From rana at ranadasgupta.com Fri Dec 1 10:23:55 2006 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:23:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Latest US prison figures - every time they're published they're "record level" Message-ID: <456FB563.9050707@ranadasgupta.com> always so difficult to determine what america "really" is. but it's clear that incarceration is entirely necessary to the structure. R Prison population reaches record level A record 7 million people - one in every 32 American adults - were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the US justice department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison, an increase of 2.7% on the previous year, 4.1 million on probation and 784,208 on parole. Men still far outnumber women in US jails - although the female population is growing faster - while racial disparities persist. In the 25-29 age group, 8.1% of black men - about one in 13 - are incarcerated, compared with 2.6% of Hispanic men and 1.1% of white men. -- Rana Dasgupta www.ranadasgupta.com From abhishek.hazra at gmail.com Fri Dec 1 17:21:51 2006 From: abhishek.hazra at gmail.com (Abhishek Hazra) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 17:21:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] artists enter eBay, this FRIDAY In-Reply-To: <5AD17011-7792-4946-BAB8-DA86E16898BA@umich.edu> References: <5AD17011-7792-4946-BAB8-DA86E16898BA@umich.edu> Message-ID: <6deae8300612010351q1cacf66fk52de610adcbe29d6@mail.gmail.com> Browse through eBay between Friday, December 1st and 31st, 2006 and you may stumble upon one of twenty-five artists' auctions. All exist under the umbrella of ebayaday, a serial exhibition (one auction debuts each day) of artworks in the form of auctions. Each listing was created for the online marketplace and uses the entire listing -- item for sale, online identities, desriptive text and imagery, as well as the nomenclature of eBay's categories -- as elements in the work. The FIRST ebayaday auction DEBUTS THIS FRIDAY, December 1st, 9am, PST. (around 8:30 PM Indian Time) Search through the thousands of auctions to find it OR link through the ebayaday website: http://www.ebayaday.com ebayaday artists: Conrad Bakker Matthew Bryant Carl Diehl Karen Eliot Charles Fairbanks Marc Ganzglass Josh Greene Abhishek Hazra Ellen Harvey Christine Hill / Volksboutique Nancy Hwang Institute for Infinitely Small Things Robin Kahn Osman Khan Sheryl Oring William Pope L. Dan Price REBAR John Roos Davy Rothbart Yashas Shetty Slop Mountain College faculty, Adriane Herman & Brian Reeves Nick Tobier Annie Varnot For additional information, contact Rebekah Modrak, rmodrak at umich.edu or Zack Denfeld, zcd at umich.edu From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Dec 2 11:18:51 2006 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 10:48:51 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] One global security lapse Message-ID: <5af37bb0612012148g4f09f821g3c2ee3d488c79e4b@mail.gmail.com> One global security lapse the mush-shrub syndrome? Court raps Pakistan over missing http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6199754.stm Mistaken terrorism victim to be paid $2M by US http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/44955/ From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Dec 2 13:11:44 2006 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 12:41:44 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Coffee 2 Message-ID: <5af37bb0612012341g7b2d718bjbbf5cc7c34a22869@mail.gmail.com> The hard sell Wild Bean Cafe Mark Hooper Saturday December 2, 2006 The Guardian As anyone who's ever studied GCSE-level Shakespeare or the lyrics of Kelis will tell you, subtext is everything. Great artists rarely say what they mean. Hence the boys in the yard aren't actually after milkshakes, just as the world isn't really a big stage. I only mention this because, having studied the Wild Bean Cafe advert at painstaking length, I can only conclude that it works on metaphorical levels so subtle and deep it's beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. Taking the script entirely literally, what happens is this: man drives date home. Date asks him in for coffee. Man looks appalled and abandons her in favour of an instant coffee from a machine in a service station. We all know that asking someone in "for a coffee" is a euphemism for rumpo-pumpo, but that's far too literal an interpretation of what's going on. The more you consider the evidence, the less it adds up. If he's genuinely only interested in the coffee, why does he turn her down point-blank without even tasting it? Clearly, the Wild Bean Cafe ad must be one of the greatest social critiques of our age. Think about it: Wild Bean Cafe is owned by BP Connect. BP also deal in another liquid even more highly desired than coffee - and it's not Kelis' shakes. Now, the man turns down the offer of "coffee" from his companion and instead opts to cruise the laybys, looking to pay for it from strangers. The free market economy itself is being subverted by metaphor. A major multinational company is being portrayed as a pimp. And all the men and women are merely players. From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Dec 2 13:17:48 2006 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 12:47:48 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Coffee 1 Message-ID: <5af37bb0612012347w69b893efxae24938b3d959b57@mail.gmail.com> Orhan Pamuk Neighbourhoods http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-10-13-pamuk-en.html In international relations, I do find neighbourhood an important concept. I value it. I think Turkey should get along with its neighbours. But those of us who live in big cities should be glad, in contrast to small-town dwellers, that we are rid of our neighbours. Of course, from time to time we knock on our neighbour's door when we run out of coffee and ask to borrow some. As pleasant as this might be, it also means opening our door to the control mechanisms of society. From geert at xs4all.nl Fri Dec 1 23:19:23 2006 From: geert at xs4all.nl (Geert Lovink) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 18:49:23 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] India-China: Hype & Reality Message-ID: <68af8dd6895a0f60256070633539b5f7@xs4all.nl> > From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" > Date: 1 December 2006 6:36:01 AM > To: asia-www-monitor at coombs.anu.edu.au > Subject: [***] India-China: Hype & Reality > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this e-journal send email > to: majordomo at coombs.anu.edu.au > message: unsubscribe asia-www-monitor > -------------------------------------------------------------- > The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: Dec 2006, Vol. 13, No. 14 (257) > -------------------------------------------------------------- > 01 Dec 2006 > > India-China: Hype & Reality > > Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, India > > Supplied note: "The latest paper of the Institute For Topical Studies, > A-2/3, Bharathi Dasan Colony, K.K.Nagar, Chennai---600078, India, on > the above subject is now available at the web site of the South Asia > Analysis Group (SAAG), New Delhi, at [the URL below] - br." > > Extract: > "The hopefully positive outcome of the visit of President Hu Jintao to > India from November 20 to 23, 2006, was the indication, which started > coming in even before his visit, of a seeming change in China's > attitude to India's quest for civilian nuclear energy technology and > equipment in order to meet the growing energy demands of its > fast-growing economy. [...] If China unconditionally supports the > follow-up action on the Indo-US nuclear deal without linking it to its > proposal to supply nuclear power stations to Pakistan, that would > indicate another positive and significant step forward in the > Sino-Indian bilateral relations. [these notes and commentaries are] To > be concluded." - b.raman > > [This is a part 2 of an assessment of the visit of President Hu Jintao > to India from November 20 to 23, 2006. The first part was published on > 27 Nov 2006 at http://www.saag.org/papers21/paper2038.html address. > The author of both papers, Mr B. Raman, is Additional Secretary > (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India. - ed.] > > URL http://www.saag.org/papers21/paper2042.html > > Internet Archive (www.archive.org) - the paper was not archived at the > time of this abstract. However, in a few weeks time it will be > available at web.archive.org/web/*/www.saag.org - ed. > > Link reported by: B. Raman (corde--at--vsnl.com) > > * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online > guide]: > Study > * Publisher [academic - business - government - library - NGO - other]: > NGO > * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - > marginal]: > Useful > * External links to the resource [over 3,000 - under 3,000 - under > 1,000 > - under 300 - under 100 - under 30]: under 30 > -------------------------------------------------------------- > Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 > URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html > The e-journal [est. Apr 1994] provides free weekly abstracts > and reviews of new/updated online resources of significance to > research, teaching and communications dealing with the Asian Studies. > The most valuable resources identified by the Monitor are also > grouped in http://asia-www-monitor.blogspot.com/ > The AS WWW Monitor does not necessarily endorse contents, > or policies of the Internet resources it abstracts. > The email edition of this Journal has now over 5,790 subscribers. > > - regards - > > Dr T. Matthew Ciolek tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au > Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, > ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, > The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia > ph +61 (02) 61250110 fax: +61 (02) 62571893 skype: tmciolek > also, Asia Pacific Research Online at www.ciolek.com > > [You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you > send the text as an integral whole along with complete information > about its author, date, and source.] > - > To subscribe to Asian Studies WWW Monitor email edition > send email to: majordomo at coombs.anu.edu.au > message: subscribe asia-www-monitor > > International students: ANU (http://studyat.anu.edu.au) CRICOS > Provider Number is 00120C > - > From clifton at altlawforum.org Sat Dec 2 19:57:39 2006 From: clifton at altlawforum.org (Clifton) Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2006 19:57:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activists arrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister Message-ID: <45718D5B.4050306@altlawforum.org> Friends, Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s attempts to destroy the secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is an example of syncretic traditions in the state, attracting people of different faiths. You are also aware of the role of this present coalition government in supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar. Now the government has given permission to the Sangh Parivar to conduct the Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this have been arrested today (02.12.2006). The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a coalition of over 200 organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and to fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka, has through the years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical claims about the shrine, thwarted their intentions and successfully countered their agenda through its ideology of aggressive secularism. The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine on Bababudangiri with the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their narrow sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes, putting up historically untenable and legally unsubstantial arguments. Further, they have introduced previously non-existent religious practices like Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanthi celebrations every year in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious that their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent on destroying the ‘Hindu’ tradition and culture. This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata Dal (S) to form a coalition government which has thus far supported the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was visible in the first week of October during the communal violence in and around Mangalore and in Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh Parivar activists in performing rites in the shrine – in clear violation of the High Court's order. By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda Vedike were arrested and prevented from peacefully protesting and exposing the communal designs of the present Government. This action of the present governement is reprehensible and reaffirms the communal credentials of the so – called secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned that this particular action of arresting secular activists and preventing peaceful protests bodes ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka /We request you to write / phone / fax / email the Chief Minister and the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of the arrested activists. We also hope that you would state in most certain terms your unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this government especially with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent Mangalore riots. / /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ cm at kar.nic.in / /Home Minister M.P. Prakash Ph: 22251798 Internal Ph: 2092489 e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in / From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Sat Dec 2 21:36:24 2006 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activists arrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: <45718D5B.4050306@altlawforum.org> References: <45718D5B.4050306@altlawforum.org> Message-ID: Dear Clifton, no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so aware): do you mean the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does "the role of this present coalition government in supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the UPA? And if so, are there examples for this support you could name? Britta Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > Friends, > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s attempts to destroy the > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is an example of > syncretic > traditions in the state, attracting people of different faiths. You are > also aware of the role of this present coalition government in > supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar. Now the > government has given permission to the Sangh Parivar to conduct the > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the Karnataka Komu Souharda > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this have been arrested today > (02.12.2006). > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a coalition of over 200 > organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and to > fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka, has through the > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical claims about the shrine, > thwarted their intentions and successfully countered their agenda > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine on Bababudangiri with > the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their narrow > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes, putting up > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial arguments. Further, > they have introduced previously non-existent religious practices like > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanthi celebrations every > year in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious > that > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent on destroying the ‘Hindu’ > tradition and culture. > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata Dal (S) to form a > coalition government which has thus far supported the communal agenda > of > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was visible in the first week > of October during the communal violence in and around Mangalore and in > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh Parivar activists in > performing rites in the shrine – in clear violation of the High Court's > order. > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda Vedike were arrested and > prevented from peacefully protesting and exposing the communal designs > of the present Government. This action of the present governement is > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal credentials of the so – called > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned that this particular > action > of arresting secular activists and preventing peaceful protests bodes > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email the Chief Minister and > the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of the arrested > activists. We also hope that you would state in most certain terms your > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this government especially > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent Mangalore riots. / > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > cm at kar.nic.in / > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > Ph: 22251798 > Internal Ph: 2092489 > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in / > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> ----------------- Britta Ohm Solmsstr. 36 10961 Berlin Germany +49/30/69507155 From office at humanrightskerala.com Sun Dec 3 02:59:26 2006 From: office at humanrightskerala.com (office at humanrightskerala.com) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 05:29:26 +0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Campaign for inquiry in to the custodial death of theater person from Kerala Message-ID: <18158190.1165094966283.JavaMail.websites@opensubscriber> Dear Humanists and Activists, Please support the Campaign for Inquiry in to the Custodial Death of Varkala Vijayan, a Political activist and theater personality, during the State of Emergency in India (1975-77) For more on the news item, visit http://www.humanrightskerala.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4994&Itemid=3 To endorse the Petition Online to Government of Kerala, India http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?VVijayan&1 Respectfully submitted, Dr.Abdul Salam, Secretary General, Confederation of Human Rights Organizations [CHRO] Kerala, India. -- This message was sent on behalf of office at humanrightskerala.com at openSubscriber.com http://www.opensubscriber.com/messages/reader-list at sarai.net/topic.html From vrjogi at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 08:03:55 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 02:33:55 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: Message-ID: in india, if you have to prove your secular credentials, you have to curse rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat carnage(?) again & again....and most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as far as muslim terrorism is concerned! >From: Britta Ohm >To: Clifton >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > >Dear Clifton, >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so aware): do you mean >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does "the role of this >present coalition government in supporting and promoting these >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the UPA? And if so, are >there examples for this support you could name? > >Britta > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > > > Friends, > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s attempts to destroy the > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is an example of > > syncretic > > traditions in the state, attracting people of different faiths. You are > > also aware of the role of this present coalition government in > > supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar. Now the > > government has given permission to the Sangh Parivar to conduct the > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the Karnataka Komu Souharda > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this have been arrested today > > (02.12.2006). > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a coalition of over 200 > > organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and to > > fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka, has through the > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical claims about the shrine, > > thwarted their intentions and successfully countered their agenda > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine on Bababudangiri with > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their narrow > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes, putting up > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial arguments. Further, > > they have introduced previously non-existent religious practices like > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanthi celebrations every > > year in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious > > that > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the > > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent on destroying the >‘Hindu’ > > tradition and culture. > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata Dal (S) to form a > > coalition government which has thus far supported the communal agenda > > of > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was visible in the first week > > of October during the communal violence in and around Mangalore and in > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh Parivar activists in > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear violation of the High >Court's > > order. > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda Vedike were arrested and > > prevented from peacefully protesting and exposing the communal designs > > of the present Government. This action of the present governement is > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal credentials of the so – >called > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned that this particular > > action > > of arresting secular activists and preventing peaceful protests bodes > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email the Chief Minister and > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of the arrested > > activists. We also hope that you would state in most certain terms your > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this government especially > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent Mangalore riots. / > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > > cm at kar.nic.in / > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > > Ph: 22251798 > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in / > > _________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > >----------------- >Britta Ohm >Solmsstr. 36 >10961 Berlin >Germany >+49/30/69507155 > >_________________________________________ >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. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________________________________ Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and animated emoticons. Get chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ From kalakamra at gmail.com Mon Dec 4 12:01:47 2006 From: kalakamra at gmail.com (shaina a) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 12:01:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Ashok Sukumaran Talk at KHOJ Message-ID: <33eee40c0612032231y7e8ee174k26885d8ca7f0127f@mail.gmail.com> *KHOJ **Studios ** * invite you to a presentation by Ashok Sukumaran *On **the 4th of December 2006 *** at *5pm * at the *Khoj studios* * * *Ashok Sukumaran's talk presents a critique of the new-media buzzword *"locative media"* . He discusses a broader history of location: recent approaches to site-specificity in art, the site in architectural modernism, cinema pre-history and its disruption of site, as well as his own projects, such as Glow Positioning System (2005), City of **Glass** (2006), Park View Hotel (2006), and a number of ongoing experiments with urban electricity.* * * We look forward to seeing you! Khoj Studios S-17 . Khirki Extension. (Near Sai Baba Temple ) New Delhi-17 Call:91-11-55655874\73 www.khojworkshop.org * * -- Khoj Studios S-17 . Khirki Extension. (Near Sai Baba Temple) New Delhi-17 Call:91-11-55655874\73 www.khojworkshop.org -- shaina chitrakarkhana.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061204/8bdab37a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From info at kitabmahal.org Mon Dec 4 12:37:03 2006 From: info at kitabmahal.org (Kitabmahal, The Fourth Floor) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 08:07:03 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] The Big question by Sanjeev Khandekar Message-ID: <89aac6f894f91ba693e217a6cd2196dc@montana.ymlpnet.com> The Big question by Sanjeev Khandekar Sanjeev Khandekar is now known for his shocking, bold and what he terms them as�short circuiting� images. He likes to approach his questions head-on. This time his new exhibition titled as �What do I love when I love you, my god?� opening on 5th Dec.2006, at Kitab Mahal, Mumbai, viewers will be encountered once again with the mixture of the sacred and profane, ancient and (post) modern, coded and explicit, opulent and debased, ornate and horrific, veiled and overt, blasphemous and pious, felonious and moral, images constructed in the L shaped space of the gallery. It is yet interesting to note that his new works are programmed to get uncovered just after a week from the famous symposium of world class biologists that was aimed to discuss �Beyond Belief: Science, religion, and survival� at La Jolla, California. The seminar mainly focused upon �what, and how in place of God?� and if the answer is Science? Among many questions, Sanjeev khandekar is more vocal on what Kierkegaard mentions in his �fears and trembling� that there should be a "teleological suspension of the ethical category" in favor of the religious. He refers to the mythology of Abraham and Issac, where God asks to suspend the ethical in order to kill his son Isaac. Mythologies are full of such stories, The great God Shiva asked Shriyal and Changuna to kill and cook their son Chelaya to meet the requairments of Dharma, or Anasuya was asked to take away her cloths and serve naked to the �Tridevs� to satisfy their right of prelibation under religious power that they enjoyed. Sanjeev Khandekar says that one can find some link in these stories and the faith based politics and science that we are witnessing today. He points out to the statements of General Boykin during recent Iraq invasion by US, or statements of Bin Laden provoking innocents for Jihad, or statements of our domestic leaders who really trigger off the communal hatred. He says further, that even communists find cover under such arguments, who use this paradigm to argue that Leninists had the right to suspend the ethical in order to put their religious fervor to the test by slaughtering liberal Mensheviks, and millions of others, after theOctober revolution. The installation of Sanjeev Khandekar, uses several real antique objects of Indian Gods, Antique Islamic manuscript, Old objects from church and other religious places. The market driven life of new man is his favorite theme that is running through his series of Installations and paintings, poems and writings. This time he has used the logo of ebay, the super large cyber mall of the world and a black and white portrait of Pierre Omidyar, the founder of �ebay�. Sanjeev Khandekar refers Freud�s �Future of Illusion� and says that suppressing the unconscious of male type, the human civilization grew over the years. God and religion, both had been the supports for the suppression, however the late capitalism is designed to survive only by a process where unleashing of unconscious becomes must. �I am trying to find connection between shopping bulimia and religious fundamentalism,� He added. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from 5th Dec to 16th December 2006, excluding Sundays. _____________________________ Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?fourthfloor+announcements at sarai.net Hosting by YourMailingListProvider -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061204/d40aeedf/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ixa10 at psu.edu Sun Dec 3 21:28:18 2006 From: ixa10 at psu.edu (Irina Aristarkhova) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 10:58:18 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] more on 'Litvinenko case' Message-ID: From Irina Aristarkhova: Here is a new development in the death investigation of Sasha Litvinenko, a former KGB agent. Julia Svetlichnaja, a PhD candidate at Westminster University, claims she had known Litvinenko for months before his death, and he always behaved in a strange 'movie-like' way. It is interesting that Svetlichnaja, as her university web-page says (http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-1203-smhp=1), is writing a PhD on the impact of Deleuze on art, under the supervision of Chantal Mouffe, within the Centre for the Study of Democracy, and her thesis title for now is 'Art of Empire?'. One wonders what it had to do with Litvinenko? She wanted (through him) to meet with Akhmed Zakayev, a Chechen government leader in exile, who lives in London. Below is her article from the Observer, which also published three new photos of Litvinenko. In another article she claims that Litvinenko wanted to blackmail other spies and rich Russians for money: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1962759,00.html. You can imagine that this story is particularly loved in Russia, and not very well picked up in the West. Strange stroll around Hyde Park that went nowhere Julia Svetlichnaja recalls Litvinenko's eccentric behaviour Sunday December 3, 2006 The Observer At http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1962762,00.html We first met beside the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus. Wearing dark glasses and leather jacket, Alexander Litvinenko appeared unexpectedly behind my back, saying: 'I was watching you from around the corner. You are not a spy, are you?' I suggested coffee in the nearby Caffe Nero, the first of our often chaotic, erratic conversations we would share from last April until his death. I asked various questions about the Chechen people in Moscow during the Eighties and Nineties. Litvinenko, though, leapt from one exotic story to another - secret operations in Afghanistan, a plot against Boris Yeltsin, the assassination of former Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev; all these memories still seemed dear to his heart. In the end I made my excuses and left. 'Try him, but filter what he says; the man rambles too much,' the exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky had earlier warned me. Litvinenko was the contact who, I had hoped, would introduce me to Akhmed Zakayev, a member of the officially unrecognised Chechen government in exile. Ultimately, however, I almost regretted giving my email to Litvinenko. From our first meeting he started to feed me information with such gusto that in the weeks before his death I had started deleting most of his messages without opening them. The next time we met, in the summer, we ended up walking around Hyde Park for hours. I started to wonder whether meeting Litvinenko was a waste of time. He told me shamelessly of his blackmailing plans aimed at Russian oligarchs. 'They have got enough, why not to share? I will do it officially,' he said. After two hours of traipsing around the park, I suggested we sit down somewhere. 'Professionals never sit and talk, they walk and walk around so nobody can overhear their conversation,' he muttered darkly. So we carried on walking, Litvinenko regaling me with more stories about his war against the Kremlin. 'Every time I publish something on the Chechen press website, I piss them off. One day they will understand who I am!' he said. Some of his emails were confidential documents from the FSB, the successor to the KGB; others were his own writings for the Chechen press. Many of his 'political' texts were too obviously rants to take seriously: one of his wildest claims was that Putin was a paedophile. The photographs he sent were equally contradictory - one showed him with Zakayev and Anna Politkovskaya. Next he sent me a striking picture of himself in front of a large Union flag, holding a Chechen sword and wearing FSB gauntlets - Litvinenko said this proclaimed his pride in his new British citizenship. The next meeting, in May, was arranged to take place at Litvinenko's home in Muswell Hill, north London, where we were supposed to be joined by Zakayev, but he did not turn up. Litvinenko proudly told me how well his son was adapting to England and its language while he could barely string a few sentences together. Marina, his wife, served us dinner and tea with traditional Russian sweets. Afterwards, we moved to the garden and eventually to Litvinenko's study, where he showed me his stash of secret files and photographs. It was very late when he drove me to the station. He stopped at the traffic lights and, indicating right, suddenly turned left into a dark alley. We drove round and round the crescent before stopping. 'Demonstration. I was famous for getting rid of the "tail". All you have to do is to indicate and then turn the other way,' he explained. We sat in his car for another hour talking about life in the FSB. I felt sorry for him. People around him seemed either deranged or were using him for their advantage. Despite his whistleblower past, Litvinenko was confident he was safe. Unlike Zakayev, he willingly gave out his mobile phone number and home address. He did not have any security. Although, in October 2004, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into Zakayev and Litvinenko's neighbouring homes in Muswell Hill, he never contemplated moving house. May was the last time I saw him. Later I heard he had been poisoned and I am ashamed to say I thought it might have been another trick to get attention. After that I watched and read the details of his slow death drip into the media as the polonium 210 rotted him from within. Would Litvinenko be pleased with the paradox that since his death he has been taken very seriously? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061203/82589c58/attachment.html From stalal at sympatico.ca Sat Dec 2 21:54:32 2006 From: stalal at sympatico.ca (Sohaib Talal) Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 11:24:32 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] One global security lapse In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0612012148g4f09f821g3c2ee3d488c79e4b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <000001c7162e$5be72490$6900a8c0@PC154472964116> Why do we have to do things that america does? Americans do it (disappearnces) to others charging them of terrorism while we do it to our own people. Why our leaders put the nation in such a low esteem? When our inferiority complex goin to go away? Can anyone answer these questions? Before I revert to gay shairee please reply... -----Original Message----- From: O-habibians-86 at googlegroups.com [mailto:O-habibians-86 at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of yasir ~ Sent: December 2, 2006 12:49 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: One global security lapse One global security lapse the mush-shrub syndrome? Court raps Pakistan over missing http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6199754.stm Mistaken terrorism victim to be paid $2M by US http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/44955/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "O-Habibians-86" group. To post to this group, send email to O-habibians-86 at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to O-habibians-86-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/O-habibians-86?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.3/562 - Release Date: 01/12/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.4/563 - Release Date: 02/12/2006 From padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com Mon Dec 4 09:56:25 2006 From: padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com (Padmalatha Ravi) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 09:56:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Certainly on this occassion Gujarat issue was not raised and people like you don't seem to forget it even after years. To say that one remains tightlipped about muslim terrorism is one thing but why is it that there is no answer to the questions raised on this particular issue? Is it because it is easier to sound fundamentalist than secular? On 12/4/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > in india, if you have to prove your secular credentials, you have to curse > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat carnage(?) again & again....and > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as far as muslim terrorism > is concerned! > > > >From: Britta Ohm > >To: Clifton > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > > > >Dear Clifton, > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so aware): do you mean > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does "the role of this > >present coalition government in supporting and promoting these > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the UPA? And if so, are > >there examples for this support you could name? > > > >Britta > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > > > > > Friends, > > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's attempts to destroy the > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is an example of > > > syncretic > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of different faiths. You > are > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition government in > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar. Now > the > > > government has given permission to the Sangh Parivar to conduct the > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the Karnataka Komu Souharda > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this have been arrested > today > > > (02.12.2006). > > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a coalition of over 200 > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and to > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka, has through the > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical claims about the shrine, > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully countered their agenda > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine on Bababudangiri with > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their narrow > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes, putting up > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial arguments. Further, > > > they have introduced previously non-existent religious practices like > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanthi celebrations every > > > year in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious > > > that > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent on destroying the > >'Hindu' > > > tradition and culture. > > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata Dal (S) to form a > > > coalition government which has thus far supported the communal agenda > > > of > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was visible in the first > week > > > of October during the communal violence in and around Mangalore and in > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh Parivar activists in > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear violation of the High > >Court's > > > order. > > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda Vedike were arrested and > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and exposing the communal designs > > > of the present Government. This action of the present governement is > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal credentials of the so – > >called > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned that this particular > > > action > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing peaceful protests bodes > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email the Chief Minister and > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of the arrested > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in most certain terms > your > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this government especially > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent Mangalore riots. / > > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > > > cm at kar.nic.in / > > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > > > Ph: 22251798 > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in / > > > _________________________________________ > > > 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. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > >----------------- > >Britta Ohm > >Solmsstr. 36 > >10961 Berlin > >Germany > >+49/30/69507155 > > > >_________________________________________ > >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. > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >List archive: > > _________________________________________________________________ > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and animated emoticons. Get > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > > > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > -- Cheers Padma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061204/6e40b81e/attachment.html From hpp at vsnl.com Mon Dec 4 16:08:10 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:38:10 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Connecting with educators in India on the Palestinian question Message-ID: My name is Howard Davidson. I am Associate Professor, Extended Education, at University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. I plan to be in Kolkata during January 3 - 19, 2007 and want to use this opportunity to expand an international network of educators concerned with the Palestinian question. I have been visiting the West Bank and Israel since 2003 to work with Palestinian and Israeli educators on various projects. In November 2006, a group met in Biet Jalla (West Bank) to form a network of educators who will pursue an internationalist approach to creating educational practices that support liberation from occupation. When I mentioned that I planned to visit Kolkata this January, participants at the Beit Jalla meeting encouraged me to make connect with progressive Indian educators. There is a need for Indian perspectives to be better known among Palestinian and international intellectuals working to end the occupation. A brief introduction: Following my initial trip to the West Bank, I co-organize a Summer Institute on Education and Democracy in a Global Context at the University of Manitoba (July 2004). The Institute brought together 60 Canadian and 7 Palestinian educators to discuss the formidable challenges of teaching for genuine democracy in the midst of conflict. Dr. Sami Adwan at Bethlehem University led the Palestinian group. Later, Dr. Adwan and I co-organize an Educators' Forum on Education and Conflict at Bethlehem University (July 2005). 70 Palestinian and 10 international educators participated in the Forum. These two web sites describe that event. http://youth.zajel.org/Study_visits/studyvisits7.htm http://www.bethlehem.edu/archives/2005/2005_056.shtml These activites led to forming the educators' network I mentioned above. Currently, I am writing about these educational projects. I am also a founding editor of the Journal of Prisoners on Prison http://www.jpp.org/, which has been publishing articles by prisoners and former prisoners on the politics of crime and punishment since 1988. I am editing a book on politcal prisoners and their political education. I look forward to hearing from people. Perhaps we can meet during this trip; if not, I do hope we can open communication on this issue. Howard Davidson, Ed.D Associate Professor Extended Education University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2 (Canada) Ph. 1-204-982-4895 Fax 1-204-982-6290 howardsdavidson at yahoo.com From ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de Mon Dec 4 16:23:28 2006 From: ohm at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Britta Ohm) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 11:53:28 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Well, I know this line of generalised 'argument' very well, thank you, and I cannot remember to have mentioned Gujarat (even though I do think there is a lot to mention there). What I was asking for was not a demonstration of ideological battle lines but concrete examples (provided I have understood the reference to the UPA correctly). Thank you for your help. Britta Am 04.12.2006 um 03:33 schrieb Vedavati Jogi: > in india, if you have to prove your secular credentials, you have to > curse rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat carnage(?) again & > again....and most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as far as > muslim terrorism is concerned! > > >> From: Britta Ohm >> To: Clifton >> CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 >> >> Dear Clifton, >> no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so aware): do you mean >> the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does "the role of this >> present coalition government in supporting and promoting these >> activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the UPA? And if so, are >> there examples for this support you could name? >> >> Britta >> >> Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: >> >> > Friends, >> > >> > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s attempts to destroy >> the >> > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the Baba-Datta shrine on >> > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is an example of >> > syncretic >> > traditions in the state, attracting people of different faiths. You >> are >> > also aware of the role of this present coalition government in >> > supporting and promoting these activities of the Sangh Parivar. Now >> the >> > government has given permission to the Sangh Parivar to conduct the >> > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the Karnataka Komu Souharda >> > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this have been arrested >> today >> > (02.12.2006). >> > >> > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a coalition of over 200 >> > organizations working since 2002 to establish communal harmony and >> to >> > fight against the agenda of communalism in Karnataka, has through >> the >> > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical claims about the >> shrine, >> > thwarted their intentions and successfully countered their agenda >> > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. >> > >> > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine on Bababudangiri >> with >> > the sole intention of destroying this tradition in the name of >> > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order to achieve their >> narrow >> > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted disputes, putting >> up >> > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial arguments. Further, >> > they have introduced previously non-existent religious practices >> like >> > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta Jayanthi celebrations >> every >> > year in the months of October, November and December. It is obvious >> > that >> > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith but to target the >> > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent on destroying the >> ‘Hindu’ >> > tradition and culture. >> > >> > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata Dal (S) to form a >> > coalition government which has thus far supported the communal >> agenda >> > of >> > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was visible in the first >> week >> > of October during the communal violence in and around Mangalore and >> in >> > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala Abhiyan. In >> Bababudangiri, >> > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh Parivar activists in >> > performing rites in the shrine – in clear violation of the High >> Court's >> > order. >> > >> > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda Vedike were arrested and >> > prevented from peacefully protesting and exposing the communal >> designs >> > of the present Government. This action of the present governement is >> > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal credentials of the so – >> called >> > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned that this particular >> > action >> > of arresting secular activists and preventing peaceful protests >> bodes >> > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka >> > >> > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email the Chief Minister >> and >> > the Home Minister demanding the immediate release of the arrested >> > activists. We also hope that you would state in most certain terms >> your >> > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this government especially >> > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent Mangalore riots. / >> > >> > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ >> > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ >> > cm at kar.nic.in / >> > >> > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash >> > Ph: 22251798 >> > Internal Ph: 2092489 >> > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in / >> > _________________________________________ >> > 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. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> ----------------- >> Britta Ohm >> Solmsstr. 36 >> 10961 Berlin >> Germany >> +49/30/69507155 >> >> _________________________________________ >> 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. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________________________________ > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and animated emoticons. > Get chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> ----------------- Britta Ohm Solmsstr. 36 10961 Berlin Germany +49/30/69507155 From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Mon Dec 4 22:34:58 2006 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 09:04:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Karachi ki Kahani Message-ID: <20061204170458.4874.qmail@web32406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear friends, Go to page 8, Sunday edition of DNA, Bombay, to read Ajmal's article on Karachi. (And please ignore the lousy heading given by the newspaper). http://digital.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=20&eddate=12/3/2006 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Any questions? Get answers on any topic at www.Answers.yahoo.com. Try it now. From vrjogi at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 22:39:03 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:09:03 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: <912433.29921.qm@web60612.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, 1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. 2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope every body remembers 1947) >From: gowhar fazli >To: Vedavati Jogi >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >fundamentalism are similar except that the >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. > > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular > > credentials, you have to curse > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat > > carnage(?) again & again....and > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as > > far as muslim terrorism > > is concerned! > > > > > > >From: Britta Ohm > > >To: Clifton > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal > > harmony > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the > > chief Minister > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > > > > > >Dear Clifton, > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so > > aware): do you mean > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does > > "the role of this > > >present coalition government in supporting and > > promoting these > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the > > UPA? And if so, are > > >there examples for this support you could name? > > > > > >Britta > > > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > > > > > > > Friends, > > > > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s > > attempts to destroy the > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the > > Baba-Datta shrine on > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is > > an example of > > > > syncretic > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of > > different faiths. You are > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition > > government in > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the > > Sangh Parivar. Now the > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh > > Parivar to conduct the > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the > > Karnataka Komu Souharda > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this > > have been arrested today > > > > (02.12.2006). > > > > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a > > coalition of over 200 > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish > > communal harmony and to > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in > > Karnataka, has through the > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical > > claims about the shrine, > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully > > countered their agenda > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > > > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine > > on Bababudangiri with > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition > > in the name of > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order > > to achieve their narrow > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted > > disputes, putting up > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial > > arguments. Further, > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent > > religious practices like > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta > > Jayanthi celebrations every > > > > year in the months of October, November and > > December. It is obvious > > > > that > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith > > but to target the > > > > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent > > on destroying the > > >‘Hindu’ > > > > tradition and culture. > > > > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata > > Dal (S) to form a > > > > coalition government which has thus far > > supported the communal agenda > > > > of > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was > > visible in the first week > > > > of October during the communal violence in and > > around Mangalore and in > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh > > Parivar activists in > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear > > violation of the High > > >Court's > > > > order. > > > > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda > > Vedike were arrested and > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and > > exposing the communal designs > > > > of the present Government. This action of the > > present governement is > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal > > credentials of the so – > > >called > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned > > that this particular > > > > action > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing > > peaceful protests bodes > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > > > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email > > the Chief Minister and > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate > > release of the arrested > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in > > most certain terms your > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this > > government especially > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent > > Mangalore riots. / > > > > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / > > > > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > > > > Ph: 22251798 > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in > > / > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > 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. > > > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > >----------------- > > >Britta Ohm > > >Solmsstr. 36 > > >10961 Berlin > > >Germany > > >+49/30/69507155 > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > >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. > > >To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and > > animated emoticons. Get > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: ><https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. > >Peter Ustinov > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >http://new.mail.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx From mail at shivamvij.com Tue Dec 5 01:35:46 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 01:35:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] the community radio policy - at last In-Reply-To: <5479ae440612041158o1d9e19d2n233bba5013d23e9@mail.gmail.com> References: <5479ae440612041158o1d9e19d2n233bba5013d23e9@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9c06aab30612041205h18e1b98cn3f3395d3a5a8be4e@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: sajan venniyoor Date: Dec 5, 2006 1:28 AM Subject: the community radio policy - at last To: venniyoor at gmail.com Cc: communityradio at writeshop.org India's new community radio policy is now official. The 'detailed policy guidelines' are available on the website of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, at this URL: http://www.mib.nic.in/informationb/CODES/frames.htm. (Scroll down to this link: "Policy Guidelines for Setting up Community Radio Stations in India" (Updated 04/12/2006)). No surprises, really. The policy allows civil society and voluntary organisations to apply for a CR license; there is no license fee; advertisements are permitted (5 minutes per hour). And, yeah, "the Permission Holder shall not broadcast any programmes, which relate to news and current affairs and are otherwise political in nature." (Which begs the question: how about non-political news & current affairs?) It's time to walk the talk, comrades. Sajan From yasir.media at gmail.com Tue Dec 5 03:24:42 2006 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 02:54:42 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Karachi ki Kahani In-Reply-To: <20061204170458.4874.qmail@web32406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20061204170458.4874.qmail@web32406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0612041354u71f0b1b4qbad88143f06624e3@mail.gmail.com> thanks for this gouri. its a nice introduction/summary, xcept that DNA has an extremely asinine interface that doesnt even work in firefox, and the lengths dna has gone to protect its easily copyable data results in remarkable unreadabilility bad design, bad usability. given that this is the web that leaves nothing else. all hail ascii people ! On 12/4/06, gouri wrote: > Dear friends, > > Go to page 8, Sunday edition of DNA, Bombay, to read > Ajmal's article on Karachi. (And please ignore the > lousy heading given by the newspaper). > > http://digital.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=20&eddate=12/3/2006 > > From joasia at kurator.org Tue Dec 5 03:58:14 2006 From: joasia at kurator.org (Joasia) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:28:14 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 12th International Media Art Biennale WRO 07 Competition Message-ID: 12th International Media Art Biennale WRO 07 Competition 16 – 20 May 2007, Wroclaw, Poland 12th International Media Art Biennale WRO 07© WRO Foundation for Media Art in Wrocław/Poland, announces an international competition open to any work created using electronic media techniques, exploring innovative forms of artistic communication. The competition welcomes creators of artistic projects of diverse forms such as screenings (video art, computer animation), installations, objects, performances, multimedia concerts and network projects from all over the world. The main prize is €5000. The deadline date for entry submission is 15.02.2007. Presentation of shortlisted works and the international jury’s announcement of the competition results will take place during public screening at the WRO 07 Biennale. The competition regulations and entry form are available in downloadable format at http://wro07.wrocenter.pl. Requests to receive the regulations and entry form by post can be made at print at wrocenter.pl. http://wrocenter.pl/index.php?go=en/wro07intro/ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mail at shivamvij.com Tue Dec 5 15:53:01 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 15:53:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Karachi ki Kahani In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0612041354u71f0b1b4qbad88143f06624e3@mail.gmail.com> References: <20061204170458.4874.qmail@web32406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <5af37bb0612041354u71f0b1b4qbad88143f06624e3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <9c06aab30612050223i6aad126mb8e0bab412ec19b0@mail.gmail.com> Karachi was a sweet Bombay Ajmal Kamal DNA, Saturday, December 02, 2006 21:17 IST http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1067410 In his inspiring essay, The City and Death, Bogdan Bogdanovic, the renowned architect and teacher from former Yugoslavia, suggests that the only way out of the mess we have turned our cities into is that each citizen — man, woman and child — should be taught the lost art of reading the city all over again. Only then, he says, we can hope to be able to proceed to the next stage in human progress, i.e. the restoration of the art of writing the city, a precious art and human right which we have long lost. Karachi ki Kahani, first published in 1996 as a two-volume, 800-page special issue of the Urdu journal Aaj, was an attempt to 'read' the city of Karachi. It is being reproduced with a few additions and a special section of photographs of Karachi, and would hopefully be followed by its English version in the first quarter of 2007. The fate that befell Karachi in 1947 was not shared by any other city in the subcontinent; almost the entire middle-class intelligentsia, the keepers of the city's memory, the overwhelming majority of them being Hindus, left. The influx of refugees from East Punjab, UP, CP and Bihar added about six hundred thousand souls to the city which was just above 4,00,000 on the eve of partition. The Parsis, Goan Christians and the miniscule number of Sindhi Muslims, who had shared the city's life with the departed Hindus, were lost in the great wave of migration into their city. There was thus a clear break in the history of Karachi which prevented its continuity to be shared by the newcomers. This is a misfortune that cities like Delhi, Lahore and Calcutta did not have to suffer. The new citizens of Karachi hardly had a clue to what had been happening in the city before they came here in hordes. Most of them were unaware of the past of the houses and business premises that the craftier of them occupied and the buildings and open spaces where the helpless majority of them was forced to live in jhuggis to begin the struggle in the capital of the new state. Crisis of communication This ignorance bordering on indifference was to create a wide gulf between the two main linguistic communities of Sindh. In the absence of any common perception about the city's past, it was hardly possible to create the common ground to negotiate and resolve the crisis of today's Karachi and its hinterland, the province of Sindh. This crisis of communication led to a painful era of ethnic strife which took a great toll on the citizens during the entire decade of 1990s. Number of narrators In order to rediscover the city's story, I decided to begin at the beginning of the modern Karachi, that is the eighteenth century when a small group of Hindu traders decided to move to the shores of Karachi after the river port of Kharak Bunder was silted up. This tale has been told by Seth Naomal Hotchand Bhojwani, who later helped the British to invade and occupy Karachi and Sindh, in 1839 and 1843 respectively. The story of Karachi, collected in the two volumes, is told by a number of narrators — how can the entire story of a city be narrated by a single person? — each speaking in his own voice, looking at event and people from his own individual point of view. The next in the line of narrators is John Brunton, Engineer, East India Railway Company, who arrived in the city just after the uprising of 1857 had been put down. Brunton, who describes the revolt of the Native Bengal Regiment in Karachi, built the railway line which linked the city with the rest of Sindh and Punjab and in a few decades turned it into one of the biggest ports exporting wheat and cotton out of the subcontinent. Social Awakening The growth of this commercial city provided space for the expression of the social awakening among the Sindhi Hindus who were directly imbibing the influence of Shantiniketan, Brhamo Samaj and other movements of change in Bengal and other parts of India. The narrator of this part of Karachi's story is KR Malkani, who joined RSS in Karachi and grew into a BJP leader after migrating to India. The Muslims of Sindh, for historical and social reasons, were late to join this journey towards progress, a fact which had long-term consequences for the city, the province and the whole of the subcontinent. Some of these aspects have been highlighted by Pir Ali Mohammad Rashdi, who was active in the Sindh Muslim League before and after partition and whose two-volume memoir is considered a masterpiece in Sindhi literature. The story is taken further by an interesting array of narrators, who expressed themselves in English, Sindhi or Urdu — Nagendranath Gupta and Sardar Diwan Singh Maftoon tell the story of one of the greatest citizens of Karachi, Rishi Dayaram Gidumal. Pre-partition Karachi Lokram Dodeja, Sohrab Kavasji Hormuzji Katrak and Anita Ghulam Ali reminisce about the pre-partition Karachi from their unique Hindu, Parsi and Muslim perspectives. Dr Feroz Ahmed traces the history of the African slaves who were the ancestors of the Shidis or Makranis of the Lyari area of today's Karachi. Raffat Khan Haward tells the story of the Goan Catholic community of Karachi who discovered after 1947 that they had become a religious minority. The Sindhi writers, Mohan Kalpana, Shaikh Ayaz and Sobho Gyanchandani, and Urdu writers, Hasan Manzar, Asad Mohammad Khan and Fahmida Riaz, recall the life in the city at its significant moments, shaping the lives of its citizens. Akhtar Hameed Khan, the renowned social worker, thinker and writer describes his work in Comilla, East Bengal, and the huge slum of Orangi in the western district of Karachi. Six residents of Essa Nagri, a katchi abadi inhabited by the Punjabi Christian migrants to the city in 1950s outline the oral history of the settlement, and describe through the story of their lives how the city gradually slid into religious intolerance and ethnic strife. Ajmal Kamal is a writer and publisher based in Karachi On 12/5/06, yasir ~ wrote: > thanks for this gouri. its a nice introduction/summary, > > xcept that DNA has an extremely asinine interface that doesnt even > work in firefox, and the lengths dna has gone to protect its easily > copyable data results in remarkable unreadabilility > > bad design, bad usability. given that this is the web that leaves nothing else. > all hail ascii people ! From sudeep.ks at gmail.com Tue Dec 5 17:50:55 2006 From: sudeep.ks at gmail.com (Sudeep K S) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 17:50:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Action and Reaction [Re: Communal harmony] Message-ID: "Vedavati Jogi" wrote on Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:09:03: > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, > 1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. Dear Vedavti, Could you please substantiate this claim? I can think of many counter-examples (incidents where this has not been the case)-- Bombay riots (to which the Bombay blasts were a "reaction" if you like it that way) and the Marad incident in Kerala are just two of them. > 2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope every > body remembers 1947) Well, this is an even stronger claim. Please try to tell us what makes you think so. Or at least try to think over why you believe so. As far as I understand, we have already suceeded to a great extent in partitioning the country at least in the minds. [I have refered to it a couple of times on my online diary, http://sudeepsdiary.blogspot.com/2006/11/intolerance-and-indigestion.html http://sudeepsdiary.blogspot.com/2006/10/afzal-zinda-hai.html http://sudeepsdiary.blogspot.com/2006/10/happy-deepavali-i-miss-month-of-ramzan.html ] regards sudeep From jumpshark at gmail.com Wed Dec 6 11:45:32 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 11:45:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Music retailing new twist Message-ID: Cassette to Cd to Dvd to... ? Yash Raj Music unveils DVD-audio format of 'Dhoom:2' Indiantelevision.com Team (27 November 2006 10:25 pm) MUMBAI: Yash Raj Music has unveiled the music of Dhoom:2 in the DVD-audio format. Surround Sound and audiophiles can choose from the audio menu the format they want to hear the songs in. The album makes use of the DVD-Audio format in other ways as well. The lyrics can be viewed on-screen as the music is playing, thus enabling Karaoke sing-along. The theatrical trailer of the movie is also available on the DVD, as well as a credits page that can be viewed optionally. Additionally, four tracks have also been include - Chand Sifarish (Fanaa), Kajra Re (Bunty aur Babli), Salaam Namaste (Salaam Namaste) and Halla Re (Neal 'n' Nikki), the lyrics for which are also available on screen. Rounding up the package is a gallery of pictures from the movies, as an optional feature, states an official release. This disc can be played on both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Players. All tracks have been re-mastered in 5.1 Surround Sound. This DVD Audio disc features quality sound formats featured below (which can be individually selected from the audio menu options): From jumpshark at gmail.com Wed Dec 6 11:49:15 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 11:49:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] elbow power Message-ID: The winds of change sweeping across Bollywood have not left the music industry untouched. While on the one hand new talent is being encouraged, on the other the old set ways of doing business are giving way to corporatisation. Filmmaker Yash Chopra led the way by parting ways with HMV-Saregama group and setting up his own music label called Yash Raj Music. Chopra is not the only film producer to have ventured into the music industry. Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts too has launched a music label. Sahara One Pictures, a joint venture between advertising company Percept and Sahara Motion Pictures, is also poised to launch a music business soon. So the music industry, which has more than its fair share of problems (audio piracy, no licensing fees from radio stations), is emulating what has been happening in the West where successful artistes worldwide have established their own music labels. For all the music industry's scepticism, Yash Raj Films, Mukta Arts and probably Sahara exude confidence that they'll flourish. More power to their elbow, we say. (copy pasted frm desifans.com) From jumpshark at gmail.com Wed Dec 6 11:55:09 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 11:55:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Saregama vs T-series Message-ID: Saregama obtains an interim order against T Series 2006-12-05 18:11 Source : Moneycontrol.com The Honorable Kolkata High Court passed an ad-interim order against Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. (T Series) on December 1, 2006, preventing the music label from marketing the version recording of the song 'Babuji' from the (1954) film, Aar Paar, used in the Hindi film, 'Salaam-e-Ishq', following a petition by Saregama India Ltd. ('Saregama') that the latter held the copyright to the song. The producers of the yet-to-be released film, Mad Orion Pictures, sought permission from the copyright holders of the song, Saregama, to use the version of the original song in their upcoming film. Such permission was granted on the condition that while the song could be picturised on and used only in the film itself, it was not to be sold as a recording on any audio cassettes or CD's. However, in violation of the license, the producers gave the music rights to T Series who have released the song. Thus, a case was filed by Saregama in Kolkata High Court and following a hearing late last week, an interim order has been passed to the effect that the music of the film cannot be sold until further orders from the Court. The matter is due to appear for hearing on 10th December 2006. Sourced From: Perfect Relations Limited From turbulence at turbulence.org Tue Dec 5 23:57:40 2006 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 13:27:40 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] UPGRADE! BOSTON: Turbulence New England Initiative II Artist Talks Message-ID: <000301c7189b$1d2f8700$6601a8c0@t5x1c0> UPGRADE! BOSTON: Turbulence New England Initiative II Artist Talks: Brooke A. Knight, Mobius and John Snavely http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/12_14NEII.html WHEN: December 14, 7 pm WHERE: Art Interactive, 130 Bishop Allen Drive, at the corner of Prospect Street, Cambridge. Free parking in the lot on the corner or take the T to Central Square and walk 1 block. < Turbulence New England Initiative II > http://www.turbulence.org/ne2/guidelines.html Turbulence.org's competition for networked, hybrid projects awarded three commissions: "Cell Tagging" by Brooke A. Knight, "Variations VII: FishNet" by Mobius, and "WhoWhatWhenAir" by John Snavely. The projects will be exhibited at Art Interactive from December 8 through January 14. Jurors of the competition were Julian Bleecker, Michelle Thursz, and Helen Thorington. Turbulence NE Initiative II is supported by Art Interactive, the LEF Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. "Cell Tagging" by Brooke A. Knight http://turbulence.org/Works/cell_tagging The mobile phone occupies a space that is both connecting and distancing. Seemingly ubiquitous, it has become an increasingly powerful tool, functioning as a phone, PDA, browser, and camera. With "Cell Tagging" it becomes a remote control that allows users to dial, draw, and speak. Cell phone users "graffiti" the sound-space around them, making every place their own. "Variations VII: FishNet" by Mobius http://turbulence.org/works/FishNet In "Variations VII: FishNet," the primary component is an autonomous networked space in which users "fish" among myriad live audio/visual internet feeds. Sources include air traffic controllers, police and fire departments, horse races, and webcams. The project will also make use of live, distributed input from cell phones. FishNet is inspired by John Cage's Variations VII, a pioneering "art and engineering" performance event from 1966. "WhoWhatWhenAir" by John Snavely An interactive, kinetic sculpture that users can communicate with via a bicycle pump. Next to this direct interaction, a web-based, distant interaction connects the digital with the physical. Coordinated efforts produce unexpected structural choreographies. UP NEXT << Upgrade! Boston: ShiftSpace and OPENSTUDIO >> January 11, 2007; 7 pm. Panel discussion with Mushon Zer-Aviv and Dan Phiffer (ShiftSpace) and members of MIT's OPENSTUDIO project. http://shiftspace.org/ http://openstudio.media.mit.edu/ Upgrade! Boston (http://www.turbulence.org/upgrade/about.html) is curated by Jo-Anne Green for Turbulence.org (http://turbulence.org) in partnership with Art Interactive (http://artinteractive.org). It is one of 22 nodes currently active in Upgrade! International (http://theupgrade.net), an emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. If you would like to present your work or get involved, please email jo at turbulence.org. If you no longer wish to receive these notices, please reply to this email with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org New American Radio: http://somewhere.org Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From eve at pointephemere.org Tue Dec 5 15:30:26 2006 From: eve at pointephemere.org (Eve Lemesle) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 11:00:26 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Residency in Paris Message-ID: <3EF8566B-2E74-4FF5-9D64-7A522D307A0D@pointephemere.org> AIR / POINT EPHEMERE VISUAL ART RESIDENCY IN PARIS April-May-June 2007 Point Ephémère, multidisciplinary art centre in Paris, is running in Paris an Artist In Residence program for Indian and French young artists. POINT EPHEMERE ######## In Paris, Indian visual artists, video-makers, painters, sculptors, new media artists are invited to apply, before December 20th, in order to have a 3 months residence at Point Ephémère, starting in April 2007. Point Ephémère's residencies are dedicated to artistic research and creation, in a high level professional context. Artists work in a Point Ephémère studio, along the canal St Martin, in the heart of Paris. They are accommodated at Cité Internationale des Arts, an international foundation that provides more than 300 flats for artists in Paris. The resident artist will benefit from Point Ephémère's logistic support and accompaniment in art works production, along with French artists. This program mainly concerns emerging artists, starting their career. They will be chosen for the artistic quality of their work, by a jury of professionals (around January 15th). RESIDENCY ######## The residence consists in: - a plane ticket (round trip) to Paris and back - a grant of 700 euros per month, - An accommodation at Cité International des Arts in Paris - A private studio in Point Ephémère, with access to technical studios and tools, - Possibility for a show or exhibition at Point Ephémère or private galleries APPLICATION ######## To submit please send a portfolio with : - a curriculum vitae - a selection of images on actual work (cd, dvd, color print : 20 images maximum) - 1 page text on the art's content - documentation on previous works - press reviews and publications - a motivation letter, or if relevant, a brief project in relation with France, Paris. Please send your files UNTIL DECEMBER 20TH 2006 to Eve Lemesle By postmail : Point Ephémère, 200 Quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris Or by email : eve at pointephemere.org CONTACT ######## For any information, please contact Eve Lemesle : eve at pointephemere.org / (+33) 1 40 34 02 48 ........................................................................ ........ Point Ephémère 200 Quai de Valmy 75010 Paris France _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Wed Dec 6 19:26:06 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 05:56:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <415765.3668.qm@web50310.mail.yahoo.com> I have an essay in the new anthology <> (Matt Bernstein Sycamore ed.). Matt/Mattilda is the editor of <>; <> and the instigator of , a radical queer activist group that "fights the monster of assimilation". Details below, including an excerpt. Naeem Mohaiemen http://disappearedinamerica.org ########################## Amazon: Nobody Passes http://tinyurl.com/ybl3qq Blog: Nobody Passes, Darling http://nobodypasses.blogspot.com ########################## [Excerpt from "Why Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot"] Halfway through the weekend, I realized the unintended, dual track of the speaker selection. The Muslim speakers were all in the "angry activist" ghetto -- the rapper, the comedian, and the filmmaker were talking about racial profiling, war on terror, civil liberties. The rest of the conference seemed to be on a planet called "Spelling Bee Champion Honors Student Most Likely To Succeed." High-profile speakers included a former White House CFO, bankers, TV reporters, and a physical trainer. This half of the conference stayed on message: We're not just gear-heads in Bangalore call centers. We can do anything. "It's the best time for South Asians in America," one speaker said. A triumphant narrative of a dream life. ....... On the other side of the Atlantic, the underclass positioning of Muslim migrants is even more sharply visible. A 2005 survey found British Indians and West Indians outperforming their white working-class peers in education and jobs. This was especially visible for the "1.5" generation, children of the great wave of post-colonial migration. But in the same survey, two other Asian groups came in at the bottom: Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. For Asian Muslims, there are conjoined problems of spiraling unemployment, societal disenfranchisement, and voluntary self-isolation. The ghettoization is particularly marked for women. Unemployed men still find gathering spaces in local clubs, community centers, mosques, and streets. For the women, however, absence in the workplace is conflated with a larger absence from daily life. The Muslim woman in a western city has lately become an all-purpose signifier. For Muslim men, she needs to be "protected" from a sexually curious and omnivorous society. For western liberals (and lately conservatives), the woman in hijab is the ultimate missionary project. Simultaneously mysterious, exotic, sexual, and repulsive -- they are shrouded figures ("ninja" to some Bengali wags) needing a rescue mission to free them from the clutches of tradition and Muslim men. Pop-Sociologists look to religion for an easy formula to explain the stratified Asian underclass. But these equations obscure more than they clarify. In London, Bengali women are rarely seen working in non-family owned stores. Yet, in New York, they are a familiar presence in the service economy. Differing migration patterns are a bigger influence than religion. The bulk of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi migration to England came from rural and working-class communities in underdeveloped areas (Pakistanis from Mirpur and Kashmir, Bangladeshis from Sylhet).[5] By contrast, the Asian migration to the U.S. went through a restrictive filter of job categories, student visas, or family reunification, resulting in a more educated immigration pool.[6] The Economist recently concluded that, even after 9/11, Muslims have better opportunities in the U.S. than in Europe. In line with its ideological stance, the magazine lays the blame for Europe's "Muslim problem" on the mammaries of the welfare state.[7] The problem, it seems, is the "excessive generosity" of the European state, which "encourages" Muslims to be lazy loafers. Dutch law professor Afshin Ellian posits, Five years ago, my Afghan sister-in-law emigrated to the United States, where she now works, pays taxes and takes part in public life.... In Europe, she would still be undergoing treatment from social workers for her trauma--and she still wouldn't have got a job or won acceptance as a citizen.[8] These formulations fit smoothly with the apocalyptic fears of British journalist Melanie Phillips, who talks about the growing danger from "home-grown Jihadis."[9] More nuanced writers, such as Sukhdev Sandhu, also detect signs of a transcontinental divide in opportunities. Exploring the devastated town of Manningham (scene of 1995 and 2001 race riots with Asian youth fighting police and white gangs), he documents the pervasive sense of dead-end life for Pakistani migrants: Ambitious local kids feel themselves orphaned, doubly anachronistic.... So they flee... In New York last year I found myself in a cab driven by a Bradford Pakistani who had spent the previous four decades working in a factory [in England]. 'Why did I stay so long there?' he cried. 'No opportunity, no future. Pure waste.'[10] Maybe things will be all right for Mahmud, after all? At least he's not in Europe? More of a future on this side? American "dream", land of endless opportunity? Mahmud's would-be profession is one rare time that being a woman could reduce potential friction. In spite of the example of Leila Khaled and other female hijackers, the "terrorist profile" remains the Muslim male. This is not to say women are not checked at airports, but within a different calculation -- an "unknowing" mule or a seduced naif. So a Mahmuda may have a slightly easier time in this profession. But then again, crazy patriarchy and power insecurities will trip up a female pilot in other ways anyway. I'm thinking now of the mysterious Egypt Air crash of a few years ago. Flight 990 suddenly went into a nosedive and then pulled rapidly back up -- so rapidly that the structure ruptured and the plane plunged to destruction. To this date no one knows what happened, but the fact that the pilot was heard saying, "I place myself in the hand of Allah" was taken as evidence of a suicidal impulse. Another way troubles could start for Mahmud. Yes, you may not be a crazy terrorist, but you may just be plain crazy. [End of Excerpt] ########################## Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity Edited by Matt Bernstein Sycamore ########################## Table Of Contents Reaching Too Far: An Introduction, Mattilda, a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore All Mixed Up and No Place to Go: Inhabiting Mixed Consciousness on the Margins, Nico Dacumos Friction Burn: A Nonfiction Admission, Stacey May Fowles Who’s That Wavin’ That Flag?, Jessica Hoffmann Undermining Gender Regulation, Dean Spade Passing Last Summer, Dominika Bednarska Innocent Victims and Brave New Laws: State Protection and the Battered Women’s Movement, Priya Kandaswamy Different Types of Hunger: Finding My Way Through Generations of Okie Migration, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz What I Learned from Being G Minus in the World of Homohop Commerce, Ralowe T. Ampu, DDS No Longer Just American, Stephanie Abraham The End of Genderqueer, Rocko Bulldagger My Kind of Cruising, Liz Rosenfeld Pino’s Father, Tommi Avicolli Mecca Trans-portation, Terre Thaemlitz Melchizedek’s Three Rings, Carole McDonnell Behind These Mascaraed Eyes: Passing Life in Prison, Nikki Lee Diamond Race Haunted, Otherwise, Eric Stanley Why Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot, Naeem Mohaiemen F2Mestizo, Logan Gutierrez-Mock Persephone, Helen Boyd Hat, Tucker Lieberman “And Then You Cut Your Hair:” Genderfucking on the Femme Side of the Spectrum, Amy André and Sandy Chang Surface Tensions, Jen Cross Origins, Kirk Read Lack of Close Friends or Confidants, Jennifer Blowdryer >From Hot Pink to Code Pink: Notes on Passing for Monolingual Folk, Irina Contreras Not Quite Queer, Benjamin Shepard ############################# Stephanie Abraham spends her time making feminist media, teaching elementary school, and dancing salsa. She has just completed her M.A. in Cultural Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, where she specialized in the representation of Arabs in Hollywood film and television, and founded the feminist magazine LOUDmouth. Ralowe T. Ampu, DDS is a white academic living as a black asshole in sunny, progressive San Francisco in a loft space with a view of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. When she’s not working with Gavin Newsom to rid the city of homeless youth or carrying the banner for the pro-life contingent of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and Celebration, she shit glitter on mikes with those Divas on Depakote (http://www.divsoffdeps.com). She’s a lonely agoraphobe, so give her a call at (415) 863-3249. Talk to me. Amy André is a 31-year-old femme bisexual African-American Jew. With a master’s degree in sexuality studies from San Francisco State University, Amy is a sexual health educator, researcher, and published author. In addition, she recently directed her first film, On My Skin, a short documentary about a mixed-race transgender man; see www.BlackAndWhiteAllOver.com for details. For more on Amy, please visit: www.AmyAndre.com. Dominika Bednarska is a doctoral student in English and Disability Studies at UC Berkeley. She has been published in Ghosting Atoms: Poems and Reflections Sixty Years After the Bomb, Medicinal Purposes: A Literary Review, and What I Want From You: Voices of East Bay Lesbian Poets (forthcoming). She is currently working on her first chapbook and planning to eventually perform her work as a one-woman show. Jennifer Blowdryer’s most recent book is Good Advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages (Manic D Press). She has an MFA from Columbia, has taught Satire at Marymount Manhattan, and in 1988 founded Smut Fests, an early forum for sex workers, burlesque, and spoken word. Her plays White Trash Debutante has been performed at Theater Rhino in SF and the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. She is a frequent contributor to New York Press, and is currently compiling interviews with people who are chronically ejected from venues. Jenniferblowdryer.com. Ruth Blandón is a graduate student in English literature at USC whose research interests include transamerican modernisms and color-based passing. She is the daughter of immigrants from Nicaragua. Aura Bogado is a Los Angeles–based print and radio journalist .Her April 2006 article critiquing dominant responses to the current immigrant-rights movement, “On the Myth of Sleeping Giants,” has been widely circulated. She is an immigrant from Argentina. Helen Boyd is the author of My Husband Betty, which was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her blog (en)gender is widely read by people interested in queer, trans, and gender issues. She lives with her partner Betty in Brooklyn, New York, where she is currently working on her next book, She’s Not the Man I Married, which will be published during the winter of 2007. Rocko Bulldagger is a feminist polyamorous sex radical queer living in Brooklyn, NY. She works in education by day and obsesses over politics, philosophy and sexuality by night. “The End of Genderqueer” originally appeared in her zine Bleached Blonde Bimbos. Rocko’s beloved affiliations include Queer As Fuck, The House of Freak, 2000 Queers, The Short Peoples’ Revolution and The Bent Stiletto Social Club. Sandy C. Chang is a queer Chinese American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. A singer/songwriter and dancer, Sandy also performs as a drag king, going by the name of Charleston Chu. Sandy has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco. Sandy currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a pug named Theo. Irina Contreras is an artist, writer and all-around misunderstood scorpio living in the hills of Elysian Park in Los Angeles. Atop one fine hill sits the F-Haus, a cinderblock modernist disaster in which she resides with her six roommates and many lizards. Raised close by in the Pacoima area, she was "abducted" by a young age by the older funny colored hair girls who luckily rescued her from the plague of what could have been in the San Fernando Valley to instead go to shows and work on zines. Currently, she is acting as editor-in-chief of the 2006 year of LOUDmouth Magazine, as well as writing, performing and making shit in other capacities. Jen Cross is a writer, writing group facilitator, and co-collaborator in the dyke erotica collective, Dirty Ink. Her stories will soon have appeared (some as Jen Collins) in a dozen anthologies, including Set In Stone, Back to Basics, Best Fetish Erotica, and Glamour Girls and Naughty Spanking Stories A-Z 2. Often read as a midwestern white queer girl incest survivor, she believes in attempting to communicate even when deep interlocution seems inherently futile. Nico Dacumos is a Special Education teacher, performer, and writer. He develops workshops exploring race, queerness, sex, and love, and workshops comparing political movements. Workshops have been presented for Mount Holyoke and Smith College, Sistersong, Georgians for Choice, Body Positive Atlanta, and the CLPP Program at Hampshire College. He has also performed at venues such as Highways Performance Space, TMI Queer Salon, Valley Arts Festival, and for the Community Organizing Campaign (CYOC). Stalk him at http://nicoelrico.blogspot.com. Nikki Lee Diamond spent 26 years in prison, and is very glad to be out. She would like to thank Alex Lee, Nat Smith and the Trans/Gender Variant in Prison Committee (TIP) of California Prison Focus. