what if, as a strategy, indigenous groups claim ownership of their traditional knowledge as 'property' (whether or not we think it equates to what we understand to be property). If we take a resolutely 'anti-property' stance affect our ability to affiliate with those struggles? Or, to put it differently, we can look at colonial histories in this part of the world as including successive demands upon traditional knowledge owners to "open up" access to their traditional knowledge, under claims that 'unnecessarily protective' measures will have a negative effect on the communities which produce this knowledge. Can we be confident in our denial of 'property' we are not asking the same thing? The logic of unintended consequences suggests to me that it is an area we tread softly in, despite the urgency of capitalist encroachments on traditional knowledge forms. I'm not sure if this is still on track, but in any case these are the questions your response raised - I look forward to more dialogue around these issues! Cheers Danny Jeebesh Bagchi wrote on 31/1/04 12:51 PM: > Thanks Danny for opening up the question of `freedom` in open source. I would > agree with you that the open source idea of `freedom` would be difficult to > apply in areas of `embodied knowledge practices`. (1) > > My response was not so much about how traditional knowledge will be or can be > or is `protected` by it's practitioners but how IP regimes intervenes within > these knowledge practices and the story then on. > > After IP intervention, a new `disembodied-mobile` knowledge form would emerge > and would be protected through `no end user rights to reproduce or modify`. > It is within this context that user/producer models can help challenge this > dominant form. > > I would never propogate (would shudder) the translation of `open source` ideas > as an intervention into `traditional` forms of knowledge production, > circulation or sustanance. Similarly it is IP regime i refer to when i talk > about end user being an frozen concept within it. > > On the other hand I am not so sure whether we can extrapolate the conceptual > and legal framework of `property` into earlier practices. There is a danger > there. It makes `property` a cultural-legal universal outside the social > arrangement within which it emerged. This is one area i am at present very > cautious and unsure about. > > Though i agree that there are various complicated arrangements and protocols > within which knowledge is sustained, practiced and transmitted. And these > protocols are also about `custodianship` and `withholding`. And these can be > harsh in its `exclusionary` frameworks. But to call these arrangements > property would be difficult. If we take the example of `classical music` in > South Asia, we do see complex social arrangements, codes and protocols that > helped it survive, elaborate and grow. You have to learn through practice > under guidance and then only you will be able to belong to it. But i would > not think it ever articulated a conceptual framework called `property`. > > But, Danny let me add a caveat to your arguments. I think that the problem > with IP regimes along with one of artificial construction of scarcity is one > of what Shuddha calls the `unauthorised interlocutors`. This `unauthorised > interlocutors` could be a problem in other forms of knowledge practices. In > Mahabharata a brilliant archer called Ekalavya had to give us his thumb for > the story to continue. He could not prove his authentication in front of the > `authenticators`. (more of that Sarai reader 04 ....to be out next > month...(..).... > > best and thanks for your lovely response...looking forward to carrying forward > our collective thinking... > > Salaam > Jeebesh > > 1) We would also have to think harder on the american constitutionalism basis > of lot of the arguments to ground open source ideas of freedom. Martin Hardie > has written about this in the forthcoming Sarai Reader 04. (forthcoming) -- http://www.dannybutt.net From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Tue Feb 3 12:36:56 2004 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 23:06:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Madarsa's of Delhi, A Study about the instiutes of Taliban. In-Reply-To: <20040202135904.1194.qmail@web10707.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20040203070656.56193.qmail@web41302.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Salahuddin I am a bit perturbed by your repeated use of the word �taliban� to refer to the students of the madrasas. If you are using the word sarcastically, you don�t have to hammer it so much, especially at a forum like Sarai. Of course you have been a student of Arabic and would know it better, but as far as I know, the generally acceptable word is �talaba� or �tolaba� for students. Although taliban is not incorrect, since it is the plural of talib (seeker), but we all know the present day connotation of this word. And I don�t think even the Madrasa folks themselves use this word in south Asia. (I was especially amused at one of your typo spellings: tailbans!) For your information, a lot of work has been, or is being done on the Indian Madrasas. I would especially recommend you to interact with a scholar friend Yogi Sikand who must not have missed visiting a single Madrasa in India, and is writing a book on it. Also, my friends Amirullah Khan and Zafar Anjum have compiled and presented an exhaustive report on Indian Madrasas recently. (Zafar: zafaranjum at hotmail.com, Yogi Sikand: ysikand at yahoo.com). Some people are even doing documentary films on the subject. Good luck on the project. Yousuf Saeed --- sallykenin at yahoo.com wrote: > Hi and Hello dear friends, > I am a new and proud member of this prestigious > readers list > > My name is ������Salahuddin. > I have been working as freelance journalist in > New Delhi, India, > > Presently working on a research proposal supported > by > Sarai, which is about the Madarsa�s of Delhi. The > name of the proposal is Delhi Ke Madarson Ki Ek > Jhalak[ a glimps of Delhi�s Madarsas]. > > I am a graduate in Arabic literature and there > after > have completed my masters in Mass communication from > > MCRC Jamia, New Delhi 25. > > > > > DELHI KE MADARSON KI EK JHALK. > As the name suggest the research is ;basically, > about > the Madarsas of Delhi, Madarsa is an Arabic world > which means school. They are generally minority > institute where religious education is provided. The > students of these institute are generally called > Taliban. Madarasa allover the subcontinent are > functioning almost the same way, so discovery about > Delhi Madarsas will present a broad picture of these > particular minority institute spread all over the > country, but we will mainly focus on Delhi. In > Indian > context its really interesting to know that Delhi > was > the first place where a Madarsa took place first > time > in Sultanait dynasty. > > After the 11 September attack on Twins tower in the > U.S.A. the discussions and dialogue about terrorism > Taliban, fundamentalism and Madarsas are getting > more > and more space day by day among the world > community, > there are many notions about these religious > institutes. > In India there are three common school of thought > about these institutes, one is totally against of > these institutes, and says there is no use of these > Madarsas in the modern society, the other group says > no, they are useful but need to be reformed, but > the > last group of Ulamas and Maulana�s consider any > kind > intervention in Madarsas unnecessary and reject any > kind of modernizations of Madarsas . > Apart from these discourses there r so many other > things related to madarsas which need to be come out > openly before the common people. > > > > All over the subcontinent Muslims are very much > influence by the Madarsa culture ,weather > consciously > our unconsciously, but most of them are also > actually > unaware of the whole Madarsa business. > > > Now there are so many things to be discovered > like, > What is teaching methods of Madarsa education? Who > are the student[ Talibans]?What they gain from > Madasas? Highlights of their particular > culture[Madarsa culture?] how they live and what are > the restriction impose on the Taliban? How are > these > talibans? > > > How they function? What is the purpose of these > institutes? Weather they contribute any thing to the > modern culture and life? > There is growing concern among the Malouna and > Muslim > community and they feel afraid of these day today > developments regarding there religious intitutes. > We all know what is happening around the world > today > regarding Madarsa, Islam and fundamentalism, in this > scenario research about Madarsas is really full of > interest. > > > > These and these kind of many other questions will be > explored through our research. . > To accomplish our research we have to visit the > Madras�s again and again and talk widely to the > people > around, students [Tailbanes] teachers, and the > principal of the various Madras�s situated all over > the Delhi. Apart from this we have to interview the > people of different organization who have already > done > lots of work in Madras�s, and have done their own > services etc. > > In this regard we have been visiting the famous and > large Madras�s of Delhi for last two weeks and have > gathered lots of information which has its own > dimensions, we have also met few scholars who have > done lots of work to reform Madras�s education and > few > of those who are totally against of any reform. > > But all this is not enough .We have to do a lot to > collect comprehensive information and for that lots > of > time is required, how they live and how they behave? > what is their living stander and discipline > standers? > These are few important aspects for which we have > to > be there for some time to observe the reality. > Right > now instead of visiting the Madarsas we are > concentrating on the literature of Madarsa history > and its ethos. > > > When Madarsas are full of students [Talibans] > teachers [molavyees and maolanas] then it creates > totally different atmosphere, which will be good to > click their pictures too, so day by day we are our > level best to get all kind material which could > provide a good and well information about the > Madarsas. > > > No doubt till now whatever we have done has been > successful and there is so much to discover ahead > so > we will keep that process up an what ever we will > get > keep u mailing with the progress report . > I request to my dear friends that if u have any > query, doubt , or confusion please ask me, I will > try to come with the requirement ,at the same time > I > request u please let me know if any of u have any > information or any thing u can contribute to the > research. > > All my friend are invited for open discussion on > the > same topic too. > > > Thanks > > Salahuddin > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Feb 4 10:47:51 2004 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2004 21:17:51 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] RE: Madarsa's of Delhi, A Study about the instiutes of Taliban. In-Reply-To: <3EEFA0C899D34F459FC7FD4C16A6A64D19D272@mail.rcis.org> Message-ID: <20040204051751.24084.qmail@web41312.mail.yahoo.com> No, but my guess is that this project really aims to break the myth about Indian madrasas being the breeding grounds for 'Taliban'. He is probably using the word Taliban sarcastically to highlight its misplaced connotations in the world today. But I guess in a formal research project you could do with a more rational/professional language. Someone with no background of the situation reading this abstract would actually assume that all madrasa students are called Taliban (or behave like them). This is my reading, and I hope I am correct. If this is not the case (and if Taliban in this abstract really means what it means) then I would have my doubts. Any comments, dear salahuddin. Yousuf --- Roohi Iqbal wrote: > > Dear Yousuf, > > Thank you for replying to your e-mail to Salahuddin. > I too was really upset at both the use of the world > 'taliban' in that context and also at the assumed > connection of madrasas with terrorism. The study > title is also misleading, as you mentioned, the word > 'taliban' is not used in the context of the children > learning at madrasas but with Taliban in > Afghanistan. I think a rewording of the title and an > honest and open look (without biases) would do the > study much more justice. > > sincerely, > Roohi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Yousuf [mailto:ysaeed7 at yahoo.com] > Sent: Tue 2/3/2004 2:06 AM > To: sallykenin at yahoo.com; reader-list at sarai.net > Cc: > Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Madarsa's of Delhi,A > Study about the instiutes of Taliban. > > Dear Salahuddin > I am a bit perturbed by your repeated use of the > word > �taliban� to refer to the students of the madrasas. > If > you are using the word sarcastically, you don�t have > to hammer it so much, especially at a forum like > Sarai. Of course you have been a student of Arabic > and > would know it better, but as far as I know, the > generally acceptable word is �talaba� or �tolaba� > for > students. Although taliban is not incorrect, since > it > is the plural of talib (seeker), but we all know the > present day connotation of this word. And I don�t > think even the Madrasa folks themselves use this > word > in south Asia. (I was especially amused at one of > your > typo spellings: tailbans!) > > For your information, a lot of work has been, or is > being done on the Indian Madrasas. I would > especially > recommend you to interact with a scholar friend Yogi > Sikand who must not have missed visiting a single > Madrasa in India, and is writing a book on it. Also, > my friends Amirullah Khan and Zafar Anjum have > compiled and presented an exhaustive report on > Indian > Madrasas recently. (Zafar: zafaranjum at hotmail.com, > Yogi Sikand: ysikand at yahoo.com). Some people are > even > doing documentary films on the subject. > Good luck on the project. > > Yousuf Saeed > > --- sallykenin at yahoo.com wrote: > > Hi and Hello dear friends, > > I am a new and proud member of this prestigious > > readers list > > > > My name is ������Salahuddin. > > I have been working as freelance journalist > in > > New Delhi, India, > > > > Presently working on a research proposal > supported > > by > > Sarai, which is about the Madarsa�s of Delhi. > The > > name of the proposal is Delhi Ke Madarson Ki Ek > > Jhalak[ a glimps of Delhi�s Madarsas]. > > > > I am a graduate in Arabic literature and there > > after > > have completed my masters in Mass communication > from > > > > MCRC Jamia, New Delhi 25. > > > > > > > > > > DELHI KE MADARSON KI EK JHALK. > > As the name suggest the research is ;basically, > > about > > the Madarsas of Delhi, Madarsa is an Arabic world > > which means school. They are generally minority > > institute where religious education is provided. > The > > students of these institute are generally called > > Taliban. Madarasa allover the subcontinent are > > functioning almost the same way, so discovery > about > > Delhi Madarsas will present a broad picture of > these > > particular minority institute spread all over the > > country, but we will mainly focus on Delhi. In > > Indian > > context its really interesting to know that Delhi > > was > > the first place where a Madarsa took place first > > time > > in Sultanait dynasty. > > > > After the 11 September attack on Twins tower in > the > > U.S.A. the discussions and dialogue about > terrorism > > Taliban, fundamentalism and Madarsas are getting > > more > > and more space day by day among the world > > community, > > there are many notions about these religious > > institutes. > > In India there are three common school of thought > > about these institutes, one is totally against of > > these institutes, and says there is no use of > these > > Madarsas in the modern society, the other group > says > > no, they are useful but need to be reformed, but > > the > > last group of Ulamas and Maulana�s consider any > > kind > > intervention in Madarsas unnecessary and reject > any > > kind of modernizations of Madarsas . > > Apart from these discourses there r so many other > > things related to madarsas which need to be come > out > > openly before the common people. > > > > > > > > All over the subcontinent Muslims are very much > > influence by the Madarsa culture ,weather > > consciously > > our unconsciously, but most of them are also > > actually > > unaware of the whole Madarsa business. > > > > > > Now there are so many things to be discovered > > like, > > What is teaching methods of Madarsa education? > Who > > are the student[ Talibans]?What they gain from > > Madasas? Highlights of their particular > > culture[Madarsa culture?] how they live and what > are > > the restriction impose on the Taliban? How are > > these > > talibans? > > > > > > How they function? What is the purpose of these > > institutes? Weather they contribute any thing to > the > > modern culture and life? > > There is growing concern among the Malouna and > > Muslim > > community and they feel afraid of these day today > > developments regarding there religious intitutes. > > We all know what is happening around the world > > today > > regarding Madarsa, Islam and fundamentalism, in > this > > scenario research about Madarsas is really full > of > > interest. > > > > > > > > These and these kind of many other questions will > be > > explored through our research. . > > To accomplish our research we have to visit the > > Madras�s again and again and talk widely to the > > people > > around, students [Tailbanes] teachers, and the > > principal of the various Madras�s situated all > over > > the Delhi. Apart from this we have to interview > the > > people of different organization who have already > > done > > lots of work in Madras�s, and have done their own > > services etc. > > > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ From sahanirmal at yahoo.co.in Wed Feb 4 14:37:20 2004 From: sahanirmal at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?nirmal=20saha?=) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 09:07:20 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] from Nirmal Kanti saha Message-ID: <20040204090720.67863.qmail@web8005.mail.in.yahoo.com> Economy of Meaning and Meaning of Economy: A re-invocation of a Calcutta based Journal Anya Artha. If Anya Artha, a Calcutta based journal in Bengali constitutes the material, a face to face interview with its members form the method and an analysis of various socio-economic-political-cultural factors responsible for the making and unmaking of the urban space constitute the process. Presently a large-scale displacement is being observed in Calcutta, one of the urban centers in eastern India in the name of development. It is happening in the form of hawker eviction and eviction from the area adjoining the 'canals' without any proper rehabilitation of the displaced population. The public rhetoric are in favor of it and the left front government, the so-called 'champion of the poor' are planning and executing the same. The 'other voices' are rarely attaining audible decibel. A complex process of re-formation is undergoing in the production of this urban space both in its psychic as well as in its physical dimensions. If one important moment in this process is marked by the intellectual life of the city, the richness of it perhaps lies in multiplicity. In Calcutta an important part of its urban life grew out of its rich 'little magazine tradition' that bloomed in and around the various strands of left movements. In the early seventies we find a moment, which is also characterized by large-scale displacement, economic unrest and a rapid erosion of faith in left movements. A part of the population had given up hope and had moved towards other spaces, other activities whereas another more sensitive part would cling onto a more dogmatic rendition of their ideologies. Very few took the pain to travel through the terrain of self-reflexivity in order to organize themselves into a group; they were as if trying to scrutinize wholeheartedly the problems of existing theory and practice. Anya Artha is a production of such rare effort. Started by a few students of economics initially, the group developed into a vibrant space for rigorous discussions on various social issues. People from different arena of the social sciences started contributing in the space of this journal. In the process the trajectories of both theory and practice keeps moving. A journal of social economy gets transformed into a journal of social sciences. The project aims to analyse the socio-economic-political-cultural agents responsible in the re-structuring of urban consciousness through the lens of this journal. A face-to-face interview with the help of a non-structured questionnaire to map the contours and terrain of a growing urban radicalism has been planned with the editorial members and contributors in the journal, most of them, now in their late fifties or early sixties, most of them intellectuals of repute in the national as well as the international arena. Apart from the making of the journal we would like to scan the texts reflecting the then existing socio-economic structures at the face of large scale displacement arising out of the war in neighbouring Bangladesh, emergency in India, and the coming to power by the left in Bengal. Also we have a plan to preserve all the issues of this journal in an electronic format in order to make it accessible to the general reader. ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Mobile: Download the latest polyphonic ringtones. Go to http://in.mobile.yahoo.com From khel at vsnl.com Wed Feb 4 14:55:27 2004 From: khel at vsnl.com (MIFF CAMPAIGN) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 14:55:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Vikalp - Schedule Message-ID: CAMPAIGN AGAINST CENSORSHIP 2/04/04 Dear Friends, Vikalp begins its screenings from February 4, 2004. With over 50 entries the festival will offer some of the best documentaries that have been made in the the past few years in the country. Please find below more information and the schedule for the first 2 days of Vikalp. Messages too are coming in from members about the festival : Dev Benegal, Mumbai : I was asked by a Mumbai newspaper conducting a poll, whether I'd be attending MIFF or VIKALP. My reply: VIKALP definitely! As it was FREE, FAIR and OPEN. More strength to all of us. R.V. Ramani, Chennai: I have decided, to attend only vikalp festival. miff doesnt interest me anymore, as far as this edition goes. its future lies with FD. Let us celebrate this festival, vikalp, with confidence, resilence, with fun and lets enjoy ourselves. Vikalp, is an independent festival, by the filmmakers, of the filmmakers, for the filmmakers and towards documentary filmmaking. Information and schedule : Dear Friends, Please find below the schedules for the first two days of Vikalp. the schedules for the subsequent days will be released soon. Please see the website: http://fillmsforfreedom.cjb.net too for details. Please collect your invitation to the screenings from 2nd Floor, Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan, 85, Sayani Road Prabhadevi, Diagonally opposite the MIFF Venue, between 3.00 PM and 7.00 PM on Feb, 2 and 10 AM and 7.00 PM on Feb 3, 2004. We look forward to seeing you at the inauguration and screenings. In solidarity Organising Committee, Vikalp, Mumbai Vikalp: Films for Freedom 10 AM, 4th February 2004, Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan Inauguration of Vikalp: Films for Freedom A 25 minute monologue excerpted from 'Kali Shalwar, Safed Jhoot' will be performed by Jameel ur Rehman, directed by Naseeruddin Shah and produced by Motley Productions. Ratna Pathak Shah will introduce the piece. About Saadat Hasan Manto's Safed Jhoot Written about half a century ago, Safed Jhoot by Saadat Hasan Manto is a direct defence of the freedom of expression. This is Manto's response to allegations of obscenity which were aimed at him; allegations which centred around his choice of subjects and his choice of language. The daily 'Prabhat' and the Weekly 'Khayyam,' both from Lahore, published strident editorials condemning Manto and calling for a ban on his writings. They even demanded that he be arrested and punished for arousing the baser feelings of his young readers. According to them, he merited the same treatment as writers of objectionable religious articles, who were prosecuted by the powers that be. This was not new for Manto. During his brief but prolific career, he had been accused of obscenity several times and tried for it thrice. Till he died in 1954 he continued to write just what he wanted to, and almost half a century later, his writings still have the power to sway, move, and offend ! Schedule of Screenings DAY I: FEBRUARY 4 10 AM Inauguration 11.30 Break 12 noon Aamakaar (76 minutes) DISCUSSION/LUNCH 2.30 Ladies Special ( 31 minutes) 3.10 Girl Song (28 minutes) 3.45 The Vote ( 62 minutes) DISCUSSION / BREAK 6.00 Naata (45 minutes) 6.50 Words on Water (85 minutes) 8.30 Taliban Years and Beyond (52 minutes) DAY II : FEBRUARY 5 10.00 All Roads Lead to Cinema (30 minutes) 10.35 Manjuben Truckdriver (52 minutes) BREAK / DISCUSSION 12.00 The City Beautiful (78 minutes) DISCUSSION / LUNCH 2.30 Made in India (38 minutes) 3.15 Bakkarwals (38 minutes) 4.10 Anjawa is Me, I am Anjawa ( 71 minutes) 5.30 DISCUSSION /BREAK 6.00 Narayan Gangaram Surve (45 minutes) 6.50 Hunting Down Water (32 minutes) 7.30 Bitter Drink (27 minutes) 8.00 Unlimited Girls (94 minutes) _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From info at nmartproject.net Wed Feb 4 14:36:24 2004 From: info at nmartproject.net (JavaMuseum) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 10:06:24 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Call: Netart from all Asia/Pacific area - extended deadline Message-ID: <018b01c3eafe$2a405dc0$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> Call -->Extended deadline -->10 March 2004 ******************************* JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technologies in Contemporary Art (Java=Joint Advanced Virtual Affairs) www.javamuseum.org Call for entries: Netart from all Asia & Pacific area New deadline 10 March 2004 The project will be launched on occasion of New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand (20-28 March 2004) Currently, JavaMuseum is planning new features for the "3rd of Java series" 2003/2004, focussing on netart from particular cultural regions on the globe. The feature will be prepared unter the´working title, "Netart from all Asia - Pacific area", in order to pay more attention to this globally emerging cultural region, which is related to netart widely unknow in the Western countries. All artists, who work netbased and are born or have their residency in one of the countries of these areas are invited to submit and participate. All serious submissions will be included. New deadline Monday, 10 March 2004. Please use following entry form for submitting: 1. firstname/name of artist, email, URL 2. a brief bio/CV (not more than 300 words only in English, please) 3. title and URL of the max 3 projects/works, 4. a short work description for each work (not more than 300 words only in English, please), 5. a screen shot for each submitted work (max 800x600 pixels, .jpg) Please send your submission to asianfeature at javamuseum.org ************************ JavaMuseum is the premier Art Space for net based art. Visit the show cases of 1. "I -Islands" - netart from Great Britain and Ireland on www.javamuseum.org/2003/englishfeature/index.html 2. "Perspectives'03" - competition and show 2003 and the winners of JavaArtist of the Year Award 2003 on www.javamuseum.org/2003/perspectives03/index.html 3. "I-Highway - Netart from Canada"on www.javamuseum.org/2003/canadafeature/index.html 4. "I-rivers" - netart form German speaking countries on www.javamuseum.org/2003/germanfeature/index.html 5. "Current positions of French Netart" on www.javamuseum.org/2002/2nd/frenchfeature/index.html 6. "Current positions of Italian Netart" on www.javamuseum.org/2002/2nd/italyfeature/index.html 7. "Latinonetarte.net" - Netart from Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal on www.javamuseum.org/2003/latinofeature/index.html and much more on www.javamuseum.org ********************************************* JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technologies in Contemporary Art (Java=Joint Advanced Virtual Affairs) www.javamuseum.org info at javamuseum.org corporate member of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork] - the experimental platform for netbased art - operating from Cologne/Germany. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From joy at sarai.net Wed Feb 4 04:32:43 2004 From: joy at sarai.net (Joy Chatterjee) Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 04:32:43 +0530 Subject: Fw: [Reader-list] khetro Broad Sheet 01 In-Reply-To: <002101c3e919$c2f50e80$22023c0a@Dias> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20040204042825.00a83a10@mail.sarai.net> Dear Sankarshan, I am sure Nilanjan will discuss with Camp people regarding your complain. But I hope you got copies from other stalls which Nilanjan had mentioned. Best Joy At 04:48 AM 2/2/2004 +0530, you wrote: >hi, > > > The Broad Sheet will be available in Calcutta Book > > Fair(28th Feb.04 to 8th Feb.04) at Camp publication, > > stall no: 243, Seagull Publications, Seriban, stall > > no:131, Earth Care Books, stall no:176 and Nandimukh. > > The Broad Sheet will also be available at Sarai, Centre > > for the study of Developing Socities, 29, rajpur Road, > > Delhi-110054, Tel: 011 396 0040. > >as on Sunday 01.02.04 no one at Camp was able to tell me whether they >do have a copy or not. this after i spent sometime looking through the >old books they were selling. so where else can i get a copy ? > >regards >SM From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Feb 4 19:26:26 2004 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 19:26:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] VIKALP OPENS! - A Report by Saba Dewan Message-ID: <04020419262600.01110@sweety.sarai.kit> This is to follow up on the announcement on the Reader List of Vikalp, the film festival organized by CAC, the Campaign Against Censorship, in protest against censorship at the MIFF (Mumbai International Film Festival). Here is a report posted by Saba Dewan, of the CAC, of the first day of Vikalp. Cheers, and in the hope that every protest from now on, is also a celebration, and a festival Shuddha ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: VIKALP OPENS! Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 18:55:22 +0500 From: khel at vsnl.com CAMPAIGN AGAINST CENSORSHIP 4/02/04 Dear Friends, The Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) transformed its ongoing protest against the Mumbai International Film Festival into a celebration of diversity, engaged filmmaking, and a refusal to submit before censorship. Starting today Vikalp: Films for Freedom will screen 58 films that deal with a wide range of issues including the Gujarat carnage, communal politics, caste and gender discrimination, sexuality and the politics of development. Many of these films have been widely recognized for their political rigour, integrity and creative excellence. While a large number of these films were `rejected’ by MIFF, the package includes at least 13 documentaries withdrawn from MIFF by their filmmakers in solidarity with the campaign. Vikalp has been put together in less than three weeks, entirely through the voluntary efforts and resources of Campaign members and supporters of the right to freedom of expression The celebration was inaugurated this morning with a theatrical performance based on Saadat Hasan Manto’s, `Safed Jhoot’, performed by Jameel Khan, and directed by Naseeruddin Shah for Motley Productions. Immediately after this, a packed auditorium at the Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan, in Prabhadevi, Mumbai watched the opening screening of the festival, the film Aamakaar (The Turtle People) directed by Surabhi Sharma, and withdrawn from MIFF in protest against the flaws in its selection procedures. Other films followed, including Ladies Special by Nidhi Tuli, a joyous description of life on the Mumbai suburban train; Girl Song by Vasudha Joshi, about Anjum Katyal, singer and poet from Calcutta; and The Vote by Pankaj Rishi Kumar, which watches an election unfold in Uttar Pradesh. The films were screened to a large and enthusiastic audience and by 3pm a `house full’ board had to be put up outside the auditorium. Yesterday, on 3rd February 2004, a large number of filmmakers from the Campaign Against Censorship (CAC), wore black bands and staged a silent protest at the inaugural of the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2004. In the coming days we will keep you posted about the screening schedules and other news from Vikalp. In Solidarity, Saba Dewan On behalf of Campaign Against Censorship ------------------------------------------------------- -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) Sarai Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 www.sarai.net From mainakray at yahoo.com Wed Feb 4 21:12:33 2004 From: mainakray at yahoo.com (Mainak Ray) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 07:42:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Calictionary Message-ID: <20040204154233.19041.qmail@web60709.mail.yahoo.com> > MIND YOUR LANGUAGE By Barry O' Brien > There were no charpokas, peepreys or haatis on the > streets Wednesday before > last. Except for a few mamas and mastaans, almost > everybody stayed home > because it was a hartal. Bouncy break-dancers and > slow-moving langras also > had a rest day. Near Howrah and other vantage entry > points, CITU sergeants > saw to it that local trains could get no further. > Decibel levels fell > drastically, due to the absence of the rattle of > Calcutta's bone-shakers and > the barking of minibus conductors. There were no > cries of "Aastey ladies", > "Hilakey Chalo" and "Electrikey Chalao". If you've > lost me and you're > reaching for a Calictionary, stay right where you > are, you'll find it on > this page. Calcuttans on the street, more than any > other city, have a term > or a phrase of their own for everything under its > scorching sun. No city can > match it for orginality and spontaneity when you > talk of a roadside lexicon. > No other citizen in the world has the entensity, the > assion and the sense of > humour that the Calcuttan has. With his turn of > phrase he is an Oscar Wilde, > Bernard Shaw and Sukumar Ray rolled into one ? > Expressive, Explosive and alway Exclusive. For the > uninitiated Calcuttan, > here's a handy thesaurus of innovative street > jargon; for the hardcore > Calcuttan, it could serve as a ready reckoner. > Mama policeman. Now you know why you need to stay > away from your > "Mamr-bari"! > Peepreys: auto-rickshaws who are multiplying in > hundreds and bugging one and > all > Charpokas: Maruti 800s > Matchbox: Calcutta's first generation mini-buses > that left you hunchbacked > and stiff-necked. > Haati: double-decker buses with a 'trunk' in which > the driver sits; an > almost extinct species > Langras: three-legged tempos that limp along and > handicap other drivers. > Shahi Minars: speedbreakers. Erecting them has > become a trend, generally > after someone has been killed on the spot. > Electikey Chalao: a bus conductor's coded jargon, > telling his driver to > speed-break-speed-break in order to jerk passengers > further in, since they > are all crowding near the entrance. > Hechkee tulchen kano: a passenger's retort to the > above. > Dada, Fevicol naa ordinary?: question asked by a > 'standing commuter'(usually > on a local train) to a 'sitting' one, wanting to > know how far he is going. > If the answer is 'ordinary', the 'standing' commuter > will stay right there > waiting to pounce on his seat; if the answer is > "fevicol", he will move away > to try his luck with another passenger. > Dada, kee khelchen? Test naa One day: The bus > equivalent of above. > Dada, istri korey dilen?: what you tell a passenger > who in his hurry to get > off, stamps hard on your toes. > Dada, je akebarey daak-ticket hoye shetey galen: > sarcastic comment targeting > Romeos who refuse to budge from the vicinity of the > ladies seats, invariably > getting 'stuck', just like a stamp on an envelope > Sandow maashi: a tongue-in-cheek conductor's term > describing a not-so-young > lady wearing a sleeveless blouse, a la Govinda. > Half-ladies : a skinny, boyish girl in jeans and > T-shirt; the conductor is > in a dilemma! > Dadar kee double ticket naa kee: a passenger's > caustic remark to a grossly > overweight fellow passenger who is hogging the seat. > Dada, kon ration-er chaal khaan: this is another > version of the rude comment > above. > Aierey, forsha korey dilo: a helpless pickpocket > victim's exasperated > exclamation. > Dada, engine-er tuning-ta thik karaan: > below-the-belt advice to a fellow > passenger who is snoring loud enough to drive the > pigs to market. > Kaar badi-tey aaj moolor char-chari ranna hoyechey, > dada: a subtle comment > directed to whom it may concern, in a crowded bus, > post a 'sudden whiff in > the air > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/ From coolzanny at hotmail.com Wed Feb 4 21:16:21 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 21:16:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Session at WSF Message-ID: Dear Shuddha and everyone, I was very interested that while writing about WSF, you, Shuddha, mentioned about the Kashmir session which you had attended where Yasin Malik, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Karamat Ali and others were present. I also attended the session but came in half way, by which time Yasin had almost finished speaking. I sat right through to the end of the session. While the session was in motion, a man was constantly �interrupting�, desperately wanting to say something. He seemed to several important comments and questions, but he was constantly silenced and made to sit down. At one point, he was severely shouted down and overall, he became as much the focus of attention as Yasin and others sitting on the stage were. After all the speakers had finished speaking, a question-answer session ensued. There were too many people who were eager to speak and ask questions. Many were boiling from within and dying to ask their most wanted questions. Again, the same chap from the audience rose up to speak. He was getting agitated and impatient because he was just not being given a chance to speak. When he got up to speak, he was made to sit down again. On several occasions, like the classic �mischief monger, let�s-avoid-him� syndrome, he was insulted and made to sit down. I am sure that the more he was silenced, the more he wanted to speak out. At one point, two ladies sitting behind me said loudly, �Let him speak! If he does not get a chance to speak at WSF, where else will he speak?� They made this statement twice, till ultimately, the man was given his opportunity to speak. He asked Yasin as to how someone who had killed several people could go the Gandhian way, when Gandhi himself had fought non-violently for India�s independence. Yasin responded to the question by saying that the British had supported Gandhi, but we Kashmiris are not even being given our space to speak out our aspirations by the Central Government. The man had many more questions to ask, but he was not allowed to continue. Similarly, at the beginning of the question-answer session, a Kashmiri Pandit lady spoke up, saying not a single lady was represented on the panel. I personally know this lady and she vented out some of her prejudices and anger against Muslims. Later, when she moved out of the pandal, she was shouted down by some woman activist for raising communal questions and making communal comments. One of the things which I have felt during sessions on �Kashmir� and sensitive issues pertaining to an emotionally charged topics like nationalism, Indo-Pak relations and communalism, is that there are always people in the audience who are seething from within and people having very strong nationalistic sentiments about India and that �Kashmir should remain a part of India� is their very strong conviction. Each one of them has their own very good and logical reasons for holding on to their convictions. The point is, are we ever going to enter a dialogue if we are constantly going to silence such people, insult them and shout them down to sit quiet? I am beginning to realize that there are umpteenth number of people today in India, who have their own biases and prejudices and strong belief (however right or wrong these may be!) against and towards people of �other communities�. For every one, there is always an other! The point is, for how long are we going exclude �such people�? Neither of us is holier than thou. At times, it is really an imperative to exclude such people, but I think there is never going to be a resolution to various conflicts if we are always going to exclude them! The walls will just continue to grow longer and stronger. And, I definitely don�t want this because then, we are furthering the very ideology that we claim to be against. How do you include �them� then? This is a tough question and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. I am trying, and experimenting, and most often, I can only go by my gut, gauging the sincerity of the �other� person. Similarly, there are questions about representation. When we put people up on a panel to speak on a certain issue, by what markers or standards have we decided that they are the ones who represent the issue the best? Again, I have no answer for this question, but it is very important that I continuously ask myself this question, particularly, when I am asked to speak for a group. I am personally quite decided against the conventional seminar/panel style discussion. It is furthering the schooled mentality of �here is an expert who knows best and we, the audience, will be educated by him/her.� In the case of an ultra-sensitive issue like Kashmir (which is what it has come to be), I am boycotting these seminars and panels because: A. Not everyone has a chance to speak B. We want to shut off people who we don�t want to listen to (irrespective of whichever side we may belong to!) C. There is no follow-up after the initial information giving and with the amount of inflamed passions that are aroused, different sides go back bitter and angry, with their biases reconfirmed and reinforced I remember when Gujarat riots were going on, I had, in this very e-group, asked a question, �What can we do?� I realize that the answer lies in being able to reflect on the processes which we want to employ in order to move forward. We do not always need hard-core projects and �action�, but, a constant journey of asking critical questions to ourselves and to others. I personally need to look for ways and means which are based on inclusion and listening, ways and means where silences are meaningful and not awkward and uncomfortable � - Zainab Bawa _________________________________________________________________ Easiest Money Transfer to India . Send Money To 6000 Indian Towns. http://go.msnserver.com/IN/42198.asp Easiest Way To Send Money Home! From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Feb 4 22:14:14 2004 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 22:14:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Session at WSF In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <04020422141400.01417@sweety.sarai.kit> Dear Zainab and everyone, Many thanks, Zainab, for filling in a much more vivid and detailed picture of the Kashmir panel that I had mentioned at the WSF. I did not stay right till the end of the panel, and so was not aware of what transpired at the question and answer session. (and I must add that I was also not present at the juncure when a Kashmiri Pandit lady who was present, protested, and who you say was silenced). Of course, my report, was incomplete, and your testimony only points to the fact that there can never be a record of an event that is anything other than what the witness saw, or, more interestingly, perhaps chose to see. I saw, or chose to see, a certain slice of the event, and that is what i have written about, it needs to be qualified and seen in relation to what you saw, and what you reported, that is why this is a discussion list and not a seminar. So thanks for that ! After all, we did sit next to each other for a while when both of us were present. And what would be the point of both of us being on this list, if at least we could not enjoy the fact of complicating each other's narrative, in a Rashomonesque sort of way ! I did notice that while I was there and Yasin Malik was speaking, a gentleman did make some loud interjections, especially when Yasin Malik was speaking about Gandhi, and that the some from amongst the audience counter interjected, saying Yasin Malik should be allowed to speak. I do not think that there is anything wrong about that. However, if that same person, is not allowed their turn to speak at all during a question answer session where the audience is meant to be involved, then I think there is definitely something wrong going on. However, as you say, following the interjection of two ladies sitting in the audience who said "Let him speak! If he does not get a chance to speak at WSF, where else will he speak?”" he did get his chance to say what he had been wanting to say. I think that this is a very interesting instance. When Yasin Malik (a voice that is not given much space in 'India') is speaking, someone interrupts, and then those who interrupt the interrupter, do so on grounds that are the same , that is - "Let him speak! If he does not get a chance to speak at WSF, where else will he speak?”" And then, when the original interrupter asks for his turn to speak at the end, and is again himself interrupted, two other ladies interrupt again and say, "Let him speak! If he does not get a chance to speak at WSF, where else will he speak?”" What is interesting about this episode is that both these people, Yasin Malik and the interrupter, could say what they wanted to say, in their own very different ways and voices, because people in the audience essentially said "Let him speak! If he does not get a chance to speak at WSF, where else will he speak?”" This brings me to a point that I am trying to think through a lot lately, about the authorised and the unauthorised interlocutor. Something that came up briefly in the Sarai panel at the WSF titled "Crisis/Media for the Millennium". The authorised interlocutor is someone who can jump into the fray of the discourse and speak his/her mind without anyone doubting what Arundhati Roy in the 'God of Small Things" called their 'Locusts Stand I' or, what in legalistic latin is "Locus Standi" and in filmi Hindi is called 'Aukaad' as in "saale, apni aukaad samajhke baat kar, nahin to kaan ke neeche yun bajaa dunga" - you get my drift. The authorised interlocuter, can become unauthorised, not necessarily because of the content of their statement, but the timing, manner, tone and style in which they say what they want to say. And surely, democratic and open forms of discourse are such which encourage a diversity of rhythms, manners, tones and styles, which is why the most 'free thinking' people can sometimes also come across as the most pugnaciously imperious and forbidding, not because of what they say, but because of the way in which they say or dont say things. Anyway, the point I am trying to arrive at is, of course, seminars and panels or anything that foregrounds the speaker as an 'Expert' automatically prefix the 'Authorised' tag on to some intorlocuters as opposed to thers. And of course, we should try and arrive at a variety of forms in which discourse can happen. A discussion list like this, is hopefully, precisely something that a seminar or an expert panel is. We do not interrupt each other here. We cannot. There are no experts, no panelists here, there cannot be. And no one can ask of another the question - "What gives you the authority to say this or that" because no one has given anyone any authority on this list. And I do hope that we all realize that this is precisely what makes list culture and list ettiquette so special. In fact, if a successful seminar is one in which some people say most things most of the time. Then a successful list is one in which something very different happens. Not 'no one saying hardly anything most of the time', but ' a lot of people, saying lots of things, a lot of the time' But, lets come back to Yasin Malik and the gentleman who interrupted. The interrupter who demands to know what right Yasin Malik, a person who has been a part of, and a votary of, armed struggle, has to invoke Gandhi, is also asking Yasin Malik, basically, the "Saale teri aukaad kya hai, tery yeh majaal" or "what is your 'locusts stand i' ", question. He too wants Yasin Malik to cease speech. Just as others want him to cease speaking. Just as many in this country who protest against the censorship of some books, or films, are in agreement with the decision to censor and ban other books and fllms. Perhaps they see themselves as 'Authorised Interlocutors' who consider themselves better placed to know what to ban, and what not to ban. I am not a Gandhian, in fact, I am someone who considers Gandhi wanting not because he foregrounds ethics, but because I think he foregrounds ethics not in a fundamental, but in a tactical sense. In the sense that he never opposed capital punishment, even though he opposed terrorism. He never opposed the right of the Indian state to send in its military into Kashmir, even though he opposed the right of any people to take up arms to defend themselves. I would think that non violence would imply an absolute rejection of the violence of the state (especially when the state is something that you have a hand in the making of) even as it implies a categorical rejection of the violence of the insurgent. No, I am not a Gandhian, and I do not respect Gandhi's philosophy, even if I do acknoweldge the creativity of Gandhi's practice of poltics. But what I do not understand, is why, someone like Yasin Malik should not have the right to invoke Gandhi, whenever he feels like it. Gandhi too, did serve in advancing the cause of the British military in South Africa, even as he was initiating his experiments with truth and non violence. In that sense Gandhi in the course of his life is as morally implicated in acts of war, as Yasin Malik may be in acts of insurgency. I may be wrong but I think Yasin Malik is younger now then what Gandhi was when he returned to India. If the Gandhi we know, who experimented with racism (he time and again said that Indians were better than Africans in South Africa, and supported a full on war in South Africa in a direct and activist manner) can transform, or be transformed, or allow himself to be transformed into the Mahatma of non violence, then what's wrong with letting Yasin Malik figuring out which way he wants to go? And why should Yasin Malik not given the lattitude (to experiment with the ideas of tolerance, forgiveness and non violence) that we have so readily extended to M.K. Gandhi. This posting has gone astray, its gone far far away from being about what happenned at the Kashmir panel at the WSF. But then this is not a seminar, and I am not an expert. And I would like to thank Zainab with all the affection that I can muster, for the necessary corrections and amplifications she made in response to my testimony, and for the provocation to stray from the topic! And it somehow makes the excercise of being at the WSF, of being an incomplete, imperfect witness, just that little more worthwhile. Cheers Shuddha -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) Sarai Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 www.sarai.net From simon at metamute.com Wed Feb 4 22:34:28 2004 From: simon at metamute.com (Simon Worthington) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 17:04:28 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Mute News] OpenMute launches FREE web tools - OM1 Message-ID: <200402041704.28622.simon@metamute.com> Hi , If anyone needs some FREE web tools for their projects or if you want to get involved in Open Source development of customisations of our services, then please check out our project. cheers Simon Worthington Mute magazine -- FREE as in lunch! *OpenMute* create/collaborate/communicate http://www.openmute.org *Free web site and easy-to-use web tools* OpenMute announces the launch of its Open Source web tools services for cultural and community groups. OpenMute is a Mute project. Mute is a not-for-profit organisation. --- OpenMute offers a service called OM1 with which you can have a website built almost immediately, packed with tools for publishing and collaborative working. *HOW IT WORKS* 1. Log on to http://openmute.org 2. Request an account 'yourname.omweb.org' 3. You will then have a website with the following tools available: NEWS | WIKI | GALLERY | FORUM | CALENDAR | RSS FEEDS and more... OpenMute's services allow you to have a dynamic website where you can update content from any computer connected to the internet just using a browser. You can adapt the web tools to your own requirements making your OM1 site into a gallery, workspace, library, public feedback portal, event publicity site, archive and more. You can read more details about OpenMute's OM1 package at the bottom of this email. --- *SOME BACKGROUND TO THE OPENMUTE PROJECT* OpenMute is unique in that we have created a system that automates the replication of certain very powerful open source tools, not only making them available to those without the requisite technical skills to install and adapt independently, but also reducing the many associated costs. OpenMute aims to make such tools available to individuals and communities who were previously unable to use them. Additionally, we aim to provide enough supporting information, and channels of communication between users, technical staff, etc., to create a culture of self-education and collaboration around their use. OpenMute harnesses Mute magazine's decade-long experience of paper and internet publishing to accommodate a wide variety of internet users, from the one-woman band to the medium-sized organisation. 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Documentation wiki In addition, there is extensive documentation on our support site wiki FAQ In OpenMute's FAQ you can view answers to commonly posed questions as well as post questions to the OpenMute -- END From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Feb 4 22:24:15 2004 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 22:24:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Session at WSF In-Reply-To: <04020422141400.01417@sweety.sarai.kit> References: <04020422141400.01417@sweety.sarai.kit> Message-ID: <04020422241501.01417@sweety.sarai.kit> In my previous posting in this thread, a line that reads "A discussion list like this, is hopefully, precisely something that a seminar or an expert panel is." should read "A discussion list like this, is hopefully, precisely something that a seminar or an expert panel is not." The not is not there in the posting, which changes the meaning of what I am saying entirely. My fingers have been told off by my brain. apologies, and Cheers Shuddha On Wednesday 04 February 2004 10:14 pm, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear Zainab and everyone, > > Many thanks, Zainab, for filling in a much more vivid and detailed picture > of the Kashmir panel that I had mentioned at the WSF. I did not stay right > till the end of the panel, and so was not aware of what transpired at the > question and answer session. (and I must add that I was also not present at > the juncure when a Kashmiri Pandit lady who was present, protested, and who > you say was silenced). Of course, my report, was incomplete, and your > testimony only points to the fact that there can never be a record of an > event that is anything other than what the witness saw, or, more > interestingly, perhaps chose to see. I saw, or chose to see, a certain > slice of the event, and that is what i have written about, it needs to be > qualified and seen in relation to what you saw, and what you reported, that > is why this is a discussion list and not a seminar. So thanks for that ! > After all, we did sit next to each other for a while when both of us were > present. And what would be the point of both of us being on this list, if > at least we could not enjoy the fact of complicating each other's > narrative, in a Rashomonesque sort of way ! > -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) Sarai Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 www.sarai.net From marnoldm at du.edu Wed Feb 4 20:51:14 2004 From: marnoldm at du.edu (Michael Arnold Mages) Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 08:21:14 -0700 (MST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] February on -empyre-: Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz discuss networks, art and collaboration Message-ID: February on -empyre-: networks, art & collaboration With Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz collaboration 1. United labour, co-operation; especially in literary, artistic, or scientific work. 2. specifically Traitorous cooperation with the enemy. --Oxford English Dictionary, Online Edition Rarely does a word contain within it such positive and negative connotations. The history of collaboration reflects this duality. Wordsworth and Coleridge, Fluxus, Wiki, Blogging, the organization of the WTO protests, the rise of Nazism in pre-WWII Germany and surrounding states, and the actions of the recent US-led "coalition" in Iraq demonstrate positive and negative aspects of collaborative effort. -empyre-, in cooperation with the conference on networks, art, & collaboration (http://www.freecooperation.org), welcomes Geert Lovink and Trebor Scholz, as they discuss the complexity, challenges and rewards of collaboration both off and on-line. Subscribe at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre ------------ Lovink and Scholz are both part of a collaborative team that created the collaborative weblog Discordia on arts, politics, and techno cultures. (http://discordia.us) ------------ Geert Lovink Geert Lovink is an Amsterdam-born media theorist and activist who co-founded the on-line group for media arts producers, nettime, and the Australian-based forum fibreculture.org. Lovink has lectured widely on media theory, and is a member and co-founder of Adilkno (Foundation for the Advancement of Illegal Knowledge). http://www.laudanum.net/geert ------------ Trebor Scholz Born in East Berlin, Trebor Scholz is a media artist who, involved in ventures both collaborative and individual, addresses issues on the intersection of art, politics and the Internet. Dividing his time between Brooklyn and Buffalo he is professor at the Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo. http://molodiez.org ------------ Subscribe at: http://www.subtle.net/empyre -- Michael Arnold Mages mailto:marnoldm at du.edu -- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nilanjanb at 123india.com Fri Feb 6 00:11:06 2004 From: nilanjanb at 123india.com (nilanjanb at 123india.com) Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 10:41:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] khetro in response Message-ID: <20040205104107.2856.h013.c009.wm@mail.123india.com.criticalpath.net> Dear Jeebesh & other friends at reader list, Khetro as an organisation is be very much enthused by getting exciting responses after the publication of Broadsheet01. Please pass on the information of this publication to your friends as well as other interested persons. We have started planning for the next one which will be published in the month of May. Thanks for your interest. Besh wishes to all. Nilanjan From dak at sarai.net Thu Feb 5 15:31:15 2004 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 15:31:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Reminder - Call for Abstracts: Language, Culture , Urban Publics Workshop Message-ID: <200402051531.15680.dak@sarai.net> Call for Abstracts: Workshop: Language, Culture and Urban Publics: April 1st -3rd, 2004. This workshop will engage in a dialogue between research into histories of print cultures and the new linguistic practices in contemporary media and urban spaces. The workshop is intended to revisit the debates on identity and politics together with attention to forms from magazines to cassettes to films and television as well as new performative spaces such as call centers discussion-lists and chat rooms. Our premise is that these dialogues would provide diverse critical vantage points from which to engage with issues of language and culture as they enable various strategies of dwelling in and imagining the city. Older forms of expression in print and speech have been under significant pressure in the contemporary with the emergence of electronic communication, leading to both innovation and anxiety. The workshop will focus on content, form, styles and circulation of linguistic cultures. The primary focus will be on South Asia, though we welcome proposals on other regions that provide a comparative perspective. While the focus of the workshop is the contemporary transformations, it would perhaps be useful to see the contemporary as the contested site of continuity as well discontinuity. Suggested Themes: Histories of urban print cultures - Popular print forms: pamphlets, 'pulp fiction', little magazines and small towns. Urban imaginaries in literary cultures. Radio and Broadcasting: 'National language' and local publics, contemporary FM cultures. Print and the challenge of contemporary media forms: television, mobile, SMS, hybrid forms, copy culture. Music: cassette cultures, regional and migrant music, parody. Styles of Engagement: Accents, idioms, slang, performative speech and identity: from the streets to chat rooms to Call Centres. Speech as Sales pitch: advertisement, propaganda, and bazaar language. Language as Politics Poetics of Adaptation Please send 200-300 word abstracts to language at sarai.net by February 15th, 2004.. We will cover travel and board of South Asian participants who are selected to present at the workshop. In the case of international presenters we will cover all local costs, in rare cases of people without institutional support we might support travel. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From khel at vsnl.com Fri Feb 6 15:02:19 2004 From: khel at vsnl.com (by way of Monica Narula) Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 15:02:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] VIKALP SCHEDULE: 6-9 FEB Message-ID: CAMPAIGN AGAINST CENSORSHIP 6.02/04 Dear Friends, The atmosphere at Vikalp for the past two days has been magical! Films, including the ones that were `rejected' by MIFF as well as those that rejected MIFF continue to draw huge audiences.The festival space is abuzz through the day with activity and lively discussions that follow the screenings of all films. Please find below the schedule of screenings from 6th -9th February. FEBRUARY 6 10.00 Trembling Before God (95 mins) DISCUSSION / BREAK 12.00 Anunad--Echoes Of The First Sound (28 min) 12:30 Some Roots Grow Upwards (52 min) DISCUSSION / LUNCH 2.30 Journeys (38 minutes) 3:15 Buzz Of Betrayal (1 minutes) 3.20 On My Own (28 minutes) 3.45 Pala (83 minutes) DISCUSSION / BREAK 6.00 Final Solution (214 minutes) FEBRUARY 7 10.00 My Own Home (42 min) 10.55 A Silent Killer (23 minutes) DISCUSSION / BREAK 12.00 Maan Dam (15 minutes) 12.20 Godhra Tak (60 minutes) DISCUSSION /LUNCH 2.30 For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll (29 minutes) 3. 05 Miles to Go (58 minutes) 4.10 Tales of the Night Fairies (74 minutes) DISCUSSION / BREAK 6.00 A Night of Prophecy (77 minutes) 7.30 The Men in the Tree (94 minutes) FEBRUARY 8 10.00 Colours of Earth (60 min) 11.10 Pyramid of Women (19 minutes) BREAK 12.00 Naga Story (62 minutes) 1:05 Jardhar Diary (27 minutes) LUNCH 2.30 Development Flows from the Barrel of the Gun (53 minutes) 3.30 Searching for Saraswati (62 minutes) 4.40 New Improved Delhi (6 min) 4:50 Parai (45 min) BREAK 6.00 A Million Steps ( 22 minutes) 6.30 On an Express Highway (34 minutes) 7.15 Sita's Family (60 minutes) 8.30 In the Flesh (52 minutes) 9:05 Rummaging For Pasts: Excavating Sicily, Digging Bombay(27min) 9:45 Hawa Mahal (58 minutes) FEBRUARY 9 10.00 - 1pm - Meeting of Campaign members to discuss and plan future activities of the Campaign 1 - 2 pm - Lunch 2:00 Kandal Pokkudan (29 minutes) 2:35 Hunger in the Time of Plenty (30 min) 3:10 Outburst (18 min) 3:35 Chords on the Richter Scale ( 45minutes) 4:30 Plug 'n Play (29 min) 5:00 Laden is Not my Friend (28 minutes) DISCUSSION/BREAK 6:00 Buru Sengal (57 min) 7:10 Bamboo Children (28 min) 7:45 Love Me You (92 min) 9:25 Iag Bari: Brass in Fire (98 min) From kalyannayan at yahoo.co.in Fri Feb 6 17:32:14 2004 From: kalyannayan at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?kalyan=20nayan?=) Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 12:02:14 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] posting from kalyan Message-ID: <20040206120214.95663.qmail@web8104.in.yahoo.com> Internet is playing its wonderful part to confront oneself with the traffic of ideas around the world. And I am also trying to gain the historian’s perspective from it. Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellowship has given me the opportunity and here I am writing to a host of intelligent minds that can offer comments on my area of interest and with whom I can interact with. My name is Kalyan and I am pursuing my M. Phil. in Modern Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University. My area of research from the tutorial writing days has revolved around city and its different manifestations. And I am greatly interested in looking at the dynamics that shapes the city and gives it a particular nature. No doubt with recent onslaught of technology, the city has started taking a new shape. It is equally contributing in making and sustaining a mindset. But being a historian I would beg to present a historical bent to it and in my regular postings I would be discussing things from that very perspective. Jamshedpur (at present I am working on the history of Jamshedpur titled; ‘The Idea of Jamshedpur’: Evolution of an Industrial Landscape 1907-1990) is the ‘city of sweat equity’ if I may borrow Peter Hall’s phrase. At the same time it is a ‘city of enterprise’. How does this city promote the potentialities of both? I would be writing about these and specifically about interaction of the labour and the capital that has given a peculiar face to the city and thereby providing us an interesting case study on the capitalism’s benevolence being sustained by the sweat of the labour. But readers are requested to bear with a fairly lengthy synoptical overview that is been attempted that would serve as a background. Central idea of the study would be the city as described in the economic sense of the term. Broadly the processes through which a city is born, would decide its contours and the exploratory theme. It is been observed that cities are invaded by industries and sometimes the opposite happens. In case of Jamshedpur, which came into existence in 1907 with the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) the latter was true. It was one of the exceptional experiments been made and its gradual evolution into a successful industrial town witnesses the typicality of that experiment. The town has grown in an isolated and self-contained area and has become a property of a single big company. The other smaller companies run on a much smaller scale. TISCO acquired about 25 square miles of land and established there on, one of the largest iron and steel plants in the world and a modern town of about 1,00,000 inhabitants. In this way it exhibited all those features of urban experience that reflected the sense of the city living, with special kind of spatial boundaries, and a creation of a space where local society materially and culturally reproduced itself. What gave the city this kind of “graduating” experience? First it was a conglomeration of people being gathered around steel industry as a focal point. Second migration played a significant role in the building of this skilled and unskilled labour force in the city. Both of these aspects defied the immemorial existence of the city, contrary to the antiquated notions attached to the evolution of the colonial city in general. Third the company was the landlord and the administrator of the city. Fourth the company itself was doing the spatial division of the city based on residential differentiation. TISCO provided accommodation to 95 percent of the higher staff, but facilities for working people were hopelessly inadequate. The company’s attempt to provide help in the form of house loans had not proved much of a success due to absence of proper initiative by the company. As the reports of the time suggests that sanitary arrangements in the town were not adequate. Royal commission reported that in ‘busties’ it is a positive menace to develop well being of residence there, leaving aside the northern town or European quarters where a complete scientific system is provided. It was also noticed that, curiously enough in areas like Sakchi and Kasidih common sanitation arrangements were biggest abhorrence for the people”. Gradually all open spaces went into occupation with the pressure of population and created new problems of space management. Town did not have any municipal government for a long time. The committee of companies which was to be the governing body of the town formed a board of works and consisted of six representatives of the TISCO, three of other companies and two from the general public. To invest this committee with some powers, Government of India in 1924 made Jamshedpur a notified area under the municipal act and appointed a Notified Area Committee. However Jamshedpur came as a unique example of a town with the most modern and efficient services in India where the inhabitants paid no rates. It was hardly surprising that no objection was raised to the arrangement and to the undemocratic character of the local administration. Three Issues. Part I: Spatial evolution of the city in general. Who are the people that inhabit the city? Nature and quantum of the labour force that had its repercussion on the social and cultural built up of the city. How the worker is accommodating within the city space. Part II: Discourse of planning. Part III: Shaping of the modern worker through architecture and urban planning. Part IV: The factor of Paternalism being practiced by the Tatas an enjoyed by the workers. And this factor is exhibited through city most effectively which is managed and governed by the Tatas. Initially I would explore the origins of the city and its confining boundaries that have been developed around it. It would include the composition of the labour force and gradual evolution of the town area. Initial survey of the town struck me that it was a ‘planners paradise’. No less than five plans had been instituted to regulate the spatial and built environment of the city. My idea is to explore the discourse of the idea of planning that was giving shape to this industrial center and its varying impressions on other industrial centers in India. In fact the idea of the town planning can be emancipatory, carrying the possibility of people fashioning their own living environment with will and consciousness. As Jamshedpur represents itself, this seldom happened. The struggle remained to free the discourse from the shackles of economic, technological and ideological domination, to rediscover the ethical and moral questions in the creation of environments. Moreover it should be added at this juncture that planning is not inherently correct nor planners. They are the temporary manifestations of historical social processes, constrained by the interests that are dominant in the society at the time. I also wish to cross the boundary of 1947, which usually suggest a demarcation line for modern Indian history, and analyze the changes that occurred with the coming of the new state structure and governing policies. The second issue can be stretched to this aspect as well. Any decent perusal of the historiography on Jamshedpur would give an idea to a historian that it is an area, which is invoked ceremoniously in examining various trends in social sciences. City provided an easy froth for readymade explorations. But quite clearly it was not the ‘city’ that drew attention of historians and anthropologists but the voluminous industrial population that was working there. And not surprisingly the profusion of writing that exists revolves around this industrial workforce. I am trying to locate the town in the center of investigations and then attempt to weave a story around it. In this way the city becomes the entry point for exploring issues that were hitherto been looked from the perspective of ‘labour’ or the ‘company’. In the case of Jamshedpur Company was definitely the prime mover in the city. This approach has three justifications to be mentioned. First, this would be the history of the town that has not been given its due attention. Second, this allows us to explore the issue of urbanism and its relation with industrial capitalistic development in the Indian perspective more clearly and elaborately. Third, this will also allow me to present an untapped vein of data regarding town planning, its management and the efforts applied by a company to manage the city on its own. ===== hi received your mail.thank you for calling me.i will reply you soon.sorry for the tantrum.bye ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Mobile: Download the latest polyphonic ringtones. Go to http://in.mobile.yahoo.com From khel at vsnl.com Sat Feb 7 12:27:27 2004 From: khel at vsnl.com (by way of Monica Narula) Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2004 12:27:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] NEWS FROM VIKALP: DAY 3 Message-ID: CAMPAIGN AGAINST CENSORSHIP Dear Friends, Please find below the following: - NEWS FROM THE THIRD DAY AT VIKALP - THE FIRST ISSUE OF VIKALP VICHAAR : A FOUR PAGE FESTIVAL BULLETIN - A DRAFT OF THE OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTER (I&B) TO BE DISTRIBUTED AT VIKALP AND MIFF NEWS FROM VIKALP: DAY 3 On the third day of the Vikalp: Films for Freedom festival, the ongoing protest against censorship recorded more than 2000 registered delegates. As in the previous days, screenings were followed by lively discussions centered around the films and the issues they raise, as well as the art of documentary filmmaking. But the main news of the day came from across the street, at the controversy ridden Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). Filmmakers from the Campaign Against Censorship attended the Press Conference organised by MIFF to present the Selection Committee's version of the controversy surrounding the selection process. The meeting took a revealing turn when Mr K Bikram Singh, Member, National Selection Committee began an argument with Mr Babu Ramaswamy, Co-ordinator MIFF about the legitimacy of removing a film that has been recommended by their panel. Media representatives and filmmakers witnessed a startling revelation by Mr. K.Bikram Singh: "We were not a selection committee, but only a recommending authority." He added that the committee neither had a chairperson, nor were they briefed about the number of films or screening hours; there was no single member who saw all the entries and hence, the committee was not aware of how the final list was compiled. Mr. Babu Ramaswamy, Co-ordinator MIFF however, chose to disagree and claimed that the members were adequately briefed and that there was no interference in their functioning. In response to a specific question about the film-Words on Water, he admitted that although it had been selected by the committee for the international competition section, the ex-director of MIFF had excluded this film. Mr.Ramasawamy defended this act of censorship as "fine tuning" and claimed that the festival director was only exercising the prerogative of his office. Mr. Bikram Singh chose to differ on this, and said that the Director of MIFF had no right to exclude films selected by the committee, and what was done in MIFF 2004 was unprecedented and unfair. The inconsistent and contradictory remarks on the selection process by the various actors involved firmly corroborate the contention of the CAC that the selection process was fundamentally flawed and involved backdoor censorship. This view was also expressed strongly by a wide spectrum of those present, ranging from IDPA representatives, organizing committee members, past selection and jury members, and representatives of the media. In the words of Mr. RV Ramani, organizing committee member, who resigned in protest against the flawed selection process: "This is not a selection committee but a farce!" He was amongst several others who demanded an urgent review of the entire selection process of MIFF 2004. ANNOUNCEMENT: Vikalp- Films for Freedom also announced a panel discussion titled: RESISTING CENSORSHIP. Scheduled for Feb 8th, 2004, the participants include Arundhati Roy, writer, Nikhil Wagle, Editor ?Mahanagar?, and Anand Patwardhan, filmmaker. The venue will be the Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan (3rd floor) 89 Sayani Road, Prabhadevi at 12:30 pm vikalp vichaar- The festival bulletin: Interview with Sanjay Kak Q. How did the Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) begin? Sanjay: The CAC has emerged as an action platform of over 275 documentary filmmakers from all over India. It was triggered off when MIFF introduced a dangerously discriminatory clause asking for Indian entries for the festival to submit censor certificates. In a matter of a few short weeks, more than 200 filmmakers had grouped together to express their outrage, and filmmakers from the world over joined in. But beyond the MIFF issue, the Campaign represents a spontaneous release of energy from the growing and vibrant documentary filmmaking community in India. Q. Though MIFF was forced to withdraw the censorship clause, the subsequent selection process sidelined most films that were remotely ?political? or critical of the establishment. Was Vikalp a reaction to this deliberate sidelining of alternative voices? Sanjay: Vikalp is not simply a reaction. MIFF is a small irritant around which a lot of mobilization has materialized. There are 30 rejected filmmakers with a wide range of subjects. Normally we don?t even show our films in the same places, but there?s enough common ground. Vikalp is a platform of people with shared concerns, a broad area of common understanding. It is provoked no doubt by what happened ? the censorship clause, etc. - but it is important to recognize the moment. Something like this would not have been possible even 10 years ago, simply because there were not enough people in documentary filmmaking then. But the development in production, in technology, and its impact on filmmaking practice, the growing self confident community of filmmakers, not just in cities like Delhi and Bombay, but in small towns all over the country, not to forget, the growing audience - all these have contributed to creating an envi! ronment where a protest like this is possible. But i f we recognize this flexibility, this proliferation of production and the audience, so does the sarkar. The state is taking note of it, is cracking down on newspapers, magazines and television channels that are critical of the establishment, so much so that even a magazine like The Outlook has been brought to heel. Today any large monolithic media structure is vulnerable. But we documentary filmmakers, to quote Arundhati Roy, are like machchars (mosquitoes) on the back of a big buffalo - how are they going to stop us? Q. There?s been some talk of taking this package to different educational institutes, of turning it into a traveling festival like Film South Asia. Sanjay: Yes, we could take the package to different institutes, or we could ask them to choose specific films that they would like to screen. The important thing is to preserve the independent character of the festival, to prevent it from becoming dependent on the State or on any one funding organisation. Because when that happens, you become vulnerable to pressure. So forming another IDPA or MIFF is useless. The trick is to let the big festivals be - MIFF can be revamped, cleaned up - but this impulse, this alternative space should not be tampered with. For every large institution, there must be a counter institution. I firmly believe that this kind of amorphous, loose, spirited and engaged mode of working, this attempt at a kind of democracy and transparency is very essential. We have proved that we can do it in 20 days. If we get 6 months, we can come up with something truly fantastic. VIKALP AS VIKALP Vikalp is alternative. It is a new! possibility. It is not just a festival that is staged as a protest to the MIFF. It is a movement of filmmakers. It is a collective that has the ability to provide new directions to the independent film making community (documentary & short) in India . The formation of this collective can play a crucial role in making independent Indian films accessible to all, and provide a platform for filmmakers. In the recent years the digitalization of filmmaking practice has made it a democratic medium. This has led a to substantial leap in the number of films being made in the country. Most of these are independently produced without funding from the state, TV channels or production houses. More and more individual filmmakers are going out and making films. Vikalp can intervene in this area by providing a platform for all Indians independent filmmakers to exhibit their work not just in Indi! a but the world over. Some initial ideas: --- Package of some of the films shown in this festival should travel across the country. This should be done on a non-profit basis. --- The same package should be publicized through the Internet and made available to universities and community groups all over the world, especially in the US and the UK. This has tremendous potential and can be done on a profit basis, so that we can cross-subsidize the distribution of films in India. --- A financially viable distributive mechanism should be formed, which allows filmmakers to sell their films in India and all over the world. Given the deep penetrative power of the Internet this can be made possible even with meager resources. Some long-term possibilities: --- To build an archive of independent films. If the state is not keen to show our films, obviously it will not be interested in archiving them. So there is a need to have an independent archive to preserve these films for the future. --- To set up multiple permanent spaces for exhibiting independent films all over the country. This can be a unique platform for a deeper interaction between audiences and filmmakers, and amongst filmmakers themselves=2E --- To set up permanent production and post ? production facilities for filmmakers who don?t have access to equipment. These can be made available on a non-profit basis. These are not new ideas, and neither are they impossible. Filmmakers? collectives like Vikalp exist all over the world, and they not only exhibit films and distribute them, but also provide a space for the production and archiving of films. Let us collate the energies that have emerged together in the making of Vikalp and keep the momentum on to have a larger impact of Indian independent filmmaking on the world. RESPONSES TO VIKALP It is tremendous to see this kind of a shared community of filmmakers here. It is on this strength that they can stand against resistance. This is really empowering, and this kind of thing is not there where I come from. This festival is all about claiming space and I feel that such efforts are important as I feel that this is the last bastion of independent cinema in South Asia. ---- Yasmeen Kabir, Director: A Certain Liberation (International Competition, MIFF). Yasmeen is from Bangladesh. The success of Vikalp goes to show that these things can work. And I wish many more filmmakers had supported this cause, for censorship is not restricted to this medium alone. Vikalp is not a rebel child that is trying to make a lot of noise.--- Chitra Palekar, Filmmaker As a protest, it is remarkable that we have in such a short time put together a festival that parallels MIFF, though I was wondering if filmmakers who have withdrawn would rather have stayed within MIFF and spoken about censorship there. The films could have been screened in both venues. - Rajula Shah, Filmmaker Fantastic response. More than anything it is the beginning of a film movement. - Pooja Kaul, Director: Rasikan Re (International Competition Selection, MIFF) I have been coming to MIFF for the last decade and all that I have learnt about documentary filmmaking is from MIFF. It is sad to showcase my film in this moth-ridden festival. Vikalp is a wake up call for MIFF. If they respond to it they will survive otherwise they will be a part of history. I wish all success to Vikalp. Supriyo Sen (Director : Way Back Home; International Competition) publicly announced his solidarity with Vikalp while introducing his film at MIFF yesterday. The atmosphere at Vikalp is informal and very relaxed. The very fact that one can lie down and watch films is a luxury not seen in any other festival. You don?t have to be anything other than reverent to each other?s work. It?s fantastic that there?s only one screening at a time and not multiple screenings because films are not commodities to be chosen. - Gurvinder Singh, Director: Pala. It is wonderful that filmmakers have come together ? to dialogue, and to show their work. Also, the festival is non-competitive, and that?s a good thing because we are not pitting one film against another. This package should move to other cities. I would personally want to host this package at Nasik .- Nitin Paranjape, Abhivyakti, Nashik I want to make Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan a sustainable cultural center. Vikalp has opened up possibilities for more such festivals in the future and I think it should be an annual event. - Balchandra Kango, Editor: Yugantar. No smoking ! No spitting ! No censorship !! >From Vikalp team. Draft of open Letter to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting: To be distributed at vikalp and miff February 7, 2003 From: Campaign Against Censorship To: Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister for Information & Broadcasting Shastri Bhawan New Delhi Dear Shri Prasad, The Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) is an action platform of over 275 documentary filmmakers from different parts of India, who have come together in response to the increasing use of censorship to silence filmmakers. The most recent and glaring instance of this is the controversy surrounding the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), where both overt censorship (through an initial attempt to introduce a censorship clause for Indian entries to the festival) and subsequently covertly (by a biased selection procedure completely lacking in transparency and accountability) A month ago the CAC requested you to intervene in the crisis surrounding MIFF and censorship. You chose to remain silent, and this silence of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has today cost it dear. Each day of the festival, the controversy ridden MIFF has been widely exposed by the newspapers and TV channels, who have reported the ways in which MIFF has failed documentary filmmakers. You would also be aware that Shri Girish Karnad, one of the senior most members on the jury panel, decided to resign rather than be associated with a questionable selection procedure. His letter is a clear indictment of the entire process followed at MIFF and also expresses surprise that the widespread outrage at the selections made could not have been foreseen by the organisers of the festival. This was followed by the resignation of Shri RV Ramani, a member of the Organising Committee of MIFF. Finally, 13 filmmakers have withdrawn their films from MIFF in protest against the flawed selection process. Films Division, the organisers of Miff, is a divided house today. We have been receiving a barrage of requests from within the organisation to intervene and save MIFF. We reiterate that MIFF is a valuable space for the documentary fraternity in this country and our effort for the last six months has been to save MIFF from becoming an international embarrassment. You would recall that it was only after we called for an international boycott of the festival that MIFF withdrew the demand for a censor certificate from Indian filmmakers. We could have once again called for a boycott of the festival and brought it to a grinding halt but chose not to. We want to save the festival from attempts to chip away at its credibility over the years. MIFF can still be saved from further rot but for this there has to be a genuine and serious effort to collectively address the problems. The festival is run with public funds and is answerable to the documentary fraternity, which currently stands completely alienated from the organisers of the festival. It is time for its organisers to reflect upon what the world is already saying - MIFF requires a review, and an overhaul. A festival without a permanent director, complete lack of transparency, no effort at curation, and rife with mismanagement and bungling, does not make a quality international film festival. In order to win back the confidence of the filmmakers it needs to regain the active participation of the documentary fraternity. An independent review of the festival by a group of committed filmmakers, along with proven individuals that have experience of running professional festivals is imperative. At present MIFF is simply going through the motions of holding a festival because it has the mandate to do so. And therefore as is only to be expected, with no imagination, energy or serious engagement with the art of documentary film making. The following steps could save MIFF : · An independent review committee to be constituted in consultation with CAC · This review committee should help select an independent director for the festival with a small permanent team. · The festival must ensure a transparent selection process by a team of well-known filmmakers, critics, film academics and curators. · A genuine attempt at building a partnership with the independent documentary movement. For all this to become a reality a dialogue needs to be initiated with the film making community. Organisers of MIFF are welcome to visit "Vikalp - Films for Freedom", a space that is alive with filmmakers, students, and activists, with packed screenings and lively discussions. The films are being screened at the Lokvangmaya Griha with support from Agarkar Vichar Vyaspeeth. The visit could be highly educative on how to organise a film festival that is truly a celebration of documentary filmmaking. All this was done in less than three weeks, on a budget that is less than 1% of what the Ministry spends on MIFF. We are willing to help MIFF to emerge out of its present crisis as a better festival. But is anybody listening? With best wishes For Campaign Against Censorship From promod at duaassociates.com Tue Feb 10 11:39:39 2004 From: promod at duaassociates.com (Promod) Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:39:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] DEMOCRATISING THE LAW OF CONTEMPT Message-ID: Dear All, My name is Promod Nair and I am a lawyer practising in Bangalore, Karnataka. I am working on a paper entitled "Freedom Of Expression And The Limits Of The Law Of Contempt". Let me introduce the topic and some of the areas that I am working on as part of this endeavour. It is trite to say that democracy in India has always grappled with the means and methods of extracting accountability from public institutions and individuals holding public office. The traditional endeavour has been limited to focusing on extracting accountability from elected representatives and the executive. However, judicial accountability has not received the attention it deserves. The judiciary in independent India has broken out of the conventional mould of adjudication simpliciter and has sought to fashion new and bold initiatives in dispensing justice. While the early phases of 'judicial activism' in the form of Public Interest Litigation in the eighties was devoted largely to redressing human rights abuses; environmental matters and civil rights of indigent and disadvantaged groups, by the mid nineties, the Supreme Court ventured deep into unexplored territory. It issued highly publicized orders that caught the fascination of the Indian middle class. The Court acting on 'public interest' petitions, ordered investigations into the nexus between leading politicians and businessmen; gave directions to New Delhi's executive to collect unattended garbage; called upon the Government to supply lead free fuel; struck down instances of nepotism by Union Ministers and ordered them to pay vast sums of damages and called for an overhaul of the national blood donation system to ensure that AIDS and other diseases are checked. Recent years have seen courts virtually conducting admissions to engineering and medical schools as a fall-out of its seminal decision banning these schools from charging exorbitant 'capitation' fees from students. Courts and judges have also exhorted governments to take steps to implement inter-linking of rivers and have imposed a blanket ban on strikes, processions and bandhs. While the scope of the role of courts and judges has expanded, it is but inevitable that their 'margin of error' has correspondingly increased. Public criticism of judicial conduct is possibly the only check on judicial functioning. Impeachment of deviant judges, as provided for under the Indian Constitution has proved to be a check and balance which exists only on paper and does not inspire much confidence. In this context, the contempt power as exercised by courts tends to have a chilling effect on legitimate criticism which could focus on highlighting judicial inaccuracies and shortcomings. This has had the effect of throttling the voice of a free press. Recent orders under the law of contempt of court against writers and journalists who have criticized judges or their judgments has brought into focus the reasonableness or otherwise of the Indian law of contempt. Is the offence of scandalizing the court consistent with the values of a democratic and open society in which every organ of the State including the judiciary is accountable for its actions- this is a question that is being posed with increasing frequency today. The exercise of contempt power by courts is laced with not a little bit of danger for more than one reason: á It seems to conflict with the fundamental principle of jurisprudence that no person shall be put in peril on an ambiguity. The offence of criminal contempt of court by "scandalizing the court" is notoriously vague. It is regarded as obsolete in Britain, the country of its origin. Yet, in India, the scope and ambit of the offence seems to be increasingly widened. á Second, it makes the judge a judge in his own cause which has the potential to offend one of the most fundamental principles of natural justice. In an action for contempt, judges are perceived to sit in judgment over their own cause and punish the contemnors in a summary way without the usual procedures and safeguards of a criminal trial. á In effect, a presumption of guilt is the starting point of a contempt proceeding and the burden of proving innocence is on the alleged contemnor thereby giving a go- by to the principle of presumption of innocence which is a defining feature of any other criminal trial. á There is very little scope for correction of error unlike in other cases where there is a well- defined appellate mechanism which can correct judicial errors. á Further, not recognizing even the truth of the statements of the alleged contemnor does seem to place an unreasonable restriction on the freedom of speech and expression. It would indeed be ironical that in spite of the emblems hanging prominently in court halls manifesting the motto of Satyameva Jayate (let truth prevail) and Yatho Dharma Statho Jaya (where there is righteousness, there is victory), Indian courts have ruled out the defence of justification by truth. It is in this context that I intend to offer a succinct analysis of the law of contempt of court in India and the constitutional tension that this principle exerts on the freedom of speech and expression, which includes the right of the media to freely air its views. I intend to analyse the major judicial decisions which have defined the contours of the contempt jurisdiction in India and comparative jurisdictions. It is hoped that the project will culminate in the publication of a comprehensive report/ book which, when made available in the public domain can, to some extent inform and hopefully stimulate, public debate on this important issue which has affected the credibility of a crucial pillar of India's democratic system. Please do share your views and insights on this topic with me. If there is someone who has worked on issues of free speech and the law of contempt/ has resources on the same, please do get in touch with me. Thanks, Promod. From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Mon Feb 9 09:42:58 2004 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 10:02:58 +0550 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] (no subject) Message-ID: <1076301178.ce08cb00aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> CENTRE OF GERMAN STUDIES (SLL&CS) AND SCHOOL OF ARTS & AESTHETICS JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY invite you to a Lecture by Prof. Dr. Adalbert J. Gail Free University, Berlin on “Function and Value of Indian Art according to Hegel’s Aesthetics; a reconsideration of evidence” Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 Time: 4.00 p.m. Venue: Auditorium, School of Arts & Aesthetics All are welcome. ============================================== This Mail was Scanned for Virus and found Virus free ============================================== _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From jeebesh at sarai.net Tue Feb 10 14:36:42 2004 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:36:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 2 Call for Contributors : cyberfeminism + cell phones Message-ID: <40289F22.4080106@sarai.net> Call for Chapters: Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice: Communities, Pedagogies, and Social Action Kristine Blair, Bowling Green State University, kblair at bgnet.bgsu.edu, Radhika Gajjala, Bowling Green State University, radhik at bgnet.bgsu.edu, Christine Tulley, University of Findlay, tulley at findlay.edu Although current manifestations of cyberfeminism are visible in various digital, computer-mediated environments, some of these seem to imply that the only concern for cyberfeminists should be the setting up of a feminist counterculture in the form of spaces merely in opposition to the presumed masculinist hegemony online. Yet if cyberfeminist agendas are indeed to produce subversive countercultures that are empowering to women and men of lesser material and socio-cultural privilege the world over, it is important for us to examine how individuals and communities are situated within the complex global and local contexts mediated by unequal relations of power. To address these issues, Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice: Communities, Pedagogies, and Social Action, will feature an interdisciplinary collection of voices that address both the possibilities and constraints of female and feminist identity, community, and ocial/educational transformation in cyberspace. Contributors are encouraged to submit abstracts to the appropriate section editor for a 20-25 page chapter. Our proposed text is organized into three sections: Section I. The Everyday Life of Borderwork (Section Editor, Christine Tulley) What do female web spaces look like when they operate in opposition to or distinctly from standard borders/communities (for example, classroom and community spaces, political arenas, or cultural centers)? What happens to women who design cyberspaces that dont necessarily fall under the category of feminist? Some potential areas to investigate for this category might include: The practice of shopping for women in cyberspace Communities with a traditionally feminine focus Cybercommunities for moms Websites for women devoted to specific feminist interest Dating websites or profiles We are open to other areas for investigation as well, especially those projects that examine practices of women using the net that cannot be easily labeled or operate on or beyond borders previously established by other fields of study. Section II. Classroom and Community Networks (Section Editor, Kristine Blair) Essays in this section will focus on the role of technology in fostering feminist teaching and learning communities, including community action and service learning projects and the gender and power dynamics that evolve as more and more women enroll in distance education or seek access to communication networks as part of their academic, professional, and social lives. Possible questions to guide the section include: In what ways do feminist theory and critical cultural pedagogies intersect with classroom and community e-space to foster reciprocity, dialogue, and social activism? How do women, as educators and activists, construct and sustain virtual spaces that potentially subvert cultural views of technology as male? Rather than align ourselves with uncritical views of technology as liberator, contributors should theorize the role of technology in classroom practice and social action projects, acknowledging the possibilities and constraints of virtual spaces in subverting traditional intersections among gender, power, and identity to foster social and political transformation both locally and globally. Section III. Building Cyberfeminist Webs (Section Editor, Radhika Gajjala) For this section of the book, the authors solicit essays that develop and analyze strategies and tactics for building cyberfeminist webs. Even as women are displayed visibly in relation to various technological contexts, the complex gendered, raced, classed, embodied - in short the socio-cultural and economically situated nature of technological design and practices - are not acknowledged often enough; thus we seek engagement with the following questions: What are women allowed to use these technologies for and why? Which women are allowed, and under what conditions? Where and how can we locate agency in relation to these spaces and practices? At the same time there exists a mediated visibility of gender in relation to computers and cyberspace, much discourse surrounding new technologies implicitly assumes the transparency of these technologies. Thus this section will include various critical theoretical perspectives that practically form the necessary collaborations to design and produce dialogic electronic networks. Deadlines: 500-Word Abstracts: April 15, 2004 Selection of Abstracts: June 15, 2004 First Version of Manuscripts: September 15, 2004 Feedback to Authors: November 15, 2004 Final Versions: January 15, 2005 ------------------------------ Message: 2 CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED BOOK THE CELL PHONE: HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE Edited by Anandam P. Kavoori and Noah Arceneaux Dept of Telecommunications Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The University of Georgia, Athens, Ga 30602 The Cell phone presents itself at the periphery of contemporary discourse about media and culture. TV cops use it as they rush to crime scenes, teenagers use it to connect with their peers, terrorists are traced through calls made on their cell phones, extra-marital affairs draw sustenance from them. Such images, however, do not do justice to the central role that cell phones have begun to play in contemporary society. Cell phones lack the hype of the Internet but are fast approaching the cultural impact of a mass medium. They have begun to shape how we communicate; their use has created new forms of media-centered relations; and in the marketplace they have begun to influence patterns of media ownership and acquisition. In the developing world-the cell phone is often the first phone for the urban poor. In their intersection with other technologies-text messaging, the World Wide Web and digital photography/video-Cell phones have changed how we look at an omnipresent cultural technology-the "telephone." This edited book seeks papers that examines three overarching issues-History, Technology and Culture-- as they relate to the Cell Phone. Papers from all theoretical (social scientific, cultural, critical, ethnographic, historical) perspectives are welcome. Of special interest are papers dealing with the impact of the Cell Phone in the developing world and with issues of identity politics-race, gender, ethnicity and sexuality. Papers may address one or more of these questions. These are suggested research questions, not a complete template. You may wish to add to these. History: When did Cell Phones develop into a mass medium? What are the economic, political and institutional factors that have had a major impact on the Cell phone industry? What has been the relation between the history of the Internet and the Cell Phone? What is the future of the Cell Phone as compared to the history of other media technologies? What has been the trajectory of Cell Phone use in the developing world as compared to the West? Technology: What is the technology of the Cell Phone? How did it evolve and intersect with other media technologies (Internet, Phone, Web, Texting)? How have the design and architecture of Cell phones (size, texture, features, color) influenced their growth? What are the current technological limits and possibilities of the Cell Phone? How might Cell Phone technologies grow and change in the next decade? How has it impacted minority cultures and the developing world? Culture: What are the shifts in cultural sensibility that the Cell phone represents? What kinds of normative and interactive models for communication does the Cell phone represent? What forms of mass mediated relationships and Identity politics does the Cell Phone configure? How do the aesthetics of Cell phones impact behavior-- especially youth and business culture? How have Cell phones changed the structuring of daily life? How do cell phones intersect with issues with issues of identity-politics, especially those of race, gender and sexuality. What future impact can the Cell phone have as it merges with web and other technologies? What is the impact of the cell phone in developing countries? With changing Geo-politics? The deadline for paper abstracts is September 1, 2004. Please send your queries via email to the corresponding editor, Noah Arceneaux at noahax at uga.edu or via mail to Dr. Anandam P. Kavoori, Associate Professor, Dept of Telecommunications, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. End of morgue Digest, Vol 5, Issue 14 morgue at sarai.net ************************************* _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From balachandran at dharanitrust.org Wed Feb 11 10:49:31 2004 From: balachandran at dharanitrust.org (Chandra Shekhar Balachandran) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 10:49:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 2nd International Conference on Sexualities, Masculinities, and Cultures in South Asia (2004) Message-ID: [With apologies for cross-posting and repetition] PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY TO INTERESTED AUDIENCES **************************************************************** The Dharani Trust Swabhava Trust Bangalore (India) CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: 2nd International Conference on Sexualities, Masculinities, and Cultures in South Asia 9 -- 12 June 2004, Bangalore. developing discourses and discourses of development The South Asian context of debates around sexuality reveals wide-ranging concerns that have emerged through a whole range of complex movements in history. The patriarchal systems in the region are seen to add to the diverse constructions, narratives, and performances of sexualities, including masculinities and femininities. These are areas of significant interest not only to researchers but also to many engaged in the field of social change and human development work. More recently, questions of 'alternative' sexuality and development debates on trafficking, sex work, and HIV/AIDS have also brought sexuality discourses to the forefront of contestations. This conference follows the first conference held in Melbourne, Australia in 1999. The papers presented there have appeared in a special issue of South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Volume XXIV, 'Sexual Sites, Seminal Attitudes: Sexualities, Masculinities and Cultures in South Asia' (Ed.: Sanjay Srivastava). This 3-day conference will bring together an array of scholars, activists, artists, organisations, and approaches under a common aegis. It will provide space for non-traditional presentations and also presentations in Hindi and Kannada, in an effort to stimulate wider discussions and dialogue. For further details such as themes, formats, fees, and online registration, please visit http://www.dharanitrust.org/ Printable copies of forms for hardcopy submission will be posted on the site soon. If you have any questions, please contact the organizers at: conf2004 at dharanitrust.org We hope you will participate in this conference and contribute to furthering open and constructive dialogues on these topics in the South Asian context. ********************* Dr. Chandra Shekhar Balachandran Vinay Chandran Dr. Sanjay Srivastava (Conference Co-Chairs) Contact information: 2nd International Conference on Sexualities, Masculinities, and Cultures in South Asia (2004) c/o The Dharani Trust 1, Shanthi Road Shanthinagar Bangalore 560027 (India) www.dharanitrust.org Tel: [+91] 98862 72376 / [+91 +80] 5124 5401 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Feb 11 15:44:12 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 10:14:12 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] The Past is a Foreign Country Message-ID: <20040211101412.15551.qmail@web8206.mail.in.yahoo.com> Anand, Akshay and Sakina students of the Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi invite you to the first public screening of their film, 'The Past is a Foreign Country' at the Seminar Room, Ramjas College, University of Delhi, North Campus on Thursday, the 12th of February, at 12.00 pm It is a film around the twentieth century histories of the Purana Qila, and the duration is (just!) 31 minutes. From: Anand Taneja: bulle_shah at hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Education Special: Study in the UK now. Go to http://in.specials.yahoo.com/index1.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From info at nmartproject.net Thu Feb 12 13:29:16 2004 From: info at nmartproject.net ([R][R][F] 2004) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 08:59:16 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [R][R][F] 2004 - suite of calls Message-ID: <015d01c3f13e$1ccae070$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> [R][R][F] 2004 suite of calls --> 1st deadline 26 February 2nd deadline 28 March then ---> ongoing ******************* [R][R][F] 2004 [Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting] global networking project by Agricola de Cologne www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 will start in March 2004 at National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucaresti/Romania www.mnac.ro Bergen Center for Electronic Arts Bergen/Norway www.bek.no and NewMedia Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand http://thailand.culturebase.org and will be developing and operating until the end of 2004 including a number of presentations/participations in physical space and media events during 2004. This New Media art project consists of different Memory Channels as RRF version 2.0, Violence XP, Globalisation, etc, but also of a program of Internet related actions via online streaming. [R][R][F] 2004 is looking 1. for artists/professionals who are interested in a long term collaboration/networking until the end of 2004, for instance by providing information material connected to art in general, Internet related or media art, subjects as "memory and identity", violence, globalisation, surveillance etc Interested artists should contact rrf2004 at newmediafest.org subject: artisti's collaboration The details can be discussed then. 2. [R][R][F] 2004 is looking continuously during 2004 for proposals/submissions of net based or , general, works in Internet compatible formats --> Memory Channels and subjects see below. All serious (art) works - interactive or non-interactive - will be included, either on occasion of physical presentations or when they are made during physical presentations the submissions will be included immediately. Please fill in the small submission form below and send it to rrf2004 at newmediafest.org by indicating the respective channel and subject you are submitting to. You find the accepted digital file formats at the end of this text. Call --> 1. Channel: Violence XP is [R][R][F] 2004's special version of Violence Online Festival (Versions 10.0+) see previous versions on www.newmediafest.org/violence/ subject1: "violence" :::::Memorial for the victims of terror subject2: "terror" Call --> 2. Video Channel video works, movies, animations subject: "memory and identity" Call --> 3. "Self_representation" subject1 : "self" and identity subject2: my mission as an artist (only textual statements) Call ---> 4. Globalisation Channel --->Rainforest Memorial subject: globalisation, rainforest Call ---> 5. Surveillance Channel subjects: surveillance, privacy, totalitarism Call---> 6. Program Channel contributions in streaming formats video/audio in form of interviews, reports, Internet radio, Internet performance etc subjects: "memory and identity", relevant matter in social, cultural and political concern. Details on request. Call ---> 7. History Channel subject: "memory and identity" Call---> 8. Papers on subject "memory and identity" and other subjects mentioned above ----->see accepted text file types Please use this submission form and use for each submitted work a seperate form: 1. firstname/name of artist, email, URL 2. a brief bio/CV (not more than 300 words) 3. title and URL or type of media file, 4. a short work description (not more than 300 words), 5. one screen shot (max 800x600 pixels, .jpg) Please give each submitted file: yourname_title.extension Please indicate the respective "Memory Channel" and the "subject" you are submitting to and send it to rrf2004 at newmediafest.org 1st deadline 26 February 2nd deadline 28 March then --->ongoing Submissions are accepted in following formats: a) net based ---> URL ( no limits) b) Internet compatible media files ---> 1. text -->.txt, WORD .doc, RTF, plain email 2. image-->.gif, .jpg, png (max. 1024x768 pixels) 3. movies/animations--->Quicktime, Window Media, mpeg, Real Video/Audio, Flash, Shockwave (max. 5MB per submission) 4. Web page ---HTML/Javascript and embedded applets/images (max 5 MB per submission) Please give each submitted file: yourname_title.extension 1st deadline 26 February 2nd deadline 28 March then --->ongoing ***************************************** [R][R][F] 2004 [Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting] global networking project by Agricola de Cologne www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 rrf2004 at newmediafest.org [R][R][F] 2004 is corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne - the experimental platform for netbased art operating from Cologne/Germany Copyright © 2003-2004 by Agricola de Cologne. All rights reserved. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ngma at del3.vsnl.net.in Thu Feb 12 15:17:15 2004 From: ngma at del3.vsnl.net.in (NGMA) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 15:17:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Invitation for two exhibitions Message-ID: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi cordially invites you to a specially curated exhibition entitled The Soul Speaks Pictorial Representations of Spirituality from the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art in conjunction with the International Conclave on Buddhism and Spiritual Tourism (organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture) on Friday, February 13, 2004 at 5.30 p.m. at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Jaipur House, India Gate, New Delhi. Shri Jagmohan, Honâble Minister for Tourism and Culture, Government of India, has kindly consented to inaugurate the exhibition. The exhibition will remain on view till March 7, 2004 daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. (Mondays closed). Department of Culture, Government of India and Departement of Culture, Government of India and National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi in association with the China International Exhibition Agecny cordially invites you to an exhibition Contemporary Oil Paintings from China (arranged under the cultural exchange programme between the Governments of India and China) on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 at 6.00 p.m. at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Jaipur House, India Gate, New Delhi. Shri Jagmohan, Honâble Minister for Tourism and Culture, Government of India, has kindly consented to inaugurate, the exhibition in presence of H.E. Mr. Hua Junduo Ambassador of China in India The exhibition will remain on view till March 7, 2004 daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. (Mondays closed) _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From bhagwati at sarai.net Fri Feb 13 00:35:59 2004 From: bhagwati at sarai.net (Bhagwati) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 19:05:59 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Culture of Copy :: Publics and Music Message-ID: <200403131333.39406.bhagwati@sarai.net> dear friends, over the last two years i have been researching the public practices around production and distribution of music and films. Here are some of my research notes. Looking forward to comments. Bhagwati (Researcher PPHP, Sarai) ------------------------------------------------- NEW ASPECTS OF COPY CULTURE For the last few years, there is an atmosphere of depression in the film world, which is due perhaps to a series of flops. Those connected with the film world think that for the last several years, the film industry had to incur huge losses. This is mainly because of piracy. What is this ‘piracy’, affecting the films so deeply? The concept of piracy means to copy any creation like a book, software, film, music, etc, and to sell copies in the market. But piracy cannot be understood only in this way. ‘Piracy’ is not just a word but a process. A lot of things are interconnected in it. One can say that piracy is like a tree with roots, stem, leaves, branches, fruits, etc. Every past has a job, discharges a function. Anyway, here at present, we are discussing piracy in the context of film and music. Till last few years, the method of pirating was quite simple: CD used to be distributed among small producers, who then used to prepare a large number of its copies. Then the copied CD was taken by its maker or salesman to the shopkeepers to sell. Then they were sold by the shopkeepers to the customers. The customers could acquire them easily because they knew where to get them. Everybody was satisfied because all of them got a portion of profit. They were satisfied. Old Methods (2001 - 2002) In this period the production, distribution, sale, purchase of copied music/ film was locality centric. The customer could get the goods from different nodes within the locality. This i observed through field work in few localities in North Delhi. The reports did not suggest much difference in the modes of operation. But the situation has changed now. The activities over past few months show that `piracy` market is no more of the old type. Now everything goes on in a more organized manner. Its main reason is the widespread network of `piracy` market. Now it does not look for market. It simply fulfills the demand of the already established network. New Concept, New Stage The locality now is moving towrads becoming a node in a larger network. The sites of production is not longer locality specific. It has become specialised and distribution is dispersed. The following changes could be marked. >>>Entry of big investors Earlier, the films in the cinema halls used to be ‘covered’ by video camera, and CD from it used to be prepared. This was called the ‘master’. This work used to be full of risks. Now there is a slight change in it. Now, in addition to the films, the ‘masters’ of the films are also coming from outside the country. These master copies carry the advertisements of video albums, candy and music companies, etc. The method of their distribution is as before, but now only those people can survive in this business who can invest heavily. Because of their entry, those who used to prepare 100 CDs on computers are now out of business. Bigger investments have made the use of better techniques. It has directly affected the quality and nature of CD. Earlier, thin paper was used as cover for CD and the names of the films were written by hand. Now the cover of the CDs are made of cardboards, and they are fine printed. Not only this; now screen printing is possible on the CD. The quality and artistic forms make it nearly impossible to tell whether the CD is real or fake. >>>Expanding `illegal-Copy` Market We felt during our investigations that the sphere of piracy is limited. People used to acquire CD from the neighbourhood and nearby shops, because they used to be made in nearby homes, shops or factories. But now it is not necessary that the thing you are buying is made in your neighbourhood. Wherever you buy, the CD will be of uniform type. This makes it clear that the pirated items are made at some selected centralized places and then distributed to various shops and sale centers. Actually, in such a situation, the shopkeepers, petty dealers and small distributors would prefer to buy readymade things, rather than making them themselves. They don’t have to take any risks. The interesting fact is that despite the changes in production and distribution methods, the number of buyers of pirated CD has increased enormously. If there is a raid at one place, the work of piracy goes on unabated in other places. Thus, the piracy market has expanded and grown. >>>New Tricks of `illegal` copy culture. Profit and loss are inalienable part of the market system. Every job is done keeping this aspect in view, and various tricks are also used. Copy of a film is usually in two CDs. To accommodate in the given space, some portions of the film are cut out. The customer complains that he/she has not been given the full film. The dealer explains that actually the film is in three CDs and that the third one has not yet come. Therefore he will have to wait. This wait covers the extra income. The third CD is made available after some time. Thus the dealer discharges two functions at a time—he sets aside any doubt about the third CD in the mind of the customer, and in the meantime he garners extra income from the third CD. Now-a-days, the CDs are allotted some brand names or they are said to be non-DVD, and this way also some extra income is made. Pirated CD: Hit or Flop? Talk of hit or flop creates an impression that we are making a count down of such films. We are talking of the profit and loss of those in the business. If it is hit, the director is happy; if it is flop, the director is unhappy. It is loudly propagated that the relationship of the happiness or otherwise of the director is connected with the relationship between film industry and piracy. If the film is a hit, then credit goes to the caliber and labour f the director. If it is a flop, then piracy is held responsible. But the reality is far from it. Those films are pirated which are a hit or likely to be hit. It is on the basis of these estimates that the number of copies are made, and repeated according to the needs. So, if the film is a flop, then the piracy will also be a flop; similarly with hits. The pirators are unhappy are unhappy or happy to the same extent as the director or producer of the film. So the argument carries no weight that a film is flop due to its piracy. If we study the countdown in piracy market, then in case of the film Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, was a great hit, and therefore was pirated 5 or 6 times. HISTORY OF REMIX Remix means presenting old wine in new bottle. It has been dominating the music industry in recent years in India, to the extent that it has been more popular that film songs and singers. A section of society is opposed to it. They have called it a distorted and vulgar culture, and therefore called for a ban it. However, the younger generation is increasing liking remixed songs. If one looks into the history of Indian music, one finds that it is not really new. It is at least 20 years old. To understand properly, the history of remix may be divided into 4 stages: First Stage: It began around 1983 when old songs were imparted new voices. Among the first companies doing this, T-Series was the most prominent. Initially, its remix cassettes carried the photos of the main singers like Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, etc. Next to them, smaller photos of the new singes like Kumar Shanu, Sonu Nigam, and others were printed. The cassettes carried headings like “In Memory of Md. Rafi”, “In Memory of Kishore”, “Melodies of Mukesh”, etc. Thus the singers of these tunes got a good publicity. Second Stage: The songs were the same but they were given new dimensions. Music beats were used along with the songs. Disco was very popular and these songs were given the form of disco music with the help of these beats, which attract the listeners even today. The cassettes came in vogue around 1987 but it was printed on them: ‘with beats’. It became a fashion to put in beats, whatever the singer. It became extremely popular, so much so that even the film audio cassettes carried them; they are available even today. Third Stage: It began around 1990. Pop replaced the second stage. Use of western pop became very widespread. The names of the singers and the tunes became secondary and were replaced by the creators of new tunes. Cassettes began to be sold in their name. One of them was ‘Bali Sagu’. It was a new experiment and became popular. It influenced the films after a few years. Whole songs of the films began to be remixed. Some of the films whose remixed songs were like very were ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, ‘Taal’, ‘Pardes’, etc. Fourth Stage: The present phase can be called the Golden Age of the remix. It is popular as never before. It is related with many things. Its fast beats and full of western music. They are used in big and small parties, hotels, marriage ‘barats’, etc. People dance and shake to them. The DJ in marriage parties is so popular that in their absence these parties are considered bore. The bridegroom side demands DJ along with other things. Keeping these demands in view, the music companies have begun new remixing. Their beats and English expressions force people to shake and dance to their tunes. But in the present stage the credit of remix becoming hits goes to their video. The videos are such hits that it is there which are demanded by the people at the shops. Now-a-days, these videos are known more by the models acting in them rather than by their singers and tune-makers. The remix video age has, on the one hand, given a new life to Indian music industry, and on the other hand, has invited the accusations of the Indian culture having been ‘distorted’ and ‘vulgar’. Remix Video Now-a-days the music channels are full of remix videos. If we try to understand the processes of making video, then we will be able to understand the reasons for their popularity. Actually, those who are working in the remix video industry were earlier in the advertisement field. Therefore they know very well as to what caters to the taste of the customers. They understand as to what exactly can stay with the audiences for a long time. They began making use of their own creativity and imagination to the best of their effect. The remix video has gripped the minds of the people. Hit videos have many such scenes which the audiences eagerly wait for. For example the scenes like the lowering of jeans in the “Kaanta Lagaa….”, display of hips in “Kaliyon ka Chaman…”, wet bodies of the girls, DJ, restaurant, bear-bar, etc. Actually, three or four female models are selected, locations and dialogues are fixed and the videos are made. Then these remix videos are shown on through channels so that their market is created. “Kaanta Lagaa…”!, how deep? The remix song released last year by T-Series has taken the remix today to new heights. Kaanta Lagaa… is such a hit that people at once become alert on listening to it. A strange restlessness spreads over their eyes and their ears pine for it. A section of the society, no doubt, has objected to it; and therefore the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had to notify five music channels prohibiting it. But there has been no reduction in the popularity of this cassette. Not only this; its words and tunes have been used for other ‘seasonal’ songs. For example, its tune and wordings were used to inspire the Kanwariyas in August: “Kaanta Lagaa…” became “Ghonta Lagaa…”! Then, after Janmashtami arrived “Taala…Khulaaa…” in cassette form in the market. Last October was released a bhajan “Mera Lagaa..” which topped the Navaratra market. Then there was comedy song “Chaanta Lagaa….”, liked very much by the customers. The new year and Holi are yet to come. We are likely to see new versions of these cassettes. The “Kaanta” is so deep that it has caused a boom in this type of video albums. A new tradition has been laid down in the music industry, opening new channels of garnering big profits. From abh1232 at netscape.net Thu Feb 12 16:46:48 2004 From: abh1232 at netscape.net (abhijit bhattacharya) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 16:46:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 'WHY I AM NOT A 'STRATEGIC ESSENTIALIST' Message-ID: <402B60A0.4070800@netscape.net> Professor Satya Mohanty of the Dept of English, Cornell University will deliver two talks entitled 'WHY I AM NOT A 'STRATEGIC ESSENTIALIST' Monday February 16: "Reference, Reality, and the Discourse of the 19th Century Indian Novel" Wednesday February 18: "Spivak, Marx, and the Realist Approach to Identity" in: The D.S.A. Auditorium, Comparative Literature, U.G. Arts at: 3 P.M. (both days) All are cordially invited. Organized by the D.S.A. Programme, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040212/b69209e5/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From shuddha at sarai.net Thu Feb 12 17:05:29 2004 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 17:05:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Day of Freedom From the Censor at Sarai Message-ID: <04021217052901.01510@sweety.sarai.kit> Sarai invites you to a 'Day of Freedom from the Censor' Saturday, the 14th February, 2004 at the Seminar Hall, Sarai - CSDS, 2:00 pm - 7: 30 pm On every 14th February (Valentine's Day) for the past few years the guardians of morality in several Indian cities have tried to censor public spaces and behaviour by atacking young people. We at Sarai decided to take the initiative to reflect on this tendency by observing the 14th of February as a 'Day of Freedom from the Censor'. The 14th of February will feature a day long celebration of the freedom of expression at Sarai. The Programme for the event is as follows Session 1 : Framing the Censor 2:00 pm-3:30 pm Release of the CD Rom Resource Pack on Censorship and the Law in India Produced by the Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore The Censor as Prosecutor Free Speech , 'Fearless' Speech and the Law in India Lawrence Liang Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore The Censor in the Library Scholarship, Academic Research and Censorship Ananya Vajpeyi, Writer and Researcher South Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Chicago Discussion/Questions/Responses Tea Break Session 2 : The Censor As Film Critic 4:00 pm-5:45 pm The Censor and the Documentary Film Maker : MIFF and Vikalp (Campaign Against Censorship) - Sanjay Kak, Rahul Roy, Saba Dewan, Amar Kanwar (Independent and Documentary Filmmakers) Discussion/Questions/Responses Tea Break Session 3 : The Censor as Moralist 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Censorship Myths and Imagined Harms Shohini Ghosh, Filmmaker, Media Storm, Faculty, MCRC, JMI Homeless Everywhere : Taslima Nasrin's Response to the Banning of 'Dwikhondito' in West Bengal and Bangladesh Translated and Read by Debjani Sengupta, Delhi University Reading Taslima Nasrin Tanika Sarkar, Historian, Delhi University Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Sarai Shohini Ghosh, Mediastorm & MCRC, JMI _______________________________ Censorship has been a lot in the news lately. First it was the various (continuing) measures that the Films Division of the Governement of India adopted and is continuing to adopt to ensure a 'sanitized' Mumbai International Documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival (MIFF) in February 2004. Then it was the Government of West Bengal's decision to ban Taslima Nasrin's recent book "Dwikhondito" ("Split in Two"). Then, there were the attacks on academics in Pune by Shiv Sainiks and vandalization of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, also in Pune by the 'Sambhaji Brigade' , and most recently, an exhibition of paintings in Surat was attacked and the government of Madhya Pradesh has expressed its intention of removing what it calls 'offensive' books and periodicals from libraries. We have also had reputed publishing houses withdrawing books from circulation under threat. Behind this is a context where textbooks have been doctored, films have been banned, books prohibited, paintings not allowed to be exhibited in galleries and withdrawn from museum displays, performances disrupted and writers and journalists sent to prison for contempt of court, or disrespecting legislative priviledges Clearly, the freedom of expression, publication, thought and research in India is under severe stress at the moment. At times like this, it becomes all the more important to take a clear and categorical stand against censorship (no matter where it may come from)and in favour of free speech. It is with this in mind that we at Sarai have decided to hold a month long focus on censorship in February (in keeping with the forthcoming Sarai Reader's theme of 'Crisis/Media') and to celebrate the 14th of February as a day of Freedom from the Censor. _____________________________ The Focus on Censorship in February theme at Sarai will include film screenings that echo and support the efforts of Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) to initiate a parallel film festival 'Vikalp 2004' in Mumbai, featuring films rejected by the MIFF. CAC is an initiative founded mainly by documentary film makers as a response to the censoring of MIFF 2004 . Details of films to be screened is as follows: February 13, 2004, 4:30 pm NEW (IMPROVED) DELHI - Director's Cut (2003), 6 minutes Directed by Vani Subramanian 'Vikalp' Screening (in collaboration with the CAC) As the capital city of New Delhi sets out to 'feel good and look better', no space remains for the poor and their slums. A short work propelled by an acapella chorus welcomes you to "New (Improved) Delhi". AND SUNDER NAGRI (THE CITY BEAUTIFUL) (2003), 78 minutes Directed by Rahul Roy 'Vikalp' Screening (in collaboration with the CAC) Sunder Nagri (Beautiful City) is a small working class colony on the margins of India's capital city, Delhi. Most families residing here come from a community of weavers. The last ten years have seen a gradual disintegration of the handloom tradition of this community under the globalisation regime. The families have to cope with change as well as reinvent themselves to eke out a living. "The City Beautiful" is the story of two families struggling to make sense of a world, which keeps pushing them to the margins. Radha and Bal Krishan are at a critical point in their relationship. Bal Krishan is underemployed and constantly cheated. They are in disagreement about Radha going out to work. However, through all their ups and downs, they retain the ability to laugh. Shakuntla and Hira Lal hardly communicate. They live under one roof with their children but are locked in their own sense of personal tragedies. February 20, 2004, 4:30 pm TALES OF THE NIGHT FAIRIES (2002), 74 minutes Directed by Shohini Ghosh 'Vikalp' Screening (in collaboration with the CAC) Five sexworkers - four women and one man - along with the filmmaker/narrator embark on a journey of storytelling. "Tales of the Night Fairies" explores the power of collective organizing and resistance while reflecting upon contemporary debates around sexwork. The simultaneously expansive and labyrinthine city of Calcutta forms the backdrop for the personal and musical journeys of storytelling. The film attempts to represent the struggles and aspirations of thousands of sexworkers who constitute the DMSC (Durbar Mahila Samanyay Committee or the Durbar Women's Collaborative Committee) an initiative that emerged from the Shonagachi HIV/AIDS Intervention Project. A collective of men, women and transgendered sexworkers, DMSC demands decriminalization of adult sex work and the right to form a trade union. For further enquiried, contact Ranita Chatterjee The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 Tel: (+91) 11 23960040 (+91) 11 23942199, ext 307 Fax: (+91) 11 23943450 www.sarai.net The Newsletter of the Sarai Programme, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054, www.sarai.net Info: dak at sarai.net.To subscribe: send a blank email to newsletter-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. Directions to Sarai: We are ten minutes from Delhi University. Nearest bus stop: IP college or Exchange Stores See Calendar and Newsletter online: http://www.sarai.net/calendar/newsletter.htm -- -- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (Raqs Media Collective) Sarai Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054 Phone : 91 11 23942199 Ext 305 www.sarai.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From monica at sarai.net Fri Feb 13 10:18:32 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 10:18:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] BOP becoming the election hot issues Message-ID: Over the last month or so, the heat on the Back Office IT industries is rising. The American elections are going to make this a really hot issue. Here we are not talking about real economic figures but symbolic figures that can project fears of entangled, networked capitalism. It will be interesting to see how this anxiety gets reflected into our public discourse. Enclosed is todays news from the Indian Expresss. best M http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=41015 Kerry joins the chorus: I'll never 'export' jobs Blasts Bush advisor for saying outsourcing is a win-win equation T V PARASURAM WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 12 : Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry has lambasted a key economic advisor to President George W Bush for defending outsourcing of IT jobs to countries including India. Gregory Mankiw, Bush's Council of Economic Advisors' Chairman and noted Harvard economist, was attacked by the Speaker of the House of Representatives J Dennis Hastert and Senator Kerry for suggesting that outsourcing to India and other countries in which they have a comparative advantage is a ''win-win'' for both the exporter and importer. ''I understand that Mankiw is a brilliant economic theorist but his theory fails a basic test of real economics. We can'T have a healthy economy unless we have more jobs here in america, said Speaker Hastert, the Legislative Leader of the Republicans. Joining the Republican Speaker in attacking outsourcing, Senator Kerry said that if he becomes President, his economic policy would be ''not to export American jobs but to reward companies for creating and keeping jobs in America.'' In response to Hastert's remarks, Mankiw said in a statement: ''some of my recent comments on outsourcing have been misinterpreted. It is regrettable whenever anyone leaves a job. Some would respond to the recent challenges facing the economy by erecting trade barriers. History teaches that a retreat to economic isolationism would mean lower living standards for American workers and their families.'' ''At the same time, we have to acknowledge that any economic change, whether arising from trade or technology, can cause painful dislocations for some workers and their families. The goal of policy should be to help workers prepare for the global economy of the future,'' Mankiw said. Asked if Bush might fire Mankiw because of the views expressed by the speaker, White House press secretary Scott McClellan called the idea of sacking him ''laughable.'' ''Our economic team,'' said McClellan, ''is doing a great job helping the President work to strengthen our economy even more. The President is strongly committed to creating jobs here at home. Certainly, free and fair trade is important to strengthening our economy even more and expanding job growth here at home.'' Joe Lockhart, a Democratic party consultant who was press secretary to former President Bill Clinton, predicted that Bush's opponents will put a lot of money in advertising to draw attention to Mankiw's statement. ''I guarantee you,'' said Lockhart, 'this 'will become a central element of the economic debate.'' -(PTI) -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From naveid at rediffmail.com Fri Feb 13 00:05:18 2004 From: naveid at rediffmail.com (naveid pasha) Date: 12 Feb 2004 18:35:18 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Settlement at Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Message-ID: <20040212183518.10813.qmail@webmail7.