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a writer, social activist, historian, and university professor. She grew up in rural Oklahoma, daughter of a landless farmer and half-Indian mother. Most recently, she has published a historical memoir trilogy: Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie (1997; 2006) Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years, 1960-1975 (2002): Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War (2005). Earlier books include: The Great Sioux Nation: An Oral History of the Sioux Nation and its Struggle for Sovereignty; Roots of Resistance: A History of Land Tenure in New Mexico, 1680-1980 and Indians of the Americas: Human Rights and Self-Determination. "Different Types of Hunger..." is adapted from Red Dirt, originally published by Verso and recently republished by the University of Oklahoma. Fritz Flohr is a 22 year old faggot of female to male transsexual experience. He does not identify as “Mentally Ill”, but rather as a Survivor of Psychiatric Abuse. Fritz enjoys pigeons and sauerkraut. Read his anti-psychiatry zine at http://www.pigeonpress.org/againstpsychiatry.html He is currently soliciting contributions from fellow psychiatric survivors for a new zine about psychiatric abuse, and is particularly interested in essays exploring the connections between psychiatric and sexual abuse. Fritz can be reached via email at againstpsychiatry at yahoo.com. Stacey May Fowles is a writer based in Toronto. Her exhibited, text-based artwork has asked the world to apologize and helped women have g-spot orgasms, while her writing has appeared in Fireweed, subTERRAIN, Kiss Machine and Hive. Her first novel, broken plate ideology: a collective recollection, is forthcoming with Tightrope Books in Fall 2007, and she is currently working on a collection of short stories. You can find her at www.staceymayfowles.com. Logan Gutierrez-Mock is a biracial (Chicano/white), middle-class, 26-year-old, queer tranny boy. He has an M.A. in Human Sexuality Studies and is a graduate student in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He sits on the Board of Directors for Interracial Family Pride (www.ipride.org), an agency serving mixed heritage and transracially adopted youth and their families. His interests include: youth empowerment, comprehensive sex education, queer Latinidad, people of color with white skin privilege, and researching mixed heritage/transracially adopted queer and transgender people. He talks to his mother every day, he wants to own a small, fluffy gay dog and he is a fierce advocate of the color pink. He can be reached at logangutierrezmock at yahoo.com. Jessica Hoffmann is an LA-based writer and editor. She covered the May 1, 2006, immigrants-rights actions in Los Angeles for The NewStandard. Her maternal great-great grandparents immigrated from the same Jewish village in Austria to the Bronx. The paternal story is a little more hazy, with German Protestant antecedents arriving in New Orleans sometime in the mid-nineteenth century and no living descendants seeming to know much of anything about the British folks on Dad’s Mom’s side. Vanessa Huang is a first-generation Chinese-American organizer and writer presently working in Oakland, CA, as the communications director at Justice Now, a human-rights organization that works with people in women’s prisons and local communities to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons. She was a student and organizer in Providence, Rhode Island, during the major immigrants-rights actions of spring 2006. Priya Kandaswamy teaches in the Women’s Studies department at Portland State University. Her work examines the intersections of race, gender, class and sexuality in the U.S. welfare state’s efforts to regulate sexuality, control labor, and police the boundaries of citizenship. Tucker Lieberman studied Philosophy at Brown University and Journalism at Boston University. His reflections on masculinity, body, and spirit received Brown University’s Casey Shearer Creative Nonfiction Award in 2002. A memoir about living outdoors appeared in Fresh Yarn in 2005. He lives indoors with his fiancé, Dan, in Rhode Island. Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in print and online. Her works appear in several religious, female, ethnic and speculative fiction anthologies including So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction, Jigsaw Nation: Tales of Secession. She has written a Bible study called The Easy Way to Write and Teach Bible Studies. Her website is: www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina. Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a radical working-class Southern Italian queer writer, performer and activist whose work has been published in many anthologies over the past 35 years. He is author of Between Little Rock and a Hard Place and co-editor of Hey Paesan: Writings by Italian Gays and Lesbians. He works by day helping tenants fight gentrification and eviction in San Franciso. His web page is www.avicollimecca.com. Naeem Mohaiemen is a filmmaker and artist. He co-created Visible Collective (disappearedinamerica.org), a series of art interventions on post-9/11 security panic. Project excerpts have shown as installations or lectures, including the 2006 Whitney Biennial (Wrong Gallery). Other projects include Muslims or Heretics: My Camera Can Lie (UK House of Lords), Young Man Was No Longer Terrorist (Dictionary of War, Munich), and Between Devil & Deep Blue (Asia Society). Kirk Read is the author of How I Learned to Snap. He is an HIV counselor at St. James Infirmary, a free clinic for sex workers in San Francisco. He is working on a novel and a collection of essays. He performs frequently and curates evenings of spoken word and performance, including an open mic in the culturally anorexic Castro called Smack Dab. He’s an avid hiker and backpacker. His website is www.kirkread.com. Liz Rosenfeld is a New York based filmmaker and performance artist who secretly fantasizes about staring in a Broadway revival of Hair. Her work deals with lost histories, feminism, and community in relation to queer identity and politics. She has an MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago, and she is currently an MA candidate in the Performance Studies Program at The Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Liz’s work has been screened nationally and internationally. Mariana Ruiz is a union organizer in New York City. Many of the workers she works with are recent immigrants. She is a daughter of immigrants and a member of the progressive Cuban community. She is particularly interested in the impact that recent immigrants have on labor policy in the United States. Clio Reese Sady is a zine-writing, political poster-making, self defense-teaching, college-educated queer from Portland, Oregon. She owes her analysis of Queering Femininity to tireless processing with everyone in the Portland queer feminist revival and especially to Adele, Jordan, Silke, Tuesday, Valentine, Morgan, Michelle, Miel, and Tessa. Additionally, political conversations with Elos and Usnea have supplied me with endless inspiration. Benjamin Shepard, PhD, is the author of White Nights and Ascending Shadows: An Oral History of the San Francisco AIDS Epidemic (Cassell, 1997) and co-editor of From ACT UP to the WTO: Urban Protest and Community Building in the Era of Globalization (Verso, 2002). He got his start with the Bay Area Reporter. Since then, he has played with ACT UP, SexPanic!, Reclaim the Streets, CIRCA, Absurd Response, Housing Works, and Times UP! Send correspondence to: benshepard at mindspring.com. "Not Quite Queer" is dedicated to Eric Rofes, who first encouraged me to write a draft of this essay in 1998, and later read a draft of this updated version in June 2006, just weeks before he died. Dean Spade is an attorney and activist, and the founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a law collective providing free legal services to low-income trans people and trans people of color. His writing has appeared in the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal, the Chicano-Latino Law Review, the Widener Law Review, GLQ, and several anthologies. Dean is also co-editor of the online journal makezine.org. Eric A. Stanley is a high school dropout turned underground academic in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. S/he is currently writing a dissertation on the politics of queer affect and the relationship between violence, sovereignty and State terror by looking at the HIV/AIDS genocide and lynching of queer/ trans people. Eric also works with the radical queer direct-action collective, Gay Shame. Eric can be reached at queeriot at yahoo.com Terre Thaemlitz is an award winning multi-media producer, writer, public speaker, educator, audio remixer, DJ and owner of the Comatonse Recordings record label. Her work critically combines themes of identity politics - including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race - with an ongoing critique of the socio-economics of commercial media production. He has released 14 solo albums, as well as numerous 12-inch singles and video works. Her writings on music and culture have been published internationally in a number of books, academic journals and magazines. As a speaker and educator on issues of non-essentialist transgenderism and queerness, Thaemlitz has participated in panel discussions throughout Europe and Japan. He currently resides in Kawasaki, Japan. “Trans-portation" was adapted from the electroacoustic radio drama "Trans-Sister Radio," a program about transgendered travel and migration, developed for the German broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk (premiere November 14, 2004), and co-issued on CD by the Portuguese labels Grain of Sound and Base Recordings (December 12, 2005) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Any questions? Get answers on any topic at www.Answers.yahoo.com. Try it now. From veryseriousmail at yahoo.ca Thu Dec 7 01:25:30 2006 From: veryseriousmail at yahoo.ca (Sophie Le-Phat Ho) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 11:55:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] CFP Artivistic07 :: un.occupied spaces Message-ID: <20061206195530.94742.qmail@web52909.mail.yahoo.com> [ please distribute widely / sorry for x-posting ] http://artivistic.omweb.org/modules/wakka/CFP2007 A r t i v i s t i c 2 0 0 7 [ October :: Montreal ] < CALL FOR PARTICIPATION > [ [ [ un.occupied spaces ] ] ] We are infiltrating all levels of society. Artists, activists, academics, architects, bureaucrats, the homeless, anarchists, first nations, immigrants, doctors, geeks, lawyers, teachers, witches, philosophers, clowns. Artivistic does not only provide a platform for political artists and artistic activists, but partakes in the very movements that work for change. In the pursuit of temporary moments of pleasure, we move towards freedom, for resistance is perpetual and oppression, ever-changing. We oppose the progression of monolithic thought and work for the development of new and dynamic forms of knowledge, exchange, representation and practices of everyday life. We aim to stimulate the mind, the imagination, and the body. We seek alternative models, portals unto un.occupied spaces. Artistivic moves beyond the moment, becoming a process of contamination through interpersonal dialogue that exceeds the event. Building on the 2005 generation, Artivistic in 2007 will continue to ask questions that do not leave us thinking we have resolved the issues. We strongly suggest that you answer one, or all, of our questions with a question of your own. Please submit your proposal for participation related (but not restricted) to the following : < what is indigenous ? > The very use of the term “indigenous” presupposes a claim to the existence of rights. The right to land. The right of return. The right to self-determination. The right to a life with dignity. In what context does indigenous mean something and how is it represented today? What is the relationship between identity based on place, the land and/or territories and the right to resources? What is indigenous in the context of globalisation, migrations and mobility? (Perhaps the question is not what is indigenous but how is indigenous?) < what is a natural space ? > The environment is in a pretty bad shape. Yet, does not typical environmentalism often propose “solutions” which alienate the very people that could make a difference by using a false dichotomy (natural/human-made, natural/artificial, nature/culture) and by perpetuating the myth of a pristine nature? Current strategies often make use of fear and guilt to provoke action, yet will we not be helping our environment in a more efficient way once we let go of our arrogance as humans and start living with and in the world rather than of, and alienated from, the world? < what is (there) to occupy ? > The term “occupation” often inspires images of invasion, enclosure and rape. How are spaces and bodies ruled over? What is public space, ultimately? Why do reserves exist? To ask what is occupation is in fact to ask what is left to occupy for occupation is more pervasive than it first appears. At the same time, occupation echoes resistance when it comes to certain forms of appropriation. So how does one occupy appropriation or how can one appropriate occupation? Your abstract or project description should be no longer than 250 words, your bio 75 words (seriously, we will stop reading after that). Please also include 50 words on how you will stimulate audience participation (sorry, NO paper reading). We welcome proposals for : roundtables, workshops, expeditions & walks, interventions, performance, projections, show-and-tells, broadcasts, games, visual arts, media & technology arts, street arts, informal arts, experimental arts, is-it-art arts, etc. and any combination of the above. We also welcome proposals having to do with personal experience, lessons learned, or future projects that could include other participants of Artivistic (this is a good place to start organising and collaborating). Deadline : 15 February 2007 Please send your proposals to : participation.artivistic at gmail.com > The Autonomous Conference Artivistic also includes an open-source component. Participants will be able to sign up on the day-of to hold an ad-hoc session that is not in the official program but is fully part of the event. You can prepare in advance, but you don’t need to submit anything. > Co-presentations Artivistic cannot fulfil its networking and pluralist agenda without collaborating with existing organisations of overlapping mandates. If you are an organisation interested in mutual aid in the context of event planning, please contact us (considerably in advance) with your idea for an event that you would like to organise and present with us : info.artivistic at gmail.com > Volunteers If you want to help us before, during and/or after the event, that would be really nice of you! We need a lot of extra hands with promotion, billeting, set-up, facilitation, cooking, tech, time-keeping, documenting, wrap-up, etc. Please email us at : volunteers.artivistic at gmail.com > Travel funding Unfortunately, we are unable to provide funding for your travel (we are not even getting paid to do this), but will be happy to offer any assistance with your own steps in finding funding. On the other hand, in-house accommodation and food will be provided to all Artivistic participants. > Press If you want to cover Artivistic, please send us your information by email here : press.artivistic at gmail.com Artivistic [ http://artivistic.omweb.org ] is a transdisciplinary three-day gathering on the interPlay between art, information and activism. Artivistic emerges out of the proposition that not only artists should talk about art, academics about theory, and activists about activism. Founded in 2004, the event aims to promote transdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue on activist art beyond critique, to create and facilitate a human network of diverse peoples, and to inspire, proliferate, activate. General inquiries : info.artivistic at gmail.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? En finir avec le spam? Yahoo! Courriel vous offre la meilleure protection possible contre les messages non nollicités http://mail.yahoo.ca Yahoo! Courriel From rana at ranadasgupta.com Thu Dec 7 09:41:25 2006 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:41:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] UN: first ever study of global household assets Message-ID: <4577946D.8080607@ranadasgupta.com> World's richest 1% own 40% of all wealth, UN report discovers http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1964813,00.html - First ever study of global household assets - 50% of world's adults own just 1% of the wealth James Randerson, science correspondent Wednesday December 6, 2006 The Guardian The richest 1% of adults in the world own 40% of the planet's wealth, according to the largest study yet of wealth distribution. The report also finds that those in financial services and the internet sectors predominate among the super rich. Europe, the US and some Asia Pacific nations account for most of the extremely wealthy. More than a third live in the US. Japan accounts for 27% of the total, the UK for 6% and France for 5%. The UK is also third in terms of per capita wealth. UK residents are found to have on average $127,000 (£64,000) each in assets, with Japanese and American citizens having, respectively, $181,000 and $144,000. All data relate to the year 2000. The global study - from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations - is the first to chart wealth distribution in every country as opposed to just income, for which more comprehensive date is available. It included all the most significant components of household wealth, including financial assets and debts, land, buildings and other tangible property. Together these total $125 trillion globally. Anthony Shorrocks, director of the research institute at the United Nations University, in New York, led the study. He affirmed that the existence of a nest egg provided an insurance policy that helped people cope with unforeseen events such as ill health or a lost job. Capital allowed people to drag themselves out of poverty, he added. "In some ways, wealth is more important to people in poorer countries than in richer countries." It was more difficult in developing countries to set up a business because it was harder to borrow start-up funds, he said. His team used detailed data from 38 countries, but had to rely on incomplete information from the rest. The report found the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total of global assets. Half the world's adult population, however, owned barely 1% of global wealth. Near the bottom of the list were India, with per capita wealth of $1,100, and Indonesia with assets per head of $1,400. Many African nations as well as North Korea and the poorer Asia Pacific nations were places where the worst off lived. "These levels of inequality are grotesque," said Duncan Green, head of research at Oxfam. "It is impossible to justify such vast wealth when 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. The good news is that redistribution would only have to be relatively small. Such are the vast assets of the rich that giving up a small part of their wealth could transform the lives of millions." Madsen Pirie, director of the Adam Smith Institute, a free-market thinktank, disagreed that distribution of global wealth was unfair. He said: "The implicit assumption behind this is that there is a supply of wealth in the world and some people have too much of that supply. In fact wealth is a dynamic, it is constantly created. We should not be asking who in the past has created wealth and how can we get it off them." He said that instead the question should be how more and more people could create wealth. Ruth Lea, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, a thinkthank set up by Margaret Thatcher, said that although she supported the goal of making poverty history she did not think increasing aid to poorer countries was the answer. "It's no use throwing lots of aid at countries that are basically dysfunctional," she said. The UN report was issued as the Swiss magazine Bilan released a list of the richest Swiss residents. Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, topped the list with an estimated fortune of $21bn. -- Rana Dasgupta www.ranadasgupta.com From quraishy at sarai.net Thu Dec 7 11:49:11 2006 From: quraishy at sarai.net (Moslem Ali Quraishy) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 07:19:11 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Softwepia Message-ID: <24ad8b05387fd0640f41747e881e3fba@sarai.net> Respected All Please have a look at this site ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREE SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS http://www.softpedia.com/ Waiting for your feedback Salaam Moslem Quraishy From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Thu Dec 7 12:11:46 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 22:41:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Nobody Passes, Darling In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <909292.24235.qm@web50311.mail.yahoo.com> The syntax I used caused some of the text from last post to disappear (how appropos!) so here it is again. ###### I have an essay "Why Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot" in the new anthology "Nobody Passes" (Matt Bernstein Sycamore ed.). Matt/Mattilda is the editor of "That’s Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation"; "Dangerous Families: Queer Writing on Surviving" and the instigator of "Gay Shame: A Virus in the System", a radical queer activist group that "fights the monster of assimilation". Details below, including an excerpt. Naeem Mohaiemen http://disappearedinamerica.org ########################## Amazon: Nobody Passes http://tinyurl.com/ybl3qq Blog: Nobody Passes, Darling http://nobodypasses.blogspot.com ########################## [Excerpt from "Why Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot"] Halfway through the weekend, I realized the unintended, dual track of the speaker selection. The Muslim speakers were all in the "angry activist" ghetto -- the rapper, the comedian, and the filmmaker were talking about racial profiling, war on terror, civil liberties. The rest of the conference seemed to be on a planet called "Spelling Bee Champion Honors Student Most Likely To Succeed." High-profile speakers included a former White House CFO, bankers, TV reporters, and a physical trainer. This half of the conference stayed on message: We're not just gear-heads in Bangalore call centers. We can do anything. "It's the best time for South Asians in America," one speaker said. A triumphant narrative of a dream life. ....... On the other side of the Atlantic, the underclass positioning of Muslim migrants is even more sharply visible. A 2005 survey found British Indians and West Indians outperforming their white working-class peers in education and jobs. This was especially visible for the "1.5" generation, children of the great wave of post-colonial migration. But in the same survey, two other Asian groups came in at the bottom: Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. For Asian Muslims, there are conjoined problems of spiraling unemployment, societal disenfranchisement, and voluntary self-isolation. The ghettoization is particularly marked for women. Unemployed men still find gathering spaces in local clubs, community centers, mosques, and streets. For the women, however, absence in the workplace is conflated with a larger absence from daily life. The Muslim woman in a western city has lately become an all-purpose signifier. For Muslim men, she needs to be "protected" from a sexually curious and omnivorous society. For western liberals (and lately conservatives), the woman in hijab is the ultimate missionary project. Simultaneously mysterious, exotic, sexual, and repulsive -- they are shrouded figures ("ninja" to some Bengali wags) needing a rescue mission to free them from the clutches of tradition and Muslim men. Pop-Sociologists look to religion for an easy formula to explain the stratified Asian underclass. But these equations obscure more than they clarify. In London, Bengali women are rarely seen working in non-family owned stores. Yet, in New York, they are a familiar presence in the service economy. Differing migration patterns are a bigger influence than religion. The bulk of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi migration to England came from rural and working-class communities in underdeveloped areas (Pakistanis from Mirpur and Kashmir, Bangladeshis from Sylhet).[5] By contrast, the Asian migration to the U.S. went through a restrictive filter of job categories, student visas, or family reunification, resulting in a more educated immigration pool.[6] The Economist recently concluded that, even after 9/11, Muslims have better opportunities in the U.S. than in Europe. In line with its ideological stance, the magazine lays the blame for Europe's "Muslim problem" on the mammaries of the welfare state.[7] The problem, it seems, is the "excessive generosity" of the European state, which "encourages" Muslims to be lazy loafers. Dutch law professor Afshin Ellian posits, Five years ago, my Afghan sister-in-law emigrated to the United States, where she now works, pays taxes and takes part in public life.... In Europe, she would still be undergoing treatment from social workers for her trauma--and she still wouldn't have got a job or won acceptance as a citizen.[8] These formulations fit smoothly with the apocalyptic fears of British journalist Melanie Phillips, who talks about the growing danger from "home-grown Jihadis."[9] More nuanced writers, such as Sukhdev Sandhu, also detect signs of a transcontinental divide in opportunities. Exploring the devastated town of Manningham (scene of 1995 and 2001 race riots with Asian youth fighting police and white gangs), he documents the pervasive sense of dead-end life for Pakistani migrants: Ambitious local kids feel themselves orphaned, doubly anachronistic.... So they flee... In New York last year I found myself in a cab driven by a Bradford Pakistani who had spent the previous four decades working in a factory [in England]. 'Why did I stay so long there?' he cried. 'No opportunity, no future. Pure waste.'[10] Maybe things will be all right for Mahmud, after all? At least he's not in Europe? More of a future on this side? American "dream", land of endless opportunity? Mahmud's would-be profession is one rare time that being a woman could reduce potential friction. In spite of the example of Leila Khaled and other female hijackers, the "terrorist profile" remains the Muslim male. This is not to say women are not checked at airports, but within a different calculation -- an "unknowing" mule or a seduced naif. So a Mahmuda may have a slightly easier time in this profession. But then again, crazy patriarchy and power insecurities will trip up a female pilot in other ways anyway. I'm thinking now of the mysterious Egypt Air crash of a few years ago. Flight 990 suddenly went into a nosedive and then pulled rapidly back up -- so rapidly that the structure ruptured and the plane plunged to destruction. To this date no one knows what happened, but the fact that the pilot was heard saying, "I place myself in the hand of Allah" was taken as evidence of a suicidal impulse. Another way troubles could start for Mahmud. Yes, you may not be a crazy terrorist, but you may just be plain crazy. [End of Excerpt] ########################## Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity Edited by Matt Bernstein Sycamore ########################## Table Of Contents Reaching Too Far: An Introduction, Mattilda, a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore All Mixed Up and No Place to Go: Inhabiting Mixed Consciousness on the Margins, Nico Dacumos Friction Burn: A Nonfiction Admission, Stacey May Fowles Who’s That Wavin’ That Flag?, Jessica Hoffmann Undermining Gender Regulation, Dean Spade Passing Last Summer, Dominika Bednarska Innocent Victims and Brave New Laws: State Protection and the Battered Women’s Movement, Priya Kandaswamy Different Types of Hunger: Finding My Way Through Generations of Okie Migration, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz What I Learned from Being G Minus in the World of Homohop Commerce, Ralowe T. Ampu, DDS No Longer Just American, Stephanie Abraham The End of Genderqueer, Rocko Bulldagger My Kind of Cruising, Liz Rosenfeld Pino’s Father, Tommi Avicolli Mecca Trans-portation, Terre Thaemlitz Melchizedek’s Three Rings, Carole McDonnell Behind These Mascaraed Eyes: Passing Life in Prison, Nikki Lee Diamond Race Haunted, Otherwise, Eric Stanley Why Mahmud Can't Be A Pilot, Naeem Mohaiemen F2Mestizo, Logan Gutierrez-Mock Persephone, Helen Boyd Hat, Tucker Lieberman “And Then You Cut Your Hair:” Genderfucking on the Femme Side of the Spectrum, Amy André and Sandy Chang Surface Tensions, Jen Cross Origins, Kirk Read Lack of Close Friends or Confidants, Jennifer Blowdryer >From Hot Pink to Code Pink: Notes on Passing for Monolingual Folk, Irina Contreras Not Quite Queer, Benjamin Shepard ############################# Stephanie Abraham spends her time making feminist media, teaching elementary school, and dancing salsa. She has just completed her M.A. in Cultural Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, where she specialized in the representation of Arabs in Hollywood film and television, and founded the feminist magazine LOUDmouth. Ralowe T. Ampu, DDS is a white academic living as a black asshole in sunny, progressive San Francisco in a loft space with a view of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. When she’s not working with Gavin Newsom to rid the city of homeless youth or carrying the banner for the pro-life contingent of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and Celebration, she shit glitter on mikes with those Divas on Depakote (http://www.divsoffdeps.com). She’s a lonely agoraphobe, so give her a call at (415) 863-3249. Talk to me. Amy André is a 31-year-old femme bisexual African-American Jew. With a master’s degree in sexuality studies from San Francisco State University, Amy is a sexual health educator, researcher, and published author. In addition, she recently directed her first film, On My Skin, a short documentary about a mixed-race transgender man; see www.BlackAndWhiteAllOver.com for details. For more on Amy, please visit: www.AmyAndre.com. Dominika Bednarska is a doctoral student in English and Disability Studies at UC Berkeley. She has been published in Ghosting Atoms: Poems and Reflections Sixty Years After the Bomb, Medicinal Purposes: A Literary Review, and What I Want From You: Voices of East Bay Lesbian Poets (forthcoming). She is currently working on her first chapbook and planning to eventually perform her work as a one-woman show. Jennifer Blowdryer’s most recent book is Good Advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages (Manic D Press). She has an MFA from Columbia, has taught Satire at Marymount Manhattan, and in 1988 founded Smut Fests, an early forum for sex workers, burlesque, and spoken word. Her plays White Trash Debutante has been performed at Theater Rhino in SF and the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. She is a frequent contributor to New York Press, and is currently compiling interviews with people who are chronically ejected from venues. Jenniferblowdryer.com. Ruth Blandón is a graduate student in English literature at USC whose research interests include transamerican modernisms and color-based passing. She is the daughter of immigrants from Nicaragua. Aura Bogado is a Los Angeles–based print and radio journalist .Her April 2006 article critiquing dominant responses to the current immigrant-rights movement, “On the Myth of Sleeping Giants,” has been widely circulated. She is an immigrant from Argentina. Helen Boyd is the author of My Husband Betty, which was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her blog (en)gender is widely read by people interested in queer, trans, and gender issues. She lives with her partner Betty in Brooklyn, New York, where she is currently working on her next book, She’s Not the Man I Married, which will be published during the winter of 2007. Rocko Bulldagger is a feminist polyamorous sex radical queer living in Brooklyn, NY. She works in education by day and obsesses over politics, philosophy and sexuality by night. “The End of Genderqueer” originally appeared in her zine Bleached Blonde Bimbos. Rocko’s beloved affiliations include Queer As Fuck, The House of Freak, 2000 Queers, The Short Peoples’ Revolution and The Bent Stiletto Social Club. Sandy C. Chang is a queer Chinese American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. A singer/songwriter and dancer, Sandy also performs as a drag king, going by the name of Charleston Chu. Sandy has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco. Sandy currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a pug named Theo. Irina Contreras is an artist, writer and all-around misunderstood scorpio living in the hills of Elysian Park in Los Angeles. Atop one fine hill sits the F-Haus, a cinderblock modernist disaster in which she resides with her six roommates and many lizards. Raised close by in the Pacoima area, she was "abducted" by a young age by the older funny colored hair girls who luckily rescued her from the plague of what could have been in the San Fernando Valley to instead go to shows and work on zines. Currently, she is acting as editor-in-chief of the 2006 year of LOUDmouth Magazine, as well as writing, performing and making shit in other capacities. Jen Cross is a writer, writing group facilitator, and co-collaborator in the dyke erotica collective, Dirty Ink. Her stories will soon have appeared (some as Jen Collins) in a dozen anthologies, including Set In Stone, Back to Basics, Best Fetish Erotica, and Glamour Girls and Naughty Spanking Stories A-Z 2. Often read as a midwestern white queer girl incest survivor, she believes in attempting to communicate even when deep interlocution seems inherently futile. Nico Dacumos is a Special Education teacher, performer, and writer. He develops workshops exploring race, queerness, sex, and love, and workshops comparing political movements. Workshops have been presented for Mount Holyoke and Smith College, Sistersong, Georgians for Choice, Body Positive Atlanta, and the CLPP Program at Hampshire College. He has also performed at venues such as Highways Performance Space, TMI Queer Salon, Valley Arts Festival, and for the Community Organizing Campaign (CYOC). Stalk him at http://nicoelrico.blogspot.com. Nikki Lee Diamond spent 26 years in prison, and is very glad to be out. She would like to thank Alex Lee, Nat Smith and the Trans/Gender Variant in Prison Committee (TIP) of California Prison Focus. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a writer, social activist, historian, and university professor. She grew up in rural Oklahoma, daughter of a landless farmer and half-Indian mother. Most recently, she has published a historical memoir trilogy: Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie (1997; 2006) Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years, 1960-1975 (2002): Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War (2005). Earlier books include: The Great Sioux Nation: An Oral History of the Sioux Nation and its Struggle for Sovereignty; Roots of Resistance: A History of Land Tenure in New Mexico, 1680-1980 and Indians of the Americas: Human Rights and Self-Determination. "Different Types of Hunger..." is adapted from Red Dirt, originally published by Verso and recently republished by the University of Oklahoma. Fritz Flohr is a 22 year old faggot of female to male transsexual experience. He does not identify as “Mentally Ill”, but rather as a Survivor of Psychiatric Abuse. Fritz enjoys pigeons and sauerkraut. Read his anti-psychiatry zine at http://www.pigeonpress.org/againstpsychiatry.html He is currently soliciting contributions from fellow psychiatric survivors for a new zine about psychiatric abuse, and is particularly interested in essays exploring the connections between psychiatric and sexual abuse. Fritz can be reached via email at againstpsychiatry at yahoo.com. Stacey May Fowles is a writer based in Toronto. Her exhibited, text-based artwork has asked the world to apologize and helped women have g-spot orgasms, while her writing has appeared in Fireweed, subTERRAIN, Kiss Machine and Hive. Her first novel, broken plate ideology: a collective recollection, is forthcoming with Tightrope Books in Fall 2007, and she is currently working on a collection of short stories. You can find her at www.staceymayfowles.com. Logan Gutierrez-Mock is a biracial (Chicano/white), middle-class, 26-year-old, queer tranny boy. He has an M.A. in Human Sexuality Studies and is a graduate student in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He sits on the Board of Directors for Interracial Family Pride (www.ipride.org), an agency serving mixed heritage and transracially adopted youth and their families. His interests include: youth empowerment, comprehensive sex education, queer Latinidad, people of color with white skin privilege, and researching mixed heritage/transracially adopted queer and transgender people. He talks to his mother every day, he wants to own a small, fluffy gay dog and he is a fierce advocate of the color pink. He can be reached at logangutierrezmock at yahoo.com. Jessica Hoffmann is an LA-based writer and editor. She covered the May 1, 2006, immigrants-rights actions in Los Angeles for The NewStandard. Her maternal great-great grandparents immigrated from the same Jewish village in Austria to the Bronx. The paternal story is a little more hazy, with German Protestant antecedents arriving in New Orleans sometime in the mid-nineteenth century and no living descendants seeming to know much of anything about the British folks on Dad’s Mom’s side. Vanessa Huang is a first-generation Chinese-American organizer and writer presently working in Oakland, CA, as the communications director at Justice Now, a human-rights organization that works with people in women’s prisons and local communities to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons. She was a student and organizer in Providence, Rhode Island, during the major immigrants-rights actions of spring 2006. Priya Kandaswamy teaches in the Women’s Studies department at Portland State University. Her work examines the intersections of race, gender, class and sexuality in the U.S. welfare state’s efforts to regulate sexuality, control labor, and police the boundaries of citizenship. Tucker Lieberman studied Philosophy at Brown University and Journalism at Boston University. His reflections on masculinity, body, and spirit received Brown University’s Casey Shearer Creative Nonfiction Award in 2002. A memoir about living outdoors appeared in Fresh Yarn in 2005. He lives indoors with his fiancé, Dan, in Rhode Island. Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in print and online. Her works appear in several religious, female, ethnic and speculative fiction anthologies including So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction, Jigsaw Nation: Tales of Secession. She has written a Bible study called The Easy Way to Write and Teach Bible Studies. Her website is: www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina. Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a radical working-class Southern Italian queer writer, performer and activist whose work has been published in many anthologies over the past 35 years. He is author of Between Little Rock and a Hard Place and co-editor of Hey Paesan: Writings by Italian Gays and Lesbians. He works by day helping tenants fight gentrification and eviction in San Franciso. His web page is www.avicollimecca.com. Naeem Mohaiemen is a filmmaker and artist. He co-created Visible Collective (disappearedinamerica.org), a series of art interventions on post-9/11 security panic. Project excerpts have shown as installations or lectures, including the 2006 Whitney Biennial (Wrong Gallery). Other projects include Muslims or Heretics: My Camera Can Lie (UK House of Lords), Young Man Was No Longer Terrorist (Dictionary of War, Munich), and Between Devil & Deep Blue (Asia Society). Kirk Read is the author of How I Learned to Snap. He is an HIV counselor at St. James Infirmary, a free clinic for sex workers in San Francisco. He is working on a novel and a collection of essays. He performs frequently and curates evenings of spoken word and performance, including an open mic in the culturally anorexic Castro called Smack Dab. He’s an avid hiker and backpacker. His website is www.kirkread.com. Liz Rosenfeld is a New York based filmmaker and performance artist who secretly fantasizes about staring in a Broadway revival of Hair. Her work deals with lost histories, feminism, and community in relation to queer identity and politics. She has an MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago, and she is currently an MA candidate in the Performance Studies Program at The Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Liz’s work has been screened nationally and internationally. Mariana Ruiz is a union organizer in New York City. Many of the workers she works with are recent immigrants. She is a daughter of immigrants and a member of the progressive Cuban community. She is particularly interested in the impact that recent immigrants have on labor policy in the United States. Clio Reese Sady is a zine-writing, political poster-making, self defense-teaching, college-educated queer from Portland, Oregon. She owes her analysis of Queering Femininity to tireless processing with everyone in the Portland queer feminist revival and especially to Adele, Jordan, Silke, Tuesday, Valentine, Morgan, Michelle, Miel, and Tessa. Additionally, political conversations with Elos and Usnea have supplied me with endless inspiration. Benjamin Shepard, PhD, is the author of White Nights and Ascending Shadows: An Oral History of the San Francisco AIDS Epidemic (Cassell, 1997) and co-editor of From ACT UP to the WTO: Urban Protest and Community Building in the Era of Globalization (Verso, 2002). He got his start with the Bay Area Reporter. Since then, he has played with ACT UP, SexPanic!, Reclaim the Streets, CIRCA, Absurd Response, Housing Works, and Times UP! Send correspondence to: benshepard at mindspring.com. "Not Quite Queer" is dedicated to Eric Rofes, who first encouraged me to write a draft of this essay in 1998, and later read a draft of this updated version in June 2006, just weeks before he died. Dean Spade is an attorney and activist, and the founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a law collective providing free legal services to low-income trans people and trans people of color. His writing has appeared in the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal, the Chicano-Latino Law Review, the Widener Law Review, GLQ, and several anthologies. Dean is also co-editor of the online journal makezine.org. Eric A. Stanley is a high school dropout turned underground academic in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. S/he is currently writing a dissertation on the politics of queer affect and the relationship between violence, sovereignty and State terror by looking at the HIV/AIDS genocide and lynching of queer/ trans people. Eric also works with the radical queer direct-action collective, Gay Shame. Eric can be reached at queeriot at yahoo.com Terre Thaemlitz is an award winning multi-media producer, writer, public speaker, educator, audio remixer, DJ and owner of the Comatonse Recordings record label. Her work critically combines themes of identity politics - including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race - with an ongoing critique of the socio-economics of commercial media production. He has released 14 solo albums, as well as numerous 12-inch singles and video works. Her writings on music and culture have been published internationally in a number of books, academic journals and magazines. As a speaker and educator on issues of non-essentialist transgenderism and queerness, Thaemlitz has participated in panel discussions throughout Europe and Japan. He currently resides in Kawasaki, Japan. “Trans-portation" was adapted from the electroacoustic radio drama "Trans-Sister Radio," a program about transgendered travel and migration, developed for the German broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk (premiere November 14, 2004), and co-issued on CD by the Portuguese labels Grain of Sound and Base Recordings (December 12, 2005) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index From announcer at crit.org.in Thu Dec 7 05:54:35 2006 From: announcer at crit.org.in (Asia Society India Centre) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:24:35 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Fast Futures: Asian Video Art Message-ID: <1165451076.8421.124.camel@localhost> The Asia Society India Centre and the Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts (MPCVA) cordially invite you to a screening of new Asian video works, "Fast Futures: Asian Video Art", followed by a presentation and discussion with curator Johan Pijnappel on FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2006 at 6.30 P.M. The 12 cutting-edge single channel video works are by young artists at the forefront of new media art in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Thailand. 'Video' seems to suit artists who are confronted with the frantic fast-changing societies in the Asian region. Created between 1999 and 2005, these works range in length from one minute to 20 minutes. This evening's presentation will draw from the videos originally selected by Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu, independent curator Yu Yeon Kim and Museum of Modern Art Curator Barbara London for the fourth annual Asian Contemporary Art Week (ACAW) in New York earlier this year. JOHAN PIJNAPPEL, an independent art historian and curator from Holland was part of the opening programme of the Asian Contemporary Art Week. For two decades now his work has focused on art that uses modern technologies such as video, computers and the world wide web. Johan will introduce the selection of video-works for this evening, and speak on the new media art scene in Asia today. DATE: Friday 15 December 2006 TIME: 6:30 P.M. PLACE: Little Theatre National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Dorabji Tata Road Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021 India Admission is free, and open to all on a first-come-first-served basis. Please join us for tea/coffee at the Little Theatre Foyer at 6.00 P.M. ORGANISERS: Asia Society India Centre (ASIC) Established in March 2006 in Mumbai, the Asia Society India Centre is a multi-dimensional resource, a forum for inter-Asian connections and exchange, and a platform for United States - South Asia dialogue. The Centre seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, social issues, education, arts and culture. ASIC, 12th Floor, Arcadia, 195 NCPA Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021, India Phone: +91.22.6610.0888 Fax: +91.22.6610.0887 Email: mumbai at asiasociety.org http://www.asiasociety.org/visit/mumbai Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts (MPCVA) MPCVA, Dorabji Tata Road, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021, India Phone: +91.22.2283.8380 Telefax: +91.22.2283.8381 Email: mail at mohileparikhcenter.org http://www.mohileparikhcenter.org _____ CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust), Mumbai Announcements List http://www.crit.org.in http://lists.crit.org.in/mailman/listinfo/announcer _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Wed Dec 6 18:59:04 2006 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 05:29:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Vidya Shah sings at IIC, Delhi Message-ID: <20061206132904.34140.qmail@web51414.mail.yahoo.com> Friends You are cordially invited to an evening of Hindustani music featuring Sufi and Bhakti poetry by Vidya Shah (a disciple of vocalist Shubha Mudgal and Shanti Hiranand) on Thursday, 7th December, 2006, at 6:30 pm in India International Centre's Auditorium 40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi Vidya Shah will render poetry of Kabir, Amir Khusrau, Nazeer Akbarabadi, Wali Dakkani, Guru Nanak Dev and others vidya267 at yahoo.com --------------------------------- Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061206/1dfb745a/attachment.html From nateshullal at rediffmail.com Thu Dec 7 01:57:16 2006 From: nateshullal at rediffmail.com (Natesh Ullal) Date: 6 Dec 2006 20:27:16 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Pauline is back ! Message-ID: <20061206202716.32677.qmail@webmail58.rediffmail.com>   Dear All, Here is the translation of my Kannada article appeared in Udayavani dated 30-11-2006 Please contact me if you require any more details in this regard. Thank you Shanbhag A Second Birth for Pauline --------------------------- This happened about twenty years ago. Philip Crasta was an attendant in Syndicate Bank. The Philip Crasta – Cicily Crasta couple had six daughters and Pauline was the eldest among them. Pauline, being a very intelligent girl, took up a responsible position in the bitterly impoverished household from a very young age. Pauline dreams of a job in the Gulf ------------------------------------ The paltry income from the father’s job was not enough to make ends meet. Pauline’s education came to a halt with High School. Mustafa, a brat from the neighbourhood was a great inspiration to her. The vagabond that he was, Mustafa had taken up a job in the Gulf and in no time had become the pillar of his household. “Why don’t I go to the Gulf and do the same thing?” Pauline thought: At about the same time, Donald, one of Pauline’s cousins employed in Kuwait, happened to return home. Pauline met him and asked him if he could fix up some job for her in Kuwait. “Sitting here in India, it is impossible to search for a job in Gulf countries. You come to Kuwait on a visitors’ visa. It becomes easy to hunt for a job.” Said Donald Pauline in Kuwait ---------------------- In January 1983, a letter from Pauline said that she arrived safely in Kuwait. In another two months, they got to know that Pauline got a job in a wealthy household in Kuwait. She wrote that she would sent all the money home when she receives her first salary. Fifteen days later, they received another letter saying that Pauline would be accompanying her employer on a tour to Lebanon. Month after month passed. Pauline’s letter never came. Neither did the promised money. The household began to get worried. But they could not get in touch with her because her letters never mentioned her address. In they end, they wrote to Donald, who had taken her to Kuwait. They asked him what happened to Pauline and where she was. But Donald never answered. Even after five years they did not know who to enquire about Pauline’s whereabouts. They did not even know if Pauline was dead or alive. The entire household was in tears. Meanwhile, on one or two occasions, whenever Donald returned home, Pauline’s mother rushed to see him. Let alone talk, she was unable even to meet him. They were unable to guess why Donald behaved this way. They eventually lost all hopes. Pauline’s grief stricken father, Mr Crasta took to bed and eventually succumbed to illness in October 1997 A prisoner in Lebanon ---------------------------- In June 1992, about eight years after Pauline went missing; Pauline’s sister Flora received a letter from Lebanon. Pauline said that she has been confined to the household of one Mr Mohammed Ali Saad in Lebanon. The letter had the address and telephone numbers. Pauline asked Flora to reply in detail. Flora wrote back saying that three of her sisters were already married and that they were all waiting for her. But they received no reply. However, in another couple of letters from Pauline, she had asked why Flora was not replying! Letter to the PM --------------- In 1993 February, Pauline’s mother wrote to the then PM Narasimha Rao and pleaded with him to get Pauline released from Lebanon. This letter must have reached the Indian Embassy in Beirut. On 9th June 93, a letter from the Indian embassy reached Cicily. The letter said that when Pauline was summoned by the Embassy, she said that she was happy and was staying in Lebanon on her own accord. Cicily did not know where to go or who to complain to. Pauline went on writing about two letters a year. And in each letter she went on pleading for her rescue. Each letter from Pauline immersed the family in deep grief and mournful prayers. This went on for years. The family on the brink of suicide ------------------------------------- In a letter to the Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, written in 1998, attaching copies of all previous correspondence from Pauline as well as the Embassy,the family pleaded for Pauline’s immediate release from the Lebanese household. They hinted that the entire family would end their lives if their request was not heeded. For the second time, an urgent letter from the PM’s office was sent to the Embassy in Beirut. In a reply, written by the officer of the Embassy, one Mr Sanjiv Kumar confirmed the findings of the previous letter. They maintained that Pauline was happy and has no intention to return to India. But the last two paragraphs were encouraging. The letter indicated that Pauline would be permitted to visit India in December 1998 during the Christmas season. A hand written note by Pauline was also attached to the main letter, which mentioned that she was happy. Christmas arrived but not Pauline ----------------------------------- Everyone waited for December. All Pauline’s sisters decided to celebrate a special Christmas that year. December came, Christmas also arrived.. but Pauline did not. In a few days, another letter from Pauline struck Cicily dumb. She said that she was forced to write the previous note. She was no longer allowed to go out or talk to anybody. She had become a complete prisoner. Meanwhile, Flora contacted the Consumers’ Forum Basrur through the Friends Circle Padubidri. The forum contacted the Beirut Embassy and asked for all details. The forum also contacted several organizations in the Gulf, run by the South Karnataka people and asked for help. Mobilization of Public opinion on an Unprecedented scale. --------------------------------------------------------- On 21st October 1999, the Udayavani column, Bahujana Hitaya Bahujana Sukhaya featured an article entitled “ A mother waiting for her daughter” The article appealed to readers to write to the Lebanese Embassy in New Delhi asking for Pauline’s release. The same article was reproduced in various English Dailes across USA, England and European countries. In an unprecedented show of solidarity, more than 40,000 people wrote to the Lebanese Embassy seeking Pauline’s release. The “Pauline Protection Committee” founded through the Consumers’ Forum Basrur and the Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi spent more than 36 hours on spreading the message on the Internet and therby mobilizing public opinion through more than 350 various organizations devoted to Womens’ rights and Human rights. These organizations appealed to the President of Lebanon unanimously for Pauline’s release. In the end, the Consumers’ Forum Basrur and the Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi were successful in establishing direct telephonic contact with the President of Lebanon. They agreed to arrange for a meeting of the Indian Embassy officials with Pauline. But the Embassy washed its hands off by saying that Pauline has herself agreed to stay on in Lebanon and that she was happy there. Meanwhile, succumbing to international pressure from human rights agencies, the Lebanese Government was forced to appoint the Prosecutor General of Lebanon for a trial. But this time also Mohammad Ali Saad succeeded in silencing Pauline through terror. Even though allowed to speak in her mother tongue Konkani to the convener of Consumers’ Forum Basrur, she was unable to express her problems in the open. Letters that came subsequently revealed her true condition. The Consumers’ Forum Basrur was unable to help her. The forum was forced to suspend all operations towards Pauline’s release because she suffered bitterly in the hands of her master at the end of each effort. Realising this, the forum was forced to give up all efforts in this direction till she actually escapes from the household. Finally rescued by a Human Rights Group. ---------------------------------------- The war that broke out in Lebanon in June 2006 created an atmosphere of uncertainty. Taking advantage of this atmosphere, Pauline was at last successful in escaping from the tyranny of her captors. A recent letter from Flora had the mobile number of Mr Francis Sebastian, [Flora’s husband] who was working in the Ullal High School. But contacting him required money. In the end, a lady from Mangalore rescued Pauline and gave her asylum in her place. She also worked for two months in a familiar household. For the first time in her life she was paid salary for her work. She was able to contact her sister Flora and her husband Fransis over phone. She was unable to go out because her passport was still with Mohammed Ali Saad. She finally met Ms Dhima, Human rights activist in Lebanon. Listening to her story, Ms Dhima filed a complaint on Mohammed Ali Saad to the police. Pauline could get back her passport. The Human Rights group also arranged air tickets for her return to India. Pauline is now back at home with her mother in Palimar. Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi , now in reguar touch with Ms Dhima, will spare no effort in getting compensation for the twenty three years of work in Mohammed Ali Saad’s household. The Foundation has already handed over all documents related to the case including the report by the Lebanese Court. Ms Dhima has promised all help in filing a case in the Lebanese Labour court. Pauline needs complete rest ------------------------------ In June 2006, when Israeli troops attacked the Hizbolla strongholds in Lebanon, Pauline came to know of a plan to send back all Indians home. However, her hopes of winning freedom did not last long. The embassy officials did not treat her kindly. In the end, ready to face the worst, Pauline escaped from Saad’s household. After two days of wandering, she was given asylum by a lady acquainted to her. After working for 23 years in his household, the captor Mr Mohammed Ali Saad had not paid a penny to Pauline. “ The money you earned in Kuwait has been taken away by your brother” She said weeping, as she quoted the words of her heartless employer. “I knew that someone in India is trying to rescue me. But after each attempt, my employer tortured me in the most inhuman way. Even when the Embassy officials knew my plight, they went on siding Mohammed Ali Saad. Nobody who forsakes ones own home and looks to feed oneself on alien refuse will ever prosper” She said, heaving a sigh of despair. “ In 1983, when I was taken to Kuwait, there were six other girls with me. I still remember Nancy, Lena and Hida. I don’t know where they are or what happened to them” says Pauline. After spending 23 years in Lebanon, Pauline is fluent in Lebanese. She has forgotten Kannada and Tulu. She has not forgotten Konkani, her mother tongue. As you listen to Pauline speak, you can see that her utterances eloquently communicate the suffering that lasted more than 23 years. Flora says that she still cries bitterly in her sleep. Pauline, who is now under medical care, is slowly improving. “ She needs at least six months complete rest” says the doctor who is now treating her, “Don’t remind her of the suffering she went through.” ------------------------------ Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag President, Human Rights Protection Foundation, Comfort Towers, Opposite Kalpana Theator, Udupi-576 101. Phone: - +91 9845935490 humanrights_udupi at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061206/c075d036/attachment.html From mail at shivamvij.com Thu Dec 7 14:13:01 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 14:13:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dalit Rage Message-ID: <9c06aab30612070043h44bf99f3s466901f3d302743@mail.gmail.com> On the recent violence by Dalits in Maharashtra, two excellent articles below. best s o o o o o o o o o o Dalit Rage Condemn the violence by all means but not before you ask what escalated it to such a scale. Once the fire was lit, many joined in for their own grab — Dalit politicians, Naxal fringe groups, sections of the underworld that have a strong Dalit presence, opportunistic political parties. By SMRUTI KOPPIKAR http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20061205&fname=maharashtra&sid=1 Khairlanje, a lost little village on the map of Maharashtra, has turned into a synonym for old atrocities and new indifferences towards Dalits. The story of the horrific rape, sexual assault and murder of Surekha Bhotmange and her teenaged daughter Priyanka, and murder of her two sons is by now known well enough for Sonia Gandhi to have commented on it, for a group of protestors to have raised the issue at the UN headquarters in New York, and for the state government to be on the defensive like never before. Some 65 days after OBC villagers perpetrated the alleged rape-murder under the benevolent eye of the police, who the hapless husband Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange tried to rouse that September 29 afternoon in vain, there's some action. Finally, five policemen were summarily sacked under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution. Make no mistake. It required a replay of Dalit rage to kickstart the process the justice on an incident as horrific as this. For weeks together, FIRs were not registered while the perpetrators roamed free and fearless in Khairlanje. The police connived with the perpetrators to behave as if nothing of consequence had happened with the Special IG (Nagpur) Pankaj Gupta allegedly accepting a bribe to say "there was no rape", doctors who conducted the post-mortem did not check for sexual assault or rape, local MLA Madhukar Kukade (BJP) was present at the post-mortems, it took two months for the chief minister and home minister to visit the scene of crime, the Director General of Police did not visit it. These, please note, are not allegations but findings of a high-level probe conducted by the state government agency YASHADA (Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration). Damning indictments in themselves, they prompted an otherwise self-assured government to summarily sack five policemen. By this time, Dalit rage had singed several towns and cities across Maharashtra, and had taken the nation by surprise. The immediate provocation for the spate of violence end November, almost two months after the horrific rape-murder was, ostensibly, the desecration of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur but within hours of the stone-pelting in Pune and Nashik, it was clear that this was no mere mob violence. It was the out-pouring of rage against a totally ineffective and stunningly insensitive state government over an atrocity that spelt doom for Dalits. It was their response to the strongest message ever that they did not matter, whatsoever. That their trials and tribulations were part of their lot and the state could, or would, do nothing about atrocities that regularly visit them. "Khairlanje incident is the end of imagination for us," remarked a passionate Nagsen Sonare, national president of Mumbai-based Ambedkar Center For Justice and Peace, on his website. In more ways than one, for Dalits in so-called progressive Maharashtra where Dalit advancement was spearheaded by social reformer no less than Jyotiba Phule in the 19th century, Khairlanje marked a new low in caste atrocities. The Prevention of Atrocities Act had turned into a joke, yet again. For weeks since news of the incident spread word-of-mouth, political as well as non-political Dalit activists, scattered and disparate Dalit groups in small towns and cities, discussed little else. They waited for two independent democratic institutions—the executive and the press—to join the battle on their behalf. The executive was, in fact, involved in an elaborate cover-up while the press—even the Marathi press—ignored it as yet another Dalit story from some indescribable village. In the end, they themselves joined the battle—not in some pre-meditated manner led by leaders but outbursts by mobs, some with political leaders at the helm but most without any leadership.No wonder then that the state government did not quite know who to talk to when the prestigious Deccan Queen—symbol of Mumbai-Pune caste and class superiority—was torched. Lack of leadership did not matter; rage had overtaken minor hurdles such as this. That the violence proved a god-send for many Dalit political leaders consigned to the margins is coincidental; it might even resurrect their dying careers for a brief while but they cannot claim to have aroused and inspired the mobs. Violence that left crores of rupees worth government property damaged, mainly buses, railway compartments and offices, cannot be condoned irrespective of the cause behind it. When Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and leader of one of the six factions of the Republican Party of India, remarked that Dalits are militants and will always remain so, it was hardly music to anybody's ears. But to condemn the out-pouring of their rage is not all that easy. Call it a warped sense of vigilante justice, or an extreme temper tantrum to seek attention, or whatever else, the fact is that if it weren't for that rage on full national display, Khairlanje would have remained that forgotten village on the map even for those men who had taken oath to protect its inhabitants. Is it easy to condemn rage that eventually woke up a slumbering government and large, insensitive sections of the media? If Priyanka Bhotmange were Priyadrshini Mattoo or Jessica Lal, the media would have thought it fit to intervene, run campaigns for justice. For Priyanka, whose dream it was to get a government job, there would never be candle-light protests at India Gate. Or even Gateway of India. Citizen activism takes on the textures and shades of citizens, after all. Upper middle class India lit candles, whether at India Gate or on news websites; young Dalit India torched trains. Protests do not come in pre-determined packs that can be picked off shelves in glittering malls across urban India. The Dalit rage is yet another reminder that there's an India that remains on the pavements outside these very malls, an India that stands excluded. As Gaddar, the well-known Naxal poet, once said: "My anger is rough, my words are rough because my life is coarse and so is my language". Condemn the violence by all means but not before you ask what escalated it to such a scale. Once the fire was lit, many joined in for their own grab—Dalit politicians, Naxal fringe groups, sections of the underworld that have a strong Dalit presence, opportunistic political parties that smell blood on the eve of municipal elections. The rage was waiting to explode. Yet, in the thousands of atrocities that happen every year, what made this horrific incident any more horrific or gut-wrenching than the others? After all, this is the land where Dalits are made to eat human excreta. Khairlanje should have been no different, but it was. The rape-murders here were, indeed, the end of imagination of Dalits. This was not just another rape or murder of a family. The Bhotmanges, condemned to live the life determined by the Varna system, attempted to rise above it—and nearly did it. The 40-something Surekha tilled her land till it yielded something, anything. She put her children through school and college. Her daughter was reading Political Science and Sociology—no mean feat for a Dalit girl in a back-of-the-beyond village. OBC men had, on several occasions, tried to usurp the land and drive the family out of the village but Surekha—more than her husband Bhaiyyalal—had stood up to the men and their machinations.The family had received death threats in the last few months, Surekha's attempts to enlist police on her side did not yield any results. That was not a surprise but she had persisted in doing her duty in approaching the police. Like scores of Dalits in Maharashtra who heeded and still heed Dr Ambedkar's call, the Bhotmanges believed the education alone would put them on the path of liberation. It's no social accident or social engineering that the Dalit literacy rate in the state at 72 per cent is twice the Indian average for the community. But an educated Dalit is perceived as a threat by caste Hindus, even the OBCs. Surekha's valiant efforts to ward of the land sharks—again OBC men of the village—and her battle to educate her children made her a symbol of resistance beyond imagination for them. Bhaiyylal is believed to have told sympathisers that he had even contemplated giving up the land and going away from Khairlanje but his wife never encouraged such thoughts. Eventually, he had to cower in fear behind a building and helplessly watch as she and his daughter were paraded naked, raped and murdered by a mob that then hunted down his two sons as well. Yes, it was a mob too; they too perpetrated violence of the most horrific kind. Was there as strong a condemnation of that violence as we saw of the Dalit rage? In the rape-murder of the Bhotmange family, Dalits, mainly the youth, saw the death of a dream given by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Education and hard work did not bring liberation; these virtues only brought harassment, public humiliation, rape and death. The Bhotmanges, indeed Khairlanje, remains an unforgettable symbol of the defeat. Dalits see a bleak, unchanging, non-inclusive future, their political strength and voice lies tattered in several factions, their poetry and literature has lost its sting, even their imagination seems to end. Now, if only some of us upper middle class urbanites would tutor them the art of gentle protests, teach them to light candles. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o A new dawn for Dalit movement Mandar Phanse, CNN-IBN http://www.ibnlive.com/news/a-new-dawn-for-the-dalit-movement/27764-3.html Mumbai: The recent violence in Maharashtra may have taken the state government by surprise, but students leading the Dalit movement say given the increasing militant nature of the Dalit movement post the Ambedkar era, the attacks were just a matter of time. Khandala: Bhai Vivek Chavan leads a double life, juggling between being a practicing advocate in the Pune courts and the leader of a militant Dalit outfit - Bharatiya Dalit Cobra. Currently he is on a walkathon from Pune to Mumbai - on a mission to convince Dalit and Muslim youth to act now. "Please, stand up, awake and fight. This is the basic principle that I walk on. It was the principle of Babasaheb Ambedkar from whom we get our energy. This is his advice," says Chavan. Question him a little more and you find Castro and Mao sharing space with Ambedkar in his rhetoric. They form the better part of his sales pitch aimed at a ragtag band of youth who flock around him at every stop to listen to his fiery speeches. "The courage shown by the kin of the deceased in Amravati and Osmanabad has boosted our strength. Take for example Dinesh Wankhede who died for our cause. His mother said that she will not cremate him. That is courage," says he to his followers. Thane: Bhai Vivek is not alone in his endeavour. Other young leaders like Sunil Khambe have succeeded in splitting the RPI and now lead their own factions with a reputation for aggression. Ulhasnagar: Experts say that the torching of the Deccan Queen was not entirely the fallout of mob frenzy. They allege it was masterminded by a set of educated leaders who motivated the masses to implement it. Mumbai: Says Editor, Workshop, Sunil Kadam, "The people who participated in pelting stones on roads were all Phds and MPhils.Hundreds of educated youth guided them in torching the Deccan Queen. The Deccan Queen was intentionally targeted because they knew it would attract the attention they wanted. That's why they let the Koyna Express go." Osmanabad: Dalit leaders add credence to Kadam's views when they claim credit for the recent incidents which rocked Maharashtra. Says President of the Bhimshakti Shivshakti Sena, Yashpal Saravade, "After Khairlanji, the Dalits have their own identity. The Dalit youth today don't identify with Dalit parties. They have militancy in their blood." Osmanabad/Mumbai: But while leaders like Yashpal refer to the militant heritage of the Dalit Panthers, the group which modelled itself on America's Black Panther movement has been out of action for almost 20 years now. The Dalit Panthers became a cult as they would hand out quick justice to those who committed atrocities against Dalits. Over the years, the old guard of the movement has now mellowed and those heady militant days are now just nostalgia. Says the founder of the Dalit Panther movement Padmashri Namdeo Dhasal, "At that time, we believed in tit for tat. There had been a rape in Pune's Bhoogaon village. About 2,000 of us went and attacked the village. We asked the villagers to produce the boy guilty for the rape or we would burn the village." Now Namdeo Dhasal is an internationally acclaimed poet with a Padamsree and a Sahithya Akademi Award, but scratch a little and some of the old sparks are still visible. "The mission was always to abolish the caste system. You cannot achieve it by organising a single caste," says Dhasal. The Dalit Panther movement started in a Dalit students' hostel, but died out when the Dalit movement went mainstream with the Republican Party of India. But with Republican leaders unable to transfer vote shares into Parliament seats, Dalit militancy has reared its head again and this resurgence promises to give the Maharashtra government much food for thought in the days to come. From shuddha at sarai.net Thu Dec 7 16:39:15 2006 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:39:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Launch of '13 December - A Reader' Message-ID: <4577F65B.3020100@sarai.net> Dear All, (apologies for cross posting to those on both Reader List and Commons Law List) It is shortly going to be five years to December 13, 2001 and a fair bit of discussion on this list (over the past five years) has focused on the strange events of December 13 and its aftermath. Here is an invitation to the launch of a Reader on 13 December (The Strange Case of the Attack on the Indian Parliament) being published by Penguin Books,India. It includes texts that were first posted on this list. For those who are in Delhi - it is at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, the 12th of December at Gulmohar Hall at the India Habitat Centre. (See Details below). Please come for the event and circulate this notice widely. regards, Shuddhabrata Sengupta ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TO MARK THE PUBLICATION OF - '13 DECEMBER - A READER: THE STRANGE CASE OF THE ATTACK ON THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT' (WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ARUNDHATI ROY) ESSAYS BY : A G NOORANI - ARUNDHATI ROY - ASHOK MITRA - INDIRA JAISING - JAWED NAQVI - MIHIR SRIVASTAVA - NANDITA HAKSAR NIRMALANGSHU MUKHERJI - PRAFUL BIDWAI - SHUDDHABRATA SENGUPTA SONIA JABBAR - SYED BISMILLAH GEELANI - TRIPTA WAHI PENGUIN BOOKS INDIA INVITES YOU TO A DISCUSSION BASED ON THE BOOK ON TUESDAY 12 DECEMBER 2006 AT 4 PM AT GULMOHAR HALL, INDIA HABITAT CENTRE LODHI ROAD NEW DELHI (ENTRY FROM GATE NO 3) THE MAIN SPEAKERS WILL BE - ARUNDHATI ROY INDIRA JAISING NANDITA HAKSAR NIRMALANGSHU MUKHERJI PRAFUL BIDWAI SHUDDHABRATA SENGUPTA RSVP SAVITA ALAGH 2649 4401 EXTN 411 ...................................................................................................................................................... Most people, or let's say many people, when they encounter real facts and a logical argument, do begin to ask the right questions. Public unease continues to grow. A group of citizens have come together as a committee (chaired by Nirmala Deshpande) to publicly demand a Parliamentary enquiry into the episode. There is an on-line petition demanding the same thing. Thousands of people have signed on. Every day new articles appear in the papers, on the net. At least half a dozen web sites are following the developments closely. They raise questions about how Mohammad Afzal, who never had proper legal representation, can be sentenced to death, without having had an opportunity to be heard, without a fair trial. They raise questions about fabricated evidence, procedural flaws and the outright lies that were presented in court and published in newspapers. They show how there is hardly a single piece of evidence that stands up to scrutiny. And then, there are even more disturbing questions that have been raised, which range beyond the fate of Mohammad Afzal. - Here are thirteen questions for 13 December: Question 1: For months before the Attack on Parliament, both the government and the police had been saying that Parliament could be attacked. On 12 December 2001, at an informal meeting the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee warned of an imminent attack on Parliament. On 13 December Parliament was attacked. Given that there was an 'improved security drill', how did a car bomb packed with explosives enter the parliament complex? Question 2: Within days of the Attack, the Special Cell of Delhi Police said it was a meticulously planned joint operation of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba. They said the attack was led by a man called 'Mohammad' who was also involved in the hijacking of IC-814 in 1998. (This was later refuted by the CBI.) None of this was ever proved in court. What evidence did the Special Cell have for its claim? Question 3: The entire attack was recorded live on Close Circuit TV (CCTV). Congress Party MP Kapil Sibal demanded in Parliament that the CCTV recording be shown to the members. He was supported by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Najma Heptullah, who said that there was confusion about the details of the event. The chief whip of the Congress Party, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, said, 'I counted six men getting out of the car. But only five were killed. The close circuit TV camera recording clearly showed the six men.' If Dasmunshi was right, why did the police say that there were only five people in the car? Who was the the sixth person? Where is he now? Why was the CCTV recording not produced by the prosecution as evidence in the trial? Why was it not released for public viewing? Question 4: Why was Parliament adjourned after some of these questions were raised? Question 5: A few days after 13 December, the government declared that it had 'incontrovertible evidence' of Pakistan's involvement in the attack, and announced a massive mobilization of almost half a million soldiers to the Indo-Pakistan border. The subcontinent was pushed to the brink of nuclear war. Apart from Afzal's 'confession', extracted under torture (and later set aside by the Supreme Court), what was the 'incontrovertible evidence'? Question 6: Is it true that the military mobilization to the Pakistan border had begun long before the 13 December Attack? Question 7: How much did this military standoff, which lasted for nearly a year, cost? How many soldiers died in the process? How many soldiers and civilians died because of mishandled landmines, and how many peasants lost their homes and land because trucks and tanks were rolling through their villages, and landmines were being planted in their fields? Question 8: In a criminal investigation it is vital for the police to show how the evidence gathered at the scene of the attack led them to the accused. How did the police reach Mohammad Afzal? The Special Cell says S.A.R. Geelani led them to Afzal. But the message to look out for Afzal was actually flashed to the Srinagar Police before Geelani was arrested. So how did the Special Cell connect Afzal to the 13 December Attack? Question 9: The courts acknowledge that Afzal was a surrendered militant who was in regular contact with the security forces, particularly the Special Task Force (STF) of Jammu & Kashmir Police. How do the security forces explain the fact that a person under their surveillance was able to conspire in a major militant operation? Question 10: Is it plausible that organizations like Lashkar-e-Toiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed would rely on a person who had been in and out of STF torture chambers, and was under constant police surveillance, as the principal link for a major operation? Question 11: In his statement before the court, Afzal says that he was introduced to 'Mohammed' and instructed to take him to Delhi by a man called Tariq, who was working with the STF. Tariq was named in the police charge sheet. Who is Tariq and where is he now? Question 12: On 19 December 2001, six days after the Parliament Attack, Police Commissioner, Thane (Maharashtra), S.M. Shangari identified one of the attackers killed in the Parliament Attack as Mohammad Yasin Fateh Mohammed (alias Abu Hamza) of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, who had been arrested in Mumbai in November 2000, and immediately handed over to the J&K Police. He gave detailed descriptions to support his statement. If Police Commissioner Shangari was right, how did Mohammad Yasin, a man in the custody of the J&K Police, end up participating in the Parliament Attack? If he was wrong, where is Mohammad Yasin now? Question 13: Why is it that we still don't know who the five dead 'terrorists' killed in the Parliament Attack are? - From the introduction to '13 December - A Reader: The Strange Case of the Attack on the Indian Parliament' _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From tapio at translocal.net Thu Dec 7 16:16:10 2006 From: tapio at translocal.net (Tapio) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:16:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] CFP: Finnish Lahikuva journal special issue on Indian cinema and media culture (3/2007) Message-ID: <3268A212A3AE21DEDDA6649B@tmg4.local> CFP: Lähikuva journal special issue on Indian cinema and media culture (3/2007) Lähikuva (“close-up”, Lahikuva without umlauts) is a quarterly referee journal on audiovisual culture published by the Finnish society for cinema studies. We are currently planning a special issue on Indian cinema and media culture (due out September 2007) with articles addressing the socio-cultural aspects of Indian cinema and popular culture; stardom; cultures of production and consumption and alternative media. Also shorter reviews and reports are most welcome. The background of the special issue lies in the recent “Bollywood boom” in the UK that had minor effects also in Finland. Lagaan was playing in select theatres and films as different as Fire and Kabhi khushi kabhie gham were shown on national television, along with some older titles. At the same time, there is little literacy in terms of the history of Indian cinema (beyond Satyajit Ray), its key players, social or cultural meanings or diversity (beyond Bollywood), let alone the broader field of Indian media culture except for the visibility of Indian IT industry in mainstream media. Lähikuva is an academic non-profit journal that unfortunately cannot afford author fees. However, there is the thrill of publishing one’s text in Finnish. Please send all queries and 100-200 word abstracts to susanna.paasonen at campus.jyu.fi by January 15. The suggested length of articles is 5000 words while reports, columns are reviews are between 1000 and 3000 words. -- Tapio Mäkelä Researcher and media artist +358 40 722 3949 tapio at translocal.net AIM: tapmak at mac.com Skype: tapio.makela _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From aarti at sarai.net Fri Dec 8 09:37:47 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 09:37:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Film @ Sarai: Q2P: Directed by Paromita Vohra Message-ID: <115D55B7-47D2-4FCE-826F-CA6B4525ACFB@sarai.net> ======================Films @ Sarai: December 2006====================== Q2P Directed by Paromita Vohra, India / 2006 / English & Hindi / 54 mins 5:00 P.M., Friday, 8 December 2006 in collaboration with Breakthrough as preview screening of the forthcoming Third Tricontinental film festival. Seminar Room Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines About the Film Festival Initiated in Latin America in 2002, South Africa in 2003 and India in 2004, the TRI Continental Film Festival has become an annual platform for narrative, documentary, feature and short length films with themes that explore human rights issues in Latin America, Africa and Asia - the three continents that form part of the global South. In India, the TRI Continental Film Festival is organized by Breakthrough, and will be held for the third time in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore in January and February 2007. 2007 will see newer themes explored in the festival such as the alienation faced by call centre workers, the politics of toilets, the war on terror, children in conflict situations, gay and transgender people gazing and being gazed at through the lens, the lives of revolutionary women, the predicament of undocumented immigrants and the rights of indigenous communities. During the course of the year, films from the TRI Continental Film Festival are also screened at universities, cultural institutions, among practitioners of human rights, citizens’ groups as well as general audiences across India. Q2P Preview Screening Who is dreaming up the global city? Q2P peers through the dream of a futuristic Mumbai and finds not enough public toilets. As this film observes who has to queue to pee, we begin to understand the imagination of gender that underlies the city’s shape and the constantly shifting boundaries between public and private space. We meet whimsical people with novel ideas of social change, which thrive with mixed results. We learn of small acts of survival that people in the city’s bottom half cobble together. In the Museum of Toilets, at a night concert, in a New Delhi ‘international toilet’, in a Bombay slum, we hear the silence that surrounds toilets and sense how similar it is to the silence that surrounds inequality. The toilet becomes a riddle with many answers and some of those answers are questions – about gender, about class, about caste and most of all about space, urban development and the twisted myth of the global metropolis. About the Director Paromita Vohra is a filmmaker and writer. She has written, produced and directed Q2P (2006), Where’s Sandra (2005), Work In Progress (2004), Cosmopolis: Two Tales Of A City (2004), Unlimited Girls (2001), A Woman’s Place (1998), Annapurna: Goddess of Food (1995) and A Short Film About Timei (1999). Her work as a writer includes feature films Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) and Khamoshi: The Musical; the documentaries Skin Deep, A Few Things I Know About Her and If You Pause: In A Museum of Craft as well as a series of short fiction films on communal conflict. She writes frequently for print on urban culture. She has worked extensively in media education with young people with a focus on radio and teaches scriptwriting as visiting faculty at the Sophia Polytechnic. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061208/0230ef44/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From preetunair at yahoo.com Fri Dec 8 09:59:33 2006 From: preetunair at yahoo.com (PREETU NAIR) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 20:29:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] paedophilic activities in Goa Message-ID: <183622.82517.qm@web31706.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Sir/ Madam, I am a journalist working in Goa. On Thursday, I read a disturbing report in the "Times of India", an Indian newspaper, in which Terre des hommes (TDH) child protection officer Ms. Christa Dammermann and Ingrid Mendonca, deputy regional co-ordinator TDH spoke to the media about "paedophilic activities in Goa" at Pune.(see article Now; paedophilia slur on Indian tourists ,Offenders In Goa Not Always Foreigners: NGO Times News Network appeared in Times of India, Mumbai edition, November 30,2006,page 6 (Nation Page) There are some very disturbing points she has made to the reporters that needs immediate attention, especially since you work in Goa. The remarks show how ignorant the speaker is about the scenario in Goa. Let me make it clear at the onset that my intention is not to criticize but only to help you in your task. After all, you are a funding agency which supports NGO's working on the issues of children and I am a journalist who has been reporting on these issues since last three years. I must admit that I was shocked to read such irresponsible quotes from individuals representing a reputed and committed organisation like yours. What exactly is my objection? Christa Dammermann, who is in Pune to attend the national project partners meeting at YMCA on chil¬dren's rights said, "I taken aback to discover that Indian tourists were indulging in child sexual abuse in Goa. We also found that 60% of the cases involved perpetrators who were not even 18 years of age. She said that this dis¬pelled the notion that only foreigners who came to Goa indulged in such acts." MY OBJECTION: Is there any data to prove this claim? How can Ms. Dammerman reach such a conclusion? In three years of my career as journalist I have not come across a case wherein a domestic tourist has been arrested for paedophilia. On the contrary three foreigners were arrested for pedophilic activities by the police but were later acquitted by the Children's Court in Goa for lack of evidence. It is also impertinent to note here that majority of cases in the Children's Court are about child sexual abuse and 80 percent of them is not committed by foreigners or domestic tourists, but by migrant labourers or known persons. No one denies the fact that paedophilia is a problem in Goa, but the extent and magnitude of the problem is not really known because there is no study in this regard. It is sad that without any concrete data to support the claim, TDH's representative is making such irrational statements. Ingrid Mendonca, deputy regional co-ordinator TDH said that during their re¬cent visit to Goa they found that Indian tourists were seeking minors when they visited red light areas there. MY OBJECTION: There can't be anything more ridiculous than this. Anyone who has visited and studied Goa knows that Baina, the unofficial red light area of Goa, was demolished in 2004. I don't deny the fact that prostitution still exists in Baina, but to say that Indian tourists seek minors when they visit the area is too much of an exaggeration. Besides, if that was the case then why was not a single customer seeking minors not arrested. NGO ARZ is working in the area and must admit that they have done a commendable job in the area. However, they are also completely ignorant of such a trend. Hope you take the letter in the right spirit also attaching the copy of the article for your reference. Thank you Yours truly, Preetu Nair ------------------------------------------------ Now; paedophilia slur on Indian tourists Offenders In Goa Not Always Foreigners: NGO Times News Network (Article appeared in Times of India, Mumbai edition, November 30,2006,page 6 (Nation Page) Pune: Indian tourists have been found to be involved in child sexual abuse in Goa, ac¬cording to the non-govern¬mental organisation Terre des hommes (TDH), Germany. Addressing a news meet here, Christa Dammermann, child protection officer of TDH, said she was taken aback to discover that Indian tourists were indulging in child sexual abuse in Goa. Christa who is Pune to attend the national project partners meeting at YMCA on chil¬dren's rights said, "We also found that 60% of the cases involved perpetrators who were not even 18 years of age." She said that this dis¬pelled the notion that only foreigners who came to Goa indulged in such acts Christa called for co-or¬dinated efforts by airlines, tour operators, media, gov¬ernment, non-governmental organisations and police to stop abuse of children at tourist spots. Ingrid Mendonca, deputy regional co-ordinator TDH, told TOI that during their re¬cent visit to Goa they found that Indian tourists were seeking minors when they visited the red light areas there. “The same holds true at other places of tourist interests where Indians visiting red light areas sought minors. We view that as child sexual abuse”, she added. Meanwhile, lamenting inadequacies of laws to prevent child abuse in the country, participants in the national project partners meeting called for sensitisation of government staff, police and all sections of society to ef¬fectively tackle child sexual abuse which has emerged as a major concern. Addressing a news con¬ference on the first day of the meeting, Bharti Ali, HAQ Centre for Child Rights, said that child sexual abuse was no longer confined to underprivileged sections of society and that it happened even within families and also to boys. "Our law only recognises rape and there is no law at present to protect boys from sexual abuse", she said, adding that sexual abuse in institutions was on the rise Santosh Shinde, Cam¬paign Against Child Traf¬ficking, Maharashtra, said the police needed to be trained in interrogation of victims of child sexual abuse. "Most times the cases are dis¬posed of on technical grounds and not many offi¬cials were aware as to which sections needed to be men¬tioned in the first informa¬tion report", he remarked. He said that there was no safe place for children – be it home, institution or any other place meant to provide protection and care. INNOCENCE LOST 42% of Indian children will experience some form of sexual abuse before they reach the age of 18 There are 4 lakh child prostitutes in India and every year lakh children are lured into it 44,000 children are reported missing annually and only 22% get traced Over 100 m are forced into various forms of labour. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preetu Nair Senior Reporter Gomantak Times St.Inez, Panaji Goa-403 001 India http://goadourada.blogspot.com/ "Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though is not in chains is a slave, not a free man. One whose mind is not free though he may not be in prison is a prisoner and not a free man. One whose mind is not free though alive is better than dead. Freedom of mind is the truth of one's existence." Babasaheb Ambedkar ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________________________ Have a burning question? Go to www.Answers.yahoo.com and get answers from real people who know. From hight at 34n118w.net Fri Dec 8 13:27:38 2006 From: hight at 34n118w.net (hight at 34n118w.net) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 23:57:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Digital Wild edition of Leonardo now online Message-ID: <1834.76.173.61.107.1165564658.squirrel@webmail.34n118w.net> Wild Nature and the Digital Life Leonardo online leoalmanac.org Guest editors Dene Grigar and Sue Thomas have culled a neat collection of explosive essays from the hefty haul of initial contributions received and emerged with a two-themed anthology on Wild Nature and the Digital Life, which delves into the collaboration of art and nature. In Dene Grigar’s editorial, she explains that the first volume explores a range of issues relating to the “Emergent and Generative” in nature, the digital, and art. The second wave of another four papers, edited by Sue Thomas, features essays that are “Performative and Locative” in scope. Peter Hasdell starts the proverbial ball rolling, with his contribution, Artificial Ecologies: Second Nature Emergent Phenomena in Constructed Digital – Natural Assemblages. Participants are asked to develop projects that learnt, borrowed, or stole from natural systems. In essence, constructing part natural/part artificial assemblages functioning as small-scale quasi-ecosystems. This unearths a “garden of strange delights” where a “level of unpredictability of outcome arose, freed from constraints of orthodoxy." The next essay to flutter into sight is Tara Rodgers’ Butterfly Effects: Synthesis, Emergence, and Transduction. This paper describes a music project in progress that attempts to model monarch butterfly behaviors and migration patterns in sound, using the programming language SuperCollider. The goal is to achieve a dynamically generated composition that combines core elements into a complex system, describing patterns of emergence and survival." Musical composition figures also as the subject of Dave Burraston and Andrew Martin’s Digital Behaviours and Generative Music, an essay about reaction-diffusion systems, cellular automata, and computer music. Jennifer Willet’s Bodies in Biotechnology: Embodied Models for Understanding Biotechnology in Contemporary Art serves as an introduction to an evolving series of texts exploring the intersection between computation, biology, art, science, and education. Its focus is on “moving away from computational models and reuniting notions of embodiment with the language and representation of biotechnology with a social and political mandate towards informed discourse and public consent." In the second-themed collection, Adam Gussow’s Kudzu Running: Pastoral Pleasures, Wilderness Terrors, and Wrist-Mounted Technologies in Small-Town Mississippi, transports us to the moment when, during what was intended to be a 30-minute jog on Thacker Mountain, the author realizes he is lost. He is then “forced to reassess both the implicit romanticism of my own understandings of nature and the real utility of the competing metric technologies I’ve grown addicted to." On a larger scale, in Mapping the Disaster: Global Prediction and the Medium of ‘Digital Earth’, Kathryn Yusoff reports on “the mapping of disaster in digital prediction models. Concentrating on the imminent disaster of climate change, the author asks how global digital models can be expanded to incorporate a wild nature and wild data." Jeremy Hight then looks into how the “developments in locative technology, location-based narrative and the expansion of the research and work allow new hybrid narrative forms, but more importantly, allows the entire landscape to be “read” as a digitally enhanced physical landscape” in his offering Views from Above: Locative Narrative and the Landscape. The closing essay is Brett Stalbaum’s Paradigmatic Performance: Data Flow and Practice in the Wild, which incorporates many of the areas discussed in this volume. He uses real-time data modelling to explore ‘the intersection of data and the real via artist made technologies, with the goal of generating new configurations of exploration at time when it may be assumed that the Earth is already thoroughly explored." The essays are packaged with a small but powerful gallery of two works, also curated by Dene Grigar and Sue Thomas. Karl Grimes’ Future Nature “continues [his] analytical engagement with the themes of retrieval and digital resurrection, bringing to light and into the light the specimens and objects previously hidden in dispersed archives and research databanks. The project takes as its base the unique animal embryos and foetuses housed in the Hubrecht Collection of Comparative Embryology, Utrecht, Netherlands, the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany, and the Tornblad Institute in Lund, Sweden". Elisa Giaccardi’s efforts with Hal Eden and Gianluca Sabena breathed life to The Affective Geography of Silence — Towards a Museum of Natural Quiet, a project which resulted in a “virtual museum in which natural quiet is transformed into a living and affective geography that changes over time according to participants' perceptions and interpretations of their natural environment”. From machleetank at gmail.com Thu Dec 7 18:35:07 2006 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 18:35:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Blank Noise this Weekend Message-ID: Hello! This is an action packed weekend for Blank Noise ! Blank Noise Action Heroeswill intervene on the streets of Delhi, Mumbaiand Bangalore ! Dec 8th. New Delhi. Time. 6 pm - Saket. PVR. Blank Noise + Jagori Dec. 10th. Mumbai. Time. 5 pm- Bandra Terminus Dec 10th Bangalore. Time 5 pm- Brigade Road To participate email us at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com with the subject titled ' Action Hero, with your city name'. The plan of action remains the surprise! We will update the blog soon after the event. We look forward to your participation. Thankyou! Jasmeen for the Blank Noise Team -- BLANK NOISE PROJECT Ph:+ 91 98734 85284 (In Delhi) + 91 98868 40612 (Bangalore) www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061207/523ed77c/attachment.html From vivek at sarai.net Fri Dec 8 17:35:36 2006 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:35:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Almost Island Readings Message-ID: <4579550F.7020805@sarai.net> Almost Island is a web journal of literature, due to appear soon. It is edited by Sharmistha Mohanty, with Vivek Narayanan as contributing editor. To celebrate its founding, Almost Island would like to invite you to a series of readings, Dec-15-17, at 6:30 p.m., at the India International Centre Annexe lawns, New Delhi. Dec. 15: Allen Sealy Mariko Nagai K. Satchidanandan Dec. 16: Sharmistha Mohanty Vivek Narayanan Vinod Kumar Shukla Dec. 17: Arvind Krishna Mehrotra George Szirtes Followed by A performance of Dastangoi, a lost art of storytelling, by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is the author of four collections of poetry, The Transfiguring Places, Distance in Statute Miles, Middle Earth, and Nine Enclosures. He has also translated poetry from the Pali, The Absent Traveller: Prakrit Love Poetry. He has edited The Oxford India Anthology of Modern Indian Poets, and the Oxford History of Indian Writing in English. He teaches English literature at the University of Allahabad. Sharmistha Mohanty is the author of two novels, Book One, and the recently published New Life. Her translations of Tagore's fiction, Broken Nest and Other Stories are due out early next year. She has also worked in the serious cinema and has scripted the feature film Nazar directed by Mani Kaul. She lives in Bombay. Vivek Narayanan has lived in Africa, the United States and India. His poems and stories have appeared in journals and anthologies in India, South Africa, and the United States. His book of poems, Universal Beach, has been recently released. He lives in New Delhi and is part of Sarai. Mariko Nagai is a poet and a fiction writer. She lives in Tokyo, but has spent much of her life in Europe and the USA. She has twice won the Pushcart Prize, for poetry and fiction. Her book of poems Histories of Bodies is due out soon in the United States. She is also a translator from the Japanese into English. She heads the Creative Writing Program at the Tokyo campus of Temple University. Allen Sealy is the author of The Trotter-Nama, Everest Hotel, The Brainfever Bird, and Red. He has received the Commonwealth Prize and the Sahitya Akademi Award. He lives in Dehra Dun. Vinod Kumar Shukla is a poet and fiction writer. He has over twenty books of poetry and prose. Shukla is the recipient of the Shikar Samman and the Sahitya Akademi Award. His work has been translated into several languages He lives in Raipur. K. Satchidandan has nineteen collections of poetry, including Five Suns, When the Poet Writes, Imperfections and other New Poems. He has also translated the work of major Euorpean and Latin American writers into his native Malayalam. He has received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award four times. He has recently retired as head of the Sahitya Akademi. He lives in New Delhi. George Szirtes was born in Hungary but has spent most of his life in England. He has over fifteen collections of poetry, the more recent of which are An English Apocapypse, and Reel, for which he was awarded the T.S. Eliot Prize. Szirtes is also a translator from the Hungarian into English, and has translated the work of such major writers as Laszlo Krasznahorkai, and Sandor Marai. He lives in Norwich. -- From preetunair at yahoo.com Fri Dec 8 20:21:35 2006 From: preetunair at yahoo.com (PREETU NAIR) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 06:51:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] GRAB IT, BUILD IT, FORGET IT Message-ID: <872522.69475.qm@web31715.mail.mud.yahoo.com> GRAB IT, BUILD IT, FORGET IT By Peter de Souza and Preetu Nair If you want a piece of Goa's coastline, follow three simple steps. Just grab the land, build on it (after making pretences that your structures are temporary) and then forget it. With a little help from a lawyer who can twist facts and a politician who is either a fellow grabber or can keep the law away., This week GT-Weekender looks at some of the prominent cases and the even more prominent violators VIP's control coastal loot Carryon Regardless Zone (CRZ) ANJUNA/CALANGUTE/GOA/ INDIA: A Moon Dance restaurant springs up in Anjuna, a shack turns into a concrete disco on the beach, Zilla Parishad members and panchayat heads themselves are accused in several violation cases and their illegal buildings are there for all to see and lo and behold, cottages supposedly owned by a priest are in complete violation of CRZ rules. The party goes on. This despite the fact that in a vital judgement, a division bench comprising Hon. Justice Ferdin Rebello and V C Daga of Bombay High Court, Panjim Bench in 2000 made it mandatory for Talatis and Mamlatdars to file weekly reports, based on patrolling and fortnightly inspection by deputy collectors, before the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) for necessary action through the district collectors. "The Talati and Mamlatdar submitted their reports to the deputy collector and before CZMA. Based on that demolition notices were sent to various authorities. The trouble is that almost everyone has political connections. Often, the politicians interfere and stop the demolition", said Norma Alvares, environmentalist. Though the entire belt within 200 mts of the High Tide Line (HTL) in CRZ-III areas, such as Candolim- Calangute is the No Development Zone (NDZ), where no new 'construction/development' is permissible, human settlements and starred resorts have sprung up. Environmentalists allege that the stipulation that no human activity should be allowed within 500 meters of the seashore is being violated with impunity by both the locals and people in power. Check this: • Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes has allegedly constructed a restaurant, Sheetal within 200 mts of HTL in Candolim. NPS Varde, member secretary, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has send a show cause notice to him on December 6, 2001. "This was a planned by the BJP government to malign my name, but I came out of it unaffected," said Agnelo. Further, within 200 to 500 mt of the HTL there are staff quarters, seven cottages, a restaurant and his other resort Silver Sands. While complainant Betty Alvares says that the cases against Agnelo are with the Director of Panchayats and the Deputy Director of Panchayats, Agnelo claims that the cases have already been dismissed. "Some person with vested interest had filed a PIL against Silver Sands in the High Court, but has decided to withdraw it once I showed the relevant documents. I am not aware of the status of the case at the moment," added Agnelo. It is reliably learnt that while Tony Fernandes and Jerry Coutinho applied for withdrawal of the case, one Augustino Proenca had intervened in the matter and asked to be made party to the case, which is scheduled for hearing next week. • If an MLA has allegedly violated, how can the ex- Zilla Parishad member be left behind. Anthony Menezes has constructed a massive discotheque Club Utopia right on the Calangute beach. Infact, he had given an affidavit to the Calangute panchayat on October 10, 2003, saying, "I will erect my temporary shack made of wooden poles and palm which will be purely temporary". He had requested for a shack license in his private property bearing no. 139/3 Gaura vaddo, Calangute. But today, the palm leaves and the wooden poles have given way to cement and concrete. The panchayat on January 4, 2006 wrote to Menezes that CZMA has initiated action against illegal construction of the discotheque (139/3), which is within CRZ and rejected his application for renewal of license. • Club Tito's is every tourist's must visit destination in Goa. But very few know that Tito's outhouse in Calangute has violated the CRZ norms. David, the owner of the outhouse is embroiled in a controversy for extending the outhouse to the CRZ. The panchayat has charged that Tito's outhouse was not shown in the survey plan and asked him to show if he had any evidence to prove that the house existed prior to 1991. However, as David failed to produce any evidence, the Panchayat in March 26, 1999 ordered the house to be demolished. Failing which they said that the case would be referred to the Goa State Demolition Squad. But the outhouse still stands intact. • Among the others allegedly involved in violating the CRZ is Fr Pres, Sauntavada, Calangute. He has allegedly constructed a guesthouse Sea View Cottages within 200 mts of the High Tide Line under survey no. 242 (1) P. • On July 27, 2000, the Calangute panchayat named 300 people who own houses as well as bars and restaurants that violate CRZ norms, to the GCZMA. A list of illegal hotels, cold drink houses, jewellery stores etc have also been submitted. • In Anjuna among the major violators of the legal CRZ are Sarpanch Savio Almeida and ex-ZP member Milton Marquis, British nationals Paul Vincent Smith and Angela Luis Smith, present ZP member Krishna Moraskar, who's constructed a two floor guest house, ex-Panch Vasu Govekar, who's constructed Moon Dance Hotel in the CRZ area and rented it to one Dailo. Besides, Gurudas Moraskar, has constructed a hotel Sea Queen, which is he conveniently converted from a building for residential use to commercial use despite a High Court order directing him not to do so. Meanwhile, despite CRZ demolition notices to Savio and Milton, they survive without any hindrance. No wonder, the Panchayat has not issued a single notice to CRZ violators. VOX POP NORMA ALVARES, ENVIORNMENTALIST "It is total apathy on the part of the government which turns a blind eye to such violations and encourages these illegalities, which definitely amounts to contempt of court". DAYANAND MANDREKAR (Siolim MLA) "I have taken down a detailed report from the Talati and attached copies of Gomantak Times (our earlier reports on CRZ violations) and submitted them to the Chief Secretary, Vigilance department and Director of Panchayats". DR WILFRED de SOUZA (Deputy Chief Minister, Environment Minister) "I don't answer any questions on Saturday as we work very hard during the week and I need my rest. Please don't trouble me on Saturday and Sunday. Will your questions die by Monday? (Bang )." AGNELO FERNANDES, CALANGUTE MLA "There is a case pending on CRZ norms in the High Court yet people are still going ahead with the constructions but they can't be blamed for it because how long are they going to wait for the Court order. How can you expect the poor people to wait for so long?" ANTANASIO MONSERRATE, MINISTER TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING "All these constructions have come up with the blessings of the local Panchayats. Town and Country Planning is not the monitoring authority. We are helpless in the matter. If someone complains about the illegal constructions we revert the matter back to the panchayat and we have no locus standee to act on it. So the ball is in the Panchayat's court". ANTHONY J D'SOUZA, OSD/ENVIORNMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT "The Talatis submits reports to the deputy collector regarding illegal constructions in the CRZ. The deputy collector then sends the report to the Science, Technology and Environment department where the orders are issued. Additional collector requisitions nodal officers to issue orders. Implementation powers should be given to the collector to demolish them directly. Lost of time is wasted in moving the files from one office to another. This needs to be streamlined". "The house that David built: Additional collector of North Goa has ordered for demolition of the residence of David, a British national, who has indulged in the most outrageous infringement of the High Tide Line (HTL) and constructed a house on the slope of a hill that hugs the sands at the South Anjuna beach. The demolition will happen at 10 am on January 24, 2006. It must be recalled that GT in its report on January 11(New definition of CRZ: Carryon Regardless Zone) reported that in order to make room for the illegitimate dwelling on the steep gradient, a part of the hillock has been scooped out and two structures are already topped with concrete slabs. Though David came under the GCZMA scanner and Chief Secretary ordered for demolition, it was stopped by a Personal Assistant of a prominent minister from the area, who arrived at the spot and ensured that the demolition squad returned from the site without doing its job. After GT published the story, the file which was actually in the possession of the minister was "released" from his clutches and sent to the North Goa collector for necessary action. (Article published in GT Weekender) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preetu Nair Senior Reporter Gomantak Times St.Inez, Panaji Goa-403 001 India http://goadourada.blogspot.com/ "Freedom of mind is the real freedom" Babasaheb Ambedkar ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Sat Dec 9 03:27:16 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 13:57:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Suicide Bombers: Now You See Them, Now You Don't In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <992238.7122.qm@web50304.mail.yahoo.com> The mystery around Dec 13 attack on Indian Parliament (ref: Shuddha's post about the new Dec 13 Reader) reminds me of the equally mysterious, shady and funky series of "suicide bombings" in Bangladesh in 2005. One moment, there were simultaneous bomb blasts all over the country (w/ a level of coordination difficult w/o involvement of gov't or renegade faction w/i gov't), men were carrying out suicide attacks on bicyles (Bangla style, no cars for us), FBI, Interpol, MI 6 were sending "special teams" to investigate, Indian think tanks were invoking themselves as like an "Israel surrounded by hostile Muslim neighbors", books with titles like "Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan" were getting rushed to print. And then, just like that, it was over, khattham. Militant cell busted, all leaders arrestes (always with 6 camera crews on the spot to catch best shows), glowing Time magazine cover (showing the Home Minister––named "Luggage Babar" for his past corrupt exploits–– as some sort of Sherlockized James Bond), hosannas, and now full steam ahead to elections. And of course total coincidence that arrests cast the paramilitary goon squad of RAB (Rapid Action Batallion) as heros, even though Human Rights Watch is about to release a damning report on the practice of hundreds of extra-judicial killings by RAB under the "crossfire" label. All the puppet masters caught. Right? errm.... Not much has been written about the strange twists and turns in the Suicide Bombing cases (we need a reader on this subject), but for now here is some background context (not all directly relevant, but exploring tangents as well): Rush To Execute (blog entry) http://drishtipat.org/blog/2006/11/29/rush-to-execute/ Josh Tones & Suicide Bombers (old essay written right after the bombings) http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/29/d512291502106.htm Bangladesh Shining (a dissection of the TIME magazine story) http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/04/07/d60407020331.htm There You Go Again http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2005/12/29/there-you-go-again/ Who Holds The Key? http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/wp-content/so_what_do_we_do.pdf Chronology http://stopviolence.drishtipat.org/violencehistory.htm ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Cheap talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. http://voice.yahoo.com From aman.am at gmail.com Sat Dec 9 12:15:22 2006 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 12:15:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dalit Rage In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30612070043h44bf99f3s466901f3d302743@mail.gmail.com> References: <9c06aab30612070043h44bf99f3s466901f3d302743@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <995a19920612082245i1a6ca0fdv7844c8a56d11373d@mail.gmail.com> Heres another one: The fear of democracy of the privileged P. Sainath The 50th death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is a time to remember that the larger society ignores or distorts the Dalits' struggle for their rights at its own risk. "GET READY for a siege." Follow this guide "to escape possible chaos." Even Dalits are joining the "EXODUS." And "You thought Tuesday was bad? It will only get worse today." There is a "nightmare" — a threat of violence. And the poor "Mumbai police will have to bear the brunt of it all." These were just a few of the headlines (some of them front page, first lead) in the press and on television channels. And they were about the lakhs of Dalits gathered in Mumbai to observe the 50th death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. That is, on December 6. There were, of course, fine exceptions. But mostly, media coverage of the run-up to the event was much like the coverage of post-Khairlanji protests in Maharashtra. This is not the first observance of the great man's anniversary. Lakhs visit the "chaitya bhoomi" in Mumbai each year on this day. As they did this year, too, with high discipline. And without that hell foreseen in the headlines. (After the huge build-up, the issue has faded from the news. Alas, no mayhem.) Then why the hysteria? Is it because the state saw some violence after the Khairlanji murders? Now, every issue stamped `Dalit' gets slotted into: "Will there be disorder and chaos?" And so a decades-old event was cast in a frame never imposed on other annual festivals. Some of those, like the Ganesh utsav, go on for 10 days in the city. And have a massive impact on traffic. But they do not get covered this way. And the more dismal display has come from the English media. The Marathi press — at least on December 6 — did better. There were essays on the man, his legacy, his relevance. In the English media — with rare exceptions — the Ambedkar anniversary rated at best as a traffic problem. At worst, as a potential nightmare. There was not even a pretence of interest in the person whose 50th death anniversary it was. A giant who was no `Dalit leader' but a national one with a global message. Dr. Ambedkar was not just the prime architect of the Constitution. This was a man who resigned from the Nehru Cabinet — he was the nation's first Law Minister — on issues linked to women's rights. He stepped down when the Cabinet dragged its feet on the Hindu Code Bill that would have advanced the rights of millions of women. Few in the media asked why so many — sometimes up to a million — human beings come to observe his death anniversary each year. Is there one other leader across the world who draws that number 50 years after his death? To an event that speaks to the hearts of people? To a function not owned or organised by any political party or forum? There was no effort to look at why it is the poor and the dispossessed who come here. No mention that this was a man with a Ph.D from Columbia University who returned to lead what is today the greatest battle for human dignity on planet earth. There was little journalistic curiosity over what brings 85-year-olds with just two rotis in their hands all the way from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to Dadar in Mumbai. People for whom the journey means both hardship and hunger. Musicians and poets who perform through the day for nothing. Hard-up authors who print books and pamphlets at their own cost for their fellows. And yet make the trip — driven by their hearts and drawn by the hope of a noble vision as yet unfulfilled. A casteless world. Which other national leader commands this respect 50 years after his death? Let alone when alive? Why are there more statues of Ambedkar in India's villages than those of any other leader the country has ever seen? His statues are not government installed — unlike those of many others. The poor put them up at their own expense. Whether in Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra or Orissa, see whose portraits can be found in the humblest of huts. It's worth trying to understand why. The 50th anniversary is being held in the context of Dalit unrest in Maharashtra. But it is being used to take Khairlanji out of its larger context. Crimes against Dalits in Maharashtra have risen steadily through the 1980s and 1990s. There were 604 cases of rape of Dalit women recorded in 1981. That number was 885 by 1990. And rose to 1,034 by 2000. That's based on very biased official data. The real figures would be much higher. And things have gotten worse since then. There is one exception. Crimes under the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act do show a big dip in the 1990s. But only because the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party Government arbitrarily dropped thousands of these cases at one go. As the Dalit voice in organised politics has declined, the number of caste attacks on Dalits in Maharashtra has increased. Earlier, their political strength was their best shield. For decades, they had repelled the worst excesses of landlord cruelty. Untouchability did not vanish. But they did fight it stoutly. This culture of resistance rested on strong political movements. So, though less than 11 per cent of Maharashtra's population, Dalits had begun to stand tall. But the Republican Party of India splintered and many of its leaders were co-opted by mainline parties. The Dalit Panthers, once a key source of inspiration and strength, went almost extinct. The results of the decline showed up soon. There was no struggle against the dropping of those thousands of cases under the PoA Act. Electoral opportunism saw the RPI factions crumble further. The 2004 polls saw them put up their worst show ever. You can see it in battles over water as in Jalna, labour boycotts in Raigad or wage battles elsewhere. Attacks on Dalits have risen across Maharashtra. Just a year ago, more than 20 Dalit houses were torched in Belkhed village in Akola district. Akola was once a centre of Dalit political strength. In the 1960s, RPI candidates used to get 40 per cent of the votes in the Lok Sabha seat here. RPI fractured Hindutva's rise from the late 1980s saw the RPI fracture further. Too many leaders were swallowed by the Congress and later the Nationalist Congress Party. Dalit unity lost ground. These setbacks were to reflect in every sphere. The shrinking of public sector and government jobs in the reform years hit Dalits badly. Even existing jobs lie vacant. A Times of India report reckons that more than 1.3 lakh government posts in reserved categories in Maharashtra have not been filled up for years. Meanwhile, the protests after Khairlanji have had an ugly companion. The growing display of caste prejudice in the media. The claims were sick. Khairlanji had nothing to do with caste. The woman who was raped and murdered was of loose morals. There were no "upper castes" in the village. (That last had to come from an English-language journalist unaware that the dominant caste in a given village might not be an "upper caste" at all.) Dalits were holding the state "to ransom." Wicked `politicians' were behind what was going on. The protests were Naxal-driven. As always, there were brilliant exceptions. (Even on television.) They did not, though, define the main trend. The same media treat anti-quota activists as heroes. (No matter how much damage they inflict or how close to racist their rhetoric gets.) Interviews in the run-up to the Ambedkar anniversary were mostly with people whining that Shivaji Park had been turned into a toilet. Or who spoke only about pollution and traffic jams. It would be startling if political groups did not enter the protests. Corporation and panchayat elections are due in February. And parties won't ignore that. But they did not set off this process, even if they sought to engage with or exploit it. Ordinary Dalits were on the streets long before Dalit party leaders were. Khairlanji was the fuse. An already deep disquiet, the bomb. Many of these protests have taken place outside traditional political frameworks. On the streets were salaried employees and full time workers. People with no firm party links. There were salespersons and teachers, hawkers, and vendors. Landless and jobless. They, not `vested interests,' were the key to what happened. The police still plug the `Naxal' angle. The Maoists just do not have the power to stage State-wide actions. Any political group, though, would be thrilled to get the credit for having launched protests it did not even foresee. It builds its appeal. Note that many Dalit party leaders joined the protests days after they began. Attempts to brand the protests as `Naxal-led' are poor escapism. This is a State witnessing the highest numbers of farm suicides in the country. The conditions of the poor are dismal. For thousands, their anger and despair has turned inwards, within and upon themselves. Hence the suicides. With Dalits, that anger is being expressed. Outwards and openly. The larger society ignores or distorts their struggle for their rights at its own risk. In the end it is more than a fear of violence that annoys elite society and its media. It is a fear of the mass. A worry that these people no longer know their place. A fear of the assertion of their rights and the loss of our privileges. A fear, in short, of democracy. From sudeep.ks at gmail.com Sat Dec 9 21:00:49 2006 From: sudeep.ks at gmail.com (Sudeep K S) Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 21:00:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Police (sad) Story, Media, Delhi Police joke Message-ID: Nivedita Menon writes in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061205/asp/opinion/story_6974692.asp "According to reports in a leading daily (August 26 and September 4), Hoshangabad police charged a couple with the murder of their twelve-year-old son. Their son was indeed missing, and a body was found near the railway track. The parents confessed to the crime, and spent over 45 days in jail.." "Six months after his murder, young Gabbar turned up in town.." "As for the parents who confessed to the murder of a son who was alive — "They broke three of my fingers with sticks," said the father.." "It further involved, in the face of incontrovertible evidence of the boy being alive, reiterations in court of the police version under oath, urging the court instead to prosecute Gabbar's family for producing another person as Gabbar.." * * * "what happens to police procedures and media reportage when nothing less than national security is at stake?" She asks, "Would this blatant miscarriage of justice have been reported in the media if the parents had been arrested on a different sort of charge? If Gabbar himself had not turned up alive? What if Gabbar had been killed in an encounter?" "Last month, a woman widely known in academic and activist circles in Delhi — Sunita of Daanish Books, a small alternative publisher — was detained by the police in Chandrapur, where she had set up a book exhibition.." "..when concerned phone calls and faxes started pouring in, the police claimed that they had "clinching evidence" (a phrase they repeatedly used) that this Sunita was a Maoist activist from Jehanabad, where her Maoist husband had been killed some years ago in an encounter. During her interrogation, the official insisted that she admit she was from Jehanabad, despite her assertion that she is from Bhagalpur, and that she had never lost a husband to police bullets. A policeman told her confidently at one point, Hum saabit kar ke rahenge ki aap vohi Sunita hain, Jehanabad ki.." "..during interrogation Sunita was asked, "Why do you sell books on Bhagat Singh? The British have left, haven't they?" "Reports in local Hindi newspapers published the police version without any further comment or corroboration.." * * * Reminds me of an old joke on Delhi Police: The lion goes missing from the New York zoo. The New York Police goes all out on lion hunt, but fails. Then they call friend Tony Blair, and the British Police team arrives. They use all their resources, searches the Siberian islands and the African jungles, but can't trace the lion. Then someone suggests that NY take the help of the Delhi Police. Delhi Police comes to the zoo to check the site, and gets hold of the bear in the next cell. Bear is taken to the lock-up. Policeman comes and tells the bear, "bol tu sher hai" (tell you're lion). Bear is clueless. The next day, the bear confesses he's lion. [There are different versions of this story.] From rana at ranadasgupta.com Sun Dec 10 12:38:07 2006 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 12:38:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The length and breadth of the country Message-ID: <457BB257.9000206@ranadasgupta.com> Condoms "too big" for Indian men http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6161691.stm A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men. The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms. It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India. The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country had their penises measured precisely, down to the last millimetre. The scientists even checked their sample was representative of India as a whole in terms of class, religion and urban and rural dwellers. The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture. Doctor Chander Puri, a specialist in reproductive health at the Indian Council of Medical Research, told the BBC there was an obvious need in India for custom-made condoms, as most of those currently on sale are too large. The issue is serious because about one in every five times a condom is used in India it either falls off or tears, an extremely high failure rate. And the country already has the highest number of HIV infections of any nation. 'Not a problem' Mr Puri said that since Indians would be embarrassed about going to a chemist to ask for smaller condoms there should be vending machines dispensing different sizes all around the country. "Smaller condoms are on sale in India. But there is a lack of awareness that different sizes are available. There is anxiety talking about the issue. And normally one feels shy to go to a chemist's shop and ask for a smaller size condom." But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally according to Sunil Mehra, the former editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim. "It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said. "From our population, the evidence is Indians are doing pretty well. "With apologies to the poet Alexander Pope, you could say, for inches and centimetres, let fools contend." -- Rana Dasgupta www.ranadasgupta.com From t.ray at vsnl.com Sun Dec 10 21:01:32 2006 From: t.ray at vsnl.com (Tapas Ray) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 10:31:32 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] The length and breadth of the country References: <457BB257.9000206@ranadasgupta.com> Message-ID: <002e01c71c70$4714d150$0502a8c0@Tapas> Rana, Thank you for sharing this. I think some important issues need to be addressed here. The first, of course, is: what is globalization doing, or has or has not done, to the Indian size? Do you know if there has been any longitudinal (no pun intended) study on this? > Mr Puri said that since Indians would be embarrassed about going to a > chemist to ask for smaller condoms there > should be vending machines > dispensing different sizes all around the country. A practical issue would be, whether to tag the different sizes as S, M, L, XL and XXL or in inches/centimeters. This, again, has to do with globalization - the "standard" way of marking sizes, etc. The letter system seems to be coming into increasing use even in India, thanks to globalization. > But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally > according to Sunil Mehra, the former > editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim. > "It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said. That is reassuring indeed! Tapas Ray From nr03 at fsu.edu Sun Dec 10 21:03:25 2006 From: nr03 at fsu.edu (Nicholas Ruiz III) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 10:33:25 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Kritikos: V.4 2007 CFP In-Reply-To: <002e01c71c70$4714d150$0502a8c0@Tapas> Message-ID: <20061210153324.ULUM1450.aa07.charter.net@LAPTOP> Kritikos: V.4 2007 CFP Kritikos: journal of postmodern cultural sound, text and image ISSN: 1552-5112 http://intertheory.org/kritikos Kritikos publishes work in cultural theory and criticism. http://intertheory.org/Submissions--Kritikos.htm From sastry at cs.wisc.edu Sun Dec 10 23:49:29 2006 From: sastry at cs.wisc.edu (Subramanya Sastry) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:49:29 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Regional lang. newspapers on NewsRack Message-ID: Hi everyone, At this time, NewsRack is able to track news from 5 different Hindi sources: -> Dainik Jagran -> BBC-Hindi -> Navbharat Times -> Dainik Bhaskar -> Hindustan Dainik and one Kannada source -> Kannada Prabha This list is expected to grow in the future. So, at this time, on NewsRack, it is possible to track only Hindi news from the above sources, or it is possible to track English and Hindi (and Kannada) news at the same time for the same topic. As an example, check the coverage for the ongoing Singur land acquisition saga ... http://floss.sarai.net/newsrack/Browse.do?owner=subbu&issue=Land+Issues&catID=3 It would be good as an example to set up something entirely in Hindi .. so feel free to email me if any of you has a need for tracking a particular topic using the above Hindi sources. Subbu. PS: I am hoping to set up a simpler profile set up process within a month's time that is easier to use when compared to the nasty XML currently ... From office at humanrightskerala.com Mon Dec 11 03:40:00 2006 From: office at humanrightskerala.com (CHRO, Kerala) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:10:00 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] GROW Vasu to receive Mukundan C Menon Award Message-ID: <717089b39e92ddc3896aaec0bfc06e46@www.humanrightskerala.com> The following page from the "CHRO : Confederation of Human Rights Organizations, Kerala, India" website has been sent to you by CHRO, Kerala ( office at humanrightskerala.com ). You can access it at the following url: http://www.humanrightskerala.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5106&Itemid=4 From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Tue Dec 12 07:40:27 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:10:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Here Comes The Khaki Again In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <162458.12531.qm@web50304.mail.yahoo.com> Back to the future in Bangladesh, as the Army is back on the streets of Dhaka again. Below are some related posts. [Disclaimer: My op-ed has an uncharacteristic family history note (I usually find the "son of omuk-thomuk" syndrome deeply problematic). But this was inserted as a political tactic to try to reach the undecided portion of the Bangladesh army who may still resist the urge to launch a full military coup.] Here Comes The Khaki Again? http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/12/12/d612121501117.htm 4 Advisers Resign In Protest http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/12/12/d6121201011.htm 1975, 1982 or 2006? http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/12/11/1975-1982-or-2006/ 24+ Military Coups http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_coups_in_Bangladesh ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Have a burning question? Go to www.Answers.yahoo.com and get answers from real people who know. From vrjogi at hotmail.com Tue Dec 12 16:15:42 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:45:42 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: <613748.43688.qm@web26408.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Message-ID: yes dear i agree with you fully. hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or throw hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled muslims to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, hindus very happily became refugees in their own mother land. hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull down thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in secular muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. >From: jumana bandukwala >To: Vedavati Jogi >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) > >Hi all, > > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of India and >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the nation, >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless issue >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in Gujarat, >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still continue...and >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus dead >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they were >set on fire live and the like. > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed guardian of >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of superstitions, >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading India >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... > > general public should oppose these demons. > > > >Vedavati Jogi wrote: > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope >every >body remembers 1947) > > > >From: gowhar fazli > >To: Vedavati Jogi > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) > > > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim > >fundamentalism are similar except that the > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. > > > > > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular > > > credentials, you have to curse > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat > > > carnage(?) again & again....and > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as > > > far as muslim terrorism > > > is concerned! > > > > > > > > > >From: Britta Ohm > > > >To: Clifton > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal > > > harmony > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the > > > chief Minister > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > > > > > > > >Dear Clifton, > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so > > > aware): do you mean > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does > > > "the role of this > > > >present coalition government in supporting and > > > promoting these > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the > > > UPA? And if so, are > > > >there examples for this support you could name? > > > > > > > >Britta > > > > > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > > > > > > > > > Friends, > > > > > > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s > > > attempts to destroy the > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the > > > Baba-Datta shrine on > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is > > > an example of > > > > > syncretic > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of > > > different faiths. You are > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition > > > government in > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh > > > Parivar to conduct the > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this > > > have been arrested today > > > > > (02.12.2006). > > > > > > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a > > > coalition of over 200 > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish > > > communal harmony and to > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in > > > Karnataka, has through the > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical > > > claims about the shrine, > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully > > > countered their agenda > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > > > > > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine > > > on Bababudangiri with > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition > > > in the name of > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order > > > to achieve their narrow > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted > > > disputes, putting up > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial > > > arguments. Further, > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent > > > religious practices like > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta > > > Jayanthi celebrations every > > > > > year in the months of October, November and > > > December. It is obvious > > > > > that > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith > > > but to target the > > > > > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent > > > on destroying the > > > >‘Hindu’ > > > > > tradition and culture. > > > > > > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata > > > Dal (S) to form a > > > > > coalition government which has thus far > > > supported the communal agenda > > > > > of > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was > > > visible in the first week > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and > > > around Mangalore and in > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh > > > Parivar activists in > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear > > > violation of the High > > > >Court's > > > > > order. > > > > > > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda > > > Vedike were arrested and > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and > > > exposing the communal designs > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the > > > present governement is > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal > > > credentials of the so – > > > >called > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned > > > that this particular > > > > > action > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing > > > peaceful protests bodes > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > > > > > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email > > > the Chief Minister and > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate > > > release of the arrested > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in > > > most certain terms your > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this > > > government especially > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent > > > Mangalore riots. / > > > > > > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / > > > > > > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > > > > > Ph: 22251798 > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in > > > / > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > 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. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > >----------------- > > > >Britta Ohm > > > >Solmsstr. 36 > > > >10961 Berlin > > > >Germany > > > >+49/30/69507155 > > > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > > >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. > > > >To unsubscribe: > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > >List archive: > > > > > > > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and > > > animated emoticons. Get > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > 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. > > > To unsubscribe: > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. > > > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a >habit. > > > >Peter Ustinov > > > > > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ > >Do you Yahoo!? > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com > >_________________________________________________________________ >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx > >_________________________________________ >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. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: > > >--------------------------------- > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New Yahoo! >Mail. _________________________________________________________________ Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in From iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com Tue Dec 12 16:21:38 2006 From: iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com (S.Shashidhar) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:51:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Dalit Rage Message-ID: <20061212105138.85264.qmail@web32409.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It was more of dalit terrorism at best... I was also attacked, My only fault i was on a bike.. All bystandars, people whom i interact with on a daily basis, i am sure none of them were dalits of any kind were on a pampage destroying public property. The next day i was standing with them in the Bus stand and these same jokers were complaining about the pathetic conditions of the busses ( Half of which were burnt down by them). A lot has been said and written about dalit trauma and other things which have forced people to form spontaneous groups and attack the elite population.. I have never heard of anything more funny. Now i am not talking of Nagpur where people have been murdered. The very same day I even asked the mob what was happening? None new, there was one who even said that the head of shivaji's statues had been cut. Now destroying property is not funny and if these terrorists have to become tomorrows leaders god save all of us.. best s ----- Original Message ---- From: Shivam Vij To: sarai list Sent: Thursday, December 7, 2006 2:13:01 PM Subject: [Reader-list] Dalit Rage On the recent violence by Dalits in Maharashtra, two excellent articles below. best s o o o o o o o o o o Dalit Rage Condemn the violence by all means but not before you ask what escalated it to such a scale. Once the fire was lit, many joined in for their own grab — Dalit politicians, Naxal fringe groups, sections of the underworld that have a strong Dalit presence, opportunistic political parties. By SMRUTI KOPPIKAR http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20061205&fname=maharashtra&sid=1 Khairlanje, a lost little village on the map of Maharashtra, has turned into a synonym for old atrocities and new indifferences towards Dalits. The story of the horrific rape, sexual assault and murder of Surekha Bhotmange and her teenaged daughter Priyanka, and murder of her two sons is by now known well enough for Sonia Gandhi to have commented on it, for a group of protestors to have raised the issue at the UN headquarters in New York, and for the state government to be on the defensive like never before. Some 65 days after OBC villagers perpetrated the alleged rape-murder under the benevolent eye of the police, who the hapless husband Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange tried to rouse that September 29 afternoon in vain, there's some action. Finally, five policemen were summarily sacked under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution. Make no mistake. It required a replay of Dalit rage to kickstart the process the justice on an incident as horrific as this. For weeks together, FIRs were not registered while the perpetrators roamed free and fearless in Khairlanje. The police connived with the perpetrators to behave as if nothing of consequence had happened with the Special IG (Nagpur) Pankaj Gupta allegedly accepting a bribe to say "there was no rape", doctors who conducted the post-mortem did not check for sexual assault or rape, local MLA Madhukar Kukade (BJP) was present at the post-mortems, it took two months for the chief minister and home minister to visit the scene of crime, the Director General of Police did not visit it. These, please note, are not allegations but findings of a high-level probe conducted by the state government agency YASHADA (Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration). Damning indictments in themselves, they prompted an otherwise self-assured government to summarily sack five policemen. By this time, Dalit rage had singed several towns and cities across Maharashtra, and had taken the nation by surprise. The immediate provocation for the spate of violence end November, almost two months after the horrific rape-murder was, ostensibly, the desecration of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur but within hours of the stone-pelting in Pune and Nashik, it was clear that this was no mere mob violence. It was the out-pouring of rage against a totally ineffective and stunningly insensitive state government over an atrocity that spelt doom for Dalits. It was their response to the strongest message ever that they did not matter, whatsoever. That their trials and tribulations were part of their lot and the state could, or would, do nothing about atrocities that regularly visit them. "Khairlanje incident is the end of imagination for us," remarked a passionate Nagsen Sonare, national president of Mumbai-based Ambedkar Center For Justice and Peace, on his website. In more ways than one, for Dalits in so-called progressive Maharashtra where Dalit advancement was spearheaded by social reformer no less than Jyotiba Phule in the 19th century, Khairlanje marked a new low in caste atrocities. The Prevention of Atrocities Act had turned into a joke, yet again. For weeks since news of the incident spread word-of-mouth, political as well as non-political Dalit activists, scattered and disparate Dalit groups in small towns and cities, discussed little else. They waited for two independent democratic institutions—the executive and the press—to join the battle on their behalf. The executive was, in fact, involved in an elaborate cover-up while the press—even the Marathi press—ignored it as yet another Dalit story from some indescribable village. In the end, they themselves joined the battle—not in some pre-meditated manner led by leaders but outbursts by mobs, some with political leaders at the helm but most without any leadership.No wonder then that the state government did not quite know who to talk to when the prestigious Deccan Queen—symbol of Mumbai-Pune caste and class superiority—was torched. Lack of leadership did not matter; rage had overtaken minor hurdles such as this. That the violence proved a god-send for many Dalit political leaders consigned to the margins is coincidental; it might even resurrect their dying careers for a brief while but they cannot claim to have aroused and inspired the mobs. Violence that left crores of rupees worth government property damaged, mainly buses, railway compartments and offices, cannot be condoned irrespective of the cause behind it. When Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and leader of one of the six factions of the Republican Party of India, remarked that Dalits are militants and will always remain so, it was hardly music to anybody's ears. But to condemn the out-pouring of their rage is not all that easy. Call it a warped sense of vigilante justice, or an extreme temper tantrum to seek attention, or whatever else, the fact is that if it weren't for that rage on full national display, Khairlanje would have remained that forgotten village on the map even for those men who had taken oath to protect its inhabitants. Is it easy to condemn rage that eventually woke up a slumbering government and large, insensitive sections of the media? If Priyanka Bhotmange were Priyadrshini Mattoo or Jessica Lal, the media would have thought it fit to intervene, run campaigns for justice. For Priyanka, whose dream it was to get a government job, there would never be candle-light protests at India Gate. Or even Gateway of India. Citizen activism takes on the textures and shades of citizens, after all. Upper middle class India lit candles, whether at India Gate or on news websites; young Dalit India torched trains. Protests do not come in pre-determined packs that can be picked off shelves in glittering malls across urban India. The Dalit rage is yet another reminder that there's an India that remains on the pavements outside these very malls, an India that stands excluded. As Gaddar, the well-known Naxal poet, once said: "My anger is rough, my words are rough because my life is coarse and so is my language". Condemn the violence by all means but not before you ask what escalated it to such a scale. Once the fire was lit, many joined in for their own grab—Dalit politicians, Naxal fringe groups, sections of the underworld that have a strong Dalit presence, opportunistic political parties that smell blood on the eve of municipal elections. The rage was waiting to explode. Yet, in the thousands of atrocities that happen every year, what made this horrific incident any more horrific or gut-wrenching than the others? After all, this is the land where Dalits are made to eat human excreta. Khairlanje should have been no different, but it was. The rape-murders here were, indeed, the end of imagination of Dalits. This was not just another rape or murder of a family. The Bhotmanges, condemned to live the life determined by the Varna system, attempted to rise above it—and nearly did it. The 40-something Surekha tilled her land till it yielded something, anything. She put her children through school and college. Her daughter was reading Political Science and Sociology—no mean feat for a Dalit girl in a back-of-the-beyond village. OBC men had, on several occasions, tried to usurp the land and drive the family out of the village but Surekha—more than her husband Bhaiyyalal—had stood up to the men and their machinations.The family had received death threats in the last few months, Surekha's attempts to enlist police on her side did not yield any results. That was not a surprise but she had persisted in doing her duty in approaching the police. Like scores of Dalits in Maharashtra who heeded and still heed Dr Ambedkar's call, the Bhotmanges believed the education alone would put them on the path of liberation. It's no social accident or social engineering that the Dalit literacy rate in the state at 72 per cent is twice the Indian average for the community. But an educated Dalit is perceived as a threat by caste Hindus, even the OBCs. Surekha's valiant efforts to ward of the land sharks—again OBC men of the village—and her battle to educate her children made her a symbol of resistance beyond imagination for them. Bhaiyylal is believed to have told sympathisers that he had even contemplated giving up the land and going away from Khairlanje but his wife never encouraged such thoughts. Eventually, he had to cower in fear behind a building and helplessly watch as she and his daughter were paraded naked, raped and murdered by a mob that then hunted down his two sons as well. Yes, it was a mob too; they too perpetrated violence of the most horrific kind. Was there as strong a condemnation of that violence as we saw of the Dalit rage? In the rape-murder of the Bhotmange family, Dalits, mainly the youth, saw the death of a dream given by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Education and hard work did not bring liberation; these virtues only brought harassment, public humiliation, rape and death. The Bhotmanges, indeed Khairlanje, remains an unforgettable symbol of the defeat. Dalits see a bleak, unchanging, non-inclusive future, their political strength and voice lies tattered in several factions, their poetry and literature has lost its sting, even their imagination seems to end. Now, if only some of us upper middle class urbanites would tutor them the art of gentle protests, teach them to light candles. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o A new dawn for Dalit movement Mandar Phanse, CNN-IBN http://www.ibnlive.com/news/a-new-dawn-for-the-dalit-movement/27764-3.html Mumbai: The recent violence in Maharashtra may have taken the state government by surprise, but students leading the Dalit movement say given the increasing militant nature of the Dalit movement post the Ambedkar era, the attacks were just a matter of time. Khandala: Bhai Vivek Chavan leads a double life, juggling between being a practicing advocate in the Pune courts and the leader of a militant Dalit outfit - Bharatiya Dalit Cobra. Currently he is on a walkathon from Pune to Mumbai - on a mission to convince Dalit and Muslim youth to act now. "Please, stand up, awake and fight. This is the basic principle that I walk on. It was the principle of Babasaheb Ambedkar from whom we get our energy. This is his advice," says Chavan. Question him a little more and you find Castro and Mao sharing space with Ambedkar in his rhetoric. They form the better part of his sales pitch aimed at a ragtag band of youth who flock around him at every stop to listen to his fiery speeches. "The courage shown by the kin of the deceased in Amravati and Osmanabad has boosted our strength. Take for example Dinesh Wankhede who died for our cause. His mother said that she will not cremate him. That is courage," says he to his followers. Thane: Bhai Vivek is not alone in his endeavour. Other young leaders like Sunil Khambe have succeeded in splitting the RPI and now lead their own factions with a reputation for aggression. Ulhasnagar: Experts say that the torching of the Deccan Queen was not entirely the fallout of mob frenzy. They allege it was masterminded by a set of educated leaders who motivated the masses to implement it. Mumbai: Says Editor, Workshop, Sunil Kadam, "The people who participated in pelting stones on roads were all Phds and MPhils.Hundreds of educated youth guided them in torching the Deccan Queen. The Deccan Queen was intentionally targeted because they knew it would attract the attention they wanted. That's why they let the Koyna Express go." Osmanabad: Dalit leaders add credence to Kadam's views when they claim credit for the recent incidents which rocked Maharashtra. Says President of the Bhimshakti Shivshakti Sena, Yashpal Saravade, "After Khairlanji, the Dalits have their own identity. The Dalit youth today don't identify with Dalit parties. They have militancy in their blood." Osmanabad/Mumbai: But while leaders like Yashpal refer to the militant heritage of the Dalit Panthers, the group which modelled itself on America's Black Panther movement has been out of action for almost 20 years now. The Dalit Panthers became a cult as they would hand out quick justice to those who committed atrocities against Dalits. Over the years, the old guard of the movement has now mellowed and those heady militant days are now just nostalgia. Says the founder of the Dalit Panther movement Padmashri Namdeo Dhasal, "At that time, we believed in tit for tat. There had been a rape in Pune's Bhoogaon village. About 2,000 of us went and attacked the village. We asked the villagers to produce the boy guilty for the rape or we would burn the village." Now Namdeo Dhasal is an internationally acclaimed poet with a Padamsree and a Sahithya Akademi Award, but scratch a little and some of the old sparks are still visible. "The mission was always to abolish the caste system. You cannot achieve it by organising a single caste," says Dhasal. The Dalit Panther movement started in a Dalit students' hostel, but died out when the Dalit movement went mainstream with the Republican Party of India. But with Republican leaders unable to transfer vote shares into Parliament seats, Dalit militancy has reared its head again and this resurgence promises to give the Maharashtra government much food for thought in the days to come. _________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com From vrjogi at hotmail.com Tue Dec 12 16:31:04 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:01:04 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: hello, this is your type of secularism, you can publish bandukwala's letter, while you don't dare to publish my reply to him. vedavati _________________________________________________________________ Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and animated emoticons. Get chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ From vrjogi at hotmail.com Tue Dec 12 16:39:00 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:09:00 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: Message-ID: dear rahima, i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. i hate pseudo secularists & our politicians, they are creating gulf between you & me. vedavati >From: "Raheema Begum" >To: "Vedavati Jogi" >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:32:40 +0530 > >I'm not aggressive > >my view-point is not heard > >I have an axe to grind > >I'm not allowed to articulate what I feel > >I believe in Allah > >I dont want you to hate me. > >just let me be. > >I love you. > > >On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >>yes dear i agree with you fully. >> >>hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or throw >>hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled >>muslims >>to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, hindus >>very happily became refugees in their own mother land. >> >>hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull >>down >>thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. >>hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in secular >>muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. >> >> >> >From: jumana bandukwala >> >To: Vedavati Jogi >> >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) >> > >> >Hi all, >> > >> > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all >> >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of India >>and >> >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against >> >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the >>nation, >> >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless issue >> >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in >>Gujarat, >> >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still continue...and >> >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus >>dead >> >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they were >> >set on fire live and the like. >> > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed guardian >>of >> >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of superstitions, >> >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading >>India >> >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... >> > >> > general public should oppose these demons. >> > >> > >> > >> >Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, >> >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. >> >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope >> >every >> >body remembers 1947) >> > >> > >> > >From: gowhar fazli >> > >To: Vedavati Jogi >> > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) >> > > >> > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >> > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >> > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >> > >fundamentalism are similar except that the >> > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >> > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >> > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. >> > > >> > > >> > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> > > >> > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular >> > > > credentials, you have to curse >> > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat >> > > > carnage(?) again & again....and >> > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as >> > > > far as muslim terrorism >> > > > is concerned! >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >From: Britta Ohm >> > > > >To: Clifton >> > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal >> > > > harmony >> > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the >> > > > chief Minister >> > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 >> > > > > >> > > > >Dear Clifton, >> > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so >> > > > aware): do you mean >> > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does >> > > > "the role of this >> > > > >present coalition government in supporting and >> > > > promoting these >> > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the >> > > > UPA? And if so, are >> > > > >there examples for this support you could name? >> > > > > >> > > > >Britta >> > > > > >> > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: >> > > > > >> > > > > > Friends, >> > > > > > >> > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's >> > > > attempts to destroy the >> > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the >> > > > Baba-Datta shrine on >> > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is >> > > > an example of >> > > > > > syncretic >> > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of >> > > > different faiths. You are >> > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition >> > > > government in >> > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the >> > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the >> > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh >> > > > Parivar to conduct the >> > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the >> > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda >> > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this >> > > > have been arrested today >> > > > > > (02.12.2006). >> > > > > > >> > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a >> > > > coalition of over 200 >> > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish >> > > > communal harmony and to >> > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in >> > > > Karnataka, has through the >> > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical >> > > > claims about the shrine, >> > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully >> > > > countered their agenda >> > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. >> > > > > > >> > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine >> > > > on Bababudangiri with >> > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition >> > > > in the name of >> > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order >> > > > to achieve their narrow >> > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted >> > > > disputes, putting up >> > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial >> > > > arguments. Further, >> > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent >> > > > religious practices like >> > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta >> > > > Jayanthi celebrations every >> > > > > > year in the months of October, November and >> > > > December. It is obvious >> > > > > > that >> > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith >> > > > but to target the >> > > > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent >> > > > on destroying the >> > > > >'Hindu' >> > > > > > tradition and culture. >> > > > > > >> > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata >> > > > Dal (S) to form a >> > > > > > coalition government which has thus far >> > > > supported the communal agenda >> > > > > > of >> > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was >> > > > visible in the first week >> > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and >> > > > around Mangalore and in >> > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala >> > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, >> > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh >> > > > Parivar activists in >> > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear >> > > > violation of the High >> > > > >Court's >> > > > > > order. >> > > > > > >> > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda >> > > > Vedike were arrested and >> > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and >> > > > exposing the communal designs >> > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the >> > > > present governement is >> > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal >> > > > credentials of the so – >> > > > >called >> > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned >> > > > that this particular >> > > > > > action >> > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing >> > > > peaceful protests bodes >> > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka >> > > > > > >> > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email >> > > > the Chief Minister and >> > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate >> > > > release of the arrested >> > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in >> > > > most certain terms your >> > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this >> > > > government especially >> > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent >> > > > Mangalore riots. / >> > > > > > >> > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ >> > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ >> > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / >> > > > > > >> > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash >> > > > > > Ph: 22251798 >> > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 >> > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in >> > > > / >> > > > > > _________________________________________ >> > > > > > 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. >> > > > > > To unsubscribe: >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > > > > List archive: >> > > > >> > > > > >> > > > >----------------- >> > > > >Britta Ohm >> > > > >Solmsstr. 36 >> > > > >10961 Berlin >> > > > >Germany >> > > > >+49/30/69507155 >> > > > > >> > > > >_________________________________________ >> > > > >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. >> > > > >To unsubscribe: >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > > >List archive: >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > >_________________________________________________________________ >> > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and >> > > > animated emoticons. Get >> > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ >> > > > >> > > > > _________________________________________ >> > > > 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. >> > > > To unsubscribe: >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > > List archive: >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of >> > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. >> > > >> > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a >> >habit. >> > > >> > >Peter Ustinov >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > >> >____________________________________________________________________________________ >> > >Do you Yahoo!? >> > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >> > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com >> > >> >_________________________________________________________________ >> >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, >> >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx >> > >> >_________________________________________ >> >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. >> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >List archive: >> > >> > >> >--------------------------------- >> > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New >>Yahoo! >> >Mail. >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >>Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. >>http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in >> >> >> >>_________________________________________ >>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. >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>List archive: >> > > > >-- >www.whosebody.wordpress.com >www.fotolog.com/dun_duna_dun >---------------------------------------------------- >'The quality of mercy is not strained...' _________________________________________________________________ Want to improve your lifestyle? Get Mickey Mehta�s advice on holistic living http://content.msn.co.in/Lifestyle/AskExpert/Default06.htm From jumpshark at gmail.com Tue Dec 12 21:49:25 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:49:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: is all this a joke ? On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > dear rahima, > > i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. > > i hate pseudo secularists & our politicians, > > they are creating gulf between you & me. > > > vedavati > > > >From: "Raheema Begum" > >To: "Vedavati Jogi" > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister > >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:32:40 +0530 > > > >I'm not aggressive > > > >my view-point is not heard > > > >I have an axe to grind > > > >I'm not allowed to articulate what I feel > > > >I believe in Allah > > > >I dont want you to hate me. > > > >just let me be. > > > >I love you. > > > > > >On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > >> > >>yes dear i agree with you fully. > >> > >>hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or throw > >>hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled > >>muslims > >>to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, hindus > >>very happily became refugees in their own mother land. > >> > >>hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull > >>down > >>thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. > >>hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in secular > >>muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. > >> > >> > >> >From: jumana bandukwala > >> >To: Vedavati Jogi > >> >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony > >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister > >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) > >> > > >> >Hi all, > >> > > >> > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all > >> >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of India > >>and > >> >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against > >> >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the > >>nation, > >> >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless issue > >> >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in > >>Gujarat, > >> >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still continue...and > >> >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus > >>dead > >> >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they were > >> >set on fire live and the like. > >> > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed guardian > >>of > >> >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of superstitions, > >> >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading > >>India > >> >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... > >> > > >> > general public should oppose these demons. > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> >Vedavati Jogi wrote: > >> > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, > >> >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. > >> >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope > >> >every > >> >body remembers 1947) > >> > > >> > > >> > >From: gowhar fazli > >> > >To: Vedavati Jogi > >> > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony > >> > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister > >> > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) > >> > > > >> > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely > >> > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about > >> > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim > >> > >fundamentalism are similar except that the > >> > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as > >> > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while > >> > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. > >> > > > >> > > > >> > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: > >> > > > >> > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular > >> > > > credentials, you have to curse > >> > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat > >> > > > carnage(?) again & again....and > >> > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as > >> > > > far as muslim terrorism > >> > > > is concerned! > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > >From: Britta Ohm > >> > > > >To: Clifton > >> > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > >> > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal > >> > > > harmony > >> > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the > >> > > > chief Minister > >> > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > >> > > > > > >> > > > >Dear Clifton, > >> > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so > >> > > > aware): do you mean > >> > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does > >> > > > "the role of this > >> > > > >present coalition government in supporting and > >> > > > promoting these > >> > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the > >> > > > UPA? And if so, are > >> > > > >there examples for this support you could name? > >> > > > > > >> > > > >Britta > >> > > > > > >> > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > >> > > > > > >> > > > > > Friends, > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's > >> > > > attempts to destroy the > >> > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the > >> > > > Baba-Datta shrine on > >> > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is > >> > > > an example of > >> > > > > > syncretic > >> > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of > >> > > > different faiths. You are > >> > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition > >> > > > government in > >> > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the > >> > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the > >> > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh > >> > > > Parivar to conduct the > >> > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the > >> > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda > >> > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this > >> > > > have been arrested today > >> > > > > > (02.12.2006). > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a > >> > > > coalition of over 200 > >> > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish > >> > > > communal harmony and to > >> > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in > >> > > > Karnataka, has through the > >> > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical > >> > > > claims about the shrine, > >> > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully > >> > > > countered their agenda > >> > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine > >> > > > on Bababudangiri with > >> > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition > >> > > > in the name of > >> > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order > >> > > > to achieve their narrow > >> > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted > >> > > > disputes, putting up > >> > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial > >> > > > arguments. Further, > >> > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent > >> > > > religious practices like > >> > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta > >> > > > Jayanthi celebrations every > >> > > > > > year in the months of October, November and > >> > > > December. It is obvious > >> > > > > > that > >> > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith > >> > > > but to target the > >> > > > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent > >> > > > on destroying the > >> > > > >'Hindu' > >> > > > > > tradition and culture. > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata > >> > > > Dal (S) to form a > >> > > > > > coalition government which has thus far > >> > > > supported the communal agenda > >> > > > > > of > >> > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was > >> > > > visible in the first week > >> > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and > >> > > > around Mangalore and in > >> > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala > >> > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > >> > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh > >> > > > Parivar activists in > >> > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear > >> > > > violation of the High > >> > > > >Court's > >> > > > > > order. > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda > >> > > > Vedike were arrested and > >> > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and > >> > > > exposing the communal designs > >> > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the > >> > > > present governement is > >> > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal > >> > > > credentials of the so – > >> > > > >called > >> > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned > >> > > > that this particular > >> > > > > > action > >> > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing > >> > > > peaceful protests bodes > >> > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email > >> > > > the Chief Minister and > >> > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate > >> > > > release of the arrested > >> > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in > >> > > > most certain terms your > >> > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this > >> > > > government especially > >> > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent > >> > > > Mangalore riots. / > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > >> > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > >> > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > >> > > > > > Ph: 22251798 > >> > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > >> > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in > >> > > > / > >> > > > > > _________________________________________ > >> > > > > > 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. > >> > > > > > To unsubscribe: > >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> > > > > > List archive: > >> > > > > >> > > > > > >> > > > >----------------- > >> > > > >Britta Ohm > >> > > > >Solmsstr. 36 > >> > > > >10961 Berlin > >> > > > >Germany > >> > > > >+49/30/69507155 > >> > > > > > >> > > > >_________________________________________ > >> > > > >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. > >> > > > >To unsubscribe: > >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> > > > >List archive: > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > >_________________________________________________________________ > >> > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and > >> > > > animated emoticons. Get > >> > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > >> > > > > >> > > > > _________________________________________ > >> > > > 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. > >> > > > To unsubscribe: > >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> > > > List archive: > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of > >> > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. > >> > > > >> > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a > >> >habit. > >> > > > >> > >Peter Ustinov > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > >> >____________________________________________________________________________________ > >> > >Do you Yahoo!? > >> > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. > >> > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com > >> > > >> >_________________________________________________________________ > >> >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, > >> >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx > >> > > >> >_________________________________________ > >> >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. > >> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> >List archive: > >> > > >> > > >> >--------------------------------- > >> > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New > >>Yahoo! > >> >Mail. > >> > >>_________________________________________________________________ > >>Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. > >>http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in > >> > >> > >> > >>_________________________________________ > >>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. > >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>List archive: > >> > > > > > > > >-- > >www.whosebody.wordpress.com > >www.fotolog.com/dun_duna_dun > >---------------------------------------------------- > >'The quality of mercy is not strained...' > > _________________________________________________________________ > Want to improve your lifestyle? Get Mickey Mehta�s advice on holistic living > http://content.msn.co.in/Lifestyle/AskExpert/Default06.htm > > > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > From vrjogi at hotmail.com Tue Dec 12 21:52:17 2006 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:22:17 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: Message-ID: dear rahima, for me pseudo-secularists means (1) who ignore 'godhra' and curse 'gujrati hindus' especially narendra modi. (2) who want to 'talk' to kashmiri terrorists but don't care for kashmiri pundits (3) who support m.f. hussain when the latter paints nude goddesses showing carelessness towards hindu sentiments and cares for muslim sentiments in very small, small matters. (4) who talk about muslim's rights but don't like to remind the latter of their duties.e.g accepting common civil code, population control measures etc. list is very big. try to understand one thing, modi alone could not have killed muslims, common people did support him whole heartedly, moreover afterwards voted for him too. i really feel sorry for those innocent muslims who were killed in gujrat but for me culprits are speudo secularists who provoked otherwise peace loving hindus. this may be a joke for you but its avery serious matter for me >From: "Prashant Pandey" >To: "Vedavati Jogi" >CC: theunderscoredhood at gmail.com, reader-list at sarai.net >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:49:25 +0530 > >is all this a joke ? > >On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >>dear rahima, >> >>i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. >> >>i hate pseudo secularists & our politicians, >> >>they are creating gulf between you & me. >> >> >>vedavati >> >> >> >From: "Raheema Begum" >> >To: "Vedavati Jogi" >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:32:40 +0530 >> > >> >I'm not aggressive >> > >> >my view-point is not heard >> > >> >I have an axe to grind >> > >> >I'm not allowed to articulate what I feel >> > >> >I believe in Allah >> > >> >I dont want you to hate me. >> > >> >just let me be. >> > >> >I love you. >> > >> > >> >On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> >> >>yes dear i agree with you fully. >> >> >> >>hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or >>throw >> >>hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled >> >>muslims >> >>to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, >>hindus >> >>very happily became refugees in their own mother land. >> >> >> >>hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull >> >>down >> >>thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. >> >>hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in >>secular >> >>muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. >> >> >> >> >> >> >From: jumana bandukwala >> >> >To: Vedavati Jogi >> >> >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) >> >> > >> >> >Hi all, >> >> > >> >> > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all >> >> >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of >>India >> >>and >> >> >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against >> >> >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the >> >>nation, >> >> >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless >>issue >> >> >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in >> >>Gujarat, >> >> >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still >>continue...and >> >> >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus >> >>dead >> >> >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they >>were >> >> >set on fire live and the like. >> >> > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed >>guardian >> >>of >> >> >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of >>superstitions, >> >> >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading >> >>India >> >> >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... >> >> > >> >> > general public should oppose these demons. >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, >> >> >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. >> >> >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i >>hope >> >> >every >> >> >body remembers 1947) >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >From: gowhar fazli >> >> > >To: Vedavati Jogi >> >> > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >> > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >> > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) >> >> > > >> >> > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >> >> > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >> >> > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >> >> > >fundamentalism are similar except that the >> >> > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >> >> > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >> >> > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> > > >> >> > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular >> >> > > > credentials, you have to curse >> >> > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat >> >> > > > carnage(?) again & again....and >> >> > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as >> >> > > > far as muslim terrorism >> >> > > > is concerned! >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >From: Britta Ohm >> >> > > > >To: Clifton >> >> > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> >> > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal >> >> > > > harmony >> >> > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the >> >> > > > chief Minister >> >> > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Dear Clifton, >> >> > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so >> >> > > > aware): do you mean >> >> > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does >> >> > > > "the role of this >> >> > > > >present coalition government in supporting and >> >> > > > promoting these >> >> > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the >> >> > > > UPA? And if so, are >> >> > > > >there examples for this support you could name? >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Britta >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > > > Friends, >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's >> >> > > > attempts to destroy the >> >> > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the >> >> > > > Baba-Datta shrine on >> >> > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is >> >> > > > an example of >> >> > > > > > syncretic >> >> > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of >> >> > > > different faiths. You are >> >> > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition >> >> > > > government in >> >> > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the >> >> > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the >> >> > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh >> >> > > > Parivar to conduct the >> >> > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the >> >> > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda >> >> > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this >> >> > > > have been arrested today >> >> > > > > > (02.12.2006). >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a >> >> > > > coalition of over 200 >> >> > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish >> >> > > > communal harmony and to >> >> > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in >> >> > > > Karnataka, has through the >> >> > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical >> >> > > > claims about the shrine, >> >> > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully >> >> > > > countered their agenda >> >> > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine >> >> > > > on Bababudangiri with >> >> > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition >> >> > > > in the name of >> >> > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order >> >> > > > to achieve their narrow >> >> > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted >> >> > > > disputes, putting up >> >> > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial >> >> > > > arguments. Further, >> >> > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent >> >> > > > religious practices like >> >> > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta >> >> > > > Jayanthi celebrations every >> >> > > > > > year in the months of October, November and >> >> > > > December. It is obvious >> >> > > > > > that >> >> > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith >> >> > > > but to target the >> >> > > > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent >> >> > > > on destroying the >> >> > > > >'Hindu' >> >> > > > > > tradition and culture. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata >> >> > > > Dal (S) to form a >> >> > > > > > coalition government which has thus far >> >> > > > supported the communal agenda >> >> > > > > > of >> >> > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was >> >> > > > visible in the first week >> >> > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and >> >> > > > around Mangalore and in >> >> > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala >> >> > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, >> >> > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh >> >> > > > Parivar activists in >> >> > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear >> >> > > > violation of the High >> >> > > > >Court's >> >> > > > > > order. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda >> >> > > > Vedike were arrested and >> >> > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and >> >> > > > exposing the communal designs >> >> > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the >> >> > > > present governement is >> >> > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal >> >> > > > credentials of the so – >> >> > > > >called >> >> > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned >> >> > > > that this particular >> >> > > > > > action >> >> > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing >> >> > > > peaceful protests bodes >> >> > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email >> >> > > > the Chief Minister and >> >> > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate >> >> > > > release of the arrested >> >> > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in >> >> > > > most certain terms your >> >> > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this >> >> > > > government especially >> >> > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent >> >> > > > Mangalore riots. / >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ >> >> > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ >> >> > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash >> >> > > > > > Ph: 22251798 >> >> > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 >> >> > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in >> >> > > > / >> >> > > > > > _________________________________________ >> >> > > > > > 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. >> >> > > > > > To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > > > List archive: >> >> > > > >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >----------------- >> >> > > > >Britta Ohm >> >> > > > >Solmsstr. 36 >> >> > > > >10961 Berlin >> >> > > > >Germany >> >> > > > >+49/30/69507155 >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >_________________________________________ >> >> > > > >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. >> >> > > > >To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > >List archive: >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > >_________________________________________________________________ >> >> > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and >> >> > > > animated emoticons. Get >> >> > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ >> >> > > > >> >> > > > > _________________________________________ >> >> > > > 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. >> >> > > > To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > List archive: >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance >>of >> >> > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. >> >> > > >> >> > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes >>a >> >> >habit. >> >> > > >> >> > >Peter Ustinov >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >> >> >> >____________________________________________________________________________________ >> >> > >Do you Yahoo!? >> >> > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >> >> > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com >> >> > >> >> >_________________________________________________________________ >> >> >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match >>reports, >> >> >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx >> >> > >> >> >_________________________________________ >> >> >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. >> >> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> >List archive: >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >--------------------------------- >> >> > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New >> >>Yahoo! >> >> >Mail. >> >> >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >> >>Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. >> >>http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>_________________________________________ >> >>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. >> >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >>List archive: >> >> >> > >> > >> > >> >-- >> >www.whosebody.wordpress.com >> >www.fotolog.com/dun_duna_dun >> >---------------------------------------------------- >> >'The quality of mercy is not strained...' >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >>Want to improve your lifestyle? Get Mickey Mehta�s advice on holistic >>living >>http://content.msn.co.in/Lifestyle/AskExpert/Default06.htm >> >> >> >>_________________________________________ >>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. >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>List archive: >> _________________________________________________________________ Discover. Explore. Connect-Windows Live Spaces. Check out! http://www.msnspecials.in/windowslive/livespaces.asp From t.ray at vsnl.com Tue Dec 12 22:24:46 2006 From: t.ray at vsnl.com (Tapas Ray) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:54:46 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrestedinKarnataka - Write in the the chief Minister References: <"BA Y121-F14A760BBF72BBCAE28FAC5C0D70"@phx.gbl> Message-ID: <004001c71e0e$41c76330$6700a8c0@Tapas> Whoever thinks such touching expressions of Hindu-Muslim sisterhood is a joke, is a pseudo-secularist who needs his brain washed with Nirma of the plain, proletarian kind ... Sunlight or Surf won't do. > is all this a joke ? > > On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> dear rahima, >> >> i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. >> >> i hate pseudo secularists & our politicians, >> >> they are creating gulf between you & me. >> >> >> vedavati >> >> >> >From: "Raheema Begum" >> >To: "Vedavati Jogi" >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:32:40 +0530 >> > >> >I'm not aggressive >> > >> >my view-point is not heard >> > >> >I have an axe to grind >> > >> >I'm not allowed to articulate what I feel >> > >> >I believe in Allah >> > >> >I dont want you to hate me. >> > >> >just let me be. >> > >> >I love you. >> > >> > >> >On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> >> >>yes dear i agree with you fully. >> >> >> >>hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or >> >>throw >> >>hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled >> >>muslims >> >>to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, >> >>hindus >> >>very happily became refugees in their own mother land. >> >> >> >>hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull >> >>down >> >>thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. >> >>hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in >> >>secular >> >>muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. >> >> >> >> >> >> >From: jumana bandukwala >> >> >To: Vedavati Jogi >> >> >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) >> >> > >> >> >Hi all, >> >> > >> >> > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all >> >> >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of >> >> >India >> >>and >> >> >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against >> >> >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the >> >>nation, >> >> >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless >> >> >issue >> >> >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in >> >>Gujarat, >> >> >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still >> >> >continue...and >> >> >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus >> >>dead >> >> >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they >> >> >were >> >> >set on fire live and the like. >> >> > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed >> >> > guardian >> >>of >> >> >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of >> >> >superstitions, >> >> >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading >> >>India >> >> >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... >> >> > >> >> > general public should oppose these demons. >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, >> >> >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. >> >> >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i >> >> >hope >> >> >every >> >> >body remembers 1947) >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >From: gowhar fazli >> >> > >To: Vedavati Jogi >> >> > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> >> > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> >> > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) >> >> > > >> >> > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >> >> > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >> >> > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >> >> > >fundamentalism are similar except that the >> >> > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >> >> > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >> >> > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: >> >> > > >> >> > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular >> >> > > > credentials, you have to curse >> >> > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat >> >> > > > carnage(?) again & again....and >> >> > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as >> >> > > > far as muslim terrorism >> >> > > > is concerned! >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >From: Britta Ohm >> >> > > > >To: Clifton >> >> > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> >> > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal >> >> > > > harmony >> >> > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the >> >> > > > chief Minister >> >> > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Dear Clifton, >> >> > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so >> >> > > > aware): do you mean >> >> > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does >> >> > > > "the role of this >> >> > > > >present coalition government in supporting and >> >> > > > promoting these >> >> > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the >> >> > > > UPA? And if so, are >> >> > > > >there examples for this support you could name? >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Britta >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > > > Friends, >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's >> >> > > > attempts to destroy the >> >> > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the >> >> > > > Baba-Datta shrine on >> >> > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is >> >> > > > an example of >> >> > > > > > syncretic >> >> > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of >> >> > > > different faiths. You are >> >> > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition >> >> > > > government in >> >> > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the >> >> > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the >> >> > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh >> >> > > > Parivar to conduct the >> >> > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the >> >> > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda >> >> > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this >> >> > > > have been arrested today >> >> > > > > > (02.12.2006). >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a >> >> > > > coalition of over 200 >> >> > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish >> >> > > > communal harmony and to >> >> > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in >> >> > > > Karnataka, has through the >> >> > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical >> >> > > > claims about the shrine, >> >> > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully >> >> > > > countered their agenda >> >> > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine >> >> > > > on Bababudangiri with >> >> > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition >> >> > > > in the name of >> >> > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order >> >> > > > to achieve their narrow >> >> > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted >> >> > > > disputes, putting up >> >> > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial >> >> > > > arguments. Further, >> >> > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent >> >> > > > religious practices like >> >> > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta >> >> > > > Jayanthi celebrations every >> >> > > > > > year in the months of October, November and >> >> > > > December. It is obvious >> >> > > > > > that >> >> > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith >> >> > > > but to target the >> >> > > > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent >> >> > > > on destroying the >> >> > > > >'Hindu' >> >> > > > > > tradition and culture. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata >> >> > > > Dal (S) to form a >> >> > > > > > coalition government which has thus far >> >> > > > supported the communal agenda >> >> > > > > > of >> >> > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was >> >> > > > visible in the first week >> >> > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and >> >> > > > around Mangalore and in >> >> > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala >> >> > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, >> >> > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh >> >> > > > Parivar activists in >> >> > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear >> >> > > > violation of the High >> >> > > > >Court's >> >> > > > > > order. >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda >> >> > > > Vedike were arrested and >> >> > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and >> >> > > > exposing the communal designs >> >> > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the >> >> > > > present governement is >> >> > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal >> >> > > > credentials of the so – >> >> > > > >called >> >> > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned >> >> > > > that this particular >> >> > > > > > action >> >> > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing >> >> > > > peaceful protests bodes >> >> > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email >> >> > > > the Chief Minister and >> >> > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate >> >> > > > release of the arrested >> >> > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in >> >> > > > most certain terms your >> >> > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this >> >> > > > government especially >> >> > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent >> >> > > > Mangalore riots. / >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ >> >> > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ >> >> > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / >> >> > > > > > >> >> > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash >> >> > > > > > Ph: 22251798 >> >> > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 >> >> > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in >> >> > > > / >> >> > > > > > _________________________________________ >> >> > > > > > 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. >> >> > > > > > To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > > > List archive: >> >> > > > >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >----------------- >> >> > > > >Britta Ohm >> >> > > > >Solmsstr. 36 >> >> > > > >10961 Berlin >> >> > > > >Germany >> >> > > > >+49/30/69507155 >> >> > > > > >> >> > > > >_________________________________________ >> >> > > > >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. >> >> > > > >To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > >List archive: >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > > > >> >> > >_________________________________________________________________ >> >> > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and >> >> > > > animated emoticons. Get >> >> > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ >> >> > > > >> >> > > > > _________________________________________ >> >> > > > 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. >> >> > > > To unsubscribe: >> >> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> > > > List archive: >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance >> >> > >of >> >> > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. >> >> > > >> >> > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes >> >> > >a >> >> >habit. >> >> > > >> >> > >Peter Ustinov >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > > >> >> > >> >> >____________________________________________________________________________________ >> >> > >Do you Yahoo!? >> >> > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >> >> > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com >> >> > >> >> >_________________________________________________________________ >> >> >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match >> >> >reports, >> >> >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx >> >> > >> >> >_________________________________________ >> >> >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. >> >> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >> >List archive: >> >> > >> >> > >> >> >--------------------------------- >> >> > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New >> >>Yahoo! >> >> >Mail. >> >> >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >> >>Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. >> >>http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>_________________________________________ >> >>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. >> >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >>List archive: >> >> >> > >> > >> > >> >-- >> >www.whosebody.wordpress.com >> >www.fotolog.com/dun_duna_dun >> >---------------------------------------------------- >> >'The quality of mercy is not strained...' >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> Want to improve your lifestyle? Get Mickey Mehta�s advice on holistic >> living >> http://content.msn.co.in/Lifestyle/AskExpert/Default06.htm >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> 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. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From s0454533 at sms.ed.ac.uk Tue Dec 12 22:28:04 2006 From: s0454533 at sms.ed.ac.uk (A Khanna) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:58:04 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20061212165804.ofnvtcholc4c4o4o@www.sms.ed.ac.uk> a couple of things i find fascinating about this exchange... first, that people choose to write to vedavati off the list and that vedavati then brings these emails onto the list as though to 'out' people's rather personal articulations. hmmm...the complex dynamics of virtual communities. second, a peculiar irony - the bababudangiri thingy is, as far as i understand, about a temple and a sufi shrine existing in such a way that seeing them as being dictinct of each other is necessarily an act of violence. this perhaps to the extent that saying that the 'co-exist' doesn't make sense, for that presumes the possibility of independent existence. what is strange about the present exchange, then, is that it treats 'hindu' and 'muslim' as the core categories, as dual categories, without facing the challenge that this shrine/temple poses - that the essential distinction between 'hindu' and 'muslim', or perhaps that these identities are central to the negotiations between people who visit this place - is a product of a particular socio-political process. is it so diffuclt for you vedavati, to imagine that people may think of themselves in terms other than 'hindu'/'muslim'? that there are spaces that people have shared over centuries on the basis of (far more evolved?) recognition of similarlity rather than difference? and that the hindutva/hindu right wing is trying really really hard to re-define these spaces in dichotomous terms. to me the bababudangiri thingy articulates a range of issues that otehrwise are all too abstract. akshay Quoting Vedavati Jogi : > dear rahima, > > i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. > > i hate pseudo secularists & our politicians, > > they are creating gulf between you & me. > > > vedavati > > >> From: "Raheema Begum" >> To: "Vedavati Jogi" >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >> activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >> Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:32:40 +0530 >> >> I'm not aggressive >> >> my view-point is not heard >> >> I have an axe to grind >> >> I'm not allowed to articulate what I feel >> >> I believe in Allah >> >> I dont want you to hate me. >> >> just let me be. >> >> I love you. >> >> >> On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: >>> >>> yes dear i agree with you fully. >>> >>> hindus partitioned india, poor muslims were forced to loot, kill or throw >>> hindus out of pakistan, rather i would like to say, hindus compelled >>> muslims >>> to indulge in these acts. then kashmir happened, history repeated, hindus >>> very happily became refugees in their own mother land. >>> >>> hindus have always been very aggressive, poor muslims were forced pull >>> down >>> thousands of temples in medieval india, same thing happened in kashmir. >>> hindus could not understand that ram mandir can be built only in secular >>> muslim countries like pakistan & bangladesh. >>> >>> >>> >From: jumana bandukwala >>> >To: Vedavati Jogi >>> >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >>> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >>> >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >>> >Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) >>> > >>> >Hi all, >>> > >>> > This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all >>> >possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of India >>> and >>> >forced the other minority communities to take up arms against >>> >them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the >>> nation, >>> >Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless issue >>> >Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in >>> Gujarat, >>> >UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still continue...and >>> >now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus dead >>> >on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they were >>> >set on fire live and the like. >>> > Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed guardian of >>> >hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of superstitions, >>> >illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading India >>> >towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... >>> > >>> > general public should oppose these demons. >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> >Vedavati Jogi wrote: >>> > one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, >>> >1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. >>> >2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope >>> >every >>> >body remembers 1947) >>> > >>> > >>> > >From: gowhar fazli >>> > >To: Vedavati Jogi >>> > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >>> > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >>> > >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) >>> > > >>> > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >>> > >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >>> > >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >>> > >fundamentalism are similar except that the >>> > >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >>> > >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >>> > >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. >>> > > >>> > > >>> > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: >>> > > >>> > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular >>> > > > credentials, you have to curse >>> > > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat >>> > > > carnage(?) again & again....and >>> > > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as >>> > > > far as muslim terrorism >>> > > > is concerned! >>> > > > >>> > > > >>> > > > >From: Britta Ohm >>> > > > >To: Clifton >>> > > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net >>> > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal >>> > > > harmony >>> > > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the >>> > > > chief Minister >>> > > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 >>> > > > > >>> > > > >Dear Clifton, >>> > > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so >>> > > > aware): do you mean >>> > > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does >>> > > > "the role of this >>> > > > >present coalition government in supporting and >>> > > > promoting these >>> > > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the >>> > > > UPA? And if so, are >>> > > > >there examples for this support you could name? >>> > > > > >>> > > > >Britta >>> > > > > >>> > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: >>> > > > > >>> > > > > > Friends, >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar's >>> > > > attempts to destroy the >>> > > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the >>> > > > Baba-Datta shrine on >>> > > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is >>> > > > an example of >>> > > > > > syncretic >>> > > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of >>> > > > different faiths. You are >>> > > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition >>> > > > government in >>> > > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the >>> > > > Sangh Parivar. Now the >>> > > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh >>> > > > Parivar to conduct the >>> > > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the >>> > > > Karnataka Komu Souharda >>> > > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this >>> > > > have been arrested today >>> > > > > > (02.12.2006). >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a >>> > > > coalition of over 200 >>> > > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish >>> > > > communal harmony and to >>> > > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in >>> > > > Karnataka, has through the >>> > > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar's farcical >>> > > > claims about the shrine, >>> > > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully >>> > > > countered their agenda >>> > > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine >>> > > > on Bababudangiri with >>> > > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition >>> > > > in the name of >>> > > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order >>> > > > to achieve their narrow >>> > > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted >>> > > > disputes, putting up >>> > > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial >>> > > > arguments. Further, >>> > > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent >>> > > > religious practices like >>> > > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta >>> > > > Jayanthi celebrations every >>> > > > > > year in the months of October, November and >>> > > > December. It is obvious >>> > > > > > that >>> > > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith >>> > > > but to target the >>> > > > > > Muslim community as 'outsiders' who are bent >>> > > > on destroying the >>> > > > >'Hindu' >>> > > > > > tradition and culture. >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata >>> > > > Dal (S) to form a >>> > > > > > coalition government which has thus far >>> > > > supported the communal agenda >>> > > > > > of >>> > > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was >>> > > > visible in the first week >>> > > > > > of October during the communal violence in and >>> > > > around Mangalore and in >>> > > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala >>> > > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, >>> > > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh >>> > > > Parivar activists in >>> > > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear >>> > > > violation of the High >>> > > > >Court's >>> > > > > > order. >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda >>> > > > Vedike were arrested and >>> > > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and >>> > > > exposing the communal designs >>> > > > > > of the present Government. This action of the >>> > > > present governement is >>> > > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal >>> > > > credentials of the so – >>> > > > >called >>> > > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned >>> > > > that this particular >>> > > > > > action >>> > > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing >>> > > > peaceful protests bodes >>> > > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email >>> > > > the Chief Minister and >>> > > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate >>> > > > release of the arrested >>> > > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in >>> > > > most certain terms your >>> > > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this >>> > > > government especially >>> > > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent >>> > > > Mangalore riots. / >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ >>> > > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ >>> > > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / >>> > > > > > >>> > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash >>> > > > > > Ph: 22251798 >>> > > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 >>> > > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in >>> > > > / >>> > > > > > _________________________________________ >>> > > > > > 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. >>> > > > > > To unsubscribe: >>> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> > > > > > List archive: >>> > > > >>> > > > > >>> > > > >----------------- >>> > > > >Britta Ohm >>> > > > >Solmsstr. 36 >>> > > > >10961 Berlin >>> > > > >Germany >>> > > > >+49/30/69507155 >>> > > > > >>> > > > >_________________________________________ >>> > > > >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. >>> > > > >To unsubscribe: >>> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> > > > >List archive: >>> > > > >>> > > > >>> > > > >>> > >_________________________________________________________________ >>> > > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and >>> > > > animated emoticons. Get >>> > > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ >>> > > > >>> > > > > _________________________________________ >>> > > > 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. >>> > > > To unsubscribe: >>> > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> > > > List archive: >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of >>> > >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. >>> > > >>> > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a >>> >habit. >>> > > >>> > >Peter Ustinov >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > >>> >____________________________________________________________________________________ >>> > >Do you Yahoo!? >>> > >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >>> > >http://new.mail.yahoo.com >>> > >>> >_________________________________________________________________ >>> >Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, >>> >photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx >>> > >>> >_________________________________________ >>> >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. >>> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> >List archive: >>> > >>> > >>> >--------------------------------- >>> > Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New >>> Yahoo! >>> >Mail. >>> >>> _________________________________________________________________ >>> Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. >>> http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> 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. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> www.whosebody.wordpress.com >> www.fotolog.com/dun_duna_dun >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> 'The quality of mercy is not strained...' > > _________________________________________________________________ > Want to improve your lifestyle? Get Mickey Mehta’s advice on holistic living > http://content.msn.co.in/Lifestyle/AskExpert/Default06.htm > > From jumpshark at gmail.com Wed Dec 13 00:12:13 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:12:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Saving Afzal Message-ID: Arundhati Roy wants Afzal retried Ramananda Sengupta in New Delhi Rediff.com December 12, 2006 22:55 IST Author-activist Arundhati Roy made an impassioned appeal on Tuesday for a re-investigation into the case of Mohammad Afzal Guru, the man awarded a death sentence by the Supreme Court for his involvement in the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament. Speaking at the launch of the book titled 13 December, A Reader, The Strange Case Of The Attack On The Indian Parliament at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, she said "today in itself is a political occasion, a political victory, because there have been people who have fought a pretty long, a pretty frightening and pretty lonely battle for many many years, and now finally it is out in the open and out in the mainstream." Speaking before her, Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising, who also has an essay in the book, said she decided to revisit the records of the case, and there was "clear evidence that Afzal was not being represented by a lawyer." The court appointed Neeraj Bansal to represent him, and subsequently anti-terrorist lawyer Seema Gulati, who then withdrew because she was representing some other accused. "Justice Dhingra then asked Neeraj Bansal to represent Afzal as an amicus curae, or friend of the court. So he was sentenced to death without proper representation. So I was unable to refrain from seeking mistrial," she said. According to her, if a senior lawyer believes there has been a serious lapse of justice, the lawyer may file a certificate seeking a miscarriage. And that is what she proposes to do. "I want to talk about why this case is important," said Arundhati Roy. "It's not just about the attack on Parliament, it not just about Afzal, all those very specific issues have been raised here... but really it is about what kind society would we like to live in, now and in the future? What role do we see for ourselves? Because in this Parliament attack, you will see very clearly the part played by the police, by the security apparatus in Kashmir, by the mainstream media, by the mob, by all of us, in our silences, and in our speaking out." "I have to say that the media has played an extremely coercive part in the build-up to the death sentence being handed out to Mohammad Afzal. But also, it is true that all the articles in this book have been published in the mainstream press. It is that space that we are seeking to expand. Because we are today being run by the judiciary. I don't think there is any country where there is so much news about the judiciary. So we have a judiciary that micro-manages our lives. We have a system in place now which is turning parts of India into a police State. We have the highest number of custodial deaths in the world. India has refused to sign any international convenent on torture. So we're becoming a militarised police society. In such a situation, what kind of a role do we play? How do we expand the democratic space?" "When the special cell arrested S A R Geelani a day after the Parliament attack, from that day on, there was such a deadly game that was played out. The special cell put out propaganda of the most abominable sort, which was disseminated even by the most respected mainstream newspapers and television channels in this country. And then followed a sort of parallel game, where you build up national hysteria by telling these lies again, while the judicial system never looked at these reports, which never come under judicial scrutiny. This allows the courts to function in a completely unaccountable way. Because apart from the fact that Afzal did not have legal representation, the fact is that there is not a single piece of evidence which withstands legal scrutiny." "So the courts have admitted that there have been instances of fabricated evidence, evidence that has been tampered with, phone records that are false; seizure memos, arrest memos, material discrepancies -- all these are admitted, but nothing is done about it, because ideologically, there is this parallel war going on in the press and the public." "Eventually the Supreme Court says it has no direct evidence against Afzal, it has circumstantial evidence, it says there is nothing to connect him to a terrorist organisation, but in order to satisfy the collective conscience of society, he must be hanged. And then you have opinion polls based on people who are influenced by this." "Is this the kind of society that we look forward to becoming? Recently on the television channels you had a police officer who came out and said in detail how he had tortured Afzal. He has gone on record saying he used electrodes and all that." "On that programme there were senior lawyers, senior policemen, senior journalists, and no one had anything to say about a man coming out and saying 'I torture people because it is my national duty'. He more or less said that. No human rights organisation has taken suo moto notice of this, it has a become a part of the texture of our lives. In Chile, 3,000 people were killed during the reign of (Auguste) Pinochet over 17 years. We can do much better than that in India. Even the officials statistic in Kashmir is 45,000." "We have the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, where forget capital punishment, summary execution is allowed by non-commissioned officers. A huge population of this country is hostage to this. In the whole trial of Afzal, apart from what is going on in court, you have a whole family being hostage to what the STS can do." Roy said when she was asked whether she believed the attack on Parliament was an 'inside job' she had said, "I don't think we can even know whether it was an inside or an outside job, because we have a system of layers now, at the bottom of which are organisations like the special task force, the Special Operations Group in Kashmir, shading into the Ikhwanvis who are the renegades, shading into surrendered militants, and there is an exchange of bodily fluids that goes on, and we don't what's inside and what's outside anymore." "Even if there were a parliamentary enquiry, I don't think we would come out with blueprints and plans and bombs planted under somebody's bed. I think the only thing we can hope for is that some journalists will start to pull the threads, and the knit will unravel at high speed. Because if you are in a relationship with someone, and that someone begins to tell lies, then you want to know why they are lying. And there have been plenty of lies that have been told in this case, from beginning to end." Others who spoke included Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande, Delhi University Professor Nirmalangshu Mukherji, alternative media expert Shuddhabrata Sengupta and columnist Praful Bidwai. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From mail at shivamvij.com Wed Dec 13 02:02:13 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 02:02:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Is Afzal now just a rallying point for intellectuals?' Message-ID: <9c06aab30612121232p3d055d5fx23856dc5a14be8e1@mail.gmail.com> "Is Afzal now just a rallying point for intellectuals? "A day before the fifth anniversary of Parliament attack, some of country's renowned journalists, activists and writers - led by Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Roy - came together to release a book that raises 13 "damning" questions about the attack. But is Afzal simply an intra-elite debate among India's Left liberals or do the intellectuals actually have a public constituency outside the seminar halls of Delhi and Mumbai?" http://www.ibnlive.com/news/has-afzal-become-a-rallying-point-for-intellectuals/28339-3.html o o o o o o "do the intellectuals actually have a public constituency outside the seminar halls of Delhi and Mumbai?" How does one respond to that? o o o o o o Perhaps the above has something to do with this: At the end of November 2006, Afzal's older brother Aijaz made it on to a national news channel (CNN-IBN). He was featured on hidden camera, on what was meant to be a 'sting' operation, making—we were asked to believe—stunning revelations. Aijaz's story had already been on offer to various journalists on the streets of Delhi for weeks. People were wary of him because his rift with his brother's wife and family is well known. More significantly, in Kashmir he is known to have a relationship with the STF. More than one person has suggested an audit of his newfound assets. But here he was now, on the national news, endorsing the Supreme Court decision to hang his brother. Then, saying Afzal had never surrendered, and that it was he (Aijaz) who surrendered his brother's weapon to the BSF! And since he had never surrendered, Aijaz was able to 'confirm' that Afzal was an active militant with the Jaish-e-Mohammed, and that Ghazi Baba, chief of operations of the Jaish, used to regularly hold meetings in their home. (Aijaz claims that when Ghazi Baba was killed, it was he who the police called in to identify the body). On the whole, it sounded as though there had been a case of mistaken identity—and that given how much he knew, and all he was admitting, Aijaz should have been the one in custody instead of Afzal! Of course we must keep in mind that behind both Aijaz and Afzal's 'media confessions', spaced five years apart, is the invisible hand of the STF, the dreaded counter-insurgency outfit in Kashmir. They can make anyone say anything at any time. Their methods (both punitive and remunerative) are familiar to every man, woman and child in the Kashmir Valley. At a time like this, for a responsible news channel to announce that their "investigation finds that Afzal was a Jaish militant", based on totally unreliable testimony, is dangerous and irresponsible. (Since when did what our brothers say about us become admissible evidence? My brother, for instance, will testify that I'm God's Gift to the Universe. I could dredge up a couple of aunts who'd say I'm a Jaish militant. For a price.) How can family feuds be dressed up as Breaking News? The other character who is rapidly emerging from the shadowy periphery and wading on to centrestage is Dy Superintendent of Police Dravinder Singh of the STF. He is the man who Afzal has named as the police officer who held him in illegal detention and tortured him in the STF camp at Humhama in Srinagar, only a few months before the Parliament attack. In a letter to his lawyer, Sushil Kumar, Afzal says that several of the calls made to him and Mohammed Yasin (the man killed in the attack) can be traced to Dravinder. Of course, no attempt was made to trace these calls. Dravinder Singh was also showcased on the CNN-IBN show, on the by-now ubiquitous low-angle shots, camera shake and all. It seemed a bit unnecessary, because Dravinder Singh has been talking a lot these days. He has done recorded interviews, on the phone as well as face-to-face, saying exactly the same shocking things. Weeks before the sting operation, in a recorded interview to Parvaiz Bukhari, a freelance journalist, he said "I did interrogate and torture him (Afzal) at my camp for several days. And we never recorded his arrest in the books anywhere. His description of torture at my camp is true. That was the procedure those days and we did pour petrol in his ass and gave him electric shocks. But I could not break him. He did not reveal anything to me despite our hardest possible interrogation. We tortured him enough for Ghazi Baba but he did not break. He looked like a 'bhondu' those days, what you call a 'chootiya' type. And I had a reputation for torture, interrogation and breaking suspects. If anybody came out of my interrogation clean, nobody would ever touch him again. He would be considered clean for good by the whole department." This is not an empty boast. Dravinder Singh has a formidable reputation for torture in the Kashmir Valley. On TV his boasting spiralled into policymaking. "Torture is the only deterrent for terrorism," he said, "I do it for the nation." He didn't bother to explain why or how the 'bhondu' that he tortured and subsequently released allegedly went on to become the diabolical mastermind of the Parliament attack. Dravinder Singh then said that Afzal was a Jaish militant. If this is true, why wasn't the evidence placed before the courts? And why on earth was Afzal released? Why wasn't he watched? There is a definite attempt to try and dismiss this as incompetence. But given everything we know now, it would take all of Dravinder Singh's delicate professional skills to make some of us believe that. Meanwhile right-wing commentators have consistently taken to referring to Afzal as a Jaish-e-Mohammed militant. It's as though instructions have been issued that this is to be the Party Line. They have absolutely no evidence to back their claim, but they know that repeating something often enough makes it the 'truth'. As part of the campaign to portray Afzal as an 'active' militant, and not a surrendered militant, S.M. Sahai, Inspector General, Kashmir, J&K Police, appeared on TV to say that he had found no evidence in his records that Afzal had surrendered. It would have been odd if he had, because in 1993 Afzal surrendered not to the J&K Police, but to the BSF. But why would a TV journalist bother with that kind of detail? And why does a senior police officer need to become part of this game of smoke and mirrors? http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20061218&fname=Arundhuti+%28F%29&sid=1 o o o o o o Video of the book launch today: http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/v/28320/fine-print-december-13--a-reader.html From mail at shivamvij.com Wed Dec 13 05:28:56 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 05:28:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9c06aab30612121558v4929cec8td107fce8ca0c0a65@mail.gmail.com> On 12/12/06, Vedavati Jogi wrote: > i don't hate you, i am a hindu, you are a muslim still we are sisters. * The "sisters" bit is very interesting. Reminds me of: Gangubai once told film-maker Vijaya Mulay, in the initial years of television: "If a male musician is a Muslim, he becomes an Ustad. If he is a Hindu, he becomes a Pandit. But women like Kesarbai and Mogubai just remain Bais." Ustad: master/teacher, Pandit: scholar/teacher, Bai: sister. http://blogs.sanmathi.org/anasuya/2006/11/28/more-from-pandit-gangu-hangal/ * Also reminds me of a scene in Kamalahassan's "Hey Ram," but I'd let that be! * best s From jumanab12 at yahoo.co.uk Tue Dec 12 13:09:08 2006 From: jumanab12 at yahoo.co.uk (jumana bandukwala) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:39:08 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <613748.43688.qm@web26408.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Hi all, This so called hindus with terrorist hindutva idealogy trying all possible way to tear apart the very secular democratic fabric of India and forced the other minority communities to take up arms against them.....first the saffron terrorists brigade killed father of the nation, Gandhiji, strong exponent of secular India, then by taking useless issue Ram janam bhoomi have have killed thousands of innocent muslims in Gujarat, UP, Mumbai, Bengal, almost all over India and it is still continue...and now they are so much radical that they even lynched low caste hindus dead on petty issues, sometimes dalits were beaten to death, others they were set on fire live and the like. Now after all this fracas of the so called sefl proclaimed guardian of hindu...they are ought to plunge India into darkness of superstitions, illiteracy, witchcraft, loot, fraud, in otherwords they are heading India towards JUNGLE RAAJ....... general public should oppose these demons. Vedavati Jogi wrote: one should not equate hindu & muslim terrorism because, 1) most of the times hindu terrorism is the 'reaction'- to muslim t. 2) moreover hindu terrorist will not 'partition' this country. (i hope every body remembers 1947) >From: gowhar fazli >To: Vedavati Jogi >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the chief Minister >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:59:30 -0800 (PST) > >Dear Vedavati Jogi I think the problem is precisely >that the two kinds of terrorism are not spoken about >equally in the same breath. Both Hindu and Muslim >fundamentalism are similar except that the >majoritarian fundamentalism gets mistaken as >nationalism at times and can even come to power while >Muslim fundamentalism is terrorism beyond doubt. > > >--- Vedavati Jogi wrote: > > > in india, if you have to prove your secular > > credentials, you have to curse > > rss/bjp/vhp, you have to talk about gujrat > > carnage(?) again & again....and > > most importantly you have to remain tightlipped as > > far as muslim terrorism > > is concerned! > > > > > > >From: Britta Ohm > > >To: Clifton > > >CC: reader-list at sarai.net > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal > > harmony > > >activistsarrested in Karnataka - Write in the the > > chief Minister > > >Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 17:06:24 +0100 > > > > > >Dear Clifton, > > >no irony here but sincere interest (as I'm not so > > aware): do you mean > > >the Kanataka-coalition government only, or does > > "the role of this > > >present coalition government in supporting and > > promoting these > > >activities of the Sangh Parivar" also refer to the > > UPA? And if so, are > > >there examples for this support you could name? > > > > > >Britta > > > > > >Am 02.12.2006 um 15:27 schrieb Clifton: > > > > > > > Friends, > > > > > > > > Most of you are aware of the Sangh Parivar’s > > attempts to destroy the > > > > secular fabric in Karnataka by targeting the > > Baba-Datta shrine on > > > > Bababudangiri near Chikmagalur, a shrine that is > > an example of > > > > syncretic > > > > traditions in the state, attracting people of > > different faiths. You are > > > > also aware of the role of this present coalition > > government in > > > > supporting and promoting these activities of the > > Sangh Parivar. Now the > > > > government has given permission to the Sangh > > Parivar to conduct the > > > > Shobha Yatra and about 300 activists of the > > Karnataka Komu Souharda > > > > Vedike who reached Chikmagalur to protest this > > have been arrested today > > > > (02.12.2006). > > > > > > > > The Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, which is a > > coalition of over 200 > > > > organizations working since 2002 to establish > > communal harmony and to > > > > fight against the agenda of communalism in > > Karnataka, has through the > > > > years exposed the Sangh Parivar’s farcical > > claims about the shrine, > > > > thwarted their intentions and successfully > > countered their agenda > > > > through its ideology of aggressive secularism. > > > > > > > > The Sangh Parivar has been targeting the shrine > > on Bababudangiri with > > > > the sole intention of destroying this tradition > > in the name of > > > > 'liberating' the shrine from Muslims. In order > > to achieve their narrow > > > > sectarian goal, they have been creating unwanted > > disputes, putting up > > > > historically untenable and legally unsubstantial > > arguments. Further, > > > > they have introduced previously non-existent > > religious practices like > > > > Datta-Mala Abhiyan, Shobha Yatra and Datta > > Jayanthi celebrations every > > > > year in the months of October, November and > > December. It is obvious > > > > that > > > > their main purpose is neither religion nor faith > > but to target the > > > > Muslim community as ‘outsiders’ who are bent > > on destroying the > > >‘Hindu’ > > > > tradition and culture. > > > > > > > > This year, the BJP has aligned with the Janata > > Dal (S) to form a > > > > coalition government which has thus far > > supported the communal agenda > > > > of > > > > the Sangh Parivar. Clear evidence of this was > > visible in the first week > > > > of October during the communal violence in and > > around Mangalore and in > > > > Bababudangiri at the time of the Datta Mala > > Abhiyan. In Bababudangiri, > > > > the local BJP MLA, C.T. Ravi led the Sangh > > Parivar activists in > > > > performing rites in the shrine – in clear > > violation of the High > > >Court's > > > > order. > > > > > > > > By contrast activists of the Komu Souharda > > Vedike were arrested and > > > > prevented from peacefully protesting and > > exposing the communal designs > > > > of the present Government. This action of the > > present governement is > > > > reprehensible and reaffirms the communal > > credentials of the so – > > >called > > > > secular JD(S). We are particularly concerned > > that this particular > > > > action > > > > of arresting secular activists and preventing > > peaceful protests bodes > > > > ill for the future of democracy in Karnataka > > > > > > > > /We request you to write / phone / fax / email > > the Chief Minister and > > > > the Home Minister demanding the immediate > > release of the arrested > > > > activists. We also hope that you would state in > > most certain terms your > > > > unacceptance of such a communal agenda of this > > government especially > > > > with regard to Bababudangiri and the recent > > Mangalore riots. / > > > > > > > > /Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy/ > > > > /Ph: 2225 3414 / /22253424/ > > > > cm at kar.nic.in / > > > > > > > > /Home Minister M.P. Prakash > > > > Ph: 22251798 > > > > Internal Ph: 2092489 > > > > e-mail: homemin at vsb.kar.nic.in > > / > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > 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. > > > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: > > > > > > > >----------------- > > >Britta Ohm > > >Solmsstr. 36 > > >10961 Berlin > > >Germany > > >+49/30/69507155 > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > >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. > > >To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > > > > > >_________________________________________________________________ > > Spice up your IM conversations. New, colorful and > > animated emoticons. Get > > chatting! http://server1.msn.co.in/SP05/emoticons/ > > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > >Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of >dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. > >Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. > >Peter Ustinov > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. >http://new.mail.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Catch all the cricketing action right here. Live score, match reports, photos et al. http://content.msn.co.in/Sports/Cricket/Default.aspx _________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: --------------------------------- Web email has come of age. Don't settle for less than the All New Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061212/553e0e15/attachment.html From mail at shivamvij.com Tue Dec 12 23:39:18 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:39:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir: Call for explanations about arrest of journalist Abdul Rouf Message-ID: <9c06aab30612121009reb64a5eu9aff941e781bd481@mail.gmail.com> --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: RSF ASIA > Date: 12-Dec-2006 21:17 Subject: INDIA: Call for explanations about journalist arrested in Kashmir To: List Suppressed Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières Press release Tuesday 11 December 2006 INDIA CALL FOR EXPLANATIONS ABOUT JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN KASHMIR Reporters Without Borders has urged the Indian authorities, particularly Union home minister Shivraj Patil, to provide clear and objective information about the detention of Abdul Rouf, an editor on the Srinagar News, and his wife Zeenat Rouf. "The rule of law should be guaranteed in Kashmir as elsewhere in India. It is unacceptable that the security forces arrest, detain and charge journalists in the most dubious circumstances," the worldwide press freedom organisation said. "We want explanations about the detention of Abdul Rouf and his wife from both the State and Union authorities. If this arrest is linked to his work as a journalist, he should be released immediately," it added. The organisation pointed out that another reporter, photo-journalist Maqbool Sahil, has been held without trial in Kashmir since September 2004. A judge in the capital Srinagar on 9 December 2006 ordered the release on bail of Zeenat Rouf, who is currently in custody at a police station in Rambagh, but police have so far refused to release her. Since 4 December, Abdul Rouf and his wife have been held under a weapons law. Police who presented a first report (FIR 341/2006) accuse them of sheltering armed separatists at their home. The couple's families deny the accusations, saying that they have never committed any crimes. Between 21 November and 4 December, the journalist was held at the Special Operations Group (SOG) centre without ever going before a judge. A police officer in Srinagar, reached by telephone by Reporters Without Borders, refused to give any information about the reasons for their detention. Described by his colleagues as "calm and loyal in his work", Abdul Rouf was a calligrapher for various publications in Srinagar for 15 years. For the past four years he has worked as deputy editor on Srinagar News. The couple's two daughters, Rafiya and Rubiya, and their son, Amir, who is a deaf-mute, told how the SOG agents searched the family home in Srinagar on the night of 21 November. They have been forced to take refuge at the home of a neighbour. They have been unable to return home since the house has been sealed and "police are preventing the children from having access to their clothes, books and toys," the journalist's brother told the newspaper Greater Kashmir. Photo-journalist Muhammad Maqbool Khokar, better known as Maqbool Sahil, has been held in Kashmir since 18 September 2004 under an emergency public security law. Despite calls for his release from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and the National Human Rights Commission the security services refuse to set him free. - -- Vincent Brossel Asia - Pacific Desk Reporters Sans Frontières 5 rue Geoffroy Marie 75009 Paris 33 1 44 83 84 70 33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax) asia at rsf.org www.rsf.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061212/09337390/attachment.html From aziz.mansour at gmail.com Wed Dec 13 20:37:43 2006 From: aziz.mansour at gmail.com (Mansour Aziz) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:07:43 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Article: Beirut Witnesses Biggest Rally in its History In-Reply-To: <162458.12531.qm@web50304.mail.yahoo.com> References: <162458.12531.qm@web50304.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: (Draft--not for circulation) Beirut Witnesses Biggest Rally in its History Miriyam Aouragh Monday, December 11, 2006 The mood in Beirut was tensed for almost a week, especially after a young Shia anti-government protester was killed by allegedly pro-government youth. But yesterday seemed like one big festival of resistance, reminding me of the great antiwar protests and European Social Forum gatherings. The opposition and their supporters are demanding the formation of a national unity government and a halt to American influence. As the protests intensified since last week, it culminated in this largest political rally ever in the history of Lebanon. Despite the gigantic turnout yesterday, Western media seemed rather to deny the political and symbolic significance. While attempting to reach Martyr Square for the protests, the more than 1,5 million protestors pressured the Mobile Network systems and stop all connection for hours. In Lebanese standards this means around 2/5 citizens were in Beirut to protest, or roughly a quarter of the countries population. Even if it were half this number, it was no wonder the streets were near to empty in the rest of the country's cities and at least 3 of Beirut's big public sites were required to host the men, women and children. As any possible entrance and exist to squares seemed to endlessly dwell more and more people, several things raised my attention. First of all, the repeated demand for Lebanon PM Siniora to resign during the highly politicised discourse of the platform speakers, conversations of protestors alike. Especially the links between the government and America and the weak answer to Israel's assault raised much discontent. Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's deputy after Nasrallah held one of the strongest speeches evoking massive response from the crowds and "This government will not take Lebanon to the abyss again …. Siniora, you will not be able to rule this country with an American Administration." was welcomed by ululations and drums. Secondly, the composition of the participants was unique in its very mixed manifestation. Having followed the Western media before coming to Lebanon, it seems rather outlandish how they continue to portray this weeks protests as merely a "Pro-Syrian Hezbollah coup attempt"—had it been an Eastern European country, hell would have broke loose and a new 'orange revolution' baptised, live on CNN and BBC of course. Anyone at the protests could see it the reports on Lebanon are a grave misrepresentation, making it the first every coup in history that is comprised of 2 million people, for ever altering the meaning of 'coup'. Sundays protest was also a highly mixed gathering gender, age and religion wise. The high participation of Christians Aoun supporters was for example unseen before as major part of the Christian community shifted and now speak out for Aoun against right wing Lebanese Forces leader Ja'Ja' whose violent history numbed many. It was normal to find groups of teenagers playing darbouka drums and dancing, next to veiled women feeding their children, students smoking argila and debating in circles, men praying together elsewhere, people passing in wheelchairs, fashionably dressed girls on high heels. And striking were the many female organisers, stewards and journalists present, shattering much of the mantra's on backward Arab women's oppression, and equal Western women's emancipation. But of course not everybody is merely moving as a flock of sheep behind the political leaders. After talking with some of the activists, it became clear there is also critical debate within this strong unity. People question for example how long this climax can last; what are Nasrallah and Aoun's interests once they get their way and what do they think of privatisation?; what will happen if the current government succeed to divide and rule the people? Especially the last issue is still a risk in Lebanon's sensitive political map. But as activist and one of the main organisers of Samidoun network during the war in the summer explained "With the strong urbanisation, and demographic and class composition changed over the last 30 years, also the interests and (artificial) hegemony of the different regional and religious sects witness a change which should be taken into account." Troops continue to guard government offices and main traffic junctions but it seems like people are not very impressed, or had simple gone used to it. Indeed, while hundreds shouted 'Siniora Out!' 'We want a government for all, not just for the rich!" there are rumours that the protests might spark a civil war, but the mass protests has in fact been peaceful. The Shia, Sunni and Christian clerics and politicians repeatedly pointed at unity and crossing all sectarian divisions, these expressions were welcomed by massive applause and cheers. To be honest, one rather gets afraid sitting at home alone and listening to the establishment continuously warning for sectarian conflicts and civil. Because the atmosphere on the streets, in the camping tents, and at rallies this week, were actually very pleasant, safe with a comradely open atmosphere. Lebanon's internal political enemies saw several 'showdowns' since the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, but with the latest non-violent mass protest, it is dangerous for the Lebanese government and its Western allies to treat these protests as marginal, yet again alienating itself from the people. The protests are due to be followed by indefinite sit-ins, blockades of the highway road to the airport, and possible strikes now that several unions support the anti-government protest. If there is not going to be a civil war or violent internal sectarian strive as some automatic 'Lebanese reflex', than for Ghassan: "it is most probably going to signify and introduce a shift from the old sectarian system because the majority of the people now simply says they don't want it anymore." And more so interesting; as the working and lower-middle classes dominate at the protests, unlike the pro Hariri protests, their often expressed economic demands cannot just be waved off as meaningless for the 'national' agenda. The course of the protests will have to show how the developments will balance, for now the opposition as a whole share a common interest to rid the government. From janicepariat at gmail.com Thu Dec 14 10:23:10 2006 From: janicepariat at gmail.com (Janice Pariat) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:23:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Two Plays at The British Council Message-ID: <72cca7600612132053w4b83eb7en93b6c57ad7097dfc@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, Thought this might interest some.... First City Theatre Foundation & The British Council present "Two Plays". "The Collection" (adapted from a play by Harold Pinter & directed by Samar Grewal) with Kriti Pant, Rohan Dutta, Neel Chaudhuri & Saattvic. The Collection is a trim, witty but unsettling piece depicting a household wobbling with a tremor of adultery. As two couples fall victim to suspicions & jealousy, what really did happen in a hotel room in Mumbai one night becomes irrelevant, except as the ignition point to their pursuit to find the truth about each other. "Positions" (an original play directed by Neel Chaudhuri) with Anirudh Nair, Kriti Pant, Janice Pariat & Saattvic. Positions is inspired by "Happy Endings" -- a short fictional piece by Margaret Atwood. Develped largely through improvisation, it is a sequence of six short vignettes that play out as stolen moments from the lives and interactions of a miscellany of characters. Two Plays will be performed at the British Council Auditorium, 17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi, on 16, 18 & 19 December 2006 at 7 pm. Entry free on a first-come first-serve basis. From vishal.rawlley at gmail.com Thu Dec 14 12:33:43 2006 From: vishal.rawlley at gmail.com (Vishal Rawlley) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:33:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] BLURKER Message-ID: <31d5ea920612132303y3c0a9184v56865f75ef526f36@mail.gmail.com> Blurker *Noun*. One who reads many blogs and lists but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent observer... Happy blurking! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061214/b9a37ec0/attachment.html From penguinhead at linux-delhi.org Thu Dec 14 14:00:22 2006 From: penguinhead at linux-delhi.org (Pankaj kaushal) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:00:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mailing list statistics Message-ID: <45810B9E.9000300@linux-delhi.org> Hello, The statistics for the year 2006. The program to generate the stats is available at http://disgruntle.net/mliststats.pl . Cheers! P. > > Stats on: 14 12 2006 01:54:07 PM > > > "Total Lines" do not count attachments, only the main body of the > message. Messages which contain only attachments count as 0 lines. > > "Original lines" are the subset of "Total Lines" that are not > preceeded by ">". > > "Noise" is the quoted material. > > Total Messages: 3799 > Total Original Body Lines: 352508 > Total Body Lines: 473513 (26% noise) > > Top threads posted: > > Total Total Total > Messages Original Lines: > Posted: Lines: > > 1: [Reader-list] (no subject) 31 2437 3007 (19% noise) > 2: [Reader-list] Writing english 24 402 1365 (71% noise) > 3: [Reader-list] Disproportion and the Justification of War 18 995 1192 (17% noise) > 4: [Reader-list] film on sonagachi wins oscar 18 614 1108 (45% noise) > 5: [Reader-list] Please JOIN pro-reservation agitation in Delhi 16 485 672 (28% noise) > 6: [Reader-list] 'Striking AIIMS docs live in a glass house' 14 814 1376 (41% noise) > 7: [Reader-list] sunday book market faces closure. 13 497 1341 (63% noise) > 8: [Reader-list] News from the Daniel Langlois Foundation 13 401 538 (26% noise) > 9: [Reader-list] 12 1332 1687 (22% noise) > 10: [Reader-list] IBM frees 500 software patents 12 292 739 (61% noise) > 11: [Reader-list] Richard Stallman in Calcutta 12 121 379 (69% noise) > 12: Fw: [Reader-list] The Vedavatis of this world 11 241 711 (67% noise) > 13: [Reader-list] Action Alert - Communal harmony activistsarrested 10 270 2086 (88% noise) > 14: Re: [Reader-list] WHO WILL PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF INDIAN 10 250 1966 (88% noise) > 15: [Reader-list] What ails the Sarai Reader List? 10 352 905 (62% noise) > 16: [Reader-list] Hypertextual Poetry: A Study of MSN Poetry 9 421 774 (46% noise) > 17: [Reader-list] Conflict versus Violence 9 623 2103 (71% noise) > 18: [Reader-list] The Vedavatis of this world 8 439 962 (55% noise) > 19: [Reader-list] Gopal & Rakhal 8 178 311 (43% noise) > 20: [Reader-list] Where did Democracy go? 8 689 1050 (35% noise) > 21: [Reader-list] The Slimes of India's Patna edition reprints, Danish 8 134 329 (60% noise) > 22: [Reader-list] The Slimes of India's Patna edition reprints, 8 327 788 (59% noise) > 23: [Reader-list] Communalisation by Media 8 1237 2246 (45% noise) > 24: [Reader-list] INDIA'S FIRST LOCAL INTERNET SEARCH ENGINE 7 71 141 (50% noise) > 25: [Reader-list] madurai 7 663 731 (10% noise) > > Sorted by messages posted: > Total Total Total > Messages Original Lines: > Posted: Lines: > > 1: Shivam 103 5107 6931 (27% noise) > 2: zainab 90 8109 10804 (25% noise) > 3: Vivek Narayanan 89 8458 12326 (32% noise) > 4: Aarti Sethi 81 8416 10759 (22% noise) > 5: Shivam Vij 62 3658 4084 (11% noise) > 6: xavier cahen 55 1862 2406 (23% noise) > 7: PUKAR 53 16276 18468 (12% noise) > 8: Monica Narula 47 2355 4023 (42% noise) > 9: Zulfiqar Shah 44 2398 5040 (53% noise) > 10: Jeebesh Bagchi 40 8566 10969 (22% noise) > 11: V Ramaswamy 39 2254 3223 (31% noise) > 12: mahmood farooqui 38 8039 10199 (22% noise) > 13: Pankaj kaushal 35 737 1140 (36% noise) > 14: Turbulence 35 1772 2170 (19% noise) > 15: Rana Dasgupta 34 3628 4457 (19% noise) > 16: CM at Nangla 34 2387 3019 (21% noise) > 17: Yousuf 33 1482 3487 (58% noise) > 18: Iram Ghufran 33 2482 4056 (39% noise) > 19: [netEX] 32 2464 2787 (12% noise) > 20: mahmood farooqui 29 832 2542 (68% noise) > 21: Geert Lovink 29 1521 2714 (44% noise) > 22: Shuddhabrata Sengupta 28 1981 2723 (28% noise) > 23: NAEEM MOHAIEMEN 28 3783 4148 (09% noise) > 24: Kiran Jonnalagadda 27 1021 1927 (48% noise) > 25: Lawrence Liang 27 3111 4006 (23% noise) > > Sorted by original lines posted: > Total Total Total > Messages Original Lines: > Posted: Lines: > > 1: PUKAR 53 16276 18468 (12% noise) > 2: Jeebesh Bagchi 40 8566 10969 (22% noise) > 3: Vivek Narayanan 89 8458 12326 (32% noise) > 4: Aarti Sethi 81 8416 10759 (22% noise) > 5: zainab 90 8109 10804 (25% noise) > 6: mahmood farooqui 38 8039 10199 (22% noise) > 7: arshad amanullah 21 6687 7740 (14% noise) > 8: Prashant Pandey 22 5557 6713 (18% noise) > 9: Shivam 103 5107 6931 (27% noise) > 10: Rob van Kranenburg 24 3945 5606 (30% noise) > 11: NAEEM MOHAIEMEN 28 3783 4148 (09% noise) > 12: Shivam Vij 62 3658 4084 (11% noise) > 13: Rana Dasgupta 34 3628 4457 (19% noise) > 14: sanjay ghosh 14 3496 3991 (13% noise) > 15: prasad shetty 8 3439 3727 (08% noise) > 16: Joel Slayton 5 3388 3936 (14% noise) > 17: lalit batra 1 3265 3299 (02% noise) > 18: mmdesai 9 3119 3407 (09% noise) > 19: Lawrence Liang 27 3111 4006 (23% noise) > 20: kaiwan mehta 22 2613 2998 (13% noise) > 21: tasneem dhinojwala 3 2602 2663 (03% noise) > 22: Maitrey Bajpai 5 2589 3090 (17% noise) > 23: Aditi thorat 6 2506 3791 (34% noise) > 24: Iram Ghufran 33 2482 4056 (39% noise) > 25: [netEX] 32 2464 2787 (12% noise) > > Sorted by total lines posted: > Total Total Total > Messages Original Lines: > Posted: Lines: > > 1: PUKAR 53 16276 18468 (12% noise) > 2: Vivek Narayanan 89 8458 12326 (32% noise) > 3: Jeebesh Bagchi 40 8566 10969 (22% noise) > 4: zainab 90 8109 10804 (25% noise) > 5: Aarti Sethi 81 8416 10759 (22% noise) > 6: mahmood farooqui 38 8039 10199 (22% noise) > 7: arshad amanullah 21 6687 7740 (14% noise) > 8: Shivam 103 5107 6931 (27% noise) > 9: Prashant Pandey 22 5557 6713 (18% noise) > 10: Rob van Kranenburg 24 3945 5606 (30% noise) > 11: Zulfiqar Shah 44 2398 5040 (53% noise) > 12: Rana Dasgupta 34 3628 4457 (19% noise) > 13: NAEEM MOHAIEMEN 28 3783 4148 (09% noise) > 14: Shivam Vij 62 3658 4084 (11% noise) > 15: Iram Ghufran 33 2482 4056 (39% noise) > 16: Monica Narula 47 2355 4023 (42% noise) > 17: Lawrence Liang 27 3111 4006 (23% noise) > 18: sanjay ghosh 14 3496 3991 (13% noise) > 19: Joel Slayton 5 3388 3936 (14% noise) > 20: Aditi thorat 6 2506 3791 (34% noise) > 21: prasad shetty 8 3439 3727 (08% noise) > 22: 23: Yousuf 33 1482 3487 (58% noise) > 24: Vedavati Jogi 16 337 3447 (91% noise) > 25: mmdesai 9 3119 3407 (09% noise) > -- Wir wollen dass ihr uns alles glaubt. From jumpshark at gmail.com Thu Dec 14 15:26:29 2006 From: jumpshark at gmail.com (Prashant Pandey) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:26:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Himesh Reshammiya on Sarai Message-ID: Himesh - A posting He has emerged as the baap of all the entertainers in the Bombay showbiz, whose shows are a greater sell out success than even the king of Bollywood , Shahrukh Khan. The only composer in Bombay who started signing contracts with music companies over his ring tones rights. I am talking about Himesh Reshammiya. Television producer(yes he used to make TV serials) turned composer turned singer turned hero( now he is playing lead in a film)...Himesh moves fast and foxy. Himesh has an acumen for turning out the same and same melody into 100 different songs and a keen sense of music and showbiz business. I remember meeting him last year in famous studios. I told him that I was the one who was hounding him for my sarai fellowship interview. "yessss.........yes yes...how are you....." It was for Indian Express right.... No...It was for Sarai...." All through my sarai stint Himesh ALWAYS mistook me for some Indian express guy, Times of India guy, DNA guy but could never understand that i was a sarai guy. It perhaps made no sense to a jetsetting 17 hour/day working guy in the heart of the deeply commercial industry. Nobody gives a fuck about non-mainstream media. Dont strain much. Move on. We had some time together to talk but Himesh was looking not into my eyes but on my paper plate which had those stale TV industry sandwiches. Can i have a bite from this.....I havent had anything today... As he took a bite, a hoard of young girls pounced on him eventually to be shoo-ed away by 3 production people. Two of them shamelessly managed to disrupt our conversation and asked me if i could lend my pen to them. I gave my pen to Himesh instead and he started to sign the initial two of some 50 autographs. I was deeply engulfed into two insecurities. ONE, I will lose my pen. TWO,I can never have a posting on Himesh ....that is anything first hand to write about. However the fan frenzy died down as it was a call for make-up. We resumed our talk. I managed to ask him about only one thing... "whats next..." I have been doing lot of experiments and my music next year will have lot of world music." I dont know what he meant but it was sure that he meant that he would change his sound ( like anu malik did in the early nineties- Phir Teri kahani yaad aayi, bazigar) and Nadeem Shravan- Pardes) So one year has passed since then..... (my sarai fellowship and PPHP work is sadly over )....so all of you who know what world music is ( I dont know what is it...) can listen to our own Himesh...and dont blame me if you dont find any.... by Prashant Pandey From aarti at sarai.net Thu Dec 14 15:09:20 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (Aarti Sethi) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:09:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Screening @ Sarai: 60 Seconds of Play Message-ID: <522020CB-4181-46E9-9B83-32B442D8A21C@sarai.net> =============================== Screening @ Sarai: 60 seconds of play =============================== 60 seconds of play …..a collection of experimental one-minute works. 