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040212/607cb59a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- The settlement at Hazrat Nizamuddin is an organic settlement that has grown around the Mausoleum of a holy saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin. In 1274 AD, Hazrat Nizamuddin shifted base from Badauin to Delhi to set up a Khanqah in Gyazpur. Gyazpur was then a jungle situated on the banks of Sitari, a tributary of river Yamuna, away from the main city at Mehrauli. After he had set up his khanquah, a place where he meditated and taught his disciples, the settlement at Nizamuddin basti emerged. Over the years the settlement has become a hub of Sufi culture in the city. Every year, Urs is organised to commomerate the birth and death anniversaries of Hzt Nizamuddin and Hzt Amir Khusroah, his favourite disciple. The Urs attracts thousands of devotees from across the country. Apart from the annual celebrations the Dargah is visited daily by thousands of devotees. These devotees provide a source of livelihood to a large section of the people of this settlement. The way the durgah continues to provide a source of livelihood is the centre of our study. The built form has evolved as a result of influx of people to the durgah and the socio economic forces that dictate the design of the built form makes one understand the urban space, its ecology, culture and history. From basharatpeer at rediffmail.com Fri Feb 13 13:14:40 2004 From: basharatpeer at rediffmail.com (basharat peer) Date: 13 Feb 2004 07:44:40 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] First Posting:Shrinking Public Spaces in a City of Bunkers Message-ID: <20040213074440.11953.qmail@webmail9.rediffmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040213/5f0c194a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- First Posting Shrinking Public Spaces in a City of Bunkers Dear Friends, I am an independent Kashmiri journalist living in Sringar.Having grown up with the conflict I found myself thinking of ways in which it has changed both Kashmir and Kashmiris as a people.Here I attempt to share with you the story of my city:Srinagar. It houses torture chambers, graveyards and prisons. And the city and its residents are the prisoners of an unending war.Bunkers and armoured military vehicles have become a part of the landscape like the willows and the chinars. Throughout the conflict, Srinagar has physically expanded its horizons as new neighbourhoods spring on its outskirts. But the space accessible to an individual has been shrinking with every blast, every encounter. Be it an old fort, an ancient temple, a library or a mosque the reasons of security limit the movement; visible and invisible ‘no entry’ signs make various parts of the city alien to its residents. And in the accessible spaces like restaurants and parks an invisible gaze, an unseen ear eavesdrops. Voices lower their tones and bodies try to be invisible. Young couples find moments of romantic refuge in cramped cubicles of cyber cafes as the Khaki clad policemen establish moral codes of conduct on its streets. Srinagar does not seem a city anymore. I propose to explore this shrinking of public spaces in the backdrop of a conflict. How it affects the local traditions and how the people invent new ways of getting around these physical and mental barriers? What is lost and what is found in this process? I also attempt to discover the ways the older generation, which saw a pre-conflict Srinagar, perceive their relationship to what Srinagar has become. And try to find out how the youth who grew up looking at their city as a city of bunkers, look at the city’s pasts they inherited through the collective memory. I am exploring Srinagar on foot, in a car, on a local bus. Eat in its restaurants; surf in its cyber cafes; visit its colleges and libraries; loiter in its parks and visit its Sufi shrines, its Hindu temples and Buddhists stupas. And am trying to find out how they stand and how they are seen now. My methods are that of a participant observer and investigative journalist. I also intend to rely on historical research. I would be making audio recordings and intend to capture the images of the city on camera. For the obvious reasons of “security”, any kartographic efforts would not be possible, but will try to collect maps of Srinagar from various libraries and museums. It will be an effort to understand and explain Srinagar beyond the headlines and newspaper pictures- a resident’s verbal portrait of certain facets of his city. I would keep you posted and hope to hear from friends interested in this story. Best, Basharat Peer, Independent Journalist, Srinagar, Kashmir basharatpeer at rediffmail.com From cugambetta at yahoo.com Sat Feb 14 03:55:11 2004 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 14:25:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] 'exporting jobs' Message-ID: <20040213222511.54812.qmail@web12204.mail.yahoo.com> In response to Monica's posting... this is something I have been really fascinated with lately. I haven't heard this level of rhetoric over the "national economy" in the United States in years. I am including excerpts from 'Lou Dobbs Tonight,' a program on CNN, which I think discusses some of the debates happening in the media over the issue of "exporting jobs" (it makes it sounds so simple!). It has been a huge issue in the Democratic campaigns. I thought the first discussion was especially noteworthy, because Dobbs really lost his cool on TV and made an impassioned plea for a responsibility to the "national economy." As he puts it: "This is not just a market place. It's a nation. Right?" I think it is also significant that in debates on the rights of illegal immigrants, illegal immigrants are defended on the basis of their work for the national economy: they and other marginalized groups (even gays and lesbians!) are said to be equal because they are "hardworking Americans." Perhaps my memory is short, but I cannot remember this kind of appeal to the nation (and working FOR the nation) as a validation of rights! Thanks Ravikant/Shuddha for the WSF postings as well. There was little to nothing reported here in the United States. The WSF was inadequately covered in even some of the more popular alternative media like the radio program Democracy Now... it was strange, and unfortunate. -Curt ------- Transcript excerpts from �Lou Dobbs Tonight� (not in chronological order) ------ Aired February 5, 2004 - 18:00 ET Well my next guest here hosted a conference last month to help American companies shift those jobs overseas. It was a seminar to teach American corporate executives how to ship those jobs overseas. He says globalization will ultimately help us all. That offshore outsourcing is not to blame for the loss of jobs in this country. Now joined by Atul Vashistha. He says it's a misconception. And welcome. And how is it a misconception? ATUL VASHISTHA, CEO & FOUNDER NEOIT: Thanks, Lou. It's a misconception because if you look at what offshore outsourcing is doing for America it is actually helping American companies stay competitive. It is helping them lower the cost of products and services. And actually it is improving the buying power in nation. DOBBS: How does it -- I think I understand, if you will, the premise of what you are saying. But when we watch and as we document here, literally hundreds of thousands of jobs being shipped to cheap overseas labor markets, those jobs are replaced typically by salaries that are 30 percent lower and there is no migration up the value chain, it's down the value chain. So, how does that help America? VASHISTHA: There's no denying that, in the short term we have a problem. I think the industry, the government and the companies are still not doing enough. What I can tell you is that our clients are starting to do things to combat that. DOBBS: Like what? VASHISTHA: For example, some of the things our clients are doing, they are actually putting money into retraining. We cannot be competitive in this new global economy if our workers don't continue to update their skills, even if your are a software programmer. DOBBS: Let me ask you this, engineering, software programming, have unemployment rates, approaching double digits in this country. What in the world are you going to train them for? VASHISTHA: Lou, technology as you know is changing every year. DOBBS: I do, indeed. VASHISTHA: If four years ago you were doing HTML, or Web based programming, you need to do a lot of different things today, because that technology is old now. DOBBS: Right. VASHISTHA: I did my engineering degree and my MBA, I went back to Harvard last year to educate myself again. And I think that's something we absolutely have to do. DOBBS: That's boffo (ph). But let's talk about those hundreds of thousands of jobs -- people glibly talk about training. Men and women who have trained themselves in a variety of skills who have a variety of educational pursuits and degrees, I hear people start talking about training as if that's a panacea. What jobs should they train themselves for? We are shipping high value jobs overseas to India, to the Phillipines, to Ireland, to Poland, to Russia, for crying out loud. What in the world are we supposed to train them to do? Now, I understand the profit motive, as a matter of fact, no one is more pro business, pro American free enterprise than I am, but I'm also pro American worker. What in the world -- you talk about pain (ph), we're seeing evidence of it every day. VASHISTHA: But Lou, if we don't focus on our investment on training we can't just put up our borders and imagine that these job will stay. In fact, companies are going bankrupt because they are not taking advantage of these lower co-markets. DOBBS: Because somebody else is, is that right? VASHISTHA: Right, exactly. So there's... DOBBS: So what you end up is, a race to the bottom as it's been styled. Because if one company is go over to India to get a job, to pay a salary that is a tenth of what they would be paying in this country. They are forced to compete. Is not free trade. This is not comparative advantage, as envisioned by David Ricardo, this is the wholesale exportation of American wealth. VASHISTHA: Lou, the difference here is that this is a global economy. DOBBS: I understand that. But these are old saws (ph) -- globalization has been a fact since 1987. VASHISTHA: Right, Lou, take a look at what happened to the buying power in our country. It's significantly gone up. And I know in the last 2 years, 3 years... DOBBS: Consumption power in this country for the last three decades have declined over the past three years has actually fallen even more dramatically than that average over three decade. It is quite the inverse. VASHISTHA: Lou, you know, I'm sorry, I beg to differ. DOBBS: Please. VASHISTHA: If you take a look at the buying power of our country. Let's take a look at the last two decades. We created 22 million excess jobs than we're destroyed (ph) in this country. This is a Bureau of Labor Statistic numbers for the last two decades. DOBBS: We created 22 million jobs during the course of the Clinton administration, 1992 to 2000. VASHISTHA: Right. So we created surplus jobs. I'm talking about economy changed, we actually created more jobs than we lost. At the same time the buying power in this country... DOBBS: What sort of evident 22 million jobs. VASHISTHA: Right -- just so what is happening today is I think this is the next evolution in the global economy. DOBBS: That's wonderful. Great evolution, if you believe that the United States should be shipping its wealth, its jobs, standard of living and quality of life to third world countries where there are no regulations for environment, no regulations for labor, no standards that is a requirement here in this country. The logical extrapolation it seems to me, Atul, is that if we are going to compete fairly, with fair trade and a globalized market, it seems to me that India, the Phillipines, Mexico, a Central American nation should have the same standards, otherwise we're competing simply on the price of labor. VASHISTHA: Lou, I absolutely agree with you. In fact, if you look at the service industry which we participate in, these companies are paying higher average wages than the local counterparts. I mean so if you look at what is happening in India or China. DOBBS: You're saying American companies are page higher wages in other countries than native companies. VASHISTHA: American companies and the local companies that participate in this business. So companies like Infosys or Whipper (ph), or all these companies in India they are paying better wages than the average people get in that country. DOBBS: The average Indian company. VASHISTHA: Absolutely. DOBBS: But why in the world do ten million Americans who are unemployed in this country, give a damn? VASHISTHA: Well, Lou, here's why they give a damn, because if we don't do this, it we don't continue to innovate and let our companies be successful, we will lose more jobs. DOBBS: Wait a minute. You are not innovating. You are not being more efficient. You are talking about hiring cheaper labor. Those are only code words for cheap labor. McKenzie did a study, as you're aware of, in what is the bulk of the gain for American companies? VASHISTHA: Well, it's... DOBBS: All in labor savings. VASHISTHA: A bulk. DOBBS: The bulk, as in 70 percent of it. VASHISTHA: Right. Lou, what happens to the money that comes back? DOBBS: What money? VASHISTHA: The money that is being repatriated back to this country? The savings that happen. DOBBS: We should ship all our jobs then, because it sounds like a highly profitable enterprise. VASHISTHA: Lou, it's easy to take a look at this... (LAUGHTER) DOBBS: Atul, I understand your position. I understand the profit motive, but corporations have a stake in this country do they not? VASHISHTHA: I absolutely agree. DOBBS: And they have a stake in the community, in investing in their people. They have a responsibility, because they are the beneficiary of this national American economy. VASHISTHA: Lou, I absolutely agree with you. In fact, one of the things that has not happened yet is the industry, the associations and the companies have not come together to address the displaced workers. Now I can tell you, like I was telling you before, some of our companies are doing that. Apart from training... DOBBS: That's a wonderful paternal outlook. But what I would much prefer to hear business people, men and women in this country running corporation and folks like you trying to make a dollar, you have a responsibility to this national economy. This is not just a market place. It's a nation. Right? VASHISTHA: Absolutely. DOBBS: I would love to have you come back and talk some more, we're out of time. Will you come back? We'll have more discussion. VASHISTHA: Absolutely, Lou. Thank you. DOBBS: Atul, thank you very much. ------- Aired February 11, 2004 - 18:00 ET DOBBS: Good evening. Tonight, the White House is on the defensive, even before the Democratic Party has settled on a presidential nominee. Despite a firestorm of criticism, the administration today maintained its claim that the outsourcing of American jobs to cheap overseas labor market is good for the economy. As for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, both Democratic and Republican, they blasted the White House. And one Republican lawmaker tonight is calling for the president's chief economic adviser to resign. Peter Viles reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Capitol Hill, a new wave of anger at the Bush White House for its claim that outsourcing of jobs to cheap overseas labor markets is actually good for the American economy. SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: The economic report of the president signed by the president says that the export of American jobs is just fine, doesn't matter, no problem. In fact, it's a good thing. He is flat-out, dead wrong. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks to this president, America now has a new No. 1 export, jobs. VILES: Those Senate Democrats wrote to the president, asking him to repudiate those comments supporting outsourcing. Senator Hillary Clinton introduced legislation that would put the Senate on record opposing the outsourcing of American jobs. And, in the House, Republican Don Manzullo of Illinois called for the resignation of the man who set outsourcing is a -- quote -- "good thing," Gregory Mankiw, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers. REP. DON MANZULLO (R), ILLINOIS: Mankiw is talking something differently than what the president believes and what the president is doing. So, you can't have an inconsistency in sending that type of a message out to the people that are losing their jobs. So the best thing is for Mankiw to step aside very quietly and for -- to have one less economist give a theory as to why we don't have jobs in America. VILES: And in a House hearing, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was peppered with unusually aggressive questions and comments on outsourcing. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, to add insult to injury, Mr. Chairman, we have this outsourcing. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that we have exported our manufacturing jobs, now that we are exporting our high-tech jobs and our service jobs, what areas are left for us to devote our productivity toward? VILES: Greenspan, who is known for his political skills, generally dodged questions on outsourcing, saying it's the surge in productivity, not outsourcing, that is hurting job growth. (END VIDEOTAPE) VILES: And the White House today defended Mankiw, saying the calls for his resignation is -- quote -- "laughable," because the economic team he leads is -- quote -- "doing a great job." Lou, this is not just one aide to the president. The president signed this document and it's a very strong statement supporting outsourcing. DOBBS: And Scott McClellan is just simply wrong. It's not laughable, because a lot of critics on Capitol Hill are certainly not laughing, including the speaker of the House. Pete, thank you very much. The speaker of the House of Representatives doesn't think the administration's top economist is doing a great job at all. In fact, late today, Dennis Hastert blasted Gregory Mankiw's views on outsourcing American jobs and released a statement saying, quote -- "I understand that Mr. Mankiw is a brilliant economic theorist, but his theory fails a basic test of real economics. An economy suffers when jobs disappear." By the way, we've invited Gregory Mankiw, the chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, to join us for the last two nights here to talk about the issue of outsourcing. He has declined. Tonight, we want to assure him, the invitation remains open. Outrage over the White House's support of outsourcing American jobs to cheap overseas labor market is also coming from the Democratic presidential candidates. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They said that shipping jobs, American jobs, overseas is good for America. (BOOING) KERRY: And I -- I think you've answered the challenge. Let them tell that to a 45-year-old worker with three kids who doesn't have a job, who has seen the factory loss, who has seen their job gone, and who has nowhere to turn. SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are people in America, in one America, who are making a fortune by shipping the jobs of the other America someplace else. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP) DOBBS: Senators Kerry and Edwards making those comments, as they finished in first and second place, respectively, in the Tennessee and Virginia primaries. The wins give Senator Kerry now 516 delegates, nearly a quarter of those needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is second, with 182 delegates. Today, he went on the attack against Senator Kerry. Dean called him part of -- quote -- "the corrupt political culture of Washington" -- end quote -- and the lesser of two evils, as compared to President Bush. A spokesman for Senator Kerry called the Dean attack an act of desperation. And General Wesley Clark today ended his campaign, after finishing in third place in both primaries. General Clark promised to continue campaigning for Democratic causes during the election. Joining me now from Washington for the Republican view of the Democratic primary contest and the broader assault against President Bush and the White House is the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ed Gillespie. Good to have you with us. ED GILLESPIE, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Good to be with you, Lou. Thanks for having me on. DOBBS: This is a remarkable day, as the White House is under assault from several quarters, on the president's military service some 30 years ago as a member of the National Guard, on the issues of weapons of mass destruction, Iraq intelligence leading up -- intelligence on Iraq leading up to the war, on outsourcing. This White House, to this point, has been considered pretty savvy, Ed. They don't look too savvy. GILLESPIE: Well, look, Lou, the fact is that when you have people making charges against the president that are completely unfounded when you look at the facts -- for example, for the Clark campaign to say that the president is a deserter, desertion is a crime punishable by death in the military for military desertion. For the chairman of the Democratic Party to say the president was AWOL, which is a felony punishable by imprisonment, and they are just flat wrong, as was made clear again yesterday, when the pay stubs were produced. The president served honorably in the National Guard. National Guard service is honorable. It is military service. And the fact is that you can't just make things up. You know, these Democrats of entitled to their own opinion. Terry McAuliffe is entitled to his own opinion. But he is not entitled to his own facts. And the fact is that President Bush did serve honorably, as he had said. And it's wrong to suggest otherwise. When it comes to the issue of the jobs, look, we have got to create more jobs in our economy. And the president's policies are resulting in that. We saw 113,000 jobs added to payroll last month, a growth rate of 4 percent in the last quarter, 8.2 percent in the quarter before that. We're seeing gains in the stock market, which are pumping up our 401(k) and college funds and retirement funds. And the policies that Senator Kerry and other Democrats advocate of raising taxes on our economy are going to reverse those gains and are going to hinder job creation. And, in fact, having a high tax economy is only going to result in more jobs going overseas. And that's a mistake in policy. And the president is right and they are wrong. So we welcome this debate. DOBBS: Well, the debate now is focused on the outsourcing of those jobs, the exporting of those jobs, to cheap overseas labor markets. My goodness, the chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers endorsing the idea -- the document has the president's signature on it, Ed. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House, criticizing him, Congressman Manzullo calling for his resignation. The Democratic candidates, one of whom, most likely, Senator Kerry, to represent the Democratic Party, attacking the president on these issues. What in the world is going on here? GILLESPIE: Well, Lou, I haven't seen this report. I have seen the news accounts of it. And all I know is this, that, if we're going to create jobs in this economy, the president's six-point plan for job creation is the way to do it. He's vigorously out there every day working to make sure every American who wants a job can find a job. And his policies are the ones that are going to continue to foster economic recovery in this country. And raising taxes and increasing regulation and allowing for these lawsuits that drive up costs of goods and services and close down doctor's offices and to engage in the kinds of policies or to support the kind of policies that the Democrats propose are going to result in more job loss, not more job creation. I guarantee it. DOBBS: Well, Ed, let me ask you, as the chairman of the RNC, the document signed by the president, written by the president's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, saying -- quote, unquote -- "The basic economic forces behind the transactions are the same," that is, exporting U.S. jobs to overseas cheap labor markets. They are the same. "When a good or service is provided more cheaply abroad, it makes sense to import it than to provide it domestically." We have this issue. We have the issue of free trade. We have a half-trillion dollar current account deficit. These facts are representative of pain in middle America. Hardworking men and women in this country are getting hurt. What does the Republican National Committee want to say about that? GILLESPIE: Well, what I want to say is -- and I'm not an economist. I was lucky to get my way out of college, let alone go to any kind of graduate school. But I do understand the notion of competitive advantage. And, look, that's fine as long as we are creating high-paying jobs in our economy. And the fact is that we are seeing now economic growth that is going to create -- and we are seeing the creation of high-paying jobs in our economy. That's the answer, to make sure that we're doing all we can to foster this economic growth, to make sure that every American who wants a job can have a job, and, at the same time, that we're doing what we need to do to keep the markets up and rising, as we have seen for the first time since 1999, because that results in -- look, Lou, I have got three children. We put our money into a college fund every month. And it's been going up as a result of the president's policies. It's not the 85 bucks a month we put in there every month. It's the fact that the market has grown as a result of the dividend tax relief, the capital gains tax relief, the lower rates in general, and the spurred investment that's resulted from those policies. Reversing those policies would be a critical mistake. It would not benefit middle America at all. In fact, it would punish middle Americans. DOBBS: Ed Gillespie, we thank you very much for being with us. GILLESPIE: Thank you, Lou. Appreciate it. ---------- Aired January 27, 2004 - 18:00 ET (COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: As we have reported extensively on this show and continue to do, high-quality American jobs are being shipped to cheap overseas labor markets at a staggering rate. Tonight, in our special report, "Exporting America," a disturbing report on one industry that's turning to cheap foreign labor and what that decision could end up costing American citizens. Kitty Pilgrim reports on the exportation of the legal profession. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, it was manual labor, then service jobs. Now it's legal work being shipped overseas to cut costs. JOHN MCCARTHY, FORRESTER RESEARCH: You're not going to see lawyers, you know, using video-conferencing to argue a case from India in a courtroom in the United States. But there are the back-office- type operations, the research-intensive tasks. PILGRIM: Market research firm Forrester Research predicts, in the next 11 years, some 8 percent of law jobs will shift to low-cost countries. Paralegal work and work done by junior lawyers is particularly vulnerable to offshoring. Experts say large legal firms, who pay young associates high salaries, are looking to cut costs. DAVID WILKINS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: The more work that is taken away from them, either by being given to paralegals or sending it offshore to contract professionals in places like India, the less opportunity there will be for young lawyers to be trained. PILGRIM: Richard Maltz, active in the legal profession, says that safeguards have to be put in place. RICHARD MALTZ, ASSN. OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK: The quality of the work has to be supervised. You have to make sure that nonlawyers aren't performing legal work. And also very important for lawyers is confidentiality. PILGRIM: Legal research and publishing has already discovered the cost-cutting benefits. This young woman, who asked us to disguise her appearance and voice, is a lawyer for West. West is a legal information company based in Minnesota and has a pilot program where some work is done in India. She says people in the office are concerned. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're trying to really cut costs, you know. How is this going to affect us? Is this going to be something that, later on down the line, they're going to be looking to cut our jobs, too? PILGRIM: She wonders, with this trend, who will be willing to invest time and tuition to earn a legal degree? (END VIDEOTAPE) PILGRIM: Now, some firms get around the issue by saying that foreign legal teams are supervised by U.S.-based lawyers. Experts say, legal clients, for now, are just looking at the reduced fees they are charged -- Lou. DOBBS: The total number of jobs that are projected to be lost? PILGRIM: It will be 8 percent by 2015. DOBBS: Of lawyers. PILGRIM: Eight percent of all legal jobs -- yes, by Forrester, which is a shocking number. DOBBS: Well, not as shocking as manufacturing and a number of other jobs, high-value jobs, in this country. Kitty, thank you very much. Coming up next here, there is still time to vote in the nation's first primary. We'll be heading back to New Hampshire. We'll be talking with three of the country's top political journalists. And some Republicans have now banded together against President Bush's immigration proposal. And prosecutors today, in the first day of the Martha Stewart trial, say she lied. The defense says it's all speculation. We'll have the latest on the case and a great deal more. Please stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) ------- Aired February 4, 2004 - 18:00 ET DOBBS: My first guest tonight is among those at the forefront of the battle to keep the jobs of hardworking Americans in this country. She's the governor of the state of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm. The governor was elected in 2002. She is the first female governor in the state's 166-year history. Governor Granholm joins us tonight from East Lansing, Michigan. Good to have you with us. GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: Thank you. DOBBS: The battle to keep jobs in this country, what have you been able to do that's effective in stopping the exporting of these American jobs? GRANHOLM: Yes, I mean, as a governor, it's difficult to impact international trade policy. We hear all the time that the states have got to be a low-cost environment. And we have done everything we possibly can to achieve that. We've tried to clear out regulatory hurdles, tried to create one-stop shops for permitting, reduce permitting time. We have worked with the unions to achieve low-cost -- lower-cost labor. I'll give you an example of this, Lou, is in Greenville, Michigan, a couple weeks ago, a firm called Electrolux, which just decided to move to Mexico, had 2,700 jobs at stake in a town of 8,000 people. And we went to them and offered them zero taxes for 20 years, an entirely new plant, huge labor concessions to the tune of $32 million a year. And it was not enough to compete with a country paying $1.57 an hour. How do we as governors and as an entire country compete with companies that are paying a fraction of our minimum wage? It is a very difficult question. And this is why, in this election year, I think it's very important to pose the question on both sides of the aisle to these candidates and say, what are you going to do to stand up to make this playing field for our American businesses and jobs? DOBBS: Well, obviously, Governor, it's becoming increasingly an important issue in this campaign. It has not moved to the forefront, I think you and I would agree. But at least Senator John Kerry, whom I know you support in the race for the Democratic Party nomination, General Clark, General Wesley Clark, Senator John Edwards, and certainly Dennis Kucinich have all focused on these issues, at least at the margin. What do you think, from your perspective in the state of Michigan, where you have lost about 20 percent of the manufacturing jobs over the course of, what, the last three to four years... GRANHOLM: Three years. DOBBS: What do you think can be done? GRANHOLM: We have lost about 300,000 jobs. And 170,000 of them are in the manufacturing sector. What we need to do is several things. In fact, I pulled together labor and business manufacturers and we came up with a consensus agenda. Clearly, we've got to make sure that we go after those international trade policies that the United States has been lax on, for example, allowing the manipulation of currency, whether it's in China or Japan, for example, protecting our companies intellectual property when they do trade abroad, for example, going after the nontariff trade barriers that have been placed up by other countries. (CROSSTALK) DOBBS: Governor, you just said the dirty word. You said tariff. You are going to be criticized as a dirty protectionist, a retrograde. (CROSSTALK) GRANHOLM: No, no, what I said was, we should go after other countries who are placing nontariff barriers in the way of our exports. So I'm not interested in being a protectionist, but I am interested in leveling this playing field. And one of the ways we have to do this is to sign trade agreements that have core labor and environmental standards and enforceable protections in them. I think, frankly, any member of Congress that votes in favor of another trade agreement that does not level the playing field, that does not require core and enforceable environmental and labor standards is really in jeopardy of losing their election. This has become such a huge issue in Michigan and in other manufacturing states, that this election, this presidential election, I hope, and with the help of shows like yours, we will really bring it to the forefront. DOBBS: Oh, Governor, there are no shows like ours. There are no states like Michigan. The fact is... GRANHOLM: That's true. (LAUGHTER) GRANHOLM: Excellent show and an excellent state. (LAUGHTER) DOBBS: Governor, the fact is that, this weekend, you have a primary, an important primary, what, 128 delegates at stake. GRANHOLM: Yes. DOBBS: And I know you support John Kerry. Give us your best sense as to how important this issue will be in determining the outcome of that primary election? GRANHOLM: Oh, this is the No. 1 issue in our state. And it's not the economy, stupid. It's the jobs, stupid. And as you alluded to in the segment prior to this, this has not been a jobless recovery. It's been a job-loss recovery in Michigan. And that is not acceptable. This is why this is the No. 1 issue here. And for us, we need a president who is going to stand up for Michigan jobs and one that is likely to be elected, a candidate that is likely to be elected. John Kerry has a very good manufacturing platform. And he will help the automotive industry as well, which, of course, is our main industry. DOBBS: I understand. And I think it's important that we point out, so does General Wesley Clark, Senator John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich. GRANHOLM: Yes. There's a number of good platforms. You are right. And the Democrats, many of them, have very good manufacturing platforms. John Kerry just happens to have the one that is the longest. I'm aware that he has had his longer than any of the others and a specific one relative to autos. (CROSSTALK) DOBBS: Governor, we thank you very much for being with us here tonight. Come back soon. GRANHOLM: Thank you. You bet. DOBBS: That brings us to the subject of tonight's poll. The question: How confident are you that either political party will work effectively in your best interest on this issue, very, somewhat, a little, or not at all? Cast your vote, please, at CNN.com/Lou. We'll have results for you later in the broadcast. Coming up next, explosive testimony today from the government's star witness in the trial of Martha Stewart. We'll have a live report for you from Lower Manhattan. And two highly anticipated rulings on gay marriage in this country -- those stories and a great deal more just ahead. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Sat Feb 14 12:00:50 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 06:30:50 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] British English Literature exhibition & tribute to Nissim Ezekiel Message-ID: <20040214063050.92370.qmail@web8204.mail.in.yahoo.com> You are invited to a British English literature exhibition in Wilson College on the 13th of Feb in the college hall from 10am onwards....apart from the walk thru exhibition there shall be play enactments,poetry recitations& performance poetry and films/documentaries screened. The theme of the exhibition is British English Literature through the ages beginning from 16th century till present day...It isn't a very detailed exhibition and one always ends up not doing justice...but an effort non-the-less. Everyone is free to visit... Okay the second part is...on the 17th of Feb sometime in the evening (i shall fill in the exact details later) Wilson college students from the English Department are paying a tribute to the late poet Nissim Ezekiel.(he being an alumni of the institute)...the event shall feature poetry recitation as well as performance poetry. this shall be held around the college-fountain area. everyone is free to drop in... From: Valay G ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From coolzanny at hotmail.com Mon Feb 16 22:09:53 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:09:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] How human beings communicate ... in trains - Part I - Expose Message-ID: How human beings communicate ... in trains It is very interesting to observe how ladies communicate in trains. They do not always have the best mechanisms to communicate. And they do sometimes have very good mechanisms to communicate. Some women can be quite terrible and horrible in communicating with each other, especially in a situation of an argument where tensions normally soar very high. What happens when an argument takes place in the train? When an argument takes place, suddenly, the space in the train loses its character of anonymity and the space shrinks! When I say space shrinks, it means that suddenly, all eyes turn towards the site of the argument/fight and the ladies involved become very visible. A while ago, they were anonymous; but now, they are prominent figures and all attention is focused on them. Sometimes even though the eyes do not turn to the parties involved in the fight the women involved (particularly the defeated woman) feel watched. For them, the space in the train shrinks. The underlying, fundamental issue in an argument/fight in the train is about victory, even if this victory is false. It is fundamentally and literally about �who has the last word???� And the person who has the last word is the hero (in the case of ladies compartment, let�s say heroine!) of the day. Ladies can fight, and they can fight really hard and tough. Ego is extremely important for them (not that this is not the case among men). But in a crowd, an argument/fight �reveals� the person who is at fault. In trains, most fights end up being �exposes� and to be exposed in a crowd is the most embarrassing experience. The �exposes� can very violent, very, very confrontational. Then, it becomes a matter of pride for the female who is �exposed� and to save her pride, she would do anything (as Meat Loaf had sung, �And I would do anything for love, but I won�t do that�, in the train I sing �And, I would do anything for EGO, and I WILL DO THAT!). In most situations, women want to save their pride. There are few instances of situations in the ladies compartment where I have seen women at fault in the argument admitting that they were in fact on the erring side. Here is where I feel that a lot of us, men and women, are not equipped with the best mechanisms to deal with such situations and ourselves. The hurt, anger, agitation and spite of the argument stays even after the event is over. The defeated woman wants to justify herself because she cannot tolerate the exposure. The victorious woman walks out, feeling more powerful (in a lot of cases). And each of these emotions stays with us because in our environments and in our times, we have not really learnt how to empty ourselves. We have become conditioned to carry the past with us, and this past includes years and months of anger, agitation, vengeance and what not! (This is what I have begun calling trash can [pun intended seriously!!!].) Our memories are unfortunately quite strong for such instances. I hate exposure too. In fact, I would die of shame if I were to be exposed at any point in the ladies compartment. When I feel exposed, I literally feel naked. I feel that my clothes have been taken off and everyone is able to see me naked. How horrible I feel in such situations!!! I hate myself and everybody around me. But then, I ask myself, what prevents me from being honest with myself? Why cannot I confront myself? Why am I wearing so many layers of pretensions? What is it in myself, and in my surroundings that makes me so? I am still at a loss to understand what kind of spaces do we need where we can communicate honestly first with ourselves, and secondly, with others around us. Why do we have to struggle to give so many explanations? I share with you some experiences from my train journeys, and hey wait, there is lots more to say about human communication, so the words do not just stop here!!! Exposes in the Trains The Chikoos Are Not Sweet 22/12/2004 Kurla to Byculla � 6:00 PM in the evening This is a pleasant journey because I am traveling against the traffic. It is 6:00 PM in the evening. This is the time when most of the crowd moves in the opposite direction, towards the suburbs. I got into a train which was quite comfortable. I acquired a seat for myself. There was a guy selling handkerchiefs in the compartment. But, I guess no one was interested in buying handkerchiefs at that hour of the day. As the train moved from Dadar, a eunuch entered the train. Because it was only one eunuch (and it seemed quite decent with no intentions to harass anyone), no one seemed particularly disturbed by its presence. I saw it moving here and there; it looked very confused. (I call eunuchs �it� because I don�t know whether to call them he or she.) It brushed very closely past a middle-aged Maharashtrian lady (like a close shave!), touching her slightly. She made a face, like as if something dirty had touched her. In Marathi, I would call the expression on her face as that of �ghruna� (disgust!). The eunuch kept moving around it finally parked itself by the door, opposite to where I was sitting. A young rural female vendor was selling chikoos. They smelled very sweet. In the evening times, vendors selling eatables are very visible in the train. Many tired (ladies�) souls buy stuff to munch on their way back home. There was a lady sitting by the seat next to mine. She looked a bit ill. She had neatly packed herself up in woolens and she wearing socks! She stared at the chikoos. The vendor selling them asked her, �Aanth rupaiye ka aanth. Lene ka hai kya?� (Eight rupees for eight. Want to buy?) This lady perhaps did not really want to buy the chikoos. But she was thinking to herself: �If I can gets eight pieces of the fruit for five bucks, then it wouldn�t be a bad buy even if I don�t really need them!� She started examining the chikoos. In the meanwhile, the vendor made one sale. The vendor asked the lady, �Lene ka hai kya?� (Wanna buy?) The lady said, �They don�t look so sweet. How about giving me 8 pieces for five rupees?� The vendor was a bit irritated. She said, �Kya bolti hai re?!?! Yeh asli maal hai. Le, ek piece kha ke dekh,� (What are you saying!?!? This is genuinely good stuff. Here, eat a piece and then tell me!) saying this, the vendor dexterously cut a piece of the chikoo and gave it to the lady to eat. Now, the lady was a bit embarrassed. The vendor extended the cut piece to the lady. The lady tasted. She really did not want to buy the chikoos, now not only because she did not need them, but also because her pride had been hurt! She tasted the chikoo and said, �It is not all that sweet!� The eunuch was watching all this drama. It said to the lady, �Kya dekhti hai re?� (What are you seeing?) The lady thought that the eunuch was asking her why she was staring at it when in fact she was NOT staring at it. She responded angrily, �Kya kya dekhti?� (What, what are you seeing?) The eunuch calmly replied, �Are you examining whether the chikoos are sweet? What exactly are you doing?� The lady replied, �They are not that sweet.� The vendor was thoroughly irritated by this time. She said angrily, �The chikoos are sweet. This lady is only fibbing!� Now, the lady was even more embarrassed. Her pride was being stabbed to death!!! She defended herself and said, �I am sick. I don�t have flavour in my mouth.� �Kya bolti hai (what are you saying),� the vendor said to the lady. She turned around to the eunuch and told it, �Le, tu ek piece khake dekh, (here, you take a piece and eat and tell me)�, saying this the vendor cut a piece and handed it to the eunuch. The eunuch tasted the chikoo and said, �Sahi hai! Kya mitha hai! Sahi hai re! � (Truly, this is genuine stuff. It�s really sweet!) Sure enough, the fruit was sweet! The vendor moved to the middle section of our big ladies compartment (which is divided into three sections with three doors) and shouted loud for the lady to hear, �You did not want to buy and hence you created such a fuss!� Her words were definitely truer than truth. Now, the lady felt totally exposed. She tried to defend herself before us (about six ladies were sitting scattered around her), and she said, �No, no! They were really not sweet.� The vendor did not care for those words, and for the lady, this only added further to her anger and humiliation. The eunuch got off at the next station. I moved towards the door. Four ladies joined me at the door as all of us prepared to get off at Byculla. The ladies were talking among themselves when a fast train came speeding on the parallel track. Seeing the train, the ladies squealed in delight, �See, this fast train caught up with us! So nice!� As I got off the train, I began to think to myself about the squealing. Time, you govern us so much here, in Mumbai. I can hate you, or I can love you, but I cannot, cannot ignore you! [I dedicate this incident to the hurt lady in the train. I hope time will heal her wounds.] Exposes in the Trains �Please Push� 21/01/2004 VT to Byculla � 7:30 PM in the evening Today was the last day of the World Social Forum. In the next half an hour, there would have been a deluge of people (from WSF) in the trains, wanting to get back at home. Thankfully, I reached home before this deluge took over the train. I had caught the train at its starting point i.e. VT. Hush! After a hard day of traveling through the city in the trains, I was finally making my way back home and great god, I found a seat for myself. I remember god in times of absolute need and distress. When I desperately need a seat in a terribly jammed and crowded ladies compartment, I call on god. Else, I don�t have very much interest in him. (Is it because I am a feminist!?!?!) When I entered the train, I parked myself besides two ladies who were sitting cozily. I thought they were decent companions for such a short journey. A fashionable workingwoman came and sat before me. A little girl was selling lipstick pencils. The fashionable lady was quite interested in buying some lipstick pencils and she was engrossed in examining the colours and the tones, totally oblivious of all that was happening around her. A late forties aged Christian lady came and sat next to me. Now, we were four women in a seat meant for three. This is nothing novel in the train. In fact, if ladies find that only three ladies are seated on the seat (which is actually meant for three), they will come and tap the shoulder of the lady sitting on the outside and gesture, �Please shift/push in.� It is almost like if three women are sitting on the seat for three and it is a crowded train, then this is an absolute waste of space. The women can move their butts, squeeze in a bit, and share the privilege of the seat with another lesser mortal. In this situation, the fourth person asking for space is a legitimate right, even if the others don�t like the fact of accommodating the fourth person and are making faces at the fourth person. So, the Christian woman came and sat next to me. When she sat next to me, she asked me to push a bit further in so that she would not have to sit on one butt through her journey. I gestured to the ladies sitting next to me to move a bit because this fourth lady wants some space to sit. The lady sitting right inside, at the corner looked angrily at the Christian woman and said, �Can�t you see? There is no place to move in!� The Christian lady felt embarrassed and said in retaliation, �Itna to jagah hai. Phir andar kyun nahi jaati, (There is so much space. Then why are you not moving inside?)� and she began muttering to herself. In the meanwhile, the fashionable woman sitting opposite me had bought one piece of lipstick pencil and she was now engaged in buying black colour nail polish from the little girl. An old woman selling oranges was screaming at top of her voice. She was trying hard to sell her oranges. I said to the Christian woman calmly, �Don�t worry. I am going to get off at Byculla and then you can occupy my seat.� The Christian woman felt a bit embarrassed. She said to me, �Actually a relative of my friend has died and I am going to the funeral.� I felt this was pointless information for me. I had nothing to do with her background/context. Why was she giving me an explanation? The lady selling oranges screamt and asked the fashionable lady, �Chaihiye kya? (Want?)� The fashionable lady was irritated. She said, �No!� She screamt and asked the Christian woman, �Why don�t you answer?� The Christian woman said, �Arre, what is it? I don�t want your oranges!� I thought the orange selling woman was just irritating the Christian woman and having fun in the chaos. She was also trying to get attention for her fruit to sell! On the other three-seater seat next to ours, a space got empty and the Christian woman quickly jumped to that, more comfortable seat. The corner lady kept saying loudly, �Where was I to push? Out of the train or out of the window?� She was agitating the Christian woman. The Christian woman was provoked. She said to the people around, �What the hell! I just asked her to push and she made such a fuss.� Then, she said to the corner lady, �This is not the first time I am traveling in trains. I have traveled before. You must be a novice who does not know how to travel.� The corner lady turned a deaf ear (literally!) to this remark. She said, waving a whiff of air, �Let her speak what she wants. She thinks that she knows it all!� The Christian lady kept muttering and muttering, angrily. Then I don�t know what happened. I got off at Byculla. [This narrative is dedicated to the Christian woman and the corner lady. I hope they too do not remember what happened between them.] _________________________________________________________________ Easiest Money Transfer to India . Send Money To 6000 Indian Towns. http://go.msnserver.com/IN/42198.asp Easiest Way To Send Money Home! From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Feb 18 15:30:50 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:00:50 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Tehelka: up and running Message-ID: <20040218100050.54572.qmail@web8207.mail.in.yahoo.com> Tehelka: up and running The phoenix has risen from the ashes, and the response so far, Tarun Tejpal tells Shivam Vij, has been phenomenal. But will the Times of India-consuming masses read Tehelka? Click here to read the full story: http://www.thehoot.org/story.asp?storyid=Web210214166159Hoot74942%20PM1078&pn=1 ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html From lehar_hind at yahoo.com Wed Feb 18 23:59:40 2004 From: lehar_hind at yahoo.com (Lehar ..) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:29:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: [asiapeace] Partition Study/Visit to India In-Reply-To: <007201c3f4b2$f14a72d0$88cbe351@xp2> Message-ID: <20040218182940.47082.qmail@web20908.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Dr Ahmed I am ccing this message to the Sarai list( which has on it filmakers and academics - & scholars from CSDS, which has documented partition under the guidance of Dr Ashish Nandy), to Tayyaba Jafri and Dr Savyasaachi, Reader in Sociology at Jamia Millia Islamia who has worked extensively in The Punjab and this area. Thanks Lehar. wrote: > Dear All, > > This is only to inform you that I will be visiting > India between 7 March > and 1 April. Last year I visited Pakistan and > collected oral histories > from a cross section of people who remember the > events of 1947. Now, I > will do the same in India. I am writing a book on > 1947 with Lahore and > possibly Amritsar being studied in some depth. I > might also try other > districts but that will depend on the type of > interviews I obtain. > > I REQUEST OUR INDIAN MEMBERS OF ASIAPEACE WHO HAVE > RELATIVES IN DELHI OR > EAST PUNJAB TO HELP ME WITH CONTACTS OF POSSIBLE > INTERVIEWS. The > interviewees should preferably be 70 and above. > > I am trying to put together the events of 1947 as > accurately as > possible. Old newspaper files, government documents > and interviews are > the main sources for understanding 1947. > > Best, > > Ishtiaq Ahmed > Moderator Asiapeace - An electronic discussion group > Homepage: > > q_ahmed.htm> > http://www.statsvet.su.se/stv_hemsida/statsvetenskap_04/hemsidor/ishtiaq > _ahmed.htm > www.asiapeace.org > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asiapeace > Affiliate of Association for Communal Harmony in > Asia (ACHA). > > Associate Professor > Department of Political Science > Stockholm University > 106 91 Stockholm > SWEDEN. > Ishtiaq.Ahmed at statsvet.su.se > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools From grade at del6.vsnl.net.in Tue Feb 17 11:11:53 2004 From: grade at del6.vsnl.net.in (Rakesh) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 11:11:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Piece on Gujarat Message-ID: <005c01c3f518$c4c26400$980110ac@net> ----- Original Message ----- From: Rakesh To: newsletter at sarai.net Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 11:01 AM Subject: Piece on Gujarat THE CASE OF EXHUMATIONS AND SALTED BODIES: THE NEED FOR IMPARTIAL INVETIGATIONS Sprinkling of salt on bodies to ensure early disintegration, recovery of human remains on exhumation from collective graves reminiscent of Nazi Germany, is the scenario unfolding in the Bilkis Bano case, the solitary case that the Apex Court has thought fit to direct the CBI to investigate. The order by Head Constable Nalpat Singh to the panch witnesses to buy salt to decompose bodies and the impending arrest of the Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramon Bhagora are illustrative of the nature and extent of cover-up by the Gujarat Police. However, it is no one's case that these policemen had any personal 'animus' in the matter. The probable involvement of Jaswant Bhabhor, the then state civil supplies minister is a pointer towards the reasons which motivated the Gujarat Police personnel to, instead of collecting evidence of grave crimes like murder and rape as per their bounden duty, destroy, hide and tamper with crucial evidence to protect the perpetrators. The substantive evidence and findings literally 'unearthed' in this single case, which had been 'closed' by the police, points to the urgent necessity of independent investigation into the scores of other incidents of murder, rape and burnings which occurred at the time in Gujarat. Infact, in the tempo-burning Limadya Chokdi case in Panchmahals district, sixty-seven persons were killed and burnt in front of witnesses, yet the official death count stands at eight. The rest are supposedly 'missing' with their next-of-kin not even eligible for the compensation given to the dead. It is well nigh impossible to cause a human body to vanish totally as evidence remains even after burning. However, no effort was made to collect bone fragments and other remains for DNA testing to identify and determine the number of the dead. Sardarpura with thirty-three persons killed in a single attack, Anjanwa with eleven women and children including three babies killed and thrown in a well, little Noorjahan and Arif with their 'chacha' from Visnagar, the only survivors and eye-witnesses to the murder of their parents and family members, a concrete list of specific incidents is available. Nothing prevents the 'feel-good' Central Government or the Gujarat Government from ordering an impartial investigation, except perhaps the fear of involvement of their party personnel in the crimes. Given the rich 'dividends' from the investigation into the Bilkis case, it is likely that investigation into the other incidents would establish the larger conspiracy which lead to the massive violence, subsequent cover-up and such a total failure of the rule of law. Bilkis herself was raped, her mother, sisters and aunt raped and killed indicating the centrality of sexual violence in the pogrom against Muslims. A recent report, 'Threatened Existence: A Feminist Analysis of the Genocidal Project in Gujarat' by the International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, brings out clearly that the sexual assaults were not a case of random, impulsive or isolated incidents. Drawing parallels with Nazi propaganda about Jews as rapists of Aryan girls, the report establishes the conscious strategy to use mass rapes and sexual assault of Muslim women to subjugate and humiliate the community. Rakesh Shukla (Edited version IE February 13) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040217/aca5d2a3/attachment.html From zest_india at yahoo.co.in Wed Feb 18 15:30:50 2004 From: zest_india at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?Shivam=20Vij?=) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:00:50 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Tehelka: up and running Message-ID: <20040218100050.54572.qmail@web8207.mail.in.yahoo.com> Tehelka: up and running The phoenix has risen from the ashes, and the response so far, Tarun Tejpal tells Shivam Vij, has been phenomenal. But will the Times of India-consuming masses read Tehelka? Click here to read the full story: http://www.thehoot.org/story.asp?storyid=Web210214166159Hoot74942%20PM1078&pn=1 ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mklayman at leonardo.info Wed Feb 18 05:27:00 2004 From: mklayman at leonardo.info (Melinda Klayman) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 15:57:00 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Leonardo Sessions at CAA Message-ID: This week's College Art Association Annual Conference in Seattle will feature two sessions by Leonardo/ISAST: On Wednesday, February 18, 2004, 4:00-5:30pm, Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology will be holding an affiliated society panel discussion entitled: "Art, Science, and Technology: Problems and Issues Facing an Emerging Interdisciplinary Field" The panelists will be: Sheila Pinkel, Pomona College Art Julio Bermúdez, University of Utah Nina Czegledy Roger Malina, Leonardo Chair Mark Resch, Onomy Labs On Saturday, February 21, 12:30-2:00pm, we will be holding a Leonardo/ISAST town hall meeting, with Leonardo staff and board members present to answer questions and take note of pressing issues in the community. Everyone should feel free to voice their concerns and receive feedback from the Art/Science/Technology community at this meeting. Please join us for these stimulating discussions in Seattle. Both sessions will take place at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, 800 Convention Place, in downtown Seattle. Both of these sessions are free and open to the public. From mklayman at leonardo.info Wed Feb 18 05:27:00 2004 From: mklayman at leonardo.info (Melinda Klayman) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 15:57:00 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Leonardo Sessions at CAA Message-ID: This week's College Art Association Annual Conference in Seattle will feature two sessions by Leonardo/ISAST: On Wednesday, February 18, 2004, 4:00-5:30pm, Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology will be holding an affiliated society panel discussion entitled: "Art, Science, and Technology: Problems and Issues Facing an Emerging Interdisciplinary Field" The panelists will be: Sheila Pinkel, Pomona College Art Julio Bermúdez, University of Utah Nina Czegledy Roger Malina, Leonardo Chair Mark Resch, Onomy Labs On Saturday, February 21, 12:30-2:00pm, we will be holding a Leonardo/ISAST town hall meeting, with Leonardo staff and board members present to answer questions and take note of pressing issues in the community. Everyone should feel free to voice their concerns and receive feedback from the Art/Science/Technology community at this meeting. Please join us for these stimulating discussions in Seattle. Both sessions will take place at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, 800 Convention Place, in downtown Seattle. Both of these sessions are free and open to the public. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From competition at viper.ch Mon Feb 16 22:10:09 2004 From: competition at viper.ch (VIPER Basel Competition) Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:40:09 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] VIPER Basel | Competition 2004 - Call for entries Message-ID: Please distribute to anyone who might be interested - Thank you. ............................................... VIPER Basel | Competition 2004 ............................................... Call for entries ............................................... VIPER Basel | International Festival for Film Video and New Media 18 - 22 November 2004 ............................................... IMPORTANT DATES Submission: April 15, 2004 (date of the official postal stamp) Works and projects which are not ready by the closing date for entries can be entered in the form of indicative documentation material or as a concept description. Acceptance decision: July 2004 Master Setting due: October 1, 2004 Festival dates: November 18 - 22, 2004 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Entry is free of charge. Regulations, registration form, and further information can be downloaded from http://www.viper.ch/ ............................................... VIPER Basel is one of the major European film, video and new media festivals. It offers a highly-regarded platform for presenting innovative works and projects, attracting Swiss and international filmmakers and producers, artists, curators, critics and purveyors of ideas from the media, research and politics. In addition, VIPER Basel's International Forum provides annually an up-to-date podium for presenting and discussing forward-looking positions, models and scenarios - a Think-and-Do-Tank for 21st century media, culture and society. ............................................... VIPER Basel | Competition 2004 The VIPER Basel | Competition 2004 is an international competition. An independent jury will nominate and award the works and projects submitted in the categories [imagination | processing | transposition]. [Imagination] This category is open to works and projects dealing with traditional and future forms of the moving image. Possible submissions include analogue and digital films/videos, experimental films (including sound/video), 2D and 3D animations, extended forms of traditional cinema, linear and non-linear narrative image sequences, mobile and innovative screen formats, split- and/or multiple-screen arrangements. They may be complemented by modes of individual and collective interaction if wished. [Processing] This category is open to works and projects that are characterised by processes and live elements. Installations or systems can be submitted that are devised to involve a local situation and/or an audience actively, thus emphasising the ability to interact and improvise when handling digital information systems. This includes performances, immersive and hybrid (real/virtual) environments, 'play- and social software' applications, 'smart objects', intelligent and ambient systems as well as interface and interaction design. [Transposition] This category is open to works and projects emphasising acting and communicating within technologically defined networks. Applications, prototypes and concepts can be submitted that use or specifically apply network architecture that functions independently of time and place. This includes for example location-related and distributed systems (LAN/WAN/WIFI etc.), mobile computing, GPS applications, infra-red and Bluetooth connections. The key feature in each case is an unusual and/or experimental use of technologically defined network topographies. ............................................... VIPER Basel | International Festival for Film Video and New Media PO Box, CH - 4002 Basel competition at viper.ch, www.viper.ch ............................................... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040216/a1f18123/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From digiteer at ispbonanza.com.ph Wed Feb 18 12:27:26 2004 From: digiteer at ispbonanza.com.ph (=?iso-8859-1?Q?F=E1tima?= Lasay) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:27:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [apnaidea] Artists Residency in Manila Message-ID: Some on the list might be interested in the program below. The foundation is run by an independent artist-run group, and I think this is the second year of the their residency program. Fats BIG SKY MIND APPLICATION FOR RESIDENCY PROGRAM Big Sky Mind Artists’ Projects Foundation, an independent artist-run organization based in Manila, Philippines, offers studio residencies to young visual artists at the 18th Avenue Artists Compound in Cubao, Quezon City. Located in a warehouse complex, Big Sky Mind offers young artists space to create and develop their work amidst an environment of community, camaraderie and professional support. Its Residency Program grants one-year studio residencies to young Filipino visual artists and short-term residencies to foreign visiting artists. The Compound has three studios for local artists and one studio for foreign artists. Technical and support facilities include a library of books, magazines, catalogues, portfolios and other reference material on contemporary art, a computer lab with cable internet access, scanner, printer, fax, CD burner and video editing equipment. Each quarter, Big Sky Mind hosts exhibitions by the resident artists, providing them with a platform to present their work to a wider public. Talks and workshops are also held in order to broaden public awareness on contemporary art and practice. The 2004 Residency period is from July 1, 2004 - June 30, 2005. Artists who wish to apply may submit their cv, portfolios, and other supporting documents from 15 January - 15 March 2004. Artists also need to submit a clear, concise proposal of works to be developed during the residency. Qualified applicants will be notified by April 2004. Big Sky Mind 70 18th Avenue, Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City Tel/Fax 421-2125 Email big_sky_mind at hotmail.com info at bigskymind.org Website www.bigskymind.org Office Hours: Wednesday - Saturday, 9 am - 12 nn, 1 - 6 pm. Fátima Lasay http://digitalmedia.upd.edu.ph/digiteer/ Fingerprint 379A 3BD3 29D6 D3BD B135 2C4F BF89 F99A 6BF3 3BD3 _______________________________________________ apnaidea mailing list apnaidea at mail.sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/apnaidea _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From dbase at mindless.com Tue Feb 17 21:11:01 2004 From: dbase at mindless.com (D base) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 10:41:01 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] dbase and UV Studios Live@Just My Kind Of Place, Taj Palace on Saturday,21 Feb Message-ID: <20040217154101.6697D2AAB5@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040217/4deb08ef/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: flyer I ZZZ.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 45684 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040217/4deb08ef/attachment.jpg -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 19 16:03:02 2004 From: lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in (=?iso-8859-1?q?lalit=20batra?=) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 10:33:02 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Pani Ki Kahani Message-ID: <20040219103302.65951.qmail@web8207.mail.in.yahoo.com> Pani Ki Kahani: Shehri Garibon Ki Zubaani Lalit Batra Indian cities are facing a severe water crisis today. From experts of the international agencies like the World Bank and the UNO to the officialdom in India, everybody is talking about the impending water riots. All trends point to the fact that, slowly but surely, water is becoming a political issue. This concern about disappearing water seems quite legitimate if viewed in abstraction. But if we locate this concern in the socio-political context of our times, then it comes across as an inalienable part of the project of the bourgeoisie environmentalism to discipline the city. It is no surprise then that the concern about vanishing water is being expressed almost exclusively in the context of the actual or perceived needs of middle and upper-middle classes. The needs of the urban poor, which consumes lowest quantities of water and that at highest prices per unit, are completely absent from the discourse on the scarcity of water. In fact even their minimum water needs are considered as a burden on water infrastructure and presented as the main reason behind water scarcity in cities. One of the logic in the package offered as the reason for evicting slum dwellers from the city center is that they are water thieves who steal the water meant for the consumption of ‘citizens’. Whereas data and experience show that the urban poor are not creators but victims of water crisis. More than any other city, the above mentioned process is most clearly visible in Delhi, the capital city of India. One of the reasons for this being that over the last decade and a half, bourgeoisie environmentalism has emerged as a formidable force in the city. In this context it becomes important to explore how the poor in the city look at their situation in terms of their relationship with water. It would be interesting to explore the situation of first generation migrants and see if they shared a different relationship with water when lived in villages to the one they are forced to get into in the city. If yes, then what was the nature of that relationship? One useful hypothesis to start this research could be that in large parts of rural India, until recently, or even now in some pockets, the relationship of people to water is negotiated largely through socio-cultural and geographical factors, whereas in the context of a city, where water is a commodity to start with, it is based primarily on one’s positioning in the overarching class structure and access to political and administrative power networks. It would be worthwhile to find out how this change in setting gets registered on the consciousness of the poor, how they cope with it and what implications does it have for their sense of collectivity and collective struggles. ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, services, tools and more. Go to: http://in.insurance.yahoo.com/licspecial/index.html From lawrenceliang at vsnl.net Fri Feb 20 10:25:44 2004 From: lawrenceliang at vsnl.net (lawrenceliang at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 09:55:44 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Article on WSF by Rahul Rao Message-ID: <4e496fb4e4aef6.4e4aef64e496fb@vsnl.net> The World Social Forum, Mumbai, 16-21 January 2004: a worm's eye view The World Social Forum: a worm’s eye view If there was one thing I learnt at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, it was patience. Patience while trying to choose from among the scores of simultaneous events that were taking place at any given time. Patience while trying to get from one event to another, steering my way through the 100,000 people who had gathered to speak, dance, sing, march, listen, act, network and organise around every conceivable issue with any bearing on the well-being of humanity. Patience while straining to listen to voices that were barely audible in large enclosures with poor acoustics, made worse by the unrelenting din of celebration and protest outside. Patience while waiting for speeches to be translated, line-by-line, into the three or four most commonly understood languages of the audience. Another world was possible, but it was going to require a hell of a lot of patience. But if there was one insight I took away with me from the WSF, it was the nearly ubiquitous and obliging acceptance of what would surely have been considered ‘inconveniences’ in the world we had left behind. After hours of arcane discussion on trade-offs between efficiency and equity in university lectures on global democracy, the WSF was living proof that people were indeed willing and able to sacrifice some efficiency for more equity. For if acoustics weren’t as good as they ought to have been, it was because the refusal to accept corporate and government sponsorship had precluded the use of a fancy convention centre; if extensive translation was required it was because the WSF had attracted far more than the global English-speaking chatterati; if there were more events than could humanly be attended, it was because non-hierarchical principles of organisation permitted virtually anyone who wanted to organise an event to do so; and if the narrow streets that linked various zones of the sprawling NESCO grounds in Goregaon were clogged with humanity, it was because every available space had been appropriated for noisy, vibrant, sometimes heart-rending and always inspirational expressions of dissent. Nobody can really tell you what the WSF was like, or about. With a programme that was 97 pages long containing an average of 11 events on each page, the WSF was actually 1067 different events. Spread over 4 days with 3 sessions per day, this meant that there were approximately 89 different events taking place at any given time. These figures refer only to the speaking events – plenaries, seminars and workshops; they give no sense of the cultural performances, bookstalls, art exhibits, organisational information booths, food courts, film screenings and impromptu exchanges that were an integral part of every delegate’s experience. One of the most remarkable things about the WSF in Mumbai was the massive and highly visible presence of grassroots groups – particularly South Asian groups – representing people who are usually thought of as marginalized, deprived and vulnerable in the extreme: dalits, adivasis, people of alternative sexualities. In this regard, an event organised by Rainbow Planet (17/1) represented – for me – everything that was right about the WSF. Organised as a space for people of alternative sexualities in which to celebrate their difference, it featured testimonials by ‘ordinary’ people speaking about the joy and struggle of being queer. These were not academics, policymakers, NGO careerists or people speaking in any sort of formal representational capacity. They were simply individuals speaking for and about themselves as lesbians, sex workers, hijras. Even as they provided harrowing accounts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse that they had personally suffered, I was struck by the confidence, fearlessness and dignity with which they asserted their right to love and be loved as they chose. Nobody here was a victim. Speaking in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, they defied the stereotypical image of queer activism in India as urban, westernised, deracinated and somehow ‘inauthentic’. None of the accusations that people like me seem infuriatingly vulnerable to – homosexuality as import from the decadent west – seemed to apply here. Most impressive and heartening perhaps, was the audience: cross-class, predominantly Indian and numbering in the hundreds. This in a country where sodomy between consenting adults is a crime incurring a potential 10 year prison sentence, and where lesbianism is not even taken cognisance of by the law. But this wasn’t the story everywhere. At a Globalise Resistance seminar (18/1) entitled ‘The Future of the Movement: how radical should we be?’, (featuring, incidentally, three white men), George Monbiot made the scathing observation that for the most part, the WSF had been captured by an international intellectual class. Noting that although at least 75% of the participants were Indian and a large proportion of these were dalits and adivasis, he asked why so few of the panels (barring those dealing exclusively with ‘their’ problems) featured speakers from these groups. Monbiot pointed to an undeniable divide between the people ‘out there’ demonstrating, drumming and dancing on the streets and those ‘in here’ deliberating, discussing, ‘discoursing’. In a sense, this made the WSF a microcosm of class distinctions that existed in the world outside. A radical movement, Monbiot argued, is one where the ideas come from the grassroots and are formulated by intellectuals. The argum ent clearly struck a chord with the audience, precipitating a lively and sometimes rancorous debate (particularly when Monbiot explicitly attacked the Socialist Workers’ Party and other elements of the ‘old’ hierarchical left, much to the chagrin of Alex Callinicos). Some argued that it was pointless to agonise over the authenticity of ideas – how ‘organic’ they were – but more important to look at whether they resonated with the people one claimed to represent. Italian trade unionist Luciano Mulbauer suggested that speaking in terms of ‘representation’ was itself misguided – it is very difficult to represent the unorganised, for example. One ought to focus on creating spaces in which people could meet and interact under circumstances that permitted as free an exchange of views as possible. Asma Jehangir brought a different perspective to the issue of division between the ‘grassroots’ and ‘intellectuals’. In a seminar entitled ‘Securing a Just Peace’ (20/1), organised by ActionAid and featuring mostly South Asian peace activists, she suggested that there should be a division of labour of sorts between the two, with activism needing to be backed up by research, empirical data and blueprints for alternatives, which then had to be communicated effectively both to decision-makers and the general public. It is difficult to convey the sheer diversity of issues discussed at the events that I attended or to do any justice to the depth of knowledge and experience that many of the panellists demonstrated and to the intensity of the discussions that ensued. Besides those mentioned above, they included sessions on globalisation and the nation-state, non-violent interposition in armed conflict, potential for increased cooperation between Brazil and India, the Sri Lanka pilot project of the Non-violent Peace Force, the apartheid wall in Palestine, unilateralism and reform of the UN (singularly disappointing for a lack of imagination in the tired proposals for UN reform that were rehashed), development-induced displacement, fundamentalism and secularism, and a CND conference. En route from one event to another, I ran into Naga dancers, hip hop artistes, adivasi troupes from virtually every state in India, Bangladeshis and Africans wearing Oxfam T-shirts and singing ‘Make Trade Fair’, the Tamil Nadu Antique Percussionists Union, pro-democracy Burmese activists, refusenik Israeli soldiers, loud and impeccably organised contingents of Korean students, Tibetan monks. Everywhere I looked, the most unlikely people were making connections with one another: an elderly white woman squats in the dust to take a photograph of four, giggling Maharashtrian women; an African woman in a colourful and flamboyant turban breaks away from her group to dance with Indian trade unionists; the woman I have just translated something for hands me her business card – she is a Brazilian MP from the Partido Renovador Trabalhista; women from Orissa watch performing Malaysian drag queens with fascination and amusement; hijras watch a documentary on dalits, riveted by testimonies from people who had been forced to eat human excreta and subjected to other degrading treatment. Clearly, no one here was alone in her struggle. Solidarity was an oft-recurring motif at the WSF. Solidarity with people under occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and others caught in the crossfire in the ongoing ‘war on terror’. But also, prominently, solidarity with Palestine, articulated movingly by an activist from the Palestine Solidarity Committee in South Africa at a brilliantly organised seminar on the Apartheid Wall (PENGON, 19/1). Expressing his anguish at the poor attendance at that particular seminar, he said that as a South African he recognised apartheid when he saw it and that there was no other way to describe what Israel was doing in the Occupied Territories through its construction of a massive, illegal wall. Solidarity came also from Indians, from Achin Vanaik at the CND conference (18/1). Reminding us that the struggle for a Palestinian state was perhaps the longest running anti-colonial self-determination movement in the world – certainly longer than its Indian counterpart – Vanaik sent a chill through the audience when he suggested that if an equivalent percentage of the Indian population had died in the struggle, the death count would have run into tens of millions. But there was another very specific kind of solidarity that seemed to be emerging at the WSF – an axis of altermondialisation if you will, comprising India, Brazil and South Africa. The symbolism of the opening and closing plenaries was unmistakable: performances by adivasi groups, Instituto from the favelas of Brazil, and Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre from Soweto at the opening; Indian Ocean, Gilberto Gil, and a 10-country African ensemble at the closing. Nor could one ignore the fact that the WSF was going back to Porto Alegre from Mumbai and possibly on to South Africa the year after. Or that only a few days later, Brazilian President Lula was to be chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. Or that the previous June, the three countries had signed an agreement committing themselves to coordinating negotiating positions on a wide range of issues and forming a new ‘G3’. Clearly something was afoot and the WSF was only part of a more wide-ranging, multilevel process. Th e significance of these and other developments was discussed at a session entitled ‘Building Bridges between India and Brazil’ (19/1). While many of those present (particularly state and IGO officials) were excited by the possibilities that this opened up, activists were more divided. Some were uncomfortable with the very idea of thinking in terms of counter-hegemonic alliances of states – as someone put it in another session, we ought to be building non-power oppositions to power. Others felt that the truly emancipatory links between the three countries would be those forged within civil society (between the Movimento Sem Terra and the Narmada Bachao Andolan, for example); even within the activist community there were bound to be varying degrees of comfort with the new G3 (think of the differences between how MST relates to the ruling PT in Brazil and how the NBA relates to the BJP in India). Still others saw the potential for tactical, contingent alliances between civil so c ieties and states in the G3, as evidenced by their ability to work towards the same ends at Cancun for example. How ever the G3 evolves, it seems inevitable that linkages between these enormously rich and complex societies will develop along many different, and perhaps contradictory, dimensions. No one could have missed the rich symbolism of Indo-Pakistani solidarity at the opening and closing plenaries and indeed through all six days of the WSF. Being South Asian is something I have never really experienced in any tangible, meaningful sense. The very identity has always struck me as vague and amorphous – something that can only be experienced at a great distance in London or New York and certainly meaning less and less to me the closer I get to South Asia. But sitting on the maidan at the opening ceremony surrounded by Bangladeshis, listening to Junoon perform on a Bombay stage brought a lump to my throat. Suddenly, South Asian-ness was as irrationally stirring and potent an impulse as nationalism. I felt it again and again over the next few days – when my Pakistani friend translated from Hindi into English for my South Indian ears, when I saw Indian and Pakistani and PACE flags tied together, when Shubha Mudgal sang Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Hum dekhenge’ at the closing ceremony. What did India do for the WSF? It clearly diversified participation as never before, bringing tens of thousands of South Asian activists and grassroots groups who had not even heard of the WSF a year earlier. The first three forums seem to have been dominated by European and Latin American activists. At least two of the speakers I heard remarked that this year felt, not like the fourth social forum, but like the first World Social Forum. At one seminar a representative of the regional government of Tuscany commented on how in Mumbai, the global South had finally entered into the WSF process in a big way. The demands being voiced were more radical than before – but it was a radicality of non-violence that was heard here, coming as it did from a long tradition of non-violent resistance. Of course there was a pressing need for more access and inclusiveness. Africans were severely underrepresented (numbering, I believe, only 400) – but even this was apparently an improvement ove r previous years. India also demonstrated, as Chico Whittaker eloquently testified at the opening plenary, that the WSF process could work splendidly in an entirely different political culture and context. What did the WSF do for India? Bombay is, at the best of times, an incorrigibly contradictory place – a city of glittering wealth and the site of vast poverty, at once the most liberal and eclectic of Indian cities and a bastion of rightwing Hindu fundamentalism. The WSF gave those of us who believed in autonomy and choice and freedom, a space in which to feel like we were the ones in charge. It is difficult to describe the sense of energy and excitement and empowerment that one felt listening to Amarjeet Kaur and Tanika Sarkar mince no words as they railed against the Hindu right, or watching men walk shirtless into Azad Maidan with the words ‘Gay and Proud’ emblazoned across their chests in body paint, or dancing at the post-WSF queer party at Mikanos cheering on aforementioned drag queens from Malaysia (Islamic? Mahathir?), even as the Shiv Sena burnt books in neighbouring Pune and dug up cricket pitches elsewhere. Together with Arundhati Roy’s tirade against the Project for a New American Century, Mustafa Barghouti’s defiance in the face of Ariel Sharon’s apartheid tactics and the hundreds of groups protesting against Bretton Woods-induced impoverishment, the WSF was like a gigantic middle finger in the face of imperialism, fundamentalism, fascism and neo-liberalism. On a more mundane level, the WSF showed that another India was possible. This was an India where - for the most part - events started on time, drinking water was always available, food was relatively cheap and plentiful, garbage was cleared by the end of each day even before you had left, telephones worked, toilets were clean. If you wanted to see ‘India shining’, you should have been at the WSF. Email:: rahulrao78 at yahoo.co.in From spam at mediamatic.net Fri Feb 20 14:34:10 2004 From: spam at mediamatic.net (Mediamatic) Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 10:04:10 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 2 upcoming Mediamatic workshops! Message-ID: Interactive Narrators, on March 5, 6 and 7 Guided by lectures of hot experts in the field of interactive narration, participants will build a small interactive story using the Korsakow System. This is a simple, interactive storytelling engine that enables its users to make rich interactive stories using sound, video, pictures, text or combinations of these elements. For more information or if you want to participate in the workshop Interactive Narrators, please go to: http://www.mediamatic.net/cwolk/view/17877 And: Story Engines, on March 12, 13 and 14 In this conceptual and practical workshop, participants learn about the possibilities and key features of different interactive storytelling engines. Through presentations, moderated discussions and hands-on practices the participants who want to produce an interactive story project get a grip on what system works for which purpose. For more information or if you Mediamatic Foundation - Prins Hendrikkade 192 - 1011 TD Amsterdam - The Netherlands t +31 (0)203446000 - f +31 (0)206263793 - http://www.mediamatic.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Fri Feb 20 13:05:12 2004 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 13:25:12 +0550 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] (no subject) Message-ID: <1077263712.c871c6a0aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS AT SCHOOL OF ARTS AND AESTHETICS TUESDAY 24TH FEB 11:30 AM -1:30 PM *******ARTS AND AESTHETICS GALLERY INTERACTIVE SESSION WITH SUSAN LORI PARKS(AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT AND WINNER OF 2002 PULITZER PRIZE FOR DRAMA)SEVERAL DISTINGUISHED THEATRE PERSONALITIES INCLUDING BARRY JOHN WILL PARTICIPATE THURSDAY 26TH FEB 4PM ********ARTS AND AESTHETICS AUDITORIUM SCREENING OF "IN OTHELLO" BY ROYSTEN ABLE THURSDAY 4TH MARCH 5PM******ARTS AND AESTHETICS GALLERY PROF G.P DESHPANDE WILL READ HIS NEW PLAY "MUSIC SYSTEM" 27TH FEB, 1ST MARCH AND 3RD MARCH 4-6PM ********ARTS AND AESTHETICS GALLERY INTERACTIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP WITH M.K RAINA ============================================== This Mail was Scanned for Virus and found Virus free ============================================== _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From info at nmartproject.net Fri Feb 20 13:29:26 2004 From: info at nmartproject.net (Cinematheque at MediaCentre) Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 08:59:26 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Launch of "Slowtime?....part IV on Cinematheque Message-ID: <038101c3f787$766238a0$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> Cinematheque at MediaCentre -->Le Musee di-visioniste" www.le-musee-divisioniste.org/mediacentre/ mediacentre at le-musee-divisioniste.org is happy to launch on Friday, 20 January 2004 part IV of its new showcase of streaming media art works entitled "Slowtime?........" [Quicktime (.mov) as an artistic medium] which is presented at the new space of "Cinema_B". --> Quicktime does not only represent a cross-plattform file format for converting and distributing (analogue/digital) video into an Internet compatible streaming format, but has a lot of different features and characteristics which predestine Quicktime to be a serious artistic medium beyond that <-- The show is launched in four parts Part IV - launch on 20 February 2004 includes following artists ----> Arlene Ducao (USA) Kevin Hamilton (UK) Marcello Mercado (Germany) Cincia Cremona (Italy) Spaceanus (USA) Mica Scalin (USA) Dana Cooley (USA) Alyssa Rothwell (USA) Ewan McDougall (UK) Agricola de Cologne (Germany) ---> Part III - launch on 19 January 2004 includes following artists ---> Chiara Passa (Italy) Adriana Sasali (Argentina) John Belucci (USA) Thierry Brégaint (Canada) Claudia Sohrens (USA) Rachel Dobbs (UK) Adrian Miles (Australia) Razvan Ion (Romania) Ricardo Mbarak (Lebanon) Jennifer Schmidt (USA) Gabriel Otero (Argentina) Part II - launched on 17 December 2003 includes following artists ---> Avi Rosen (Israel) Lane Last (USA) Lasse Raa (Norway) Raúl Manrupe (Argentina) Ari van Schutterhoff/Hans van Eck (The Netherlands) Julie Andrejev (Canada) David Crawford (USA) Lucasz Lysakowsky (USA) Tania V (Australia) James Ford (UK) Maggie Montgomery (UK) Doron Golan (USA) Part I - launched on 25 November 2003 includes following artists ---> Daniel Vatski/Isabelle Jenniches (NL) Oswaldo Cibils (Uruguay) Malte Steiner (Germany) Everson Godinho (Brazil) Michael Szpakowski (UK) Miklos Legrady (CA) Melissa Ulto (USA) Mogens Jacobsen (Denmark) Marina Zerbarini (Argentina) Meto Angelovski (Macedonia) Christian Bermudes (Costa Rica) Laurel Beckman (USA) ******************** The selection of "Slowtime?........" [Quicktime (.mov) as an artistic medium] is based on an open call in Internet and curated and created for Cinematheque by Agricola de Cologne www.le-musee-divisioniste.org/mediacentre/ ********************* Visit also the previous streaming media shows at Cinematheque which are presented now at "Cinema_A" www.le-musee-divisioniste.org/mediacentre/ ********************* Cinematheque at MediaCentre organises online show cases of streaming media in the framework of Le Musee di-visioniste www.le-musee-divisioniste.org/mediacentre/ mediacentre at le-musee-divisioniste.org Le Musee di-visioniste www.le-musee-divisioniste.org is an online museum based on philosophical ideas, and a corporate member of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne - the experimental plattform for net based art - founded by Agricola de Cologne, media artist and New Media curator operating from Cologne/Germany. ********************** Technical requirements Recommended are: DSL Internet connection, fast computer device PC or MAC all latest browser versions requested players/plug-ins: Flash 7 (free download at www.macromedia.com) Quicktime (free download at www.apple.com) _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From eye at ranadasgupta.com Sat Feb 21 21:58:05 2004 From: eye at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 08:28:05 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" Message-ID: <200402210828.AA298320060@ranadasgupta.com> The arguments of the media often proceed via the production of victims. That something is wrong is signalled by the fact that there is a victim. Solutions need to be found! - for how could we be so heartless as to ignore the plight of people such as these... Proponents of the various kinds of surveillance have found many victims to justify their cases. Victims who no longer are so, thanks to technology. Once you had to fear walking down the street, but now there are cameras to keep you safe. You had to fear the people sitting with you on a plane, but now surveillance techniques are too good to let the wrong people through. You still might be afraid of "identity theft" but biometric ATM withdrawals and computer log-ins will soon make that fear disappear into the past too. The other side of this argument is more difficult to formulate through victims, however. How can you be a "victim" of too much observation? Do cameras present a public danger? Have there been deaths, or at least psychological traumas? Anyone who tries to say that they don't like being watched raises the suspicion that they do things that shouldn't be seen. As the breezy adage goes, "If you have nothing to hide, there is nothing to worry about." When arguments against surveillance are discussed in the media, therefore, they usually proceed along another route: that of dystopian nightmares. There is hardly an article in the mainstream media that does not invoke "Big Brother" in an attempt to encapsulate the ideas and feelings of those that would question the role of greater surveillance in our lives. Bureaucrats explain the advantages of national ID cards or new biometric identification techniques, but the responsible journalist feels it appropriate to point out that there are some who feel such innovations are leading us one step closer to the "Big Brother" society. This ubiquitous image is completely inappropriate to the debate. It makes anxieties about surveillance sound stupid. As if the danger of surveillance techniques were not to be found in the present, only in some far-off nightmare of total, centralised control that is purportedly brought closer by every new use of personal data. Next to the bureaucrat's wise analysis, such a nightmare seems so exaggerated, so distant, so paranoid, that it can be instantly dismissed. The fact is that the model of surveillance we have to engage with bears few resemblances to Orwell's vision. Even in this era of paranoid states, the infrastructure devoted to collecting, analysing and acting on data about an individual is highly distributed, spread across a myriad of institutions who all have very different motives for what they do. Employers capture employees' personal communications in order to optimise productivity and minimise security leaks. Telemarketers try to build up a detailed picture of an individual's buying habits so that they can target their selling more effectively. Mobile phone companies may aim to pinpoint people's locations more precisely so they can match advertisements to places. Et cetera. It is certainly the case that all this information is occasionally brought together by intelligence agencies or lawyers in order to attest to an individual's interiority, his private idiosyncrasies, his scandalous fascinations. But these moments of absolute transparency are not the norm. The more usual experience is one simply of latent paranoia, born of complete uncertainty as to what information has been collected and how far it has travelled. We are not in the 1984 situation, where the private domain has disappeared and there is total, certain observation by a centralised power whose objective is our absolute control. We are instead in a position where there is constant doubt as to exactly when, and where, our thoughts and actions may be completely unobserved. We are careful, therefore; anxious, perhaps, that our actions, should they ever be scrutinised, would not appear quite pure or productive enough. This anxiety is something more intangible than sweeping "Big Brother" allusions can ever capture. And yet it is only by finding a language to express the nature of such subtle changes to our interiority that it will be possible to offer anything that can place in perspective bureaucratic calls for more control. We need, in short, to find new images for life under 21st-century surveillance that can bury blithe references to "Big Brother" for ever and help us to understand where, imaginatively speaking, we are going. From menso at r4k.net Sun Feb 22 09:25:01 2004 From: menso at r4k.net (Menso Heus) Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 04:55:01 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" In-Reply-To: <200402210828.AA298320060@ranadasgupta.com> References: <200402210828.AA298320060@ranadasgupta.com> Message-ID: <20040222035501.GP21012@r4k.net> On Sat, Feb 21, 2004 at 08:28:05AM -0800, Rana Dasgupta wrote: Ok, this turned out to be a rather lengthy reply, so I hope you can bare with me.... > The fact is that the model of surveillance we have to engage with bears few > resemblances to Orwell's vision. Even in this era of paranoid states, the infrastructure > devoted to collecting, analysing and acting on data about an individual is highly > distributed, spread across a myriad of institutions who all have very different motives > for what they do. Employers capture employees' personal communications in order to > optimise productivity and minimise security leaks. Telemarketers try to build up a > detailed picture of an individual's buying habits so that they can target their selling > more effectively. Mobile phone companies may aim to pinpoint people's locations more > precisely so they can match advertisements to places. Et cetera. > > It is certainly the case that all this information is occasionally brought together by > intelligence agencies or lawyers in order to attest to an individual's interiority, his > private idiosyncrasies, his scandalous fascinations. But these moments of absolute > transparency are not the norm. It is always a bit hard to join in a discussion about topics such as privacy and surveillance. As already pointed out, if you've got nothing to hide, what are you worried about? With the danger of being seen as a conspiracy theorist, I shall endeavour nonetheless. Orwell wrote 1984 back in 1948, a time when modern surveillance techniques seemed a far and distant dream and the setup of information gathering as it is done today was still in it's infancy. The thought whether the current distributed platform of surveillance in use is due to the reason that Orwell wrote 1984 back then has crossed my mind several times. I figure now that the main reason is that the 1984 scenario is just really impractical. Our current distributed 'Big Brother' system is far more efficient. Instead of having to do all the work yourself, you let others do it for you and make laws that state that the intelligence agencies should at all times have access to any data they require, no questions asked. Another bonus is that companies among themselves can decide to share the data they keep with whomever they want, as per mobile phone example given by Rana. Another great plus is that all those yelling '1984!' from the barricades can easily be put down by the fact that there *is* no central system. Governments can claim that they are in no such way trying to establish a system that tracks and records everything because they're not. They're using systems in place ran by companies that exploit those systems. One could compare it somewhat to a peer-to-peer network: eventhough there is no 'central system' or 'central agency' there's still a huge, functional network where any data shared is available. Unlike with peer-to-peer networks though, the sharing is mandatory, as required by law. Thus, the statement that we are far away from Orwellian scenarios due to the fact that there is no central logging being done is one I doubt, based on the explanation given above. It's there, but it's more practical, more efficient and well masqueraded. It's a bit like saying there's no such thing as a hamburger because there's only ground beef, lettuce, ketchup and buns and the manufacturer of the buns has no interest in the manufacturer of ketchup. The interests of the manufacturers is of course completely irrelevant: If you stack up all the ingredients correctly, you end up with a burger nonetheless. > The more usual experience is one simply of latent > paranoia, born of complete uncertainty as to what information has been collected and > how far it has travelled. We are not in the 1984 situation, where the private domain has > disappeared and there is total, certain observation by a centralised power whose > objective is our absolute control. We are instead in a position where there is constant > doubt as to exactly when, and where, our thoughts and actions may be completely > unobserved. We are careful, therefore; anxious, perhaps, that our actions, should they > ever be scrutinised, would not appear quite pure or productive enough. The doubt seems to come from the fact that people don't seem to realize that information can, will and is being tied together, gathered from various sources. In previous postings to the Sarai list I've given various examples of how one is being monitored in a modern city, to summarize: you are being recorded on tape, if you've got a mobile phone your location is known and each time you use a bank or creditcard for a transaction one can tell what you bought, when you bought it and where you bought it. You think you can surf the web anonymously? Heh.. think again. There is for some unknown reason the idea that if you share some information with one party, that information will not be shared with others, which, unless a clear privacy policy describes this is the case, is basically just completely false. And even privacy policies will not prevent government officials from getting whatever information they want. > This anxiety is something more intangible than sweeping "Big Brother" allusions can > ever capture. And yet it is only by finding a language to express the nature of such > subtle changes to our interiority that it will be possible to offer anything that can place > in perspective bureaucratic calls for more control. We need, in short, to find new > images for life under 21st-century surveillance that can bury blithe references to "Big > Brother" for ever and help us to understand where, imaginatively speaking, we are > going. I believe the main reason for this anxiety is the fact that freedom, while said being more secured, is in fact cut down bit by bit. This anxiety can either be caused by having a faint notion of what is going on on subconcious level or by having a clear picture of it and the knowledge that you will not be able to stop it. When speaking of 'privacy' people seem to think you're a paranoid freak concerned that 'they' are tapping your phone, which is not the kernel of the issue. The issue is freedom being stripped away, which doesn't affect just the criminal and paranoid, but every layer of society. Where there used to be the idea of moving around freely, speaking freely and thinking freely, there is now a little voice that tells us we can't any more. Surely, this is not because of some new anti-privacy laws, cause I've got nothing to hide... but... Will criticizing the US mean that when I want to enter it, there will be a little flag saying "subversive" when they check my passport? Will ordering a book on a controversial sexual topic at Amazon come back to haunt me later in my career? Will the bar where I get drunk every weekend ever sell copies of my bill to my insurance company or employer in order to make an extra buck? Human rights being violated used to be something that happened in far away countries ruled by ruthless dictators, now it's happening by countries referring to themselves as 'the home of the free', justified by promising more security. I believe part of the anxiety is caused by the fact that what used to be a distant reality is coming awfully close to home. I was reminded of how very little 'having a right' actually ment in practice recently when a friend told me what happened when he wanted to take a cab ride. In the Netherlands there's been a law in place now for a while which states that any customer is allowed to take whatever cab they want. At popular places in Amsterdam, the cabs wait in long rows and the drivers have agreements amongst each other that basically force their customers to take the cab in front of the row. My friend wanted one that was at the back and the driver didn't want to take him. He told the driver "but according to the law I have the right take whatever cab I want!" The driver simply responded by saying "yes, and according to the law I have the right to refuse any customer I want." What value can one attach to freedom of speech, thought and movement when, at any point, without any reason, these rights can be stripped away from you without anyone being able to do anything about it? Menso -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You want rights? Ask 'em, they'll read them." - Michael Franti -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From diviyapant at hotmail.com Sun Feb 22 13:34:03 2004 From: diviyapant at hotmail.com (diviya -) Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 08:04:03 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" Message-ID: This might be a stripped and simple version..but i think the concept of the 'Big Brother' is more or less internalised by all. There needn't be a surveillance camera monitoring one's walk down a shopping mall or an almost idyllically unemployed person to go through each google search one makes...but just a grain of there being such a possibility is - to sound corny- the biggest brother to have. And as pointed out, such possibilities are. And, disconcertingly less disguised. The construct of the Big Brother, and the caution\paranoia generated therefrom, is an effective politics to ensure self discipline. Most of us are instinctively aware of a gaze and, more often than not, adapt to its milieu. This is certainly not impossible and futuristic. It is more characteristic of people and the ways in which discipline manifests itself. Any 'conspiracy theories' that are scoffed upon as paranoid, are really not all that baseless. >From: Menso Heus >To: reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" >Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 04:55:01 +0100 > >On Sat, Feb 21, 2004 at 08:28:05AM -0800, Rana Dasgupta wrote: > > > >Ok, this turned out to be a rather lengthy reply, so I hope you can >bare with me.... > > > The fact is that the model of surveillance we have to engage with bears >few > > resemblances to Orwell's vision. Even in this era of paranoid states, >the infrastructure > > devoted to collecting, analysing and acting on data about an individual >is highly > > distributed, spread across a myriad of institutions who all have very >different motives > > for what they do. Employers capture employees' personal communications >in order to > > optimise productivity and minimise security leaks. Telemarketers try to >build up a > > detailed picture of an individual's buying habits so that they can >target their selling > > more effectively. Mobile phone companies may aim to pinpoint people's >locations more > > precisely so they can match advertisements to places. Et cetera. > > > > It is certainly the case that all this information is occasionally >brought together by > > intelligence agencies or lawyers in order to attest to an individual's >interiority, his > > private idiosyncrasies, his scandalous fascinations. But these moments >of absolute > > transparency are not the norm. > >It is always a bit hard to join in a discussion about topics such as >privacy and >surveillance. As already pointed out, if you've got nothing to hide, what >are you >worried about? With the danger of being seen as a conspiracy theorist, I >shall >endeavour nonetheless. > >Orwell wrote 1984 back in 1948, a time when modern surveillance techniques >seemed a >far and distant dream and the setup of information gathering as it is done >today was >still in it's infancy. >The thought whether the current distributed platform of surveillance in use >is due >to the reason that Orwell wrote 1984 back then has crossed my mind several >times. > >I figure now that the main reason is that the 1984 scenario is just really >impractical. > >Our current distributed 'Big Brother' system is far more efficient. Instead >of having >to do all the work yourself, you let others do it for you and make laws >that state >that the intelligence agencies should at all times have access to any data >they require, >no questions asked. Another bonus is that companies among themselves can >decide to share >the data they keep with whomever they want, as per mobile phone example >given by Rana. > >Another great plus is that all those yelling '1984!' from the barricades >can easily be put >down by the fact that there *is* no central system. Governments can claim >that they are >in no such way trying to establish a system that tracks and records >everything because >they're not. They're using systems in place ran by companies that exploit >those systems. > >One could compare it somewhat to a peer-to-peer network: eventhough there >is no 'central >system' or 'central agency' there's still a huge, functional network where >any data shared >is available. Unlike with peer-to-peer networks though, the sharing is >mandatory, as >required by law. > >Thus, the statement that we are far away from Orwellian scenarios due to >the fact that >there is no central logging being done is one I doubt, based on the >explanation given >above. It's there, but it's more practical, more efficient and well >masqueraded. >It's a bit like saying there's no such thing as a hamburger because there's >only ground >beef, lettuce, ketchup and buns and the manufacturer of the buns has no >interest in the >manufacturer of ketchup. The interests of the manufacturers is of course >completely >irrelevant: If you stack up all the ingredients correctly, you end up with >a burger >nonetheless. > > > The more usual experience is one simply of latent > > paranoia, born of complete uncertainty as to what information has been >collected and > > how far it has travelled. We are not in the 1984 situation, where the >private domain has > > disappeared and there is total, certain observation by a centralised >power whose > > objective is our absolute control. We are instead in a position where >there is constant > > doubt as to exactly when, and where, our thoughts and actions may be >completely > > unobserved. We are careful, therefore; anxious, perhaps, that our >actions, should they > > ever be scrutinised, would not appear quite pure or productive enough. > >The doubt seems to come from the fact that people don't seem to realize >that >information can, will and is being tied together, gathered from various >sources. >In previous postings to the Sarai list I've given various examples of how >one >is being monitored in a modern city, to summarize: you are being recorded >on tape, if >you've got a mobile phone your location is known and each time you use a >bank or >creditcard for a transaction one can tell what you bought, when you bought >it and where >you bought it. You think you can surf the web anonymously? Heh.. think >again. > >There is for some unknown reason the idea that if you share some >information with >one party, that information will not be shared with others, which, unless a >clear >privacy policy describes this is the case, is basically just completely >false. >And even privacy policies will not prevent government officials from >getting whatever >information they want. > > > This anxiety is something more intangible than sweeping "Big Brother" >allusions can > > ever capture. And yet it is only by finding a language to express the >nature of such > > subtle changes to our interiority that it will be possible to offer >anything that can place > > in perspective bureaucratic calls for more control. We need, in short, >to find new > > images for life under 21st-century surveillance that can bury blithe >references to "Big > > Brother" for ever and help us to understand where, imaginatively >speaking, we are > > going. > > >I believe the main reason for this anxiety is the fact that freedom, while >said >being more secured, is in fact cut down bit by bit. This anxiety can either >be >caused by having a faint notion of what is going on on subconcious level or >by >having a clear picture of it and the knowledge that you will not be able to >stop it. > >When speaking of 'privacy' people seem to think you're a paranoid freak >concerned that >'they' are tapping your phone, which is not the kernel of the issue. The >issue is >freedom being stripped away, which doesn't affect just the criminal and >paranoid, but >every layer of society. > >Where there used to be the idea of moving around freely, speaking freely >and thinking >freely, there is now a little voice that tells us we can't any more. >Surely, this is >not because of some new anti-privacy laws, cause I've got nothing to >hide... but... > >Will criticizing the US mean that when I want to enter it, there will be a >little flag >saying "subversive" when they check my passport? > >Will ordering a book on a controversial sexual topic at Amazon come back to >haunt me >later in my career? > >Will the bar where I get drunk every weekend ever sell copies of my bill to >my insurance >company or employer in order to make an extra buck? > > >Human rights being violated used to be something that happened in far away >countries ruled by ruthless dictators, now it's happening by countries >referring to >themselves as 'the home of the free', justified by promising more security. >I believe part of the anxiety is caused by the fact that what used to be a >distant >reality is coming awfully close to home. > > >I was reminded of how very little 'having a right' actually ment in >practice recently >when a friend told me what happened when he wanted to take a cab ride. >In the Netherlands there's been a law in place now for a while which states >that any >customer is allowed to take whatever cab they want. > >At popular places in Amsterdam, the cabs wait in long rows and the drivers >have agreements >amongst each other that basically force their customers to take the cab in >front of the row. > >My friend wanted one that was at the back and the driver didn't want to >take him. He told the >driver "but according to the law I have the right take whatever cab I >want!" >The driver simply responded by saying "yes, and according to the law I have >the right to >refuse any customer I want." > > >What value can one attach to freedom of speech, thought and movement when, >at any >point, without any reason, these rights can be stripped away from you >without anyone >being able to do anything about it? > > > >Menso > >-- >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > "You want rights? Ask 'em, they'll read them." > - Michael Franti >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >in the subject header. >List archive: _________________________________________________________________ All the news that matters. All the gossip from home. http://www.msn.co.in/NRI/ Specially for NRIs! From ravis at sarai.net Mon Feb 23 00:08:20 2004 From: ravis at sarai.net (Ravi Sundaram) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 00:08:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] a strange story on IP Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20040223000617.0221aeb8@pop3.norton.antivirus> One battle the RIAA is not winning Techno-Rebels in West Bank? File Swapping Firm Claims Odd Hide-Out By John Ward Anderson Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, February 22, 2004; Page A29 JENIN, West Bank -- Somewhere in this beleaguered town, Palestinian computer whizzes from a company called Earth Station V have launched a high-tech assault on the U.S. entertainment industry, with a defiant message for those trying to stop the downloading of music and movies: "Resistance is futile." That, at least, is what the company wants people to believe, and it has cooked up an elaborate ruse that has made Earth Station V and its claim to hide downloaders' identities the buzz of the moment in the online universe. But seemingly no one in this town of 34,000 -- the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the three-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- has heard of Earth Station V. Computer salesmen and technicians, Internet providers, Internet cafe workers and customers and community and Palestinian militant leaders said they knew of no one who works for the company. Questions about its founder and president, who calls himself Ras Kabir -- Arabic for "Big Head" -- drew laughter. Yet someone has gone to enormous trouble and expense to create complicated software programs and a sophisticated Web site that offers X-rated movies, long-distance calling, a dating service, the downloading of music, first-run movies and computer software -- all free and all supposedly augmented with stealth technology that hides a user's identity. And all with no advertisements or other visible means of generating revenue, despite monthly operating costs that the company says amount to $1.5 million. In recent years, downloading music has become one of the biggest and most controversial activities on the Internet -- one that many computer experts say could transform the U.S. entertainment industry. Even if laws could be written fast enough to keep up with changing technology, experts say, online file swapping and downloading are virtually unstoppable. With entertainment industry agencies -- particularly the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) -- using tough U.S. laws to shut down other Internet platforms used for copying music, most Web sites that specialize in music downloads have gone low-profile. But Earth Station V is openly rallying people to engage in digital music and movie swapping. Its operators have crafted a finely honed bad-boy image that seems to taunt officials to discover who they are and to catch 'em if they can. The company claims to have its headquarters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to take advantage of loose Palestinian copyright and intellectual property laws that it says can keep U.S. legal hounds at bay. No Paper Trail The real boon for Earth Station V, however, seems to be the publicity bonanza that comes from claiming that such a cutting-edge Internet company is being run by a multiethnic band of techno-rebels in besieged and impoverished Palestinian refugee camps. But the company's business and Internet paper trails don't support that claim. The West Bank and Gaza addresses the company lists for its offices don't exist, the telephone numbers don't answer, company officials refuse to meet with reporters and they communicate only by e-mails and call-backs. Reporters are not allowed to visit Earth Station V offices or talk to workers. In several telephone interviews, a spokesman for Earth Station V, Steve Taylor, said the company has about 100 employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But he declined a reporter's request to visit their work sites, saying that Palestinian militant groups did not approve of Earth Station V's activities -- particularly its broadcast of pornographic movies -- and were threatening the company's operations and employees. Militants also were angry, he claimed, that the company had Jewish partners. Computer sleuths have traced some of Earth Station V's Internet providers to Israel; computer experts agree that from there, the service could be routed into the Palestinian territories. But even if that is the case, experts agree, the electronic veil offered by the Internet is so impermeable that the company's employees could be sitting at desks almost anywhere in the world, while using the West Bank as their electronic address. "They are making it very difficult for anyone to find who they are, where they are and how they operate," said Ghassan Anabtawi, marketing director for Paltel, the monopoly telephone company in the Palestinian territories. Paltel has no record of providing voice or Internet service to Earth Station V. "It's something fishy and weird -- they are very professional in conning people," Anabtawi said. The company might be receiving Internet service from a Palestinian provider, he said, but none had claimed it as a client. In addition to Jenin and Gaza, said Taylor, the Earth Station V spokesman, the company has offices in the West Bank towns of Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem. Computer specialists in each town said they were not familiar with Earth Station V. "I've never heard of the company, and I should have heard of it," said Yahya Salqan, general secretary of the Palestinian Information Technology Association. He said he sent e-mails to the 75 members of his association asking if any knew of Earth Station V, and "nobody had." Business registration papers filed with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and other company documents reviewed by The Washington Post list an Internet pornography king, Stephen Michael Cohen, as the "sole director" of Earth Station V. Taylor said Cohen was a "consultant" who "brings a lot to the table because of his expertise." Cohen has been listed as a fugitive from the United States since 2001 for failing to appear in a court case in which he was ordered to pay $65 million in damages for stealing the Internet domain sex.com. According to the judgment, in 1995 Cohen forged a letter by the real owner of sex.com instructing the agency that registered domains to transfer ownership to him. Cohen controlled the domain name for five years, building sex.com into what reportedly was one of world's most visited and profitable Web sites. Taylor said Earth Station V had about $1.5 million per month in operating costs but no revenues. He said the company's investors, whom he declined to name, were willing to lose money in the short term to attract users but planned to add potentially huge money-making ventures to the Web site in the near future, including online auctioning and gambling. A Widespread Practice But its biggest draw is offering a platform for Internet users to download music, a practice that has become so widespread that many experts expect it to revolutionize the relationship between Americans and the performing arts. Internet experts estimate that 60 million Americans swap files online. A report in August by the Internet technology firm Forrester Research found that 49 percent of 12- to 22-year-olds had downloaded music in the previous month. In September, the RIAA filed lawsuits against 261 people for copying music over the Internet, saying the practice violated U.S. copyright laws. According to the RIAA, about 2.6 billion copyrighted files, mostly songs, are downloaded over the Internet per month, which the organization says is the leading cause of the worldwide decline in music industry sales from $40 billion in 2000 to $26 billion in 2002. Marc Andreessen, who helped create the Netscape Web browser and is considered one of the fathers of the Internet, said at a conference in Palm Beach in November that Earth Station V and file-sharing companies like it were on the verge of making the downloading of music and other intellectual property virtually unstoppable, no matter the law. Such predictions hinge on whether Earth Station V really has found a way for users to conduct online music swapping with impunity. Computer experts and music industry officials scoff at the company's claim that it can hide the identities of the site's users. "It's a sophisticated protocol, but it's not set up for all the claims they make," said Mark Ishikawa, the head of BayTSP, an Internet security company that investigates piracy for record companies and other high-tech industries. "We looked at them, and the people who were downloading files were not anonymous." "We can easily target infringers on their network," said Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of the RIAA. He said Earth Station V "was throwing stones at us because that's how they get more press and grow their pirate network." 'At War' With Associations Taylor, the company spokesman, said Earth Station V has roughly 710 employees in several countries, including Russia. Their software is available in 28 languages, he said, although the Web site listed only about 15, and none was Arabic, the language spoken by Palestinians. Business registration documents filed in June with the Palestinian Economy Ministry said Earth Station V had $2.75 million in start-up capital and was established to conduct "transactions in financial documents." The papers listed Rony Hanouna, the owner of several cellular telephone stores in the West Bank, as the company's representative in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Hanouna said in an interview that he had no knowledge of Earth Station V's activities and expressed surprise that the company was conducting business, saying that as far as he knew, it existed only on paper. Hanouna said he was approached by several people about 10 months ago and asked to open an office for Earth Station V. But after filling out the paperwork, Hanouna said, he never heard back from the people. Initially, much of the publicity about the Earth Station V Web site came from company statements distributed by PR Newswire, a public relations firm. In one such statement, Earth Station V declared it was "at war" with the RIAA and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), asserting that "resistance is futile and we are in control now." The Earth Station V Web site asserts that the RIAA and MPAA "have absolutely no jurisdiction" over the company because "Palestine is not a signee of the Intellectual Property Agreements." "In other words, the RIAA uses local laws of Western countries to hurt people," the Web site says. "In contrast, ES5 uses local laws of Palestine to help people." "That is an outrageous statement," said Hiba Husseini, a Palestinian attorney who is helping draft new intellectual property laws for the Palestinian Authority. While current laws are about 50 years old and do not specifically address issues of using computers and the Internet to violate copyrights, she said, the Palestinian ministers of culture and economy can and have issued administrative rules and regulations to combat copyright violations and piracy. "The ministries can by directives or orders shut an operation of this nature down, if they get an official complaint," she said. From emailarvind at hotpop.com Mon Feb 23 15:39:50 2004 From: emailarvind at hotpop.com (Arvind Lodaya) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 15:39:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] future mumbai.... Message-ID: Recently, the State government announced its plans to rename the Prince of Wales museum as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangrahlaya. So now we have that in addition to the Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport, and who knows what else. If this trend continues, we may reasonably speculate what it will be like in 2050AD. My name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. My father's name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. All other names have long since been outlawed. I wake up everyday at 6:30 am CST (Chhatrapati Standard Time) to go to my school: Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya. It was a little confusing getting there at first, because all schools in the city have the same name. But once I got directions, it was fine. All I have to do is go down Chhatrapati Shivaji Road, make a left turn at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk, go straight till Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg, until I reach Chhatrapati Shivaji School. Once I got lost and found myself at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji Road. Silly mistake, when I think about it. My class teacher, Mr C. Shivaji, is a good teacher. Today he asked, "Chhatrapati, can you answer that question?" The whole class stood up to answer. Yesterday our school, C. S. Vidyalaya, had a cricket match with our rival school, C. S. Vidyalaya. Of course, we don't know which school won. But that's okay. This weekend, my family and I will go to the zoo, Chhatrapati Shivaji Pranibaugh, and see all the, um... plants. There used to be animals there, but they're all dead now. They say it was due to "negligence" because the keepers were all running for government, one of them for the office of Prime Chhatrapati. We have two main telecommunication companies, CSNL and CSNL. One provides telephone services and the other provides broadband MultiNet access via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Satellite. Sometimes we don't know whether we're accessing a website or whether Chhatrapati Shivaji (our grandmother) is calling up. I'll go online later to see if I have any new e-mail at chhatrapati at chhatrapatishivaji.cs Foreigners are often confused which Paanch Sitaara Vishramgraha (5-ishtar hotel) to stay in, because they all have the same names. I think the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha is pretty good, and one should stay there rather than the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha. During the weekend, my family and I might go to the beach, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Samudrakinara, and after that we may go see a film. All foreign films are dubbed in Indian languages because, as we are taught in school: (1) Nothing foreign is good, and (2) All things foreign that are good have been stolen from us. I go to sleep pretty early, after watching the popular TV show Kaun Banega Chhatrapati. Tomorrow will be another day... I think. Sometimes, in whispers, I hear stories told of a mythical age long ago, when places and things had different names. Stories of a time when each thing had it's own name, and of a concept called "heterogeneity". It's a legend, only half-believed, of a time when places and things had a history, and the city an identity. Date: 22 November, 450 AC (After Chhatrapati) Place: Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahanagar (Formerly Bombay City) From dak at sarai.net Mon Feb 23 18:39:25 2004 From: dak at sarai.net (The Sarai Programme) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:39:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Launch of Sarai Reader 04 & 4th Anniversary Celebration Message-ID: <200402231839.25747.dak@sarai.net> SARAI - 4th Anniversary Celebration 1. Evening, February 27, 2004, Friday, 6:30 pm "What is it that Flows Between Us : Stories From Shadow Cities" - a spoken word performance by the practitioners of the Cybermohalla 'Compughar' Media Labs at Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Basti, Ajmeri Gate, and the Dakshinpuri Colony, Ambedkar Nagar. The performance is based on texts written by the Cybermohalla practitioners. - In collaboration with Ankur - Society for Alternatives in Education Sarai Interface Zone, Basement - CSDS New Building 2. Afternoon, February 28, 2004, Saturday, 3:00 pm This Year/This City A public conversation between activists, media practitioners, researchers and concerned citizens on how they have witnessed Delhi in 2003-2004, to be followed by an open discussion. Sarai Interface Zone, Basement - CSDS New Building 3. Evening, February 28, 2004, Saturday LAUNCH OF SARAI READER 04 : CRISIS/MEDIA Programme 6:30 pm Introducing Crisis/Media - Shuddhabrata Sengupta Readings of two extracts from the book 7:00 pm 'Trial by Media' : The S A R Geelani Trial and the Media Nandita Haksar, Advocate, Human Rights Activist (All India Defence Committee for S A R Geelani) Seminar Hall, CSDS new building -- Ranita Chatterjee The Sarai Programme Centre for the Study of Developing Societies 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 Tel: (+91) 11 23960040 (+91) 11 23942199, ext 307 Fax: (+91) 11 23943450 www.sarai.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From geert at xs4all.nl Mon Feb 23 18:20:22 2004 From: geert at xs4all.nl (geert lovink) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 13:50:22 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Reading The City Message-ID: <086201c3fa0b$99e323d0$9c00000a@geert> From: "Eric Maillet" Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 1:36 PM Subject: Reading The City Reading The City A live movie using 7 video mobile phones, during 5 days, 24/24. Direct from the Ogaki Biennale, Japan. http://readingthecity.org From eye at ranadasgupta.com Tue Feb 24 10:39:13 2004 From: eye at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 21:09:13 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance again (How to do it from home) Message-ID: <200402232109.AA452722840@ranadasgupta.com> This spam came to me recently. Interesting what data is available, and what uses are imagined for that data... R ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Find out virtually ANYTHING about ANYONE with UNLIMITED SEARCHES right from your PC: Introducing Cyber-Detective ®9.0 Software Cyber-Detective® 9.0 software gives you instant, unlimited access to a proprietary database of 211 million people in the U.S. alone, compiled from phone, DMV, voter registration and other hard-to-find records ... plus hundreds of additional databases and search wizards! Find out about your boss, your friends, your employees, your neighbors, even members of your own family. 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Carlson, St. Paul, MN From jeebesh at sarai.net Tue Feb 24 11:06:37 2004 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 11:06:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" In-Reply-To: <20040222035501.GP21012@r4k.net> References: <200402210828.AA298320060@ranadasgupta.com> <20040222035501.GP21012@r4k.net> Message-ID: <403AE2E5.4090004@sarai.net> Menso Heus wrote: >Thus, the statement that we are far away from Orwellian scenarios due to the fact that >there is no central logging being done is one I doubt, based on the explanation given >above. It's there, but it's more practical, more efficient and well masqueraded. >It's a bit like saying there's no such thing as a hamburger because there's only ground >beef, lettuce, ketchup and buns and the manufacturer of the buns has no interest in the >manufacturer of ketchup. The interests of the manufacturers is of course completely >irrelevant: If you stack up all the ingredients correctly, you end up with a burger >nonetheless. > > This reminds me of a film made by Harun Farocki in late sixties. A workers working in enterprises making washing machine starts slowly assembling the various parts together so that he can have a washing machine at home. He landed up assembling a machine gun. ! Menso's reference to the contemporary information regimes *distributed* nature of information gathering and certain 'focused' ordering when required is very critical and needs to be brought into the discussion on surveillance. Our understanding of power is usually underpined by 19th century understanding of a visible-centralised apparatus. What we are faced with is a far more insidous and imbticated in everyday structure of info-generation, classification and ordering. This much is very clear, that if we are part of an highly efficient electronic transactional space we are very vulnerable to tracking. Well our theories of social order would make us belive that efficient, formal transcational lives are suppose to be living under higher state of freedom...! (Menso thanks for the tracking route graph..) best jeebesh -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040224/dec78c9a/attachment.html From lokesh at sarai.net Tue Feb 24 15:21:51 2004 From: lokesh at sarai.net (Lokesh) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 15:21:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] trade practices around cable tv industry Message-ID: <200402241521.52029.lokesh@sarai.net> Over the last two years i have been researching the trade practices around Cable TV Industry. Apart from following up the entire CAS issue in the last year, I have also been looking at the following compomemts of the Cable Tv indistry: like the cable operators, distributors and Cable TV Operators associations, etc. based on my ongoing research, I have written some notes on my observations and perceptions of the cable industry. looking forward to comment lokesh (Researcher-PPHP, Sarai) -------------------------------------------------------- The Question of CAS: contradictions galore ! It is suitable to enter the field of Cable TV Industry by interrogating the reasons, the resistance and the support around the implementation of CAS (Conditional Access System) and most importantly the hullabaloo created by the same. Some of the questions that we will try and examine here are: Why does the market, which claims to be free and competitive in its nature, need to resort to Law? How does one comprehend the interference of the state in the market by way of the Law? It is not at all surprising then if the government holds suspicious ground against the market especially when the Ministry of Disinvestment is heard saying, "It is not the business of the government to do business". The bet though is that finally it is the consumer who is at the receiving end of this chaos. It is clear enough that it is the government who has to ultimately step in whenever there is a crisis in the relationship that binds the market with consumer. Ironically, it is not the government that is responsible for this crisis, but indeed the creation of a 'new media' space. The introduction of the Cable TV Industry is inevitably responsible for producing one such crisis-ridden situation, considering the far-reaching effects it has on the cultural, social and economic fronts. Ever since its inception, this industry has developed at its own pace, in accordance to the rules of the market and the logic that governs capital, keeping itself at bay from the overbearing interference of the Law and the State. The rules of the market place and the logic that governs capital more often than not challenge the limitations of law and if one were to quote Shrikant (Srhikant, from 1996 to 2002 was a cable operator and now deals in scrap and runs a grocers' shop in Majnu Ka Tilla, for more information read the article A Brief Biography Of a Cable Operator. ) on this, then there is a perpetual fear of being proved 'illegal' in such a situation. An interesting facet here is that for the longest time possible, there were no signs of the Law and the State prowling over the situation. Infact, it was only in 1995 that with great difficulty the Cable TV Industry even got the recognition of a small- scale industry. All that there was in the name of legality, was a formal 'registration' which was such an easy process that getting into the industry was really a child's play. Apart from these formalities, there were absolutely no rules and regulations to monitor an industry worth thousands and crores of rupees, leave aside resolving everyday struggles, conflicts and tensions. If looked at within reasonable parameters, this is truly a natural course of development for a market place. To get an impression that I'm suggesting any kind of an anarchic regime when I pitch the legal against the illegal in the above mentioned facts, would be a gross misinterpretation of the same. All the contemporary spaces to which 'new media' belongs are pretty much out of bounds for both the law and the state. In other words, the kinds of activities that govern the functionality of these spaces and the complexity that they entail are for one, completely incomprehensible by the state and in areas where they have been able to comprehend anything at all, they are not in a position to regulate. Despite all this, there is a certain framework of rules and regulations that govern the everyday economics of the Cable TV Industry and the fore mentioned new spaces and this is definitely the case in certain areas of the field to say the least. This is precisely the basis on which the everyday of these so-called illegal activities is carried out and regulated. In a nutshell, it is this networking that is responsible for regulating the various aspects of new media and also one of the most crucial nodes of this process and study. The time when I was in the last phase of my conversations with Shrikant, was also the time when the Cable Industry had pretty much done away with him. The formulation of a basic framework for CAS- to be able to regulate the Industry better- coming out of conversations of an 'addressible system' was also being done at the same time. Basically, it all started in 2002. At the time, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Smt. Sushma Swaraj, at very short notice called for the formation of a 'task force' for immediate implementation of a Cable TV Act. This task force comprised of multi-system operators (MSO), independent operators, broadcasters, producers and various representatives of cable operators. After three meetings of this task force, a new framework for the Act was suggested. Interestingly enough, the actual story dates a little way back. It was roughly around April-May 2002, which is also the time when Shrikant was being ousted from the trade only to get in another competitor, that there was a meeting of multi-system operators, broadcasters and distributors held to discuss the falling graph of profits within the trade owing to a perpetually growing competition in the field. One gets a somewhat clear picture of the extent of this rivalry within the trade when one speaks to an employee called Deepak working with Siti Cable. He says: "Due to heavy competition, the situation was so critical that you would provide a connection in a certain locality at night and the wire would be cut in a 100 pieces when u saw it in the morning. A multitude of operators functioning at the same time would make it nearly impossible for one to figure out or even track down the competitor who is responsible for this". The consumer though was benefiting from this situation, which is usually the case when there is such heavy competition in the market. They were getting to watch cable at either very cheap rates or even nearly free, though every once in a while they were deprived of this advantage when the wires would be cut resulting in no cable at home. The owner of 'Model Town Cable Communication' Mr. Bharti had some interesting insights to offer when asked to comment on the fierce competition as well as on what cable operators thought of each other. He said: "That day was just like a match between India and Pakistan. Everyone was on their feet and was doing the rounds. The WIN ones, the IN ones and those belonging to SITI; they were all there! Now when all the thieves were on the move, who would cut cables?" Hence, all these people who organised the meeting to get rid of the ever-increasing menaces in the trade ultimately took refuge in some self-service! and devised a whole new set of regulations for themselves, a brief outlaying of which I have done in my previous article. Anyway, the results of that meeting proved to be quite far-sighted for the Cable TV Industry. The MSO got utmost power by monopolising the IRD. The policy of not appointing any new operators, not giving IRDs to self-employed operators as well as by dividing areas in terms of localities, the trade witnessed a different yet special kind of a formation of a monopoly within it. This monopoly was established on localities and not the trade itself. This led to a sudden hike in the cable tariffs for the consumers. This is when the consumers started protesting against companies and the cable operators. With this also started the process of getting CAS into action. At the time when the idea of bringing CAS into the industry was being mulled over, it was being considered as a boon for the consumers. To a certain extent this was true but the real story behind the scenes pointed to a very different set of affairs, benefactors, losers, ulterior motives and what have you! Before one gets into dire straits over the issue of CAS, it is better to get a broad picture of what exactly CAS is all about, something that over a period of a year has given sleepless nights to broadcasters, cable operators, advertising agencies, producers, etc.! The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ravishankar Prasad has certainly released the Genie of CAS out of the bottle but interestingly enough, instead of carrying out it's master's wishes, it's now ready to lock everyone back in the bottle and just vamoose from the scene for good !!! >>What is CAS ? CAS or 'Conditional Access System' is such a provision through which the cable tv consumer can choose to watch only/any desired channels and therefore also pay only for the same and no more. Part 4 of the Cable TV (regulation) Ammendment Act incorporates the changes regarding the same. This is how, in 2002, the State has tried to get an otherwise 'illegal' cable tv trade under its regulation, by procuring for it a legal status. On 14th January 2003, the government, by issuing a guideline, planned to implement CAS in the four metropolitans within a period of six months. >>Important points of the Cable Network Regulation Ammendment Act 2003 Under the Cable Network Regulation Act 2003, there are two clauses for the viewing of channels. It's evident that earlier the consumers had the convenience of watching both, the free-to-air as well as paid channels after paying a certain fixed amount of money. But now all the channels have been divided into two categories. 1.The first category would have a minimum of 30 channels for which the consumer Would have to pay a monthly amount of Rs.72/-, alongside the service charges and the entertainment tax. Channels which don't charge any money from their consumers in return of their broadcast are termed free-to-air channels. The number of these channels would be anything between 30-60 in the first category. These channels would include information regarding various fields such as entertainment, education, sports, news, etc. 2.The second category would have paid channels. Paid channels meaning those for which the consumers have to pay money to the broadcasters. For these channels the operator would collect a fixed amount of money from the consumers and further it to either the broadcasters or the multi-system operators. 3.The number of the free channels would vary from state to state. 4.The Act has talked about an 'addressible system' (CAS has been born out of this). This is related to one such electronic gadget with the help of which the consumer can watch channels of his own choice. For this purpose a 'set top box' would be required which would act like a medium between the cable operator and the consumer. Through this 'set top box', the cable operator would get information of the channels that the consumer watches and this information will keep getting recorded in the 'Subscriber Management System' available with the operators. It is on the basis of this information that the operator will collect the adequate amount of money from the consumer. 5.The Act also has a clause that incase a consumer wishes to watch only the 'free-to-air' channels then he does not need to buy a set top box. This box is necessary on ly for the paid channels. 6.All operators would necessarily need to update themselves technologically for The 'Conditional Access System' or CAS so that they can implement this rule. Without this technology, they will not be able to feature the paid channels. 7.All cable operators would need to specify the prices of all 'free-to-air' as well as 'paid channels' separately either in their offices or give them to their consumers in a published format. 8.All cable operators would need to give the following information to broadcasters, the MSOs and the government : (a)The total number of cable tv consumers. (b)Monthly tariff (separately) (c)A separate count of consumers watching free and paid channels. (d)Information of the amount that the operators pay to the broadcasters. 9.Under the new rule, the cable tv operators would need to get the technology within a period of six months. >>Scramble between CAS and CASH Although the government made big claims of implementing CAS by the 14th of July, even till the last date of executing it, there were various kinds of myths, doubts and suspicions doing the rounds within the trade and outside of it. The indecision about the two varieties of the 'set top box' available- digital and analog, what would be done incase there are problems with the box at a later level- will it be replaced or will it be mended, the difference in the rates of the two varieties, etc. to site just a few. Where on the one hand some channels priced the box at Rs.7000/- each, after a few days one got to know that it was available at a much lower price while on the other some companies promised to give it on a lease costing anything between a 1000/- rupees to Rs.2700/- and then charging a tariff on an everyday basis right down to Re.1/-. As far as the 'free-to-air' channels were concerned, the government promised 30 channels for a flat rate of Rs.72/-, but some other companies promised even upto 40-50 channels. The high price at which 'paid channels' came was also a matter of big concern. Where the government had promised that the maximum amount of tariff a consumer could pay was Rs.250/-, the actual amount that the consumer ended up paying at the end of the day was something like Rs.550/- or even more in accordance to the rates prescribed by the broadcasters. The operators were found accusing the government saying that while the government prescribed a flat rate of Rs.72 for them, it kept the rights of prescribing the rates for the paid-channels with itself. In their opinion, this was likely to create trouble within the trade. Even the government stood on shaky ground vis-à-vis their stand on CAS. The deadline for the implementation of CAS was immediately forwarded to 1st September as soon as as 14th July came close, with the claim that there was a shortage in the availability of the set top boxes. Besides, it was said that CAS would now be implemented 'zone-wise', which meant that in a certain part of the city cable would be accessible only via CAS whereas in the rest of the city, cable would be accessible pretty much the way it was till then. This led to a lot of dissatisfaction. In another declaration, the government said that a 'dual-feed' system be followed, according to which consumers who want CAS should be given the same whereas those who don't, be allowed to access cable the old way. This declaration invited a lot of wrath on the part of the MSOs and the cable operators. By the time September came, the government yet again got an opportunity to ignore the issue in the wake of the forthcoming Delhi Elections. Madanlal Khurana was too scared that CAS might threaten his seat just the way it did during the 'onion issue'. Venkaiah Naidu was threatened by the thought that CAS might take an ugly shape just like VAT did, and so it eventually did! The Union Government threw cold water over the project in Delhi, the State Governments in Kolkata and Mumbai did not take action to implement it, and not much difference was made in Chennai even after CAS was implemented. As of now, the state of affairs is such that the government has still not been able to get a grip over the project and to top it all it has invited the wrath of cable operators by fixing a flat rate of Rs.72 for the free-to-air channels. Different parties belonging to the cable tv industry had a great difference of opinion regarding the issue of CAS. Some supported it while others resisted. Various associations of cable operators in Delhi had their own ways of either supporting or resisting the cause. Presidents of 'NTCA', 'Cable Operators Federation of India', and 'All India Avishkar Dish and Antenna Committee' were all members of the task committee. They supported the Rs.72/- model saying that they are in favour of implementing CAS and are against creating hurdles in the process. Whereas the 'Cable Network Association' and the 'Cable Operators United Front' were convinced that such a low tariff was not at all enough for the cable operators to sustain themselves and would be the end of them, therefore it should be raised atleast upto Rs.180/-. They resorted to a lot of protests and demonstrations for the same. Multi-system operators of all three- 'WIN', 'IN' and 'SITI' have created a work-plan which involves investment worth crores of rupees. Incase CAS is not implemented, they will have to incur heavy losses but incase it is implemented, they hope that once the consumer gets into a contract with one of them, it is unlikely that he would want to change his operator and get into a new contract because all operators would use set top boxes of different companies and therefore the latter would mean buying a new box which in any case would not come at a cheap price and why would the consumer want to invest twice. Therefore this situation also seems to be in favour of CAS. Even the producers are in favour of CAS because they are stocking boxes worth crores of rupees and its implementation would give them an opening to a hugely potential market. Operators functioning at the level of individual localities or areas believe that they have an uphill task to care of. The consumer already gives them a hard time paying for each individual channel and to top it there is the 'entertainment tax'. This is certainly not going to be an easy job. On the other hand the broadcasters are perpetually hiking their tariffs and ultimately it is them who face the music! Naturally, as a course of their limitations they have to show fewer channels than promised and all they get in turn is adorned with titles like 'thieves'. Therefore, they believe that they will be in a much better position if CAS gets implemented. On the other side, the broadcasters are strictly against CAS. In their opinion it is still not about time that CAS gets implemented in India and then there is no proper supply of boxes. Whereas the truth points to something completely different, which is their profits. The consumer would have the choice to pick up desirable channels if CAS gets implemented. Considering the cost-effective mentality that India harbours, most consumers would like to go only for the 'free-to-air' channels! It is quite obvious that this means a double loss for the broadcasters. On the one hand the inflow of capital from the end of the consumers will sharply decline and on the other the advertising agencies will no longer advertise profusely and therefore the profits coming in from that end would also fall. All these broadcaster companies are in the favour of getting a 'direct-to-home' system so that they can adequately monopolise the trade for their own benefits. Where on the one hand, there are many voices for and against CAS within the trade, on the other, the 'consumer' is perpetually in a state of limbo. Whether or not CAS will favour him is something that is completely lost on him. On one hand he is excited by the freedom CAS gives him to pick and choose channels of his own choice, on the other he is perturbed by the huge investment the boxes call for and the various problems that would come free with them. Therefore, for now they are adopting a policy of 'wait and watch'. As far as the government goes, it believed that such a system would encourage transparency and therefore the operators would not be able to steal channels which would lead to entertainment tax which in turn would fill the pockets of the State. Ever since 1994, it has tried high and low to somehow carve out a niche for itself within this trade, but in vain. In the past one year, ever since CAS has been lingering on the threshold of the cable tv industry, the graph of the trade has been such that it's really difficult to comment on it. When and how someone would complicate the matter even more with new proposals is something that is very difficult to say and rely on. The government had enforced with all its might that CAS would be implemented in July. The government's might was still too light! During the day, the multi-system operators agreed to a tariff plan of Rs.72, but by evening that united voice dishevelled into multiple narratives. Some resisting and some supporting whereas some just perched on the fence. A lot of the operators don't even have a clue of what exactly is coming out of this muck. They are just waiting to decide how to treat it when it is served to them on a platter. The broadcasters are at loggerheads with each other. Some want that CAS should get implemented but on their conditions, others are supporting the government fiercely behind their backs such that CAS is completely thrown out of the window. At the end of the day, the consumer who has to handle the googly thrown at him, is really at a loss and is completely flummoxed by the situation he has willy nilly been dragged into. He has decided not to decide anything for the time being. To wind up this mess is a difficult job, but there is one central aspect which keeping in mind, everyone is trying to judge CAS- which is 'cash'. Cash means profits, booty, etc. The government has a stake of crores of rupees if CAS gets implemented. The multi-system operators can either enjoy the fruits of CAS or brood over their losses. For the operators, it is a situation of both joy and despair. The broadcaster is worried about a complete face off, because of the huge profits he makes out of procuring advertisements. The publics ofcourse are apprehensive regarding the huge investments expected out of them. In a nutshell, the implementation of CAS foreshadows a complete toppling of the hierarchised gains that the industry was so far used to at each subsequent level. And apparently, the ostensibly strongest level of this hierarchy, meaning the broadcaster, might just be the one that topples first. Broadly speaking, we can say that the implementation of CAS would have far-sighted effects in the coming future. Post-implementation if the common man insists on watching the free-to-air channels the most, then it is quite likely that in the near future most of the paid channels might just declare themselves 'free'. If this happens then it is the multi-system operators who would be at the greatest receiving end of this entire process, because this trend would be a great impetus for new people and therefore competitors to enter the field. The overall monopoly that they gained as a result of procuring IRDs, would immediately topple. It is quite likely that the cable tv industry might be heading for a post 1995 like open competition situation. Another possibility is that if most of the popular channels keep functioning as paid channels at low tariffs, then a lot of small time cable operators in the wake of being able to earn only low profits might just surrender themselves to the big operators or even to the multi-system operators. It would be difficult though, to maintain and save the 'Subscriber Management System' and the set top boxes. On the other side of this debate, we are still left with a very significant question that is in this entire scramble between CAS and CASH, is the State trying to pitch in a stake of its own and enter the competition or is it earnestly trying to save the consumer from getting trapped by the ill-effects that come out of a complicated market situation like the one we have at hand? It is likely that the various layers of this intention start unfolding in a few months from now, when the stakes involved start thinking about the implementation of CAS from a new perspective. ( This artical was written for Media Nagar in oct 2003. Many develepments have happened after then, which dosen't cover in this artical )blics ofcourse are apprehensive regarding the huge investments expected out of them. In a nutshell, the implementation of CAS foreshadows a complete toppling of the hierarchised gains that the industry was so far used to at each subsequent level. And apparently, the ostensibly strongest level of this hierarchy, meaning the broadcaster, might just be the one that topples first. Broadly speaking, we can say that the implementation of CAS would have far-sighted effects in the coming future. Post-implementation if the common man insists on watching the free-to-air channels the most, then it is quite likely that in the near future most of the paid channels might just declare themselves 'free'. If this happens then it is the multi-system operators who would be at the greatest receiving end of this entire process, because this trend would be a great impetus for new people and therefore competitors to enter the field. The overall monopoly that they gained as a result of procuring IRDs, would immediately topple. It is quite likely that the cable tv industry might be heading for a post 1995 like open competition situation. Another possibility is that if most of the popular channels keep functioning as paid channels at low tariffs, then a lot of small time cable operators in the wake of being able to earn only low profits might just surrender themselves to the big operators or even to the multi-system operators. It would be difficult though, to maintain and save the 'Subscriber Management System' and the set top boxes. On the other side of this debate, we are still left with a very significant question that is in this entire scramble between CAS and CASH, is the State trying to pitch in a stake of its own and enter the competition or is it earnestly trying to save the consumer from getting trapped by the ill-effects that come out of a complicated market situation like the one we have at hand? It is likely that the various layers of this intention start unfolding in a few months from now, when the stakes involved start thinking about the implementation of CAS from a new perspective. ( This artical was written for Media Nagar in oct 2003. Many develepments have happened after then, which dosen't cover in this artical ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Brief Biography of a Cable Operator "In our city activities not regulated by the law have a perpetual fear of being branded illegal. It is possible that the whole cable industry could be declared illegal tomorrow since there has been no legislation in this field. In a similar way our jhuggies (slums) were also declared illegal, my kabari (scrap dealer's) shop is also functioning, but on the basis of a secret deal with the law. The law needs to be bribed to allow illegal dealings." - Shrikant Cable wala alias Shrikant Kabari wala, alias Shrikant Lala. Shrikant's testimony not only reflects the reality of the cable industry today, but also makes one acutely aware of the insecurity endemic to urban legal regulations. His career indicates something of the dynamic of trades in Delhi. Presently Shrikant stays in Sangam Vihar, but when he arrived in Delhi in 1980 he used to stay in Shiv Basti near Khyber Pass. He started a kabari (scrap) business, which still survives, and subsequently started a grocery shop outside his own jhuggie. In 1994 Shrikant got a cable connection for his house. Due to a lack of laws and government intervention, the field offered a lot of opportunities to an enterprising newcomer. But in 1994 Zee TV and Star TV started a company called Siti Cable to ensure that their channels reach the maximum number of houses. Siti Cable started wiring localities. With the coming of pay channels customers had to pay the broadcasters a certain amount. Thus 1994 was a new phase for the cable industry. During 1995-96 the cable operator in Shrikant's basti started removing the connections because he suffered losses. Shrikant gathered some courage and bought it off him, despite the fact that his business was doing well and he did not know much about the cable business. When asked for a reason he said, ' ... future planning prompted me into this business. Death is a reality and so is the removal of the jhuggies'. This kind of volatile experience made the cable business attractive. Shrikant used to do the cable business only part time upto the moment the jhuggies were demolished. In mid-90s, many people got into the business of cable operation.By 1996, every block had a cable operator. Siti Cable became a major player in the market. The network now runs about 70 % of the cable industry in the city. On the other hand, the local cable operators also started asserting their control. The field became competitive and all both fair and unfair means, including force, were used in this struggle amongst operators. Operators like Major Yadav came up whose market was spread over more than one area. A game of poaching on others' territories started, and with it increased gundagardi, (thuggish behaviour) money and mind games. A race was on to show a new release first, or, if an operator charged 100/- for a connection the other offered it at 75/-. They also started some special schemes. For instance when Major Yadav gave his business over to Shrikant he told him to show it free for a couple of months, and then to start paying him 3000/- a month. In the Jahangirpuri area, the operators showed it free for a month, then charged 50/- and 100/- a little later. This led to a brouhaha amongst the operators. Cable wires were snapped in the middle of the night, and there were violent encounters amongst the operators. In the meantime, IN company, owned by the Hindujas, came up. In 1999 Star TV dissociated itself from the Siti Cable and invested in the shares of Hathway Company. By 2000 another company called Win came in. While companies like IN, Win, Siti and other small companies came into the field, people like the Major kept on challenging their monopoly. The Cable industry saw competition at a cutthroat scale. By around 2000, when the bastis were demolished the Metro Rail, Shrikant started working full time and moved his cable work from the jhuggies to the nearby B D Estate and other places. This area of Timarpur is mainly a middleclass and a lower middleclass area, with mostly government servants. At a short distance is the B D Estate which is an upper class area. There were four big cable operators in the area, before Shrikant. Shrikant could not match their resources in terms of man and money power. But he ignored the threats of the bigger players. His amicable behaviour coupled with the lower prices he offered won him clients in these areas. And soon Shrikant shot from 0 to more than 200 connections. He became a major irritant to his competitors. According to Shrikant there were many confrontations, some of which ended in the thana. The final showdown took place in the Win cable office. Shrikant, who at the time was operating for Win, was asked to sell his territory to his competitor. He refused, and one night his connection wires were snapped. He switched to In. By 2001 the number of pay channels increased and so did the rates and competition. You needed bigger capital now. Shrikant's competitors were all well off, so they could decrease their prices and increased rates minimally. Shrikant says that the other operators troubled him a lot. They would either put a pin in his wire so that the reception would become unclear, or superimpose an amplifier over his, or amplify their signals to make reception unclear in his territory. During this time there were many changes which altered the internal functions of the industry. There was a big entente between the three big distribution companies and the head-end operators in the month of April-May 2002. The Companies divided territories amongst themselves and agreed not to put any up any new operators. No operator could now abandon an old connection, and there were to be no new private headends. This led to a major change in the business. The Companies now exercise a monopoly over their respective territories, and have effectively prevented the entry of newcomers. Consumers too have been constrained, as they have no alternative to the designated operator for the area. Since Shrikant got in the way of the cable monopolists, they tried to remove him. Shrikant has ultimately compromised with the companies, withdrawing his operations on the assurance that he would receive a guaranteed monthly sum. He was confident that the company would not cheat him. When asked why he came to a compromise, he said, rather allusively: ' The deal took place at the distributors' office, you see.' According to Shrikant if he keeps getting that sum he would at least be saved from the regular operational tensions and hazards. But the matter was not that simple. In Shrikant's own words, 'They were saying that do not kill the hen that lays the golden eggs, just take the egg and use it. ' The hen laying golden eggs was Shrikant's rival who could go on making a profit if he got a monopolistic hold over the area, and this would only be possible if Shrikant was removed from the area. This would mean profit for the monopoly operators, the distributors' commission would increase and the company would also get a bigger collection. Only the average cable user suffered, as they have to pay more. And Shrikant himself only gets a fixed sum per month, rather than a share in a burgeoning trade. Now one needs to wait and watch whether Shrikant sacrifices the hen that lays the golden eggs or gets sacrificed by it in turn. Does Shrikant get the gold or an egg (a zero)? Shrikant's story has significant implications. There would be many Shrikants and Major Yadavs in Delhi. A research into their regular dealings opens up new possibilities and provides precious information on the complex functioning of the cable industry in the city. From info at nmartproject.net Mon Feb 23 19:45:44 2004 From: info at nmartproject.net ([R][R][F] 2004) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 15:15:44 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] global networking project starts on 23 February Message-ID: <0abb01c3fa17$871ccfb0$0300a8c0@NewMediaArtNet> on Monday, 23 February 2004 - it is so far!! ---> [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP [Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting] www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 global networking project created and developed by Agricola de Cologne - . is starting with the online feature "Inflict" - Internet performance created for RRF 2004 by the Swedish group "Beeoff" curated by Bjoern Norberg/Stockholm --> online streaming 24 hours between 23 February and 15 March from Stockholm/Sweden and Montreal/Canada --> for more details and/or joining go to www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 (Window Media Player required) . [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP -->launch of the online body on 3 March 2004 on www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 . -->physical start will be in March 2004 at National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucaresti/Romania www.mnac.ro/next , Bergen Center of Electronic Arts Bergen/Norway www.bek.no , New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand http://thailand.culturebase.org . Official physical start will be on 5 March at National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucaresti/Romania. . [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP will be realized in collaboration and networking with numerous virtual and physical locations and partners around the globe, it will be developed and operating during 2004 and beyond. . All details are available on [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP info site www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004 rrf2004 at newmediafest.org ***************************** [R][R][F] 2004 --->XP is corporate member of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne info at nmartproject.net including following corporate sites: A Virtual Memorial www.a-virtual-memorial.org le Musee di-visioniste www.le-musee-divisioniste.org MediaCentre www.le-musee-divisioniste.org/mediacentre JavaMuseum www.javamuseum.org Engaged Art Directory www.engad.org Nmartproject.net www.nmartproject.net Agricola de Cologne Moving Picture Collection www.nmartproject.net/agricola/mpc Festival site www.newmediafest.org Violence Online Festival www.newmediafest.org/violence [R][R][F] Festival www.newmediafest.org/rrf/ Agricola de Cologne site www.agricola-de-cologne.de Recommended DSL Internet connection Required latest Flash player/plug-in latest browser versions of MS Internet Explorer, Netscape and Opera _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ektenel at hotmail.com Tue Feb 24 23:10:43 2004 From: ektenel at hotmail.com (Ah_Ek Ferrera_Balanquet) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 17:40:43 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] TeknoKultura Vol. 4 Message-ID: TeknoKultura Vol. 4 http://teknokultura.rrp.upr.edu/ Call for Contributions 2004-2005 Teknokultura, on-line journal of the University of Puerto Rico�s Social Sciences Faculty (R�Piedras Campus), announces its opening for contributions to evaluate articles and electronic art relevant to the integration of technology to daily lives and labor. Book and website reviews, literary work, and cartoons asociated to these themes will also be evaluated. Teknokultura provides a forum of expression on subjects related to technology and culture from a critical and transdisciplinary perspective. Through its vast array of sections, the journal engages in subjects related to lifestyles and cultural spaces that have emerged from the integration of technology to our social lives in contemporary society. This call for contributions will be open from April 2004 until April 2005. During this time, we will receive contributions that will be published in Vol 4 of the journal which will be available on-line on August 2004-2005. Contributions in the form of articles should follow these guidelines: approximately 15 pages in length with double spaced paragraphs, submitted in a PC platform (preferably in Microsoft Word), and use APA publication style. We encourage the integration of audiovisual material as part of the articles. The submitted articles should have not been published elsewhere in an electronic format and the author/s are responsible for obtaining the appropriate permits to use images, videos or music included in their contribution and that are protected by copyrights. Authors will retain the copyrights of their contributions published in Teknokultura. All materials should be sent to Heidi J. Figueroa Sarriera, Editor, to the following e-mail address: teknok at rrpac.upr.clu.edu For more information please contact Heidi J. Figueroa Sarriera by phone at 787- 764-0000 x. 7917 or send email to hfiguero at coqui.net ... Espa� TeknoKultura Vol. 4 http://teknokultura.rrp.upr.edu/ Convocatoria 2004-2005 La revista online Teknokultura, de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de R�Piedras, anuncia la convocatoria para evaluar art�los y obras de arte electr�o relacionados a la integraci�e la tecnolog�a la vida cotidiana y el mundo del trabajo. Tambi�recibimos rese�de libros, actividades y websites, piezas literarias y caricaturas asociadas a estos temas. TeknoKultura provee un foro de expresi�obre temas tecnoculturales desde una perspectiva cr�ca y transdisciplinaria. A trav�de sus distintas secciones se discute la amplia gama de estilos de vida y espacios culturales que se han generado en la integraci�e la tecnolog�a las formas de vida social en la contemporaneidad. Esta convocatoria queda abierta desde abril del presente a�asta abril del pr�o a�ara recibir trabajos a ser publicados en nuestro cuarto volumen de la revista que estar�nline a partir de agosto del presente a� El formato de los art�lo debe ser el siguiente: �tener aproximadamente quince p�nas a doble espacio, �estar escrito en plataforma PC (preferiblemente en Word, de Microsoft Office) �utilizar la convenci�PA Se estimula la incorporaci�e material audiovisual como parte de los art�los. Los art�los no deben haber sido publicados previamente en formato electr�o y el autor o autora se responsabiliza por obtener los permisos necesarios para la reproducci�e im�nes, videos o m� que acompa�sus art�los y que est�protegidos por la Ley de Derechos de Autor. De otro lado, los derechos de autor y de reproducci�on conservados por el autor o autora de los art�los y obras publicadas en TeknoKultura. El material debe ser enviado a la atenci�e Heidi J. Figueroa Sarriera, Editora, al siguiente correo electr�o: teknok at rrpac.upr.clu.edu Para informaci�dicional puede comunicarse con Heidi J. Figueroa en el tel�no 787-764-0000 ext. 7917, hfiguero at coqui.net Raul Moarquech Ferrera-Balanquet,MFA Artist/Writer/Curator krosrods at cartodigital.org ektenel at hotmail.com http://www.cartodigital.org/krosrods _________________________________________________________________ Click, drag and drop. My MSN is the simple way to design your homepage. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200364ave/direct/01/ From Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com Tue Feb 24 23:37:20 2004 From: Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.com (Asthana, Rahul) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 13:07:20 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindi Literature Message-ID: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6A1B@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> As an offshoot of a question regarding great Hindi novels in a yahoo group which caters to learning Hindi,I have created a page on wiki http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_literature Our immediate goal is to create a list of great books(currently we have started from listing down authors),and progressing from there an encyclopedia of Hindi Literature. If any of you want to contribute , please go to that link on wiki and do whatever you think fit with the page . From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Wed Feb 25 01:12:18 2004 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 20:42:18 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) Message-ID: <20040225034942.414B228D874@mail.sarai.net> Quite a peculiar case from the site of Germany where an institutionally supported and orderly preserved body of copy- and property-rights is just beginning to crumble - in this sense one could really say that Germany is only at the very beginning of 'becoming global' (imagine all those property-holders of all the masses of pirated and copied music, films, texts, symbols etc. that circulate Asia alone would engage in court cases!). Cheers - Britta Von: Seda Guerses An: boell at yahoogroups.de Betreff: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) Datum: Die, 24. Feb 2004 17:42 Uhr Subject: [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? textz.com doesn't think so Copy Adorno, Go To Jail? Textz.com Doesn't Think So The Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Culture, presided by Jan Philipp Reemtsma, has just advanced science and culture to a whole new level: Sebastian Luetgert, the founder of textz.com, is facing a warrant of arrest and may go to jail if he fails to pay more than 2,300 euros in damages for the alleged copying of two essays by Theodor W. Adorno that the foundation claims as their "intellectual property". Reemtsma was kindly asked to settle, but refused. The case dates back to August 2002, when the foundation filed for a preliminary injunction against Luetgert at the Hamburg State Court, referring to the alleged distibution of two works by Theodor W. Adorno, "Jargon der Eigentlichkeit" and "Fascism and Anti-Semitic Propaganda". Since not a single e-mail was sent to notify textz.com of the matter, and since written notification failed to reach the defendant, textz.com only learned about the issue after a few days. The works in question were immediately removed from the site to avoid any further legal hassles. In December 2003, Luetgert found himself confronted with a warrant of arrest, obtained against him by the Hamburg Foundation, citing unpaid claims related to the unauthorized copying of said works. In January 2004, Luetgert addressed the issue in a letter to Reemtsma and asked for a scholarship so he could pay this debt and avoid jail time. Reemtsma did not reply, but handed the letter over to his foundation's lawyers - Senfft, Kersten, Voss-Andreae & Schwenn - who insist on the payment of 2,331.32 Euros for alleged damages and legal fees. Textz.com believes that an "intellectual proprietor" of Theodor W. Adorno and Walter Benjamin who claims to advance science and culture by sending people to jail for taking Adorno and Benjamin serious is seriously wrong on a whole number of points. The Hamburg Foundation undererstimates the resistance of their possessions against their legal protection just as much as their lawyers underestimate the ability of the Internet to route around damage. In the end, they may even be wrong in thinking that they will ever get their property back. Today, in an open letter (http://textz.com/adorno/open_letter.txt), Reemtsma has been notified that his foundation's "intellectual property" has been returned to the public domain. This first-of-its-kind protest signals a refusal to let copyright holders and lawyers censor the very works they pretend to protect and control what the public can archive or read. There is a universal right to copy that will never cease to apply, and there is copyright legislation that will. The spectre haunting the scientific and cultural industries is a new commons materializing before their very own eyes. We're just at the beginning. Textz.com February 24, 2004 http://textz.com mailto:textz at textz.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- How you can support textz.com: - Spread the word. Tell your friends, tell a journalist, write about it, put it on a website, post it to a mailing list, etc. Textz.com is also available for interviews, just mail to press at textz.org. - Sign our petition at http://textz.com/adorno/petition.html. - Write a letter to Jan Philipp Reemtsma, Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Culture, Mittelweg 36, 20148 Hamburg, Germany. If you like, send a copy of your letter to textz at textz.org. - Donate to textz.com via http://textz.com/adorno/donate.html. - Buy a copy of Robert Luxemburg's "The Conceptual Crisis of Private Property as a Crisis in Practice" (http://textz.com/crisis). All proceedings will go to textz.com's fund for legal expenses. - Put our "Free Adorno" banner (http://textz.com/adorno/banner.gif) on your website, and/or link to http://textz.com/adorno. - Meet textz.com at Neuro Festival, February 26-29, Munich, Germany (check http://neuro.kein.org for details) and join our discussion about further strategies in this case. - Select all, copy, paste, save, upload, share. Reappropriate. (And remember: there is no need to break what you can circumvent. Don't innovate, imitate.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Related links: Documentation of our correnspondence: http://textz.com/adorno/documentation.de.txt http://textz.com/adorno/documentation.en-babelfish.txt Press coverage: http://textz.com/adorno/press.txt Open Letter to Jan Philipp Reemtsma: http://textz.com/adorno/open_letter.txt The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction: http://textz.com/adorno/work_of_art.txt Franz Kafka on "intellectual property": http://textz.com/kafka Textz.com mission statement, early 2001: http://textz.com/concept What others say about textz.com: http://textz.com/press The textz that textz.com is all about: http://textz.com/cache http://textz.com/textz Some state-of-the-art copyright circumvention technologies: http://textz.com/trash http://textz.com/crisis Some more stuff we have not yet been sued for: http://textz.com/search http://textz.com/news Drop us a line, send us a text, or subscribe to our newsletter: http://textz.com/contact Finally, while freeing Adorno, please free the Grey Album too: http://textz.com/greyalbum/greyalbum.html _________________________________________________________________ [lab] i n t e r n a un/subscribe https://b.lab.net/mailman/listinfo/lab Antworten werden an die AbsenderInnen geschickt. Mails an die ganze Liste gehen an die Adresse boell at yahoogroups.de - bitte dabei die Betreffszeile m–glichst genau und verstaendlich formulieren! Die Boell-StipendiatInnenliste verlaesst Du, indem Du von der eingetragenen Emailadresse aus eine Mail (ohne Text) an boell-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.de schickst. Bei allen Problemen: Mail an boell-owner at yahoogroups.de Yahoo! Groups Links Besuchen Sie Ihre Group im Web unter: http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/boell/ Um sich von der Group abzumelden, senden Sie eine Mail an: boell-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.de Mit der Nutzung von Yahoo! Groups akzeptieren Sie unsere http://de.docs.yahoo.com/info/utos.html From monica at sarai.net Wed Feb 25 11:35:13 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 11:35:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) In-Reply-To: <20040225034942.414B228D874@mail.sarai.net> References: <20040225034942.414B228D874@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Have been following IP enforcement raids and cases. We are at the beginning of a sharp social conflict that is going to affect the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world. The Culture of the Copy will proliferate and so will the mad property regimes will seek massive enforcement regime. Where are we heading towards...? (Below is a news snippet on the enforcement on the kazaa peer-to-peer network.) I would definitely recommend a quick read of the open letter to Jan Reemstsma by textz.com. Poses things nice and poetically! (http://textz.com/adorno/open_letter.txt) best M ----------------------------- http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0210kazaaowner.html?fsrc=rss-applications Kazaa owner Sharman fights court order By Gillian Law IDG News Service, 02/10/04 Sharman Networks, the owner and distributor of the Kazaa peer-to-peer network, Tuesday said that it has applied to have a court order set aside after a raid last week by Music Industry Piracy Investigations, a subsidiary of the Australian Recording Industry Association. This application prevents the recording industry from accessing seized documents until the judge has considered the case, Sharman Networks said. MIPI had won an Anton Pillar order against Sharman Networks from a judge at the Federal Court of Australia, allowing it to search the premises of the Cremorne, Australia, company on Feb. 6. An Anton Pillar order is often used in software piracy cases, and gives the applicant the right to raid the premises of the respondent, without notice, and seize documentary or other evidence. However, MIPI did not make several facts clear to the judge when applying for the order and the order should therefore be set aside, Sharman said in a statement. Sharman contends that the music industry has been unsuccessful in similar proceedings in the U.S. and the Netherlands, and that the company has cooperated with the U.S. proceedings by producing documents and statements. Having done so, it should not have to go through the same process in Australia, it said. The judge will hear the case on Feb. 20, Sharman said. In the meantime, the recording industry is unable to gain access to any documents seized under the order, the company said. At 20:42 +0100 24/2/04, Britta Ohm wrote: >Quite a peculiar case from the site of Germany where an institutionally >supported and orderly preserved body of copy- and property-rights is just >beginning to crumble - in this sense one could really say that Germany is >only at the very beginning of 'becoming global' (imagine all those >property-holders of all the masses of pirated and copied music, films, >texts, symbols etc. that circulate Asia alone would engage in court cases!). >Cheers - Britta > >Von: Seda Guerses >An: boell at yahoogroups.de >Betreff: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? textz.com doesn't think so >(fwd) >Datum: Die, 24. Feb 2004 17:42 Uhr > -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From abroeck at transmediale.de Wed Feb 25 14:34:29 2004 From: abroeck at transmediale.de (Andreas Broeckmann) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 10:04:29 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) In-Reply-To: References: <20040225034942.414B228D874@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <1077699869.403c651d97fa8@webmail.in-berlin.de> dear monica, > Have been following IP enforcement raids and cases. We are at the > beginning of a sharp social conflict that is going to affect the very > way we think and conduct ourselves in this world. The Culture of the > Copy will proliferate and so will the mad property regimes will seek > massive enforcement regime. Where are we heading towards...? while i share your concern about coming cultural clashes around these issues, and while i sympathise with sebastian's cause, i believe that it has to be admitted that in this case the law is staying pretty much the same, while people 'like us' are demanding new, more laissez-fair laws for their 'digital life-style'. Isn't it 'us', not 'them', who is moving the goal-posts? those property regimes are as 'mad' as bourgeois capitalism has been in the last centuries, and i find it a matter of course that capital will defend itself in courts as long as they can. and so long as the digital avantgarde has to play the 'I'm only an artist' card, rather than offering a tenable political economy of copy culture, i doubt whether those property regimes will go away so soon. not if they see real and symbolical capital being, what they would call, mis-appropriated. what you call 'the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world' is, from a legalistic point of view, marginal. i don't want to spoil the party, but i think it is necessary to see where the lines of conflict are. if this will be a matter of legal hegemony, we will have to muster a lot more political power than what will be necessary to save sebastian that EUR 3.000 bill. greetings, -a From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Wed Feb 25 20:28:10 2004 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 15:58:10 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) Message-ID: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> ---------- >Von: "Britta Ohm" >An: Andreas Broeckmann >Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) >Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 15:51 Uhr > > Dear Monica, dear Andreas, > you're not a party-booper, Andreas, as I also think that a blind support of > copy culture would just amount to being the opposite of what it proposes to > be: rather narrow-minded. But this comes especially into play when it > concerns the 'only artists' as it is particularly them who are on a smaller > scale dependent on royalties and recognition. Just to give a small example > that concerns actually you and me, Monica: a photograph of mine was printed > in your name in Melissa's book that's just come out. It sucks, but it is, > well, a mistake, can happen, and I know that you declared that not to be > your picture when you saw the book. Yet it gets you thinking: if it becomes > obvious that the property right of the photo is with somebody else (even if > we might not know yet who it is), wouldn't that be enough to do something > about it rather than let it go (I know, all difficult, book is printed, what > to do?). But in principle, isn't that rapidly becoming integral part of a > hailed-as-democratic copy-culture as well: not just the cheap dissemination > of high-capital outpout, but the simple ignorance of or laissez-faire > attitude towards somebody else's work, time, investments and efforts? I > meanwhile have come across a number of cases in books as well as on the web > where my work or material - which I generally have made available quite > generously - suddenly appears without name or in somebody else's. As much as > I have seen our films being copied without me seeing any royalties for it. > This is still slightly different as at least the 'property holder' > definitely shows in the credits, but should I be happy that more people get > to see it that way, or should I get angry as I barely know how to finance my > next project? Don't you guard your property rights as a photographer, > Monica? Doesn't sarai? I think the whole matter of copy culture walks a > tightrope which asks us to learn to very clearly differ between enabling > access, creative freedom as well as cash-flow away from 'big capital' and > arrogance and ignorance towards rightful property holders, particularly > 'only artists'. In this sense, I think, Monica is right in saying that this > might change the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world, even > though it seems to only reflect a hope that might have come with our > experiences gained from earlier avatars of supposedly anti-capitalist > movements (the dictatorship of the proletariat was mainly a dictatorship in > the end...). > The case of Reemtsma and textz.org seems pretty blatant in this context: > Reemtsma is not the author of the texts, he simply owns them as he owns a > hell of a lot of other texts without having written them, and Sebastian is > not an artist but a mere distributor who does not gain profit from his > activities. His move effectively undermined Reemtsma's authority to decide > about the dissemination of knowledge and is particularly interesting as he > did not even intend to do so: he took it for granted, rightfully so (at the > same time, he always responded to claims from authors and publishing houses > earlier). Reemtsma, who refuses to deal with the web and even e-mail, missed > out on a chance to live up to the image he seeks to create of himself in > public and the very name of his institute; the whole matter could have been > settled between the two of them over a cup of tea. But whilst this > represents a particular case of stone-faced ivory tower-attitude, the next > case could be completely different... > Cheers -- Britta > > ---------- >>Von: Andreas Broeckmann >>An: Monica Narula >>Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com > doesn't think so (fwd) >>Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 10:04 Uhr >> > >> dear monica, >> >>> Have been following IP enforcement raids and cases. We are at the >>> beginning of a sharp social conflict that is going to affect the very >>> way we think and conduct ourselves in this world. The Culture of the >>> Copy will proliferate and so will the mad property regimes will seek >>> massive enforcement regime. Where are we heading towards...? >> >> while i share your concern about coming cultural clashes around these issues, >> and while i sympathise with sebastian's cause, i believe that it has to be >> admitted that in this case the law is staying pretty much the same, while >> people 'like us' are demanding new, more laissez-fair laws for their 'digital >> life-style'. Isn't it 'us', not 'them', who is moving the goal-posts? those >> property regimes are as 'mad' as bourgeois capitalism has been in the last >> centuries, and i find it a matter of course that capital will defend itself in >> courts as long as they can. and so long as the digital avantgarde has to play >> the 'I'm only an artist' card, rather than offering a tenable political > economy >> of copy culture, i doubt whether those property regimes will go away so soon. >> not if they see real and symbolical capital being, what they would call, >> mis-appropriated. >> >> what you call 'the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world' is, >> from a legalistic point of view, marginal. >> >> i don't want to spoil the party, but i think it is necessary to see where the >> lines of conflict are. if this will be a matter of legal hegemony, we will > have >> to muster a lot more political power than what will be necessary to save >> sebastian that EUR 3.000 bill. >> >> greetings, >> -a >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >> in the subject header. >> List archive: >> From geert at desk.nl Thu Feb 26 12:35:45 2004 From: geert at desk.nl (geert lovink) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:05:45 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Anti-Semitism at the World Social Forum? References: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <028d01c3fc36$f4b63040$9700000a@geert> Published on Thursday, February 19, 2004 by CommonDreams.org Anti-Semitism at the World Social Forum? by Cecilie Surasky It is my first morning at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India and I am at a workshop on Palestinian women and the occupation. In the audience is a woman who I first think might be Israeli -- she could easily be one of my friends and I feel an immediate kinship with her. She tells me she is 34 and has lived her whole life in Gaza except for college. I ask her if I can interview her. She cautiously eyes my card, on which I have purposely written in thick, visible letters: Jewish Voice for Peace. "I don't know, she says. "Do you support the occupation?" It seems such a surreal question. How could anyone support an occupation? The very word evokes domination, a kind of cruelty. No, I say, we want to end the occupation. We want a peace that is just. I ask about the checkpoints. She describes sitting in her car waiting to be allowed to drive through. The young Israeli soldiers are in sniper posts. You can't see them, but they can see you, she explains. They signal it's time to go by shooting their guns. She waits a long time until the soldiers say, "OK, now the dogs can go." "You think, 'Do I want to be called a dog, or do I just want to go?' " she tells me. "I don't care, so I start my car and they yell 'No! Not you, I said dogs!' So she turns her car off, and sometime later they say, "OK, now humans can go!" She starts her car and they look at her and the others and say "No! I said humans." And she turns her car off and waits until finally this "other" category of Palestinian -- neither human nor animal -- is allowed to pass. "This," she says, "is my only contact with Israelis." And this, I think, and is my first contact with someone from Gaza. The WSF and the new anti-Semitism The World Social Forum (WSF) is the populist answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Instead of a gathering of the world's mostly wealthy, white, and male heads of state and captains of industry in Davos, the WSF is a cacophony of anti-globalization/human rights activists from all over the globe. The roughly 100,000 participants represent every imaginable cause -- from Indian "untouchables" and Bhutanese refugees to child trafficking and sexual minorities. They are seen in the hundreds of marches that seem to appear out of nowhere down the main thoroughfare, at the 500 information booths, in more than 1,000 workshops, and on the political posters filling every inch of available wall space. I have come because my New Voices human rights fellowship has decided to send the fellows to the WSF. But I have an additional reason for being here. The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) has cited the WSF as one of the centers of what it and others refer to as the "new anti-Semitism", and these charges have been picked up by various journalists as evidence of a dangerous new trend on the left. Upon closer reading, most of these accounts make little if any distinction at all between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel, or between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. The SWC description of the "anti-Jewish" atmosphere at last year's WSF in Brazil is one of these accounts. And yet, their description of the WSF is so disturbing, even frightening, that I am prepared to encounter at minimum silent hostility, and possibly even physical attacks from my fellow attendees. I have come to the WSF to be loudly and visibly Jewish, to make a presentation that deconstructs the theory that Jews dictate U.S. policy in the Middle East, and to see for myself this purported new tidal wave of hatred of Jews from the rest of the global left. The conference is not what I expected It is surprising to find that the Israel-Palestine conflict and the occupation are not more prominently featured at the conference. Out of hundreds of ongoing marches, I witness only one small pro-Palestine march, which includes a prominent Israeli leftist marching in the front row. Out of about 500 information stalls, only two represent Palestinian human rights groups: PENGON, which is working to tear down the wall Israel is building through Palestinian land, and Al-Haq, which is launching a campaign identifying collective punishment as a war crime. Of the thousands of political posters, I see only one series -- Al-Haq's powerful posters on collective punishment -- related to the issue. I attend most of the workshops I can find on the Israel-Palestine issue. What I do not hear (or see) is anything I would consider anti-Semitic. In a global conference of 100,000 people, one expects to hear an enormous range of political perspectives, including the occasional extreme or intolerant remark. Given that I am prepared for the worst, I am shocked that the overwhelming majority of what is said in workshops critical of US and Israeli policies in the territories is milder than the articles and essays one can read in Israeli newspapers on any given day. Two realities, one anti-Semitism industry After I return home, the Wiesenthal Center publishes an alarming piece entitled "Networking to Destroy Israel" in the Jerusalem Post. The article claims that this year's WSF was "hijacked by anti-American and anti-Israeli forces" and leads me to wonder whether we attended the same conference. In this piece, and for the second year in a row, they strangely declare themselves the only Jewish NGO to attend the WSF.(I personally saw participants from Brit Tzedek and Yesh Gvul, to name just a few -- and Jewish Voice for Peace is listed in the official program.) They go on to cite a litany of statements, including mine, as proof that the WSF is a place where people who want to destroy Israel meet to plot and recruit. Employing a form of twisted logic that would make Donald Rumsfeld proud, they essentially claim that the absence of any blatant anti-Semitism is not proof that there was none, but merely an indication of a more "sophisticated" kind of anti-Zionism (and therefore anti-Semitism) in which sympathetic Jews such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) play a starring roll. The account is so riddled with errors -- I am misquoted, JVP is described as "campus-based", all of my colleagues are given the wrong attributions, and quoted either inaccurately or out of context -- that it is pointless to list them all. It contains bits of truth but strings together isolated statements to make them sound like a tidal wave of hatred and part of what they call an "orchestrated" and "insidious" campaign to destroy Israel. All this begs the question of why a group such as the SWC would want to fuel hysteria about anti-Semitism in general, especially in regard to the left. The SWC has an important history of hunting down former Nazis, exposing the activities of neo-fascists and other right-wing hate groups, and fighting genuine anti-Semitism. But the SWC is like many other mainstream Jewish organizations in the United States that have expanded their mission from fighting the oppression of Jews by others to attempting to silence critics -- including other Jews -- of Israel's human rights record. These organizations' new role as arbiters of acceptable opinion is a far cry from their proud past. And it is ironic, given the spirited debate about Israel's occupation that takes place in Israel, but apparently is unacceptable in the rest of the world. For many of these organizations, as evidenced in the SWC op-ed, the mere mention of the heartbreaking reality of Israel's occupation of the Palestinians is proof of an insidious plan supported by other Jews to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Further, it is evidence of bias simply to point out causality-that groups like JVP or Al-Haq exist not because we are anti-Jewish or anti-Israel-but to end the injustices of Israel 's occupation and treatment of Arabs, and to stop the spiral of revenge that has become a horrible tragedy for everyone. To even the most casual observer, this is shocking for a community with a long tradition of protecting free speech, and an even longer tradition of embracing debate. It is also self-defeating given the now increasingly mainstream view both in Israel and the US that the occupation and militarization of Israeli culture is bad not just for Palestinians, but also for Israelis. What is perhaps most troublesome is that by fueling the fires of fear through hyperbolic statements, (an easy thing to do to a people with our history of suffering and persecution) these groups--who say they represent all Jews-- play a critical role in giving the current Israeli government permission to violate virtually every moral and ethical standard central to the Jewish tradition in its effort to keep down the Palestinians. They make peace ever more distant by perpetuating the myth that Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, have nothing to say to each other and are incapable of recognizing each other as full human beings with similar wants and needs. They get under our skin and seek to make Jews believe that indeed, the world is out to get us and we can trust no one. Acts of Lovingkindness at the WSF, the untold story In my own experience as a very "out" Jew at the conference, I felt no hate. Instead, I met a number of Palestinians and Arabs who, on some fundamental level, expressed the pain of separation. "I am Muslim, and we were raised to respect the Jewish tradition," a Palestinian woman living in Jordan told me. "We used to live next door to Jews, and we were friends." After I spoke at a session about suspending military aid to Israel until it ends its occupation, and identified myself as a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a Palestinian woman thanked me and a distinguished Lebanese man from Jordan came up and gave me a huge hug and a kiss. Two of the Arabs that the SWC op-ed quoted most prominently in their description of what they called a campaign to destroy Israel were environmental scientist Rania Masri and activist journalist Ahmed Shawki. Thirty minutes after meeting me for the first time at the Forum, Ahmed Shawki offered to loan me the new digital camera given to him by his wife. He knew I was eager to take pictures and the airline had misplaced my luggage. Knowing nothing of my politics, only that I was from a Jewish peace group, he gave me his digital camera. The next day, the bag containing my passport, credit cards, and his camera was stolen. Our mutual friend and colleague from Lebanon, Rania Masri, handed me a hundred dollars from her wallet and absolutely insisted I take her ATM card and PIN number so I would have money for the rest of the trip. And Ahmed? To this day, Ahmed refuses to accept payment for the camera that was stolen. This is the real story of Jews, Arabs, and the World Social Forum that needs to be told; that is, the ways in which we so quickly and easily recognize each other's fundamental humanity. As one young Arab-Israeli woman -- who will never be quoted in an article about the rising tide of anti-Semitism -- said so eloquently and passionately the last night of the conference, "Yes, I experience discrimination in Israel. But my friendship with Jewish Israelis is proof that it is a lie when both sides tell us we can't live together. We can live together. You must not believe the lie." Cecilie Surasky is the Communications Director for Jewish Voice for Peace and a New Voices fellow with the Academy of Educational Development. From sudhir75 at hotmail.com Thu Feb 26 14:23:57 2004 From: sudhir75 at hotmail.com (Sudhir) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:53:57 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] South Asia Watch Press Release In-Reply-To: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <000001c3fc46$122f8400$842b01a3@Sudhir> Dear all This morning South Asia Watch released the report - In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism - in the House of Lords. This is the result of over a year's work by some very committed individuals. What follows is their press release. Best Sudhir AWAAZ – SOUTH ASIA WATCH LIMITED, LONDON, UK A UK-based South Asian secular network committed to challenging all forms of religious hatred and violence www.awaazsaw.org Contacts: Suresh Grover (+44) 020 8843 2333 / (+44) 07958 174451 G. Priya (+44) 07906 296353 Chetan Bhatt (+44) 07769 975896 Email: contact at awaazsaw.org PRESS RELEASE STRICT EMBARGO: 26 February 2004 IN THE NAME OF CHARITY British public is funding Hindutva extremism A UK report to be launched at the House of Lords on February 26 presents alarming new evidence that under the cloak of humanitarian charity, massive donations from the British public were used to fund sangh parivar organisations. The report is launched just before the second anniversary of the horrific 2002 Gujarat carnage. Prepared by Awaaz - South Asia Watch Ltd, a London-based secular network, the report In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, says RSS branches in the UK have been raising large amounts of money in the name of charity for natural disasters like the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa supercyclone. Virtually all the money raised went to sangh parivar groups, including groups that have incited anti-minority violence. “We do not think it is a coincidence that the two Indian states where Hindutva networks, violence and hatred have grown phenomenally in recent years both had natural and human tragedies (the Gujarat earthquake 2001, the Orissa cyclone 1999) followed by massive amounts of funding to Hindutva organisations from overseas under the guise of humanitarian charity”, says the report. “It is ironic that the sangh parivar have attacked foreign funding of minority groups when they themselves use such funding to expand their own influence”, Awaaz says. The report, which will be available on February 26, demonstrates that the UK-based Sewa International sent £2 million raised for Gujarat earthquake relief to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati. Sewa Bharati is a part of the sangh parivar and proudly proclaims its association with the RSS and its desire to expand Hindutva networks. Much of the earthquake money was spent on building RSS schools that indoctrinate children into Hindutva and promote anti-minority hatred. Money from the UK was also given to other sangh parivar organisations (such as the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram) that are involved or implicated in serious, large scale anti-minority violence. “Most British donors would be horrified if they knew the nature, history and ideas of the RSS. British individuals raised funds and donated in good faith to Sewa International’s Gujarat earthquake appeals but would not have done so had they known that the organisation raising the money was closely linked to the Fascist-inspired and extremist RSS,” says Awaaz. Sewa International is not registered as a British charity, but is the fundraising arm of the registered charity Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the UK branch of the RSS. The report exposes the connections of the HSS, Sewa International and the Kalyan Ashram Trust (another UK registered charity) to sangh parivar violence or extremism in India. “Sewa International has tried to dupe politicians, donors and the general public. Its main purpose is to fund, expand and glorify hate-driven RSS organizations, several of which have been at the forefront of large scale violence, pogroms or hate campaigns in India. Its claim to be a non-sectarian, non-political, non-religious humanitarian charity is a sham,” said Awaaz spokesperson Suresh Grover. In the thoroughly documented report, Awaaz clearly establishes the strong ties between Sewa International and major Hindutva organisations in India. It has called for the Charity Commissioner to withdraw the charity status of three British charities: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) UK, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) UK, and the Kalyan Ashram Trust. The HSS and Sewa International are currently under formal investigation by the UK Charity Commission. [ENDS] FOR MORE INFORMATION Email contact at awaazsaw.org Phone Suresh Grover: (+44) 020 8843 2333 / (+44) 07958 174451 G. Priya: (+44) 07906 296353 Chetan Bhatt: (+44) 07769 975896 NOTES 1. The report is to be launched 26 February 2004 at the UK House of Lords (9.45am, Room 3, House of Lords, Westminster, London SW1A 0PW.) Lord Adam Patel, Jeremy Corbyn MP and others are scheduled to be present. If you wish to register to attend, please email: contact at awaazsaw.org. 2. The full report will be available at the launch and from www.awaazsaw.org. The report summary is attached. Detailed section summaries for the press / media are available now – please email: contact at awaazsaw.org. All material strictly embargoed until 26 February. 3. The report is called In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, published by Awaaz – South Asia Watch Ltd, London, 2004, ISBN 0 9547174 0 6. 4. RSS organizations funded from the UK include: • Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, involved in the Gujarat 2002 carnage and in the late-1990s anti-Christian violence in Dangs, Gujarat. • The RSS’s Lok Kalyan Samiti (Trust) in Chanasma village, Gujarat, implicated in violence against Muslims and the illegal occupation of statutory waqf board premises and land. • The RSS’s Border Jankalyan Samiti in Gujarat. The Jankalyan Samiti’s Maharashtra branch was involved in violence against Christians. • Sewa Bharati Gujarat, the main recipient of UK funds. Sewa Bharati’s Madhya Pradesh branch has been repeatedly accused of violence against Christians. • The RSS’s Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti in Orissa. It received large amounts of money from the UK following the 1999 cyclone. • Numerous ‘education’ projects run by Vidya Bharati, Sewa Bharati, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. This includes various Saraswati Vidya / Shishu Mandirs (RSS schools) built from Gujarat earthquake funds raised from the UK public. It also includes a large number of ekal vidyalayas (one-teacher schools) organised by the VHP, Sewa Bharati, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Vidya Bharati. From ahmed_shakeb at yahoo.com Wed Feb 25 17:37:40 2004 From: ahmed_shakeb at yahoo.com (shakeb ahmed) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 04:07:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Subject: First Posting. Research Abstract - Locally Produced Media in Jamia Nagar and Satellite Colonies Message-ID: <20040225120740.68966.qmail@web20811.mail.yahoo.com> RESEARCH ABSTRACT: LOCALLY PRODUCED MEDIA AND ASSOCIATED PRACTICES IN JAMIA NAGAR, AND THE SATELLITE COLONIES Debates around the influence of mass media in production of public and private meanings, construction of plausible images of reality, fashioning ways of negotiating power, fabricating maps of a public sphere itself have been there for some time. More recent are the questions around large-scale corporate consolidations, which co-merge and homogenize mass media. Still, under the milling shadows of gargantuan media corporatism we notice the growth of proportionally miniscule yet robust parallel media cultures. Alternative media practices spring out of specific geographical swathes, nurtured by certain demographic minorities, and prominently deploy socio-cultural languages that are Different. Mapping these is also to interrogate the formation of certain city spaces and selves around a complex relationship between feelings of fear, collective assertion of identities and the desire for a culture of the familiar- Mahaul as one could put it. The area of research I propose is the mass-media and associated practices originating locally in Jamia Nagar and some satellite colonies around, namely, Okhla Gaon, Joga Bai, Batla House, Abul Fazal, Noor Nagar, Johri Farm, Ghaffar Manzil, and Zakir Nagar. For larger part these revolve around newspapers, literary magazines, pamphlets, women�s pocket books, science digests, children�s literature, health and nutrition tabloids, which in the absence of the infrastructure for a local television or radio station make full use of the mechanisms of Print-media, and are very concernedly and proudly produced. I propose a study of the variegated publications that come out of this small part of Delhi, and the diversity of the relations the community living here has with them through mechanisms of opinion, ownership and consumption. Exploration encompasses a spectrum of features of these publications ranging from the rationale for their existence, engagements with the questions centered on economic viability, the characteristic politics of them, and importantly the immediate end purposes they would or would not serve for the localities where they are brought out. Interestingly, many of these are now available as e-publications. Cyberspace has become for them a site of collapse of notions of what is understood as local and global knowledge. Having lived in this geographical area since my childhood days I have a sustained interest in the social institutions it produced over a long period of time. The media originating herein is one such important institution. The community living in this locality is, almost, singularly Muslim. Hence, its social institutions offer an excellent opportunity to get a view from the edge of the complex whole of the lives of at least a section of them. The publications issuing from here through the diversity in their nature and scope constitute a kaleidoscopic articulation of the collective self of the resident community. In these texts of oblique cultural documentation can be glimpsed the highly contingent and liminal nature not just of the social constitution of this community�s lived everyday reality, but at the same time both the imagined and the practiced notions regarding the production of knowledge about itself either from within (call it Local) or without (call it extra-Local). Interestingly, I remember the term �local� acquire more currency and specific meanings in its public usage in this neighborhood post 1992; also increased significance came in the wake of the commerce that strategically emerged in the area to counter the larger communal national politics with development of a more indigenous self-sustaining economy. More recently, the owner of Shahaab Communications, Zakir Nagar, has been in practice of putting up a blackboard on the wall facing his PCO-STD booth, which every day he updates with local news items and information in Urdu. Today, it carried a poster of NICT institute for computer training. I explore the area of my research in relation to such events and practices. The relation of print media originating in this locality with both the apparatus, and the idea of mass media, is negotiated in varied forms, and varied uses of that is then envisioned, practiced, and advocated. The very nature of the print media (�it offers more breadth of analysis then television or radio; and allows visibility of social sections on fringes far better then electronic media�� Editor of newsmagazine, Ifkare Milli), and co-opting of modern tools like Internet (�I think now with the help of Internet we having a web presence are to be seen more as global media then as local�� Editor, Milli Times) are only a few examples of the debates going about amongst the producers of this media in the locality. In hair-cut saloons, chai stalls, tambaku-cigarette kiosks, Internet cafes and numerous places where we can encounter a dynamic exchange of cultural and social ideas and practices, can be heard more of these debates from the user-end side - the range varies from exchanging views on the politics to discussing notions of pleasure practiced and available in these publications. Sample detail of some print media produced in the are follows: Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), Zakir Nagar, regularly brings out various studies regarding the demographic statistics, education dissemination, health care accessibility etc amongst the community, and Muslims throughout the nation. Achha Saathi (The Comely Companion), Johri Farm, is a publication for children and engages with the questions of what is children�s literature, and why should such literature be made available in Urdu for the readers in this locality? Khatun-e-Mashrique (Women of the East), Batla House, is devoted to literature for women. It has been publishing since last seventy years, having changed hands through two generations. Science, Zakir Nagar, publishes an accessible layman�s magazine on Science. It uses Urdu to reach out to many in the community who have not received an English education, and lag behind in the knowledge of science, which largely disseminates through publications in English. Markazi Maktaba Islami, Abul Fazal Enclave, is host to a number of publications ranging from books that are exegetic treatises on Islam, to news-magazines entertaining social and political issues about the Muslim world as well as secular global and national themes. The Maktaba prints its content in mainstream Urdu, English, and Hindi and at the same time also gets some work translated in a number of regional languages. Zahn-e-Jadid (The Modern Mind), Zakir Nagar, is an Urdu literary journal notable for its engagement with the modernist thought, and its implication for the local community and Muslims in general. It publishes short stories, poetry, critical essays, and often translations of the works of European and other intellectuals who were regarded championing the Modernist thought. The publications mentioned above then constitute a small sample of the vibrant and heterogeneous print media culture in Jamia and the nearby colonies. The need for a research here results also from a thought that the findings can effect an ordering of the local knowledge about its very own media, making it more accessible and more productively usable. On parallel lines then the research can be seen documenting histories about the place, its cultural, social, political and demographic composition- a mapping which in this case could generate knowledge towards the idea and need of understanding borderlines (topographically or otherwise) of communal selves. Indigenous practices around the media could also be interrogated as strategies partly evolved to assert a collective Islamic identity in the wake of having encountered imagined or real violence along communal lines, the rationale or the extent of which need to be carefully studied. Conversations one catches on the chowk or gali abound with words such as Maashra (community), Shamiliat (collective), Mahaul (atmosphere), Ilakaa (area). The locally produced media also lend to the production of a culture of Familiar in the locality. It produces modalities governing the home, the everyday and community life also. This is not to say that the process has not faced resistance from within. I would be interested in exploring this complicated set of relationships located in the everyday practices and conversations of the community. The trail would yield, to state once again, interesting local narratives about the community�s responses to knowledge of its traits from within and without. SHAKEB AHMED SARAI Independent Research Fellow 2004 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools From ahmed_shakeb at yahoo.com Wed Feb 25 17:41:05 2004 From: ahmed_shakeb at yahoo.com (shakeb ahmed) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 04:11:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Subject: Second Posting. Locally Produced Media in Jamia Nagar and Satellite Colonies. SCIENCE, an Urdu monthly journal brought out from Zakir Nagar. Message-ID: <20040225121105.60515.qmail@web20813.mail.yahoo.com> SCIENCE, an Urdu monthly journal brought out from Zakir Nagar. Excerpts from a conversation with Dr. Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz (Editor and Publisher). Parvaiz Aslam as a child went to schools in Ballimaran area of the old city of Delhi. The medium for instruction was Urdu exclusively. These patti-wallah (mat-and-rug) schools were the only accessible ones to him and many others who would be curious enough to learn formally about the world around them. As he was growing up and moving from one institution to another where the instruction-medium remained Urdu, he started his very personal and willful efforts to learn English while it became apparent to him that though other subjects still got a presence in Urdu, Science as a discipline was very meagerly represented in his madri-zubaan (mother-tongue). So scant and sparse was the Urdu writing in science that anyone educated through institutions of this language was bound to be left in limbo regarding knowledge of western, or for that matter eastern science as a way and skill for life. From these thoughts Pervaiz sahib derived impetus to first write popular-science prose in Urdu based journals, dailies and weeklies. Then in 1994 he took the big leap culminating his interest of popularizing science in Urdu by formally launching Science, a monthly science journal in Urdu at the 11th World Book Fair, Delhi. The journal remains in steady publication since last ten years and is still a personal passion that Parvaiz sahib never tires of cultivating and shaping further besides his occupational duties of teaching botany at Zakir Hussain College. He brings out this journal from Zakir Nagar while also being involving himself in a range of other social welfare activities in the area which he regards as a social responsibly towards the place and community he is living amidst. Till now 121 issues each of 56 pages of Science have been published. Pervaiz sahib tells as how his initiative is one of its kind because of being the only monthly journal of science in Urdu language: �even Baba-e-Urdu (Father of Urdu) Abdul Haque used to bring out a science journal by the same name but even that was quarterly and not monthly. The journal carries out articles, opinions and expert writing on subjects as diverse as cloning and genetic engineering, greenhouse effects and other environmental perils, semiconductors and leaps in information technology, nutrition and chemical nature of proteins and vitamins and many more diverse scientific phenomenon that need to be known to appreciate better the life around us. Pervaiz sahib proudly lets you know that not even a single article of their journal is a straight translation of an article published in English or other language that would have appeared first in some other magazine or digest. All the contributors to the journal are scientists themselves - Urdu knowing biologists, physicists, geologists etc who for the first time found a platform to work out and disseminate scientific information and ideas in a language they knew but never used for the purposes of this kind of knowledge exchange. Now the journal is in such a good stead, Pervaiz sahib tells that at times there can be a shortage of money creating a worry about whether the issue would come out in time but never a shortage of textual contribution which is always there in plenty. Parvaiz sahib funds the journal largely on his own while subscription takes care of the rest of the monetary needs of the production. He has kept the journal out of the ambit of loans and donations which he states has always helped him play out his very own policies and not budge to external pressures. This definitely can be an example of how a small publication can actually speak in a language that escapes the clutches of staple and homogenized publication discourse of the highly concentrated and corporatised mainstream media. It also needs to be mentioned how dependent our media is on the advertisement revenue, and how the advertisers are attracted to and defining of the content of a media text. Parvaiz sahib carefully chooses the advertisements that would appear in his journal: these might be from small business houses but never from corporate giants like Pepsi etc though he did had offers for that. He believes that smaller media by virtue of their small organizational size do enjoy a good leverage in reflecting on the degrees to which consumerist trends should be supported or resisted, and they have a responsibility towards critically cultivating this faculty. I asked Pervaiz sahib that since many of us think that Urdu is a dying language why is it that that he still chooses to print in this language particularly when one often hears from a section of Urdu speaking people themselves that even if the language completely dies out it would hardly be a loss to anyone. In response he recalls one of his experiences while attending a conference in Turkey. Ataturk Kamal Pasha when making sweeping reforms in Turkish polity changes the official Turkish script from Persian-Arabic to Roman, everything went fine for a while. But in recent years as the newer Turkish generations felt the need to make sense of their historical records they found that beyond last fifty years it became very difficult for a common man to make sense of the historical documentation at hand because most of it survives in Ottoman Turkish a script the use of which they are gradually becoming incompetent to make. Thus according to Pervaiz sahib when a language is allowed to die because of indifference much of the knowledge of human historical condition, the sum total of its lived culture, is eventually lost. And according to Parvaiz sahib a race that that looses its competence in being custodians of its past also looses its stake in the futures to come. He is thus of the opinion that allowing Urdu to be lost is like loosening ones bearing in the future. He thinks it more apt that not just Urdu but the root languages from which it stemmed as like Persian and Arabic also one can and should get interested in. One can reflect if it is not just an initiative that needs to be taken up by Indian Muslims alone but also by Indians of other sects as well as it can help fostering a more complex and sophisticated understanding of India as a heterogeneous collectivity. This method of recalling the story of Indian past that goes long back in time can engineer a social discourse that can shape a more tolerant contemporary India while pointing to the perils and dubious heritage-talk of fundamentalist nationalism. Pervaiz sahib also think that also by taking up new subjects in a language you are helping it to evolve and become more accessible for a common mans needs a process which in turn ensures its future survival and currency. The question of Urdus death otherwise is also not that apocalyptic for him as he cites new pockets of interests emerging in places like western and southern India that are showing a new sustainable interest in the language which has the potential to reverse the tide of its slow erosion in Northern territories. SHAKEB AHMED SARAI Independent Research Fellow 2004. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools From monica at sarai.net Thu Feb 26 16:07:30 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 16:07:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) In-Reply-To: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> References: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Britta, (dear andreas) I am not sure i understood your arguments but i would think that one needs to consider the argument that copyright protects the author a little seriously. Lets look into this carefully: Most scientific research is funded by public money. Research publications are controlled by a handful of publishers and i think that almost nothing goes out as royalties to the writers of these articles. If a library needs all the journals to be updated in its area of research, that institution requires literally millions in its library budget. Obviously, it will produce a further unequal social arrangement globally - ie in areas where libraries would have few resources, and do have increasingly dwindling resources. How does one understand this situation.? As far as i have seen, the royalties from academic publications do not account for the research that goes into the book. The research is usually funded through public resource arrangements (grants, fellowships etc). The author, in this case, will benefit from a global circulation with a vibrant copy culture, and so will the institution that makes the research possible. I do not see how it will produce a worse society. Take the example of E.J.Brill Publishers; they price books at nothing less than $200 with with rights vested with them for 60 years. And Brill publishes critical studies on religion that are crucial today (than ever before, considering how much is happening in the name of religion). If someone makes unauthorised copies of these books and circulates, they will do a world of good. You refer to 'protecting my or sarai's property right'.....all of what we publish is open to circulation and and freely available in our website. You can download all of it and republish. Since we publish many different authors, we request them for this practice and till today nobody has objected. We print pdfs because it is Sarai's design version. People are free to contact authors for printing in other publications or circulation requirements directly. Most of what i have written (with colleagues) is also open to this ethos. About my photographs, i put into circulation things that i like to share and publish. Some i keep to myself and for friends as shared moments. Non-commisioned stuff i have not protected. With commissioned work, we get into a more difficult ground and try out options. You have been to Sarai and consulted our archives of audio recordings of workshops, talks. We do not ask people to sign any document to protect our rights. We expect researchers to be fair and acknowledge the author/speaker. And, a large volume of our audio recording is on the web and none of our speakers have objected to this. Our argument is simple. Since we are a public funded body, our output should be openly available. That does not make it that everyone is reading or copying, or jumping with happiness!! And frankly our print version does well and gets us decent returns, but is unfortunately yet to be pirated! I am not sure about the invocation of art by Andreas. Most unauthorised copying is way outside this context and one would expect art contexts to at least reflect on this reality. Everyday many raids are being carried out and court cases are being filed for unauthorised copying and faking. This is a reality we are living in - we need to think about it with some seriousness. We have few intellectual resources at present to understand this experience. And as we read Foucault today, and wonder about the making of 'abnormals' and 'delinquents/criminals' two hundred years ago, people too will read about this time a 100 years on, and wonder... best Monica At 15:58 +0100 25/02/04, Britta Ohm wrote: >---------- >>Von: "Britta Ohm" >>An: Andreas Broeckmann >>Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to >>jail?textz.com >doesn't think so (fwd) >>Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 15:51 Uhr >> > >> Dear Monica, dear Andreas, >> you're not a party-booper, Andreas, as I also think that a blind support of >> copy culture would just amount to being the opposite of what it proposes to >> be: rather narrow-minded. But this comes especially into play when it >> concerns the 'only artists' as it is particularly them who are on a smaller >> scale dependent on royalties and recognition. Just to give a small example >> that concerns actually you and me, Monica: a photograph of mine was printed >> in your name in Melissa's book that's just come out. It sucks, but it is, >> well, a mistake, can happen, and I know that you declared that not to be >> your picture when you saw the book. Yet it gets you thinking: if it becomes >> obvious that the property right of the photo is with somebody else (even if >> we might not know yet who it is), wouldn't that be enough to do something >> about it rather than let it go (I know, all difficult, book is printed, what >> to do?). But in principle, isn't that rapidly becoming integral part of a >> hailed-as-democratic copy-culture as well: not just the cheap dissemination >> of high-capital outpout, but the simple ignorance of or laissez-faire >> attitude towards somebody else's work, time, investments and efforts? I >> meanwhile have come across a number of cases in books as well as on the web >> where my work or material - which I generally have made available quite >> generously - suddenly appears without name or in somebody else's. As much as >> I have seen our films being copied without me seeing any royalties for it. > > This is still slightly different as at least the 'property holder' > > definitely shows in the credits, but should I be happy that more people get >> to see it that way, or should I get angry as I barely know how to finance my >> next project? Don't you guard your property rights as a photographer, >> Monica? Doesn't sarai? I think the whole matter of copy culture walks a >> tightrope which asks us to learn to very clearly differ between enabling >> access, creative freedom as well as cash-flow away from 'big capital' and >> arrogance and ignorance towards rightful property holders, particularly >> 'only artists'. In this sense, I think, Monica is right in saying that this >> might change the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world, even >> though it seems to only reflect a hope that might have come with our >> experiences gained from earlier avatars of supposedly anti-capitalist >> movements (the dictatorship of the proletariat was mainly a dictatorship in >> the end...). >> The case of Reemtsma and textz.org seems pretty blatant in this context: >> Reemtsma is not the author of the texts, he simply owns them as he owns a >> hell of a lot of other texts without having written them, and Sebastian is >> not an artist but a mere distributor who does not gain profit from his >> activities. His move effectively undermined Reemtsma's authority to decide >> about the dissemination of knowledge and is particularly interesting as he >> did not even intend to do so: he took it for granted, rightfully so (at the >> same time, he always responded to claims from authors and publishing houses >> earlier). Reemtsma, who refuses to deal with the web and even e-mail, missed >> out on a chance to live up to the image he seeks to create of himself in >> public and the very name of his institute; the whole matter could have been >> settled between the two of them over a cup of tea. But whilst this >> represents a particular case of stone-faced ivory tower-attitude, the next >> case could be completely different... >> Cheers -- Britta >> >> ---------- >>>Von: Andreas Broeckmann >>>An: Monica Narula >>>Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to >>>jail?textz.com >> doesn't think so (fwd) >>>Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 10:04 Uhr >>> >> >>> dear monica, >>> >>>> Have been following IP enforcement raids and cases. We are at the >>>> beginning of a sharp social conflict that is going to affect the very >>>> way we think and conduct ourselves in this world. The Culture of the > >>> Copy will proliferate and so will the mad property regimes will seek >>>> massive enforcement regime. Where are we heading towards...? >>> >>> while i share your concern about coming cultural clashes around >>>these issues, >>> and while i sympathise with sebastian's cause, i believe that it has to be >>> admitted that in this case the law is staying pretty much the same, while >>> people 'like us' are demanding new, more laissez-fair laws for >>>their 'digital >>> life-style'. Isn't it 'us', not 'them', who is moving the goal-posts? those >>> property regimes are as 'mad' as bourgeois capitalism has been in the last >>> centuries, and i find it a matter of course that capital will defend itself >in >>> courts as long as they can. and so long as the digital avantgarde >>>has to play >>> the 'I'm only an artist' card, rather than offering a tenable political >> economy >>> of copy culture, i doubt whether those property regimes will go >>>away so soon. >>> not if they see real and symbolical capital being, what they would call, >>> mis-appropriated. >>> >>> what you call 'the very way we think and conduct ourselves in >>>this world' is, >>> from a legalistic point of view, marginal. >>> >>> i don't want to spoil the party, but i think it is necessary to >>>see where the >>> lines of conflict are. if this will be a matter of legal hegemony, we will >> have >>> to muster a lot more political power than what will be necessary to save >>> sebastian that EUR 3.000 bill. >>> >>> greetings, >>> -a >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >>> in the subject header. >>> List archive: >>> >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >subscribe in the subject header. >List archive: -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai:The New Media Initiative 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From exchange-platform at waag.org Wed Feb 25 17:06:15 2004 From: exchange-platform at waag.org (Waag Sarai Exchange) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:36:15 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Call For Proposals :: Short Term Fellowships Message-ID: <403C88AF.60207@waag.org> Waag Society / for Old and New Media (Amsterdam) and the Sarai Programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (Delhi) have initiated a platform for collaboration on media culture. This has come out of an on-going, long standing collaboration between the Waag Society and Sarai since 2000. Waag Society / for Old and New Media was founded in 1995 as a laboratory for research and development of cultural applications of technology. Since then it has grown into a knowledge institute in the field of new media with many national and international work-relations. Its driving force is the interaction between technology and culture. Since its establishment in 2000 as a programme of CSDS, Sarai has grown into one of South Asia's best known initiatives on media, urban culture and the public domain. Composed of both scholars and practitioners, Sarai's work cuts across various disciplines and networks, and exists in collaboration with partners in India and around the world. The Waag-Sarai collaboration since 2000 has focused on building links and collaborations between programmers, designers, scholars and theorists between Europe and Asia. From its inception, the exchange has been driven by a vision for certain shared values. In elaborating the idea of the exchange, we would like these values to be maintained, discussed and disseminated in a wide arc of initiatives. In particular, we are concerned to reiterate the following: • Importance of the public domain • Access to media tools and innovation in media practices • Interdisciplinary research (between research and practice, and across disciplines) • Setting up contexts for creativity and exploration of expressive means. • A critical reflection on the nature of collaboration between different cultures We have been particularly concerned to address issues of inequality; hierarchies of knowledge and of access, and a dialogue based cultural practice. Here we particularly emphasize the importance of an engagement with the immediacy and concreteness of local circumstances and possibilities. We should reiterate that our understanding of 'new'-media derives from the particular historical configurations: these include those of innovation under conditions of large scale inequality, creative uses of existing old media, and thriving informal networks in the societies of Asia, Africa, the middle East and Latin America. We would like to draw upon this experience of Waag-Sarai collaboration, and the institutional knowledge gained during this process to encourage other emerging initiatives in the South. As part of this the Waag-Sarai platform is proposing two short term Fellowships to support proposals for emerging initiatives in the South focusing on the themes outlined above. The short-term fellowships are intended as seed money during which successful applicants are expected to produce a document, which includes the following: • A vision statement and long-term plan • A network architecture • A space design • Collaboration with other networks. The fellowship is designed to help initiatives produce a coherent plan, rather than set up the centre or network itself. The grant amount is a total of 3,000 Euros and will run for six months. The final document will be presented at a public workshop in Bangalore, India in November 2004. The Waag-Sarai platform will cover the costs of travel and board to Bangalore for the successful applicants. The workshop in Bangalore will also enable the applicants to investigate possibilities for future collaboration with the Waag Sarai Exchange Platform on the basis of the presented plan. The proposal should be mailed to exchange-platform at waag.org. Last date 31st March, 2004. The Fellowship will commence from 1st May, -- waag sarai exchange platform | exchange-platform at waag.org | http://sarai.waag.org From mklayman at leonardo.info Thu Feb 26 08:15:24 2004 From: mklayman at leonardo.info (Melinda Klayman) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 18:45:24 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Papers: LEA Special Issue: Digital Arts and Electronic Music in Asia and the Pacific Message-ID: ** Sincere apologies for cross-posting ** Please feel free to spread the word widely: LEA Special Issue: Network Leaps, Bounds and Misses: Critiquing Regional Strategies for Digital Arts and Electronic Music in Asia and the Pacific Guest Editor: Fatima Lasay The Leonardo Electronic Almanac (ISSN No: 1071-4391) is inviting papers. Deadline for proposals: 31 March 2004 Under the UNESCO Digi-Arts Knowledge Portal for technology-based arts and music, an international colloquium took place on 4-5 December, 2003 at the Sarai Center for Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, India. The meeting, entitled "Old pathways/New travelers: new media, electronic music and digital art practices in the Asia Pacific region", sought to launch a media arts and electronic music initiative sponsored by UNESCO Digi-Arts and Sarai, to promote and develop research, networking, mutual cooperation, training and knowledge in these fields within the region. The meeting also aimed to point out the role and place of media and technology in a social, cultural and economic landscape inscribed by ancient histories of contact and paths that internally connect the landmass of Asia and the island cultures of the Pacific regions, its impact on young people and its potential as a unique tool to promote cultural diversity. As critical and engaging discussions of such a network of associations are underway, what do our past and current national and regional practices reveal about the limits of localization, proximity, and regional reification? What lies beneath or within concepts of media and technology as instruments for promoting cultural diversity? Is media and technology a result or cause of culture? What is the position of media, art and technology in the ontological divide between regionalization and globalization? In which aspects do we need to transcend the regional level in the regional network building efforts? What is the significance of local ontologies within the process of building a regional network? Can asymmetrical local and regional development and promotion of digital arts in the region be addressed by mere institutional and conventional proximity? If geographic proximity is insuficient, then which conceptual spaces might provide a more solid basis for cooperative development? What critical and realistic approaches have been and can be made, in both imagination and actualization, to move in opposite directions and still meet together, across the globe, in building that strong and balanced support structure for digital arts in the region? For the June issue of LEA, we invite contributions from artists, musicians, practitioners, curators and critics that address regional networking competence problems and realities in the field of digital arts and electronic music in the Asia Pacific cultures. LEA encourages international artists / academics / researchers / students to submit their proposals for consideration. We particularly encourage authors outside North America and Europe to send proposals for articles/gallery/artists statements. Proposals should include: - 300 word abstract / synopsis - A brief author biography - Any related URLs - Contact details Deadline for proposals: 31 March 2004 Please send proposals or queries to: Fatima Lasay fats at up.edu.ph or Nisar Keshvani, LEA Editor-in-Chief lea at mitpress.mit.edu http://lea.mit.edu **************************************************************************** What is LEA? ------------- Established in 1993, the Leonardo Electronic Almanac (ISSN No: 1071-4391) is the electronic arm of the pioneer art journal, Leonardo - Journal of Art, Science & Technology. The Leonardo Electronic Almanac (LEA), jointly produced by Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST) and published under the auspices of MIT Press is an electronic journal dedicated to providing a forum for those who are interested in the realm where art, science and technology converge. Content ------- This peer reviewed e-journal includes profiles of media arts facilities and projects, profiles of artists using new media, feature articles comprised of theoretical and technical perspectives; the LEA Gallery exhibiting new media artwork by international artists; detailed information about new publications in various media; and reviews of publications, events and exhibitions. Material is contributed by artists, scientists, educators and developers of new technological resources in the media arts. Mission ------- LEA's mission is to maintain and consolidate its position as a leading online news and trusted information filter while critically examining arts/science & technological works catering to the international CAST (Community of Artists, Scientist and Technologists) ******************************** From ruine-kuenste.berlin at snafu.de Wed Feb 25 13:19:49 2004 From: ruine-kuenste.berlin at snafu.de (Ruine der Kuenste Berlin) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 08:49:49 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Mehr (more) als (than) NET(T) - WOLF KAHLEN internet works Message-ID: <003c01c3fb73$feaf0680$764349d5@taivun> 1 Want to see artist Wolf Kahlen dissolving pixel by pixel in the net? #2 Want to hear the European Anthem dissolving and/or configurating anew according to your moods, as it happens in politics as well? #3 Want to listen to world classics in six languages or misuse the very same words? #1 SELBST-LOS /SELF-LESS Net artist WOLF KAHLEN is dissolving pixel by pixel, user by user in the net. On a first page. On the second you see and hear your personal pixel, the one, you activated to disappear, solely on the empty page. And on the third page you see all the 'lost' pixels arriving back and shaping a new WOLF KAHLEN. Look, hear and have the triptych printed out, signed and numbered, the way you, only you see the process taking shape, nobody else has seen this moment of the RITUAL DEATH. An exiting piece and a very conceptual one, media concerned and at the same time sensual. The RUINE DER KUENSTE BERLIN presents it to collectors as a present, which WOLF KAHLEN gave them at his 60th birthday in 2000. The URL for the piece, which is infinetely working since, is www.wolf-kahlen.de More about us: www.snafu.de/~ruine-kuenste.berlin --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 VERZEIHUNG, HERR VON GOETHE,/SORRY, MISTER JOYCE/ PERDONE, DON CERVANTES, EXCUSE ME, MILAREPA/ I BEG YOUR PARDON, KUKAI / SORRY LI BO... NetSoundArt for Tibetans, Chinese and Japanese: A threefold internet art piece by Wolf Kahlen in Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese language is online. Live and interactive the visitor of the page www.tu-berlin.de/~arch_net_art/ !On Netscape less than 6.0 only! may hear a piece of world literature of these countries, the first page at least. If he is patient enough to find out on a blank page, with the mouse in motion, the sound of the words hidden in the background like on a book page. This automatically turns out to be a game, since any move of the mouse touches another word. Until the underlying structure has been found out, a number of audio events have happened, words' sounds have overlapped or entangled at random. Who stirs with the mouse produces a concert like a DJ. The presented world's classics are by Tibet's greatest poet Milarepa (11./12. Century), the Chinese Tang-Dynasty poet Li Bo (6.- 9. Century) or the alphabet-poem attributed to Kukai of Japan. It is of political delicacy that Wolf Kahlen, who did a number of documentaries in Tibet and Mongolia since 1985, parallels Tibet with China. Possibly the first Tibetan language internet site to listen to, probably frequented joyfully by the world spread Tibetans and the few with access in Lhasa and other parts of the Snowland. Who has entered the site either reads Tibatan, Chinese or Japanese or has been attracted by the curious writings, since all three titles are of course in original characters. Another way to support the cultures in their differences. The hearing experience of the pieces, roughly translated as Sorry, Milarepa / Excuse me, Kukai / I beg your pardon, Li Bo, spans the whole spectrum between playful chaotic sounds, own word combinations and listening to a fluently spoken classical piece: all democratic ways of using words. Words as material per se. And since these words bump into each other in most cases other than as a structered classical piece, Wolf Kahlen asks the authors for excuse in the titles already beforehand. As a side effect the net is swept blank off the overload of images. And the sound of the 'bush drums' is heard again. These three pieces continue the former realized three ones in English, German and Spanish language Sorry, Mister Joyce / Verzeihung, Herr von Goethe / Perdone, Don Cervantes on www.tu-berlin.de/~arch_net_art/1.html More pieces in a great number of world languages are under construction. They kind of point out on the polarisation of the numb and speechless making psycho esthetic feedbacks of the net 'culture'. The texts are usually read by native artists. Li Bo read by Zhao Zhao Kukai by Masuko Iso, Milarepa by Tsewang Norbu, Goethe by Wolf Kahlen, Joyce by David Allen, Cervantes by Argine Erginas. Stay tuned. Edition Ruine der Kuenste Berlin http://home.snafu.de/ruine-kuenste.berlin ruine-kuenste.berlin at snafu.de Contact Wolf Kahlen wolf.kahlen at tu-berlin.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Wolf Kahlen EUROPA - ON THE FLY www.wolf-kahlen.net/europa THE PIECE IS ARTE POVERA FOR THE NET. SORRY FOR THE BAROQUE MAJORITY. Needed Flash Player 5 and up New Europe has a New Anthem. Of course. Beethoven's Ode to Joy in parts. The building of Europe is a work in progress. So is her anthem, Wolf Kahlen makes us aware in his recent Net.Sound.Piece EUROPA-ON THE FLY. By your click, you are interfering into the process, actively coconstructing the fragile multilingual unity of Europe, and deconstructing at the same time. You hear the result of your click at instant, as the anthem looses and gains pieces of the melody, on the fly. As countries join in in harmony or articulate new influences, others may drop out or raise their voice in disharmony, the score of the anthem is coming and going by your activity. Going, falling into pieces in Part One, when the melody opens up holes, silencies, rather Cagean like, coming, when she assembles the lost notes of Part One to shape a new sound in Part Two, rather Schoenberg like. You shall see nothing, as politics may change behind your back, but listen and be aware, it is your music you hear. And just by chance, which does not exist, as Kahlen believes. Any user hears two unique anthem variations, nobody ever will hear the same again for the next 35o years. Join the grand European work this way, on the fly. On the artist, to him and more of him On www.snafu.de/~ruine-kuenste.berlin/future.htm www.wolf-kahlen.net/museum Email wolf.kahlen at tu-berlin.de More Net.art www.wolf-kahlen.de www.tu-berlin.de/~arch_net_art www.kahlen-berlin.de/enlightenment1.htm www.kahlen-berlin.de/enlight2 From junu78in at yahoo.com Thu Feb 26 16:26:16 2004 From: junu78in at yahoo.com (taha mehmood) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 02:56:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] call centers as an urban work space Message-ID: <20040226105616.99965.qmail@web11411.mail.yahoo.com> This is our introductory posting as part of the Sarai independent fellowship programme. Our research will explore the call center as a modern work space of urban India. The last few years have seen a mushrooming of call centers in and around Delhi. With its odd working schedules contrasted with �easy� money, the call center becomes a space of contradictions. On the one hand, the call center glorifies the notion of free market, free capital and global entrepreneurship--- becoming a panacea for all job ills and on the other hand are odd working hours, negotiation with a city which caters to the day, change in identity and a heightened pressure to perform. We seek to study this dichotomy through the lives of call center employees and its related services, such as coaching institutes, taxi services, all night shops etc. In the coming few months we plan to document personal narratives of some call center employees and through them study work and leisure practices of a modern work space. Apart from transcribe interviews we also seek to use photographs, personal memorabilia, call center lingo and log book entries, to study the sub culture of the call center. Form the month of March onwards we will introduce the different �characters� or rather the participants of te research working in various international and domestic call centers in Delhi, NOIDA and Gurgoan. All ideas and suggestions with respect to the research are welcome. Taha Mehmood Iram Ghufran --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20040226/1ffe8987/attachment.html From monica at sarai.net Thu Feb 26 19:41:22 2004 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 19:41:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail? Message-ID: Dear Britta, (dear andreas) I am not sure i understood your arguments but i would think that one needs to consider the argument that copyright protects the author a little seriously. Lets look into this carefully: Most scientific research is funded by public money. Research publications are controlled by a handful of publishers and i think that almost nothing goes out as royalties to the writers of these articles. If a library needs all the journals to be updated in its area of research, that institution requires literally millions in its library budget. Obviously, it will produce a further unequal social arrangement globally - ie in areas where libraries would have few resources, and do have increasingly dwindling resources. How does one understand this situation.? As far as i have seen, the royalties from academic publications do not account for the research that goes into the book. The research is usually funded through public resource arrangements (grants, fellowships etc). The author, in this case, will benefit from a global circulation with a vibrant copy culture, and so will the institution that makes the research possible. I do not see how it will produce a worse society. Take the example of E.J.Brill Publishers; they price books at nothing less than $200 with with rights vested with them for 60 years. And Brill publishes critical studies on religion that are crucial today (than ever before, considering how much is happening in the name of religion). If someone makes unauthorised copies of these books and circulates, they will do a world of good. You refer to 'protecting my or sarai's property right'.....all of what we publish is open to circulation and and freely available in our website. You can download all of it and republish. Since we publish many different authors, we request them for this practice and till today nobody has objected. We print pdfs because it is Sarai's design version. People are free to contact authors for printing in other publications or circulation requirements directly. Most of what i have written (with colleagues) is also open to this ethos. About my photographs, i put into circulation things that i like to share and publish. Some i keep to myself and for friends as shared moments. Non-commisioned stuff i have not protected. With commissioned work, we get into a more difficult ground and try out options. You have been to Sarai and consulted our archives of audio recordings of workshops, talks. We do not ask people to sign any document to protect our rights. We expect researchers to be fair and acknowledge the author/speaker. And, a large volume of our audio recording is on the web and none of our speakers have objected to this. Our argument is simple. Since we are a public funded body, our output should be openly available. That does not make it that everyone is reading or copying, or jumping with happiness!! And frankly our print version does well and gets us decent returns, but is unfortunately yet to be pirated! I am not sure about the invocation of art by Andreas. Most unauthorised copying is way outside this context and one would expect art contexts to at least reflect on this reality. Everyday many raids are being carried out and court cases are being filed for unauthorised copying and faking. This is a reality we are living in - we need to think about it with some seriousness. We have few intellectual resources at present to understand this experience. And as we read Foucault today, and wonder about the making of 'abnormals' and 'delinquents/criminals' two hundred years ago, people too will read about this time a 100 years on, and wonder... best Monica At 15:58 +0100 25/02/04, Britta Ohm wrote: >---------- >>Von: "Britta Ohm" >>An: Andreas Broeckmann >>Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to >>jail?textz.com >doesn't think so (fwd) >>Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 15:51 Uhr > > > >> Dear Monica, dear Andreas, >> you're not a party-booper, Andreas, as I also think that a blind support of >> copy culture would just amount to being the opposite of what it proposes to >> be: rather narrow-minded. But this comes especially into play when it >> concerns the 'only artists' as it is particularly them who are on a smaller >> scale dependent on royalties and recognition. Just to give a small example >> that concerns actually you and me, Monica: a photograph of mine was printed >> in your name in Melissa's book that's just come out. It sucks, but it is, >> well, a mistake, can happen, and I know that you declared that not to be >> your picture when you saw the book. Yet it gets you thinking: if it becomes >> obvious that the property right of the photo is with somebody else (even if >> we might not know yet who it is), wouldn't that be enough to do something >> about it rather than let it go (I know, all difficult, book is printed, what >> to do?). But in principle, isn't that rapidly becoming integral part of a >> hailed-as-democratic copy-culture as well: not just the cheap dissemination >> of high-capital outpout, but the simple ignorance of or laissez-faire >> attitude towards somebody else's work, time, investments and efforts? I >> meanwhile have come across a number of cases in books as well as on the web >> where my work or material - which I generally have made available quite >> generously - suddenly appears without name or in somebody else's. As much as >> I have seen our films being copied without me seeing any royalties for it. > > This is still slightly different as at least the 'property holder' > > definitely shows in the credits, but should I be happy that more people get >> to see it that way, or should I get angry as I barely know how to finance my >> next project? Don't you guard your property rights as a photographer, >> Monica? Doesn't sarai? I think the whole matter of copy culture walks a >> tightrope which asks us to learn to very clearly differ between enabling >> access, creative freedom as well as cash-flow away from 'big capital' and >> arrogance and ignorance towards rightful property holders, particularly >> 'only artists'. In this sense, I think, Monica is right in saying that this >> might change the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world, even >> though it seems to only reflect a hope that might have come with our >> experiences gained from earlier avatars of supposedly anti-capitalist >> movements (the dictatorship of the proletariat was mainly a dictatorship in >> the end...). >> The case of Reemtsma and textz.org seems pretty blatant in this context: >> Reemtsma is not the author of the texts, he simply owns them as he owns a >> hell of a lot of other texts without having written them, and Sebastian is >> not an artist but a mere distributor who does not gain profit from his >> activities. His move effectively undermined Reemtsma's authority to decide >> about the dissemination of knowledge and is particularly interesting as he >> did not even intend to do so: he took it for granted, rightfully so (at the >> same time, he always responded to claims from authors and publishing houses >> earlier). Reemtsma, who refuses to deal with the web and even e-mail, missed >> out on a chance to live up to the image he seeks to create of himself in >> public and the very name of his institute; the whole matter could have been >> settled between the two of them over a cup of tea. But whilst this >> represents a particular case of stone-faced ivory tower-attitude, the next >> case could be completely different... >> Cheers -- Britta >> >> ---------- >>>Von: Andreas Broeckmann >>>An: Monica Narula >>>Betreff: Re: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to >>>jail?textz.com >> doesn't think so (fwd) >>>Datum: Mit, 25. Feb 2004 10:04 Uhr >>> >> >>> dear monica, >>> >>>> Have been following IP enforcement raids and cases. We are at the >>>> beginning of a sharp social conflict that is going to affect the very >>>> way we think and conduct ourselves in this world. The Culture of the > >>> Copy will proliferate and so will the mad property regimes will seek > >>> massive enforcement regime. Where are we heading towards...? >>> >>> while i share your concern about coming cultural clashes around >>>these issues, >>> and while i sympathise with sebastian's cause, i believe that it has to be >>> admitted that in this case the law is staying pretty much the same, while >>> people 'like us' are demanding new, more laissez-fair laws for >>>their 'digital >>> life-style'. Isn't it 'us', not 'them', who is moving the goal-posts? those >>> property regimes are as 'mad' as bourgeois capitalism has been in the last >>> centuries, and i find it a matter of course that capital will defend itself >in >>> courts as long as they can. and so long as the digital avantgarde >>>has to play >>> the 'I'm only an artist' card, rather than offering a tenable political >> economy >>> of copy culture, i doubt whether those property regimes will go >>>away so soon. >>> not if they see real and symbolical capital being, what they would call, >>> mis-appropriated. >>> >>> what you call 'the very way we think and conduct ourselves in >>>this world' is, >>> from a legalistic point of view, marginal. >>> >>> i don't want to spoil the party, but i think it is necessary to >>>see where the >>> lines of conflict are. if this will be a matter of legal hegemony, we will >> have >>> to muster a lot more political power than what will be necessary to save >>> sebastian that EUR 3.000 bill. >>> >>> greetings, >>> -a >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe >>> in the subject header. >>> List archive: >>> >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >subscribe in the subject header. >List archive: -- Monica Narula [Raqs Media Collective] Sarai:The New Media Initiative 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054 www.sarai.net From sebastian at rolux.org Thu Feb 26 19:52:28 2004 From: sebastian at rolux.org (sebastian at rolux.org) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:22:28 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com Message-ID: <403E0124.30604@rolux.org> dear all... i'd like to thank you for your discussion and your support. i also have a remark or two. > Dear Monica, dear Andreas, > you're not a party-booper, Andreas, as I also think that a blind support of > copy culture would just amount to being the opposite of what it proposes to > be: rather narrow-minded. But this comes especially into play when it > concerns the 'only artists' as it is particularly them who are on a smaller > scale dependent on royalties and recognition. Just to give a small example > that concerns actually you and me, Monica: a photograph of mine was printed > in your name in Melissa's book that's just come out. It sucks, but it is, > well, a mistake, can happen, and I know that you declared that not to be > your picture when you saw the book. Yet it gets you thinking: if it becomes > obvious that the property right of the photo is with somebody else (even if > we might not know yet who it is), wouldn't that be enough to do something > about it rather than let it go (I know, all difficult, book is printed, what > to do?). But in principle, isn't that rapidly becoming integral part of a > hailed-as-democratic copy-culture as well: not just the cheap dissemination > of high-capital outpout, but the simple ignorance of or laissez-faire > attitude towards somebody else's work, time, investments and efforts? I > meanwhile have come across a number of cases in books as well as on the web > where my work or material - which I generally have made available quite > generously - suddenly appears without name or in somebody else's. As much as > I have seen our films being copied without me seeing any royalties for it. > This is still slightly different as at least the 'property holder' > definitely shows in the credits, but should I be happy that more people get > to see it that way, or should I get angry as I barely know how to finance my > next project? Don't you guard your property rights as a photographer, > Monica? Doesn't sarai? I think the whole matter of copy culture walks a > tightrope which asks us to learn to very clearly differ between enabling > access, creative freedom as well as cash-flow away from 'big capital' and > arrogance and ignorance towards rightful property holders, particularly > 'only artists'. In this sense, I think, Monica is right in saying that this > might change the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world, even > though it seems to only reflect a hope that might have come with our > experiences gained from earlier avatars of supposedly anti-capitalist > movements (the dictatorship of the proletariat was mainly a dictatorship in > the end...). this intoduces the figure of the 'only artist'. i think it's the very same person as the 'small author'. that's what i usually call him. he's almost always a guy. above all, he's small. and now as an artist, he's even only. he is the biggest obstacle for getting rid of the political, technological and also intellectual monstrosity that is "intellectual property". he's even an obstacle for any debate on it. friends of mine have adopted a policy to immediately leave the room once such a small author raises his voice. and i guess they're right. please don't get me wrong. this is not polemic. an absolutely hallucinatory description of this small author can be found in kafka's diaries. it's the text at http://textz.com/kafka/. i haven't found an english translation. what this description shows is that the work of this small author is totally fictitious. what it shows is that no one has ever copied it. it shows he is caught in an oedipus triangle. he's an anti-feminist too. he hates a secretary, and i'm just starting to think he hates her precisely because he has surpassed him socially, in regards to the technologies of reproduction. beware of the small author. the kleinbuerger. in post-war times he's just a drag, but in kafka's and benjamin's time, he's a fascist in the making. all this is not very precise. i should elaborate on it, and i hope i will, later. > The case of Reemtsma and textz.org seems pretty blatant in this context: > Reemtsma is not the author of the texts, he simply owns them as he owns a > hell of a lot of other texts without having written them, and Sebastian is > not an artist but a mere distributor who does not gain profit from his > activities. His move effectively undermined Reemtsma's authority to decide > about the dissemination of knowledge and is particularly interesting as he > did not even intend to do so: he took it for granted, rightfully so (at the > same time, he always responded to claims from authors and publishing houses > earlier). Reemtsma, who refuses to deal with the web and even e-mail, missed > out on a chance to live up to the image he seeks to create of himself in > public and the very name of his institute; the whole matter could have been > settled between the two of them over a cup of tea. But whilst this > represents a particular case of stone-faced ivory tower-attitude, the next > case could be completely different... adorno, reemtsma, jail, copyright, internet - these are strong signifiers. maybe you need them to distribute a story. transportation, i don't know. in german feuilleton, the last days, you could see how the issue gets diverted. stops to signify anything, starts to signify something completely different. maybe even something more interesting. but nothing about "intellectual property". more than reemtsma, "reemtsma" is despotic. so i'm just wondering: if you take everything personal out of that story: what remains? or is that a stupid question? what would be a better question? what is textz.com's most obvious weakness? hint: single point of failure. not even technically. -- and, on a side note: personally, the most productive thing about all this so far was reading benjamin. maybe whoever wrote that "open letter" should change their stance: keep adorno, free benjamin. or free adorno with benjamin. you're all invited to the opening of the hamburg foundation's benjamin archive. berlin, 2004. date not set yet. i'll let you know. it's going to be fun. but still, there must be more to it. call for a more critical critique. call for papers. call for bricks. > Cheers -- Britta best regards, sebastian From 133344 at soas.ac.uk Thu Feb 26 22:33:12 2004 From: 133344 at soas.ac.uk (TARAN KHAN) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 17:03:12 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] posting on indep fellowship Message-ID: <1077814992.b707dc00133344@soas.ac.uk> Taran Khan ‘Very Progressive People-Stories of Women and Movements from post-Independence Bombay’ Part I: Conversations with Zehra Explaining my project to Zehra, I am struck by the degree of amused indulgence with which she treats my explanations. In part, this has to do with our relationship-she is my grandmother and I the eldest grandchild, most prone to getting crackpot notions in my head. Yet I notice the same trends in my conversations on the phone with Sultana and Shaukat. The same tone of polite incredulity, the willingness to help but the inability see what they could say about those days, other than “halki-phulki baatein”-light, airy things. Zehra was the youngest of the three- married to her cousin, she moved into the ‘Red Flat’ a few months after her wedding. Her stories of this time and other times have always formed a part of our relationship, delivered in a characteristic style that combines humour with a glittering edge of mockery. She has the rare gift of perspective, and an ability to see the beauty of an idea or act while simultaneously deprecating it. (This is particularly true when she’s talking about her husband’s ‘achievements’!) Yet my suggestions of documenting these stories amuse her, she refuses to believe someone could have paid me money to do just that. “Hamare paas kuch kehne ko hain thori hi, bas baatien hain” she tells me. I haven’t anything to say, its all just talk. Several conversations later I am still trying to convince her of the importance of her talk, when my grandfather intervenes. “Kahin aisa to nahin hai ki tum apne ideas inn par thope rahi ho?” he asks me. Are you sure that you’re not forcing your ideas onto her?” I am not sure at all –and here is my first dilemma. How much of what I hear is what my protagonists say, and how much of it is my own, fragmented identity junkie self hearing things? Resonance is a good idea, but what if the echo I hear is just me? The process of explanation, of introducing the project to my participants thus acquires a significance of its own. It is more difficult than I expected to find the words to communicate a sense of what I see as their significance-even more difficult to find a shared meaning of the term. Zehra gives me a clue to the bottleneck in one of her lectures. “Dekho”, she tells me, look. Don’t put us on a pedestal. We lived through interesting times, and did so many things. If you like, I can tell you about them. But your job is not to think of it as a golden age—it is to learn from us, but also to criticize us, and to take our lives forward. She has gone to her home in Mustafabad for moharram. She will be back soon, and then, she has promised me, we’ll talk. From Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.COM Fri Feb 27 04:24:22 2004 From: Rahul.Asthana at CIBC.COM (Asthana, Rahul) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 17:54:22 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindi literature page Message-ID: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6A32@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> Sorry to send out this mail again Some of you have sent me their additions to this list.. I am thankful for this..But It would be great if you could just go and edit this page yourself http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_literature There is a link called Edit this page at the top of the page. The structure currently is- There is an alphabetical list of authors and the name of each author links to a page on that author. Just click on that link and you will get a large edit box.This is because "pages for each author" have not been created as yet.the links are just place holders. Type whatever you want to about that author,and save the page.Next time when someone clicks on that link, they will see the page. One more thing- Please enter your name and email in the "Summary" Text box at the bottom of the page when you are editing the page.This will make tracking changes easier. Thanks Rahul From eye at ranadasgupta.com Fri Feb 27 11:10:20 2004 From: eye at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 21:40:20 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" Message-ID: <200402262140.AA360841446@ranadasgupta.com> Further to Jeebesh's and Menso's postings. I think these are raising the crucial point. Jeebesh writes: "Our understanding of power is usually underpined by 19th century understanding of a visible-centralised apparatus. What we are faced with is a far more insidous and imbticated in everyday structure of info-generation, classification and ordering." It is *this* 19th century understanding that is labelled "Big Brother". And it is because we are patently not living under this "visible-centralised apparatus" that the spectre of "Big Brother" becomes an alibi for the system, a sign of its innocence. This is the urgency of a proper language of the system we inhabit. We need to be able to express what the anxiety of this ubiquitous, but distributed system looks and feels like in order to displace the "Big Brother" cliche which serves, like the Nazi death camps, only as an image of a history that we have happily been able to escape. R Menso Heus wrote: Thus, the statement that we are far away from Orwellian scenarios due to the fact that there is no central logging being done is one I doubt, based on the explanation given above. It's there, but it's more practical, more efficient and well masqueraded. It's a bit like saying there's no such thing as a hamburger because there's only ground beef, lettuce, ketchup and buns and the manufacturer of the buns has no interest in the manufacturer of ketchup. The interests of the manufacturers is of course completely irrelevant: If you stack up all the ingredients correctly, you end up with a burger nonetheless. This reminds me of a film made by Harun Farocki in late sixties. A workers working in enterprises making washing machine starts slowly assembling the various parts together so that he can have a washing machine at home. He landed up assembling a machine gun. ! Menso's reference to the contemporary information regimes  distributed nature of information gathering and certain 'focused' ordering when required is very critical and needs to be brought into the discussion on surveillance. Our understanding of power is usually underpined by 19th century understanding of a visible-centralised apparatus. What we are faced with is a far more insidous and imbticated in everyday structure of info-generation, classification and ordering. This much is very clear, that if we are part of an highly efficient electronic transactional space we are very vulnerable to tracking. Well our theories of social order would make us belive that efficient, formal transcational lives are suppose to be living under higher state of freedom...! (Menso thanks for the tracking route graph..) best jeebesh _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. List archive: From lawrenceliang99 at yahoo.com Fri Feb 27 12:33:35 2004 From: lawrenceliang99 at yahoo.com (Lawrence Liang) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 23:03:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] copy adorno, go to jail? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20040227070335.88382.qmail@web13602.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Andreas, Britta, Monica and Sebastian A whole host of issues raised in the discussion for the past few days. While I understand the concerns that Britto has with regard to the unfair 'appropiation' of the labour of a a creative worker, I think the next automatic step of assuming copyright to be the answer may be a little misplaced. I also notice that a significant segment of the discussion is premised on a certain assumption of authorship, authorial interests etc. , as well as a very stable uninterrogated idea of information as property. I am including a small piece that a few of us had compied together which tries to examine the sustaining myths of copyright. Defintely not claiing that it answers all your concerns, and we still need to think through a whole range of issues, but hope it does enough to spark of more debate and though on the area. Lawrence ========= Encountering the Sustaining Myths of Copyright Compiled by Mayur Suresh, Atrayee Mazumdar and Lawrence Liang 1. Some familiar tales of loss and anxiety 2. Encountering the myths of copyright A. Contextualizing Authorship and Originality B. Copyright, Information and the Language of property C. Copyright and the incentive for creativity D. Copyright protects the poor struggling author D. Economic Losses caused by Piracy 3. Conclusion 1. Encountering the sustaining myths of copyright Copyright in recent years has acquired an all-pervasive status, entering into the realms of the everyday through various forms. It�s most common appearance is as a newspaper story about the losses caused by piracy or a description of the latest threatno-innovative attempt to fight piracy. Post September 11th, the war against terrorism and the war against piracy have become close allies. Sometimes it acquires a certain glamorous appeal when a celebrity sues another for copyright infringement as in the recent case of Bappi Lahiri against Dr. Dre or Rajnikant claming a right over a sign that he uses in his film. Apart from these stories of anxieties around copyright piracy, there are also self-congratulatory nationalist messages of how India is mobilizing on its vast pool of knowledge workers to become a global super power. Irrespective of the nature of the story told, there often seems to be a number of elements in these narratives which have a common thread running through them, and in fact it could be said that it is precisely these threads which makes it possible for us to weave together a story of copyright in the contemporary context. It is our argument that an understanding of the insertion of the discourse of copyright into quotidian imagination is critical for an understanding of the profound transformations that are taking place within the realm of production and distribution of knowledge and cultural commodities. It is in these spaces that the myth of copyright is carefully constructed and constantly reinforced, and out very experience of media in any form is pre mediated by our understanding of its circulation within the economy of intellectual property. As Nitin Govil says �The uncanny �everywhereness� of piracy is, of course, merely the inverted image of the properly interpolated spaces of intellectual property� This brief concept paper seeks to identify and interrogate some of the assumptions that underlie most of the common media stories about copyright. Copyright�s greatest success has been to successfully transform itself into the status of myth by constantly rendering familiar certain figures (the poor struggling author), arguments (a man deserves to own what is his rightful labour) and rhetorical data ( billions of dollars lost due to piracy). By specifically naming these assumptions as myths, we seek to question their truth premise. This is however, a task that has just begun and we shall have to work collectively to strive towards making arguments beyond merely providing counter factual, if we are to effectively counter the totalling rhetoric of copyright. 2. Some familiar tales of loss and anxiety Exhibit 1:- �The failure to enforce the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws has taken a heavy toll on the Government revenues and reduced employment opportunities, with the Government forgoing a tax revenue of over Rs.10,000 crores annually due to the proliferation of counterfeit consumer products alone, the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, S. B. Sinha, said here today. Inaugurating a seminar on new IPR laws organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Justice Sinha emphasised the need for training of judicial and police officers in all aspects of implementation of IPR laws so that there is adequate protection to the manufacture of genuine products and the consumer is not exposed to the dangers of consuming fake products. Mr. Sinha emphasised the need for creating consumer awareness and class action by manufacturers so that the counterfeiters could be brought to book. He said that counterfeit products were flourishing because there was a ready market in the country for such cheap, look-alike products. The acceptance of counterfeit products by consumers comes in the way of implementation of laws. Responding to the concerns expressed by the alternate president, ASSOCHAM, R. K. Somany, Justice Sinha said there was sufficient awareness among law makers and the enforcement agencies about the need to contain the menace of counterfeiting by proper implementation of IPR laws. What was, however, urgently required was all-round societal action against the offenders. The Minister of State for Coal, Mines, Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, in his keynote address said it was critical to adjust the legal system to respond rapidly to the new technological environment in an effective and appropriate way, because technologies and markets evolve increasingly rapidly. This will ensure the continued furtherance of the fundamental guiding principles of copyright and related rights, which remain constant whatever may be the technology of the day. It would involve giving incentives to creators to produce and disseminate new creative materials; recognising the importance of their contributions providing appropriate balance for the public interest, particularly education, research and access to information and thereby ultimately benefiting society by promoting the development of culture, science and the economy�. The Hindu-22nd September� 02 Exhibit 2:- Mr Hardee told FE in an exclusive interview that Indian government needed to take a much more proactive approach to deal with copyright issues. �India has not yet ratified the WIPO Copyright treaty and BSA would like to convince the Indian government to accept it for effective protection digital rights,� Mr Hardee said, adding that he would also discuss WTO services agreement related issues that are crucial for conducting electronic commerce over Internet. �Intellectual property rights protection are the key to the continued growth of the software industry and a critical factor in attracting direct foreign investment. We want that Indian politicians and government official to talk about copyright issues to create awareness and also adopt strict anti-piracy policies in government departments to set an example,� he said�. The Financial Express-21st August 02� Exhibit 3:- Book piracy racket busted By Our Staff Reporter THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Aug. 26. The City Police today busted a racket involving unauthorised duplication and sale of foreign medical books from two photostat business centres in the Medical College area. As many as 150 unauthorised reproductions of several costly publications were seized in the raid. Police have filed a case under the Copyright Violation Act against the owners of the two shops. The raid followed a nationwide campaign by the Indian arm of the Publishers Association, U.K., to unearth piracy of books published by international firms. According to the police, the clandestine operation in the Medical College area was targeted at medical students. The modus operandi was to make a master copy of the foreign technical books which cost up to Rs. 4,000 each. Multiple copies made from the master pages are bound into book form and sold at Rs. 500 to 1,000 each. Counsel for the publishers, Priya Rao, who had arrived from Delhi said the raid had unearthed bound books as well as loose photostat copies. The books were neatly reproduced and sold with brochures. Similar raids carried out in the Museum and Thampanoor police station limits during the last two days had uncovered a similar racket in popular novels. Police raids in these areas revealed about 200 reproductions of `Harry Potter' and Sydney Sheldon novels. While the original novels cost about Rs. 300, the pirated editions were selling for Rs. 50. The unauthorised versions were seized from book shops as well as footpath vendors dealing in second hand books Exhibit 4:- SOON THE Indian Music Industry will be out of sight, there will be a cultural blackout and consumers will no longer be able to listen to music, virtually. That is what the Indian Music Industry - IMI - joining hands with the police and researchers tried to convey to consumers and media persons this past week as it held a conference to highlight the threat of music piracy. At a briefing at India Habitat Centre addressed by V.J. Lazarus, IMI President, J.F. Rebeiro, former Commissioner of Police, Abhik Mitra, MD, Saregama India Limited and Prakash Singh former Director General of BSF, the issue of piracy was raised and a campaign called `Sounds of Silence' to fight the "illegitimate music" was launched. "Due to piracy we have lost over Rs. 1800 crore in the last three years. Despite being an offence as per the copyright act - Article 52 (1) (i) that calls for severe penalties - piracy is eating into the music companies," lamented Lazarus. Though he reasoned that IMI has recorded 3652 criminal cases and made 4096 arrests in the last four years, only 30 cases ended in prison sentences or fines, although 191 cases ended in conviction. He felt that this sorry state was due to a lenient attitude by those who should be providing the deterrent, while Rebeiro too admitted that for police it is one of the very low priorities. Moreover, slow processing in the courts adversely affects the required enforcement. The source of the trouble also lies in the lack of major hits and the high price of the original cassettes and CDs. For the latter they have their reasons. "People come to us asking why can't you sell a CD for Rs. 20 while the raw material costs you only Rs. 8, but they don't realise that the lyricists and each of the artistes have to be paid a good amount," said Abhik Mitra. "If the government does not look into it fast, the industry will come to a halt within a year, for two out five cassettes and CDs get pirated now," says Lazarus. 3. Encountering the myths of copyright The snippets of news items quoted above are just a glimpse of what has become a regular staple of newspaper stories, and yet there is a stubborn logic that refuses to accede so easily to the threats, blackmail and pleas of copyright protectionists. The spectral figure of copyright looms large over, but fails to entirely haunt our imagination. As with any other conflict, the �battle for souls� is perhaps as important as the transformations talking place in the material world of practices. And it is within these spaces of imagination that we insert our current intervention. Drawing from the stories that we have taken from the contemporary representations of the conflict over copyright, we would like to examine some of the basic assumptions in copyright�s self-narrated life. Copyright has a rather straightforward justification for itself. We shall being with what may be considered a rather typical account of the necessity of copyright law. Copyright is that branch of intellectual property law which protects original works of authorship. These include literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works. In recent years Copyright law has been amended to include protection for performers rights. The key assumption that sustains copyright law is that authors have a natural right over their works of intellectual labour, and copyright protection is required to provide an incentive to create intellectual works. Copyright therefore grants an exclusive right to the author over his works, and these rights include a basket of rights including the right to authorize reproduction of the work, adaptation, performance, distribution etc. In the absence of a system like copyright, there would be no incentive for authors to produce and hence there would be a general decline in the world of creativity and the arts. However copyright inherently includes a balance between the protection of authors on the one hand and the interest of the public on the other. It is recognized that excessive protection may result in a curbing the ability of the public to use works, and hence copyright protects only unique expressions and not ideas per se. Copyright therefore seeks to achieve this balance by providing a limited term of protection (life of the author plus sixty years). Any person who therefore uses the works of another person�s intellectual labour is indulging in an act of stealing the other person�s ideas and this act of theft will result in huge losses for the author of the work. As with any other totalizing story, the tale of copyright seems to have some intrinsic appeal, relying as it does on a progress account (copyright promotes creativity) and the dystopic world that it prevents (there will be no creativity without copyright). The reason why we choose to use the phrase the myth of copyright, is because we recognize the wonderful success of copyright in narrating itself as a universal truth. The history of copyright is always narrated in an ahistorical manner following a universal natural teleological route as though it were the natural culmination of events. Following Barthes, we would however like to interrogate the mythologies as forms of language, which are ideologically embedded in various practices of power and ideology. We would in this section of the paper like to interrogate some of the arguments that seems to form the mythological structure of copyright: A. Challenging the ahistorical account of Copyright: Contextualizing authorship and originality B. Copyright, information and the language of property C. Copyright and incentive for creativity D. Copyright protects the rights of authors E. The use of the language of theft and piracy in the discourse of copyright A. Contextualizing authorship and originality Copyright assumes as the subject of its enquiry the rights of the author. Simple as it sounds, this assertion has great import to our understanding of the conflict over copyright, for at the heart of the statement lies the presumption that we can clearly make sense of the idea of authorship without any problems. To juxtapose this statement with another ask any person to rattle of the names f the great authors, and you will find a varied crowd from Shakespeare, Chaucer, Kalidas, Valmiki to Salman Rushdie and perhaps Jeffrey Archer. There are then two sets of self fulfilling prophesies that are achieved by the assertion that copyright protects the rights of authors. It assumes a category which makes universal sense across cultures and across time, namely that of the author, and having erected this universal figure of the author and asserting that copyright is meant for the protection of the author, it universalizes the relationship between copyright and creativity as well. Our first task is then to historicize the emergence of the author figure or the author function, as a relatively modern phenomenon that arises in the context of the crisis caused by the print revolution. Before the invention of the printing press, the act of writing was a very localised activity and it was impossible to disseminate knowledge in any significant manner since the inaccuracies of copying prevented any widespread use of the written work. The invention of the printing press enabled a number of innovations. Duplication became easier and more accurate. Mass distribution became viable. The printing press revolutionized information storage, retrieval and usage. Printing, unlike writing, allowed a society to build on the past with a confidence that each step was being made on a firm foundation. Printing generated confidence that new information was an improvement over old. The revolution in the ability to accurately reproduce works fostered an understanding that progress can occur through a process of revision and improvement. The increased accuracy and rapidity of new editions made possible by the printing press made the most recent editions more valued than the older. Additionally, access was now available to the literate public. Printing provided a mechanism by which a larger reading public developed, thus constituting the emerging public sphere. This new reading public that emerged demanded books, original and reprints, and set in stage the crucial conflict over the ownership of such information. As Mark Rose observes, �a sufficient market for books to sustain a commercial system of cultural production� had to exist before the coming into being of a formal regime of intellectual property. What was earlier the monopoly of the Stationers Company, a guild recognised and regulated by the Crown, became a mass industrial activity with a number of publishers in the provinces (Scotland) publishing cheap reprints for the new reading public. The reaction from the literary and artistic world was to move away from the �ills of industrial revolution�, and they began deploying the notion of the author as a unique and transcendent being, possessing originality of spirit. This romantic model was used as a means of rescuing the artists� works from the hostile market and the public for whom mass production made works available as never before, but at the risk of turning it into an industrial product. The romantic artist was therefore deemed to have property in an uncommodifiable imaginary self, so originality was elevated to being located in and belonging to the self of the author. And because the artist owns his original person or spirit, works created by such authors were also deemed to be original; and they could thus distinguish their personality from the expanding realm of mass produced goods. This is the moment when the romantic theory merges with the prevailing doctrine of property of the time, namely the Lockean theory of conversion, where an individual through his labour creates something of value out of nothing. This is of course also the theory that justifies the appropriation of the commons, including lands that did not belong to any civilized nation. There is then a dual move which is set in place where the concept of the �modern proprietary author� is used as a weapon in the struggle between the London booksellers and the booksellers of the provinces, culminating in the landmark case of Donaldson v. Becket. The entire claim in Donaldson v. Becket is made in the name of protecting the rights of the author (it must be noted that no author was involved in the case) and the individuality of their ideas, even though the primary benefactors from this new system of knowledge ownership were publishers, since all authors assigned their copyright to the publishers before publication. The modern proprietary author simply created a useful euphemism for protecting company rights to copy. This invocation of the author significantly ties up copyright to the concept of an author. The proprietary author emerges as the London publisher�s mode of maintaining strict control over copyright. However, once unleashed, the idea of the author starts taking on a new meaning with unexpected consequences. It emerges as a new social relationship, which will transform the way society perceives the ownership of knowledge. This establishment of the ideological figure of the author naturalises a particular process of knowledge production where the emphasis on individual contribution denigrates the concept of community knowledge and helps promulgate the notion of the individual as owner. The significant contribution of literary theory through the works of Barthes, Foucault and Derrida has been to problematize our notions of the romantic individual author. What then do the work of Foucault, Barthes and Derrida mean for the legal interpretation of authorship. If legal scholarship and practise were to take note of the inroads made into the very notion of authorship and originality by these thinkers, we will need to reconceptualise the terrain that we understand to be intellectual property laws. This reconceptualisation will necessarily have to shed of the burden of the author�s originality and recognise the millions of traces which shadow the arrival of any work, and provide a means of structuring the relationship between such texts, its readers and society at large. It will mean a more nuanced understanding of the public sphere or what IP laws calls the public domain, with the presumption being that the author is not a figure who has to be protected from this public sphere but one resides and works within the public sphere. This restructuring of the relationship between authors, texts and interpretative communities will also demand a major increase in the ways in which these works may be modified, adapted and appropriated to enable what Derrida would call the field of infinite substitutions B. Copyright, Information and the language of property "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have one idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas" George B. Shaw In this section we examine how, conceptually, intellectual property is justified. On examining Hegelian and Lockean theories of how Property is created, the fundamental question to be posed is whether information can be considered property in the same sense that a house or a car is considered property. The fundamental character of information is that it is a non rival good which means that the same assumptions of depletion, scarcity etc that are used while analyzing classical theories of property cannot fit in the same manner. Many explanations for the propertisation of intellectual creations are based on a Lockean theory of the creation of property. Locke�s theory relies on three basic principles; firstly that every person has property in herself; secondly, everything that is in a state of nature, i.e. not as yet propertised and is still held in common, was given by God to be propertised; and thirdly that labour converts things in a state of nature into a state or property and adds value to things so laboured upon. Therefore, Locke was of the opinion that if A mixed her labour into a thing that is in a state of nature, that thing becomes the property of A. In terms of copyright, author�s can be said to take the ideas that are �out there� in common, add their labour to it, and what we have is the �work�. What Locke fails to answer is why, if authors add labour to ideas, it becomes the property of the author, and simply rests at the assumption that property is the deserts for labour. The next question that may be asked is whether and how a person actually has property in herself. This property in oneself cannot be a product of one�s labour, and therefore must be premised upon something else. However, at the core of Locke�s theory, lies the notion of personal freedom, with state power severely constrained and limited to the protection of liberty, and it is in this context that he, again, presumes the ownership of oneself. Unlike Locke, however, Hegel does not see humans as naturally free, and therefore as having natural ownership rights in themselves. It is only through the historical process of objectification and hence self-confrontation that one comes to be free: �It is only through the development of his own body and mind, essentially through his self-consciousness�s apprehension of itself as free, that he takes possession of himself and becomes his own property and no one else�s.� In both theories, ownership of ourselves enables the ownership of natural objects as they become assimilated to our bodies. Such a proposition meets several objections. Robert Nozick poses an interesting question. If I were to pour a bowl of radioactive soup (so that it could be traced), of which I was the owner of, into the ocean, and this radioactive soup mixed throughout all the oceans and seas, could it be said that I am now the owner all this? Hegel would answer this in the negative for the reason that Nozick�s soup is not an expression of his personality. Central to Hegel�s concept of property is the notion that property is not only a necessary component in the development of personality, but a manifestation of this personality itself. Similar to the Romantic movement of the 18th century, for Hegel, a person must translate his freedom into an external sphere in order to exist as Idea, and the resultant property is the manifestation of this translation. According to Hegelian arguments, occupancy, not labor, is the act by which external things become property. This occupancy, or taking possession, can be done in three ways; firstly, by directly grasping it physically; next, by forming it; and thirdly, by merely marking it as ours. It is the second of these ways of possession that is most interesting for our purposes. As Hegel remarks, �When I impose a form on something, the thing�s determinate character as mine acquires an independent externality and ceases to be restricted to my presence here and now and to the direct presence of my awareness and will.� This statement reverberates in copyright law�s recognition of the rights of the author of works when those works are changed or �mutilated�. The law looks upon this �mutilation� as an violation of the personality of the author as manifested through that work. However, the fundamental question that law does not answer is how this constitutes a violation of the author�s �personality�. Moreover, as is seen with the Romantic conception of the Author, Hegel fails to account for the external influences on creations. Hegel�s conception of property being the expression of the will of the individual fails to see that this �work� is influenced by various other factors; painters, musicians, writers, all learn their skills and are classified into genres and styles; artists may take inspiration from everyday scenes, and author from gossip. In such situations can their �works� be said to be an expression of their soul? Locke locates the desire for propertisation of the commons in need for preservation of resources. According to him, if resources are left in the commons their utility will gradually diminish because of over use or neglect. Land, for example, may be overgrazed or may by neglect become unarable, and in both cases the utility that this land provides is diminished. Locke assumes that once a resource is taken from the commons and transformed into private property the owner of that property will use such property in a manner that preserves its value in use. Even if we accept these assumptions, can this theory of the need for propertisation be extended to incorporeal ideas? Does the �over use� or neglect of ideas lead to the reduction of their value in use? Bernard Shaw�s quotation about the sharing of the ideas is a simple yet effective demonstration of the nature of ideas and information goods. Information just does not share the same characteristics as classical �real property�. The dissemination of ideas, for instance, does not reduce their use value. Information is considered a �non-rival� good, in the sense that usage of that information cannot impair the utility to another user of that information. It has also been characterised as non-excludable in the sense that use of that information does not exclude other users from utilising that information. The best example of this is software. The only way a person can prevent the copy of software is by preventing third persons from accessing it. Once access is granted, it can be copied for almost no cost. This copying, moreover, does not affect the utility of the software itself, nor does it prevent the usage of that software by the original owner The sharing of information goods, especially in the digital context for instance does not diminish in any manner the quality of the good that is shared. There is clearly a movement away from the idea of property as we have always understood it, and copyright displays a stubborn drive towards taming this new monster created out of developments in information technology. There are a number of contradictions in the attempt to equate information goods with classical property which are becoming more glaring. Some of these are internal contradictions within the larger machinery of production and consumption. Thus, on the one hand you have hardware manufacturers creating better CD writers at a cheaper price advertising their products with the magical words, BURN, RIP, COPY, DUPLICATE, STORE etc. On the other hand you have the content industry screaming hoarse at these new technologies which are making it easier for people to steal information unethically. C. Copyright and the incentive for creativity It is often argued that in the absence of copyright protection that Authors would lack the incentive to create more works thereby depriving society of useful works that may have been produced. This part questions the subsumption of incentive in copyright theory. One of the main justifications for copyright law is that in the absence of an intellectual property rights regime, authors of works would lack the incentive to further create; that artists cannot produce new works without economic incentive. Intellectual property law, therefore, is often justified on the basis that it stimulates investment of time and money in the creation of new works and that many authors of the works of copyright rely on the income that they derive from the publication of their works for their livelihood. Additionally, it is claimed that in the absence of copyright protection covering an author�s creation, the low cost of copying such works will induce competitors to �steal� another�s product without penalty and therefore, rivals may profit from another�s intellectual efforts without expending any energy or costs other than the relatively minor costs required to duplicate the socially valuable creation. Consequently, the incentives of authors to generate beneficial informational works will be greatly diminished, if not entirely eliminated. They will not be able to reap pecuniary rewards for their efforts or even recover their costs in many cases because of competitors copying their works and undercutting their prices. Given that authors will have little hope of recovering their investment, the production of works will be seriously curtailed, and its associated benefits upon society will be lost. While there may be a case for the proposition that without incentives authors would fail to create new works, the statement that copyright law is the basis for this incentive requires a closer examination. What is essentially argued here is that copyright is not synonymous with incentives, and that in the absence of copyright authors have created. It is also argued that in many instances, this incentive that copyright appears to give authors is illusory. Firstly, many authors who have little hope of ever finding a market for their publications, and whose copyrights are, as a result, virtually worthless, have in the past, and at present, continue to write. While it may not be a general phenomenon, it is possible that people produce works for pure personal satisfaction, or even for peer respect and recognition. Secondly, historically, there is much to suggest that copyright law and incentive were rarely linked. The 19th century saw the prolific authorship of literary works, in the absence of any meaningful protection afforded to authors by virtue of their copyright. While copyright protection existed, these rarely benefited the author beyond an initial payment for the copyrights in their works. This payment, often referred to as an honorarium, bore no relationship to the exchange value of that work, but was rather an acknowledgment of the writer�s achievements. In the vast majority of cases most of the profits went to the publisher and, on occasion authors were even asked to underwrite a portion of the publishing costs. Moreover without the publisher the copyright in effect had no value, as the work could never get published. Hence copyright protection in reality benefited the publisher, and rarely the author. Furthermore, with the enactment of every subsequent Copyright Act, the protection given to authors was reduced. In England, prior to the 1814, copyright in the work reverted to the author after a term. The author could renew proprietary rights in its work, and could conceivably gain from again transferring the copyright. However after 1814 such renewal terms were eliminated and the author lost its position in the mechanisms of copyright. The typical transaction consisted of the transfer of the copyright to the publisher by the author, of a one-time payment. Subsequent to that the author had little role to play in the publication of his work and the author reaped little reward. This can be seen in a number of recent cases regarding the translation of works into new media. What is at issue is in these cases is, whether the author, who has transferred copyright in, say a cinema, to another party, has a proprietary interest in translations of this work into new media, say release over the internet, the development of which was unforeseen at the time of transfer of copyright. In the United States, there are a number of cases where it has been held that the author no longer has a proprietary interest in these works that have been translated into new media. In such cases how does copyright provide an incentive to authors? In addition, the existence of alternative and different types of incentives further erodes the incentive claim of copyright protection. Two non-pecuniary incentives have been identified above; personal satisfaction and recognition. Many people have created works without the thought of pecuniary benefit. It is doubted that Anne Frank wrote her diary or Nehru his letters with the intent to eke the benefits arising out of copyright protection. Furthermore, advancement and honour in one�s field, and recognition, are other forms of compensation for authorship. As the honorarium discussed above shows, there is a great prestige value to composing a book or article or piece of art recognized as a leading piece in its field. These incentives will always be present, regardless of whether one is awarded monopoly rights in her work. Original authors may also have the benefit of being the first mover in the market. By entering the market first, the authors of works may be able to capture a certain degree of the economic rewards that intellectual property rights aim to bestow even without the actual conferral of such legal rights. Currently there exist several mechanisms, which are primarily internet based, for creating incentives that stand independent from copyright. The Street Performer, or the Fairshare Protocols are examples such devices. Under the latter system several people make a payment directly to the author to finance future works with the understanding that they are given access to a portion of the consequent profits. Under the first method, the authors contemplate a menu of options available to artists. What each have in common is that a release price will be set for a work, and that it will be made available in digital form, without (or largely so) copyright restrictions, once members of the public voluntarily donate sufficient funds to meet the asking price. An author might set up her own website and announce her book project directly to her public. Usually, although not necessarily, the author might begin by posting a chapter or two to give readers the flavour of what is to come. D. Copyright protects the poor struggling author We are constantly regaled with stories of how copyright as a system acts as the basic protection for poor struggling authors who would otherwise not have any mode of protecting themselves against pirates who reproduce their goods or others who steal their ideas. Let us at the very outset clarify that we are certainly not enemies of creative workers, and we would of course like to see all creative labour recognised and rewarded. But the question for us to answer is does copyright really achieve that, and if not why does this image of the poor struggling author keep coming to mind? What the metaphor of the poor struggling author does is invisibles the critical difference between the authorship of a work of intellectual labour and the ownership of the same. While there is a tendency in copyright law �to invoke liberal individualism to justify economic structures that frustrate the aspirations of real-life individuals, it is somewhat surprising to encounter the individualistic Romantic conception of "authorship" deployed to support a regime that disassociates creative workers from a legal interest in their creations: the "work-for-hire" doctrine of American copyright law. Where the doctrine applies, the firm or individual who paid to have a work created, rather than the person who created it, is regarded as the "author" for purposes of copyright ownership�. Thus we have a situation where more often than not works of copyright conflict are created by unromantic authors sitting in their cubicles creating for a large corporation like Microsoft. When a work is deemed to have been made �for hire," the alienation of labour is formally and legally complete: the "author" of the "work" is the person on whose behalf the "work" was made, not the individual who created it. In this legal configuration, the employer's rights do not derive from the employee by an implied grant or assignment. Rather, those rights are the direct result of the employer's status. Ironically, the employers' claims are rationalized in terms of the Romantic conception of "authorship" with its concomitant values of "originality" and "inspiration." Secondly if one were to closely analyze the publishing agreements of various publishing houses, one notices immediately that unless you are an author of some fame, the contracts are absolutely one sided, with the individual author having little bargaining power, as s/he assign all rights in favour of the publishing house. Piracy has always been portrayed as being an assault on the rights of authors. It is interesting to note for instance that during the initial days of T series, T series were often approached by various small time ghazal singers requesting them to release their works through the pirated circuit, as HMV, the owners of the copyright in the work were unable or uninterested in issuing the works, and the authors of the works therefore did not have a chance to ensure that the works were available to the consuming public. The example of J K Rowling as a struggling singe mother is often used as the analogy for whey copyright protects the rights of poor authors. While we are all happy for Ms. Rowling, what is not convincing is how the example applies even after the publication of the fifth or sixth Harry Potter book, by which time Ms. Rowling is now one of the highest paid authors in the world, with many millions in excess. Clearly pirates respond only to a market demand, and it is not every book that is pirated. There is a particular popularity or price limit that is required to be achieved before it enters into the piracy circuit, and presumably if a book has achieved a certain status for it to become pirated, the poor struggling author has already disappeared. Thus, the sight of Madonna appearing in TV ads condemning piracy, because it deprives her of livelihood does not quite convince. D. Economic Losses caused by Piracy The most common use of statistics in the copyright tale is the amount of losses caused as a result of piracy. Thus for instance in the case of computer software one would encounter the following: The extent of software piracy and losses due to such piracy cannot be given in exact quantitative terms though it is believed that piracy in this sector is wide spread. In Europe alone the sofware industries lose an estimated $ 6 billion a year. In fact, Europe holds the dubious distinction of accounting for about 50 per cent of world wide losses from software piracy, more than any other region including the number two Asia. According to a study of Software Publishers Association, a US based body, losses due to piracy of personal computer business application softwares nearly equalled revenues earned by the global software industry. In 1996, piracy costed the software industry US $ 11.2 billion, a 16 percent decrease over the estimated losses of Us $ 13.3 billion in 1995. The country-specific data show that in 1996 Vietnam and Indonesia had the highest piracy rate of 99 per cent and 97 percent respectively, followed by China (96%), Russia (91%), Thailand (80%) etc. In India software piracy is costing the IT industry quite dear. According to a survey conducted jointly by Business Software Alliance (BSA) and NASSCOM in May 1996, total losses due to software piracy in India stood at a staggering figure of about Rs. 500 crores (US $ 151.3 million) showing about 60 per cent piracy rate in India. - MHRD Report on Copyright Piracy These statistics often rely on certain dubious economic assumptions. The main one of course is the assumption that a person buying an illegal copy would necessarily buy as legal copy of the same if piracy did not exits. Thus while we know that most computers in India have an illegal copy of Microsoft XP and Microsoft Office, can we assume that every user would be willing to pay an additional Rs. 23,000 for these two software alone, especially in light of a free alternative in the form of Linux. In a very insightful study, Carlos Osorio seeks to empirically understand the phenomenon of piracy. He starts with the assumption that Computer software have the characteristic of being a non-rival and quasi non-excludable good. Thus �One may prohibit a third person from using it only by not letting him (or her) to access a version of the software. Once access is granted, however, the software can be copied at almost zero cost. By doing so, new users cannot exclude the earlier from using the software -as with a bicycle or a jacket- and, by direct and indirect network effects, the new user adds value to the whole network of users (legal and illegal)�. The question for him then is What are the effects of illegal copying of software, commonly known as �piracy�, on the overall software market? Why do some software companies enforce their intellectual property rights differently across countries? He states that classically, illegal copying is commonly assumed to be function of the software�s price, potential market�s average income per capita, and marginal cost of copying versus producing the software. However he states that in addition to these common assumptions, it is also important to examine the role of direct and indirect network effects in explaining the importance of illegal users in the diffusion process. His argument is that software companies might have a direct and indirect role in helping the generation of illegal copying in underdeveloped markets, and incentives for doing so. In terms of business strategies, for instance, some ways of doing it are by undersupplying system compatibility, generating lock-in for users of their product, and by lack of �sponsorship� in some markets Furthermore, piracy often acts in underdeveloped markets as the most efficient manner of creating a market or user base and also to create a lock- in period for the product. Thus Microsoft has consistently refused to enforce its intellectual property rights in markets in developing countries till such time that market base is created for its products. Piracy works to produce network effects: Network effects are important because, in terms of the total user base, the illegal users of software add value to all the users, legal and illegal, and act as agents in fostering the software�s diffusion process by word-of-mouth. By this way, they indirectly generate additional positive effect for the software company. Conclusion �Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. The only thing that permits us to acquiesce in an erroneous theory is the lack of a better one.� -John Rawls in A Theory of Justice �the admiring fascination of the rebel can be understood not merely as the fascination for someone who commits a particular crime but that someone, in defying the law bares the violence of the legal system or the juridical order� -Jaques Derrida, The mystical foundation of authority The task of this paper has been to examine the various myths that sustain copyright. This is just the beginning of the process and if we are to seriously engage with the totalizing logic of copyright, there are two tasks. Firstly, we will need to continue to chip away at the foundational logic of copyright, exposing the shaky grounds on which it makes its universal claims. Secondly, we need to actively examine alternative models through which we can understand the production and dissemination of knowledge and culture. The existence of alternatives to copyright, such as Copyleft, the Open Source Movement, Fairshare and Open Street Protocols belie the reality of Copyright. Conceptually, these alternatives challenge the fundamentals upon which copyright rests; there is no single, the emphasis is on the ability of users to modify and distribute works, yet there is still �incentive� to create as is evidenced by the success and spread of Linux; essentially there is no contradiction of purpose as it creates public rights for a public purpose. If the world of copyright constructs itself as the only model of incentive, reward etc for creative labour, the symbolic power of the open source movement rests in the creation of alternative social imaginaries which turns every assumption of copyright upon itself. There is however a world of quotidian media practises which do not fall squarely within the alternative progress narratives of copyleft, open source etc., and this is the world of illegal media networks and practises. This is also the world that copyright seeks to demonize and in our search for alternative models, it is also critical for us to engage with the �subterranean� other of the open source movement, as the pirates go about redistributing wealth in the information era. End Notes The internet for instance has radically challenged a number of the traditional claims of intellectual property and authorship. The free software movement along with the concept of online writing communities have revealed the myth underlying the philosophical claims made by intellectual property. John Locke Two Treatises of Government Tom G. Palmer �Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified? The Philosophy of Property Rights and Ideal Objects� Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 817. Ibid., at 837. Robert Nozick State Anarchy and Utopia Supra n. 4, at 837. Id. Ibid., at 838. Steve P. Calandrillo "An Economic Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights: Justifications and Problems of Exclusive Rights, Incentives to Generate Information, and the Alternatives of a Government-Run Reward System" 1998 Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal 301. Ibid., at 316. Diane Leenheer Zimmerman "Authorship without Ownership: Reconsidering Incentives in a Digital Age" 2003 DePaul Law Review 1121, at 1128. Id. Martha Wodmansee The Author, Art, and the Market 42 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994). Id. Also see David I Bainbridge Cases and Materials in Intellectual Property Law10 (2nd ed., London: Financial Times Management, 1999). Supra n. 9, at 1138 Supra n. 9, at 1138. Id. See generally Jeffrey K. Joyner "Future Technology Clauses: Would their Lack of Compensation have Discouraged Shakespeare's Creativity and Denied Society's Access to his Works in New Media" 2002 Southwestern University Law Review 575. Supra n. 9, at 317. Ibid., at 318. See Carlos Osorio, A contribution to the understanding of illegal copying of software: Working paper June 2002, available at http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/osorio.pdf __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Fri Feb 27 12:53:58 2004 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 23:23:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Re: Locally Produced Media in Jamia Nagar and Satellite Colonies In-Reply-To: <20040225120740.68966.qmail@web20811.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20040227072358.12069.qmail@web41307.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Shakeb Interesting subject - maybe we could interact on this since I live in this area. But I have a few doubts about your theme. In your first posting you are assuming that all media produced in the Jamia Nagar area is locally done and has only local presence or implications. If you ask the producers of Afkar Milli, Urdu Science or any other periodical, they would disagree with you. On their own, they all assume themselves to be national or international periodicals � and they do have an international presence. Most of these magazines (or their producers) have had a history or origins elsewhere. But they are here now because Jamia Nagar is fast becoming a convenient centre of business and production for Muslim community in general. It is safe and not so congested as say old Delhi. In fact many Urdu publishers from old Delhi have shifted their base here. But here they have mostly editorial or business offices. The actual production/printing still happens in the traditional publishing centres of old or northwestern Delhi. I also doubt whether the content of these media have much local concerns. The Urdu science magazine, which I have been following for some time, publishes articles on Algebra and Arab sciences but hardly anything on the local hygiene and health issues. Similarly the religious magazines talk of Chechnya and Iraq but never about the local mosque. In my view most of the media produced here simply strengthen the bonding among the community at large, but not much at the local/demographical level. And while studying the media of this place you cannot ignore the Urdu publishing industry in general. What may also be interesting to study is the newer (crass) sense of design and visual aesthetics that is fast creeping into the recent magazines, books and other media published from the dingy studios of this area. Yousuf --- shakeb ahmed wrote: > RESEARCH ABSTRACT: > LOCALLY PRODUCED MEDIA AND ASSOCIATED PRACTICES IN > JAMIA NAGAR, AND THE SATELLITE COLONIES > > Debates around the influence of mass media in > production of public and private meanings, > construction of plausible images of reality, > fashioning ways of negotiating power, fabricating > maps > of a public sphere itself have been there for some > time. More recent are the questions around > large-scale > corporate consolidations, which co-merge and > homogenize mass media. > > Still, under the milling shadows of gargantuan media > corporatism we notice the growth of proportionally > miniscule yet robust parallel media cultures. > Alternative media practices spring out of specific > geographical swathes, nurtured by certain > demographic > minorities, and prominently deploy socio-cultural > languages that are Different. Mapping these is also > to > interrogate the formation of certain city spaces and > selves around a complex relationship between > feelings > of fear, collective assertion of identities and the > desire for a culture of the familiar- Mahaul as one > could put it. > > The area of research I propose is the mass-media and > associated practices originating locally in Jamia > Nagar and some satellite colonies around, namely, > Okhla Gaon, Joga Bai, Batla House, Abul Fazal, Noor > Nagar, Johri Farm, Ghaffar Manzil, and Zakir Nagar. > For larger part these revolve around newspapers, > literary magazines, pamphlets, women�s pocket books, > science digests, children�s literature, health and > nutrition tabloids, which in the absence of the > infrastructure for a local television or radio > station > make full use of the mechanisms of Print-media, and > are very concernedly and proudly produced. I > propose > a study of the variegated publications that come out > of this small part of Delhi, and the diversity of > the > relations the community living here has with them > through mechanisms of opinion, ownership and > consumption. Exploration encompasses a spectrum of > features of these publications ranging from the > rationale for their existence, engagements with the > questions centered on economic viability, the > characteristic politics of them, and importantly the > immediate end purposes they would or would not serve > for the localities where they are brought out. > Interestingly, many of these are now available as > e-publications. Cyberspace has become for them a > site > of collapse of notions of what is understood as > local > and global knowledge. > > Having lived in this geographical area since my > childhood days I have a sustained interest in the > social institutions it produced over a long period > of > time. The media originating herein is one such > important institution. The community living in this > locality is, almost, singularly Muslim. Hence, its > social institutions offer an excellent opportunity > to > get a view from the edge of the complex whole of the > lives of at least a section of them. The > publications > issuing from here through the diversity in their > nature and scope constitute a kaleidoscopic > articulation of the collective self of the resident > community. In these texts of oblique cultural > documentation can be glimpsed the highly contingent > and liminal nature not just of the social > constitution > of this community�s lived everyday reality, but at > the > same time both the imagined and the practiced > notions > regarding the production of knowledge about itself > either from within (call it Local) or without (call > it > extra-Local). Interestingly, I remember the term > �local� acquire more currency and specific meanings > in > its public usage in this neighborhood post 1992; > also > increased significance came in the wake of the > commerce that strategically emerged in the area to > counter the larger communal national politics with > development of a more indigenous self-sustaining > economy. More recently, the owner of Shahaab > Communications, Zakir Nagar, has been in practice of > putting up a blackboard on the wall facing his > PCO-STD > booth, which every day he updates with local news > items and information in Urdu. Today, it carried a > poster of NICT institute for computer training. I > explore the area of my research in relation to such > events and practices. > > The relation of print media originating in this > locality with both the apparatus, and the idea of > mass > media, is negotiated in varied forms, and varied > uses > of that is then envisioned, practiced, and > advocated. > The very nature of the print media (�it offers more > breadth of analysis then television or radio; and > allows visibility of social sections on fringes far > better then electronic media�� Editor of > newsmagazine, > Ifkare Milli), and co-opting of modern tools like > Internet (�I think now with the help of Internet we > having a web presence are to be seen more as global > media then as local�� Editor, Milli Times) are only > a > few examples of the debates going about amongst the > producers of this media in the locality. In hair-cut > saloons, chai stalls, tambaku-cigarette kiosks, > Internet cafes and numerous places where we can > encounter a dynamic exchange of cultural and social > ideas and practices, can be heard more of these > debates from the user-end side - the range varies > from > exchanging views on the politics to discussing > notions > of pleasure practiced and available in these > publications. Sample detail of some print media > produced in the are follows: > > Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), Zakir Nagar, > regularly brings out various studies regarding the > demographic statistics, education dissemination, > health care accessibility etc amongst the community, > and Muslims throughout the nation. > > Achha Saathi (The Comely Companion), Johri Farm, is > a > publication for children and engages with the > questions of what is children�s literature, and why > should such literature be made available in Urdu for > the readers in this locality? > > Khatun-e-Mashrique (Women of the East), Batla House, > is devoted to literature for women. It has been > publishing since last seventy years, having changed > hands through two generations. > > Science, Zakir Nagar, publishes an accessible > layman�s > magazine on Science. It uses Urdu to reach out to > many in the community who have not received an > English > education, and lag behind in the knowledge of > science, > which largely disseminates through publications in > English. > > Markazi Maktaba Islami, Abul Fazal Enclave, is host > to > a number of publications ranging from books that are > exegetic treatises on Islam, to news-magazines > entertaining social and political issues about the > Muslim world as well as secular global and national > themes. The Maktaba prints its content in mainstream > Urdu, English, and Hindi and at the same time also > gets some work translated in a number of regional > languages. > > Zahn-e-Jadid (The Modern Mind), Zakir Nagar, is an > Urdu literary journal notable for its engagement > with > the modernist thought, and its implication for the > local community and Muslims in general. It publishes > short stories, poetry, critical essays, and often > translations of the works of European and other > intellectuals who were regarded championing the > Modernist thought. > > The publications mentioned above then constitute a > small sample of the vibrant and heterogeneous print > media culture in Jamia and the nearby colonies. The > need for a research here results also from a thought > that the findings can effect an ordering of the > local > knowledge about its very own media, making it more > accessible and more productively usable. > > On parallel lines then the research can be seen > documenting histories about the place, its cultural, > social, political and demographic composition- a > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools From menso at r4k.net Fri Feb 27 16:25:59 2004 From: menso at r4k.net (Menso Heus) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:55:59 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Anti-Semitism at the World Social Forum? In-Reply-To: <028d01c3fc36$f4b63040$9700000a@geert> References: <20040225230408.9493728D994@mail.sarai.net> <028d01c3fc36$f4b63040$9700000a@geert> Message-ID: <20040227105559.GQ21883@r4k.net> Geert, As requested before: please send new messages by hitting your mail app's "New message" button instead of replying to a mail and then clearing that out. Your new message is now somewhere in the middle of a thread on textz.com where it doesn't belong, due to the fact that the headers still contain references to those mails. New Mail -> click the 'New Mail' button! Thanks, Menso From abroeck at transmediale.de Fri Feb 27 17:15:06 2004 From: abroeck at transmediale.de (Andreas Broeckmann) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 12:45:06 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: [boell] [lab] copy adorno, go to jail?textz.com doesn't think so (fwd) Message-ID: dear monica, thanks for your message. your response to britta is perfectly understandable from the perspective of somebody who does not want to restrict the usage of texts, talks, images, etc., and who trusts people to use them fairly. the question that you do not address is how you will argue with someone who is not intent on giving up his rights to, in this case, a text by Adorno. there's a private foundation that owns these rights and that does not subscribe to your belief in free usage, they see their text online in an unauthorised version, they make a claim in court -- so easy. -- how do you argue with them? how do you address the fact that they see their property and its exploitable potential stolen from them? we can argue about the deep principles (or impossibilities) of 'intellectual property', but so far this concept is embedded in a filigree structure of international and national laws which it will be difficult to debunk. i admire your faith in the inevitability of the coming of an enlightened copy culture, 100 years from now. however, i doubt that it will come about all by itself, and what i was trying to suggest was that we need good arguments and strategies for challenging the current regimes of ownership in intellectual property. this will be the more difficult, as in the 'knowledge economy' this 'intellectual property' is becoming the most valuable stuff there is -- more valuable than gold, in the case of some software or entertainment products... this is why i believe that there needs to be much more than a moralistic campaign, but really an engagement with the economic and political structures that are held in place by the current principles of (intellectual) property. otherwise we do not know what 'copy culture' is up against. what are the long-term political strategies for fostering a new understanding of the rights of usage in cultural products, an understanding which will have not only a moral, but also a legal grounding? i read this morning that the movie, Lord of the Rings Pt.3, has billed over 1 billion US-dollars. how is it possible to convince somebody that s/he should not be able to exclusively exploit such a valuable product? regards from berlin, -a >I am not sure about the invocation of art by Andreas. Most >unauthorised copying is way outside this context and one would >expect art contexts to at least reflect on this reality. Everyday >many raids are being carried out and court cases are being filed for >unauthorised copying and faking. This is a reality we are living in >- we need to think about it with some seriousness. We have few >intellectual resources at present to understand this experience. And >as we read Foucault today, and wonder about the making of >'abnormals' and 'delinquents/criminals' two hundred years ago, >people too will read about this time a 100 years on, and wonder... From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Fri Feb 27 17:34:08 2004 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:04:08 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com Message-ID: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> Oh Sebastian, I'm afraid this is going to be a bit polemic after all: pretty easy to stick a hip, intellectually sounding argument together on Kafka's back and even easier to put the label of fascism on it, the ultimate arument-killer. Great. Perfect way to scare 'small authors' back into their little holes of ineffectivity and self-delusion, let them rot there unless they wake up to the new times we claim for ourselves and unless they bend down to our authority of defining what's art now and what is not and what's a text worth reproducing and what's not. Who's more of the petty bourgeois, the pedantic property-holder (even if there is no intellectual property to be held, really) or the self-righteous definer of 'new eras' which will finally wipe out those who are declared to have been an obstacle for them to unfold? If you ask me, which you obviously didn't, they are two sides of the same coin, both lacking self-reflexion, with one in addition lacking generosity and the other respect. I really don't think that dwelling upon new (or rather old) dichotomies leads us any further. By the way, I didn't introduce the term 'only artist' - which is why I set it in inverted commas -, I picked up a term Andreas used in his mail: "so long as the digital avantgarde has to play the 'I'm only an artist' card, rather than offering a tenable political economy of copy culture, i doubt whether those property regimes will go away so soon." The flip side is that the one who is losing property rights can actually be identical with the one 'playing around' with them - as I might lose out on royalties for our films whilst I'm at the same time copying unauthorised texts or listening to pirated music, sometimes without even knowing it. I think this is a more interesting problem to think about rather than unleashing verbal attacks or boycotts on 'small authors' of pre-war colouring. All the best for your case -- Britta ---------- >Von: sebastian at rolux.org >An: reader-list at sarai.net >Betreff: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com >Datum: Don, 26. Feb 2004 15:22 Uhr > > dear all... i'd like to thank you for your discussion and your support. i also > have a remark or two. > >> Dear Monica, dear Andreas, >> you're not a party-booper, Andreas, as I also think that a blind support of >> copy culture would just amount to being the opposite of what it proposes to >> be: rather narrow-minded. But this comes especially into play when it >> concerns the 'only artists' as it is particularly them who are on a smaller >> scale dependent on royalties and recognition. Just to give a small example >> that concerns actually you and me, Monica: a photograph of mine was printed >> in your name in Melissa's book that's just come out. It sucks, but it is, >> well, a mistake, can happen, and I know that you declared that not to be >> your picture when you saw the book. Yet it gets you thinking: if it becomes >> obvious that the property right of the photo is with somebody else (even if >> we might not know yet who it is), wouldn't that be enough to do something >> about it rather than let it go (I know, all difficult, book is printed, what >> to do?). But in principle, isn't that rapidly becoming integral part of a >> hailed-as-democratic copy-culture as well: not just the cheap dissemination >> of high-capital outpout, but the simple ignorance of or laissez-faire >> attitude towards somebody else's work, time, investments and efforts? I >> meanwhile have come across a number of cases in books as well as on the web >> where my work or material - which I generally have made available quite >> generously - suddenly appears without name or in somebody else's. As much as >> I have seen our films being copied without me seeing any royalties for it. >> This is still slightly different as at least the 'property holder' >> definitely shows in the credits, but should I be happy that more people get >> to see it that way, or should I get angry as I barely know how to finance my >> next project? Don't you guard your property rights as a photographer, >> Monica? Doesn't sarai? I think the whole matter of copy culture walks a >> tightrope which asks us to learn to very clearly differ between enabling >> access, creative freedom as well as cash-flow away from 'big capital' and >> arrogance and ignorance towards rightful property holders, particularly >> 'only artists'. In this sense, I think, Monica is right in saying that this >> might change the very way we think and conduct ourselves in this world, even >> though it seems to only reflect a hope that might have come with our >> experiences gained from earlier avatars of supposedly anti-capitalist >> movements (the dictatorship of the proletariat was mainly a dictatorship in >> the end...). > > this intoduces the figure of the 'only artist'. i think it's the very same > person as the 'small author'. that's what i usually call him. he's almost always > a guy. above all, he's small. and now as an artist, he's even only. he is the > biggest obstacle for getting rid of the political, technological and also > intellectual monstrosity that is "intellectual property". he's even an obstacle > for any debate on it. friends of mine have adopted a policy to immediately leave > the room once such a small author raises his voice. and i guess they're right. > please don't get me wrong. this is not polemic. an absolutely hallucinatory > description of this small author can be found in kafka's diaries. it's the text > at http://textz.com/kafka/. i haven't found an english translation. what this > description shows is that the work of this small author is totally fictitious. > what it shows is that no one has ever copied it. it shows he is caught in an > oedipus triangle. he's an anti-feminist too. he hates a secretary, and i'm just > starting to think he hates her precisely because he has surpassed him socially, > in regards to the technologies of reproduction. beware of the small author. the > kleinbuerger. in post-war times he's just a drag, but in kafka's and benjamin's > time, he's a fascist in the making. all this is not very precise. i should > elaborate on it, and i hope i will, later. > >> The case of Reemtsma and textz.org seems pretty blatant in this context: >> Reemtsma is not the author of the texts, he simply owns them as he owns a >> hell of a lot of other texts without having written them, and Sebastian is >> not an artist but a mere distributor who does not gain profit from his >> activities. His move effectively undermined Reemtsma's authority to decide >> about the dissemination of knowledge and is particularly interesting as he >> did not even intend to do so: he took it for granted, rightfully so (at the >> same time, he always responded to claims from authors and publishing houses >> earlier). Reemtsma, who refuses to deal with the web and even e-mail, missed >> out on a chance to live up to the image he seeks to create of himself in >> public and the very name of his institute; the whole matter could have been >> settled between the two of them over a cup of tea. But whilst this >> represents a particular case of stone-faced ivory tower-attitude, the next >> case could be completely different... > > adorno, reemtsma, jail, copyright, internet - these are strong signifiers. maybe > you need them to distribute a story. transportation, i don't know. in german > feuilleton, the last days, you could see how the issue gets diverted. stops to > signify anything, starts to signify something completely different. maybe even > something more interesting. but nothing about "intellectual property". more than > reemtsma, "reemtsma" is despotic. so i'm just wondering: if you take everything > personal out of that story: what remains? or is that a stupid question? what > would be a better question? what is textz.com's most obvious weakness? hint: > single point of failure. not even technically. -- and, on a side note: > personally, the most productive thing about all this so far was reading > benjamin. maybe whoever wrote that "open letter" should change their stance: > keep adorno, free benjamin. or free adorno with benjamin. you're all invited to > the opening of the hamburg foundation's benjamin archive. berlin, 2004. date not > set yet. i'll let you know. it's going to be fun. but still, there must be more > to it. call for a more critical critique. call for papers. call for bricks. > >> Cheers -- Britta > > best regards, > sebastian > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > List archive: > From aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in Wed Feb 25 10:37:52 2004 From: aesthete at mail.jnu.ac.in (Dean School of Arts and Aesthetics) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 10:57:52 +0550 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] lectures by richard allen and robert stam Message-ID: <1077686872.c6e2eb40aesthete@mail.jnu.ac.in> SCHOOL OF ARTS AND AESTHETICS JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY LECTURES *******15th March - Prof Richard Allen, Dept of Cinema Studies, New York University - Hitchcock's Color Aesthetics. TIME: 2PM ********16th March - Prof Robert Stam, Dept of Cinema Studies, New York University Travelling Multiculturalism: The Case of Brazil. TIME: 4PM VENUE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND AESTHETICS AUDITORIUM ============================================== This Mail was Scanned for Virus and found Virus free ============================================== _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From fmadre at free.fr Fri Feb 27 17:55:49 2004 From: fmadre at free.fr (fmadre at free.fr) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:25:49 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> Selon Britta Ohm : > it in inverted commas -, I picked up a term Andreas used in his mail: "so > long as the digital avantgarde has to play the 'I'm only an artist' card, > rather than offering a tenable political economy of copy culture, i doubt > whether those property regimes will go away so soon." As I totally agree with that sentence I would nonetheless beg that we do not wait until we can offer "a tenable political economy of copy culture" to try out practical stuff even if the ideological background for it is not totally ready. I do believe that the http://greytuesday.org initiative makes us progress much more rapidly towards a comprehension of the issues at hand that all the mumbo-jumbo academic dissertations that have been flying around the world. I need to say here that, on the otehr hand, found Lawrence Liang's post fo today very enlightening too. The flip side is that > the one who is losing property rights can actually be identical with the one > 'playing around' with them - I find it interesting to point out that the ones who are losing property rights are usually the authors , in the instance of the beatles white album, it is remarkable that a company called EMI claims those rights rather that Paul, Ringo and the other dead guys also, I would like to question the notion of "copy culture" completely in this simple way: what "author" can claim that he has not used elements of other works in his own, knowingly or by direct influence ? what is a "work" anyway and who is producuing it ? there was a big issue here in france about a documentary "etre ou avoir" which was about the practice of a school teacher (it was really a brilliant example of teaching to little kids, you have to see this movie) and the film had a huge success eventually. the teacher the claimed that he was due some money because no proper "actor" contract was set between him and the production and later on he (his lawyers) even went on to say that his teaching was "an original work" and that the film was some kind of unpaid use of that work, a form of copy ... what I mean, is that I truly see no ground for stating that the above message I just wrote is my intellectual property and I see no ground for the beatles (let alone EM fucking I) to claim that the white album is their intellectual property, same for adorno, sebastian, andreas and you name it best, f. http://pleine-peau.com From fmadre at free.fr Fri Feb 27 18:01:33 2004 From: fmadre at free.fr (fmadre at free.fr) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:31:33 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> Message-ID: <1077885093.403f38a521361@imp4-q.free.fr> Selon fmadre at free.fr: > what I mean, is that I truly see no ground for stating that the above message > I just wrote is my intellectual property (considering it's full of hideous typos and all) f. From abroeck at transmediale.de Fri Feb 27 18:29:13 2004 From: abroeck at transmediale.de (Andreas Broeckmann) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 13:59:13 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> Message-ID: dear frederic, >what I mean, is that I truly see no ground for stating that the >above message I >just wrote is my intellectual property and I see no ground for the >beatles (let >alone EM fucking I) to claim that the white album is their intellectual >property, same for adorno, sebastian, andreas and you name it well, the 'grounds' are signed contracts and existing, enforcable laws that don't go away just because you decide that intellectual property sucks and everybody is copying all the time anyway. i don't want to sound too stupid, but i believe that it is necessary to address the reality of these laws. Lawrence Liang wrote: >B. Copyright, Information and the language of property >(...) Shawís quotation about the sharing of the >ideas is a simple yet effective demonstration of the >nature of ideas and information goods. Information >just does not share the same characteristics as >classical ëreal propertyí. The dissemination of ideas, >for instance, does not reduce their use value. >Information is considered a ënon-rivalí good, in the >sense that usage of that information cannot impair the >utility to another user of that information. (...) this analysis ignores the fact that the usage of or access to information goods can be exploited - as in cinemas, exhibitions, or the sale of books or software packages. of course, the texts of Adorno and the insights one may take from them don't change when they are distributed via textz.com; yet, Reemtsma's foundation gets a share of the income generated from selling the texts, eg by the publisher Suhrkamp, which is why they have a vested interest in exclusively distributing the texts through people or companies that pay for a license, or royalties. 'intellectual property' like a movie can also 'wear off' in the sense that people will normally only see it once, and some of them will even accept seeing Lord of the Rings 3 on a TV monitor, if they don't have to pay for a ticket at the cinema box office. so the film company will try to prevent the free circulation of copies of the film not because the quality of the film narrative would suffer, but because they can make money out of selling access to the film. the Linux industry may prove that there are ways of making money from 'free' products; yet, it will have to be proven in all other cases that this is also the case in other instances, and the battle of convincing Reemtsma might be as much of a challenge as that of convincing Bill Gates. i thought that Britta's intervention was very important because she reminds us to maybe start thinking about these issues from the perspective of an 'owner': imagine something that you own personally and that you use to make a living (a car, a computer, a contract, a story to tell, a data-base of contacts, etc.) and imagine that somebody demands to freely use your property because s/he does not accept your property claim. regards, -a From fmadre at free.fr Fri Feb 27 18:52:20 2004 From: fmadre at free.fr (fmadre at free.fr) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 14:22:20 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> Message-ID: <1077888140.403f448c12f84@imp4-q.free.fr> hi andreas, and all, > >property, same for adorno, sebastian, andreas and you name it > > want to sound too stupid, but i believe that it is necessary to > address the reality of these laws. far from me to even begin to think that this would be stupid, but we have to be reminded that the law is mostly always an a posteriori writing of common practice or, rather, a written agreement (at best) for a given society of acceptable practice at one moment in time. the law doesn't move fast and it can be budged only by said common practice. it is undeniable that there are hundred thousands of people out there (I have one at home using all our family bandwith) who have ready access to that common practice of file sharing but those people do not have access to the law in the same immediate way. the music industry has pushed on them the (bloody) CD and some people have actually bought the same intellectual product twice (once on vinyl, another on cd), the (look, I did not says 'evil') consumer electronics industry has pushed (as in your local waiting for the man situation) on the same people the fact that the PC is now your hi-fi system and that they could listen to the new product called CD into the new product called PC and then there was the new product called the online access and the broadband one too, all of those have been forced unto the public and the logical conclusion of that is that people use them and every where you care to look common practice in the world is that there are music files being exchanged by the millions. what I'm saying is that the law making citizens need now to recognize that the law abiding citizens _cannot abide anymore to laws that have been made redundant by all of the above. now, for example, when emi approaches the people hosting the grey album on their sites with "we are telling you that the files you host have to be removed because we declare that the maker of those files has been producing them illegaly", it is obvious to me that this is pure vapor-threat and that no one in possession of a file should be threatened because said file might have been produced in an illegal way (thinking also now that there is no worldwide law on that or on anything anyway). it's a bit like the old hoaxes about the BBC owning "the link" or compuserve owning "the gif". Also, I claim that the correlation between having a collection of files on your PC to possessing an actual CD is extremely remote... but now I have to leave for a meeting, sorry > i thought that Britta's intervention was very important because she > reminds us to maybe start thinking about these issues from the > perspective of an 'owner': imagine something that you own personally > and that you use to make a living (a car, a computer, a contract, a > story to tell, a data-base of contacts, etc.) and imagine that > somebody demands to freely use your property because s/he does not > accept your property claim. that's theorically ok, I think, as long as the person in question is engaged in the same exercise him/herself. which means that this is a very rethorical argument, andreas, all of this will only function on the morning of The Big Night, you know! this kind of reasoning cannot be used, it's like asking someone who is against capital punishement "what would you do if your daughter was raped and tortured ?" (a bit like) f. From abroeck at transmediale.de Fri Feb 27 19:08:28 2004 From: abroeck at transmediale.de (Andreas Broeckmann) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 14:38:28 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: <1077888140.403f448c12f84@imp4-q.free.fr> References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> <1077888140.403f448c12f84@imp4-q.free.fr> Message-ID: dear frederic, > > i thought that Britta's intervention was very important because she >> reminds us to maybe start thinking about these issues from the >> perspective of an 'owner': imagine something that you own personally >> and that you use to make a living (a car, a computer, a contract, a >> story to tell, a data-base of contacts, etc.) and imagine that >> somebody demands to freely use your property because s/he does not >> accept your property claim. > >that's theorically ok, I think, as long as the person in question is >engaged in >the same exercise him/herself. which means that this is a very rethorical >argument, andreas, all of this will only function on the morning of The Big >Night, you know! i don't understand what you are saying in your first sentence (you mean that sound artists who use samples legally have to accept that some of their own samples are used illegally? or are you saying that copyright ownership should be restricted to people who produce copyrightable materials?? and what's The Big Night? - please, try to explain that again.) >this kind of reasoning cannot be used, it's like asking someone who is against >capital punishement "what would you do if your daughter was raped and >tortured ?" (a bit like) i don't see why this analogy should apply. the standard conscientious-objector-answer for your question is: 'i exert my right to self-defense and stop them by the least necessary means'. why are you saying that it is unfair to raise the question about 'something you own yourself'? greetings, -a From fmadre at free.fr Fri Feb 27 19:35:15 2004 From: fmadre at free.fr (fmadre at free.fr) Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 15:05:15 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> <1077884749.403f374d7b24e@imp4-q.free.fr> <1077888140.403f448c12f84@imp4-q.free.fr> Message-ID: <1077890715.403f4e9b8df7b@imp3-q.free.fr> Selon Andreas Broeckmann : > or are you saying that > copyright ownership should be restricted to people who produce > copyrightable materials?? neither, I was adressing your question gearing the answer towards our once beloved "gift economy". which would imply that people who want to use my car because they claim I don't own it should in turn, or somehow, expect to be challenged about what they are injecting into this system and what's The Big Night? - please, try to > explain that again.) "Le grand soir" refers to a fantasmagoric moment when the Revolution happens and the morning after that there is no property and ownership, andreas, do you remember all that future ? it was great. I do believe, joking apart, that there is no answer to your question of the casual car user in our present time and organization of society; it is the old question of the possibility of establishing communism in one country of the world only. All this is history, we have to make do with the reality of our capitalist world and try to steer things in another direction which is now totally out of theoretical reach, by that I mean that there is no one producing coherent thought about a different global organization of this world. there is, at best, a joyous bazar of communautarist reformism rolling its televized circus around the globe. > conscientious-objector-answer for your question is: 'i exert my right > to self-defense and stop them by the least necessary means'. thanks, I know (and I was not asking you, ah ah), but I've seen righteous people struggling on TV when confronted with that, with millions of watchers awaiting for a "human" answer to an inhuman question that was ages ago too > why are you saying that it is unfair to raise the question about > 'something you own yourself'? because I do not know what you mean by "own yourself" and if I begin to think forward about what the notion of "own yourself" ultimately brings to human beings, well, I have to discard this concept real fast. f. From sebastian at rolux.org Sat Feb 28 04:38:39 2004 From: sebastian at rolux.org (sebastian at rolux.org) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:08:39 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] re: reader, boell, lab, adorno, jail, textz.com In-Reply-To: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> References: <20040227201003.AD47428D873@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <403FCDF7.3090403@rolux.org> Britta Ohm wrote: > Oh Sebastian, I'm afraid this is going to be a bit polemic after all: pretty > easy to stick a hip, intellectually sounding argument together on Kafka's > back and even easier to put the label of fascism on it, the ultimate > arument-killer. Great. Perfect way to scare 'small authors' back into their > little holes of ineffectivity and self-delusion, let them rot there unless > they wake up to the new times we claim for ourselves and unless they bend > down to our authority of defining what's art now and what is not and what's > a text worth reproducing and what's not. Who's more of the petty bourgeois, > the pedantic property-holder (even if there is no intellectual property to > be held, really) or the self-righteous definer of 'new eras' which will > finally wipe out those who are declared to have been an obstacle for them to > unfold? If you ask me, which you obviously didn't, they are two sides of the > same coin, both lacking self-reflexion, with one in addition lacking > generosity and the other respect. I really don't think that dwelling upon > new (or rather old) dichotomies leads us any further. > By the way, I didn't introduce the term 'only artist' - which is why I set > it in inverted commas -, I picked up a term Andreas used in his mail: "so > long as the digital avantgarde has to play the 'I'm only an artist' card, > rather than offering a tenable political economy of copy culture, i doubt > whether those property regimes will go away so soon." The flip side is that > the one who is losing property rights can actually be identical with the one > 'playing around' with them - as I might lose out on royalties for our films > whilst I'm at the same time copying unauthorised texts or listening to > pirated music, sometimes without even knowing it. I think this is a more > interesting problem to think about rather than unleashing verbal attacks or > boycotts on 'small authors' of pre-war colouring. > All the best for your case -- Britta dear all, dear britta -- yes, what a silly way to introduce myself. still, please don't think i was writing about you. i don't know you at all, and i don't know anything about your case. the misattributed photograph. i was writing about a 'figure', something structural. even though that may be a lot less interesting. and when i say a fascist in the making, i don't say the discussion has to stop there. when i say in the making, i'm refering to a process. the outcome is not certain. a kleinbuerger in the twenties. he may be a fascist later. that's all i can say. he may as well not. if the small workers had been scared into their little holes of ineffectivity, had bended down to the authority of defining what's work and what's worth reproducing, we would not have seen the russian revolution. it's about becoming. then, what you say about the two sides of the same coin -- it's exactly adorno's argument in his minima moralia. part 18, asylum for the homeless. the one that ends on "there is no right life within wrong life". i guess the official english translation differs. adorno says: it is an ethical must not to be at home at home. the individual's relation to his property, if he still has any, is difficult. the only way would be to keep evident that your private property does no longer belong to you. the amount of commodities has grown beyond the point where any individual still had the right to claim the principle of scarcity. still, you need property in order not to be dependent and poor, which only would strengthen property relations. but the thesis of this *paradoxie* leads to destruction, a loveless carelessness towards things and, necessarily, towards humans as well. and the anti-thesis is nothing more than an ideology for those who just want to keep what they own. my translation may not be so great. but still. what i find interesting is that adorno does not make this a dialectial relationship, or a contradiction, but a paradoxon. paradoxon is very weak. eternal, not historical. not collective. and that is the very point where i started to think: keep adorno, free benjamin. benjamin states that the masses have a right to change property relations. these are no longer small individuals. i stuck with that quote for a while, and i have to thank ariane mueller for pointing out to me what goes even further: refering to the capitalistic exploitation of the film, benjamin states that it denies consideration to modern man's legitimate claim to being reproduced. that's the furthest i've come so far. there is a right to be copied. to me, that is one of the most elementary, most wonderful and most productive contributions to the discussion about "intellectual property". -- and then, yes, of course, you are right. the 'only artist' was me. and i guess i totally agree to andreas' argument. it's a very weak point. european even. later, seb. From menso at r4k.net Sat Feb 28 08:03:29 2004 From: menso at r4k.net (Menso Heus) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 03:33:29 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Surveillance after "Big Brother" In-Reply-To: <200402262140.AA360841446@ranadasgupta.com> References: <200402262140.AA360841446@ranadasgupta.com> Message-ID: <20040228023329.GT21883@r4k.net> On Thu, Feb 26, 2004 at 09:40:20PM -0800, Rana Dasgupta wrote: > > Further to Jeebesh's and Menso's postings. > > I think these are raising the crucial point. > > Jeebesh writes: > > "Our understanding of power is usually underpined by 19th century understanding of a > visible-centralised apparatus. What we are faced with is a far more insidous and > imbticated in everyday structure of info-generation, classification and ordering." > > It is *this* 19th century understanding that is labelled "Big Brother". And it is because > we are patently not living under this "visible-centralised apparatus" that the spectre of > "Big Brother" becomes an alibi for the system, a sign of its innocence. This is basically what I wrote, but... > This is the urgency of a proper language of the system we inhabit. We need to be able > to express what the anxiety of this ubiquitous, but distributed system looks and feels > like in order to displace the "Big Brother" cliche which serves, like the Nazi death camps, > only as an image of a history that we have happily been able to escape. I don't believe we should move away from the 'Big Brother cliche' because of this reason. Whether the back-end of the system is centralized, distributed, etc, is of little relevance to what can be seen as 'the end user experience'. Or: people care big brother *is* watching them, not about *how*. This line is in fact false, people don't care, and that is the main problem in moving the debate forward. I do not believe that this is due to the fact that there is no centralized system, because as pointed out in my initial reply, in effect there is, but due to the belief of people in democracy and 'the free west.' 'Security' has always been a very strong motivator for people to surrender their freedom. It's very interesting, because somehow the myth of 'the secure society' has been created and indoctrinated in contemporary culture, the myth that one must be able to live life without ever facing any crime. Lines are constantly being redrawn and the people accept. They've begun with what can be described as 'pre-emptive searching' in Amsterdam and other cities lately in Holland. This basically means that, at any time, at any location, without any reason, a police officer can search you. The last numbers I saw were 700 people searched in one night with only 7 people actually having anything on them. Now, mind you that perfectly legite objects are suddenly turned into weapons. If you're a store room worker that has to cut open boxes all day and have your own pocket knife with you, bam! You're a criminal. Because obviously, you're carrying an illegal weapon with the purpose of killing someone with it. What is happening here is that the situation is changing from the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' to 'guilty until proven innocent.' Yet people are fine with it. People believe that the police searching 700 people will prevent them from getting mugged, murdered or raped. Just as people believe that you can actually completely secure air travel. This unfullfillable promise of absolute security which is being promised by governments worldwide must be debunked in order for things to change. The very strangeness of it all though, is that what has started the recent chain reaction of 'hand in your freedom and get more security in return' was exactly a most literal debunking of the absolute security myth: September 11th. Interesting side effects of earlier mentioned 'pre-emptive searching' is the fact that people start to believe there's a lot wrong because there are so many police officers out there on the streets, searching people. It's a self- fullfilling prophecy in a way. Just as one of the great things about capitalism is the way it succeeds in profitting even from the anti movement (whether you're here to buy pro- or anti-capitalist merchandise, you're still going to pay me) so does the myth of absolute security have a great catch: people are told not to think and not to worry, because by doing what the government says, all will be great. Thus, an informed and actively thinking audience surrounding this debate is practically non-existant. Perhaps more attacks in 'the absolute secured state' will be able to change this, but it most likely will only push things further in the wrong direction at an even greater pace. The complete big brother scenario is thus what we *are* heading for and I believe that it is therefore also essential to remain part of the vocabulary. Menso -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Futures are what you buy and sell on the stock exchange" - Futures - Directions In Groove -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From ravikant at sarai.net Sat Feb 28 12:58:44 2004 From: ravikant at sarai.net (ravikant) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 12:58:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hindi literature page In-Reply-To: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6A32@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> References: <66242625E3C7E84CA44074F9BA0114BEBF6A32@gemmrd-scc014eu.gem.cibc.com> Message-ID: <200402281258.44513.ravikant@sarai.net> Dear Rahul, Any wiki is a good idea and one on hindi literature is the most welcome. I also checked your wiki page for unicode hindi input and display - it works. So it would be really nice to make it bi-lingual. I promise to supply more hindi content whenever I have time at hand. I also wish to congratulate you for including urdu as part of the hindi 'heritage', which will certainly open up a whole world of wonderful short stories and poetry of high order. This is very much in tune with a recent revival of interest in Urdu literature in India. You must have noticed that more and more urdu books and magazines are getting published either in Hindi or in both scripts. High time we challenged the hindi academia's purist canons! cheers ravikant On Friday 27 February 2004 04:24 am, Asthana, Rahul wrote: > Sorry to send out this mail again Some of you have sent me their additions > to this list.. > I am thankful for this..But It would be great if you could just go and edit > this page yourself > http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_literature > There is a link called Edit this page at the top of the page. > The structure currently is- > There is an alphabetical list of authors and the name of each author links > to a page on that author. > Just click on that link and you will get a large edit box.This is because > "pages for each author" have not been created as yet.the links are just > place holders. > Type whatever you want to about that author,and save the page.Next time > when someone clicks on that link, they will see the page. > One more thing- Please enter your name and email in the "Summary" Text box > at the bottom of the page when you are editing the page.This will make > tracking changes easier. > > Thanks > Rahul > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. List archive: > From rakesh at sarai.net Sat Feb 28 14:05:54 2004 From: rakesh at sarai.net (rakesh) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 14:05:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] media market and labour Message-ID: <200402281405.54564.rakesh@sarai.net> Dear All Please go through the following text which is a periodic outcome of my work under PPHP project of sarai/CSDS. Your suggestions and comments will be highly helpful for my on going study. thanks rakesh LALA LAJPATRAI BAZAAR THE MORPHING OF A REFUGEE BAZAAR INTO A MEDIA MARKET Rakesh Kumar Singh Here runs the road flanked on both sides by Old and New Delhi .Across the road stands the historical Red Fort. Situated behind is Bhagirath Place-the biggest centre for cinema distribution in North India along with the largest medical and electrical market. The massive structure standing strong by Bhagirath Place functioned as a court during the imperial reign. It was, ten years before the revolt of 1857, overtaken by the Imperial Bank and later became the State Bank of India. The present Reserve Bank of India also functioned from this very building for some time. On the right is the famous ‘Laal Jain temple’, a temple dedicated to Shiva, the Anglo Sanskrit School and a cluster of innumerable other shops. On the left lies the Presentation Convent and on the south west the Old Delhi Railway Station looks on. Situated among these is the Lala Lajpatrai market which is the largest electronics market in the country. Needless to say, despite certain changes, the streets and corners of the Mughal time Chandni Chowk still flourish, in the south eastern part of the market. Even today a considerable share of Delhi’s business operates from here. >>The Establishment of the market "In the year 1947, our family moved to Delhi from a place called ‘mont gumri’ (now known as ‘sahiwal’) situated in the west of Pakistan. I was just six years old at that time. My sister was born on the way. On reaching Delhi, we had no place to stay and we went to the ‘gurudwara’ at Sheeshganj. After staying there for a while, we started living in the house of a Muslim who had gone off to Pakistan as a refugee. My father started a grocer’s shop on the streets of Chandni Chowk. About a year later, a rehabilitation market was started opposite the Red Fort. About 2000 temporary shops were made for the refugees. My father too got a shop where he started with his grocery store. Later, in the year 1965 permanent shops were made and my father was allotted shop number 894……" Sardaar Gurbaksha Singh( Shop no.894, Khalas Pagdi House) Actually, after the partition of 1947, a large number of people came to Delhi as refugees. The majority of these people belonged to the Punjab and Sindh areas of present Pakistan. Circumstances had so quickly turned them into refugees that they didn’t even get time to think about themselves. Their only shelter then was the footpaths of Delhi. They started a new life by running petty business around the various commercial centers of the city and on the footpaths. Certain special programmes were launched for these refugees by the Government of India. Under these schemes, the then Central Relief and Rehabilitation Ministry established 63 markets in the city. The Lajpatrai Market, formed in 1948, was also among those. The land on which the market is situated was formerly under the ‘Fort Area Notified Committee’ of the Indian Defense Ministry and was in the beginning, given out on lease to the Relief and Rehabilitation Ministry for a period of three years. Later when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was formed, it took over the existing Lajpatrai Market from the Fort Area Notified Committee. In the beginning, around 1700 temporary stall were made by the Ministry behind the existing market. At that time, sale of all commodities was permitted. Most people took to grocery. Some years later, with the interference of the then Prime Minister, the process of the establishment of refugee markets commenced. In the first phase of that process, during the year 1958, the old temporary stalls from no.1 to no.471 were replaced with 466 permanent shops, and as soon as their construction got over they were allotted. In the second phase of establishment(1965), shop no.472 to 897 were replaced by 424 new shops and in the year 1966-1967, even their allotment was completed. The shops were allotted on rent-basis. In this way, there came into being a total of 890 shops at the existing market. Shop no.14-18 and 480-81 were not constructed but even these empty spaces were numbered for convenience sake. Shop no.12 was kept reserved for the Rehabilitation Department whereas shop no.13 and 39 were given to the MCD for maintenance and for opening a health centre for children. Around 5 to 6 shops are shut at present. Among these, is shop no.13 which bears a banner of a birth and death registration centre, whereas shop no.16-17 combines to become a ‘gurudwara’. The sizes of the shops were as follows: the first type of shops were 391 square feet in size (such shops were generally allotted to sweet-sellers), the size of the second type of shops was 140 square feet ( such shops are in the maximum in the market) and the area of the third type of shops was 99 squarefeet (most shops of this size were made for the purpose of stalls). >>Ownership of the Shops Till the year 1980, the question regarding the ownership of the shops shuttled between the MCD and the Relief and Rehabilitation Ministry. The land and the structures constructed over it remained under the Rehabilitation Ministry in the other 62 markets, but over here, the shops remained under the Ministry whereas the land underneath was under the MCD’s control. Right from the time the shops were allotted, the ‘Shopkeeper’s Welfare Association’, the ‘Central Radio and Electronics Merchants Association (CREMA)’, along with other such bodies wanted the ownership of the shops to be given to the shop keepers themselves. In the year 1978, when the Ministry was having discussions on the issue of ownership in the other rehabilitation markets, the case of Lajpatrai market was also discussed. The Ministry had then found that it was not possible to implement at Lajpatrai market, the schemes for the handover of ownership made for the other markets. Later, in the year 1979, a survey was done which suggested that people to whom the shops were actually allotted have either sold their shops off or some other person instead, was running his business there. By the year 1981, it was brought to light that only 337 shops were with the people they were actually allotted to and the rest of the 527 shops were with non-authorized people. In the end, after many meetings and on the basis of suggestions given by different committees, it was decided by the Ministry that the ownership would be bestowed to the shopkeepers after receiving the pending amount of rent and after charging the shopkeepers the price of the shops according to the market trends. But this scheme was only for those authorized shopkeepers to whom the shop was originally allotted. To claim the ownership of a shop, it was imperative for the shopkeepers to show either the letter of allotment or the receipt of the rent. The last date for claiming the ownership was 31st August 1992.By the end of 1992, 500 shopkeepers furnished the essential documents for claiming a shop, and after completing the governmental formalities, they were given the ownership of the shops. Even the issue of the ownership of the rest of the shops was solved in the coming years. As far as the ownership right of the land underneath the shops is concerned, it’s still with the MCD. In the past ten years, this issue has been talked upon often by the MCD and CREMA and even steps to resolve the issue have been taken, but due to the massive encroachment in the market, no final decision could be made. Meanwhile, the issue shuttles between the shopkeepers and the MCD. >>Changes in the Market Within ten years from when the market was permanently established, it started witnessing different trends of changes. These changes were of two types – those related to the construction of the market and those related to the business. It’s because of the constructional changes that it is slightly difficult to tell the exact number of lanes present in the area. Some lanes still retain their original structure while some have become narrow, somewhat like the lanes at Chandni Chowk. It is said that in the beginning,the market functioned as a cloth market. Some hotels and restaurants, a few band groups, some tour operators and some transporters were also part of the market. Most eateries were situated in the first lane while the band parties along with the travel and tour operators were in the front side of the market. Most of the people who used to run hotels and restaurants have changed their business while a few bands, along with some of the tour and travel operators still remain. According to the shopkeepers, due to the close proximity of the market at Chandni Chowk, the place couldn’t prosper as a cloth-market. Moreover, social changes were also taking place. There was an increased demand for transistors and radios, which made the shopkeepers switch to selling radios and its components. By the 80s, the popularity of radio and video products increased and the shopkeepers started selling such products. Very soon the market started supplying tape recorders, T.V sets, video players and audio-video cassettes throughout the country. In the 90’s, the field of new media witnessed changes which had never occurred before. Tape recorders and video players started getting replaced with CD and VCD players. The market once again, witnessed a pattern of change. Even the shopkeepers who had remained untouched earlier gave in to the change this time. After the popularity of electronic goods in the entire world, the sale of ‘Indian made Chinese’ goods can be seen in the market, since the past two-three years. Apart from audio and video cassettes, CD and VCD players, the market today, boasts of having amplifiers, sound systems, regulators, T.V sets and all related components. Most of the goods sold in the market, including the Chinese goods are manufactured in the Eastern parts of Delhi, in the colonies and villages situated on the city-border and in other regions around Delhi. >> Stalls Even today, apart from the well-constructed shops, are about 100 such stalls behind the market whose owners complain that despite being there since the childhood days of the market, they still haven’t been allotted permanent shops. Apart from this, there are about 400 other small stalls around the market. The owners of some such stalls even have the laal parchi. Those who don’t, complain that ideally, they should have got the parchi by now and the MCD is intentionally not issuing it to them as it wants to demolish their stalls by proving them illegal. I couldn’t get to know the MCD’s stand on this, but got a chance to see some of its tactics instead. Once or twice in every month, the MCD employees would come with their hallagaadi (the name given to the MCD van by the people at the market), pick up some of the small stalls and take them along. As far as the business at the market is concerned, these stalls hold a lot of significance. Not only do these stalls sell essential household goods, some of these goods are also manufactured at such stalls. >>Open space in the Market In the context of the Market, the term ‘open space’ would mean such spaces which are devoid of any authorized shops. The lanes, the roads around, the parks and the parking lots would come under this term. As far the local business is concerned, such spaces are no less significant than the shops situated in the market. All the tables and other table-like structures which serve as stalls are situated in such places. The pleasure of buying the ‘Indian made Chinese’ goods mentioned earlier can be had only at these stalls. Apart from this, the packaging and the transportation of important goods is also carried out as it is only here that the cartons and wooden boxes are sold. All the jhilliwalas (people who carry loads) and the thelawalas (cart pullers) would be found here. It is only in such open-spaces that the sweat-soaked contractors involved in the booking of the goods, note down their orders, make receipts and send the goods to the transporters. Little children who sort out the kuda can be seen carrying bags even longer than themselves. It is to this place where such children retire for rest and it is only over here that they get their initial training of chewing tobacco and exhaling through the nose while smoking. The young girls who dust and clean the market can be found ‘passing their time’ at such places (over or under the subway). They hunt for ticks in each others hair and make hair buns for each other. It is on the roads situated in front of the market and on those which run towards Chandni Chowk, that the laborers and others are able to find cheap ways of sexual gratification. In some such open space; you would see a social worker imparting literacy to one of the many child laborers. It is only over here that one would encounter the feriwalas (street vendors) with different wares stacked over their heads. Such spaces act as a center for the sale of bidi, cigarettes , paan and chole-kulche along with tea , Coke and Pepsi. It’s at such places where you can get to hear people whisper in your ear, “kya chaahiye bhai saahab”-“what do you want, sir?”. If you are interested, you can find Hindi/English pornographic VCDs from persons with black packets tucked in between their shirts and bellies. And after getting these you would, rather unwillingly, wipe off the expression of pleasure from your face and prefer to leave the place. Such places bear a universal character. Every person you see is always on the move and each task is carried out actively. It is highly possible that a person seen at a certain place today may not be found there tomorrow. Instead of him, you would see that someone else or no one at all is working over there. Someone could be seen ironing clothes at a certain place all morning, but by the time its 11 ‘o’ clock that same place would have a stall where the sale of CDs would be going on in full swing. At another place a person maybe seen making garlands since early morning , but the same place would get crowded with the jhilliwalas by the time it’s 10 ‘o’ clock. Post lunch the same place would get covered by aged men playing cards and busy having a ‘great debate’ on one particular move. Later at night, that very place would get covered with workers, feriwalas and beggars. In this way, we discover that the ‘open space’ is closely related to the functioning of the market. The so called cultured strata of the society which label the life at such open spaces useless and a hindrance to the city life, and blame it for the increased crime rate, often forget that it is such open spaces which not only play a vital role in the fabrication of city life and its patterns but also lend voices of opposition when attempts of detrimental expansion of such patterns are made. Labor at the Media Market I had known that there is a place called Lajpatrai Market right opposite the Red Fort where one can get electronic goods at cheaper prices. Often, while going via this area I could see men in blue kurtas carrying on their heads, strange, round shaped baskets. I could also see badges tied around their shoulders, similar to the ones found with coolies on railway stations. I got to know once I entered the market that these men are called ‘jhilliwalas’. The badges tied around their shoulders are called ‘tokens’ and their round shaped baskets are known as ‘jhillis’. It’s almost as if they bear the burden of their families in their baskets. It was also made known to me that there are hundreds of others who do not wear uniforms but do similar jobs. These are the packers, the thelawalas (cart-pullers), the people who carry goods to the market periphery and the booking agents. Such people can also be spotted in the other markets of Walled City like Bhagirath Place, the Cycle Market, Chandni Chowk, Khanna Market, Angoori Bagh, Naya Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar and Kashmiri Gate and at the Old and New Delhi Railway Station. In Lajpatrai Market alone, the present number of such laborers engaged in various errands is about three thousand five hundred. Among these, there are about 1500 jhilliwalas and about 200 contractors. Every contractor is accompanied by around five helpers. These helpers are about 1000 in number. Apart from this, there are about 300 thelawalas and about 200 people engaged in packaging. A vital share of the city’s economical structure rests in the shoulders of such laborers. The area of work for the jhilliwalas is limited to the shops and the streets. Their job includes unloading the good-vehicles which come into the market, taking the goods to the shops and loading the vehicle with goods to be sent out. As soon as a loaded vehicle arrives at the market, these laborers standing in groups on the street run towards it. One of them opens the latch of the vehicle and the others unload the goods onto the roadside. Then, one by one, putting the goods into their baskets, they take them to their destinations. One of them guards the laid out goods till the lot gets cleared. The outflow of the goods takes place in a slightly different manner. These goods are mainly of two types – the first type of goods is the ones which need to be transported within the market and the second type is that of those which are to be sent to places outside. transportation within the market, the shopkeeper or the businessman generally summons for a jhilliwala. Thereafter, the jhilliwala takes the goods to the vehicle either alone or with the help of others, as the case may be. As far as the second type of goods is concerned, the shopkeepers generally have a contract with one of the contractors. The contractor himself or with the help of his men, moves the goods from the shops to other places where after issuing receipts, the goods are handed over to the thelawalas. These men in turn take the goods to transporters at Sadar Bazaar, Naya Bazaar, Khanna Market, Angoori Bagh and Kamla market and also to the New Delhi, Old Delhi and Nizamuddin railway stations for railway bookings. The transportation of goods by thelas involves another species of laborers - those who push the thelas. Such a laborer could either be the contractor’s employee, one of the thela - owner’s men or could be any other needy person from the street. It is imperative for the thelawals to get back the contractor, a receipt (bilti) of the exact number of pieces they had taken to the transporters. Only on that basis, a shopkeeper would pay a contractor and the contractor would in turn, pay a thelawala. >> About the Laborers No matter what kind of work they do, the sole relationship these laborers share with the city is based on work. Search for employment has driven them to this city from all corners of the country. The jhilliwalas believe that only someone who is ‘rough and tough’ can to the tasks they do. There is no certain training or a particular qualification required to the work and the only thing which is essentially required is the strength to carry heavy loads. Kari Yaadav (an employed jhilli of the market) admits that he had taken to this work, as being illiterate, physical work was the strongest available option. Most people involved in this kind of work are between 19 to 45 years of age. Shivan (Kari Yaadav’s co-worker) proposes that a person who can do this work can do all other possible physical work. For most jhilliwalas, this was the first job they were employed for. Less than ten percent of the people who take to this work shift jobs in future. For most people, their life in Delhi begins with this work and also ends with the same. Most of these laborers belong to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They have come from the saharsa, madhubani, samastipur, sitamadhi, muzzafarpur, seevan, chapra, baksar, bhojpur and aara districts of Bihar and others are from the gaazipur, jaunpur, aazamgadh, devaria, baliya, gorakkpur and sultanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh. Among them, most migrants from Bihar are involved in the work of carrying baskets (jhilli). Even among these, maximum numbers of the people are from the saharsa district. They belong to the same sect as the chief minister of Bihar, Smt .Rabri Devi. But looking at them, one can never guess that the people of their sect can also be involved in bureaucracy and Government services. Most people who come from Uttar Pradesh either turn out to be contractors or thela pullers. Among these, the maximum number of people belongs to the fishermen-sect known as the Bind. On the downtrodden condition of the people of his sect, Shiv Sagar , secretary of the Delhi Porters Association suggests, “ Our ancestral occupation involved fishing and sand extraction from the river beds. Some of us also engage in a bit of vegetable farming during the appropriate season. This is how we sustain ourselves. But we have been deceived by the leaders of our sect. Ideally, we should have got reservation in the Indian navy.” Apart from the Yadav and Bind sects, people belonging to other backward sects like the Chamar too, can be found working in the market. Most of these people are landless. Some men, although in negligible numbers, also belong to the Rajpoot and Brahmin sects. >>Labor rates In the history of the Market, the issue of labor rates has always been controversial. No policies regarding these rates have been made in the past 55 years. The shopkeepers inevitably set their own standards while deciding such rates, often neglecting factors like the weight of the load and the distance it has to be carried to. Whether the goods have to be moved from the roadside to a nearby shop or to a shop in the back lane; weather the load weighs five kgs or 55 kgs, the money given to the laborer is the same – a sum of Rs. 3 per round, just enough money for a cup of tea. Even the present rates have been prevalent only from that past ten years. The earlier rate was merely Rs.1.50. The present rates are as follows: Lajpatrai Market to Lajpathrai Market Rs.3 per round. Lajpathrai Market to Angooree Bagh Rs.4 per round. Lajpathrai Market to Cycle Market, Chandni Chowk Rs.5 per round. Lajpathrai Market to Bhagirath Place Rs.5 per round. For getting goods transported to the places like the Old Delhi Railway Station , Khanna Market, Naya Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar and the New Delhi Railway Station, the contractors are given Rs.20 for each parcel. They get Rs.30 for transportation of goods to far off places like the Nizzamuddin Railway Station. From the sum earned, a contractor usually gives Rs.7 to Rs.10 per parcel to the thelawala and Rs.2 to Rs.5 per parcel to the Helpers. People involved in the packaging of goods generally get Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 2 per packet and those who push the thelas earn Rs.5 to Rs.10 for each round. The jhilliwalas usually manage to earn about Rs.100 to 150 everyday. A similar amount is earned by the people involved in packaging. On the other hand, the contractors usually earn a sum of Rs.300 to 350. But there are days when it is difficult to earn as little as fifty rupees. Usually, such periods arrive ten to fifteen days prior to and post occasions like Independence and Republic Day. Apart from this, whenever the country experiences a bomb blast, the Police, fearing an attack on the Red Fort, puts restrictions on areas around the market. As a result the business at the market gets badly affected. The close proximity of Town Hall, also sometimes proves to be detrimental towards the market business. Due to various reasons, the Town Hall remains the main centre for protests and rallies. This causes an interruption in the market activity and the laborers once again, face problems in earning. Chandni Chowk has a cluster of various religious centres. The Jain Temple, the Shiva temple, the Shahi Fatehpuri Mosque, a church and the Sheeshganj Gurudwara , all being situated in this area, also sometimes prove harmful to the market. Inevitably, every month for two to four days, some or the other religious rallies go via this area. It is but natural that being situated close to Chandni Chowk, the market is forced to be a silent spectator to such rallies. As a result, the laborers have a hard time getting an earning even in two digits. In this article, only those aspects of the laborers’ lives have been discussed which are related to the market. Many aspects still remain untouched and many questions unasked. One such question could be regarding the various codes of uniform implemented at the market. Without the right uniform allotted by the various trader-associations of Walled City, it is impossible for these laborers to work in the market. There are other important questions which a city dweller has to deal with in his daily life. People from different classes have their own answers and stands on them. The next phase of my research would be an attempt to have a closer look at the lives of these laborers, in the context of such questions. From geert at desk.nl Sun Feb 29 13:39:26 2004 From: geert at desk.nl (geert lovink) Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 09:09:26 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Thomas Friedman (NYT) in Bangalore Message-ID: <04e701c3fea5$ad3e8340$6400a8c0@geert> http://www.nytimes.com Thomas Friedman (NYT) in Bangalore I've been in India for only a few days and I am already thinking about reincarnation. In my next life, I want to be a demagogue. Yes, I want to be able to huff and puff about complex issues - like outsourcing of jobs to India - without any reference to reality. Unfortunately, in this life, I'm stuck in the body of a reporter/columnist. So when I came to the 24/7 Customer call center in Bangalore to observe hundreds of Indian young people doing service jobs via long distance - answering the phones for U.S. firms, providing technical support for U.S. computer giants or selling credit cards for global banks - I was prepared to denounce the whole thing. "How can it be good for America to have all these Indians doing our white-collar jobs?" I asked 24/7's founder, S. Nagarajan. Well, he answered patiently, "look around this office." All the computers are from Compaq. The basic software is from Microsoft. The phones are from Lucent. The air-conditioning is by Carrier, and even the bottled water is by Coke, because when it comes to drinking water in India, people want a trusted brand. On top of all this, says Mr. Nagarajan, 90 percent of the shares in 24/7 are owned by U.S. investors. This explains why, although the U.S. has lost some service jobs to India, total exports from U.S. companies to India have grown from $2.5 billion in 1990 to $4.1 billion in 2002. What goes around comes around, and also benefits Americans. Consider one of the newest products to be outsourced to India: animation. Yes, a lot of your Saturday morning cartoons are drawn by Indian animators like JadooWorks, founded three years ago here in Bangalore. India, though, did not take these basic animation jobs from Americans. For 20 years they had been outsourced by U.S. movie companies, first to Japan and then to the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The sophisticated, and more lucrative, preproduction, finishing and marketing of the animated films, though, always remained in America. Indian animation companies took the business away from the other Asians by proving to be more adept at both the hand-drawing of characters and the digital painting of each frame by computer - at a lower price. Indian artists had two advantages, explained Ashish Kulkarni, C.O.O. of JadooWorks. "They spoke English, so they could take instruction from the American directors easily, and they were comfortable doing coloring digitally." India has an abundance of traditional artists, who were able to make the transition easily to computerized digital painting. Most of these artists are the children of Hindu temple sculptors and painters. Explained Mr. Kulkarni: "We train them to transform their traditional skills to animation in a digital format." But to keep up their traditional Indian painting skills, JadooWorks has a room set aside - because the two skills reinforce each other. In short, thanks to globalization, a whole new generation of Indian traditional artists can keep up their craft rather than drive taxis to earn a living. But here's where the story really gets interesting. JadooWorks has decided to produce its own animated epic about the childhood of Krishna. To write the script, though, it wanted the best storyteller it could find and outsourced the project to an Emmy Award-winning U.S. animation writer, Jeffrey Scott - for an Indian epic! "We are also doing all the voices with American actors in Los Angeles," says Mr. Kulkarni. And the music is being written in London. JadooWorks also creates computer games for the global market but outsources all the design concepts to U.S. and British game designers. All the computers and animation software at JadooWorks have also been imported from America (H.P. and I.B.M.) or Canada, and half the staff walk around in American-branded clothing. "It's unfair that you want all your products marketed globally," argues Mr. Kulkarni, "but you don't want any jobs to go." He's right. Which is why we must design the right public policies to keep America competitive in an increasingly networked world, where every company - Indian or American - will seek to assemble the best skills from around the globe. And we must cushion those Americans hurt by the outsourcing of their jobs. But let's not be stupid and just start throwing up protectionist walls, in reaction to what seems to be happening on the surface. Because beneath the surface, what's going around is also coming around. Even an Indian cartoon company isn't just taking American jobs, it's also making them. From coolzanny at hotmail.com Sun Feb 29 21:15:19 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 21:15:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Are you going to take the space home? Message-ID: 21/02/2004 >From Kandivali to Santacruz Time: 4:00 PM �Are you going to take this space home?� --- Observations on Space and Human Behaviour At Kandivali station, Radhika, Santoshi and myself got into the train. There was a disorganized rush all of which was trying to get into the train. Radhika and Santoshi got into the train from one door. I normally like to get in with ease and so I got into the train from another door where the crowds had eased out. Radhika and Santoshi found seats for themselves close to the door where they got in. I was about to get into one of the empty seats near the door where I got in from when Radhika and Santoshi shouted, �Eh, come here,� calling me to join them. When I reached up to them, they realized that they should have let me sit where I was trying to earlier because now, their seat of three was packed with three people. Radhika is fat. She was occupying the corner, window seat (most coveted seating position). Santoshi is slim and she was seated in between. On the outside, a third lady was seated. When I reached the seat, both Radhika and Santoshi felt obliged to give me space to sit. Santoshi began moving inwards towards Radhika, trying to make a little space for me to sit in. Ideally, I should have asked the lady on the outside to give me space to sit, but here I was, together with Santoshi, acting like an encroacher. I felt a bit to embarrassed about this encroachment which I was making. The lady on the outside felt a bit uncomfortable, but she decently allowed me to sit in and then she moved to another empty seat. Had there been someone else in her place, she would have created a hue and cry about what Santoshi and I were doing and it would have flared up into a complete conflagration. A crowd got into the train at Goregaon. A woman came and sat next to me. She asked me to shift in so that there would be enough place for her to sit. Radhika reluctantly moved in, but the lady on the outside was still uncomfortable. She aggressively asked all of us to move in for a second time. Radhika was totally irritated by now and she said, �Where will I move in further? There is a rod out here!� Santoshi checked for the rod, almost trying to ascertain whether Radhika was telling the truth because Radhika can be quite impish and vindictive when provoked and confronted. The lady now told Radhika with all her might, �Just shift in and you (she said pointing to Santoshi), you just move in a bit like this,� and I shifted positions too. Thus, towards the end, the lady had successfully made a comfortable seating arrangement for herself. She said to Radhika, �See now, there is enough space. I just asked you to shift in. You are not going to take this space home, are you? All of us are here for short journeys and we all need place to sit.� I thought this was a very crucial remark, �You are not going to take this space home!� Yes, none of us are going to take the space home, and yet, the way we fight in trains is as if we are fighting for �very, very precious space which belongs exclusively to us!� Behaviour in trains is no simulation. It is real life. Even in trains, we fight for space just like we fight for space everywhere, in all aspects of life, in one form or another. Seats got empty at Andheri and this lady on the outside immediately jumped to the opposite seat which was highly comfortable and quite spaced out. I shifted out and made space for three of us to sit more comfortably. Another lady came and sat next to me. Again I shifted in. She left in a short while and I shifted out again. Santoshi was watching me. She giggled and said, �Poor you! You have to keep adjusting!!!� It was actually quite a funny exercise where I was constantly shifting, sometimes to a shrinking space, sometimes to an expanding space! This morning I had been to the slums in Ramgarh. Ramgarh is located on forestland. The government does not want the slum dwellers to reside here and hence, periodically, the government demolishes their hutments, forcing them to evict. The government demolishes their houses; they go on another place on the same land and build their houses again. Ramgarh is located on a hill slope area. Earlier, people were living on top. Now, they have been forced to move down. Currently, some people have paid money to the government officials and they have been allowed to live on the land for another year or so. But there will be demolitions in between. I asked them what if the government throws them out completely from this area. They aggressively told me, �How can the government do this to us? We will not move. We will stick to our place and we will make sure that the government does not think it will be easy to move us out! After all, we have been living on this land since the last 15 years, who dare throw us out from here?� These people in Ramgarh also shift spaces like I did in the train today. Radhika wanted to keep her space in tact today even though she has been sitting there for less than 15 minutes! Each one of us in trains is possessive about our space/our seat, especially when it is a crowded train where there are more people scrambling for limited space. In a crowd, our true natures are revealed. We can give a very tough fight for space because each one of us wants space to be comfortable. Otherwise, we become irritable and violent creatures. Simmin and me fight at home for space. We fight for space to keep our individual books. We fight for space to maintain our privacy. Mom wants mental space when she fights with dad. She wants us to respect �her� space. I know that there is very little space at home. Yet, we have to give mom �her space�. So, what does �space� mean? In January, I was traveling from Byculla to VT at 6:00 PM in the evening. It was empty train. The train got on to VT and I moved close to the door to get off. Before I could get off, a huge deluge of women madly rushed into the train even before it had properly stopped at the platform and was still in motion. The women almost trampled me and in order to save myself, I stood flattened by the door! It was MOB! It was a mad mob which was totally blind except to its sole objective: �Get the bloody seats to sit!� The women were returning to their homes and they knew that if they did not go in for a scramble for the seats, they would be left behind and would have to probably stand throughout their long journeys. That two-minute incident was almost like observing an actual riot. In a riot too, I imagine that people scramble in order to get the spoils, and get as much as the spoils as possible within the little time that they have. These women were also looking for their prized spoils i.e. the coveted window seats to sit before the train got crowded in minutes time. For a moment, I was totally dazed about what had happened. I felt like a mad flock to wild geese had suddenly been let loose and they were on a kill! But then, I shook myself and said, �Well, this is only a bunch of women, getting back from office to home and they are looking for a space to settle in now and unsettle in later.� But the question which lingered in my mind was whether human beings can be so violent for space? Or is it about bottled stresses and emotions which get their spark in the evening, when it�s time to journey back to homes. What kind of space is provided in trains which helps this mob of women to settle in and then unwind either by themselves or with their Sahelis and Maitreens? On February 15, when I was traveling back from Kurla to Parel, a Muslim woman and myself were trying to locate seats for ourselves in a crowded ladies compartment. Time and again, both of us would miss having seats before someone else would cleverly capture them. At one time, this Muslim woman was about to park herself into a seat when someone asked her to push out because she had already made an arrangement with the woman vacating the seat that the latter would give the seat to the former. The Muslim woman had a tired look on her face and she was trying to stand patiently, waiting for a seat to empty where she could sit. This brief incident made me think about the issue of �minorities and space � scramble for resources�. During communal violence and clashes, majorities are fighting against minorities claiming that too much space has been given minorities and that they must learn how to accommodate. Images of Gujarat, Israel-Palestine, slum dwellers and various other groupings in society which are clashing for space come to my mind when I see little clashes in the train for space � for those very crucial seats. Wow! Is this what spaces do to us? - Zainab Bawa - For communication, email zainabbawa at yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ INDIA TODAY @ Rs. 5 for 5 years ! http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/intlsubscription/itsubs/it_offer.html Subcribe Now ... From coolzanny at hotmail.com Sun Feb 29 21:20:53 2004 From: coolzanny at hotmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 21:20:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Second Research Fellowship Posting Message-ID: In the second month of the research fellowship. I have met with several architects because one of the realizations which has come from the observations is that the way in which some compartments have been designed in order to maintain privacy itself makes the compartment space dangerous and unsafe for women. I have had a few experiences with small space compartments in the trains which, though we want them in order to maintain privacy and have freedom of space, they become unsafe when only a few persons are travelling in them. At such times, these empty spaces become havens for attracting theieves and muggers and there have been several incidents with women being looted, raped and threatened in empty compartments at odd hours in the day. A couple of presentations are also lined up in the coming months where two institutions have invited me to make a presentation on the project and the findings thus far. An architect has also suggested to me to take two interns with myself and make drawings of the train compartments in order to elaborate out the way in which women and children use spaces during crowds and in easy hours. I will be implementing on this suggestion soon. The study has become quite exciting with different people suggesting ways and means to improve on the methodology. There has been encouragement about the way in which some of the writings have emerged. I hope to set up the blog by this week and then, regularly contribute to it. I look forward to contributions and suggestions from all of you. Will make subsequent postings in this week about different aspects which have become very apparent now that I am taking an observer position, though I must confess that I find it very hard to be an observer alone - in most instances, I am as much a participant as everyone else! Warm wishes, Zainab Bawa _________________________________________________________________ INDIA TODAY @ Rs. 5 + a free gift ! http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/intlsubscription/itsubs/it_offer.html Subcribe Now ...