5:30 P.M., Friday, 15 December 2006 curated by Avantika Bawa Sarai-CSDS 29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines, Delhi - 110054. 60 seconds of Play is presented as part of the launch for Issue #06 - ‘PLAY’ of Drain mag- journal of contemporary art and culture (drainmag.com). The works in ’60 seconds of Play’ question how playful energy may be a driving force in art and society. Drawing attention to trials and errors, mischievousness, illusions, irregularities, pretences and states of 'make - believe' this series of shorts will bring together the familiar and unfamiliar. We present offbeat works that delve into how 'play' operates as a sociopolitical force in creative practices. In exploring these qualities, this series encouraged all contributors to visually and/or aurally experiment with their mediums and take a few risks by shaking our senses around with a little bit of naughtiness. Artists include- Alex Pearl, Josh Mosley, Travis Hanmer, Jessica Gomula, Grant Stevens, Jaishri Abichandani, Suko Presseau, Matt Gamber, Bryan Zanisnik, Christi Heyob, Jen Schmidt, Mike Woody, Adam Tourek, Alex Heatherington, Ben Pranger, Matthew Kellen, Robert Ladislas Derr, Sarah Skapin, Elizabeth Smolares, Krista Steinke & Sherman Finch, Richard Oliver Wilson, Dana Sperry, Loren Schwerd, Natalie Bray, Ernesto Gomez, Jason Rivera, Joel Jonientz, Mary Magsamen, Stephan Hillerbrand, Kristi Ryba, Jon Field, Katya Moorman, Steve Aishman, Scott Beatty, Christi Heyob, David Burns, Allison McElroy and Object Orange. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061214/4b042432/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Fri Dec 15 08:24:32 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 18:54:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Mumbai, Dhaka, Zagreb In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20061215025432.50504.qmail@web50301.mail.yahoo.com> 1. Dec 15: "Fear Of Flying" @ "Fast Futures", Mumbai, India 2. Dec 25: "Muslims or Heretics: My Camera Can Lie" @ LW Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh 3. Until Jan 6: "Dataesthetics" @ Gallery Nova, Zagreb, Croatia ########################################## 1. Dec 15: "Fear Of Flying" @ "Fast Futures", Mumbai, India Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts and Asia Society India Centre present Fast Futures: Asian Video Art Screening & Discussion by curator Johan Pijnappel Friday, December 15, 2006, 6:30pm Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai Includes "Fear Of Flying" (Video, 9 min, 2005), co-directed by Malhotra/Mohaiemen, edited by Golden, music by Bald The 12 cutting-edge single channel video works are by young artists at the forefront of new media art in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Thailand. ‘Video’ seems to suit artists who are confronted with the frantic fast-changing societies in the Asian region. Created between 1999 and 2005, these works range in length from one minute to 20 minutes. This evening’s presentation draws from the videos originally selected by Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu, Independent Curator Yu Yeon Kim and Museum of Modern Art Curator Barbara London for the fourth annual Asian Contemporary Art Week (ACAW) in New York earlier this year. Johan Pijnappel, an independent art historian and curator from Holland was part of the opening programme of the ACAW. For two decades now his work has focused on art that uses modern technologies such as video, computers and the www. Johan will introduce the selection of video-works for this evening, and speak on the new media art scene in Asia today. http://www.ncpamumbai.com/facilities/litle.asp ########################################## 2. Dec 25: "Muslims or Heretics: My Camera Can Lie" @ LW Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh Hawthorne Effect and Muslims or Heretics: My Camera Can Lie? When part of an audience that refuse directed activism ("this is what you should care about") and limited spheres of influence, the viewer becomes hyper-aware of other, future audiences. The unfortunate coincidence of screening this film at the same time as a global media flap over the Abu Ghraib images turned each screening into a referendum on US foreign policy. A Dhaka audience refused to give an "authenticity" blessing. Instead, their articulated counter-argument was that issues internal to Bangladesh, specific to a rightist Islamist agenda, could not be debated until US human rights abuses were addressed and remedied. LW Museum http://www.liberationmuseum.org.bd/ ########################################## 3. Until Jan 6: "Dataesthetics" @ Gallery Nova, Zagreb, Croatia Curated By Stephen Wright In Association w/ WHW Collective The Atlas Group, Jean - Pierre Aubé, Bureau d'études, Center for Tactical Magic, IRWIN, Mark Lombardi, Trevor Paglen, Marko Peljhan/I-TASC, Martha Rosler, Bálint Szombathy, Mladen Stilinović, Visible Collective/Mohaiemen, Roy, Nimoy, Lin, Huq http://www.mi2.hr/index.php?page=news&id=258 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Have a burning question? Go to www.Answers.yahoo.com and get answers from real people who know. From aziz.mansour at gmail.com Fri Dec 15 17:05:45 2006 From: aziz.mansour at gmail.com (Mansour Aziz) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:35:45 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] A Letter from Beirut In-Reply-To: <45544402.2080604@sarai.net> References: <45544402.2080604@sarai.net> Message-ID: <8C890BF3-19E4-4518-AC42-F60638C9858D@gmail.com> A Letter from Beirut By Tamam Mroue* December 6, 2006 Watching from over the Ring Bridge which use to demarcate the Green Line dividing East and West Beirut during the 15-year civil war, one can see the whole commercial city-center. The downtown that was rebuilt by former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, after creating the private real-estate company "Solidaire" that bought-out by way of incentives and intimidation private and public property, turning the downtown into one private lot; one of the prettiest and cleanest in the world(2). Nobody visits this downtown, except for the Lebanese bourgeoisie and a few passer-byes, while it primarily serves as a tourist hangout, specially for those well-to-do visitors coming from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states(3). But on the day of Friday November 30th, the scene from this same bridge had changed. It is as if the downtown had reclaimed its old name, "balad"(4), when buses use to come from the outskirts and suburbs of the city, filled with people wanting to buy or sell, or to simply go on an excursion. The balad appeared anew as if it were a camp: sounds of drums, derbeke(5), revolutionary and religious songs, the smell of hookas, and dancing in all its forms: from the Southern and Zghertawi dabke(6) to break dance and other types of Western dance. They reclaimed the city center and lived in it in a way it hadn't been lived for over thirty years. Perhaps the joyous spirit seen on the faces of the participants is due to the hope that they will soon bring down the goverment, or perhaps it is a letting-go of the pressure they lived under the July 2006 Israeli bombardment. But it is foremost an expression of the desire of Shiites to participate in, and to feel part of, Lebanon. If one follows the television here, he or she may not see the same festive scene. Those who go on stage are representatives of oppositional parties, ideological and loyal to the banners and tactics of their parties. They aren't the ones who would hold the banner "Oh Fatfat, hurry please, two coffee and one tea."(7) At night, Hizbollah supporters do not mix with the other protesters (perhaps for security reasons), although they are keen on interacting with their partners during the day. This mixing became commonplace between supporters of Amal(8), the Aounists (9), the left, and the Marada party, whose Maronite leader Sulaiman Franjiah broke a taboo by criticizing the Maronite Patriarch. From a program aired on Hizbollah-supported Manar TV, and in response to the call of the patriarch to the Christians to not partipate in the strike: "maybe [the Patriarch] got turned on by the visit of the women." Franjiah was referring to a visit made to Bkerke(10) by a number of wives and families of the "14the of March" martyrs(11). Joyce Al-Jumayel's(12) expression of shock and regret to what Sulaiman, the son of Feira Frenjiah, had said about the Patriarch, was a comic irony. She might have forgotten that they (the Jumayel family) did not give a chance for Feira Frenjiah and her husband Tony to live and "properly raise" their son Sulaiman (the father, mother, and sister of Sulaiman Frenjieh were killed by the Lebanese Forces when he was five years old). Al-Tayyar (the Party headed by former military general Michel Aoun, which is in alliance with Hizbollah) performed the Sunday ceremonies in a Maronite church attended by all oppositional parties (and hence, religious groups). At the same time, the government which has been beseiged inside the Sarail(13), was performing another Maronite ceremony in memory of the assassination of Pierre Jumayyel. A ceremony which comes after the grand Mufti of the Sunnis had performed his Friday prayer in the Sarail in solidarity with the Sunni Prime Minister Sinoura. Inside the Sarail, the scene is more elegant and bourgeois: western and Arabic suits, clergymen, and prayers in solidarity with a government that is surrounded by thousands of protestors. It is said that the government had been sleeping in the Sarail and avoiding movement in fear of assassinations, since any such assassinations of ministers would call for the government to resign. Hasan Al-Sabea, the former Minister of Interior who had resigned over ten months ago, overturned his resignation in order to secure government quorum. The Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has called on the Druze students in the Lebanese University to stay at home and continue with their studies in fear of those "reactionaries" who want to drive the country into "revenge wars". A New Civil War, a New Green Line The night of Sunday December 2nd, and while a van of passangers was heading towards the southern suburb from Martyre square in downtown Beirut, passing by the predominantly Sunni area of Qasqas, the van was stopped and a number of men attacked the passengers. A quarrel errupted which resulted in tens of injured young Shiite men, and the death of one of them from a gunshot to his stomach. The next day, young men from the predominatly Shiite area of Shiyah went and broke the doors of stores in the Sunni Barbir area. These events are highly symbolic for all the Lebanese, for the Qasqas van has replaced the Ein El-Rummanah bus, the famous bus incident which is considered by most as delineating the start of Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). Back then, the supporters of Palestinian groups were returning from a ceremony, when they were shot at by supporters of the Philangist Party. Today, the Shiite return from a festive protest and are then shot at by supporters of the Hariri-lead Future Movement. The lines of demarcation have changed. While the line use to be between Shiyah and Ein El-Rummana, meaning between the Muslims and Christians, now it has been transformed to Corniche Al- Mazra'a (where the Lebanese Army has been now deployed), representing the line dividing Sunni and Shiite areas. The in-the-middle Shiyah area has simply moved its line of attrittion from the Christian Ein Alrummanah area to the Sunni Tariq Aljdede area. The common denominator reamins, which is that Shiyah is one of the poorest neighborhoods of Beirut. The Economy Taxi drivers in Beirut have been transformed into mobile radios for the defense and propagation of the government's policies. And here's a sampling of what happens in the shared taxis of Beirut. One of them told me: "the country has stopped and I hadn't worked today. All the blame is on the strike that has crippled the country. What do they want from us? Thugs dancing and playing the drums in central downtown and we are dying of hunger! We brought down the government of Omar Karame(14) but we did not dance in the downtown." Another taxi driver told me: "Isn't it a shame that we cut off the livelihood of 300 families who live off of Solidaire? Isn't a shame that State funds and public land is stolen by citizens who are constructing in areas such as Alraml Alali?(15)" For him, public money is being stolen by the poor whose houses were bombed during the agression and received money from Hizbollah, and whom are now building with it houses on public lands. The government has echoed such sentiments, specially its president Sinourah who previously served as a Minister of Finance and was therefore in charge of the public debt which has reached a staggering 40 billion dollars. In irony, he has alluded to that all of Lebanon's economic crisis is due to five days of protest in the city center, and that an appeal against the government will lead to the cancelation of Paris 3, the France-led international meeting which is scheduled to study the public debt. The Horror of Civl War Fear is not hidden from the faces of the people in this city, specially those moving between areas at night time, as youth are now starting to carry sticks and stopping cars asking its passengers about their sect. A scene which recalls the times of kiddnapping and killing on identity during the civil war, which may soon be referred to as the Civil War I. Lebanon is on the verge of civil war and this time a Sunni-Shiite one, and all the prerequesites are there for a people who has become accustomed to these wars, if not mastering them. Specially considering that whether the political class is in the "loyalist" camp or in the opposition, all of them have been tried and share the status of warlords, some of which are undoubtedly war criminals. But the hope remains that it will not happen again, considering that this time around the Lebanese people know very well the horror of war, and like the last time when it was anxious for killing "the others". Also the hope is in Hizbollah, undoubtedly the most armed party in Lebanon, which has worked relentlessly on cleaning up its history of involvement in the civil war, and from religious extremism and kidnapping, in effort to become "a Lebanese resistance party". Will Hizbollah go backwards and draw his weapons towards the Lebanese after it excelled in aiming them towards Israel? * Tamam Mroue is a social worker living in Beirut. This letter has been translated from Arabic. ________________________________ Translator's notes: (1) This is why the downtown is also referred to as simply "Solidaire" (2) Sukleen, the waste collection and street sweeping company commissioned by the government to clean Beirut, is also owned by Hariri. (3) The number of tourists per year in recent years have exceeded one million per year, roughly a quarter of which come from Saudi Arabia. (4) "Balad" which is the Arabic word for "country", is the colloquial Beiruti word for downtown. "Balad" refers to the old and "populaire" downtown prior to reconstruction, while usage of the English word "downtown" or simply "D.T." implies a new class relationship to the city center. (5) A drum commonly drum used in Lebanon and many Levant Arab countries. (6) Dabke is the traditional folk dance of the Levant, and different regions within Lebanon have slightly different variations of its steps and movement. Zghartawi dabke is in reference to the dabke danced in the Zgharta region in the north of Lebanon. (7) During the 2006 Israeli aggression on Lebanon, a Lebanese military commander was captured on videotape serving tea to an Israeli office at a barrack in the town of Marjayoun. The officer was later arrested by the Lebanese government. Fatfat was the Minister of Interior during the Israeli aggression. Writer Asaad Abukhalil defines "Fatfatism" as a term which "... speaks of democracy and 'liberalism' and yet cultivates support among Bin Laden supporters in North Lebanon and serves as a client for Saudi Wahhabism; it speaks in favor of 'sovereignty' and 'independence' while it faithfully represented the interests of the tyrannical Syrian regime, and now represents the external patrons of Sanyurah. The ideology of Fatfatism believes that the most effective way for fighting foreign occupation is serving tea to the occupation soldiers." (8) Amal started out as a secular movement in the 1970s and became transformed into Shiite militia during the civil war. (9) Aounists are those who support the Free Partriatic Movement, a secular and mostly Christian party headed by former military general Michel Aoun. (10) Bkerke is the residence of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. (11) "14th of March" is the name political camp currently in government. The name comes from the rally that followed the killing of Rafiq Hariri last year, and demanded that the Syrian troops leave Lebanon. The 14th of March camp includes the Future Movement (created by Hariri), Lebanese Forces (a right-wing Christian party headed by Samir Jaejae), and the Progressive Socialist Party (headed by Walid Jumblat), as well as others. The other camp, lead by Hizbollah, is referred to as 8th of March (the date of their rally, which was held one week before the 14th of March). (12) Mother of Pierre Jumayel, the Industry Minister who was recently killed. (13) Also referred to as Grand Serail, the building and office of the Prime Minister and ministers of the government. It is derived from the word "sarai". (14) The government that was brought down by "14th of March" forces. (15) An area in Southern Beirut where "unregulated" construction takes place. From aarti at sarai.net Fri Dec 15 01:16:46 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (aarti at sarai.net) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:46:46 +0100 (CET) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Screening at Sarai: Sahnehaye Kharei [Exteriors] Message-ID: <49840.203.101.20.141.1166125606.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> Sahnehaye Kharei [Exteriors] Director: Alireza Rasoulinezhad, Iran, 63 minutes, video, 2004 4:30 P.M. Tuesday 19th December 2006 Sarai-CSDS Seminar Room 29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines, Delhi. Sahnehaye Kharei is a film in three parts about a discouraged intellectual uncle who disappears from Tehran to lead a different life elsewhere. He leaves his apartment to his nephew and niece. The two discover some notes on various social and cultural topics and an unfinished film by their uncle. Inspired by their uncle’s ideas and the film footages, they decide to make a film together. The involvement of the two in pursuing the film becomes a pretext for the director of this trilogy to address contemporary social and cultural issues of Iran. About the Director: Alireza Rasoulinezhad was born in 1975 in Sirjan. He was the director of the Arts Centre Arasbaran from 2001 to 2004, during which he organized several retrospectives devoted to the silent film, the French New Wave and the Iranian cinema of resistance. The film will be introduced by Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo. Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo is an Iranian political philosopher. He is one of the members of the Iranian intellectual movement, with much of his writing focused on constructive dialogue among divergent cultures. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of western philosophy in Iran and has written numerous books in Persian, English and French, as well as several articles, about Western Philosophy and Modernism. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nicheant at yahoo.co.uk Fri Dec 15 16:14:18 2006 From: nicheant at yahoo.co.uk (Nishant) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:44:18 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Left in Singur and Capitalist Globalization Message-ID: <20061215104419.1166.qmail@web27908.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Violence in Singur: Hardselling Capitalist Globalization in the name of Left Alternative Kunal Chattopadhyay Several thousand police and paramilitary forces are now roaming Singur and adjoining areas in Hooghly district, West Bengal. On 2nd December, they fired tear gas and rubber bullets at villagers and a few outside supporters who had gone to the area. Television channels, so far strongly supportive of the moves of the Buddhadev Bhattacharjee government, now found themselves projecting a story totally at variance with the words their newscasters were being made to utter. Even as the bourgeois media went on mouthing claims that locals (later changed to Outsiders) were attacking the police, what could be seen , for example on the Kolkata or the Tara News channels, or even in Star-Ananda, was the picture of half a dozen hulking cops converging on individual hapless villagers, and brutally beating them up with truncheons. One could also see the tear gas shells being lobbed and the rubber bullets being fired, and huge paddy dumps being set on fire. All the while, the Channels were seeking to divert attention by asking viewers to send sms on whether they condemned the behaviour of the (right-wing opposition) Trinamool Congress members' action in smashing up property in the Vidhan Sabha (the State legislature, where TMC MLAs had gone berserk on 1st December). Left wing Model of Development? To understand what was happening we need to go back and look at the model of development being pushed by the Buddhadev Bhattacharjee government. When Bhattacharjee replaced Jyoti Basu as Chief Minister, it was a signal to the Indian capitalist class as well as capitalists from everywhere else, that a new attitude was being developed by the CPI(M). Singur is not an isolated case. All over India, the process of taking over peasants' land is going on. The Special Economic Zone Bill says that the SEZs created by taking over land will be like a foreign country. Those who invest capital in those areas will function under laws different from the laws for the people throughout the country. In Kharagpur, West Bengal, the Tatas want another 1240 acre land. Total targeted land in West Bengal is nearly 1,00,000 acres. In Gujarat, it is the Reliance group that is staking major claims. Farmers in Gujarat are fighting the Reliance group just as farmers in West Bengal are fighting the Tatas. In addition there are transnational companies. The Salim group of Indonesia were feted a short while back by the Left Front ministers. The group had a strong role during the coup in Indonesia that led to the murder of some half a million communists. But that is all old hat, and seemingly the left ministers cannot be bothered by such sentimental issues when behaving like hardheaded businesspersons. It is in this context that the government's plan for Singur must be seen. The story of the "industrial turn-around" of West Bengal begins with the election results earlier in 2006. The CPI(M) led Front had won a thumping victory, thanks to the first past the post system. With just over 50% votes, it had obtained 235 seats, reducing all oppositions to such a minor proportion that as per legislative assembly rules there could not even be a formal leader of the opposition. As the CM was addressing a press conference at the CPI(M) office, an aide brought in a message, and the elated CM informed the press that the Tatas wanted to build a car factory in West Bengal. Within a few days, a hush hush deal was struck. The Tatas asked for close to 1000 acres of prime agricultural land – nothing else would do for them. The government complied with such alacrity that one might be pardoned for thinking that they were bound serfs of the Tatas. They did not consult the Gram Sabha or any other elected local bodies, though even their gurus at the World Bank go through the motions of suggesting the need to consult with local bodies. Tata Motors want to launch a new car model by 2008, the one-lakh-rupee car. According to the Left Front, this is development, and cannot be opposed. It will put West Bengal in the industrial map of India. According to CPI(M) Politbureau member and West Bengal State Party Secretary Biman Bose, those who are opposing the move are fronting for other big companies who sell overpriced cars! We need to look a little more closely at the entire process. The land that Tata wants is prime agricultural land. There is plenty of poor quality land in West Bengal, for example in Purulia district, or elsewhere. Plenty of old industries are in crisis and their land could also have been converted. But this particular area has a good road connection, as it links up with the Delhi Road. That is the first real reason why Tata is pushing for this, and only this area. A second reason, likely to come up after a decade, will be argued below. So how did the state government act? Did it, in its new found faith in market economics, tell Ratan Tata and his minions to go and negotiate land price with the peasants? Even that would have been detrimental to the sharecroppers and agricultural labourers, if direct sale of land had simply ousted them. But keeping to the spurious logic of the free market, at least this should have been done. Instead, the state government used an act, the Land Acquisitions Act, which was originally devised in the colonial period, to take over the peasants' land. They were offered a price worked out as the average of the previous three years' price, plus a 30% hike known as the solacium. The full details of the deal with Tata are not known, but from the little information that came out, it seems Tata will not even pay this much to the government. According to Debabrata Bandyopadhyay, former Commissioner, Land Reforms, West Bengal, (and who is, according to many people, the main burueacratic impulse behind Operation Barga, the registration of sharecroppers, the reform measure that a generation back had enabled the Left Front to gain solid and unwavering rural support), the government has in fact saddled the people of West Bengal with a huge burden in order to bring in Tata Motors. The West Bengal government claims this investment will create many new jobs and be a major developmental project. What is the truth? Between 1980 and 1994, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the three top US car manufacturers, cut down the total number of their global employees from 7,50,000 to 3,75,000. Why should the Tatas behave any differently? If they are really going to sell cars at the rate of Rs. 1 lakh (US $ 2246), they will be cutting costs. They have no intention of running a loss making factory. Another question is, why do they want nearly 1000 acres of land? Maruti-Suzuki, a major car manufacturer in India, need 296 acres of land on which they produce over 600,000 cars per year. Moreover, we should remember that while Maruti builds the entire car in its factory, Tata will only assemble the car there. So what is all this land needed for? It is likely, that after the hue and cry has died out, much of this land would be reconverted to agricultural land, but run by the Tatas as an agribusiness. Reliance in Gujarat is going in for marketing organic food. The Hindustan Motors of the Birla Group, which had been given about 750 acres of land in Konnagar half a century back, could use only 350 acres and has now sought permission to reconvert the rest of the land. Moreover, plenty of industrial land was left, for example in the Durgapur industrial area. So targeting high quality agricultural land and insisting that nothing else will do is bound to create this kind of doubt. Clearly, the tale of alternative, left wing model of development peddled by Battacharjee, his industries minister Nirupom Sen, and his finance minister Ashim Dasgupta, is a murky tale indeed. Media reports indicate that the land is being taken over by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation at a cost of Rs. 140 crores. The Tatas have informed the West Bengal Government that they will compensate the government to the tune of 20 crore rupees after five years with a 0.01 per cent interest. The discounted value of the money in today's terms will be about 12 crore rupees. So the West Bengal government is giving to the Tatas the sum of Rs. 128 crore rupees (28749185 US dollars). This money will come either from taxes, or from loans contracted by the WBIDC, which again must be repaid through taxes or through cutting costs in social sectors like health and education. The most important issue of course is the story of sacrifices. Ever since independence, when foreign colonialism could no longer be blamed directly, people have been asked to make sacrifices for the nation. Not very surprising, though, that it is workers and poor peasants, tribals and low caste people, who end up making the sacrifices, while the wealthy, the bourgeoisie, the urban middle and upper middle class, the upper castes, all end up with profits. For whom is Bhattacharjee proposing this development? For Tata? For the shareholders of Tata's companies? What about the ordinary people? The peasants are being given a paltry compensation. Even that is murky. In many cases, the land was sold to other people, by a small number of landed elements who knew about the deal in advance. But they still had the papers, so they were identified as owners deserving compensation. In many, even most cases, owners did not want to sell the land. They are aware that what skills they have are as peasants. Cash compensation is no good to them for they will not be able to use the cash in an effective way. Urbanisation of the area, inevitable if a factory comes up, will raise the cost of living. The landowners are not going to become traders all at once. As one of them quipped, if we all set up shops, in any case, who will buy? Five villages of Singur, namely Gopalnagar, Beraberi, Bajemelia, Khaser Bheri and Singher Bheri, are affected. While peasants here are not rich farmers, nor are they absolutely poor. Net income of the owner of 1 acre of land is about Rs. 1,00,000. So for 1000 acres the net income is around Rs. 100 million (US $2246030). The gross income is even more, about Rs. 250 million (US$ 5615075). Apart from the peasants or landowners (in some cases the owners are absentee), there are the share-croppers and agricultural labourers. All told, some 7/8 thousand people are employed, and their total income, Rs 250 million, was being added to the GDP of West Bengal. This seven to eight thousand is based on economic calculations suggesting that for around 5000/6000 peasants there will be an added 1200 or so share-croppers and about 1000 agricultural labourers. And how many workers will the Tatas employ? Despite the Right to Information Act, in West Bengal all real information is firmly hidden. The West Bengal Government has refused to divulge these figures to organisations who have sought them. But one such organisation estimates it will be around 250 employees. If their average monthly income is pegged at Rs. 50,000 the total wage bill will be 150 million rupees (This average takes in the high salaries of the managerial cadre). Then there will be the profits of the shareholders and the concern, which after all is the main reason for this investment. Clearly, this is a model of development that will intensify disparities. If Fraud does not Work, Use Force: Initially, the government went into raptures about the benefits to the province. Somehow, though, the peasants did not respond. And so, pressure on them began to mount. Apprehensive of losing their sole safeguard to life, the farmers got together to launch a resistance movement under the banner of 'Krishijami Raksha Samiti' (Association for the Protection of Agricultural Land). From the very beginning, women have been in the forefront of the movement. In recollection of a famous song of the tebhaga movement, the greatest peasants' movement in Bengal in the twentieth century, with 'life and honour as stakes,' they began to 'hone the scythe.'[1] The state government, hardly bothered about the plight of the farmers, remained stubborn, repeatedly reiterating that the Tata factory would come up on that piece of land. If the slogan of the alleged Rambhaktas (the RSS and its allied outfits) was 'Mandir wahin banayenge" (the temple will be built just at that spot), the slogan of West Bengal's alleged bam (left) CM was "factory wahin banayenge". On 25 September, there was a massive attack. In a pre-planned move, a reign of terror was unleashed on thousands of peaceful protesters at the Block Development Officer's office in Singur. It was the first day cheques were being handed over to those who had agreed to hand over the land for compensation, and the demonstration was a form of pressure on them as well. By the afternoon, several cases were detected in which those who had already sold off their land to others, but the mutation process was not complete, were being given cheques, denying the present legal owner. Protesting such illegal deeds by government officials, the demonstrators sat on a dharna at the BDO office, even gheraoing the District Magistrate for a brief period. At this point, Mamata Banerjee, leader and Supremo of the Trinamool congress, arrived and joined the dharna. A little after midnight, a black-out was created, and under the cover of darkness, a huge police force, according to the victims well lubricated with alcohol, attacked and brutally beat up the protestors, men, women and children. Ms. Banerjee was also manhandled, and her sari torn. She was then bundled off to Calcutta by force, and had to be admitted to a hospital. Hundreds were severely injured in the police assault and 72 put behind bars. Women with small children were arrested under the Arms Act and/or charged with attempt to murder. Payel Bag, a two-and-a-half- year-old, spent four days in prison, along with two pre-teen boys. 26-year-old Rajkumar Bhul became the first martyr of the Singur struggle after he collapsed with severe internal haemorrhage from police beating. Bhul's mother, in an open letter to the Chief Minister, squarely blamed him for her son's death. According to Sumit Chowdhury, one of the most commited "outsider" activists, who has been writing and organising solidarity, when he went to Singur two days later as part of a fact finding team, and also during subsequent trips, "the hapless and angry women in the villages – some with broken arms, bandaged eyes and scars here and there – said that the policemen were drunk, cursed in the filthiest language, kicked and molested them". The subsequent responses not only of the government, not only of one or two individuals, but of the entire CPI(M) was damning. Prakash Karat, the General Secretary of the CPI(M), who has never set foot in Singur, announced from the CPI(M) headquarters in Delhi that Singur has one-crop land, that the farmers are queuing up for cash, and that the demonstrators were anti-development hoodlums. Evidently, the protests against land takeover for SEZs and similar issues are reserved for provinces where the CPI(M) is not a major partner in the government. Equally evidently, when Prakash Karat wrote his introduction to a recent publication entitled The Left and Environmentalism, he should have entered a caveat that all his pious utterances do not apply to West Bengal and his comrade Buddhadev Bhattacharjee. On the night of the violence, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee had his alibi. He and other party top brass were in Delhi. But the alibi is thin. The same day, he also met the Tata top management. The next day, there was a report about a community package promised by the Tatas for Singur. But examined carefully, it was mostly verbiage. One needs to remember that the massive investment of the in Orissa and Jharkhand, two of Eastern India's poorest provinces (though very rich in minerals and forest resources), has not led to any positive development in the conditions of poor peasants, tribals, and others. On returning to Calcutta, the CM posed as injured Christ, stating, "forgive them for they know not what they do". After a huge outcry, two days later he was forced to say that police action had been "unwarranted". But no single policeman is known to have been punished. At a meeting called by the Chief Minister, even a number of Left Front partners criticised the way the factory was coming up, but at the end of the meeting the government announced that the Tata Motors factory would come up on Singur at any cost. On 9th October, the opposition parties, both right and left, called a twelve hour bandh (general strike including total stoppage of public activities). The CPI(M) threatened to unleash its cadres.[2] But if anything, this threat made people fearful and stay indoors. >From this point, terror became the order of the day. Any 'outsider', unless a staunch supporter of the CPI (M) come to campaign for handing over the land to the government, was treated as a member of one of the Maoist groups.[3] Terror was of different kinds. Nirupom Sen, the industries minister, warned the locals that all developmental work in Singur would be halted if land was not handed over. One minister even termed opposition to the project as 'anti-national' . As a result of this unrelenting government pressure, some land transfer began. There was an added dimension to the handing over. As we noted earlier, some people had actually sold the land to others, but the mutation had not been done. So they took advantage of this to claim compensation. The struggle continued nonetheless, and therefore terror took on more concrete shapes. Several of the deep tube-wells of the area, essential for regular irrigation of the fields, were vandalised at night. And this happened despite the massive (already, at that point, several hundred) policemen and women posted in the region. From early November, agitation and terror both stepped up, with the government threatening to take over the land and hand it over to the Tatas at any cost by December. Women played a militant role, resisting all threats and blandishments. One of the regular refrains of the government and the CPI(M) was that the real owner have accepted compensation, it is outsiders who are causing trouble. We will discuss the issue of "outsiders" later. Here we should note that indeed, the lead in the struggle was taken, not by well to do peasants, but by share croppers, agricultural labourers, and the smaller owners. This is the rural mix which fought six decades back, in the tebhaga uprising.[4] This was the base which gave the left its decisive majority even in the occasional periods in the last three decades when in the cities the Left was on the defensive. So it was inevitable that the Left Front, notably the CPI(M), would not be willing to accept that this base will now speak in its own voice. Yet that was inevitable. The tebhaga movement had been so massively successful because the authentic voice of the rural poor had been well represented by the undivided CPI and the All India Kisan Sabha. By the present decade, the AIKS was a bureaucratised carcass living on the memory of past glories. Present day leaders of the AIKS have not even seen the tebhaga. The younger among them became leaders after the Left Front was already in power. So for them the role of the peasant organisation is to collect money, collect votes, and on occasion collect lots of people in trucks and take them to Calcutta for central rallies. The apparently impressive anti-imperialist demonstrations, and so on, organised by the CPI(M) conceal a reality where mass organisations act as transmission belts of a high command, herding people in different ways. And so resentment and opposition grows. In Singur, the direct attack on livelihood turned the sullen resentment into organised politics, as the Krishijami Raksha Samiti brought together most of this rural poor, albeit in a small area. This challenge could never be allowed to grow. The Left Front has always been sensitive to the emergence of left wing oppositions and alternatives from within the working class and poor peasantry. It is aware that it has little to fear if the right wing is even fully mobilised. As long as there is no serious left wing alternative, it can expect to get fairly close to half the votes every time, and therefore get a majority in the first-past-the post system. Mamata Banerjee was the only right-wing leader to recognise this, and therefore to develop a populist political style. But lacking a solid trade union and rural poor implantation, she has never, even at her most creditworthy performance proved to be a match for the CPI(M). Every time a single trade union, or a single rural area, has shown autonomy, the CPI(M) has thrown more forces in the field to smash it, than it has for defeating its right wing opponents. Early in the Left Front period, electricity workers had a couple of left wing, but non-Left Front Unions – the Workers' Union and the Technical Workers Union, in a number of plants. Repeated violence, repeated attacks on the workers, arrests, were used indiscriminately to smash the unions. In the 1990s, the struggle of the Kanoria Jute Mills took on epic proportions, as did the regime's attempts to malign the struggle. So in retrospect, it was not, or should not have been surprising, that despite (or because of) its Left credential, this regime was more aggressive to the peasant struggle than almost any other regime in India. Since this may sound a bit of a hyperbole, let us take a concrete, very right wing example, to make our point. Medha Patkar has already made the point. A lot of people thought Medha was indulging in shock tactics when she said the Left Front is worse than the Gujarat government.[ 5] But this is the picture if we restrict ourselves to the attitude to peasants and industrialisation, and the violence on them. Patkar argued that even in Gujarat, she had not been restricted in her movements as much as in West Bengal. We should add, that by now the virus is spreading. First, she was debarred from Singur as an "outsider" fomenting trouble. Now, when she went to Presidency College, Calcutta, to speak at the invitation of students there, SFI thugs beat up students of the Independent consolidation, and the college authorities shut the gates on her face. She then climbed on top of the gates and spoke. But we can also go beyond what she said to add another point. In Gujarat, the government made a commitment that it would provide land for land to all the people ousted due to the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The Narmada Bachao Andolan argued that it cannot be done. Indeed, proper land-for-land rehabilitation has not proved possible even for those who have been properly identified. As I saw in two trips earlier this year, village communities have been split up, with one village resettled in 8-10 new sites. People have been given plots for cultivation, but not enough grazing land and open fields necessary for their survival. Often there are conflicts with the original inhabitants. Sometimes, after people were settled, this new land was partially taken away in order to build the canal network that would carry the waters from the dam to the target areas. So rehabilitation has received much flak. But if we look at the entire process, we find two waves of campaigns. We find a fairly long period, so that people could get some information and try and seek redress. Pro-dam but pro-rehabilitation NGOs, such as Arch-Vahini and its activists like Anil Patel, waged one type of campaign. They sought a compromise, and the whole concept of land-for-land rehabilitation came because of such interventions. When the NBA, led by Patkar and others, criticises the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes, it is because they see the land-for-land proposal as inadequate in theory and fraudulent in practice. They see it breaking up the community, creating much social disorder, and all for the benefit of small elite groups. Whether they are right about the dam benefiting only small groups is of course much debated. But we have sought to show that the picture is much more open and shut in the case of West Bengal. The peasants, share-croppers and agricultural labourers are being pushed out of land. They are not getting any alternative land. Many are not getting any rehabilitation at all. It is our experience, from Madhya Pradesh, were the government has used cash compensation rather than land-for-land rehabilitation whenever possible, that peasants, unaccustomed to large sums of money, sent it on consumer goods, on building big houses, and so on. At the end of a relatively short period, many of them had neither land nor money. Of course, if we extrapolate from this and argue that in all respects the West Bengal government is worse, we would be in error. But Patkar has not made such a sweeping generalisation, nor are we. Perhaps confirmation of a different kind came in the newspapers recently. On 5th December, Ananda Bazar Patrika reported that there were differences within the BJP. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had told his party that it is opportunistic of them to try to exploit Buddhadev Bhattacharjee' s recent difficulties, and they should support him over the issue of land acquisition. November 30 – December 2 and the aftermath: On 30th December, Mamata Banerjee and her supporters were prevented from going to Singur, because Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, disallowing any congregation of five or more persons, had been clamped in that entire area. Angry, and losing her head as she is often accustomed to doing, Ms. Banerjee told her supporters to turn their motor cavalcade back and drive straight to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. From late afternoon, TV channels had a field day. No sports, no cartoon channel could compete with the live show, and then the re-runs, of MLAs smashing furniture, and generally wrecking havoc. Then she called for a Bengal bandh on 1st December. In view of the massive publicity given to the antics of her party, the bandh was a partial failure, even in areas thought to be her stronghold. South Calcutta, her personal fief, alone saw a near complete shut down. An emboldened Bhattacharyya moved in for the kill. On 2nd December, several thousand police started storming Singur. According to Samir Saha, reporting in the Bengali Dainik Statesman, ordinary police, Rapid Action Force and State Armed Police all together numbered 20,000. Even the pro-CPI(M) Kolkata TV channel reported at least 6000 police. From the first, they seemed to have been instructed to go on the offensive. A wide area was surrounded, and then tear gas firing began at random. The next task was to find out the aggrieved peasants. For the police, it was of course difficult to know who was an aggrieved peasant and who a party loyalist. So this task had been given to party cadres. As Ganashakti, the CPI(M) daily, admitted on 4th December, in many cases locals themselves were identifying and fighting the opposition. Only, they were not fighting alone. They were moving as agents of the police, identifying specific houses. There was of course some resistance. And the resistance acted as proof that the police attack was right and proper. But if paddy stacks are set on fire, if even tomorrow's food, let alone next year's, is snatched away thereby, who would not resist? So peasants, already pledged to resist till the end, did strike back. The fight was utterly uneven. Stones, knives, perhaps a few crude home-made bombs (if at all we are to give credence to this part of the police story) were hurled. According to the Chief Minister, the violence was entirely the work of outsiders, anti-socials, SUCI and Naxalites.[6] CPI(M) State Secretaiat member and long time trade union leader Shyamal Chakraborty asserted, "The police were attacked first. The police showed great restraint. If they had not tackled in this manner they themselves would have been beaten up."[7] >From the paddy fields, reporter Ashish Ghosh could see the 'anti-socials' being dragged into police camps. They included lungi-clad aged peasants, as well as young rural women. Near the highway, Ghosh could see a different scene. The Superintendent of Police smilingly reporting to the Inspector General, "Sir, we have already arrested fifty. By tonight we will set up camp at Beraberi.", and the IG responding, "in three more days we will complete the operation". Sitting next to the police was the CPI(M) Panchayat Pradhan Dibakar Das. Food packets were being brought from a car for the high officers and their cadre friends. Meanwhile ripe paddy was being trampled underfoot or set on fire, one scene even the most pro-government channel could not avoid shoeing, since in one case that was also a major battle field which the channels were keen to sow, since it "proved' their claim that it was all the work of outsiders. The Outsider: For the last two months, the 'outsider' has been a major target of CPI(M) propaganda, especially outside Singur. On 4th December, Ganashakti wrote, only outsiders are resisting the government at Singur. Ephemera are always bolder. So a poster put up by the Students' Federation of India, the student wing of the CPI(M), asserted that urban people dressed as peasants had done all the mischief. In other words, even if you see peasants being beaten up on TV, don't worry, they were all urban Naxalites playing at revolution in Singur. Ganashakti of course charged Medha Patkar too, with being an outsider. A CPI(M) leader, evidently more illiterate than the average, asked why she did not agitate in Gujarat against land take over, and why she came to West Bengal. Medha, typical of her track record, managed to get to Singur despite the thousands of cops and plenty of party cadres keeping a watch on outsiders. This of course suggested she had a lot of local sympathisers and insider help. But of course, we rule out such a possibility a priori. And so, Ganashakti also had a big story about how many routes there are to Singur, and why the police failed to stop Naxalites and Medha Patkar from entering the village. Medha confronted the police, and for her pains she, Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights activist Amitadyuti Kumar, and Sumit Chowdhury were arrested, dragged to a car and thrown out. She was then taken to a State Government Guest House in Calcutta, seemingly because someone higher up had realised that a faux pas had been committed. But she refused to be a guest of the State Government. After spending the entire night in the police van, from which she refused to budge, she gave the police aslip and went off to Chandernagore, where the seventy arrested people had been kept. If Medha Patkar was one outsider, the "Naxalites" were another category. As the CM told the media on the 3rd, there had been students of Jadavpur Univeristy. This was a coded signal. Jadavpur University, rated in recent times by the UGC as one of India's top five, has an ill-reputation because all its teachers are not housebroken partisans of the CPI(M), and even more, because the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union has been under the uninterrupted control, since 1977, of the Democratic Students Front, a non-party far left association which has allowed in every shade of radical left, Maoist, Trotskyist, and other. As late as 2005, JU engineering students had been beaten up by the police in order to break a peaceful hunger strike. So when Bhattacharjee said JU students, he implied radical left, militant, and "mal-adjusted" . Yet how many JU students did they find? Out of the around seventy arrested, there is one student of JU, currently in a hospital, with a broken hand. Another arrested "outsider" is Swapna Banerjee. A fifty year old school teacher, Banerjee is a member of the Nari Nirjatan Pratirodh Mancha. Women's involvement in the struggles led to her being closely involved in the area for several months. Immediately, The Telegraph, on 3rd December, invented a story that she was the main ultra-left figure in organising and fomenting trouble.[8] Between the police, the Chief Minister, and the inventive staff of The Telegraph, local resistance was wiped off the map. Becharam Manna became a non-person, as did 81 year old Saraswati, who gave an interview to Soma Marik a few days earlier and promised to continue fighting till the end.[9] But there is another, even more crucial aspect of the invention of the outsider. On one hand, we are told that even the nation is too small a unit. We are asked to accept globalisation as the inevitable goal. On the other hand, in every battle where we try to organise resistance, we are told we are outsiders, or that we have outsiders amongst us. Medha Patkar is of course the great outsider in India. She has been branded an outsider in Gujarat, in Madhya Pradesh, and now in West Bengal. In Gujarat, the regional language papers are always attacking her, arguing that as an outsider she has no business talking about the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada, which is supposedly the sole hope for Saurashtra and Kutch. In Madhya Pradesh, I was asked why Medha Patkar is sniping at the MP government, and not at others. And for the last few days, the CPI(M) and the media that has, in the interests of big capital, placed itself entirely at the disposal of the CPI(M) for the moment, argued that as an outsider, Patkar has no business in West Bengal. In flagrant violation of law, she was stopped repeatedly from going to Singur, even when she was not violating Section 144 of the CrPC. She was kept locked up, along with Anuradha Talwar of the Sramajeebi Mahila Samity, at Dankuni on the night of 4th December, and told on the 5th that she could go anywhere else but Singur. Yet, she had not been formally arrested, so she could not be served an externment order. In other words, what was being done to her was sheer hooliganism, even if done by men in uniforms, backed by a Chief Minister. What was unique was not the charge, "outsiders". This is a necessary salami tactics applied by rulers. They would like each fight to be an isolated one. They can bring 20,000 police from all over West Bengal, but the peasants of Singur have to be alone. For they know, at the present level of class struggle probably better than the toiling people, that in solidarity and unity alone lie chances of victory. What was unique was something else. This was the fact that a so-called Communist Party is doing the propaganda. After all, exactly who built this party? What was its founding ideology? Were Muzaffar Ahmed, S.A. Dange, themselves factory workers? How many acres of land did Muhammad Abdullah Rasul or Bankim Mukherjee cultivate? Did not Somnath Lahiri say, that they were often called the "strike-babus" , because they would rush to any mill where a strike had broken out, in the hope of making contact with militant workers. And even if we forget those heroic pioneers of the early twentieth century, and concentrate on the prosaic present day leaders, Shyamal Chakraborty is still hailed as a Centre of Indian Trades Union leader. When did he last, if ever, work in a factory? Is it not a fact that Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury represent West Bengal in the Upper House of Parliament? If the CPI(M) is going to turn regional chauvinist at this date, should it not start by inquiring about how that could happen? We for our part believe that the Leninist party building concept clearly rejects this particular notion of "insider" and "outsider". We are even prepared to concede that within the parliamentary framework, even a CPI(M), which is certainly not a Leninist party, can send Karat to parliament from wherever they are sure of a safe seat. The question is, why then the chauvinistic witch-hunt unleashed on Medha Patkar? What this shows is, behind the mask of regionalism and localism is the class position. And it forces everyone to start rethinking the nature of the CPI(M). How many miles must a party walk right, till it ceases to be a part of the left? After 2nd December: The struggle is difficult after 2nd December. The organisation of resistance has been crushed for the moment by stationing 20,000 police. Arrests have meant that energies have gone into court cases; money has to go for putting up bail bonds. But the struggle is not over. On 5th December, a few small parties, the SUCI, and two of the CPI(ML) groups called a bandh. Despite all bluster, TV channels could only prove that roads were empty, buses plied empty, and the Chamber of Commerce expressed unhappiness at the losses incurred (surely the losses were due to the success, not the failure of the bandh). On 8th December, a march to Singur, called by two CPI(ML) groups, was brutally beaten up by the police. Hundreds were injured. True to form, Ananda Bazar Patrika reported only the violence unleashed also on a few journalists. Some other developments are worth noting. For decades, the Left Front has had the pretence of being a "cultured" political force, as opposed to the "uncouth", "uncivilised" politics of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (these choice epithets are often used by CPI(M) leaders). Long years in power has enabled the CPI(M) to use a patronage network and get plenty of intellectuals, not the most straight-backed of all beings, to line up with it and paint it in glowing terms. But the violence resulted in condemnations pouring in from many intellectuals and artistes of Bengal. Mahasweta Devi, internationally reputed author, issued a short, blunt statement: "This is a war. Ask yourself, on which side are you? Let war meet war." Well known leftist poet Sankho Ghosh, a Tagore scholar of great repute, condemned the attacks on the peasants and committed himself to organised protest mvements. Artist Ramananda Bandyopadhyay condemned the arrest of Medha Patkar and questioned why, if India is a democracy, she did not have the right to go to Singur. Statements came from singers Pratul Mukhopadhyay and Srikanata Acharya, poets like Nirendranath Chakraborty and Mallika Sengupta, authors like Sanjib Chattopadhyay, film director Haranath Chakraborty, academics like Esha De of Calcutta University, Avee Dutta-Majumdar of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, around thirty teachers of Jadavpur university who took part in a silent demonstration in the University campus, and others. The students of Engineering Faculty in Jadavpur University boycotted the first day of their end-of-semester examination as a mark of protest. On 8th December, Medha Patkar spoke at both Presidency College, Calcutta, and Jadavpur University, at the invitation of students. A number of online petitions have also been launched, while two protest letters have been sent to the Governor of West Bengal, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women, signed by human rights and womens' organisation, NGOs, and networks as well as by leftwing groups. Well known academics who are also activists, like Achin Vanaik and Professor Vibhuti Patel, also signed them. Arundhati Roy, Mainstream Editor Sumit Chakravarty, were among those who protested in Delhi, in front of the CPI(M) office. Yet an organised force like the CPI(M), backed by the bulk of the media, which is not even reporting protests in any even handed manner, will certainly try to turn all these into a three-day wonder, urging people to move on to other things. The leading newspaper in West Bengal, Ananda Bazar Patrika, and its English counterpart, The Telegraph, have taken the lead in this. Reporting the massive violence, The Telegraph sought to play it down, to trivialize it, by using tennis match rhetoric about post-police action, it was "advantage Mamata". It pontificated editorially that in a democracy, street demonstrations were pursued by parties that do not have faith in the democratic system. And then it went on to cite as example Lal Krishna Advani's notorious "ratha yatra" of 1989, which had stirred up communal riots in 43 towns. As though that had been a street demonstration, and as though that could be used to justify the illegal externment of Medha Patkar. The Singur land has been taken over, but the story is just beginning. The West Bengal government proposes to give vaster stretches of land, for example to the Salim Group of Indonesia, again from peasants. It proposes to take over land to build a nuclear power plant. And even for Singur, there is at the least the need to fight for a proper rehabilitation for the great many who have got nothing or next to nothing, for a land-for-land resettlement. International and national solidarity is needed, particularly because Stalinists all over the world today still point to the Left Front as a shining example. CPI(M) MP Nilotpal Basu's article on the Left Front was reprinted even in the US progressive paper Guardian earlier this year. Even Noam Chomsky, the libertarian, found reasons to praise the Left Front government when he came to Calcutta. The myth of the Left Front as alternative has to be disposed of, before a struggle for a real alternative can succeed. Let the tragedy of the peasants of Singur create at least the possibility of that. They deserve such revenge. [1] The first lines of the song went: Hei Samaalo dhan ho kasteta dao shan ho Jan kabul aar maan kabul Aar debona aar debona rakte bona dhan moder jan ho Oh keep a watch on the paddy, hone your scythe With life and honour as stake We will never again hand over the paddy sown with our life's blood [2] Cadre has come to sound like an obscene and utterly alienating word in West Bengal. Cadre today evokes the image of stick or other more murderous weapons wielding thugs, tragically carrying the red flag. Yet, notwithstanding the Stalinist nature of the major left parties, and despite their clear reformist turn from 1942, and again after 1951 (there was a short in-between period in 1948-51 when they had become ultra-left) communist party cadre had meant the most sincere, dedicated social movement activist. [3] Though on paper in West Bengal none of the Maoist groups are banned, in practice, people suspected of Maoist affiliation are routinely arrested and variously heckled and tortured by the police, especially outside Calcutta. [4] See Kunal Chattopadhyay, Tebhaga Andolaner Itihas, Kolkata, 1987, reprint, 1997. In English the most detailed study is Adrienne Cooper's Sharecropping and Sharecroppers' Struggle in Bengal 1930-1950, Calcutta, 1988. [5] Medha Patkar made this point repeatedly, including in a speech in Jadavpur University Campus on 8th December. [6] The Socialist Unity Centre of India is a smaller Stalinist formation, opposed to the Left Front. Naxalite is a way of referring to the Maoists of all trends, in view of the origin of Maoism in India from the peasant struggles in Naxalbari, in North Bengal. The CPI(ML) Liberation is active in Singur. [7] Dainik Statesman, 3 December 2006, page 1, news box 'Policer Kaaj Police Korechhe: Buddha' ('The Police have Done Their Duty: Buddha') [8] The Telegraph has been among the most consistent spokespersons of the ruling class. Whereas even The Statesman, despite its historic connections with the Tata family, has reported relatively objectively, The Telegraph and its Bengali sister publication, Ananda Bazar Patrika, have been running a sustained campaign vilifying protestors and arguing that there is no alternative to industrialization at any cost. The Telegraph has indeed gone further. On 5th December, it ran an editorial virtually calling for the suspension of what little democracy remains in West Bengal. Entitled 'No Velvet Glove', the Editorial thundered: "The menace of Maoist violence is not new to West Bengal. When it had first surfaced in the late Sixties and early Seventies, it was eradicated through counter-violence. Mr Bhattacharjee must learn from that experience and nip the present movement in the bud before Maoist weeds strangle the hundred flowers of West Bengal." Even after the passage of decades, people still remember much of what had been done at that time. The "eradication of Maoism" meant the Cossipore-Baranagor e massacre, when an entire area had been sealed off and every known youth connected the leasdt bit to the Naxalites murdered. It included the massive application of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, from which Bush could learn something about fighting terrorism. It included the killings of prisoners. It included "encounters" where prisoners were shot in the back and proclaimed dead in encounters. [9] Interview taken by Soma Marik, 19th November 2006. Courtesy Soma Marik. ___________________________________________________________ All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html From delhi.yunus at gmail.com Fri Dec 15 17:46:48 2006 From: delhi.yunus at gmail.com (Syed Yunus) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:46:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Rural Employment Program:Reality check Message-ID: Dear Friends, National Rural Employment Gurantee ACT and program in India has been debated and discussed at length. recently I got the information about how badly it is being implemented in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. here is a brief account send to me by a friend (Abdul) who works in a voluntary organisation, Pradan. we are expecting support from people in media to get this story circulated, to Invoke supportive ACTION. for other details and information feel free to call me at: 09868597660, Yunus, take care A Live case on NREGP in village Kursa, Sidhi district Kursa is a village cum panchayat under Devsar Tehsil of Sidhi district. The Village is 13 kms west of Tehsil head quarter and 68 kms east of its disreict headquarter Sidhi. The village has geographical spread of over 14 kms (diameter). The village consists mostly of Gond tribes, other tribes are Kol, and Baiga. The SC mainly consists of Kori, Kumhar, Cobbler and Mehtar. In backward community 100-150 HHs belong to Teli caste. Altogether the population of the village is about 3000. The spread of household is such that the village looks sparse and at a time only 3-4 houses can be seen. It is hard to listen to neighbors in crucial time because of the distant and sparser housing pattern. It is a remote village and mostly people travel on foot to attend market in Devsar. Its village boundary starts from a Kachcha road, which joins National Highway 8 Kms at its north. This is Rewa-Ranch highway passing through Churhat, Sidhi, Devsar and Singrauli. More than 80% of the population belongs to SC-ST community. The main occupation of the village community in general and SC-ST in particular is farming. The farm supports their life for 4-5 months. For rest of the period they rely on wages available in villages and adjoining areas. Wood cutting and selling that in Devsar @ Rs 10/- per head load also contribute to their livelihoods in a significant manner. For this they travel 15-25 kms daily. The topography of the village is highly undulating and many hillocks are seen in village making the lands sloppy and poor productive. They take rainfed wheat and maize in the sloppy cultivable land. A large area of the village constitutes the wastelands along with barren hillocks. The villagers have elected a Sarpanch Sampat Singh assisted by secretary Mundev Upadhyay. The Sarpanch is an illiterate Gond tribe. He touches the feet of his secretary Mr. Mundev who is a Brahmin by caste. The secretary Mr. Mundev dictates the terms as per his wishes. He is there for 40 years. PRADAN intervened in this village 9 months back and gradually formed 10 SHGs. Before entering in to the village. We could not meet the Sarpanch as usually we do. Since the villagers were relatives of other villages where we have been working for last 2 years we did not face much difficulty in-group formation. Gradually the team developed good rapport with the village community in general and SHG members in particular. NREGP started and our SHG members participated with full strengths. All of them could get the job cards. Most of these families got manual work for 20-25 days only (till today). They signed on the muster rolls simultaneously with a hope that they will soon get the wages. After 2-3 months they got their job cards. All the SHG members showed the job cards to us. Along with villagers our team member Abdul Aleem Khan got surprised to see that almost all the job cards were filled and showed that the household has already been paid for 95-100 days of work. As per villagers Rs 1.1 Crore has been granted under the project. The work has been done only for 20-25 days but in records full working days have been shown and money is shown utilized. The job cards are showing payment made for 100 days to the cardholders. The SHG leaders along with some male members of the village lodged a complain to the SDM and met him personally in his office chamber. The SHG members showed their job cards to the SDM. The SDM personally consoled them and promised to take stern action against the culprits. For first 15 days he tried to overlook the problem but when the problem appeared in local newspaper he constituted an enquiry committee headed by a fisheries officer to look into the matter. As per the villagers the concerned officer is among the culprits. The committee headed by him alongwith other culprits like Sarpanch visited one member's house and threatened her to put her and similar families in jail as they had lodged a written complain with the SDM. The same complain letter wad also sent to the CEO, Jila Panchayat, Collector and Commissioner. I (Anil) personally met with the CEO Jila Panchayat a young IAS who also did not pay attention to this and only said I will do this separately. After two months nothing has been done in this regard and villagers feel threatened by Sarpanch and also frustrated. This is the first time that villagers under the leadership of Mahila Mandals lodged written complain to the SDM. But seeing insensitivity in the administration even at the higher level they are losing hope to get justice. Kursa is not the only village where such things are going on in almost all the villages we are engaged in such cases are noticed as if this is the normal way. The local media is also with the administration as they also enjoy additional benefits in all the developmental programmes. -- Change is the only constant in life ! From advitiyasachdev at gmail.com Fri Dec 15 16:22:56 2006 From: advitiyasachdev at gmail.com (Advitiya Sachdev) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:22:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Jamghat invites you to Night out on 16th Dec(Saturday) at 1900 In-Reply-To: <138be0800612150026t63599d4ak1ad84ab13fc39965@mail.gmail.com> References: <632a62d10612132338r6ee5b830h7f38be6ca5e00c65@mail.gmail.com> <5ce689040612142220o1d9193edl53a6329dac642e11@mail.gmail.com> <138be0800612150026t63599d4ak1ad84ab13fc39965@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <138be0800612150252o6c56e0bds6210fce7fd2f101a@mail.gmail.com> Hi friends, Jamghat invites you to walk into the life of street children around JAMA MASJID and OLD DELHI AREA. We have undertaken a recent endeavour of introducing as many people as possible to the life of street children and sensitizing them to the needs, dangers and fun of being a street child. AIM of the project is to generate awareness about street children living in Delhi and to help them in living a life of their choice in a healthy way. The programme shall be undertaken during the night when most of the people finish off their days work and reccede back to their secure homes and these children are left alone on the streets to battle through the evils of night. Their night life offers them many difficulties rendered through their exposed surrounding. It is then that their true nature of survivng in such a non conducive environment is brought to life. We shall interact with them and increase our awareness about them and their life. The main objective is to understand the difficulty and pleasure of being a street child. The venue for everybody to meet would be outside Golcha Cinema hall at 1900 on 16th December (Saturday). We shall be meeting for 3hrs. All are requested to come with arrangements made for their return. The programme schedule is as folllows: 1900~1915 - Meeting of all the participants 1915~1930 - Walk around the premises and briefing 1930~2000 - Interaction among all the participants 2000~2200 - Studying the various problems on the streets while walking in an interactive manner. After that all the people struck by hunger can stay to enjoy the delicacies of the unseen dhabas around Old Delhi and a further discussion and feedback. Nobody is barred to join us so please feel free in spreading the word around. If you can attend the meeting please send a confirmation via email to jamghat03 at yahoo.co.in or call/sms AMIT 9818705715 ROHIT 9873171975 KAIVALYA 9871769890 VINOD 9891857511 VINAY 9873252523 Please visit our blog www.jamghat.blogspot.com and post your comments. If you would like to write something based on your experiences that evening or through your interactions with the various people of Jamghat, or if you would like to write about your experiences related to working with children, especially street children, please email us at jamghat03 at yahoo.co.in Thank you. Warm regards Jamghat's Team __._,_.___ -- Best Wishes, Advitiya -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061215/e4a1c7dd/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From hpp at vsnl.com Sat Dec 16 17:41:09 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 17:11:09 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Debate on Gandhi-Ambedkar, reservations Message-ID: Dear Friends I have been reading the series of articles and letters and rejoinders in the pages of the The Statesman, Kolkata, about Gandhi, Ambedkar and reservations. The discussion was triggered off by Prof Dipak Basu's 2-part article on affirmative action. I am sure Sarai readers will find this of interest. I am reproducing all the pieces below. Best V Ramaswamy Calcutta ............................ Affirmative action-I Experiments In The Former Soviet Union, Japan & America By Dipak Basu The author is Professor in International Economics, Nagasaki University “If our political progress is to be real, the underdogs of our society must be helped to become men” (Rabindranath Tagore, Letters from Russia) The debate on affirmative action in India tends to drag and isn’t always geared to the desired objective: creation of equality of opportunity. As with secularism, the reservation system in India has a different political aim ~ to make the system more unequal than what it is. Secularism, far from making the state independent of religion, is intended to provide special privileges to certain religious groups. Similarly, the affirmative system is politically designed to provide restricted, not equal, rights to some chosen people. The policy was perhaps started in India by Lord Curzon in 1905 by banning the employment of Hindu Bengalis in government services. The official argument was that they were too advanced and others, particularly Muslims, would be deprived of job opportunities. Later it was extended to the military services by giving preferential treatment to Muslims and Sikhs who were branded as martial races. Divide population Reservations in government jobs were introduced in 1918 in Mysore in favour of a number of castes and communities that had little representation in the administration. In 1909 and in 1919 the system was introduced for the Muslims in British India. In 1935, political reasons prompted the government to provide job reservation for the backward castes. The real idea was to divide the population of India into several warring groups along religious, ethnic and caste lines by granting special rights so that India of the future would be divided and weak. A number of prominent politicians had acted as agents of the Raj to implement that line of action. Among them was BR Ambedkar. Although today he is regarded as a founding father of the nation, the writer of the Constitution and the cult figure of the backward castes with four universities named after him, he took no part in the freedom movement. Instead, like EVR Periyarer of Tamil Nadu, CP Ramaswamy Aiyar of Kerala, Jinnah and Mohammed Iqbal, he was a staunch loyalist of the empire, hand-in-glove with the British to divide India along caste, religion and tribal lines. The followers of the same person today include the Communists who, forgetting the essentials of the Marx-Lenin ideology, are supporting job reservation along caste and religious lines. Equality of opportunity is the basis of a true democracy and as such affirmative action is required to equalise opportunities among people who are endowed differently. Even in the USA, affirmative action was promoted first by President Lyndon Johnson in 1974 to promote American blacks, who were deprived of most opportunities. However, it was not a success. The countries where it was most successful are Japan, the former Soviet Union and other former socialist countries of East Europe along with Cuba and Vietnam. India should take a lesson from them to implement a proper policy on affirmative action. The success of the Soviet society regarding affirmative action was observed by Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote: “Throughout the ages, civilised communities have contained groups of nameless people. They toil most, yet theirs is the largest measure of indignity. They are deprived of everything that makes life worth living. I had often thought about them, but came to the conclusion that there was no help for them... In Russia at last. Whichever way I look I am filled with wonder. From top to bottom they are rousing everyone up without distinction”. Immediately after the revolution, Lenin proclaimed the affirmative action known as korenizatsiia to provide affirmative preferences for non-Russians, backward ethnic groups and poor Russians. To gain the support of the non-Russian, who were largely illiterate except in Georgia and Armenia, a Sovietization in three phases was developed. In the first phase, the respective cultures were promoted. This aroused their national conscience. This eventually led to the second phase which was rapprochement and finally to the third phase which was merger. Non-Russians were awarded their own administrative territories and accorded preference in educational and promotion policies. This policy led to the creation of massive educational facilities in the republics of the backward people, employment for the representatives of the ethnic intelligentsia, foundation of republican academies of science and research centres supporting ethnic unions of writers, painters and film-makers. The policy was applied uniformly to create elites, which, like their culture, would be national in form, but with the same content in all units of the union. However, there was no fixed quota in admissions to the educational establishments or in jobs. Instead, education was made free at all stages and compulsory up to certain ages depending on their ethnic background. Every qualified student was entitled to scholarship to cover his or her costs of maintenance. Education was taken to the people where they lived. Even mobile schools and libraries were established for the nomadic populations of central Asia. A certain number of students from the backward areas of the Soviet Union was taken to the very best universities and institutes of higher learning. They got separate training so that they could compete effectively with the more advanced Russian students. Due to this social engineering, within two decades the Soviet Union had eradicated illiteracy and had the best educated population in the world. It wasn’t a reservation system for the backward people, but completely free education and massive extension of education. Both the Soviet Union and Japan improved the lot of the totally uneducated without any formal reservation or quota system but through compulsory free education on a massive scale. Japanese system The guiding principle of the Japanese system of education is uniformity, conformity and integration. There is no room for special rights or reservations in that regimented system, which is available equally for everyone. In the USA, the term affirmative action was first used in the Executive Order 11246, issued by President Johnson. The order called on federal government contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, colour, or national origin.” However, those who were already educated or advanced financially among the blacks or Hispanics, equivalent to the creamy layers in India, got the benefits. Thus, the affirmative action could not change the basic nature of the most unequal society. There was considerable opposition to the system in the days of Reagan. Today, nearly 26 per cent of the population is functionally illiterate. Social mobility is on the decline. There is widespread homelessness and poverty among the blacks and Hispanics. In a word, affirmative action hasn’t changed the characteristics of American society. Affirmative action-II The Policy Comes A Cropper In India Dipak Basu As the reservation system India is based on caste, the government has not been able to improve the lot of the backward or the poor as they may not belong to the castes or tribes entitled to receive aid from the state. This is the major reason why Muslims and Christians are demanding reservation. The reservation system has also led to inter-caste conflict as they have to compete for the limited social and economic benefits. The failure of the reservation system is all too palpable. Quotas for Scheduled Castes in schools and government posts remain largely unfilled, whereas reservations for OBCs are generally filled to capacity. A 1997 study indicates that nationally preferential policies only benefit six per cent of Dalit families. It also reported that “none of India’s elite universities and engineering institutes had filled its quota for members of the Scheduled Castes.” The listed classes are largely unrepresented in white collar positions. For the country as a whole, members of the SC and ST combined did not receive even three per cent of the degrees in engineering or medicine, though together they add up to nearly one-fourth of the population, according to a study by Sowell (2004). Not enough The government provides scholarships to SC students to attend school, but that is not enough. Even when the government provides primary schooling free of charge, the cost of books and supplies may not be affordable to the very poor. For secondary education, rural students may not always find a school nearby. Parents who cannot afford the cost of commuting or relocating, often find it difficult to send their children to school despite preferential admission policies. Some SC candidates do better than others, raising the demand in certain quarters for “quotas within the quota’’. A particular case in point are the chamars. In Maharashtra, they are the most prosperous among the Scheduled Castes. A study revealed that they formed 17 per cent of the state’s population and represented 35 per cent of its medical students. In Haryana, the chamars received 65 per cent of the scholarships for the SCs at the graduate level and 80 per cent at the undergraduate level. But 18 of the 37 untouchable groups in Haryana failed to get any preferential scholarship. In Madhya Pradesh, chamars represent 53 per cent of the total number of SC students in schools. In Bihar, just two of the 12 SCs in the state ~ one being the chamars ~ accounted for 61 per cent of the SC students in schools and 74 per cent in colleges. It’s time for the government to acknowledge that the policy of affirmative action, based on such unscientific criteria as caste or tribe ~ introduced by Ambedkar and reinforced by VP Singh ~ has failed. However, the government and the political parties, including the Communists, want to preserve this failed system and also extend it by including religion as a parameter. Writing in People’s Democracy, the organ of the CPI-M, Teesta Setalvad has pleaded that as Muslims are also backward, they too deserve the benefit of reservations. The Communists seem to have forgotten that class rather than caste, tribe or religion, should be the criteria for affirmative action. They have also forgotten the lesson derived from the former Soviet Union that free education on a mass scale can remove social and economic backwardness. The experience of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam also demonstrate that what India could not achieve in 60 years can be achieved within 10 years if the policy framework is designed to remove inequality of opportunity. To solve the problem, India should introduce reservation based on poverty and physical disability irrespective of religion, tribe or caste. As in Europe, education must be free at all levels, including universities and specialised institutes of higher learning. All students should get automatic grants. Villages should either be consolidated or mobile schools set up in remote areas. As in the former Soviet Union, villages should be equipped with public libraries and reading room to ensure that poor students get space to study. To remove linguistic discrimination and to maintain proper representation of all states, an informal system of fair representation or quota can be introduced for jobs in both the public and private sector. The caste system must be abolished by law. Disparities in income and wealth are central to unequal opportunities. Large sections of the rural population still depend on mahajans and money-lenders. The nationalisation of banks in 1969 was aimed at removing the money-lenders from the rural economy. But since 1991 the government has reversed the system, aggravating poverty among farmers and increasing their dependence on the money-lenders. It is essential for the government to set up a rural banking network to remove the money-lenders and extend educational and business loans to those who might be refused such facilities by private banks. Affirmative action is not just quota and reservation. It also envisages incentives for the poor. Such incentives can’t be provided without public banking. When job opportunities are rare, reservations for chosen sections can only lead to resentment among the unemployed in the general category who will be deprived just because of their birth. To quote Albert Einstein: “Unlimited competition leads to huge waste of labour. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child.” Unethical system Economic reform has intensified the mismatch between the availability of jobs and the number of people unemployed. This problem cannot be solved in a market economy that depends increasingly on external forces beyond the control of the national government. Affirmative action is needed to create equal opportunities and remove discrimination. A reservation system based on caste and tribes cannot provide money to the poor students of the backward castes to travel to schools or colleges or to buy books or to have a space to study. Severe poverty exists even among the higher castes and among those who are not qualified to receive the benefits. There are Brahmins among porters and rickshawallas. There is no reason why their children will not receive any benefits. But relatives of Jagjivan Ram, Lalu Prasad, Pawan Chamling=2C Purno Sangma, Shibu Soren or Mayawati are entitled to reserved vacancies in higher education and jobs. The system that exists in India is unethical in the extrem e. However, both the Congress and the CPI-M want to perpetuate and enhance this system of injustice. Letters to the Editor Charge against Ambedkar false Sir, ~ Mr Dipak Basu’s two-part article “Affirmative action” (21-22 September) carries a false charge against Dr BR Ambedkar and some negative information as well. Should Dr Ambedkar be held responsible for social discrimination and the caste system? Dr Ambedkar’s fight was to free society from the atrocious caste system and to give the backward classes political power by which they could safeguard themselves from oppression by upper caste Hindus. It is true that Dr Ambedkar did not take part in the freedom movement. He feared that freedom, if achieved, would enable the caste Hindus to enslave the backwards and their plight in independent India would be worse than that under British rule. This does not mean that he was an agent of the British Raj. Mr Basu complains that the caste-based reservation policy has “come a cropper” and the policy cannot be accepted as an affirmative action to create “equality of opportunity”. The onus of implementation of the reservation policy rests entirely on its antagonists, for which there is a huge backlog in quota. So, majority of the backward classes are still denied the benefits of reservation. Dr Ambedkar never wanted job reservation, which, according to him, was nothing but subjugation under the caste Hindus. What he had wanted was political power which Gandhiji, the mentor of caste Hindus, opposed. To create “equality of opportunity” in society, Mr Basu debates against the reservation system being the affirmative action. In other words, opportunity is to be made available to all irrespective of caste, creed and religion. But, does our society have one identity in the matter of caste? Does it have one religion or one language? As the caste system is rigid in social fabrication and political powers are with the caste Hindus, how will the affirmative action for “equal opportunity law” be carried into effect. ~ Yours, etc., Rabindranath Sarkar, Kolkata, 3 October. Vested interests Sir, ~ Fundamentalist Hindus like Mr Arun Shourie and Mr Dipak Basu dare to denigrate Dr Ambedkar, the messiah of dalit emancipation and empowerment. Dr Ambedkar was treated shabbily by the caste Hindus while in service and even in college where he was a successful lecturer. He pushed for a separate electorate for the depressed classes and would have been a great achievement had he succeeded. But Gandhiji could not tolerate independence of dalits, free from caste Hindu domination. He resorted to fast-unto-death opposing the move and forced Dr Ambedkar to sign on the dotted line of the “Poona pact” which is a permanent hindrance to dalit liberation. The Poona pact made the Dalits subservient to the upper caste leaders forever. To the dalits, the British appeared to be a saviour as they got the privilege of education during the Raj. They were treated as equal citizens by the British ~ a status denied by the caste Hindus for centuries. So the question of a dalit revolt against the British did not arise. People having vested interests are raising a hue and cry against caste- based reservation. Politicians are guided by humanitarian considerations which Mr Dipak Basu and men of his ilk fail to appreciate. ~ Yours, etc., Nikunja Bihari Haoladar, Gaighata, 25 September. Caste system perpetuated Sir, ~ I refer to the letters of Rabindranath Sarkar and RN Haoladar (7 October) regarding my article “Affirmative action” (21-22 September). They have explicitly pointed out what I have mentioned only implicitly that Dr BR Ambedkar was a British agent, educated by the Christian missionaries, promoted by the British Raj as the sole spokesman for the backward Hindus and tribals. Because of the caste-based reservation system, promoted by Ambedkar in the Constitution of India, the caste system has become permanent, whereas Hindu saints and reformers like Ramanuj, Sri Chaitanya, Raja Rammohan Roy and Swami Vivekananda wanted to abolish the caste system in order to eliminate the discrimination of the lower caste Hindus. Ambedkar failed to understand that social inequality is the result of economic inequality and religious conversions away from Hinduism cannot help a Dalit to gain a higher status. A carrier of night soil would be an “untouchable” no matter whether he is a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu. The solution is to change the technology of urban waste disposal, not reservations for the Dalits in the IIMs or IITs. That is why a follower of Ambedkar, John Dayal, is asking for reservations for the Dalit Christians and another, Teesta Setalvad, is asking for reservations for Dalit Muslims, although there is no caste system in either Islam or Christianity. They do not want to abolish the caste system but want to preserve it in order to maintain an unethical reservation system in which even finance minister Mr Chidambaram, a Harvard MBA, is considered to be a backward, whereas all the Dubeys or Chaubeys carrying loads at railway stations are considered to be exploitative Brahmins sucking the blood of Dalits like multi-millionaire Mayawatis and Lalu Prasads. Only a totally free education system with automatic scholarships for all, along with reservations based on poverty can reduce social and economic inequality. ~Yours, etc., Prof Dipak Basu, Nagasaki University, Japan, 20 October. Derogatory remark Sir, ~ This with reference to the letter by Dipak Basu “Caste system perpetuated” (4 November) where he alleges that his article, “Affirmative action” (21 and 22 September) was misinterpreted by Rabindranath Sarkar and RN Haoladar (7 October), that which Professor Basu mentioned implicitly the other two pointed out explicitly, that Dr BR Ambedkar, a missionary-educated, was nothing but a British agent who spoke for the backward Hindus and tribals. This is simply a derogatory remark. Ambedkar understood very well the relationship between social and economic inequality in the backdrop of the caste system. Prof Basu fails to understand that the caste system was prevalent in India for over two millennium and that it has not been made permanent because of Ambedkar’s efforts to amend the Constitution to find a place for the downtrodden. Ambedkar was an architect of modern India which is progressively claiming a fusion of hundreds of castes, creed, language and cultures in one united India. Prof Basu is averse to reservations for Dalits in the IITs or IIMs, but fails to appreciate the tremendous efforts of such candidates to break the social and economic barriers. A free education system, along with recognition of merit, and reservation can reduce social and economic inequality. ~Yours, etc Sures Chandra Biswas, Barasat, 7 October. Gandhiji felt the same way about Ambedkar Sir, ~ I refer to the letter by Sures Chandra Biswas (17 November) regarding my article “Affirmative action” (21-22 September). According to Mr Biswas I made a derogatory remark by saying that Dr BR Ambedkar was a British agent. I have merely repeated what Mahatma Gandhi had said about Ambedkar for good reasons. Ambedkar was not from a poor Dalit family; his father was in the British army. The Maharaja of Baroda had financed his education both in Bombay University and in the USA and London. Although he was the representative of only the Mahar community in Maharashtra and unknown in the rest of India, he was sent to London to join the roundtable conference as the representative of the entire backward castes and tribals of India. The British had the design to create Pakistan, Khalistan of Tara Singh, Dalitstans of Ambedkar and a number of tribal homelands so that there would not be any united India. That was the reason Gandhiji refused to go along with that conference. Right till 1946, Ambedkar was a vehement opponent of the freedom movement. He claimed with pride that he was the representative of the people who had conquered India for the British. He proclaimed that the freedom movement was a sham, a ruse, and Gandhiji was an agent to perpetuate the Nazi-like suppression of the masses, and the British Viceroy was the saviour of the depressed classes. In 1941, Dr Ambedkar was appointed as a member of the defence advisory committee of the Viceroy to help the British war efforts against Japan, when Rashbehari Bose and Mohan Singh had already founded the Azad Hind Fauz in Tokyo and were waiting for Netaji to arrive. In 1942, when people of India were facing bullets from the British, Ambedkar was enjoying a comfortable life as the labour adviser to the Viceroy. Even in April 1946, Ambedkar was telling the Viceroy, Lord Wavell: “If India became independent, it would be one of the greatest disasters that could happen.” We should ask for the source of finance of Ambedkar so that he could pay Rs 13,000 every month, a great lot of money in those days, to MN Roy since 1936. As chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution of free India, Ambedkar supported every suggestion of the British officers. On 6 September, 1949 in the Constituent Assembly, he disregarded the objections of Kuladhar Chaliha and Rohini Choudhury of Assam to make the tribal areas as separate administrative units, the mechanism of which was drafted by a British missionary, Rev Nicholas Roy, so that the Christian missionaries could convert the tribal population en masse. The result is what we are witnessing today in the north-eastern states. ~Yours, etc., Prof Dipak Basu, Nagasaki University (Japan), 23 November. More about the British, Gandhi and Ambedkar Sir, ~ Prof. Dipak Basu’s letter, “Gandhiji felt the same way as Ambedkar” (7 December) is worth recording. No pondering is warranted because thanks to the 50-year rule relating to the intelligence reports of the UK, what Prof. Basu has said is now public knowledge. (Known at least to the churlish economist manque who had once been a piddling quill-driver of the World Bank, the sub-literate Bengali Brahmin who has been on the take since he betrayed his mentor, Ajoy Mukherjee, the la-di-da lawyer from Harvard, and the communist fatso who is the sole Pharisaic clown of our Lok Sabha ~ or, in a nutshell, known to the people who rule us). As my health did not permit me to write earlier, I remind readers of what Prof. Basu had observed, “Dr BR Ambedkar was a British agent. Mahatma Gandhi said the same thing about Ambedkar for good reasons. Ambedkar was not from a poor Dalit family; his father was in the British army. The Maharaja of Baroda had financed his education both in Bombay University and in the USA and London. Although he was the representative of only the Mahar community in Maharashtra and unknown in the rest of India, he was sent to London to join the round-table conference as the representative of the entire backward castes and tribals of India. The British had the design to create Pakistan, Khalistan of Tara Singh, Dalitstans of Ambedkar and a number of tribal homelands so that there would not be any united India. That was the reason Gandhiji refused to go along with that conference. Right till 1946, Ambedkar was a vehement opponent of the freedom movement. He claimed with pride that he was the rep resentative of the people who had conquered India for the British. He proclaimed that the freedom movement was a sham, a ruse, and Gandhiji was an agent to perpetuate the Nazi-like suppression of the masses, and the British Victory was the saviour of the depressed classes.” Our rulers are silent; in fact, this criminal silence runs up and down the gamut of their parliamentary politics. But what keeps the entire nation mum? It’s plain fear ~ the only commodity without which the Indian chattering classes cannot survive. I am also afraid ~ I have a clutch of grandchildren to hold harmless. Prof. Basu in Nagasaki too is no exception. He is like a pyromaniac who sets the valley on fire and then retires to the hills. I am writing under a nom de guerre. Let Prof. Basu get his letter translated into Bengali and Hindi (I know one professor of Mathematics in Nagasaki who knows both Hindi and Bengali) and publish his valuable letter in the Bengali and the Hindi dailies of India. ~ Yours, etc., Pronoti Deb, Kolkata, 12 December. From lokesh at sarai.net Mon Dec 18 16:08:23 2006 From: lokesh at sarai.net (Lokesh) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:38:23 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] invitation_ day for women's dignity Message-ID: <45866F9F.3030305@sarai.net> *Invitation for a programme to celebrate * *'Day for Women's Dignity'* /Stree Adhikar Sangathan /is organising a Seminar and Cultural Programme on the occasion of /'Stree Samman Divas'/ ( Day for Women's Dignity) on 20^th December at Tagore Hall, Delhi University, (North Campus) at 12 noon. Leading Gujarati Poetess and activist *Ms saroop dhruv*, Litterateur-activist *Mudra rakshas* have agreed to participate in the discussion. Leading cultural troupes of the city have also agreed to present programmes to commemorate the occasion. To underline the fact of the societal violence against women which continues unabated till date 'Stree Adhikar Sangathan' has been celebrating the day when /Manusmriti/ was burnt ( 25 December 1927) under the leadereship of Dr Ambedkar 79 years ago as a day for Women's Dignity since last four years. It is a considered opinion of the Organisation / /Sangathan/ that today officially the Manusmriti might have been replaced by the more egalitarian Indian Constitution more than fifty years ago but at an informal level it continues to hold sway over the thinking and actions of a vast majority of the Indian people. Taking into consideration the university calendar the programme is being organised on 20 th December itself.As part of this celebrations it has been decided to hold a seminar to discuss the topic *'Critique Of Our Culture : Resisting The System'* which would be followed by cultural programs. Stree Adhikar Sangathan Contact : H 4. Pusa Apts, Rohini, Sector 15, Delhi 110085, Ph 011-27872835 IIIT, Jhalwa, Allahabad, Ph: 0532-2552324 From cippitel at gmail.com Sun Dec 17 19:31:44 2006 From: cippitel at gmail.com (lucrezia cippitelli) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 15:01:44 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] netcase #1 - Eduardo Navas Net(work) Art: Criticizing, producing and curating Message-ID: <640508e90612170601j649b0200tbb08c37cc5653669@mail.gmail.com> netcase #1 Eduardo Navas Net(work) Art: Criticizing, producing and curating Spanish and Italian below Eduardo Navas is a critical theorist and artist born in Salvador, living and working between San Diego and Los Angeles. During his lecture at MLAC Navas will present some of his art, theory and criticism focused on culture and media at large. The lecture will also focus on Navas's recent research on Remix as a cultural activity affecting curatorial practice; he will present examples of New Media projects that challenge the way curators approach contemporary art. Eduardo Navas is an artist, historian and critic specializing in new media; his work and theories have been presented in various places throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe. He has been a juror for " Turbulence.org" in 2004 and for "Rhizome.org" in 2006-07, New York. Navas is founder and was contributing editor of "Net Art Review" (2003-05), is co-founder of "newmediaFIX" (2005 to present) and is co-founding member of "acute.cc", an international group of artists and academics who organize event and publications periodically. Currently, Navas is adjunct professor in Theory and Practice at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and adjunct faculty of multimedia practice at San Diego State University. Navas is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Art and Media History, theory and Criticism at the University of California in San Diego. www.navasse.net Eduardo Navas es un teórico y artista nacido en El Salvador, viviendo y trabajando entre Los Angeles y San Diego. Durante su conferencia en el MLAC Navas presentará selecciones de su obra de arte, teorias y criticas enfocandose en la cultura y su relacion a medios de comunicación. La conferencia también se enfocará en la reciente investigación de Navas sobre el Remix como una actividad cultural afectando la practica curatorial; el presentará ejemplos de proyectos de nuevos medios cuales desafian las metodologías curatoriales en el art contemporaneo. Eduardo Navas es artista, historiador y escritor especializado en nuevos medios; su obra y teorias han sido presentadas en varios lugares en Estados Unidos, Latino America y Europa. Ha sido jurado para "Turbulence.org" en 2004 y fue jurado para las comisiones de "Rhizome.org" de 2006-07, en Nueva York. Navas es fundador y editor contribuyente de "Net Art Review" (2003-2005); es co-fundador de "newmediaFIX" (desde 2005) y es miembro co-fundador de " acute.cc", un enlace internacional de artistas y académicos que organizan eventos y publicaciones periódicamente. Actualmente, Navas es docente y consultor en Teoría y Práctica de Bellas Artes en Otis Escuela de Arte y Diseño en Los Ángeles, y docente de practica de multimedia en la Universidad del Estado en San Diego. Navas es candidato al doctorado en letras en el Departamento de Historia de Arte y Medios de Comunicación, Teoría y Crítica, en el programa de Bellas Artes en la Universidad de San Diego California. www.navasse.net Eduardo Navas è un teorico e artista nato in Salvador che vive e lavora tra Los Angeles e San Diego. Durante la sua conferenza al MLAC presenterà una selezione dei suoi lavori, teorie e posizioni critiche, focalizzandosi specialmente nei processi culturali e la loro relazione con i media. La conferenza sarà centrata sulla resente ricerca di Navas sul Remix inteso come attività culturtale che tocca la pratica curatoriale; specialmente con la presentazione di esempi di progetti realizzati con i nuovi media che ridiscutono le metodologie culturali nell'arte contemporanea. Eduardo Navas è un artista, storico e scrittore specializzato nei nuovi media; il suo lavoro e le sue teorie sono state presentate in diversi spazi negli Stati Uniti, America Latina ed Europa. È stato giurato per " Turbolence.org" nel 2004 e per le commissioni del 2006-07 di "Rhizome.org" a New York. Ha fondato ed è stato redattore di "Net Art Review" (2003-2005); è co-fondatore di "newmediaFIX" (dal 2005) e membro cofondatore di "acute.cc", un network internazionale di artisti ed accademici che organizzano periodicamente eventi e pubblicazioni. Attualmente Navas è docente e tutor di Teoria e Pratica delle Belle Arti presso l'Accademia di Arte e Design Otis di Los Angeles e docente di pratica dei multimedia nell'università Statale di San Diego. Sta concludendo un Dottorato di ricerca in lettere presso il Dipartimento di Arte e Media di Comunicazione, Teoria e Critica, nel programma di Belle Arti presso l'Università di San Diego California. www.navasse.net newmediaFIX http://newmediafix.net NetArtReview http://netartreview.net Diary of a Star (2004 to present) http://www.navasse.net/star/ Goobalization (2004 to present) http://www.navasse.net/goobalization/index.htm Re_Cycled_Views (2003) http://www.navasse.net/re%5Fcycled%5Fviews/ Net Art World (2003) http://www.navasse.net/netartworld/ The Allegorical Impulse Part. 1 (2002) http://artport.whitney.org/gatepages/artists/navas/index.html 9/11 Net Memorial (2002) http://www.navasse.net/netMemorial/ Chloe (2001) http://navasse.net/cloeyStart/ .°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.°.° ..:: netcase ::.. netcase is not just a space for exposition, not just a space for networking as artefact, but also a space for questioning and discussing networking as critical practice: networks as spaces of production. netcase proposes curating as a practice invested in understanding new media and methods of production. netcase is a project by MLAC – Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporanea of "La Sapienza" University of Rome, a museum and laboratory exploring new forms of cotemporary art practice. netcase at the MLAC is an editorial and multimedia curatorial project that embraces and oversees new technologies as its focus. netcase is curated by lucrezia cippitelli and domenico scudero netcase no es solamente un espacio para exposiciones o para el networking como obra de arte, sino también un espacio para cuestionar y discutir el networking como practica critica: networks como espacios de producción. netcase propone la curadoria como practica enfocada en entender los nuevos medios y sus metodos de producción. netcase es un proyecto del MLAC – Museo Laboratorio de Arte Contemporanea de la Universidad "La Sapienza" de Roma, un museo y laboratorio que explora las nuevas formas de la practica del arte contemporaneo. netcase en el MLAC es un proyecto curatorial, editorial y multimedial que abraza y investiga las nuevas tecnologias. netcase es un proyecto de lucrezia cippitelli y domenico scudero netcase non è solo uno spazio per esposizioni o per il networking inteso come opera d'arte, ma piuttosto uno spazio in cui indagare e ridiscutere il networking come pratica critica: i network come spazi di produzione. netcase propone la curatoria come pratica dedicata alla comprensione dei nuovi media e metodi di produzione. netgcase è un progetto del MLAC – Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporanea dell'Università "La Sapienza" di Roma, un mudeo e laboratorio volto ad esplorare nuove forme di pratiche artistiche contemporanee. netcase è uno spazio editoriale e multimediale che vuole mettere a fuoco ed esplorare le nuove tecnologie. netcase è un progetto curato da lucrezia cippitelli e domenico scudero www.mlac.it/netcase netcase at mlac.it -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061217/5655113e/attachment.html From tjerk at mediamatic.nl Mon Dec 18 19:41:55 2006 From: tjerk at mediamatic.nl (tjerk timan) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:11:55 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] upcoming; machinima workshop Message-ID: <0831948C-7FCD-4DBB-BC37-6733881F3B68@mediamatic.nl> Mediamatic Machinima workshop – Games as Tools 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | January 2007 What? A Machinima movie is a movie made in a computer game. In the Mediamatic Machinima workshop the participants are in the hands of some of the most experienced Machinima makers in the world, and find out what Machinima can do. In 4 intense workshopdays all participants make their own Machinima movies or game based projects. The workshop provides you with the skills and knowledge you need to create your own Machinima, or to further improve your skills if you already tried your hand at it. Who? Participants will be guided through Machinima production process by Friedrich Kirschner (G), Jonas Hielscher (G) and Ricard Gras (E/UK) The coaches are experienced in a wide variety of game engines, and specialized in using the Unreal Tournament engine, the Sims2 engine, the Machinima possibilities of Second Life and Machinimation, that runs in the Quake3 engine. This workshop is intended for filmmakers, animators and gamers, who are interested in each others arts. Some experience with playing video games or film editing is helpful, but not essential. You can register online: http://www.mediamatic.net/workshopregistration The price for this workshop is reduced to EUR 250 incl. VAT !! Where and when? 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | January 2007 between 10.00 and 17.00 hrs. At Mediamatic, Post CS building 5th floor, Amsterdam t +31 (0)20 6389901 http://www.mediamatic.net/machinima ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ tjerk timan stichting Mediamatic --------------------------- Post CS Oosterdokskade 5-5 ------------------------------- 1011AD Amsterdam, Holland ------------------------------- T: +31 (0)20 6389901 F: +31 (0)20 6387969 E: tjerk at mediamatic.nl www.mediamatic.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061218/fe271a09/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From use.info at gmail.com Tue Dec 19 11:12:37 2006 From: use.info at gmail.com (OpenSpace) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:12:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [infosouth] Human Rights and Women/Girls media award: The Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award, 2007 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award, 2007 for young women journalists Nominations deadline: 7 January 2007 The Jayaraman family and the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) are collaborating in instituting the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award for young women journalists. The Award has been set up in the memory of Anupama Jayaraman, a young and promising Bangalore-based journalist who passed away in January 2006. Anupama was not only multi-talented and energetic, but she also demonstrated a keen interest in issues of human rights and social justice. The Award is one of several efforts undertaken by her family to keep her concerns and ideas alive. It is meant to encourage and honour young women journalists who, like her, believe in meaningful journalism and have the courage and determination to write on issues relating to human rights and social justice. The Award will include a citation and a cheque for Rs. 15,000. The 2007 Award will be for a female print journalist living in India and writing in English. It is hoped that awards in other languages can be introduced subsequently. The NWMI is cooperating with the Jayaraman family in launching and sustaining the Award, which will be presented at the NWMI's annual meetings held in different parts of the country every year. The local network responsible for each year's meeting will undertake responsibility for the Award that year. The Network of Women in Media, Bangalore, which is hosting the national network's 5th annual three-day meeting in the city in February 2007, is coordinating the launch of the Award. A jury of eminent citizens, including senior journalists, will judge the entries and select the first recipient of the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award, which will be presented at a public meeting in Bangalore on 9 February 2007. DETAILS Objectives · To encourage, support and honour young women journalists writing on human rights, social justice and people-centred development. · To nurture and sustain idealism, enthusiasm and constructive professionalism among young journalists. · To promote and strengthen journalism that cares. Themes The broad themes to be addressed in the entries are human rights and social justice, especially in the areas of basic needs (including access to natural resources), gender equality, and the environment. Specific topic areas within these themes will be announced each year. For the 2007 award the topic area is: human rights and women/girls. Eligibility Criteria a.. The 2007 Award is for Indian women journalists aged 25 or less, working in or contributing to the print media in India in English. b.. All female journalists in this age group, including freelance journalists, are eligible. c.. The award is for a body of published work (a minimum of three articles) over a two-year period (the 2007 Award will be for articles published between January 2005 and December 2006) · Among journalists who make it to the short list, those from rural backgrounds and from Dalit and Adivasi communities will be given special consideration. Guidelines for Nominations · Nominations, sent to the address below, must include: a) a short write-up on the nominee and her contact details (including postal address, phone number and e-mail ID) b) Three bylined articles relating to this year's specified topic (each of the three submission must include an original clipping and a xerox copy) · Apart from editors and other media professionals, members of the reading public are also welcome to send in nominations · All nominations must be received by 7 January 07 for the 2007 Award. Please write "Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award 2007" on the envelope. · A jury of five eminent citizens, mainly journalists, will select the Awardee; their decision will be final. · All nominations must be typed; all submitted articles must be printed/published. Other Details · The Awardee and the person who nominated her will be personally informed about the jury's decision between 15 and 20 January 2007. · Information about the outcome of the Award process will also be disseminated through various media, NWMI e-groups and the NWMI website. Contacts: The Network of Women in Media, Bangalore (Attention: Anita Cheria) # 7, 3rd Cross Road Priyadarshini Layout Nagarbhavi Main Road Bangalore 560 072 E-mail: nwm.bangalore@ gmail.com (Attention: Anita Cheria) Mobile contacts: (0) 94484 84797 (Anita Cheria) (0) 94483 40817 (M. Radhika) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061219/3207f9f1/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zainabbawa at yahoo.com Wed Dec 20 10:35:48 2006 From: zainabbawa at yahoo.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:05:48 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] My name is Asif Message-ID: <71366.67390.qm@web36112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> My name is Asif I sat in his autorickshaw. When I left, he said his name was Asif. When I sat in his autorickshaw, what struck me and amused me tremendously were the two identical photographs of film actor Preity Zinta stuck right on his photo identification which every autorickshaw driver in Bangalore has to display in the vehicle. Preity was dressed in a bridal outfit and stared prettily from the photo identification (in both the pictures). Amused I thought to myself, ‘urban closet desires’. I was headed to National Market. Asif knew that National Market was somewhere close to Majestic, but he was unsure of the exact location. At one point he asked me which route I would like to take to get there and I gave him my preference. Then I asked him, ‘So you have Preity Zinta’s pictures on your photo id?’ He smiled and said, ‘Haan, woh Preity Zinta hai!’ As we crossed Corporation Circle, Asif started talking to me. ‘You know, there is an autorickshaw strike tomorrow.’ ‘Why,’ I asked. ‘Because the traffic police have now instituted yellow lane lines on the roads and autos are expected to run within the limits of the yellow lane lines. If an auto jumps out of the lane line, then the driver is fined two thousand rupees. Now, is that not unfair?’ ‘Hmm,’ I nodded. After a while, Asif spoke again. ‘You know, the other day a cop beat up an auto driver very badly to the extent that the driver bled to unconsciousness.’ ‘Why did the cop beat the driver?’ I asked. ‘Berahami! Merciless, these cops can be merciless. They like to target anyone. Behrahami!’ Asif concluded. Asif spoke to me as if he were talking to a journalist. He kept referring to me as ‘madam’. I asked Asif if the auto belonged to him or was it rented. ‘How can we own an auto? We are poor people!’ he said. ‘This is a rented auto. I pay Rs. 150 per day to the owner. Some day I earn a thousand and I pay Rs. 150. On some days, I earn barely a hundred and yet I have to pay Rs. 150.’ ‘Since how much time have you been driving this autorickshaw?’ I asked. ‘9 AM to 9 PM madam. I am a family man,’ Asif said. I was a bit amused when he uttered the phrase ‘family man’. I meant to ask him since how many years he had been driving and he misunderstood me to mean timings in the day when he drives. I rephrased my question and Asif said, ‘Six years now. I want to tell you madam that I have not been an auto driver all my life. I was a craftsman. I used to do machine embroidery for garments. There was big demand. Then the Bengali migrants came into Bangalore. They began to offer the same embroidery at five rupees, six rupees a piece. There we were offering a piece for Rs. 10 and here these people were bringing down prices to so much lesser that it was becoming unaffordable for us to stand the competition.’ I heard him out keenly. In that moment of conversation with Asif, I realized that migration operates at different levels and is hurtful to different segments of the population in similar ways. Competition, economics, territory – perhaps these are the sharper aspects of migration which hurt the natives. Asif continued, ‘I am a hardworking man. We believe in working, not in sitting at home. Tomorrow if my embroidery work resumes, I will go back and give up this driving.’ I asked Asif which are the areas in Bangalore which are hubs for embroidery. Asif mentioned it is Shivajinagar, areas around Mysore Road and Majestic area. Asif then asked me about myself. ‘What do you do? Where is your native place?’ I answered that my native place is Bombay and that I had come to Bangalore to pursue my studies. ‘What do you study?’ Asif asked. ‘I am doing my doctorate,’ I answered. ‘Oh yes, medical is good, very good,’ he said. I was amused but did not say anything. ‘Where do you live? Is your family here?’ he asked. ‘I live in a hostel,’ I fibbed. ‘Who pays for your expenses?’ he asked. ‘I manage it myself,’ I replied. We were nearing National Market. Asif said, ‘Madam, this world is very bad and the times are even worse. At every step you have to be very cautious. You never know what people’s intentions can be.’ I did not know in what context to place these words Asif had just uttered. Did he mean to say that the world (or the city) was unsafe for women? Or was he hinting with suspicion towards my wanting to get to National Market (which when I reached there I realized was one of the spaces for prostitution in Bangalore)? I paid him the fare. While leaving, he asked me, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Zainab,’ I said. ‘My name is Asif,’ he said. ‘Khuda hafeez,’ I said. ‘Khuda hafeez,’ and he drove away. That day I discovered Bangalore City anew – anew, through the eyes and words of Asif! Zainab Bawa Mumbai www.xanga.com/citybytes __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061219/dee7f73b/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Tue Dec 19 14:26:24 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:26:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Jan. 6, 2007: Lecture by Bob Kerrey in New Delhi Message-ID: <004e01c7234b$938959c0$9066c2cb@freeda> PUKAR, Mumbai the local partner of India China Institute, The New School, New York cordially invites you to a lecture by Bob Kerrey On India - US Relations: A Congressional Perspective Date: Saturday, January 6 , 2007 Time: 4:00 PM - High tea 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Lecture Venue: Silver Oak - I, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003 Bob Kerrey is the President of The New School University, New York. The New School is a progressive university offering study programs in Social Research, Management, Music etc. It is home to the world renowned Parson's The New School for Design and the unique initiative India China Institute that seeks to foster research collaborations between India, China and USA. Mr. Kerrey has been a recipient of the Medal of Honour as a Vietnam war veteran, the governor of Nebraska, a US senator of twelve years and the most renowned member of the 9/11 commission. Being an influential Democratic Party member, he will be sharing and presenting his views on the future of the US-India Relationship in many areas including trade, education, development and culture. PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Telephone:: +91 (22) 6574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061219/f3d5b805/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From image.science at donau-uni.ac.at Wed Dec 20 19:48:07 2006 From: image.science at donau-uni.ac.at (Image Science) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:18:07 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Reminder - Call for Proposals - re:place 2007 Message-ID: <4589542F0200007D00001EC8@gwgwia.donau-uni.ac.at> re:place 2007 - Call for Proposals - Reminder The Second International Conference on the Histories of Media, Art, Science and Technology Location: Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin Date: 15-18 November 2007 re:place 2007, the Second International Conference on the Histories of Media, Art, Science and Technology, will take place in Berlin from 15 - 18 November 2007 as a project of Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH in cooperation with Haus der Kulturen der Welt. This conference is a sequel to 'Refresh!', the first in this series, chaired by Oliver Grau and produced by the Database of Virtual Art, Leonardo, and Banff New Media Institute, and held at the Banff Center in Canada in September 2005, which brought together several hundred artists, scientists, researchers, curators and theoreticians of different disciplines. re:place 2007 will be an international forum for the presentation and the discussion of exemplary approaches to the rapport between art, media, science and technology. With the title, 're:place', we propose a thematic focus on locatedness and the migration of knowledge and knowledge production in the interdisciplinary contexts of art, historiography, science and technology. The re:place 2007 conference will be devoted to examining the manifold connections between art, science and technology, connections which have come into view more sharply through the growing attention to media art and its histories over the past years. It will address historical contexts and artistic explorations of new technologies as well as the historical and contemporary research into the mutual influences between artistic work, scientific research and technological developments. This research concerns such diverse fields as cybernetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, nano-technology, and bio-technology, as well as investigations in the humanities including art history, visual culture, musicology, comparative literature, media archaeology, media theory, science studies, and sociology. Conference Programme The conference programme will include competitively selected, peer-reviewed individual papers, panel presentations, poster sessions, as well as a small number of invited speakers. Several Keynote Lectures, by internationally renowned, outstanding theoreticians and artists, will deliberate on the central themes of the conference. The conference will also include dedicated forum sessions for participants to engage in more open-ended discussion and debate on relevant issues and questions. CALL FOR PROPOSALS re:place 2007 welcomes contributions from established as well as from emerging researchers in diverse fields. The conference will be of interest to those working in, but not limited to, the following areas: art history and theory, literary studies, cultural studies, film and media studies, theatre, dance and performance studies, philosophy, history, gender studies, human-computer interaction, contemporary art, musicology, sound studies, anthropology, sociology, geography, science, technology and society studies, history of science, and history of technology. We are especially keen on empirical, conceptual, and historical contributions that exemplify and expand the diverse methodological and thematic concerns of this extended interdisciplinary area. These might include contributions to: * institutional histories of centers, sites, or events that have helped to concretize and engender the intersections between media, art, science and technology. Some broad areas could be: experimental arts spaces, collaborative research labs, significant exhibitions, etc. * place studies that highlight significant locations or situations where such interdisciplinary intersections or significant historical episodes have occurred. A few examples might be: 'Tesla in Budapest', 'Flusser in Brazil', USSR in the 1920s, 'Japan between 1950s-1970s,’ etc. * historiographical issues, methods, and debates that pose critical questions in the formulation of the histories of the ‘media arts’. These might include: archaeology, genealogy or variantology as methodological tools, bridging the divide between art and media history, sociologies of interactivity, etc. * theoretical frameworks from various philosophical and disciplinary positions. Topics might include the exemplary role of film studies or musicology for the study of media arts, or the significance of cultural specificities and location in media and technologies, etc. * the migration of knowledges and practices from different contexts, whether disciplinary, institutional, geographical or cultural. Topics might include: the role of migrant artists in the development of new discourses and practices; the movement and adoption of disciplinary ideas from science into art contexts or vice versa, etc. Access the online submission form at: http://www.mediaarthistory.org/ The DEADLINE for submissions is 15 January 2007. general INFORMATION can be found at: http://tamtam.mi2.hr/replace replace 2007 is a project of Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH in cooperation with Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Berlin. Conference partners include LEONARDO, DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART AT DANUBE UNIVERSITY KREMS' CENTER FOR IMAGE SCIENCE, LUDWIG BOLTZMANN INSTITUTE MEDIA.ART.RESEARCH, FORUM GOETHE INSTITUT, and others. Conference chairs: Andreas Broeckmann (D), Gunalan Nadarajan (SG/USA) re:place 2007 Advisory Board HONORARY BOARD Rudolf ARNHEIM; Frank POPPER; Jasia REICHARDT; Itsuo SAKANE; Walter ZANINI ADVISORY BOARD Inke ARNS, Dortmund; Horst BREDEKAMP, Berlin; Paul BROWN, London/Cotton Tree; Annick BUREAUD, Paris; Dieter DANIELS, Leipzig; Sara DIAMOND, Toronto; Diana DOMINGUES, Caxias do Sul; Timothy DRUCKREY, New York; Jean GAGNON, Montreal; Oliver GRAU, Krems; Lydia HAUSTEIN, Berlin; Linda D. HENDERSON, Austin; Erkki HUHTAMO, Los Angeles; Douglas KAHN, Davis; Ángel KALENBERG, Montevideo; Ryszard KLUSZCZYNSKI, Lodz; Machiko KUSAHARA, Tokyo; Sarat MAHARAJ, London; Roger MALINA, Paris; W.J.T. MITCHELL, Chicago; Edward SHANKEN, Savannah; Barbara STAFFORD, Chicago; Christiane PAUL, New York; Jeffrey SHAW, Sydney; Peter WEIBEL, Karlsruhe; Steven WILSON, San Francisco; Siegfried ZIELINSKI, Cologne best wishes for the holiday season, Department for Image Science Team Danube University Krems "WHAT IS IMAGE SCIENCE?" visit us and find out :: www.donau-uni.ac.at/cis From vishal.rawlley at gmail.com Thu Dec 21 11:47:15 2006 From: vishal.rawlley at gmail.com (Vishal Rawlley) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:47:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] socialite columnist has the nerve Message-ID: <31d5ea920612202217p4e7668b8n4f0508ebd627e677@mail.gmail.com> i wish i could beat up Suhel with my bare fists. but if someone could do it with words it would be better: pasted below from: http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/suhel-seth-.aspx *The Laws of Activism* *Suhel Seth* I guess the most poignant moment of last week must certainly be the return of the gallantry medals that were awarded to those who warded off the December 13 attack on Parliament several years ago, only because they believe they or for that matter, the families of those who gave up their lives, have not been given either due respect or been shown the decisiveness that a case like this deserves. What makes matters worse is that the home minister stands up in Parliament and tells us that clemency petitions take up to seven years to be decided in a country that has professed zero-tolerance for terrorism! This speaks poorly of our justice system, and even worse, about the manner in which we punish those who deserve punishment. But that is not the focus of this article. What is my concern is how everything is slowly being hijacked by an army of limousine liberals who have taken it upon themselves to intrude and intervene in every issue that doesn't concern them. I have high regard for Arundhati Roy's writing skills, but surely one God of Small Things doesn't make her an authority on everything, from the amount of water that the Narmada dam must release to farmers' rights in Singur. And we in this country are being held hostage by such seemingly brazen acts of care and concern which are nothing but repeated attempts in self-publicity. Medha Patkar is more of a disruptionist rather than someone who is seriously concerned about the issues she pretends to. Often we are lectured by these so-called activists who somehow want to be in the middle of every controversy yet will not engage in some serious development work. I am seriously tired of seeing Arundhati Roy and Medha Patkar sitting on silly hunger strikes and writing laborious essays on issues that they so easily give up when media attention wanes. So even if their intentions are noble (and I have no apparent reason to doubt them) the perception is that they are disruptionists and anarchists and this is my real concern, Sometimes, merely through association, the causes they lend themselves to start losing public empathy and support and this is something that must worry those cause managers who get these kind of people to lend a shoulder. I have often noticed that eventually Medha Patkar's brand looms larger than the cause and this is the real tragedy. We recently had an example of Sunita Narain becoming the sole arbiter of health and wellness in this country: she must obviously be well-intentioned, but just the shrillness and sensationalism of the case she put forth have made her perceptually much weaker than ever before. The same government which handed her the Padma Shri criticised her findings on the whole pesticide issue. The Tiger Task Force which she chaired was replete with fissures and all you need to do is ask the only tiger expert (or certainly one of them) Valmik Thapar as to what it was like having someone like Sunita chair a task force on tigers when she had never even seen one. For this the government must equally share the blame. Often the government uses these so-called NGO brands only because it believes they will silence an otherwise explosive media. But does the media really care? Obviously, they don't. They are, in more cases than one, TRP driven, so this is the vicious circle that every normal Indian becomes a part of. To put it simply, you never know who to believe or what the agenda of these leaders is. I, for one, never know. I believe the time has come for these NGO stalwarts to give themselves a rest: they make enough money through unspecified sources of foreign funding; they run rackets in the form of administrative expenses and the real heroes remain forgotten. Why don't you ever see a Bunker Roy on a hunger strike, or for that matter why didn't Mother Teresa ever fast? For the simple reason they had serious work to do. They were not in it for the media attention. They weren't doing this so that they could print the Ashoka Chakra (as Rajiv Sethi has done just because he is part of the Planning Commission) on their silly visiting cards and letterheads! They were committed to helping people in the spirit of humanism. There is an orphanage in Kolkata: the Calcutta Muslim Girls Orphanage which has people like Mohamed Salim who despite being in politics gives much of his time as does the editor of this paper. There is no raving and ranting and abusing all and sundry. The NGO movement, while doing some remarkable stuff, has perhaps the wrong endorsers for its movement in India presently. They are typically people who you avoid only because you can't stomach the fact that they see a dark lining in every silver cloud. The NGOs have to transform from being disruptionists and cynics to catalysts and enablers. The vast majority of the NGO world does this. But the ones who make a fetish of being opposers to everything good and fair, make me wonder where all this is going and for how much longer we are going to see Medha Patkar in every part of the country doing what she knows best: Looking for the nearest BBC correspondent to beam her pictures across the world so that donors know they made the right choice! This is the truth. If it hurts, well, it should. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061221/20d6cefd/attachment.html From joemungai at comcast.net Thu Dec 21 13:43:45 2006 From: joemungai at comcast.net (Joe Mungai) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:13:45 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Asian peace mission to help stop wa in Iraqr Message-ID: <003901c724d7$f00b27e0$6501a8c0@toshibauser> http://orbstandard.com/JMungai/?p=78 DEAR SENATOR HARRY REID Posted December 20, 2006 ----- Original Message ----- From: Joe Mungai To: Susan_McCue at reid.senate.gov Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 6:38 AM Subj: TRUTH AND PEACE Dear Senator Harry Reid, We could have voted republican to increase troops in Iraq and secure non-impeachment of Bush for committing fraud on the American people and the world. We already know the truth about the Iraq occupation. "To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." ~Abraham Lincoln So, in regards to funding the carnage and mayhem in Iraq, what is your response to the documentary America Freedom to Fascism Authorized version - Google Video? (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198) Peace, joseph a. mungai -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061221/eb3b925a/attachment.html From sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in Thu Dec 21 15:13:47 2006 From: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in (S Fatima) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:43:47 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Khayal Darpan at IIC on 23 Dec Message-ID: <626981.43290.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> You are cordially invited to the screening of Khayal Darpan A documentary Film exploring the classical music in Pakistan On December 23, 2006, at 6:30 pm At India International Centre (Auditorium) 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi Duration of Film: 105 minutes Language: Urdu/Hindi (with English subtitles) The film show will be followed by a discussion RSVP 9810379016 info at ektaramusic.com Khayal Darpan: Synopsis In 2005, Delhi-based filmmaker, Yousuf Saeed, spent more than 6 months in Pakistan as part of a research fellowship to survey the development of khayal and other forms of classical traditions in Pakistan. Traveling in the 3 main cities of Pakistan – Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad - interviewing musicians and scholars, attending music concerts, and observing the teaching of music in various institutions, Yousuf not only managed to document some of the surviving practitioners and patrons of art music, but also raised many vital questions about cultural identity, nationalism, legitimacy of music in Islam, and Pakistan's popular culture and its affairs with India. The result is a musical film featuring some well-known as well as lesser known but talented musicians of Pakistan, breaking many stereotypes about the country. While it informs us of some the hidden talents of Pakistan, it also raises many questions about how the classical music is going to survive in future, not only in Pakistan but in India as well, and whose cultural property it really is. The film is a real tour-de-force for a new generation of South Asians who are bent upon defining their cultural and national identities according to their religion. Further details and video clips of the film can be accessed at www.khayaldarpan.info or www.ektara.org Some Media Reviews on Khayal Darpan: Economic Times (Delhi) http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/576625.cms Tehelka (Delhi) http://www.tehelka.com/story_main23.asp?filename=hub121606That_strain.asp Sanjhi Qalam (online) http://sqalam.sphosting.com/pakfilm.html Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php From ish at sarai.net Thu Dec 21 16:39:37 2006 From: ish at sarai.net (ish) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:39:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Lost or Found' The Film Screening at Sarai, Friday 22 dec 2006 (6 pm) Message-ID: <458A6B71.6010302@sarai.net> We are doing a special screening of 'Lost or Found' directed by Nitin Bal Chauhan at Sarai on Fiday 22 Dec 2006 at 6 pm (1800hrs) IST. The Screening will also be accompanied by an exhibition of the art Work of the film . Lost or Found film was nominated for the Best Cinematographer at the Asian Festival for First Films. More about the Film in the Following: There is an eternal debate between fact and fiction, between what is real and what is not. "Lost Or Found" is one such digital film that crosses the forbidden paths more often than once. Jim, the photographer in the film projects those significant moments of my life which made me realize that our world is a jar full of flies, lost in the essence of marmalade.I am aware that the essence will die down, all consumed up, and so will the flies. As for me, I think I am the essence and at times I am the fly. The dual nature of things further bridges the gap between fiction and reality, like the bright head lights and burning tail lights of our cars which invoked in me a feeling of emptiness flickering between ecstasy and pain ecstasy and pain....... a bittersweet symphony. If digital cinema the world over is rubbishing all demarcations of fiction, banal facts, legend ,myth and pure truth then “Lost Or Found” is one such film. LOF is an anthology of metaphors that take us around the vicious circle of our material driven life. SYNOPSIS There are times when some existences swell up like a hot air balloon, not in the sky but inside your room, your mind huddled in a corner JIM (the protagonist) feels this balloon as it languidly forces its way up his throat, In a desperate attempt, to salvage his dehydrating soul, he starts to run. Now either in this real world or in the flight of a thought, he knows he will never get too far, he knows he could never escape these existences. as he travels in the backwaters of his mind, he knows these existences will be waiting at a bend to ambush him. ART EXHIBITION An exhibition of 15 drawings that further bring out the feeling of LOST OR FOUND. Dream, despair, dilemma, divide, dissolve, A world comes alive, full of existences, full of stimuli and their expected responses. “I leaped back and closed my eyes. But the images forewarned, leaped up and closed my eyes with existences: Existence is a fullness from which man can never get away.” -Jean Paul Sartre The drawings depict the images of our subconscious mind, it is forever a mesh of images where our sensory perceptions of sight, sound, smell, touch etc. are recorded and randomly accessed by us in our daily life. The event would have the following 1.Art exhibition (15 art works shall be displayed) 2.Screening of a film (60 min) ISh (sarai.net/ frEeMuZik.net) From info at kitabmahal.org Fri Dec 22 02:09:02 2006 From: info at kitabmahal.org (Kitabmahal, The Fourth Floor) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 21:39:02 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Rock show at Kitab mahal, Fort from 26th till 30th December 2006 Message-ID: <609aeca0831311a5b2a68e55ce5511f5@beck.ymlpnet.net> The Fourth Floor Gallery IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE On 26th December 2006 from 6.30 am onwards Rock music is easily one of the most potent languages in the world and has been as an agent of socio-political commentary, besides being one of the finest art forms in popular culture. . Rock and pop cultures have been related to art in more than one way. Artists of all times have been influenced by or have been in close proximity with musicians and their works. Singers and composers, such as Bob Dylan, Paul Mc Cartney, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Zappa have been included in poetry anthologies around the world. They have had an immense influence on the pop artists of the sixties, such as Andy Warhol, Roschenberg, and Litchenstien. Music groups of the fifties and sixties like The Mothers of Invention and The Grateful Dead were vocal about their non-conformist and revolutionary attitudes. They catapulted the American pop culture and their works contained concrete social commentary. Frank Zappa pioneered the anti-commercialization movement in popular art, and contributed to the scenario of improvisational post-modernist idioms. In 1969, the biggest ever music and arts fair was held in a farmland in North America called the Woodstock Festival, which saw one of the biggest gatherings of artists and musicians from across the globe. In the seventies, the rock group Pink Floyd emerged as the first post-industrial group, which drew inspiration from the Surrealist painters of Europe including Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Paul Delaveux, Ives Tanguey, and Rene Magritte. There is enough proof in history that music and art have grown hand-in-hand drawing influences from each other. In this show, simply titled Rock, I propose to celebrate the marriage of music and art by bringing together musicians and visual artists within a single context. The exhibition will be woven around some of the finest rock songs of all times. I will provide the lyrics of a rock song (along with a brief background about its making, composer, songwriter, and the band) to each participating artist who will be asked to interpret the same in any manner feasible to him or her. There will be around twenty songs, and my band Defying Gravity will perform these songs live and unplugged on the opening night. Each artist will be required to give one or two works for this show. The selection of the songs will be based upon its appeal and impact on popular culture. It will also be based on the song�s social or political comment the prevailing institutions. The catalogue will explain why the song has been selected and what impact has it had on society. I believe that this show will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the versatility that an artist requires in his/her work, and the capacity to exchange influences. Above all, I propose that this show would be a platform for artists to interact with musicians and exchange ideas. E X H I B I T I O N V E N U E Kitab Mahal, 4th Floor, 192, D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 from 26th December till 30th December 2006 (11.00am � 7.00pm) Phone : 2207 9119 / 2207 4772 / 2207 1771 _____________________________ Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?fourthfloor+announcements at sarai.net Hosting by YourMailingListProvider -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061221/6a7355e3/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zainab at xtdnet.nl Fri Dec 22 12:53:16 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:23:16 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] On narratives of corruption Message-ID: <1268.219.65.9.146.1166772196.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> The Narrative of Corruption Good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency Good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency Good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency Good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency – the mantra of new urban management as you all know. Standing from the pulpits of the city with who I share an ambiguous relationship, estrange yet intimate, I now deliver one more narrative of corruption. Friends, Romans and countrymen, a few months ago I started meeting up with some technicians, some politicians, some actors in local politics, some financiers, some lumpen proletariat and some of the lumpen bourgeoise. Conversations and teas revealed that corruption is more ambiguous than the transparency of good governance and the accountability of transparency – that corruption is an important pawn in the new chess of urban management and that corruption has facets, some evident, some hidden and some yet to be revealed. Who plays the corruption card, directs the game (and the direction). Sometime ago, we lived with corruption in municipal governance. ‘Arre, you need to pay to get a water connection,’ ‘arre, they don’t issue birth/death certificates till you don’t grease their palms’, ‘arre they make you wait if you don’t pay’. And cities continued just as the inhabitants did. But today something has changed. Infrastructure is collapsing, slums are proliferating and suddenly we have realized that we are living in the Times of Corrupt Indian Cities. What realization (and what transcendence as we ascend peaks towards becoming global cities)! In the Times of Corrupt Indian Cities, municipal services are inefficient, delivery is slow, but the city continues to grow (despite!). We need to move fast because local politicians are corrupt and always filling their coffers, we may miss the bus because financial resources are inadequate and public-private partnerships are the order of the day. Friends, Romans and countrymen, we are living in the times of urban renewal and transparently accountable good governance where corruption is opaquely invisible. There was a time when the local municipal councilor made money on repair and maintenance contracts and they still do. But today the chunks of moneys have moved to the higher echelons of governments. When a proposal for a mall is submitted, the moneys reach to the state and central government politicians since the projects have grown bigger in size and the stakes are higher (stakeholders hai nah!). As the public-private partnerships take over, contracts start to get signed in the offices of the state and central government urban development departments, amidst the babus and the bosses of the babus (opaque corruption). And then, who said corruption is all about moneys. It is about khushi which you give to the babu in the form of phoren trip. It is the price paid for efficiency of contract approval. Then there are some who sincerely believe that transparency is critical for good governance, but who needs to know how decisions are made in the cabinet and what compromising is done to arrive at those decisions. Those need to be kept outside the ambit of any of the rights to information. And then we have the right to information, that powerful tool which will transform the face of corruption from this country. So let us bring out all the skeletons from the closets of those municipal councilors who have been siphoning public funds by building public toilets in slums, smoothening roads, and not putting the money where the horse’s mouth is and filling their potbellies and coffers. Those rascals! And as budget analyses are done, their misdeeds are revealed. And who smiles upon us? The gods of the state and central level politicians who would love to tighten the noose on these erratic scoundrels. Such a mess this local politics! (Apparently, the Chinese central government is also peeved with the erratic local politics and wants transparency weapons to crack the whip!) Friends, Romans and countrymen, someone wise once said that decentralized corruption is not as lucrative as the one which centralizes decision-making. The rest is for you to figure out. Ah, our dying cities! Long live good governance, accountability, transparency, efficiency (and opaque be corruption) Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From jeebesh at sarai.net Sat Dec 23 02:24:40 2006 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 02:24:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Of Trials and Trails Message-ID: <2E101C4B-E217-4962-816C-DDDF34D49C73@sarai.net> Dear All, Commentaries have started appearing on the recently launched Penguin book on the events surrounding December 13. A recent television program staged a debate, with panelists discussing before a studio public, various positions around the time scale of pardon decision (need for urgencies vs natural procedural delays) for people on death row. As if they are discussing some latest pension scheme! These commentaries and shows want to show that there are just two lines of argument - one legal, the other pragmatic. Some insinuate vile motivations to the book. Such views distract from a serious engagement with the terrain that the book opens up. The commentators in the book use available but dispersed public documents and materials to stitch together an interconnected narrative. The documents are all available in the public domain. They are court judgments, trial documents, affidavits, petitions, news reports, TV footage, films, public service ads, editorials etc. The authors bring these materials in relationship with each other and ask questions about gaps, erasures, silences and oversights. A kind of work that historians would be doing in the archives. Contemporary commentators need the historian's crafts of reading documents and materials more and more urgently now. This is a very critical aspect of the book. The other aspect that comes out loudly in the book is the 'fusion' of the State and media networks in moments of 'security emergency'. Barrage of false reports, spectacular media events, suppression of footage, sustained campaign based on police versions, dramatisation of events based on custodial confessions etc. The custodial confessions are being telecast even now. This 'media question' raised in the book is compelling. To pursue it further - is it just the political economy of media organizations that produces these kinds of 'fused moments', or are there other explanations? (A simple answer to this is difficult. Many of the essays in the book have appeared in magazines and papers that also have large commercial interests to hold on to.) Having said that, a few questions can be asked about the 'forms' of the commentary in the book. The event around 13th December was produced as an urgency and an 'excess' by the State and the media. There was a surfeit of images, investigation reports, security mobilization etc. This 'excess' was instrumental to, and made legitimate, many of the actions that followed the event (military mobilization, POTA etc). This is well recorded in the book. But, while recording this, the texts also un- reflexively reproduce the 'excess'. Would not this 'counter-excess' make for a reading that leaves the reader disoriented about and withdrawn from the larger circumstances of power of state craft and media effects, and work against persuading a critical reading of events? The State and the media look too all-powerful. The seams of the 'police narrative' tore as the case moved upwards in the legal hierarchy and as some people asked difficult questions of the materials that fabricated the narrative. This unravelling happened slowly over time, itself tells another story, is important to detail. The `forms` of the writings in the book often do not make space for recognizing the multi-site and multi-act process of the tearing down of the 'police narrative' over four years. The writers have done excellently to show the 'fused' nature of the media and the State during the course of the unfolding of the event. But, many a times one feels in the mode of arguments or emphasis, a nostalgia or a desire for a 'sovereignty of the media'. I would think, if we give up the idea of 'sovereignty' around media, and face it head on, we may be able to see more cracks, interest/faction battles, exhausted producers, tired ideas, desperation of hierarchies of news control and inability to comprehend the world around. The search for the missing 'sovereignty', on the other hand, produces the counter image of a 'monolith' that is either sold-out, or too-scared, plain cynical, or just lethargic. (With such apriori dismissal, whither the analysis?) One critical question that the book opens out, is the nature of 'media events'. What are these 'events'? How are they staged? When? Who stages them? How are the directions of the fallout controlled? Since we will have to live a large part of our lives under the influence of these 'mediatised events', it will be in our best interest to develop a critical commentary on them. The appendix of the book by itself makes one wonder about the nature of the fast track 'trial' that was carried out under the full gaze of cameras and reporters, and the uncanny trails that were left behind by a highly publicized case. best Jeebesh From vishal.rawlley at gmail.com Sat Dec 23 00:18:10 2006 From: vishal.rawlley at gmail.com (Vishal Rawlley) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:18:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] socialite columnist has the nerve Message-ID: <31d5ea920612221048s521f1a70ia38690dcbe511b81@mail.gmail.com> Pasted below is my (edited version - by the newspaper) letter to the Asian Age in response to Suhel Seth's article pasted further below. My concern is that while some sincere souls are fighting for equitable rights (re: Sigur farmers) and exposing the cracks in the judicial mechanism (re: Afzal Guru case), there are others who are in a big hurry to bulldose the farm lands and hang the scapegoats so that we can be quickly on to the path of development. These development enthusiasts call the activists disruptionists and victims of police hostility terrorists. And there are many takers for the preachers of 'lets bulldose our way to prosperity and fast'. Really, why all the jhamela of settling every petty person's grouse... we should work quickly in the larger interest of the nation... such reasoning is more appealing than a complex understanding of situations that leave furrows on the forehead. A lot has been done by independent media/ jurnos - in blogs, reader lists, publications etc. in bringing to the fore the REAL issues/ stories (13th Dec Reader for example) but these have very little REAL impact. Unless they lock horns with the main stream or atleast become a constituency even worth counting, they shall remain merely good ideas for intellectual consumption and personal gratification. Yes, we all cannot be activists but perhaps media has to be used more innovatively and dramatically to be impactful at all. Perhaps blogs have to be translated into local and regional languages and printed as hand bills, situations have to be translated into street theatre acts and 'phads' have to be sung out in gullies... How many gallery walls shall we adorn and how many AC auditoriums shall we regale? On to the street I say. NON-VIolent NBA Sir, Suhel Seth, in The Laws of Activism (December 18), calls Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy publicity mongers and disruptionists. There is absolutely no basis to this accusation. The NBA is known for its non-violent protests and has never resorted to activities like bus burning and stone pelting. The NBA movement uses songs and fasts to call attention to the woes of the most downtrodden. Further, why is Mr Seth baying for Afzal Guru's blood? The Parliament attack case is full of mysteries. The criminal investigation procedure too has been full of inconsistencies. Is it not important that the real truth be revealed? In Singur also it is obvious that farmers are being exploited; and all this activism will at least result in a better compensation for them if nothing else. Mr Seth must realise that activism and social work are two different things. While Mother Teresa did a lot for the unfortunate, people like Medha Patkar fight to ensure that misfortune is prevented in the first place. The battle for independence was won by the proactive strategies of Gandhiji and other freedom fighters and we still need these non-violent fighters to ensure that equal rights are available to all. Vishal Rawlley Mumbai *The Laws of Activism* *Suhel Seth* I guess the most poignant moment of last week must certainly be the return of the gallantry medals that were awarded to those who warded off the December 13 attack on Parliament several years ago, only because they believe they or for that matter, the families of those who gave up their lives, have not been given either due respect or been shown the decisiveness that a case like this deserves. What makes matters worse is that the home minister stands up in Parliament and tells us that clemency petitions take up to seven years to be decided in a country that has professed zero-tolerance for terrorism! This speaks poorly of our justice system, and even worse, about the manner in which we punish those who deserve punishment. But that is not the focus of this article. What is my concern is how everything is slowly being hijacked by an army of limousine liberals who have taken it upon themselves to intrude and intervene in every issue that doesn't concern them. I have high regard for Arundhati Roy's writing skills, but surely one God of Small Things doesn't make her an authority on everything, from the amount of water that the Narmada dam must release to farmers' rights in Singur. And we in this country are being held hostage by such seemingly brazen acts of care and concern which are nothing but repeated attempts in self-publicity. Medha Patkar is more of a disruptionist rather than someone who is seriously concerned about the issues she pretends to. Often we are lectured by these so-called activists who somehow want to be in the middle of every controversy yet will not engage in some serious development work. I am seriously tired of seeing Arundhati Roy and Medha Patkar sitting on silly hunger strikes and writing laborious essays on issues that they so easily give up when media attention wanes. So even if their intentions are noble (and I have no apparent reason to doubt them) the perception is that they are disruptionists and anarchists and this is my real concern, Sometimes, merely through association, the causes they lend themselves to start losing public empathy and support and this is something that must worry those cause managers who get these kind of people to lend a shoulder. I have often noticed that eventually Medha Patkar's brand looms larger than the cause and this is the real tragedy. We recently had an example of Sunita Narain becoming the sole arbiter of health and wellness in this country: she must obviously be well-intentioned, but just the shrillness and sensationalism of the case she put forth have made her perceptually much weaker than ever before. The same government which handed her the Padma Shri criticised her findings on the whole pesticide issue. The Tiger Task Force which she chaired was replete with fissures and all you need to do is ask the only tiger expert (or certainly one of them) Valmik Thapar as to what it was like having someone like Sunita chair a task force on tigers when she had never even seen one. For this the government must equally share the blame. Often the government uses these so-called NGO brands only because it believes they will silence an otherwise explosive media. But does the media really care? Obviously, they don't. They are, in more cases than one, TRP driven, so this is the vicious circle that every normal Indian becomes a part of. To put it simply, you never know who to believe or what the agenda of these leaders is. I, for one, never know. I believe the time has come for these NGO stalwarts to give themselves a rest: they make enough money through unspecified sources of foreign funding; they run rackets in the form of administrative expenses and the real heroes remain forgotten. Why don't you ever see a Bunker Roy on a hunger strike, or for that matter why didn't Mother Teresa ever fast? For the simple reason they had serious work to do. They were not in it for the media attention. They weren't doing this so that they could print the Ashoka Chakra (as Rajiv Sethi has done just because he is part of the Planning Commission) on their silly visiting cards and letterheads! They were committed to helping people in the spirit of humanism. There is an orphanage in Kolkata: the Calcutta Muslim Girls Orphanage which has people like Mohamed Salim who despite being in politics gives much of his time as does the editor of this paper. There is no raving and ranting and abusing all and sundry. The NGO movement, while doing some remarkable stuff, has perhaps the wrong endorsers for its movement in India presently. They are typically people who you avoid only because you can't stomach the fact that they see a dark lining in every silver cloud. The NGOs have to transform from being disruptionists and cynics to catalysts and enablers. The vast majority of the NGO world does this. But the ones who make a fetish of being opposers to everything good and fair, make me wonder where all this is going and for how much longer we are going to see Medha Patkar in every part of the country doing what she knows best: Looking for the nearest BBC correspondent to beam her pictures across the world so that donors know they made the right choice! This is the truth. If it hurts, well, it should. xxx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061223/26b3c500/attachment.html From mallroad at gmail.com Sat Dec 23 17:03:50 2006 From: mallroad at gmail.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:03:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who needs Reality TV? Message-ID: <210498250612230333s4fce3f99hdfacac930f68062c@mail.gmail.com> Who needs Reality TV? By Arundhati Roy | December 22, 2006 http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1877253,00120005.htm The Supreme Court of India has sentenced Mohammad Afzal, Accused No. 1 in the Parliament Attack case, to death. It acknowledged that the evidence against him was not direct, only circumstantial, but in its now famous statement it said: "The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation, and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender." Is the 'collective conscience' the same as majority opinion? Would it be fair to say that it is fashioned by the information we receive? And, therefore, that in this case, the mass media have played a pivotal role in determining the final court verdict? If so, has it been accurate and truthful? A small group of scholars, writers and lawyers has followed the case over the years and meticulously documented media reports. Some of this work has recently been published by Penguin Books as a reader (13 December: The Strange Case of The Parliament Attack). They have found that in the early days of the trial, Delhi Police's Special Cell was spectacularly successful in getting both the print and electronic media (with a few honourable exceptions), to put out its entirely unsubstantiated claims as the 'truth', making it seem as though the impending judicial trial was just a formality. Now, five years later, when disturbing questions are being raised about the Parliament Attack, is the Special Cell, once again, cleverly exploiting the frantic hunt for 'breaking news'? Suddenly, spurious 'exposés' are finding their way on to prime time TV. Unfortunately, some of India's best, most responsible news channels have been caught up in this game, in which carelessness and incomprehension is as deadly as malice. A few weeks ago, we had a fiasco on CNN-IBN. Last week (December 16), on a 90-minute prime time show, NDTV showcased an 'exclusive' video of Mohammad Afzal's 'confession' made in police custody, in the days immediately following his arrest. At no point was it clarified that the 'confession' was five years old. Much has been said about the authenticity, reliability and legality of confessions taken in police custody, as well as the circumstances under which this particular 'confession' was extracted. Because of the very real danger that custodial torture will replace real investigation, the Indian Penal Code does not admit confessions made in police custody as legal evidence in a criminal trial. Pota (Prevention of Terrorism Act) was considered an outrage on civil rights and was eventually withdrawn, primarily because it made confessions obtained in police custody admissible as legal evidence. In fact, in the case of Afzal's 'confession', the Supreme Court said the Special Cell had violated even the tenuous safeguards provided under Pota, and set it aside as being illegal and unreliable. Even before this, the High Court had already reprimanded the Special Cell sharply for forcing Afzal to incriminate himself publicly in a 'media confession'. So what made NDTV showcase this thoroughly discredited old 'confession' all over again? Why now? How did the Special Cell video find its way into their hands? Does it have something to do with the fact that Afzal's clemency petition is pending with the President and a curative petition asking for a retrial is pending in the Supreme Court? In her column in this paper (Death of the Middle ground, December 17), Barkha Dutt, Managing Editor of NDTV, said the channel spent many hours debating what the 'fairest' way to show this video was. Clearly, it was a serious decision and demands to be discussed seriously. At the start of the show, for several minutes, the image of Afzal 'confessing' was inset in a text that said "Afzal ne court mein gunaah qabool kiya tha" (Afzal had admitted his guilt in court). This is blatantly untrue. Then, for a full 15 minutes, the 'confession' ran without comment. After this, an anchor came on and said, "Sansad par hamle ki kahani, Afzal ki zubaani." (The story of the Parliament Attack, in Afzal's words.) This, too, is a travesty of the truth. Well into the programme, a reporter informed us that Afzal had since withdrawn this 'confession' and had claimed it had been extracted under torture. The smirking anchor then turned to one of the panelists, S.A.R. Geelani, who was also one of the accused in the case (and who knows a thing or two about torture and the Special Cell), and remarked that if this confession was "forced", then Afzal was a very good actor. The anchor has clearly never experienced torture, or even read the wonderful Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano — "The electric cattle prod turns anyone into a prolific storyteller." Nor has he known what it's like to be held in police custody in Delhi while his family was hostage (as Afzal's was) in the war zone that is Kashmir. Later on, the 'confession' was juxtaposed with what the channel said was Afzal's statement to the court, but was actually the text of a letter he wrote to his High Court lawyer in which he implicates State Task Force (STF) in Kashmir and describes how in the months before the Parliament Attack he was illegally detained and tortured by the STF. NDTV does not tell us that a Deputy Superintendent of the STF has since confirmed that he did illegally detain and torture Afzal. Instead, it uses Afzal's letter to discredit him further. The bold caption at the bottom of the frame read: "Afzal ka badalta hua baiyan." (Afzal's changing statements.) There is another serious ethical issue. In Afzal's confession to the Special Cell in December 2001 (as opposed to his 'media confession'), he implicated SAR Geelani and said he was the mastermind of the conspiracy. While this was in line with the Special Cell's chargesheet, it turned out to be false, and Geelani was acquitted by the Supreme Court. Why was this portion of Afzal's confession left out? So that the confession would seem less constructed, more plausible? Who made that decision to leave it out? NDTV or the Special Cell? All this makes the broadcast of this programme a seriously prejudicial act. It wasn't surprising to watch the 'collective conscience' of society forming its opinion as the show unfolded. The SMS messages on the ticker tape said: "Afzal ko boti boti mein kaat ke kutton ko khila do. Afzal ke haath aur taang kaat ke, road mein bheek mangvaney chahiye." (Cut him into bits and feed him to the dogs. Cut off his arms and legs and make him beg.) "Hang him by his balls in Lal Chowk." "Hang him and hang those who are supporting him." "Even without Sharia courts, we seem to be doing just fine." For the record, the reporter credited several times on the programme for procuring the video from the Special Cell has been previously exposed for publishing falsehoods: on the 'encounter' in Ansal Plaza; on the Iftikhar Gilani case; on the S.A.R. Geelani, and now on this one. This kind of thing really makes you wonder whether media houses have an inside track on the police and intelligence agencies, or whether it's the other way around. The quietest guest on the panel was M.K. Dhar, a former Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau. He was pretty enigmatic. He certainly didn't repeat what he has said in his astonishingly frank book Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled. (Manas Publications, 2005): "Some day or the other, taking advantage of the weakening fabric of our democracy, some unscrupulous intelligence men may gang up with ambitious Army Brass and change the political texture of the nation…" Weakening fabric of our democracy. I couldn't have put it better. (Arundhati Roy is a Booker Prize-winning writer. She has written the introduction to 13 December: The Strange Case of The Parliament Attack) From hpp at vsnl.com Mon Dec 25 09:58:10 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 04:28:10 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Bizarre! Message-ID: Dear Friends I was astounded yesterday to read an Editorial in The Telegraph on the subject of forcible land acquisition by the CPI(M)-led West Bengal state govt for handover to the Tatas for their small car project. I am reproducing the Editorial below. In a nutshell: "the govt of West Bengal must do what it thinks is best for the economy. It is not obliged to obtain consent." The hilariously pathetic "logic" the piece affects! But more noteworthy than what it says is what it signifies. I was immediately reminded of the words used to describe the behaviour of the Indian media during Indira Gandhi's Emergency: they crawled when they had only been asked to bend. If ever an example was needed to prove the utter ignorance, bankruptcy, and self-centred character of the Indian mainstream media and India's privileged classes - then this is it. How incredible that by doing nothing, someone can become a hero, a knight in shining armour! Lucky Buddhadev Bhattacharjee! Given all the immense problems of the stae, and the degradation and destitution of Bengal society wrought by the CPI(M) - Buddha chooses to completely abandon public policy; stays clear of any cleansing of the criminal extortionary CPI(M) which controls the state of which he is notionally the CM; makes deals with land-sharks, promoters and contractors; hands out state assets to capitalists; and for all this he is made out to be a valiant hero bringing about a brave new order in Bengal! The virulence and vehemence with which the local elite lauds Buddhadev! How easy it is to hoodwink and hypnotise our cultured class, and make them believe in fairy tales! How much lower must Bengal sink? Yours sincerely V Ramaswamy Calcutta hpp at vsnl.com cuckooscall.blogspot.com ............................. BEST FOR WEST BENGAL Emotions always overrun reason and logic. The controversy that now rages in West Bengal is another proof of this. A new term has been introduced into the debate. The term is consent. Critics of the Singur project are trying to point out that land there was not taken by the state through consent. On the contrary, it was forcibly taken. The state administration is now bending over backwards to prove that this is not true and that a large part of the land was actually voluntarily handed over because of the compensation package that was being offered by the government. This is a defensive posture on the part of the state administration. It is difficult to understand why the government is adopting such a posture. It would have served the government’s cause better if it explained to its opponents and to the public the logic that is inherent in the plan it has adopted. The logic flows from certain undeniable facts. Over 60 per cent of the land in West Bengal is arable and used for agricultural purposes. If the less fertile areas — Purulia and Bankura — were to be taken out, the proportion of land under agriculture would rise to anything between 75 per cent and 80 per cent. This, by any reckoning, is a very high percentage. It is also a fact that agriculture is loss-making and contains disguised unemployment. In other words, more people work in agriculture than is actually required. Agriculture is heavily dependent on water; in West Bengal this exposes the risks of arsenic poisoning. Thus the social costs of agriculture are also very high. Further, the terms of trade between agriculture and industry are against agriculture. This means that there is a direct co-relation between the greater production of food and the overall poverty of the state. It is possible, of course, to make agriculture more efficient but this, as the examples of the US and Canada demonstrate, will result in the loss of jobs in agriculture. From this it should be clear that if West Bengal is to develop economically, it must industrialize. This is not a matter of choice but an imperative unless one believes that West Bengal does not need economic development and can happily languish in economic backwardness. Under the circumstances, the use of land has to move from agriculture to industry. History does not offer the option of first obtaining consent and then proceeding with industrialization. In fact, the priorities are the other way around: industrialization must take place and therefore land has to be obtained. How the land will be obtained — through consent or otherwise — is a matter of political management. That management can be part of the concerns and the agenda of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), it cannot be part of the government’s decision-making. The latter must be driven by what is best for West Bengal. From arshad.mcrc at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 12:05:06 2006 From: arshad.mcrc at gmail.com (arshad amanullah) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:05:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] National Workshop of Muslim NGOs In-Reply-To: <2076f31d0612242010n435adecet20cdb7550b6b305e@mail.gmail.com> References: <2076f31d0612242010n435adecet20cdb7550b6b305e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2076f31d0612242235t4d3c2a45le7c698d7cb811bf2@mail.gmail.com> National Workshop of Muslim NGOs By A U Asif New Delhi, December 24 A day before yesterday it was December 22, the date when 'Ram Lalla' was installed in 1949 in the sanctum sanctorum of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. But unlike the years before December 6, 1992, there was no protest meeting in the national capital or elsewhere. Rather, about 300 delegates from different parts of the country were engaged at the 3-day national workshop of Muslim NGOs being held here at the India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC) to discuss the development of the Muslim community as a whole. This was the marked difference in the pre and post-Babri Masjid demolition days. Having full faith in the country's judiciary, the Muslim community has left the case of Babri Masjid to the courts to decide, and then have remained busy in talking about their development. The recommendations of Sachar Committee have no doubt made them more serious in taking up such issues. Since the submission of Sachar Report to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on November 17, a number of discussions, symposia, seminars and meetings are being held in this connection in different parts of the country. The New Delhi-based think tank, Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), has specially chalked out a plan, keeping particularly the implementation aspect of the Sachar Report in view. It has already held a serious discussion on January 20 last. Dr Ausaf Ahmad, scholar, economist and Editor of Mutalle'at, published by IOS, presented his exposition. Then the presence of Dr Abu Saleh Shariff, a member of Sachar Committee, had made the discussion not only interesting but very fruitful. IOS would hold a number of discussions before a national workshop on the issue to be organised on January 20, 2007 at the IICC. The 3-day national workshop of Muslim NGOs, convened by the Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN), began on December 22 with the thought-provoking and assurance-making address by Union Minister Jaipal Reddy. While saying that the seeds of the Renaissance were sown by the Muslim scholars as asserted by late M N Roy in his book "Historical Role of Islam", he averred that it was high time the Muslim community in this country take up the case of its own development. Besides Jaipal Reddy, two other Union ministers---Vyalar Ravi and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi---too graced the 3-day workshop. Vyalar Ravi refuted the allegation of BJP that Sachar Report meant for appeasement of the Muslim community. He said: "I was present at the National Development Council meeting where the Prime Minister made some remarks about the community's development. I fail to understand as to why a controversy is made over it. What PM had said was simply about uplifting a community, now already found backward by a high level committee (HLC)." After discussing the role of NGOs in detail for two days, the participants would finalise recommendations today and submit it to the government. According to the MOEMIN general secretary and National Integration Council member Naved Hamid, this was the first time that a large number of Muslim NGOs from different parts of the country gathered to discuss the development of the community at large. The participants included two members of the Sachar Committee---Saiyid Hamid and Dr S Zafar Mahmood---;Gandhian and Member of Parliament Ms Nirmala Deshpande; National Commission for Minorities chairman Hamid Ansari; former minister of Andhra Pradesh M Bashiruddin Babu Khan; former Jamia Hamdard Vice Chancellor Prof Alauddin Ahmed and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Naib Ameer Maulana Mohmmed Shafi Moonis; educationist and entrepreneur A R Shervani; columnist Zafar Agha; Mankind Educational Trust Malerkotla chairman Jameelur Rahman; Rohilkhand Welfare Trust secretary Nazim Baig; N M E Society Mumbai chairman Mutva Haidar; Malegaon Arts & Cultural Association president Siraj Ahmed Dular; Kerala National Assessmant & Accreditation Council coordinator Prof H Badarudeen Rawther; and Muslim Empowerment Forum Gaya secretary Tameemuddin Humble. . The presence of a number of women representing different NGOs highlighted the workshop. The women delegates included Ms Qamrunnisa Begum, w/o internationally renowned business tycoon B S Abdur Rahman from Chennai; Dr Ms Asma Zehra from Muslim Women Development Society, Hyderabad; Dr Ms Najma Sultana from MANUU, Hyderabad; Ms Asna Jeelani from a women organization of Hyderabad; Ms Rana Khatoon, president, Rajiv Gandhi Educational Charitable Trust, Mau (UP); Dr Ms Subayya Dawood, Principal, Melvisharam College (Tamilnadu); Ms Zaibunnisa Begum from an NGO of Kolkata; and Ms Sufiya Saqib Khan, Principal, Karamat Public School, Lucknow. (http://fanawatch.com/index.php?do=news_view&id=195) arshad amanullah 34,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. From announcer at crit.org.in Sun Dec 24 14:49:19 2006 From: announcer at crit.org.in (Metrolog(ue)) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 04:19:19 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation to Workshop, 28-29 December Message-ID: <1166951960.4834.125.camel@localhost> Dear All: We would like to invite you to participate in the first public workshop organised by CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) in collaboration with SARAI on THURSDAY 28 DECEMBER and FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER 2006 in Mumbai. This workshop is called "Metrolog(ue): Discussions on Emerging Urbanism". For detailed information on workshop and areas of discussion, please see our website on http://www.metrologue.net CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) is a group of architects, researchers, technicians and artists who have worked together for several years in Mumbai. Our collective was established with the aim of undertaking research, pedagogy and intervention on urban spaces and contemporary cultural practices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. For more information, see http://www.crit.org.in In the workshop on 28-29 December, we have identified six broad areas of discussion, dealing with issues of emerging urban morphologies; the politics of occupancy, land and tenure; new civil society organisations; urban peripheries and fringe areas of the metropolis; the new entrepreneurship; and practices of mapping, archiving and publishing. These areas comprise the six sessions of the workshop. The last session will summarise and conceptualise the workshop. We look forward to you joining us. Kindly RSVP to metrologue at crit.org.in or call Prasad Shetty on +91.98209.12744, Rupali Gupte on +91.98210.12510, or Anirudh Paul on +91.98208.91736. See below for the full programme of the workshop and visit http://www.metrologue.net to participate in the discussions. You may also register for the workshop blog on http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/wp-register.php METROLOG(UE): Discussions on Emerging Urbanism VENUE: Conference Hall All-India Local Self Government Juhu Gully (C.D. Barfiwalla Marg) Andheri (West), Mumbai 400058 FRIDAY 28th December 2006 09.30 – 09.45 Tea 09.30 – 10.15 Introductions and Welcome Prasad Shetty, Rupali Gupte and Ravi Sundaram 10.15 – 12.30 SESSION 1: EMERGING MORPHOLOGIES http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/morphologies Jeebesh Bagchi (Moderator and Speaker), Rupali Gupte, Nilesh Rajadhyaksha, Rohan Shivkumar, Chitra Venkatramani and Sandeep Pendse 12.30 – 13.30 Lunch 13.30 – 15.30 SESSION 2: POLITICS OF OCCUPANCY http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/occupancy Meena Menon (Moderator and Chair), Aditya Potluri, Saurabh Vaidya, Prasad Khanolkar, Chandrashekhar Prabhu, Amita Bhide and Solomon Benjamin 15.30 – 16.00 Tea 16.00 – 18.00 SESSION 3: NEW CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/civil-society Asha Ghosh (Moderator), Zainab Bawa, Benita Menezes, Ateya Khorakiwala and Lalita Kamath SATURDAY 29th December 2006 09.00 – 09.30 Tea 09.30 – 11.15 SESSION 4: URBAN PERIPHERIES http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/peripheries/ Awadhendra Sharan (Moderator and Speaker), Anirudh Paul, Rohit Mujumdar, Prajna Rao, Makrand Salunke and Sudhir Pathwardhan 11.15 – 11.45 Tea 11.30 – 13.15 SESSION 5: NEW ENTREPRENEURSHIP http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/entrepreneurship/ Ravi Sundaram (Moderator and Speaker), Prasad Shetty, Tamal Mitra and Ananth S. 13.15 – 14.15 Lunch 14.15 – 16.00 SESSION 6: MAPPING, PUBLISHING, ARCHIVING http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/mappingarchiving/ G. Nagarjuna (Moderator and Chair), Shekhar Krishnan, Schuyler Erle, John D’Souza, Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Swapnil Hajare and Kanhaiya Kale 16.00 – 16.15 Tea 16.15 – 17.45 SESSION 7: CITY AND CULTURE http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/metrologue/ George Jose (Moderator and Speaker), Gyan Prakash, Ranjani Mazumdar, Kausik Mukhopadhyay 18.30 – 19.15 Concluding Remarks Anirudh Paul and Awadhendra Sharan -- CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) A-501, Divya Smruti Goregaon-Malad Link Road Malad (West), Mumbai 400064 India http://www.crit.org.in http://www.metrologue.net From klp_adital at sancharnet.in Sat Dec 23 16:36:27 2006 From: klp_adital at sancharnet.in (Ashutosh Potdar) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 16:36:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Speech by Ramu Ramnathan References: <31d5ea920612221048s521f1a70ia38690dcbe511b81@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <005a01c72682$65393380$c072013d@ashitosh> Dear All, Ramu Ramnathan, a young playwright from Mumbai and our friend recently received prestigeous Tanweer Abhyasvruti given by Shriram Lagu's Roopwedh Pratishthan at for his creative writing. He delivered a speech in this program. It is kept on http://www.devba.blogspot.com/ Ashutosh Potdar -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061223/713d3bfd/attachment.html From arshad.mcrc at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 12:02:51 2006 From: arshad.mcrc at gmail.com (arshad amanullah) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:02:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] National Workshop of Muslim NGOs In-Reply-To: <2076f31d0612242232x2fd134eeu50d10e0d49174bdd@mail.gmail.com> References: <2076f31d0612242010n435adecet20cdb7550b6b305e@mail.gmail.com> <2076f31d0612242232x2fd134eeu50d10e0d49174bdd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2076f31d0612242232m18f65cecu710917ac1d0b2be9@mail.gmail.com> *National Workshop of Muslim NGOs* *By A U Asif* *New Delhi, December 24* A day before yesterday it was December 22, the date when 'Ram Lalla' was installed in 1949 in the sanctum sanctorum of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. But unlike the years before December 6, 1992, there was no protest meeting in the national capital or elsewhere. Rather, about 300 delegates from different parts of the country were engaged at the 3-day national workshop of Muslim NGOs being held here at the India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC) to discuss the development of the Muslim community as a whole. This was the marked difference in the pre and post-Babri Masjid demolition days. Having full faith in the country's judiciary, the Muslim community has left the case of Babri Masjid to the courts to decide, and then have remained busy in talking about their development. The recommendations of Sachar Committee have no doubt made them more serious in taking up such issues. Since the submission of Sachar Report to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on November 17, a number of discussions, symposia, seminars and meetings are being held in this connection in different parts of the country. The New Delhi-based think tank, Institute of Objective Studies (IOS), has specially chalked out a plan, keeping particularly the implementation aspect of the Sachar Report in view. It has already held a serious discussion on January 20 last. Dr Ausaf Ahmad, scholar, economist and Editor of Mutalle'at, published by IOS, presented his exposition. Then the presence of Dr Abu Saleh Shariff, a member of Sachar Committee, had made the discussion not only interesting but very fruitful. IOS would hold a number of discussions before a national workshop on the issue to be organised on January 20, 2007 at the IICC. The 3-day national workshop of Muslim NGOs, convened by the Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN), began on December 22 with the thought-provoking and assurance-making address by Union Minister Jaipal Reddy. While saying that the seeds of the Renaissance were sown by the Muslim scholars as asserted by late M N Roy in his book "Historical Role of Islam", he averred that it was high time the Muslim community in this country take up the case of its own development. Besides Jaipal Reddy, two other Union ministers---Vyalar Ravi and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi---too graced the 3-day workshop. Vyalar Ravi refuted the allegation of BJP that Sachar Report meant for appeasement of the Muslim community. He said: "I was present at the National Development Council meeting where the Prime Minister made some remarks about the community's development. I fail to understand as to why a controversy is made over it. What PM had said was simply about uplifting a community, now already found backward by a high level committee (HLC)." After discussing the role of NGOs in detail for two days, the participants would finalise recommendations today and submit it to the government. According to the MOEMIN general secretary and National Integration Council member Naved Hamid, this was the first time that a large number of Muslim NGOs from different parts of the country gathered to discuss the development of the community at large. The participants included two members of the Sachar Committee---Saiyid Hamid and Dr S Zafar Mahmood---;Gandhian and Member of Parliament Ms Nirmala Deshpande; National Commission for Minorities chairman Hamid Ansari; former minister of Andhra Pradesh M Bashiruddin Babu Khan; former Jamia Hamdard Vice Chancellor Prof Alauddin Ahmed and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Naib Ameer Maulana Mohmmed Shafi Moonis; educationist and entrepreneur A R Shervani; columnist Zafar Agha; Mankind Educational Trust Malerkotla chairman Jameelur Rahman; Rohilkhand Welfare Trust secretary Nazim Baig; N M E Society Mumbai chairman Mutva Haidar; Malegaon Arts & Cultural Association president Siraj Ahmed Dular; Kerala National Assessmant & Accreditation Council coordinator Prof H Badarudeen Rawther; and Muslim Empowerment Forum Gaya secretary Tameemuddin Humble. . The presence of a number of women representing different NGOs highlighted the workshop. The women delegates included Ms Qamrunnisa Begum, w/o internationally renowned business tycoon B S Abdur Rahman from Chennai; Dr Ms Asma Zehra from Muslim Women Development Society, Hyderabad; Dr Ms Najma Sultana from MANUU, Hyderabad; Ms Asna Jeelani from a women organization of Hyderabad; Ms Rana Khatoon, president, Rajiv Gandhi Educational Charitable Trust, Mau (UP); Dr Ms Subayya Dawood, Principal, Melvisharam College (Tamilnadu); Ms Zaibunnisa Begum from an NGO of Kolkata; and Ms Sufiya Saqib Khan, Principal, Karamat Public School, Lucknow. (http://fanawatch.com/index.php?do=news_view&id=195 ) arshad amanullah 34,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. -- arshad amanullah 34,masihgarh, jamia nagar new delhi-25. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/0d51e5cd/attachment.html From announcer at crit.org.in Sun Dec 24 13:53:58 2006 From: announcer at crit.org.in (Metrolog(ue)) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:23:58 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] CRIT-SARAI Workshop, 28-29 December Message-ID: <1166948638.30336.12.camel@localhost> Dear Friends: We would like to invite you to participate in the first public workshop organised by CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) in collaboration with SARAI on THURSDAY 28 DECEMBER and FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER 2006 in Mumbai. This workshop is called "Metrolog(ue): Discussions on Emerging Urbanism". For detailed information on workshop and areas of discussion, please see our website on http://www.metrologue.net CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) is a group of architects, researchers, technicians and artists who have worked together for several years in Mumbai. Our collective was established with the aim of undertaking research, pedagogy and intervention on urban spaces and contemporary cultural practices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. For more information, see http://www.crit.org.in In the workshop on 28-29 December, we have identified six broad areas of discussion, dealing with issues of emerging urban morphologies; the politics of occupancy, land and tenure; new civil society organisations; urban peripheries and fringe areas of the metropolis; the new entrepreneurship; and practices of mapping, archiving and publishing. These areas comprise the six sessions of the workshop. The last session will summarise and conceptualise the workshop. We look forward to you joining us. Kindly RSVP to metrologue at crit.org.in or call Prasad Shetty on +91.98209.12744, Rupali Gupte on +91.98210.12510, or Anirudh Paul on +91.98208.91736. See below for the full programme of the workshop and visit http://www.metrologue.net to participate in the discussions. You may also register for the workshop blog on http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/wp-register.php METROLOG(UE): Discussions on Emerging Urbanism VENUE: Conference Hall All-India Local Self Government Juhu Gully (C.D. Barfiwalla Marg) Andheri (West), Mumbai 400058 FRIDAY 28th December 2006 09.30 – 09.45 Tea 09.30 – 10.15 Introductions and Welcome Prasad Shetty, Rupali Gupte and Ravi Sundaram 10.15 – 12.30 SESSION 1: EMERGING MORPHOLOGIES http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/morphologies Jeebesh Bagchi (Moderator and Speaker), Rupali Gupte, Nilesh Rajadhyaksha, Rohan Shivkumar, Chitra Venkatramani and Sandeep Pendse 12.30 – 13.30 Lunch 13.30 – 15.30 SESSION 2: POLITICS OF OCCUPANCY http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/occupancy Meena Menon (Moderator and Chair), Aditya Potluri, Saurabh Vaidya, Prasad Khanolkar, Chandrashekhar Prabhu, Amita Bhide and Solomon Benjamin 15.30 – 16.00 Tea 16.00 – 18.00 SESSION 3: NEW CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/civil-society Asha Ghosh (Moderator), Zainab Bawa, Benita Menezes, Ateya Khorakiwala and Lalita Kamath SATURDAY 29th December 2006 09.00 – 09.30 Tea 09.30 – 11.15 SESSION 4: URBAN PERIPHERIES http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/peripheries/ Awadhendra Sharan (Moderator and Speaker), Anirudh Paul, Rohit Mujumdar, Prajna Rao, Makrand Salunke and Sudhir Pathwardhan 11.15 – 11.45 Tea 11.30 – 13.15 SESSION 5: NEW ENTREPRENEURSHIP http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/entrepreneurship/ Ravi Sundaram (Moderator and Speaker), Prasad Shetty, Tamal Mitra and Ananth S. 13.15 – 14.15 Lunch 14.15 – 16.00 SESSION 6: MAPPING, PUBLISHING, ARCHIVING http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/mappingarchiving/ G. Nagarjuna (Moderator and Chair), Shekhar Krishnan, Schuyler Erle, John D’Souza, Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Swapnil Hajare and Kanhaiya Kale 16.00 – 16.15 Tea 16.15 – 17.45 SESSION 7: CITY AND CULTURE http://www.metrologue.net/wordpress/category/metrologue/ George Jose (Moderator and Speaker), Gyan Prakash, Ranjani Mazumdar, Kausik Mukhopadhyay 18.30 – 19.15 Concluding Remarks Anirudh Paul and Awadhendra Sharan -- CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) A-501, Divya Smruti Goregaon-Malad Link Road Malad (West), Mumbai 400064 India http://www.crit.org.in http://www.metrologue.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From asapcoi at yahoo.co.in Sun Dec 24 03:32:23 2006 From: asapcoi at yahoo.co.in (Asapcoi) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 22:02:23 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? Message-ID: <842158.59902.qm@web8410.mail.in.yahoo.com> Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you if the same is done in Delhi? Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. Please write back. Regards Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061223/4c9a7b84/attachment.html From aarti at sarai.net Mon Dec 25 16:48:48 2006 From: aarti at sarai.net (aarti at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:18:48 +0100 (CET) Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? In-Reply-To: <842158.59902.qm@web8410.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <842158.59902.qm@web8410.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <49359.203.101.16.129.1167045528.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> Dear Asapcoi, Unfortunately for us, cow slaughter is banned in Delhi, so we only get buffaloe meat which is sold as beef. However friends living down south are luckier, you can get good quality beef in Mumbai :) best Aarti Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found > that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that > mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you if > the same is done in Delhi? > > Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? > > I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. > > Please write back. > > Regards > > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. > Download Now! > http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php_________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mail at shivamvij.com Mon Dec 25 16:54:21 2006 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 16:54:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? In-Reply-To: <49359.203.101.16.129.1167045528.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> References: <842158.59902.qm@web8410.mail.in.yahoo.com> <49359.203.101.16.129.1167045528.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <9c06aab30612250324v73cf9c39s13d6141807c1f1be@mail.gmail.com> Jab chota kha liya to bade se kya pareshaani hain? :) On 12/25/06, aarti at sarai.net wrote: > Dear Asapcoi, > > Unfortunately for us, cow slaughter is banned in Delhi, so we only get > buffaloe meat which is sold as beef. However friends living down south are > luckier, you can get good quality beef in Mumbai :) > > best > Aarti > > > Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found > > that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that > > mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you if > > the same is done in Delhi? > > > > Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? > > > > I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. > > > > Please write back. > > > > Regards > > > > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. > > Download Now! > > http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php_________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://www.blogbharti.com/ From zainab at xtdnet.nl Tue Dec 26 00:20:04 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 22:50:04 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Of differences between India and China Message-ID: <1141.219.65.10.53.1167072604.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> China does not have the problem of democracy that we have It was sometime in the month of June. At 10:30 PM, I was waiting at Dadar for a BEST bus to get home. Quiet, lonely, just a few people around. There was no bus in sight. I leaned against the bus stop. On the footpath were several shops, all shut at this hour. Outside the Bata Shoe Shop, an old man and an old woman were setting up their bedding. They were pavement dwellers. They sat chatting once the bedding was up. They were very old and perhaps very, very poor. About ten minutes later, a man on his bicycle came up on the footpath. He stopped at the bedroom of the old man and the old woman. On his bicycle was a steel filter. This man was a traveling tea seller. He stopped by the old man and old woman and handed them out a cup of tea each. The couple then brought out a piece of bread each and dunked it in the tea. Perhaps it was their dinner. The tea seller chatted with them for a bit with and went away. The couple blessed him as he was leaving. Last night I was walking from Mazagaon to Byculla to get to home. I passed by what I thought were the familiar streets of Love Lane, but they did not seem so familiar yesterday. As I entered Love Lane from Mazagaon, I found several hawkers who had spread out clothes and things to sell on plastic sheet. A little ahead was a man, obviously struck by a schizophrenia seated on his knees, staring at the ground and oozing out saliva as if there were a fountain stored in him. A few meters ahead were stray hawkers selling peanuts and bhel puri. Further down I saw a swank new Sahkari Bhandar store which was never there earlier. One side of the road in Love Lane is under repair. The laborers who are here, working on the road repair have set up their tents and there are preparations being made for dinner. One aspect of poverty lives in my face. On the other side of the road is a huge garbage dump with an overflowing municipal rubbish bin. Further down there is a sense of quiet. Here are the upper middle class buildings where Bohra, Marwari and Gujarati residents reside. Ahead there is a gutter burst open and sewage is flowing. The Udupi restaurant is well lit and abuzz and people are walking in and out of it. A little ahead of the Udupi restaurant, a man is asleep on the pavement. His beard his thick and there are tinges of white on it. His face is flush with calm and restful sleep. The regular coconut seller is dumping the left over coconuts in a steel box. This space is now permanently occupied by him ever since I have known him. The flower seller by the wall of the street has already packed up and left. The road repairs have intensified further up towards the end of Love Lane. The sandwich fellow is also packing up his stall. Another development is the painted picture of the Shirdi Sai Baba which has been framed on the wall along the street. It has now become a semi-shrine where people have started throwing coins. A little down a Muslim wedding is taking place and usual flower seller is making business selling exotic bouquets. On the opposite side of the road is the Shiv Sena Shakha office. I have nearly reached the Byculla police station after which I turn into the lane to go home. The police station is lit up and there is a Hindu prayer ceremony taking place in the police quarters. A woman is sitting on the pavement. Asleep a little ahead is her man and at his feet is their child. At the child’s feet is one shoe which is meant for a child and a lady’s shoe. I don’t know if this is an irony of some sort. This evening, a dear friend of mine tells me of Nandan Nilekani’s interview he recently watched on television. Thom Friedman, the interviewer, asked Nilekani what is the difference between India and China. Nilekani replied saying that China does not have the problem of democracy which India has. My word! Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 06:49:24 2006 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 17:19:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Of differences between India and China In-Reply-To: <1141.219.65.10.53.1167072604.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <150861.33098.qm@web53609.mail.yahoo.com> Zainab, You are making a vacuous connection,apparently for the sake of a soundbyte. Are you aware of the "hukou system" in China? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4424944.stm Or are you aware of the Henan Aids epedemic in which close to 1 million were affected due to the callousness of the government? http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/henan-hiv.htm rgds Rahul --- zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: > China does not have the problem of democracy that we > have > > It was sometime in the month of June. At 10:30 PM, I > was waiting at Dadar > for a BEST bus to get home. Quiet, lonely, just a > few people around. There > was no bus in sight. > > I leaned against the bus stop. On the footpath were > several shops, all > shut at this hour. Outside the Bata Shoe Shop, an > old man and an old woman > were setting up their bedding. They were pavement > dwellers. They sat > chatting once the bedding was up. They were very old > and perhaps very, > very poor. About ten minutes later, a man on his > bicycle came up on the > footpath. He stopped at the bedroom of the old man > and the old woman. On > his bicycle was a steel filter. This man was a > traveling tea seller. He > stopped by the old man and old woman and handed them > out a cup of tea > each. The couple then brought out a piece of bread > each and dunked it in > the tea. Perhaps it was their dinner. The tea seller > chatted with them for > a bit with and went away. The couple blessed him as > he was leaving. > > Last night I was walking from Mazagaon to Byculla to > get to home. I passed > by what I thought were the familiar streets of Love > Lane, but they did not > seem so familiar yesterday. > > As I entered Love Lane from Mazagaon, I found > several hawkers who had > spread out clothes and things to sell on plastic > sheet. A little ahead was > a man, obviously struck by a schizophrenia seated on > his knees, staring at > the ground and oozing out saliva as if there were a > fountain stored in > him. A few meters ahead were stray hawkers selling > peanuts and bhel puri. > Further down I saw a swank new Sahkari Bhandar store > which was never there > earlier. One side of the road in Love Lane is under > repair. The laborers > who are here, working on the road repair have set up > their tents and there > are preparations being made for dinner. One aspect > of poverty lives in my > face. On the other side of the road is a huge > garbage dump with an > overflowing municipal rubbish bin. > > Further down there is a sense of quiet. Here are the > upper middle class > buildings where Bohra, Marwari and Gujarati > residents reside. Ahead there > is a gutter burst open and sewage is flowing. The > Udupi restaurant is well > lit and abuzz and people are walking in and out of > it. A little ahead of > the Udupi restaurant, a man is asleep on the > pavement. His beard his thick > and there are tinges of white on it. His face is > flush with calm and > restful sleep. > > The regular coconut seller is dumping the left over > coconuts in a steel > box. This space is now permanently occupied by him > ever since I have known > him. The flower seller by the wall of the street has > already packed up and > left. The road repairs have intensified further up > towards the end of Love > Lane. The sandwich fellow is also packing up his > stall. Another > development is the painted picture of the Shirdi Sai > Baba which has been > framed on the wall along the street. It has now > become a semi-shrine where > people have started throwing coins. A little down a > Muslim wedding is > taking place and usual flower seller is making > business selling exotic > bouquets. On the opposite side of the road is the > Shiv Sena Shakha office. > > I have nearly reached the Byculla police station > after which I turn into > the lane to go home. The police station is lit up > and there is a Hindu > prayer ceremony taking place in the police quarters. > A woman is sitting on > the pavement. Asleep a little ahead is her man and > at his feet is their > child. At the child’s feet is one shoe which is > meant for a child and a > lady’s shoe. I don’t know if this is an irony of > some sort. > > This evening, a dear friend of mine tells me of > Nandan Nilekani’s > interview he recently watched on television. Thom > Friedman, the > interviewer, asked Nilekani what is the difference > between India and > China. Nilekani replied saying that China does not > have the problem of > democracy which India has. > > My word! > > > > Zainab Bawa > Bombay > www.xanga.com/CityBytes > http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From zainab at xtdnet.nl Tue Dec 26 11:39:18 2006 From: zainab at xtdnet.nl (zainab at xtdnet.nl) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 10:09:18 +0400 (RET) Subject: [Reader-list] Of differences between India and China In-Reply-To: References: <1141.219.65.10.53.1167072604.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <1165.219.65.9.97.1167113358.squirrel@webmail.xtdnet.nl> Perhaps last night's post warrants more elaboration from me. It was last evening that a friend and I were talking and he spoke of how Bangalore is perhaps the only city in the Milky Way which has a crossover flyover with a traffic signal on it and how Narayan Murthy and co. have destroyed Bangalore with their style of planning. While discussing this, he mentioned to me that he was watching an interview on NDTV or so where Thom Friedman asked Nandan Nilekani what was the difference between India and China and Nandan replied saying that China does not have the problem of democracy that India has. When my friend heard Nandan say this, he wondered whether Nandan was even conscious of what he was saying. In another interview, Narayan Murthy was telling Pranay Roy that cities need czars to rule over them. What intriguied me about Nandan Nilekani's remark that China does not have the problem of democracy that India has is what is this democracy that Nandan Nilekani and co are afraid of? As I look through Bangalore, whatever bits I have come to see of it and now in Bombay as I watch forms of urban renewal renewing this city, I understand that the aim is to flatten contests. Taking off people from pavements and roads is a form of flattening of democracy, the way I understand it to be. Moving poverty away from the visible eye is flattening democracy. That occupancy is a statement of democracy and these multiple claims are perhaps what are urban nightmares for technocrats who need to straighten out cities. I have no answers at this point in time, but questions that I am grappling with. What on earth is democracy? And what on earth is this problem of Indian democracy which according to Nandan, China seems not to have? Are these third reichian times that we are living in? Best, Zainab I was left struggling by the time I reached the end of > the > piece. Poetic and rather imagistic as the article was, I was slightly > confused as to what of Democracy and further, what parallels between India > and China are you reading in these observations? What makes you dis/avow > the > similarities or differences between the two? But more than anything else, > and because I have known you and talked to you in person, I think you seem > to have a reading between governance, democracy and this reading of the > otherwise invisible Mumbai which you are not making clear to the readers. > I > am thoroughly intrigued by the connections you have made in your head and > would love to hear them out... especially interested in knowing you take > on > democracy; for instance, is it a mode of governance? is it a political > aesthetic? is it ideology? where do you place it and where do you anchor > it > within these city bytes that you have produced? > Nishant > > On 12/26/06, zainab at xtdnet.nl wrote: >> >> China does not have the problem of democracy that we have >> >> It was sometime in the month of June. At 10:30 PM, I was waiting at >> Dadar >> for a BEST bus to get home. Quiet, lonely, just a few people around. >> There >> was no bus in sight. >> >> I leaned against the bus stop. On the footpath were several shops, all >> shut at this hour. Outside the Bata Shoe Shop, an old man and an old >> woman >> were setting up their bedding. They were pavement dwellers. They sat >> chatting once the bedding was up. They were very old and perhaps very, >> very poor. About ten minutes later, a man on his bicycle came up on the >> footpath. He stopped at the bedroom of the old man and the old woman. On >> his bicycle was a steel filter. This man was a traveling tea seller. He >> stopped by the old man and old woman and handed them out a cup of tea >> each. The couple then brought out a piece of bread each and dunked it in >> the tea. Perhaps it was their dinner. The tea seller chatted with them >> for >> a bit with and went away. The couple blessed him as he was leaving. >> >> Last night I was walking from Mazagaon to Byculla to get to home. I >> passed >> by what I thought were the familiar streets of Love Lane, but they did >> not >> seem so familiar yesterday. >> >> As I entered Love Lane from Mazagaon, I found several hawkers who had >> spread out clothes and things to sell on plastic sheet. A little ahead >> was >> a man, obviously struck by a schizophrenia seated on his knees, staring >> at >> the ground and oozing out saliva as if there were a fountain stored in >> him. A few meters ahead were stray hawkers selling peanuts and bhel >> puri. >> Further down I saw a swank new Sahkari Bhandar store which was never >> there >> earlier. One side of the road in Love Lane is under repair. The laborers >> who are here, working on the road repair have set up their tents and >> there >> are preparations being made for dinner. One aspect of poverty lives in >> my >> face. On the other side of the road is a huge garbage dump with an >> overflowing municipal rubbish bin. >> >> Further down there is a sense of quiet. Here are the upper middle class >> buildings where Bohra, Marwari and Gujarati residents reside. Ahead >> there >> is a gutter burst open and sewage is flowing. The Udupi restaurant is >> well >> lit and abuzz and people are walking in and out of it. A little ahead of >> the Udupi restaurant, a man is asleep on the pavement. His beard his >> thick >> and there are tinges of white on it. His face is flush with calm and >> restful sleep. >> >> The regular coconut seller is dumping the left over coconuts in a steel >> box. This space is now permanently occupied by him ever since I have >> known >> him. The flower seller by the wall of the street has already packed up >> and >> left. The road repairs have intensified further up towards the end of >> Love >> Lane. The sandwich fellow is also packing up his stall. Another >> development is the painted picture of the Shirdi Sai Baba which has been >> framed on the wall along the street. It has now become a semi-shrine >> where >> people have started throwing coins. A little down a Muslim wedding is >> taking place and usual flower seller is making business selling exotic >> bouquets. On the opposite side of the road is the Shiv Sena Shakha >> office. >> >> I have nearly reached the Byculla police station after which I turn into >> the lane to go home. The police station is lit up and there is a Hindu >> prayer ceremony taking place in the police quarters. A woman is sitting >> on >> the pavement. Asleep a little ahead is her man and at his feet is their >> child. At the child's feet is one shoe which is meant for a child and a >> lady's shoe. I don't know if this is an irony of some sort. >> >> This evening, a dear friend of mine tells me of Nandan Nilekani's >> interview he recently watched on television. Thom Friedman, the >> interviewer, asked Nilekani what is the difference between India and >> China. Nilekani replied saying that China does not have the problem of >> democracy which India has. >> >> My word! >> >> >> >> Zainab Bawa >> Bombay >> www.xanga.com/CityBytes >> http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html >> >> _________________________________________ >> 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. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Nishant Shah > Ph.D. Student, CSCS, Bangalore. > Visiting Scholar, NCU, Taiwan. > # 886-911-508346 > Zainab Bawa Bombay www.xanga.com/CityBytes http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html From hpp at vsnl.com Tue Dec 26 13:29:55 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:59:55 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] India and China reflections. Message-ID: Reading Zainab's first post, I wondered what is this democracy that the Nilkeni's so detest and are so afraid of. If this democracy still means the living (and lying on the streets) that Zainab so arrestingly captures in her account - then what are the Nilkeni's losing thereby, what resource of theirs is being appropraited by the street-dwellers? How much lower can they be pushed? Do they want the people to be eliminated? To put them underground, in burrows or graves? And would they be in favour of a non-democracy where the needs of the poor and vulnerable are integrated into city planning and development, human resource development, economic growth etc? I have no knowledge whatsoever about the situation in China. I gather things are not so fine there. But I would like to think the kind of grinding poverty, and the complete denial and apathy of the authorities and society at large that one finds in India, finally affecting such a huge no. of people - is not something one will see in China. I would also like to think the Chinese authorities, in their own interest, are more sensitive to the needs of the people than in India. In turn, that would also translate into economic growth. Managing my family business , I am just beginning to do business with China, selling precision instruments manufactured by us here to medical equipment manufacturers there. Their products are low- to middle-cost items targetted at rural hospitals etc. As a result of major investment by the state in rural healthcare - prompted by growing resentment in the vast rural hinterland left behind by the economic growth centred in the eastern region - the business of these Chinese companies is growing dramatically, and they are engaged in rapid expansion. Companies like this would have been started earlier by technical / medical specialists, and also begun to look globally for markets. They may have availed of divestments of state assets. With international exposure, they have started sourcing their requirements as well as technology globally. A tiny manufacturing enterprise like ours, specialised in niche manufacture, could be transformed by this dramatic opening of the Chinese market. The scale that this translates into given the sheer size of China is also dramatic. That means sustainable livelihood and bright opportunities for self-growth, for a small number of people from low-income, humble backgrounds in Calcutta - provided we can enhance our business skills, production capacity and also upgrade technology, to match the drastically scaled-up demand the China opening brings. Notwithstanding the impressive economic and export growth and of India that everyone is impressed with - this is still not manufacturing-centred. A National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council was set up by the PM some time back, and among other things IITs and IIMs have been involved in developing, in collaboration with international experts, courses aimed at building the leadership, at all levels within companies, for successful globally competitive Indian manufacturers, beginning from now, and extending to years down the road, by when a critical mass of such corporate leadership could be attained. Manufacturing - involves very large companies, medium and small scale enterprises, as well as tiny units. They are all symbiotically linked. However, notwithstanding their enormous number, aggregated financial and employment dimension, long proven capability, innovation, dynamism and international exposure - the small and tiny sectors are today in weak shape. If the manufacturing system is to be built and is to grow and succeed, notwithstanding all the automation technology, there will still need to be critical links with small and tiny manufacturers. Low-cost manufacturers of their requirements do exist in India and will only in numbers and capability with globalisation and movement of manufacturing activity to low-cost manufacturing centres. In the very successful auto components sector, out of sheer business interest there has had to be an integration of the whole supply spectrum into a single efficient production chain. But that is an exception. Neither the state, nor business associations and chambers, are even aware of the real problems and needs of these manufacturers, let alone doing something substantive. Doing something - not out of benevolence, but in order to realise success in business and manufacturing growth, employment, technology competitiveness etc. With small and tiny manufacturers - and their own further ancillaries, emerging skill, tooling etc requirements - successfully renewed, a large volume of produtive and sustainable employment would be secured. Opportunities would be created for humble people to become significantly socially and economically empowered in 1-2 generations. There needs to be a bottom-up approach to building manufacturing competitiveness, together with the top-down approaches being taken up by the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. Otherwise our "corporate caste" culture - will be our own undoing. Similarly, there can be bottom up renewal of our cities. That's my other, prior-ongoing hat, with my work in the bastis in Calcutta and Howrah. I could visualise the dramatic transformation of the physical and social landscape of our cities, as the poor and low-income are empowered to realise the value of the land they currently live on. This is the only means available to begin closing the enormous human and social development gap accreted through decades and decades, between the urban poor and the middle- and affluent classes. That can also make for very profitable and successful real estate development opportunities. Where city meets the countryside, which are now squalid areas of choas and disorganisation and destructive commercialisation, the interface of new technologies and traditional rural, agricultural and ecological skills and resources - would also bring opportunities for successful enterprises, which benefit both rural and urban systems. An inclusive city, an inclusive biogregional economy - are possible, are achievable. And that would have to be fuelled by private enterprise, markets and profit motive. But underlying that must be a social or public policy vision, normative goals and intentions, which establishes the framework for the successful enterprises. Successful enterprise, whether by private entrepreneurs or social / community enterprises (which make profits for reploughing into advancing basic needs and opportunities) would support efficient enabling public institutions, and also transfers towards rapidly integrating those left out of the market-sphere. Our caste-ism, our blindness, our taking for granted the existence of the poor and the way that subsidises our life and comforts here, our apathy and insensitivity, the absence of an intelligentsia and civil society (in any meaningful, system-serving sense) - means that instead of realsing the inclusive cities and economy, we will be ravaged by conflict, violence, terror and civil war. The private sector is fine. But we lack a public sector, and I don't mean a govt department but a public ethic, a public sense and values within us as individuals. Politics has become privatised. There is no public domain. Hence the private domain is rapacious and squalid. So what is called for - in all these spheres, the personal, the ethical-moral-normative-political, public policy, governance, business functioning etc etc - is really quite revolutionary. There is no more time today for gradual evolution. Globalisation has meant the telescoping of time as much as of space. Thus rapid business success if possible. Rapid descent into terror and chaos is also possible. Can India make this revolution? Will it be through our "democratic" system? Does it require something else? Does it require for instance an inner revolition in ourselves, whereby we see the world, life very differently, view people and society differently, and think, act, live, work, relate differently? When a critical mass of such voluntary self-enlightenment is reached - that would signify a revolution. Thank you for your eyeball / ear! V Ramaswamy Calcutta cuckooscall.blogspot.com From pukar at pukar.org.in Tue Dec 26 13:01:52 2006 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 13:01:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Jan. 6, 2007: Change in timing for Bob Kerrey's lecture Message-ID: <002701c728bf$eaaeb050$4466c2cb@freeda> PUKAR, Mumbai the local partner of India China Institute, The New School, New York and Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi cordially invite you to a lecture by Bob Kerrey On India - US Relations: A Congressional Perspective Date: Saturday, January 6 , 2007 Time: 3:30 PM - High tea 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM - Lecture 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Open dialogue Venue: Silver Oak - I, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003 Bob Kerrey is the President of The New School University, New York. The New School is a progressive university offering study programs in Social Research, Management, Music etc. It is home to the world renowned Parson's The New School for Design and the unique initiative India China Institute that seeks to foster research collaborations between India, China and USA. Mr. Kerrey has been a recipient of the Medal of Honour as a Vietnam war veteran, the governor of Nebraska, a US senator of twelve years and a member of the 9/11 commission. He is an influential Democratic Party member, and will be sharing his views on the future of the US-India Relationship in many areas including trade, education, development and culture. PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Telephone:: +91 (22) 6574 8152 Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561 Email:: pukar at pukar.org.in Website:: www.pukar.org.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061226/126fa2a7/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From rahulpandita at yahoo.com Mon Dec 25 16:59:12 2006 From: rahulpandita at yahoo.com (Rahul Pandita) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 11:29:12 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30612250324v73cf9c39s13d6141807c1f1be@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <738077.93258.qm@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Aarti, what is unfortunate about it? r Shivam Vij wrote: Jab chota kha liya to bade se kya pareshaani hain? :) On 12/25/06, aarti at sarai.net wrote: > Dear Asapcoi, > > Unfortunately for us, cow slaughter is banned in Delhi, so we only get > buffaloe meat which is sold as beef. However friends living down south are > luckier, you can get good quality beef in Mumbai :) > > best > Aarti > > > Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found > > that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that > > mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you if > > the same is done in Delhi? > > > > Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? > > > > I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. > > > > Please write back. > > > > Regards > > > > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. > > Download Now! > > http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php_________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://www.blogbharti.com/ _________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: Rahul Pandita www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com Mobile: 9818088664 --------------------------------- All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/203f6595/attachment.html From zainabbawa at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 00:16:02 2006 From: zainabbawa at yahoo.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 10:46:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Of differences between India and China Message-ID: <69482.18490.qm@web36112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> China does not have the problem of democracy that we have It was sometime in the month of June. At 10:30 PM, I was waiting at Dadar for a BEST bus to get home. Quiet, lonely, just a few people around. There was no bus in sight. I leaned against the bus stop. On the footpath were several shops, all shut at this hour. Outside the Bata Shoe Shop, an old man and an old woman were setting up their bedding. They were pavement dwellers. They sat chatting once the bedding was up. They were very old and perhaps very, very poor. About ten minutes later, a man on his bicycle came up on the footpath. He stopped at the bedroom of the old man and the old woman. On his bicycle was a steel filter. This man was a traveling tea seller. He stopped by the old man and old woman and handed them out a cup of tea each. The couple then brought out a piece of bread each and dunked it in the tea. Perhaps it was their dinner. The tea seller chatted with them for a bit with and went away. The couple blessed him as he was leaving. Last night I was walking from Mazagaon to Byculla to get to home. I passed by what I thought were the familiar streets of Love Lane, but they did not seem so familiar yesterday. As I entered Love Lane from Mazagaon, I found several hawkers who had spread out clothes and things to sell on plastic sheet. A little ahead was a man, obviously struck by a schizophrenia seated on his knees, staring at the ground and oozing out saliva as if there were a fountain stored in him. A few meters ahead were stray hawkers selling peanuts and bhel puri. Further down I saw a swank new Sahkari Bhandar store which was never there earlier. One side of the road in Love Lane is under repair. The laborers who are here, working on the road repair have set up their tents and there are preparations being made for dinner. One aspect of poverty lives in my face. On the other side of the road is a huge garbage dump with an overflowing municipal rubbish bin. Further down there is a sense of quiet. Here are the upper middle class buildings where Bohra, Marwari and Gujarati residents reside. Ahead there is a gutter burst open and sewage is flowing. The Udupi restaurant is well lit and abuzz and people are walking in and out of it. A little ahead of the Udupi restaurant, a man is asleep on the pavement. His beard his thick and there are tinges of white on it. His face is flush with calm and restful sleep. The regular coconut seller is dumping the left over coconuts in a steel box. This space is now permanently occupied by him ever since I have known him. The flower seller by the wall of the street has already packed up and left. The road repairs have intensified further up towards the end of Love Lane. The sandwich fellow is also packing up his stall. Another development is the painted picture of the Shirdi Sai Baba which has been framed on the wall along the street. It has now become a semi-shrine where people have started throwing coins. A little down a Muslim wedding is taking place and usual flower seller is making business selling exotic bouquets. On the opposite side of the road is the Shiv Sena Shakha office. I have nearly reached the Byculla police station after which I turn into the lane to go home. The police station is lit up and there is a Hindu prayer ceremony taking place in the police quarters. A woman is sitting on the pavement. Asleep a little ahead is her man and at his feet is their child. At the child’s feet is one shoe which is meant for a child and a lady’s shoe. I don’t know if this is an irony of some sort. This evening, a dear friend of mine tells me of Nandan Nilekani’s interview he recently watched on television. Thom Friedman, the interviewer, asked Nilekani what is the difference between India and China. Nilekani replied saying that China does not have the problem of democracy which India has. My word! Zainab Bawa Mumbai www.xanga.com/citybytes __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/528a5d1e/attachment.html From swadhin_sen at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 02:12:55 2006 From: swadhin_sen at yahoo.com (Swadhin Sen) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:42:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Anti-coal mine movement in Bangladesh and archaeology Message-ID: <615876.87633.qm@web52211.mail.yahoo.com> Dear all Please, visit the following link to read an article on Phulbari Anti-coal mine movement and its re-conceptualization. http://www.meghbarta.org/nws/nw_main_p01b.php?issueId=6§ionId=20&articleId=161 Bests Swadhin Swadhin Sen Archaeologist & Assistant Professor Department of Archaeology Jahangirnagar University Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh Ph. 880 2 7708774 (res); 0172262345 (mobile) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/5330525d/attachment.html From m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in Mon Dec 25 19:39:05 2006 From: m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in (mprabhakar prabhakar) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 14:09:05 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] UGC Selection Committee vs College Management Committee, Merit vs Money Message-ID: <108429.56590.qm@web7815.mail.in.yahoo.com> Appointment of college teachers Sir, The UGC Regulations 2000 lays down strict and mandatory guidelines regarding the appointment of teachers in universities and colleges with certain prerequisites, one of them being making appointments of lecturers by UGC stipulated selection committee as per UGC Regulations 2000 para 3.1.0 comprising - 1.Chairperson of the Governing Body of the College or his/her nominee to be the Chairperson of the Selection Committee, 2. the Principal of the concerned College, 3. One senior teacher/Head of the Department (of the concerned subject) preferably having not less that 10 years of services as a teacher, 4.Two nominees of the Vice Chancellor of the affiliating University of whom one should be a subject expert, 5.Two subject-experts not connected with the college to be nominated by the Chairperson of the governing body out of a panel of names approved by the Vice Chancellor. For Government Colleges, the State Public Service Commission must invite three subject experts for which the State Public Service Commissions will involve the University in the selection. The Principal and Head of the Department should be necessarily included in the Selection Committee. The quorum for the meeting should be five of which at least two must be from out of the three subject experts. However, few of the defaulters especially the so-called minority colleges under deficit scheme, who under the garb of special privilege continue to flaunt the requirement which shall apply to every university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, Provincial Act or a State Act, every institution including a constituent or an affiliated college recognized by the Commission. Consequences of failure of universities to comply with recommendations of the Commission, as per provisions of Section 14 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Why is the Central, Ministry of HRD, UGC turning a blind eye or the State Government relaxing the said requirement by minority colleges contrary to UGC regulation? The surprising fact is that the University of Madras in its Meetings of the Syndicate held on 30th November 2006 have passed resolutions contrary to UGC Regulations 2000 and its own circular letter dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 adopting UGC Regulations 2000 in toto and also contrary to many judicial precedents uphelding UGC stipulated selection committee over college management committee. The letter from then Registrar, University of Madras dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 spells the composition of selection committee for selection of Principal and Lecturer as per UGC Regulation 2000 and also states that the selection process shall involve assessment of teaching and research aptitude, communication (by group discussion or class lecture demonstration), discussion and analysis ability. The same letter categorically states that request for grant of approval of qualifications in respect of said appointments will not be considered by the University, if the prescribed selection procedures are not followed by the college managements during selection of Principals and other teaching posts. The extract of minutes of syndicate meeting on 30th November, 2006 is as follows: Mr.Harish Mehta, Syndicate Member with due permission of the Chair, put forward a special resolution pertaining to the University’s Regulation with respect to approval of appointment of faculty in the affiliated and aided colleges of the the University. The existing practice of overlooking the Private Colleges Regulation Act which authorizes the college managements to constitute selection committee for appointment of the faculty and insisting that the UGC guideline of inclusion of Vice Chancellor’s nominee in the Selection Committee be followed for approval of appointments has led to bottleneck in the appointment of faculty to vacant position sanctioned by the Government of Tamilnadu. The Director of Collegiate Education pointed out that this anomaly existed only in the case of University of Madras and Manonmanium Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli. An appeal was made to Syndicate to pass a resolution to approve the selection committees constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act as in the case of the other Universities in Tamilnadu. This was essential to facilitate appointment of faculty so as to enable the positions sanctioned against vacancies by the Government of Tamilnadu to be filled up by the affiliated aided colleges. In this respect, the Syndicate UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the Selection Committee constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act to appoint faculty in the vacant sanctioned positions. RESOLVED FURTHER that all appointments made by college Committees as per the Private Colleges Regulation Act, be approved subject to the fulfillment of the minimum eligible qualifications laid down by the UGC and followed by the University of Madras. Resolved also that the Circular in this regard issued in August 2004 be withdrawn in the light of the UGC’s guidelines being recommendatory and not mandatory. RESOLVED ALSO that the above three resolutions be given effect subject to the outcome of the Hon’ble High Court in WA No. 1322/2006 filed by the Association of Management of Private Colleges against the Single Judge Judgement in WP No. 25433/2006. The above extract brings out following impacts. The concerned syndicate member who moved such a resolution is secretary of many colleges. The one among, which recently made appointments by college management committee. As per prevailing norms any interested member is not allowed to speak or vote on the interested matter in meeting so as to be free of personal bias. The chairperson of meeting allowing such a contrary resolutions for motion exihibits the sheer ignorance on his part or otherwise an act under heavy pressure from lobbies. The DCE’s contention is baseless, as many universities have adopted UGC Regulation 2000 in words as well as deeds. The regulations are mandatory throughout India even if not officially adopted by any university. The sound and legal practice of making appointments by UGC selection committee is not a bottleneck. The obstacle is the unwillingness of college managements in following mandatory regulation. The concept of college management committee as stipulated by Tamilnadu Private College Regulation Act 1976 is outdated and eclipsed in the light of UGC Regulations 2000 (dated 4-4-2000) stipulated selection committee and Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan Madras High Court too upheld the same in WP 25433/2006 in its judgement dated 12-9-2006. The concept of selection committees vide para 3.1.0 and other paras form integral part of minimum qualifications criteria. The resolution appealing approval of management committee and qualification of candidates favoured by such committee amounts to contempt of court as matter is pending in Madras High Court in WA 1322/2006 filed by one Mr.Aruchami, secretary of Private colleges association cosequent of disposal of WP 25433 filed by the same gentleman which upheld UGC selection committee, quashing management committee for selection of teachers. Still three more case are pending in Madras high Court on the same issue. The essentiality should not be in making illegal appointments but appointment by proper selection procedure more so when funded by public exchequer. The withdrawal of its own circular is shameful and yet another chameleon act on the part of infamous syndicate of prestigious potential for exellence Madras University. The slightest happiness is that all these illegal resolutions will take effect subject to outcome of pending case. But the malafide intention of syndicate in making money win over merit, inculcating favouritism in such public appointments defying the principles and legality of neutrality and impartiality is exposed. The Governments and other watchdogs of higher education must see that only persons appointed by stipulated selection committee along with other requirements get appointed to these institutions as lecturers as they draw salary from the government. Enclosed: University Grants Commission (minimum qualifications required for the appointment and Career Advancement of teachers in Universities and institutions affiliated to it) Regulations, 2000(ii) University Grants Commission Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 No.F.3-1/2000(PS) 4th April, 2000 NOTIFICATION In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (e) & (g) of sub-section (1) of Section 26 read with Section 14 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956), and in supersession of the Regulations issued under University Grants Commission letter No.F.1-93/74(CPP) Part (v) dated 13th June, 1983 and No.F.1-11/87 (CPP-II) dated 19th September, 1991 and Notification No.1-93/74(CP) dated 19th February, 1985 26th November, 1985 and No.F.3-1/94(PS) dated 24th December, 1998, the University Grants Commission hereby makes the following regulations, namely :- 1.Short Title, application and commencement : (i) These regulations may be called the University Grants Commission (minimum qualifications required for the appointment and Career Advancement of teachers in Universities and institutions affiliated to it) Regulations, 2000 (ii) They shall apply to every university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, Provincial Act or a State Act, every institution including a constituent or an affiliated college recognised by the Commission, in consultation with the university concerned under Clause (f) of Section 2 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and every institution deemed to be a university under Section 3 of the said Act. (iii) They shall come into force with immediate effect. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3.Consequences of failure of universities to comply with recommendations of the Commission, as per provisions of Section 14 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. If any university grants affiliation in respect of any course of study to any college referred to in sub-section (5) of Section 12-A in contravention of the provisions of that sub-section or fails within a reasonable time to comply with any recommendations made by the Commission under Section 12 or Section 13, or contravenes the provision of any rule made under clause (f) or clause (g) of sub-section (2) of Section 25 or of any regulations made under clause (e) or clause (g) of sub-section (1) of Section 26, the Commission after taking into consideration the clause, if any, shown by the university for such failure or contravention, may withhold from the university the grants proposed to be made out of the Fund of the Commission. Sd/- (R.P.Gangurde) Secretary To The Assistant Controller Publication Division ANNEXURE Minimum qualifications for the post of Professors, Principals, Readers and Lecturers in subjects other than Fine Arts, Management, Engineering and Technology in Universities or Colleges for appointment of persons through open advertisement and for their Career Advancement. 1.0.0 Direct Recruitment ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3.0.0 Selection Committees recommended by UGC. 3.1.0 Lecturer in Private College 1) Chairperson of the Governing Body of the College or his/her nominee to be the Chairperson of the Selection Committee. 2) The Principal of the concerned College. 3) One senior teacher/Head of the Department (of the concerned subject) preferably having not less that 10 years of services as a teacher. 4) Two nominees of the Vice Chancellor of the affiliating University of whom one should be a subject expert. 5) Two subject-experts not connected with the college to be nominated by the Chairperson of the governing body out of a panel of names approved by the Vice Chancellor. For Government Colleges, the State Public Service Commission must invite three subject experts for which the State Public Service Commissions will involve the University in the selection. The Principal and Head of the Department should be necessarily included in the Selection Committee. The quorum for the meeting should be five of which at least two must be from out of the three subject experts. NOTE: Similarly other appointments (3.2.0 For the post of University Lecturer ,3.3.0 For the post of Reader,3.4.0 For the post of Professor,3.5.0. For the post of Principal) shall also be made by selection committee. Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/864d0d2d/attachment.html From swadhin_sen at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 02:25:18 2006 From: swadhin_sen at yahoo.com (Swadhin Sen) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:55:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Nobel-Man's Un-Noble Corporate Nexus Message-ID: <652272.64881.qm@web52215.mail.yahoo.com> Dr. Mohammad Younus won the noble prize this year. U might be interested in finding an alternative version of the analyses of his 'achievements' which have been praised in such ways that anyone who tries to raise questions is treated as if she/he is not patriot or she/he is envious enough to question a hero who has, along with the other things, pulled up the image of Bangladesh predominantly represented with terrorism, natural disaster and poverty. Those who dare, may follow the link below: http://www.meghbarta.org/nws/nw_main_p01b.php?issueId=6§ionId=30&articleId=255 Swadhin Sen Archaeologist & Assistant Professor Department of Archaeology Jahangirnagar University Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh Ph. 880 2 7708774 (res); 0172262345 (mobile) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061225/81999eab/attachment.html From mohaiemen at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 21:44:35 2006 From: mohaiemen at yahoo.com (NAEEM MOHAIEMEN) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 08:14:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Hasina's Ulu Dhoni Moment+When Pets Attack In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <919397.44681.qm@web50314.mail.yahoo.com> Secularism in Bangladesh is in a battle to death. Please join the debate & post your own comments. -Naeem Hasina's Ulu Dhoni Moment (naeem) http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/12/25/hasinas-ulu-dhoni-moment/ When Pets Attack (naeem) http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/12/24/when-pets-attack/ Awami League's Backstabbing (asif) http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/12/24/awami-league-starts-the-backstabbing/ India The Hot Election Item (rumi) http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2006/12/24/election-with-fanfare-india-and-an-obituary/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From t.ray at vsnl.com Wed Dec 27 05:56:20 2006 From: t.ray at vsnl.com (Tapas Ray) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:26:20 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? References: <738077.93258.qm@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <005701c7294d$a2a1ecd0$6900a8c0@Tapas> Now we have the making of a flame war over cows and buffaloes. This is probably what "Asapcoi" wanted. I would be interested in the meaning/roots of that name. By the way, I think Aarti means buffalo is not as nice as cow/bullock. Tapas > Aarti, what is unfortunate about it? > r > > Shivam Vij wrote: Jab chota kha liya to bade se kya > pareshaani hain? > > :) > > On 12/25/06, aarti at sarai.net wrote: >> Dear Asapcoi, >> >> Unfortunately for us, cow slaughter is banned in Delhi, so we only get >> buffaloe meat which is sold as beef. However friends living down south >> are >> luckier, you can get good quality beef in Mumbai :) >> >> best >> Aarti >> >> >> Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found >> > that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that >> > mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you >> > if >> > the same is done in Delhi? >> > >> > Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? >> > >> > I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. >> > >> > Please write back. >> > >> > Regards >> > >> > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. >> > Download Now! >> > http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php_________________________________________ >> > 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. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > 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. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > -- > http://www.blogbharti.com/ > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > Rahul Pandita > www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com > Mobile: 9818088664 > > > --------------------------------- > All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and > ease of use." - PC Magazine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aman.am at gmail.com Wed Dec 27 16:09:21 2006 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:09:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? In-Reply-To: <005701c7294d$a2a1ecd0$6900a8c0@Tapas> References: <738077.93258.qm@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <005701c7294d$a2a1ecd0$6900a8c0@Tapas> Message-ID: <995a19920612270239t6f28d952q218d61ea17661c81@mail.gmail.com> Personally, i have no beef with either vegetarians or cow eaters, but i would urge those interested to read an Anthony Bourdain interview "I want my foie gras" on salon.com ... you can read it here http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/10/05/ruhlman_bourdain_foie/index.html A. On 12/27/06, Tapas Ray wrote: > Now we have the making of a flame war over cows and buffaloes. This is > probably what "Asapcoi" wanted. I would be interested in the meaning/roots > of that name. > > By the way, I think Aarti means buffalo is not as nice as cow/bullock. > > Tapas > > > Aarti, what is unfortunate about it? > > r > > > > Shivam Vij wrote: Jab chota kha liya to bade se kya > > pareshaani hain? > > > > :) > > > > On 12/25/06, aarti at sarai.net wrote: > >> Dear Asapcoi, > >> > >> Unfortunately for us, cow slaughter is banned in Delhi, so we only get > >> buffaloe meat which is sold as beef. However friends living down south > >> are > >> luckier, you can get good quality beef in Mumbai :) > >> > >> best > >> Aarti > >> > >> > >> Respected ma'am/sir, i was recently in Mumbai and to my surprise i found > >> > that Mutton was being sold at a very cheap rate. I later found out that > >> > mutton was being substituted with beef. I would want to know from you > >> > if > >> > the same is done in Delhi? > >> > > >> > Is it true that buffalos, cows are slaughtered in Delhi too? > >> > > >> > I thought beef consumption, sale was banned in Delhi. > >> > > >> > Please write back. > >> > > >> > Regards > >> > > >> > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. > >> > Download Now! > >> > http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php_________________________________________ > >> > 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. > >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> > 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. > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: > > > > > > -- > > http://www.blogbharti.com/ > > _________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > Rahul Pandita > > www.sanitysucks.blogspot.com > > Mobile: 9818088664 > > > > > > --------------------------------- > > All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and > > ease of use." - PC Magazine > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > 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. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From ish at sarai.net Wed Dec 27 18:13:37 2006 From: ish at sarai.net (ish at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:43:37 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] India's First Audio Copyrighting ? Message-ID: India's First Audio Copyrighting ? Many Indian classical artists who recorded in the late 1920's and 30s used to shout their names at the end of the recordings so that their work could not be stolen or passed off as someone else's. So on a few 78s which were pressed in this era had this naïve scream at the end of the record where the Singer shouts out his name and thus copyrighting the Audio work or recording. I would love to get hold of any one of these recording. So if anyone has a record or a reproduction with this 'shout to copyright' then please do contact me Thanks Ish (sarai.net/ frEeMuZik.net) From t.ray at vsnl.com Wed Dec 27 19:57:32 2006 From: t.ray at vsnl.com (Tapas Ray) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 09:27:32 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Buff or beef? References: <738077.93258.qm@web31704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <"005701c7294d$a2a1e cd0$6900a8c0"@Tapas> <995a19920612270239t6f28d952q218d61ea17661c81@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <004801c729c3$263668d0$6800a8c0@Tapas> Peace be with you, Aman, and thank you for sharing that Salon piece. We, the peaceful fish, cow, fermented soya bean, buffalo, goat, spinach, sheep, swine, dog (yes, dog), deer (illegally), pike (illegally), pigeon, chicken, larvae (yes, larvae), snail, snake gourd, and maybe snake eaters of India, gave ourselves on the twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, that admirable document which did not bar us from eating anything or anyone. However, we have never mistaken liberty for licence, and (hopefully) stooped so low as to feed ducks with tubes. We have always killed peaceably, in a humane manner. That is the difference between Asoka's India and New Jersey, Garden State of America, aka America's armpit on account of the smells emanating from its varied chemical factories. So please join me in condemning those insensitive wannabe-French Americans of New York, not to speak of the French themselves - although they are so anti-American and so philosophical and so postmodern, maybe even postpostmodern - who can be so cruel to ducks for a moment's gastronomic pleasure. Peace! Tapas > Personally, i have no beef with either vegetarians or cow eaters, but > i would urge those interested to read an Anthony Bourdain interview "I > want my foie gras" on salon.com ... you can read it here > http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/10/05/ruhlman_bourdain_foie/index.html > > A. From preetunair at yahoo.com Thu Dec 28 14:12:13 2006 From: preetunair at yahoo.com (PREETU NAIR) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:42:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Villagers of Saleli in Goa yearn for support, but there is none coming now. Message-ID: <419666.90585.qm@web31715.mail.mud.yahoo.com> They are fighting a lone battle- Villagers of Saleli in Goa yearn for support, but there is none coming now. PREETU NAIR preetu.nair at gmail.com (Article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim edition , Goa dated 29 December,2006) SALELI: When the villagers rose in revolt on December 28, 2005 against their Khase (landlord) and the stone crusher operators, they had a reason to be angry. But now a year later, the attitudes here are complex and results stark. After the initial hue and cry, for many, the pain of Saleli villagers stayed largely invisible, rarely touching the consciousness. Even the Saleli Anyay Nivaran Kruti Samiti established to give villagers justice and comprising of "popular" human rights activists have failed to support them, leave aside ensuring justice. With the initial euphoria over, the hapless villagers are now fighting a lonely battle. "Now, we are fighting a lonely battle, with very few people to help and support us," said a villager N Gaonkar. Still theirs is a tale of lives shattered, young men suddenly disappearing and families getting split due to financial problems. Now they find themselves on the crossroads. Living under grave limitations, knowing that the risks that they run are many, the villagers have started to feel the heat. Majority of them, especially men want to take the easy way out. While women like Radhika Gaonkar want to take the less travelled route, filled with unlimited struggle for survival. Perhaps experience has taught 70-plus Radhika that this is their last chance to save themselves and the village. "If we fail now. We will never be able to raise again," she said. This wisdom comes from the bitter experiences she has had in the past. The story goes like this. More than 30 years ago when the powerful Khase Krishnarao Rane sold off the kaju (cashew) plantations, on which the poor villagers depended for their livelihood, to the Forest department, they had united to fight against the decision and ensure that they get their land back. But their Khase, who promised them tenancy rights and jobs, divided them. Several years later, they are still trying to get tenancy rights. "We were illiterate then and trusted our Khase. But he never helped us. Our literate youth should never fall into the divide and rule trap. If we are united, then sooner or later our demands will be met," opined Radhika. She and other women know it is time for them to continue the fight. If they don't, no one ever could. However, her brave words fail to hide the fear that has gripped the village, which is reeling under the shock of the sudden disappearance of a young man with three children. Besides, since last one year, there have been two suicides and one accidental death in the village. This has left the villagers scared and they believe that the village is under an evil influence. "Such things ought to scare us and with no help in sight, things are only getting worse for us," said Chaya Gawas. Moreover, they are disillusioned by the system and don't trust it anymore. No wonder when the government officials went to inspect the stone crushing units, the women gathered and demanded, "Before you start the crushers, please throw us in the Mandovi". What really upsets the villagers most is that the uncertainty continues, as some people with the help of powerful local politicians indulge in divide and rule. And a walk in the village reveals a bigger and shocking reality: they have almost succeeded. ------------------- Bloody Lords: In the heart of the Khase kingdom PREETU NAIR preetu.nair at gmail.com (Article appeared in Gomantak Times,Panjim edition, India) In the 18th century, the Ranes became the proprietors of the land and the villagers came under their domination. The Portuguese left but the villagers continued to be ruled by the Ranes. The ages of suppression and oppression finally raised the revolt against the Rane clan in Saleli village. Preetu Nair tries to find out why a 'God' fell off the pedestal. SALELI: The young Krishnarao Rane, pioneer leader of Azad Gomantak Dal, was a man who appealed to his fellowmen and rarely disappointed them. He was their King, their "God". As a freedom fighter, he had secured for himself the love and attachment of his people, sought gratitude and won respect. He had a tender place in their hearts and was welcomed into their homes with open arms. The villagers are still filled with tales of the young Khase, who used to hide in their homes and eat ordinary bhakri (chapatti) prepared by the village folk, during the struggle against the Portuguese rule. "Khase used to move from place to place and hide in the forests. We used to ensure that he gets food and water. Once we even hid him in our house," revealed Devgo Gawas, a veteran of freedom fighter from the village. However, he admits that the times were different then and Krishnarao was an altogether different man. "He was very loving towards the village folk and treated us like a friend. He used to say; "You are helping me so much, I will always remember your favour". However, now all the promises are forgotten," said the much-agonised man. His frustration and anger against his "God" is evident when he added, "If the subjects are not happy, what good is the King and the kingdom." Just like Devgo, for long, Saleli villagers' love for their "God" was true, sincere, pious, pleasant, gentle, strong, patient, faithful, prudent, even long-suffering. For long, they had lived on their knees and had been the "good" subjects. However, those who love too much can also hate in the like extreme, especially when they realise that their "God" has wronged them. Even though Goa was liberated in 1961, freedom for them is as elusive as the rainbow's end. They still find themselves in chains with torn thoughts. It is a fight for freedom from fear, freedom from oppression, freedom to live and earn. As a young boy in the village said, "Goa was liberated long back, but we feel liberated only now". But why did this subaltern group silently adopt the powerless and voiceless world provided to them? "Because we neither had the courage nor the strength to stand up against powerful forces. Money and power was used to suppress and oppress us. We rebelled due to our utmost need of existence," explains Chhaya Gawas. The villagers, mostly Nave Marathas, recollect stories of the continuous exploitation and harassment they had to endure at the hands of the landlord and his two sons. "When we complained, they beat us up. When we threatened to boycott work, they cooly said that we could leave the village as they can easily get ghattis to work for them. We are poor and no one is ready to help us, not even the village panchayat nor police" rues Rajaram Goankar. The landlords may claim that they had always loved and helped the villagers as their own kith and kin, but reality seems different. Such was the atrocity that seven years back when few youth revolted against the Rane rule and stood for the Panchayat elections, they were threatened with dire consequences. "After that no one has dared to stand against the family," said a villager, who refused to reveal her name. What has hurt villagers the most is that the Rane family, whom they believed and worshipped, are depriving them of their livelihood. According to the villagers, whenever someone tried to spread their wings and reach beyond their shores, their wings were clipped. When it became a do-or-die situation for them, thousands of villagers who had been divided and repressed for long took such a decisive trial of strength. After all, life was getting tough. The innumerable stone crushers in area, which had been given on lease by the Rane family, was responsible for pollution, bad public health and environmental problems. Many villagers were struggling because their crops were destroyed and many small-time farmers were put out of business and forced to work as a daily wage earners. Several requests from the villagers to shut down the stone crushing units fell on empty ears. The final stroke came when Prithviraj Rane (villagers called him Bhai), decided to start a stone-crushing unit. However, the Nave Marathas' consciousness marks a certain kind of innocence, a certain kind of fear and a certain kind of humanness when they admitted that Bhai shouldn't have been killed. "What happened was unfortunate but how much could we bear in silence," echoed the villagers. Tenancy or Torture? Originally, the Saleli Comunidade was an absolute owner of the village. And the villagers as its members enjoyed the proportional rights in the land. But the Portuguese regime apparently dissolved the comunidade and assumed the ownership, which it subsequently transferred by way of mocassos inamas (state grant or proprietorship title) to the Ranes. Subsequently, they became inheritors of the right vested in the government. Based on this, the owner of the village (Ranes) was collecting rent from the original occupiers as entitlement. Legal experts say that the grants of this nature all over India are abolished, except in Goa. The people have become strangers in their own land as they have no papers to support any claims they may want to make. Ignorance of the law has also resulted in their sorry status. The Law...Out law The Rane's were enjoying the Mocassos inamas from 1746 from the Portuguese without paying any tax in return of a favour. The Rane family have been the proprietors for nearly 300 years and owned almost all the village (800 plus square hectare) by virtue of the grant, except the areas, which are owned by the Forest department. In the past, around 1365-odd persons (census 2001) who used to stay in the land and till it had to pay rent to the Ranes. After Goa's liberation in 1961, a majority of the people stopped paying the rent. Even in Form I and XIV, their names are not included as tenants. The Rane family is shown as the main occupant. Only a few educated persons were able to put their names as tenants. But majority of them are not even registered as tenants. The villagers revealed that they had difficulty in getting a loan from the bank to build a house or start a business, as the land was not in their name. So when they approached the Ranes they would be beaten and harassed mentally and physically, revealed a youngster, who didn't want to reveal his name. Crushed and Conquered As the building lobby became powerful in Goa and more and more buildings started springing up there was an urgent demand for meta-granite and meta-basalt that was found in large quantity at the Morlegad (hillock) owned by the Rane's. This was some 15 years back. Rane's gave the hillock on lease and started a chain of around 20 stone crushers in the area. The Rane's grew richer, but it destroyed the peace and tranquillity of the villagers. Check this: * The fields were destroyed. Once after a farmer complained to Krishnarao Rane that the stone crushers were destroying his cashew cultivation, he had to face dire consequences. The same night his plantation was completely destroyed by miscreants. He complained but no one listened. * In another incident, a year back when a girl was working in the field an explosion occurred and a stone pierced her lower abdomen. She had to be immediately rushed to the hospital. "When my parents complained to khase, all he said, "Ok, she didn't die". * In 2000, the course of the river also changed and the river became very narrow. Reason: the massive stone crushing in the area, the mountain had become weak and huge stones came crushing from the hill and fell in the river, probably changing its flow forever. Finally, it was Prithviraj's decision to install a new stone crusher very close to the village that angered the villagers and led to the uprising. Jitendra Deshprabhu, Pernem MLA "We are the natural protectors of the tillers and we have been naturally shielding the community. It is really unfortunate that people who have been protected have now turned against their protectors." Vishwajit Rane, son of Krishnarao Rane "I had family like relationship with the villagers. We always helped them. I don't know why they killed my brother. They have been instigated by outsiders, people outside the village". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preetu Nair Senior Reporter Gomantak Times St.Inez, Panaji Goa-403 001 India http://goadourada.blogspot.com/ "Freedom of mind is the real freedom" Babasaheb Ambedkar ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From hpp at vsnl.com Fri Dec 29 17:07:45 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 11:37:45 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Singur - A Report Message-ID: Singur: A Report by Amitadyuti Kumar 28 December 2006 It was the 3rd week of May, 2006 - the 18th day to be exact. The Left Front Government was sworn in for the 7th time in a row. Almost immediately Singur, an otherwise non-descript rural area in the Hooghly District, suddenly made the headlines. On that afternoon, the Chief Minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharyee, sitting alongside Mr Ratan Tata, the chief of a dominant Indian capitalist group - the TATA's, announced in a press conference that Tata Motors had made an agreement with the state government to set up a factory for small cars at Singur. In the press conference it was also made public that the state government would hand over 1000 acres of land in Singur. It cleverly remained silent on whether any Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) had been signed. Towards the evening the news spread in Singur and so did the people's anger. The next day marked the beginning of public outrage. It did not wait for any organizational strength, political leadership. The fear of unemployment and starvation was so palpable that it broke all the barriers of age, gender and what's more their political identities. It is not the first time that farmers' land is taken away. Haldia, Bakreshwar or Rajarhat have their own sordid tales of how the government had given away their land to the industrialists or promoters, all in the name of development and industrialization. There were resentments and protests in those areas too. But the administration strengthened by the muscle power of the ruling party CPI (M) chose to ignore the popular sentiment. While struggling for their right to life and a dignified livelihood Singur people has brought to the fore certain basic and important issues regarding development-industralsation-urbanisation and the eventual eviction and destruction of farmland. It gave rise to more serious questions about the efficacy of development projects that keep 96% of the population of the area outside its ambit. The intelligentsia, economists politicians and sociologists came forward to find solutions of such riddles and have tried to deal with the issues. Their overwhelming opinions supported by facts and figures, expert opinions, and past experiences in home and abroad conclusively point to the fact that the government is erring. Questions are raised whether such projects are necessary to solve its basic problem of industrial stagnation and unemployment? If that be so, then by whom, when and on what basis has this approach been decided upon? Questions were also raised about how to select the land necessary for ndustrialization, about the long term as well as immediate effects on environment as a result of conversion of farmland to industrial plot, whether alternative sites can be found without disturbing agricultural land and so on. Comparisons are made to find out whether there will be any real employment generation if industries are set up on agricultural land. People became concerned about the future of those who are going to loss the roofs over their heads and their daily bread, whether justice is being meted out to them or not. The imminent uncertainty in the availability of food and the likely food crisis resulting from wanton destruction of farmland are also making people concerned. Singur 'Singur' is a name new to the present day political workers. A few decades ago, the area remained mostly inundated during rainy season by the two overflowing rivulets, the Kanakunti, the Zulkia, and the discharge from DVC dams. The last 24 years have seen the execution of only half of the planned Ghia-Kunti Drainage Scheme under the Lower Damodar Basin project. This alone has substantially reduced the fury of flood. Three major national highways run through or by Singur area. Bowbazar and Sheoraphuli Hat, the two of the biggest wholesale South Bengal markets for fruits and vegetables are in the range of 8/10 kms. The famous Ratanpur potato market is in Singur. One of the biggest Multipurpose Cold storages of the state, meant for storing vegetables as well as potato is situated in the area. As the fury of flood has been tamed to a certain extent, the farmers have been making a modest earning thanks to the harmonious blend of fertile loamy soil and labour. Besides paddy and jute, potato and vegetables are the main cash crops here. Even the young graduates or the masters of these poor and the middle class families have engaged themselves in farming once the prospect of getting a JOB proves to be an illusion. Because of improved farming techniques, application of fertilizers and pesticides, Singur two-thirds of Singur flood plain has by and large become a multi-crop land. According to the statistics provided in a state government booklet the block uses a whopping 10, 001 metric tonnes of fertilisers and 3061.5 metric tonnes of insecticides and other plant medicines every year. To cater the needs there are 303 agricultural inputs trading centers in the Block, whose 83% (8830 Hectares out of 10,526 Hectares agricultural land) is irrigated. The crop density of the Block is 220%, a step higher than the district average of 215%. Why Singur? This is the Singur that the Government chose for Tata's small car project, About 27% of the five mouzas (out of 16) of the Block has been finally selected 'acquired' and fenced off with a massive police action for the purpose. The process of selection of the site is quite unprecedented and queer. From the statements of the Chief Minister, only this much could be ascertained that the Tatas opted for it and the government accepted readily. Even as late as on 26 December, the CM was reported to have said that the government had no option but to accept Tatas' proposal. The Government's avowed policy is to consult with the affected and local people on all programmes of development. The 74th Constitutional amendment also calls for such consultations. There was not a semblance of a consultation or a discussion. The people first learnt from the media that the plots of land that has sustained them generations after generations, despite odds of floods and draughts were going to be taken away by the government. These are the plots of land around which they have weaved the dreams of their future taking it for granted that these plots of land were going to be the only means for the future sustenance of their children who will not be able to find a better living in the scheme of development of the country. They could not believe their ears, when they first heard it. Not only the people going to be affected, even the functionaries of the local government viz., BDO, the head of the Panchayet and even the local CPI (M) bosses were kept in dark too. But the laws of the land, the declared state policy all say in unison that all projects should be planned at the grass roots that are at Panchayet level. One can not but wonders-what are the compulsions that leave the government without any option but to accept Tatas' proposal? Why Singur? Avijit Mukherjee, the BDO of the block said-it is Singur because the official records show this area is marked as 'single-cropped', non-irrigated or 'barren'. These records were based on surveys dating back to 1990. During the last 15 years, in the proposed Tata Motors site, the peasants have got installed 35 shallow pumps, 28 of which with their own money. In addition, there are three deep-tube wells. The two rivulets, the Zulkia and the Kunti - flowing along the either sides provide a substantial Irrigational facility. In the dry season these rivulets and the DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation's dams) release irrigate the fields. How can such land be called single-cropped, barren or non-irrigated? Even a lay man is aware that a single crop land in this part of Bengal means that the land has no Irrigational facility; only the rain dependant cultivation is possible. A blatant lie The farmers made appeal before the government pointing to the mischief in Government records; they took part in demonstration against the DM to highlight the incorrect records. It was expected that the government would relent once the truth is known. But the Chief Minister made his stand clear. The Tata's have asked for that particular land, and that's final. The Government, the Industry Minister, the Land Minister only echoed their leader's view. The statistics cited earlier in this dispatch quoting state government sources, the fact that the whole Singur block has an average crop density of 220% and the fact that the proposed Tata Motors site is most well irrigated and the most fertile in the block and scores of photographs and video clippings in the print and electronic media showing the fields of the area nails her lies. Here is a tale told by the Singur BDO in presence of the local Panchayet boss Ranjt Mandal recorded on 15 June--Singur is a 40 minutes' drive from the airport along the newly built Expressway via the new Vivekananda Setu under construction. So the Tatas or their top brass flying from other metros will have to waste little time to reach their destination. Whoever expected to hear such a far-fetched excuse and that too from an avowedly pro-poor government and it comes at the expense of a 15000-strong agricultural work-force! This control of the industrialists over the government, this 'as you said sir' attitude of the government is potentially dangerous for democracy and democratic values. The question naturally arose--is the government being run by the Tatas or for that matter other industrialists and capitalists? The government's helpless and repeated admission that it has no option but to accept Tatas' proposal, and the fact that the proposal of Tata Motors small car project was not discussed, approved or not even heard of in any discussion regarding the government's industrial policy or any other forum or a constitutional body before the fateful day of swearing in of 7th LF government, hints at the danger and dark days ahead for democracy. Reagan regime in the US diverted Govt resources for the benefit of the industrialists who were facing serious challenges from Japan; Clinton's rule saw to it that the oil giants consolidate their hold on the Government and state machinery. This hold in turn drove US under Bush administration to invade and occupy Iraq or Afghanistan, violate the civil and democratic rights of the US citizens or to go against civilization, Noam Chomsky has shown in 'Propaganda and the Public Mind'. Some facts and figures The WB Land & Land Reforms Minister had gone on record to say in the state assembly that about 120,000 acres of farmland has become casualty in the government's 'urbanization' and industrialisation programmes in the last five years. He declared further that in the next 5 years, the government is going to transfer another 1 lakh acre or more farmland to the industrialists and promoters - for the sake of industrialization and urbanization. He did not conceal his concern for a resultant food-crisis on the floor of the House. The state agricultural minister was of the same view. But the big brother CPM and the senior cabinet members ruled out the possibility of any food crisis. The dissenting ministers had to fall in line. They parroted the rhetoric that Bengal is self-sufficient in food and leads in agricultural production. So it's the time to use farmland for industry. Whether West Bengal is Self-sufficient in Food Production? As per the latest figures available from the Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics of the West Bengal Government, the availability of food grains (considering both the domestic production and imports) is 177 kg per head per year for the period year 2001-05. According to the Planning Commission an adult requires an intake of 193 kg of food grains for subsistence. It is to be kept in mind that in those aforesaid years, there was no significant loss of food grains because of flood, draught or natural disaster. Despite this, the state faces a shortage of food grains @ 16 kg per head per year that is, approx 16 million tonnes (assuming the state population to be around 10 cores). This crisis would worsen by a further 10% if the next 5 years see shrinkage of another 1 lakh acre of farmland. This will totally upset the somewhat self sufficiency achieved in food grains and will totally jeopardize any prospect to achieve food self sufficiency and hamper food security of the people of lower income groups and the poor. This will lengthen the lines of starvation deaths-from Amlasole to Jalangi and elsewhere. According to latest National Sample Survey data (NSS Report No.471), 15% of the state's population can avail less than 70% of required daily calorie intake (2700 Cal per day) and.64% of them gets less than the required amount. In terms of daily intake West Bengal lags behind six states including Bihar and Orisa. According to a state government publication (Advancement in Agriculture: History of Success-Krishir Agragati-Dharabahik Saphalyer Itibritta) monthly per capita intake of food grains in the state fell to 13.27 Kg in 1993-94 (latest available data) from 15.25 Kg in 1972-73. According to the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, who presented his report on Extent of Chronic Hunger and Malnutrition in India before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 22 September, 2006, food grain availability in rural India has fall to 152 kg per capita, 23 kg less than in the 1990s. Ziegler's report was based on his visit to India from August 20 to September 2, 2005,"motivated by the fact that India has the largest number of undernourished people in the world and one of the highest levels of child malnutrition". The report, which reviews "the situation of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in India" and whether the theory of "hunger amidst plenty" stands, has made some startling revelations. He observed that falling agricultural wages, increasing landlessness and rising food prices have severely undermined the right to food. Over half of India's women and children are suffering from severe malnutrition and chronic undernourishment. Over 47 percent children are underweight and 46 percent stunted in their growth figures higher than most countries in poverty stricken sub-Saharan Africa. The poorest 30 percent of households eat less than 1700 kilocalories per day per person, well below the international minimum standard of 2100 kilocalories per day, even if they spend 70 percent of their income on food. (Times of India 24 September, 2006) But this is what the masters of the world, the imperialists long for. Food deficiency will necessitate import and that is not so easy. The global food market is controlled by a handful of transnational food cartels. By virtue of the prevailing system of 'forward trading' these cartels are already the owners of the food grains that are to be produced in the next few years. No doubt import will depend on their sweet will and we will have no option but to agree to their terms and rates. One may not be totally wrong to read that Tata's motor car at Singur is not a sudden, isolated and ill-conceived decision, rather a part of a larger conspiracy of neocolonialism. Is it not possible to build a factory at an alternative non-agricultural site in WB? The ministers, industrialists, and their political parties keep on saying that industrialization is not possible in this state without using agricultural land. Without industrialization, development will just be a distant dream. So destruction of farmland is a must for W Bengal's progress. Do the facts say so? The latest edition (2004) of the Statistical Handbook of the Government of WB reveals the following: Total land area excluding Kolkata Metropolitan District: 8687521 Hectares Area not available for Cultivation 1636038 Hectares Net Sown Area 5427672 Hectares Current fallows 333372 Hectares Other Uncultivable land excluding Current fallows 119146 Hectares Forest Area 1171293 Hectares Those who travel across the state know it well that not only Bankura, Purulia, Midnapore, but the entire North Bengal too is provided with thousands of acres of barren and uncultivable land. As per the adopted policy of the centre and what's more, the view of the five left parties expressed in their memorandum before the Centre on 6 October 2006 is that no agricultural land should be used for SEZs. This apart, West Bengal has the distinction of its cities and urban areas being adorned by the rusting dilapipated sheds of thousands of closed factories - official figures alone put it at 65000. 40000 acres of prime industrial land is kept locked there for decades. The CPI (M) MP Santashri Chatterjee and the President of the Hooghly District CITU submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate demanding use of such premises for setting up of new industrial units. The memorandum also mentioned that the Birlas were given 744 acres at the Hind Motors at throw away prices for setting up the Hindusthan Motors n 1948. The factory, which once employed 22,000 workers, used only 252 acres of the land given. The rest, about 500 acres was lying unused for the last 58 years. The memorandum suggested that this land can be used for industrialization. In an article in the CPI (M) daily Ganashakti, he reiterated the same demands. The government replied late next month. The state cabinet cleared the land for use by the Birlas for an IT park, thus enriching the Birla coffers by at least 1500 crores in one stroke. If the premises of closed Beni Engineering in Kolkata can be unlocked (though illegally) for real estate business, why could the 500 acres of land, kept unused for the last 58 years, at Hindmotors not be used for the purpose of a new industry? Trade (or State?) secret - a white lie? Even seven months after the movement started or three months after completion of 'land acquisition' process as claimed by the administration, no body knows whether the Tatas have paid the price for the land as per rules or whether the land is being forcibly 'acquired' from the poor peasants at the tax-payers expense to make a gift to the 'Left-friend' Tatas? The Land Acquisition Act 1894 and the procedures lad down to implement the act requires that the requiring authority (here the Tatas)must deposit the full cost of the land before acquisition procedures begin. After several enquires under RTI act 2005, in all the concerned Government Departments as to whether the Tatas have deposited any amount towards the cost of the land, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, in its letter No Adm/141/2006/3113, dated 4 Dec., 2006 replied that 'disclosure of information sought cannot be allowed under section 8(d) of the RTI Act 2005'. This section does not allow disclosure if the competitive position of a third party is harmed and unless it is necessary for greater public interest. All major aspects of the proposed project have been kept under wraps. No body, even the cabinet ministers and left front partners know whether a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) had been signed, or what are the understandings or agreements between the Government and the Tatas. Senior cabinet ministers belonging to non CPI (M) parties publicly aired their grievances for keeping them in the dark. All enquiries in this regard also faced the same black stone wall of secrecy. A similar formal exercise as above to illicit information on whether any MOU was reached with the company on the project and if so, a copy of the MOU, if no, a copy or the salient points of the draft of such MOU being discussed was carried out. The only reply to these queries was that 'disclosure of information sought cannot be allowed under section 8(d) of the RTI Act 2005'. A similar stonewall of secrecy is built around the incentives offered to the Tatas. Newspaper reports quoting 'reliable sources' suggest that the monetary value of the incentives offered to the Tatas for their Rs 1000 Crores investment may run up to 1500 Crores, if the cost of land, infrastructure and concessions are taken into account. Perhaps it is needless to say again that the governments reply to the queries on incentives under the West Bengal Incentive Scheme 2004 (No. 134 CI/O/Incentive/17/03/1 dated 24 March, 2004) or under any other scheme/proposal claimed by the Tata Motors for the project, offered/agreed to be offered by the government to the Tata Motors for the project, proposals/claims for incentives under consideration of the WBIDC or any other Government agency, received the same reply citing section 8(d) of the RTI Act 2005'. It is strange that the Government is makng deals with a profit making concern at the cost of tax payers' expense and nobody has the right to know anything. This attitude makes mockery of all principles of transparency and the Left Fronts commitment to 'do everything by informing people beforehand and with their concurrence.' Fighting Unemployment? >From all available information including Tata Motors press releases, it transpires that 800-odd employments may be generated initially which may go up to 2000 if and when the company attains the full production capacity of 5,00,000 cars per year. Even conservative estimates suggest that about 15000 people including sharecroppers, agricultural labourers, and small farmers artisans are going to be evicted from their profession. Among them are those, who do not own the agricultural land or water bodies but still make a living out of them, those who earn their living as trolley pullers, collies, fertilizer and other agricultural input dealers and their employees etc. How creating employment for 2000 over the years by immediately ousting 15000 from their livelihood may help in fighting unemployment is anybody's guess. The tale of ancillary industries was proved to be a fairy-tale in case of Haldia. And 800 employments at the cost of 100 crores nvestments (plus state incentives valued at around 1500 crores) That means ten million crores investment (plus incentives from state exchequer) for 80 lakh registered unemployeds. It is beyond even any lunatics imagination ! The state government has no rehabilitation policy. A study shows that only 9% of those evicted during the post 1950 period got some sort of relief, however meager may it be. No body knows how the evictees will be rehabilitated or compensated. The government dubs the whole process as 'trade secret' to seek a safe escape route. Or sometimes, pretends to be a little bit more transparent -'will be told in the appropriate time.' A common sense suggests that there are other hidden agenda behind all these exercises declaredly for the benefit of 'ignorant idiotic masses'. The spontaneous opposition to the machinations and its rapid spread show that the government has erred in assuming people's concurrence for granted. Meanwhile 200 people staging a peaceful demonstration were wounded in the police lathicharge 25 September. Rajkumar Bhul, a 24 year old agitator succumbed to the injures sustained during the police attack. About a hundred including 28 women were been arrested. Many were molested by the drunken police force. The prosecution admitted that barring some womenfolk who were carrying brooms in their hands as symbols for their resolve to broom out the Tatas, none have any weapon or any other thing. The seizure list mentioned seizure of 10 brooms apart from their festoon. Yet the hapless people were booked under sections of Explosive Act and on charges of attempt to murder (under sec 307 IPC). This is in line with the state government's policy of persecution of all opposition and to ensure that these poor people rot behind the bars or harassed by the police or in the courts before they could be proved innocent. Thus the government will get the precious requisite time to hand over their land to the Tatas. Amitadyuti Kumar From hpp at vsnl.com Fri Dec 29 17:37:58 2006 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:07:58 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] IGNOU, RTI and the Distant Dream of Women's Empowerment Message-ID: IGNOU, RTI and the Distant Dream of Women's Empowerment By Rahul B rahul.indauri at gmail.com Analysis of the latest data made available by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi (IGNOU) in response to an application made under the Right to Information Act reveals that the average number of female students freshly enrolled each year in the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree programme in the seven years from 1996 to 2002 was 17146 which is 65% of the total. Among these the average number from the Scheduled Castes (SC) was 1903 (11.1%) and the average number from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) was 831 (4.8%). The average number of female students per year over the same period who had successfully completed the course and been awarded the BA degree was a miniscule 440. Among these the average number from the SC was only 64 and the average number from the ST was just 17. Even though the time schedule for completion of the course in the distance education format is flexible and so it is not possible to directly compare the enrolment and pass averages given above never theless it can be roughly said that over the period under review on an average about 2.6 % of the female students were successfully completing the course every year while this statistic for the SC is 3.4 % and for the ST it is 2 %. The most striking feature of this data is that of the considerably fewer number of female students passing as compared to male students. Thus in 1996 even though females constituted 67.1% of those enrolling their proportion in those passing out was just 29.5%. Similarly in 2002 while females constituted 63.4% of those enrolling their proportion in those passing out was just 31.6%. Thus it is quite evident that IGNOU, which is the premier institute of distance education in the country, has not quite lived up to its self professed mission of " ....knowledge ... dissemination through sustainable open and distance learning systems seamlessly accessible to all, including the hitherto unreached, from among whom the leaders and innovators of tomorrow will emerge."(Italics added for emphasis) (IGNOU website - www.ignou.ac.in). However, not being privy to these dismal statistics in 1998, Subhadra Khaperde, impressed by the mission statement of IGNOU, had then enrolled for the Bachelor's Degree Programme of the university. She comes from an economically very poor dalit marginal farmer family and had had to give up her education after somehow passing the higher secondary examination in 1987 in the third division and start work as an anganwadi worker. She progressed to becoming a political activist involving herself in the many battles that were fought over land, water and forest rights in Madhya Pradesh before concentrating on securing the reproductive health and rights of Bhil adivasi women in western Madhya Pradesh from 1995 onwards. After a decade of grassroots mobilisation however she found that her initial belief that the various enabling provisions of the Constitution and many affirmative laws would be implemented if only the people got organised and demanded their rights was very naive. She re alised that the rule of law promised in the Constitution was not only there only on paper but also that the state would not tolerate organised attempts by the masses to make it work on the ground. This made her feel that she must read up on political theory and practice to properly understand this sad conundrum of laws on paper that are never implemented. However, the education she had received in school she found was wholly inadequate for her to understand the various books that she was plied with by other better read activists. So in 1997 she decided to start formal studies again by doing a bachelor's degree in Political Science from IGNOU. Subhadra soon found herself all at sea in the deep waters of the IGNOU course material. The problem was compounded by the fact that the texts had been originally written in English by the leading Indian scholars in their fields and then translated into Hindi. The normal practice for translation of arcane technical terms is to break up the English word into its Latin or Greek roots and then construct a Hindi word by combining the corresponding Sanskrit roots. This artificially created term being a specialised one is not found in any of the standard Hindi dictionaries. Moreover since the main words are in Sanskrit the sentences constructed with these also use a high Sanskritised Hindi, which has little relation to the colloquial Hindi that is popularly spoken. Thus making sense of the IGNOU course material for a graduate of the government school system is almost as difficult an exercise as deciphering the Harappan script. Since this was beyond her capacity Subhadra had to enga ge a tutor to assist her in a big way not only in understanding the meaning of the texts but also in doing the assignments which too had to be written in high quality Sanskritised Hindi. The crunch came in the examinations. The papers were set in such a way that they thoroughly tested whether the student had read and assimilated the course material properly and wholly. A study of past question papers revealed that there is no pattern discernible in the questions asked. So it is very difficult to predict the possible questions and prepare accordingly as is the custom in most universities in this country. Nor are there any study guides as the student base of IGNOU is too small to make their publication profitable. The inevitable result of all this was that in the initial stages Subhadra mostly passed her examinations by the skin of her teeth or sometimes failed. Even though the tutor prepared the answers for a wide range of questions it was just beyond her capacity to cram all of them. So she had to write off the cuff answers to questions for which she had not prepared and obviously she did not have the proficiency to do so. Sometimes she was failed or given poor marks despite writing good answers and there was no redressal even after filing for review. The only saving grace is that a student could take as many as eight years at that time to pass the three-year course and so failed papers could be reappeared for or a lesser number of papers could be taken per semester. She gradually passed her papers till only one paper remained. This was the foundation course in English. She had already failed in this once in the initial stages. She had to spend a whole year learning only English and then somehow passed the paper on the strength of an essay on a topic, which she had prepared before hand that luckily came in the paper. Once this IGNOU odyssey was over Subhadra began wondering as to how many people actually passed the BA examination of IGNOU given the toughness of the course and the exacting examination standards. The BA being the most basic graduation level course would be opted for mostly by people from a disadvantaged background who had like her lost touch with education for a long time and wanted to catch up on it. But the fact of the matter is that Subhadra had been able to stay the course and become a graduate of IGNOU with much difficulty only because she had engaged a tutor to help her throughout. Not everyone is so lucky and so she surmised that very few people were actually successfully completing the course. She asked around in her own city Indore and found that all the people whom she traced had dropped out of the course after enrolment having been frustrated by the toughness of the course and the examinations. This prompted her to write to IGNOU for statistics regarding the pas s percentages disaggregated by caste category in the BA course over the past decade. There was no reply. The research section of IGNOU, which should be analysing the performance of the students and evaluating the efficacy of the course, too said that they had no data regarding the BA course. She then got some of her journalist friends in Delhi to inquire about this and they too got fobbed off with vague replies. She then wrote to the Principal Secretary Higher Education of the Government of India who is an IAS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre to get this information and once again drew a blank. Finally as a last resort an application was filed with the Public Information Officer (PIO) of IGNOU under the Right to Information Act 2005 for this information. A subordinate of this officer replied and refused the information with some vague excuse. A stern letter was then sent to the Vice Chancellor who is the Designated Appellate Authority for IGNOU under the RTI Act, pointing out that the Public Information Officer was liable for penal action for having wilfully obstructed the furnishing of the information that had been demanded. This had some effect and the officer sent the data but it was complete only for seven years from 1996 to 2002. Repeated reminders could not elicit the remaining information from 2003 to 2005 and so a second appeal was filed with the Central Information Commission to direct IGNOU to furnish the data for the whole decade from 1996 to 2005. After a long wait of eight months the appeal finally came up for hearing before the Commission on 18th of D ecember. The Information Commissioner instead of taking the IGNOU PIO to task for not supplying the complete information and penalising him said that since he had given some information the petitioner should not be intolerant and should sit with the PIO and sort out the remaining differences. The petitioner's argument that enrolment and pass statistics are basic information and that the Information Commissioner should order IGNOU to put them up compulsorily on their website so that they would have to sit up and do something to improve their performance as a result of public scrutiny of such a dismal performance cut no ice with the Information Commissioner who said that the staff of IGNOU were over worked anyway. The petitioner finally left in disgust leaving the IGNOU PIO and the Information Commissioner to their mutual backslapping. This whole sordid scenario indicates that there are a lot of women like Subhadra with a poor schooling background and unable to take admission in colleges which require regular attendance who are enrolling in IGNOU in the fond hope that they will get a BA degree. However, the toughness, nay inappropriateness of the course material, the examination papers and their strict and even sadistic evaluation coupled with inadequate coaching are putting paid to their dreams leading to these women not being able to pass out. No wonder then that these statistics regarding pass percentages, that are easily made available by most universities, are such a closely guarded secret in IGNOU and not readily disclosed to anyone. Not only has IGNOU failed to help the underprivileged students who have taken admission in the BA degree course to emerge as leaders and innovators of tomorrow but it has instead severely dented their self respect by making them into failures. This criminal negligence as sumes an even more serious hue when we consider the fact that an overwhelming two-thirds majority of those aspiring and then failing to make something of themselves due to this insensitivity of IGNOU are women. What is most galling is that an institution that projects itself as the best distance learning university in the world on the strength of the performance in its money spinning elite professional courses like management, which are availed of by students from a privileged background, does not have the honesty to review the continually deteriorating performance of its most basic BA degree programme. The attempt to bring some transparency into the operation of IGNOU through the RTI Act too has proved futile given the tendency of bureaucrats to shield each other. The net result is that the empowerment of poor women is destined to remain a distant dream. From vidyashah at hotmail.com Sun Dec 31 19:15:34 2006 From: vidyashah at hotmail.com (vidya shah) Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2006 13:45:34 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] India and China In-Reply-To: <69482.18490.qm@web36112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061231/19d469f2/attachment.html From deb99kamal at yahoo.com Sat Dec 30 22:10:45 2006 From: deb99kamal at yahoo.com (Debkamal Ganguly) Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:40:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Re: India's First Audio Copyrighting ? Message-ID: <20061230164045.90375.qmail@web52801.mail.yahoo.com> Debkamal Ganguly wrote: Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:36:23 -0800 (PST) From: Debkamal Ganguly Subject: Re: India's First Audio Copyrighting ? To: readers-list at sarai.net I have some songs sung by Jankibai, one of the first few singers who recorded their songs on the disc, at the end of the song, Jankibai used to say 'mera naam Jankibai Allahabadi'. In Sarai archive one video 'Hawamahal' is there, made by us, where a song of Jankibai with that vocal 'copyrighting' has been used. I was specially attached to that self-utterance, as a claim of nascent state of subjectivity, material formation of the personalized artistic self in the scene of an unforeseen alienation between the performer and the audience. Can that vocal copyrighting be compared with the middle-age Bhakti poets who used to integrate their name in the end of the poem using a certain theme, rhythm and metre, which is called 'Bhanita'? Debkamal ------------------------------------------- Flat - D-7, Chamundeshwari Apartments, 13th Cross Kalidasa Road, Vani Vilas Mohalla Mysore - 570002. Mobile - 9243581021, 9901417145 Landline - 0821-4256003 Alternate Email - debkamal at gmail.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------- Flat - D-7, Chamundeshwari Apartments, 13th Cross Kalidasa Road, Vani Vilas Mohalla Mysore - 570002. Mobile - 9243581021, 9901417145 Landline - 0821-4256003 Alternate Email - debkamal at gmail.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061230/dab6379e/attachment.html From info at karmayog.org Fri Dec 29 17:48:19 2006 From: info at karmayog.org (Karmayog.org) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:48:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Does your NGO make any product? Message-ID: <23f0b01c72b43$6d3a29c0$9a16344a@C274034117> We understand that there are a lot of highly localised bodies or sansthas in and around Mumbai who are actively engaged in various income generation schemes for under priviledged families and other distressed people. Most of the these bodies are in the activity of making various food stuff like achars, papads, pickles, theplas, dhoklas, etc. Members of these associations mostly sell their own produce by door to door visits across innumerable housing colonies in the suburbs of Mumbai. Food Bazaar, a division of Pantaloon Retail, has got 10 stores in and around Mumbai and soon going to have one each in almost all the suburbs in Mumbai. We will be interested in working with a few of these associations by providing them an umbrella brand and platform to sell their products through the ever expanding Food Bazaar outlets. We are open to discussions and dialogues with such associations on prospects of introducing a range of products - foods and non-foods included - under a separate brand name with special promotions and visibility. We have found out that the acceptance of such food products is quite high as most of these have a very local flavour. As a starting point, I suggest we meet up at our office in Andheri.. Please let me know your availability. best regards subham ray senior manager - private label foodbazaar pantaloon retail india limited, 4th floor, ascot center, next to hotel le royale meridien, sahar road, andheri (east), mumbai - 400 099 Cell: 0 9323 468 011 subham.ray at pantaloon.com cc: info at karmayog.org -------- Forwarded by www.karmayog.org -- Wishing you a Happy New Year! _____ To unsubscribe or change your preferences goto the Mailing List Management Centre at the following address:- http://www.karmayog.org/mailing/default.asp?email=reader%2Dlist%40sarai% 2Enet -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/c74f3975/attachment.html From joechrismyles at gmail.com Sat Dec 30 00:58:56 2006 From: joechrismyles at gmail.com (joe chris) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:28:56 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] wishing you a happy new year Message-ID: <6165c5a80612291128y5ffccaccled3a87da2eece4f5@mail.gmail.com> Wish you a very happy and a prosperous new year. May all your dreams come true. Regards, Joe Christopher -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/8e543019/attachment.html From m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in Thu Dec 28 02:39:53 2006 From: m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in (mprabhakar prabhakar) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:09:53 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] U turn by Madras University Syndicate - An Ultra vires (beyond the power) act. Message-ID: <20061227210953.19018.qmail@web7813.mail.in.yahoo.com> Sir, During the last few years, there has been considerable enhancement in the concerns over the fairness of the selection procedure of college teachers and also principles, following frequent complaints of irregularities and corruption in the appointments of lecturers. In this context, there exists an unified code for the selection procedure as stipulated by UGC Regulation 2000, still most arbitrary ways of selection adopted and follows vastly different outdated rules in each state. Since the teachers at the university and degree college levels represent the apex of higher education and research in India, it is necessary that they be selected strictly on the basis of merit. On the contrary, the selection procedures at present are guided by politics, regionalism, recommendations and even bribery. Madras University has resolved to approve the outdated and improper Selection Committee constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act to appoint faculty in the vacant sanctioned positions. Such approval will amount to grave contempt of court as the matter is already pending in Madras High Court WA 1322/2006 and other writ petitions. For your kind information many Courts have already upheld the mandatory nature of UGC Selection committee. Already in WP 25433/2006 in Madras High Court, Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan quashed outdated College Management Committee, endorsing statutory force of UGC Regulations 2000 stipulated selection committee. The irony is that the same Madras University adopted UGC Regulations in totto by its circular dated 4-12-2004. Also in WP 25433 filed by Association of Private Colleges, the same Madras University favoured to go against Private college Associations. The said association unsuccessfully contended non-applicability of UGC stipulated selection committee. The sudden stand of Madras university siding with already quashed contention of Association of Private college and taking complete U-turn of its own recent contention of favoring UGC selection committee in Justice Prabhasridevan Court and U-turn of its own circular dated 4-12-2004, also violating the judgment of WP 25433 by Hon'ble Madras High Court and Section 26 and 14 of UGC Act 1956 read with UGC Regulations 2000 puts question mark on the credibility, honesty, sincerity of the same University. The unfortunate development at behest of Syndicate body is yet another chameleon act. The situation in Tamilnadu is far worse. Mr.Justice Jyothimani, Madras High Court has already stayed interview for recruitment of teachers in Government colleges for around 1000 vacancies on irregularity in distribution of marks favoring M.Phil holders and unjust to NET qualified candidates. The sudden U-turn attitude by Syndicate of Madras University brings distrust on the functioning, intention and sanctity of the so called prestigious university. Pending another WP 39564/2006 in which UGC, Madras University, Director of Collegiate Education, Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education and appointing college being respondents, an interim injunction by Madras HC on appointments made in a college affiliated to Madras University where in court is calling for entire records of selection process and directing the appointing college to constitute selection committee for re-commencing the selection process. The appointment made in that affiliated aided college is stayed on the petition by a candidate disappointed on vitiated selection process. The Hon’ble Mr.Justice Jyothimani at Madras High Court was pleased to pass an injunction order on the reason being appointment made without constitution of proper Selection committee as stipulated by UGC Regulations 2000. The matter is pending. The court has ordered the University and Directors of Collegiate Education, not to approve the qualifications. The Madras University earlier asked for the resolution and minutes of UGC stipulated selection committee which was not at all constituted. Also in another aided New college in the city, the papers sent for sanctioning of approval of appointment were rejected by the same Madras University somewhere in the third week of November 2006, the reason being violation of selection norms. But the sudden change in the University's attitude on 30th November raises the involvement of political influence and corruption at the highest level. Pending WA 1322/2006 in which UGC, Madras University, DCE, other universities are respondents. The Private College Management Association’s untiring desire to override Selection Committee (UGC Regulation 2000) in spite of their plaint already dismissed by Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan in WP 25433/2006 citing the matter as covered judgement by Justice Murugesan Bench in yet another case (details enclosed).The need is of move from UGC and other saviours of higher education to protect the UGC selection committee to provide a sense of great relief for all those who aspire for a fair and transparent appointment process in the country as a whole in the long-term interest of maintenance quality of higher education. Being the overall controller of higher education, it is the duty of UGC to strictly implement para 3.1.0 set of rules for such selections throughout the country. One finds it surprising to note that inspite of clear-cut mandatory guidelines have been laid down by UGC for checking irregularities and bringing a certain level of reasonability and transparency to the entire procedure. The favoritism and corruptive attitude is detrimental to the right of equality and not free from influences and cannot be maintained in terms of fairness as contemplated by the UGC the watchdog of higher education. But presently in Tamilnadu the existing provision of proper selection procedure are thrown in to dust bins, violating Entry 66 in Constitution of India, UGC Act 1956 a Central Legislation, also statutory UGC Regulation 2000, many judicial precedents uphelding UGC selection committee and same pending issues in Madras High Court. Madras University also resolved that the Circular in this regard be withdrawn in the light of the UGC’s guidelines being recommendatory and not mandatory. How can Syndicate an administrative body assume the role of judiciary in declaring UGC Regulation as recommendatory and not mandatory when Courts have already upheld its mandatory nature. The UGC Regulations 2000 lays down strict and mandatory guidelines regarding the appointment of teachers in universities and colleges with certain prerequisites, one of them being making appointments of lecturers by UGC stipulated selection committee as per UGC Regulations 2000 para 3.1.0 comprising - 1.Chairperson of the Governing Body of the College or his/her nominee to be the Chairperson of the Selection Committee, 2. the Principal of the concerned College, 3. One senior teacher/Head of the Department (of the concerned subject) preferably having not less that 10 years of services as a teacher, 4.Two nominees of the Vice Chancellor of the affiliating University of whom one should be a subject expert, 5.Two subject-experts not connected with the college to be nominated by the Chairperson of the governing body out of a panel of names approved by the Vice Chancellor. For Government Colleges, the State Public Service Commission must invite three subject experts for which the State Public Service Commissions will involve the University in the selection. The Principal and Head of the Department should be necessarily included in the Selection Committee. The quorum for the meeting should be five of which at least two must be from out of the three subject experts. However, few of the defaulters especially the so-called minority colleges under deficit scheme, who under the garb of special privilege continue to flaunt the requirement which shall apply to every university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, Provincial Act or a State Act, every institution including a constituent or an affiliated college recognized by the Commission. Consequences of failure of universities to comply with recommendations of the Commission, as per provisions of Section 14 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Why is the Central, Ministry of HRD, UGC turning a blind eye or the State Government relaxing the said requirement by minority colleges contrary to UGC regulation? The surprising fact is that the University of Madras in its Meetings of the Syndicate held on 30th November 2006 have passed resolutions contrary to UGC Regulations 2000 and its own circular letter dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 adopting UGC Regulations 2000 in toto and also contrary to many judicial precedents uphelding UGC stipulated selection committee over college management committee. The letter from then Registrar, University of Madras dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 spells the composition of selection committee for selection of Principal and Lecturer as per UGC Regulation 2000 and also states that the selection process shall involve assessment of teaching and research aptitude, communication (by group discussion or class lecture demonstration), discussion and analysis ability. The same letter categorically states that request for grant of approval of qualifications in respect of said appointments will not be considered by the University, if the prescribed selection procedures are not followed by the college managements during selection of Principals and other teaching posts. The extract of minutes of syndicate meeting on 30th November, 2006 is as follows: Mr.Harish Mehta, Syndicate Member with due permission of the Chair, put forward a special resolution pertaining to the University’s Regulation with respect to approval of appointment of faculty in the affiliated and aided colleges of the the University. The existing practice of overlooking the Private Colleges Regulation Act which authorizes the college managements to constitute selection committee for appointment of the faculty and insisting that the UGC guideline of inclusion of Vice Chancellor’s nominee in the Selection Committee be followed for approval of appointments has led to bottleneck in the appointment of faculty to vacant position sanctioned by the Government of Tamilnadu. The Director of Collegiate Education pointed out that this anomaly existed only in the case of University of Madras and Manonmanium Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli. An appeal was made to Syndicate to pass a resolution to approve the selection committees constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act as in the case of the other Universities in Tamilnadu. This was essential to facilitate appointment of faculty so as to enable the positions sanctioned against vacancies by the Government of Tamilnadu to be filled up by the affiliated aided colleges. In this respect, the Syndicate UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the Selection Committee constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act to appoint faculty in the vacant sanctioned positions. RESOLVED FURTHER that all appointments made by college Committees as per the Private Colleges Regulation Act, be approved subject to the fulfillment of the minimum eligible qualifications laid down by the UGC and followed by the University of Madras. Resolved also that the Circular in this regard issued in August 2004 be withdrawn in the light of the UGC’s guidelines being recommendatory and not mandatory. The above extract brings out following irregularities and its impacts. The concerned syndicate member who moved such a resolution is secretary of many colleges. The one among, which recently made appointments by college management committee. As per prevailing norms any interested member is not allowed to speak or vote on the interested matter in meeting so as to be free of personal bias. The chairperson of meeting allowing such a contrary resolutions for motion exhibits the sheer ignorance on his part or otherwise an act under heavy pressure from lobbies. The DCE’s contention is baseless, as many universities have adopted UGC Regulation 2000 in words as well as deeds. The regulations are mandatory throughout India even if not officially adopted by any university. The sound and legal practice of making appointments by UGC selection committee is not a bottleneck. The obstacle is the unwillingness of college managements in following mandatory regulation. The concept of college management committee as stipulated by Tamilnadu Private College Regulation Act 1976 is outdated and eclipsed in the light of UGC Regulations 2000 (dated 4-4-2000) stipulated selection committee and Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan Madras High Court too upheld the same in WP 25433/2006 in its judgement dated 12-9-2006. The concept of selection committees vide para 3.1.0 and other paras form integral part of minimum qualifications criteria. The resolution appealing approval of management committee and qualification of candidates favoured by such committee amounts to contempt of court as matter is pending in Madras High Court in WA 1322/2006 filed by one Mr.Aruchami, secretary of Private colleges association consequent of disposal of WP 25433 filed by the same gentleman which upheld UGC selection committee, quashing management committee for selection of teachers. Still three more case are pending in Madras high Court on the same issue. The essentiality should not be in making illegal appointments but appointment by proper selection procedure more so when funded by public exchequer. The withdrawal of its own circular is shameful and yet another chameleon act on the part of infamous syndicate of prestigious potential for excellence Madras University. But the malafide intention of syndicate in making money win over merit, inculcating favouritism in such public appointments defying the principles and legality of neutrality and impartiality is exposed. The Governments and other watchdogs of higher education must see that only persons appointed by stipulated selection committee along with other requirements get appointed to these institutions as lecturers as they draw salary from the government. Make use of your good offices in restraining Madras University from committing such a blunder when mandatory UGC Regulation 2000 vide para 3.1.0 and 3.5.0 on appointment of lecturers and Principal respectively makes it clear cut that such appointments be made by duly constituted UGC stipulated selection committee. Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061227/a246b8ae/attachment.html From m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in Fri Dec 29 23:00:55 2006 From: m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in (mprabhakar prabhakar) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:30:55 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] CG, MHRD, UGC, SG, Universities - check and set right gross violation of selection norms for college lecturers . Message-ID: <105590.20012.qm@web7808.mail.in.yahoo.com> Sir, Sub: Violation of mandatory college teachers selection norms - existing Judicial precedents uphelding mandatory UGC selection committee - pending writ petitions - request to set right proper selection process - regarding. Ref: 1. Entry 66 Constitution of India. 2. UGC Act 1956. 3. UGC Regulation 2000 and Para 3.1.0. 4. Madras University Circular dated 23-11-2004 and 4-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO- 1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953. 5. Pending WA 1322/2006 and other pending cases 6. Upheld UGC Selection committee in WP 25433/2006, Mary College (anAided Minority College) vs University of Delhi, American College case, Madurai Kamaraj University, Sundara Mahalingam case, Madurai Kamaraj University, Calicut University Case, Kerala University Case, Kamaraj College, Tuticorin Case, Madurai Kamaraj University, During the last few years, there has been considerable enhancement in the concerns over the fairness of the selection procedure of college teachers and also Principals, following frequent complaints of irregularities and corruption in the appointments of lecturers. In this context, already there exists an unified code for the selection procedure as stipulated by UGC Regulation 2000, still most arbitrary ways of selection adopted and follows vastly different outdated rules. Since the teachers at the university and degree college levels represent the apex of higher education and research in India, it is necessary that they be selected strictly on the basis of merit. On the contrary, the selection procedures at present are guided by politics, regionalism, recommendations and even bribery. It is widely spoken that Madras University has resolved to approve the outdated and improper Selection Committee constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act to appoint faculty in the vacant sanctioned positions. Such approval will amount to grave contempt of court as the matter is already pending in Madras High Court WA 1322/2006 and other writ petitions. For your kind information many Courts have already upheld the mandatory nature of UGC Selection committee for aided as well as aided minority colleges (Judgement Details enclosed). Already in WP 25433/2006 in Madras High Court, Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan quashed outdated College Management Committee, endorsing statutory force of UGC Regulations 2000 stipulated selection committee. The irony is that the same Madras University adopted UGC Regulations in totto by its circular dated 4-12-2004. Also in WP 25433 filed by Association of Private Colleges, the same Madras University favoured to go against Private college Associations. The said association unsuccessfully contended non-applicability of UGC stipulated selection committee. The sudden stand of Madras university siding with already quashed contention of Association of Private college and taking complete U-turn of its own recent contention of favoring UGC selection committee in Justice Prabhasridevan Court and U-turn of its own circular dated 4-12-2004, also violating the judgment of WP 25433 by Hon'ble Madras High Court and Section 26 (1)(g) and 14 of UGC Act 1956 read with UGC Regulations 2000 puts question mark on the neutrality, credibility and supposed to be impartial attitude of University. Pending WA 1322/2006 in which UGC, Madras University, DCE, other universities are respondents. The Private College Management Association’s untiring desire to override Selection Committee (as per UGC Regulation 2000 and UGC Act 1956 being central legislation) in spite of their petition already dismissed by Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan in WP 25433/2006 citing the matter as covered judgement by Justice Murugesan Bench in yet another case (details enclosed).The need is of move from UGC and other saviours of higher education including Madras University to protect the UGC selection committee to provide a sense of great relief for all those who aspire for a fair and transparent appointment process in the country as a whole in the long-term interest of maintenance quality of higher education Pending many other Writ Petitions in which UGC, Madras University, Director of Collegiate Education, Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education and appointing colleges being respondents, an interim injunction by Madras HC on appointments made in a college affiliated to Madras University where in court is calling for entire records of selection process and directing the appointing college to constitute selection committee for re-commencing the selection process. The appointment made in that affiliated aided college is stayed, the reason being vitiated selection process. The Hon’ble Mr.Justice Jyothimani at Madras High Court was pleased to pass an injunction order on the reason being appointment made without constitution of proper Selection committee as stipulated by UGC Regulations 2000. The matter is pending. The court has ordered the University and Directors of Collegiate Education, not to approve the qualifications. The Madras University earlier asked for the resolution and minutes of UGC stipulated selection committee which was not at all constituted. Also in another aided minority college in the city, the papers sent for sanctioning of approval of appointment were rejected by the same Madras University somewhere in the third week of November 2006, the reason being violation of selection norms. But the sudden change in the University's attitude on 30th November raises the point blank questions. Being the controller of higher education, it is the duty of Madras University to strictly implement para 3.1.0, 3.5.0 and other paras set of rules for such selections in colleges and University. One finds it surprising to note that inspite of clear-cut mandatory procedures have been laid down by UGC for checking irregularities and bringing a certain level of reasonability and transparency in the system, there is violation of the same but unsuccessfully as Country's Judiciary has now and then quashed such irregularity. The favoritism and corruptive attitude is detrimental to the right of equality and not free from influences and cannot be maintained in terms of fairness as contemplated by the UGC the watchdog of higher education. But presently in Tamilnadu the existing provision of proper selection procedure are thrown in to winds, violating Entry 66 in Constitution of India, UGC Act 1956 a Central Legislation, also statutory UGC Regulation 2000, many judicial precedents (judgement details enclosed) uphelding UGC selection committee and same pending issues in Madras High Court. Madras University also resolved that the Circular in this regard be withdrawn in the light of the UGC’s guidelines being recommendatory and not mandatory. How can an administrative body assume the role of judiciary in declaring UGC Regulation as recommendatory and not mandatory when Courts have already upheld its mandatory nature. The UGC Regulations 2000 lays down strict and mandatory guidelines regarding the appointment of teachers in universities and colleges with certain prerequisites, one of them being making appointments of lecturers by UGC stipulated selection committee as per UGC Regulations 2000 para 3.1.0 comprising - 1.Chairperson of the Governing Body of the College or his/her nominee to be the Chairperson of the Selection Committee, 2. the Principal of the concerned College, 3. One senior teacher/Head of the Department (of the concerned subject) preferably having not less that 10 years of services as a teacher, 4.Two nominees of the Vice Chancellor of the affiliating University of whom one should be a subject expert, 5.Two subject-experts not connected with the college to be nominated by the Chairperson of the governing body out of a panel of names approved by the Vice Chancellor. The Principal and Head of the Department should be necessarily included in the Selection Committee.The quorum for the meeting should be five of which at least two must be from out of the three subject experts. However, few of the defaulters especially the so-called minority and non-minority aided and colleges under deficit scheme, who under the garb of special privilege continue to flaunt the requirement which shall apply to every university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, Provincial Act or a State Act, every institution including a constituent or an affiliated college recognized by the Commission. Consequences of failure of universities and colleges to comply with UGC Regulation 2000 of the Commission are prescibed in Section 14 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The surprising fact is that the University of Madras in its Meetings of the Syndicate held on 30th November 2006 have passed resolutions contrary to UGC Regulations 2000 and its own circular letter dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 adopting UGC Regulations 2000 in toto and also contrary to many judicial precedents uphelding UGC stipulated selection committee over college management committee. The letter from then Registrar, University of Madras dated 2-12-2004 No.A-II/ASO-1/PRES.QLN/2004/1953 spells the composition of selection committee for selection of Principal and Lecturer as per UGC Regulation 2000 and also states that the selection process shall involve assessment of teaching and research aptitude, communication (by group discussion or class lecture demonstration), discussion and analysis ability. The same letter categorically states that request for grant of approval of qualifications in respect of said appointments will not be considered by the University, if the prescribed selection procedures are not followed by the college managements during selection of Principals and other teaching posts. The said regulations are mandatory throughout India. The sound and legal practice of making appointments by UGC selection committee is not a bottleneck. The obstacle is the unwillingness of college managements in following mandatory regulation. The concept of college management committee as stipulated by Tamilnadu Private College Regulation Act 1976 is outdated and eclipsed in the light of UGC Regulations 2000 (dated 4-4-2000) stipulated selection committee and Mrs.Justice Prabhasridevan Madras High Court too upheld the same in WP 25433/2006 in its judgement dated 12-9-2006. The concept of selection committees vide para 3.1.0 and other paras forms integral part of minimum qualifications criteria. The resolution appealing approval of management committee and qualification of candidates favoured by such committee amounts to severe contempt of court as matter is pending in Madras High Court in WA 1322/2006 filed by one Mr.Aruchami, secretary of Private colleges association consequent of disposal of WP 25433 filed by the same gentleman which upheld UGC selection committee, quashing management committee for selection of teachers. Still three more case are pending in Madras high Court on the same issue. The essentiality should not be in making illegaland improper appointments but appointment by proper selection procedure more so when funded by public exchequer. But the malafide intention of making money win over merit, inculcating favouritism in such public appointments defying the principles and legality of neutrality and impartiality was exposed in Indian Express Daily. The Governments and other watchdogs of higher education must see that only persons appointed by stipulated selection committee along with other requirements get appointed to these institutions as lecturers as they draw salary from the government. Make use of your good offices in restraining Madras University from committing such a blunder when mandatory UGC Regulation 2000 vide para 3.1.0 and 3.5.0 on appointment of lecturers and Principal respectively makes it clear cut that such appointments be made by duly constituted UGC stipulated selection committee. Thanking You, Yours truly M.Rangasamy ENCLOSURES Mary College (anAided Minority College) vs University of Delhi - Service matter. In yet another case in Delhi High Court- Division Bench, a Writ Petition filed by an aided minority college which appointed lecturers in june 2005 by college management committee is quashed and dismissed. Delhi University prescribes selection committee, the composition of which is as per UGC Regulation 2000 para 3.1.0. On wise refusal of approval by University, the defaulting college approached National Minority Commission which in turn duly dismissed petition filed by college. Dejected college appealed at Division Bench of Delhi High court Mr.Justice Mukul Mudgal and S.Muralidhar. Division Bench again dismissed appeal citing stipulated selection committee mandatory even for minority aided colleges also. Date:01/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/01/stories/2006080116610100.htm --------------------------------- Front Page Bench ruling on appointment of principals Staff Reporter Aided colleges cannot apply two different yardsticks MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ruled that Government aided colleges cannot apply two different yardsticks, one for existing teachers and another for outside contenders, for appointment of principals. Referring to the University Grants Commission regulations which stipulate that the minimum requirement of 55 per cent marks in post-graduate examinations shall not be insisted upon the existing incumbents who are already in the university system, Justice P. Jyothimani said the relaxation had been given only for the benefit of persons who were already holding the post when the regulations came into force and not for fresh appointees. The ruling was passed while allowing a writ petition seeking to set aside the appointment of T. Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar, who had scored less than 55 per cent marks, as principal of the American College here. Though the college as well as the Madurai Kamaraj University contended that Dr. Jaikumar had put in 25 years of service and that the required qualification could be relaxed for the benefit of teachers already working in the institution, the Judge said, "Such construction will only result in an unnecessary discrimination among the equally situated people who are competing to the post of principal... Hence, such contention is not tenable." Dealing with another aspect as to whether the UGC stipulations were applicable to minority colleges, the Judge said, "Qualification for the post of teachers cannot be compromised at any cost. Even a minority institution has to follow the qualification prescribed for the posts like that of principals, lecturers, etc." While invalidating the appointment of the incumbent principal of American College, the Judge directed the Governing Council of the college to initiate a fresh selection process. The writ petition was filed by Arul Arasu Israel, who was working as a Reader in the Department of Religion, Philosophy and Sociology at the American College. Date:03/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/03/stories/2006110315590800.htm --------------------------------- Tamil Nadu Court bars interviews for recruitment of lecturers Special Correspondent Petition challenges Government notification on selection criteria CHENNAI : The Madras High Court has restrained the State Government from conducting interviews for recruiting 1,000 lecturers for appointment in Government arts, science and colleges of education in the State. Passing interim orders on a writ petition filed by the Association for NET/SLET Qualified Teachers and Candidates, Justice P. Jyothimani ordered maintenance of status quo as on date while "making it clear that other proceedings can go on except the process of interview." The Government Order proposing to recruit about 1,000 lecturers was issued on July 5, 2006, and a consequential notification was issued by the Higher Education Department on September 18, 2006. According to the notification, candidates possessing teaching experience in universities and colleges were given one mark for each completed year, subject to the maximum of 15 marks; 12 marks for Ph.D completed before October 13, 2006; six marks for M.Phil/Ph.D with NET/SLET; and 10 marks for books or articles published at the rate of two marks per book and one mark per article. Selection procedure The petitioner-association said the non-application of mind by the authorities was reflected in the fact that no weightage in marks had been given to candidates possessing master's degree with NET/SLET eligibility. The GO and the prospectus treated unequals as equals, it said, adding that the present selection procedure was highly arbitrary and liable to be struck down. The selection procedure contemplated only an interview without a written examination, it pointed out, and said the selection would not be proper and merit-based. The petitioner-association also assailed a University Grants Commission notification making candidates without NET qualification eligible to become a lecturer, and said it was illegal and unjustified. In June this year, the UGC came out with an amendment that candidates having Ph.D degree in the subjects concerned were exempted from NET qualification for teaching at post-graduate as well as under-graduate level. It exempted those having M.Phil degree from NET qualification for the purpose of teaching at under-graduate level. Date:08/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/08/stories/2006110817630200.htm --------------------------------- Tamil Nadu - Madurai Attend the interview, recalcitrant Ph.D. holder told Mohamed Imranullah S. MADURAI: A. Sundara Mahalingam (57), a Ph.D. holder employed as a Superintendent in Madurai Kamaraj University in the administration section, wanted to become a lecturer in the Department of Bio-Energy. On condition that the selection committee should not interview him! Either he abstained from attending the interview or refused to answer the questions put to him by the interviewers. When the university officials refused to appoint him, he resorted to litigation after litigation. His bone of contention was that he should be absorbed as such without being tested for three qualities — aptitude for teaching and research, ability to communicate clearly and effectively and ability to analyse and discuss— as mandated under the University Grants Commission norms. He claimed that the selection committee was competent only to verify his certificates. Passing orders on a batch of writ appeals pertaining to the matter, a Division Bench comprising Justice P.K. Misra and Justice G. Rajasuria said that the unassailable and indubitable fact was that the selection committee comprised high level academicians including the Vice-Chancellor in his capacity as the chairman of the committee, three experts in the concerned subject, head of the department and an academician nominated by the Chancellor. When such was the case, the Judges said, "The core question arises as to why for verifying certificates and degrees such a high-level selection committee should be constituted at all. It is quite obvious that such verification of certificates is only a clerical job." Pointing out that the term `UGC norms' connote the entire norms prescribed for selection, they said, "The respondent cannot call upon the court to truncate the procedure to his own benefits and apply only a part of UGC norms and leave the rest." Hence, the Judges gave him one more opportunity to attend the interview and said that he was bound to answer the questions posed by the interviewers. As a word of caution, they said that the university authorities should conduct the interview untrammelled by the bitter experience, if any, in view of the litigations initiated by the Superintendent since 2001. Date:12/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/12/stories/2006111201480500.htm --------------------------------- Kerala - Kochi High Court quashes varsity appointment Staff Reporter KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has quashed the appointment of T.P. Sasikumar as Director of the Academic Staff College of Calicut University, finding that there was no quorum in the Selection Committee. The judgment was passed by Justice A.K. Basheer while disposing of a writ petition filed by K.X. Joseph, Reader in the Department of Economics. The court directed that no fresh notification need be issued. The University can constitute a proper Selection Committee in accordance with UGC Regulations for the purpose of interview and make fresh selection, the court observed. It was also clarified that till such time a fresh selection was made, it would be open to the University to make alternative arrangements. The contention of Abraham Vakkanal, counsel for the petitioner, was that as per the UGC Regulations, the selection committee should have a quorum of five members. The selection Committee here had only three members, including the UGC nominee. Even the UGC nominee was absent and so there was no quorum. Accepting this argument, the court held that the interview conducted by the Selection Committee was not proper, in as much as the nominee of the UGC had not participated in the same. Rank list The court also held that the rank list prepared pursuant to the interview was quashed. As a result, the court quashed the order issued on September 30, 2005 allowing Dr. Sasikumar, a Scientist with the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute, Seconderabad, to take up the post. Date:27/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/27/stories/2006032707090300.htm --------------------------------- Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli Varsity teachers' plea on principal appointment Staff Reporter An eco of judgement from the High Court TIRUNELVELI : In the wake of the recent judgement from the Madras High Court, which set aside the appointment of the principal of Kamaraj College, Tuticorin, the Madurai Kamaraj-Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Teachers' Association (MUTA) has urged the college administration to select a candidate to the post by a duly constituted committee in accordance with the regulations.When the post of principal of Kamaraj College, an aided, non-minority educational institution, was to fall vacant on June 1, 2005, the college committee, consisting of nine members, including a university representative and three staff representatives, interviewed nine candidates, including S. Arulmani of Department of Tamil and J. Mohanraj of Department of Zoology. Subsequently, at the college committee meeting held on April 21, 2005, it was resolved to appoint Dr. Mohanraj as the principal with effect from June 1, 2005 though the university representative gave his dissent note over the appointment. Challenging this appointment, Dr. Arulmani, who showed himself as the seniormost among the applicants and demonstrated Dr. Mohanraj as the fifth in the seniority, filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court with the prayer for setting aside the impugned order. The counsel for the petitioner, B. Ravi, contended that the selection was illegal as the constitution of the selection committee and the process of selection were not in conformity with the established norms and regulations of University Grants Commission. As per the UGC regulation, the selection committee should consist of a chairman of the college governing board and another member of the governing board nominated by the chairman, two nominees of the Vice-Chancellor and three experts consisting of a principal, a professor and an educationist from among the panel approved by the Vice-Chancellor. The management argued that the UGC could only define the qualification and could not give directions on the constitution of the selection committee. Allowing the writ petition, Justice D. Murugesan said that though the college committee's power of appointing teachers could not be disputed, such powers should be exercised in the manner prescribed by the regulations of the UGC. Once the college was bound to adopt the minimum educational qualifications prescribed in the regulations formed by the UGC, it was equally bound to make selection only through properly constituted committee as per the said regulation. Describing it as a "landmark judgement", the MUTA Zonal Secretary, M. Nagarajan, said the judgement would remove arbitrariness in the selection of principals. When meritorious candidate was selected, it would ensure excellence in its all-round functioning, which is of paramount importance, he said. Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/ab355a72/attachment.html From m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in Fri Dec 29 23:19:29 2006 From: m.prabha_kar at yahoo.co.in (mprabhakar prabhakar) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:49:29 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Resolutions to solve improper and messy appointments . Message-ID: <506389.95646.qm@web7811.mail.in.yahoo.com> University of Madras Extract from the Minutes of the Meetings of the Syndicate of Madras University held on 30th November 2006. GENERAL MATTER Mr.Harish Mehta, Syndicate Member with due permission of the Chair, put forward a special resolution pertaining to the University’s Regulation with respect to approval of appointment of faculty in the affiliated and aided colleges of the the University. The existing practice of overlooking the Private Colleges Regulation Act which authorizes the college managements to constitute selection committee for appointment of the faculty and insisting that the UGC guideline of inclusion of Vice Chancellor’s nominee in the Selection Committee be followed for approval of appointments has led to bottleneck in the appointment of faculty to vacant position sanctioned by the Government of Tamilnadu. The Director of Collegiate Education pointed out that this anomaly existed only in the case of University of Madras and Manonmanium Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli. An appeal was made to Syndicate to pass a resolution to approve the selection committees constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act as in the case of the other Universities in Tamilnadu. This was essential to facilitate appointment of faculty so as to enable the positions sanctioned against vacancies by the Government of Tamilnadu to be filled up by the affiliated aided colleges. In this respect, the Syndicate UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the Selection Committee constituted by the college managements under the Private Colleges Regulation Act to appoint faculty in the vacant sanctioned positions. RESOLVED FURTHER that all appointments made by college Committees as per the Private Colleges Regulation Act, be approved subject to the fulfillment of the minimum eligible qualifications laid down by the UGC and followed by the University of Madras. Resolved also that the Circular in this regard issued in August 2004 be withdrawn in the light of the UGC’s guidelines being recommendatory and not mandatory. Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/44f1a237/attachment.html From maheshsarma at rediffmail.com Sat Dec 30 21:43:14 2006 From: maheshsarma at rediffmail.com (mahesh sarma) Date: 30 Dec 2006 16:13:14 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Just felt like it Message-ID: <20061230161314.24157.qmail@webmail90.rediffmail.com>   Hi "We are not enough for ourselves: we have more tears than our own sufferings claim, more capacity for joy than our own existence can justify.” May you realise in the coming year that you have much more than what Gayau thought all of us have. wishing you a warm and beautiful new year love and regards mahesh B.Mahesh Sarma, Researcher Centre for Studies in Science Policy Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. 110 067 Mobile:00-91-9868090468 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061230/ae02bdaf/attachment.html From miyaa_mihir at yahoo.com Fri Dec 29 21:08:44 2006 From: miyaa_mihir at yahoo.com (mihir pandya) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:38:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: "Cricket on TV isnt much different from a movie or a cartoon" Message-ID: <696567.49957.qm@web51810.mail.yahoo.com> Hi friends, On 21st oct (diwali day) I watched a cricket match in stadium first time in my life. England/Australia clash in sms stadium, Jaipur. We had RCA (Rajasthan cricket association) guest complimentary passes. As a passionate cricket lover this is a big movement for me. I watched my favorite batsman demean martin scoring a beautiful half-century. But there was another story I want to tell you We got our tickets free. Tickets printed value was 15,000 rupees. When we are there slowly we realized that almost everyone here was on a ‘guest complimentary’. My brother told me that in the pavilion the ticket rate was 1, 80,000 rupees. So who is buying these high rate match tickets? The answer is no one. Most of the tickets are distributed as ‘free passes’. And the politics behind this game please read this interesting article “SCREEN GAMES” by mukul kesavan. In this beautiful peace of writing mukul (famous historian and cricket writer) described the characteristic of desi spectator. Enjoy the cricket and keep searching the CRICKET in that ‘extraaa innings’!!! http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060914/asp/opinion/story_6741319.asp __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/5edd179b/attachment.html From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sun Dec 31 09:46:40 2006 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 20:16:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Dancer Chandralekha passes away Message-ID: <174985.71369.qm@web51407.mail.yahoo.com> sadanand menon wrote: Chandra slipped away peacefully at 11.45 on the night of Dec.30. For about 48 hours she did go through some excruciating agony. But towards the end she was calm. The funeral will be on Dec.31 around 4 p.m. SADANAND ps. my mobile phone no. is 99404.19444 __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061230/c26f7d33/attachment.html From info at kitabmahal.org Sat Dec 30 03:31:04 2006 From: info at kitabmahal.org (Kitabmahal, The Fourth Floor) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 23:01:04 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Rachana Nagarkar's show at the Kitab Mahal Gallery Message-ID: <712fd536f229a68d6455dc40acd5762c@husky.ymlpcom.com> StudioRagini would like to invite you to the wine & cheese party for the opening of Rachana Nagarkar's show at the Kitab Mahal Gallery , on the 4th of January2007at 6p.m.The show which depicts the various aspects and the artist's vision of Mumbai will go on till the 10 th of January. Please honor us with your presence. For details contact Ragini 9820563400, Ronita 9821175033 Artists' profile: Rachana Nagarkar is born in Mumbai and having studied at the Raheja School of Art in Mumbai, has many achievements to her credit. Rachana's work explores human states through layering & fragmented coalition. Her paintings are post-modern inspired by the city, her subjects randomly drawn from urban culture. Her interest in media has extended beyond paintings to sculptures, video installations and photography. Rachana has come of age in an era where the global pop culture had started its first waves in India ; within this atmosphere her efforts have been to find a unique artistic expression. The exhibition is an exploration of that expression. Awards & Achievements: Best watercolors' award, Art Society of India , 2001. Best watercolors by lady artist, Art Society of India, 2002. She was invitation for her first solo show at OISIN gallery, IRELAND, 2006. Held the 'Crossmopolitan' video installation at Nehru centre, Mumbai 2006 She has also participated in a number of group shows at Jehangir, Birla, Bajaj Bhavan & Nehru Centre art galleries. She has attended many art workshopsin Mumbai. She has done her artist's residency at Kalapushpa art centre, Sangli 2004 & L.S.RahejaSchool of art, art camp in Raigad in 1999 The artist lives and works in Mumbai. _____________________________ Change address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp.com/u.php?fourthfloor+announcements at sarai.net Hosting by YourMailingListProvider -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20061229/3decba97/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements