From lawrence at altlawforum.org Tue May 1 12:43:51 2007 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 12:43:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Impossibility of satire Message-ID: <4636E8AF.2070801@altlawforum.org> Hi All I attended the hearing of the ongoing Kalyan Sanstha case in the Delhi high court and made some notes which i wanted to share Lawrence The first impulse that one has after coming out of a court hearing is to create a satire that accurately captures the slightly bizarre and terrifying vision of judges that one has had a chance to experience. But can caricature really live up to its responsibility of laughing truth to power? John Beger has said that “Graphic caricature is dead because life has outstripped it. Or more accurately, because satire is only possible when a moral reserve still exists, and those reserves have been used up. We are too used to being appalled by ourselves to be able to react to the idea of caricature”. So instead of imposing an impossible goal for satire, let us allow the court speak for themselves. I attended a hearing in the ongoing case of Kalyan Sanstha Social welfare Organization v. Union of India which deals with the question of encroachments on public land. As many of you are aware, the Delhi high court has in recent times, turned its zealous gaze on the massive encroachments on public lands which are resulting in ‘massive losses to the exchequer’. Their answer has been to appoint a monitoring committee and a large number of court commissioners who report on encroachments in various parts of the city. The matter that I was interested involves the Sanjay Basti, near civil lines, which consists of almost 2000 dwelling units. On 9th February 2006, the Monitoring Committee in its 8th Report referring to the “encroachment” at Sanjay Basti recommended that the High Court direct the CPWD to take action at once to remove these encroachments and ask them to give reasons for not taking any action so far and submit a compliance report on the next date of hearing. Pursuant to this, the high court passed an order dated 14.02.07 directing all concerned authorities to file action taken reports, with particular reference to the observations made by the Monitoring Committee. On 1st March 2007, a notice was pasted on one of the shop-cum-jhuggis on Timarpur Road. However, when residents enquired as to why and on what basis such notice was issued they were not given any information by Police or CPWD officials. None of the mandatory statutory requirements of Public notice under Section 30 of the DDA Act, such as individual notice, statement of reasons were complied with and the shop-cum-jhuggi dwellers given opportunity to show cause. On 6th March 2007, about 40 shops along the Timarpur Road, were demolished. Several residences, which were attached to the shops were also demolished in the process. Persons were not allowed to remove their belongings from the premises before the demolition and lost their belongings and means of livelihood. The Demolition team which comprised of members of the CPWD, MCD and NDPL was accompanied by two local political leaders and after the demolition another local political leader came to the site and made a public speech stating that the jhuggis would be brought down. The Sanjay Basti matter has been impeded with the mammoth Kalyan Sanstha Social Welfare Organisation case which involves almost all the ongoing demolition matters. The hearing began with an extended report by one of the court appointed commissioners on the status of illegal farm houses which violated building norms which stipulate that the maximum built up area for a farm house cannot exceed 1500 square feet, where as some of these farm houses had in fact exceeded this figure many times over. The commissioner produced photographic evidence of the blatant violations that were taking place and demanded that the court direct the officials of the MCD to take immediate action. What was interesting to note was the majestic manner in which the objectivity of the law was being played out. Anatole France’s famous dictum that the law prohibits the rich and the poor equally from sleeping under bridges was being given flesh and blood by the almost farcical manner in which a case involving the demolition of massive luxury farm houses and bastis were clubbed together. When faced with the accusation of being anti poor, the judiciary has in fact been quick to remind us that it is not just the houses and shops of the poor which are being targeted by encroachments by the rich as well. A similar line has been followed in Bangalore as well, where sealing drives have begun in the elite spaces of the city before moving into the poorer parts of the city. It is thus able to invisibilizes the differential impact that law has on different classes, and preserves the myth of its own objectivity. Another thing that struck me was the immense cartographic authority that the court wields; as reports from various parts of the city are brought to their notice, the judge links them using his invisible measuring tape of legality ( This area is off by fifty degrees while this one by seventy). It constantly strikes me that the interpretative task of the judge, which also provides him with his sense of the social world and for the city must be such a depressing one. If all one had to view life and urban experience are legal lenses, the view can only be an impoverished one. While one feels anger and outrage at some of the outrageous orders, one cannot but feel a certain pity at the impoverished lives that judges lead. In our greatest moments of anger and frustration at the inequalities of class and the arrogance of power, it is perhaps worthwhile to remember that Howard Hughes, at one time the richest individual, died of starvation. So to return to the case, the discussion on hospitals and farmhouses took u most of the afternoon and there wasn’t even a chance of Sanjay basti matter to come up ( never mind that the demolition had been slated for a few days later). The only respite from the overcrowded court room and the constant whining of the air conditioner and the court commissioners came towards the end of the day with two explosive exchanges that can only be terms in filmi language as paisa vasool. A senior advocate who had started his arguments in a very soft spoken and tentative manner slowly built up into an appropriate operatic crescendo, thundering at the judges that their orders were converting Delhi into a police state. The judge’s calm response was to inform him that if he wasn’t happy with the orders of the court then he could go elsewhere. It was not clarified where this elsewhere was. But it does seem clear that the judge’s because of their vast cartographic experience do have a very good sense of an elsewhere which is better. Recall Ruma Pal’s query in the Nangla Manchi hearing “if they cannot afford it why do they come to the city”. The mysterious elsewhere resurrects itself again. I was outside the ear shop of the lawyer otherwise I would certainly have suggested that he try his luck with the gatekeeper in kafka’s parable about the law. But it is probably best that I could not offer this suggestion or else I would have run the risk of violating my own rule against satire, and in the current atmosphere one does not want to risk being within the breathing space of any mode of illegality. The second part of the Paisa vasool saw a not so soft spoken lawyer having a duel with the judges on the merit of his voice, the quality of acoustics in the high court and the advantages of remaining standing. This lawyer, particularly agitated by the fact that the judges seemed to listen only to the court commissioners and not anyone else demanded the attention of the ear by the tested and respected strategy of raising ones voice. And we then learnt that it is not violence which is the sole monopoly of the law, but also all sound exceeding a particular decibel. The lawyer who was ‘encroaching’ the acoustic space of the judiciary was asked to lower his voice. His defense that this was his natural voice, and that it could not be changed, even at the dictate of a judge was not acceptable to the judges. Fearing a fatal heart attack, the judges, in a moment of concern the ordered him to sit down, but this offer was also declined and the lawyer instead chose to remain standing as he delivered his tirade against the judiciary over stepping its bounds. For all of us deprived of a vicarious victory (with India’s early exit in the world cup), these two moments had to be the closest thing to the double century that none of us got to see. And yet at the same time, at the end of the two paisa vasool moments in a rather dreary and depressing afternoon, I also had this uncanny post-ejaculation feeling of emptiness…… such a short lived moment of pleasure for so much effort. From ravig64 at gmail.com Tue May 1 11:37:05 2007 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (ravi agarwal) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 11:37:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tiger- the death chronicles Message-ID: <012801c78bb6$f5502ed0$7701a8c0@ToxicsLink.local> Dear all this is an announcement of a film screening of a film which for the first time places the tiger in a 'human' habitat and in the midst of a 'development' debate rather than the classic 'nat geographic' category. It takes the issue head on is is outspoken in the way it does it. best ravi ================================================================================== Friends, This is to invite you to the screening of our new film, Tiger- the death chronicles. The details are placed below. And feel free to pass on this mail to those who may be interested. Warmly, Krishnendu Tiger- the death chronicles 63min/English/2007 Premiere Screening in India International Centre Auditorium, Delhi at 6.30pm on 3rd May The film is presented, written and directed by Krishnendu Bose Tiger, the symbol of India. One of the most charismatic animals to walk the face of the earth. Faces it's most severe crisis today. Its prey, habitat and the animal itself are being decimated. Tiger-the death chronicles, explores this crisis. Traveling through tiger hotspots like Sariska, Panna and Buxa, the film attempts to unravel the nuts and bolts of the crisis. It looks at states like Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Goa and how they maybe trading their tigers and their forests, for more economic revenue. The film maps the curious case of a mining project in the heart of a tiger habitat in Orissa. It also highlights the positive work being done in reserves like Corbett and up in the BR Hills, of Karnataka. Tiger- the death chronicles in 63 minutes, encapsulates 30 years of conservation attitude in this country. For the first time ever, a film joins diverse voices, from tiger scientists and conservationists to ordinary citizens, to attempt a brutal and an honest assessment of the present and the future of the Indian tiger and it's habitat. For more details log on to www.earthcarefilms.com/cur-proj/tiger.htm Krishnendu Bose Earthcare Productions B-91, Defence Colony New Delhi India Off- 91-11-24334171, 24332005 Fax- 91-11-24334068 Cell- +91-9811843111 Email Website -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070501/700b15c7/attachment.html From rohit_de at hotmail.com Tue May 1 03:19:58 2007 From: rohit_de at hotmail.com (Rohit De) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:49:58 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Commons-Law] A Supreme Court Judge on caste in judiciary In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Thanks Anuj for starting off this much needed discussion. There is a need to interrogate the notion of"pure merit" that seems to exist in public discourse. Interestingly Justice Pandian also points out the lack of women judges. There are none of the present Supreme Court. While he doesn't look at religious minorites, the presence of Muslim judges is also negligible, so its not surprising that we have decisons like Aruna Roy and the Aligarh Muslim University. This is interesting because the figures for the subordinate judiciary seem to be a little more equitable. I found some figures in the Sachar Committee report (p.173) which state that Muslim representation in the judiciary is 7.8%, OBC's constitute about 23% and SC/ST's about 20%. The Hindu General (their terms) is over represented in the judiciary with almost twice their share in the population and constitutes almost half of all those in the judiciary. Don't subordinate judiciaries implement reservations for women as well? So obviously there is no necessary contradiction between being a judge and affirmative action of some kind. It would be useful if someone had access to figures which could indicate how many judges are drawn from the bar and how many are drawn from the subordinate judiciary, and which ones make it to the Supreme Court. It would also be instructive to look what the background of lawyer turned judges are. Looking forward to responses. Cheers Rohit >From: "Anuj Bhuwania" >To: reader-list at sarai.net, commonslaw >Subject: Re: [Commons-Law] A Supreme Court Judge on caste in judiciary >Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:34:59 +0530 > >Sorry, the earlier link I had sent did not work. Its now available at: >http://www.altlawforum.org/Resources/judicial_nineties/pandian.rtf > >Anuj > >On 4/25/07, Anuj Bhuwania wrote: > > Hi, > > > > In the context of the breathtaking arrogance displayed by Justice > > Arijit Passayat of the Supreme Court in refusing to reconsider its > > erroneous order injuncting reservation for OBCs in Central educational > > institutions, and the rather different response from Chief Justice > > Balakrishnan yesterday, I think its high time we started discussing > > the caste character of the higher judiciary itself. Of course, broader > > social representation is not necessarily a pancea for the "judicial > > emergency" that increasingly seems to prevail in India. > > > > To initiate a discussion on this issue, I am giving a link below to an > > extract from an astonishing SC judgment, in the SCAORA case, the > > famous case where the SC gave itself the power to appoint judges of > > the higher judiciary in India. The extract is a separate concurring > > judgment filed by Justice Ratnavel Pandian. Pandian cited data > > regarding SC/ST and OBC judges in the High Courts and the Supreme > > Court, and reproduced them in his judgement to make his point. (By > > the way, J. Pandian is the same judge who gave the majority opinion > > upholding the constitutionality of TADA) . Apart from this, I am not > > aware > > of any recent data and this too is dated 1993, compiling the caste > > make-up of the higher judiciary in India. > > > > http://www.altlawforum.org/Resources/judicial_nineties/Pandian > > > > Anuj > > >_______________________________________________ >commons-law mailing list >commons-law at sarai.net >https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/commons-law _________________________________________________________________ Best Hotel Deals. Click here Now http://ss1.richmedia.in/recurl.asp?pid=19 From zainab at mail.xtdnet.nl Tue May 1 07:59:20 2007 From: zainab at mail.xtdnet.nl (zainab) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 4:29:20 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Of knowing-not knowing Message-ID: <6b81a8c7466ed8de3970ff5734fa929a@mail.xtdnet.nl> 30/04/07 I cannot remember his name. He was perhaps in his mid-forties. He had a salt and peppered beard. The photograph on the photo identity card in his auto certainly did not resemble him. Perhaps it was one of those cases of sub-leasing where the original driver sublets his auto to another fellow for a few hours. I: Shivajinagar He: Shivajinagar bus stand-ah? I: Russell Market He: Shivajinagar bus stand-ah? Our conversation during the second half of the journey swung between two words – gota-gotilaa, know-don’t know, understand-don’t understand. Yet, we spoke a lot. He said he could not speak Hindi. I said I was in the same position when it came to Kannada. We landed in Russell Market. I picked up the mattress that I had come here to collect. I did not realize it would be so heavy. The maker of the mattress simply started loading the mattress on the head of the auto and began tying it. He was very upset with this load. I insisted that the mattress be kept inside his auto, but the mattress maker told me that if the mattress was kept inside, it would keep hitting the meter and raise it. He was very upset and I thought he was reluctant to drive me back to my destination. I asked him once whether he was interested in going further or whether he wanted to part from Russell Market itself. Meanwhile, the mattress maker and he were arguing. The mattress maker insisted that nothing would happen to his auto and that he should drive me back. Our conversation began during this part of the journey. He: Now where? I: Shanthinagar. He: How do I go from here? Left or right? I: Ummm, ummm, ummm, take a left. Route gota? He: Gotilla. (Oh no, I said to myself and started to map out the roads in my head. Bangalore being a city of one-ways, I started to think what route would be faster and quicker. Not knowing what landmarks to give him, I suddenly said) I: M.G. Road gota? He: Gota I: So, M.G. Road (He swerved his auto to the left and from Commercial Street, hit towards Russell Market again and then out of Shivajinagar towards M. G. Road. I started by asking the usual question of how many years since he started driving) I: Kitna saal, how much time, driving you? He: Eh? I: How much time? Auto driving? (He could not fathom) I: Owner? Auto ownership? You? He: (W)owner huh? No. Rs. 170 per day. I: Oh (saying it profoundly) He: Karntaka? I: Baambay He: Baambay huh? I: You, Karnataka He: Yes I: Karntaka or Tamil Nadu? He: Karnataka (I was suspicious still. I wondered whether he was trying to hide from me that he was indeed from Tamil Nadu. But I could not push myself into verifying. After all, I have also, in many strange ways, tried to conceal my own Muslim identity in this city. People ask me my name. I say ‘Zainab’ and then immediately add, ‘Zainab Bawa’. I hope this confuses them, but often it does not. Then they ask me if I am Punjabi or Muslim and I quickly say, ‘I am a Ph.D. student, from Bombay’. In this city which is still strange to me (and I, seeking my own sources of intimacy and understanding here), I protect and defend my identity, off late. Sometimes I feel a stranger to my own self as I protect and defend. Sometimes I wonder if I am betraying my own self. Sometimes I wonder what I fear. Hence I could not push myself to ask him whether he was indeed Kannadiga or whether he was actually Tamilian.) He (summarizig): Rs. 170 a day, 20 hours of driving. Kannada gota? I: Solpa solpa, little, little He: Haan (As we hit the airplane landmark, it suddenly struck me to ask him whether he knows Double Road) I: Double Road gota He: Double road gota I: Then Double Road He: Are you sure? I: Pakka, 100 per cent He: Route gota I: Yes, routes gota He: Where are you taking this mattress? To Baambay? I: No, I have rented a house here. I am taking it there. He: Who was that boy traveling with you? I: Friend. He: Brother? I: Yes, yes. (Often times people ask how I am related to my male friends. Most, like him, safely want to seal the relationship as one of brother and sister. I, not caring, often say yes-yes. Strange I feel here, my relationship with men under a new form of scrutiny) He: How much did this mattress cost you? I: (raised my index finger and indicated 1) He: Wandu saavra, one thousand? I: Yes He: What kelsa, work, do you do in Baambay? I: I am a student-o here. He: What? I: Student-o (trying to think what would be a simpler term), err, ummm, college-o (I struck upon it at last!) He: Haan. Where? I: Jayanagar He: Which college? I: Private college He: Private huh? I: Yes I: (trying to polish up my Kannada) Bangalore, malay season? Rains? He: Yes, yes. What about Baambay? I: Garam (then realizing that this is Hindi), tumba bissi, very hot. He: Yeah! (We hit the traffic signal junction at M.G. Road and Cubbon Park. He turned around, smiled and said) He: Left side M. G. Road. Gota? I (laughed): Gota, gota (he got out of his auto and checked if the mattress was okay and if the head of the auto was not too burdened) He: Why did you load on top? Mele galeeze, it is very dirty on top. Your mattress will get dirty. (We continued journeying. At Convent Road, he says) He: Hindi, don’t know much. I: Kannada, don’t know much. What about English, you? He (laughed): 4th standard, dropped out. Gota? I: Yes, gota. (He kept on saying something in Kannada as we hit Richmond Road. I tried memorizing what he was saying so that I could get it translated later. But beyond a point, I lost him. He continued saying something and then he turned around to ask) He: Gota? Did you understand what I was saying? I: This much part, gotilla He: Hmmm. Father, Baambay? I: You mean appa? He: Yes, yes, appa. I: Baambay. (I am not sure what he asked after that. I understood it to mean whether my father speaks Kannada. But later, I wondered whether he was asking for my father’s religion …) I: Baambay, Hindi He: Brother? I: Baambay, Hindi. He: Amma? I: Baambay, Hindi. (He turned the auto left, into a lane from Richmond Road) He: Routes gota? I: Yes, from here gota. (We hit my destination. I began to untie the mattress. He screamed) He: Madam, no, no, not that way, the auto will topple over you I: oops! (He carefully untied. I asked him to load the mattress over me. He picked it up on his back and asked where to leave it. I was feeling embarrassed and asked him to drop it near the staircase. He looked surprised and asked) He: Mattress mele (don’t you need to take it upstairs?) I: Yes, mele (pointing towards the elevator) lift-o He: Then let me drop it inside the lift (He dropped the mattress inside the lift. I handed him the fare) He: Did you check the meter before giving me this? I: Yes. Let’s go to the auto and check it together. (The reading was right.) I (joined my hands): Thank you. I am very grateful. He (embarrassed): What are you joining your hands for? Aiyyo? No, no, it is okay. But perhaps he did not understand what I was grateful for. I was grateful to him for the trust he gave to me in the time of our journey. I was grateful to him for the intimacy which our unspoken language brought to me. I was grateful to him for those few moments of friendship, for those few moments of friendship in this city which I find strange and hostile. I am grateful … From abshi at vsnl.com Tue May 1 15:17:57 2007 From: abshi at vsnl.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 15:17:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] EPW - Review of WS - Gender & Space In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <0JHC000NSWK8FC10@fe3.internal.vsnl.net> Apologies for cross-postings: Dear All, This is to let you know that the current issue of EPW (Review of Women's Studies) focuses on questions of Gender and Space. There are five essays as below: Current issue net link: http://www.epw.org.in/epw/user/fullContent.jsp Phadke, Shilpa (2007): 'Dangerous Liaisons: Women and Men; Risk and Reputation in Mumbai', in Review of Women's Studies, Vol. XLII No.17, 1510-1518. Ranade, Shilpa (2007): 'The Way She Moves: Mapping the Everyday Production of Gender-Space', Review of Women's Studies, EPW, Vol. XLII No.17, 1519-1526. Khan, Sameera (2007): 'Negotiating the Mohalla: Exclusion, Identity and Muslim Women in Mumbai', Review of Women's Studies, EPW, Vol. XLII No.17, 1527-1533. Bedi, Tarini (2007): 'The Dashing Ladies of the Shiv Sena', Review of Women's Studies, EPW, Vol. XLII No.17, 1534-1541. Viswanath, Kalpana & Surabhi Tandon Mehrotra (2007): 'Shall We Go Out? Women's Safety in Public Spaces in Delhi', Review of Women's Studies, EPW, Vol. XLII No.17, 1542-1548. The first three of these essays are based on research from the Gender and Space project at PUKAR (www.genderandspace.org); the fourth, is based on PhD research and the fifth on a project undertaken by JAGORI (Safe Delhi). Shilpa From ysikand at gmail.com Tue May 1 16:02:10 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 16:02:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Second Posting: Muslim Publishing Houses in Delhi--Markazi Maktaba Islami Message-ID: <48097acc0705010332y3495b049r2854fb144d7e2714@mail.gmail.com> *Muslim Publishing Houses in Delhi* * * * * *Atiqur Rab is the Manager of the New Delhi-based Markazi Maktaba Islami (MMI). One of the largest Muslim publishing houses in India, the MMI is associated with the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. Below are excerpts of the conversation that he had with Naseem ur-Rahman and Yoginder Sikand recently. * The MMI works under the Human Welfare Trust, whose members are largely people associated with the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. This Trust, which was established by the Jamaat-e Islami Hind in 1994, works at an all-India level. Its aims include social work, providing scholarships and publishing Islamic literature. The Trust has around 10 members. Its present chairman, Abdul Haq Ansari Saheb, was, till recently, the *Amir* or President of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. Prior to the setting up of the Human Welfare Trust, the MMI was run under the Ishaat-e Islam Trust. The MMI was established in 1973. Prior to that, the Jamaat used to publish its literature through the Maktaba Jamaat-e Islami Hind, which was established in Rampur in 1948, soon after the Partition. It remained in Rampur till it was shifted to Delhi in 1960. Before the Partition, Jamaat literature was published from Pathankot, where Maulana Maududi, the founder of the Jamaat, then resided. The MMI publishes Islamic literature in English, Hindi and Urdu. One of our principal objectives is to provide people with a proper understanding of Islam in the light of the Holy Quran and the Hadith and to counter misunderstandings about and propaganda against Islam. Through our literature, we seek to present Islam as a complete code of conduct, which provides guidance, principles and rules for all aspects of personal and social life. Hence, our literature covers all aspects of society, from prayer and dress to economics, women's rights, inter-community relations and international relations. The books we produce aim to provide Islamic perspectives on all these issues. We seek to address issues that are debated and discussed so much today in the media. For instance, we have produced many books on the rights and status of women in Islam that aim at countering the wrong arguments that some detractors put forward regarding Islam and women. Likewise, since there is today much talk that seeks to wrongly link Islam with terrorism, we have produced many books that aim to counter this propaganda and to present the true teachings of Islam. Thus, our literature is directed both at Muslims as well as non-Muslims, addressing issues and questions that they might have about Islam. Some Muslim publishing houses produce books that are geared to promoting inter-sectarian rivalries. This is really unfortunate. The MMI consciously stays away from this sort of thing. We don't publish anything that might create conflict, be it on the basis of sect, caste or religion. Our mission is only to promote Islam through literature based on the Quran and the Hadith. It is true that, like most other such publishing houses, we have published only a few books that are based on social, scientific, empirical research on Muslims in India. We prefer to focus on the *usul* or principles of Islam and to provide, through our literature, Islamic solutions to a wide range of problems and issues. We believe that if Muslims, and others as well, were to put these principles into action, our problems would be solved. However, I admit there is a pressing need for more empirical studies on Indian Muslims. This is important for the development and empowerment of the community and also to disabuse people of serious misunderstandings that they might have about Muslims. Unfortunately, few Muslim publishing houses bring out literature of this sort. The MMI prefers to focus on the normative Islamic position on a wide range of issues. Others can, and, indeed must, focus on publishing texts based on the empirical conditions of the country's Muslims. Another issue is that we don't have the resources to conduct or commission large empirical studies. Further, such studies require a different sort of social science research methodology. Hopefully, the younger generation of Muslim scholars will take this issue up with the urgency that it deserves. Many non-Muslims have misunderstandings and doubts about Islam. To address these issues, we also aim at reaching out to a non-Muslim readership. Hence, the Jamaat has translated the Holy Quran into numerous Indian languages. Publishing houses run by Jamaat activists or sympathisers in various states of India produce considerable Islamic literature in various regional languages, including books as well as magazines. These provide Islamic perspectives on a range of issues as well as seek to correct misunderstandings that some people might have about Islam. Decisions to publish new books are taken by the Tasnifi Academy, which consists of leading members of the Jamaat, who are experts in different fields. The Academy has half a dozen or so members. Sometimes, people pen a manuscript and send it to the MMI authorities, asking them if they would be interested in publishing it as a book. But more commonly, the Tasnifi Academy requests experts in different fields to write books on the subjects in which they have an expertise. The Academy meets every three months to decide on new books. Often, this decision is taken based on the importance of a particular topic at a particular time. For instance, because of the wrong propaganda in recent years about Islam being linked to terrorism, the Academy decided that the MMI must publish books that clearly set out the true Islamic position on the matter. Most of our authors are members of the Jamaat. But this does not mean that we only publish books written by Jamaat members. In fact, we have published some books by authors who are not members of the Jamaat, but who sympathise with its objectives and understanding of Islam and who support the Islamic movement. We haven't as yet commissioned research projects which can then be published as books, although perhaps this is a good idea. We offer ten per cent royalty to our authors, but most of our authors who are members of the Jamaat themselves choose not to take any money for their books. We also offer five per cent royalty to translators of books which we publish. We provide forty per cent discount to distributors on most of our books. Our books are quite affordable and modestly priced. In fact, this is true for most Urdu publishing houses in India. Urdu books are much cheaper than English books because our pricing policy is shaped by our consumers' behaviour and purchasing power. On the whole, the average Urdu reader has limited purchasing power, so Urdu books are priced much more modestly. But we still make some profit in order to keep us functioning. On the whole, our profit margin is between fifteen to twenty per cent, but making profit is not our aim. We have a good distribution network across India and we also export books, to the Gulf, Europe, America, etc.—mainly to places where there is a South Asian Muslim immigrant community. We have two marketing executives as well as a number of like-minded people in different places in India who sell our books. Relatively, few non-Muslim-owned bookshops stock our books, but several others get in touch with us or our local distributors when they receive orders for books published by us. In 2002, we launched our own website [www.mmipublishers.net], through which we are now able to reach out to a far larger potential readership. We get regular orders, from Muslims as well as others, for our books through our website. It is important for Islamic publishing houses to reach out to non-Muslims, too. They must not remain a Muslim preserve. Islam is for everyone, so our publishing houses must reach out with the message of Islam to others as well, and also in order to address the misunderstandings they might have about our faith. The MMI has tried to do this in different ways. For instance, we have advertised some of our books a couple of times in the Hindi *Rashtriya Sahara*, which has a very good circulation. On the occasion of the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, we advertised in a Hindi newspaper about the Hindi translation of the Holy Quran which we had published. I wish we could advertise our books in English newspapers, too, but that is very costly. We have sent some of our books to *The Hindu* for review, but, unfortunately, they were not reviewed. Reviews are a good means of publicizing new books, but, lamentably, few Urdu newspapers, especially in north India, have a book review section. We also send our new books free of cost to some major public libraries in different parts of India. This is a very effective way of reaching out to people. In our effort to reach out to a wider readership, both Muslims as well as others, we regularly participate in book fairs held in different parts of India, where we set up our stalls. We participate every year in the National and International book fairs in New Delhi. In these fairs, many of our customers are non-Muslims. Recently, we participated in a book fair in Dehra Dun. Most of our customers there were Hindus. Many of them appreciated our literature. A large number of them had no access to Islamic literature before. Today, MMI is one of the largest Islamic publishing houses in India. Some six hundred titles that we have published in Urdu, Hindi and English are still being printed and distributed, and every year we add around thirty new books to that list. We reprint around 300 titles every year. We have come a long way, but, yes, I would agree that there is still so much for us to do. Atiqur Rab can be reached at mmipub at nda.vsnl.net.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070501/c2f21ace/attachment.html From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed May 2 14:59:58 2007 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 14:29:58 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] mapping genocide + In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0705020223q22c03314pdebfb3849d5ebd1d@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0705020223q22c03314pdebfb3849d5ebd1d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0705020229r5a3d6947k22fce21a32f7540e@mail.gmail.com> US 'bans' access to Google Earth in Sudan Only days after Google joined up with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to map the conflict in Darfur, the US Treasury has apparently banned access to images from Google Earth in Sudan as part of its ongoing export controls and economic sanctions against the country. http://panos.blogs.com/iwitnesses/2007/04/us_bans_access_.html holocaust museum + google earth : mapping conflict http://www.ushmm.org/googleearth/ From info at cityoutletnews.com Wed May 2 15:41:13 2007 From: info at cityoutletnews.com (CityOutlet News) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 15:41:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 46, Issue 3 References: Message-ID: <001401c78ca2$39cc2820$0201a8c0@PRAMOD> we want to unsubscribe, please delist us from your mailing list and oblige. Dennyson Christian ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 3:30 PM Subject: reader-list Digest, Vol 46, Issue 3 > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Second Posting: Muslim Publishing Houses in Delhi--Markazi > Maktaba Islami (Yogi Sikand) > 2. mapping genocide + (yasir ~) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 16:02:10 +0530 > From: "Yogi Sikand" > Subject: [Reader-list] Second Posting: Muslim Publishing Houses in > Delhi--Markazi Maktaba Islami > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: > <48097acc0705010332y3495b049r2854fb144d7e2714 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > *Muslim Publishing Houses in Delhi* > > * * > > * * > > *Atiqur Rab is the Manager of the New Delhi-based Markazi Maktaba Islami > (MMI). One of the largest Muslim publishing houses in India, the MMI is > associated with the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. Below are excerpts of the > conversation that he had with Naseem ur-Rahman and Yoginder Sikand > recently. > * > > > > The MMI works under the Human Welfare Trust, whose members are largely > people associated with the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. This Trust, which was > established by the Jamaat-e Islami Hind in 1994, works at an all-India > level. Its aims include social work, providing scholarships and publishing > Islamic literature. The Trust has around 10 members. Its present chairman, > Abdul Haq Ansari Saheb, was, till recently, the *Amir* or President of the > Jamaat-e Islami Hind. > > > > Prior to the setting up of the Human Welfare Trust, the MMI was run under > the Ishaat-e Islam Trust. The MMI was established in 1973. Prior to that, > the Jamaat used to publish its literature through the Maktaba Jamaat-e > Islami Hind, which was established in Rampur in 1948, soon after the > Partition. It remained in Rampur till it was shifted to Delhi in 1960. > Before the Partition, Jamaat literature was published from Pathankot, > where > Maulana Maududi, the founder of the Jamaat, then resided. > > > > The MMI publishes Islamic literature in English, Hindi and Urdu. One of > our > principal objectives is to provide people with a proper understanding of > Islam in the light of the Holy Quran and the Hadith and to counter > misunderstandings about and propaganda against Islam. Through our > literature, we seek to present Islam as a complete code of conduct, which > provides guidance, principles and rules for all aspects of personal and > social life. Hence, our literature covers all aspects of society, from > prayer and dress to economics, women's rights, inter-community relations > and > international relations. The books we produce aim to provide Islamic > perspectives on all these issues. We seek to address issues that are > debated > and discussed so much today in the media. For instance, we have produced > many books on the rights and status of women in Islam that aim at > countering > the wrong arguments that some detractors put forward regarding Islam and > women. Likewise, since there is today much talk that seeks to wrongly link > Islam with terrorism, we have produced many books that aim to counter this > propaganda and to present the true teachings of Islam. Thus, our > literature > is directed both at Muslims as well as non-Muslims, addressing issues and > questions that they might have about Islam. > > > > Some Muslim publishing houses produce books that are geared to promoting > inter-sectarian rivalries. This is really unfortunate. The MMI consciously > stays away from this sort of thing. We don't publish anything that might > create conflict, be it on the basis of sect, caste or religion. Our > mission > is only to promote Islam through literature based on the Quran and the > Hadith. > > > > > > It is true that, like most other such publishing houses, we have published > only a few books that are based on social, scientific, empirical research > on > Muslims in India. We prefer to focus on the *usul* or principles of Islam > and to provide, through our literature, Islamic solutions to a wide range > of > problems and issues. We believe that if Muslims, and others as well, were > to > put these principles into action, our problems would be solved. However, I > admit there is a pressing need for more empirical studies on Indian > Muslims. > This is important for the development and empowerment of the community and > also to disabuse people of serious misunderstandings that they might have > about Muslims. Unfortunately, few Muslim publishing houses bring out > literature of this sort. The MMI prefers to focus on the normative Islamic > position on a wide range of issues. Others can, and, indeed must, focus on > publishing texts based on the empirical conditions of the country's > Muslims. > Another issue is that we don't have the resources to conduct or commission > large empirical studies. Further, such studies require a different sort of > social science research methodology. Hopefully, the younger generation of > Muslim scholars will take this issue up with the urgency that it deserves. > > > > Many non-Muslims have misunderstandings and doubts about Islam. To address > these issues, we also aim at reaching out to a non-Muslim readership. > Hence, > the Jamaat has translated the Holy Quran into numerous Indian languages. > Publishing houses run by Jamaat activists or sympathisers in various > states > of India produce considerable Islamic literature in various regional > languages, including books as well as magazines. These provide Islamic > perspectives on a range of issues as well as seek to correct > misunderstandings that some people might have about Islam. > > > > > > Decisions to publish new books are taken by the Tasnifi Academy, which > consists of leading members of the Jamaat, who are experts in different > fields. The Academy has half a dozen or so members. Sometimes, people pen > a > manuscript and send it to the MMI authorities, asking them if they would > be > interested in publishing it as a book. But more commonly, the Tasnifi > Academy requests experts in different fields to write books on the > subjects > in which they have an expertise. The Academy meets every three months to > decide on new books. Often, this decision is taken based on the importance > of a particular topic at a particular time. For instance, because of the > wrong propaganda in recent years about Islam being linked to terrorism, > the > Academy decided that the MMI must publish books that clearly set out the > true Islamic position on the matter. > > > > Most of our authors are members of the Jamaat. But this does not mean that > we only publish books written by Jamaat members. In fact, we have > published > some books by authors who are not members of the Jamaat, but who > sympathise > with its objectives and understanding of Islam and who support the Islamic > movement. We haven't as yet commissioned research projects which can then > be > published as books, although perhaps this is a good idea. > > > > We offer ten per cent royalty to our authors, but most of our authors who > are members of the Jamaat themselves choose not to take any money for > their > books. We also offer five per cent royalty to translators of books which > we > publish. We provide forty per cent discount to distributors on most of our > books. Our books are quite affordable and modestly priced. In fact, this > is > true for most Urdu publishing houses in India. Urdu books are much cheaper > than English books because our pricing policy is shaped by our consumers' > behaviour and purchasing power. On the whole, the average Urdu reader has > limited purchasing power, so Urdu books are priced much more modestly. But > we still make some profit in order to keep us functioning. On the whole, > our > profit margin is between fifteen to twenty per cent, but making profit is > not our aim. > > > > We have a good distribution network across India and we also export books, > to the Gulf, Europe, America, etc.—mainly to places where there is a South > Asian Muslim immigrant community. We have two marketing executives as well > as a number of like-minded people in different places in India who sell > our > books. Relatively, few non-Muslim-owned bookshops stock our books, but > several others get in touch with us or our local distributors when they > receive orders for books published by us. In 2002, we launched our own > website [www.mmipublishers.net], through which we are now able to reach > out > to a far larger potential readership. We get regular orders, from Muslims > as > well as others, for our books through our website. > > > > It is important for Islamic publishing houses to reach out to non-Muslims, > too. They must not remain a Muslim preserve. Islam is for everyone, so our > publishing houses must reach out with the message of Islam to others as > well, and also in order to address the misunderstandings they might have > about our faith. The MMI has tried to do this in different ways. For > instance, we have advertised some of our books a couple of times in the > Hindi *Rashtriya Sahara*, which has a very good circulation. On the > occasion > of the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, we advertised in a Hindi newspaper about > the > Hindi translation of the Holy Quran which we had published. I wish we > could > advertise our books in English newspapers, too, but that is very costly. > We > have sent some of our books to *The Hindu* for review, but, unfortunately, > they were not reviewed. Reviews are a good means of publicizing new books, > but, lamentably, few Urdu newspapers, especially in north India, have a > book > review section. We also send our new books free of cost to some major > public > libraries in different parts of India. This is a very effective way of > reaching out to people. > > > > In our effort to reach out to a wider readership, both Muslims as well as > others, we regularly participate in book fairs held in different parts of > India, where we set up our stalls. We participate every year in the > National > and International book fairs in New Delhi. In these fairs, many of our > customers are non-Muslims. Recently, we participated in a book fair in > Dehra > Dun. Most of our customers there were Hindus. Many of them appreciated our > literature. A large number of them had no access to Islamic literature > before. > > > > Today, MMI is one of the largest Islamic publishing houses in India. Some > six hundred titles that we have published in Urdu, Hindi and English are > still being printed and distributed, and every year we add around thirty > new > books to that list. We reprint around 300 titles every year. We have come > a > long way, but, yes, I would agree that there is still so much for us to > do. > > Atiqur Rab can be reached at mmipub at nda.vsnl.net.in > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070501/c2f21ace/attachment.html > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 14:29:58 +0500 > From: "yasir ~" > Subject: [Reader-list] mapping genocide + > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: > <5af37bb0705020229r5a3d6947k22fce21a32f7540e at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed > > US 'bans' access to Google Earth in Sudan > > Only days after Google joined up with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum > to map the conflict in Darfur, the US Treasury has apparently banned > access to images from Google Earth in Sudan as part of its ongoing > export controls and economic sanctions against the country. > > http://panos.blogs.com/iwitnesses/2007/04/us_bans_access_.html > > > holocaust museum + google earth : mapping conflict > > http://www.ushmm.org/googleearth/ > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > reader-list mailing list > reader-list at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 46, Issue 3 > ****************************************** > From turbulence at turbulence.org Tue May 1 19:47:25 2007 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 10:17:25 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Spotlight: "Disappearing Places and Time Indefinite" by Matthew Belanger Message-ID: <3B095261CFBE476E987FFEA6A0E5A62E@joPC> May 1, 2007 Turbulence Spotlight: "Disappearing Places and Time Indefinite" by Matthew Belanger, with Marianne R. Petit http://turbulence.org/spotlight/belanger/index.html "Disappearing Places" is both an archive and collective map of places that no longer exist, at least not as they once did. Users can upload stories and images, link them to a corresponding location or street address, and tag them. They can also browse the stories and places other individuals have submitted. "Time Indefinite": We all experience the occasional moment in life that has a clarity unlike the rest of our days. "Time Indefinite" is both a repository of significant moments and a timeline that charts where we collectively stand. Users can upload stories and images, tag them, and browse the stories and moments others have contributed. We are launching these sites on the one year anniversary of Belanger and Petit's 2006 Turbulence Commission, "The Saddest Thing I Own." BIOGRAPHIES Matthew Belanger is a New York City and Berkshire County based new media artist, programmer, and consultant. His works include documentary video, large-scale digital photography, interactive online applications and software development. His complete portfolio can be seen at: matthewbelanger.com. Marianne R. Petit is an Associate Arts Professor at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Her work can be seen at: mariannepetit.com. For more Turbulence Spotlights, please visit http://turbulence.org/spotlight 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 Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade New American Radio: http://somewhere.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From sudeshna.kca at gmail.com Wed May 2 08:50:43 2007 From: sudeshna.kca at gmail.com (Sudeshna Chatterjee) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 08:50:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION In-Reply-To: <6e2101c78c16$edfd5440$0302a8c0@Warren> References: <6e2101c78c16$edfd5440$0302a8c0@Warren> Message-ID: <3ef603b70705012020w64c45df2qddc886622ddd1c2b@mail.gmail.com> The Children, Youth and Environments journal has just published 18 new papers that offer "CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION." This thematic issue focuses on countries in Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Philippines, and Vietnam. The previous issue included papers on Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Issues later this year will focus on participation by young people in the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. The current issue is accessible on http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/ Louise Chawla Fahriye Sancar Willem van Vliet-- Editors -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070502/e4f2b8c6/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From taraprakash at gmail.com Wed May 2 02:34:50 2007 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Taraprakash) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 02:34:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] sounds fishy, Orkut and cyber crime cell will work together References: <012801c78bb6$f5502ed0$7701a8c0@ToxicsLink.local> Message-ID: <049f01c78c34$68ae9b50$0201a8c0@IBM61525879EE4> Orkut's tell-all pact with cops May 1, 2007 Think twice before you let loose your thoughts on Orkut. The Google-run community site, which has become a global platform for sharing personal information, ideas and sentiments and already has nearly 6.6 million registered Indian users (of a total of 49 million worldwide), has entered into a pact with the Cyber Crime Cell of Mumbai police saying it will not only block those 'forums' and 'communities' that contain 'defamatory or inflammatory content' but also provide the IP addresses from which such content has been generated. In one of the first such cases, Mumbai police recently got Orkut to block allegedly defamatory content about Dr B R Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. The pact, which is actually an "informal arrangement" called the Priority Reporting Tool, comes as a big surprise to internet users as Orkut has successfully blocked attempts by various countries to control content. Confirming the arrangement, a Google spokesperson said: "The Priority Reporting Tool between Mumbai police and Google has been designed to improve communication between Google and police . We are happy the police has found it useful. Google is a responsible company, and we also ensure we protect users' privacy ." Deputy Commissioner of Police (enforcement ) Sanjay Mohite said the pact means they do not have to go through the lengthy process of asking the Central government to communicate with Orkut. The practice so far has been to first send a request to the Centre's computer emergency response team in New Delhi. This team processes the request through its channels and even if a forum is finally blocked, the "culprits" still remain untraceable as no IP addresses can be obtained. If these addresses are to be found, the CBI then has to get into the picture, which makes the whole process even longer. Now we can do away with the process and not just directly ban content but also obtain details of IP addresses and service providers quickly," Mohite said. The IP addresses will enable the Cell to track down people who have posted messages and book them if the need arises, police officials said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070502/d18f8906/attachment.html From sridevi.panikkar at gmail.com Wed May 2 15:18:15 2007 From: sridevi.panikkar at gmail.com (sridevi panikkar) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 15:18:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] People vs POSCO, Jagatsinghpur, Orissa - Report release and video on people's resistance in Orissa Message-ID: <431944be0705020248m47701d58t11758c043dd7fd3e@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends A strong people's resistance has been going on in the parts of Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa against acquisition of their land for a steel plant and captive port proposed in the area since July 2005, a month after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the project was signed between the Government of Orissa and Pohang Steel Company Limited (POSCO). The current situation in the area is very tense. The government seems to be hell bent to expedite the implementation of the project. Several platoons of Orissa Military Police were deployed in the area five days before the mandatory environmental clearance public he aring on 15 th April 2007. The protests in the three affected Gram Panchayats have become stronger especially after PM Manmohan Singh's statement on April 19th asking the Orissa government to expedite the land acquisition process. Though the state and central government claim that they will not use force, the military build up in the area suggests otherwise and raises the alarming possibility of a repeat of violent incidents of state repression like Kalinganagar, Singur and Nandigram. This case once again brings up larger issues relating to displacement, the process and type of industarialisation, role of the state in corporate land acquisition, people's participation in decision making related to these issues and the resultant constitutional crisis, issues related to Foreign Direct Investment and uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources. *Let us meet on Friday, 4th May at 3 p.m. at the Indian Social Institute to discuss these issues, the current situation in Jagatsinghpur and beyond and discuss strategies and further actions. * We will begin the meeting by sharing the main observations and recommendations made by the Independent fact finding team which has just returned from the area. Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream will present these on behalf of the team. A video documentation by Sangharsh 2007 team on the issue with interviews with individuals and leaders from the movement against POSCO in the affected villages will be screened. This will be followed by a discussion. Prof.Arun Kumar, Com.Ajay Patnaik, D.Bandhopadhyay, Prashant Bhushan, Praful Bidwai and other friends will be present for the discussion, giving inputs on economic, political, law and policy related issues. Please do join us … Regards Bijulal MV, Sridevi Panikkar, Vijayan M J and other friends of the Delhi Solidarity Group Bijulal MV-09968161012 Sridevi Panikar-09868099304 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070502/c6161d48/attachment.html From slr at nls.ac.in Tue May 1 22:36:29 2007 From: slr at nls.ac.in (slr at nls.ac.in) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 22:36:29 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Socio-Legal Review, NLSIU Message-ID: <37397.218.248.32.114.1178039189.squirrel@218.248.32.114> Creating Student-Centric Space for Socio-Legal Writing The Law and Society Committee is an Activity-Based Committee, run by students of the National Law School and funded by the University. The Committee’s area of interest is activity relating to the convergence of legal and social forces. Pursuant to this mandate, it includes reading groups, film screenings, talks and discussions as a means of academic engagement. ‘Socio-Legal Review’ is an initiative of the Committee that hopes to inspire socio-legal writing among members of the legal and social science community. It aims at exploring themes relating to the interface of law and society and providing a platform for students and young scholars. The Committee is keen to give ‘law and society’ an expansive interpretation, thereby keeping its basic criteria for contributions simply that of high academic merit, as long as there is a perceivable link. This would include not just writing about the role played by law in social change, or the role played by social dynamics in the formulation and implementation of law, but also writing that simply takes cognizance of legal institutions/ institutions of governance/administration, power structures in social commentary and so on. Through this effort, the journal also hopes to fill the lacunae relating to academic debate on socio-legal matters among law students. Socio-Legal Review has recently received a generous grant from Modern Law Review, United Kingdom to carry on its efforts, in spite of this being only its third year of publication. The first year issue of ‘Socio-Legal Review’, published in 2005, carried the theme ‘Law and Marginalisation’. The first issue included contributions from Shail Mayaram (Senior Fellow, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, Delhi), Sivamohan Sumathy (University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka), apart from contributions from within the National Law School. Themes ranged from ‘Poverty, Migration and Memory in the Mega-City’, ‘Migration and ‘Displacement of Sri Lankan Tamil Women’, ‘Globalisation and the City-zen’ to ‘Reservation Policy of India and Rawls’ Theory of Justice’ and ‘Contours of the Dalit Movement’. The second volume, published in 2006, has articles by W. T. Murphy (London School of Economics) and Rajeev Dhavan (Advocate, Supreme Court). As a theme was not imposed on contribution, writing ranged from subjects as varied as the pharmaceutical industry and patents to the impact of genetics on theories of crime and punishment. This year’s Editorial Board has decided to continue with the policy of not dictating themes. A contribution is eligible as long as fits in with the general mandate of the journal. The third volume of the journal will be released in July 2007. To contribute an article / comment / note from the field for 'Socio-Legal Review, please write in to slr at nls.ac.in for guidelines for authors. We accept submissions on a rolling basis. From hpp at vsnl.com Thu May 3 11:17:58 2007 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 05:47:58 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] People's Convention on Nandigram & SEZs Message-ID: Sent by V Ramaswamy Calcutta cuckooscall.blogspot.com IN THE WAKE OF NANDIGRAM Sumit Chowdhury Dear Friends Followng this is a call given by concerned citizens from across the country for an All India People's Convention on Nandigram and SEZ. The convention will be held in Kolkata on June 2-3 at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium)followed by a mass rally on June 3 at the Metro Channel, Esplanade. People's organisations and people's resistance movements from various parts of the country will be participating in the event. The idea is to develop a coordinating network of the people's movements breaking out in many areas against land acquisition in the name of SEZs and other industrial projects. The call, as mentioned, is being issued by concerned citizens and includes representatives of mass organisations and political parties. Please endorse the call, if you agree with its overall spirit, and be included in the list (in alphabetical order) of those citizens who are issuing the call. Reply at the soonest with "I ENDORSE" (with your name, phone, e-mail contacts and how you would like to describe yourself, e.g. professor, filmmaker, activist, etc. or your organisational/ institutional identity) to the following e-mail addresses: chowdhuryaditi at yahoo.com sumit_chowdhury at yahoo.com Also mention if you will attend the convention those representing an organisation should mention who and how many from the organisation will attend. Outstation participants may also mention approximately how many people from their organisations is likely to come to Kolkata to take part in the rally on June 3. Rallyists are encouraged to bring their own organisational banners, flags and festoons (not for the convention). It may be understood that the hosts of the convention/rally are in no position to take up the travel and accommodation costs of the participants and rallyists. However, rooms and dormitories at reasonable and concessional rates are being arranged at the site of the convention venue and elsewhere in the city. The earlier you write to us the easier it will be to reserve the accommodation. Please remember that by endorsing the call you become an integral part of the convention process. This convention is by everyone (against SEZ and the neo-liberal agenda), for everyone, of everyone. Join with all your strength and help in every possible way you can to make the convention/rally a grand success. In solidarity Sumit Chowdhury PS: 1. Please forward the above text along with the attached material to as many appropriate addresses as you can. 2. The main constraint in hosting such a big event is, as always, lack of funds. Any contribution will be of immense help. For more information you can contact: Aditi Chowdhury: 91 98301 76085; chowdhuryaditi at yahoo.com Dhruva Narayan: 91 98685 43637; daanishbooks at gmail.com Krishna Bandyopadhyay: 91 98304 06870 Premangsu Dasgupta 91 98311 02614 Santosh Rana: 033 24842128; ranas at cal2.vsnl.net.in Sumit Chowdhury: 91 98302 49430; sumit_chowdhury at yahoo.com Vaskar Nandy: 91 94340 18621; vaskar_nandy at hotmail.com Meher Engineer 033 22286089; mengineer at yahoo.co.in Samar Bagchi 91 9433526839 From hpp at vsnl.com Thu May 3 11:19:43 2007 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 05:49:43 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] In the wake of Nandigram Message-ID: In the wake of Nandigram A call by concerned citizens The valiant struggle of the peasantry in Nandigram against the acquisition of their land and homesteads for the proposed chemical hub SEZ has drawn nationwide attention. Despite the massacre of March 14 and the continuing reign of terror unleashed by the police and the hired killers of the ruling party in the state, Nandigram has remained defiant and refused to surrender. On the contrary, it has sparked unprecedented mass protests across West Bengal and elsewhere. People’s movements in various parts of the country against the forcible acquisition of farmlands, forests and other natural resource base of the poor in the name of SEZ and for the so-called industrial projects have also drawn inspiration and sustenance from Nandigram. Time is now ripe to bring all the people’s resistance movements across the country under one coordinating network. Towards this end, we are proposing an All India People’s Convention, followed by a huge rally, in Kolkata on 2-3 June, 2007 (before the onset of monsoon). We call upon all our friends in the people’s movements and people’s organisations, irrespective of political or ideological moorings, to come forward and actively participate in this programme. May the convention/rally become the launching pad for a united nationwide resistance struggle against government’s land acquisition policy for SEZs and other industrial projects. The convention/rally, and the countrywide movement to be launched from there, will be raising the following demands: 1. Scrap the SEZ Act, 2005 that aims to set up ‘extra-territorial’ authorities within the country and acquire huge tracts of farm and forestlands for the corporate capitalists while endangering the lives and livelihoods of millions. 2. Abolish or reformulate (in consultation with the people) the colonial and draconian Land Acquisition Act of 1894 that serves as the chief instrument of land acquisition by the government. 3. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, who has owned up to the responsibility for the mass murders in Nandigram, must resign. Everyone who has had a hand in the Nandigram massacre, directly or indirectly, must be punished. 4. People’s institutions at the grassroots must be allowed the autonomy to act so that a life of peace and dignity returns to Nandigram and wherever conflict has erupted over land acquisition. In solidarity S/d [Name; Profession/Organisation; e-mail; phone] April 12, 2007 From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Thu May 3 07:37:19 2007 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 08:07:19 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] May 3 Dhaka Webcast: Press Freedom (Under Democracy & Military) Message-ID: Please join us for this Dhaka webcast w/ simultaneous translation. I set this up w/ help from the folks @ Okno.be (and DEAF) this week, but we are dependent on unstable Dhaka bandwidth, so there is always chance of transmission punking out @ zero hour. But let's see, fingers crossed.... World Press Freedom Day: The Bangladesh Experience [Under Democracy & Military Rule] Live Webcast (Bengali)+Simultaneous Text Translation (English) May 3, 4:30-6:30 pm (GMT+6), DRIK Gallery Live Webcast http://okno.be/ Simultaneous Translation http://www.drik.net/webcast/ Press Freedom Day: Daily Star Special http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/03/d7050315.htm Presentations by Khaled Muhiuddin, BDNews24.com Munni Saha, ATN Bangla Tipu Sultan, Prothom Alo Probir Sikdar, Samakal Mainul Islam Khan, Reporters San Frontieres Afsan Chowdhury, author "Media In Times Of Crisis" Moderator: Shahidul Alam, DRIK Simultaneous Translation: Naeem Mohaiemen Streaming Support: Givan Bela/Okno.be Technical Support: Azizur Rahim Peu, A S M Rezaur Rahman, Abdullah Al Rajib, Md Kamal, Abul Kashem, Shefali Akter Shetu, Naeem Mohaiemen. Thanks also to Nat Muller, Dutch Electronic Arts Festival Presenter Bios Khaled Muhiuddin started his journalism at Prothom Alo. In 1998, he gave the civil service exam and left journalism to become magistrate in Narshingdi, but returned after 100 days to rejoin Prothom Alo. He joined bdnews24.com in 2006. His work includes investigations into Barrister Moudud Ahmed's work on behalf of Canadian gas company Niko (cause of the infamous gas field blowout), fake medical certifi cates to bomb blast victims at Ramna Batamool to clear the accused, and medical visit irregularities in cases of Col. Farook and Rashid, principal accused in Sheikh Mujib murder case. Munni Saha started as a sub-editor at Ajker Kagoj and rose to become a reporter at Bhorer Kagoj and ultimately a prominent TV reporter & presenter on Ekushey TV and now ATN. She used to host a TV talk show "Lead News". Her reporting focus is often on politics and migration. She did investigative reporting of Bangladesh Embassy's incompetence with regards to thousands of migrant laborers in Malaysia, and Bangladeshi activists based in US. She did one of the fi rst on-air interviews with Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, where he dismissed JMB leader and accused mastermind of nationwide bomb blasts, Bangla Bhai, as a "media creation." Tipu Sultan first came to national prominence when he was writing a series of investigative reports on Joinal Hazari, alleged godfather patronized by the then ruling Awami League. Men believed to be associated with Hazari smashed both of Sultan's arms, in retaliation against his reports. An international outcry led to a global fundraiser in which diaspora Bengalis raised over 27 lakh Taka for his treatment. The Tipu Sultan case was also the impetus for the founding of the diaspora human rights group Drishtipat.org. Tipu is currently a reporter for Prothom Alo, where he has written extensively about militant islamist movements, including JMB and Hizbut Tahrir. Probir Sikdar was formerly the Faridpur correspondent for Janakantha. After writing a series of investigations on alleged 1971 war criminals (in the "Shei Rajakar" series), Sikdar came under brutal attack by people named in his column. He was eventually fl own to Singapore for two rounds of operations. During the last government, he wrote extensively about Islamic Oikkya Jote, which led to threats to declare him "an enemy of the state" and eventual court action where he was represented by Dr. Kamal Hossain. Since then, he was forced to leave Faridpur and is currently with Samakal in Dhaka. Mainul Islam Khan is Bangladesh correspondent for Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) and a Joint Director of Bangladesh Centre for Development, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC). He researched and co-authored the 2005 and 2006 report on "State of Press Freedom in Bangladesh", which is used as a resource and research tools by groups such as Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists and European Union. He was a Knight Fellow of the John S. Knight Journalism fellowships at the Stanford University in California, USA. Afsan Chowdhury has been active in multi-disciplinary research, media relations, journalism, and program development for two decades, and is one of the editors of an authoritative work on Bangladesh's War of Independence, as well as the just published 4- volume history of the 1971 war. In 1995 he developed a fifteen-part sex education series for the BBC entitled "Sexwise." The fi rst broadcasting of such a program in Asia, the series reached ten million listeners and became the most successful radio series in Bangladesh. He is the author of several books, including "Media in Times of Crisis". -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070503/c1a0185a/attachment.html From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu May 3 02:54:54 2007 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 23:24:54 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] pourinfos Newsletter / 05-02 to 05-09-2007 Message-ID: <463901A6.200@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Wenesday May 2, 2007 to Wenesday May 9 2007 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTRE ÉLECTION PRÉSIDENTIELLE 2007 / OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2007 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Pourinfos.org is coming into the presidential campaign Dear readers, dear actors of the world of art, Nicolas Sarkozy http://pourinfos.org/cat-electionssarko-tit-Nicolas-Sarkozy-reponses- Royal Segolene http://pourinfos.org/cat-electionssego-tit-Segolene-Royal-reponses-t Yours The team of pourinfos.org Find all the answers of the candidates on: http://pourinfos.org/index.php?cat=elections your comments: http://pourinfos.org/index.php?commentaires=34302&categorie=elections Thanks for the written answers that we received. @ 001 (02/05/2007) Rencontres : Meetings: Policy of photography, Photographs of the policy, On Wednesday May 2, 2007, Confluences - Maison des Arts Urbains, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34608-tit--Politique-de-la-photographie- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (02/05/2007) Meetings: Conference « Enchainer les esthetes, gouverner les Français » , Alain Giffard, 2 mai 2007, BMVR Alcazar, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34759-tit--Conference-Enchainer-les-esthetes- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (02/05/2007) Residence: Decorating Morisena art centers, Sangerogiu de Mures, Romania. http://pourinfos.org/art-34793-tit-Residence-Decorating-Morisena-art-centre- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (02/05/2007) Publication: Le canular est un canular (The hoax is a hoax), # 60, ess arts + opinions, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-34798-tit--Le-canular-est-un-canular-60-esse -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (02/05/2007) Publication: (le) Passe Muraille n°2, la transverse - Space of creation of the Country Resident of Nivernais-Morvan, Corbigny, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34804-tit--le-Passe-Muraille-n-2-la-transverse- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (02/05/2007) Publication: Other Scenes, Curated by Aaron Rose, nieves edition, Zurich, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-34805-tit-Publcation-Other-Scenes-Curated-by-Aaron -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (02/05/2007) Publication: Reaching the Mythical Masses, Issue 11 out now!, SPIKE ART QUARTERLY, Vienna, Austria. http://pourinfos.org/art-34806-tit--Reaching-the-Mythical-Masses-Issue-11 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (02/05/2007) Publication: # 48, Papiers Libres, éditions Papiers Libres, Milhaud, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34807-tit--N-48-Papiers-Libres-editions-Papiers -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (02/05/2007) Formation: workshop Puredata will be held of the 22 at May 24, 2007, Médias-Cité, Saint-Medard-en-Jalles, France http://pourinfos.org/art-34810-tit-Formation-Atelier-Puredata-se-tiendra-du -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (02/05/2007) Formation : Photo, Les Rencontres d’Arles, their prestigious session of training courses of summer 2007, Arles, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34811-tit-Formation-Photo-Les-d-Arles-proposent -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (02/05/2007) Formation: Training course of numerical photography, Centre Photographique d'Ile de France, Pontault-Combault, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34812-tit-Formation-Stage-de-prise-de-vue-numerique- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (02/05/2007) Formation : 10th edition of the festival, Bandits-Mages, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34813-tit-Formation-10eme-edition-du-festival -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (02/05/2007) Formation : "INTERACTION TEMPS REEL DANS LA CREATION CONTEMPORAINE", arts sensitif, Mains d'Œuvres, Saint-Ouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34814-tit-Formation-INTERACTION-TEMPS-REEL-DANS-LA -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (02/05/2007) JOb : new media art professor, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Prague, Czechoslovakia. http://pourinfos.org/art-34815-tit--new-media-art-professor-Academy-of-Fine -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (02/05/2007) Various: Petition Letter of request for resignation PRESIDENT MDAasso, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34816-tit-Divers-Petition-Lettre-de-demande-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (02/05/2007) Various: caap : Aron-MDA-Sarkozi, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34817-tit-Divers-caap-communique- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (02/05/2007) Various: we , Ecole Nationale Supérieured’Art de Limoges-Aubusson, are in strike, Limoges, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34818-tit-Divers-nous-Ecole-Nationale -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (02/05/2007) Various: teacher fired at the school of Beaux Arts of Metz...Caricatures, Metz, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34820-tit-Divers-Licencie-aux-Beaux-Arts-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (02/05/2007) Call: search for artists activists for Festival Infringement in France, Bordeaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34821-tit--recherche-d-artistes-activistes-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (02/05/2007) Call: forsaken spaces in caribbean urban environments, Maison de l’architecture de Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34822-tit--Espaces-intermediaires-ou-Espaces -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (02/05/2007) Call: the 11th edition of Unimovie - International Short Film and Video Festival, Pescara, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/art-34823-tit--the-11th-edition-of-Unimovie- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (02/05/2007) Call: Lacda 2007 International jured compétition, Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/art-34824-tit--Lacda-2007-International-jured -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (02/05/2007) Call: open call - ctrl_alt_del - 2007, NOMAD in corporation with Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. http://pourinfos.org/art-34825-tit--open-call-ctrl-alt-del-2007-NOMAD-in -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (02/05/2007) Call: Screening Vidéoisme #7, Artskool network, Mains d'oeuvres , Saint Ouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34826-tit--projection-Videoisme-7-Mains-d-uvres- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (02/05/2007) Call: call for submissions aniMOTION european animation festival, Sibiu, Roumania. http://pourinfos.org/art-34827-tit--call-for-submissions-aniMOTION-european -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (02/05/2007) Residency : call for Dance studio , Point Ephemere, Paris, France http://pourinfos.org/art-34828-tit-Residence-Apel-a-candidature-studio-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (03/05/2007) Meetings: suprématie et singularité dans les mondes virtuels (supremacy and singularity in the virtual worlds), seminar Singularity and Technologies, on May 3, Maison Suger, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34795-tit--suprematie-et-singularite-dans-les-mondes -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (03/05/2007) Publication: Arrêt sur images (Freeze frame), scientifique Ethnologie française review and the Societe Française de Photographie, Inha, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34799-tit--Arret-sur-images-revue-scientifique -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (03/05/2007) Publication: first public presentation of the book Leo and Bos, Art Oriente objet, António Ole, editions CQFD, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34801-tit--premiere-presentation-publique-du-livre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (03/05/2007) Publication: Low reason, By Collective, editions camerasanimales, Tours, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34802-tit--Raison-basse-Par-Collectif-editions -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (03/05/2007) Publication: New DVD Monkey_Party, projectsinge, lowave édition, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34803-tit--Nouveau-DVD-Monkey-Party-projectsinge- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (03/05/2007) Publication: # 6, Plastir review, P LASTICITES S CIENCES ARTS, Palaiseau, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34808-tit--n-6-de-la-revue-Plastir-P-LASTICITES -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (03/05/2007) Meetings: R-DIFFUSION and Le Livre et l'art, 11 to 13 May, 2007, Le lieu Unique, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34809-tit--R-DIFFUSION-et-Le-Livre-et-l-art-du-11 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (03/05/2007) Various: Ask resignation of the president of the Maison des Artistes, SNAPcgt, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34819-tit-Divers-Demande-de-demission-du-president -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (04/05/2007) Exhibition: Program and Presentation of the collection of art on numerical support, L'espace multimédia gantner, Bourogne, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34728-tit--et-Presentation-de-la-collection-d-art -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (05/05/2007) Meetings: Reading, Music, Homage to Anna Poitkovskaïa, Saturday May 5, 2007, abbey ofMaubuisson, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumoône, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34762-tit--Lecture-Musique-Hommage-a-Anna -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (09/05/2007) Meetings: Ultralab™, Wednesday May 9, 2007, Observatoire des nouveaux médias, Ensad, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34794-tit--Ultralab-Mercredi-9-mai-2007- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From gora at sarai.net Thu May 3 16:41:52 2007 From: gora at sarai.net (Gora Mohanty) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 16:41:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] When numbers are outlawed, only outlaws will be numerate Message-ID: <1178190712.7834.61.camel@anubis> Hi, I am not sure of how many people are aware of the recent controversy regarding the posting of a 16-digit number that allows one to copy content on high-definition DVDs. The AACS licensing authority responded by issuing legal notices to sites that had posted the keys, threatening to sue them under the DMCA. Note that what is at issue here is the illegality of the 16-digit number itself, and not whether one has legal access to the content on the DVD. What is sad is that the DMCA, which is US law, apparently does make the number illegal, and any site posting it liable to a lawsuit. However, the legal notices from the AACS have had exactly the opposite effect, in that it sparked a user revolt on Digg (a site that depends on user input, and participation), and made it a pastime for Internet users to find more and more innovative ways to post the number. Here are some links: 1. Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/) has interesting ongoing coverage of this. In particular, a link to, the story on the revolt at Digg and the subsequent back-down by the site management: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/02/digg_users_revolt_ov.html and a link to the original story: http://boingboing.net/2007/02/13/bluray_and_hddvd_bro.html 2. Google links to over 300, 000 sites with the number: 3. Hamsters, and cats, are apparently getting into the act: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xeni/481544025/ http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/05/01/09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b/ 4. A new genre of poetry (steganorhythms?): http://scriptorium.monastic.org/ 5. Apparently, people have also put the numbers to music, but I do not have a link. Regards, Gora P.S. I have been working on scientific programs for some time now, to an extent that I have been dreaming about them. A recurring part of the dreams involve a sequence of cryptic codes which might form some hidden message. I am posting them in the hopes that someone can cast light on them, before I go crazy: 09f91102 9d74e35b d84156c5 635688-0 From 125548 at soas.ac.uk Thu May 3 16:53:21 2007 From: 125548 at soas.ac.uk (MATTI POHJONEN) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 11:23:21 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Conference deadline extension Message-ID: <1178191401.d69d4b4125548@soas.ac.uk> Dear Friends, Due to several requests, we are now extending the deadline of our Conference "Indian Mass Media and the Politics of Change" taking place on the 19th of October, 2007 at SOAS, until May 31st, 2007. Abstracts of no longer than 300 words should be now sent to via email to collective((at))sacredmediacow((dot))com. We have already received a number of excellent and diverse paper proposals from our colleagues and look forward to receiving many more that will make this conference a thought-provoking and memorable event. While we can unfortunately only choose a selected number of papers for presentation at the conference itself, all abstracts and ideas will be given a platform on the online conference workspace we are developing on our website. For further information about the conference or other general matters please visit www.sacredmediacow.com. Best, The smc collective From gif at 220hex.org Thu May 3 18:24:45 2007 From: gif at 220hex.org (220hex) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:54:45 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Piksel07 - call for projects Message-ID: <200705031454.46322.gif@220hex.org> ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| -- Piksel07 -- november 15-18 2007 -- call for participation -- deadline july 15. 2007 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Piksel[1] is an international event for artists and developers working with open source audiovisual software, hardware & art. Part workshop, part festival, it is organised in Bergen, Norway, by the Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK) [2] and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging ideas, coding, presenting art and software projects, doing workshops, performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of FLOSS & art. This years event - Piksel07 - continues the exploration of free/libre and open source audiovisual code and it's myriad of expressions, and also investigates further the open hardware theme introduced at Piksel06. Piksel07 is done in collaboration with Gallery 3,14[3] which will host this years exhibition. Piksel is organised by BEK and a community of core participants including members of collectives dyne.org, goto10.org, ap/xxxxx, hackitectura.net, riereta.net, drone.ws, gephex.org and others. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| open CALL for PROJECTS For the exhibition and other parts of the programme we currently seek projects in the following categories: 1. Installations Projects related to the open hardware theme including but not restricted to: circuit bending, reverse engineering, repurposing, modding and DIY electronics, preferably programmed by and running on free and open source software. 2. Audiovisual performance Live art realised by the use of open source software and/or hardware. 3. Software/Hardware presentations Innovative DIY hardware and audiovisual software tools or software art released under an open licence. <<<<<< Deadline - july 15. 2007 >>>>>> Please use the online submit form at: http://www.piksel.no/piksel07/subform.html or send documentation material - preferably as a URL to online documentation with images/video to piksel07 at bek.no Contact: BEK att: Gisle Froysland C. Sundtsgt. 55 5004 Bergen Norway More info: http://www.piksel.no piksel07 is produced in cooperation with Kunsthoegskolen in Bergen dep The Academy of Fine Arts, Gallery 3,14. Supported by Bergen Kommune, Norsk Kulturfond and Vestnorsk Filmsenter. links: [1] http://www.piksel.no [2] http://www.bek.no [3] http://www.stiftelsen314.com -- -------------------- www.220hex.org www.r3aktor.com http://mob.bek.no From ramanchima at gmail.com Thu May 3 23:42:38 2007 From: ramanchima at gmail.com (Raman Chima) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 23:42:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Regulation of the Internet by the Indian State - 2nd Sarai I-Fellowship Post Message-ID: <2fbb8fe0705031112r448aae1es1c3f43195499b655@mail.gmail.com> Hello again everyone, This is to my second and somewhat late post on my Sarai-CSDS I-Fellowship project on the Regulation of the Internet by the Indian State. I apologize for my posting somewhat later than my scheduled date. I'm currently in the stage of still studying the various already document instances of internet regulation by the Indian State and moreover, the general legal and policy frameworks towards the protection of speech and expression on the Internet. I've come across a wide array of matter on the latter, especially connected with the American legal track record with the same. A lot of this stems from the famous US case of Reno v. ACLU (available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/96-511.ZS.html among other places) which essentially clearly established the Internet as a medium where freedom of speech and expression were protected in a manner such that a statute which interfered with the adult citizen's speech and expression on the Internet was unconstitutional. This essentially started a whole line of cases where the US judiciary has protected the Internet from legislative enactments which would have chilled the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression on it. The reason why I've spend some time carefully analyzing this case and the various bits of academic commentary on it is to essentially clearly cull out how legal systems which protect the exercise of freedom of speech and expression engage with the Internet with a focus on regulation by governments. We can clearly see the explicit recognition and engagement of the US judiciary with the Internet, with somewhat positive developments also coming about in the EU with the European Court of Human Rights at least acknowledging that Internet users have a clear right of privacy and protection for the same. The problem with India on this point is quite clear; no Indian Court has ever been called to adjudicate on the issue of the protection of the right of freedom of speech and expression flowing under Article 19(1)a of the Indian Constitution with relation to the Internet. Its not exactly a case of tabula rasa though; its not very well known but the Bombay High Court appointed a committee in suo moto writ petition no. 1611 of 2001 which presented a report in 2002 on measures recommended to protect minors from pornographic and obscene material on the Internet. The report is available online at http://www.cyquator.com/html/vol1.pdf and is definitely worth a read to anyone interested in this area. It essentially advocated a system whereupon minors should be protected by filtering software installed at computers designated for them at cybercafes and on home computers. It for the first time referred to the precedent established by the US case of Reno v. ACLU and said that measures such as blocking sites was not legally acceptable nor feasible. I'm currently working on several other points connected with the jurisprudence of freedom of speech on the Internet and I'll post them as they coalesce into a more distinct shape. Again, looking forward to any comments, Sincerely, Raman From nuaiman at gmail.com Thu May 3 14:12:29 2007 From: nuaiman at gmail.com (Nuaiman ,) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:12:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Students expelled for making film on homosexuality Message-ID: <9c57aafc0705030142o3deb0d4cgca0e9e4b280bc6b7@mail.gmail.com> Students expelled for making film on homosexuality * >From R Gopakumar DH News Service Thiruvananthapuram: A Catholic Church-run mass communications college in Kottayam has stirred a hornet's nest by expelling five students for making a film on homosexuality. The students are all fourth semester BA (multimedia) students of the St Joseph's College of Communications at Changanassery. The incident brings alive the raging worldwide debate on homosexuality to the church circles in Kerala. Neither the expelled students nor the authorities were readily willing to comment. Prathyush, one of the expelled students, told Deccan Herald that four of them had acted in the five-minute short film titled Secret Minds. The film depicting homosexuality was directed by an MA (film and TV) student Jeo Baby. He claimed that it was mainly intended for an inter-collegiate film festival here. The college management, however, felt that the film had transgressed the limits of decency and moral values that the college stood for and would have misled youths. The college authorities further said that the students misused the campus and college hostel premises for making the film and had also acted entirely nude in it. The management made clear its stand in the showcause notice issued to the students. The students were first served a showcause notice on March 23 and 27 and later expelled on April 2 on finding that their replies were unsatisfactory. However, Prathyush who was the only student willing to speak denied these allegations and said that they had exercised only their freedom of ex-pression. The film was also well within the confines of the course to which they were admitted. Also, they had acted only partially nude as required by the script. "In any case, the film was not for public viewing but for a specific festival audience. They are just creating unnecessary fuss," he said. The students registered a complaint against the college with the Mahatma Gandhi University's grievance cell and also forwarded the notice which contained the charges against them. When contacted, college director Fr Sebastian refused to comment saying the issue was not over and was "undergoing certain processes". However, experts see the incident as an offshoot of the lack of theological guidance in the Church on the issue of homosexuality. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070503/c73244ae/attachment.html From sagnik_chakravartty at yahoo.com Thu May 3 23:58:09 2007 From: sagnik_chakravartty at yahoo.com (Sagnik Chakravartty) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 19:28:09 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Make Prasar Bharati (DD and AIR) truly autonomous Message-ID: <240676.31915.qm@web34210.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear friends, It is high time we wake up to the fact that Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation of India, controlling DD and AIR be truly and genuinely autonomous as is the case of BBC...... Though autonomous on paper, the corporation is still supported by Government of India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The news wing of Prasar Bharati (DD and AIR) have full time IIS officers as their media heads and owe their loyalty to MIB and are infocrats. The welfare of the people of India, should be the underlying motive of Prasar Bharati and not be construed as one body which might be thought to be a shield in the hands of successive governments to propogate their policies and programmes which might be detrimental to the interests of people. Prasar Bharati is a public broadcaster which means that people have a sense of belonging and their problems and aspirations should be reflected. But ministers of successive governments have failed to make Prasar Bharati modelled on the lines of BBC..... Hopefully, our executive and legislature and judiciary are seriously thinking about making prasar bharati autonomous for a democratic india....... Political manipulations which characterise the recruitment procedure should be done away with........ Please comment and react... I am sure there is scope for debate and discussion... But as always there is light at the end of the tunnel.... PSBT - Public Service Broadcasting Trust joining hands with Prasar Bharati has brought forth the aspect of public broadcasting in the public domain....PSBT epitomises the principles of broadcasting - pluralistic and participative which steers clear of state control as well as market interests.......this should be the model for prasar bharati if it has to achieve the level of BBC....... Bye and Cheers Sagnik Chakravartty, Copy Writer, Doordarshan News, New Delhi. (Engaged on a BECIL contract) Phone 9868568921)) --------------------------------- Check out what you're missing if you're not on Yahoo! Messenger -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070503/2d62582c/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Thu May 3 14:30:48 2007 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:30:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Inviting applications for India China Institute Fellows Program Message-ID: <008201c78d61$90b4a350$9966c2cb@freeda> India China Institute - PUKAR (Local Partner) invites applications for the India China Institute Fellows Program The India China Institute (ICI) based at The New School, New York, invites applications for its second fellowship program: Prosperity and Inequality: India and China India China Fellows Program (ICFP), ICI seeks applicants who are highly accomplished, innovative and emerging leaders with 5 to 15 years of professional experience in their respective fields. Applicants from diverse backgrounds such as public administration, academics, media, civic action, art, architecture and private entrepreneurship are encouraged to apply. Applicants should address the program theme with particular focus on regional development, migration, and design strategies. Priority will be given to applicants who are sensitive to social, cultural and gender aspects. This two year fellowship requires: 1. Indian citizenship and proof of residency for more than 5 years 2. Masters Degree or equivalent experience 3. Willingness to be an active and essential participant in an interactive, intellectual, collaborative research project that will be innovative and influential 4. Commitment to participate in 4 international residencies: . March 16-30, 2008, NY . November2-9, 2008, China . August 23-30, 2009, India . April 14-18, 2010 (tbd) 5. Total fluency in English, working knowledge of the computer and access to internet for communication and research purpose 6. The selected fellows could continue their current profession during their fellowship period. They will be assisted in the research proposal, travel, workshops and compensated appropriately by an honorarium 7. Applications must be postmarked no later than August 30, 2007. Late applications will not be considered. Application Forms can be downloaded from: www.indiachina.newschool.edu For further information, please write or email: Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh Senior Advisor, India China Institute C/o PUKAR, 1-4, 2nd floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai, 400 001 Tel: 91 22 6505 3599 Fax: 91 22 6664 0561 E-mail : deshmuka at newschool.edu; pukar at pukar.org.in 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/20070503/d2a2107b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From lawrence at altlawforum.org Fri May 4 13:47:37 2007 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 13:47:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Devastating Looks: Smirks, Quirks and Judicial Authority Message-ID: <463AEC21.70602@altlawforum.org> Some more private love notes on my ongoing affair with the judiciary * Devastating Looks: Smirks, Quirks and Judicial Authority *Raoul Vaneigem, the Belgian philosopher writes that “The economy of everyday life is based on a continuous exchange of humiliations and aggressive attitudes. It conceals a technique of wear and tear which is itself prey to the gift of destruction which it invites contradictorily”. In an incredible story in his chapter on humiliation, Vaneigem says that one day, when Rousseau was traveling through a crowded village, he was insulted by a lowly peasant whose insults delighted the crowd. The great philosopher Rousseau was completely taken aback and flushed with anger, but could not think of a single thing to say in reply and was forced to take to his heels amidst the jeers of the crowd. By the time he had finally regained his composure and thought of a thousand possible retorts, any one of which would have silenced the joker once and for all, he was at two hours distance from the village. Vaneigem then says “Aren't most of the trivial incidents of everyday life like this ridiculous adventure? but in an attenuated and diluted form, reduced to the duration of a step, a glance, a thought, experienced as a muffled impact, a fleeting discomfort barely registered by consciousness and leaving in the mind only the dull irritation at a loss to discover its own origin?” This everyday experience that Vaneigem describes is slightly deceptive since it involves an exchange between a renowned philosopher and bumpkin, and the pleasure of the tale is derived from the underdog illiterate getting the better of the man of letters. But it is more likely that our everyday is marked by experiences of humiliation in which the underdog does not even have a chance to speak back to, let alone offer a biting remark. How many such experiences lay scattered in personal archives of humiliation and shame and it is unlikely that they will ever be recalled in the forgetfulness of public memory. While the official memory of judicial authority is stored in volumes of reported decisions and cases which unfortunate lawyers have to traverse through, there also exists an equal number of unreported decisions and orders which partially escape public memory. Unreported judgments are often understood as those which did not make it to the reporters. But are these utterances the only way that we can think of judicial power? Witnessing the courts functioning on a day to day basis also allows you to uncover another secret archive, an archive of humiliation and power. It is said that seventy percent of our communication is non verbal and this must be true of legal communication as well. The secret archive that interests me consists not of well reasoned judgments or even the unreasonable admonishment of the courts, but the various symbolic signs and gestures that accompany them. An incomplete index of the archive includes the stare, the smirk, the haughty laugh, the raised eyebrow, the indifferent yawn, the disdainful smile and the patronizing nod amongst many others. The trick lies in distinguishing the temporal life of these visual aids. Like a good alchemist, an observer of the court starts to read these potent mixtures and their combination with words, and begins to predict the disastrous consequences that certain looks/words will produce. My experience of following the demolition cases in the Delhi high court have led me to a few tentative hypothesis: Any reference to the right of the urban poor is responded to with a smirk Any mention of things like regularization will be met with a laugh Any challenge to the authority of the court will be silenced with an angry glare While we have traditionally focused on the consequences of the orders, and the discursive effects of the words, it is time that we learnt from learn dancers and pay attention to the subtle meanings of looks and gestures. After all if models have looks that can kill, judges have looks that can demolish. But like everything else in this country, these visuals aids are also a scarce resource and have to be carefully allocated for maximum efficiency. The courts follow a ‘needs based approach’ in their allocation of stares and glares. The more experienced and senior the lawyer, the less likely that s/he will require these visual aids, and in exceptional circumstances you may even have a situation where the lawyer is willing to trade in some of their own visual aids with the judges. But if you happen to be a younger lawyer or one of those cantankerous litigants arguing for impossibilities like fairness and justice then you will be accorded a larger share of these visual aids. Having worked out the first step, namely the temporal logic of the court glares, you will then be required to move to another plane. To begin with, you must first acknowledge that the world of visual legal communication is a secret world in which only the initiated can participate. Lay people can try their luck, but at their own peril. When Arundhati Roy stood on a hill and laughed at the tender concern of the Supreme Court in the Narmada Bachao Andolan case, she was hauled up for contempt. Thus if you are to participate in language of the court, you can only do it clandestinely, with silence or whispers being your safest weapon. Over a period of time you will begin to develop a wider vocabulary and it will be useful to note them down for future reference, for without a handy dictionary of these secret codes, the ordinary language of judgments and decisions fail to provide any intelligible meaning. Consider for instance the following exchange over a matter related to a demolition of large basti. The court appointed commissioner risers to make his indignant observation that a large portions of prime public land in North Delhi (more than 51,000 square yards to be precise) is being encroached on. The judge’s face reveals an appalled and pained look. The lawyer appearing on behalf of the residents of the basti objects to the statement of the commissioner and points out that this is not a case of encroachment on public land but that there in fact exists a J & J settlement which has evolved over many years and the residents are entitled to a fair treatment in law. He further argues that the facts alleged by the court commissioner is untrue and each one of them can be contested. The expression of pain and appall quickly morphs itself into a smirk and laugh as the judge says, that the high court is not the space for determination of facts and facts should be considered by the appropriate authority. The lawyer pleads that in this case there is no appropriate authority since the ‘facts’ are produced either by the monitoring committee or the court commissioners and the court is passing orders relying on these very ‘facts’. In record breaking speed, the smirk is quickly replaced by a look of absolute indifference and the line is repeated that the court is not the interested in questions of facts. The fantasy of pure unadulterated experience has inspired philosophers and poets alike. The equivalent fantasy of appellate judges is in the idea of pure unadulterated engagement with questions of law, untainted by the messy details of facts. After all the task of judicial interpretation lies in the world of words, while the word of facts is enmeshed in experiences of pain and violence. Rana Gupta in his amazing story, the Millionaire’s sleep describes a child prodigy who discovers that the secret of music lies not just in the melody or the tune but in their combination with time. Thus playing Beethoven’s 5th symphony at twelve in the afternoon produces very different results from playing it at seven in the evening. In a similar vein it could be argued that the secret history of judicial authority lies not in their sovereign utterances alone but in their combination with the quotidian but under examined smirk or glare. The challenging task ahead for the ethnographer/ historian of the daily life of courts lies in completing the gap in the official archives of the courts by rendering them more sensual; to fill in the empty spaces between words with the appropriate emotion, the correct gesture or look, without which the utterances themselves seem to be incomplete in meaning. Thus if one were to try ad speculatively reconstruct decisions with their proper affect, it might look lie this. This is from the much quoted paragraph in Almitra Patel v. Union of India Establishment or creating of slums, it seems, appears to be good business and is well organized (Sardonic but flat tone). The number of slums has multiplied in the last few years by geometrical proportion (rising indignation). Large areas of public land, in this way, are usurped for private use free of cost (Raised eyebrows displaying Irritation). It is difficult to believe that this can happen in the capital of the country without passive or active connivance of the land owning agencies and/or the municipal authorities (hands raised with look of incredulity and rage) . The promise of free land, at the taxpayers cost, in place of a jhuggi, is a proposal which attracts more land grabbers. Rewarding an encroacher on public land with free alternate site is like giving a reward to a pickpocket (venom and spite mixed with sarcasm). From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 4 14:02:37 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 14:02:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Waris Mazhari: Islamic Ethics and Inter-Faith Relations Message-ID: <48097acc0705040132x5f6550bfj5a5fd9e21cb9cb59@mail.gmail.com> Islamic Ethics and Inter-Faith Relations By Waris Mazhari (Editor, Monthly Tarjuman-e Dar ul-Ulum Deoband, New Delhi, India) In today�s global village a major challenge is that of relations between different peoples and communities. According to the rules of nature, familiarity should breed love, not contempt or conflict. However, precisely the opposite is happening today. This is because the links that are being established today across cultures through new technological innovations are artificial, not real. They have been brought about by external changes and circumstances. Real closeness comes about, instead, through internal or inner change, but this is not really happening today. Even if Samuel Huntington�s theory of the clash of civilizations is not true and is grossly exaggerated, there can be no denying that there is a dimension of conflict that is present. We must seek to understand the causes for this and, accordingly, work out appropriate solutions. There are three main causes for this: 1. Straying from the path of morality and ethics, which is a reflection of denial of human nature and revolt against religion. 2. The misuse of religion, while ignoring contemporary social changes and transformations and 3. Politics based on communal and personal interests while ignoring international as well as basic human interests. At the global level, in order to improve inter-religious relations we will have to work on all the above-mentioned fronts. In this we would need to be guided by moral imperatives. Religion must not be misused and politics must not be played out in such a way that serving one�s own interests leads to the suppression of others. This can only happen on the basis of natural human ethics and morality. If interpreted properly, religion provides human beings with the appropriate standard of morality and ethics. Through religion we learn to distinguish between good and evil, and, accordingly, to shape our lives in the right direction. Human beings have no external standard other than religion through which their moral worth can be judged. A truly religious person considers his relations with other human beings as intimately associated with his relations with God. Accordingly, concern for other human beings should form a basis of inter-personal relations. This is the proper way to interpret and understand the social ethics of religion. As the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said, religion (din) is the name for welfare of and concern for others (al-dinu-al-nasihatu). A practical form of this is reported by another Hadith, which relates that a believer should desire for others what he would desire for himself. In my opinion, there are four basic pillars of Islamic morality insofar as it relates to inter-faith relations: 1. The Islamic conception of universal humanity 2. The Islamic conception of human rights 3. The Islamic conception of pluralism 4. The Islamic conception of peace. The Islamic conception of universal humanity This conception is based on the three principles of the unity, dignity and equality of all human beings in their status as creatures of God. Firstly, the Quran reminds us that the origin of all human beings is the same, they being children of the same set of primal parents, although they have been divided into different tribes or communities. This division, according to the Quran, is so that they may know each other, based on equality and care for each other. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that all creatures are members of God�s family, and that in God�s eyes that person is the best who maintains the best relations with His family. In other words, God wants to see human beings united at heart. Their external differences are part of the wisdom of creation and a test for human beings. While acknowledging these differences, we must strive to maintain the unity of hearts. Monotheism (tauhid) is ingrained in human nature and is related to the nature of the one God. God says that He made human beings in the best form. The best form here implies that God created Adam in His own image. He created Adam with His own hands and blew His spirit into him. The relation between the essence of human beings and God can be understood from this. It is this truth that prominently figures in the wujudi philosophy of Islamic Sufism. Some Sufis considered this to be the essence and the spirit of Sufism, and thus of Islam. A Hadith report exhorts human beings to seek to acquire reflections of the attributes of God, which reflects this very distinguishing feature of the human species. Human beings cannot perform their role as vicegerents of God if they are bereft of the reflections of divine attributes and ethics. The second theoretical basis of the oneness of humankind is the Quranic understanding of human dignity. God says in the Quran that He has dignified the children of Adam and has bestowed on them superiority over other creatures. Human beings are worthy of dignity simply by their status of being human. This point is made in the form of a shariah-based principle by the famous Hanafi scholar Ibn Abidin Shami, who writes that �A human being is worthy of dignity even if he be a disbeliever� (al adami mukarramun shar�an walau kafiran). In the Islamic understanding of ethics this is reflected in the insistence on respecting the essential humanity of all human beings. Hence, when a funeral procession passed by the Prophet (s.a.w.), he stood up. In response to a question from his companions about this, he answered that he did so because the Jew was also human. He said, �Is he not a human being?' (alaisat nafsan). This reflects the Prophet�s respect for all humanity. There are two aspects of human dignity which can be perceived from the following two points mentioned in Quran: 1) God made the angels bow down before Adam. Iblis refused to do so and he was punished for all time for this refusal. 2) God made human beings his vicegerents on earth and bestowed on them custodianship, despite the human capacity for doing wrong. When the angels asked God why he had done so, He replied that He knew what they did not know. The third basis of Islam�s universalism is its insistence on the equality of all human beings as creatures of God, despite their religious differences. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was meant for the whole of humankind. He stated that all human beings are equal to each other like the teeth of a comb. Another Hadith report mentions that the Prophet (s.a.w.) stated that all human beings are brothers to each other. The Quran refers to prophets sent to various communities as brothers of their people, although many of these people denied or opposed them. Although the Quran mentions that these prophets referred to their people as members of their own community, many of these people did not believe them. Many of these people remained disbelievers and polytheists. This suggests that, according to the Quran, what united the prophets with their people was their common ethnicity rather than common religion. The Islamic Conception of Human Rights The Islamic concept of human rights derives from the Islamic notion of the oneness of humankind. All humans, by virtue of being human, are eligible to enjoy the same rights. The Quran refers to the killing of one innocent person as tantamount to the slaying of all human beings. The importance of a single individual can be upheld only if he or she enjoys universal human rights. This is similar to the case of citizens of the same country, who can be considered to be equal only when they enjoy equal rights. Every individual is a citizen of God�s universal kingdom, and so he is eligible for the same universal rights as other human beings, be these religious, social, political or economic or other rights. According to Muslim scholars, right from Adam to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), the shariahs revealed to various prophets aimed at the protection of rights of the self (nafs), property (mal), religion (din), intelligence (aql) and progeny (nasl). After Imam Shatibi, some other ulama expanded this list of rights. These rights reflect basic human rights that must be protected. From the principal sources of Islam it emerges that these rights have been bestowed on people because God is the creator of them all and loves them all. Accordingly, He bestowed on human beings the status of His vicegerent, provided they follow His will. Islamic Pluralism and Coexistence Pluralism and coexistence are core values in Islam. In numerous verses of the Quran they are presented as a natural phenomenon. Islam does not see colour, race, language, ethnicity or nationality as the basis for judging the relative worth of human beings. Instead, these differences are accepted and tolerated as natural. The only criterion for difference is that of religion. This is because the scale to measure the deeds of human beings is religion. Despite this religious distinction, Islam provides all human beings freedom of faith and a person�s religion will not be allowed to negatively impact on his rights. The Quran explicitly states that there is no coercion in religion. Human beings are free to adopt any religion or ideology they might wish. This is because it is not in God�s scheme of things that all human beings should be made to subscribe to one way of thinking or behaving. The Quran says that if God had wished He would have made all human beings members of one community. But He did not do so. Each community has its own way of thinking, environment and natural abilities. This is why, according to the Quran, God has made a set of laws (shariah) and a path (minhaj) for every community. The Quran provides individuals with freedom in matters of belief and action, mentioning in this regard that each person is responsible for his own deeds. Thus, the Quran lays down �Your religion is for you, and my religion is for me� (lakum dinakum wa liya din). It also says, �Our actions are for us, and your actions for you (lana �amaluna walakum �amalukum). The Quran also says that the opposition posed by any community must not let one stray from the path of justice. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) established the first Islamic state in Medina. It was based on the principles of multiculturalism, pluralism and common welfare. The Treaty of Medina that the Prophet (s.a.w.) signed was the first written document in Muslim history. All the communities who had consented to this agreement would enjoy the same rights, although the state was headed by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). According to the terms of the agreement, the Muslims, Jews and the polytheists who had consented to it would be treated as members of one ummah or community and the principle of freedom of religion was respected. An article of the Medina treaty reads, �The religion of the Muslims is for the Muslims and the religion of the Jews is for the Jews� (lil muslimina dinuhum wa lil yahude dinuhum). This respect for religious freedom is also enshrined in the Quran itself, where churches and synagogues are mentioned before mosques in the context of the Quran�s condemnation of the unwarranted destruction of places of worship: If Allah did not check one set of people by means of another, there would surely had been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid His [cause]. From this Quranic verse it emerges that God has taken it on Himself to protect places of worship belonging to followers of other faiths, particularly the �People of the Book� (ah lul- kitab). This is because, as this Quranic verse says, God�s name is oft-recited in these places. This reflects the Quranic understanding of religious pluralism. In the treaties made between the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the people of Najran and Heerah the non-Muslims who were party to these treaties were given religious, economic and social freedom and rights. After the Prophet (s.a.w.), his companions followed in his path. In the treaty made between the Caliph Umar and the people of Palestine, the non-Muslims were granted full autonomy. This principle was also reflected in subsequent treaties made in Islamic history. In this context, it is appropriate to quote Bernard Lewis, who, in his book The Jews of Islam, writes: Religious persecution of the members of other faiths was almost completely absent. Jews and Christians under Muslim rule were not subject to exile, apostasy or death, which was the choice offered to Muslims and Jews in re-conquered Spain. And Christians and Jews were not subject to any major territorial and occupational restrictions such as were the common lot of Jews in pre-modern Europe. The Islamic Conception of Peace The Islamic conception of peace also bears an intimate relation with the Islamic conception of inter-faith relations. Unfortunately, some fuqaha have undermined this ethical principle. In place of the principle of lasting peace, they have taken the temporary principle of war as a central defining feature of inter-faith relations. This is why relations between Muslims and others are such a problematic issue in the overall fiqh tradition. This, in turn, has negatively impacted on the image that non-Muslims have of Islam. According to the Islamic code of ethics, the basic principle that governs inter-personal and inter-faith relations in ordinary situations and contexts should be peace. The word �Islam� also means �peace� and to be a �Muslim� also means to be at peace or peaceful. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) stated, �A believer is he from whose hands and tongue people are safe� (al-muslimu man saleman-nasu min lisanihi wa yadehi). He (s.a.w.) also said, �A believer is he from whom people�s life and wealth are protected� (al-mominu man aminahu an-nasu ala dimaihim wa amwalihim). This sentiment is also expressed in the form of the Islamic greeting of Asalamu Alaikum, a supplication that the person one is greeting should be at peace. War in Islam is something imposed from outside, rather than being intrinsic to its spirit. It is an exception rather than the rule. Peace-making is considered to be a noble action in the Quranic scheme of things. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that a person is not a true believer whose neighbours suffer his persecution and torment.. He said that the Angel Gabriel so stressed to him the importance of neighbours that he felt that they might even be included in the list of one�s inheritors. And neighbours include both Muslims as well as non-Muslims. Clearing Up Misunderstandings These points give us the essential principles to base inter-community interactions between Muslims and others on. However, there are some crucial misunderstandings that stand in the way of improving these relations. Both Muslims and non-Muslims are responsible for this and hence both need to clear their minds. Some Muslims think that Islam forbids them from befriending non-Muslims and exhorts them to wage war and kill non-Muslims or consign them to a subservient position in an Islamic state, etc.. Other such issues include the punishment for Muslim apostates and the question of the salvation of non-Muslims after death. Some Muslims think that they alone have the birthright to enter heaven. They consider the global political dominance of Islam as a divine mission, for which they feel that violence can be used as a means. They believe that non-Muslims are bereft of God�s mercy and are subjected to eternal condemnation. As far as Quranic teachings on such issues are concerned, it must be remembered that they address the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and his companions and are often specific to that historical context. Further, several of these prescriptions were intended to be temporary and limited in their import. To see them as other than this would lead to wrong conclusions. Hence, the order to kill (qital) disbelievers is specific to the time of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and his companions. These disbelievers had waged war against the Muslims and refused to respect the basic human rights of the early Muslims. The Quran refers to this refusal and the waging of war against the Muslims as religious persecution, and exhorts the Prophet (s.a.w.) and his companions to put an end to it. Now, after the end of this persecution, this commandment does not apply in the case of other people who do not persecute Muslims. Likewise is the question of friendship with non-Muslims, which the Qur�an appears to frown upon in several verses. However, in one chapter of the Qur�an in which there is a verse that forbids befriending non-Muslims another verse clarifies that God forbids Muslims from befriending only those who wage war against them on account of their religion and who have forced them out of their lands or helped those who forced them to leave. If the forbidding of friendship with non-Muslims was a general rule, then how can one explain the fact that Muslim men can marry women from among the �People of the Book�? In Muslim-ruled Spain and in India under the Mughals, non-Muslims enjoyed their religious and other social rights. This has been attested to by several non-Muslim scholars themselves. With certain exceptions, they were treated fairly, and not by the harsh and prejudicial commandments that certain fuqaha had prescribed. The institution of jizya, like that of slavery, was prevalent in Arabia before the advent of Islam in the ancient Roman and Iranian civilisations. The word jizya is derived from the ancient Persian word gazit. Muslims living in non-Muslim lands and non-Muslims living in Muslim lands were parties to treaties that sought to respect their rights. These treaties were given religious sanction. If they were not satisfied with the status they enjoyed they could migrate to other lands. To commit treason against a state with which one has a treaty with was, and still is, considered a crime. As far as the question of whether non-Muslims deserve God�s mercy and salvation, one must also ask if Christianity and Judaism consider Muslims as so deserving. As far as the Hereafter is concerned, every religious community has the right to believe that it is right and the others are wrong. Not to do so would lead to hypocrisy and cheating. The right attitude is to regard one�s religion as true but at the same time to tolerate others and respect their beliefs and customs, rather than denying the differences with them or seeking to do away with these differences. Many misunderstandings and misinterpretations upheld by a large number of Muslims on matters related to inter-faith relations have also to do with the intellectual stagnation and downfall of Muslims over the past few centuries. Several understandings of Islamic identity are concoctions of later Muslims themselves, and their intellectual foundations are weak. Some Hadith reports forbid Muslims from imitating people of other faiths, but these have to be seen in the historical context of the emergence of a new Islamic religious culture. That is why the strictness in this regard was able to be watered down later when Islamic culture had established itself. A universal faith like Islam cannot be tied to any particular culture because it seeks to unite the whole world in a single universal culture. The later fuqaha dwelt in great detail on questions like greeting non-Muslims, exchanging gifts with them, attending their festivals and solemn functions, visiting them when they are sick, using their evidence in cases, wearing their clothes and using their utensils etc.. On some of these issues, they expressed opinions that are not in accordance with general moral principles. These opinions can also be challenged and critiqued from within the broader Islamic ethical framework. These views bear the stamp of the environment of the Middle Ages, when expertise in fiqh became a veritable profession, resulting in complicated and technical reasoning and arguments. A large number of Muslims are still influenced by this mindset shaped by the medieval fiqh tradition and this assumes the form of a major challenge. Challenges and Problems The ethical framework that has been suggested above is indispensable for improving relations between Muslims and non-Muslims at the practical level. Hence, the ideological challenge is a major one that we need to face. This requires a new interpretation of Islamic theology, whose intellectual basis should be the broad Islamic ethical paradigm. It can be made practical through engaging in ijtihad. This process has already begun, although the present global political climate is not favourable for such a project. Today, there is a great need for this, but its achievement is also not easy. Most Muslims are victims of the post-Crusades and post-colonial mentality. The movement that ostensibly calls for the reformation or rethinking of Islamic thought, which is so much talked about in the West, particularly in America, is influenced by today�s politics and indeed is an integral part of this politics. However, it should be evolved on purely intellectual and academic bases. Ironically, it might well lead to the further reinforcement of the fear that some Muslims have, rooted in a traditional mentality, that the whole world is against Islam and is allegedly bent on its destruction. American aggression against Muslim states has resulted in violent reaction and in the emergence of certain interpretations of religion, which the West, particularly America, regards as a threat. Imposition must be replaced by dialogue, particularly with serious Muslim intellectuals. The task of reinterpreting Islamic theology has been haltingly taken up and is proceeding but slowly. Academic circles must explore the possibilities for this and promote efforts in this regard. It can only evolve gradually, and not suddenly or at once. This rethinking of Islamic theology must be based on the rich intellectual and cultural heritage of Islam. Islamic thought is dynamic, not static, because it is based on diversity of opinions. We need to explore this diversity deeply. We need to evolve a proper method of using the concept of the �aims of the shariah� (maqasid-i shariah) in this regard. There is a need for incorporating this issue into Islamic discourse. Dialogue Dialogue is the most important issue with regard to inter-faith relations within the broader Islamic ethical paradigm. The task of rethinking Islamic theology is for Islamic scholars to do. On the other hand, dialogue must involve both Muslims and non-Muslims, but not just religious specialists. Dialogue must take place at the social and political levels too, between people working in these fields. The new way of thinking theology that is called for today can be provided a conducive environment to develop if dialogue is also promoted. Dialogue is a continuous process. It is crucial not only because today we are faced with the possibility of the clash of civilizations, which needs to be pre-empted, but also because dialogue is a basic human imperative through which people can get to know about each other, their beliefs and their culture. In the past this happened essentially through polemics, but it is clear that this can only further misunderstandings and negative feelings. Another traditional method for relating to other peoples was missionary work. Missionaries sought to win others to their fold. However, dialogue is wider than this and should be based on the basis of our common humanity. Inspiration for this should be derived from the ethical values that are common to all religions. Both the East and the West have adopted negative and emotional approaches in seeking to relate to or understand each other. A string of events, from the Crusades to the Islamic Revolution in Iran and 9/11, have indelibly influenced the way in which Islam has been understood in the West, generally in negative terms. On its part, the East has sought to understand the West in the backdrop of the legacy of colonialism and now new forms of imperialism. In this way of relating to each other, both have focused only on the negatives and not on the positive features of the other. Today, some serious intellectuals in both the Muslim world and the West are seeking to honestly understand each other, but the walls of suspicion and fear have become even thicker and higher than before. In the aftermath of 9/11, in many Islamic circles the terrorist actions were roundly condemned, and this gives us hope for the future. However, the American invasion of Iraq has led many Muslims to turn back to their earlier way of thinking. Dialogue between Islam and the West is rendered more problematic by the fact that, unlike Islam, the West is not a religious entity but, instead, is based on the intermingling of various cultures. Contemporary Western culture is largely based on secular liberalism, which represents a revolt against religion. In contrast, Islamic culture is based on religious principles. Muslim thinkers, by and large, have not engaged in any systematic and balanced analysis of Western secular culture. Few Muslim scholars who enjoy the confidence of the Muslim masses have done so. Much of what has been attempted in this regard has been one-sided, negative and based on secondary sources. This is another hurdle in the path of dialogue between Islam and the West. According to the Quran, dialogue is an Islamic imperative and duty. As far as Muslims are concerned, contemporary political conditions are a major obstacle to dialogue. Dialogue can only be possible if both parties have a common goal and if both seek to achieve that goal. The world cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals changes first. Dialogue cannot proceed unless both parties realize and admit that they may have been, to some extent, wrong and that the other party may have been right, at least to some extent. To think that one is one hundred per cent right means that one believes that the other party is one hundred per cent wrong. Dialogue entails accommodation, the willingness to look again at one�s way of understanding others and the capacity to judge others by their norms rather than by one�s own. Trapped in the utopian environment of talk of dar al-Islam, Islamic Caliphate or pan-Islamism, a large section of Muslims think of dialogue as a new form of imperialism or intellectual colonialism. Likewise, some extremist Christians and Jews regard dialogue as na�ve romanticism and of no use at all. How should we relate to such people? In the past we sought to overcome this barrier by seeking to promote dialogue between Islamic and Christian organizations. There is a particular need for Islamic seminaries or madrasas as well as seminaries belonging to people of other faiths to get involved in the dialogue process. However, we must now expand the scope of dialogue to include social, educational and welfare organizations as well as social activists from different religious traditions. ---------------------------------------------- The monthly Tarjuman-e Dar ul-Ulum, of which the author is the editor, is the official organ of the Old Boys� Association of the Dar ul-Ulum, Deoband, India. Waris Mazhari can be contacted on w.mazhari at gmail.com From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 4 14:04:19 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 14:04:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Waris Mazhari: Re-Imagining Islamic Jurisprudence in the Context of Islamic Ethics Message-ID: <48097acc0705040134q66fadc58ua51479b43bd87396@mail.gmail.com> Re-Imagining Islamic Jurisprudence in the Context of Islamic Ethics By Waris Mazhari (Editor, Monthly Tarjuman-e Dar ul-Ulum Deoband, New Delhi, India) Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and ethics are, in some respects, intimately related to each other, and not so in other respects. Their commonality is reflected in the fact that both are related to human actions and their goals are the same, i.e. to direct human actions in such a way that human beings walk on the ethical path and thereby do God's will. Their difference lies in the fact that fiqh relates to human beings' external acts and behaviors while ethics relate to inner state or conditions of human beings. Fiqh concerns the rewards and punishments related to external human actions. On the other hand, ethics and morality seek to encourage the feelings God has placed in the nature of human beings which may have been temporarily suppressed by material and other factors. These feelings, when guided by morality, lead to righteous acts, not through external compulsion but through inner transformation. Hence, the scope of morality and ethics is considerably wider than that of fiqh. However, despite this difference, both of them are complementary and indispensable. Morality without fiqh and law cannot lead to the fulfillment of the demands of the human personality. Likewise, law without morality can not be of any use for human life. This is why, according to the Quran, God has made an "open way" (minhaj) and law (shir-ah') for all communities. Prior to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) several prophets received from God different sets of laws, the most clear form of which was that given to the Prophet Moses. Fiqh is the[i] human expression of the shariah and the shariah is the means to develop a complete human personality on an ethical basis. It is also a standard of ethics. God's intention in sending prophets and heavenly books to humankind was to help mould a complete human personality on an ethical basis through shariah. It was also intended to establish morality on the basis of human nature (fitrah). However, fiqh can be a proper expression of shariah only if it remains confined to the limitations that are set for it. Its limitations are such that in seeking to express the shariah it should not negatively impact on the divine ethics, which are the very core of din. If it does so, the shariah cannot be expressed and implemented in the right manner and the aim of ethics and morality would be negatively affected. This happened in the case of Mosaic law, which was later changed in significant respects, in protest against which Jesus Christ raised his voice. A special feature of Jesus Christ's work and message was to purify the din of what the Quran calls "the heavy burdens of the rules and restrictions" (isr wa aghlal) which had crept into the din because of an unnatural expression of shariah. Despite its certain special features, the Islamic shariah is the culmination of the process of revealing divine shariahs through history. In this way, fiqh must reflect not just the core of the shariah revealed on the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) but also of the divine shariah of the prophets who came before him. Without this, it would not be possible for fiqh to represent divine ethics (akhlaq ullah) needed for the whole of humankind. The impact of Islamic fiqh on human life. In understanding the relation between Islamic fiqh and ethics one needs to look at the impact of fiqh on Muslim life. This impact is of two types. The first is related to the absolute and explicit commands of Islam, which have been taken from the Quran and Sunnah. There is no need for any reflection, ijtihad or deduction as far as these are concerned. The second type is related to matters that are not explicit and in which there is need for deep reflection and ijtihad. In these matters there is a possibility of differences in opinion and argument. In one sense, human beings cannot easily understand their reality comprehensively. In Islam there are many matters which fall in this category and this very fact reflects that it is God's wishes that there be room for flexibility and accommodation in the concerned rules in this regard according to space and time .Because of this, ,fiqh establishes a very close relation with family and social life. According to the scholars of the rules of Islamic jurisprudence (�ulama ul-�usul) fiqh concerns sane adults with respect to various actions, which are classified as obligatory (wajib), prohibited(haram), recommended (mustahab) and permitted but discouraged (makruh). By classifying human actions this way, fiqh plays an important and positive role in human life. The deduction of fiqh rules in this way is based on the upholding of certain principles (usul) rather than being based on the personality of the scholars who played a key role in the development of the fiqh tradition. The crucial role of fiqh and its impact on human life can also be seen in context of the fact that Islam is din and also a complete system of life. This understanding of Islam is completely different from Western secularism. Contemporary Western civilization does not look upon any public role for religion with favor including in politics, economics and law, which it seeks to base on what it perceives of as human intelligence and experience alone. But we cannot forget the fact that the positive impact of fiqh on human society cannot be seen as separately from Islamic shariah. Rather, it is, in reality, the impact of the Islamic shariah. To understand them separately is to underestimate the status of shariah. A person observes the rules of purity, abstains from shameful deeds, values time, fulfills his promises etc., but it does not mean that he has necessarily studied the chapters on physical purification etc. that are included in corpus of fiqh. Instead, he does so instinctively, because this is what his conscience tells him, and the shariah supports him in this regard while providing him a standard to measure the worth of actions. Fiqh reflects human effort to understand the import of shariah. However, this does not mean that fiqh has only a formal relation with shariah. Instead, as a humanly constructed form of the expression of shariah, it is an important part of shariah. Hence, there is necessity for tafaqquh fil din (understanding the law through pondering on its true import) and this shall continue till the Day of Judgment. According to the Quran, a group of people will always be there who will play this role of interpretation of Islamic principles and rules according to space and time. Because no other shariah will come after Islamic shariah, the importance of fiqh is obvious. The Second Aspect Fiqh can serve as a means for the proper interpretation of shariah only when ijtihad is given its due place and when the aims of the shariah (maqasid-e shariah) are upheld. If this is not observed then one deviates from the very essence of Islam. Unfortunately, some aspects of the fiqh tradition are bereft of the true spirit of the din and shariah and are, in fact, a hurdle in the path of the total submission of human beings to God�s Will, which is the essence of Islam. In the later centuries, the fiqh tradition was seen as completely synonymous with the divine shariah, which, in fact, is not the case. Muslim society was sought to be regulated in accordance with the corpus of fiqh rules, some of which, to an extent, went against the Islamic ethical imperatives. This happened, in large measure, as a response to the devastation of Muslim lands by the Tatars, because of which the fuqaha sought to closely regulate Muslim society through intricate and detailed rules and laws in order to save it from attack and chaos. But this was an unnatural way of thinking. According to Muhammad Iqbal, the medieval fuqaha did not understand that the fate of communities is dependent not so much on the degree of legal regulation as on the ascertaining of the personal qualities and capabilities of people. If a society is sought to be excessively regulated, the status of the individual comes to be undermined. The individual becomes shaped by his external environment but loses his real spirit. Sufism Sufism developed at the same time as the schools of fiqh and represented a revolt against monarchy and the excessive externalism associated with many fuqaha. It played a crucial role in renewing and reviving the fountains of Islamic ethics and morality. In the medieval period, there was considerable tension between some Sufis and fuqaha, in which the latter often received the support of rulers. While the fuqaha sought to regulate people�s minds, the Sufis sought to reach out to their hearts. In this way, Muslim society was spared the extreme ethical stagnation at the ethical level that had occurred in several pre-Islamic societies. The Fatwa Phenomenon Fiqh and fatwa are not two separate things. A fatwa relates to the practical expression of fiqh as concerns any particular matter. However, today fatwa has taken the form of a new phenomenon that, in some cases, reflects the mentality that has been shaped by jurisprudential stagnation. It has, accordingly, assumed, in the public eye, the status of a ruling rather than the opinion (ra�i) that it really is. It is sometimes, though wrongly, seen as sacrosanct. Some people even believe that not accepting a fatwa is tantamount to defying the shariah itself. In the middle ages, many fuqaha engaged in fiqh only to mint money and reduced it to the status of a mehnah (worldly profession). The prominent Islamic scholar Imam Ghazali (d. 505 A.H.) found it very objectionable. Today, the fatwa is a hotly discussed phenomenon in the South Asian media. Fatwas are erroneously projected as �shariah in action� in the writings of the right-wing scholars like Arun Shourie6. Fiqh is erroneously presented as a �sub-shariah�. Fiqh and Contemporary Islamic Ethics Can the corpus of traditional fiqh provide a framework of Islamic morality that is in accordance with today�s cultural demands? The answer is in the negative. This is because the Islamic understanding of morality is universal while fatwas relate to specific spatio-temporal contexts. Because ijtihad has, for centuries, been ignored, the fuqaha have lost a crucial aspect that is central to the Quran and Hadith. The aim of the principles of fiqh (usul-i fiqh) was to keep alive the practice of ijtihad but in the fourth Islamic century the gates of ijtihad were closed and the development of the usul-i fiqh was halted. Imam Shatibi (died 790 A.H.) sought to take forward the tradition of the aims of the shariah (maqasid-e shariah) as developed by Imam ul Haramayn (d. 478 A.H.) and Imam Ghazali but till the writing of the book Maqasid al Shariat ul Islamiya by Imam Muhammad bin Tahir bin �Ashur (d.1973 A.H.), a student of Muhammad Abduh, there had been no real progress on the work that Imam Shatibi had done. In this way, the tradition of fiqh had become a collection of stagnant and frozen rules whose relation to contemporary times was, to an extent, only formal or customary. Because of the weakening of the link between fiqh, divine revelation (wahy) and human society, the fiqh tradition became more technically convoluted and complicated. Its focus came to be almost entirely on those aspects from which shariah rules could be derived. Those fundamental aspects of the divine sources (nusus) which are related to Islamic ethics and which are the very soul of the shariah came to be increasingly ignored. The divine sources came to be seen as sources of rules and regulations, thus somewhat ignoring their ethical import. The Negative Impact of Fiqh on Islamic Ethics The contemporary fiqh tradition has negatively impacted on both the personal as well as collective dimensions of the understanding of Islamic ethics in some respects, because of which numerous Islamic ethical demands have been sidelined. Through various methods of hila (casuistic arguments in order to circumvent the spirit of the shariah) which relate to the interpretation of fiqh, some things considered to be haram or forbidden have been sought to be made legitimate and vice versa. It was now easy for things like the rights of others (huquq ul �ibad), charity (infaq), benevolence (ahsan) and honour (irdh) to be ignored through such technical devices. The ignoring of collective morality in this way can be seen in the context of fiqh rules related to international affairs. The fiqh tradition has divided the world into the �abode of Islam� (dar ul-islam) and the �abode of war� (dar ul-harb) in order to uproot infidelity (kufr) and impose jizya on non-Muslims, for which it considers war as necessary. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to stand up when the funeral procession of a Jew would pass in front of him out of basic human courtesy. In contrast, many fuqaha consider it forbidden or permitted only in very special cases, and that too in a very limited way, to greet non-Muslims, attend their funerals, pray for God�s mercy for them, attend their festivals and exchange gifts with them. The fiqhi concept of offensive jihad goes against the basic social ethics of Islam. In fact, Western powers are doing precisely this today in attacking, without any reason, other countries. Although this attitude is condemnable, they alone are not to blame. We also need to look within, to introspect, to revise our own understanding of what jihad truly means. The policy of dehumanization of non-Muslims that was devised by some fuqaha in the dark Middle Ages has been adopted and acted upon by the West, particularly America, in this so-called age of civilization and progress. The Need for a New Understanding of Fiqh: The Reconstruction of Islamic Thought Because of this, seeking to understand Islamic ethics entirely within the framework of classical fiqh is not possible and is also not in accordance with the aims of the divine revelation. Instead, we need to make the Quran the basic framework for deriving our understanding of Islamic ethics. Tradition serves as a lamp for us, which will guide us at every step, but we must not rely completely on it for our intellectual development. We would need to engage in ijtihad in the context of scientific discoveries and the technical revolution that have completely transformed the global human community. We would need to read the Quran and Sunnah in the light of new human discoveries and the expanding corpus of human knowledge. In this way the gap between the new cultural era and traditional Islamic theology can be bridged and they can be brought into harmony with each other. We would need to revive the Quranic understanding of ijtihad, which prevailed during the early period of Islam. In fact, because ijtihad had been discounted, Islamic thought was rendered stagnant. The practice of blind imitation (taqlid-i shaksi) and the stringent conditions laid down at the level of the principles of fiqh for qualification as mujtahid are major challenges in this regard. The task of the new fiqhi or ijtihadi framework, or, in other words, the reconstruction of Islamic legal thought, would be to approach the principal sources of Islam without the interference of cultural and spatio-temporal factors and base itself on the spirit of the din and shariah. The Quran is firstly a book of morality and ethics and only later a book of law. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) mentioned that he had been sent to the world in order to fulfill morality or ethics. This is why we would need to re-read the Quranic revelation within the framework of the universal Islamic morality, which is based on human nature. In other words, it is not possible to develop a conception of Islamic morality which is relevant to the contemporary age without a proper understanding of the din and shariah. ======================================================= The monthly Tarjuman-e Dar ul-Ulum, of which the author is the editor, is the official organ of the Old Boys� Association of the Dar ul-Ulum, Deoband, India. Waris Mazhari can be contacted on w.mazhari at gmail.com From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Fri May 4 12:40:48 2007 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (videoNet) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 09:10:48 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?New_show_on_VideoChannel?= Message-ID: <20070504091048.725E5EDC.C3A9CE51@192.168.0.2> Dance in May, Move Me! VideoChannel - video art project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org launches another series of bi-monthly shows featuring news aspects how artists deal with movement. --> These series, curated by Agricola de Cologne spotlight in the 1st edition, entitled: Move Me! following five film/video artists ---> Norbert Attard (Malta), Pier Giorgio de Pinto (Italy), Daniel Iturrizaga (Peru), Tom de Pekin (France), i2off.org+r3nder.net (Argentina) http://videochannel.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=112 --> Dance in May, Move Me! ---------------------------------------- VideoChannel - video art project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org is a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.nmartproject.net the experimental platform for art and New Media from Cologne/Germany info (at) nmartproject.net From ml49 at duke.edu Fri May 4 17:11:02 2007 From: ml49 at duke.edu (Madhumita Lahiri) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 07:41:02 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] HIV/AIDS research In-Reply-To: <21d61a110705030758n2dc2208fu4f383e32f40b056c@mail.gmail.com> References: <21d61a110705030758n2dc2208fu4f383e32f40b056c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <21d61a110705040441t5e5d28e3sb04210dc76b05563@mail.gmail.com> (Posting for a friend at Duke). My name is Kedar Kirtane, and I am working on HIV/AIDS research in Delhi with the Health Inequalities Program at Duke University. My partner, Sweta Patel, and I have created a survey asking basic questions on HIV/AIDS, as well as on drug use and sexual history that we are hoping to administer to attendees of a transitional therapeutic organization called Sahara House that works in the New Delhi area. I needed someone to help translate our survey, recruitment script, and consent script, into Hindi. Could someone help me out? Please let me know. The documents are not excessively long, and I should be able to provide some reimbursement for your time. My phone number is 407-310-2970 and my email address is ksk11 at duke.edu. Thank you for your help. Kedar Kirtane -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070504/275d06d8/attachment.html From razvan.ion at pavilionmagazine.org Sat May 5 10:38:07 2007 From: razvan.ion at pavilionmagazine.org (Razvan Ion) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 08:08:07 +0300 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] PAVILION NO. 11 Message-ID: PAVILION NO. 11: "WHAT WAS SOCIALISM, AND WHAT COMES NEXT” Editors: Razvan Ion & Eugen Radescu | www.pavilionmagazine.org PAVILION is the producer of BUCHAREST BIENNALE Flexicover, 14.5 x 19.5 cm (6.6 x 8.9 in.), English, 288 pages, 18 EURO/25 RON Cover: Dan Perjovschi, The Right Socialism, 9 drawings, artist project for Pavilion. "Taken as a whole, What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next? constitutes a dissent from the prevailing directions of much transitological writing. It not only employs an understanding of socialism's workings that is far from widespread in scholarship about the region but also views the central concepts of research into post- socialism with a skeptical eye. This skepticism comes from being not at all sure about what those central concepts-private property, democracy, markets, citizenship and civil society-actually mean. They are symbols in the constitution of our own "western" identity, and their real content becomes ever more elusive as we inspect how they are supposedly taking shape in the former Soviet bloc. Perhaps this is because the world in which these foundational concepts have defined "the West" is itself changing-something of which socialism's collapse is a symptom (not a cause). The changes of 1989 did more than disturb western complacency about the "new world order" and preempt the imagined fraternity of a new European Union: they signaled that a thorough-going reorganization of the globe is in course. In that case, we might wonder at the effort to implant perhaps-obsolescent western forms in "the East." This is what I mean: what comes next is anybody's guess." Katherine Verdery In this issue (free download the pdf version of the issue at www.pavilionmagazine.org/pavilion10_11.pdf): COLUMN What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next? by Katherine Verdery AROUND Adorno On Late Capitalism: Totalitarianism and the Welfare State by Deborah Cook The Attitude of Classical Marxism Toward Art by David Walsh The Gataia Experiment by Ovidiu Pecican Socialism, Avant-Garde, and the Western Europeans by Tincuta Pârv Denationalized States and Global Assemblages by Magnus Wennerhag in dialogue with Saskia Sassen A Portrait of the Rebel Consumer Opressed by Life by Pascal Bruckner WHAT WAS SOCIALISM, AND WHAT COMES NEXT Synthesis: Retro-Avant Garde Or Mapping Post-Socialism by Marina Grzinic Marxism News by Cosmin Gabriel Marian Lenin’s Century: Bolshevism, Marxism, and the Russian Tradition by Vladimir Tismaneanu Of Butchers and Policemen: Law, Justice and Economies of Anxiety by Gunalan Nadarajan Can Lenin Tell Us About Freedom Today? by Slavoj Zizek The Bipolar World Has Ended. What Comes After? by Chantal Mouffe Apocalyptic Spirits: Art In Postsocialist Era by Misko Suvakovic Empty Pedestals by Ana Peraica Numismatics of the Sensual, Calculus of the Image: The Pyrotechnics of Control by Jonathan L. Beller The Theory of Revolution in The Manifest of The Comunist Party by Catalin Avramescu EXTENT Mud by Xavier Ribas (with a text by Felix Vogel) End Station by Elmgreen and Dragset (with a text by Dana Altman) The Right Socialism by Dan Perjovschi Notes on the Disappeared: Towards a Visual Language of Resistance by Chitra Ganesh+Mariam Ghani Monumental and Personal Modernism by Marjetica Potrc La Inmovilidad by Vincent Delbrouck Corrections by Rassim (with a text by Iara Boubnova & Luchezar Boyadjiev) Machine Shall be the Slave of Man but Man Shall not Slave for Machine by Olivia Plender ¡Protesta! by Taller Popular de Serigrafia Incident by Hüseyin Alptekin (with a text by Raluca Voinea) Sartre kommt nach Stammheim by Naeem Mohaiemen NSK State by Irwin (with a text by Juliane Debeusscher) Pioneers by Ciprian Muresan (another) point of view by Olga Kisseleva ------ What is PAVILION? An art and culture magazine that name alludes to the relative temporary structure of the contemporary art. The magazine is presenting wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary content in each issue through the varied formats of regular column, essays, interviews, and artist projects. Our publication addresses to a broad audience of readers, which are interested in contemporary culture and recent political and social issues and does not only want to describe contemporary phenomenon but with its militant attitude it tries to directly intervene in cultural, political and social life. And tries to publish a mixture of established and new upcoming artists, theoreticians and writers. Moreover, we publish brand-new texts and important, to the theme related texts of the last years. Therefore, could also be called a reader. Every issue has a special theme, which gives the general outline for the accumulation of texts, artworks and projects. Moreover, PAVILION is the producer of many related projects. www.pavilionmagazine.org PAVILION is the producer of BUCHAREST BIENNALE | Bucharest International Biennial for Contemporary Art www.bucharestbiennale.org PAVILION magazine is published in Bucharest by Artphoto Asc., a not- for-profit organization. The magazine is supported by: AFCN (Romanian National Cultural Fund) & Herris Printing. Internationally distributed in Europe, Australia, USA, Asia. For orders write to info at pavilionmagazine.org or call +4 031 103 4131 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From luigi at artificialia.com Sat May 5 12:43:27 2007 From: luigi at artificialia.com (Luigi Pagliarini) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 09:13:27 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] program 1st International Congress Art Tech Media In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <463B449E0008E099@> (added by postmaster@aa012msr.fastwebnet.it) ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ............................................................................ P r o g r a m 1st I n t e r n a c i o n a l C o n g r e s s A r t T e c h M e d i a 9 - 10 - 11th m a y 2007 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Wendsday 9 th may: MINISTERIO DE CULTURA Auditorio Plaza del Rey. 12,00 h Traslation systems receptors 12,30 h: Opening of 1st Internacional Congress Art Tech Media Ministra de Cultura. Carmen Calvo Institutions Collaborators Directors of Art Tech Media . Montse Arbelo y Joseba Franco ............................................................................ ............................................................................ Afternoon: 16,30 - 18,45 h. - Debate: Culturals Politics - Pavel Smetana. Director CIANT. Prague - Gefried Stocker. Director Ars Electronica.Linz - Alberto Saraiva. OI Futuro. Brasil - Rachel Baker. Visual Arts: Media Art and Moving Image . Art Council UK - José Carlos Mariategui. Founder of Alta Tecnología Andina (ATA) in Lima, Perú. Currently researcher in technology and media at London School of Economics, UK. - Ricardo Echevarría. President of AVAM - Rebeca Allen. Media Artist /Professor at UCLA Design | Media Arts , former Research Director at MIT Media Lab Europe in Dublin. Work with Nicholas Negroponte OLPC/MIT - Andreas Broeckmann. Director TESLA. Berlin 19,00 - 20,00 h. - Presentation of Libro Blanco FECYT - Eulalia Pérez. Directora Generalof FECYT (Science and Technology Spainish Foundation la Tecnología) - José Luis Brea.Principal Researcher and Coordinator of Libro blanco - Javier Echevarría. Director Humanidades CSIC (High Commision of Science Research) 20,00 - 21,30 h. - Cocktail :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Thursday 10th may: MINISTERIO DE CULTURA Morning: 9,30 h – 11,00 h. Debate: Museums and Art Centers XXI Century: Production, Curators and exhibition of digital art , Inmaterial Museum - Nina Colosi. Founder/curator, TheProjectRoom.org International arts & education program @ Chelsea Art Museum, New York - Lisa Dorin. Curator The Art Institute of Chicago - Marie-Claire Uberquoi. Director Es Baluard - Javier Panera. Director DA2 - Laura Barreca. Curator Pan-Palazzo delle Arti Napoli and Università degli Studi della Tuscia - Elena Rossi. Curator NetSpace: Viaggio dell'arte della rete at MAXXI. Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Roma - Antonio Franco. Director MEIAC - Angela Martínez. Director Audiovisual Department of CCCB - Nacho Ruiz. Gallery T-20 11,00 h – 12,00 h. Coffe break 12,00 h – 12,30 h. Internacionals Abstract: Centers of art production : MediaLab, new platforms and process - Niranjan Rajah. Assistant Professor School of Interactive Arts and Technology Simon Fraser University - Semi Ryu. Assistant Professor, Kinetic Imaging School of the Arts Virginia Commonwealth University - Zhuang Lixiao. Counselor Cultural Matters. Embassy of the Popular Republic of China - Menene Gras. Director Exhibitions Casa Asia 12,30 h – 14,00 h. Debate: Centers of art production : MediaLab, new platforms and process - Andreas Broeckmann. Director TESLA, Director Transmediale - Gefried Stocker. Director Ars Electronica.Linz - Ximo Lizana. Robotic Artist - Luigi Pagliarini. Robotic expert and director of Peam Festival - Rosina Gómez-Baeza. Director La Laboral - Pedro Soler. Hangar - Marcos M.. Medialab Madrid - Montse Arbelo y Joseba Franco. Directores Art Tech Media ............................................................................ ............................................................................ Afternoon: 16,30 h – 18,00 h. Debate: Art– Industry– Research - Innovación Tecnológica. Comunidad Madrid - Vicente Matallana. La Agencia - Luis Prieto. Sudirector Sociedad de la información. Miniterio de Cultura - Alejandro Sacristán. Silicon Artists - Anne Nigten. LAb V2 . Roterdam - Marcel.lí. Artist - Anna María Guasch. Crítica de Arte, Universidad Barcelona 18,00 h – 19,00 h. Break ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................................ Thurdays 10th may: INSTITUTO CERVANTES Evening: 19,00h – 21,00 h. Debate: Art and new media . The Iberoamerican Platform - José Carlos Mariategui. Founder of Alta Tecnología Andina (ATA) in Lima, Perú. Currently researcher in technology and media at London School of Economics, UK. - Arcangel Constantini. Artist , curator Cyberlounge Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo . Mexico city - Graciela Taquini. Curator: Centro de Desarrollo Multimedia del Centro Cultural General San Martin of Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires - Enrique Aguerre. Coordinator : Video Department of Museum Nacional of Visual Arts in Uruguay . Curator of Uruguay in Biennal of Veneza 2007 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Friday 11th may: MINISTERIO DE CULTURA Morning 9,30 – 11,00 h. Debate: Art Critic, pensamiento and Mass Media - Francisco Serrano. Director Foundation Telefonica - Rachel Baker. Art Council. UK - Roberta Bosco. new media journalist. CiberPaís - Anne Nigten. Roterdam V2 - Graciela Taquini. Curator: Centro de Desarrollo Multimedia del Centro Cultural General San Martin of Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires - Margarita Schultz. Philosphy´s doctor (Aestetic). Facultad de Artes. University of Chile - Sergio Calvo Fernández. Decano Facultad de Comunicación. European University of Madrid - Tina Velho Artista, Coordinadora del Laboratorio de Arte e Tecnologia da Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. 11,00 h – 12,00 h. Coffee break 11,30 – 13,00 h. Debate: New market: galleries, fairs, biennals, rights - Montxo Algora. Director Art Futura - Nestor Olhagaray. Director of Bienal de Video y Nuevos Medios de Chile. - Luis Silva. Curador, turbulence y director The upgrade Lisboa - Enrique Aguerre. Coordinator : Video Department of Museum Nacional of Visual Arts in Uruguay . Curator of Uruguay in Biennal of Veneza 2007 - Ricardo Echevarría. Presidente AVAM 13,15 – 14,00 h. Conclusions ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................................ Friday 11th may CASA DE AMERICA Afternoon: 16,30 – 20,00 h. Abstracts, Iberoamerican Debates - Tania Aedo. - Tania Aedo. Director of Multimedia Center of CENART (Centro Nacional de las Artes. Mexico - Gustavo Romano. Artist. Coordinator of Medialab of Centro Cultural de España at Buenos Aires. Director Limbo project at Museum of Modern Art. Buenos Aires - Maria José Monge . Adj. Director of MADC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Costa Rica. (San José) - Mauricio Delfín. Director of Realidad Visual / Gestor del Programa New technologies, gestión and cultural politics in Peru. From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat May 5 16:05:24 2007 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 15:35:24 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Google_Books=3A_What=92s_Not_to_Li?= =?windows-1252?q?ke=3F?= Message-ID: <5af37bb0705050335y3b57a1e6ya5c0b1087f982df1@mail.gmail.com> Google Books: What's Not to Like? By Robert Townsend The Google Books project promises to open up a vast amount of older literature, but a closer look at the material on the site raises real worries about how well it can fulfill that promise and what its real objectives might be. from AHA http://blog.historians.org/articles/204/google-books-whats-not-to-like via Sci Med Tech list From editor at intertheory.org Sat May 5 18:18:09 2007 From: editor at intertheory.org (Nicholas Ruiz III) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 05:48:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Kritikos, V.4 April 2007 Message-ID: <659216.2130.qm@web902.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Kritikos, V.4 April 2007 The Author Never Dies: Roland Barthes and the Postcolonial Project...(s.olaoluwa) http://intertheory.org/olaoluwa.htm Dr. Nicholas Ruiz III Editor, Kritikos http://intertheory.org From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Sat May 5 19:06:23 2007 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 06:36:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Hazrat Nizamuddin Residents Association blog Message-ID: <379550.57356.qm@web51411.mail.re2.yahoo.com> --- Riyaz Qureshi wrote: > > Hi all, > Residents of Basti Nizamuddin have started a blog > discussing the current > situation. Please give your comments. If you want to > post please forward me > your post on this email. > > hnra.blogspot.com > > Thanks and Regards > Riyaz > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html From ysikand at gmail.com Sun May 6 16:44:59 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 16:44:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bizarre Pakistani Cult Seeks Presence in India Message-ID: <48097acc0705060414k48ca87cbs8316bc87b9163beb@mail.gmail.com> Bizarre Pakistani Cult Seeks Presence in India By Yoginder Sikand A fortnight ago, the walls of my locality in New Delhi were plastered over with posters depicting a bearded man bearing a ponderous turban, below which were etched slogans fiercely denouncing Pakistan. 'Pakistan Promotes Islamic Terrorism', 'Islamic Terrorists Rule Pakistan', 'Declare Pakistan a Terrorist State' and so on the posters proclaimed. They were issued by The Mehdi Foundation International (MFI), a little-known outfit with a rather bombastic name. Curious to learn more, I dialed the cell number mentioned at the bottom of the posters. A man (who, I later learnt, was the General Secretary of the MFI) answered in broken English in a jarring pseudo-American twang, and informed me about the demonstration against Pakistan that a group of Pakistani citizens associated with the MFI was organizing the next day outside the Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi. I got to the venue a short while before the demonstration got over. A group of some sixty-odd young men and women, who claimed to be Pakistani citizens, were raising full-throated slogans against Pakistan, accusing it of fomenting 'Islamic terrorism'. Intriguingly, with equal gusto they chanted slogans hailing India. 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Hindustan Zindabad', they screamed. The placards they carried announced various other messages: that true Islam did not sanction violence against innocent people, that some Hindu deities and saints were also truly men of God, and, most curiously, that a certain Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi was the saviour of the entire world. Draped on the fence behind where the demonstrators stood were banners depicting the same face that I had seen on the posters pasted on the walls in my locality. That figure was of Riaz Ahmad Gohar Shahi, who, the banners announced, was considered by MFI followers as the Imam Mehdi of the Muslims, the Kalki Avatar of the Hindus, the Promised Messiah of the Jews and the Christians and the Buddha himself. The slogan-shouting crowd then gathered in a circle and set alight an effigy of the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and of Maulana Fazlur Rahman, a Pakistani cleric and politician, who happened to be in Delhi at that time. And, surrounded by a bevy of media persons whom they had specially invited, they set ablaze their Pakistani passports in a fit of fury. 'We refuse to return to Pakistan', said a demonstrator, a young woman from Karachi. Burning her passport was illegal, I informed her. 'Our Imam', she shot back, 'has told us that India will help us, so we are not worried. Nothing will happen to us'. 'False cases of blasphemy have been lodged against our people and we are being harassed for our religious beliefs', claimed another angry demonstrator, a man from Lahore. Predictably, the Indian papers and television channels that covered the dramatic event presented it, as the demonstrators themselves had wished, as a case of a religious minority in Pakistan being allegedly persecuted by the state and Islamic groups. The demonstrators' virulent demand that Pakistan be declared as a 'terrorist state' was music to the ears of the reporters who covered the event, and whose selective reporting of it further reinforced the stereotypical image of Pakistan being a hot-bed of religious bigots. But that, as I was to discover, did not really reflect the reality of the MFI. None of the newspapers and television channels that covered the event had examined the MFI's beliefs and doctrines. Had they cared to do so, they would probably not have enthusiastically endorsed the claims that the demonstrators had so passionately made. Over the next two days I scanned the Internet for whatever I could access on the MFI. I also met with Mir Lali, the MFI's General Secretary, who is based in North America and who was the key organizer of the Delhi demonstration. In his missionary enthusiasm, Lali arranged for me to speak through the Internet with the head of the MFI, the London-based Yunous Al-Gohar, who is styled as the outfit's 'Chief Executive Officer'. What emerged from my reading and the conversations that I had with these people was that the MFI hardly appeared to be the benign inter-faith group committed to universal peace and harmony that its activists claimed it to be. Rather, it struck me as a completely bizarre cult that made such outrageous claims for its cult-figure, Riyaz Ahmad Gohar Shahi, that no sensible Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, in addition, of course, to Muslim, would ever make. In other words, the demonstrating MFI activists' protestations that the group was being 'falsely' and 'unfairly' accused of anti-Islamic beliefs by the Pakistani state and Muslim groups in Pakistan were not quite true. Briefly put, the MFI cult is centred on the figure of Gohar Shahi, who was born in a village in 1941 in the Gujaranwala district in Pakistan's Punjab province. In 1980, he began publicly preaching, presenting himself as a sort of Sufi, although several of his followers began considering him the Imam Mahdi, the Promised Saviour who, according to Muslim tradition, would arrive in the world just prior to the Last Days. In the late 1990s, a number of criminal cases were instituted against Gohar Shahi, forcing him to flee to Britain. There, he set up his centre, making a fairly significant number of followers, particularly among expatriate Pakistanis. According to the MFI, Gohar Shahi went into occultation in November 2001. MFI activists believe that he is omnipresent, although visible only to his followers, and that he will again reveal himself in his physical form shortly before a grand apocalyptic battle that he will wage, along with Jesus, against the Dajjal or Anti-Christ that will herald the Day of Judgment. In the meanwhile, MFI followers believe, Gohar Shahi is in touch with Yunous al-Gohar, said by some Pakistani newspapers to be a London-based billionaire and hypnotist, who claims to be his deputy. On the other hand, a rival group of Gohar Shahi's followers, led by his own son, members of the Pakistan-based Anjuman-e Sarfaroshan-e Islam, believe that Gohar Shahi is dead and they have built a grave over what they say is his tomb in the town of Kotri, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. As appears from its name, the Anjuman-e Sarfaroshan-e Islam presents itself as somewhat closer to mainline Islam, while the MFI appears as a completely new cult, having little or no relation with Islam, although almost all of its followers are of South Asian Muslim, particularly Pakistani, origin. The MFI claims to have several hundred thousand followers in Pakistan, Europe, North America and South-East Asia, although these numbers are probably grossly exaggerated. Presently, there are said to be a few dozen followers of the cult in India, and the MFI has a small centre in Mumbai. The MFI appears to be using the publicity that it received for the demonstration that it recently organized in Delhi to establish a more salient presence for itself in India. The MFI makes such preposterous claims on behalf of Gohar Shahi that even the Anjumjan-e Sarfaroshan-e Islam insists that these are blasphemous, arguing that Yunous and his group are engaged in a 'conspiracy' to destroy the movement from within. Gohar Shahi, announces an issue of the Hatif-e Mehdi, the MFI's Urdu-cum-English tabloid, is, in fact, God himself! The cover page displays a picture of Riyaz Ahmad Gohar Shahi along with a slogan announcing, 'There is no god but Riyaz', and inside an article that seeks to claim Gohar Shahi as the 'God of all gods' announces, 'When the age of God the Merciful and Compassionate gets over, the age of the God of all Gods will begin'. In place of Khuda Hafiz or Allah Hafiz, the standard South Asian Muslim way of saying farewell, MFI activists use the phrase Gohar Hafiz. Similarly, Inshallah ('God willing') is replaced by Insha Gohar, and the place of the Qur'an is taken by the Din-e Ilahi, a tract said to have been penned by Gohar Shahi. Those who do not believe in Gohar Shahi or oppose him, the MFI insists, are in league with the Devil and would be consigned to hell. "As humanity awakens", Yunous writes in clumsy English an article hosted on the MFI's official website, "every nation will claim 'Gohar is ours'. True saviour of humankind is the one who turn the humanity into Divinity. And that is Gohar Shahi. Gohar Shahi is already turning humanity into Divinity. No wonder he is the Promised Messiah, Awaited Mehdi and Predicted Kalki Avatar. Yunous says so. Prophets came for nations, saints for groups, but Gohar is for all humanity". Needless to say, these absurd beliefs and monopolistic claims that would offend not just Muslims, but equally so Christians and Hindus, too, were left cleverly concealed by the MFI's activists demonstrating in Delhi, who sought to present themselves as a harmless group of mystics, committed to universal love, peace and harmony transcending the narrow boundaries of religion. 'We are not Muslims', insisted Yunous as I spoke to him online. 'We are Goharians and follow the Goharian philosophy. And this philosophy is for all people, irrespective of religion'. 'The Lord Gohar Shahi', he went on, had appeared in the world and had, he claimed, met with Jesus. Together, they had planned a grand scheme to herald the End of Times. Mir Lali, Yunous said, had been present at that alleged meeting. I could ask him more about if I wanted to, he advised. Suppressing a laugh with difficulty, I asked Lali to tell me more. As if he expected me to believe his fanciful tale, Lali told me about how Jesus had allegedly met Gohar Shahi in 1997 in a hotel in New Mexico in the United States, where they had a detailed discussion about global politics. After that, so he said, Jesus traveled to Sri Lanka, where he still is, while Gohar Shahi had gone into occultation or concealment. 'I was there myself in the hotel and I saw it all', Lali insisted, visibly disappointed when I bluntly announced that this was obviously hogwash. I could barely conceal my horror listening to him, especially because Lali claimed to have been working as an engineer in America for almost four decades. 'Jesus will become the Imam Mahdi's disciple, so you can see what a great stature our Lord Gohar Shahi possesses', Lali exclaimed, undeterred by my obvious complete disbelief. Yunous then came back online to carry on with the story. As he talked, I watched him on the web-camera that Lali had attached to his laptop. Half-bald, corpulent and stern, he hardly seemed the saintly figure that his followers believed him to be. I asked Yunous about a statement carried on his outfit's website that announced that Gohar Shahi had prophesied that America had been specially blessed by God to lead the world. 'O America', the site quotes Gohar Shahi as having said, 'God has chosen you. You will be the leader of humanity […] I want to inform you that God has chosen you for deliverance of humanity'. How could a real man of God, I asked Yunous, make such an untenable claim and unabashedly support America, given that American imperialism is today such a global scourge? 'America helps people in need with aids', Yunous shot back, in what was presumably, although not inappropriately, a slip of the tongue. He brusquely shrugged off my queries about American imperialism. 'America has liberated Afghanistan and is now liberating Iraq', he thundered. I butted in to tell Yunous that he had got his politics all wrong, but he sought to silence me by insisting that I was naive. 'I don't know what sort of doctorate you have done', he blurted. 'It is clear that you have little knowledge'. Although not amused at that accusation, I decided not to contest it. After all, I was not there to have an argument with Yunous but to know more about his cult. The 'Lord Gohar Shahi', Yunous went on, had predicted that America, Britain, Israel and India would jointly support the army of Jesus Christ and the Imam Mahdi or Kalki Avatar in a global war that would herald the Day of Judgment. Saudi Arabia, he added, would be with the army of the dreaded Dajjal or Anti-Christ, whom he identified as the Taliban leader, Mullah Umar. Many other Muslims, too, would be, so he argued, in that camp. And as for Pakistan, his original homeland, Yunous made the absurd claim that India would soon invade and annex it. In the global Armageddon that Yunous said was soon to break out, all those who refused to accept Gohar Shahi as the Imam would rally behind the Anti-Christ and would, presumably, be consigned to perdition in hell. As supposed proof that Gohar Shahi was the Imam Mehdi and the Kalki Avatar, Yunous claimed that his image had appeared in the sun and the moon, on Mars, in a Shiva temple in Pakistan and also in the black stone, the Hijre Aswat, in the Kaaba in Mecca. That weird claim is also constantly repeated in MFI literature. Indeed, MFI propaganda material consists of little else than an endless repetition of this fanciful argument. So far does the MFI go in this regard that it has even staked ownership of the black stone in the Ka'aba on these grounds. It tirelessly repeats a bogus tale of the Saudi rulers having allegedly painted over the image of Gohar Shahi in the Kaaba in order to conceal it from Muslims. Quite obviously, these arguments appear carefully crafted to inflame Muslim passions and probably to win cheap and easy publicity for the group, particularly in anti-Muslim circles. In short, then, as emerged from what Yunous and Lali told me, the MFI was hardly the benign interfaith group committed to global peace that they sought to pass it off as. It was also hardly apolitical, contrary to what they claimed. After all, their self-styled Imam Mahdi was a political figure par excellence: he would, they said, lead a global war and would, in effect, rule the world. In more practical terms, the MFI has been involved politically in its own way in Pakistan. As its website reveals, the MFI has organized demonstrations in support of Musharraf in and outside Pakistan, claiming that he came to power because of the MFI's 'spiritual power'. However, recently the MFI appears to have changed its position, as exemplified in the burning of Musharraf's effigy by its activists in Delhi. Further evidence of the political agenda of the MFI emerges from the ongoing conflict between rival camps of followers of Gohar Shahi. The Pakistan-based Anjuman Sarfoshan-e Islam has accused Yunous of deliberately distorting the teachings of the founder of the cult. Yunous, they say, is working as an agent of 'anti-Islamic' and 'anti-Pakistan' forces in order to pursue his own 'worldly interests'. Yunous' bizarre claims about Gohar Shahi, his unconcealed support for America, particularly for its so-called 'war on terror', and his own claim of being Gohar Shahi's deputy, all clearly show that Yunous and his MFI have a clear political agenda of their own. The MFI's absurd claims appear to fit perfectly in with the political interests of American and Israeli establishment. This raises the question of whether the cult's stated beliefs have been consciously tailored in order to win the support of certain governments that have a clearly anti-Muslim agenda. While the sixty-odd supposed Pakistani MFI activists who burnt their passports were promptly dispatched to Delhi's Tihar prison, an MFI activist I met in Delhi spoke about the possibility of another batch of twenty or so of their followers shortly leaving Pakistan to seek asylum in India. In this regard, a question that remains unanswered is how Pakistani MFI activists were able to acquire Indian visas, given that the visa granting rules for citizens of both countries are so stringent. When asked about this, Yunous simply replied that it was easier for Pakistanis to get Indian, as opposed to American, visas. But that, to many, may not sound convincing enough. Given its absurd beliefs, which most Muslims, Hindus, Christians and others would find deeply offensive, the MFI must not be allowed to establish itself in India, which, as is clear from the dramatic demonstration that it recently organized and the sympathy that it is trying to evoke through the Indian media, is precisely what it is seeking to do. It may be recalled that some years ago the Government of India had banned another cult with almost identical eccentric views about the Imam Mehdi and the Kalki Avatar, the Deendar Anjuman, which has its international headquarters in Karachi, accusing it of being involved in a series of bomb blasts in the country. The Government would be well advised to be similarly careful in its approach to this new bizarre cult as well. From shuddha at sarai.net Sun May 6 17:56:46 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sun, 06 May 2007 17:56:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Gujarat Fake Encounters: The Spin Doctoring has Begun Message-ID: <463DC986.3050207@sarai.net> (apologies for cross posting on Commons Law and www.kafila.org ) Gujarat Fake Encounters: The Spin Doctoring has Begun The Gujarat Fake Encounter Story (which many of you may be following) is rapidly being scripted along the familiar lines of the 'Corrupt Policeman-Corrupt Politician-Underworld Links' nexus. While this may be true, (and I do not doubt that Narendra Modi, who holds the 'Home' portfolio in Gujarat, must not be entirely un-involved in this matter) it would be unfortunate if the Gujarat 'fake encounter killings' , like 'fake encounter' stories in Kashmir, Delhi or elsewhere are now spun into 'systemic aberrations'. Rather, they should be seen as evidence of how the system actually works, and how efficient it is. Rajdeep Sardesai, our teflon television crusader, did his bit this afternoon in a CNN IBN special where he repeatedly tried to push the point that the 'encounters' were part of the BJPs 'communal' agenda, neatly handing them a stick with which to now go to town with. Of Modi and Vanzara as Hindu heroes, versus the tainted pseudo-secular English Media types. In a story titled 'Has SC Pressure Unmasked Vanzara' Datelined, May 05, 2007, http://www.ibnlive.com/news/has-sc-pressure-unmasked-vanzara/39827-3.html the CNN IBN report says "Which raises the question – was Vanzara acting on his own, or was he following a political agenda?For the last two weeks, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has chosen to stay silent.Also remained quiet was the minister of state for home Amit Shah, widely seen in Gujarat as someone whom Vanzara directly reported to. According to an Intelligence bureau report, it was alleged that at a meeting held on January 30, 2006 at the Circuit House in Gandhinagar, Amit Shah admitted in cavalier manner that Kauser Bi had been killed by Vanzara." In this version, a high state of panic, a 'strategy of tension' about terrorism in Gujarat has served the BJP and Modi well, and so, encounter killings have been arranged from time to time to ensure that the public believes that Narendra Modi is in constant danger. Vanzara himself is said to have been involved in 9 Encounters that killed a total of 15 people in recent years. I am not disputing the broad picture that this story paints. What I am not quite convinced about is the way in which it located the entirety of the authorship of this episode as something that has somehow transpired solely between a 'communalized political leadership' and some rogue senior police officers. Even for this to work, there have to be more people involved. Not all of them Gujarati, maybe not all of them communal or even tied to the simple agenda of keeping Modi in power. Elsewhere, CNN IBN has said that Vanzara was allegedly paid to kill Sohrabuddin by 'Rajasthani Marble traders' in order to relieve them of Sohrabuddin's extortion. [See - Marble lobby paid Guj cop to kill CNN-IBN, May 2, 2007 http://www.ibnlive.com/news/ips-officer-vanzara-may-have-been-a-contract-killer/top/39619-3.html?xml The question is not whether Mr. Modi sanctioned or did not sanction the killings (even presuming that he did), or whether Sohrabuddin was killed on the request of 'Rajasthani Marble Traders'. The question is, how could the Gujarat police (even if we assume that it acted under orders solely emanating from Modi's home ministry in Gujarat, or from the Rajasthani Marble Trade) successfully undertake an operation that needed to be fine tuned as far away as Hyderabad, just on its own resources. I have no doubt that Mr. Modi (or the deadly Rajasthani Marble Lobby) would have reason to be happy with the outcome, the question is, who else was happy? If Rajdeep Sardesai and others of his kind want to make this an issue of Modi versus the good guys, they will be doing the greatest sevice to Modi (who delights in being taken on by the mainstream English media) and to those others, not necessarily in Gujarat, who co-scripted the parts that Vanzara, Pandyan, Sohrabuddin, Tulsiram and Kausar Bi played. The Mainstream Media channels like CNN IBN will have done their duty of playing the tough investigators and will have won themselves kudos from the secular conscience keepers of our republic, the BJP will be happy to stage yet another polarization, and the hidden scritpwriters of the episode will stay safe and sound, where they belong. Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi will become one party's martyr, Vanzara and Pandyan will become another party's martyr. Everyone who matters will gain. Here is why I think the whole question of 'fake encounters' is a lot more complicated than simply a matter of some corrupt cops doing the bidding of some corrupt politicians with links to some underworld dons, or in pursuit of some 'communal agneda'. While all this may be true, it does require more than the corrupt politician of one state to bring into being an operation that involves the police apparatus of three states - namely, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (one of which, Andhra Pradesh was not ruled by the BJP). Add to this the strange mix of small town underworld operatives, informers, safe houses and much else besides that points to a picture far larger than the B Movie of Cops gone bad and Netas gone crazy. What is missing, or not commented on, in much of the discussion around the fake encounters is the fact that this kind of multi-state co ordination of police forces can only be done by Central bodies. The one central body uniquely equipped to bring such co ordinated efforts to fruition is none other than the Intelligence Bureau. It may be recalled that the IB has from time to time made it known that there were plans afoot to assasinate Modi and other BJP, VHP leaders in Gujarat. Once a prediction is made, it can be seen as effective only if the facts follow suit, so, if no specific plot to arrange for Modi or Togadia's assasination can be found, then a few dead bodies (some unidentified, some of small time extortionists like Sohrabuddin can be conveniently placed for a photo opportunity). Some other dead bodies like that of Kausar Bi, can be made to disappear. We need to remind ourselves that Rajkumar Pandyan, IPS, one of the people arrested with IG (Border Range) Vanzara, is a superintendent of police with the Intelligence Bureau. [ See - Three IPS officials arrested for fake encounter PTI Report in Hindustan Times, April 24, 2007 ] Vanzara was chief of the Anti Terror Squad of the Gujarat Police, while Pandyan was his deputy during the time when Sohrabuddin was killed and Kausar Bi disappeared. Anti Terror Squads of sensitive states like Gujarat are always directly handled by the IB from the centre. Which means that though Modi may have been involved, the question of who co-authored the orders to arrange so many 'encounters' to protect Modi may have come from sources quite far away from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Remember that the CNN IBN report I quoted mentions 'IB Reports' saying that "at a meeting held on January 30, 2006 at the Circuit House in Gandhinagar, Amit Shah (Gujarat's minuister of state for home affairs and key Nody point man, admitted in cavalier manner that Kauser Bi had been killed by Vanzara." How exactly does CNN IBN lay its hands on IB reports, and to what extent should we treat the entire contents of an IB report as news. Especially, when one of the people indicted in the episode happens to be an IB operative (Pandyan). A fair amount of reading between the lines is necessary here. A news channel quotes an IB report (without giving a source) about an episode where an IB functionary is directly involved in a murder. Why then is the IB willing to countenance a leak about something that compromises one of its own. Perhaps the answer could be found in a strategy of 'selective information delivery'. You say a few things that are so shocking that they temporarily inhibit us from asking a harder question. So, in the 13 December case, when the heat was high, CNN IBN delivered a piece of 'selective information' - of Davinder SIngh of the STF having tortured Afzal (which had been known all along) mainly to distract attention from the question of how Afzal got to be where he is today. So, here too, an IB report, mentions people who are quite close to the IB, in a shocking episode, probably in order to shield other less dispensable functionaries and more important processes. It is time to revisit the story of Ishrat Jahan and Javed Sheikh (the Malyali Hindu convert to Islam from Pune who was presented as an earlier would be assasin). It is time to ask just how many people the IB was cultivating, and is cultivating today, in different places, in order to make sure that the right kind of dead bodies turn up with routine regularity. Incidentally, now that Vanzara and Pandyan have been arrested, the IB has once again made it known that theire lives are in danger in Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad and that they should be taken elsewhere. [See - Sabarmati jail inmates could pose threat to Vanzara: IB Times of India, 5 May, 2007 ] Two possibilities emerge from this prediction - one, that the IB is only trying to look after its own, and two, that once again, this prediction might disturbingly come true, that someone might actually 'take out' Vanzara and Pandyan in Sabarmati Prison. Either way, the IB stands not to lose. If Vanzara and Pandyan are safe, they will be safe because the IB has made sure that they are safe, and they will then be vulnerable to pressure of the kind that they do not spill the beans over much. If they are 'taken out' then once again, the truth departs with them. All of this goes to show, that the game is far more complex than even a Narendra Modi can play. We should ask, not who Narendra Modi controls, but rather, who controls Narendra Modi. We should begin considering the fact that the IB, RAW and other agencies of stealth are as vital to the political scenario in India today as the underworld and policemen are, and their job is not just that of offering convenient pre-election predictions to the powers that be. There is a state within the state in India, what is called a 'deep state' in Turkey, and every encounter killing shows just how far and wide the writ of that state within the state runs. Perhaps a concerted effort to make the decisions of the Intelligence apparatus in this country acquire a degree of transparency and accountability is in order. Unless that is done, many more Sohrabuddin's, Kausar Bis, Tulsirams, Ishrat Jahans (and countless others in Kashmir and elsewhere) will meet their encounter with a Bullet that may or may not be accounted for in the ordinance and ammunition registers of many different police, counter-insurgency, intelligence and anti terrorism deparments. best, Shuddha From yasir.media at gmail.com Sun May 6 21:21:34 2007 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 20:51:34 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Bizarre Pakistani Cult Seeks Presence in India In-Reply-To: <48097acc0705060414k48ca87cbs8316bc87b9163beb@mail.gmail.com> References: <48097acc0705060414k48ca87cbs8316bc87b9163beb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0705060851w683eca78g42d9c49b5812bdc2@mail.gmail.com> you have identified this pretty well. there has been no shortage of such cults throughout hindustan in history which are syncretic and funny by outrageous standards - or in other words seriously absurd. for a few years during the last decade their mark on the walls had been a biological-heart-shape with allah written inside and slogan like 'welcome the coming of the mahdi'. as far i know they dont have a violent side but are wierd nonetheless. you're also, i think, correct about their political motivations to win themselves a future. here is another absurdity although this one does not bind us across the border: the interesting bit is the interview with incidentally another naayab pearl - madeeha gauhar http://www.dawn.com/weekly/images/images1.htm On 5/6/07, Yogi Sikand wrote: > Bizarre Pakistani Cult Seeks Presence in India > > By Yoginder Sikand > > > A fortnight ago, the walls of my locality in New Delhi were plastered > over with posters depicting a bearded man bearing a ponderous turban, > below From jenny.chithra at gmail.com Sun May 6 14:04:51 2007 From: jenny.chithra at gmail.com (jenny chithra) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 14:04:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] second posting: caste and gender in the urban space Message-ID: dear friends, First of all, we want to apologize for being a week late with our second posting. In the coming two months (May, June) we will be going to Keralam for our field work. There we will interview all the important people involved in the case that we are studying as part of the Sarai project. In fact, we have already got in touch with some of the people involved and have got some positive responses from them. We are now looking forward to our field trip, when we will be able to listen to and record varied people's responses, reactions and experiences in dealing with this culturally loaded incident. In preparation for our field trip, we spend the past month trying to read up on the most important issues that frame our study, such as the various debates on gender, caste, left politics, the urban space and culture in Keralam. We now have a clearer idea about the directions that we would want to explore in our field work. In this posting we want to share some of this with you. In our reading of contemporary magazines and studies, we see that there is a strong and emergent discourse on caste and gender in Keralam. The gender discourse owes itself to the women's movements and we feel that it has gained much more acceptance than the caste discourse. (It would be interesting to think why this is so) However, with the revival of Dalit politics in the 90s, there is a vigorous discourse on caste slowly building up. We see most contemporary magazines, (which had once reveled in literary material along side international and Kerala politics) dedicating at least one story to the question of caste. Chithra Lekha herself was interviewed by Geeta, a well known feminist scholar, in *Maadhyamam *a highly respected mainstream magazine in February 2006). In the course of our field work, we plan to visit the *Maadhyamam* archives and follow up the responses to this interview. We also noticed that the caste and gender question are being taken up mainly by dedicated Dalit and feminist scholars. The mainstream intellectual discourse continues to ignore these issues in most of their analysis. More over, we also see that there is a sustained way in which mainstream voices are attacking the rise of these voices. More importantly, both in Dalit and women's politics, women from subordinate communities, like Chithra Lekha herself, bearing the mark of community and gender, are seldom studied and addressed. We are at present trying to put together an extended bibliography on all these issues, which includes articles from mainstream magazines like "Mathrbhumi", "Maadhyamam", and also articles published in international journals, along with important books. In our field work, following leads from some scholars, we are also planning to look for rare books and archival material on land reforms, the left movement and caste consciousness and lower-caste gender reforms in North Malabar which is our area of study. We would like to make special mention of one important issue that keeps coming up in any debate or discussion on Keralam. This is the notion of Keralam and its culture as always/already progressive in comparison to other states of India. Such a notion is often used both to undercut and initiate most discussions on caste, gender and the urban space in Keralam. ** Some hold that Keralam is highly urban and progressive and therefore caste and gender oppression is either being fabricated, misinterpreted or just the perversion of a few misguided people. In contrast to this, Dalit and feminist scholars pitch their argument against the so called progressiveness of Keralam, trying to point to the ways in which Keralam has always overlooked or ignored the important issues of caste and gender. . Actually Chithra Lekha's case lends very easily to this kind of a frame of analysis. Most people responsible for victimizing Chithra Lekha are official members of a trade union affiliated to the Marxist party and they deny any kind of caste/gender angle to the whole debate. For instance, in the interview that Chithra Lekha gave to a mainstream magazine (mentioned above), she speaks out against the untouchability practiced against Dalit families. For this she points to the way in which the four Dalit families in her locality are not allowed to drink water from the common well. However, autorickshaw drivers of the area belonging to the Marxist party, denies this. They claim that it is only because the water is polluted that water was refused. We find it interesting that even the perpetuators of caste/gender crime in Keralam have to assert the non-existence of caste and thereby their own progressiveness (Chithra Lekha, Interview, Geeta, "Maadhyamam", February 2006). We would be looking closely at such postures in the course of our field work, trying to probe into the ways in which they frame the structures of caste and gender in the contemporary urban spaces of Keralam. Another important point is that we realized that most caste and gender debates are caught up in having to justify themselves against the edifice of progressive Keralam. So often the new and innovative forms through which caste and gender operates in the urban space of Keralam is not studied. Thinking alongside and beyond the contemporary debates on caste/gender, we would like to approach the people we are talking to, (especially intellectuals and organizations that have stood in support of Chithra Lekha) towards generating some answers to the new shapes and forms that caste and gender has taken in progressive urban spaces of Keralam. Here the role of the marxist party, as we already mentioned in our proposal, would be specially studied. During our field work, we would also like to find more material from Keralam itself towards inquiring into the historical roots of such contemporary phenomenon. We will write you again, next month, with our observations and experiences in Keralam. Carmel Christy Jenny Rowena -- (All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070506/41edd6d0/attachment.html From ezine.mattersofart at gmail.com Sun May 6 21:49:56 2007 From: ezine.mattersofart at gmail.com (anoop kamath) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 09:19:56 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?MOA=92s_5th_May_upload_can_be_view?= =?windows-1252?q?ed_on_line_now?= Message-ID: <96c7d24e0705060919yb7e103cj9859c81397ac79d3@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends, Greetings from www.mattersofart.com. Our May 5th upload can be viewed online now! - *Ranjit Hoskote* writes about *Aparanta*, a major art event curated by him in Panjum, Goa - *Vivek Menezes* examines why the story of Goan art is intertwined with a strong streak of sheer cussedness. - *Sanjit Rodrigues* traces how an artist camp formed the core of * Aparanta*, a major exhibition in Goa's art history. - *Tanya Abraham* weighs up how *Aparanta* has been a true and fresh experience of difference. · *Experimenta 2007* held in Bangalore and Mumbai gave a new lease of life to experimental films, says *Dhanya Pilo* · Infocus: *Ravikumar Kashi* · Special Interview: *Shahid Datawala* · And Check the *online catalogue *of *Real 2007*, MOA's annual show coming up on May 17, 2007 in New Delhi Plus our regular features and news… Log on to www.mattersofart.com for the latest news in Indian contemporary art -- Anoop Kamath editor in chief mattersofart.com 9811168775 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070506/186d1840/attachment.html From radiofreealtair at gmail.com Sat May 5 13:08:19 2007 From: radiofreealtair at gmail.com (Anand Vivek Taneja) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 03:38:19 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Remembering 1857: 10th and 11th May, New York Message-ID: <8178da990705050038x42e95d09nc735b98021250478@mail.gmail.com> Two events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the The Great Rebellion in India. Spread the word. 1) Rebellion: History, Music, Poetry featuring musicians Achyut Joshi, Dave Sharma and Samita Sinha; and narratives, poetry and folksongs from 1857 Alwan For the Arts, 16, Beaver Street Thursday, May 10, 7pm 2)The Uprising: Reflections on 1857 A panel discussion with Janaki Bakhle, Faisal Devji, Salahuddin Malik and Veena Oldenburg 602 Hamilton, Columbia University Friday, May 11, 6.30pm 1857 – A defining moment in the history of South Asia and British colonialism. May 10th, 2007 will mark the 150th anniversary of the Rebellion of 1857. As the largest anti-colonial uprising of the 19th century, the Rebellion marks a watershed moment in history at multiple levels: the end of the East India Company's rule and beginning of direct British government rule and the Raj; the completion of the loss of Mughal sovereignty in India; and a sea change in North Indian life, culture and politics. 1) Rebellion: History, Music, Poetry To mark the 150th anniversary, we are revisiting 1857 through multiple narratives of the event - narratives of revenge, lament and lost possibilities - through history, music, poetry, and images. The program will integrate live performances of ghazals and various Indian musical forms, readings of selected poetry and historical prose, and images of the uprising and its aftermath. May 10, 2007. 7pm Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. Music - Achyut Joshi, Dave Sharma, Samita Sinha Poetry/Narrative/Images - "The 'Wheat-ish' Log Collective" - Sajid Huq, Prashant Keshavmurthy, Daanish Masood, Haroon Moghul, Anand V Taneja About Achyut Joshi - Achyut Joshi has trained in Hindustani Classical Music as a student of Raghunandan Panshikar of the Jaipur Gharana. In 2005 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study music in India. He teaches high school math in New York City. About Samita Sinha - Though trained primarily in classical Hindustani music, Samita Sinha's repertoire spans a range of styles in several different languages. She experiments in synthesizing elements of Hindustani music with jazz, electronic music, and theater. In 2002 she was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to study in the guru-shishya tradition in India with Dr. Alka Deo Marulkar. Since returning to New York City her main projects have included KAASH, Sunny Jain Collective, and Sekou Sundiata's the 51st(dream)state. More at http://www.samitasinha.com/ >From Dave Sharma's Myspace page - Sharmaji creates a bass-heavy, post-desi sound that is as consistently powerful as it is diverse in background-- and completely NYC. As a DJ and percussionist he's brought his riddims to artists as diverse as Karsh Kale, Ming & FS, Tina Sugandh, JUNGLI, and Timbaland's hookstress RajeSwari, as well as for NYC's 9-years-strong Basment Bhangra party... In 2004 he started a long-term relationship with AR Rahman's Broadway musical "Bombay Dreams" More at http://www.myspace.com/davesharma The 'Wheat-ish' Log Collective - Came up over chai one rainy New York afternoon as a bunch of impecunious desi graduate students and NGO types realized that the state sponsored 'celebrations' of 1857 in India were going to entirely painted in black and white, and that even if sitting in NYC, we needed to do something to change the tints of the picture. 2) The Uprising: Reflections on 1857 To mark the 150th anniversary of the rebellion of 1857, we will come together for brief reflections on the event, its lasting repercussions in the 90 years of the Raj that followed, and its relevance to current Indian identity and politics. Professors Janaki Bakhle, Faisal Devji, Salahuddin Malik, and Veena Oldenburg will offer brief remarks on 1857 and after. This will be followed by an intra panel discussion and an interactive Q&A session with the audience. May 11, 2007. 6.30pm 602 Hamilton, Columbia University. - Janaki Bakhle teaches History at Columbia University. Prof. Bakhle has recently published *Two Men and Music: Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Tradition *(New York: Oxford, 2005). She is currently researching Marathi Revolutionaries in the early twentieth century. Bakhle is working to situate their activities within a specifically Marathi discourse. - Faisal Devji teaches History at the New School. He is interested in the political thought of modern Islam as well as in the transformation of liberal categories and democratic practice in South Asia. His broader concerns are with ethics and violence in a globalized world. Prof. Devji has recently published *Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity* . - **Salahuddin Malik, a professor of history, earned his PhD at McGill University in Montreal. He is a widely-published specialist on 19th century British India and Islam. He teaches Ancient World and upper-level courses on Islam and South Asia. -Veena Oldenburg teaches at Baruch College, CUNY. Among her publications is her work on British colonial urbanization, *The Making of Colonial Lucknow, 1856-77* (Princeton University Press, 1984), "Life Style as Resistance: The Case of the Courtesans of Lucknow" (Feminist Studies , 1990) and *Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime* (Oxford University Press, 2002). -- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070505/62bced61/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From abshi at vsnl.com Mon May 7 13:36:17 2007 From: abshi at vsnl.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 13:36:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Job Vacancy - International Center for Research on Women Message-ID: <0JHN00JUDVUIZ700@fe2.internal.vsnl.net> -----Original Message----- From: CWDS Library [mailto:cwdslib at bol.net.in] Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:38 AM To: CWDS-BOL - A Discussion List on Gender Issues in South Asia Subject: [cwds-bol] Job Vacancy ===== >>>Forwarded Message >>> ====== From: Aprajita Mukherjee Dear All We are in the process of rolling out our project "Reducing vulnerabilities of sex workers to HIV, Stigma and violence" with support from the MAC AID Fund. This project will be implemented in the East Godavari district in collaboration with Care. We are looking for a Consultant to help us undertake the background research for the project with its focus on identifying social and economic factors that drive sex work in the district. The detailed scope of work and the terms of reference for the consultancy, etc are provided in the link: http://www.indevjobs.org/jobdet.asp?jid=75 I was wondering if the members of the Group could recommend names of consultants who you think would be suitable to undertake this assignment. Also, please forward this in your networks. Thanks for your help. Aprajita Mukherjee International Center for Research on Women 42 Golf Links New Delhi-110003 Website: www.icrw.org Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, ICCO, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank From ysikand at gmail.com Mon May 7 19:42:06 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 19:42:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Scam at South Asia's Most Popular Sufi Shrine Message-ID: <48097acc0705070712j7d08fc84x81094b2d2980aa75@mail.gmail.com> Scam at South Asia's Most Popular Sufi Shrine Yoginder Sikand The shrine of the renowned twelfth century Chishti mystic Hazrat Khwaja Moinduddin Chishti in Ajmer in Rajasthan is one of the most renowned and revered Sufi dargahs in all of South Asia. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims—Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs—visit the shrine. Donations to the shrine from pilgrims run into several million rupees annually. This precisely is the cause for a raging controversy involving leading members of the Dargah Committee and a group of Muslim social activists who have recently issued a report on the alleged financial bungling and mismanagement at the shrine. The seven-member group constituted an inquiry committee after the Ministry of Minority Affairs received what the committee says were 'hundreds of complaints' as well as a Public Interest Litigation filed by an NGO in the Delhi High Court about financial misdoings at the shrine. Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is known for having led a simple and austere life. He is said to have donated to the poor whatever he received from people who came to visit him. For this he earned the sobriquet Gharib Nawaz or 'helper of the poor'. This, the report says, is in complete contrast to what several members of the committee appointed to manage his shrine are today up to. As any visitor to the shrine will attest, for many custodians of the shrine their work is actually a flourishing business, pestering pilgrims for donations the moment they step inside the precincts of the dargah. The inquiry committee report relates numerous instances of financial mismanagement at the shrine. It refers to allegations against the President of the Dargah Committee, Peerzada Shibli Qasim, who has been accused of corruption relating to collection of donations in the name of the shrine and of misusing the dargah's guesthouse for his family. He is also alleged of allowing a liquor shop to continue to function in the premises of the Dargah Committee. Interestingly, four of his colleagues in the Dargah Committee, Mansoor Ali Lalli, Shaukat Ali Ansari, Abdul Wahid and Kadar Bhai Wadiwala, lodged a complaint last year accusing him of having filed a writ petition in the Rajasthan High Court without their consent against the Ministry of Minority Affairs for allegedly not taking the permission of the Dargah Committee for the appointment of the Nazim of manager. For that the amount settled by the lawyer was Rs. 34,600, of which he is said to have taken took Rs. 15,000/- in advance. The four members wanted that this amount be recovered from Qasim. Qasim also claims that he has been running a dargah school till, but he has not disclosed the exact amount spent on this as per the Act 36 of the Dargah Act of 1955. According to the report, Abdul Aleem, the deputy manager or Naib Nazim of the Dargah Committee, is alleged to have consistently issued money to various members of the Committee 'in a manner most unprofessional' and 'without proper vouchers or stamped papers'. He claims to be engaged in social work by running a computer centre, a school and a langar or free community kitchen, but, the report says, he did not divulge the budget for these activities. Allegations have also been leveled against him of permitting the khuddam or traditional custodians of the shrine to encroach on the dargah premises, including in the main courtyard of the shrine. Shaukat Ali Ansari, proprietor of a gun-manufacturing factory, is another member of the Dargah Committee. The inquiry committee found that he has been occupying a flat in the dargah for more than a year, where he has arranged for the sons of his friend to stay, without clearing the dues. The committee also found that 'he had no answer to the heaps of pages written against his scams at the Waqf Board or concerning the dargah' except denying these charges. Thus, for instance, Babu Lal Singharia, ex-M.L.A. from Kekdi, claims that Ansari had appropriated more some 1.7 lakh rupees. Jas Raj, President of the Ajmer District Congress Committee and former M.L.A., accused Ansari of having 'illegally grabbed the chairmanship of Rajasthan Waqf Board' and 'frittering away the Waqf land, including many graveyards'. The report mentions Haji Qayyum Khan, former M.L.A., who has alleged that Ansari 'has regularly been misappropriating Waqf Board funds'. These include withdrawal of a fixed deposit of a whopping sum of almost 20 lakh rupees, leasing Waqf property at the Imambara in Mount Abu by taking fifteen lakh rupees as bribe and parting with two lakh rupees for election purposes. Haji Qayyum Khan has also leveled charges against Ansari for the death of six persons. The President of the All-India Jamaat-e Qureish, Fazl-e-Karim Qureshi, refers to 'umpteen cases of misappropriation of funds' while Ansari served as Chairman of the Rajasthan Waqf Board between 1991 and 1998, including having allegedly taken some 22 lakh rupees from workers for their appointment. The inquiry committee raises questions regarding Dargah Committee member Abdul Kadir Wadiwala, who has been accused by Jas Raj, ex-MLA, of misusing a sum of more than 1.75 lakh rupees and of not paying rent for the guest house of the dargah for almost six years. The Muslim Ekta Manch , a local civil society organization, has claimed that that Wadiwala has collected several lakh rupees in the name of the dargah, which he has invested in his own business. The Inquiry Committee refers to 'bundles of papers of complaints' against another member of the Dargah Committee, Mansoor Ali Lalli, accusing him of gross manipulation of funds. For instance, he is said to have spent more than fifty thousand rupees on food and tea on himself and his family at the dargah's restaurant. He is also said to have charged more than forty thousand rupees by way of traveling and dearness allowance without submitting any vouchers and to have collected money from donors for the decoration of the dargah but failing to pay this into the dargah's account. Another charge is that he has collected money from outside donors as well as a sum of almost sixty thousand rupees from the Dargah Committee for organizing a poetry recitation function or mushaira, although the Dargah Act of 1955 does not provide for allotment of money for this purpose. Abdul Bari Chishti, another member of the Dargah Committee, has been accused by the Inquiry Committee on account of collection of donations in the name of the dargah and of misusing the shrine's guest for personal purposes. He has been also alleged to have let out dargah premises to people for less than the assessed market rate and of using vehicles belonging to the shrine for his personal use. The report alleges political interference in appointments to the Dargah Committee. One such case relates to Mr. Wahid, Ajmer District BJP President, a tenant of the dargah, who, while 'erratic and irregular' in paying his rent, was allegedly able to become a member of the Committee through the influence of a BJP Minister, Satyanarayan Jatiya. Wahid has been accused of being involved in changing the rentals of Dargah Committee properties and of occupying some shops in the Dargah Committee complex but failing to regularly pay rent. Based on the evidence that it claims to have collected, the Inquiry Committee concludes its report by asserting that the presence of unscrupulous people in the Dargah Committee would 'jeopardise and tarnish' the image of South Asia's most popular Sufi shrine. Similar charges could be leveled against numerous other popular religious establishments and pilgrimage centres across India, irrespective of religious affiliation. The report 's damning indictment suggests the need for greater involvement of public interest and civil society groups in overseeing the running of such places, which, in the name of serving religious causes, are also being used to promote the personal interests of their custodians. From hie_deepak at yahoo.com Tue May 8 03:09:15 2007 From: hie_deepak at yahoo.com (Deepak Kadyan) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 14:39:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Popular Music and configuration of Jat identity in hayana Message-ID: <729189.53737.qm@web32006.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi, I am a recepient of independent fellowship 2007and working on 'popular musical traditons and configuration of jat identity in haryana 1900-2000'. This posting is a preliminary investigation of an artist who produced more than three thousand compositions and has acquired a status unmatched by anyone.A vast corpus of vernacular literature is available on him and a study of svang tradition(a musical traditon,also known as nautanki in western uttar pradesh)and the following text is just a part of it. Lakhmi Chand(1903-1946) Before analyzing Lakhmi Chand’s works and his cult image in Haryanavi society, let us take a look at the form itself. Popular culture presents itself in diverse forms and the tradition which Lakhmi Chand excelled in was swang/ sang. It would be interesting to analyze the history of the word swang itself and how it has come to be associated with a particular form of popular culture. The literal meaning of swang is to impersonate, to stage or to perform, disguise, imitate. It is also contended that the word sang is associated with sangitak of Sanskrit. It is seen as contributing to the Sanskrit drama in terms of influx of prakrit words in Sanskrit drama; inclusion of comedy both as theme and characters as well; amalgamation of poetry and prose . There are references to the word sang in ancient texts as well which point to a longer history of this tradition. The word sang finds a place in Kalidas Granthavali and Gorakh nath also complains of the nuisance created by sangis and other numerous references in works like Padmavat, Raskhan and Kabir’s preachings. The most popular form of folk drama found in various parts of India are Tamasha or Sangita in Maharashtra, Bhawai in Gujarat, Khyal in Rajasthan, Videsia in Bihar, Maach in Madhya Pradesh, Jatara in Bengal, Jashan in Kashmir, Nautanki and sang in Punjab. It would of interest for a comparative study of these forms and map a cultural history of these forms and the common themes underlying in them and the variations in them. Sangs in Haryana have been one of the important sources of entertainment since the second half of eighteenth century. The earliest known sangis of Haryana are Bansi Lal, AliBaksh, Krishan Lal Bhatt in the fourth, sixth and seventh decades of eighteenth century respectively . Lakhmi Chand is credited for introducing raginis in sang. It wasn’t entirely a new innovation but he popularized it as the most import ant medium of rendition. Sang is a combined form of prose and verse but the latter is more prominent than the former. It consists of singing and dancing as well but this is done only by the female characters, though, performed by men as social customs haven’t allowed women to appear in these sang groups. A sang is performed in an open ground encircled by the audience. A stage is prepared in the centre using wooden cots or takhats and the performance is done on this raised platform. The most commonly used instruments are sarangi, harmonium,dholak, nagara, cimta(tongs, pincers), khartal, bansuri(flute). All of these constitute pucca saj. These instruments are played by sajinde, who historically have been from mirasi caste, and uptill partition they were a part of almost every sangi bera. They are also referred as tekia, as they repeat tek. A tek is the initial two lines of any ragini pertaining to a specific kissa followed by kali which is further explanation of the context. No matter who the sangi is, it is very difficult to change the tek and modifications can be brought only in the internal content but keeping the context intact and it is this fluidity which makes it really hard as to which ragini is whose composition and sometimes it has resulted in controversies . There no notion of curtain in these performances, every artist remains on stage and plays his part and in between forms part of the chorus. A normal sangi bera usually have ten to twelve people but the number rises to sixteen in case of prominent sangis. There is no fixed notion of director and the group has an egalitarian character about it and the performance depends on the reaction of the audience. Just before the start of the sang, sajinde takes position on the stage and starts playing music and the female characters being played by men dances to the music. This is called goonga ghamora (dumb wandering) . A sang can be performed in mane styles. A sang usually revolves around a plot or a theme called kissa and ragini is the narrative mode of presenting the story. This narration can be done by one of the sangis but usually specific roles are assigned to the members of the group and sometimes one can act for more than one character as well. Every ragini is followed either by a conversation between the characters or a brief summary of the conversation. The most difficult way is when there are multiple layers of dialogue within one ragini though it would be very easy to sing the already composed raginis but to compose new raginis of this genre would mean serious work. This kind of dialogue can be in the form of characters interacting through kali that is one character narrating one kali and the response in the succeeding kali. But the toughest form is when interaction is line by line and it is here that Lakhmi Chand excelled . Another very important aspect is the language of sang. It is highly syncretic with the influx of Persian, urdu, English and hindi and few words from Punjabi also find a place in these raginis. Sang is very important in collecting funds for social purposes like goshala, temple well, ponds, schools and community centers. People give money or gifts for the purpose and also to the performers appreciating their work. This is announced on the stage alongwith the name of the village and the antecedents of the donor. This is called chamola . But the high point of any sang which keeps people seated is the character of nakalchi( an imitator) who not only ridicules the performers but also passes scathing remarks on the villagers it is being held. This provides some of the really hilarious moments and most of those characterizations are still very much in circulation . But the common theme in this ridicule is the modern, English educated person who sees this as ribald and somewhat inferior. The performers also come under the hammer of ridicule of this nakalchi, for instance the central female character in Kissa- Nautanki is portrayed as an extremely beautiful but nakalchi describes her as following; Hath te tundi, per te landadi, kali-kali shan Nak te nakti, thoda dikhe, aankhya me nuksan’ ( she is handicapped by hand, legs, and has a dark complexion. Negligible nose and has defects in the eyes as well). It is of importance to note that female dancers existed in Haryana at this time as well and they also performed sang but this was seen as highly derogatory by the people as it might their women to this profession and other important factor being that these performers were prostitutes as well. Firstly peasants could not have afforded such luxurious entertainment. Secondly, the interaction and reaction that is there in case of male performers is not possible in the case with women performers. Thirdly, in the absence of modern technological gadgets, women fount it extremely difficult to sing at a very high pitch in an open space . Apart from the performative aspect of sang, the structural aspect of ragini is also of significance. A ragini consists of doha(rhyming couplet, which contains two lines), qafiya(rhyming syllable, containing three lines), savaiya(a hindi quatrain of dactylic structure, containing four lines), chaubola( in the form of rhyme containing eight lines). All this kind of structural divisions have further differentiation within it. The most notable case is the chaubola which contains doha and muktal and the dialogue is not as strict as it is in the case of ragini which demands answer to be in the same form. An oral history of sang tradition and the changes introduced in it by various sangis is available in Pandit Mange Ram’s ragini ‘Haryane ki kahani sun lo do sau saal ki Kai kism ki hawa chali nai chaal ki sabte pehle ya chitrai kishanlal ki unte piche lakhmi chand ne doli barsai bata upar kalam torgaya aaj kal ki’ ( listen to the story of Haryana of two hundred years, many genres have taken life here, yake a look at this new one, started first by Kishanlal, Lakhmi Chand has penned down present and future). ‘ Deepachand Ke kheema kutbi dholi chadar odha karte Lakhmi Chand mali ki banke saari bandhya karta Heer ke ka din bigara hindu rahya na musalman’ (this ragini takes a look at the changes brought about in the performative aspect of sang by different sangis. Deepchand used to wear white shawl, lakhmi Chand impersonated for gardener’s wife, and Heer by coming into sangi remained neither hindu nor musalman). Lakhmi Chand born in Janti Kalan in Sonepat district of Haryana on 15th July 1903 and entered the sange bera of Mansingh, a jogi(a type of ascetic, though having a family but living a simple life with minimum necessities but owns ancesteal property and survives mainly on traditional forms of bhiksha i.e. going door to door every morning for flour and other essential commodities) by caste, a blind person but was an excellent sangi and had his own akhara( not a wrestling place but kind of a group in which new entrants are admitted, but there is no formal learning or teaching, it is just watching and learnng. The new entrants work in the kitchen and other domestic works in the akhara and accompany the group on their visits to other villages and thus refine themselves as well and act as sajinde as well). Before analyzing specific content and context of Lakhmi Chand’s composition, just one glimpse into the power of popular culture would make it suffice for us to recognize this as a medium to be taken very seriously. During first world war, when the colonial authorities were facing a shortage of manpower in army, Harayana supplied huge numbers, though, one can’t discard the geo-economy of the region, but Deepchand was honoured with the title of “Rai Bahadur” for composing raginis for mobilizing the youth of Haryana for colonial army, ‘ Bharti Hole re Tere bahar khare rangroot Hare mile tane dhakke mukki Wahan mile salute Hare mile tane fate purane Wahan milenge suit Hare mile sukke tikkar Ure milenge biscuit’. ( O youth, get recruited to the army, the authorities are at your gate. Here you get only scolding and kicks, rags, there you will get suit, boot, salute, biscuit). Lakhmi Chand made ragini indispensable to the sang in Haryana and also increased the number of members upto fifteen and most importantly started holding sang in day as well which made it accessible to women as well. The other mystery that shrouds him is that there is not even a single photograph of him, which was his own decision as he enjoyed direct interaction with the audience and was thus against a mediated form. An analysis of Lakhmi’s compositions throws a binary but not a very rigid one and while making an analysis of his raginis, a comparative study of other sangis of the times is very important. This is because of the fact that till1924, Deepchand had an indisputable hegemony and his period is considered as an era itself in the popular culture of the region. Lakhmi Chand revived his own sangi bera in 1926 after recovering from illness when some of his opponents had given mercury in his food and most of his earlier raginis are a response to them and also re-establishing himself. Lakhmi Chand faced intense competition from Baje Ram, from nai(barber) caste, and was called as Baje Bhagat( it was because of extremely good nature and the kind of raginis which he composed mainly about good conduct and propagating an austere life and his compositions always positing a conflict between good and bad and good coming on top). Initially, Lakhmi Chand could not match Baje’s popularity, thus his initial compositions were centered around love and explicit description of man and woman and their desires. These gave Lakhmi Chand a recognition and a popularity among the youth but was highly criticized by the elder generation. Lakhmi Chand met Pandit Tika Ram, who was renowned scholar and had extensive knowledge of puranas, mythology, and other rituals. Both of them soon became good friends and a turn also came in Lakhmi’s compositions and a strong content of religious themes, mythology and to an extent it can be said that institutionalized and organized religion set its foot in Haryana as well. This would become somewhat clear in the later discussions. In the swang/sang men performed female characters and in a male dominated society it became a matter of ridicule and assault and were never given due respect and Lakhmi Chand composed one ragini specifically pointing to such characters, though within the kissa; ‘ In marda me kya dosh hai dharana me bhesh janana Pratham to shareer tera triya hi se pyar hua Triya hi ke rajveerya e milke eksar hua Nau mahine garbh me rakhya sakshi se bahar hua kuch din piche shadi ho ke triya ka das hua’ ( what’s wrong in wearing women clothes, after all your body has also emanated from a woman’s boby, you have in her womb for nine months and after your marriage you have become slave of woman). Haryana has a tradition of bridal price as well but there is a strong emphasis on dowry and much of it has been portrayed as voluntary and woman slaves were also gifted in dowry; ‘Hum bir mard thare badle me apna gāt den ale se Hum heere panne lal mani ki dat den ale se Thare rajputa ke naukar-chakar sath den ale’ (we will ourselves in exchange of your man, and give you diamonds, pearls, ruby, servants alongwith all this). In a patriarchical society, a son is always a preferred child and this has been stressed again and again in almost all the kissas; ‘ Putra bina moksha na hoti, chahe ho grahsthi ne gyan Bete bin tuk bhi ghar ne zeher dikhai de’ ( without son there is no salvation in life, no matter how knowledgeable the family is. Without son everything appears gloomy and even a morsel of food is poison). Though, devar-bhabhi relationship is about an extra-marital affair but even when conflicts arise it is always the female that is held responsible for all the quarrels and problems in the house; ‘Mere bhai mere sir pe chad gayi khagadi badmash hori se Mard kit e sab tariyah mushkil ho rahi se Lugai jab le tar mard ki pagri badmash ho rahi se’ ( O brother, your wife is hurting me and she has gone bully, i am finding difficult to survive from every corner, she is not even respectful of your honour. That man is of no respect who can’t control his wife). There is a strong contempt of women and any activity that transgresses the traditional boundary as bringingndishonour to family. ‘ Wo bir nahi kam ki jo rad kar de Baste hue dhoondh ne ujar de tere jaisi ghar ne ghana ujar de ghar ki jagah bitoda par gitwad karde’ (these lines point out to the discourse about homely wife and how if she wishes can make a house into heaven or if someone gets a wife like this can even bring destruction to a settled house. A woman like you will only transform a house into a dumping ground). Lakhmi Chand brought many themes together like popular beliefs and legends into his compositons, for instance he appropriates the story of Bhim killing a demon during their exile and thus blends mythological stories the narration. Baniya community is the one group which has been held in contempt throughout all the kissas, as they resort to all kinds of means to cheat upon peasants. This was also the period of the emergence of kisan sabhas in this region and Chhotu Ram’s anti-landlord movement was also gaining momentum but very little or say negligible resistance finds any place in this form apart from explicating the various means by which a baniya cheats upon peasants. ‘ Pasang rakhe dandi mare Baniya jat gha tole’ ( baniya would keep the balance entangled, deduct here and there. It is the nature of Baniya caste as to never give the exact measure and would always weigh less). It is the female body which is depicted as inclined towards physical intimacy rather than men, that asks for more strict control over female body and thus perpetuating dominance of men in every sphere of life. It is contended that peasant women have more freedom than the middle class women but a serious examination of working conditions that too having face covered with chunni or dupatta which makes inhaling so difficult, then are the peasant women really fortunate to go out to work . ‘Mere jovan ke ke aag lagave Mere uthe chis ishq ki jane Nigore ikhre tane ghani satai re’ (why are you increasing the heat of my youth, this thorn of love is pricking again and again. Oh cane, you have troubled me a lot). There has been no direct references of communal tensions but whenever there is a muslim character, he is always the villain of the plot and a good muslim is one who fights for the honour of hindu women. ‘Mere udasi cha gayi , ur gaye hosh hawash Apne hindu dharm hone lag raha nash Kala hindu dharm ki ghatati hamari prachin marayda mitati ek hindu ki nari, musalman ne hari’ ( we are losing our ancient glory, and hindu religion is in decline. A hindu woman has been captured my a muslim). Brahmins are supposed to possess supreme knowledge but the Brahmins of Kashi and Awadh are more revered and there is constant evocation of these places to assert the supremacy of brahman’s knowledge ‘Pandit kashi padhya hua se, na jhooth bahkave Ek minute me door kare, chahe jaisi kardai.’ ( I am a pandit educated at kashi, would never mislead you, will solve your problem in a minute, whatever it is). Kissa- Jyani Chor presents one of the instances of communalism moving into the domestic sphere and an explicit attack on symbols of reverence. ‘Teri mooch aur dadhi kat li adali, le chala mahakade nari ne Je tane hamari taraf muh mora, te ibke thaloonga begum thari’ ( O Adali, your beard and moustache have been cut by me, and has released mahakade your hostage. If you ever look towards us again, I will take your wife with me). Notions of patriarchy are strongly entrenched in the popular culture and daughter is not even supposed to have a discussion in the family affairs and it is the father who is the supreme authority in these matters. ‘Pita ki baat pe uttar-prashna chahiye na tha karma Syani dhee beti ne chahiye mata – pita te darna Baap ghar beti gudar lapeti nu bade badere kaha kare Mata-pita te bair laga kyon bajjar ka jiya kare’ ( daughter, you shouldn’t have questioned your parents wisdom. A good daughter should be afraid of her parents. A daughter in father’s house should live in minimum luxury, in rags. Why are you making life hard for yourself by quarreling with your parents. It often happens that in marriage the partner’s ages are not of same group, either the husband is too old or vice-versa. This kind of mismatch also finds a mention in these kissas but here they go on smoothly without any hassles, thus justifying parent’s wisdom. ‘ Mein to ek baccha su tane bhartar chahiyega Na boodha na balak mard eksar chahiyega Mat ghabrave balakpan mein gelan bahu jawan teri Mane tu ram barabar lage, beshak umar nadan teri’ ( here husbands tells wife ofm the utter mismatch in age but wife replies that you don’t worry, you are still like a god to me and I will take care of you. This kind of portrayal further deepens the discourse of the chastity and subservience of wife to husband and his family). An interesting aspect of rural life is the strong belief in superstions and other notions of good and bad omens, ‘Saras jot khari ne bani boli chod fikr ne chal padya Diya saun chidi ne bakul kholi, taj ke dar ne chal padya Dahine mrig dikha re tarj, bamme bishyar tha bil farj’ ( a couple of crane were chirping, even the snakes gave way. All these are considered as good omens and if all these happens in one day then one should forget all fears and should proceed for work). Baniya ‘Kangla ladka neeve se re, zakhm jigar ne seeve se re Tu mah lala ke peeve se re bhar duam ke bele Mane sukhi roti de khan ne re, tu chhonke roj karele Mein sir par lakdi dhoya karta, tu beche bhar bhar thele’ ( O lala, i am a poor finding it difficult to earn for a day’s meal and you are taking full bowls of milk. I am the one who is getting you wood on my head and you are selling them everywhere). In case of love theme the language is double entendred. ‘ Bodi lake choli pehni, chhati pe kadhe the phool Sattrah attrah sal ki thi mad joban me rahi thu tul Ghaghre ki ghoom lage sathal upar baje nara’ Polygamy seems to be accepted in the society as most of the characters have more than one wife.most of the male protagonists have more than one wife and Mehr Singh’s ragini constantly talk about the problems that the first wife faces because of second one. An analysis of demographic composition and inheritance would further help in understanding the nature of polygamy in this region. The behavioural norms for a newly wed are clearly laid down in these raginis. ‘Jo patibrata bir jagat me dharm ki har nahin karti Sas-sasur aur pati nanad te kade talrar nahin karti Pihar te nyari rahan sahan ki chal sasre me ho ja se Jo daay dharm ki sar janati wo Gir te pyar nahin kartis’ ( that woman who never digress fro the rightful path, never fights with in-laws keeps the house intact. In husband’s family living style also changes and the woman having considerations for morality never indulges in infility). It is in-fighting between the women of the house that gives the men the upper hand in the family matters as women are considered fighting only among themselves. Mother often complains of arrogant newly wed whereas wife complains of ill treatment meted out to her by the other females of the house. It is also very significant as it instantly characterizes women fron certain regions possessing peculiar traits. ‘ Kahan chahoon aapse par ave sarm lihaj Teri bahu ne mere sath me kari larai aaj Mein piti aur pida toda, dan ne dur baga diya charkha re Wo meri ijjat ne taregi, na kati manti darka re’ ( I want to tell you something but its too embarrassing, your wife fought with me today, she beat me up threw away the spinning wheel. She doesn’t care my words that witch is ready to kill me). It would be a matter of inquiry as to understand incest vis-à-vis polygamy in this region. This region is sending lots of healthy men to colonial army which is bringing a shift in the demographic patterns of the region and the open practice of karewa not only between devar-bhabhi but with father-in-law as well and on a more serious observation with the male sof extended family as well, which renders the notions of sexuality very fluid and contingent on the circumstances and keeping this practice in consideration that many of the kissas abhor the relationship within the family. Another factor which keeps the notions of sexuality so open could well be the mismatched marriages. In case of grooms being a child, the bride is open to exploitation by the elders males of the family. ‘ Khud bete pe ashiq ho gayi jhoothi bat failadi Ishq nashe me andhi hui mausi uska kam sunya ho’ ( maternal aunt having lost her heart on her sister’s son, passion has made her blind to worldly affairs). The opportunities provided by colonial state to men in general and keeping in view the geo-economy of the region the sons though already preferred now became much vaunted. Another strand is the desire for continuance of family name which is possible with sons only and it is the latter factor that has been the driving force behind ever increasing marginalization of women in this region. ‘ Mere pita ke me ek lal tha, vamsa chalavan ala Nam leniya nahin raha koi, mane swarg sidhara’ ( I was the only son to my father who had to continue the family line. Now, there is no one left behind as I proceed to heaven). Karewa ‚ Bin mali rah kaun rukhala, is tere joban chaman hare ka Prem kare te apna ho ja, gair manus so kos pare ka’ (as there is no protection of garden without gardener, who will protect your youth. If one wants to love, even a man can be yours, no matter how far is he from). ‘Tane koi beta-beti jan ke, bahu kade rang jaccha ka chantya na Chahe mard ho chahe lugai, par jalya poban datya datata na’ ( O daughter, you haven’t given birth till now, whether it is man or woman, no one can control his or her youth). ‘Sachi bat khol ke kahde isme aur safai ke se Maualsre ki churi pahar le isme teri burai ke se Sawai jot rup ki khile, na joban ki jhok jhile Din katja pati mile, bata iski aur davai ke se’ ( O daughter, tell me very clearly there is no other explanation. There is nothing wrong if you wear bangles in the name of your uncle, your youth will only blossom, neither you will spoil your youth elsewhere. You will get a husband making your life happy, tell me is there any other alternative than this). Society has given consent to early marriage, it is done under a presumed threat form female sexuality. It is considered an inexcusable mistake on the part of the parents not to marry off girls at an early age and this notion of uncontrollable female sexuality gets buttressed in these raginis. Not only families are socially ridiculed but the character of girls also comes under suspicion. ‘Ib talak tu phire kawari ke dhan lootgi Jawanipan ki dor sarande teri chootgi Tere bap utia jane ki kyun sarm uthgi Ke teri ma andhi se ke ankh footgi Jori bhartar bina kade soya na jata Bina pati tu tu age dukh pave dekh liye’ (O Sarande, your prime youth is passing, what have you gained being unmarried. Has your father lost all morality and so unashamed? Is your mother blind or has she lost her eyes of now? Without a husband it is impossible to sleep, you will be in pain without husband. You are wise, don’t lose your youth like this). ‘ Mere kaisi aur jagat me koi foote karma ali na Barah baras bap ke ho liye pati ne kati sambhali na’ ( there is no more unfortunate in world than me. It has been a long twelve years at father’s house neither husband has taken any stock of my situation). Early decades saw crystallizing of caste identities in haryana, when lower castes were marginalized paving the way for jats to assert themselves and occupy a martial character, partly due colonial state’s patronage and partly due to having ownership rights to land. Thus, an amalgam of various factors at a certain historical juncture put jats on a high pedestal as against earlier when they were more or less at the same social pedestal though enjoying slight upper hand in terms of landholding. Early decades saw jats closing ranks for marriages in lower castes and the notion of community brotherhood asserted itself to a great extent. ‘ Gair jat me pati bataya muskil rahni khair Ke karoongi biradari ka tana khogya ta Gair jat te byah ho gaya te thookega sahar Hath bhi na lavan deng apne hath ke Gair lugai gair jat ke kaun jagi thahar Ise pati se achi me chupki baithi kalar kare’ ( you are telling a groom in other caste, how will one survive. What will I do if community loses its pride. Every one will spit at me, no one will even allow me to touch their hands. Where will I go from there. I am much better being unmarried rather than this kind of marriage). Fear of female sexuality ‘Pandrah sola sal ki se umar nadan iski Kamdev ka jor horya bajti na tan iski Bin pati rahe sarande bhookhi asnai ki Ankh futgyi khud janani mai ki’ ( sarande’s age is very immature of about fifteen or sixteen, sexual urge is also pressing itself on her. It is extremely difficult for her to live without husband, has her own mother lost sight of it). Caste barriers for marriage being subverted in these raginis as the resistance to such marriages are not only from upper castes but also from lower castes ‘ Tu ksatri rajput bhup se me tahal karaniya nai Mhari teri jat mile na kar du kis dhal sagai Nichi nar jat me hojya mere batta lana chahve Gair jat ke beti byah ke kah du kis dhal jamai’ ( you are a kshatriya rajput, I am a barber how can I engage my daughter with you. Why do you want to demean my status within my caste and how can a marriage take place between different castes). Direct inferences of polygamy can be found in popular culture and the complaints of wife to her husband ‘Ke pahli rani ghani suthri se tu man bhai konya Kaun bat pe jhagra chalya jo khatpat hogyi thari’ ( was the first wife more beautiful that he didn’t like you or you people quarreled over something). It is very interesting to note as to how certain colours, smells, etiquette come to be associated with lower castes which over a period of time get social sanction ‘ Meri nigah me dikhe se kisi unchi jat ka Sundar aur ujla rang se iske gat ka’ ( to me he seems to be a person of high origin, a handsome and fair complexioned person. The inference that could be taken forward is that persons belonging to lower castes will be dark in colour and physique) polygamy ‘hargiz bhi na manoonga bat tere kahane ki rani uske lad karoonga me tere te hui gilani’ ( I won’t listen none of you and adore her). Its curious to read through all these kissa as nowhere women falls in love to the other man, it is only the physical hunger that propels woman for forging a relationship outside the existing relationship but within the family. It is the man who falls in love with other woman which is pristine that too readily accepted by other women of the family. ‘Rajpat sab taj diya kar ek thikane dhyan Teri jaroorat na mane photu me base pran’ ( I have left all worldly affair and concentrated on you, even if you are not here, my life is captured in your photograph). This love is expressed in highly double-entendred words and an erotic description of their love. ‘ Bhran bat ke fut liye, joban k eras loot liye Babaji ras ghoomt liye, bharya kele kaisi dhar me Me morni ban ke amsu thau, tu mor nachiye jhar me’ Incest- the notion of incest in this region is not only limited to household but extended to community as a whole and this community is then carved out into cultural, historical and mythical fragments, which then lays down the rules for marriages within the community. Though, these rules are not codified formally but are mere conventions to keep society in order and overtime owing to certain factors some concessions have been conceded but it is strange to observe that despite the penetration of money economy there is an assertion of these notions rather than any weakening. Jiske lage wo nar jane chot ashiqan ali Ek tha mansoor adam ka ladka ishq thikana tohya Bahan ke rang me ashiq hogya kat liya jis aboya Pathar mare jab na roya, phool lagya jab roya Bahan ke rang me ashiq hogya dekh ansh ki thali’ ( it is only him who knows what’s love who has been struck by it. Once there was son of a man named adam who found love in his sister. No stone hurt him but wept when hit by a flower). By the early decades dowry had made stronghold in this region displacing bridal price as custom and an institution as well. ‘Teelam ke bugche gahane ke dibbe thok-thok bhar diye Dola bandi dhan maya ke sab intezam kar rakhe Jitne farz bahan beti k eek nahin sir rakhe Heere panne mohar asarfi lal manga dhar rakhe’ ( O daughter, we have completed all the formalities due to a daughter or a sister, your palanquin has been decorated, maid is sent with you and all other important items like pearl, diamond and ruby have been loaded). Communalism had made deep inroads into the popular culture by 1920’s and 1930’s and social and spiritual spaces were contested and the resolution to this problem appears in the form violence. ‘ Je rajputam ne jan patjya te bat na rahe na bas ki Kat tere do tukde karde teri bilkhe gharm pathani’ ( if rajputs get to know this, situation will worsen and get out of hand. They will tear you apart and your pathani i.e. wife of a pathan will be left in tears). These raginis instead of using the word muslim, uses the figure of pathan who shared a cultural as well as territorial presence in this region. If one has to map a cultural territory of haryana through these raginis it spreads more towards the north western parts of India with the mention of jhang, sialkot, bharatpur. ‚ Musalman ki kaum isi se behu jal me nhale Soor bina ghinya konya bhed aur bakri kha le Ma ka doodh ne bacha ke ne khud chacha tau ki byahle’ ( this muslim community is no mentioning, they take bath in dirty water. They don’t even abhor eating pig and sheep, barring mother’s daughter they marry the children of their own family). Marriages between hindus and muslims were a strict no during this period and strong taboos are attached to such marriages in the popular culture. ‘Ganga-jamna ka dham chor ke masjid me jaya kariye Sudhi-sudhi-kodi ho ke thaddu thaddu baya kariye Tale pajama kana me bali sir chir sajaya kariye Satpakwani taj ke bairan mams aur mati khaya kariye’ ( since, you have married in a muslim family, you will be going to mosques leacving the sacred banks of ganga and jamna. You will be wearing pajami and will be eating all flesh and dirt leaving satvik food here). Lakhmi Chand’s raginis also needs to be analyzed in the backdrop of strong arya samaj movement in this region which had by now established a strong cadre in its ranks and prominent leaders like Chhotu Ram, Chajju Ram and others were highly motivated by the activities of arya samaj and themselves became champions of virtues of aryas in this region. The histories written at this time sought antecedents to vedic age and proclaimed themselves as the great warriors from antiquity but this also sparked a counter reaction from the Brahmins who also produced histories degrading jats to extremely low status . Thus, jats forged their identities in two directions, one by claiming a higher status mostly by the educated elites and simultaneously at the level of popular culture by a strong critique of other social groups but leaving brahmans outside the purview of this contempt. The varna system is very well appropriated by Lakhmi Chand which jats re-appropriated to fill in the second category of kshatriya code. ‘ Unch nich varn ki karke seva, nich te unch varn me chadhte Jo sahi varn maryad jante, ve nahin badya ke syahmi arte’ ( one can acquire upper status by serving the upper varnas, those who know the moral code of behaviour of varna, they don’t confront the higher ones). Many mythic stories are appropriated in these raginis but the emphasis is different from the original. For instance a whole sang has been composed on Draupadi being assaulted in the royal court. ‘ Yo to mera devar dussasan se iska matlab jan liya Mane dukh dega param pareka, yo gahak se mere badan ka’ ( O Dussasan, I have understood your intentions, you just want my body there is nothing else that you want from me). Indebtedness has been a great problem in a peasant society, even forcing them to sell or mortgage son to other well-off peasants. Though, this is one of the reasons, as the entry of a male member provides help in field and in the household activities as well. This custom while on the one hand provides economic relief to debt ridden family, on the other hand it increases the working hands to the recipient family. It is quite paradoxical that money which is considered to dissolve these very practices actually augments them and every gets presented in a transmuted form. ‘Eklota cha sal ka ladka isne girvi dhar aao Do sau rupye mang liyo jake ve jhat palle me ghalenge Apne jaisa poot samajh ke tere lal ne palenge’ ( this is our only son of just six years, mortgage and get two hundred rupees. They will nourish him as their own child). In some of the compositions there is an influx of Awadhi in Lakhmi’s ragins. Though no particular reason can e put forward but it is found mainly in his muktak( context- free i.e. not forming part of any kissa) compositions, one conjencture could well be that the last years of Lakhmi Chand were also Indian film industry’s initial years which had an overwhelming devotional tinge to it which might have prompted him for a form of ragini which corresponded to aartis( prayer or hymns in praise of god). ‘ Tum ridhi sidhi ke data, dil mera milne ko chahta Krishna sudama kesa nata, me din-din das tera’ There is a sense of pride as well for haryana in these raginis but its only of cultural heritage. ‚ Mhare haryane me kukarm karte beiman mare se Grihstha dharm ka palan karte sab pundan kare se Tirth vrat yatra me mhare rishi muni dhyan dhare se Gau brahman sadhu ki seva sari duniya ke satsang se’ ( in our harayna everyon is afraid of doing any crime, we furnish all duties of an ideal life, regularly go to pilgrimage, sadhus of our land are famous for their knowledge and meditation, respect is given to cow, Brahman and ascetics). ____________________________________________________________________________________ TV dinner still cooling? Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/ From smitamitr at gmail.com Mon May 7 11:58:27 2007 From: smitamitr at gmail.com (smita mitra) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 11:58:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Cinematic City-Kolkata , Modernity, Middle Class &the Urban Woman---1950s&60s Popular Bangla Cinema.3rd Posting IFS--2007. Message-ID: Dear All, To remind you all--- this is my project on Popular Bangla Cinema of 1950s &60s.By now I have a list of about 20 Films of the period that deal with the experiences of the urban Bengali woman and her negotiations of self that are located in a specific kind of urban articulation--namely the unpacking of the 'self' that is dislocated or decentered from the familial spaces.Thesefilms are interesting for me as they enact interesting tensions between the narrative and the performative economy of the film. The narrative foregrounds the melodramatic love story, where the protagonists meet, fall in love, and the narrative closure is enacted as the formation of the individual couple or the love does not end in a normative relationship.But interestingly this enactment of the individual love and the coming together of the couple is enacted in a space that is outside of the restrictive social or familial space.Films such as *Agnipariksha(1952) , Harano Sur(1957),Sagarika(1956)* fall in this category.But more significantly these films stage the performative drive in interesting manner--very often they seem to be vehicles for the 'star figure ' of Suchitra Sen or Uttam Kumar.The films on my list were huge hits of their times* ,*and are known for the performences of the Popular star couple of the industry. The questions that I have are--1)What is the relationship if any between the narrative ,the formative and the discourse of the star figure that is being enacted in these films vis a vis the tropes of 'self' ,intercaste,interracial love and marriage , work and choice of career that drives the narrative of these melodramas? 2)Is the figure of the star being mobilised to stage a specific negotiation of the 'modern self' specially that of the woman as she attempts to articulate her sense of selfhood vis a vis her career ,work and her love? 3)Being melodramas the narratives appear repetitive as they focus on these two figures who very often appear as doctors , or doctor patient or come together in their place of work or study.However the performative at times seem to go in a different direction from that of the narrative, of course the acting style and aesthetics draw on melodramatic codes ,yet the deployment of specific cinematic codes of framing of the shots, the lighting codes etc. foregrond the performance of stars specially that of Suchitra Sen. 4)Of course Suchitra's acting and performance or Uttam's performance is driven by their individual star status and charisma, yet it is worth investigating how these films are bringing together the generic, narrative and performative economies in interesting ways. 5)Being Popular melodramas is it possible to conceptualise an argument about these films that articulate a specific kind of relationship between the 'modern' and the 'melodramatic' that is being deployed to articulate the woman's subject position?If these films became the star vehicles for Suchitra the 'star' then can they be read as' woman's film '( I am thinking of the 1930s and 40s Hollywood melodramas and the work done by Christine Gledhill and Peter Brook's definition of melodrama?) At present I am in Kolkata and have visited the Rupkala Kendra(Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute)I plan to check out their archive . The other interesting place seems to be the old Radha Studio near Tollygunge which has been converted into an archive of Bangla Cinema. This was formally inaugurated on the 2nd of May,(Ray's birthday)by the Chief Minister of the state. This is all for now. Will keep you guys posted. p.s.The copies of the films I have are mostly on Vcds.There are very few Dvds available. Can anyone familiar with the city let me know where can one get Dvd rips as they might come with subtitles as the Vcds do not have subtitles. Regards everybody, Smita. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070507/899b16a1/attachment.html From zainab at mail.xtdnet.nl Tue May 8 07:45:21 2007 From: zainab at mail.xtdnet.nl (zainab) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 4:15:21 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Tellings of times Message-ID: <66dd2839d27f466285f192acc4028eaf@mail.xtdnet.nl> I boarded his auto from Kormangala. My warped sense of direction, I felt clueless about which direction to proceed towards. He asked me which route should he take to drive me to Langford Town. I said ‘take whatever route you think is best’. Later he told me to memorize the route because, “people in Bangalore are not good, haraami hote hai, they can take you for a ride. This is the shortest, quickest and easiest route, so you should remember it now.” Our conversation started when I said to him that traffic seems to have increased a lot in Bangalore. “There are so many out-of-country people here. Look at this city, it has expanded beyond its capacity, now to Uttarahalli, Devanahalli. There are at least eight to ten lakh out-of-country people, coming here to study and work. These people come from Korea-Japan and those countries and settle in the outskirts. Then, there are about forty lakh people who are not from Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh. They are from Kashmir, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra, North. The number of outsiders in Bangalore has increased so much, that it is now hard to find a Kannadiga in this mass – chiraag leke dhoondo, to bhi nahi milta”. He is Kannadiga, he told me. Every aspect of his conversation was a tale of time, every telling a memory of the time gone by and/or a narrative of the time that is. “Now look here, there are so many people from outside who are coming here to study, like yourself. You are afraid of this traffic and so you are not purchasing a two-wheeler. But many people are. My own sister, when she was married, they had only a moped in her house. Then they bought a kinetic, a maruti eight hundred, a scooter, a luna, all this in addition to the moped. How much does this make it? Five vehicles. And how many people to drive these five vehicles, just three! In Bangalore, the road capacity can handle only fifteen lakh vehicles. How many vehicles are running on the road now? Thirty five lakh, more than double! The problem is that this is not a planned city.” I marked his words – the problem is that this is not a planned city. “I was living in Bombay once upon a time, in Bandra. With a daily earning of three hundred rupees, I would eat well, spend on rent and yet save money. Now what is the value of three hundred rupees? That was a time. Things have changed today – mahaul hi alag hai aaj. I had a little accommodation there for which I gave a pagdi of two lakh rupees. The space has not increased an inch till date, but the value has gone up. What an irony!” We got stuck in a little jam around Kormangala when he pointed out, “People who work in Electronics City or even in Whitefields, they have to travel at least three hours each day. What a national waste of time! All those daily three hours, they add up to so much. And all those daily three hours can easily be put to productive use. The money earned in all those daily three hours would ultimately go into the national economy, isn’t it? Desh ka hi fayda hota! I once drove the manager of an IT firm in my auto. I asked him, ‘Sir, why did you people not think of building houses for your workers in Electronics City itself? Wipro, Infosys, why did you not think of housing your employees close to the place of work itself?’ He said to me, ‘at that time, when Infosys, Wipro were building, they thought of purchasing those extra four or five acres for expanding their businesses. Now the prices have gone up so much that they cannot afford to build housing there.’ I look at the! se fellows traveling to work. They come from as far as Peenya, Malleshwaram and Rajajinagar – what a national waste of time, isn’t it?” “There was a time when I was driving people in the auto for a minimum fare of seven rupees. Look here today, the minimum fare the minimum fare has gone up to twelve. In Bombay, I could take a taxi from Bombay Central to Bandra in twelve rupees. Can you imagine this now? Impossible. Prices have gone up so much. I imagine that Bandra has become unlivable now!” Like all journeys, this one ended too. I did not bother to note his name. The display card was scratched and it was dark. I tried to visualize the space that he was talking about, the space of this city. All I could conjure up was a chronology of time and memories as he spoke with his words. Tales of time, Tellings, A time gone by, A time there is, And a time to come … From priyababu_sudar at yahoo.co.in Tue May 8 11:08:55 2007 From: priyababu_sudar at yahoo.co.in (priya babu) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 06:38:55 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] aravanis in madurai-MAY 2007 Message-ID: <49484.55376.qm@web94107.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Posting for May 2007- Priyababu Traditional folk art forms that are practiced by the aravaanis are in turn taught to the Chelas [adopted daughters]. Chelas maybe adopted from any caste, but it is only those from the dalit community are trained in these forms. The other chelas often migrate to places like Mumbai to practice begging and prostitution. Strangely, even within the 'straight' community these art forms are practiced by the dalits alone and it seems to replicate even within the aravaani community. Ironically, recently an aravaani in Usilampatti, who was trained in Karagatam, had preformed with the group in a nearby village. She happened to belong to the devar community. Traditionally devars eat off a normal plate. Post performance she was asked to eat off a plaited leaf. She demanded a plate, but was refused as it was assumed she was OBC [Other Backward Caste]. This shows that even if an aravaani of other castes come forward to learn these art forms so as to generate alternate income source, she would have to assume a garb of being a dalit to do so. Though dancing these traditional art forms is considered respectable in rural areas, an aravaani doing the same is subjected to several demeaning teasing like currency notes tucked into the blouse or skirt, waist being pinched on. [Recently, a popular film Paruthiveeran, actually portrays this in a song Oor oram puliyam maram... which has one such aravaani group dancing teased as if it is the proper treatment to be afforded.] The operation methodology for such performance companies is that an elder aravaani would have five to six dancers or singers, one drummer, and one to play the wind instrument under one banner. Earlier there would be a man who heads this company and act the role of the manager-cum-agent. But this post has recently been taken over by aravaanis themselves. The members are often the adopted family members. The system wherein the earnings of a chela aravaani who would have to be shared with the guru aravaani is now retained within the group itself, because both the chela and the guru are now members of the same performing company. --------------------------------- Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Here's a solution! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070508/47003fd4/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Mon May 7 15:04:33 2007 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 15:04:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Gender & Space in the EPW Message-ID: <001d01c7908a$f0607b90$9966c2cb@freeda> We are very pleased to inform you that the last issue of Economic and Political Weekly (April 28 - May 4, 2007; Vol. 42, No17) carries three essays which are based on research conducted by the Gender & Space Project at PUKAR (funded by the Indo Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development). The three essays are as below: a.. Shilpa Phadke. 'Dangerous Liaisons: Women and Men; Risk and Reputation in Mumbai'. This paper interrogates the discourse of safety in public space to argue that making a claim to the right to take risks in public space rather than petitioning for safety might take women further in the struggle to access public space as citizens. The paper also argues that women's exclusion from public space is linked to the exclusion of other marginal citizens. a.. Shilpa Ranade. 'The Way She Moves: Mapping the Everyday Production of Gender-Space'. This paper examines the everyday practice of gendered public space through an analysis of three 'mapping' studies conducted in the city of Mumbai. It focuses on how male and female bodies locate themselves in and move through public space in their everyday negotiation of space, in the process participating in the production and reproduction of a hegemonic gender-space. a.. Sameera Khan. 'Negotiating the Mohalla: Exclusion, Identity and Muslim Women in Mumbai'. This essay suggests that the restrictions imposed on Muslim women by their own community are closely linked to the exclusion of the Muslim community as a whole. The essay contends that Muslim women's capacity to engage risk in public spaces is dependent on their entire community also being able to take similar risks. The issue is now on the stands or can be accessed at: http://www.epw.org.in/epw/user/fullContent.jsp The authors would welcome any comments on these essays. More information on the Gender & Space Project is available at: www.genderandspace.org 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/20070507/e8bc2cdd/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ranjanyumnam at gmail.com Tue May 8 16:04:49 2007 From: ranjanyumnam at gmail.com (Ranjan Yumnam) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 16:04:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No sex please, we're Maipuris: 3rd IF posting Message-ID: Manipuri films are often close imitations of the Bollywood flicks in form, if not the content. Song, music and dance are one of the most important ingredients in a Manipuri film. Like some of the Mumbai's potboilers, Manipuri heroes woo their love-interests in the sky, mountains, snow and the oceans. Hero-laden helicopters fly into a song sequence out of nowhere, even if the hero is an unemployed chap in the film. Shoots are done in foreign locations like Singapore as a trick to draw audience. Actors change their clothes many times in a span of five minutes. Even the music scores are adapted from the South Indians. Almost all the usual 'aesthetics of attractions' of Mumbai cinema are employed to gain eyeballs as Manipuri filmmakers struggle to recover their production cost in a highly competitive market that is confined to the Imphal valley. So you might ask what is Manipuri about Manipuri films. Despite the cosmetic similarities with other regional cinemas, Manipuri cinema has begun to come on its own. This is largely a result of self-regulation of the Manipuri film industry and in part because of a sort of cultural regimentation imposed on the filmmakers by the underground organisations. Take for example, the song and dance sequence. Manipuri songs are done very tastefully without any display of tits and bums and that makes it eminently fit to be watched together in a family of three generations without any awkwardness and embarrassments. Elements of sexual titillation are completely absent from the Manipuri cinema, that compared to it, a typical item number of Mallika Sherawat would look like a soft porn stuff. No rain-soaked blouses for the Manipuris. The Manipuris are a very conservative people. It's an article of faith among the Manipuris that women should not drink wine, not reveal too much cleavage, not go out late in the night, not laugh too loud, not have food before their husbands do and so on. These values get reflected in the Manipuri cinema. The Imphalwood filmmakers are aware of the consequences if they cross the line of decency and fantasy. The community has a powerful impact on what one can do in Manipur—not only in the films but also in other walks of life. If a filmmaker ignores the sensitivities of the Manipuri populace, she is in for a sure trouble. That trouble can also come from the insurgents who considers Manipuri cinema to be a nationalistic product and a cultural ambassador. This notion has led to some actors being prohibited from working together in films because of their too 'inappropriate' on-screen and off-screen chemistry. In an extreme case, a female actor was shot at her legs because she acted in an erotic scene. Some of her male colleagues have paid a direr price: they have been executed while others fled to neighbouring states. This happened about a decade ago. Many rounds of parleys have taken place between the Film Forum, Manipuri, the apex body of the Imphalwood and the underground organisations on censorship issues. While the Film Forum, Manipur has been zealous about guarding its artistic freedom, the UGs have been insisting on enforcing a code of conventions that purport to uphold the dignity of the Manipuri culture and society. A middle ground has been struck which seeks to satisfy both the filmmakers and the UGs. This mutually agreed code is enforced by the preview committee of the Film Forum, Manipur. From now on, a director must submit his print and screen it before the said committee for clearance. The committee approves the film on the basis of some criteria, most of which to determine whether the film transgresses the line of decency, misrepresents the culture of the Manipuris or imitates too profusely from Bollywood. The members of this committee are known to show their utmost displeasure at the sight of sarees, sindur, mangal sutra, heavy make-up, exposed ribs and 'vulgar scenes'. A director has to comply if cuts are recommended in any portion of the film. Only then can it be submitted formally to the Central Board of Film Censorship at Guwahati for censorship certificate. Such a system does generate lots of bad feelings between the committee and the filmmakers. It also doesn't help that most Manipuri filmmakers have grown up on a diet of Bollywood movies—their filmmaking approaches and techniques are uncannily similar to those of the Mumbai's films. It appears to be quite a temptation for a Manipuri director to make use of alien cultural symbols, often subconsciously, like a mangal sutra, a North Indian usage which does not exist in the Manipuri society. The preview committee acts as a filter to sift through such kind of disconnect between the reality and the cinematic representations. Film activists mindful of the anomalies in the Manipuri films exhort the filmmakers to look elsewhere for inspiration if Manipuri film has to carve out its own destiny. Korean films are being promoted as alternative films that Manipuris can emulate. The realist feel of the Korean films with their simplicity, brevity of emotions and subtlety are a model for a new breed of young filmmakers. The vice like grip of Bollywood is slowly but surely loosening as Korean and Latin American movies make their foray into Manipur, via the international market at Moreh, a border town straddling Manipur and Myanmar. There are merits and demerits of extra-institutional/official censorship. On the brighter side, Manipuri films are becoming more realistic and distinct from the homogenous commodity of Bollywood. Liberals are however worried that it is a form of cultural regimentation that restricts freedom of artistic expression and experimentation. The line between vulgarity and art is a thin line and it is a difficult task differentiating between the two. In Manipur, it is the insurgents and the like-minded members in the Film Forum, Manipur that is shouldering this tricky task. -- Regards, Ranjan Yumnam From bawree at yahoo.com Tue May 8 17:06:33 2007 From: bawree at yahoo.com (mamta mantri) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 04:36:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Tellings of times In-Reply-To: <66dd2839d27f466285f192acc4028eaf@mail.xtdnet.nl> Message-ID: <861072.53632.qm@web33115.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Zainab, hiee, this is mamta, guess u remember,, anyways, i have a question to ask,, having foollowed ur postings religiously, what are ur intentions while writing these encounters. is it plain narration,, mere documentation, or is it something that i cant get at? at the end of the day, they all look the same to me. interstingly,, i want to say that ur posting abt all that u wrote of mbai,seemed very appealing to me,, but the ones on Bangalore seem to look the same!!!! is it becos of belongingness to a particluar city and not other??? open for discussion mamta --- zainab wrote: > I boarded his auto from Kormangala. My warped sense > of direction, I felt clueless about which direction > to proceed towards. He asked me which route should > he take to drive me to Langford Town. I said ‘take > whatever route you think is best’. Later he told > me to memorize the route because, “people in > Bangalore are not good, haraami hote hai, they can > take you for a ride. This is the shortest, quickest > and easiest route, so you should remember it now.” > > Our conversation started when I said to him that > traffic seems to have increased a lot in Bangalore. > “There are so many out-of-country people here. > Look at this city, it has expanded beyond its > capacity, now to Uttarahalli, Devanahalli. There are > at least eight to ten lakh out-of-country people, > coming here to study and work. These people come > from Korea-Japan and those countries and settle in > the outskirts. Then, there are about forty lakh > people who are not from Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Andhra > Pradesh. They are from Kashmir, Bihar, Orissa, > Maharashtra, North. The number of outsiders in > Bangalore has increased so much, that it is now hard > to find a Kannadiga in this mass – chiraag leke > dhoondo, to bhi nahi milta”. He is Kannadiga, he > told me. Every aspect of his conversation was a tale > of time, every telling a memory of the time gone by > and/or a narrative of the time that is. > > “Now look here, there are so many people from > outside who are coming here to study, like yourself. > You are afraid of this traffic and so you are not > purchasing a two-wheeler. But many people are. My > own sister, when she was married, they had only a > moped in her house. Then they bought a kinetic, a > maruti eight hundred, a scooter, a luna, all this in > addition to the moped. How much does this make it? > Five vehicles. And how many people to drive these > five vehicles, just three! In Bangalore, the road > capacity can handle only fifteen lakh vehicles. How > many vehicles are running on the road now? Thirty > five lakh, more than double! The problem is that > this is not a planned city.” I marked his words > – the problem is that this is not a planned city. > > “I was living in Bombay once upon a time, in > Bandra. With a daily earning of three hundred > rupees, I would eat well, spend on rent and yet save > money. Now what is the value of three hundred > rupees? That was a time. Things have changed today > – mahaul hi alag hai aaj. I had a little > accommodation there for which I gave a pagdi of two > lakh rupees. The space has not increased an inch > till date, but the value has gone up. What an > irony!” > > We got stuck in a little jam around Kormangala when > he pointed out, “People who work in Electronics > City or even in Whitefields, they have to travel at > least three hours each day. What a national waste of > time! All those daily three hours, they add up to so > much. And all those daily three hours can easily be > put to productive use. The money earned in all those > daily three hours would ultimately go into the > national economy, isn’t it? Desh ka hi fayda hota! > I once drove the manager of an IT firm in my auto. I > asked him, ‘Sir, why did you people not think of > building houses for your workers in Electronics City > itself? Wipro, Infosys, why did you not think of > housing your employees close to the place of work > itself?’ He said to me, ‘at that time, when > Infosys, Wipro were building, they thought of > purchasing those extra four or five acres for > expanding their businesses. Now the prices have gone > up so much that they cannot afford to build housing > there.’ I look at the! > se fellows traveling to work. They come from as far > as Peenya, Malleshwaram and Rajajinagar – what a > national waste of time, isn’t it?” > > “There was a time when I was driving people in the > auto for a minimum fare of seven rupees. Look here > today, the minimum fare the minimum fare has gone up > to twelve. In Bombay, I could take a taxi from > Bombay Central to Bandra in twelve rupees. Can you > imagine this now? Impossible. Prices have gone up so > much. I imagine that Bandra has become unlivable > now!” > > Like all journeys, this one ended too. I did not > bother to note his name. The display card was > scratched and it was dark. I tried to visualize the > space that he was talking about, the space of this > city. All I could conjure up was a chronology of > time and memories as he spoke with his words. > > Tales of time, > Tellings, > A time gone by, > A time there is, > And a time 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/> __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From hight at 34n118w.net Tue May 8 22:23:44 2007 From: hight at 34n118w.net (hight at 34n118w.net) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 09:53:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Immersive Sight Within the third space published Message-ID: <4563.76.173.56.210.1178643224.squirrel@webmail.34n118w.net> pardon any cross posting NeMe (www.neme.org) has published Jeremy Hight's text "Immersive Sight Within the Third Space: Augmentation and Spatial Interface in exhibition space" Hight writes: "Our field of vision is a continual, multi-tiered number crunching. Bicameral sight is always being processed , interpreted, reacted to, adjusted for focus, comparisons made. It simply is always running as an immersive, multi layered interaction of information and movement in a space. The logical progression of virtual reality is into augmented reality with smaller lenses and data fit more discreetly and logically layered into one's natural field of vision." Read the complete text on http://neme.org/main/645/immersive-sight [http://neme.org/main/645/immersive-sight] ______________________________________ From harilalms at gmail.com Wed May 9 08:51:15 2007 From: harilalms at gmail.com (harilal madhavan) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 08:51:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Shaping Policies for Ayurveda Message-ID: <786e9c3e0705082021y5c300c15g2a0b276cd444af32@mail.gmail.com> M S HARILAL/ SARAI INDEPENDENT FELLOW 2007/THIRD POSTING/ SHAPING POLICIES FOR AYURVEDA An analysis of the policies towards indigenous healers all over the world, has shown that the policies adopted by many countries were neither sufficient to promote them, nor able to provide a level playing field to serve as a complementary system in the national health agenda in many countries. The 'co-existence' argument has often concealed the skewed favours that many of the national policies offered to bio-medicine. It has been shown that most of the international policies, since they leave the time and type of implementation concerned to the traditional healers to the national planners, in reality, when as these policies implemented, indigenous practitioners are often forgotten unless the developing personnel themselves decides the time and places. Relative to their active promotion of other health improvement strategies, international agencies do not take particularly active initiative in facilitating or even encouraging the utilization of traditional practitioners. The late 20th century experience shows that thus policies of the international agencies leave the developing country in exactly same situation as they were in the past(Pillsbury 1982). Mostly the policies of different nations made traditional midwives as a part of their policies, but not the traditional healers. Pillsbury shows that only sixteen countries had included traditional healers in contrast to the forty for in which projects have incorporated traditional mid wives (ibid p1827). Even in the major sixteen countries, where the traditional healers are become part of the national policy, it appears that only in two, Zimbabwe and possibly Nigeria, are national healers being utilized in their traditional healing roles, as service providers in the national health-care system. Pillsbury cites the case of Taiwan where although the pilot projects including the traditional birth attendants shown high success, when Taiwan government expanded its primary healthcare efforts to a twenty province programme in 1978, the new strategy implemented the new policy didn't include any traditional healers. Thus many examples can be shown where, the indigenous or alternative medical practitioners were ignored and gradually side streamed. With this international experience, it is quite normal to think that the situation in India will not be quite different. Of course variations in policies are there. Though the policies regarding indigenous medicine don't quite follow any continuity in its effects, there is continuity in the nature of policies followed in the pre and post independent period. Precisely because of this Jeffery's caveats are still more valid i.e., there may be no clear relationship between official discussions of indigenous healers and the situation in real and the indigenous variations was very explicit in both the periods. In India, understanding the position of Systems of medicine in 20th century in the mainstream national policies often offer the varying positions and the streams of nationalist thoughts and influence. As Khan opines, while not an uncharted territory, medicine as a part of social history and medical anthropology is relatively new ground for assessing Indian nationalism and anti-imperial struggle in India (Khan 2006). It is argued that, in the varying streams, the dominance of the voice of conformity to western science and progress did not simply mean an inherent acceptance of western superiority and a fractured, dislocated version of colonial governmentality (Prakash 1999), but also a continuation of the colonial legacy of subordination and subservience of Indian systems of knowledge, a situation fundamentally not different from colonial past. One important element of doubt underlined by most of the studies is what was the kind of role that played by state and other institutions and how far their role was effective in shaping ayurveda as a system of medicine and as a knowledge system and the political economy framed it (Banerji 1981, Gupta 1976, Panikkar 1992, Frankenberg 1980). Along with it is important to understand how far this political economy constituted ayurveda into a saleable proportion? In the early 20th century, the rising bourgeois nationalist movement embraced the cause of Indian cultural renaissance as well as the idea of science. The initial decade of the 20th century saw the initiation of dominance of western medicine in 1912, with the passing the Regulation of Medical Practitioners Act (RMPA) in Bombay Presidency. The RMPA laid down that the state run and aided dispensaries would employ registered medical practitioners and that no certificate would be valid, unless signed by a medical practitioner, registered under it. Thus the Vaids and Hakims were effectively kept out, and the intention of government was of two folds- one, saving the profession from 'irregularly qualified' doctor and two, most importantly to establish dominance of western medicine (Ramanna 2006). By excluding all indigenous practitioners from the right to get registered, the government was seen to have cast a slur on them and favoured only allopathy. Indian medical degrees had been refused in 1930s also and led to the decision that Western medical standards should alone determine the education which Indian students should receive, which in turn resulted in hardening of the divisions between western doctors and their indigenous counterparts. In 1919, the new Legislative councils supported the Indian systems of Medicine on both patriotic as well as economic grounds, though ministers in several provinces resisted this and used their funds to invite modern medicine (Jeffery 1982). Since its limited success, government of India restricted its activities mainly into the investigation of pharmacopoeia of indigenous drugs. The medical brain drain and the difficulty of getting cheap and effective healthcare facilities to Indian villages can be related to the tying of Indian medical standards to those of Britain (Jeffery 1979). When the Indian medical association was established, there was a call for incorporation of indigenous practitioners, but when these leaders were being incorporated into the new Indian medical council and other positions of influence; they had drawn back from their positions because they feared that such policies might lead to a loss of their international recognition. Since 1835 reforms, formal education in the indigenous stem was non existent, though some efforts at regional level have succeeded from late 19th century onwards. Most members of the Indian medical Service were convinced that it was impossible to regulate teach these systems in a rational way or to regulate the standard of Ayurvedic training and tended to ignore any suggestion of incorporation of indigenous medicine in to national health care framework. There were two options available at that time one, to outlaw all but the western doctors; or to integrate all medical teaching into a national system, the former is followed in Britain and the latter in china. But according to Jeffery, the Indian solution combined the worst of both options: a multitude of practitioners, with no guarantee that any of them were trustworthy; and continual bickering between the existing groups, helping to frustrate any systematic dealing with Indian health problems (ibid.). Indigenous practitioners were become less recognized partly due to their internal division also. Usually the regional teaching centres or schools necessarily depend on a teacher who interprets the texts in his own way and hence the method of diagnosis and techniques also differed regionally. Along with this the own preparation of medicines by the patient (Panikkar 1992) and priority only to certain groups of indigenous healers all lead to its backwardness vis-à-vis cosmopolitan medicine. The growing ideological split between the integrated systems and the pure continued to be debated even in the post independence era no way indicated any improvement in the system, rather put in a material relegation. The government of India only adhered to more research and development to find out the usefulness in the field of indigenous systems, while completely rejecting the proposal for integration, because it was felt that there is fundamental difference in the underlying principles of both the systems. The resolution passed by the First Health Minister's Conference in 1946 recognized the different systems of medicine, but largely followed the policy of supporting any professionalizing efforts and uniform training standards. But none of the state has so far tried to integrate the modern medicine and ayurveda nor announced ayurveda as a state medical system (Brass 1972 p 353). The contentious issues like whether the indigenous practitioners to be incorporated in the national health care schemes, what to do with the registration of unqualified practitioners, what kind of training whether integrated or pure should be executed, how far state support should be given to the Indian systems of Medicine were some of the focal issues which were debated mainly and immediately after independence. Mainly the ultimate decision of most of the issues was handed over to the states since health is considered to be a state subject. Some kind of backing for the indigenous system was made available during the Indira Gandhi Government in 1971-72 and the Janata government during 1977, which was also revoked by succeeded ministries. It has to be reminded that the problems and questions we try to answer in the filed of medical field and health system has hardly changed even after independence and even after 50years of independence. The policies of discontinuity in the indigenous medical system tend to remain in most of the part of India. And wherever this confusion in the policy was less, or better co-existence of different systems have pursued with lesser policy interventions, it is evident that they have achieved in obtaining better healthcare provisions for example, Travancore regions or the state of Kerala. The public policy has freed the system with its targeted measures on manufacturing mostly in 1990s. a discussion on this will be provided in the next posting. Regards, Hari Alt. e mail: harims at cds.ac.in From chantal at aaa.org.hk Tue May 8 15:28:26 2007 From: chantal at aaa.org.hk (Chantal Wong) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 17:58:26 +0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Asia Art Archive Research Post in India + Call for Material Message-ID: <200705081000.l48A06DY005259@smtp10.email.hk.net> Asia Art Archive Research Post in India + Call for Material With the world's most comprehensive public collection of 20,000+ items of material on contemporary Asian art, and the active organiser of over 50 educational programmes, Asia Art Archive (AAA) is an internationally recognized organisation and resource in the field of contemporary Asian art. With only 3 research posts in 2004, AAA now has 9 across Asia with the Head Researcher based in Hong Kong. The posts include China, Hong Kong, Taiwan (2002); Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand (2005); and only recently India, Pakistan and The Philippines (2007). AAA is pleased to welcome Atreyee Gupta, new full-time researcher for India, to its team. Gupta will collect publications and primary source materials, document events and exhibitions and conduct video-interviews with key artists, critics and curators at events in India to help build up a comprehensive collection on contemporary Indian art developments. This material will then be made publicly accessible from AAA's website and physical library in Hong Kong. She will also assist AAA in developing its regional network and initiate focused research projects. "The success of an enterprise of this scale is impossible without your cooperation. We therefore request, urge, and encourage you to send us material of your recent and past; and information on upcoming projects, this will help us in documentation and updating of our records. Your profile will be important to the Archive as well as facilitate research in the field of contemporary Asian art. Suggested material includes, but is not restricted to: Recent and detailed CV or biography (including exhibition records), photos, digital images, or slides of artworks (past and present), published/unpublished texts and personal papers Project Proposals, exhibition catalogues / leaflets / invitations/ newsletters. For material that you are unwilling to part with, but believe would be important for research, we are happy to make arrangements to duplicate and have the original sent back to you." - Gupta Atreyee Gupta is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Art History, University of Minnesota, in South Asian modern art. Her Ph.D. focuses on institutions for the production, display, and dissemination of art in India from 1920s -1970s. As an extension of her interest in the institutionalization of art in colonial and post-colonial India, she has published essays on global art history and the interface between religion, archaeology, and art history in India. Atreyee has been a coordinator for a number of art activism projects. For information please contact Chantal Wong at chantal at aaa.org.hk or +852 2815 1112 or Atreyee Gupta at atreyee at aaa.org.hk. For more information visit www.aaa.org.hk, Asia Art Archive, 11/F Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Rd., Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: (852) 2815 1112, Fax: (852) 2815 0032 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070508/25b24316/attachment.html From shveta at sarai.net Wed May 9 10:26:22 2007 From: shveta at sarai.net (Shveta) Date: Wed, 09 May 2007 10:26:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Introducing Bahurupiya Shehr Message-ID: <46415476.9000003@sarai.net> Dear All, This is the text read by the authors of "Bahurupiya Shehr" at the launch of the book.. (Also see http://www.sarai.net/practices/cybermohalla/public-dialogue/books/bahurupiya-shehr) For the Hindi version, http://www.sarai.net/practices/cybermohalla/public-dialogue/books/bahurupiya-shehr/launch-text best shveta ------------------------------------------------ Bahurupiya Shehr Launch/May 01, 2007/India Habitat Centre, New Delhi *Some why's and how's from the writers of Bahurupiya Shehr* I want to thank all of you for being with us here today. My name is Yashoda, and with me is Shamsher. You all probably have many questions about the book, and the making of the book. So do we. Here are some “why's” and “how's” from the writers of Bahuprupiya Shehr. Why the CITY? In living in it, the city seems close; but it seems far when it is narrated. It is this distance which becomes a challenge for narration. How? The city wears many masks. It takes on a new guise with each mask. Countless forming, dissolving shadows agreeing to be co-travelers, such is a city. Traveling with another without ascertaining his identity increases ones curiosity, smolders desire. Through writing, through narrating, we try to exhaust distances. We bring our sense of being alone into conflict with our attraction across distances. From watching it, the relationship with the city becomes one of talking to the city. When this happens, the city neither lets us sleep, nor lets us awaken from our trance. Why a BOOK? Every book is a resting place. A means to keep ones thinking alive. A book has the capacity to carve out its own place in every context. A book makes space in our lives for us to halt and be lost in ourselves. One argues with a book. A book is rejected. A book is also accepted, made one's own. Amidst the many rejections of the city, this book is our hope to find an acknowledgment, an acceptance. Why this NAME? Shape-shifting! Is the person sitting before me the same as I see her? Or is there more to her than what I can see of her here? Instability is the breath in every image. After all, is there anyone here, whose image is the same everywhere? Or who does not feel a restlessness at being pinned to an image? A name underlines something. But “Bahurupiya” [shape-shifting/polymorphous] relates to every passing image. It is an endeavour to acknowledge the possibility of recognising the tug inside each one, before they are named and marked. In “Bahurupiya” one feels the scale of the possible, and also finds a corner for a weakness. In “Bahurupiya” there is that shadow too, which we may not want to come face to face with. How was it written? To us, writing is not about falling into someone's life; writing is to put down in words the time, questions and tussles that have been narrated to us, and in which, splashing about like a novice swimmer, we try and find a shore of our own thoughts. This is the scaffolding in which we start collecting the scraps of desire to express, and so write. In entering this realm, the stream of questions we pose to ourself, and the answers we ourselves provide, is relentless. That we have entered someone's life is not the important thing – no entry pass or card records or marks it. What matters is, what are the terms with which we let someone step into our life. This is what produces for us the challenge to go beyond a mere transcription of the real. We found our ways of expression from those around us, from those near us. In the world of ideas, we are our own guides. How are we acquainting ourselves with a space and how is the space introducing itself to us is always a fraught question. Maybe the eye says the answer is clear, but in our mind the tussle – with that which remains beyond clarity – continues. Because when it comes to thinking, no thought is complete in itself. Every word pulls us within it. At the same time, each word also holds in it a possibility to embark us on a flight without a destination. In writing we transgress our own limits; in joining words into a sentence we continuously settle into and uproot within us many ideas of what a city is. Writing! Need, habit, entertainment and hobby are not what we desire. In needing, we are alone. In habit we are chased by boredom. It is not entertainment, because that makes us dependent on the new. It is not a hobby, because hobby seeks futile gatherings. How is writing different from these? To us, writing is to follow our insane desire over huge distances. This desire gives us a force to tussle with ourselves. And the tussle makes us vulnerable not only to our own thoughts but also leaves on us a special imprint of the images of many others. Nothing is near us. But a sudden incident or change can make the knit of the city come unraveled. It is not easy to stand before this – yet we search a language so we may be able to. Changes feed our desire and curiosity to write, changes animate our minds and propel us into creating our own contexts of thought. Why an imagination of a reader? Everyone lives in her/his own context, tries to live in her/his own context. When we read, we debate with that which is settled in our minds, we explore the different dimensions of the images we have accepted as complete, we are provoked. When we read, we create a different sight with which to view ourselves. Reading nurtures the seeds of a third context beyond “yours” and “mine”. A third context, where lives knock at the realm between the imagined and the real, searching and making their meaning. Why write what you did? Every space has its specificities, gathering which it keeps alive its stubbornness to live, to continue. The texts in this book dwell in the challenges of this stubbornness. Connected to this is time. Time, whose capability is not only in its certainty. The time of the past, the present and the future form a triangle; within which fading and dense memories are selected, nurtured. Each instance of time is different from the other. This difference becomes the tension, the conflict between two texts. We question this conflict, as much as we stoke it. The smouldering heat that the texts contain, their questions, the decisions in them, the measure of spaces in the texts – all these are the heartbeats of the texts. Time, moments are the texts' pulse. Sometimes the pulse – or the time – becomes strong, at others, it grows weak. When small moments join with thousands of others, we find ourselves among others. Our texts inhabit this ecology of the measure of moments. In the scale of the small moments, sometimes we feel ourselves extending beyond our own measure. ** After this, the writers read some selections from the book. The book is available at book stores. (See http://www.sarai.net/practices/cybermohalla/public-dialogue/books/bahurupiya-shehr/available-here) From shveta at sarai.net Wed May 9 10:40:23 2007 From: shveta at sarai.net (Shveta) Date: Wed, 09 May 2007 10:40:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [With text] Introducing Bahurupiya Shehr Message-ID: <464157BF.2040802@sarai.net> Hello, It seems the text didn't reach. Apologies, there is a bug in my mail client (copy pasting from gedit sometimes fails). Here it is again. best shveta ------------------------------------------------ Bahurupiya Shehr Launch/May 01, 2007/India Habitat Centre, New Delhi http://www.sarai.net/practices/cybermohalla/public-dialogue/books/bahurupiya-shehr *Some how's and why's of the writers of Bahurupiya Shehr* I want to thank all of you for being with us here today. My name is Yashoda, and with me is Shamsher. You all probably have many questions about the book, and the making of the book. So do we. Here are some “why's” and “how's” from the writers of Bahuprupiya Shehr. Why the CITY? In living in it, the city seems close; but it seems far when it is narrated. It is this distance which becomes a challenge for narration. How? The city wears many masks. It takes on a new guise with each mask. Countless forming, dissolving shadows agreeing to be co-travelers, such is a city. Traveling with another without ascertaining his identity increases ones curiosity, smolders desire. Through writing, through narrating, we try to exhaust distances. We bring our sense of being alone into conflict with our attraction across distances. From watching it, the relationship with the city becomes one of talking to the city. When this happens, the city neither lets us sleep, nor lets us awaken from our trance. Why a BOOK? Every book is a resting place. A means to keep ones thinking alive. A book has the capacity to carve out its own place in every context. A book makes space in our lives for us to halt and be lost in ourselves. One argues with a book. A book is rejected. A book is also accepted, made one's own. Amidst the many rejections of the city, this book is our hope to find an acknowledgment, an acceptance. Why this NAME? Shape-shifting! Is the person sitting before me the same as I see her? Or is there more to her than what I can see of her here? Instability is the breath in every image. After all, is there anyone here, whose image is the same everywhere? Or who does not feel a restlessness at being pinned to an image? A name underlines something. But “Bahurupiya” [shape-shifting/polymorphous] relates to every passing image. It is an endeavour to acknowledge the possibility of recognising the tug inside each one, before they are named and marked. In “Bahurupiya” one feels the scale of the possible, and also finds a corner for a weakness. In “Bahurupiya” there is that shadow too, which we may not want to come face to face with. How was it written? To us, writing is not about falling into someone's life; writing is to put down in words the time, questions and tussles that have been narrated to us, and in which, splashing about like a novice swimmer, we try and find a shore of our own thoughts. This is the scaffolding in which we start collecting the scraps of desire to express, and so write. In entering this realm, the stream of questions we pose to ourself, and the answers we ourselves provide, is relentless. That we have entered someone's life is not the important thing – no entry pass or card records or marks it. What matters is, what are the terms with which we let someone step into our life. This is what produces for us the challenge to go beyond a mere transcription of the real. We found our ways of expression from those around us, from those near us. In the world of ideas, we are our own guides. How are we acquainting ourselves with a space and how is the space introducing itself to us is always a fraught question. Maybe the eye says the answer is clear, but in our mind the tussle – with that which remains beyond clarity – continues. Because when it comes to thinking, no thought is complete in itself. Every word pulls us within it. At the same time, each word also holds in it a possibility to embark us on a flight without a destination. In writing we transgress our own limits; in joining words into a sentence we continuously settle into and uproot within us many ideas of what a city is. Writing! Need, habit, entertainment and hobby are not what we desire. In needing, we are alone. In habit we are chased by boredom. It is not entertainment, because that makes us dependent on the new. It is not a hobby, because hobby seeks futile gatherings. How is writing different from these? To us, writing is to follow our insane desire over huge distances. This desire gives us a force to tussle with ourselves. And the tussle makes us vulnerable not only to our own thoughts but also leaves on us a special imprint of the images of many others. Nothing is near us. But a sudden incident or change can make the knit of the city come unraveled. It is not easy to stand before this – yet we search a language so we may be able to. Changes feed our desire and curiosity to write, changes animate our minds and propel us into creating our own contexts of thought. Why an imagination of a reader? Everyone lives in her/his own context, tries to live in her/his own context. When we read, we debate with that which is settled in our minds, we explore the different dimensions of the images we have accepted as complete, we are provoked. When we read, we create a different sight with which to view ourselves. Reading nurtures the seeds of a third context beyond “yours” and “mine”. A third context, where lives knock at the realm between the imagined and the real, searching and making their meaning. Why write what you did? Every space has its specificities, gathering which it keeps alive its stubbornness to live, to continue. The texts in this book dwell in the challenges of this stubbornness. Connected to this is time. Time, whose capability is not only in its certainty. The time of the past, the present and the future form a triangle; within which fading and dense memories are selected, nurtured. Each instance of time is different from the other. This difference becomes the tension, the conflict between two texts. We question this conflict, as much as we stoke it. The smouldering heat that the texts contain, their questions, the decisions in them, the measure of spaces in the texts – all these are the heartbeats of the texts. Time, moments are the texts' pulse. Sometimes the pulse – or the time – becomes strong, at others, it grows weak. When small moments join with thousands of others, we find ourselves among others. Our texts inhabit this ecology of the measure of moments. In the scale of the small moments, sometimes we feel ourselves extending beyond our own measure. ** After this, the writers read some selections from the book. From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed May 9 13:51:59 2007 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (yasir ~) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 13:21:59 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] meeting this friday : the deer Message-ID: <5af37bb0705090121g5d06a315ye72245686d88a276@mail.gmail.com> 2. the deer we read Justin Smith's Imaginary Tribes writings (#2 is about mythological deer) http://www.jehsmith.com/1/2007/04/imaginary_tribe.html#more then read / paraphrase Asadullah Khan Ghalib's deer as in: asad hum wo junoo~ jaulaa~ gadaa e be sar o paa hein ke hai sarpanjaa e mizhgaan e aahoo pusht khaar apnaa http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/023/23_01.html? (shair quoted in dunyazaad 18) From mrsg at vsnl.com Wed May 9 21:11:58 2007 From: mrsg at vsnl.com (mrsg at vsnl.com) Date: Wed, 09 May 2007 20:41:58 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] No sex please, we're Maipuris: 3rd IF posting In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It is sickening to read how the Talibanisations of Manipuri film is being described in such a polite and rational way!! The facist underground censorship is being eulogised in the name of Manipuri culture. A male chauvinist dikat is described shamefully as "The Manipuris are a very conservative people. It's an article of faith among the Manipuris that women should not drink wine, not reveal too much cleavage, not go out late in the night, not laugh too loud, not have food before their husbands do and so on. These values get reflected in the Manipuri cinema." . It seems Manipur must be a place in Iran or Afghanistan, not in democratic India. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ranjan Yumnam Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 4:08 pm Subject: [Reader-list] No sex please, we're Maipuris: 3rd IF posting To: reader-list at sarai.net > Manipuri films are often close imitations of the Bollywood flicks in > form, if not the content. Song, music and dance are one of the most > important ingredients in a Manipuri film. Like some of the Mumbai's > potboilers, Manipuri heroes woo their love-interests in the sky, > mountains, snow and the oceans. Hero-laden helicopters fly into a song > sequence out of nowhere, even if the hero is an unemployed chap in the > film. Shoots are done in foreign locations like Singapore as a trick > to draw audience. Actors change their clothes many times in a span of > five minutes. Even the music scores are adapted from the South > Indians. Almost all the usual 'aesthetics of attractions' of Mumbai > cinema are employed to gain eyeballs as Manipuri filmmakers struggle > to recover their production cost in a highly competitive market that > is confined to the Imphal valley. > > So you might ask what is Manipuri about Manipuri films. Despite the > cosmetic similarities with other regional cinemas, Manipuri cinema has > begun to come on its own. This is largely a result of self-regulation > of the Manipuri film industry and in part because of a sort of > cultural regimentation imposed on the filmmakers by the underground > organisations. > > Take for example, the song and dance sequence. Manipuri songs are done > very tastefully without any display of tits and bums and that > makes it > eminently fit to be watched together in a family of three generations > without any awkwardness and embarrassments. Elements of sexual > titillation are completely absent from the Manipuri cinema, that > compared to it, a typical item number of Mallika Sherawat would look > like a soft porn stuff. No rain-soaked blouses for the Manipuris. > > The Manipuris are a very conservative people. It's an article of faith > among the Manipuris that women should not drink wine, not reveal too > much cleavage, not go out late in the night, not laugh too loud, not > have food before their husbands do and so on. > > These values get reflected in the Manipuri cinema. > > The Imphalwood filmmakers are aware of the consequences if they cross > the line of decency and fantasy. The community has a powerful impact > on what one can do in Manipur—not only in the films but also in other > walks of life. If a filmmaker ignores the sensitivities of the > Manipuri populace, she is in for a sure trouble. That trouble can also > come from the insurgents who considers Manipuri cinema to be a > nationalistic product and a cultural ambassador. This notion has led > to some actors being prohibited from working together in films because > of their too 'inappropriate' on-screen and off-screen chemistry. > In an > extreme case, a female actor was shot at her legs because she > acted in > an erotic scene. Some of her male colleagues have paid a direr price: > they have been executed while others fled to neighbouring states. This > happened about a decade ago. > > Many rounds of parleys have taken place between the Film Forum, > Manipuri, the apex body of the Imphalwood and the underground > organisations on censorship issues. While the Film Forum, Manipur has > been zealous about guarding its artistic freedom, the UGs have been > insisting on enforcing a code of conventions that purport to uphold > the dignity of the Manipuri culture and society. A middle ground has > been struck which seeks to satisfy both the filmmakers and the UGs. > > This mutually agreed code is enforced by the preview committee of the > Film Forum, Manipur. From now on, a director must submit his print and > screen it before the said committee for clearance. The committee > approves the film on the basis of some criteria, most of which to > determine whether the film transgresses the line of decency, > misrepresents the culture of the Manipuris or imitates too profusely > from Bollywood. The members of this committee are known to show their > utmost displeasure at the sight of sarees, sindur, mangal sutra, heavy > make-up, exposed ribs and 'vulgar scenes'. A director has to > comply if > cuts are recommended in any portion of the film. Only then can it be > submitted formally to the Central Board of Film Censorship at Guwahati > for censorship certificate. > > Such a system does generate lots of bad feelings between the committee > and the filmmakers. It also doesn't help that most Manipuri filmmakers > have grown up on a diet of Bollywood movies—their filmmaking > approaches and techniques are uncannily similar to those of the > Mumbai's films. It appears to be quite a temptation for a Manipuri > director to make use of alien cultural symbols, often subconsciously, > like a mangal sutra, a North Indian usage which does not exist in the > Manipuri society. The preview committee acts as a filter to sift > through such kind of disconnect between the reality and the cinematic > representations. > > Film activists mindful of the anomalies in the Manipuri films exhort > the filmmakers to look elsewhere for inspiration if Manipuri film has > to carve out its own destiny. Korean films are being promoted as > alternative films that Manipuris can emulate. The realist feel of the > Korean films with their simplicity, brevity of emotions and subtlety > are a model for a new breed of young filmmakers. The vice like > grip of > Bollywood is slowly but surely loosening as Korean and Latin American > movies make their foray into Manipur, via the international market at > Moreh, a border town straddling Manipur and Myanmar. > > There are merits and demerits of extra-institutional/official > censorship. On the brighter side, Manipuri films are becoming more > realistic and distinct from the homogenous commodity of Bollywood. > Liberals are however worried that it is a form of cultural > regimentation that restricts freedom of artistic expression and > experimentation. The line between vulgarity and art is a thin line and > it is a difficult task differentiating between the two. In > Manipur, it > is the insurgents and the like-minded members in the Film Forum, > Manipur that is shouldering this tricky task. > > > > > > > > > -- > Regards, > Ranjan Yumnam > _________________________________________ > 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 mail at shivamvij.com Thu May 10 00:04:28 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 00:04:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Indian People's Tribunal on Untouchability Message-ID: <9c06aab30705091134n225de9d2j7dfe687782c83d76@mail.gmail.com> Saturday, May 5, 2007 Indian People's Tribunal on Untouchability 30 April 2007 Greetings from kerala On behalf of Indian People's Tribunal on Untouchability, we are pleased to invite you to be part of panel of Jurists for the public hearing on the Untouchability Practices Within the Country. Forty six organizations from across the country and nine national networks working for Dalit Rights are holding the People's Tribunal on Untouchability on 12 and 13 May 2007 in Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, New Delhi to expose the inhuman practices of untouchability that Dalits, who forms a quarter of population in the country, have to face everyday in their life. The tribunal will hear depositions of 40 personal experiences of untouchability from across India. Two parallel sessions for hearing the cases will be held in two days and a panel of fifteen prominent citizens will look into the issue. Untouchability practices are a reality that the Dalits have to face everyday in almost every sphere of life. It has become imprinted in the deeper social psyche of the Indian society, in that it stands more or less ignored or is being treated as quite natural. We believe that the opening up of the issue will highlight how the integrated belief system of casteism still perpetuates practices similar to racism within the country. Also, the fact is that it is perpetuated in connivance with the administration and government, and it is hardly treated as a crime within the country. We should be able to bring into national and international attention that despite enacting many legal protective measures within the country, the state has desperately failed to curb this inhuman practice. Any resistance to this practice has resulted in the most inhuman atrocities against the community. Incidents of extreme humiliation, brutalization, maiming, arson, rape, killing, and acts of torture by the community amongst whom they live are quite common. The tribunal will look into the following issues:- access to public places, discrimination in common services and criminal justice system; traditional practices like jogini system and devadasi system; discrimination and ghettoisation in housing, access to religious religious places, common natural resources, educational and governmental institutions and work places; implementation of special component plan; manual scavenging; judiciary and judgments on caste related issues. At the end of the tribunal, the groups involved will be meeting the President, the Prime Minister, the National Human Rights Commission, Scheduled Caste Commission and the leaders of major national parties to brief them on the outcome of the Tribunal. The group involved envisages that the Tribunal will act as a catalyst for influencing the Government policies and programmes, and hopes to see that the Government would evolve with newer approaches to address the issue. The tribunal will be an indicator for civil society to rethink of a new set of strategies, to compel the State for immediate intervention to address the issue. We look forward for your presence in the jury panel. Thanking You With high regards, On behalf of the tribunal Paul Divakar , Vimal Thorat & Vincent Manoharan Colin Gonsalves National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights / Human Rights Law Network From karunakar at sarai.net Thu May 10 07:40:47 2007 From: karunakar at sarai.net (Guntupalli Karunakar) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 07:40:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] researcher req. for survey of educational software in market. Message-ID: <20070510074047.a1961e88.karunakar@sarai.net> Hi, Sarai is doing a survey of educational software available in market. For this are looking for a person to do a market research & survey of educational software available, in the form of learning CDROMs, games etc. There are several companies and institutions that are producing and marketing educational software to schools and other institutions. The wide array of products on different formats has not been documented and compiled, nor is there any analysis available of its quality, price and educational value. We aim to build a directory of such products. We need a person fulltime to do such a survey for proprietry products - Windows/Mac based. The person will work for 2 months fulltime, and conduct on field survey and compile a database of the surveyed products. While we dont have fixed qualifications set, but need a person who can take up field survey, with experience in using computers and preferably some experience in education and good communication skills. The person has to be based in Delhi. The requirement is immediate & urgent. Interested persons can email with their profile and experience at the earliest to karunakar at sarai.net Regards, Karunakar -- ********************************** * कार्य: http://www.indlinux.org * * चिठ्ठा: http://cartoonsoft.com/blog * ********************************** From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Thu May 10 10:52:45 2007 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 22:22:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] No sex please, we're Maipuris: 3rd IF posting In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <569951.37487.qm@web53602.mail.re2.yahoo.com> " It seems Manipur must be a place in Iran or Afghanistan, not in democratic India." Well, sorry to butt in with something which is completely irrelevant to this thread. But Manipur isnt really a place in "democratic" India.Do words like "Irom Sharmila" or "AFSPA" ring a bell? --- mrsg at vsnl.com wrote: > It is sickening to read how the Talibanisations of > Manipuri film is being described in such a polite > and rational way!! The facist underground censorship > is being eulogised in the name of Manipuri culture. > A male chauvinist dikat is described shamefully as > "The Manipuris are a very conservative people. It's > an article of faith among the Manipuris that women > should not drink wine, not reveal too much cleavage, > not go out late in the night, not laugh too loud, > not have food before their husbands do and so on. > These values get reflected in the Manipuri cinema." > . It seems Manipur must be a place in Iran or > Afghanistan, not in democratic India. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Ranjan Yumnam > Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 4:08 pm > Subject: [Reader-list] No sex please, we're > Maipuris: 3rd IF posting > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > Manipuri films are often close imitations of the > Bollywood flicks in > > form, if not the content. Song, music and dance > are one of the most > > important ingredients in a Manipuri film. Like > some of the Mumbai's > > potboilers, Manipuri heroes woo their > love-interests in the sky, > > mountains, snow and the oceans. Hero-laden > helicopters fly into a song > > sequence out of nowhere, even if the hero is an > unemployed chap in the > > film. Shoots are done in foreign locations like > Singapore as a trick > > to draw audience. Actors change their clothes many > times in a span of > > five minutes. Even the music scores are adapted > from the South > > Indians. Almost all the usual 'aesthetics of > attractions' of Mumbai > > cinema are employed to gain eyeballs as Manipuri > filmmakers struggle > > to recover their production cost in a highly > competitive market that > > is confined to the Imphal valley. > > > > So you might ask what is Manipuri about Manipuri > films. Despite the > > cosmetic similarities with other regional cinemas, > Manipuri cinema has > > begun to come on its own. This is largely a result > of self-regulation > > of the Manipuri film industry and in part because > of a sort of > > cultural regimentation imposed on the filmmakers > by the underground > > organisations. > > > > Take for example, the song and dance sequence. > Manipuri songs are done > > very tastefully without any display of tits and > bums and that > > makes it > > eminently fit to be watched together in a family > of three generations > > without any awkwardness and embarrassments. > Elements of sexual > > titillation are completely absent from the > Manipuri cinema, that > > compared to it, a typical item number of Mallika > Sherawat would look > > like a soft porn stuff. No rain-soaked blouses for > the Manipuris. > > > > The Manipuris are a very conservative people. It's > an article of faith > > among the Manipuris that women should not drink > wine, not reveal too > > much cleavage, not go out late in the night, not > laugh too loud, not > > have food before their husbands do and so on. > > > > These values get reflected in the Manipuri cinema. > > > > The Imphalwood filmmakers are aware of the > consequences if they cross > > the line of decency and fantasy. The community has > a powerful impact > > on what one can do in Manipur—not only in the > films but also in other > > walks of life. If a filmmaker ignores the > sensitivities of the > > Manipuri populace, she is in for a sure trouble. > That trouble can also > > come from the insurgents who considers Manipuri > cinema to be a > > nationalistic product and a cultural ambassador. > This notion has led > > to some actors being prohibited from working > together in films because > > of their too 'inappropriate' on-screen and > off-screen chemistry. > > In an > > extreme case, a female actor was shot at her legs > because she > > acted in > > an erotic scene. Some of her male colleagues have > paid a direr price: > > they have been executed while others fled to > neighbouring states. This > > happened about a decade ago. > > > > Many rounds of parleys have taken place between > the Film Forum, > > Manipuri, the apex body of the Imphalwood and the > underground > > organisations on censorship issues. While the Film > Forum, Manipur has > > been zealous about guarding its artistic freedom, > the UGs have been > > insisting on enforcing a code of conventions that > purport to uphold > > the dignity of the Manipuri culture and society. A > middle ground has > > been struck which seeks to satisfy both the > filmmakers and the UGs. > > > > This mutually agreed code is enforced by the > preview committee of the > > Film Forum, Manipur. From now on, a director must > submit his print and > > screen it before the said committee for clearance. > The committee > > approves the film on the basis of some criteria, > most of which to > > determine whether the film transgresses the line > of decency, > > misrepresents the culture of the Manipuris or > imitates too profusely > > from Bollywood. The members of this committee are > known to show their > > utmost displeasure at the sight of sarees, sindur, > mangal sutra, heavy > > make-up, exposed ribs and 'vulgar scenes'. A > director has to > > comply if > > cuts are recommended in any portion of the film. > Only then can it be > > submitted formally to the Central Board of Film > Censorship at Guwahati > > for censorship certificate. > > > > Such a system does generate lots of bad feelings > between the committee > > and the filmmakers. It also doesn't help that most > Manipuri filmmakers > > have grown up on a diet of Bollywood > movies—their filmmaking > > approaches and techniques are uncannily similar to > those of the > > Mumbai's films. It appears to be quite a > temptation for a Manipuri > > director to make use of alien cultural symbols, > often subconsciously, > > like a mangal sutra, a North Indian usage which > does not exist in the > > Manipuri society. The preview committee acts as a > filter to sift > > through such kind of disconnect between the > reality and the cinematic > > representations. > > > > Film activists mindful of the anomalies in the > Manipuri films exhort > > the filmmakers to look elsewhere for inspiration > if Manipuri film has > > to carve out its own destiny. Korean films are > being promoted as > > alternative films that Manipuris can emulate. The > realist feel of the > > Korean films with their simplicity, brevity of > emotions and subtlety > > are a model for a new breed of young filmmakers. > The vice like > > grip of > > Bollywood is slowly but surely loosening as Korean > and Latin American > > movies make their foray into Manipur, via the > international market at > > Moreh, a border town straddling Manipur and > Myanmar. > > > > There are merits and demerits of > extra-institutional/official > > censorship. On the brighter side, Manipuri films > are becoming more > > realistic and distinct from the homogenous > commodity of Bollywood. > > Liberals are however worried that it is a form of > cultural > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Thu May 10 13:38:27 2007 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 09:08:27 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] IF-Post 2.5 Revisiting 'pure politics' and the personal transformation of the public sphere Message-ID: <182912.50527.qm@web8509.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Readers, The immediate news is, I’ve been struggling this one month over an extensive revision of the last posting that I had made, ( I’ve given it a title later, ‘From Political pornography to Pure Politics : Notes on the Personal Transformation of the Public sphere) and the changes and additions are so massive (Section 2.3.1 is nearly a new Section in which I try to bring up a sketch of the history of invectives from the Greek Cicero and Diogenes to political porno pamphlets in contemporary Benaras vis-a vis 15th, 16th century and the infamous 18th century running down to Fascist persuasion etc) that I’ve decided to underline this piece ( inclusive of this commentary and the paper)as falling some way in between the second and the third post, and will function as a tremendous hyperlink in between the two. To give you a breather, I’ll defer (with permission) my third post which is also ready (titled ‘BIFURCATION OF THE SIMPLE: GANDHI, MOTILAL AND THE PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATIONSIM’) by a gap of atleast a few days. The commentary I’m offering here--says many things which have not been told in the revised paper reproduced below and thinks by jumping back and forth, so I’ll request you to improvise a bit and take this commentary seriously and link it with the formal titled submission in its semi final draft reproduced below with endnotes; last time the references were missing. The finalization will borrow much from this commentary too. This revision is mostly based on informal comments received on the draft since formal comments invited from authors I admire - are still pending; and now that I would like them to read this draft rather than the previous one, is enough fuel to disgust them altogether which makes my hopes look really lean. And while I say this, let me inform you I’ve a lot to talk and listen to my Fellow colleagues and their pieces of research: Sayan Deb Mukherjee’s corridors and Foucauldian heterotopia, Mithun Bose’s mobile folklore on urban transport, those Kolkata people working on urban ponds, two student stipend winners working on pornography and citizenship: I’m just missing out on time to pack this up all in a single bag, what to say of other people ! I’ve no complaints, since as some author, understanding the owes of ordinary minds like us, had said, “I’m no Shakespeare or Hegel, P. Lal or Arun Lal but I worked hard as I could on each of the things I wrote.” At times, this has been, truly easy; at times exasperating—to both others and me—myself. But the satisfaction of hard work should linger on even if it is not complete. ( Because “full pleasure and complete satisfaction” ( and these adjectives are not reversible) can be provided, it seems so, only by massage parlours edifying our cities). But you see, we are still tucked up, and quite dryly, at the level of the ‘message’. Throughout this piece, I shall remain so. Before going into some sort of elaboration through conversation with texts as diverse as Althusser’s book on Machiavelli to Suddhabrata Sengupta’s ‘I/Me/Mine’..in the Signs Journal via Lawrence Liang’s evocative piece on the SARAI list ‘Devastating Looks: Smirks, Quirks and Judicial Authority ( 4 May’07)’, let me attempt a summary of what I had said last time, and how it forecasts the content to come, and what’s going to be my present engagement. A SYNOPSIS of what I had said last time could be offered now in three sentences : 1)An impersonal public sphere, threatened by the deceptive nature of the personal, was founded to ground political modernity and extended to cover such remote questions of personal charity which –some like Hegel sought to replace by state related public assistance or welfare. 2)This normalizing restraint was worked upon even at the level of speech, but through the instance of personal attacks, the repressed narrative of the personal seemed to recur at the cost of our unease—a political pornography of sorts. 3) An excavation informed us-----behind the masked ordeal of innocent impersonality, there lurks the obscene narratives of manipulation, lying, backstabbing, blackmailing, fraud, betrayal, malice by which persons govern each other. But given the informal, impulsive actuality of such events, all are not prone to making personal attacks; a silent majority consume these injuries and die without a whimper. I’ll expand on this synopsis now but engage only with the more disputed points. I started with a will to know the real reason as to why impersonality was called for or the personal was sought to be driven out of the public sphere. For the moment I speculate there were two reasons of which I’ve expanded only on one : the first is the anti-absolutist fear of the monarch who was sovereign in person; and another was the fear of the incalculable and the irrational—the person steeped in ‘particularity’ and armed with deception and fraud—one who can pursue self interest monstrously—without a market measure. In this sense Bataille was correct in stating that the ‘person’ is feudal and pre-modern; capitalism is the order of ‘things’ and property is that which enjoins or hyphenates persons and things. I’ll come back to this point when I deal with the history of the personal in my second next post. I had used David Owen’s commentary to make a good summary but presently I’ve recovered Weber himself to learn that “Objective discharge of business primarily means a discharge of business according to calculable rules and “without regard for persons.” Without regard for persons”, however, is also the watchword of the market and, in general, of all pursuits of naked economic interests. Bureaucracy develops the more perfectly the more completely it succeeds in eliminating from official business love, hatred, and all purely personal, irrational, and emotional elements which escape calculation.” It follows that if we are able to prove that persons don’t conform to the informal, calculable rules and love, hatred, personal preference, and other irrational, personal considerations abound in offices, we move into our chosen domain. What we gather is, the person and the personal is a threat that, in order to be normalized, has to be bureaucratized. A bureaucrat, to use Claude Lefort, in this sense is compelled –apparently--not be an “egocrat”; the recipients of his services are, presumably, better assured of a just, impersonal and impartial distribution; they are relieved too. Now, this same principle is shifted and geared to higher levels related to the public sphere’s coming into being through discussion,. opinion and will formation where a communicative, cooperative, consensual apriori does not allow discussion with a personal orientation. This is the core-spirit of the modern public sphere. Instead of a personal-issue based, personality oriented politics, this view, true to its foundations, advocates an issue based, principled politics. To pursue this, one has to transcend the level of the personal to be integrated to higher levels. But what could be shown, and I’ve tried my best to make it explicit ( SECTION I BELOW), this form of politics, is suited to self- interest rather than large, universal, generalizable interests—to which it pays a strong, very strong, secular lip service; this could be also gotten from the contractual civil law of such a state: liberty, equality, property and already much has been written about this. Now while you push this personal orientation to politics, however feeble it may be, to higher degrees we see nasty things springing up. What is significant about this phenomenon is, throughout and quite pervasively one notices that an ugly narrative is erupting open to emerge free from the reigns of this sobriety and calculation or from simply a civil personal standpoint : this is unmistakably the personal but with a pornographic turn based on a forgetting of the threshold with a form that defies figurative and tropological deixis. All norms of publicity and privacy are put to the winds; the anatomy of all figural identifications are laid bare. When Shuddhabrata Sengupta sets this example of a ‘hypothetical African Americam female janitor thinking about the very real Condolezza Rice’ who mutters, “ How come she looks like me and yields so much power over my destiny that she can send my son to war in a away that I thought only people who did not look like me could do?” (1) , I think he could be thinking similar things about how “familiar assumptions” about the benefits of identification and how familiarity, if taken for granted, might boomerang. ( Now, Pornography as the absence of tropes and figures and how Machiavellism could set this on track, plz. see the rewritten CONCLUSION part of my paper below. The relevant section has been marked (****). Similarly, our relational and other –even official affinities—suddenly seem to have been tattooed, if we look in this light, by deception, betrayal, malice, backstabbing, envy and other propaganda. And we find it everywhere from our first orientation to the second person to our last orientation to third person plural when we die or are killed. Examples are rife and always happening: --you are a very promising and perhaps more competent significant young poet, you have criticized my poems as not that good; I’ll see how you get published in the upcoming anthology and I thereby ‘get in touch’ with the strings I know, and by pulling them well, I ensure that you should be dropped from the collection and you are dropped. What satisfaction! --You have submitted --an article with me for a Bengali magazine or a newspaper-- which seems a better piece than what I have written or what the readers know I could write; if I can’t suppress it, I’ll silently distort it in the name of editing and by the time I finish, it will be one third of its original glare. After all, ‘editing’ is my prerogative; my name is safe now, what pleasure! --You are an aspiring actress and I’m a producer or director whatever. In our firm the invisible and unsaid conditions of acting are two: you’ll have to act in a XXX film ( don’t worry, it will be released elsewhere) and prostitute yourself in order to raise more funds for my films; we’ll pay you from that only. Not us, YOU’ll come and propose this or we dispose you. There are others waiting to do “just anything”! What will you do? You decide what you do ! Consent is holy and can cover up any sin!! Autonomy unlimited!! There are no questions of ‘permissibility.’ Permission is a category in deontological ethics! We know consent and in what conditions it can be had and that’s all! It would not be perfect, or well tailored to call these violence; since not war, this is politics in the times of peace and why this is worst than violence will be told later ( and this is also not ‘structural violence’ giving rise to ‘social suffering’). I’ve called them in the paper below, for reasons expounded there, ‘pure politics.’ Now so far as pure politics is concerned Lawrence Liang in his beautiful piece ‘Devastating Looks: Smirks, Quirks and Judicial Authority’ ( 4 May, SARAI Reader List) has remarked well with irony, not with reference to mypiece --supposedly, saying that it has been the philosophers delusion when they have claimed that they are treading on unsullied, unadulterated virgin, “pure” grounds. Now, perhaps I’m aware of the problems that this pure in phenomenology has suffered in the hands of—say-- deconstructive criticism. But I’m trying not to, (and if I have failed I may be forgiven,) deploy ‘pure’ in the sense of absolute inwardness, solitary, free etc., I’m using in the Piercian sense of brute facts ( and a few more words will be laid down below). This apart-- you will find in Derrida himself, if I’m not wrong, a catalogue of concept-metaphors designated as un-deconstructible : hospitality, justice etc. Now it will be Liang’s turn to answer, will it be quite a sacrilege if undeconstructible is referred to as pure? However, I did not make it explicit—though I mentioned-- that only a phenomenology of the political could make sense or go near as to what could be pure politics, and how one could begin talking about it is well said by Pierce ( who remains unsung in this context with Husserl, Schutz and Ricoeur hogging all the light), “ A court may issue injunctions and judgments against me and I not care a snap of my fingers for them. I may think them idle vapour. But when I feel the sheriff’s hand on my shoulder, I shall begin to have a sense of actuality. Actuality is Something brute. There is no reason in it.” (2) Secondly, what I meant by ‘experiencing the political’ wasn’t an ever increasing stock of happenings and events in a particular cognition; it would rather entail, if I am correct, what I would call a feeling of the political or a bit more inexactly ‘political feeling.’ This feeling, again drawing from Pierce, is not subject to psychological laws and is not within the contours of what people call political psychology. An intimate touch in the bus may be likened to a good feeling of fondness or may be revolting or anything else: it is nearly impossible to generalize this at the level of the feeling. “It is a state ..a quality of immediate consciousness.” To foster this sense I had written--- the experience of the ‘pure’ political can be narrated or told but a narratology out of it, is, quite distant and more often than not, an impossibility. Do the readers agree? To resume: pure politics is politics in the times of peace. Politics in the times of peace is garlanded by fierce politicking ( in Bengali this is sometimes weakly and not exactly called kalkathi narar or kathi korar rajniti) and it has destroyed more people than all wars and pogroms added; so in order to dispel some aura around it, I had also proposed a negative theory of peace. This theory does not entail debunking peace—the way Rousseau does it in the text below (“There is peace in dungeons, but is that enough to make dungeons desirable?”), rather it would lead, the moment we find its liaison with the politics of dirty hands, to a state of neither war nor peace. But this teleology apart, what could be such a formulation of peace? I confess I would not be able to elaborate upon this since I have just undertaken it; some stray thoughts though --are in order: I think one of the primary theories of peace may be traced back to Aristotle --where peace is connected to leisure since “leisure which comes with peace” and also peace is the end of war and leisure is the end of toil. Peace is a kind of virtue that is derived from leisure. (3) Now the state of political pornography which I tried to articulate as a collection of statements on the politics of dirty hands, can be had, derivatively from the above. Peace with its alliance with leisure gives truth also its power of metal and governance. Truth is tied to leisure and comfort and such a liaison can take un-assumable forms—even that of lying. When its alliance is harangued or broken, it tends to become obscene and thus pornographic. In the main text I talk about it but in a sweeping mode. Here let me do some tinkering.” what we need to see does not involve any interior secret or the discovery of a more nocturnal world.” (4) Rather it feeds, parasitically perhaps, on the fact-sheet spread before us like bones under non-violent light. So long as this mission is maintained, in order not to sacrifice one’s own nature, even lying is comfortable, ( in Bengali there goes a saying, ‘It is better not to speak than utter ‘opriyo satyi katha” [uncomfortable truths]; this endorses the observation that what establishes truth as truth is its strategic kinship with comfort than any substantive essence). And as I tried to designate pornography by saying, it is “giving names to persons or things beyond a threshold” I meant just this. Related to the (un)speakable experience of the political: the scream after being backstabbed or betrayed-- here we are dealing with its felicity conditions: Irving Kristol who dubbed Machiavelli, following his neighbours, a political pornographer thinks the following why he is so and why he must be decamped ( this is not in the paper): Kristol begins by comparing Machiavelli to De Sade—the father of pornography and a ‘sergeant of sex’ ala Foucault : “What in our own time is so shocking about de Sade? We know that the kinds of sexual activities he describes do exist and play an important role in men’s lives. Lust, adultery, sodomy, pederasty, and all the various sexual aberrations have always been with us Yet in no country of the world may de Sade’s books circulate freely. Our society seems to believe that unrestricted knowledge of these subjects constitute pornography. And for de Sade, there is no natural and prescriptive moral framework in sex, just as there is none in politics for Machiavelli” ( Irving Kristol, ‘Machiavelli and the Profanation of Politics’ in Reflections of a Neo-Conservative, Allied Publishers: New Delhi, Indn. Rp.1986, p126.) Now, why does Kristol think that this political pornographic knowledge should be debunked? This is because it adds to our “knowledge of evil” and “corrupts” or “depraves our imagination”. But he has a serious a more promising argument : “ For if one allows that knowledge in and of itself may be the supreme value, one must go on to say that the knowledge of evil is as valuable as the knowledge of good, from which it flows that a man who is engaged in adding to our knowledge of evil is as virtuous as a man engaged in adding to our knowledge of good—in short, that the difference between evil and good is at most a matter of habitual terminology. This is, precisely, nihilism” (Kristol, Ibid., p.127) “ nothing that Machiavelli said was really novel to his readers. They knew—everyone had always known—that politics is a dirty business; that a ruler may better secure his power by slaughtering innocents, breaking his solemn oaths, betraying his friends, than by not doing so Where Machiavelli was original was first, in brazenly announcing these truths.” (Kristol, Ibid., p.127). The only change I would suggest in regard to above is, —that Machiavelli is a political pornographer—ought not to be taken pejoratively anymore. But to grasp him sensitively on our own grounds a further change should be implemented. Given my argument -- this phenomenon of “the dirty business” of politics has to be stretched to all departments of existence and not only limited to the affairs of the State as Machiavelli and Kristol does, atleast that is the only way to reckon with Bengali novels where the middleclass bhadralok, will inevitably scream atleast for once, “sala sab jaigay politics” [damn it, everywhere there is politics]). The problem of this extension I deal with in the paper’s conclusion. Now, an informal reader ( who did not want to be named) asked this very difficult question: I’m quoting her, “ If you are saying that lying, deception, betrayal, backstabbing—these are a sorts of political techniques, I’m wondering for instance whether they are at all political or not! Is lying or deception innately political? Or there are conditions when lying or deception become political?” I can hazard a guess now and if you say I’m a bit correct I would expand on this later. I don’t think lying or deceiving are innately political categories, I think they are phenomenological ones and in this sense they are pre-political (perhaps for this reason Althusser credits and connects Machiavelli with ‘primitive political accumulation’): They provide the conditions by which the experience of the political becomes possible. And because they are a sort of apriori and are, in this sense, pure, they cannot themselves be subjected to the contingency of facts. A proof of this? We know what lying is but still we are cheated everyday. And Machiavelli is obscene when, as you’ll find in the paper, he wants to regulate facts as value-ideals to be adopted to be successful; he is best when he says there are no fixed rules and he does say so (5) . And Kant is bang on the point when he discusses malice in this regard,: “Men prone to this vice will seek, for instance, to make mischief between husband and wife, or between friends, and then enjoy the misery they have produced. The defence against such mischief makers is upright conduct. Not by words but by our lives we should confute them.” ( 6) The undeconstructible, pure nature of this experience—does it become explicit by now? If it has, I intend to close up for now by following up once again how this whole discussion is relevant to my subject: personal as beyond private and public and personalist social work and how this could be related to divergent but related discussion on the same subject. Firstly, Politics in the times of peace! --This is far from defining politics as “the way to organize and optimize the technological seizure of beings at the level of the nation.” ( 7) It is rather the technological seizure of beings at the level of the person. ( See Sec. III below for more on this) We may begin or end with this vision. But as we had begun : personal was required to be expelled from the public sphere for its incalculable, irrational emotional deceptive signification. There are several ways, which have been tested throughout, to normalize this consequence: Aristotle expounds virtues for the political speakers and the moment we understand that these virtues can be feigned ( some of his commentators do note that), we are into the scandal proposed by Nietzsche and Machiavelli. This deception at the level of the person forms a cornerstone of my humble work. Infact it could be archivally shown, by recovering documents, that the argument for organized charity or welfare from Hegel to those eager to institute the Welfare State, were panicked by the deceptive, incidental nature of personal charity with its eternal arbitrariness and contingency. Even Rammohan, before he becomes a reformer, would mediate for sometime on deception. I’ve whole long chapters to devote to all this. But as a preface, is my ground ready? And if it is, then where this discussion might lead to, falling in more worthy hands, could be well pointed out by the help of Althusser, who was, it seems to me, stumped by Machiavelli and wrote this beautifully: “ ..we can say: there are not two ways of governing men—by laws” [ I’ll say—by consent] “and by force—but three—by laws, force and fraud. But as soon as this statement has been made, we realize that fraud is not a mode of government like the others; it is not on the same level. Laws exist—let us say as human institutions, recognized rules and opinions; force exists—let us say as the army. In contrast, however, fraud possesses no objective existence: it does not exist. If fraud is a way of governing, given that it has no objective existence, it can be employed only when it is based on laws or force. Fraud, then, is not a third form of government; it is government to the second degree, a manner of governing the other two forms of government: force and laws. When it utilizes the army, fraud is stratagem; when it utilizes law, it is political guile. Fraud thus opens up a space, beyond force and laws, for diverting their existence—a space in which force and laws are substituted for, feigned, deformed, and circumvented. Mastery of fraud in the Prince” [and all of us] “is the distance that allows him” [ and us] “to play at will on the existence of force and laws, to exploit and, in the strongest sense of the word, feign them.” ( 8) And my beginner’s argument in the paper below as to how the person-al overflows the public and the private and can play with them by fraud, deception and treachery, I believe, now comes full circle. Perhaps I’m correct but only perhaps ______________________________________________________ >From Political pornography to Pure Politics : Notes on the Personal Transformation of the Public sphere `Arnab Chatterjee YOUR TEARS ARE NOT POLITICAL, THEY ARE REAL WATER—ADRIENNE RICH ABSTRACT : Previously I’ve charted the personal as an unstable, dangerously indeterminate compared to private or public which are legal-juridical categories and have stable indicators. Personal—I’ve argued is a phenomenological category. Here is an instance where a demonstrative proof of this takes place. We know that personal contamination in modernity is to be expelled from the public sphere; why? Is it to stabilize behavioral expectations ? How does this take place? Is it at all successful? If not why? This contamination reaches its summit in what has been called personal attacks. The central question in this context is, are personal attacks always attacks upon a person’s privacy? If not then there are grounds to suspect that the personal and the private meet and argue at the site which is also the agency of a person. Secondly, the dangerously indeterminate and unpredictable calculus of a person which plays upon the private and the public through deception, treachery, lies and back stabbing also shows how the person and the personal emerges radically free from the stabilizing constraints of behavioral expectations that emerge out of the generalizing potentials of public or private law: we’ve arrived at the person and his political phenomenology—the way we experience the political :I’ll use a simpler shorthand here—pure politics to be designated and explored by personal attacks or political pornography. How does it implicate the private and the public --now trembling before the personal to generate a conclusion? This chapter to engage with some of these questions. I. Personal in politics : from the point of view of disciplinary political science The best description of modernity in terms of politics is available in Max Weber through the paradigmatic ruse of "political activity under Protestantism"( 9) With tradition, charisma and affective forms of patrimonial monarchies ( Sultanism for example) receding to the background, what emerged is--to borrow Owen's brilliant capsule, “the impersonal rationalisation of the social organisation [providing] an impetus towards the regulation of all public spheres of life on the basis of formal legal norms" [or "legal rationalism on the basis of a contractarian conception of natural law"], and secondly, "the maximisation of the utility of worldly resources [requiring] the facilitation of rational activity in all the life-spheres which entails a conception of the state as providing the conditions of activity but not interfering in this activity" [ or "liberalism"] (Owen, p.117). The maintenance of this regime is ensured by a strict separation of the public and private spheres where personal is understood as partial and an offspring of specific, accidental subjectivity of a person. The formulation that it has in Weber is something like this, “Objective discharge of business primarily means a discharge of business according to calculable rules and “without regard for persons.” Without regard for persons”, however, is also the watchword of the market and, in general, of all pursuits of naked economic interests. Bureaucracy develops the more perfectly the more completely it succeeds in eliminating from official business love, hatred, and all purely personal , irrational, and emotional elements which escape calculation. This is appraised as its special virtue by capitalism.” ( 10) But this operation cannot be limited or short circuited to just the response required by a “complicated and specialized modern culture (975)” since as Weber himself charts, it could be traced to that of Roman Law and late middle ages. Contractarian Natural law evolved into rational natural law and this rational law was “conceptually systematized on the basis of statues” (975). Pursuing this line of argument, the first signs of the modern bureaucratized impersonality were evident, according to Weber, in legal administration. We shall get back to this later and elsewhere. Now, shifting the burden of this tangle to the domain of current discussion, we see how the public and the public sphere comes to be invested with this impersonality. The point is, “the regulation of all public spheres of life on the basis of formal norms”—is it successful? In order to examine this we can limit ourselves to exploring politics as the sanctioned activity of the public sphere. Here it is urged –what to say of political rational action, politics even at the level of persuasion or political rhetoric is encouraged to become --in this discourse --ostensibly--shorn of all personal benefits and burden, personal mention and personal attacks through our advocacy of principled politics. A few more words are in order. By stating the political we stand to approach the question of the personal through the disciplinary deployment of the former. ( 11) To go on with this I first examine the personally oriented politics as against an impersonal issue based, principled politics followed by that very famous register –and that which is absolutely relevant and rehearsed in eternal negativity -- is the notion of personal attacks condemned in the wake of an impersonal, objective, issue based politics ( the question of civility added to it) which could be found to have been neatly tailored to ground the public or public sphere in terms of public reason and so on. And the temptation is understandable in as much as politics in modernity with its concomitant notion of rights, public opinion and rational will formation imagines to purge the public, in order to refine it only, of all personal investments. Here we have apparently the classical Weberian paradigm to guide us; ( 12) further and later it was Habermas who refined these arguments at the level of language by rooting this metaphor in a form of systematically undistorted communicative practice. It is with Habermas that we have the normative turn given to political modernity or in the words of Luhmann what Habermas did was to show that all rational considerations may be shown to have had a normative content. In later chapters I shall show that the undertaking to institute modernity in the colonies exhibit much against their intentions the personal-particular core in the public-universal garb. The present exercise will preface this moment in a significant manner. 1.1 Personality based politics vs. Principled politics: a historic-theoretic view Before we start to address principled politics, let us try to inquire what do we mean by ‘principles’. A strong and interesting formulation is found in Kant where principles are outlined as ‘the subjective formal condition of judgement in general’(13) meaning “the laws by which judgement judges itself” and which “ become principles through which it” [i.e. judgement] “discriminates between the conflicting claims of history.” ( 14) To reckon with this legal metaphor is to consent to Kant seeking “the discovery of a principle through an analysis of the tradition of judgements and the constitution of a system of judgements from a principle” (15 ) In short, if we adopt Kant for the moment, a principle is that which enables us to judge a judgment and by which the judgment judges itself. Taking cue from this, it may wisely be argued that a principled politics is that kind of politics which denies to compromise or undermine its founding principles which is evidently not compatible with the culture of reaching compromises—thus is absolutely not in harmony with what we call democracy. It may further be argued that an issue based principled politics would be that which considers political wants according to universalizable or widely shared ultimate considerations which - in turn, would cater to public interest rather than private interests. ( 16) This would require making large assumptions rather than local or individual ones which in some sense is comical because moral principles in contrast to ethical ones emerge not from individual standpoints and are urged to be universalized. Ethical standpoints suit them to particular life projects but are also susceptible to pragmatic questions. The classic discussion opposed to this speaks about something called mediate political principles which are open and subject to personal adoption and rejection, i.e. they have the capacity of becoming my principles or your principles. (However, principle based politics in a capitalist political culture is but expected to serve in reality privately oriented wants rather than publicly oriented wants— not withstanding the fact that the private individuals are still within the formation of the public. ) But consider this final argument which says that it would not be unjust to ask somebody his political principles. Because “ To ask of someone, ‘‘What are his political principles?” is not to ask for the irreducible, ultimate considerations that weigh with him; but to ask for indications of the line he would take on any of a great number of possible issues. A difference in political principles between two people will normally be open to further argument since each will be willing to justify his political principles in terms of more general considerations. In particular, a difference in political principles may stem from differing estimates of the effects that policies ( nationalization, neutrality) or elements in states of affairs ( inflation, independence of trade unions) would have.” ( 17) Therefore as a starter it may be judged that principles can be adopted personally and politically can be productive when asked or examined. Therefore the binary that charts principled politics vs. person-al-ity based politics as unprincipled one is rendered empty. And even from within the realm of our political culture, Gandhi, believing in the force of the personal example would choose to go without principles. (18) This –which will be examined in another chapter-- does not undermine but transcends principled politics in unforeseen ways. 1.2 Issues as states of affairs: a performative view. Having clarified so called ‘principle based politics’, we may now legitimately ask, what are issues? “Issues can be understood as states of affairs where persons are not used as means.” (19) Where persons are a means to promote states of affairs, it can be observed that “promoting one state of affairs for the sake of another, where the second state of affairs is a special one, it importantly involves the person in some way and the value of a person intrinsically involves states of affairs”.(20) But the performativity of this construct would not be as simple as this. It has also to be examined why particular issues have been more useful in personality based representative politics than others. No person can be fully informed and no one can fully inform as well, we lack an absolute informant and therefore s/he would lack the ideal authoritative and normative force of the hypothetical orator who internalizes issues and draws neutrality from the depths of within. This begs the question: would s/he be neutral towards issues also? What would it mean to be personally oriented towards issues or impersonally oriented? To be impersonally oriented towards issues would be to step back from the point of view we occupy as persons and critically reflect upon them (“ reflect on lives and our selves”). But “our attempts to design vantage points outside of us spring from our distinctive capacity as persons for self-reflection and from a desire to move beyond the limitations that come with occupying a particular point of view.”(21) In this sense it could equally be argued that the impersonal is perhaps the second personal of the first person. And with such a self distancing self interest is best pursued. Briefly put, remember that the philosophy of language debates on sense and reference raised the question: do I refer to myself when I sign? Likewise, is it possible for me to go against myself? “We can neither be laid low by our own cutting remarks about ourselves nor be buoyed by the thought that at least we care for ourselves.”(22) Darwall makes the point that one can adopt an impersonal concern to promote one’s own self interest. Self interest maximization is not possible when one is so passionately engaged with one’s own self without a distance that it results in the standpoint being consumed. Therefore the easy dichotomy that posits issues as impersonal concern of the agent and vouches for objectivity as neutrality rarely stands rigorous examination. II. 2.1 Political rhetoric and the personal : The ‘personal’ virus and the health of dialogue in politics. While inspecting the personal in the discourses of politics, we have addressed ourselves to a personal orientation to politics as against principled politics or issue based, impersonal politics where issues are understood as states of affairs. Subsequent to the completion of examining the objection which prioritizes a principled, “issue based politics” over personal issues and personal attack based politics, we must reckon with the fact that it also invokes and locates the personal at the level of rhetoric and states-- political rhetoric unless healthy and respects the other participant, violates the rules of debate and deliberation. It entails albeit implicitly that democracy being a procedure to peacefully and procedurally disagree, personal attacks imply more than disagreement: by trying to impeach the credibility of a democratic witness, it denigrates democracy itself, because what is democracy if not its culture! Let us see whether this argument stands the test of scrutiny. Also note we are entering, discretely though, the slippery terrain of personal attacks and politics. 2.2 Disagreement ( democracy) and the question of culture. The question could be rephrased thus: -- in a democracy which intends to be— “ deliberative” in nature i.e. wants to see the major issues that have consequences for the public settled by free and rational deliberation of all concerned, could political invectives at all be productive? Let us try in brief to examine the theoretical problems involved. The claim is of course made firstly (and perhaps lastly) from the stand point of civility. And a certain reference to the norms of deliberation in a ripening, “developing” democracy is often made too. But is it possible to sustain such a claim? For this it will suffice to review the position espoused by Gary Shiffman (23) where he forcefully argues and with much justification that consensus seeking and civility in constitutional debate cannot be obtained at the same time. He concludes that “Would be-arbiters of public deliberation like Rawls, who simultaneously insist on consensus seeking and civility in constitutional debate, cannot have it both ways. They can-—and should—endorse a norm of consensus to govern constitutional deliberation, but must also not insist that such deliberations be conducted according to norms of civility. Serious public debate of constitutional questions necessarily runs the risk of rhetorical vehemence, of mutual castigation by adversaries. Demanding pursuit of consensus while hewing to civil comportment amounts to insisting on two incompatible norms at once, consensus and dissensus.”(24) And now perhaps we are convinced about the legitimacy of the formulation for nation states with colonial histories-- that civility is the stuff of modernity; disagreement is the stuff of democracy. Given the hiatus and the bastardization of apposite growth of these two entities historically noticeable in postcolonial societies like India, they are not compatible in a foundational sense. Therefore for an Indian case the argument for the difference between modernity and democracy is made at another remove. Here both modernity and democracy are imputed unlike the west European cases. ( Or is it possible to read so much against the grain that democracy can be shown to have been imputed even in the classical modular formations?) However, all along, the colonizing logic or ruse of colonial governance was to bring the native to some kind of deliberative and decisive competence for self ownership. Here therefore the deliberative competence that is often asked for is seen with some justifiable and historically evolved suspicion. This is not unfounded. The communicative competence to insert civility into political questions would have to undergo perhaps for always a hermeneutics of suspicion. This historically correct caveat would precede any requirement for an impersonal civility to be instituted through impersonation and smuggled to the domain of democracy. That is again enough to give debates particularly among political executives in the Indian democracy on constitutional questions a specific and undecidable turn eternally subject to the contingencies of local party politics and the decisive imagination of professional politicians; same applies for complaints against misbehavior. Incivility can then feature only as a political question and as a kind of original contamination felt by constitutional questions. Byaktigat or personal inscribed within the norms of bhodrotabidhi or norms of civility is very differently political here. And this difference can be historically recovered the moment we push the question of personal attacks to higher degrees: political pornography where the political and the erotic or the uncivil interrupt each other at the moment when power erupts and corrupts even the absolute. 2.3 Personal attacks to Hate speech : the emergent topos of political pornography. There are three phases of ‘personal’ invectives or uncivil rhetoric in the western political history of humanity. One, the Greek sources with Cicero or Diogenes pioneering the first and Aristotle giving us the theory. Second, against the church in the fifteenth and sixteenth century and the third during the 18th century which interestingly turned against the state. 2.3.1 Invectives present in the corpus of assembly speeches delivered in classical Athens portrays the master orator—Cicero in his Philipic speeches asserting with fury the following words : “Surely that is real moderation—to protest about Anthony and refrain from abuse! For what was left of Rome, Antony, owed its final annihilation to yourself. In your home everything had a price Laws you passed, laws you caused to be put through your interests, had never ever been formally proposed .You were an augur, yet you never took the auspices. You were a consul, yet you blocked the legal right of other officials to exercise the veto. Your armed escort was shocking. You were a drink-sodden, sex ridden wreck. Never a day passes in that ill –reputed house of yours without orgies of the most repulsive kind. In spite of all that, I restricted myself in my speech to solemn complaints concerning the state of our nation. I said nothing personal about the man.”(25) It is perhaps no wonder that Cicero would thus settle for a strategic catch phrase and would utter, “ Men decide far more problems by hate, or love, or fear or illusion, or some other inward emotion, than by reality.”(26) But an interesting point in this context is, the ruling templates of the time, did sanction Cicero’s venom, while, and this is what is historically interesting, what we call modernity—devises in the wake of public opinion, also being tied to an impersonal rational public sphere—an ethics of deliberation for the first time. Aristotle—if taken in entirety—would be difficultly poised to intervene in this debate since he both approves and disapproves the Ciceroian gesture in the same breath. Firstly let us consider the way he would censor Cicero: For children being susceptible to imitation or the art of acquiring “a taint of meanness from what they” [first] “hear and see”, the “ legislator” Aristotle urges, “should be more careful to drive away indecency of speech; for the light utterance of shameful words leads soon to shameful actions.”(27) But not only this, he goes so far as to promulgate a sort of indecent representation Act of ours: “ And since we do not allow improper language, clearly we should also banish pictures or speeches from the stage which are indecent.” (28) The second moment --the way Aristotle would endorse Cicero is reflected in as much he reserves a category for “ speeches of eulogy and attack.” (29) “All eulogy is based upon the noble deeds –real or imaginary—that stand to the credit of those eulogized. On the same principle, invectives are based on facts of the opposite kind : the orator looks to see what the base deeds—real or imaginary—stand to the discredit of those he is attacking, such as the treachery to the cause of Hellenic freedom ” (Aristotle, p.1418). Further, in absolute concurrence with Cicero, Aristotle urges the skilled speaker’s “power to stir the emotions of his hearers”(1318). Cicero thereby was then a representative who pushed this thought to extremes. With this we reach a certain benchmark of the first phase of invectives—and the way to understand them. But Cicero apart there was Diogenes. Hegel while wanting to address the cynics and talking about Diogenes - remembered him for “his biting and often clever hits, and bitter and sarcastic retorts” (484), and narrates to us an illustrative anecdote: “In Plato’s house he once walked on the beautiful carpets with muddy feet, saying “ I tread on the pride of Plato.” “Yes, but with another pride,” replied Plato, as pointedly.” (30) But could Diogenes’s bitter retorts be taken as a precedent for invectives in political modernity? Hardly so; Diogenes’s cynicism was, Hegel points out, “more a mode of living than a philosophy” (484). This ‘mode of living’ in Diogenes bore peculiar results : He is said to have been gifted with the habit of masturbating in public. When asked he is believed to have said, he was experimenting whether hunger could be appeased in a similar manner—just by rubbing the stomach.(31) In this light, what is so distinctive about Aristotle and which cannot be invoked in justifying today’s deliberative democratic reasoning is that, political deliberation in Aristotle is enframed within an art of rhetoric as a form of skill or technique giving directions to decisions and a particular way of life. While it was to persuade the hearers about a particular action ( like whether Athens should go to war); today’s political deliberation begins with the vow to settle disagreement. Aristotelian deliberation is not a means eschewed to pursue political legitimacy as in today’s governance. It is rather oriented to a form of practical rationality. And perhaps for this reason he had a place for invectives and emotions because they invoke separate kinds of proofs and syllogisms. This supreme rhetorical necessity ( not being a rational necessity) is unimaginable in political modernity. And therefore contemporary attempts at trying to revive relevancy for Aristotle or ancient Indian argumentators or Jayantabhatta in order to redefine a contemporary deliberative (Habermasian or Rawlsian) project, seems to me, absolutely misplaced.(32) 2.3.2 Now coming to the medieval imagination of invectives, the most famous legacy has been borne by anti-clerical writers “ in the generation immediately preceding the reformation”(33) who were energized by the writings of Luther. A historian studying this lineage mentions, “Much of the resulting literature of invective and abuse had been produced by the most learned humanists of the age, but they had generally written in self-consciously demotic style, usually publishing in the vernacular and often presenting their arguments in the form of plays and satires in verse” (27). The bulk of its abusive content is its attack on the church who is “depicted as Mother Fool” and who “spends her time plotting and machinating with all the fools of the age” (28). This results in the, expected, insistence “that all clerics are lecherous, and that all money given by the pious laity for the saying of masses is ‘spent among wanton lasses’ ” (29). The next turn is marked by invectives turning against the state itself. 2.3.3 In 18th century we’ve to reckon with the hatching of a political pornography in a descriptive sense---the theorization of which is derivatively derived from porno-theorists ( Sometimes called low life litterateurs of the French Revolution and excavated by Low Literature Historians like Darnton. (34) and directed against the state. (Though enlightenment hero’s like Diderot would—through Memoirs of a Nun still explore the sexual corruptions of the church but that critique had become, by then, clearly redundant.) These researches reveal that intense personal-political attacks based on pornographic ‘scatological imagery’ in pamphlets performed a historical and revolutionary role (35) against Marie Antoinette during the late eighteenth century; while the Bourbon Kings--Louis XV was dubbed as sexually promiscuous - libertine, pornographic pictures of Louis XVI were circulated among the population showing him as impotent. These, according to an author, went on to “discredit the monarchy as an institution and to desacralize the King’s body...the aristocracy, and clergy.”(36) To instantiate the emergence of political pornography in India, one such essay by the anthropologist Lawrence Cohen titled ‘Holi in Banaras and the Mahaland of Modernity’.(37) could be considered in which Cohen documents an interesting cartoon among numerous others showing a man labeled as the sikhandin janata (meaning eunuch or helpless people) having in his mouth the member of a man with a politician’s congress cap ( labeled as the ‘gandu neta’) while being sodomised by a man standing behind in police uniform (with the label ‘jhandu police’) The circulation of these thin booklets particularly during the immensely popular holi festival in Benaras exhibits its incorporation within the ritual paradigm of festivity and the element of obscenity, -that is well taken. But what is remarkable about these are – the common motif of condemnation (38) where the victim is the member of the ordinary public, and which overrides all party lines. The assaultive speech debate is taken a step further by this. Should usual feminist condemnations and critiques of pornography be applied on these? And could they be successful? I have grave doubts. Well then the way these have been received in the contemporary Indian case is hereby available by a well known political commentator. A note on the quotation below will lay to rest many suspicions and ambiguities relating to invectives or personalized attacks lodged within the confines of particular discourses. “Foul language is the jargon of fascists who detest free debate. ..True enough that sheer abuse or racial or communal libel is not permissible. The true test is whether the speech is a real provocation to violence. The sensitivities of the listeners are relevant only in this context. As the supreme court of India has ruled, it is the duty of the state to uphold the exercise of the right to free speech and to suppress violence intended to stifle it.”(39) Now as a comment on the above, it is a sheer miscarriage of observation which propels us near to understanding the Fascist propaganda as sheer racial libel provoking the German public to undertake anti-Semitic violence. One who studied this project in some tenuous but reliable detail is Theodor Adorno who starts with a very helpful, thumbnail observation: “ It is personalized propaganda, essentially non-objective. The agitators spend a large part of their time in speaking either about themselves or their audiences. they incessantly divulge real or fictitious intimacies about their lives and those of their families. Moreover, they appear to take a warm human interest in the small daily worries of their listeners Another favorite scheme of personalization is to dwell upon petty financial needs and to beg for small amounts of money.” (40) Their identification with the audience being complete, they pretend as being mere means or “messengers’’ of the person or the Messiah to come (“substitution of a collective ego for paternal imagery” [219’] ) and thus limit themselves to elaborating on the means of the movement as the immediate task and avoid explicating its positive ends or a concrete future. With this “ propaganda itself becomes the ultimate content a kind of wish fulfillment” (220). “This is one of its most important patterns. People are “let in,” they are supposedly getting the inside dope, taken into confidence, treated as the elite who deserves to know the lurid mysteries hidden from the outsiders. Lust for snooping is both encouraged and satisfied. Scandal stories, mostly fictitious, particularly of sexual excesses and atrocities are constantly told; the indignation of filth and cruelty is but a very thin, purposely transparent rationalization of the pleasure these stories convey to the listener” (220). Supposedly for Adorno the fascists thus aim the irrational and can successfully impart their “mental defects’’ to the listeners but this they do not do by sheer abuse but by a crafted method of persuasion(41) ( later I had shown in the wake of Cicero how this has had its sources and justifications in Aristotle’s Rhetoric.) It is irrational because -- as Adorno tells us, it is non-argumentative, anti theoretical and not based on a discursive logic of reasoning made to convince people. What is its substance then ? According to Adorno they are “oratorial exhibitions, what might be called an organized flight of ideas. (222-23)”. But “discursive logic” instead of personalized persuasion—is it enough? The liberal argument will disagree. They would not be acceptable even if discursive-- when the circumstances in which they are expressed are such as to constitute their expression a positive instigation to some mischievous act or violence ( and such a paraphernalia –as we’ve noticed - has nothing to do with Fascism as such). This as we could see – is totally in agreement with the classical liberal formulation of John Stuart Mill-- who outlines a grave example. “An opinion that corn-dealers are starvers of the poor, or that private property is robbery, ought to be unmolested when simply circulated through the Press, but may justly incur punishment when delivered orally to an excited mob, assembled before the house of a corn-dealer”.(42) Only sheer propositional, issue based statements are therefore not enough, they should not be delivered before a corn dealer’s house i.e. much will depend on the mediation that will render it objective, harmless without a bite. An aesthetics of reception will matter more than its production. There we have the abusive or assaultive paradigm in some other form (excitable speech (43) to use the proper word). To answer the contemporary as well as the classical tenet of non-violent speech advanced here as permissible, we could take recourse to another thinker when he was commenting on the impossibility of deriving the right to kill the vanquished from the state of war; there he concedes that “Men living in their primitive conditions of independence have no intercourse regular enough to constitute either a state of peace or a state of war; and men are not naturally enemies. It is conflicts over things, not quarrels between (men)(44) which constitute war, and the state of war cannot arise from mere personal relations, but from property relations”.(45) An extension of this Rousseauistic finding will lay to rest any theory formulating violence as aberration or disturbance as ‘injury by design’, since the state of peace can similarly be construed as imputed from the outside, or having been imposed - resembling an aberration.(46) From this we could argue that, in the wake of “personal attacks” being understood as a generic speech figure and articulated as disturber of peace (47) , it urges us to look at the varieties of peace available in the political market. What happens in the times of peace? With violence the stakes are clear but with peace—we enter into something more than violence producing speech. How truce or peace could be politically deployed or be subsumed under the political rubric, is offered in the next Section for examination. III. Politics in the times of peace : “personal attacks” (48) as itemized within a pure political imaginary Politics in the times of peace! This is far from defining politics as “the way to organize and optimize the technological seizure of beings at the level of the nation.” (49) It is rather the technological seizure of beings at the level of the person—the stuff of what some folks in the west have thinly called “the politics of dirty hands” and what we shall call “pure politics” made up of deception, betrayal, treachery, malice, lying and such others. And an impossibility of refusal to accept these—say an affirmative denial—juridically or what ever, projects a recluse only in personal attacks which might end up even in a murder. Given a chance such perpetrators(s) would confess in these words, “ I’ll lie when I must, and I have contempt for no one. I wasn’t the one who invented lying. We shall not abolish lying by refusing to tell lies, but by using every means at hand .”; [or ] “For years you will have to cheat, trick and maneuver; we’ll go from compromise to compromise” (50) . 3.1 Lying is dirty mouth, though trying to deal with every means at hand. But what is the phenomenon of dirty Hands itself?. This designation “dirty hands” might have been a product of a meditative listening to Sartre wherefrom this excerpt would be informative. ‘ “Hoederer: How afraid you are to soil your hands! All right stay pure! What good will it do? To do nothing, to remain motionless, arms at your sides, wearing kid gloves. Well, I have dirty hands. Right up to the elbows. I’ve plunged them in filth and blood. But what do you hope? Do you think you can govern innocently? Hugo: You’ll see some day that I’m not afraid of blood. Hoederer: Really ! Red gloves, that’s elegant. It’s the rest that scares you. ” (51) Now, is it possible to make sense of the politics of dirty hands in a phenomenological manner? This is necessary because we’ve been listening to the politics of dirty hands as far as the manifestation of certain effects are concerned. But what form does it take to an experiencing consciousness? I’ll answer that the form is dictated by an empirical absolutism and as hinted at before, I shall call it pure politics. 3.2 While the legal juridical discourse and the bureaucratic-administrative apparatus do administer various applied notions of the person, public or private, the political deployments of such categories –that too with the cultural unconscious in action –would be fluid, strategic and success oriented— is perhaps expected. The question of distant, objective, impersonal reflection on value-neutral questions and disagreement in both politics and culture are always already delivered to be governed by practical political imperatives—- whether it entails instances of political deliberation or cultural expectancy. (And normative deliberation can be practiced only when it is freed from empirico-practical and practical-political considerations.) Now, to subject everything to the practical and eternally immediate as well as deferred exigencies of ‘dirty’ politics, we approach what I’ll call the appearance of a pure political imaginary of the person whose comportment is towards other persons; as evident this cannot be restricted to the mere “publicalization” of private problems and in this sense I differ harshly from the feminist and other understandings of the political. ( I use pure in the sense where an object’s form and content cannot be distinguished and imaginary in its now established usage as “not a set of ideas; rather what enables,, through making sense of, the practices of a society” (52) . Contextually, a political scientist commenting on violence and its relation to Sadat Hasan Manto notes, “Manto’s uniqueness lies in the fact that he refused to accept the parameters of either ethics or economy in talking about the violence of 1947. He had no recourse to a morality that was given to him either by god or by transcendental reason. Nor would he allow himself to be seduced by the economic calculations of governmental violence. For him, the violence of partition called for a response that was, if I may put it this way, an act of pure politics, where morality and economy had to be created all at once, all by oneself, de novo, from the bare elements of human interaction.”(53) This I think is a Machiavellian moment and we’ve talked considerably about it.(54) The moment has approached all politics—slowly but decisively and now it only awaits a fair chance. And to address this question of the Machiavellian ‘pure’ (55) moment where the content of the experience and the experience cannot be distinguished, we need a political phenomenology—the way we experience the political(56) . To exemplify such a phenomenology, to capture this moment and illustrate what is pure politics, here is an example; better said, here is a narrative and a figuration. I quote parts of a news report which appeared in The Statesman on 4 Feb. 2000. “Bhubaneshwar, Feb.3.- “Mr Navin Patnaik today expelled BJD political affairs committee chairman, Mr Bijoy Mohapatra from the party. He also snatched Mr Mohapatra’s Assembly nomination and gave the ticket to a local journalist instead. Mr Mohapatra was left too stunned to react. All he could say was he had been back stabbed. BJD leaders and workers were outraged. Mr Patnaik’s completely unexpected move was described state wide as “treacherous”. The move that removed the ground from under Mr Mohapatra’s feet was obviously planned meticulously and timed brilliantly by Mr Patnaik. The rebel leader with whom Mr Patnaik had ostensibly signed a truce, was sacked and debarred from the polls at the eleventh hour .too late for Mr Mohapatra to file papers as an Independent, and the outwitted rebel had no choice but to watch helplessly... No one could read the BJD chief’s mind. Mr Mohapatra had been the party’s key negotiator during the tortuous seat sharing talks with the BJP. He had had a major role in selecting candidates for various seats. Even Congress and BJP circles who consider Mr Mohapatra as the lone political leader of mettle and strategist in the BJP, were taken aback”. With all italics mine, what kind of political science, political sociology would explain this enchantment? All such disciplinary categories as civil society, political society, family and the State just vanish into thin air before this. Because we all have had such moments in our lives but rarely have felt that those narratives would be included in political science textbooks. Those losses were ours and they will remain ours, those secrets will die with us—each separately-- lest mentioning them would amount to “personally attacking” some very “nice” people. ‘Too stunned to react’ is an adequate description because reaction could be a meditation on a prior act. Here is an action without a reaction. In the disciplinary study of politics and criminal offence stabbing being a metonymy of murder and violence has often been mentioned or studied; where do we get to know what is ‘back stabbing’? The third phrase in italics is ‘timed brilliantly.’ What does this mean? Is this football or cricket? It is more dangerous than both. Punctuality is to go according to other’s time. Passive timing. Timing in politics is the dominative monitoring of others according to one’s own time where he himself is the frame of reference. Active timing. I’m waiting for the right moment to teach you a lesson, I know it, you don’t, I’m waiting for you to enter my duration. Here time is a trap and emerging as a “means of orientation”(57) is destructive of other’s time: the space in which the victim thrived and swam along his moments. So I ‘ostensibly sign.. a truce’, give him a show of importance to mislead him and then ‘remove the ground from under’ his ‘feet’. Notice the word truce: a signifier of peace and how it has been deployed. When we were dealing with speech generating violence, this is the point we wanted to argue: let us look at the varieties of peace and how they are being used for what purposes. Truce used to back stab? -Here is the moment. Where do we end then? What is the use of studying this phenomenon called personal attacks? ( Someday with the liberal noose tightening around our necks, we may be able to invent separate names for them.)We shall be stunned when we are cheated, betrayed, fired, suppressed, deprived, raped or murdered. ( and be ‘too stunned to react’) Those are the moments when we shall feel the hand of politics on our back, but nothing will save us, no category; they will be moments of pure experience. The politics of dirty hands will cleanse everything, remaining residually and strictly alive on the borderlines of our everyday being. We might feel exploited but that will remain only as a moral feeling, because the apparatus required to structure the feeling has been slowly but evenly de-contextualised: the state socialist project was criticized as being one of the most ruthless regime of techno-scientific, objective, impersonal, instrumental rationality where human beings without a personal touch were simply lost in loveless ness. The grand narrative of only liberal capitalism ought to be alive; the death of the revolutionary grand narrative thereby has been conveniently announced: fine! The theoretician of pure politics will argue, with the death of grand narratives, let us start talking about each other’s sexual lives then! No? Why? Embarrassed? How? Because to pure politics - the fragment or the micro-local is not a metaphor of place; for him, the fragment is that what you resist from being publicized, that what you want to repress and hide. Then - abandoning grand investigations we need to undertake studies of the micro politics of dirty hands: office politics, the politics within a feminist group, or how does the cunning mediocre rule? How do we read the narrative of manipulation between two singer sisters in the film Saz? Why before a one month ( extendable) contract, all laws of sexual harassment fail? Why nobody in Bollywood talk about the casting couch? “Power thus relies on an obscene supplement – that is to say, the obscene nightly law (superego) necessarily accompanies, as its shadowy double, the ‘public law’. Obscene unwritten rules sustain Power as long as they remain in the shadows; the moment they are publicly recognized, the edifice of Power is thrown into disarray.”(58) Pure politics deals with this obscene underside of public and private law and for this personal attacks are its primary raw materials. We need to have then narratives of manipulations, machinations, intrigues and malice---more sinister, more ghostly than violence causing speech or violence itself: here is Kant, “He who openly declares himself an enemy can be relied upon, but the treachery of secret malice, if it became universal, would mean the end of all confidence. This type of wickedness is more detestable than violence;”(59) But history cannot stop simply by condemning; it has to address events where an open declaration of enmity is absent and such wickedness –so to say--runs riot. Now, it appears as a lesson to be learnt and exists only as a secured item in the inventory. A simple guilty conscience hardly suffices and therefore what is required is such a counter-declaration, “To sell oneself for thirty pieces of silver is an honest transaction; but to sell oneself to one’s own conscience is to abandon mankind. History is apriori amoral; it has no conscience. To want to conduct history according to the maxims of the Sunday school means to leave everything as it is.” (60) We’ve returned to Machiavelli and the unspeakable confessions or suggestions of wickedness it entails. We are convinced about the personal nature of this politics. But it might be argued as an objection that in the absence of a private language, this genuinely personal would not be, and quite truly, communicated. But still this experience could be narrated. And that is the stuff of pure politics. CONCLUSION Let us have a quick recap before we conclude. We began by examining the impersonal nature of the public sphere in the wake of political modernity. At a particular site i.e., politics at the level of rhetoric we engaged with a concrete counter discourse which registered complaints like-1) personal attacks push out issue based, public interest related impersonal discourse of ‘principled governance’, development and administration. 2) Byaktigat arowp pollutes a democratic political and a growing, albeit good civic culture. It was revealed among other things that in a moribund capitalist political culture the so called impersonal issues are in the end used to serve grand private interests. And philosophically it was shown that an impersonal or critical self distance is best tailored to serve private self interests. Now in such a context where the personal-particular subverts and transcends the public-universal garb, it is often that personal attacks try, with or without success to pierce this silencing, civil veil and address the illegitimate. And for the second objection—in this context-- it was easily concluded that the notion of civility in India today is a matter of political sphere and not at all of civil society, therefore an advice of civility has to be politically negotiated than received as ‘unmediated’ discourse on civic virtues. In short, civility and violent disagreement could never go together. How peace and civility could be seen as being complicitious with an “un”fairly ( I’m remembering Rawls here) unjust system was also examined in the wake of the phenomenon of agreement with approved ways of protest. While we do a lot of lip service against violence, let us not forget to examine peace too. Pure politics or politics of dirty hands made up of betrayal, malice, fraud, deception and treachery is politics in the times of peace: this was Machiavelli with a modern turn. Now, If you’ve been this far with me; what does it seem? Now please do not be mistaken about the fact that I’m engaged in that infantile tryst to justify the personal through personal attacks. It would be similar to arguing like Mandeville that private vices necessitate public benefits and exposure of such vices would reap public benefits. To those aggressive practitioners of this theory, this mutual castigation through personal attacks is perhaps not wrong. Followed continuously, this mutually focused political aggression turns itself into a ritual and finds itself involved in another unintended radical translation. Despite their private intentions, their public conduct becomes the same ( in a Kantian sense) thus giving Mandelville’s formula ‘Private vices: Public benefits’ more than an agreeable twist (61) . Such an argument would rarely look insurmountable today for various predictable reasons. A rational choice theory would surmise that if private interests are at stake equally—it may be so—that both will avoid exposure beyond a threshold. Further, they can be feigned, they can be staged and they might just be deployed to override the propositional form of public reasoning. They can be used as a convenient form of silencing or listening. My argument is not at all this. I was just trying to show personal attacks did reveal to me the overriding nature of the personal over the public and the private. It helped me arrive at the examination of the public nature of political modernity itself. And the moment I ventured into so called ‘political pornography’, dangerous vistas appeared. How do we conclude then? The personal to impersonal transit in modernity proposed by Weber undergoes an abortion because of an illegitimate marriage between Nietzsche and Machiavelli ? Or to put more sharply, Weber destroyed by Nietzsche? Does the text comment on the theory of modernity which harps again and again on the private/public division wanting to forget that a person and the personal is capable of playing with both? But Weber was not so naïve; in the wake of the scienticization of the public sphere, he did see a withering away of the value- ideals with rational scientific activity failing to fill the lack of what it has destroyed. What Nietzsche showed was that these values, considered genealogically, could be shown to have been inconsistent: altruism for weakness, honeyed words for wickedness etc., Machiavelli’s counter work was to re-state these facts as values: For instance this was formulated by Machiavelli way back in 1513, ‘Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. The masses are always impressed by the superficial appearance of things ”(62) . This was unnecessary since we already live in the world of these facts. People misunderstand Machiavelli by alleging that he had documented anti-values wanting to regulate them as ‘virtues’; but this is mistaken; he was involved in an impossible project where facts and values suffer a reversal: he restated facts as values and scandalized everybody. But this is unnecessary and excessive, in brief—giving names to things and persons beyond the (empirical) threshold and thus an act which is pornographic. Irving Kristol sensed it quite well but touched the wrong place when he called him a political pornographer. Kristol may have intended a discourse ---which while stating facts in this way avoids a figurative language that could have hid much of its sting. In this sense also, the description is apt : what is pornography if not the absence of figures or figuration (****). But this also, considered at a higher level, goes against the primary description of the political as pertaining to the problem of identity as founding fiction masquerading as the essence of the political. In recent attempts to isolate the “poetic or figural ( figurative, even) essence of politics” (63) and therefore hit at the institutional root of western political thought, it would not be too fanciful to find its beginning in these Machiavellian insights. Meaning when takes figure becomes totalitarian truth or truth in itself is totalitarian in as much as it “effaces transcendence”(xxv); but the Machiavellian in his affirmation to open up, always, to the unstable play and ploy of figural identification in politics, denies to settle at a particular site of identification and therefore the recent interrogation marked by questions like, “Is there something which would allow the political to be thought outside of the will to figure? Can the political be thought, finally, in a way which does not stem from the will to realize its essence as figure? ” (xxv.) has to be acknowledged as having been originally, though differently, formulated by Machiavelli. (Machiavelli having not had access to our modernity addressed himself to the person of the sovereign— this should be remembered well and all the time. The deeply debated distinction between facticity and validity or between facts and norms was not available to Machiavelli in the contemporary sense. Nevertheless one finds even Althusser in his book on Machiavelli rightly celebrating him for reasons that are our own. ) Finally, back to Weber again. While he was charting the disenchantment of the personal world of informal communities in modernity, couldn’t he sense this? He did but he offered no solution. Through the structure of ‘probity’ the person in an act of self-legislation has to choose or abandon value-ideals within a particular life-sphere: henceforth, virtue or sin nothing comes with a guarantee any more—which means---the person will tell Aristotle to end preaching his catalogue of virtues; s/he will tell Machiavelli or De Sade not to display their table of brute “facts” to be adopted as a value-ideal too. No general option can be regulated because and this is what is interesting in Weber in as much what he tried to show was that modernity has entailed the differentiation of life-spheres into irreconcilable compartments : political, aesthetic, religious, economic etc. Irreconcilable because as Weber and Habermas have reminded us, they have emerged with their own criteria of validity. But there is a twist here; Weber has an interesting item to add : the erotic. ( Habermas has a list too: Science, Morality and Art but as far as I remember—the erotic is missing and when he addresses Bataille ( in The Philosophical Discourse .) he does not refer to the self criteria of the erotic. Now this is interesting. The erotic is then not reconcilable with the political.( Hannah Arendt and Habermas would insist much against feminist fury that ‘take the private to the public’ for redressal is finally meaningless in the face of their own distinctive validity claims.) What happens then to political pornography, pure politics etc etc. of which I’ve talked a lot? I’ll end today just by posing this question so that I can help bring my own text to a crisis but as a resolution promise how this will be dealt with in the future. Just dramatize this energy of irreconcilability by recalling how one Amit Kumar, or a Benoy Sarkar or a Malay Roy choudhury embedded in the worlds of music, social science or literature would complain of politics again and again happening to them? How is this possible? But while such complaints can be made and even entertained, they cannot be resolved within these life spheres—and that is the reason why such people feel helpless; helpless being challenged by the internal norms of validation of these departments of existence. I’ll present you with a case study where such an irresolution reaches an interesting impasse from where we can take off and enter well into our main text. It was Gandhi who made an experiment in reconciling the private and the public at the level of the personal ( and not what numerous cultural historians or what Rudolph and Rudolph have been claiming that he wanted to make the private and the public meet—since by their own distinctive validity claims they would be found irreconcilable). But while doing this we should not be surprised to know why he excelled in the politics of malice, back stabbing---and cunning wickedness with the more conclusive symptom of such an experiment being his engagement with the boundaries of the erotic and the rude confessions of the flesh. So far as personal, pure politics and political pornography is concerned—he is really an “ALL in one”” instance. And nothing could be better than to follow up this chapter with, not Aristotole this time, but Gandhi---his ‘enthymeme’ and ‘example’. ENDNOTES (1) Shuddhabrata Sengupta, ‘I/Me/Mine—Intersectional Identities as negotiated Minefields’ in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 2006, pp.629-639, 31 (3), p.637. (2) Charles Sanders Pierce, ‘The Principles of Phenomenology’ in Philosophical Writings of Pierce, pp.75—97, Justus Buchler (ed.),Dover Publications : New York, 1955, pp.75-76. (3)Aristotle, Politics in The Basic Works of Aristotle, pp.1114-1316, Ed Richard McKeon, The Modern Library: New York,2001, Pp.1299-1300. (4)Michel Foucault, ‘A preface to Transgression’, in Essential Works, Vo.2, Aesthetics, Method and Epistemology, Penguin: Books: London, 2000, p.82 (5)Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Trans. & ed. By Robert M. Adams, W.W Norton & Company : N.Y, 1992, p.29. (6) Immanuel Kant, Lectures on Ethics, Transl. Louis Infield, Harper and Row Inc. : N.Y , 1963, p. 219. (7)Miguel de Beistegui, Heidegger & the Political, Routledge: London, 1998, p.71. (8) Louis Althusser, Machiavelli and Us, Transl. Gregory Eliott, Verso : London, 1999 (9) David Owen, Maturity And Modernity : Nietzsche, Weber, Foucault and the ambivalence of reason, Routledge: New York, p.118. ( 10)Max Weber,. (1968) 1978. Economy And Society :An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Vol.II. Eds. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich. University of California Press: Berkeley, p.975. (11 )That is, not by the sheer unpacking of the strategic feminist slogan ‘personal is political’-- which I’ve pursued --as it was necessary, elsewhere. Because if that is taken literally then even if I launch personal attacks upon a woman and revoke personal is political’—clearly would be disapproved. What that means is, the feminists actually have a normative notion of the political which is not explicit in this coda. I’m trying to explore this issue here by taking a reverse route: personal attacks would be condemned as non or wrong political—how, why and when? In that it will have to negotiate ( even agree) with the public-normative nature of the public sphere. I begin by examining this issue (Sec.I). (12)I’ve already stated the Weberian position. A note on my differences would be a reminder here. Apparently Max Weber did articulate in the wake of an emergent disenchantment of the world a corresponding journey from the personal bonding of informal communities to formal, impersonal bureaucracy marked by the anonymous transit of symbolic movement of the ‘file’ in the office. But one thing, personal in Weber is nearly commonsensical and provisional; secondly, it is the impersonal which is at the center of the Weberian project; thirdly, he does not distinguish it or relate it to private and public—which are at the core of modernity as I try to describe it; fourthly, his project does not, to my mind, include showing how personal becomes a pale shadow of the private; fifthly and finally, allowed to pursue further, my work will try to give prove Weber in reversed manner. In any case, irrespective of these disagreements, no doubt the paradigm of impersonal bureaucracy is a good starting point for all this and I neatly adhered to it. (13) cited in Howard Caygill, Art of Judgement, Basil Blackwell : U.K, 1989, p.351. (14)Ibid.,p.2. How this evokes the riddle of pleasure without solving it is an interesting part of Caygill’s argument. (15)Ibid.,p.285. (16)In fact tradition would be sustained publicly in order to be examined. Even Kant augurs with this proposition also when he elsewhere argues that that is moral which can be publicized. (17)Brian Barry, Political Argument, Routledge & Kegan Paul : London 1965, p.36 (18)For a brilliant argument on this see Akeel Bilgrami, ‘Gandhi,the Philosopher’, Economic and Political Weekly, 38 (39), Sept.27, 2003, pp.4162-4163.Quoting Gandhi “When one chooses for oneself, one sets an example to everyone”, Bilgrami rightly argues that Gandhi does agree with the tradition which says ‘When one chooses for oneself , chooses for everyone’, but Gandhi’s originality, according to Bilgrami, lies in denying, that by setting an example, one sets a “ meaning that generates a principle and imperative for everyone.” Ibid.,p.4162. (19)Nicholas L. Sturgeon, ‘Reasons and Values’, Ethics, April 1996, 106 (3), p.517. (20)Ibid. 517 (21)Connie S Rosati, ‘Persons, perspectives, and Full Information Accounts of the Good’, Ethics 105 (2) Jan. 1995 (22)Stephen Darwall, Impartial Reason, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983, p150 (23)Gary Shiffman, ‘Construing Disagreement: Consensus and Invective in “ Constitutional” Debate’, Political Theory, 30 (2), April 2002, pp.175-203. (24)Ibid., P175. (25)Cicero, ‘Attack on an enemy of Freedom (The second Philippic Against Antony) in his Selected Works, Transl. M. Grant, Penguin Books, 1981, (26)Ibid., (27)Aristotle, Politics in The Basic Works of Aristotle, pp.1114-1316, Ed Richard McKeon, The Modern Library: New York,2001, p.1304. (28)“ except in the temples of those gods at whose festivals the law permits even ribaldry ” ; within the realm of his permission, Aristotle tends to include mature people also. Ibid., p.1304. (29)Aristotle, Rhetorica in The Basic Works of Aristotle, pp.1325-1451, Ed Richard McKeon, The Modern Library: New York,2001, p.1409. (30) G.W.F Hegel, Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy,Vol.1, Transl: E.S. Haldane, Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, (1892) 1955 (Rp.), p.486. (31)David Sacks, Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Facts on File, Inc: N.Y, 1995, p.83. (32)See for attempts of such kind, Bernard Yack, ‘Rhetoric and Public Reasoning: An Aristotelian Understanding of Political Deliberation’, Political Theory, 34(4), August 2006, 417—438; Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian Penguin: London, 2005 ; Arindam Chaudhury gave a similar seminar at CSSSC, Calcutta last year in which he invoked Jayantabhatta’s argumentative virtues for modern democracy. Also in this context I feel that if expressed in Aristotelian language-- today’s parliamentary deliberation which has become a model of democratic deliberation in a sense, is simply ‘ceremonial’; emptied of all content it has no precepts to offer to action. (33)Quentin Skinner, The foundations of modern political thought, Vol . Two: The Age of Reformation, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, (1978) 1992 (Rp.), p.27. (34)See esp. Robert Darnton, The Forbidden Best- Sellers of Pre- revolutionary France, N.Y: Norton, 1995. (35)But how such radicalism could degenerate into underground commercial pornography as well, see Iain McCalman, Radical Underworld, Prophets, revolutionaries, and Pornographers in London,1795-1840, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993. (36)Mary L. BellHouse, ‘Erotic “Remedy” Prints and the fall of the aristocracy in eighteenth century France’, Political Theory, Vol. 25, No.5, Oct.1997, p681 (37)Lawrence Cohen, ‘ Holi in Banaras and the Mahaland of Modernity’, Gay and Lesbian Quarterly, Vol.2 1995. Nearly all issues like communal peace etc. and all the national leaders have been picturesquely’ ‘addressed’ in these books. I’m grateful to Prof. Pradip Bose for suggesting and providing me with this reference. (38)In West Bengal’s institutional politics how such gossips through condemnations and affirmations become sanctioned instruments of mobilization and manipulation and how the image of the leader or parties are created, the village agendas are set within the informal and personal realms of gossip, see Arild Engelsen Ruud, Poetics of Village Politics: The Making of West Bengal’s Rural Communism, Oxford University Press :New Delhi, 2003, pp198-200. (39)A.G.Noorani, ‘Free Speech and Provocation’, in Economic and Political Weekly, October 9, 1999, 34(41), p. 2898. (40)Theodor Adorno, ‘Anti-Semitism and Fascist Propaganda’ in The Stars Down to Earth and other essays on the irrational in culture. pp.218-231, Ed. Stephen Crook, Routledge classics, Routledge : London,2002, p.219. (41) “The relation between premises and inferences is replaced by a linking up of ideas resting on mere similarity, often through association by employing the same characteristic word in two propositions which are logically quite unrelated. This method not only evades the control mechanisms of rational examination, but also makes it psychologically easier for the listener to “follow.” He has no exacting thinking to do, but can give himself up passively to a stream of words in which he swims” (Ibid., p. 223). (42)John Stuart Mill, ‘On Liberty’ in Utilitarianism, Liberty and Representative Government , JM Dent and Sons Ltd. N.Y. (1910) Rp 1936, P114 (43) See Judith Butler, Excitable speech, A politics of the Performative,Routledge, New York, 1997 for an interesting exposition. (44)Wars over (wo)men –when pointed out, will be, according to such an argument –are possible when they are considered as things. (45)Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract,, Transl: Maurice Cranston, Penguin, 1984(Rp) pp. 55-56 (46)A state of curfew for instance. Curfew is an instance of violent peace. (47)Rousseau has more things to say on peace: “What do people gain if their very conditions of Civil tranquility is one of their hardships? There is peace in dungeons, but is that enough to make dungeons desirable? Rousseau, Ibid. p. 54 (48)Throughout I’ve taken “personal attacks” as they have been projected ( within quotation marks) without distinguishing it from assaultive speech, libel, abuse, insinuation, invective and insult in terms of rhetoric and oratory; excluded also are the notions of self and individuality—which get modified in regard to persons and the personal. I address them elsewhere. (49)Miguel de Beistegui, Heidegger & the Political, Routledge: London, 1998, p.71. (50)The problem of Choice in Philip Green and Michael Walzer (eds.) The Political Imagination in Literature, pp.206-219, The Free Press : New York, 1969 p. 210, 208. (51)Jean Paul Sartre, from Dirty Hands, in Philip Green and Michael Walzer (eds.) The Political Imagination in Literature, pp.206-219, The Free Press : New York, 1969 210. (52)Charles Taylor, ‘Modern Social Imaginaries’, Public Culture, 14 (1), 2002, p.91. (53)Partha Chatterjee, ‘Democracy and the violence of the State: A political negotiation of death’, paper circulated for CSSS cultural studies workshop at Bharatpur Rajasthan,1999. (54)And Machiavellism with all its moral pessimism and secular empiricism “ can be applied with the same force not only to the work of Kautilya but to the entire range of Hindu economic, legal and political literature”. Benoy Kumar Sarkar, The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology, Introduction to Hindu Positivism, Motilal Banarasidas: Delhi, 1985(Rp.), p.640. (55)“Pure violence ‘shows’ itself precisely in the fact that it never appears as such”. For instance, lying or deception in order to be successful resembles a truth structure. This is the figurative essence of politics as I understand it and agree that they have the force to foreground identities. But I do not use it in the sense that it is the condition of every performative act ( like saying ‘all truths are fictions’ or falsity is the phantasmatic base on which truth, indispensably, operates) entailing an unmediated immediacy or “pure mediacy” so much so that “that would mean, then, the death of the subject because the duality subject/object would have been entirely eliminated.” Ernesto Laclau and Lilian Zac ‘ Minding the Gap: The Subject of Politics’ in Ernesto Laclau (ed.) The Making of Political Identities, pp.11-39, Verso: London,1994, p.26, p. 27. In this sense I retain the Kantian use of ‘malice’ as something more than violence ( and therefore different from violence as such) and I use the rubric ‘politics’ to refer to all of these. (56) Lester Embree and Kevin Thompson, eds. Phenomenology of the Political,Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000, (57)I borrow this phrase and use it to my purpose from Norbert Elias, ‘Time and Timing’ in On Civilization, Power and Knowledge: Selected Writings, Ed S.Mennell J.Goudsblom, The university of Chicago Press : Chicago, 1998, pp.253-259. (58)Slavoj Zizek, The Plague of Fantasies, Verso : London, 1997, p.73 (59)Immanuel Kant, Lectures on Ethics,Transl. Louis Infield, Harper and Row,1963, p. 215 (60) Arthur Koestler, (excerpted from Darkness at Noon , in Philip Green and Michael Walzer (eds.) The Political Imagination in Literature, pp.192-205, The Free Press : New York, 1969, p.199. (61)Luxury, expenditure and corruption of convenience -- according to Mandelville result in industriousness. In nearly an anarcho-capitalist discourse, Mandevile argues how vice produces civilization and makes society necessary for the physically deficient; secondly, vice in the sense of moral defect (greed, lust, luxury and envy) makes production and social co-operation desirable. M.M Goldsmith, Private Vices, Public Benefits: Bernard Mandeville’s Political Thought (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge,1985), pp 40-41. Goldsmith also argues that this view attacked the existing ideology of early 18th century Great Britain. (62)Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Trans. & ed. By Robert M. Adams, W.W Norton & Company : N.Y, 1992, p.49. (63) ‘Editor’s Introduction: Political; Ficta’ in Retreating the Political by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jean -Luc Nancy, (Ed.) Simon Parks, xiv-xxviii, Routledge: London 1997, p. xxi. ______________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Parts of this text were used in “‘Personal Attacks”, Assaultive Speech and Indian Politics: Towards a pure political imaginary’” paper read at the Participatory Democracy conference at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi organized by the Centre for studies in Social Systems, JNU on 22 Feb, 04. and ‘From consent to permission: Towards a post -conventional moral semiotics of assaultive intimacy’ –paper read at ‘Reorienting Orientalism’ seminar at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, on 14 August, 2004. Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 11 05:36:43 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 05:36:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] First Ever Public Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations in Pakistan Message-ID: <48097acc0705101706l41b52703xdf2dcba8b56cdff@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friend, Salam / Jai Bheem, For the first time in Pakistan's history, the 116th Birthday of Baba Saheb Dr B. R. Ambedkar was celebrated in three different cities of Pakistan and attended by thousands of people. 1. The first function was held in Lahore on April 13 where Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool was the chief guest. I (Surendar Valasai) also delivered an speech there, while the Speakers from India inlcuding Honourable V T Rajshekhar and Prof. Chaman Lal from JNU, Shyam Bahadur Katuwal from Nepal , Prof Bhatti from England, a Mr. Salman from the United Nations office Islamabad . The programme was organised by Sir Gangaram Heritage Foundation and its Director Dr. Yousaf Bokhari played a pivotal role in the arrangements. 2. The Second function was held in Karachi under the aegis of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan and South Asia Dalit Solidarity Network on April 15. Former Dalit MP Dr. Khatumal Jeewan, Surendar Valasai and former Dalit MPA Bheru Lal Balani highlighted on the struggle and achievements of Baba Saheb. 3. The Third function was held at Hyderabad Press Club organised by Pak Reformatory Institute of Dalit Emancipation (PRIDE) Sindh pakistan, former Dalit MPA Engr. Gianchand where former Chairman of Communist Party of Pakistan Jam Saqi, BBC Corresondent Suhail Sangi, Malji Rathore, Dr Sono Khangharani Chief Executive Thar Deep Tharparkar and others spoke and eulogised the services of Baba Saheb. For your information. Warm Regards and Jai bheem. Malji Meghwal, Dalit Human Rights Activist, Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan [ ramjianimalji at yahoo.com] +923332512461 From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 11 05:37:26 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 05:37:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tanweer Fazal: Judicial Legitimacy For Hindutva Myth Message-ID: <48097acc0705101707r71f4241eub21356b25a6b11b5@mail.gmail.com> Judicial Legitimacy For Hindutva Myth By Tanweer Fazal The lead up to the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh saw a spate of communal violence aided by a desperate Mulayam government to salvage its fast losing turf, and the launch of one of the most vicious anti-Muslim campaign by the BJP with the support of state machinery and a toothless Election Commission. Fueling the frenzy further was the single bench judgment of the Allahabad High Court declaring Muslims to be a numerical majority in the state. Defying all logic and conventional yardsticks to determine a minority, the judgment claimed that considering that the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh comprised 18.5% of the state's population, they "do not merit to be included as minorities any longer and therefore, should not be entitled to benefits accruing on that account". The immediate context was a petition moved by Ghazipur-based Madrassa Noor-ul-Islam, seeking the Court's intervention for getting it self included in the list of minority institutions entitled to periodical government grants. While the plea was rejected outright, in his zeal, Justice S.N Srivastava overstepped his jurisdiction to serve a writ of mandamus to the Union of India to modify an October 23, 1993 notification specifying Muslims among the minority communities of the country. While the Court order was suo muto stayed by another bench of the High Court; it is the underlying ideology that is malicious. The judgment itself cannot be seen as an aberration, but a grim reminder of how judicial interventions have, over the years, been deployed to legitimate Hindutva mobilizations and anti-Minority campaigns. In 1995, a Supreme Court ruling equated 'Hindutva with Indianisation or the development of a uniform culture by eradicating the difference between all cultures coexisting in the country'. The verdict was a virtual judicial sanction for Hindu majoritarianism and a negation of the Constitutional obligation to preserve and protect minority cultures. In a similar vein, in 2005, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court cited Hindu Shastras to accord legal status and rights to Hindu deities to own land and properties in the same manner as that of a natural person. Recently, the Allahabad High Court created a furore by quashing the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University. Invalidating a 1981 Parliamentary Amendment, the High Court upheld a 1968 Supreme Court judgment (Azeez Pasha Vs. the Union of India) in which the Court had denied minority status to AMU on two grounds. One, AMU was not established by its founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, but a British Act of Parliament and later a Central legislation. Two, Muslims were not a minority as they were a homogenous community whereas the various castes and sects of Hinduism could be considered minority groups. Muslims, thus in the judges' view, were in fact a majority in this country and the Hindus a minority—a sentiment echoed by Justice Srivastava's conclusion. Again in 2005, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (Bal Patil vs Union of India) while denying minority status to the Jains held that in a caste-ridden Hindu society 'all are minorities among Hindus'. The term minority finds mention only in Article 30 of the Constitution wherein religious and linguistic minorities are entitled to establish their educational institutions, ostensibly to protect minority cultures from assimilative tendencies of the state and the majority community. Even this provision—the only concession that the Constitution makes to the minorities of the country—has remained contentious. However, few would know that Article 30 itself could be construed as a 'great betrayal' towards the minorities. In the draft Constitution, minority was a category that subsumed within its broad definition the Scheduled Castes, Tribes, Anglo-Indians, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsees and Christians. All of these were guaranteed reservation in legislature and adequate share in government jobs. However, post-Partition, the gang-up of Congress rightists led by Sardar Patel forced a re-opening of the debate. Religious minorities were excluded from the ambit of reservation, with only the SCs and STs now marked out as the beneficiaries of reservations. In an unprecedented subterfuge—though Patel's initial resolution and speech focused only on reservation in legislature, at the last moment, with no discussion in the House—the minorities' claim in public service was also nullified. And the paragon of Indian secularism, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared that any demands of safeguards by minorities betrayed lack of trust in the majority. True, Article 30 doesn't spell out the parameters of defining minority groups, yet successive Supreme Court interventions have laid down clear guidelines—a fact that Justice Srivastava of the Allahabad High Court chose to ignore. As early as in 1957, the Supreme Court (Ref the Kerala Education Bill) granted minority status to groups whose numbers were below 50 per cent in a given area. In 2002 (T.M.A Pai Foundation vs the State of Karnataka), an eleven-judge bench of the Supreme Court specified that the geographical unit has to be the 'state in relation to which the majority or minority status will have to be determined'. Regardless of the fact that Uttar Pradesh has the highest concentration of Muslims in the country, the community will continue to be a minority on account of it being only 18.5% of the state's population. Whether they comprise more than 50 per cent in a couple of districts remains inconsequential. It is not the numerical criterion alone that need be invoked to legitimate minority status to the Muslims of U.P. Considering the experience of apartheid South Africa, minority status is also a definition of marginality. The case of Muslims is substantiated by the findings of the Sachar Committee. The Muslims of U.P, as in most states, comprise the bulk of those below poverty line. Their share in government jobs is a miniscule 5 per cent; the literacy level is a good 10 points lower than the state's average. Most Muslim concentrated areas remain devoid of basic developmental amenities such as pucca roads, electrification and a primary school. This in turn has abetted high drop-out rates among Muslim children. The absence of school often tends to be compensated by the ubiquitous presence of a police chowki. Given the scenario, what does the loss of a minority status imply? In concrete terms, to most Muslims it has remained an empty slogan. Article 30 has mostly only served to provide the State an alibi to hide behind. The National Policy on Education, 1986 identified Muslims as the educationally backward minority and called for immediate attention. The Planning Commission, however, left this task to 'Minority Educational Institutions', majority of whom are entirely self-financed, usually catering to the elite. The Madarsa modernization programme is the government's flagship scheme to attend to the educational needs of Muslim children—a typical state response to the need for schools in minority concentrated areas. But even here, the allocation has remained paltry. The fund allocation for Maulana Azad Educational Foundation, launched with great fanfare, hardly reflects the long list of tasks appended to it: including construction of hostels, schools, laboratories, sadhbhavna kendras, vocational training centres, scholarship to girl students etc. The National Minorities Commission is a statutory body yet its reports are never tabled in the Parliament. A sinister minoritisation in state policy is what the Muslims of India are faced with. It is this minoritisation that strips them off all entitlements while constructing them as exclusive political category that is to be won over by occasional sops and concessions. In this project minoritisation, questions like partnership in progress and adequate share in national wealth are often glossed over. Ironical as it may be, the Allahabad High Court judgement is of one piece with this project. (Tanweer Fazal works with the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He can be contacted on fazaltanweer at yahoo.co.in) Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping From iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com Fri May 11 09:37:58 2007 From: iwasthere2000 at yahoo.com (S.Shashidhar) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 21:07:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] First Ever Public Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations in Pakistan Message-ID: <272450.8861.qm@web32403.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear Yogi, You should have been in Pune for the birthday celebrations of Dr. B.R. Amedkar in Pune, it was a fun roit, there were people all around, huge posters and lots and lots of filmi music, the kind Ganpati also does not get. The lasts years programs were very low key because the first Dalit lady Mayor of Pune, Ms. Tribhuvan arrived thrree hours late, there was a threat by the more loyal parties ( RPI, Dalit Panther, Dalit Cobra) to boycot the festival because the mayor was from the Congress, finally when she arrived there was a lot of anger in the air and to quell this she proposed chaning the name of an important municipal hospital " Sasson hospital - hospital donanted by an indian jew) to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar hospital. This years program with a vow to renew efforts to rename the hospital and then there was a discussion on different ideologies and the need to convert to Buddhism. ( Are dalits in Pakistan also converting to Buddhism?) and finally bolloywood style all of the corporators came on to the stage and held their hands high. All their lives Both of these great people ( Gautama & BhimRao) tried to do away with rituals and break down barriers, it would have come as a shock to them to note how they are being reverred and worshipped today, none of the leaders corrected any of the riotious behavious, there were drinks being distributed, saying all this was an offshot of years of subjugation. Jai Bhim Shashi ----- Original Message ---- From: Yogi Sikand To: reader-list at sarai.net Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 5:36:43 AM Subject: [Reader-list] First Ever Public Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations in Pakistan Dear Friend, Salam / Jai Bheem, For the first time in Pakistan's history, the 116th Birthday of Baba Saheb Dr B. R. Ambedkar was celebrated in three different cities of Pakistan and attended by thousands of people. 1. The first function was held in Lahore on April 13 where Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool was the chief guest. I (Surendar Valasai) also delivered an speech there, while the Speakers from India inlcuding Honourable V T Rajshekhar and Prof. Chaman Lal from JNU, Shyam Bahadur Katuwal from Nepal , Prof Bhatti from England, a Mr. Salman from the United Nations office Islamabad . The programme was organised by Sir Gangaram Heritage Foundation and its Director Dr. Yousaf Bokhari played a pivotal role in the arrangements. 2. The Second function was held in Karachi under the aegis of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan and South Asia Dalit Solidarity Network on April 15. Former Dalit MP Dr. Khatumal Jeewan, Surendar Valasai and former Dalit MPA Bheru Lal Balani highlighted on the struggle and achievements of Baba Saheb. 3. The Third function was held at Hyderabad Press Club organised by Pak Reformatory Institute of Dalit Emancipation (PRIDE) Sindh pakistan, former Dalit MPA Engr. Gianchand where former Chairman of Communist Party of Pakistan Jam Saqi, BBC Corresondent Suhail Sangi, Malji Rathore, Dr Sono Khangharani Chief Executive Thar Deep Tharparkar and others spoke and eulogised the services of Baba Saheb. For your information. Warm Regards and Jai bheem. Malji Meghwal, Dalit Human Rights Activist, Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan [ ramjianimalji at yahoo.com] +923332512461 _________________________________________ 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 anivar.aravind at gmail.com Fri May 11 10:13:44 2007 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 10:13:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 13th may: CHANGING URBAN LANDSCAPES: SMARTCITY & THE NEW KERALA SOCIETY Message-ID: <4643F480.2060108@gmail.com> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 CHANGING URBAN LANDSCAPES: SMARTCITY & THE NEW KERALA SOCIETY Dear Friends, Smart City project is being realised by proving the 'negotiation skills' of Kerala Government. What are REAL problems that can be solved by this new development model of an Exclusive Zone? Other than those of Tecom, State government and the media,is there any role for the Civil Society in the discussion of this project? ? Did they also get marginalised? or did they also become a part of the state? A discussion is being held on May 13th, 11 AM, at PWD Rest House, near Press Club, Cochin. Be there. :-) ==/PANEL/== Dr. Nissar Ahammed C.K Raju Anivar Aravind Joseph Thomas Kiran Chand ==/ORGANISORED BY/== Institute for Social & Ecological Studies, Kozhikkode moving Republic, Thrissur Keraleeyam, Thrissur Harithamythri, Angamaly For More Information: +91 9447019546, +91 9446230270, +91 9388872845, +91 9446545336 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFGQ/SAF+jWtLmEaycRAhYvAJ9RFU/+aVdU3XrqgL8waGdRZz423ACgkZCC 0jFaKgRu8sV7Y4c6mCy4g0I= =1tJU -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- From p.hatzopoulos-alumni at lse.ac.uk Fri May 11 11:31:08 2007 From: p.hatzopoulos-alumni at lse.ac.uk (p.hatzopoulos-alumni at lse.ac.uk) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 07:01:08 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Wiki politics 2 Message-ID: New online journal Re-public < www.republic.gr/en > has just published the second part of its special issue "Wiki politics". The issue explores how the use of new collaborative tools (wikis, blogs, forums, mailing lists, podcasting, and videos) can transform the ways politics are practiced . Articles include: Ward Cunningham - Wiki and the rise of gift economies < http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=141 > Creator of wiki software, Ward Cunningham, argues that the proliferation of wikis has proved that the for-pay economy is not the only way to create value. _____ Pete Ashdown -Open source politics < http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=145 > Being the first politician to to use a wiki to develop his campaign platform for the 2006 US Senate election in Utah, Pete Ashdown makes the case for open source politics. _____ Paul Hartzog - Panarchy and the wiki-fication of politics < http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=148 > Hartzog introduces the concept of panarchy, a sociopolitical field that emerges when connective technologies enable cooperative peer-to-peer production – of knowledge, of tools, of power. _____ Australian bill of rights initiative: Collaborating on public policy < http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=142 > Wiki politics are put into practice. This article focuses on the development and the rationale behind ARBI , an online project aimed at promoting awareness and discussion of human rights through the collaborative development of a bill of rights for Australia. _____ All articles of Re-public are published with a Creative Commons license and can be re-printed freely, by acknowledging their source. Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic communications disclaimer: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/secretariat/legal/disclaimer.htm From abshi at vsnl.com Fri May 11 21:34:24 2007 From: abshi at vsnl.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 21:34:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Students expelled for making film on homosexuality -sign theprotest letter Message-ID: <0JHV00AQKWNBJLB0@fe2.internal.vsnl.net> -----Original Message----- From: vikalp at yahoogroups.com [mailto:vikalp at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Tarunabh Khaitan Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 1:55 PM To: vikalp at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [vikalp] Students expelled for making film on homosexuality -signthe protest letter This is a petition to the college authorities who expelled 5 students for making a film on homosexuality. please email Mayur Suresh, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore <***mayur at altlawforum.org *> with your name and designation if you want to sign it. Please feel free to circulate. ** Please go through the following petition. If you do wish to sign on, please send an email, with your name and designation, if any, to mayur at altlawforum.org .* To, The Principal St. Josephs College of Communication, Changanassery Dear Ma'am/Sir, Re: Students expelled for making film on homosexuality. We are deeply disturbed at the expulsion of five students from your institution on the ground that they made a film that explores homosexual themes. The film titled 'Secret Minds', as you are aware, is a short film on homosexuality made as an entry for the competition section of an inter-college short film festival in Thiruvananthapuram. According to newspaper reports the management of your institution felt that the film, by portraying homosexuality had transgressed the limits of decency and moral values that your institution stood for. We, the undersigned, find these reasons completely unacceptable, and would like to express our shock and outrage at your action. Homosexuality in India is a topic that is taboo and is largely left out of public discourse. However, as you may be aware, there is a growing movement for the rights of sexual minorities in this country, which argues that all persons irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity have the right to live with dignity. In fact, the constitutional validity of the law criminalizes homosexuality in India is currently under challenge before the Delhi High Court. The acts of your institution have effectively censored a film on homosexuality, thus repudiating a certain way of life and denying homosexuals and other sexual minorities validation of their lifestyles through public portrayal and constituting an official condemnation of homosexuality. Historically, it is the incursions of the State into free speech that has been guarded against by academic institutions, film-makers, and artists. Instead, your institution by its actions has sought to act as the State and arbitrarily impose its own moral values in censoring this film. Merely because your institution is of the opinion that homosexuality is immoral it does not entitle your to censor the portrayal of homosexuality thus curtailing any debate or discussion around the issue. Furthermore, the invocation of the arbitrary standard of 'obscenity' or 'indecency' cannot be a legitimate reason for such an action, as this only becomes another reason to stifle debate and censor expression. It is the responsibility of an institution like yours to create a space that allows for the articulation of opinions that it may not agree with. It is only by pushing the limits of what is sayable and unsayable that such a space can be created. We believe that the actions of your institution in expelling these students for exercising their freedom of expression is completely unjustified and undermines the creation of such a space. As an academic institution, and particularly as a media and communications school, we believe that it is essential that your institution encourage diverse points of view and modes of expression. Academic growth and excellence can only be achieved in a space that is open to different ideas, where there is a culture of creativity and where people are not afraid to openly express themselves, and it is your institution's duty to ensure that such an atmosphere is cultivated. However, your institution's acts in expelling these students can only destroy the possibility of creating such an atmosphere and harms the reputation of your institution as a centre of academic excellence. As an institution that is training future film makers and media artists, your action in expelling these students undermines the role of film makers and artists who have always acted as guardians of the limits of free speech. Furthermore, what is extremely shocking is the disproportionate and arbitrary punishment given to the students. It is disturbing that your institution's response to the portrayal of homosexuality has been so vicious and brutal. We condemn your decision, demand that you reconsider your actions and reinstate the expelled students. ** If you do wish to sign on, please send an email, with your name and designation, if any, to mayur at altlawforum.org .* * * *Annexure* * * http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr282007/national222552007427.asp Deccan Herald, 28 April, 2007 ** Students expelled for making film on homosexuality ** >From R Gopakumar DH News Service Thiruvananthapuram: A Catholic Church-run mass communications college in Kottayam has stirred a hornet's nest by expelling five students for making a film on homosexuality. The students are all fourth semester BA (multimedia) students of the St Joseph's College of Communications at Changanassery. The incident brings alive the raging worldwide debate on homosexuality to the church circles in Kerala. Neither the expelled students nor the authorities were readily willing to comment. Prathyush, one of the expelled students, told Deccan Herald that four of them had acted in the five-minute short film titled Secret Minds. The film depicting homosexuality was directed by an MA (film and TV) student Jeo Baby. He claimed that it was mainly intended for an inter-collegiate film festival here. The college management, however, felt that the film had transgressed the limits of decency and moral values that the college stood for and would have misled youths. The college authorities further said that the students misused the campus and college hostel premises for making the film and had also acted entirely nude in it. The management made clear its stand in the showcause notice issued to the students. The students were first served a showcause notice on March 23 and 27 and later expelled on April 2 on finding that their replies were unsatisfactory. However, Prathyush who was the only student willing to speak denied these allegations and said that they had exercised only their freedom of expression. The film was also well within the confines of the course to which they were admitted. Also, they had acted only partially nude as required by the script. "In any case, the film was not for public viewing but for a specific festival audience. They are just creating unnecessary fuss," he said. The students registered a complaint against the college with the Mahatma Gandhi University's grievance cell and also forwarded the notice which contained the charges against them. When contacted, college director Fr Sebastian refused to comment saying the issue was not over and was "undergoing certain processes". However, experts see the incident as an offshoot of the lack of theological guidance in the Church on the issue of homosexuality. * * Anand wrote: > > dear all > it is worth sending a joint letter to the priests who expelled these > students. please respond. best, anand > > also, for those interested, we have just won a very important victory > for freedom of expression in the high court against the maharashtra > governments ban on a book on shivaji written by james laine. actual > judgment is awaited. the shiv sena and other right wing parties > (including the NCP and sections of the congress are pouring out their > hate against us and the book in papers like saamna. govt has vowed to > challenge us in supreme court. lets see what happens. > > best, anand > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: tarunabh > To: vikalp at yahoogroups.com > Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 3:50 PM > Subject: [vikalp] Students expelled for making film on homosexuality > > http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr282007/national22255200742 > > 7.asp > > *Deccan Herald > > > National > sp>> > Detailed Story > * > > * Students expelled for making film on homosexuality * > From R Gopakumar DH News Service Thiruvananthapuram: > > A Catholic Church-run mass communications college in Kottayam has > stirred a > hornet's nest by expelling five students for making a film on > homosexuality. > > The students are all fourth semester BA (multimedia) students of the > St > Joseph's College of Communications at Changanassery. > > The incident brings alive the raging worldwide debate on > homosexuality to > the church circles in Kerala. > > form_id=newnriappform&Site=deccanherald&Creative=copybanner&Section=RO > S&Agency_Code=DBS&Campaign_Code=RCAO&Product_Code=RCA&eOfferCode=DCHCB > 180> > Neither the expelled students nor the authorities were readily > willing to > comment. Prathyush, one of the expelled students, told Deccan Herald > that > four of them had acted in the five-minute short film titled Secret > Minds. > > The film depicting homosexuality was directed by an MA (film and TV) > student > Jeo Baby. He claimed that it was mainly intended for an inter- > collegiate > film festival here. > > The college management, however, felt that the film had transgressed > the > limits of decency and moral values that the college stood for and > would have > misled youths. The college authorities further said that the students > misused the campus and college hostel premises for making the film > and had > also acted entirely nude in it. The management made clear its stand > in the > showcause notice issued to the students. The students were first > served a > showcause notice on March 23 and 27 and later expelled on April 2 on > finding > that their replies were unsatisfactory. > > However, Prathyush who was the only student willing to speak denied > these > allegations and said that they had exercised only their freedom of > expression. The film was also well within the confines of the course > to > which they were admitted. Also, they had acted only partially nude as > required by the script. > > "In any case, the film was not for public viewing but for a specific > festival audience. They are just creating unnecessary fuss," he said. > > The students registered a complaint against the college with the > Mahatma > Gandhi University's grievance cell and also forwarded the notice which > contained the charges against them. > > When contacted, college director Fr Sebastian refused to comment > saying the > issue was not over and was "undergoing certain processes". > > However, experts see the incident as an offshoot of the lack of > theological > guidance in the Church on the issue of homosexuality. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vikalp/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vikalp/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:vikalp-digest at yahoogroups.com mailto:vikalp-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: vikalp-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From shuddha at sarai.net Fri May 11 22:46:12 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 22:46:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Modest Proposal to End All Controversies on Freedom of Expression in India Message-ID: <4644A4DC.3020606@sarai.net> Dear All, (apologies for cross posting on Commons Law, Reader List and Kafila.org) As we know well by now from the freedom loving sentiments (that are expressed loudly and frequently) by all sections of the guardians of social order in India, (that is Bharat, that is Hindustan), the real reason why certain insignificant documentary independent and student films, contemporary art exhibitions in university campuses and performances are banned, and their heinous perpetrators arrested has to do with the general populations right to sleep undisturbed each night and not to see anything other than cricket matches, news about cricket matches, election analyses, kaun banega crorepati, Abhishek Bacchan's wedding, and yoga on TV. Why should anyone in their right mind want to see, read, listen to or even think about anything else? Consider the folly that some students in Kottayam have recently contemplated, making a film on of all things 'Homosexuality' . see - http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth/msg/91c668142e58c20c Or, of the students in the Fine Arts Department of M.S.University in Baroda who went ahead and organized an exhibition of student work that contained offensive erotic imagery. see - http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8f2213c7-4b12-4e48-9b7c-40302cd7a968&&Headline=Vadodara+art+student+lands+in+jail Both of these moves have been met with swift and timely responses. The offending students in Kerala have been expelled by the Christian educational institutition where they were enrolled, and the offending art student in Vadodara, one Chandramohanm has been arrested by the local police at the urging of Hindutva minded citizens. There are only two things we need to learn from incidents of this nature. The first is as follows - Actually, all that people need to do is to insist that only the self appointed guardians of public morality (of all stripes and shades) have the right to appear in any broadcast, exhibition, film or other forms of mediated communication. We need every channel to broadcast morally cleansed reality TV all the time. How else will this nation boldly venture where none other has gone before - into that heaven of bliss and freedom known as ennui for the billions. If, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we only had priests, hindu holy men, muslim divines, chistian priests, dalit messiahs, communist apparatchiks, gandhian crusaders, and secular activists, politicians, moral crusaders and do gooders of every stripe and persuasion on TV, in public fora, on web sites - acting as artists, as film directors, VJs, crooners and even as item number specialists or porn stars then all our cultural problems would be solved. Think of how fetching Dr. Praveen Togadia would look in a leather thong. Our national cultural life would then be like an undending and refined Republic Day pageant, full of approtiately attired folk dancers, uplifting martial music and tasteful tableaux of ancient heritage, combined with images of modern progress and development. That would be a fitting expression of the very soft power of an awakening and shining India. The public would also, by this strategy, get its fill of salacious and erotic content, (rss pracharaks would be filmed having more sex with every gender and form of life, inheritors of the BJP legacy would be seen snorting cocaine, Christian evangelists would be seen in the throes of real estate speculation and Muslim holy men would be seen imbibing their favourite form of spiritual succor in the form of halal scotch and the secular guardians of public morality would be doing what they do best - making money for the cause by setting up yet another special exploitative zone). The guardians of public morality would themselves guarantee that the salacious and sleazy content offered to the public would be 100 percent patriotic, in keeping with Indian tradition and un-subversive as it would be produced by people like themselves (whose motives are above and beyond question). This experiment has been briefly and successfully undertaken in neigbouring countries like Afghanistan, where, the supervision of the entire matrix of communication by the 'Committee for the Suprresion of VIce and the Promotion of Virtue" during the brief Taliban interregnum did not result in any loss of cultural content, or lack of entertainment, for the general public. It just ensured that the Talibs had the authority to purvey the right kind of high minded and halal sleaze. Hey, no one can quite tell whether what you have behind a full burqa is full frontal nudity or not, right. So all you need to do is to dress everyone up in full burqas to ensure that everyone's erotic imagination runs riot. Similarly, if the guardians of public morality were to erect permanent visual barriers in front of medieval Hindu temples, the general population could speculate at leisure (and to a hitherto unimagined pornographic excess) as to the actual content of the obscured sculptural friezes. I would heartily welcome this measure as a form of highly evolved and consciousness altering Yoga for the mind. I propose that we all arrange for noisy demonstrations and organize lengthy electronic petitions to demand that the entire reins of communication and expression in India be handed over to a truly secular and representative board of guardians of public morality which would include - representatives of every religion (minority, majority or micro-minority), every political party recognized by the election commission of India, the cricket control board, the motion picture association of India and at least 4 morally upright page 3 celebrities, two selfless activists from public life, three television anchors, two sahitya academi winning authors who are unknown and therefore un-controversial, and five art critics and curators. I also propose that this committee be headed (for purposes of spiritual and ethical direction) in rotation, by one of the Shankaracharyas who is not accused of attempt to murder and the at least one member of any Waqf board anyewhere in the country who is also not a history sheeter. The second thing we need to learn is as follows - (and this emerges naturally from the contours of the first suggestion outlined above in this proposal). The successful realization of the demand that the field of cultural life and activity be entirely taken over by the current guardians of public morality woul allow the rest of us to be finally freed from the pursuit of culture so that we can get down to other serious business. Like thinking more precisely about how to illuminate a few guardians of public morality from below with the help of the right kind of chemicals. I always knew that if those of us who practice culture right now, stopped doing it, and started practising inorganic chemistry instead, the entire political field would be much more interesting, and perhaps, incendiary. That is why I can now understand the wisdom that my elders had when they used to advise me to study science and not arts after my 10th board examinations. I regret that I did not listen to their advice. I have not so far come across any right thinking guardian of public morality calling for bans on textbooks of inorganic chemistry. And as far as I understand, that is where one can learn about things like Cyclo-trimethylene-trinitramine, (popularly called Cyclonite, Hexogen, or somewhat loosely -as- 'Research Department (composition)X') - a substance first offered to the public for its medical and healing properties by the German chemist called Hans Henning in the 1890s and later developed for a variety of uses. [To know more about this substance - see the Wikipedia entry at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX] It is my view, (and I would like to see this debated, so that my arguments can be sharpened and refined by being made subject to rigorous criticism) that the selective, precise and well timed use of the knowledge gleaned from textbooks of inorganic chemistry can be a far more effective means of artistic, literary and cultural criticism than anything that anyone can learn in any art or media school or university deparment of literature, theatre or film studies. When, and if, the successful takeover of culture by the guardians of public morality in India has been undertaken, it will be time to re-enter the field of public cultural criticism and activity, well armed by the healing properties of Hexogen. regards, Shuddha From shuddha at sarai.net Fri May 11 23:20:10 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 23:20:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Demonstration in Delhi to Protest the Arrest of Art Student in Vadodara Message-ID: <4644ACD2.4030505@sarai.net> I have recently been informed there is going to be a gathering of the Delhi Art Community protesting the recent arrest of an Art student of faculty of Fine Art in Vadodra. see the article on HindustanTimes ePaper, You can find it at: ' ral police hit Vadodara, art student lands injail Please join- Monday 14th May , 6.00pm at Rabindra Bhavan ,Lalit Kala,New Delhi. From shuddha at sarai.net Sat May 12 11:19:02 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 11:19:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More from Baroda: from Indrapramit Roy Message-ID: <4645554E.4090803@sarai.net> Dear All, This came to me earlier in the day from Indrapramit Roy, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Painting, MS University, Baroda. best Shuddha ----------- Dear All, The latest news from Baroda is that the University has suspended the acting Dean Prof.Shivaji Panikkar from his job and there is also pressure to make him a co-accused along with Chandramohan. Chandramohan is still not able to get out on bail because the BJP-VHP is creating furore at the court and forcing it to adjourn. Tomorrow and the day after being court holidays(Saturday & Sunday) the plan is to impart exemplary punishment to Chandu and terrorise the faculty who are accused of indecency and harboring anti-Gujarat sentiments!!! The local press along with The Univ authority is cahoots with the BJP/VHP and portraying all of us as public enemies who not only allow display of indecent pictures but condone such behavior! In the caredfully orchestrated melee no one is raising the real question that how come the police in uniform walk into the faculty premises without anybody's permission and take away a student without even bothering to inform the In-charge Dean. For that matter the University is not only refusing to take legal action against Mr Nirav Jain for trespassing and using abusive language and threats in the Faculty premises but no one from the University has appointed a lawyer to fight Chandu's case. Dr Narendra Parmar,the advocate who is fighting on our behalf is approached through the good offices of Mr Rahul Amin(Industrialist and patron of art). The students put up a small display of plates from the archive today to highlight the point that art always dealt with themes that are controversial and non-conformist but that was sealed by the Pro-VC who marched into the faculty along with 4 Syndicate members and ordered Prof Panikkar to shut it. When Prof Panikkar refused point blank he not only braught the exhibition down but also sealed the archive of the Art History department. A police complaint was also logded by Mr Jain to arrest Shivaji and make him a co-accused in the Chandramohan case.Mr Jain who happens to be the head of VHP's legal cell is also reprted (as published in The Indian Express today) to have openly dared anybody to lodge an FIR as he would bring the whole city to a stand still. There are also reports of burning of Shivaji's effigy in Manjalpur area of the city yesterday. Sveral students have also reported intimidation outside the Faculty premises.It is also brought to our notice that several faculty members are to be targetted by the University. Later in the evening news reached us that in an emergency meeting the VC has taken the decision to suspend Prof Panikkar. Yours sincerely Indrapramit Roy Sr Lecturer Department of painting faculty of Fine Arts MSU of Baroda On 11/05/07, Art India Magazine wrote: > The Free Chandramohan Committee: Public Meeting, 12 May 2007 > > > The Free Chandramohan Committee will hold a public meeting on > Saturday, 12 May 2007, at 6 pm at Gallery Chemould Prescott Road, to > protest against the arrest of the young artist Chandramohan by the > Baroda police earlier this week. > > The meeting will be addressed by a number of speakers, among them > noted cultural activists, commentators, film-makers, lawyers and > artists, who will express solidarity with Chandramohan and draw up > practical measures to secure his release. > > Among other issues, the meeting will discuss the ways by which the > constitutional safeguards can be implemented, as well as legal > redress by which the onus in cases of alleged incitement of communal > disharmony can be placed squarely on demagogues who distort artworks > for their own political ends. More significantly, a lunatic fringe > cannot claim monopoly over public space. Let us resolve not to cede > public space to the forces of intolerance. > > Date: 12 May 2007 (Saturday) > Time: 6 pm > Place: Gallery Chemould Prescott Road > Queens Mansion (3rd Floor) > A K Naik Marg > Fort, Mumbai 400 001 > Phones: 91 22 22000211, 91 22 22000212, 91 22 22000213 > Email: gallerychemould at gmail.com > > > An Outrage in Baroda > > An intolerable violation of cultural and academic freedom by communal > forces took place in Baroda on Wednesday, 9 May 2007, when a group of > Vishwa Hindu Parishad goons led by local BJP leader Niraj Jain stormed > into the campus of the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda. > Breaking into the annual display of the final year students, the goons > abused and attacked a student, Chandramohan, claiming that they found > his works obscene and offensive to religious sentiments. > > The police, entering the campus, arrested Chandramohan without a > proper warrant and without consulting the Faculty of Fine Arts, while > allowing the inflammatory Jain and his goons to go free. Later, Jain > was cordially received by the Vice-Chancellor of the University. This > august functionary has not only refused to register a First > Information Report against Jain, but has also refused to extend any > assistance to Chandramohan. Indeed, the Vice-Chancellor has demanded > that the student and the Dean of the Faculty of Fine arts should > apologise to Jain. > > Chandramohan is now being held by the police while a charge-sheet is > being prepared. He has been charged with various non-bailable > offences, including the attempt to incite communal disharmony and > public obscenity. > > This constitutes a straightforward violation of a young artist's right > to express himself. It is also a grave case of the invasion of > academic space by the police. Had such an incident taken place in > Dhaka or Islamabad, we would all have been protesting against the > dictatorial ways of authority. > > * > > Questions before Us > > The Baroda outrage raises serious questions about the State's ability, > or even desire, to protect the cultural freedoms of individuals. We > strongly condemn all attempts on the part of communal forces to > violate cultural freedoms. > > The Baroda outrage takes on an ominous colour, given the history of > infringements of artistic freedom during the last two decades, > especially the campaign of vilification and persecution launched > against M F Husain, and the rise of a chilling intolerance. > > Can we allow India to become an illiberal democracy, guided by > competing populisms? Surely the onus, in such cases, should be on the > people who create communal disharmony, using a cultural work as their > pretext, and not on artists? > From aiindex at mnet.fr Sat May 12 11:40:49 2007 From: aiindex at mnet.fr (Harsh Kapoor) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 08:10:49 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] More from Baroda: from Indrapramit Roy In-Reply-To: <4645554E.4090803@sarai.net> References: <4645554E.4090803@sarai.net> Message-ID: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=235916 Indian Express May 12, 2007 BLACK FRIDAY: CHANDRAMOHAN'S CLASSMATES PUT UP EXHIBITION OF INDIAN EROTICA TO PROTEST HIS ARREST; CHANCELLOR SAYS CAN'T INTERVENE WITHOUT KNOWING FACTS MSU V-C seals Fine Arts dept Express News Service Vadodara, May 11: Taking moral policing to a new level, Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), Manoj Soni, today ordered the fine arts department to be sealed after defiant students put up an exhibition of Indian erotica to protest the arrest of one of their fellow classmates on Wednesday. The fine arts department, known the world over as a cradle for art expression, has never seen interference from any quarters. This is the first time in its 55 years of existence that it finds the BJP and VHP moral police brigade telling it what to do. Vice-Chancellor Manoj Soni, living up to his reputation as an RSS stooge, took the decision to seal the department after BJP municipal councillors complained about the erotica exhibition. On Wednesday, the BJP and VHP activists roughed up Chandramohan, a fine arts student, as they found his exam works put on display, objectionable. Chandramohan was later arrested by police. Marking a "black friday" in M S University's history, the V-C sealed the Fine Arts department's Regional Documentation Centre, and joined the saffron brigade in removing the exhibition comprising sculptures and photos. After gagging the faculty, Soni himself ducked all criticism and questions raised about his action by remaining confined to his cabin and not taking any calls. MSU's Chancellor Mrinalinini Devi Puar, grand daughter of Sir Sayaji Rao Gaekwad who founded the university, said she was out of town and could not intervene without knowing the facts. On Friday, instead of students, teachers and MSU senate members, it was BJP councillors and senate members (owing to their saffron affiliations) were the ones who called the shots both at MSU main office and Fine Arts department. Meanwhile, Chandramohan continued to be in judicial custody for the third consecutive day, with no one officially coming to his aid from MSU. Additional Senior Civil Judge M J Parashar on Friday deferred the decision on his bail till Monday in a hearing held in Vadodara local court, where Chandramohan is facing serious offences registered by BJP leader Niraj Jain. Fresh trouble began on Friday when Fine Arts students were putting up an art exhibition on Indian art erotica around 4.30 pm. "We are seeing people affiliated to certain political ideology, entering the campus and imposing their narrow viewpoint without knowing that the erotica/shringara/copulation as a part of the nava-rasas exist in traditional practices," said the Fine Arts student exhibition note. Sculptures, copies of erotica art in the department, photographs of erotica art from Khajuraho and from Geet Govinda were put up by the students. The news of the art exhibition had BJP councillors like Girish Parekh, Kishen Sheth, Ashok Pandya, Balu Shukla, Kishen Sheth and others trooping down into the University, but before that they had a meeting with the MSU V-C. While abuses were being hurled at the students and female lecturers by BJP councilors, MSU authorities ordered the removal of exhibition, which Shivaji Panikkar, incharge fine arts dean refused, asking for orders in writing. "We have received representations from several organisations and also society, which has requested us to intervene. It's a matter of prestige for MSU and Vadodara," said MSU pro V-C S M Joshi, who with university engineer N N Ojha, syndicate members Mukesh Pandya, S K Agrawal, technology faculty dean Bhuvan Parekh personally removed exhibits and sealed the department. In a late night development Panikkar was suspended from all the positions with immediate effect for three months. The suspension will be in effect till an inquiry committee, which is yet to be formed does not complete its inquiry, said the notice which was pasted at his residence around 10 pm on Friday. He has been also directed not to enter the campus. At 11:19 AM +0530 5/12/07, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: >Dear All, > >This came to me earlier in the day from Indrapramit Roy, Senior Lecturer >in the Department of Painting, MS University, Baroda. > >best > >Shuddha > >----------- > >Dear All, > >The latest news from Baroda is that the University has suspended the >acting Dean Prof.Shivaji Panikkar from his job and there is also >pressure to make him a co-accused along with Chandramohan. >Chandramohan is still not able to get out on bail because the BJP-VHP >is creating furore at the court and forcing it to adjourn. Tomorrow >and the day after being court holidays(Saturday & Sunday) the plan is >to impart exemplary punishment to Chandu and terrorise the faculty who >are accused of indecency and harboring anti-Gujarat sentiments!!! >The local press along with The Univ authority is cahoots with the >BJP/VHP and portraying all of us as public enemies who not only allow >display of indecent pictures but condone such behavior! > >In the caredfully orchestrated melee no one is raising the real >question that how come the police in uniform walk into the faculty >premises without anybody's permission and take away a student without >even bothering to inform the In-charge Dean. For that matter the >University is not only refusing to take legal action against Mr Nirav >Jain for trespassing and using abusive language and threats in the >Faculty premises but no one from the University has appointed a lawyer >to fight Chandu's case. Dr Narendra Parmar,the advocate who is >fighting on our behalf is approached through the good offices of Mr >Rahul Amin(Industrialist and patron of art). > >The students put up a small display of plates from the archive today >to highlight the point that art always dealt with themes that are >controversial and non-conformist but that was sealed by the Pro-VC who >marched into the faculty along with 4 Syndicate members and ordered >Prof Panikkar to shut it. When Prof Panikkar refused point blank he >not only braught the exhibition down but also sealed the archive of >the Art History department. A police complaint was also logded by Mr >Jain to arrest Shivaji and make him a co-accused in the Chandramohan >case.Mr Jain who happens to be the head of VHP's legal cell is also >reprted (as published in The Indian Express today) to have openly >dared anybody to lodge an FIR as he would bring the whole city to a >stand still. There are also reports of burning of Shivaji's effigy in >Manjalpur area of the city yesterday. Sveral students have also >reported intimidation outside the Faculty premises.It is also brought >to our notice that several faculty members are to be targetted by the >University. Later in the evening news reached us that in an emergency >meeting the VC has taken the decision to suspend Prof Panikkar. > >Yours sincerely > >Indrapramit Roy >Sr Lecturer >Department of painting >faculty of Fine Arts >MSU of Baroda > > > >On 11/05/07, Art India Magazine wrote: >> The Free Chandramohan Committee: Public Meeting, 12 May 2007 >> >> >> The Free Chandramohan Committee will hold a public meeting on >> Saturday, 12 May 2007, at 6 pm at Gallery Chemould Prescott Road, to >> protest against the arrest of the young artist Chandramohan by the >> Baroda police earlier this week. >> >> The meeting will be addressed by a number of speakers, among them >> noted cultural activists, commentators, film-makers, lawyers and >> artists, who will express solidarity with Chandramohan and draw up >> practical measures to secure his release. >> >> Among other issues, the meeting will discuss the ways by which the >> constitutional safeguards can be implemented, as well as legal >> redress by which the onus in cases of alleged incitement of communal >> disharmony can be placed squarely on demagogues who distort artworks >> for their own political ends. More significantly, a lunatic fringe >> cannot claim monopoly over public space. Let us resolve not to cede >> public space to the forces of intolerance. >> >> Date: 12 May 2007 (Saturday) >> Time: 6 pm >> Place: Gallery Chemould Prescott Road >> Queens Mansion (3rd Floor) >> A K Naik Marg > > Fort, Mumbai 400 001 >> Phones: 91 22 22000211, 91 22 22000212, 91 22 22000213 >> Email: gallerychemould at gmail.com >> >> >> An Outrage in Baroda >> >> An intolerable violation of cultural and academic freedom by communal >> forces took place in Baroda on Wednesday, 9 May 2007, when a group of >> Vishwa Hindu Parishad goons led by local BJP leader Niraj Jain stormed >> into the campus of the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda. >> Breaking into the annual display of the final year students, the goons >> abused and attacked a student, Chandramohan, claiming that they found >> his works obscene and offensive to religious sentiments. >> >> The police, entering the campus, arrested Chandramohan without a >> proper warrant and without consulting the Faculty of Fine Arts, while >> allowing the inflammatory Jain and his goons to go free. Later, Jain >> was cordially received by the Vice-Chancellor of the University. This >> august functionary has not only refused to register a First >> Information Report against Jain, but has also refused to extend any >> assistance to Chandramohan. Indeed, the Vice-Chancellor has demanded >> that the student and the Dean of the Faculty of Fine arts should >> apologise to Jain. >> >> Chandramohan is now being held by the police while a charge-sheet is >> being prepared. He has been charged with various non-bailable >> offences, including the attempt to incite communal disharmony and >> public obscenity. >> >> This constitutes a straightforward violation of a young artist's right >> to express himself. It is also a grave case of the invasion of >> academic space by the police. Had such an incident taken place in >> Dhaka or Islamabad, we would all have been protesting against the >> dictatorial ways of authority. >> >> * >> >> Questions before Us >> >> The Baroda outrage raises serious questions about the State's ability, >> or even desire, to protect the cultural freedoms of individuals. We >> strongly condemn all attempts on the part of communal forces to >> violate cultural freedoms. >> >> The Baroda outrage takes on an ominous colour, given the history of >> infringements of artistic freedom during the last two decades, >> especially the campaign of vilification and persecution launched >> against M F Husain, and the rise of a chilling intolerance. >> >> Can we allow India to become an illiberal democracy, guided by >> competing populisms? Surely the onus, in such cases, should be on the >> people who create communal disharmony, using a cultural work as their >> pretext, and not on artists? >> > > >_________________________________________ >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 shuddha at sarai.net Sat May 12 13:31:07 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 13:31:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest Demonstration agains events in Baroda: From Lalit Batra Message-ID: <46457443.1080604@sarai.net> Dear All, (apologies for cross posting on Vikalp, Commons Law, Reader List and CAC lists) I have recieved a mail from Lalit Batra, about a protest demonstration against Chandramohan's (the MSU Baroda art student) and the closure of exhibitions at the faculty of fine arts, MSU Baroda, and the suspension of faculty (Shivji Pannickar) planned for tomorrow, 12th of May, at 3 p.m. at Gujarat Bhawan, Chanakya Puri, Near Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi. Anyone wanting to contact Lalit Batra about this (or for more information can call Lalit at 9899091413) I am pasting the message from members of the faculty (Bina Sriniviasand and Shivji Panickkar) that Lalit circulated below. Although everyone on this list is by now familiar with this story, this notice does have details of the sections of the penal code under which Chandramohan is being charged - Sections 153A and 114, along with Section 295. I would urge everyone to pay attention especially to the wonderful alliance between VHP activists and Christian priests in Gujarat, against the freedom of expression of a student. Further, here are some details about the relevant sections: Section 153A: Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc, commiting acts prejudicial to the harmony of the public According to the section whoever by words or expression promotes enmity between different groups of the country on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, or any such grounds or commits an act which is prejudicial to the harmony of he public is culpable under the section with imprisonment which may extend to three years with or without fine. Further, when the offence is committed on any religious place or any place worship the imprisonment can extend to 5 years with or without fine. The offence is non-bailable and even cognizable (after 1898) ie. Police can arrest a person under the section without warrant. Section 295: Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as a insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. Section 295A: Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs 295A. Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. Section 114 is about abetment and presence when any crime is being committed. As a close reading of these sections would suggest, the problem lies not only with the act, but also with the idea of intention. The problem is, Chandramohan's lawyers can at best argue that his actions are not evidence of his intentions. However, an artist is such only because his actions have deliberation. Thus, to save Chandramohan the person from a prison sentence, his lawyers might have to jettison Chandramohan's identity as an artist. Such an argument, given the circumstances that the images in question were made for an exam of the fine arts department, may be impossible, or at the very least, difficult to sustain, The reason that distinguishes between the scrawls made by a chimpanzee and an abstract expressionist has to do with the idea of intention. To protect Chandramohan's act as an instance of un0 malicious behavious, it has to be freed from the matrix of artistic intention. We cannot really quarrel about the purport of the intention, because the onus of proving hurt, has to do not with the hurter, but with the hurtee. Hurt, is a subjective feeling, and as long as the hurt say that they feel their pain, we are in no position to debate whether their pain or humiliation is real or imagined. There cannot, in fact be, imagined or feigned pain, because a court is in no position to measure the intensity of feeling on any given issue. Thus when a person says that their religious sensibilities are hurt, a court has to listen, (if the injury to sensibilities is mentioned as a cause of harm). Chandramohan cannot say that he intended to cause pain. He can only say that he intended to cause meaning to be read into his actions. If someone says that they read meaning in his actions in a manner that caused them pain, there is very little that Chandramohan or his lawyers can say in defence against such a charge The only thing that can be debated is the question of whether or not there was 'intention'in the first place. As an artist, Chandramohan cannot run away from intention. Therefore the only recourse that anyone wishing to protect the freedom of speech in this case is to subject the law itself to criticism, not to speculate about whether it's application in this case is an instance of its misreading. This means arguing for a straightforward assault on sections 153 and 295. The only way that an artist or a writer's freedom of speech can be protected against religious zealots is through a complete and total repeal of sections 153 and 295. Having said that, arguing for these provisions to be struck down also means accepting the right of the Hindutva forces to insult and (through speech acts, signs, and visual representations) humiliate and attack people of other religions and convictions. I have no problem with that, but many who will rightly condemn the freedom of Chandramohan to act as he has done, will also call for bans on the 'hate speech' of those who have moved the machinery of law and order against him. Let it be understood that to do that will only invite further assaults on the freedom of art students like Chandramohan in the future. Meanwhile, I would urge everyone to attend as many meetings and protests, as possible on this issue, and make people aware of the draconian nature of sections 153 and 295. best Shuddha Dear All, You are all aware of the latest Sangh Parivar offensive against the democratic rights of the students and Faculty members of the well known Fine Arts Faculty of Baroda, M.S.University. The Fine Arts Faculty is one of the best institutions within the M.S.University, which has managed to retain high academic standards, in the face of the general academic deterioration within the University. The recent incident of hooliganism and blatant bullying unleashed by the Sangh Parivar has sent shock waves all over the country. It took place on Wednesday, 9th May 2007, at around 3 p.m. As part of the examination procedure underway in the Faculty, students are supposed to put up their works which are to be assessed by external examiners who come in from outside the city for this purpose. Accordingly, students had put up their installations around the Faculty campus. Some of these installations, (graphic prints) by Chandra Mohan attracted the wrath of the BJP leader Neeraj Jain, who barged into the campus with a bunch of goons and started disrupting the atmosphere, using abusive language and mouthing threats. They roughed up the Chandra Mohan and accused him of offending their religious sentiments, saying that he had portrayed Durga Mata in an obscene way. Not by any stretch of imagination did the prints actually portray any goddess. Under the leadership of Neeraj Jain (who had incidentally played a very dubious role in the May 2006 riots that followed the demolition of a 200 year old dargah in the heart of the city), and with the police in tow, they took Chandra Mohan and a friend of his away to the Sayajiganj police station. Shivji Panickkar, the acting Dean of the Fine Arts Faculty, was also threatened with dire consequences by Neeraj Jain and his goons. Chandra Mohan's friend was released later, but he was himself charged under sections 153 and 114. Later, on 10th May, when the bail application came up for hearing, two more charges were slapped on him, namely, Section 295 A and 295 B, and he was taken under judicial custody, and moved to the Central Jail. By now, Christian fundamentalists had joined hands with the Hindutvavadis. Alongwith the VHP and BJP crowds, reportedly, there were at least 40 priests in the court when Chandra Mohan's bail application came up for hearing. The priests were objecting to some painting to do with a cross - which, they thought offended their religious feelings. In the meantime, Shivji Panickkar met the Vice Chancellor, who basically, wanted him to make a statement that was nothing short of an apology for putting up offensive installations. Panickkar refused to do so. After this, the students submitted a statement expressing thier concern over such tactics, and with a set of their demands, which included police bandobast for the Faculty. Reportedly, Neeraj Jain barged into the Vice Chancellor's office on the same day, and threatened that he would make sure that the entire city would shut down if a single case is registered against him. As of now, all efforts are on to get Chandra Mohan released. However, what is of grave concern in this entire unfolding of events is the fascist agendas that underly the actions of the likes of Neeraj Jain. Citizenship and democratic rights face a grave crisis in the State of Gujarat and elsewhere. The nexus between the police and elements of the Sangh Parivar is so clearly established (it has been so since 2002) and it is also clear that fascist tactics affect everybody. In this instance, it is not only a matter for the artist community to agitate about. It is for ALL of us to sit up and take notice of what is going on in the name of religion. If we do not counter these tactics NOW, we are all going to be crushed sooner or later, either in our work arenas or within the confines of our homes. The dangers of giving in to or being cowed down by these forces cannot be underestimated. THE FACULTY OF FINE ARTS HAS PLANNED A LARGE DEMONSTRATION FOR 14TH MAY 2007, MONDAY WHERE ARTISTS, LAWYERS, DOCTORS, ORDINARY CITIZENS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WILL GET TOGETHER IN PROTEST AGAINST SUCH GAGGING OF EXPRESSION AND VIOLATION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS. PLEASE DO COME FOR THE DEMONSTRATION, AND MOTIVATE OTHERS TO JOIN IT. THE TIME TO ACT IS UPON US, WE CANNOT ABDICATE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY, OURSELVES AND THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS. VENUE: FINE ARTS FACULTY, M.S.UNIVERSITY , FATEHGANJ, BARODA TIME: 2 PM ONWARDS CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: BINA SRINIVASAN: 9879377280 SHIVJI PANICKKAR: 9898403097 Best Bina PS: pls. circulate this email to as many people as possible. Thanks. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Foil-l mailing list Foil-l at insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/foil-l_insaf.net From shuddha at sarai.net Sat May 12 18:54:45 2007 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 18:54:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Baroda, Immanel Kant and the Indian Penal Code Message-ID: <4645C01D.4010909@sarai.net> (apologies for cross posting on the Reader List, Commons law and www.kafila.org) Dear All, This is in continuation of my earlier posting about the incident at the MS University at Vadodara and the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. It is one of the wonderful properties of South Asian subcontinental life that reality is always better adorned than fiction would have it. And so it is that along with Mr. Niraj Jain, (a purported Bajrang Dal leader who also contested the Vadodara civic body elections on a BJP ticket), the other guardian of public morality who protested against the art student Chandra Mohan's work in a departmental exhibition at the Fine Arts Faculty at MS University Baroda happens to be a pastor with the Methodist Church, most appropriately named the Rev. Emmaneul Kant. See, a report on the Vadodara incident in the Vadodara City page of Indian Express 'BJP Men rough up fine arts student'(Express News Service, May 9) at http://cities.expressindia.com/archivefullstory.php?newsid=235608&creation_date=2007-05-10 Apart from the fact that this incident shows a beautiful secular synergy between majoritarian and minoritarian interests (thereby confusing all those who spend most of their time worrying about majoritarian communalism, especially when it comes to the province of Gujarat), there has to be adequate recognition, I think of the magical facticity in knowing that a protest against a work of art is being led (at least in part) by an Emmanuel Kant. For all those familiar with the Vadodara pastor's distinguished Konigsbergian philosopher namesake, Emmanuel (or Immanuel) Kant's 'Critique of Judgement' (a book that continues to be influential enough in discussions of contemporary aesthetic practice and thought to be seen hovering around the curatorial mandate of Documenta 12 and other serious matters like a spirit that got stuck in limbo after a mistimed seance), the delicate ironies of this haunting of the Vadodara controversy by the ghost of Kant cannot be escaped. In his Critique of Judgement,(and I quote, for the sake of convenience, from the excellent, online entry in the Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy) http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/kantaest.htm Kant can be found paraphrased as saying : "through aesthetic judgments, beautiful objects appear to be 'purposive without purpose' (sometimes translated as 'final without end'). An object's purpose is the concept according to which it was made (the concept of a vegetable soup in the mind of the cook, for example); an object is purposive if it appears to have such a purpose; if, in other words, it appears to have been made or designed. But it is part of the experience of beautiful objects, Kant argues, that they should affect us as if they had a purpose, although no particular purpose can be found." Now a Kantian, confronted with Chandramohan's work, Jain & Kant led protests, and the sections 153 and 295 of the Indian Penal Code, would not be in any position to wriggle out of the problem of 'aesthetic intention'. If Chandramohan is an artist, his work would affect us as if they had a purpose, even if no particular purpose were to be found. The only legal solution available under the Indian legal system, in my opinion, is for Chandramohan to say that he is not an artist, but a mere impostor, and that his work, is not purposive, or intentional, but the mere outpouring of a distracted, and demented mind. What I am suggesting, is the insanity defence, as used in a murder trial. In other words the - 'My Lord, my client was not of sound mind, he did not know what he was doing, when he shot the plaintiff's aged mother' maneouvre. If Chandramohan is an artist, then the courts will look at intention. And as in a murder trial, the calibration of intention can lead to a degree of dimunition of a sentence from homicide to manslaughter, but cannot do away with the fact of the offence. I say this neither to attack Chandramohan's work, nor to defend his practice (although I have no doubt in my mind that the freedome of expression is a higher good than artistic quality or religious sensibility). I say this only to underscore the problems of aesthetic intention, ethical conduct and legal judgement that this case seems to have thrown open, perhaps at the instance of the long neglected spectre of the venerable I(E)mmanel Kant From tasveerghar at gmail.com Sun May 13 11:36:14 2007 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 11:36:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Welcome_=96_Swagatam_=96_Good_Morn?= =?windows-1252?q?ing_-_Namasteji?= Message-ID: <484c1050705122306j3785d7dfo431c1fcb60adeb5b@mail.gmail.com> "Just how much 'meaning' is it possible to tease out of a set of kitschy Indian 'welcome' posters, the new year's display of calendar art?" "Quite a lot, it seems, if one is alerted to the semiotic code and stylistic conventions of Indian calendar art, and the peculiarities of the industry that produces it. There is much there, too, to engage a feminist sensibility, for women are very prominently figured in this medium, whether for better or for worse." Tasveer Ghar (the House of Images) invites you all to our latest virtual gallery of popular art entitled "Welcome – Swagatam – Good Morning…" featuring selected images from the amazing collection of calendar art by Patricia Uberoi, especially focusing on the Welcome posters of India. You can visit the text and images of the gallery at the following link: http://www.tasveerghar.net/welcome Another related gallery that you may like to see features the "Hindu Nationalist Greeting Cards", curated by Christiane Brosius: http://www.tasveerghar.net/hgreet We would be happy to receive your feedback and brickbats about our new galleries. We also invite you to be a part of these virtual galleries by contributing examples of popular art such as the "Welcome" calendars from your own collection or vicinity. Visit www.tasveerghar.net for more details. Tasveer Ghar team From rana at ranadasgupta.com Sun May 13 20:36:09 2007 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 20:36:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The future of wireless? Message-ID: <46472961.5060907@ranadasgupta.com> Two articles from Apr 26th 2007 edition of The Economist showing just how radical is the imagination of wireless technologies. A company incapacitates your car remotely when your finances dwindle? Chips inside your body to get into a nightclub? The Economist chooses to be upbeat about such developments, which in some ways may be the only choice. But how one operates in the diminished zones of invisibility will require some creativity, perhaps. R Wireless incorporated Gizmos are starting to be slipped inside people THE Baja Beach Club in Barcelona is an unlikely demonstration model for wireless technology. Bikini-clad waitresses serve drinks to guests as a DJ mixes music from a motorboat perched above the dance floor. But the club made headlines three years ago when it introduced a unique form of entry ticket to its VIP area: a microchip implanted in the patron's arm. Slightly larger than a grain of rice and enrobed in glass and silicon, the chip is used to identify people when they enter and pay for drinks. It is injected by a nurse with an intimidating syringe under a local anaesthetic. In essence, it is an RFID tag. If a special tag-reader is waved near the arm, a radio signal prompts the chip to transmit an identification number which is used to call up information about the wearer in a computer database. Otherwise the chip is dormant. The “intelligence” of the system is in the computer, not the capsule. It is the first time that chips have been placed in humans as a means of identification and payment, gushes Conrad Chase, the club's co-owner, who came up with the idea and was the first volunteer to be “tagged”. “I know a lot of people have fears about it,” he says. But he points out that many people already have piercings and tattoos. “Having a radio-transmitting chip under your skin makes you very unique,” he says wryly. All this for a mojito might seem a bit extreme—which for a night club is precisely the point. Even so, take-up has been low: only 94 people have been tagged in Barcelona and 70 at another Baja club in Rotterdam. But as go the bohemians, so, eventually, go the rest of us. CityWatcher.com, an American firm that provides video surveillance in cities, has experimented with tagging two employees to give them access to areas where sensitive data are stored. VeriChip, another American company that sells chips and readers, provides it to hospitals to manage patients (though only around 200 people have so far raised their arm to get one). The idea of tagging immigrant workers in the United States has been brought up in Congress. There is much more to come. As wireless technology improves, it is not only getting attached to machinery and embedded in the environment, but slipping under people's skin as well. And RFID capsules are small fry. There are far more advanced wireless medical devices that measure body functions and transmit the information from the skin surface or from inside the body. As the huge cohort of baby-boomers grows older and becomes more interested in preventive medicine, people now aged 50 or younger are quite likely to have some form of wireless gizmo attached or implanted in their lifetime. Wireless technology has been used in medicine for decades. Pacemakers rely on a basic wireless system to set a stable heartbeat. Ultrasound and X-ray technologies are wireless. But as microchips become more powerful, devices shrink and battery life is extended, a host of companies are vying to take wireless technology deep into the human body. Some wireless devices are ingested. Others are implanted. Some are attached to the body and linked to a network. It is still early days, but the systems are improving fast. “The basic technology to make these things happen exists; the big issue is how to make this economically viable,” says Maarten Barmentlo, the chief technology officer of Philips's consumer health-care division. Inside story Already a gaggle of gadgets is available for specialised uses. Take the PillCam, developed by Given Imaging in Israel, a tiny two-sided camera the size of a very large pill which patients swallow. It has been used in more than half a million gastro-intestinal endoscopy tests since 2001. One version is used to diagnose disorders of the oesophagus and another for those of the small intestine. It snaps a pre-set number of pictures per second and sends them wirelessly to a data recorder worn on the patient's waist. The images are downloaded to a computer for diagnosis. The $450 capsule passes through the bowel naturally and is flushed down the toilet. This method lets people go about their normal business for most of the eight-hour test, during which up to 50,000 images are generated. It marks a vast improvement on an older technique that involves pushing a long tube through a patient's digestive tract. Although that procedure allows doctors to take tissue samples, it is uncomfortable and risks irritating the tract. Now Given Imaging is in clinical trials with a wireless camera for inspecting the colon, and is developing another for the stomach. The company faces competition from Olympus, a Japanese camera-maker, which is using similar technology. Other wireless systems are implanted in the body. Medtronic, a large medical-device-maker, is developing many products that use wireless communications. Last year it won regulatory approval for an implantable defibrillator that links up with hospital equipment or a home monitoring device. Along with three other companies—CardioMEMS, St Jude Medical and Remon Medical Technologies—Medtronic is racing to market a device for congestive heart failure, which afflicts many millions of people worldwide. Once implanted, the device will measure pressure and fluid inside a patient's heart and wirelessly send the data to an external unit. With regular monitoring, patients will be alerted to abnormalities at an early stage. There are two ways of making the wireless work, marking a division in the industry about the future of wireless technology in health care. Medtronic and St Jude currently make large-matchbox-sized devices—in essence, miniaturised computers—that are implanted in the chest and connected to the heart with leads, but can be interrogated wirelessly from outside the body by a reader at close quarters. A more novel approach involves either radio waves or ultrasound technology. CardioMEMS uses radio-frequency technology, activating the chip in the implanted device by a reader that sends a burst of energy (like an RFID tag) to which the device responds with the heart-pressure information. Remon relies on a form of ultrasound that transmits energy to power the chip and prompt it to send back its pressure readings. Because the electromagnetic frequencies it uses are low, the reader can be farther away. All four companies' heart-failure devices are still at the trial stage. In March Medtronic suffered a setback when a panel at America's Food and Drug Administration rejected its device, called Chronicle, because the trial data showed it to be insufficiently effective. Meanwhile, Remon is applying its technology to what it calls “intra-body wireless communications”. By dividing up the signal, this allows several devices inside the body to relay information to each other or to a receiver without interference, just as a radio can be tuned to different stations. So an implanted glucose-level reader in one part of the body could communicate with an implanted insulin-pump elsewhere, says Hezi Himelfarb, the boss of Remon. Such scenarios are not so far from being realised. Sensors for Medicine and Science (SMSI) is developing a glucose sensor to be placed just under the skin of the forearm that connects to a watch-like wireless reader. This will probably become the most common way of deploying the technology: not by surgery deep into the body, but by inserting a sensor below the skin that can last for months or years, and having a wireless reader nearby. This is the method used by Thomas Ferrell of the University of Tennessee, who has developed an implantable capsule that measures ethanol concentration in the blood. He says it could be used by alcoholics who volunteer for monitoring as an alternative to prison. The technology, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is currently being tested in animals. Dr Ferrell expects it to become available commercially within two years. Listen to me Earlier Dr Ferrell spearheaded a DARPA initiative to create a tiny chip that would fit into a person's ear and monitor vital signs such as body temperature, pulse and blood pressure. The work was put on ice five years ago because of the huge cost of developing the technology that was available at the time. But now that the cost has fallen and the technology improved, the project is becoming feasible. Later this year the work is due to be resurrected by a start-up, Senior Vitals, to produce sensors for monitoring elderly people. The technology to monitor people's vital signs already exists: NASA does it for astronauts in flight. But for the moment there is no business model for applying it on the ground, no IT system to manage it and no company that could carry out the work. As with M2M communications, any system would have to be tailor-made, which would make it very expensive. And as with other wireless devices, powering the electronics is a problem. But companies are beginning to show interest in the sector. Adi Gan of Evergreen Venture Partners, a venture-capital fund in Israel, says that numerous business plans in this area have crossed his desk in recent months. He sees a lot of promise. For example, a doctor might implant a sensor during surgery to offer far better post-operative monitoring and care. When the patient comes for a follow-up visit, the doctor's reader would power the chip, which would provide medical information. Tiny devices could even be used for treating diseases. They might be powered wirelessly to, say, burn new cancer cells in an area that had previously been treated. Such uses of wireless seem far removed from the mobile phones which vast numbers of people carry with them at all times. But there is a connection. As the use of wireless medical devices grows, the best way of collecting the data and sending them to a remote monitoring centre may turn out to be the patient's mobile phone, which will be close enough to receive data from the low-powered implanted device. It could be the critical bit of infrastructure between wireless communications in the body and the global internet. Just when people are starting to think of the mobile phone as a wallet, they find that it is becoming the family doctor too. Mobile-phone operators understand the potential. South Korean and Japanese carriers are experimenting with technologies that let people monitor their heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs with home devices and transmit the data using a phone. Philips and GE are adding wireless technology to patients' home-monitoring devices. Yet today's mobile networks are not sufficiently reliable for anything other than non-critical uses, according to a study in 2005 from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. And the operators' current pricing models are a major barrier, says Matt Welsh of Harvard University, who is developing sensors for the continuous monitoring of vital signs. For now the advances are largely coming from the IT industry, not the medical sector, which is noted for its conservatism. Whereas pharmaceutical firms are starting to use RFID tags on medicine packages as an anti-counterfeiting measure, other companies are working to put RFID tags onto individual pills. In January Kodak filed for a patent on an edible RFID tag which could be used, for example, to examine the digestive tract or check whether a patent has taken his medication. It all seems a long way from the Baja Beach Club, where Mr Chase goes about his nightly routine. He reviews images from security cameras, some of which are wireless, and then locks an office with keys using a wireless ID system that records who enters where and when. The geeky stuff is his doing, but then he has form. Back in the 1980s, long before opening his nightclub, he served in the US Army Signal Corps, working on the ARPANET, the military precursor to the internet. When everything connects Information technology has nothing to lose but its cables THE wireless was once a big, wood-panelled machine glowing faintly in the corner of the living-room. Today's wireless device is the sleek mobile phone nestling in your pocket. In coming years wireless will vanish entirely from view, as communications chips are embedded in a host of everyday objects. Such chips, and the networks that link them together, could yet prove to be the most potent wireless of them all. Just as microprocessors have been built into everything in the past few decades, so wireless communications will become part of objects big and small. The possibilities are legion. Gizmos and gadgets will talk to other devices—and be serviced and upgraded from afar. Sensors on buildings and bridges will run them efficiently and ensure they are safe. Wireless systems on farmland will measure temperature and humidity and control irrigation systems. Tags will certify the origins and distribution of food and the authenticity of medicines. Tiny chips on or in people's bodies will send vital signs to clinics to help keep them healthy. The end of the line The computing revolution was about information—digitising documents, photographs and records so that they could more easily be manipulated. The wireless-communications revolution is about making digital information about anything available anywhere at almost no cost. No longer tied down by wires and cables, more information about more things will get to the place where it is most valuable. For the moment, the mobile phone is stealing the show. It is evolving from a simple phone into a wallet, keychain, health monitor and navigation device. But as mobile-phone technology matures, even more innovation is taking place in areas of wireless that link things only metres or millimetres apart. For that, thank the cross-breeding of Marconi's radio and the microprocessor. Etched into silicon, the radio is starting to benefit from the dramatic decreases in size and cost and the huge increase in performance that have recently propelled computing. Satellite-navigation chips today cost as little as a dollar apiece. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags can be made so tiny that they fit into the groove of a thumb-print. When power can be wirelessly routed to such devices, something that is not far off, all the pieces will be in place. Wireless brings countless benefits, as our special report in this issue describes. Devices and objects can be monitored or controlled at a distance. Huge amounts of data that were once impossible or too expensive to collect will become the backbone of entirely new services. Wireless communications should boost productivity just as information technology has. Imagine how wireless communications could change motoring. Carmakers are starting to monitor vehicles so that they know when to replace parts before they fail, based on changes in vibration or temperature. If there is a crash, wireless chips could tell the emergency services where to come, what has happened and if anyone is hurt. Traffic information can be instantaneous and perfectly accurate. They administer tolls based on precise routes. One American firm leases cars to people with bad credit who cannot get a loan, knowing that if payments are missed it can block the ignition and find the car to repossess it. British insurers offer policies with premiums based on precisely when and where a person drives. Of course, plenty of work will be needed before wireless communications can realise their promise. The first obstacle is novelty. As is usual in the early days of a new industry, all kinds of proprietary systems abound, many of them built from scratch—rather as early computer hackers fiddled with their Altairs in the mid-1970s. Until common standards and protocols emerge for machine-to-machine and wireless sensor communications, costs will be a problem. It is not yet clear who will bang heads together to set standards. Today's mobile-phone businesses may be too busy getting people to talk to bother much about talking machines. Sony Ericsson and Nokia, two giants of the mobile-phone industry, have in recent years sold their machine-to-machine divisions. Mobile operators see the new field as such a small part of their overall business that it gets relegated to the back-burner. That has left an opening for fleet-footed firms from computing, as well as industrial conglomerates, such as Samsung, Philips, Honeywell and Hitachi. Just this week, General Electric's sensing division said it wanted to use wireless sensors in industries as diverse as drugs and petrochemicals. Government will play a crucial role, not least because radio spectrum will be in short supply. That makes it more important than ever that the airwaves are sensibly allocated according to the ability to pay. Special “reserves” and unlicensed spectrum could be put aside for emerging technologies that lack financial or political clout. And politicians and business people would do well to keep an eye on the health risks of electromagnetic radiation. No serious evidence yet suggests it is a danger—but the nonsense over genetically modified foods shows how much a new technology needs popular approval. Change is in the air A greater concern in the long term is privacy. Today's laws often assume that privacy is guaranteed by a pact between consumer and company, or citizen and state. In a world where many networks interconnect on the fly and information is widely shared, that will not work. At a minimum, wireless networks should let users know when they are being monitored. But for the moment the danger is surely too much regulation, not too little. It is hard for anyone—politicians most of all—to picture how wireless will be used, just as it was with electric motors and microprocessors, two earlier stand-alone technologies that have been built into a plethora of devices. Wireless technology will become a part of objects in the next 50 years rather as electric motors appeared in everything from eggbeaters to elevators in the first half of the 20th century and computers colonised all kinds of machinery from cars to coffee machines in the second half. Occasionally, the results will be frightening; more often, they will be amazingly useful. From amitabh at sarai.net Sat May 12 20:34:04 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 20:34:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] barodascape. Message-ID: "I dare anyone to file a complaint or take legal action against me. I will shut down entire Vadodara tomorrow" - BJP Leader, Niraj Jain. There is an obvious threat that the established feels with the emergence of the new. The threat of being forgotten, of obsolescence. Of the familiar turning strange. Of not having any tropes through which we engage with what lies ahead. This fear of the unknown is a fairly familiar threat. The question is, how does one engage with this? It's this insecurity that fuel's the cultural police and is exactly what has been happening in Baroda. A group that feels very strongly about 'their' tradition and culture is reacting to events that are de-stabilizing it. They assume the roles of the absolute custodians of a certain cultural history. What gives them this right? And then on the flip side what doesn't give us the right to stake claim to our own culture and emphasizing that. A battle of rights would seem like a perfectly legitimate one to be fought, wouldn't it? A million battles could be then fought for the rights of many cultures and sub cultures. Drama and counter drama. A million loops. "Some people think the erotica is very much new and individualistic in "Modern Art", but this exhibition will prove that it has always been there in Indian Traditional Art practices." - The exhibition note of "Let us see the Indian Tradition", an exhibition put up by the students of the fine arts faculty on May11 in the aftermath of the Annual Fine Arts display being shut off after the intervention of BJP leader Niraj Jain and his apparent displeasure and anger over the work of one the student's of the faculty . The fine arts exhibition attempts to destabilize the rights that Niraj Jain stakes to a cultural history, by throwing light on the fact that nudity and a certain degree of profanity has always been part of the Indian culture. Commendable for being done under such short notice. But will this quieten the aggressor down? Or fuel his already pathetic desperation for control ? Is the way we engage with a bully so simplistic that we feel nothing but threatened and victimized? Probably one way to reign in free thought and exercise control over the production of culture is to control the dissent within the system. Rather the form of dissent within the system. The tangent of the reaction should always be predictable. The threat to those in control or those who'd like to think that they are in control is not simply the threat of conflict of a group publicly disagreeing with them. It is the unpredictability of the reaction that they cannot intercede against. Which is what is happening in the faculty of fine arts is an unsettling reminder of the current state of the affairs. Niraj Jain's actions and the art communities response fall well within the bounds of the predictable. It is not a threat. To those in real power, Chandu is simply exercising some use of the elbowroom that they have allotted him. The system remains intact. Infact, consumership may even be energized by the ordeal. It's when you stop being a predictable little consumer of the consumer world (material and cultural consumption of disposable goods and thoughts and words) that you are a threat. I refuse to create a martyr of Chandramohan Srilamantula and fight for his freedom. It is not his freedom that really concerns me. Neither does him creating images that might offend some religious sentiments seem to bother me. What gets to me are two things. The blatancy with which a certain section of society seems to control the culture that they live in. And the complete impotency and ineptness with which we, more importantly I, seem to relate to it and understand it. The issue that surrounds us right now is much bigger than anyone incident or event. Although these events serve as milestones of something that has been snowballing ever since. It is not exclusive to a region or a culture, but to all cultures and places. Let us look back at the events that have happened since Chandu's arrest. The BJP flexes it's rippling muscles and snarls. The university dismisses the faculty as if it were its bastard child. The faculty replies with a signed petition to the apparently powerless and impotent university authorities, to lodge an FIR against the aggressor. The aggressor blatantly threatens the university with dire actions if they switch to lawful means to counter him. The artist is still in prison with more than one charge against his name. The scenes get played out such that they have a faint echo of comedies of the past. Is this the first time that the religious sentiments seem to have been threatened? Is this the first time that the artist's license has come under scrutiny? Why are we consistently missing the point of that which is happening and will go on unless the right questions are asked? Why do we, as artists and creative persons, fail to see beyond our practice and the implications of what just happened? It is true that what had happened was the blatant hijacking of culture by force. But are there other tools? Who has the right to produce culture? Who can stake claim to it? Who is the vigilante and who the goonda? Is it always as simple?What is acceptable.? Can thoughts be censored? Can the translation of thoughts be censored? I do not how the events will unfold. In all probability a hero and a villain will emerge. The Gods and Goondas will be created from different perspectives and things would be so simple from so many different corners that it would eventually die a respectful quiet death. Should it ? -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070512/c652855f/attachment.html From abshi at vsnl.com Fri May 11 23:58:18 2007 From: abshi at vsnl.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 23:58:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: The Free Chandramohan Committee: Public Meeting, 12 May 2007 Message-ID: <0JHW00K6I3B5H1C0@fe1.internal.vsnl.net> Forwarded message ---------- From: Art Date: May 11, 2007 4:02 PM The Free Chandramohan Committee: Public Meeting, 12 May 2007 The Free Chandramohan Committee will hold a public meeting on Saturday, 12 May 2007, at 6 pm at Gallery Chemould Prescott Road, to protest against the arrest of the young artist Chandramohan by the Baroda police earlier this week. The meeting will be addressed by a number of speakers, among them noted cultural activists, commentators, film-makers, lawyers and artists, who will express solidarity with Chandramohan and draw up practical measures to secure his release. Among other issues, the meeting will discuss the ways by which the constitutional safeguards can be implemented, as well as legal redress by which the onus in cases of alleged incitement of communal disharmony can be placed squarely on demagogues who distort artworks for their own political ends. More significantly, a lunatic fringe cannot claim monopoly over public space. Let us resolve not to cedepublic space to the forces of intolerance. Equally importantly, we must re-assert our claim, as citizens, to the resources of iconography - to which image-makers and storytellers of every kind have always had a right. Iconography is not the preserve of a few self-appointed custodians of religion alone. Date: 12 May 2007 (Saturday) Time: 6 pm Place: Gallery Chemould Prescott Road Queens Mansion (3rd Floor) A K Naik Marg Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Phones: 91 22 22000211, 91 22 22000212, 91 22 22000213 Email: gallerychemould at gmail.com * An Outrage in Baroda An intolerable violation of cultural and academic freedom by communal forces took place in Baroda on Wednesday, 9 May 2007, when a group of Vishwa Hindu Parishad goons led by local BJP leader Niraj Jain stormed into the campus of the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda. Breaking into the annual display of the final year students, the goons abused and attacked a student, Chandramohan, claiming that they found his works obscene and offensive to religious sentiments. The police, entering the campus, arrested Chandramohan without a proper warrant and without consulting the Faculty of Fine Arts, while allowing the inflammatory Jain and his goons to go free. Later, Jain was cordially received by the Vice-Chancellor of the University. This august functionary has not only refused to register a First Information Report against Jain, but has also refused to extend any assistance to Chandramohan. Indeed, the Vice-Chancellor has demanded that the student and the Dean of the Faculty of Fine arts should apologise to Jain. Chandramohan is now being held by the police while a charge-sheet is being prepared. He has been charged with various non-bailable offences, including the attempt to incite communal disharmony and public obscenity. This constitutes a straightforward violation of a young artist's right to express himself. It is also a grave case of the invasion of academic space by the police. Had such an incident taken place in Dhaka or Islamabad, we would all have been protesting against the dictatorial ways of authority. * Questions before Us The Baroda outrage raises serious questions about the State's ability, or even desire, to protect the cultural freedoms of individuals. We strongly condemn all attempts on the part of communal forces to violate cultural freedoms. The Baroda outrage takes on an ominous colour, given the history of infringements of artistic freedom during the last two decades, especially the campaign of vilification and persecution launched against M F Husain, and the rise of a chilling intolerance. Can we allow India to become an illiberal democracy, guided by competing populisms? Surely the onus, in such cases, should be on the people who create communal disharmony, using a cultural work as their pretext, and not on artists? _____ Free & easy posting . Free & easy posting . Yello Classifieds. _____ _______________________________________________ Nwm_mumbai mailing list Nwm_mumbai at puggy.symonds.net http://puggy.symonds.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nwm_mumbai -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/7fa75d50/attachment.html From amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com Fri May 11 13:05:59 2007 From: amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 13:05:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Press Release from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda. Message-ID: On the 9th of May 2007, Wednesday, outside elements forced their way into the premises of the Faculty of Fine Arts at 3.30pm and caused not only immediate closure of the examination work that was underway but got the police to take the MVA final year student Chandra Mohan into custody. They resorted to abusive language, threat of bodily harm and despite all this were allowed to go scott-free. It is a matter of great concern to us. Unfortunately we are now under pressure to offer apologies for permitting display of the allegedly offensive paintings. We the undersigned are firmly of the view that whether we like it or not an artist has the right to express unconventional views in a work of art. The intention of the said works were not to hurt anybody's sentiments but to examine taboos in the light of creative investigation. *They were certainly not intended to cause hurt or outrage to any public sentiment whatsoever. Besides, they were not part of a public exhibition. If anyone felt that any work 'offends' their sensibility it could have been brought to the notice of the authorities without resorting to abusive, indiscriminate and uncalled for behavior. In the unfortunate circumstances if any published image, seen out of the context, has caused hurt to anybody it is regretted.* It is pertinent to state that the said works were part of the final year annual display. The display is part of the annual examination process and an internal academic matter of the faculty over many years and not an aberration in the academic procedures of the Faculty. Hence the disruption caused is an attempt not only to disrupt the process of evaluation but designed to undermine the stature and autonomy of an educational institute of international repute. There were attempts on the part of Mr. Niraj Jain and the mob accompanying him to paint the pictures as "anti Gujarat" and to inflame passions so as to cause maximum damage. It may also be noted that these very people were seen to be moving around with impunity, threatening and abusing students and teachers. *This is a cruel irony in view of the fact that it is the Faculty of Fine Arts that has made substantial contributions toward placing Gujarat and Baroda on the international cultural scene along with making equally substantial contributions in enriching the local environment*. It should be categorically stated that Mr. Niraj Jain did not want to discuss anything peacefully with the Faculty authorities and was, in fact, aggressively contemptuous of them. He came with the intention to cause disruption and breach of peace. This amounts to willful disruption of the examination process and wanton violation of the autonomy and sanctity of the Faculty of Fine Arts. The action constitutes an assault on the core values of the University or for that matter of any academic institution in a democratic country like India. If situations such as the above are allowed to prevail, it would not only undermine the fundamental freedom provided to us by the Constitution but also render it impossible for the faculty and its departments to function independently and meaningfully. -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/1ca544b1/attachment.html From amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com Fri May 11 20:36:00 2007 From: amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 20:36:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] more on baroda.Fwd: Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: dilip chobisa Date: May 11, 2007 8:12 PM Subject: Fwd: Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture To: anuj poddar , amitkumarjain78 at gmail.com, atreyeegupta at gmail.com, av22_smile at yahoo.com, Amitabh Kumar < amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com>, atleast.atul at gmail.com, Jo-ann Palaganas < jph0enix at yahoo.com>, Rituu A Kamath , prabhakar alok < prabhakaralok15 at gmail.com>, "bomboleni at yahoo.com" , bgurjar at rediffmail.com, Sameer Bakshi , Neha Bhargava < neha24mayo at gmail.com>, Scott G , bhavna kakar < bhavnakakar at gmail.com>, bhavini zaveri , govind biswas < biswas.govind at gmail.com>, Supriya Consul , snehal chaudhary , chetan malvi , Rahul D , foram thakore , my friends < noreply-orkut at google.com>, garima pandya , geoffery peter , itsneha..singh at gmail.com, inlaks at del2.vsnl.net.in, Manoo ShahulNair J , jasminevarma , joann.palaganas at gmail.com, shubhra joshi , John Brawny Joy , jerin jacob 09943254138 , kapil wasnotborn < minimalcapil at gmail.com>, sabyasachi mazumder , vishwa shroff , Nazia Muhib , mitul at gmail.com, mathew at rpg.in, noopurdes at gmail.com, shambhushastri at gmail.com, sameness.deleted at gmail.com, "sowmya.......... ..." , shakshi - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tara Lal Date: May 11, 2007 7:28 PM Subject: Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture To: mort at chatterjeeandlal.com *Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture* In a grimly ironic turn of events following the 9 May arrest, without a proper warrant, of Chandramohan, a final-year fine arts student at the M S University, Baroda, the self-appointed custodians of Hindu culture have now demanded the closure of an exhibition showing the vital role of the erotic in Hindu sacred art. Earlier today, 11 May, students of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the M S University put up an exhibition of reproductions of images drawn from across 2500 years of Indian art. In a silent protest against the brutality with which their fellow student has been treated for exhibiting works that BJP and VHP activists claim are offensive and obscene, the students put up pictures of the Gudimallam Shiva, perhaps the earliest known Shiva image, which combines the lingam with an anthropomorphic form; a Kushan mukha-linga or masked lingam; Lajja-gouris from Ellora and Orissa, resplendent in their fecund nakedness; erotic statuary from Modhera, Konark and Khajuraho; as well as Raga-mala paintings from Rajasthan. All these images, among the finest produced through the centuries in the subcontinent, celebrate the sensuous and the passionate dimensions of existence – which, in the Hindu world-view, are inseparably twinned with the austere and the contemplative. This treasure of Hindu sacred art did not win the favour of the establishment. The Pro Vice Chancellor issued a verbal request that the exhibition be closed, which the Dean of the Fine Arts Faculty, Dr Shivaji Panikkar, ignored. A written order followed, and was similarly ignored. The Pro Vice Chancellor then arrived at the venue, accompanied by some members of the Syndicate of the University. They requested Dr Panikkar to close down the exhibition, then ordered him to do so. When it became clear that the Dean would not bend to their will, they had the exhibition locked. It appears that the champions of a resurgent Hindu identity are acutely embarrassed by the presence of the erotic at the centre of Hindu sacred art. As they may well be, for the roots of Hindutva do not lie in Hinduism. Rather, they lie in a crude mixture of German romanticism, Victorian puritanism and Nazi methodology. What happens next? Will the champions of Hindutva go around the country destroying temple murals, breaking down monuments, and burning manuscripts and folios? Ranjit Hoskote - ---------------------- - -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/1442e0ed/attachment.html From anilg at sristi.org Sun May 13 10:59:55 2007 From: anilg at sristi.org (anil gupta) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 10:59:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Baroda, Immanel Kant and the Indian Penal Code: how do we read intentions In-Reply-To: <4645C01D.4010909@sarai.net> References: <4645C01D.4010909@sarai.net> Message-ID: <4646A253.6020700@sristi.org> *excellent issues Shuddha: in a conundrum of intention, action and consequence, we can see the last two. The painting by Chandra mohan and its ability to unite Christian and Hindu activists. We can also ee consequence of jail for Chandra. But inferring intention of Chandra is a task that can not left to Jurist alone. But then as you imply, they are the one who will pass judgments. So what do we do, well, some petitions could be files s citizen affected by the consequences of the art and thus demonstrate the differential effect of the same art. I wish some body will post his art work on this list so that we all can see what he really painted. When Ram Guha infers the intentions of JP, he does the same. When editor of Le Monde had to infer the intentions the journalist who discovered Concentration camps in Russia ( read The Mandarins ), he had to do the same. He had to evaluate the impact of this discovery on the social agenda of the Left. So Shuddha, issues you raise are very vital and i hope these will trigger a wider debate in India about inferring intentions of those with whom we do not agree and on whose actions we pass judgments, an enterprise we all indulge in all the time. Sherlock Holmes had a somewhat similar issue to face when he asked, Why did Dog not bark? He had at least linked intention with inaction, will we remember the lines of Dinkar: pap ka bhagi nahin hai keval vyagh, jo tatastha hai, samaya likhega, unka bhi apradh anil SOME MORE REFERENCES ON INFERRING INTENTIONS IN ART * Art and Intention: A Philosophical Study Paisley Livingston, /Art and Intention: A Philosophical Study/, Oxford University Press, 2005, 272 pp, $55.00 (hbk), ISBN 0199278067. * The Concept of Intention in Art Criticism* Isabel C. Hungerland /The Journal of Philosophy/, Vol. 52, No. 24, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Symposium: Papers to be Presented at the Fifty-Second Annual Meeting, Boston University, December 27-29, 1955. (Nov. 24, 1955), pp. 733-742. Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > (apologies for cross posting on the Reader List, Commons law and > www.kafila.org) > > Dear All, > > This is in continuation of my earlier posting about the incident at the > MS University at Vadodara and the relevant sections of the Indian Penal > Code. > > It is one of the wonderful properties of South Asian subcontinental life > that reality is always better adorned than fiction would have it. > > And so it is that along with Mr. Niraj Jain, (a purported Bajrang Dal > leader who also contested the Vadodara civic body elections on a BJP > ticket), the other guardian of public morality who protested against the > art student Chandra Mohan's work in a departmental exhibition at the > Fine Arts Faculty at MS University Baroda happens to be a pastor with > the Methodist Church, most appropriately named the Rev. Emmaneul Kant. > > See, a report on the Vadodara incident in the Vadodara City page of > Indian Express 'BJP Men rough up fine arts student'(Express News > Service, May 9) at > http://cities.expressindia.com/archivefullstory.php?newsid=235608&creation_date=2007-05-10 > > Apart from the fact that this incident shows a beautiful secular synergy > between majoritarian and minoritarian interests (thereby confusing all > those who spend most of their time worrying about majoritarian > communalism, especially when it comes to the province of Gujarat), there > has to be adequate recognition, I think of the magical facticity in > knowing that a protest against a work of art is being led (at least in > part) by an Emmanuel Kant. > > For all those familiar with the Vadodara pastor's distinguished > Konigsbergian philosopher namesake, Emmanuel (or Immanuel) Kant's > 'Critique of Judgement' (a book that continues to be influential enough > in discussions of contemporary aesthetic practice and thought to be seen > hovering around the curatorial mandate of Documenta 12 and other serious > matters like a spirit that got stuck in limbo after a mistimed seance), > the delicate ironies of this haunting of the Vadodara controversy by the > ghost of Kant cannot be escaped. > > In his Critique of Judgement,(and I quote, for the sake of convenience, > from the excellent, online entry in the Internet Encyclopaedia of > Philosophy) http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/kantaest.htm > > Kant can be found paraphrased as saying : > > "through aesthetic judgments, beautiful objects appear to be 'purposive > without purpose' (sometimes translated as 'final without end'). An > object's purpose is the concept according to which it was made (the > concept of a vegetable soup in the mind of the cook, for example); an > object is purposive if it appears to have such a purpose; if, in other > words, it appears to have been made or designed. But it is part of the > experience of beautiful objects, Kant argues, that they should affect us > as if they had a purpose, although no particular purpose can be found." > > Now a Kantian, confronted with Chandramohan's work, Jain & Kant led > protests, and the sections 153 and 295 of the Indian Penal Code, would > not be in any position to wriggle out of the problem of 'aesthetic > intention'. If Chandramohan is an artist, his work would affect us as if > they had a purpose, even if no particular purpose were to be found. > > The only legal solution available under the Indian legal system, in my > opinion, is for Chandramohan to say that he is not an artist, but a mere > impostor, and that his work, is not purposive, or intentional, but the > mere outpouring of a distracted, and demented mind. What I am > suggesting, is the insanity defence, as used in a murder trial. > > In other words the - 'My Lord, my client was not of sound mind, he did > not know what he was doing, when he shot the plaintiff's aged mother' > maneouvre. > > If Chandramohan is an artist, then the courts will look at intention. > And as in a murder trial, the calibration of intention can lead to a > degree of dimunition of a sentence from homicide to manslaughter, but > cannot do away with the fact of the offence. > > I say this neither to attack Chandramohan's work, nor to defend his > practice (although I have no doubt in my mind that the freedome of > expression is a higher good than artistic quality or religious > sensibility). I say this only to underscore the problems of aesthetic > intention, ethical conduct and legal judgement that this case seems to > have thrown open, perhaps at the instance of the long neglected spectre > of the venerable I(E)mmanel Kant > > > > _______________________________________________ > commons-law mailing list > commons-law at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/commons-law > > -- Prof. Anil K Gupta Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad 380015, India anilg at sristi.org or anilgb at gmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Personal Page: http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/~anilg/ SRISTI Page: http://www.sristi.org, GIAN Page: http://www.gian.org NIF : www.nifindia.org www.nif.org.in blog: sristi.org/anilg National Innovation Foundation (NIF): http://www.nifindia.org Phone Numbers: (0) +91 (79) 2632 4927 (o) +91 79 2630 4979 ( r), 2630 9973 O ), 2632 4930 ( secty); Fax Number: +91 (79) 26307341 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: hungerland intemntion in art 1955.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 312234 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070513/53746055/attachment.pdf From ravig64 at gmail.com Mon May 14 08:03:51 2007 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 08:03:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] test Message-ID: test From flemingac at msn.com Sun May 13 15:03:40 2007 From: flemingac at msn.com (alex c fleming) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 13:33:40 +0400 Subject: [Reader-list] where was theophilus metcalfe hiding??...from archives Message-ID: WHAT FURTHER LIGHT CAN YOU SHARE ON THE INDIAN MUTINY OF 1857 AND WHAT BOOK DEALERS CAN I CONTACT IN INDIA AND ELSEWHERE THAT WILL SHIP BOOKS I ORDER TO THE U.S. PLEASE? THANK YOU. ALEX C. FLEMING U.S. EMBASSY-MUSCAT, OMAN FLEMINGAC at MSN.COM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070513/12ed69de/attachment.html From gautam.bhan at gmail.com Sat May 12 09:54:49 2007 From: gautam.bhan at gmail.com (gautam bhan) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 09:54:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More on Baroda -- We must respond from Delhi Message-ID: Dear All, Updates from Baroda below about the continuing attack on the department. Shuddha, just to clarify from your last email: there is a meeting on 6pm, Tuesday, the 14th, at Lalit Kala? Can this information be spread widely? It is a public meeting, yes? best, Gautam Dear All The latest news from Baroda is that the University has suspended the acting Dean Prof.Shivaji Panikkar from his job and there is also pressure to make him a co-accused along with Chandramohan. Chandramohan is still not able to get out on bail because the BJP-VHP is creating furore at the court and forcing it to adjourn. Tomorrow and the day after being court holidays(Saturday & Sunday) the plan is to impart exemplary punishment to Chandu and terrorise the faculty who are accused of indecency and harboring anti-Gujarat sentiments!!! The local press along with The Univ authority is cahoots with the BJP/VHP and portraying all of us as public enemies who not only allow display of indecent pictures but condone such behavior! In the caredfully orchestrated melee no one is raising the real question that how come the police in uniform walk into the faculty premises without anybody's permission and take away a student without even bothering to inform the In-charge Dean. For that matter the University is not only refusing to take legal action against Mr Nirav Jain for trespassing and using abusive language and threats in the Faculty premises but no one from the University has appointed a lawyer to fight Chandu's case. Dr Narendra Parmar,the advocate who is fighting on our behalf is approached through the good offices of Mr Rahul Amin(Industrialist and patron of art). The students put up a small display of plates from the archive today to highlight the point that art always dealt with themes that are controversial and non-conformist but that was sealed by the Pro-VC who marched into the faculty along with 4 Syndicate members and ordered Prof Panikkar to shut it. When Prof Panikkar refused point blank he not only braught the exhibition down but also sealed the archive of the Art History department. A police complaint was also logded by Mr Jain to arrest Shivaji and make him a co-accused in the Chandramohan case.Mr Jain who happens to be the head of VHP's legal cell is also reprted (as published in The Indian Express today) to have openly dared anybody to lodge an FIR as he would bring the whole city to a stand still. There are also reports of burning of Shivaji's effigy in Manjalpur area of the city yesterday. Sveral students have also reported intimidation outside the Faculty premises.It is also brought to our notice that several faculty members are to be targetted by the University. Later in the evening news reached us that in an emergency meeting the VC has taken the decision to suspend Prof Panikkar. Yours sincerely Indrapramit Roy Sr Lecturer Department of painting faculty of Fine Arts MSU of Baroda On 5/11/07, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > I have recently been informed there is going to be a gathering of the > Delhi Art Community protesting the recent arrest of an Art student of > faculty of Fine Art in Vadodra. > > see the article on HindustanTimes > ePaper, > You can find it at: ' > > < > http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=11_05_2007_001_016&typ=1&pub=47 > >ral > police hit Vadodara, art student lands injail > > Please join- Monday 14th May , 6.00pm at Rabindra Bhavan ,Lalit Kala,New > Delhi. > > _________________________________________ > 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/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070512/67e5df38/attachment.html From lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in Sat May 12 12:17:17 2007 From: lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in (lalit batra) Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 12:17:17 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Protest Demonstration against Fascist Vandalism in Baroda Message-ID: <447490.99078.qm@web7606.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear friends, The fascist goons of BJP-VHP have let loose a reign of terror in the prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University Baroda. Please go through the details of the incident given below. The latest development is that the Dean of Fine Arts Faculty, Shivji Pannicker, has been suspended and the Department of Art History has been sealed. The campus has virtually been taken over by VHP goons who are threatning students and vandalising their work. We call upon all the democtratic and progressive people of Delhi to come forward and protest against the fascist attempt to stifle voices of creativity and dissent. Please join us for a protest demonstration tomorrow, 12th of May, at 3 p.m. at Gujarat Bhawan, Chanakya Puri, Near Ashoka Hotel . In Solidarity, Lalit Batra 9899091413 Dear All, You are all aware of the latest Sangh Parivar offensive against the democratic rights of the students and Faculty members of the well known Fine Arts Faculty of Baroda, M.S.University. The Fine Arts Faculty is one of the best institutions within the M.S.University, which has managed to retain high academic standards, in the face of the general academic deterioration within the University. The recent incident of hooliganism and blatant bullying unleashed by the Sangh Parivar has sent shock waves all over the country. It took place on Wednesday, 9th May 2007, at around 3 p.m. As part of the examination procedure underway in the Faculty, students are supposed to put up their works which are to be assessed by external examiners who come in from outside the city for this purpose. Accordingly, students had put up their installations around the Faculty campus. Some of these installations, (graphic prints) by Chandra Mohan attracted the wrath of the BJP leader Neeraj Jain, who barged into the campus with a bunch of goons and started disrupting the atmosphere, using abusive language and mouthing threats. They roughed up the Chandra Mohan and accused him of offending their religious sentiments, saying that he had portrayed Durga Mata in an obscene way. Not by any stretch of imagination did the prints actually portray any goddess. Under the leadership of Neeraj Jain (who had incidentally played a very dubious role in the May 2006 riots that followed the demolition of a 200 year old dargah in the heart of the city), and with the police in tow, they took Chandra Mohan and a friend of his away to the Sayajiganj police station. Shivji Panickkar, the acting Dean of the Fine Arts Faculty, was also threatened with dire consequences by Neeraj Jain and his goons. Chandra Mohan's friend was released later, but he was himself charged under sections 153 and 114. Later, on 10th May, when the bail application came up for hearing, two more charges were slapped on him, namely, Section 295 A and 295 B, and he was taken under judicial custody, and moved to the Central Jail. By now, Christian fundamentalists had joined hands with the Hindutvavadis. Alongwith the VHP and BJP crowds, reportedly, there were at least 40 priests in the court when Chandra Mohan's bail application came up for hearing. The priests were objecting to some painting to do with a cross - which, they thought offended their religious feelings. In the meantime, Shivji Panickkar met the Vice Chancellor, who basically, wanted him to make a statement that was nothing short of an apology for putting up offensive installations. Panickkar refused to do so. After this, the students submitted a statement expressing thier concern over such tactics, and with a set of their demands, which included police bandobast for the Faculty. Reportedly, Neeraj Jain barged into the Vice Chancellor's office on the same day, and threatened that he would make sure that the entire city would shut down if a single case is registered against him. As of now, all efforts are on to get Chandra Mohan released. However, what is of grave concern in this entire unfolding of events is the fascist agendas that underly the actions of the likes of Neeraj Jain. Citizenship and democratic rights face a grave crisis in the State of Gujarat and elsewhere. The nexus between the police and elements of the Sangh Parivar is so clearly established (it has been so since 2002) and it is also clear that fascist tactics affect everybody. In this instance, it is not only a matter for the artist community to agitate about. It is for ALL of us to sit up and take notice of what is going on in the name of religion. If we do not counter these tactics NOW, we are all going to be crushed sooner or later, either in our work arenas or within the confines of our homes. The dangers of giving in to or being cowed down by these forces cannot be underestimated. THE FACULTY OF FINE ARTS HAS PLANNED A LARGE DEMONSTRATION FOR 14TH MAY 2007, MONDAY WHERE ARTISTS, LAWYERS, DOCTORS, ORDINARY CITIZENS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WILL GET TOGETHER IN PROTEST AGAINST SUCH GAGGING OF EXPRESSION AND VIOLATION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS. PLEASE DO COME FOR THE DEMONSTRATION, AND MOTIVATE OTHERS TO JOIN IT. THE TIME TO ACT IS UPON US, WE CANNOT ABDICATE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY, OURSELVES AND THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS. VENUE: FINE ARTS FACULTY, M.S.UNIVERSITY , FATEHGANJ, BARODA TIME: 2 PM ONWARDS CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: BINA SRINIVASAN: 9879377280 SHIVJI PANICKKAR: 9898403097 Best Bina PS: pls. circulate this email to as many people as possible. Thanks. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Foil-l mailing list Foil-l at insaf.net http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/foil-l_insaf.net Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070512/a5c96edf/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070512/a5c96edf/attachment-0001.html From meenamenon at gmail.com Sun May 13 20:19:16 2007 From: meenamenon at gmail.com (meena menon) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 20:19:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Recovering Lost Histories Part three In-Reply-To: <57ad49a60705130745o6795ccaft574542bc7fd851fb@mail.gmail.com> References: <003801c7956b$32666880$0201a8c0@Meenadesktop> <57ad49a60705130745o6795ccaft574542bc7fd851fb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <57ad49a60705130749u6bc5656er77a0573300d2862e@mail.gmail.com> Hi This is the third posting of my SARAI independent fellowship for 2007. Cheers Meena email- meenamenon at gmail.com Recovering lost histories (Third Posting) In the last one month I have visited some pockets in Mumbai which were affected by the 1992-93 riots. Apart from Behrampada, I have gone to Jogeshwari east, in northwest Mumbai, which was very badly affected, Kasaiwada, near Sion (Central Mumbai) and Mazgaon (South Mumbai). I find that families have moved from mixed localities into Muslim dominated areas like Kasaiwada, which also has a fair share of Hindu families. Areas like Mazgaon in South Mumbai which were once populated by Christian and Hindu families are now becoming predominantly Muslim and the Bohra community is increasingly tending to buy property there. I am not yet sure this has only to do with the riots, there may be other reasons as well which I am looking into. LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD For the third posting as part of the SARAI Independent fellowship, I am continuing to focus on Naupada and Behrampada and the people who suffered from the riots. Local businesses were hit in a big way and Behrampada which was once the hub of retail clothing is no longer that. Many people have found it difficult to recover and regain their livelihoods after the riots. Also the riots left a deep scar on the minds of those who were affected, an impact which has not been taken into account seriously. People from Naupada were in the news last year for their rescue of the victims of the July 11 serial bomb blasts in the local trains of Mumbai. One of the blasts happened on the tracks along side Naupada. Mohammed Rizwan Asghar Ali Khan was one of those who helped retrieve the bodies from the wreckage. But no one helped him in 1993. He points to a scar running down his right leg, he still cannot walk normally. It was evening when he was shot in his leg and when he and the others were taken to a local municipal hospital, it refused to admit them. It was only after Sunil Dutt, the former MP and his son, actor Sanjay Dutt, came there, that they took them in. He was later moved to a private hospital. Rizwan was one of those who was shot by the police while running to help douse a fire in neighbouring Behrampada. He used to sell readymade salwar kameezes on the footpaths of Linking Road, a popular roadside shopping area in upmarket Bandra west when the riots took place. Born in Naupada, Rizwan has five brothers and a sister. He has studied till the 8th standard. He was a social worker of sorts too then. "I had spoken to the police and said that nothing will happen here in Naupada. But the fires burnt in Behrampada and the police did not want anyone to help. They did not even allow the fire brigade to go there. I also remembered that they used to go to the rooftops and fire from their guns," he recalls. There is a calmness about Rizwan, he is slow to speak but quick to act. It is not only the scar that rankles Rizwan. He said he became very disturbed. "There were eight of us who were running to douse the fires and all of us were hit," he said. There is bitterness too about his loss of livelihood. There were 313 shops on Linking road on Bandra west, which sold ready-mades and today none of them exist. The pavement has been taken over by other people. A lot of young men were jobless after the riots. "We cannot go back there as the police manage the haftas (bribes) and even though we tried to go there, they asked us to pay a lot of money, it became difficult for us," he said. In addition because of his injury he could no longer lift heavy things or run about like before. Selling ready- mades fetched about Rs 100 to 150 a day, enough to keep a family afloat. Now he has to support his wife and a daughter and he does odd jobs, which come by once in a while. Despite all this, Rizwan can never think of leaving this place. "Why should I leave? The riots killed so many people, people lost their lives, jobs, even children died. I don't know about the Sri Krishna commission but I know no one has been punished. I keep thinking every day, where has my life led me? No one paid me any compensation for my loss- No one came to help me," he rued. Earlier there were over 70 Hindu families living in Naupada but now many of them have left. He even remembers Ganpati celebrations in the area. Rizwan does not think there is a communal divide. He feels there are many people who understand what was behind the riots of 1992-93 and there is a lot of camaraderie. CHANGING RELATIONS However, relations between the two communities have changed definitely. Youngsters like Taukeer Khan, a civil contractor, say that it was his generation that was really affected. Taukeer was in the tenth when the riots broke out. "We could not get out of it. People lost their jobs and there was so much unhappiness." He feels as a result, Muslims are more determined to educate their children. Now about 25 per cent of young people have jobs in offices or call centres. "People are also going in for smaller families. The Muslim community forgets easily, things on the surface are normal," he maintains. There is deep disillusionment with vote banks too created by the Congress, for instance. "Now we just want basic amenities, jobs and our constitutional rights," says Taukeer. Sheikh Yunus Sheikh Musa, 37, runs a small grocery shop in Behrampada. He studied in the school in nearby Kherwadi till the 7th standard. His house was burnt down in 1993. "People used to attack us often. In January 1993, the New Nirman chawl was totally burnt. There were 60 houses there. People threw fire bombs from the buildings around us and the police fired on those who tried to put out the fires." His house was among those gutted and all the families sought refuge in a building under construction. Many families lived there for a year and some local NGOs helped them. Relief agencies and The Times of India Relief Fund rebuilt many of the houses and now Yunus lives in a room there. At that time Yunus was part of a 12-member family. There was a shoe factory there and he used to work there at first. His father ran a store and used to make glass shades for gas lamps. Now the shop is the sole means of a livelihood. His father now helps him. The riots changed many things for Yunus. He said earlier there was nothing between the two communities but the riots changed all that. "There was a dhobi (washerman), Ramkiran, (who was Yunus' neighbour) who was also affected. His family too was given shelter here. I had Hindu friends too but after the riots their contact with me became lesser and lesser. In fact the people from buildings around us came and apologised to use- they did not throw the bombs or set Behrampada on fire. I remember that Madhukar Sarpotdar, a leader of the Shiv Sena, was arrested with weapons but he was let off. The government should punish all those responsible. It should be done as a lesson. I see that punishment is being meted out in other cases." "I did get compensation of Rs 5000 but many others did not get. The collector came and gave us the cheques," he said. What did Yunus do after the riots? "I managed to get some loans and set up the shop. When I think about those days, I am scared. I am scared will it happen again," he said. For a while Yunus kept clippings of the newspaper stories. He still has some in his possession, mostly depicting Behrampada as a hellhole of troublemakers. "They wrote all bad things about us," he remembers. He made a list of all those injured and killed in Behrampada but has misplaced it. At the end of the conversation he tells me that his father suffered a severe shock after the riots. What he saw during those days left him upset. He never went back to his normal self. "When our house burnt down, it really hit my father very badly. It was a huge setback and he never recovered from that. He suffered a lot and later contracted TB." I see Yunus' father in the small shop that he runs. He sits very still, his eyes are fixed in steady stare and yet he is kind and gracious. IMPACT OF THE RIOTS Perhaps the impact of the riots was never estimated in the way it affected ordinary lives. In Behrampada alone, I met families where at least one member is affected this way. I meet Aamir Khan and his friends at a corner of Behrampada. A high concrete wall separates a set of apartments on the other side. "I used to live here at that time. We were surrounded by the police and there were shoot at sight orders. That wall was much lower in those days," says Aamir as a prelude to explaining his father's death. "It was January 15; my father was coming back from namaz, and entering the house when he was shot. There was some commotion in the morning as a result of which shoot at sight orders were issued. He was sixty at that time and worked as a tailor in Dadar." Khuda Yaar Khan, his father got a bullet in his back. When Amir heard the shots and went to help him, he too was under fire. After that the riots continued for another month. Two years later he went to Kuwait and worked there for 5 to 6 years. Now Amir has moved to Latur where he deals in readymade garments. But the worst affected was his mother Hazra Bi. "My mother had a mental illness after my father's death. She died two or three years later. She could not sleep. For two months she saw a lot of the riots, the firing, the petrol bombs and she had a psychological problem. She really changed after the riots and we moved to Hyderabad for a while but despite taking her for treatment she did not improve. She died in Hyderabad never having recovered from her problems." Amir said he had to be strong for the family. He has a brother and a sister. A fifth standard drop out, he has now moved to Latur and sells clothes. He comes often to Behrampada but he feels the business has changed a lot. A lot of people moved out and there have been a lot of changes. Shahid Ali, lost his elder brother who had left for work on December 7. He used to work as a tailor and had four children. His wife moved to Delhi after two years, she could not live here any more says Shahid. At that time Shahid was in school, he has studied upto the eight standard. It was very tense then, he remembers Behrampada was famous as a wholesale cloth market. It no longer enjoys that pride of place. Many shops were looted and none were compensated. "This was a good area. We were surrounded by the MIG (middle income group) housing colony, they did try to help us, but it was of no use. Earlier we used to go and play with these people. We had friends, now many have joined the Shiv Sena. They even tried to take us to political meetings but one of the meetings was being addressed by Narendra Modi and it was too provoking and we left. Our friends are far from us now," says Shahid. XXXXXXX -- Meena -- Meena -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070513/1b1128cb/attachment.html From shahzulf at yahoo.com Thu May 10 18:41:47 2007 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 06:11:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: International Conference on Peaceful Coexistence Message-ID: <582861.20763.qm@web38815.mail.mud.yahoo.com> ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Apurba Kundu Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 4:59:34 PM Subject: FW: International Conference on Peaceful Coexistence  cheers, Apurba From: Gülen Conference [mailto:info@ gulenconference. nl] Sent: 10 May 2007 10:34 To: a.kundu at Bradford. ac.uk Subject: International Conference on Peaceful Coexistence International Conference on Peaceful Coexistence Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands 23–24 November 2007 Fethullah Gülen’s initiatives for peace in the contemporary world Call for Papers Deadline for receipt of Abstracts: 31 May 2007 The need for peaceful co-existence between Muslims and non-Muslims within and between nations has long been recognized. The much publicized failures in relations in recent years, which are both a cause and effect of the situation in many parts of the world – not just the Middle East – should spur all right-minded people to re-double their efforts to sustain the hope for peaceful co-existence. Fethullah Gülen is an Islamic scholar and peace activist, and the mentor of a dynamic faith-based movement that has inspired a generation of Muslims in Turkey and abroad to undertake charitable works, especially in education. After thirty years of activism in the field they now constitute one of the most effective and influential Muslim faith-based movements of the 21st century. They work to raise moral and religious awareness by founding non-denominational schools and universities and so encourage intercultural dialogue and understanding. Their work makes a practical contribution to constructive, positive relations between the West and the Muslim world, with special focus on issues such as democracy, multiculturalism, globalization, and intercultural dialogue in the context of secular modernity. By focussing on Gülen’s ideas and practice, this Conference aims to explore the appeal and impact of the Gülen movement’s worldwide initiatives to help people respond creatively to the profound social changes that are taking root everywhere. These changes make the world an increasingly integrated place, while its people juggle different, often divided identities. A particular focus will be the movement's long-established and ongoing projects dedicated to improving North–South and East–West relations, and to building trust and cooperativeness among people of different faith traditions. Major themes: Peaceful Muslim–non-Muslim co-existence in a secular context Inclusiveness and integration The necessity and importance of dialogue The positive role of non-denominational education The state of East–West, North–South relations Reconciling and balancing reason and faith Understanding the benefits of democracy The role of shared values in building civility and citizenship Abstract & CV deadline: Abstracts (max. 500 words) with a brief CV (max. 200 words) of the author(s) should be submitted by 31 May 2007 to submissions@ gulenconference. nl. Graduate students are encouraged to submit abstracts. Paper submission deadline: Abstracts will be evaluated by the Conference's editorial board. The authors of accepted abstracts will then be asked to submit papers (3000–7000) words before 30 September 2007. Conference book: Following editorial review, some of the accepted papers will be published in the form of a book of the Conference proceedings. Honorarium: €500 for papers presented at the conference Free resource CD: A free resource CD on Gülen and his works is available from the organizing committee. Please apply to: cd at gulenconference. nl Hotel and travel/flight: The cost of hotel accommodation and flights will be subsidised for all participants who present papers at the Conference For further information please e-mail: info at gulenconferenc e.nl . __,_._,___ Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070510/6d34d34f/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 11 05:34:40 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 05:34:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Tanweer Fazal: Judicial Legitimacy For Hindutva Myth Message-ID: <48097acc0705101704g2c2b86a4t6e4a1210f4c49235@mail.gmail.com> Judicial Legitimacy For Hindutva Myth By Tanweer Fazal The lead up to the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh saw a spate of communal violence aided by a desperate Mulayam government to salvage its fast losing turf, and the launch of one of the most vicious anti-Muslim campaign by the BJP with the support of state machinery and a toothless Election Commission. Fueling the frenzy further was the single bench judgment of the Allahabad High Court declaring Muslims to be a numerical majority in the state. Defying all logic and conventional yardsticks to determine a minority, the judgment claimed that considering that the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh comprised 18.5% of the state's population, they "do not merit to be included as minorities any longer and therefore, should not be entitled to benefits accruing on that account". The immediate context was a petition moved by Ghazipur-based Madrassa Noor-ul-Islam, seeking the Court's intervention for getting it self included in the list of minority institutions entitled to periodical government grants. While the plea was rejected outright, in his zeal, Justice S.N Srivastava overstepped his jurisdiction to serve a writ of mandamus to the Union of India to modify an October 23, 1993 notification specifying Muslims among the minority communities of the country. While the Court order was suo muto stayed by another bench of the High Court; it is the underlying ideology that is malicious. The judgment itself cannot be seen as an aberration, but a grim reminder of how judicial interventions have, over the years, been deployed to legitimate Hindutva mobilizations and anti-Minority campaigns. In 1995, a Supreme Court ruling equated 'Hindutva with Indianisation or the development of a uniform culture by eradicating the difference between all cultures coexisting in the country'. The verdict was a virtual judicial sanction for Hindu majoritarianism and a negation of the Constitutional obligation to preserve and protect minority cultures. In a similar vein, in 2005, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court cited Hindu Shastras to accord legal status and rights to Hindu deities to own land and properties in the same manner as that of a natural person. Recently, the Allahabad High Court created a furore by quashing the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University. Invalidating a 1981 Parliamentary Amendment, the High Court upheld a 1968 Supreme Court judgment (Azeez Pasha Vs. the Union of India) in which the Court had denied minority status to AMU on two grounds. One, AMU was not established by its founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, but a British Act of Parliament and later a Central legislation. Two, Muslims were not a minority as they were a homogenous community whereas the various castes and sects of Hinduism could be considered minority groups. Muslims, thus in the judges' view, were in fact a majority in this country and the Hindus a minority—a sentiment echoed by Justice Srivastava's conclusion. Again in 2005, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (Bal Patil vs Union of India) while denying minority status to the Jains held that in a caste-ridden Hindu society 'all are minorities among Hindus'. The term minority finds mention only in Article 30 of the Constitution wherein religious and linguistic minorities are entitled to establish their educational institutions, ostensibly to protect minority cultures from assimilative tendencies of the state and the majority community. Even this provision—the only concession that the Constitution makes to the minorities of the country—has remained contentious. However, few would know that Article 30 itself could be construed as a 'great betrayal' towards the minorities. In the draft Constitution, minority was a category that subsumed within its broad definition the Scheduled Castes, Tribes, Anglo-Indians, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsees and Christians. All of these were guaranteed reservation in legislature and adequate share in government jobs. However, post-Partition, the gang-up of Congress rightists led by Sardar Patel forced a re-opening of the debate. Religious minorities were excluded from the ambit of reservation, with only the SCs and STs now marked out as the beneficiaries of reservations. In an unprecedented subterfuge—though Patel's initial resolution and speech focused only on reservation in legislature, at the last moment, with no discussion in the House—the minorities' claim in public service was also nullified. And the paragon of Indian secularism, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared that any demands of safeguards by minorities betrayed lack of trust in the majority. True, Article 30 doesn't spell out the parameters of defining minority groups, yet successive Supreme Court interventions have laid down clear guidelines—a fact that Justice Srivastava of the Allahabad High Court chose to ignore. As early as in 1957, the Supreme Court (Ref the Kerala Education Bill) granted minority status to groups whose numbers were below 50 per cent in a given area. In 2002 (T.M.A Pai Foundation vs the State of Karnataka), an eleven-judge bench of the Supreme Court specified that the geographical unit has to be the 'state in relation to which the majority or minority status will have to be determined'. Regardless of the fact that Uttar Pradesh has the highest concentration of Muslims in the country, the community will continue to be a minority on account of it being only 18.5% of the state's population. Whether they comprise more than 50 per cent in a couple of districts remains inconsequential. It is not the numerical criterion alone that need be invoked to legitimate minority status to the Muslims of U.P. Considering the experience of apartheid South Africa, minority status is also a definition of marginality. The case of Muslims is substantiated by the findings of the Sachar Committee. The Muslims of U.P, as in most states, comprise the bulk of those below poverty line. Their share in government jobs is a miniscule 5 per cent; the literacy level is a good 10 points lower than the state's average. Most Muslim concentrated areas remain devoid of basic developmental amenities such as pucca roads, electrification and a primary school. This in turn has abetted high drop-out rates among Muslim children. The absence of school often tends to be compensated by the ubiquitous presence of a police chowki. Given the scenario, what does the loss of a minority status imply? In concrete terms, to most Muslims it has remained an empty slogan. Article 30 has mostly only served to provide the State an alibi to hide behind. The National Policy on Education, 1986 identified Muslims as the educationally backward minority and called for immediate attention. The Planning Commission, however, left this task to 'Minority Educational Institutions', majority of whom are entirely self-financed, usually catering to the elite. The Madarsa modernization programme is the government's flagship scheme to attend to the educational needs of Muslim children—a typical state response to the need for schools in minority concentrated areas. But even here, the allocation has remained paltry. The fund allocation for Maulana Azad Educational Foundation, launched with great fanfare, hardly reflects the long list of tasks appended to it: including construction of hostels, schools, laboratories, sadhbhavna kendras, vocational training centres, scholarship to girl students etc. The National Minorities Commission is a statutory body yet its reports are never tabled in the Parliament. A sinister minoritisation in state policy is what the Muslims of India are faced with. It is this minoritisation that strips them off all entitlements while constructing them as exclusive political category that is to be won over by occasional sops and concessions. In this project minoritisation, questions like partnership in progress and adequate share in national wealth are often glossed over. Ironical as it may be, the Allahabad High Court judgement is of one piece with this project. (Tanweer Fazal works with the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He can be contacted on fazaltanweer at yahoo.co.in) -- Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/9c203f21/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Fri May 11 05:35:23 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 05:35:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] First Ever Public Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations in Pakistan Message-ID: <48097acc0705101705y40ebeddfg5123bf12020f15f8@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friend, Salam / Jai Bheem, For the first time in Pakistan's history, the 116th Birthday of Baba Saheb Dr B. R. Ambedkar was celebrated in three different cities of Pakistan and attended by thousands of people. 1. The first function was held in Lahore on April 13 where Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool was the chief guest. I (Surendar Valasai) also delivered an speech there, while the Speakers from India inlcuding Honourable V T Rajshekhar and Prof. Chaman Lal from JNU, Shyam Bahadur Katuwal from Nepal , Prof Bhatti from England, a Mr. Salman from the United Nations office Islamabad . The programme was organised by Sir Gangaram Heritage Foundation and its Director Dr. Yousaf Bokhari played a pivotal role in the arrangements. 2. The Second function was held in Karachi under the aegis of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan and South Asia Dalit Solidarity Network on April 15. Former Dalit MP Dr. Khatumal Jeewan, Surendar Valasai and former Dalit MPA Bheru Lal Balani highlighted on the struggle and achievements of Baba Saheb. 3. The Third function was held at Hyderabad Press Club organised by Pak Reformatory Institute of Dalit Emancipation (PRIDE) Sindh pakistan, former Dalit MPA Engr. Gianchand where former Chairman of Communist Party of Pakistan Jam Saqi, BBC Corresondent Suhail Sangi, Malji Rathore, Dr Sono Khangharani Chief Executive Thar Deep Tharparkar and others spoke and eulogised the services of Baba Saheb. For your information. Warm Regards and Jai bheem. Malji Meghwal, Dalit Human Rights Activist, Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan [ ramjianimalji at yahoo.com] +923332512461 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/b7260e35/attachment.html From zasha.colah at gmail.com Sun May 13 21:48:34 2007 From: zasha.colah at gmail.com (Zasha Colah) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 17:18:34 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] free art, free chandramohan In-Reply-To: <47e122a70705122248j4271b30cta2b6b61f87e1d063@mail.gmail.com> References: <47e122a70705122248j4271b30cta2b6b61f87e1d063@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <8b52330f0705130918j19b12a32tb43edf48ae6d7373@mail.gmail.com> Thank you for this. I'm in London, but my friends are attending. On 13/05/07, inder salim wrote: > > > > -- PROTEST; 6 PM 14TH OF MAY, LALIT KALA ACADEMY, MANDI HOUSE NEW DELHI > > Artists from New Delhi, Bangalore, Cochin, Mumbai, Vishakapatnam, > Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kolkata and Santiniketan will come together on May 14 > at 6 pm to register their protest against the highhanded action taken by the > police under the instigation of a local politician against Chandramohan, a > student from the Arts Faculty of Baroda University. 23-year-old > Chandramohan, a final year MVA student, has been in police custody since May > 9 when outside elements forced their way into the premises of the Faculty of > Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda, without permission from the Faculty or > University and prevailed upon the police to arrest him. Charging him under > non-bailable Sections, they also imposed immediate closure of the > examination work that was underway. > As a mark of protest, artists from the different cities will congregate to > raise their collective voice against this violation of freedom of expression > and autonomy of educational institutions. They will extend solidarity to the > staff and students of Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, who have not only stood > steadfast with the incarcerated student Chandramohan, but have over many > decades painstakingly built an academic institution of great repute and > distinction. The Art History Department of M S University of Baroda is > recognized all over the world as a center of excellence. > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070513/277b27a6/attachment.html From zigzackly at gmail.com Sun May 13 23:56:38 2007 From: zigzackly at gmail.com (peter griffin) Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 23:56:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest against the arrest of an art student and suspension of the dean of M S Univ - Monday, 14th May In-Reply-To: <4d145a50705131125l4e226997ua9be1aa027d04428@mail.gmail.com> References: <4d145a50705131125l4e226997ua9be1aa027d04428@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4d145a50705131126k7c0006e0t4d6a070ace41c454@mail.gmail.com> [Please circulate widely] By now, you would have read, heard or seen the news of the arrest of a student, Chandra Mohan, and the suspension of the dean of Maharaja Sayajirao University's Fine Arts faculty in Baroda, Prof. Shivaji Panikker. (For those who haven't, please catch up through the press links below.) A simultaneous all-India public protest will take place on 14th May, at 6 p.m. The Mumbai protest wil be in front of Jehangir Art Gallery. Those attending are requested to wear black and/or white. For details of other protests, please see http://fineartsfacultymsu.blogspot.com/ Below these links, please read: Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture, By Ranjit Hoskote, and an open letter from Gulammohammed Sheikh. News links: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070011809 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Suspended_fine_arts_teacher_Panikkar_goes_into_hiding/articleshow/2039041.cms http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200705121859.htm http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=156119 http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/11/stories/2007051117101500.htm http://www.ibnlive.com/news/baroda-art-controversy-intensifies/40455-3.html http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=370961&sid=REG http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=75220 http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=235916 http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9cb71e3b-4392-4d4b-95bc-f9730065c67e&&Headline=MS+University+dean+suspended+in+Gujarat http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8f2213c7-4b12-4e48-9b7c-40302cd7a968&&Headline=Vadodara+art+student+lands+in+jail ----------- Hindu Sacred Art Offends Self-appointed Custodians of Hindu Culture by Ranjit Hoskote In a grimly ironic turn of events following the 9 May arrest, without a proper warrant, of Chandramohan, a final-year fine arts student at the M S University, Baroda, the self-appointed custodians of Hindu culture have now demanded the closure of an exhibition showing the vital role of the erotic in Hindu sacred art. Earlier today, 11 May, students of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the M S University put up an exhibition of reproductions of images drawn from across 2500 years of Indian art. In a silent protest against the brutality with which their fellow student has been treated for exhibiting works that BJP and VHP activists claim are offensive and obscene, the students put up pictures of the Gudimallam Shiva, perhaps the earliest known Shiva image, which combines the lingam with an anthropomorphic form; a Kushan mukha-linga or masked lingam; Lajja-gouris from Ellora and Orissa, resplendent in their fecund nakedness; erotic statuary from Modhera, Konark and Khajuraho; as well as Raga-mala paintings from Rajasthan. All these images, among the finest produced through the centuries in the subcontinent, celebrate the sensuous and the passionate dimensions of existence – which, in the Hindu world-view, are inseparably twinned with the austere and the contemplative. This treasure of Hindu sacred art did not win the favour of the establishment. The Pro Vice Chancellor issued a verbal request that the exhibition be closed, which the Dean of the Fine Arts Faculty, Dr Shivaji Panikkar, ignored. A written order followed, and was similarly ignored. The Pro Vice Chancellor then arrived at the venue, accompanied by some members of the Syndicate of the University. They requested Dr Panikkar to close down the exhibition, then ordered him to do so. When it became clear that the Dean would not bend to their will, they had the exhibition locked. It appears that the champions of a resurgent Hindu identity are acutely embarrassed by the presence of the erotic at the centre of Hindu sacred art. As they may well be, for the roots of Hindutva do not lie in Hinduism. Rather, they lie in a crude mixture of German romanticism, Victorian puritanism and Nazi methodology. What happens next? Will the champions of Hindutva go around the country destroying temple murals, breaking down monuments, and burning manuscripts and folios? ----------- Open Letter from Gulammohammed Sheikh Dear friends You must have known through media reports that Chandra Mohan, a student from the Department of Graphics at the Fine Arts College in Baroda has been arrested on 9th of May 2007 for making an allegedly controversial painting depicting nude figures with some religious motifs. The arrest followed the storming of the university premises by a group of outsiders. The work in question was part of a display in the college premises for assessment by a team of examiners for a Master's degree in Fine Arts. Charged with sections 153 and 114 as well as sections 295 A and 295 B, he has been denied bail and is presently in Central Jail, Baroda. In a civilized society any dispute on a controversial depiction or content of a work of art can be dealt with through dialogue and consultation with experts in the field rather than left to self-appointed moral police employing coersive means. In the present case, the outsiders taking law into their hands barged into the university campus without prior permission, did not consult or inform the Dean of the Faculty before disrupting the annual examinations in progress. The reports are that they returned again to abuse the Dean and threatened him with dire consequences. Such an instance of assault on a student by outsiders in the university premises is unprecedented in the history of the Faculty of Fine Arts and must be condemned in no uncertain terms. The Fine Arts College known nationally and internationally for upholding the highest standards of creative and critical practice has also earned reputation for its firm commitment to the freedom of expression. The former authorities of the university like Smt. Hansa Mehta, the very first Vice Chancellor in the fifties up to Prof. Bhikhu Parekh in the eighties have stood by the Faculty and its ideals. The present assault seems to strike at the very ideals on which it was built by pioneering artist-academics and supported by enlightened university authorities. The present administration of the university has not initiated any action against the trespassers or applied for bail for the victimized student. The students and staff of the Fine Arts College have organized a dharna and the Acting Dean, Prof. Shivaji Panikker has planned to undertake a hunger strike in the College premises against the assault on the student and callous attitude of the university authorities. (Latest report is that the Department of Art History has been sealed and Prof Panikker has been suspended by the university authorities). A solidarity demonstration of artists, intellectuals and cultural workers from all over India is called on 14th of May at the Fine Arts College premises beginning 2 pm with an appeal to all concerned to gather there to lend their support. (Contact details below*). As an alumnus and former teacher of the Faculty of Fine Arts, I fear these developments may imperil the working of an institution which in many ways has formed our lives; and is indeed an integral part of what we are today. I hope all other alumni and teachers as well as concerned artists and intellectuals of the country will come forward to protect it in its moment of crisis when the values it stands for are threatened. Gulammohammed Sheikh 11th May, 2007 Venue: Faculty of Fine Arts (or Fine Arts College), Pushpabug, University Road, Vadodara (Baroda) 390002 Time: 2 p.m. onwards Contact emails: Shivaji Panikker: shivji dot panikkar at gmail dot com Deeptha Achar : deeptha dot achar at gmail dot com ----------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070513/8a516f9a/attachment.html From zigzackly at gmail.com Mon May 14 02:07:57 2007 From: zigzackly at gmail.com (peter griffin) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 02:07:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest against the arrest of an art student and suspension of the dean of M S Univ - Monday, 14th May In-Reply-To: <4d145a50705131126k7c0006e0t4d6a070ace41c454@mail.gmail.com> References: <4d145a50705131125l4e226997ua9be1aa027d04428@mail.gmail.com> <4d145a50705131126k7c0006e0t4d6a070ace41c454@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4d145a50705131337v68725e76y6ab0b5b15b1139a3@mail.gmail.com> Apologies for mailing twice on the same topic, but this just reached me: Venues for protests in other cities (do please pass around. this info via Dionne Bunsha - earlier info via Ranjit Hoskote and Jerry Pinto) Date and time for all: 14th May, 6p.m . New Delhi - Rabindra Bhavan Mumbai - Jehangir Gallery Vishakapatnam - Faculty of Fine Arts, Andhra University Cochin - Kashi Art Café Hyderabad - Fine Arts, S N School, University of Hyderabad Bangalore - M G Road, opposite Gandhi statue Santiniketan - Kala Bhavan Guwahati - Press Club -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/d21dbba7/attachment.html From hpp at vsnl.com Mon May 14 11:20:53 2007 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 05:50:53 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] All-India protest - Kolkata Message-ID: Dear Friends The protest gathering of artists in Kolkata following the events in Baroda will be: Date: Monday 14 May 2007 venue: in front of Academy of Fine Arts time: from 4 pm. Best regards V Ramaswamy cuckooscall.blogspot.com From ysikand at gmail.com Mon May 14 14:06:25 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 14:06:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Interview With New Amir of Jamaat-e Islami Hind, Maulana Jalaluddin Umri Message-ID: <48097acc0705140136k632bd831q40c52509043f9c7e@mail.gmail.com> 72-year old Maulana Jalaluddin Umri was recently elected the Amir or President of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind. In this interview with Nigar Ataulla and Yoginder Sikand he talks about his vision for the Jamaat in the coming years. Q: Could you tell us something about yourself and your background? A: I was born in a village in North Arcot district in Tamil Nadu in 1935. I studied in an Urdu school in my village and then went to a well-known madrasa in Oomerabad, the Jamia Dar us-Salaam, where I completed a nine-year fazil course. After that, I spent a little more than two years at the Jamaat-e Islami Hind's headquarters, then in Rampur, in Uttar Pradesh. There, I studied informally from various scholars. In 1956 I joined the Jamaat-e Islami as a member and began working with the Idara-e Tasneef, the Jamaat's research and publications department and continued there for around 15 years. Thereafter, I shifted to Aligarh, where I edited the Jamaat's monthly Zindagi for some years and then took to editing the quarterly Islamic research journal Tahqiqat-e Islami, which I have carried on for the last twenty-five years. . Q: What particular areas would you like to focus on as the new Amir of the Jamaat-e Islami? A: I think we should carry on in the same broad direction as before, although giving particular attention to some issues that have not perhaps received the sort of focus that they should have. One of these is inter-faith or inter-community dialogue. The Quran stresses this and says that Muslims should seek to dialogue with others, no matter what their religion. This is also a means to tell others about Islam. The Jamaat has been doing this sort of work for many years, such as through publishing translations of the Quran in various languages and bringing out a Hindi magazine, Kanti, since 1958, which has a large number of non-Muslim readers. But I feel that we must give more focus to dialogue work than we have in the past. Islam has been present in India for more than a thousand years, but yet a large section of non-Muslim Indians remain ignorant about it. They wrongly think that it is the religion of a particular community of people known as Muslims, while actually Islam addresses itself to the entire humankind. And so they mistakenly think that if some people among such a numerically large community as the Indian Muslims commit a wrong act, in doing so they are dictated by their religion, which is not true. After all, there are people who do bad deeds in all communities. So, dialogue is also essential to tell others about Islam and to remove the misconceptions they might have about Islam and Muslims. Inter-faith dialogue is necessary to preserve and protect the democratic set-up of the country, so that each community is given its rights, including the right to freely practice and propagate its religion. If there's no dialogue there will be conflict and that augurs ill for the progress of the country as a whole. Through dialogue we can tell others about the Islamic perspective on various social and ethical issues. We want democracy to get strengthened. A vibrant democratic environment guarantees such processes of dialogue and reaching out, leading to a cultural fusion which can pave the way for the peaceful co-existence of different cultural streams in this country. We, of course, do not want to force anything on anyone. You can listen to what we have to say if you want, or else you can refuse, but that democratic space for articulating different views must be preserved. Q: So, what you are saying is that dialogue is also a means to address issues of common social concern. Is that right? A: Yes, of course. The Jamaat's efforts to reach out to non-Muslims have so far been quite limited, restricted mainly to a particular class. The question is of how to make this effort more mass-based. Islam has not become an issue for India, except in a negative sense, as reflected in the negative stereotypical images of Islam and Muslims in the media. We need to make efforts to see that Islam is focused on in this country, but in the positive sense—in terms of providing solutions for the country's problems, through which people of different communities can work together for common purposes. Unfortunately, we have not made use of the media as we should have for this sort of work, for which there is much scope and potential. Q: Given this, do you feel the need for any shift in the Jamaat's media policy? A: Certainly. We need to use the mass media to clear people's misconceptions about Islam and Muslims and to show them the positive role that Islam and its adherents can play in addressing problems facing the country. The Jamaat brings out magazines and periodicals in various languages, but these have not been very effective in influencing public opinion, because they are read mainly by Muslims themselves. If a story or a report is published in one of our magazines, it does not receive attention outside a limited, mainly Muslim, circle. But if the same story is published in a 'mainstream' newspaper it does. It becomes an issue. This reflects the fact that our media is not very effective in reaching out to a wider, particularly non-Muslim, readership or audience. One exception to this is the Malayalam periodical that we publish from Kerala, Madhyamam, which has a large readership, including among non-Muslims, and which also plays a role in shaping or influencing Kerala politics. Q: Some years ago the Jamaat set up what it called its Media Cell. How has that been functioning? A: I don't think it has been very effective. The Media Cell limited itself to documenting articles or reports in the media that concern Muslims and providing information on such issues to Jamaat leaders. I think we need to move much beyond this and build up a proper media team. This holds true for other Muslim organizations as well, so that their voices are heard beyond the confines of the community, too. Now, for this, I think it is crucial to reach out to non-Muslims in the media. There are many Hindus and others in the media who strongly believe that different views should be allowed to flourish. We need to approach them to put forward our views and the concerns of Muslims. Q: But do you see a tendency on the part of the non-Muslim Indian media to present Muslims and Islam in a particular negative light? A: Such tendencies are there, but we must not generalise. Yes, some forces have a vested interest in propagating such stereotypically negative views about Islam and Muslims. Once, a non-Muslim told me, 'Muslims did this and that in India when they ruled the country'. I simply answered, 'I am not a historian. I can only talk of Islam. I can only say if a deed done by a certain person calling himself a Muslim—be it the Mughal Emperor Babur or Akbar or Aurangzeb—was in accordance with Islam or not. I cannot defend any ruler simply because he claimed to be Muslim, if his actions were not in accordance with Islam'. I told him, 'You should not equate Islam with Muslims or with Muslim rulers'. Unfortunately, that is what a large section of the media actually does. But, that said, one has to say that there are many fair-minded Hindus and others in the Indian media. They want to present the facts about Muslims and Islam in an objective manner, because they believe that Muslims, as fellow Indians and as human beings, ought to have their rights as well as lives protected. In fact, some of these people were far more vocal in highlighting and protesting against the recent massacre of Muslims in Gujarat than Muslim media persons. We need to reach out to such people. This we can do through organizing seminars, conferences, etc.. The Jamaat has tried doing this, but we really must expand our work in this regard. Further, we should encourage Muslims, including those associated with the Jamaat, to enter the media, including the non-Muslim-owned media, where they can present Islam and Muslims in an objective and fair manner and highlight the problems of the community. Q: The Jamaat has been accused of seeking to dialogue with anti-Muslim Hindutva forces, including the RSS. This, for instance, happened in the 1970s, during the state of Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi. Is this a fair assessment? And is there any point of dialoguing with such groups whose ideology is itself based on a violently anti-Muslim agenda? A: See, during the Emergency, RSS and Jamaat people were together in prison. Just because the RSS was banned, the Government banned us as well, in order to present itself as 'balanced'. So, in jail we lived together from morning to evening. We had the opportunity to dialogue only with them, not because we felt that they were the only people we should dialogue with, but because there were few other people with us in jail. So, that was just a question of chance. However, you can say that after Jamaat activists were released from jail they did not make full use of the opportunities they had to engage in dialogue work at a broader level. Maybe they were too caught up in trying to revive the Jamaat after being in prison for almost two years. Now, as for your question as to whether or not there is any use dialoguing with Hindutva groups, I say that let anyone be anything, that should not stop us from our task of telling others about our faith. After all, there were many people who were very opposed to Islam at the time of the Prophet, but the Prophet did not stop his preaching, and, ultimately, they were impressed by what he preached and by his example and so they accepted Islam. So, human beings can change their views over time. But, of course, if you feel that after consistently trying to convince someone of your stand he refuses to listen then you should turn your attention to others. Q: Some Muslim leaders and organizations argue that Muslims must dialogue particularly with other similarly marginalized communities in the country, such as Dalits, Adivasis and other so-called 'low' castes, instead of seeking to dialogue with 'upper' caste Hindus. What are your views on this? A: See, Islam is for all people, not just for a particular community. So, we have to reach out to all. However, it is true that historically, in India and in many other places, Islam appealed particularly to the poor and the oppressed. But this it did not by instigating the poor against the rich but by stressing the rights that the poor have on the rich and the fact that we are all fellow creatures of God. In God's eyes, it is piety, not poverty or riches that count. That said, yes, I agree that we also need to address other marginalized communities living in India. This should be based on the conviction that all peoples must get the rights that the Constitution of India promises them as citizens of the country. We must support every group, irrespective of religion or caste, to get these rights if they are denied them, because the state itself says that these rights belong to all. If anyone commits aggression or oppresses someone else, we, as Muslims, have the duty to denounce this. Dialogue between Muslims and Dalits and other such marginalized communities has not really taken any systematic form. Sometimes such groups seek to cooperate with the Jamaat or with Muslims at the political level, on political issues and for political purposes. They really do not have any concern with what Islam has to say. Their point is simply that we are marginalized and so too are you, and so we should join hands. But I feel that this should not be the only issue for unity. We must also be able to tell them about how Islam can address their problems and concerns. Q: There is talk now of the Jamaat considering joining the field of electoral politics. Is this true? A: Yes. Earlier we had decided to participate in local level elections in some states, and in some places we have actually done so. This is in order to provide an opportunity for us to serve people. But because we are not very influential now, we have decided that at the state or national level we should support those parties who champion rights for all as against parties, such as those based on the Hindutva ideology, that seek to impose a particular culture on all Indians. Q: The Congress-led Government-appointed Sachar Commission has just come out with its Report, which clearly shows the levels of marginalisation that Muslims suffer in India. Do you think the Government will act on the recommendations of the Report? A: I don't know if the Government is at all serious about doing anything about these recommendations or if it is simply using the Report as a vote-grabbing gimmick by pleasing Muslims by making promises that it will not keep. The Report does not tell us anything new. Previous Government-appointed commissions, such as the Gopal Singh Committee, made the same point about Muslim marginalisation. But at least the Sachar Commission has prepared a detailed document, with figures and statistics to back it, which can be used to counter the Hindutva claim about alleged 'Muslim appeasement' and to show the level of Muslim marginalisation. Suppose a Muslim organization had prepared a report like the Sachar Commission Report, making the same arguments and presenting the same statistics and facts, many non-Muslims, as well as the Government, may not have accepted it. They might have accused it of being unreliable and biased simply because a Muslim organization had commissioned it. But now a Government-appointed Commission has highlighted the deplorable conditions of the Muslims, so no one can deny this. So, as I said, I do not know if the Government will act on any or some or all of the recommendations of the Sachar Commission. All I can say is that, besides making some announcements, so far nothing practical has been done by the Government in this regard. Q: That's about the role of the state in addressing the fact of Muslim economic and educational marginalisation. What role do you see for Muslim organizations like the Jamaat? A: The Jamaat has been involved in setting up educational and health institutions in a modest way. This is particularly the case in South India, where individuals associated with the Jamaat, along with local people, have set up schools, colleges and hospitals, several of which also cater to non-Muslims, too. I think we need to increase our focus on social and educational development-related issues, to benefit Muslims as well as non-Muslims. We need to work out means to promote both modern as well as religious education among the Muslim youth especially, because, particularly in the north, Muslims lag behind in education and the school drop-out rate is very high. Without modern education the community cannot progress and so this should be one of our major priorities. Of course, we have limited resources for all this, because, after all, we are not a state! Q: In South India the Jamaat seems better organized and more socially engaged than in the North, although the majority of the Indian Muslims reside in North India. Perhaps this is also true for other Muslim organizations. How do you account for this? A: Yes, this is true. Before the Partition, North India was leading. Most Muslim leaders, religious and political, came from there, especially from Delhi and what is now Uttar Pradesh. But the Partition hit North Indian Muslims particularly badly. Many middle-class and modern educated Muslims of the area migrated to Pakistan. Then came the Zamindari abolition, which hit the Muslim landlord class in the north. This, and the sub-division of small holdings, reduced large numbers of Muslims to penury. In contrast, the Partition did not affect South India much, except for small pockets like Hyderabad. Few South Indian Muslims migrated to Pakistan. Economically, too, they were saved the drastic decline that the North Indian Muslims faced, because there were and still are strong Muslim trading groups in the south. Then, unlike in South India, in large parts of the north, Muslims, in their opposition to British rule, also opposed English education, which made them lag behind. Also, historically, relations between Hindus and Muslims in South India have been much better than in the north, which, for centuries, has witnessed so many battles and conflicts. Because of this, Muslims in the south have been able to organize themselves and establish institutions for the community in a much more effective way than in the north. In Tamil Nadu, where I come from, Muslims form just around five per cent of the population, but there is a substantial well-educated and prosperous class among them. In contrast to the north, Muslims are more respected in Tamil Nadu. So, for instance, you won't find anyone deliberately annoying Muslims by playing music before mosques there and so on. Although communal forces are getting strong in the south now, I think this difference with the north still remains, by and large. Q: Given the fact that various Islamist groups are engaged in the Kashmir conflict, what role do you think an Islamic organization such as the Jamaat-e Islami can play in finding a solution to the problem? A: There is no alternative to better relations between India and Pakistan. The Kashmir conflict can only be solved through peaceful dialogue. We have had three wars over Kashmir already and we are not any closer to a solution for this. Both India and Pakistan are atomic powers and if they decide to fight each other, not just Kashmir, but the whole of the subcontinent can go into flames. The best way out is to recognize that Kashmir is an issue and then arrive at a solution that satisfies India, Pakistan and the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir. Q: Some Islamist groups in Pakistan and Kashmir claim that the Kashmir conflict is essentially a war between Islam and 'infidelity'. How do you see this argument? A: No, no, the issue is entirely political. It has nothing to do with religion. It is not, as some might say, a conflict between Islam and infidelity. What the Kashmiris are asking for is the right to political self-determination. I don't know of any Kashmiri militant group which claims that its struggle is aimed at establishing an Islamic system of governance in Kashmir. Q: But groups like the Lashkar-e Tayyeba and the Hizb ul-Mujahidin, for instance, make that sort of claim. A: No, this is wrong. They might say that they want to establish Nizam-e Mustafa or an Islamic state, but, in actual fact, the conflict does not relate to religion as such but to the fact that in 1947 Kashmir was an independent state and that its inhabitants had the right to decide their own political future. I don't think the conflict is about establishing an Islamic state, in contrast to what some groups might claim. Actually, one does not even know what the Kashmiris actually want. Some might want independence. Others might want to join Pakistan or India. But, as I said, the only way out is through peaceful dialogue, not violence, and the sooner the parties to the conflict realize this, the better. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping From prithu7 at hotmail.com Mon May 14 15:09:12 2007 From: prithu7 at hotmail.com (pritham k chakravarthy) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 15:09:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest against the arrest of an art student andsuspension of the dean of M S Univ - Monday, 14th May In-Reply-To: <4d145a50705131337v68725e76y6ab0b5b15b1139a3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Memebers of the community of artists are gathering to register their protest regarding events in MS University, Baroda at two places in Chennai. 4 pm. Lalit Kala Academy, Greames Road 6 pm Hues Gallery, Eldams Road. please report to either one to register. _________________________________________________________________ Tried the new MSN Messenger? It�s cool! Download now. http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in From amitabh at sarai.net Mon May 14 12:15:12 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:15:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Barodascape(1 of 3). Message-ID: "I dare anyone to file a complaint or take legal action against me. I will shut down entire Vadodara tomorrow" - BJP Leader, Niraj Jain. There is an obvious threat that the established feels with the emergence of the new. The threat of being forgotten, of obsolescence. Of the familiar turning strange. Of not having any tropes through which we engage with what lies ahead. This fear of the unknown is a fairly familiar threat. The question is, how does one engage with this? It's this insecurity that fuel's the cultural police and is exactly what has been happening in Baroda. A group that feels very strongly about 'their' tradition and culture is reacting to events that are de-stabilizing it. They assume the roles of the absolute custodians of a certain cultural history. What gives them this right? And then on the flip side what doesn't give us the right to stake claim to our own culture and emphasizing that. A battle of rights would seem like a perfectly legitimate one to be fought, wouldn't it? A million battles could be then fought for the rights of many cultures and sub cultures. Drama and counter drama. A million loops. "Some people think the erotica is very much new and individualistic in "Modern Art", but this exhibition will prove that it has always been there in Indian Traditional Art practices." - The exhibition note of "Let us see the Indian Tradition", an exhibition put up by the students of the fine arts faculty on May11 in the aftermath of the Annual Fine Arts display being shut off after the intervention of BJP leader Niraj Jain and his apparent displeasure and anger over the work of one the student's of the faculty . The fine arts exhibition attempts to destabilize the rights that Niraj Jain stakes to a cultural history, by throwing light on the fact that nudity and a certain degree of profanity has always been part of the Indian culture. Commendable for being done under such short notice. But will this quieten the aggressor down? Or fuel his already pathetic desperation for control ? Is the way we engage with a bully so simplistic that we feel nothing but threatened and victimized? Probably one way to reign in free thought and exercise control over the production of culture is to control the dissent within the system. Rather the form of dissent within the system. The tangent of the reaction should always be predictable. The threat to those in control or those who'd like to think that they are in control is not simply the threat of conflict of a group publicly disagreeing with them. It is the unpredictability of the reaction that they cannot intercede against. Which is what is happening in the faculty of fine arts is an unsettling reminder of the current state of the affairs. Niraj Jain's actions and the art communities response fall well within the bounds of the predictable. It is not a threat. To those in real power, Chandu is simply exercising some use of the elbowroom that they have allotted him. The system remains intact. Infact, consumership may even be energized by the ordeal. It's when you stop being a predictable little consumer of the consumer world (material and cultural consumption of disposable goods and thoughts and words) that you are a threat. I refuse to create a martyr of Chandramohan Srilamantula and fight for his freedom. It is not his freedom that really concerns me. Neither does him creating images that might offend some religious sentiments seem to bother me. What gets to me are two things. The blatancy with which a certain section of society seems to control the culture that they live in. And the complete impotency and ineptness with which we, more importantly I, seem to relate to it and understand it. The issue that surrounds us right now is much bigger than anyone incident or event. Although these events serve as milestones of something that has been snowballing ever since. It is not exclusive to a region or a culture, but to all cultures and places. Let us look back at the events that have happened since Chandu's arrest. The BJP flexes it's rippling muscles and snarls. The university dismisses the faculty as if it were its bastard child. The faculty replies with a signed petition to the apparently powerless and impotent university authorities, to lodge an FIR against the aggressor. The aggressor blatantly threatens the university with dire actions if they switch to lawful means to counter him. The artist is still in prison with more than one charge against his name. The scenes get played out such that they have a faint echo of comedies of the past. Is this the first time that the religious sentiments seem to have been threatened? Is this the first time that the artist's license has come under scrutiny? Why are we consistently missing the point of that which is happening and will go on unless the right questions are asked? Why do we, as artists and creative persons, fail to see beyond our practice and the implications of what just happened? It is true that what had happened was the blatant hijacking of culture by force. But are there other tools? Who has the right to produce culture? Who can stake claim to it? Who is the vigilante and who the goonda? Is it always as simple?What is acceptable.? Can thoughts be censored? Can the translation of thoughts be censored? I do not how the events will unfold. In all probability a hero and a villain will emerge. The Gods and Goondas will be created from different perspectives and things would be so simple from so many different corners that it would eventually die a respectful quiet death. Should it ? -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/52bfd71b/attachment.html From amitabh at sarai.net Mon May 14 12:19:08 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:19:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Barodascape(2 of 3). Message-ID: 9th of May, 2003. I sit in a cyber cafe in baroda with the attendant humming around me trying to verify my photo id proof and wanting to know if kumar is actually my last name. It's sweltering hot outside. Anyways this note is more about the events that have recently taken place at the faculty of fine arts MSU Baroda, and the questions towards which they point. What hapenned was this.The annual fine arts display is a congregation of all the alumni of fine arts. People come from all over India to celebrate another batch that comes out of the academy. It was during this event that another was born. A final year M.V.A student of printmaking called Chandu had put huge blow ups of his woodcut prints for the annual display. The visuals included a Christ like image on the cross and his penis being exposed and a few nude drawings of a few 'deity' like figurines.Whatit led to was a few BJP activists storming into the faculty and shutting down the display. They claimed that these were misusing the license given to an artist and were doing works simply for the sake of publicity. On being asked by the BJP people about why he had created those images, he quipped back saying that if M.F Hussain could do it , then why couldn't he ? That I think did him in. The BJP Chief ranted and raved about how the works were perverting and diluting their Culture. The culture that belonged to the great city of Sayaji and the Gujarati community.He was the vigilante who would not allow such absolute perversion.Under this pretext ,the dean in the faculty was manhandled and slapped and the few students who spoke out were cowed down by the cops. Yes , the cops were there throughout. Flexing their paunch and chatting up with the 'activists'. The artist in question, Chandu, was taken away by the cops and had been earlier beaten up by the BJP people. All the students were asked to leave the campus. Ofcourse no one left. We stood their, muted by what we were witnessing. The seedy nexus between the moral police and the police police can be best described by this liitle observation: BJP Activist: Either you seal the prints and destroy them or we will destroy all the works in the display.. Cop : No, No... We don't need to get violent here.. don't worry the works will be sealed. The entire place rife with rumours about why what had hapenned had hapenned. A vendetta, an old grudge, politics(internal and external). But the one rumor that stayed in my head was about how after the Hussain Scandal there was a ruling passed by the supreme court that said that any image that depicted a religious deity in a vulgar light was a crime and the artist was liable .to being arrested. The dean too was rumoured to be facing arrest, since everything was done under his supervision and he was responsible for what had happenned. The journalists jumped at anyone who spoke over a few decibels and a crowd forming around that. The BJP activists with their hands folded, glaring at anyone who looked like a fine arty( There is a certain prototype of a fine arts student.. me for example). The few voices that came from the faculty students and alumni being completely muted down by a cacophony of shrieks of the BJP people. People shooting from everywhere . Lost in a jungle of handycam's. Last heard, the artist was in the jail under a non -bailable warrant. ( the top lawyer in Baroda is also a well known BJP henchman ).. Ofcourse the joke going around is that , our artist has made it in the Indian art marker. Nothing works like a little censorship and 'hulla-gulla'. And I am also under no illusion about the artists innocence. Of course he knew what he was doing.. perhaps didn't assume the reactions would take such a turn , but I am fairly certain he knew what he was getting into.. But this little note is also not about the politics of Indian Art in particular.. What was happenning was bigger than a Chandu being arrested or a dean being slapped. What was happenning was the blatant hijacking of culture by force. Or are there other tools? Who has the right to produce culture? Who can stake claim to it? Who is the vigilante and who the goonda? What is acceptable.? Can thoughts be censored ? Can the translation of thoughts be censored ? I do not how the events will unfold. In all probability a hero and a villain will emerge. The Gods and Goondas will be created from different perspectives and things would be so simple from so many different corners that it would eventually die a respectful quiet death. Should it ? -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/80f24608/attachment.html From amitabh at sarai.net Mon May 14 12:21:00 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:21:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Barodascape(3 of 3). Message-ID: There is a white wall outside my house. A window lies stuck to the wall and four window panes are missing. The two green ones that are there turn fluorescent when the sun shines too hard. I stop what I am doing and stare at the wall, anticipating something. A squirrel jumps across it. In a flash of a second it's gone. Gone. I spent four years in Baroda. Four years of sweat, laughter, bad haircuts, petty envy, violence, drunken reveries, stoned visions, paint on clothes, heartache's, wet boring afternoon's, lectures, a million stutters, an occasional teardrop, the faint sound of music, dignified sorrow, mad mad love, aborted dreams, forced futurescapes. Four years. Of that and so much more. And intertwined with these abstracts was the fabric of the concrete, the tactile, and the sensory. There were the long walks back to the hostel from a late night movie show. The pathetically sweet chai in the bus stop at three in the night. The bickering for a ticket to Ahmedabad in the travel agent's counter. Hunting for country made liquor around the slums next to the hostels. Going to the railway station for bhajiya at four in the morning. Getting into drunken rowdiness on the painting department roof top, as if there was no tomorrow. On good day's there really wasn't. I remember walking back from the hostel's at four in the morning, with the smell of turpentine still following me. Entering the campus and playing cricket for another two hours. The sun would signal bed time. I remember and it was my memory of things that took me back to Baroda. What I saw was a funeral procession in waiting. The police had made sure that everything shuts down at ten-thirty. Late night chai was at a place unknown to me. Even the dogs gnarled at me. There were cops everywhere. Drunken drives in a dry state meant certain imprisonment. If you were caught walking down the road at 11 in the night, you were liable to be questioned by a police van. The slums had got razed and so had the travel agents shop. My favorite hair saloon was also knocked down. Drunken binges were now not louder than a whisper and jamming sessions unheard off. Somewhere between all this I turned a stranger to a place that was once mine. It was worse that the that wet afternoon when I had first come to Baroda and was charged thirty rupees extra by the rickshaw driver. It was much worse than getting lost there for the first time. Because now, I knew the roads well. Just that these roads weren't the ones that I had once walked on. I wasn't familiar to them and god knows who or what had turned them into the strange beasts that they are now. The traffic seemed busier, people seemed lonelier, the tea never as sweet, the alcohol ineffective. New faces cropped up who only knew me as a word. There was a contagious heaviness in the eyes of my friend for having been a mute, helpless spectator to a sudden change. I soon caught it. I do not want to rediscover the changed texture of this city. It has a rotten stench that makes me feel cheated, rebuked, orphaned. The memories of what it once was and what I once had are still very pronounced. Very alive. It was a witness to four years of my life. And only now do I realize that perhaps I was a witness to something too. http://barodaoutrage.blogspot.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/a4cb64ac/attachment.html From amitabh at sarai.net Mon May 14 12:52:55 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:52:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] An open letter to the VC of the Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Baroda. Message-ID: FROM PANTUL KOTHARI – CEO INTEGRA ADVERTISING AND SENATE MEMBER FROM MANAGEMENT FACULTY- REGISTERED GRADUATES CONSTITUENCY To, May 11, 2007 The Vice Chancellor Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Vadodara Dear Manoj, Its been more then one and half decade since we studied together at the Arts Faculty. If you remember those times and the atmosphere then, there are some pleasant memories. The environment academic as well as extra curricular, is something Manoj we surely remember with foundness. You always were the prim and proper, the ideal student – the academic one. And I was the happy go lucky care a damn types. Having my finger in every pie right from theater to debating to elections, everything but academics. While I remember the good student, Manoj of then, who was a man of few words and carried himself with dignity and respect. And there is the Manoj the VC of today who somehow has been taken over by his ambitions and forgotten what as a student he got from the University. He seems to be appointed by powers – his masters and he is in total control of them as a puppet. Your actions since the last few years are absolutely shocking. When you joined as VC here I was elated and came to meet you assuring you of all my support. But then your actions – which I cant believe are yours – you seem to be working on instructions of your masters. Having little control of what you are doing. Since you have taken over MSU has gone from frying pan to fire. You are singularly responsible for accelerating the decline of this lovely institution. Manoj you seem to be controlled by a group who has no interest in the progress of the University and they just want to rule the system. In the name of safronisation they are into very dirty power play and are hell bent on messing up and you seem to be in their total control so that you can continue as the Vice Chancellor. You are doing 'justice' to your designation- vice chancellor – you are for sure giving loads of CHANCES to all the possible VICES in the University. My friend haven't you changed a lot? You still carry the fixed smile from student days. Only thing is that the pleasant smile of then is replaced by a devilish fixed smile which is always there- seemingly enjoying the rape of the University. What happened at the Fine Arts Faculty is simply shocking and unbelievable. The issue is not whether what the student had displayed was right or wrong. It is a separate matter. The issue is that outside fanatics in the name of culture or religion come into the campus and disturb the sacrosanct examination process, abuse and threaten academicians and students. And the university refuses to act. It is such a shame that instead of filing an FIR for trespass of University property and threats to teachers you and your bunch of cronies actually asked the teachers to apologize! How much will you fall and stoop to what levels to please your bosses? How much will your masters dictate your actions and you be part of their devious plans? My friend is there not even an iota of conscience left inside you? Are you just not bothered of your actions? I understand you did not take any action for nearly7 hours when the goons were roaming and terrorizing the faculty and students. Hundreds of students exams work was on display and the pieces of art were under threat of being damaged. You did not even feel once that you should act immediately. The exams were being disrupted and you did not care at all. Your office members came finally at 9.30 odd when the police was finishing the sealing of the display- exactly at that time. Looks as if you were part of the entire plan and were hand in glove with the goons. In fact till date the University has not taken any action against the alleged trespass. Isnt it shocking and shamefull. The university is under your authority – if anything went wrong on it – it was you who was to act. Not Niraj Jain or anyone else. Or is it that you do not have any authority on the campus? And so you allow outside powers to take control. Manoj have things come to this level? I am sure you are holding on to your fixed smile as you read the letter – as your actions or rather lack of them would have got you more complements from your masters. And assured you maybe of another term as VC so that they can continue with your active support, their vices on the campus. It is shocking that on the campus – which is like a large family we have outsiders ruling and the VC- who is supposed to be a respectable figure, a father figure to the University is encouraging them and asking senior academicians to apologise! If you allow me to be personal, in your house if your child or wife don't listen to you or are wrong and don't fall in line with the ideology of your masters – do you sort it out or call up Niraj Jain or some other fanatics to come and handle them? Threaten them? Abuse your wife and children and then maybe get them arrested? Surely not. Similiarly please don't allow such rot to set on the campus. Please wake up my friend please do so. And of course one little question from me –incidentally I am a Jain who prays twice a day and doesn't have to wear a saffron band or get into hooliganism to prove that he is a good Hindu. The question I would like to ask your masters- if they are genuinely worried about peoples sentiments and religious purity etc--- do they ever wonder that during Ganesh Chaturti every single hour and every single day--- there is kajra re or bidi jaliale or such shit being sung and people most of them drunk dancing in front of gods idols? Similiarly during Navratri in Most of Gujarat, there is disco and filmi songs being sung in the name of Ma Ambe- doesn't it pinch the religious moral police then? Would they find one painting or two objectionable at a college exam – which is purely internal and don't mind their cadres in thousand dancing to obscene songs for days together at the Ganesh Pandals? Or they don't have the guts to object there as it would be anti populist and possibly this is easier meat and gives them more publicity. In fact the Fine Arts Faculty has preserved the traditional Garba with an absolutely traditional form of Garba at its Faculty. That is culture. What positive work has been done by the Saffron Brigade for Hindus? Except negative and destructive activities. We hindus are acting like fanatic extremists- let your masters know a true Hindus feelings. It is sad that in the name of religion society is being hijacked and people like you who are at responsible posts- are behaving so shamelessly. I have seen and heard how the elections to senate, syndicate, promotions, threats to professors, arm twisting of academicians are taking place at the University by the so called saffron brigade goons. It is really sad – worse that you are an active part of it. I don't subscribe to any kind of religious insults and fanaticism from any religion Hindu, Christian or Muslim. And I repeat the issue here is not of what the student displayed – whether it was right or wrong. That was for you the authorities to decide in a civilized manner. It is an issue of letting hooligans enter rule and escape without any action – possibly with you and your cronies active support. And the tragedy that you instead asked the academicians for apology. It is extremely sad and distressful to see an old friend work like this. I may have been harsh, but have no regrets as you are doing much worse to the university. You are actually encouraging gang rape of the University, ofcourse you are smiling then too. And the fact that anyone sensible raises a voice in the University you brand him as anti BJP. Believe me I have always been a BJP voter supporter – but what you are guys are doing is extremely disgusting and will lead to the destruction of the once great University. And I feel ashamed that the party I support from my heart is part of this destruction. Dear Vice Chancellor – do free the university of its vices- let your conscious awaken and you be your own master. You be what I knew you about 20 years back. Please work positively without any political biases with only the interests of the University in mind. Lets bring it back to its glory. Everyone makes mistakes. But it is never to late to realize and correct them. Jab Jaage Tab Swara Hai. Being a Soni, I presume you are from a community of jewellers –learn to respect the jewel MSU and stop the damage my friend. I plead stop it in the name of humanity. Yours truly, Pantul Kothari 9327245662 Senate Member – Faculty of Management Registered Graduates Constituency -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/3fa90f69/attachment.html From burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk Mon May 14 15:37:23 2007 From: burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk (burton cleetus) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 11:07:23 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Public health, and the hegemonisation of western scientific enterprise, Rockefeller Foundation in Travancore, 3rd post Message-ID: <20070514100724.53193.qmail@web27105.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> The formulation of a public health policy with the engagement of the Rockefeller foundation in complete isolation to the indigenous medical practices was met with resistance. A section of the indigenous medical practitioners questioned the way in which entire public health policy was carried forward. The arrival of the foundation and the attempts to formulate a Public health policy further brought to fore the larger discourses that were generated in the wake of western medical ideas and norms and its influence on the indigenous medical practices. Marginalized by the discourses on health and medicine and relegated by the state, the proponents of indigenous medicine claimed that indigenous medicine was capable of addressing the diseases that were prevalent in Travancore. While, in its modern contexts and the emergence of a new “public sphere” accompanied by the generation of the notion of public health, a large number of Vaidyans (indigenous practitioners) claimed that they have discovered ‘drugs and methods of treatment for contagious diseases that had become popular largely due to the arrival of the print. However, the state was of the view that Public health was an entirely modern day phenomenon and did not fall on the larger notion and discourses of Ayurveda. In order to get state recognition, the proponents of indigenous medicine had to prove that indigenous medical practice, in the treatment of malaria, conformed to the principles of western science. In a letter addressed to the chief secretary to the government Shankara Pillai, the principal of the Ayurveda College, Trivandrum argued that modern western methods of destroying the anopheles type of mosquitoes as a preventive for Malaria appears to be inefficacious, since they multiply by 200 times within 72 hours of their birth, particularly in a place like Travancore, with plenty of vegetation and damp tracts, facilitating their genesis and growth. The basic argument was diseases are highly specific to the ecology and hence medicines used for its elimination are regionally specific. Quoting western scientists he questioned the use of quinine and argued that it is highly injurious to the body and weakens of the powers of perception and hearing paleness and general debility can affect the sense organs particularly the eyes and the ears. Alike many other indigenous physicians of the time, Shankara Pillai, claimed to have found out medicines for the cure of malaria, filariasis, cholera, etc. He submitted a proposal to the government, which he claimed to be, based entirely on a standard formula in Ayurvedic works and tried on malaria effected patients which he claimed to be eminently successful. While the indigenous medicine and its methods were not based on the instrumentalist rationalist of western science and the efficacy of its drugs was not proved by clinical trials, proponents of indigenous medicine based their claim to Sanskrit tradition of the past. Shankara Pillai argued that even before the arrival of English medicines, Ayurvedic physicians had knowledge about Malaria as Vishajvaram and had treated it efficiently. Thus tradition was used as a source of strength in the defense of indigenous medicine against western medicine. The political and administrative authorities of the Travancore state, convinced by the superiority of western science, medicine and sanitary measures in addressing the health needs of the state, ridiculed the claims of the indigenous medical practitioners. The state demanded from the indigenous medical practitioners to prove the credentials of the drugs through the verification of its samples as the scientific value of these preparations remained to be ascertained. The chemical changes that take place in omitting or adding one or more ingredients from a group or standard formulae, the total caloric content of the resulting product etc. cannot be gauged without scientific trials and researches in a laboratory and subjecting the proof on blood findings. The Ayurvedic physician was also forced to prove his scientific credentials through blood test, and to state the composition of the compounds for the approval and verification of facts by both the government and which facts are essential for the approval of the government as well as the public. The claimant was demanded to prove the efficacy of the drugs by treating 12 different cases of malaria in a convenient building within this town under the direct and immediate supervision of the honorary director “at your own expense”, the results being checked on blood findings by the public health department. The government dismissed the claim on the ground, since drugs consisting of toxins can only cure fevers intermittent or not affecting or renders the blood of a person inhospitable to malarial germs and the specifics are prescribed to persons not attacked by the disease. Shankara Pillai was asked to explain the therapeutic activity as well as the composition of his specifics. The government argued that, mosquito campaign is adopted by government as a measure to prevent malaria, being fully aware of its genesis, growth and the nature of the localities concerned. For them quinine is a well-investigated drug, the therapeutic activities of which including it’s after effects are fully known to the scientific world. Shankara Pillai in a counter response pointed out the differences in the epistemic practices of western and indigenous systems of medicine and argued that nowhere in history, had Ayurvedic physicians cured Malaria and the results had been proved through the testing of blood samples. According to him as the basic principles, which underlie both the streams are different, it is not possible to prove the credibility of a medical practice using the standards of the other. Though the state argued public health to be an entirely western phenomenon and indigenous medical methods are insufficient to handle it, in the policy of the award of the grant-in-aid the state gave preference to those who have claimed to cure contagious diseases. Detailed rules were prescribed for the vaidyans to act according to the demands of the state regarding sanitary and public health measures. Grants were awarded to vaidyans who claimed to have cured Malaria, Cholera and other diseases. In the revised rules for the Grant in aid, in 1929 the government instructed that the vaidyans were to furnish the government with; 1. Daily Cholera reports when the disease is prevalent and cases treated daily. Annual return of sick treated daily 2. Annual return of the work of the institution 3. Annual returns of sick treated and of deaths from cholera 4. Annual report of the surgical operations performed. Monthly returns of the sick treated every year were to be sent by each Vaidyan so as to reach the superintendent of Vaidyasalas by the 10th of every succeeding month. In response to the new government order the vaidyans applying for the grant increasingly claimed that they were efficient in treating malaria, dysentery and cholera, and that they have eliminated the diseases in the towns and has high attainments in the modern developed Ayurvedic sciences alike in theory and practice ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.html From amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com Mon May 14 12:13:23 2007 From: amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:13:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Barodascape(1 of 3). Message-ID: "I dare anyone to file a complaint or take legal action against me. I will shut down entire Vadodara tomorrow" - BJP Leader, Niraj Jain. There is an obvious threat that the established feels with the emergence of the new. The threat of being forgotten, of obsolescence. Of the familiar turning strange. Of not having any tropes through which we engage with what lies ahead. This fear of the unknown is a fairly familiar threat. The question is, how does one engage with this? It's this insecurity that fuel's the cultural police and is exactly what has been happening in Baroda. A group that feels very strongly about 'their' tradition and culture is reacting to events that are de-stabilizing it. They assume the roles of the absolute custodians of a certain cultural history. What gives them this right? And then on the flip side what doesn't give us the right to stake claim to our own culture and emphasizing that. A battle of rights would seem like a perfectly legitimate one to be fought, wouldn't it? A million battles could be then fought for the rights of many cultures and sub cultures. Drama and counter drama. A million loops. "Some people think the erotica is very much new and individualistic in "Modern Art", but this exhibition will prove that it has always been there in Indian Traditional Art practices." - The exhibition note of "Let us see the Indian Tradition", an exhibition put up by the students of the fine arts faculty on May11 in the aftermath of the Annual Fine Arts display being shut off after the intervention of BJP leader Niraj Jain and his apparent displeasure and anger over the work of one the student's of the faculty . The fine arts exhibition attempts to destabilize the rights that Niraj Jain stakes to a cultural history, by throwing light on the fact that nudity and a certain degree of profanity has always been part of the Indian culture. Commendable for being done under such short notice. But will this quieten the aggressor down? Or fuel his already pathetic desperation for control ? Is the way we engage with a bully so simplistic that we feel nothing but threatened and victimized? Probably one way to reign in free thought and exercise control over the production of culture is to control the dissent within the system. Rather the form of dissent within the system. The tangent of the reaction should always be predictable. The threat to those in control or those who'd like to think that they are in control is not simply the threat of conflict of a group publicly disagreeing with them. It is the unpredictability of the reaction that they cannot intercede against. Which is what is happening in the faculty of fine arts is an unsettling reminder of the current state of the affairs. Niraj Jain's actions and the art communities response fall well within the bounds of the predictable. It is not a threat. To those in real power, Chandu is simply exercising some use of the elbowroom that they have allotted him. The system remains intact. Infact, consumership may even be energized by the ordeal. It's when you stop being a predictable little consumer of the consumer world (material and cultural consumption of disposable goods and thoughts and words) that you are a threat. I refuse to create a martyr of Chandramohan Srilamantula and fight for his freedom. It is not his freedom that really concerns me. Neither does him creating images that might offend some religious sentiments seem to bother me. What gets to me are two things. The blatancy with which a certain section of society seems to control the culture that they live in. And the complete impotency and ineptness with which we, more importantly I, seem to relate to it and understand it. The issue that surrounds us right now is much bigger than anyone incident or event. Although these events serve as milestones of something that has been snowballing ever since. It is not exclusive to a region or a culture, but to all cultures and places. Let us look back at the events that have happened since Chandu's arrest. The BJP flexes it's rippling muscles and snarls. The university dismisses the faculty as if it were its bastard child. The faculty replies with a signed petition to the apparently powerless and impotent university authorities, to lodge an FIR against the aggressor. The aggressor blatantly threatens the university with dire actions if they switch to lawful means to counter him. The artist is still in prison with more than one charge against his name. The scenes get played out such that they have a faint echo of comedies of the past. Is this the first time that the religious sentiments seem to have been threatened? Is this the first time that the artist's license has come under scrutiny? Why are we consistently missing the point of that which is happening and will go on unless the right questions are asked? Why do we, as artists and creative persons, fail to see beyond our practice and the implications of what just happened? It is true that what had happened was the blatant hijacking of culture by force. But are there other tools? Who has the right to produce culture? Who can stake claim to it? Who is the vigilante and who the goonda? Is it always as simple?What is acceptable.? Can thoughts be censored? Can the translation of thoughts be censored? I do not how the events will unfold. In all probability a hero and a villain will emerge. The Gods and Goondas will be created from different perspectives and things would be so simple from so many different corners that it would eventually die a respectful quiet death. Should it ? -- www.amitabhkumar.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/a3a0723f/attachment.html From burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk Mon May 14 15:42:41 2007 From: burtoncleetus at yahoo.co.uk (burton cleetus) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 11:12:41 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Public health, and the hegemonisation of western scientific enterprise Message-ID: <540858.56800.qm@web27102.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Public health, and the hegemonisation of western scientific enterprise The formulation of a public health policy with the engagement of the Rockefeller foundation in complete isolation to the indigenous medical practices was met with resistance. A section of the indigenous medical practitioners questioned the way in which entire public health policy was carried forward. The arrival of the foundation and the attempts to formulate a Public health policy further brought to fore the larger discourses that were generated in the wake of western medical ideas and norms and its influence on the indigenous medical practices. Marginalized by the discourses on health and medicine and relegated by the state, the proponents of indigenous medicine claimed that indigenous medicine was capable of addressing the diseases that were prevalent in Travancore. While, in its modern contexts and the emergence of a new “public sphere” accompanied by the generation of the notion of public health, a large number of Vaidyans (indigenous practitioners) claimed that they have discovered ‘drugs and methods of treatment for contagious diseases that had become popular largely due to the arrival of the print. However, the state was of the view that Public health was an entirely modern day phenomenon and did not fall on the larger notion and discourses of Ayurveda. In order to get state recognition, the proponents of indigenous medicine had to prove that indigenous medical practice, in the treatment of malaria, conformed to the principles of western science. In a letter addressed to the chief secretary to the government Shankara Pillai, the principal of the Ayurveda College, Trivandrum argued that modern western methods of destroying the anopheles type of mosquitoes as a preventive for Malaria appears to be inefficacious, since they multiply by 200 times within 72 hours of their birth, particularly in a place like Travancore, with plenty of vegetation and damp tracts, facilitating their genesis and growth. The basic argument was diseases are highly specific to the ecology and hence medicines used for its elimination are regionally specific. Quoting western scientists he questioned the use of quinine and argued that it is highly injurious to the body and weakens of the powers of perception and hearing paleness and general debility can affect the sense organs particularly the eyes and the ears. Alike many other indigenous physicians of the time, Shankara Pillai, claimed to have found out medicines for the cure of malaria, filariasis, cholera, etc. He submitted a proposal to the government, which he claimed to be, based entirely on a standard formula in Ayurvedic works and tried on malaria effected patients which he claimed to be eminently successful. While the indigenous medicine and its methods were not based on the instrumentalist rationalist of western science and the efficacy of its drugs was not proved by clinical trials, proponents of indigenous medicine based their claim to Sanskrit tradition of the past. Shankara Pillai argued that even before the arrival of English medicines, Ayurvedic physicians had knowledge about Malaria as Vishajvaram and had treated it efficiently. Thus tradition was used as a source of strength in the defense of indigenous medicine against western medicine. The political and administrative authorities of the Travancore state, convinced by the superiority of western science, medicine and sanitary measures in addressing the health needs of the state, ridiculed the claims of the indigenous medical practitioners. The state demanded from the indigenous medical practitioners to prove the credentials of the drugs through the verification of its samples as the scientific value of these preparations remained to be ascertained. The chemical changes that take place in omitting or adding one or more ingredients from a group or standard formulae, the total caloric content of the resulting product etc. cannot be gauged without scientific trials and researches in a laboratory and subjecting the proof on blood findings. The Ayurvedic physician was also forced to prove his scientific credentials through blood test, and to state the composition of the compounds for the approval and verification of facts by both the government and which facts are essential for the approval of the government as well as the public. The claimant was demanded to prove the efficacy of the drugs by treating 12 different cases of malaria in a convenient building within this town under the direct and immediate supervision of the honorary director “at your own expense”, the results being checked on blood findings by the public health department. The government dismissed the claim on the ground, since drugs consisting of toxins can only cure fevers intermittent or not affecting or renders the blood of a person inhospitable to malarial germs and the specifics are prescribed to persons not attacked by the disease. Shankara Pillai was asked to explain the therapeutic activity as well as the composition of his specifics. The government argued that, mosquito campaign is adopted by government as a measure to prevent malaria, being fully aware of its genesis, growth and the nature of the localities concerned. For them quinine is a well-investigated drug, the therapeutic activities of which including it’s after effects are fully known to the scientific world. Shankara Pillai in a counter response pointed out the differences in the epistemic practices of western and indigenous systems of medicine and argued that nowhere in history, had Ayurvedic physicians cured Malaria and the results had been proved through the testing of blood samples. According to him as the basic principles, which underlie both the streams are different, it is not possible to prove the credibility of a medical practice using the standards of the other. Though the state argued public health to be an entirely western phenomenon and indigenous medical methods are insufficient to handle it, in the policy of the award of the grant-in-aid the state gave preference to those who have claimed to cure contagious diseases. Detailed rules were prescribed for the vaidyans to act according to the demands of the state regarding sanitary and public health measures. Grants were awarded to vaidyans who claimed to have cured Malaria, Cholera and other diseases. In the revised rules for the Grant in aid, in 1929 the government instructed that the vaidyans were to furnish the government with; 1. Daily Cholera reports when the disease is prevalent and cases treated daily. Annual return of sick treated daily 2. Annual return of the work of the institution 3. Annual returns of sick treated and of deaths from cholera 4. Annual report of the surgical operations performed. Monthly returns of the sick treated every year were to be sent by each Vaidyan so as to reach the superintendent of Vaidyasalas by the 10th of every succeeding month. In response to the new government order the vaidyans applying for the grant increasingly claimed that they were efficient in treating malaria, dysentery and cholera, and that they have eliminated the diseases in the towns and has high attainments in the modern developed Ayurvedic sciences alike in theory and practice Burton ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.html From kalakamra at gmail.com Mon May 14 15:25:36 2007 From: kalakamra at gmail.com (shaina a) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 15:25:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Baroda alert Message-ID: <33eee40c0705140255w5475baa5p18c7e0daea87873b@mail.gmail.com> At 3:pm today, police have arrested and carted away two bus loads of students and artists mostly students from MSU and some artists/activists from Bombay. Several present have been verbally threatened and pushed around. There is a 100 strong crowd of right wing supporters who have not been arrested. Kindly alert press ASAP and inform all at nationwide demonstrations today. will keep updated. Baroda Peaceful Demonstration began at 2 pm. ChandraMohan was freed at noon today. -- shaina chitrakarkhana.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/371f425f/attachment.html From kalakamra at gmail.com Mon May 14 15:33:03 2007 From: kalakamra at gmail.com (shaina a) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 15:33:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest Demonstration against Fascist Vandalism in Baroda In-Reply-To: <447490.99078.qm@web7606.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <447490.99078.qm@web7606.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <33eee40c0705140303g65c4a8afl7ac8550dc5193787@mail.gmail.com> At 3:pm today, police have arrested and carted away two bus loads of students and artists mostly students from MSU and some artists/activists from Bombay. Several present have been verbally threatened and pushed around. There is a 100 strong crowd of right wing supporters who have not been arrested. Kindly alert press ASAP and inform all at nationwide demonstrations today. will keep updated. Baroda Peaceful Demonstration began at 2 pm. ChandraMohan was freed at noon today. On 5/12/07, lalit batra wrote: > > > Dear friends, The fascist goons of BJP-VHP have let loose a reign of > terror in the prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University Baroda. Please > go through the details of the incident given below. The latest development > is that the Dean of Fine Arts Faculty, Shivji Pannicker, has been suspended > and the Department of Art History has been sealed. The campus has virtually > been taken over by VHP goons who are threatning students and vandalising > their work. We call upon all the democtratic and progressive people of Delhi > to come forward and protest against the fascist attempt to stifle voices of > creativity and dissent. *Please join us for a protest demonstration > tomorrow, 12th of May, at 3 p.m. at Gujarat Bhawan, Chanakya Puri, Near > Ashoka Hotel* . In Solidarity, Lalit Batra 9899091413 > Dear All, > > You are all aware of the latest Sangh Parivar > offensive against the > democratic rights of the students and Faculty members > of the well known Fine > Arts Faculty of Baroda, M.S.University. The Fine Arts > Faculty is one of the > best institutions within the M.S.University, which has > managed to retain > high academic standards, in the face of the general > academic deterioration > within the University. > > The recent incident of hooliganism and blatant > bullying unleashed by the > Sangh Parivar has sent shock waves all over the > country. It took place on > Wednesday, 9th May 2007, at around 3 p.m. As part of > the examination > procedure underway in the Faculty, students are > supposed to put up their > works which are to be assessed by external examiners > who come in from > outside the city for this purpose. Accordingly, > students had put up their > installations around the Faculty campus. Some of > these installations, > (graphic prints) by Chandra Mohan attracted the wrath > of the BJP leader > Neeraj Jain, who barged into the campus with a bunch > of goons and started > disrupting the atmosphere, using abusive language and > mouthing threats. > They roughed up the Chandra Mohan and accused him of > offending their > religious sentiments, saying that he had portrayed > Durga Mata in an obscene > way. Not by any stretch of imagination did the prints > actually portray any > goddess. Under the leadership of Neeraj Jain (who had > incidentally played a > very dubious role in the May 2006 riots that followed > the demolition of a > 200 year old dargah in the heart of the city), and > with the police in tow, > they took Chandra Mohan and a friend of his away to > the Sayajiganj police > station. Shivji Panickkar, the acting Dean of the > Fine Arts Faculty, was > also threatened with dire consequences by Neeraj Jain > and his goons. > Chandra Mohan's friend was released later, but he was > himself charged under > sections 153 and 114. Later, on 10th May, when the > bail application came up > for hearing, two more charges were slapped on him, > namely, Section 295 A and > 295 B, and he was taken under judicial custody, and > moved to the Central > Jail. By now, Christian fundamentalists had joined > hands with the > Hindutvavadis. Alongwith the VHP and BJP crowds, > reportedly, there were at > least 40 priests in the court when Chandra Mohan's > bail application came up > for hearing. The priests were objecting to some > painting to do with a > cross - which, they thought offended their religious > feelings. > > In the meantime, Shivji Panickkar met the Vice > Chancellor, who basically, > wanted him to make a statement that was nothing short > of an apology for > putting up offensive installations. Panickkar refused > to do so. After > this, the students submitted a statement expressing > thier concern over such > tactics, and with a set of their demands, which > included police bandobast > for the Faculty. Reportedly, Neeraj Jain barged into > the Vice Chancellor's > office on the same day, and threatened that he would > make sure that the > entire city would shut down if a single case is > registered against him. > > As of now, all efforts are on to get Chandra Mohan > released. > > However, what is of grave concern in this entire > unfolding of events is the > fascist agendas that underly the actions of the likes > of Neeraj Jain. > Citizenship and democratic rights face a grave crisis > in the State of > Gujarat and elsewhere. The nexus between the police > and elements of the > Sangh Parivar is so clearly established (it has been > so since 2002) and it > is also clear that fascist tactics affect everybody. > In this instance, it > is not only a matter for the artist community to > agitate about. It is for > ALL of us to sit up and take notice of what is going > on in the name of > religion. If we do not counter these tactics NOW, we > are all going to be > crushed sooner or later, either in our work arenas or > within the confines of > our homes. The dangers of giving in to or being cowed > down by these forces > cannot be underestimated. > > THE FACULTY OF FINE ARTS HAS PLANNED A LARGE > DEMONSTRATION FOR 14TH MAY > 2007, MONDAY WHERE ARTISTS, LAWYERS, DOCTORS, ORDINARY > CITIZENS FROM ALL > OVER THE COUNTRY WILL GET TOGETHER IN PROTEST AGAINST > SUCH GAGGING OF > EXPRESSION AND VIOLATION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS. PLEASE > DO COME FOR THE > DEMONSTRATION, AND MOTIVATE OTHERS TO JOIN IT. THE > TIME TO ACT IS UPON US, > WE CANNOT ABDICATE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY, > OURSELVES AND THE > YOUNGER GENERATIONS. > > VENUE: FINE ARTS FACULTY, M.S.UNIVERSITY , FATEHGANJ, > BARODA > TIME: 2 PM ONWARDS > > CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: > BINA SRINIVASAN: 9879377280 > SHIVJI PANICKKAR: 9898403097 > > Best > Bina > > PS: pls. circulate this email to as many people as > possible. Thanks. > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try > it > now. > http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Foil-l mailing list > Foil-l at insaf.net > http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/foil-l_insaf.net > > > ------------------------------ > Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download > CHAT? Here's a solution! > > > > Dear friends, The fascist goons of BJP-VHP have let loose a reign of > terror in the prestigious Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University Baroda. Please > go through the details of the incident given below. The latest development > is that the Dean of Fine Arts Faculty, Shivji Pannicker, has been suspended > and the Department of Art History has been sealed. The campus has virtually > been taken over by VHP goons who are threatning students and vandalising > their work. We call upon all the democtratic and progressive people of Delhi > to come forward and protest against the fascist attempt to stifle voices of > creativity and dissent. *Please joing us for a protest demonstration > tomorrow, 12th of May, at 3 p.m. at Gujarat Bhawan, Chanakya Puri, Near > Ashoka Hotel* . In Solidarity, Lalit Batra 9899091413 > Dear All, > > You are all aware of the latest Sangh Parivar > offensive against the > democratic rights of the students and Faculty members > of the well known Fine > Arts Faculty of Baroda, M.S.University. The Fine Arts > Faculty is one of the > best institutions within the M.S.University, which has > managed to retain > high academic standards, in the face of the general > academic deterioration > within the University. > > The recent incident of hooliganism and blatant > bullying unleashed by the > Sangh Parivar has sent shock waves all over the > country. It took place on > Wednesday, 9th May 2007, at around 3 p.m. As part of > the examination > procedure underway in the Faculty, students are > supposed to put up their > works which are to be assessed by external examiners > who come in from > outside the city for this purpose. Accordingly, > students had put up their > installations around the Faculty campus. Some of > these installations, > (graphic prints) by Chandra Mohan attracted the wrath > of the BJP leader > Neeraj Jain, who barged into the campus with a bunch > of goons and started > disrupting the atmosphere, using abusive language and > mouthing threats. > They roughed up the Chandra Mohan and accused him of > offending their > religious sentiments, saying that he had portrayed > Durga Mata in an obscene > way. Not by any stretch of imagination did the prints > actually portray any > goddess. Under the leadership of Neeraj Jain (who had > incidentally played a > very dubious role in the May 2006 riots that followed > the demolition of a > 200 year old dargah in the heart of the city), and > with the police in tow, > they took Chandra Mohan and a friend of his away to > the Sayajiganj police > station. Shivji Panickkar, the acting Dean of the > Fine Arts Faculty, was > also threatened with dire consequences by Neeraj Jain > and his goons. > Chandra Mohan's friend was released later, but he was > himself charged under > sections 153 and 114. Later, on 10th May, when the > bail application came up > for hearing, two more charges were slapped on him, > namely, Section 295 A and > 295 B, and he was taken under judicial custody, and > moved to the Central > Jail. By now, Christian fundamentalists had joined > hands with the > Hindutvavadis. Alongwith the VHP and BJP crowds, > reportedly, there were at > least 40 priests in the court when Chandra Mohan's > bail application came up > for hearing. The priests were objecting to some > painting to do with a > cross - which, they thought offended their religious > feelings. > > In the meantime, Shivji Panickkar met the Vice > Chancellor, who basically, > wanted him to make a statement that was nothing short > of an apology for > putting up offensive installations. Panickkar refused > to do so. After > this, the students submitted a statement expressing > thier concern over such > tactics, and with a set of their demands, which > included police bandobast > for the Faculty. Reportedly, Neeraj Jain barged into > the Vice Chancellor's > office on the same day, and threatened that he would > make sure that the > entire city would shut down if a single case is > registered against him. > > As of now, all efforts are on to get Chandra Mohan > released. > > However, what is of grave concern in this entire > unfolding of events is the > fascist agendas that underly the actions of the likes > of Neeraj Jain. > Citizenship and democratic rights face a grave crisis > in the State of > Gujarat and elsewhere. The nexus between the police > and elements of the > Sangh Parivar is so clearly established (it has been > so since 2002) and it > is also clear that fascist tactics affect everybody. > In this instance, it > is not only a matter for the artist community to > agitate about. It is for > ALL of us to sit up and take notice of what is going > on in the name of > religion. If we do not counter these tactics NOW, we > are all going to be > crushed sooner or later, either in our work arenas or > within the confines of > our homes. The dangers of giving in to or being cowed > down by these forces > cannot be underestimated. > > THE FACULTY OF FINE ARTS HAS PLANNED A LARGE > DEMONSTRATION FOR 14TH MAY > 2007, MONDAY WHERE ARTISTS, LAWYERS, DOCTORS, ORDINARY > CITIZENS FROM ALL > OVER THE COUNTRY WILL GET TOGETHER IN PROTEST AGAINST > SUCH GAGGING OF > EXPRESSION AND VIOLATION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS. PLEASE > DO COME FOR THE > DEMONSTRATION, AND MOTIVATE OTHERS TO JOIN IT. THE > TIME TO ACT IS UPON US, > WE CANNOT ABDICATE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS SOCIETY, > OURSELVES AND THE > YOUNGER GENERATIONS. > > VENUE: FINE ARTS FACULTY, M.S.UNIVERSITY , FATEHGANJ, > BARODA > TIME: 2 PM ONWARDS > > CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: > BINA SRINIVASAN: 9879377280 > SHIVJI PANICKKAR: 9898403097 > > Best > Bina > > PS: pls. circulate this email to as many people as > possible. Thanks. > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try > it > now. > http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Foil-l mailing list > Foil-l at insaf.net > http://insaf.net/mailman/listinfo/foil-l_insaf.net > > _________________________________________ > 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: > -- shaina chitrakarkhana.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/a2cb652b/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Mon May 14 18:17:10 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 18:17:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] CounterCurrents Update Message-ID: <48097acc0705140547i86e03c4g332bb3dfaf34f2b9@mail.gmail.com> Hello Kindly forward this newsletter to your friends and encourage them to join this mailing list. http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm In Solidarity Binu The Hidden War For Oil By Carl Bloice http://www.countercurrents.org/bloice140507.htm Carl Bloice elucidates the failure or unwillingness of the Western media to accurately report the invasion and occupation of Somalia by a US backed Ethiopian government. He asserts that behind the US-Ethiopian political alliance lies a strategic move to secure positioning in this oil region For Palestinians, Memory Matters By George Bisharat http://www.countercurrents.org/bisharat140507.htm My Palestinian father grew up in Jerusalem before Israel was founded and the Palestinians expelled, when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in peace and mutual respect. Recalling that past provides a vision for an alternative future -- one involving equal rights and tolerance, rather than the domination of one ethno-religious group over others Last-Ditch Myths Of The Zionist Left By Stephen Langfur http://www.countercurrents.org/langfur140507.htm Is there then no other footing by which we may justify a Jewish state in this land? We come back to the persecutions, the Holocaust. The heart cries out for a place where Jews can live in safety and self-determination. But there can be no safety in a state established by conquest and confiscation. There is certainly no safety for Jews in the present Jewish state Deforestation: The Hidden Cause Of Global Warming By Daniel Howden http://www.countercurrents.org/howden140507.htm The accelerating destruction of the rainforests that form a precious cooling band around the Earth's equator, is now being recognised as one of the main causes of climate change. Carbon emissions from deforestation far outstrip damage caused by planes and automobiles and factories Dangerous Climate Change: Eco-Fascism By Bill Henderson http://www.countercurrents.org/henderson140507.htm Eco-fascism - is it possible that soon a government will introduce Draconian regulations in an effort to avert dangerous (runaway or abrupt) climate change against the wishes of the majority of the population? Pakistani President Seeks To Drown Mounting Opposition In Blood By Vilani Peiris http://www.countercurrents.org/peiris140507.htm Karachi, a city of 10 million and Pakistan's commercial hub, was convulsed by gun-battles Saturday, as Pakistan's US-backed military strongman, President Pervez Musharraf, resorted to deadly violence in a bid to quash the growing popular challenge to his rule Removing Musharraf From Power By Usman Khalid http://www.countercurrents.org/khalid140507.htm There is neither cause nor opportunity for the Army to ask Musharraf to resign until he invokes emergency or imposes martial law. The question is, how can he be removed from his perch in power? There are three methods War-Pimping With A Smile: Of American Exceptionalism, Apple Pie, And Moral Rot By Jason Miller http://www.countercurrents.org/miller140507.htm Kathleen Parker may project an "apple pie" image, but her ardent moral and intellectual defense of the wholesale liquidation of human beings, her dehumanization of Islamic people to fuel the fraudulent "War on Terror", and her pathological nationalism reveal that she is morally rotten to the core The Myth Of Muslim Appeasement By Mubasshir Ahmed http://www.countercurrents.org/ahmed140507.htm Out of the Union government's total expenditure of Rs 680,521 crore, the total allocation for minorities (it includes Sikhs and Christians too) is less than Rs 320 crore. The total number of minorities in India is 200 million (Muslims 150m, Sikhs and Christians 50m) We Salute Our Journalists By Syed Ali Safvi http://www.countercurrents.org/safvi140507.htm We salute our journalistic fraternity for showing the utmost audacity and commitment in order to sketch a real picture of Kashmir, sometimes with the colour of their own blood. We salute those indefatigable journos who braved the tyrannical establishment and highlighted the atrocities of the forces and in the process laid down their lives for a cause – the cause so dear to their hearts, the cause of projecting the TRUTH If You Haven't Made A Donation Yet Do It NOW ! http://www.countercurrents.org/donate.htm Your Support Is Absolutely Necessary For Our Survival From yuthika.sharma at gmail.com Mon May 14 20:29:55 2007 From: yuthika.sharma at gmail.com (yuthika sharma) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 10:59:55 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Letter of protest - please edit, and send to enclosed recipients Message-ID: <15162bea0705140759w43f45ba7je9481f92616c1844@mail.gmail.com> See details below: LETTER ______________________________________________________________________ Dear Hon. Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel, Minister for Education, State of Gujarat, min-edu at gujarat.gov.in Hon. Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, State of Gujarat, mail at narendramodi.org Hon. Y. R. Meena, Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court, rg-hc-guj at nic.in Hon. L. K. Advani, BJP Minister and Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, advanilk at sansad.nic.in Dear Colleague, On Thursday, May 10, 2007, Inspector Jhale of the Sayajiganj Police Station in Vadodara along with a group of VHP members entered the annual student evaluation held at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. They used violence against Mr. Chandra Mohan, a Master's Candidate in the Faculty of Fine Arts and the police arrested him without warrant and without any cognizable offence. The charge leveled against him after the arrest is obscenity. The police and the VHP group are evaluating with their violence a student's work produced for his Master's dissertation. We are also aware that the Faculty of Fine Arts, particularly its students led by their Dean, Dr. Shivaji Panikkar have protested this action in various ways. This has led to Dr. Panikkar's suspension. The events Gujarat not only undermine the freedom to learn but also undermine teachers and the system of education. M.S. University has a fine history of progressive education. The Faculty of Fine Arts has produced India's most renowned artists and the Art History Department is the first to be established in independent India. It is also one of the few departments where students can pursue their education through the Ph D. The judgment on Mr. Chandra Mohan's bail hearing is expected on Monday, May 15th. Protests are being organized across the country at major public areas in their cities to show solidarity on Monday, May 15 at 6 pm. As a member of the national and international community of artists, scholars, and supporters of justice, we request you to forward this letter of protest to appointed and elected officials in the state of Gujarat and in Delhi. We have drafted it and request you to sign and send it by email. It is important that government officials know that this young man from an underprivileged background is not alone in his struggle and that the national and international community is aware of what is happening. We thank you for your support. Cordially, Dr. Annapurna Garimella Art Historian and Designer Founder of A.R.T., Bangalore, India From sudeep.ks at gmail.com Tue May 15 09:28:36 2007 From: sudeep.ks at gmail.com (Sudeep K S) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 09:28:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reservation Quota to be hiked to 95% Message-ID: So goes an advertisement for Videocon Airconditioners. One of the most offensive ads I have seen in recent times. With a tagline "Stay cool No matter what". The ad shows the front page of a newspaper "NOON NEWS" that carries this news: Reservation Quota to be hiked to 95% "The superior court today accepted the government's plea to increase reservation quota in educational institutes. High-profile institutes such as IISs and the IINs too, will now have to reserve almost 95% of their seats for candidates belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and backward class (BC) from the coming academic year.." (it goes on) How is it that such a blatant mockery of people belonging to scheduled castes and backward classes passing off without a resistance? Or has everyone taken the tagline too seriously? [Saw the ad on the backside of Air Deccan magazine Simplifly May 2007 issue] [also posted at http://sudeepsdiary.blogspot.com/ ] From anujaghosalkar at yahoo.com Tue May 15 14:22:12 2007 From: anujaghosalkar at yahoo.com (anuja ghosalkar) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 01:52:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Post No. 3: Papa Ajoba In-Reply-To: <4645C01D.4010909@sarai.net> Message-ID: <105693.97452.qm@web54509.mail.yahoo.com> This is post no 3.I have also posted some pictures on the blog. Post 3: www.papaajoba.blogspot.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel to find your fit. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 From s.wani at scfukindia.org Tue May 15 19:34:03 2007 From: s.wani at scfukindia.org (Shafia Wani) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 19:34:03 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Independent Fellowship Posting III Message-ID: <1214.61.2.22.57.1179237843.mailserve@anywheremail.qlc.co.in> Dear Vivek, Am sending my third posting for the SARAI Independent Fellowship. Please excuse the delay. Have had trouble with internet connectivity since yesterday.Have been able to connect only now.Will make sure that the next post is sent well before the deadline so that the likelihood of last minute delays is avoided. SARAI, Third Posting.Independent Fellowship Programme. The society in Kashmir has always had a conservative patriarchal ethos, one that prescribes the domain that a woman can create for herself, but this domain does not entirely limit the role of the woman to that of the mother and therefore to the household. It has a space within itself that allows for a much wider space for a woman. It accepts that women can and have to be productive in ways that are economic and creative as well. These roles though are integrated within the larger role the woman is expected to play in the family. The other roles can be articulated but not in contradiction to the central one of the mother and householder. These roles therefore have to be molded and articulated accordingly. This is then the space within which many women in Kashmir have demonstrated their productive and creative spirit. There are therefore that many examples of the grit and determination which women have shown in the past many years. A determination against all odds to reach out to others who are in need. An example of how this determination can lead over years of effort into the development of an institutional initiative is that of Nighat Shafi Pandit, Nighat born in 1961 belongs to a well to do traditional family of Kashmir. Seeing the conditions of the Valley over the years made her feel the need to reach out to people in the Valley, especially those young children who had borne the brunt of the violence with the loss of their mothers and fathers to bear. Nighat Shafi founded the HELP (Human Effort for Love and Peace) foundation in 1997 along with a few other like minded persons. This year was when the violence in the state was at its worst. Protracted violence of the past 9 years had created serious consequences in society. A large number of people had died in the violence, most of them were male in the age groups of 20 -50. This meant in turn that there were a significant number of widows and orphans as a result. An embattled society was at the time at a loss to address these emerging consequences of this violence. It was within this scenario that Nighat Shafi decided that something needed to be done and that an effort should be set up specifically to address this situation. With this in view she first set up an orphanage called the “Shehjar” in Srinagar which translates as ‘shade’ in English. This institution offers residential and educational facilities to these orphans of the conflict. In addition HELP foundation works for rehabilitating widows of the conflict as well. The foundation works in both the Kashmir and the Jammu regions of the state in an effort as well to promote peace initiatives and inter communal harmony. Pandit makes visits to violence affected areas to try and understand better the context of the people that she strives to work for. In view of trying to address the needs of the women in Kashmir she has tried to establish advisory and financial services for women widowed in the Kashmir conflict, in this regard income generating ventures that will help economically weak women especially widows to raise their capacity and better their economic standing in a manner that is dignified and sustainable have been set up by the foundation. The HELP foundation raises funds through door to door collections in the Valley and in the rest of the country. In 2005 Nighat Shafi was one among the 1000 women nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2005”- an organization supported by the Swiss government, UNIFEM and the UNDP for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. This is just one of the examples among many where women have decided that they have a greater role to play in the society and have carved out a space for themselves that is widely recognized and appreciated. This space is one that has always existed in the cultural realm of Kashmir and has meant that over the ages there have been many examples where women have articulated their concerns and position in the idiom that the culture affords at that time. At one instance this can be a creative idiom, one of poetry or art, in another instance it can be an idiom of economic productivity, in yet another the idiom might be one of social service or activism. The examples and the narratives that are being collected and presented will ultimately consist of a range of idioms which will demonstrate an active agency that women have in this cultural context. That it is not true that women are mere sufferers especially because of the violence of the past years. Women in Kashmir have demonstrated their capacity to work and the will to be productive and creative even against heavy odds. This is a characterization that has failed to make it to the wider world, what usually gets out is the image of the oppressed and the quite suffering women of Kashmir who are mere objects in a situation over which they have no control. This in turn breeds a patronizing attitude towards them that turns them into mere objects of suffering who can be then showcased for particular purposes at particular times. This is not to say that there are no instances where women are not constrained by the cultural space that they inhabit. There actually are many instances of this kind that can be pointed out. Mr Deen Khan, who has been associated with the developmental efforts in the state of Jammu and Kashmir for the past over 30 years, thinks that in addition to state intervention cultural factors play a very important role in the space that women can create for themselves. Over his many years of grassroots experience in the Ladakh region he found that the Leh region showed greater improvement on issues relating to the empowerment of women but that in the Kargil region these interventions is only now beginning to bear fruit. One factor for this might be the fact that the population in Kargil is predominantly Shia Muslim and for many years the Shia clergy of Kargil had opposed the creation of alternate spaces for women including the space of the school. Instances like this abound but to harp on this is to limit one’s imagination and thereby miss out on the negotiations and the maneuver that women of the region have achieved, while yet being a part of their cultural space. The stark distinction of modernity and tradition that has been the staple of academic discourse for years is something that does not hold when instances of these continuous negotiations and maneuver are coming to the fore. This only goes to show as we have said that there are limitations on the space within which the women of the region can articulate their concerns and develop their efforts. Mr Tareak Ahmad, lecturer at the University in Srinagar says that despite the fact that the situation in the region has been volatile since many years, the women of the region have shown great resilience in adapting to the situation and have not only adapted to but have become part of initiatives that are promotive and creative as well. This is to be seen in the context of a situation where there initially were very few opportunities for productive association but over the year’s initiatives that women of the region have been engaged in has created the possibility of work that reaches out to wider audiences and is appreciated not only locally but globally as well. As a result of these engagements of the past years women in different spheres are contributing actively and are engaging in diverse actions ranging from activism on human rights, social work and the arts. These set of actions are alternate and are not necessarily engaged in as a profession but rather as something extra that women increasingly seek to do. These engagements fulfill a creative and productive urge that goes beyond the questions of earning a living. It is this kind of work that constitutes increasingly the range of work or engagement that women in the region are exploring. This activity and interaction has redefined the space of the local and the global for these women; this no doubt is facilitated by the opening up of communications here as elsewhere. In a paradoxical manner this region which traditionally remains cut off from the rest of the world and the events that happen there, is only now beginning to engage with the new initiatives that have started up elsewhere in the world. It is these initiatives in the field of human rights activism, social work and the applied and creative arts that the women of these regions are associating with. In this process they are creating an agency for themselves that is varied, dynamic while yet drawing its idiom from the cultural moorings of this place. Ends Will be including in depth and detailed analyses of interviews taken in the next post. Warm Regards, Shafia Wani From ramganeshk at gmail.com Tue May 15 23:17:12 2007 From: ramganeshk at gmail.com (Ram Ganesh Kamatham) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 23:17:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Vikram and Betal (an aside) Message-ID: My third post on the process of writing a play that re-imagines the tale of Vikram and Betal. http://www.addledbraindump.blogspot.com/ From sabitha_tp at yahoo.co.uk Wed May 16 19:18:51 2007 From: sabitha_tp at yahoo.co.uk (sabitha t p) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 14:48:51 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Where is elsewhere? Fwd: account of the baroda bus Message-ID: <954341.61201.qm@web25411.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> This is a forwarded mail of an account of the bus carrying artists and activists from Bombay. Can nothing in Gujarat surprise us anymore? When democracy becomes mobocracy, what legitimate means do we have to counter it? What's frightening is that this is all in keeping with what's happening elsewhere. Here in Delhi there are a large number of colleges (this is from first-hand experience, I've taught in all of them!) which have been systematically suppressing dissemination of fee thinking and persecuting teachers (by petty means such as denying leave entitled, surveillance, using their discretionary powers arbitrarily to obstruct etc.) who do so. In one college the pricipal once tried to stop Habib Tanvir from staging a play on the grounds that he was a Muslim who shouldn't be allowed to question the Hindu caste system; Another, whenever asked for permission to screen any film by the English department, asks whether we're screening "obscene" films! We all know the persecution suffered by Nandita Narain and Karen Gabriel in Stephen's because they protested against the elected sexual harassment committee being disbanded arbitrarily by the principal. The elsewhere is no longer out there, has never been; it is happening right here in institutions where we spend all our time and effort to bring up free-thinking generations. Sabitha. > The local news channels and news papers had been > announcing the arrival of > our bus carrying supporters from Bombay. A VHP > functionary had even gone as > far as to demand (on one local TV channel) that the > bus not be allowed to > enter the city and if it did there would be rioting > in the city! All the > same the bus took an alternative route, bypassing > Baroda and entering the > city from the Ahmedabad Express highway. There were > no checkpoints it > transpired to stop our bus as the University > officials had a different plan. > Well they could make(or as we have already seen - > break)fresh rules > The VC had issued orders to allow entry only to > students with bonafide > i-cards. The denial of entry to artists and alumni > and other supporters > into the Faculty was again a case in point of the > high handedness of the VC > and clearly a strategy for thwarting support by the > larger art fraternity to > the local students. It was a glaring instance the > collusion of the > University authorities with the VHP goons as just > the previous day hordes of > ABVP activists were allowed to enter the faculty. > This rowdy mob was allowed > to jeer, abuse and shout slogans at the students of > the faculty who were > sitting in a peaceful dharna. > Repeated attempts were made by us to enter the > faculty but we were > restrained by police and 'security' (some of whom > weren't even in uniform). > We then decided that we should stage a sit in > outside the gate of the > Faculty. Just then a person who obviously didn't > look like a student of the > Fine Art faculty was allowed entry. Angered we > stormed the gate demanding > that either his i-card be produced or he be > expelled. The police stalled and > in about ten minutes our shouting was drowned by the > slogans "Bharat Mata Ki > Jai" (!) and slogans against the Dean Shivji Paniker > and Chandra Mohan. A > mob of right wing activists (read hooligans) > descended on us shoving and > pushing. Their slogans were interspersed with abuses > and expletives of the > worst kind. > The supporters formed a silent chain and stood on > the other side of the > road, leaving the raving and ranting mob by the > gate; hoping the press and > police would realize the difference between a > decorous and determined > protest and lumpen, unthinking vandal demonstration > of power and perversion. > The mob even had the audacity to climb atop the > police van (of course > unchecked by the complicit police) and display their > banners. After about a > quarter of an hour unable to provoke the students in > the faculty, they > turned their attention on the protestors who had > formed a human chain. Their > blatant in- your- face aggression and swearing > failed to rouse the silent > protestors and even the silent police who chose to > just watch on! Finally > when the police did decide to act, they rounded off > about twenty students > and four goons detaining them for 2 hours. > This ratio should perhaps make up happy for every > four of them there are > twenty of us! > Best, > Tushar > Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From avinashcold at gmail.com Tue May 15 18:53:10 2007 From: avinashcold at gmail.com (Avinash Kumar) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 18:53:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] baroda 14 may Message-ID: Dear All, Despite the fact that the news is now 24 hours old and all of you must have got many updates on what happened in Baroda yesterday, just wanted to chip in with my few paragraphs since I felt that the justice was still not done to the kind of exposure we had to the 'rakhwalas of Hindu sanskriti' which was on display in all its splendour. Hence... *First stage:* We all reached at just about two p.m., the designated time for the 'silent protest demonstration' only to find a place bustling with slogans, shouts, screams, a bit of heckling and a lot of chaos in front of the gates of the Arts Faculty. It so transpired that while there were a group of protestors (against the treatment meted out to 'Chandramohan' in particular and the entire range of things that had happened in the past few days in general) (lets call them group A) since morning, just two minutes ago a group of about 40-50 self-styled student leaders had landed up shouting slogans against the former group of protestors (lets call them group B). Many of them definitely looked as if they were really enjoying their careers as students for many many years (and not in the sense an artist would describe herself as a 'student of art')! Besides hand written placards and a large printed poster shaming the 'kalakars who supported nudity in the name of art', group B protestors had these saffron coloured flags (along with a few saffron coloured bandanas, some of them even sporting tea shirts), which was supposedly meant to convey the 'true' colours' of Indian/Hindu culture. *Second stage:* After we decided not to join the slanging match and instead form a human chain, that too on the other side of the street while distributing pamphlets we had brought with us to the passers by; they temporarily seemed confused! They also soon realised that they have been heavily outnumbered (at least by 6-8 times!), as far as numbers game was concered (some say, the corner stone of democracy!). Some of them I could hear complaining about this 'unforeseen turn of events'. I could also see a heavy 'bandobast' of Police vans, geeps with all its paraphernalia to 'evoke terrors in the minds of the unruly', which evidently didn't seem to make much effect on either side. Strangely, besides all the major news channels with their recognisable mikes, there were about fifty video shooters of the drama being played out there and all of them seemed to be picking people and asking them why had they turned up. If they found some articulate person, they would soon lose interest and mockingly leave her mid-way in her talk. *The third stage:* group B then decided to come to our side of the street and start shouting slogans, force passers by to throw the pamphlets handed out to them and tear them off in bulk. Finally, police seemed to stir and politely intervened to clear the road blockage which had occurred due to their presence on the mid-street. *Fourth stage:* Not to be deterred (especially by the fact that in their raj, they were being outnumbered!), they immediately came back with a new strategy and in groups finally pounced on a couple of young teenagers to pluck them away from the 'human chain', shouting that 'these chhokras had been brought by group A after payment of a 'hefty sum of twenty rupees each'. After quite a bit of heckling, beating, our intervention and eventually, police 'rescue work' (this time in what they describe 'civilian clothes'), three guys were taken to one police station and put in detention at Sayajirao polce station. We were later told, it was for their own security! We later heard that about 20-2 students from MSU had been taken to another, Fatehgunj police station. In the meanwhile, all those from group B, decided to rephrase their just anger by using choicest epithets suggesting relations of intimate kinds with those of group A. Looking directly at women they also suggested things like 'Nanga karke maaron salon ko', 'jute dekar maro salon ko' etc For the flag bearers of Indian/Hindu culture, it was a moment of epiphany. Their eyes must have gone moist with the kind of valour displayed by group B. Obviously, police never thought it fit to even question those (forget about detaining) who were using such laguage, both physical and verbal. *Fifth stage: *Admittedly after a certain confusion in the ranks of group A after all this added with the news that Chandramohan had been granted bail and the new task of rescuing those who had been officially 'rescued' by the police, it was decided to disperse. Some of us trooped to Sayajiganj police station to find guys who were missing. We found that while two of them were kept inside the p.s., the third, the youngest of the lot, not more than 17-18 years of age, had been put behind the lock-up. Upon our insistence, he was taken out and made to sit alongwith the other detainees. Now, the police claimed that since P.I. was still handling affairs at the 'battleground', he would take time to come and only afterwards the detainees could be released even though they kept claiming that 'they had been actually rescued from the VHP mob'...sorry, group B. In the meanwhile, one of the guys sitting there (in civilian clothes 'once again', actually most of the staff sitting their seemed to be in civilian clothes, perhaps their way of appearing civil to the people!) asked one of our colleagues, 'whether we had come *in support* of "ashleel/vulgar pictures" or against them'...needless to say, argumentation went long, but one could really marvel at the way Modi has taught an entire class of people to turn the language of debate in which things can be turned to look quite commonsensical by reducing the entire debate to things like 'ashleel versus shleel'. It definitely does pose a challenge how to carry a debate in public domain, with all possible nuances. After about three hours wait and lot many phone calls, a car finally appeared bearing a yello light. One of the guards came out, went in and went back to the car. While the car stood waiting (us too with baited breath!), an officer finally emerged with the good news that the detainees are being released finally. The car, of course moved soon afterwards. *P.S.* Upon our return, I got to unravel the mystery of so many video shooters as well. One of the fellows told me that, one of the car with activists returning to Ahmedabad was intercepted by a crowd of people whom they thought as media people thanks to their cameras. They them mobbed these youngsters, mostly students, heckled them and kept asking them to say before the cameras that they (i.e. from group A) didn't know about the issue at all and they had come there by mistake as they were misled by their leaders! a -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070515/ca16f1f6/attachment.html From shai at filterindia.com Wed May 16 17:47:58 2007 From: shai at filterindia.com (shai at filterindia.com) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 17:47:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IFA condemns attack on artistic freedom Message-ID: India Foundation for the Arts pledges support for Chandramohan, Dr. Shivaji Panikkar and the cause of artistic freedom India Foundation for the Arts wishes to place on record its shock and concern over the manhandling on May 9 of MS University Baroda, Fine Arts Department student, Chandramohan by persons labelling his art work obscene and offensive to religious sentiments. We are also deeply distressed about the blatantly unfair suspension of Dean Dr. Shivaji Panikkar. Dr Panikkar is one of the leading art historians of this country who has often and generously shared his expertise with us. This is a shameful moment in the history of our democracy. IFA calls upon everyone in the arts community and outside it to lend their voices in support of artistic freedom, civilised protest, open debate and tolerance for diversity. Let us do all we can to ensure that Baroda never happens again. The IFA Team Bangalore http://ifaforarts.wordpress.com/ www.indiaifa.org From lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in Wed May 16 14:33:49 2007 From: lalitbatra77 at yahoo.co.in (lalit batra) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 14:33:49 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Oppose Dr. Vinayak Sen's Arrest Message-ID: <905175.44790.qm@web7603.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Friends, You might be aware that Dr. Vinayak Sen, General Secretary, PUCL (Chhattisgarh) and Vice President, PUCL (National) was arrested day before yesterday by Chattisgarh Police under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004 and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2006. Dr. Sen is a widely respected civil liberties and public health activist who has been at the forefront of exposing killings of innocent tribals in Bastar in fake encounters by Salwa Judum and para military forces. Dr. sen is also a very active member of Medico Friends Circle, a collective of public spirited health professionals committed to develop an alternative paradigm of health care in the country. Please find at the end of this message a brief biodata of Dr. Sen prepared by PUDR, Delhi. It seems that in the name of countering Naxalism the Indian state is hell bent upon stifling every voice of dissent. It is feared that Dr. Sen's arrest will be followed by arrests of other noted civil liberties activities in the state. Please come forward to oppose the arrest of Dr. Vinayak Sen and demand for scrapping of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004 and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2006. Lalit Batra To protest against the Arrest of Dr. Binayak Sen General Secretary, PUCL, Chattisgarh JOIN PROTEST DHARNA at CHATTISGARH BHAWAN, SARDAR PATEL MARG New Delhi Time: 12 Noon Date: 17th May 2007 Peoples's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) Medico Friend Circle National Alliance for People's Movement (NAPM) A Brief Introduction of Dr. Sen Dr. Binayak Sen is a very well known person and highly respected both in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere. As a medical doctor, Dr Sen has been actively involved in reaching health care to the poorest people as well as monitoring the health and nutrition status of the people of Chhattisgarh. Dr Sen helped to set up the Chhttisgarh Mukti Morcha’s Shaheed Hospital a pioneering effort to effort to set up a health programme and hospital owned and operated by a workers’ organization for the benefit of the common people Besides being actively associated with the Shaheed Hospital, Dr Sen is a very well respected member of Jan Swasthya Sahyog which is committed to developing a low-cost, effective, community health programme in the tribal and rural areas of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. He was also a member of the state advisory committee set up to pilot the community based health worker programme across Chhattisgarh that later became well known as the Mitanin programme. He also gives his services to a weekly clinic in a tribal community in Dhamtari district.As General Secreatary of the Chhattisgarh PUCL, he has helped to organize numerous fact finding campaigns into human rights violations in the state including custody deaths, fake encounters, hunger deaths, dysentery epidemics, malnutrition, and other similar violations. In recent times has worked intensively to bring large scale oppression and malgovernance within the so called Salwa Judoom in Dantewara to national and international attention. Dr. Sen has regularly spoken to the local and national media on these issues. Dr Sen has been contributing theoretical papers to books and journals on public health .He was the recipient in 2004 of the Paul Harrison award for lifetime work medical Care in the service of Humanity, an award given annually by the Christian Medical College Vellore to one of its alumni. Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070516/ef7063b8/attachment.html From alice at tank.tv Wed May 9 15:49:41 2007 From: alice at tank.tv (Alice O'Reilly) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 11:19:41 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] I Am Future Melancholic at Go Gallery Milan 15/05/07 - 9/06/07 Message-ID: <442eb4460705090319sf898fdelb4e1d0afe56b73e@mail.gmail.com> tank.tv / Go Gallery, Milan "I am Future Melancholic" Go Gallery / 15th May – 9th June 2007 tank.tv is pleased to announce that 'I Am Future Melancholic' will be travelling to gogallery, Milan this May. This new exhibition will be another chance to see tank.tv's January show and the programme from the screening at Tate Modern. The show presents moving images by artists whose practice reflects a vision of tomorrow. The structures and systems of reality are examined to reveal glimpses into what we call 'the future'. This ineffable and intangible concept, that constantly haunts the present, here provokes a wealth of musings and imaginings. In 'Bruxelles 4023', Mathieu Delvaux & Xavier van Huffel perform street interviews to ask the public what they think Brussels might be like in 4023. The answers, as varied as the people themselves, reveal the concept of the future as a screen for hopes, fears and fantasy. A starting point into an exploration of tomorrow... Challenging, doubt-inducing and transformative aspects of 'the future' can be perceived in Philippe Meste's detonative video 'LHRB'. Rachel Reupke's 'Infrastructure' is born of a fascination with movie special effects and narrative devices. And Carsten Höller's 'One Minute of Doubt' and 'Punktefilm' induct a representation of our "timeless everyday", and magically echo the playful nature of his present turbine hall installation. Mai Yamashita and Naoto Kobayashi's star, in 'When I wish Upon a Star' gives us time we need to wish upon... Artists include: Erwin Wurm, Carsten Höller, Philippe Meste, Susanne Bürner, Chris Cornish, Mathieu Delvaux & Xavier Van Huffel, Bernard Gigounon, Matthieu Laurette, Rachel Reupke, John Latham and Mai Yamashita & Naoto Kobayashi. "I am Future Melancholic" is at Tate Modern at 7pm on Saturday 20 January 2007 (www.tate.org.uk) and online on www.tank.tv from 15 January to 28 February 2007. Curated by Anne-Sophie Dinant and Laure Prouvost for tank.tv and gogallery, Milan. The show will be exhibited alongside an exclusive pre-launch of the forthcoming tank.tv DVD Fresh Moves: New Moving Images from the UK. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For press enquiries please contact: Alice O'Reilly alice at tank.tv tank.tv / Tank Magazine 49-50 Great Marlborough Street London - W1F 7JR - UK - Tel: +44 (0) 207 434 0110 -- - - - - - - - - - - - - Alice O'Reilly tank.tv 5th floor 49-50 Great Marlborough street London W1F 7JR alice at tank.tv T +44 (0)207434 0110 F +44 (0)207434 9232 http://www.tank.tv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - tank.tv is an inspirational showcase for innovative work in film and video / dedicated to exhibiting and promoting emerging and established international artists, www.tank.tv acts as a major online gallery and archive for video art / a platform for contemporary moving images. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070509/e1b30258/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From miyaa_mihir at yahoo.com Tue May 15 19:23:07 2007 From: miyaa_mihir at yahoo.com (mihir pandya) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 06:53:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 'Imagine' -by mohsin hamid, tehelka may 19th. Message-ID: <232788.31199.qm@web53604.mail.re2.yahoo.com> See in your mind's eye... Imagine! Kabhi kabhi main bhi sochta hoon ki kya sabkuch itna aasan ho sakta hai Aur dekhiye, udhar bhi koi kahanikaar aisa hi sochta hai. To aap bhi sochiye, kyoki bas sochne ki hi to der hai... miHir J PEACE SMOKE Lack of imagination is stopping India and Pakistan from being amicable, says Mohsin Hamid The first time I was in India was in 1988. I was 16 and had come to Delhi with my high school football team. We snuck out after bedtime, jumped a wall and went to a nightclub called Ghungroos. It was the first time I was in a nightclub and I remember thinking, "How fantastic!" This time round, I was a 35-year-old writer on a book tour. India has changed and I have changed too. I was in Mumbai and Delhi and I had a fantastic time again. I had heard from other Pakistanis that Mumbai reminded them of New York. It reminded me less of New York than of tropical cities like Manila, built on an intimate scale with their winding roads and colonial architecture. Delhi seemed as familiar as Lahore. The differences were very slight. I enjoyed the diversity of people you encounter in India. I guess for anybody growing up in India or Pakistan, it is shocking how normal it is across the border. After this trip, I felt I would like to live in India, perhaps in Mumbai, for a year. I think it is really possible for India and Pakistan to have a different future, to do things together without thinking of Partition all the time. On this trip, I met a Pakistani journalist, Rehan Ansari, who works at a Mumbai newspaper. Rahul Bose is making my first book Moth Smoke into a film. These things should be far more common. It should be possible for us to hop into a car and drive from Delhi to Lahore in three hours to meet a friend. All that is lacking is imagination. I don't know how much change novels like mine can bring about. Novels are very modest objects compared to movies or the PM announcing a new government policy. But a novel is one conversation. If enough novels, if enough movies, if enough politicians, if enough people reading novels start talking, then we can make changes. I got a really positive reception in India. I did meet a tiny minority of people who were preoccupied with Muslims and Pakistan and asked me strange questions. I also met people who said, “We don't care. We feel it’s fine that India and Pakistan are not on friendly terms.” I think most of the economic growth is in South India and it would benefit North India if the country was on good terms with its neighbours such as China and Pakistan. It's not as if I want to meddle in internal affairs. It's just that we underestimate how much both countries would benefit from being on friendly terms. As told to Nisha Susan May 19 , 2007 --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070515/41d49e37/attachment.html From bfs at bgl.vsnl.net.in Mon May 14 12:03:41 2007 From: bfs at bgl.vsnl.net.in (SIEDS) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:03:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] "Voices from Waters" 2nd International Film Festival References: Message-ID: <005701c795f1$d154c8c0$0b09a8c0@NEWSYSTEM> Voices from the Waters 2007, 2nd International Film Festival on Water Thursday 7th, Monday 11th, June 2007 10am to 8pm at Gurunanak Bhavan, Bangalore. Arghyam- safe, sustainable water for all, Bangalore Film Society and Films for Freedom, Bangalore in collaboration with Water Journeys- Forum for the Fundamental Right to Water, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Ithaca College (FLEFF) and Urban Research Centre are proud to present the second edition of the International Film Festival on Water titled ‘Voices from the Waters 2007’. The festival, while attempting to cast light on the looming global water crisis is a vibrant, colorful celebration of ‘water’ in all its liquid blue glory. Featuring a stirring selection of full length films, short films, animation and documentaries - from cinema classics of Ray, Sathyu and Kasarvalli to early documentaries of Jahnu Barua and Aribam Shyam Sharma to much-acclaimed and groundbreaking new works from film makers all across the globe, the festival attempts to connect the public with everyday, mundane ‘water’ as the source of all life, as the platform for civilization and society, as a precious natural gift, as culture and as pure poetry and as a scarce resource increasingly commodified. The festival will also serve as a platform to the voices of grassroots level water activists from Bihar, Kerala, Rajasthan, Bengal and all across the nation who will narrate evocatively, testimonies from lives lived and spent in the name of water. Film-makers, present at the screening of their films will interact with the audience and share their experience. The four days of the film festival and storytelling will culminate with a conference which will allow the general public, film-makers, policy markers and grassroots level activists to interact on a common platform. The Festival Conferences will focus on water equity and ecological issues. Water Equity will address the issues of how the poor will access safe, potable water for their daily necessities as well as for their livelihood, while ecological issues primarily will focus on management of water resources and sustainability. Since its conception, the second edition of ‘Voices from the Waters’ has been generating a lot of national and international interest. We have received over 120 films from 30 countries across the globe for the 2007 edition. We invite you to participate in this celebration of life itself and lend further color, noise and depth to the festival. The festival venue provides you with an opportunity to exhibit/share your publications, films, songs, posters on the water issues. The space for the stalls will be provided free of cost. (first come, first serve basis) "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" - Loran Eisley For more information, please contact:- Siddharth Pillai, 33/1-9, Thyagaraja Layout, Jai Bharath Nagar, M.S. Nagar P.O., Bangalore- 560 033, Karnataka, India. Tel: 91- 80- 25493705/ 9886213516 Email: bfs at bgl.vsnl.net.in _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu May 10 03:57:59 2007 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 00:27:59 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] pourinfos Newsletter / 09-05 to 16-05-2007 Message-ID: <46424AEF.10109@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Wenesday May 9, 2007 to Wenesday May 16 2007 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTRE ÉLECTION PRÉSIDENTIELLE 2007 / OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2007 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dear readers, dear actors of the world of art, Segolene Royal's answer, Mai 4, 2007: http://pourinfos.org/cat-electionssego-tit-Segolene-Royal-reponses-t Nicolas Sarkozy http://pourinfos.org/cat-electionssarko-tit-Nicolas-Sarkozy-reponses- The next French president is Nicolas Sarkozy... Yours The team of pourinfos.org @ 001 (09/05/2007) Meetings: Ultralab™, Wednesday May 9, 2007,, Observatoire des nouveaux medias, Ensad, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34794-tit--Ultralab-Mercredi-9-mai-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (09/05/2007) Residency: Call for "Residences secondaires" at Parc Saint Leger, Pougues-les-Eaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34833-tit--secondaires-au-Parc-Saint-Leger- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (09/05/2007) Residency: ISEA2008 - open call for Artist in Residency program, National University of Singapore, Singapour. http://pourinfos.org/art-34834-tit-Residence-ISEA2008-open-call-for-Artist -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (09/05/2007) Residency: EMARE, European Media Artists in Residence Exchange, etherlands and Germany. http://pourinfos.org/art-34835-tit-Residence-EMARE-European-Media-Artists-in -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (09/05/2007) Residency: exchange artists in residence with IAAB-Basle, Asterides, Basle, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-34836-tit-Residence-echange-d-artistes-en-residence -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (09/05/2007) Residency: Call for Residency program in Sapporo city, S-AIR, Japan. http://pourinfos.org/art-34837-tit-Residence-Call-for-Residency-program-in -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (09/05/2007) Meetings: international conference: Environment, aesthetic engagement and public space: stake of the landscape, May 9, 2007, ENGREF, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34845-tit--colloque-international-Environnement- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (09/05/2007) Publication: U-culture (S) in line, annual cultural Review of the university of Bourgogne, Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34846-tit--U-Culture-s-en-ligne-Revue-culturelle -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (09/05/2007) Publication: four hands (quatre mains), céline duval et mathieu renard, Lieu Unique, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34847-tit--quatre-mains-celine-duval-et-mathieu -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (09/05/2007) Publication: META/DATA: A Digital Poetics, by Mark Amerika, Leonardo Book Series and The MIT Press, Cambridge, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/art-34848-tit--META-DATA-A-Digital-Poetics-by-Mark -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (09/05/2007) Publication: issue 25, special section on “Insects”, Cabinet magazine , Brooklyn, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/art-34849-tit--issue-25-special-section-on-Insects- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (09/05/2007) Publication: publications of April 2007, Harmattan editions, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34850-tit--parutions-d-avril-2007-editions -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (09/05/2007) Job: charged of mission, Administrator POLA 2007, federation of artists, Bordeaux, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34851-tit--chargee-de-mission-Administrateur-POLA -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (09/05/2007) Formation: machinima workshop in Prague, CIANT - International Centre for Art and New Technologies, Czech. http://pourinfos.org/art-34852-tit-Formation-machinima-workshop-in-Prague- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (09/05/2007) Formation: Call: program “the Seine”, Ecole nationale superieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34853-tit-Formation-s-programme-La-Seine-Ecole -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (09/05/2007) Formation: call to candidature for collaborator, JUSQUICI asbl_agence artistique, Luxembourg, Luxembourg. http://pourinfos.org/art-34854-tit-Formation-appel-a-candidature-pour-un-e- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (09/05/2007) Formation: call for participation in the Inbetween Zone workshop, from 16 to 23 June 2007, Budapest, Hungary. http://pourinfos.org/art-34855-tit-Formation-call-for-participation-in-the -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (09/05/2007) Program: mardi cote jardin (Tuesday, garden side) , june 2007, Frac Alsace, Sélestat, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34857-tit--mardi-cote-jardin-juin-2007-Frac -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (09/05/2007) Program: cultural of May 2007, Ensba de Paris, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34858-tit--culturel-du-mois-de-mai-2007-Ensba-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (09/05/2007) Programme: visual arts and Meetings, Point Ephémère, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34859-tit--arts-visuels-et-rencontres-Point -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (09/05/2007) Exhibition: thank you mister (merci monsieur), John Deneuve, galerie Porte Avion, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34860-tit--merci-monsieur-John-Deneuve-galerie -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (09/05/2007) Various: opening of the mobile Gallery “TinBox”, on May 31, 2007, Bordeaux , France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34861-tit-Divers-ouverture-de-la-Galerie-mobile -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (09/05/2007) Various: The letter of the trade-union organizations to the ministry for the Culture concerning la Maison des Artistes and Official statement of the Ministry for the Culture, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34862-tit-Divers-La-lettre-des-organisations -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (09/05/2007) Various: BNP Paribas foundation good support of the ministry for the Culture and the Communication, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34863-tit-Divers-Fondation-BNP-Paribas-Grand-Mecene -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (09/05/2007) Various: opening of the FAT gallery, Saturday May 26, 2007, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34864-tit-Divers-ouverture-de-la-FAT-galerie- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (09/05/2007) Call: Second edition of MUSIC VIDEOART, HEURE EXQUISE !, Maison Folie Fort de Mons, Mons en Baroeul, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34865-tit-Appel-a-partipation-Seconde-edition-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (09/05/2007) Call: Auction sale, Réseau Education Sans Frontières, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34866-tit--Vente-aux-encheres-Reseau-Education -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (09/05/2007) Call: Piksel07, BEK, Bergen, Norway. http://pourinfos.org/art-34867-tit--Piksel07-BEK-Bergen- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (09/05/2007) Call: Open call for anti-globalization videos and films, Chisinau, Republica Moldova. http://pourinfos.org/art-34868-tit--Open-call-for-anti-globalization-videos -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (09/05/2007) Call: FLAG METAMORPHOSES, Dusseldorf, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/art-34869-tit--FLAG-METAMORPHOSES-Dusseldorf- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (09/05/2007) Call: body-process arts festival, a-m-b-e_r'07 , 9-17 november 2007, Istanbul, Turkey. http://pourinfos.org/art-34870-tit--body-process-arts-festival-a-m-b-e-r-07 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (09/05/2007) Call: call to contribution, Imitation in the Museums (De l’Imitation dans les Musées), ecole normale superieure, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34871-tit--appel-a-contribution-De-l-Imitation -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (09/05/2007) Call: competition of posters within the framework of the 30th Festival of Court Metrage en Plein Air de Grenoble, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34872-tit--concours-d-affiches-dans-le-cadre-du -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (10/05/2007) Meetings: Can art learn from the economy and the company? (L’art peut-il apprendre de l’économie et de l’entreprise?), seminar Thursday 10 Friday May 11, 2007, Ecole superieure d’art de Rueil-Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34797-tit--L-art-peut-il-apprendre-de-l-economie-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (10/05/2007) Meetings: Evening Resistances, Lowave , le 10 mai 2007, la Generale, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34838-tit--Soiree-Resistances-Lowave-le-10-mai -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (10/05/2007) Meetings: Dubious remarks on the contemporary art (Propos incertains sur l'art contemporain), Caecilia Tripp, Caecilia Tripp, Thursday May 10, 2007,, Reims, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34839-tit--Propos-incertains-sur-l-art-contemporain- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (11/05/2007) Meetings: Cheap, the 7th EDITION of the festival the Book and Art, May 11 and 13, 2007, Le lieu Unique Nantes, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34800-tit--Cheap-Le-livre-et-l-art-7eme-edition-du -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (11/05/2007) Meetings: the 7th EDITION of the festival the Book and Art, May 11 and 13, 2007, the collectif La Valise et l’association est-ce une bonne nouvelle, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34841-tit--la-7eme-EDITION-du-festival-Le-Livre-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (11/05/2007) Meetings: Contemporary approaches - Art, design, esthetics, Mathieu Briand, May 11, 2007, Le Collège, Médiathèque Cathédrale, Reims, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34843-tit--Approches-Contemporaines-Art-design- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (11/05/2007) Program : Week-end SHADOWS, Independant Chines Cinema, Les Inattendus, les 11, 12 et 13 may 2007, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34856-tit--Week-end-SHADOWS-Cinema-Independant _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From crd at fondation-langlois.org Wed May 9 20:17:55 2007 From: crd at fondation-langlois.org (CR+D) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 10:47:55 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] News from the Daniel Langlois Foundation Message-ID: <42b5179fe750cbf4dc64598ff27b431c@fdl-webmestre> Research findings: Generative Systems by Kathryn Farley Each year, the Grants for Researchers in Residence Program offers researchers the possibility of working at the Foundation's Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) and provides them access to its fonds and collections. Kathryn Farley (Ph.D.) was a resident at the CR+D in 2006 and focused primarily on the Sonia Landy Sheridan fonds. This publication contains the findings of Farley's research and describes the singular methods of instruction used by Sheridan in her Generative Systems courses. This groundbreaking academic program, founded in 1970 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL, U.S.) allowed students to explore the implications of emerging communications technologies on art production. Drawing on diverse items in the fonds (course syllabi, lesson plans, administrative documents, photographs of class sessions, student assessment questionnaires and copies of assignments, video and audiotape documentation of instructional activities) and recent interviews with Sheridan, the study attempts to offer a comprehensive account of the evolution of Generative Systems and link its development to the emergence of art and technology studies at the post-secondary level: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/index.php?NumPage=1991 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Tue May 15 13:48:24 2007 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (videoNet) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 10:18:24 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Final_call=3A_Quicktime_as_an_artist?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ic_medium?= Message-ID: <20070515101824.F2AB7928.391A81CD@192.168.0.3> Final call for entries deadline 31 May 2007 Theme: Slowtime 2007 - Quicktime as an artistic medium From keshvani at leoalmanac.org Wed May 9 11:22:13 2007 From: keshvani at leoalmanac.org (Nisar Keshvani, LEA) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 13:52:13 +0800 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] LEA Vol 15 No 5 - 6: LEA - ACM Multimedia Interactive Arts Program Special & E-Poetry Symposium New York 2007 Message-ID: <5d60ab0c0705082252q7efae457xeb759dbc1c56cb10@mail.gmail.com> If unable to view, please kindly visit: http://leoalmanac.org/journal/Vol_15/lea_v15_n05_06/home.asp [image: Leonardo Electronic Almanac] MAY v o l 1 9 i s s u e 05 [image: LEA - ACM Multimedia Interactive Arts Program Special] Mobile Art blog images created via Python application on the mobile phone Copyright* (c)*Copyright (c) Jürgen Scheible 01 e d i t o r's n o t e Nisar Keshvani 02 g u e s t e d i t o r i a l LEA - ACM Multimedia Interactive Arts Program Special by Alejandro Jaimes 03 e s s a y s Multimedia Special 04 g a l l e r y Waxing Lyrical with New Media Poetics & Poetry 05 r e s o u r c e s :: LEA Call for Papers - Dispersive Anatomies :: LEA Call for Papers - Creative Data 06 a n n o u n c e m e n t s :: E-Poetry Symposium 2007 :: Asst Prof at Uni of Texas This month, editor in chief, Nisar Keshvani announces the LEA - ACM Multimedia Interactive Arts Program Special . Guest edited by Alejandro Jaimes, the founder of the ACM Multimedia Interactive Art Program, he begins with a stealthy discussion of the context and importance in which the art program was created. In this installment, Alejandro carefully selects pearls of multimedia morsels from the 2004-2006 editions of the art program and deliciously strings them out for your pleasure. This collective includes Jodi James and colleagues who describe a movement-based interactive dance performance, Chi-Min Hsieh and Annie Luciani proposing a series of physics-based models relating to dance verbs and Jürgen Scheible's MobiLenin and Manhattan Story Mashup - two colorful projects where multimodal user interfaces were built from personal mobile phones. Atau Tanaka's work explores social music systems and malleable music using mobile devices, Kazuhiro Jo and colleagues' sine wave orchestra is a symphony of concepts and technical details where sine waves generated by individuals are used to create a collective sound representation. Next, venture into the workings of evolvable hardware in artistic installations with Raquel Paricio and J. Manuel Moreno Aróstegui and discover Andrew Webb and team's description of a new type of affordance, the choreographic button, which integrates choreography, gesture recognition and visual feedback. Equally proud, LEA announces that on 21 April 2007, LEA New Media and Poetics Guest Editor Tim Peterson and Loss Pequeño Glazier, Founder and Director of the Electronic Poetry Center hosted a symposium at " E-Poetry Symposium 2007 " in New York City. The event featured Aya Karpinska, Elizabeth Knipe, and Jim Rosenberg and Shawn Rider. Also in this issue, LEA presents its call for two upcoming specials: " Dispersive Anatomies " and "Creative Data: Visualisation, Augmentation, Telepresence And Immersion ", and job postings at the University of Texas (Dallas). --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leonardo electronic almanac alerts list" group. To post to this group, send email to LEAalerts at googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to LEAalerts-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/LEAalerts -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070509/1ca5a598/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From renee75 at gmail.com Tue May 15 17:50:24 2007 From: renee75 at gmail.com (Renee Lulam) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 17:50:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 3rd posting, with apologiesfor the delay: Outsider? Message-ID: The Shekhawati Agarwal family have been here for 120 years. Their story speaks of the changes in Shillong, as a community, as a place, and as a home. Business till the early sixties was conducted as a community, where all the businesses of Shillong, 'local' or 'dkhar', would pool in finances, and orders would be made from Calcutta. When the goods arrived, there was no bikering. A sense of honour existed in taking what one's share was, and not more. As businesses grew, and the bulk increased, so did competition. That they necessarily need 'local' support and business to survive does not escape them. The communal resentments that flare up occasionally however, have inculcated a deep rooted insecurity, 'for those who have seen everything with their own eyes, like me, there is always the insecurity'. But the question is, if after 120 years here, they don't belong to the place, who does? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070515/967e162c/attachment.html From theunderscoredhood at gmail.com Tue May 15 14:07:26 2007 From: theunderscoredhood at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 14:07:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] On Baroda Message-ID: I dont feel like being a part of this. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070515/e28570f5/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Wed May 16 16:30:20 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 16:30:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Lal Khan: Pakistan--A State at War Wit Itself Message-ID: <48097acc0705160400p55efc1adk2a729a77987dfaed@mail.gmail.com> Pakistan - a state at war with itself [image: Donate to Marxist.com!] By Lal Khan in Lahore Tuesday, 15 May 2007 [image: Pakistan - a state at war with itself] The situation in Pakistan is marked by the ongoing war in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan, the insurgency in Balochistan, the nationalist movement in Sindh, the rise of fundamentalist terror, suicidal attacks, bomb blasts, female Islamic fanatical vigilantes challenging the writ of the state, cross-border terrorism in Kashmir, serious suicidal attempts on Musharraf's own life, the crisis of the judiciary and now the beginning of the civil war in Karachi and elsewhere. This is to name just a few events in the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan. Yet these brutal forces of black reaction that are trying to blow society apart are mostly creations of elements deeply linked the Pakistani state. After the derailment of the 1968-69 Revolution in Pakistan, the ruling classes brought the vicious Zia military dictatorship to power in 1977 as an act of vengeance against the challenge put up by the working classes to the exploitative rule of capitalism. They were eleven years of the most brutal nightmare in the 60 years of Pakistan's traumatic history. In his recent book, "Frontline Pakistan" Zahid Hussain writing about that period states "Afraid to face a free electorate and having no mandate to govern, the general turned to Allah." Faced with a rising mass revolt Zia used religious fundamentalism to prolong his reign of terror. In this he was fully supported by the Americans. In this period the CIA was involved in the counter-revolutiona ry "Jihad" against the left wing PDPA government in Afghanistan. The Zia dictatorship was the main executioner of this operation, not just with American consent but with their full support. General Zia infiltrated Islamic fundamentalism within the State and throughout society. Zia-Ul-Haq moved to Islamise the Pakistani army, weaning it away from its secular British traditions. Islamic philosophy became part of the curriculum at the command and staff colleges. With billions of dollars from the US and Saudi Arabia pouring into its kitty, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was turned into a parallel structure wielding enormous power over all aspects of government. Even after Zia's demise, and the so-called democratic interlude of the Benazir and Nawaz Sharif regimes, the stranglehold of the ISI never eased. There were still no significant changes in the control of ISI over foreign policy, the nuclear program and other vital aspects of the state when Musharraf took over through a bloodless military coup in October 1999. Even after 9/11 the ISI continued its logistical and other support for the Islamic fundamentalists' mercenaries in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Central Asiaand Pakistan itself. Musharraf did try to rein in the intelligence organizations but with little success. Some of the more fanatical operatives were sidelined, but many more remained in important places from where they have continued to help their reactionary protégés. In the 2002 elections the ISI had assured Musharraf of a friendly parliament and along with the newly fabricated Pakistan Muslim League (Q) they manufactured the Islamic Alliance MMA that was facilitated into getting into parliament. These mullahs later played a decisive role in getting the 17thamendment passed which legitimized Musharraf's presidency in military uniform. The military continued to patronize the religious right. This explains why veiled and armed women from the Jamia Hafsa can march into a children's library in Islamabad while they are still under their enforced occupation. This could also be why the regime backs down and watches helplessly as those vigilante women assume the role of morale patrons and policing and illegally abduct women and children in the heart of Pakistan's capital. Apart from religious prejudices the Zia dictatorship and the ISI created other organizations along linguistic, ethnic and chauvinist lines to drive a wedge into the class unity of the proletariat. The most significant was the creation of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) based upon the Urdu speaking immigrants who had moved to Karachi and other cities from UP, CP and other provinces of India. This transmigration was the result of the reactionary partition of the Subcontinent in 1947 on a religious basis. The British imperialists in connivance with the local Hindu and Muslim elite leaders committed this gruesome crime in which more than 2.7 million people were slaughtered in ethnic frenzy. The British and local ruling classes were terrified that the national liberation struggle would pass over into economic and social liberation through a Socialist Revolution. The rise of the MQM was also due to the ebbing of the revolutionary tide that had peaked in the late sixties and early seventies. But the whole process was guided by the agencies of the state. Karachi, which was also known as the Petrograd of Pakistan, has been in the throes of ethnic and sectarian conflicts for almost three decades. The leaders of other national, ethnic and linguistic communities also had a role to play in propping up their own financial interests by whipping up chauvinistic violence between different communities in Karachi. The MQM and the Jamat-i-Islami are in the forefront of fomenting this reactionary frenzy. MQM is a coalition partner of the present Musharraf dictatorship, the governor of Sindh and other important functionaries of the government also belong to the MQM. Over the weekend of May 12-13 more than 40 people were killed and hundreds injured, one television office was ransacked and the city was under the control of an armed mob belonging to the MQM. This is not the first time that the MQM has been involved in brutal killings and genocide. This ethnic chauvinist organization has neo-fascist tendencies like the Islamic fundamentalists, and has a history of involvement in extortion, robberies, crime, plunder and assassination in its power belts. Incidentally Musharraf is also a Muhajir (immigrant from India). On May 12 the suspended chief Justice of the Supreme Court was to visit Karachi and address the Sindh Bar. Various political parties had been trying to use this campaign of the lawyers to foist their own political agenda on the movement. Many rallies were planned to welcome the Chief Justice. But the MQM planned with its own government to crush this movement. Hence, the police and state forces stayed away when the MQM vigilantes went on a shooting spree in different areas of the city. The irony is that MQM also organised a huge rally to mourn those who had been killed in this violence! But the problem for the state is that the Frankenstein monsters that it has created are now getting out of control. Not only is the orgy of violence carried out by the MQM creating a serious law and order problem, but the stooges of the state, the Islamic fundamentalists, MQM and other reactionary outfits are now involved in bloody clashes between each other. The Chief Justice and the Supreme Judiciary who endorsed Musharraf's rule and who have been acting as a safety valve for the regime, now have also fallen apart and the important pillars of the state are colliding with each other. The campaign around the suspended Chief Justice has attained such significance because there is a burning resentment against the regime throughout society. The dominant political parties are not offering any alternative economic programme. Hence, the vacuum. But historically, due to the corrupt character of the Pakistani ruling classes, they have had to rely on the state more and more to cover up their crimes and corruption. In this process the state, and especially the army, interfered in the economy more and more. Now the largest business entrepreneurs and tycoons in the country are the army generals. The black money made from the drug trade and arms smuggling, the operations during the Afghan Jihad of the 1980s and later, all brought in large sums of finance capital into different institutions of the state, especially the army and the ISI. These different sections of finance capital represented within the state's military and civilian bureaucracy are now in conflict with each other. These contradictions have now exploded with such intensity that they have brought the conflicts within the state out into the open. The tragedy is that the PPP is not offering the masses a clear way out from this atrocious situation. It is ironic that while being the traditional party of the masses, its leadership is afraid of the mass movement and is avoiding coming out with the radical socialist programme that is enshrined in its founding documents. Hence the flux and stalemate. Lenin once said "Politics is concentrated economics". The turmoil and convulsions that have gripped the Pakistani state, society and politics are in reality the reflection of the terrible conditions of the economy itself. The present regime has been able to amass the largest trade deficit and the biggest current account deficit in Pakistan's history. According to the latest World Bank survey 74% of the population lives below the poverty line. The rate of inflation for food products has crossed the 15 % barrier; 82% of the population is forced to use non-scientific medication; 52% of children never get enrolled in a proper primary school; half of those enrolled leave school before completing their primary education and the situation is much worse for girls. Three quarters of the population live below the minimum wage of Rs 4000 (48 euros) per month. The infant mortality rate in Pakistan is the highest in the Subcontinent (88 per thousand births). There is rampant unemployment and according to "The News", the main English language newspaper, a further 10,000 people fall below the poverty line every day. Amongst the 34 poorest economies Pakistan is ranked 17th in education and last, i.e. 34th in health in terms of allocation against total expenditure. During 1990-2005 the average share of health spending as a percentage of GNP was 0.68 % and that of education 1.99 percent. In the last sixty years of Pakistan's existence spending on social welfare has been the most neglected. Between 1947 and 2005 the total budgetary allocations have been the following: Foreign Debt and interest repayment - 34.5%; Defence (Military expenditure) - 23%; Total Development - 20.5%. And these are the official figures. Most of the so-called development expenditure is siphoned off by the corrupt bureaucrats, the government and the private contractors and other go-between elements. The regime has been following so-called "trickle down economics" dictated by imperialist financial institutions with a ferocious zeal. The higher the growth rates the greater the social decline. Electricity shortages and load shedding create further problems. There is an energy shortage of 2,500 megawatts. This is not only creating hell for the people in this scorching heat but industry and agriculture are suffering. The policy of privatisation has resulted in a greater outflow of profits than the Direct Foreign Investment coming into the country. For every one dollar that comes into Pakistan 14 dollars are taken out. Now there is not much left to privatise and the total foreign reserves can only sustain 8 to 10 weeks of imports. With the micro and macro indicators showing a dismal and terminally sick economy the prospects of any social and political stability are very bleak to say the least. This economic decline will further aggravate the crisis resulting in greater conflagration and social convulsions. The Musharraf regime is hanging by a thread, one push and it will fall. The Islamic fundamentalists have been exposed, especially after the experiences of their governments in Baluchistan and Pakhtoonkhwaa (North West Frontier Province). The MQM's present violent acts are also the result of their desperation due to the rapid decline in their support especially in Karachi. Being in power at both federal and provincial levels they have totally failed to improve the lot of the impoverished masses. The nationalists in Sindh, Baluchistan, Pakhtoonkhwaa and other areas are splintering and are being reduced to small sects due to their total adherence and compliance to capitalist economics and politics. Benazir Bhutto and the Musharraf regime have been involved in covert negotiations to reach a deal to form a pro-American, "liberal" regime. For the time being this deal has been buried by the explosive events in Karachi and elsewhere. If Benazir forces the PPP into a deal with the Musharraf dictatorship this will demoralize the party activists, but such a regime would be very short lived. The extreme right wing in the state and establishment will not accept her either. The overthrow of such a coalition government would be the beginning of the end for Benazir. Already there is resentment and dismay amongst the PPP ranks. This will explode if Benazir comes to power on the basis of such a conciliatory set up and as the economic crisis intensifies. The perspectives in Pakistan are complex. The state and society are riddled with all sorts of peculiar contradictions. Reactionary forces, albeit superficially, seem to dominate in certain spheres of society. A more vicious and reactionary dictatorial regime is not ruled out, but even if it should come to power it would be very short lived and crisis ridden. It would not last long. The underlying social resentment can explode in a proletarian upheaval as it did in 1968-69. But this time it would be on a much higher plane and with a greater intensity. The reaction of the masses in Karachi and throughout Pakistan in terms of spontaneous strikes shows the potential of the movement and the wrath of the masses that is building up against this regime and despotism in general. The picture of Pakistani society as portrayed by the western media is not only erroneous but also deceptive. The Pakistani proletariat can surprise the world. When the working class moves it will be a decisive moment for the Marxists who have become a considerable force even at the present time. If the PPP leadership is forced to come to power through a movement that overthrows the Musharraf regime such a movement would be pushed radically to the left from its inception and the Marxists can become a major force during the course of such a movement. A PPP regime on a left basis would come into conflict with the state right from the beginning. And such a conflict could only be resolved through a revolution or a counter-revolution. Pakistan is a failed economy, a failed society and a failed state. Capitalism is dragging it ruthlessly towards barbarism. Now the very survival of society and even civilization depends on the success of a Socialist Revolution. If the Pakistani Marxists work with dedication, and correct strategy and tactics, a Socialist victory is entirely possible in the wake of a mass movement of the workers and poor peasants. A successful Socialist Revolution in Pakistan would open the floodgates of revolutionary upheavals throughout South Asia. Lahore, May 14, 2007 Bhittai eGroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bhittai Subscribe: Bhittai-subscribe at yahoogroups.com -- Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070516/fd8123b8/attachment.html From monica.mody at gmail.com Thu May 10 13:55:58 2007 From: monica.mody at gmail.com (Monica Mody) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 13:55:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Delhi: Open Baithak, May 18, 6.30 pm In-Reply-To: <4badad3b0705090503q6f575ef1v30ffca7615e94d72@mail.gmail.com> References: <4badad3b0705090503q6f575ef1v30ffca7615e94d72@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4badad3b0705100125g661fabffo1bf7db629106aa7a@mail.gmail.com> ***Please Forward Widely*** Dear friends, Earlier this year, the British Council Delhi had organized a Spoken Word Series featuring performances and workshops by UK and Indian poets such as Anjum Hasan, Jeet Thayil, John Hegley, Lemn Sissay, Patience Agbabi and Vivek Narayanan. This culminated in an open mic evening at Sarai, where those of us present felt the necessity for more such spaces, which give an opportunity to poet performers to explore how performance and poetry can be brought together, spaces where words can come alive on the stage through ways and means ranging from music to rhythm to dance and beyond. Introducing "Open Baithak", a space to experiment with words, enjoy them, delight in them and do risky and innovative things with them. A space where poet performers coming from different linguistic, literary and oral traditions can find and learn from each other. A space where new poets can try out their verses and voices. The first five sessions of Open Baithak are being sponsored by the British Council Delhi. Come to participate, or as audience to good poetry and to daring, dazzling performances. WHEN: 18 May 2007, 6.30-8.30 pm WHERE: The Attic, 36 Regal Building, Connaught Place (see theatticdelhi.org) To sign up, email openbaithak at gmail.com or show up at the Open Baithak. Email the same if you have questions! Look forward to seeing you there. Warmly, Monica *OUR THREE RULES* 1. You get 7-8 mins on the mike. A bell will signal when your time is up. 2. Bring new material at every Open Baithak. You can perform the same material twice max, if you wish to try it in a different way. 3. You can bring poems or prose readings in any language. In fact we would love an active participation by poet performers in languages other than English. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nityajacob at yahoo.com Mon May 14 16:38:09 2007 From: nityajacob at yahoo.com (Nitya Jacob) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 04:08:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Meeting on River Yamuna Message-ID: <930144.87436.qm@web30813.mail.mud.yahoo.com> On 19th May, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, at Satyagraha Mandap, Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat, New Delhi, the Jal Biradari will hold a meeting for the media and others interested on joining the movement. The meeting will discuss how to revive the river and its ecosystem in the light of the fact that its being systematically decimated by the government and private sector. Its floodplains are being converted into malls and residential and commercial establishments like hotels in the name of mere 10 day sporting event called the commonwealth games. Please come and attend. Nitya Jacob ____________________________________________________________________________________Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070514/54b9d679/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From waterjourneys at rediffmail.com Fri May 11 17:34:06 2007 From: waterjourneys at rediffmail.com (Water Journeys) Date: 11 May 2007 12:04:06 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] 'Voices from the Waters 2007' Invitation Message-ID: <20070511120406.3764.qmail@f5mail12.rediffmail.com> Voices from the Waters 2007, 2nd International Film Festival on Water Film Festival/Discussion/Testimonies from Grassroot level activists- Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th June 2007 10am to 8pm at Gurunanak Bhavan, Thimmiah Road, Bangalore Conference- Monday 11th, June 2007 Aashirwaad, St. Mark's Road, Bangalore Arghyam- safe, sustainable water for all, Bangalore Film Society and Films for Freedom, Bangalore in collaboration with Water Journeys- Forum for the Fundamental Right to Water, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Ithaca College (FLEFF) and Urban Research Centre are proud to present the second edition of the International Film Festival on Water titled ‘Voices from the Waters 2007’. The festival, while attempting to cast light on the looming global water crisis is a vibrant, colorful celebration of ‘water’ in all its liquid blue glory. Featuring a stirring selection of full length films, short films, animation and documentaries - from cinema classics of Ray, Sathyu and Kasarvalli to early documentaries of Jahnu Barua and Aribam Shyam Sharma to much-acclaimed and groundbreaking new works from film makers all across the globe, the festival attempts to connect the public with everyday, mundane ‘water’ as the source of all life, as the platform for civilization and society, as a precious natural gift, as culture and as pure poetry and as a scarce resource increasingly commodified. The festival will also serve as a platform to the voices of grassroots level water activists from Bihar, Kerala, Rajasthan, Bengal and all across the nation who will narrate evocatively, testimonies from lives lived and spent in the name of water. Film-makers, present at the screening of their films will interact with the audience and share their experience. The four days of the film festival and storytelling will culminate with a conference which will allow the general public, film-makers, policy markers and grassroots level activists to interact on a common platform. The Festival Conferences will focus on water equity and ecological issues. Water Equity will address the issues of how the poor will access safe, potable water for their daily necessities as well as for their livelihood, while ecological issues primarily will focus on management of water resources and sustainability. Since its conception, the second edition of ‘Voices from the Waters’ has been generating a lot of national and international interest. We have received over 120 films from 30 countries across the globe for the 2007 edition. We invite you to participate in this celebration of life itself and lend further color, noise and depth to the festival. The festival venue provides you with an opportunity to exhibit/share your publications, films, songs, posters on the water issues. The space for the stalls will be provided free of cost. (first come, first serve basis) "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" - Loran Eisley For more information, please contact:- Siddharth Pillai, 33/1-9, Thyagaraja Layout, Jai Bharath Nagar, M.S. Nagar P.O., Bangalore- 560 033, Karnataka, India. Tel: 91- 80- 25493705/ 9886213516 Email: bfs at bgl.vsnl.net.in Campaign for the fundamental right to water, C/o No.33/1-9, Thyagaraj Layout, Jai Bharath Nagar, Maruthisevanagar P.O, Bangalore-560 033. "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" - Loran Eisley -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070511/d441cda4/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From raviv at sarai.net Wed May 16 23:57:08 2007 From: raviv at sarai.net (Ravi S. Vasudevan) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 20:27:08 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Fwd: Visual culture post-doc researcher job in London Message-ID: <0ab9fc2cafbc62fddc2a427d1705a252@sarai.net> _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ash.disorient at gmail.com Thu May 17 03:56:11 2007 From: ash.disorient at gmail.com (Ashwani Sharma) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 23:26:11 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] darkmatter - new online journal In-Reply-To: <8993550c0705140427n1ab09c58h949c86329a7b330e@mail.gmail.com> References: <8993550c0705140427n1ab09c58h949c86329a7b330e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <8993550c0705161526r7ed0eac6jab681e66835369b@mail.gmail.com> apologies for x-posting. please distribute: We are very pleased to announce the launch of a new independent online journal darkmatter read more.... The first themed dialogues present a set of reflective commentaries on the turbulent events surrounding the UK Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother 07 . Collectively the dialogues begin to map the complexity of race and media culture in our globalised digital world. Editorial: Celebrity Big Brother dialogues - the global pantomime of race Further Journal highlights include: Paul Gilroy in conversationwith Max Farrar; a round-table discussion on transnational feminism and terrorism with scholars from the US and Europe including Gargi Bhattacharya; Inderpal Grewal; Ronit Lentin and Jasbir Kaur Puar; a poetic filmic mediation on the Coventry Ritz Cinemaby Nirmal Puwar; a review essay on the film Crash by Paul Gormley; a review of Yinka Shonibare at the Musee de Quai Branlyin Paris by Sara Wajid. Future themed issues: Race and Materialism; Desiring Otherness - Psychoanalysis and Alterity the Commons includes insightful interventions on contemporary culture and global politics - don't miss Ben Pitcher's posts on the troubled politics of whiteness; or the exiled Londoner, Ko Banerjea's 'Lynch-esque' dispatches on the traumas of everyday living in LA. darkmatter editors (ash sharma and sanjay sharma) www.darkmatter101.org darkmatter journal is committed to producing incisive post-colonial cultural critique. We are interested in interrogating contested issues of multiculture, while eschewing current orthodoxies. *darkmatter *seeks to promote critical knowledge production from a range of contributors exploring the politics of everyday life. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070516/efdd4dd3/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From rakesh at sarai.net Thu May 17 15:34:56 2007 From: rakesh at sarai.net (Rakesh) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 18:04:56 +0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Why i am afraid of Mayawati? Message-ID: <464C28C8.1030209@sarai.net> Certainly not my opinion, but an opinion from a "middle-class, educated, metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young" journalist... Salaam Rakesh Mayawati's historic victory has left me speechless. And scared. Her victory tells me once again how I, and people like me, have no voice in Indian politics anymore. We, the middle-class, educated, metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young. We, the backbone of the knowledge, entreneurial economy. We, who have no representation. We have no voice. We have no one who speaks our language, our idiom. We are the people who rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage. He is us. He is the success of education and middle class values rising to the top. Only, shudder, he failed to win a poll. We, the non-vote bank. We, who must remember that Manmohan Singh rises because of Sonia Gandhi. Because of loyalty to the Family. We, who form no mass base. For more read http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/hindolsengupta/104/40458/why-i-am-afraid-of-mayawati.html -- Rakesh Kumar Singh Sarai-CSDS 29, Rajpur Road Delhi-110054 Ph: 91 11 23960040 Fax: 91 11 2394 3450 web site: www.sarai.net web blog: http://blog.sarai.net/users/rakesh From mail at shivamvij.com Fri May 18 02:28:08 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 02:28:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <464C28C8.1030209@sarai.net> References: <464C28C8.1030209@sarai.net> Message-ID: <9c06aab30705171358s17abbc3cy9c14849d9dfd05d0@mail.gmail.com> Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This is a very important post on the CNN IBN website's otherwise dull blog section. It has been written by Hindol Sengupta who covers fashion and suchlike for them. He says he can't relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that the "backbone of the knowledge, entreneurial [sic] economy" should be a "non-vote bank". He says that his class of people, his 'type' - People Like Us, to use a cliche - "rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage" but alas, even he couldn't win a Lok Sabha election from South Delhi. The reason why I think it is an important post is that unlike most other PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to 'objectivity'. When Youth for Equality / United Students / other 'anti-reservationists' oppose reservations, and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they claim to be doing so with a claim to 'objectivity', that is, they do not admit that the viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a certain section of society that is influential in shaping public opinion despite being in a minority. Sengupta admits not only his discomfiture with a democratically elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture stems from his background, from who he is. He describes himself and his ilk as "middle-class, educated, metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young." That would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let's just use the word 'yuppie'. It is quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie to admit his distance from the political rise of the 'low-class, neo-literate, village-bred, government school-raised, middle aged'. Such an admission is a rarity, and it is exactly what the 'anti-anti-reservationists' want the 'anti-reservationists' to admit. Sengupta's 'realisation', though, is an incomplete one. Except for a passing reference in the last paragraph, he does not mention that the distance between Us and Them is in great measure that of language. Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike these days seem to forget the Hindi/English divide. It has been left to Kancha Iliah and Chandrabhan Prasad now to remind us of it. Unfortunately the realisation of his being a PLU doesn't go too far. But the honesty does extend to his class bias: his problem with Lalu having a buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati he writes: "But forward planning? Infrastructure ideas? Modernity? Mayawati, alas, is the quintessential behenji." So what about Lalu's success as railway minister? Could it be that Mayawati hasn't been able to work on development because she's not been in power for more than two years collectively in three terms? Could it be that Mayawati's Ambedkar Villages scheme has made the ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and allowed a few Dalits to gather the courage to go to the police station and file an FIR against the men who raped their daughter? Could it be that the Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a Brahmin or two to give up untouchability and accept dalits as part of the same social realm as theirs? The questions don't bother Sengupta because the answers don't affect him. In other words, another area where I would like Sengupta to extend his realisation to is middle class self-centredness. The middle class cares only about itself, the rest may go to hell. If this is true even in perception, that is bad enough. I also hope his realisation will sooner or later extend to adding the phrase 'upper caste' to MEMCRY. After so much heat on reservations, are the yuppies still blind to the fact that PLUs are exclusively upper-caste? Whether its is by design or default that the middle class is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is arguable. Whether this should be changed by improving the quality of primary schools and/or by reservations in higher education, is debatable. But no one can dispute that the Indian middle class is composed of the upper castes. Yet they choose not to admit this. Sengupta honestly admits that his convent education, metropolitan upbringing, class status are the causes of his dismay (and 'fear'!) over Mayawati's victory. I wish he'd extend this honesty to admitting that his caste is responsible in the first place for his MEMCRY yuppie status. He detests the heartland politicians because they don't speak his idiom. But the heartland politicians are who they are largely because of their caste. Kumari Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Lalu Prasad Yadav and others of their ilk are symbols, literally, of the political assertion of those below the middle class. The logic of such political assertion, according to Sengupta, is: "It's the same logic that kept Lalu in power, that allowed him to argue that development is nothing. He brought something more to his voters - he was one of them, and for those who had been oppressed for centuries, to see one of them in power, to see a CM who kept buffalos in his backyard was intoxicating. It was a real sense of power. No roads or electricity could beat that." If Sengupta roots for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra just because he can relate to them, why shouldn't those not fortunate to have his MEMCRY yuppie status not vote for leaders whom *they* can relate with? If "those who had been oppressed for centuries" (as if they aren't anymore) can enjoy a "real sense of power" by having one of their ilk in the CM's chair, then should we conclude that Sengupta and the yuppie class he represents also wants the same venal pleasure by seeing people of their ilk in power? Sengupta's understanding of caste politics - that the lower castes, the 'oppressed', vote for People Like Them for a sense of power - is to miss the wood for the trees. Indeed, if you ask Dalits in a remote village in eastern Uttar Pradesh (as I did in the middle of February this year) why they vote for Mayawati, they will actually say that they do so because she brings them dignity, because she is one of their own. In the mid-nineties Mayawati used to say in her rallies, "Main Chamar ki beti hoon. Main Chamari hoon, main tumhari hoon." But the reason why Dalits feel the need to have one of their own in power is because they think that only then will they have the roads and electricity they need - something Sengupta suggests foreign-educated Rahul Gandhi will deliver better than someone like Mayawati who has risen from a village and knows what it is like not to have roads and electricity. In one village I went to near Allahabad, there was a road going to a Brahmin basti, one to a Srivastava basti, but not one to a Dalit basti. The residents of that Pasi (a Dalit caste) basti told me that this was plain discrimination because of their caste. And they voted for Mayawati for her to change that. They voted for her again and again in the hope that some day she'll get full five years in power. (I thought it was quite remarkable that in a Dalit basti in a village they knew of the five year system!) If they see Mayawati not delivering the goods, they will stop voting for her one day. Just like they stopped voting for the Congress that produced the Rahuls and Priyankas but not roads and electricity in villages. An office colleague, who despite having done his customary duties at the JNU elections can be counted as a member of the MEMCRY yuppie class, told me that his Brahmin parents in urban, BJP-voting Lucknow enthusiastically voted for the BSP. Growing up in Lucknow myself, I learnt less about the non-existent 'Lakhnavi tehzeeb' than about Dalit-OBC politics because it was all happening before me. The day La Martiniere College shut down to allow a Samajwadi Party rally on its grounds was, in retrospect, a remarkable day when heartland politics was able to interrupt a middle class factory. But so many years of living under Maya and Mulayam has taught Lucknow's and Uttar Pradesh's middle class to live with it. And love it. If my colleague's parents voted for the BSP, and Brahmin lawyers like Satish Chandra Mishra are suddenly becoming aware of their Brahmin status and joining the BSP in large numbers, it speaks of a convergence of interests. Ambedkar, and his followers such as Mayawati, wanted Dalits to "educate, organise and agitate", capture power and then use power to open the doors of equality for Dalits. Kanshi Ram translated the idea to the masses by showing them a pen. The cap, he said, was how much the upper castes were. The rest of the body of the pen was Dalits/OBCs/Muslims ("Bahujans"). Despite being together in a majority they were being ruled by a minority o upper castes. The pen stood vertically. He said he wanted to make it horizontal, where everyone was equal. Brahmins, OBCs and Muslims voting for Mayawati and bringing her to power is exactly the fulfilment of that idea, even if politically but not yet socially. Caste politics, Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Mayawati n UP have proved, is not stagnant. It is rather a caste *churning*. Something's happening here. Some thing's changing. Hindol Sengupta doesn't need to be afraid of it. He can join it. [apologies for a long post and for cross-posting it on Kafila.org] best shivam On 5/17/07, Rakesh wrote: > Certainly not my opinion, but an opinion from a "middle-class, educated, > metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young" journalist... > Salaam > Rakesh > > Mayawati's historic victory has left me speechless. And scared. Her > victory tells me once again how I, and people like me, have no voice in > Indian politics anymore. We, the middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > Christian-education raised, young. We, the backbone of the knowledge, > entreneurial economy. We, who have no representation. We have no voice. > We have no one who speaks our language, our idiom. > > We are the people who rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage. He > is us. He is the success of education and middle class values rising to > the top. Only, shudder, he failed to win a poll. > > We, the non-vote bank. We, who must remember that Manmohan Singh rises > because of Sonia Gandhi. Because of loyalty to the Family. We, who form > no mass base. > > For more read > http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/hindolsengupta/104/40458/why-i-am-afraid-of-mayawati.html > > -- > Rakesh Kumar Singh > Sarai-CSDS > 29, Rajpur Road > Delhi-110054 > Ph: 91 11 23960040 > Fax: 91 11 2394 3450 > web site: www.sarai.net > web blog: http://blog.sarai.net/users/rakesh > > _________________________________________ > 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.shivamvij.com From aniltharayath at hotmail.com Fri May 18 11:23:33 2007 From: aniltharayath at hotmail.com (anil varghese) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 05:53:33 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] National centre for Advocacy Studies - internship programme Message-ID: National centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS)announce internship programme for 9th batch 2007- 2008. Advocacy Internship Programme (AIP) is a unique venture of National Centre for Advocacy Studies, which has been in operation since the year 1999. It aims at developing a set of young and dedicated professionals who are committed to social activism. It is a program that caters to the need of social activism and enriches the participants with the political perspective, knowledge, and skills required for effective public advocacy. for prospectus and application form go though the below link: http://www.ncasindia.org/public/staticpages/ncas_internship.asp for more information regarding NCAS go through below link: www.ncasindia.org _________________________________________________________________ Free & easy posting . Yello Classifieds. http://www.yello.in/home.php?utm_source=hotmailtag&utm_medium=textlink&utm_content=in&utm_campaign=april From cbrosius at hotmail.com Fri May 18 13:00:44 2007 From: cbrosius at hotmail.com (christiane brosius) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 07:30:44 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Dragonball in India? In-Reply-To: <200704171215.55474.ravikant@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Sarai list-members Is there anyone among you who would be able to help me out about a particular storyline that has circulated widely, especially in and between China and Japan, but also the western hemisphere: I am referring to �Dragonball�, also known under �The Journey to the West�, the story of a monkey/man going on an adventurous pilgrimage to look for Buddhist scriptures in India. The Chinese novel has, for instance, been adapted in manga format in Japan. I wonder whether this tale has been received and traded in India too, and whether you know of comics or any other (audio-)visual media that have dealt with the theme? Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks for our attention and help, Christiane Christiane Brosius Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology South Asia Institute Im Neuenheimer Feld 330 69120 Heidelberg Germany ph.: ++49-(0)6221-548938 see also www.tasveerghar.org _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ From aarti.sethi at gmail.com Thu May 17 14:41:09 2007 From: aarti.sethi at gmail.com (Aarti Sethi) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 14:41:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] URBAN ALLEGORIES: The City in Bombay Cinema - Lecture by Ranjani Mazumdar Message-ID: <48c2916d0705170211j7e48eab1o9e7d5a4edcabd294@mail.gmail.com> Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), University of Westminster PUBLIC LECTURE *URBAN ALLEGORIES: The City in Bombay Cinema* Dr Ranjani Mazumdar British Academy/ESRC Visiting Fellow at University of Westminster Associate Professor of Cinema Studies School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Thursday 31st May, 6.15pm The Old Cinema, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW Chair: Rosie Thomas, Director of Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), University of Westminster. You are invited to a lecture by Dr Ranjani Mazumdar to inaugurate her British Academy/ESRC Visiting Fellowship at the University of Westminster and also to launch her book* Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City*published this month by University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis and London. There will be a drinks reception afterwards. All welcome. Cinema is not only a major Industry in India, it is a powerful cultural force. But until now, no one has undertaken a major examination of the ways in which films made in Bombay mediate the urban experience in India. In her analysis of the cinematic city, Ranjani Mazumdar reveals a complex postnationalist world, convulsed by the social crisis of the 1970s and transformed by the experience of globalisation in the 1990s. Her account leads us into the heart of the urban labyrinth in India, revising and deepening our understanding of both the city and the cinema. For further details please contact Ranita Chatterjee at CREAM: R.Chatterjee at westminster.ac.uk ALL WELCOME -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070517/9bddc63a/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From cahen.x at levels9.com Thu May 17 16:32:15 2007 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 13:02:15 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] pourinfos Newsletter / 16-05 to 23-05-2007 Message-ID: <464C3637.1020302@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Wenesday May 16, 2007 to Wenesday May 23 2007 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (16/05/2007) Residence: Spike Island International Residency Program, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-34874-tit-Residence-Spike-Island-International -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (16/05/2007) Residence: new-media residency, Town of Beauvais, Beauvais, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34875-tit-Residence-Residence-de-creation -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (16/05/2007) Meetings: TECHNOLOGIES OF SURVIVAL/ZONES Of EXPERIMENTATION (TECHNOLOGIES DE SURVIE / ZONES D'EXPERIMENTATION), Forum of discussion May 16, 2007 Ensba, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34876-tit--TECHNOLOGIES-DE-SURVIE-ZONES -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (16/05/2007) Meetings: RESITUATION, Subversion, la box _bourges, Ecole nationale supérieure d'art de Bourges, Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34878-tit--RESITUATION-Subversion-la-box -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (16/05/2007) Meetings: Sound Practical Workshops, Laps Festival , 3 May 26, 2007, Mains d'Oeuvres, Saint Ouen, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34883-tit--Les-Ateliers-Pratiques-Sonores-festival -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (16/05/2007) Publication: New World and New Myth, (Nouveau Monde et Nouveau Mythe), Fabrice Flahutez , nouvelle collection Œuvres en sociétés, Editions les presses du réel, Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34884-tit--Nouveau-Monde-et-Nouveau-Mythe-Fabrice -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (16/05/2007) Publication : M19 - publication of 2860 grams of art, M19 Editions, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34885-tit--M19-parution-de-2860-grams-of-art- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (16/05/2007) Publication: The Basic : Numerical literature (Les Basiques : La littérature numérique) by Philippe Bootz, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34886-tit--Les-Basiques-La-litterature-numerique -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (16/05/2007) Publication: KIM KI-DUK and WONG KAR-WAI, Editions Dis Voir, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34887-tit--KIM-KI-DUK-et-WONG-KAR-WAI-Editions-Dis -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (16/05/2007) Publication: James Turrell, DVD carried out by Carine Asscher, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34888-tit--James-Turrell-reedition-du-DVD-realise -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (16/05/2007) Publication: inhabited images, photography and spatiality (images habitées, photographie et spatialité) by Philippe Bonnin, Editions Créaphis, Grâne, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34889-tit--images-habitees-photographie-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (16/05/2007) Publication: Guide practises royalty (Guide pratique du droit d'auteur), Anne-laure Stérin, Editions Maxima, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34890-tit--Guide-pratique-du-droit-d-auteur- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (16/05/2007) Publication: Art Signal Contemporary Art Magazine, Barcelona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-34891-tit--Art-Signal-Contemporary-Art-Magazine- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (16/05/2007) Publication: anomaly digital arts n°6, Interactive cities, Co-edition Anomos et Editions Hyx, Orléans, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34892-tit--anomalie-digital-arts-n-6-Interactive -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (16/05/2007) Publication: 7 is watching you parades! , number 7 of the review Parades, Ecole Régionale Supérieure d‘Expression Plastique, Tourcoing, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34893-tit--Parade-7-is-watching-you-numero-7-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (16/05/2007) Job: Professor/a propi per als Estudis d'Humanitats- Àrea d’Història de l’Art, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-34894-tit--Professor-a-propi-per-als-Estudis -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (16/05/2007) Formation: Numerical Workshops of Arts of iMAL, asbl iMAL vzw, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-34895-tit-Formation-Les-Ateliers-d-Arts-Numeriques -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (16/05/2007) Call: PHONO-PHOTO GRAPHIE, Tracelabel, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34900-tit--PHONO-PHOTO-GRAPHIE-Tracelabel-Paris- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (16/05/2007) Call: and meetings, ArtCampEurope, June 9, 2007, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34901-tit--et-rencontres-ArtCampEurope-9-juin -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (16/05/2007) Call: Creative Resistance, New Media as Soft Arms, nictoglobe, Amsterdam, The Neterlands. http://pourinfos.org/art-34902-tit--Creative-Resistance-New-Media-as-Soft -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (16/05/2007) Call: call for proposals prague biennale 3: Glocal & Outsiders, Prague, Czechoslovakia. http://pourinfos.org/art-34903-tit--call-for-proposals-prague-biennale-3- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (16/05/2007) Call: Simposio + residencia artística + exposición Fronte[ i ]ras 07, Lisboa, Vigo, Portugal, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-34904-tit--Simposio-residencia-artistica- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (16/05/2007) Call: Studio of production 2007/2008, Centre Photographique d’Ile-de-France, Pontault-Combault, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34905-tit-s-Atelier-de-production-2007-2008-Centre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (16/05/2007) Call: Première édition Punto y Raya Festival, Madrid, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-34906-tit--Premiere-edition-Punto-y-Raya-Festival- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (16/05/2007) Call: Portrait in all states (Portrait dans tous ses états) Bourse du Talent #32, photographie, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34907-tit--Portrait-dans-tous-ses-etats-Bourse-du -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (16/05/2007) Call: Labo HO, Bookstore-gallery Histoire de l’œil, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34908-tit--Labo-HO-librairie-galerie-Histoire-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (17/05/2007) Screening: Cinesong, Demain dès l’aube, Thursday May 17, 2007, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34898-tit--Carte-blanche-a-Cinesong-Demain-des -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (19/05/2007) Meetings: Christian Lebrat, May 19, 2007, Bureau d'art et de recherche, Roubaix, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34882-tit--Christian-Lebrat-19-mai-2007-Bureau -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (19/05/2007) Various: Free software with Richard Stallman, May 19, 2007, Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34897-tit-Divers-Logiciels-libres-un-enjeu-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (19/05/2007) Exhibition: “For only one night a museum changes…”("Pour une seule nuit un musée se transforme…"), May 19, 2007, Musée d’art et d’histoire de Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34899-tit--Pour-une-seule-nuit-un-musee-se -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (20/05/2007) Meetings: e-poetry 2007, 20 au 23 mai 2007, Laboratoire Paragraphe at University Paris8 , France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34760-tit--e-poetry-2007-20-au-23-mai-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (21/05/2007) Meetings: "CONCRETION RE" Thomas Hirschhorn, Talks on art, Monday May 21, 2007, Foundation of Ricard company,, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34844-tit--CONCRETION-RE-Thomas-Hirschhorn- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (22/05/2007) Meetings: Working in Public: Art, Practice and Policy, 22 and 23 May 2007, Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-34796-tit--Working-in-Public-Art-Practice-and -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (22/05/2007) Meetings: Conferences of Ville Ouverte (Open City) in May, Tuesday May 22, 2007, Espace Bain douche, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34840-tit--Les-conferences-de-Ville-Ouverte-en-mai- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (22/05/2007) Meetings: Subsidies - cultural policy, Mardis informatifs, Tuesday May 22 and June 5, 2007, cultural Office, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-34877-tit--Subventions-politique-culturelle- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (22/05/2007) Meetings: Meet with Jürgen Nefzger, Jürgen Nefzger, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34879-tit--Rencontre-avec-Jurgen-Nefzger-Jeu-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (23/05/2007) Meetings: Presentation of biennial 's catalogue of XVe of Paris, Wednesday May 23, 2007, Institut national d'histoire de l’art, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34880-tit--Presentation-du-catalogue-de-la-XVe -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (23/05/2007) Meetings: Day of studies Eclair, Thursday June 14, 2007, La Cinémathèque Française, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34881-tit--Journee-d-etudes-Eclair-Jeudi-14-juin _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From zubinpastakia at gmail.com Fri May 18 17:42:53 2007 From: zubinpastakia at gmail.com (Zubin Pastakia) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 17:42:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Photographs From Bombay's Cinema Halls Message-ID: <379173b10705180512r13d36835we4082eccac4542bf@mail.gmail.com> Hello, This is my third post to the Reader-List related to my fellowship project "A Photographic Study of Bombay's Cinema Halls as a Cultural Experience of Space." I have finally begun photographing the modern multiplex movie theatres. These spaces have a completely different visual aesthetic, and I have often felt that the visual syntax I've used to photograph the old halls often does not work. >From the surface materials of the building and the auditorium, to the lighting and the overall layout, the materials and arrangements signify a change in the way business is conducted and in the overall film-going experience. We are looking at a different cultural space here. In comparison to the older and the so-called "lower grade" halls, they suggest a different pace of life, a different relationship to money, and a different conception of leisure. Please take a moment to visit and bookmark the site: http://peripheralvision.blogspot.com I would appreciate it if people on this list would respond to the photographs by posting their thoughts, queries, and suggestions on the project so far. For everyone who has responded so far, thanks much. Best, Zubin From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Fri May 18 17:50:25 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <9c06aab30705171358s17abbc3cy9c14849d9dfd05d0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <371534.79700.qm@web32407.mail.mud.yahoo.com> This is a very moving response to a yuppy view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN website's otherwise dull blog section. It > has been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > can't relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that the > "backbone of the > knowledge, entreneurial [sic] economy" should be a > "non-vote bank". He > says that his class of people, his 'type' - People > Like Us, to use a > cliche - "rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes > stage" but alas, > even he couldn't win a Lok Sabha election from South > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an important post is > that unlike most > other PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > 'objectivity'. When Youth for > Equality / United Students / other > 'anti-reservationists' oppose > reservations, and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be doing so > with a claim to 'objectivity', that is, they do not > admit that the > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > certain section of > society that is influential in shaping public > opinion despite being in > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not only his discomfiture with a > democratically > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > stems from his > background, from who he is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > "middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > Christian-education raised, > young." That would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let's > just use the word > 'yuppie'. > > It is quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > to admit his > distance from the political rise of the 'low-class, > neo-literate, > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > aged'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it is exactly what the > 'anti-anti-reservationists' want the > 'anti-reservationists' to admit. > > Sengupta's 'realisation', though, is an incomplete > one. Except for a > passing reference in the last paragraph, he does not > mention that the > distance between Us and Them is in great measure > that of language. > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > these days seem > to forget the Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the realisation of his being a PLU > doesn't go too far. > But the honesty does extend to his class bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he writes: "But > forward planning? Infrastructure ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the quintessential behenji." > > So what about Lalu's success as railway minister? > Could it be that > Mayawati hasn't been able to work on development > because she's not > been in power for more than two years collectively > in three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati's Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the courage to go to the police station > and file an FIR > against the men who raped their daughter? Could it > be that the > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability and accept dalits as part of > the same social > realm as theirs? > > The questions don't bother Sengupta because the > answers don't affect > him. In other words, another area where I would like > Sengupta to > extend his realisation to is middle class > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this is > true even in perception, that is bad enough. > > I also hope his realisation will sooner or later > extend to adding the > phrase 'upper caste' to MEMCRY. After so much heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies still blind to the fact that PLUs > are exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by design or default > that the middle class > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > arguable. Whether > this should be changed by improving the quality of > primary schools > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > debatable. But no one > can dispute that the Indian middle class is composed > of the upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and 'fear'!) over > Mayawati's victory. I wish > he'd extend this honesty to admitting that his caste > is responsible in > the first place for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He detests the heartland politicians because they > don't speak his > idiom. But the heartland politicians are who they > are largely because > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are symbols, > literally, of the political > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > of such political > assertion, according to Sengupta, is: > > "It's the same logic that kept Lalu in power, that > allowed him to > argue that development is nothing. He brought > something more to his > voters - he was one of them, and for those who had > been oppressed for > centuries, to see one of them in power, to see a CM > who kept buffalos > in his backyard was intoxicating. It was a real > sense of power. No > roads or electricity could beat that." > > If Sengupta roots for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka > Vadra just because he > can relate to them, why shouldn't those not > fortunate to have his > MEMCRY yuppie status not vote for leaders whom > *they* can relate with? > If "those who had been oppressed for centuries" (as > if they aren't > anymore) can enjoy a "real sense of power" by having > one of their ilk > in the CM's chair, then should we conclude that > Sengupta and the > yuppie class he represents also wants the same venal > pleasure by > seeing people of their ilk in power? > > Sengupta's understanding of caste politics - that > the lower castes, > the 'oppressed', vote for People Like Them for a > sense of power - is > to miss the wood for the trees. Indeed, if you ask > Dalits in a remote > village in eastern Uttar Pradesh (as I did in the > middle of February > this year) why they vote for Mayawati, they will > actually say that > they do so because she brings them dignity, because > she is one of > their own. In the mid-nineties Mayawati used to say > in her rallies, > "Main Chamar ki beti hoon. Main Chamari hoon, main > tumhari hoon." > > But the reason why Dalits feel the need to have one > of their own in > power is because they think that only then will they > have the roads > and electricity they need - something Sengupta > suggests > foreign-educated Rahul Gandhi will deliver better > than someone like > Mayawati who has risen from a village and knows what > it === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC From nalin.mathur at gmail.com Fri May 18 22:49:52 2007 From: nalin.mathur at gmail.com (Nalin Mathur) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 22:49:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] B - Grade Engineering College Culture Message-ID: <7c0063460705181019o7eafb162r4bd4f1a29765a401@mail.gmail.com> Sarai / Independent Fellow 2007/ Nalin N. Mathur/ Third Posting Initially I had planned that my third posting will include what I mean and understand by the terms B – Grade, Engineering and College, which form the focal points of this study. But it was important to understand what an A – Grade thing is, for me to define B – Grade. I began by discussing about these fundamentals with people at work. They were engineers like me, pass outs of non-descript colleges scattered all around the country. Their ideas were much like mine, with none really sure as what do they mean by A – grade. A lot of insight was acquired by these informal discussions with people at work, be it over lunch, travel, in the loo etc., however, I was unable to gather what I was looking for. And once again it was my Man Friday who came to the rescue. I have known Gaurav Sharma for over a decade now, we were together in school. He is also among my closest friends. I have been dependent on his support for almost everything, be it in the class for some mathematics tutorial, dance lessons or simply on ideas to woo girls. Gaurav made it to the IIT and will pass out in a month's time. The text below is written by him. Here he largely discusses about the branding in education and the "stuff" that makes a college A – Grade. ******************************** Branding in Education The issue of branding very much prevails in education. The institutes which have been good over the years create a brand value for themselves. These then attract the best students (best in terms of their interest level, their intelligence level and how much hard work they are willing to put in order to excel in their lives) and the best faculty. When this happens over the years these students further enhance the reputation of the institute (alumni, placement records, number of PhDs and the quality of research etc) and its thus usually an upward spiral from there on (take for example MIT, Stanford etc; the very best minds and the most hardworking people from all over the world go there and the reputation of the institute is lived up to). That the best institutes attract the best minds is a bitter truth for someone who wants that more names should be added to the best institutes list. But nonetheless we should take heart from the fact that every good institute started out as little known one. How some of them managed to create a brand name for themselves should then be the focus of our discussion. This is usually a slow process, but nonetheless it does happen (eg IIMs, ISB are fairly new additions to the best B-schools list in Asia). Listed below are few characteristics of the degree programs of the renowned institutes and suggestions for improvement of the not so renowned ones. Rigor of Curriculum: A good system is one which is able to filter out the better students from those students who study only at the eleventh hour, those who don't have clear fundamentals and a good understanding of the subject. This should be done so that those who fail or show poor performance put in more effort and come up to the mark. For this curriculum should be reasonably rigorous. e.g. the pattern in IIT is a 4 month semester with evaluation at three instants – 2 minors and a major exam. The pace of the semester is quick; there is not even a single day of preparation leave (6 final semester full course exams in 6 days). Unless a student has been regular throughout the semester he will (usually) not be able to do well in the exams and unless he has good fundamentals he will not be able to solve the questions in the exam no matter how hard he has been working. The fact that there is relative grading and you compete against others who have qualified JEE makes it all the more rigorous. The rigor is much more in IIMs where there are three semesters in one year and one summer internship. Bare survival is a lot of hard work. Students are thus kept on their toes, those who do well develop good work habits and time management skills, and good technical knowledge. This should not mean that the institutes end up producing technicians with deficient personalities and narrow outlooks. The rigor of the curriculum should accommodate time for extra-curricular activities yet ensuring that non-hard workers don't find a way through the system. Suggestions for improvement: Standardization: Of semester schedules, course syllabus, books followed, examination papers and checking: Semester schedules of every institute should be the same as that followed in the well known institutes of the world. (Usually two four month semesters in a year with continuous evaluations) Books followed and course syllabus should be the same and of the same level as that in MIT or Stanford. Often it is the case that a faculty member writes his own book and then makes the students follow it for the course (often for the sale of the book). This would be eliminated if the best books are followed for each course. Examination papers for the universities should be common and should be set by a panel of elite professors. Checking of answer scripts should not be by the professors of the same universities so that they do not mark in a biased manner and marking for improving the result of the university is eliminated. Increase in salaries of the faculty members and their qualifications. The qualification to become a faculty member should be increased to PhD. and the salary should also be increased. This should be done to eliminate those people who become a faculty member only because they were unable to get a decent salary job elsewhere. The salary should be high so that only well qualified people take up faculty positions. Provision to put Research Proposals and get grants (for the professors) The faculty member should be allowed to put research proposals and get grants for them. The amount of grant should be decided by the past record of the faculty member and the novelty of the proposal. This would encourage research output of the universities. Formation of Proper Clubs for Extra-Curricular Activities: Students should be encouraged to take part in extra-curricular activities and this should be done in organized manner. Proper clubs should exist within the college for different activities ( e.g. Quizzing Club, Debating Club, Music Club, different clubs for different sports). Regular competitive events should be held within each club at intra college and inter college level. Hierarchical structure of the clubs (representatives from the second year, secretaries from the third year etc.) and duties of the various student post holders (organizing events festivals etc.) should be clearly defined. Elections for organizational posts in clubs at intra hostel and inter hostel level should be held. All this structure helps provide the right kind of social interaction for the students and is helpful in health development of the personality. Abolition of Student Unions in academic matters. Student politics and unions should not come up to the faculty level and students should not have a say in the academic matters. Discipline. Academic integrity should not be compromised and strict discipline should be followed in the institute. The punishment for cheating in exams, fraud in assignments, projects, results and reports should be reasonably strict. 18 to 22 are the formative years for any young man or woman. Habits formed during these years are usually kept for life. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070518/b2606f40/attachment.html From hemanginigupta at rediffmail.com Sat May 19 02:13:45 2007 From: hemanginigupta at rediffmail.com (Hemangini Gupta) Date: 18 May 2007 20:43:45 -0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? Message-ID: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> hey shivam maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with regards to hindol?s piece?? caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated so closely with identity-politics which are, of course, vital and empowering and so on, and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would be in a position to take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite consociationalism?!!) - but what of the questions of what comes after identity politics? you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) the importance of identity politics in driving empowerment, but this election more than being driven by caste seems to have driven by ?sarva samaj?; perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more than one of caste alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on identity politics translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains such as education, healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that with the exception of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material benefits for dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and bureaucrats and dalit associations and political parties have had little impact on public policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar villages scheme may have caused positive change, but the other examples are identity-self-respect-related ones. mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming gen elections as well, with UP under her and a significant presence in neighbouring states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 seats? so if we are looking at her in a national sense, what can we expect in terms of policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen as ?dalit rage? and the politics of exclusion which mark the intersections between (dalit) caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been based on the need to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - so with the assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to step 2: implementation? or can we wonder about that progression? i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global politics? line, because of course i agree that for atleast a decade now, in terms of economic issues, elections seem to have been won on issues of democracy and social justice but then policies framed have been macro-economic, elite ones (this is what yadav calls the ?bifurcation of politics?? the bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the shift will be made from what has been a politics of exclusion and discrimination to one of power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my neck out further to suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY lament alone is to miss the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with amassing wealth, gaining power - what indicates that these traits will change now, or that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes > stage\" but alas, > even he couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an important post is > that unlike most > other PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / United Students / other > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that is, they do not > admit that the > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > certain section of > society that is influential in shaping public > opinion despite being in > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not only his discomfiture with a > democratically > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > stems from his > background, from who he is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > to admit his > distance from the political rise of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it is exactly what the > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an incomplete > one. Except for a > passing reference in the last paragraph, he does not > mention that the > distance between Us and Them is in great measure > that of language. > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > these days seem > to forget the Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too far. > But the honesty does extend to his class bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on development > because she\'s not > been in power for more than two years collectively > in three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the courage to go to the police station > and file an FIR > against the men who raped their daughter? Could it > be that the > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability and accept dalits as part of > the same social > realm as theirs? > > The questions don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers don\'t affect > him. In other words, another area where I would like > Sengupta to > extend his realisation to is middle class > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this is > true even in perception, that is bad enough. > > I also hope his realisation will sooner or later > extend to adding the > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies still blind to the fact that PLUs > are exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by design or default > that the middle class > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > arguable. Whether > this should be changed by improving the quality of > primary schools > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > debatable. But no one > can dispute that the Indian middle class is composed > of the upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his caste > is responsible in > the first place for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He detests the heartland politicians because they > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland politicians are who they > are largely because > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are symbols, > literally, of the political > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > of such political > assertion, according to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic that kept Lalu in power, that > allowed him to > argue that development is nothing. He brought > something more to his > voters - he was one of them, and for those who had > been oppressed for > centuries, to see one of them in power, to see a CM > who kept buffalos > in his backyard was intoxicating. It was a real > sense of power. No > roads or electricity could beat that.\" > > If Sengupta roots for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka > Vadra just because he > can relate to them, why shouldn\'t those not > fortunate to have his > MEMCRY yuppie status not vote for leaders whom > *they* can relate with? > If \"those who had been oppressed for centuries\" (as > if they aren\'t > anymore) can enjoy a \"real sense of power\" by having > one of their ilk > in the CM\'s chair, then should we conclude that > Sengupta and the > yuppie class he represents also wants the same venal > pleasure by > seeing people of their ilk in power? > > Sengupta\'s understanding of caste politics - that > the lower castes, > the \'oppressed\', vote for People Like Them for a > sense of power - is > to miss the wood for the trees. Indeed, if you ask > Dalits in a remote > village in eastern Uttar Pradesh (as I did in the > middle of February > this year) why they vote for Mayawati, they will > actually say that > they do so because she brings them dignity, because > she is one of > their own. In the mid-nineties Mayawati used to say > in her rallies, > \"Main Chamar ki beti hoon. Main Chamari hoon, main > tumhari hoon.\" > > But the reason why Dalits feel the need to have one > of their own in > power is because they think that only then will they > have the roads > and electricity they need - something Sengupta > suggests > foreign-educated Rahul Gandhi will deliver better > than someone like > Mayawati who has risen from a village and knows what > it === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC _________________________________________ 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: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070518/8a568b27/attachment.html From pukar at pukar.org.in Fri May 18 14:08:23 2007 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 14:08:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] Save the Dates: June 3 & 21 Message-ID: <005001c79927$e7308740$9966c2cb@freeda> Please Save the Dates: 1. PUKAR Youth Fellowship Programme: Annual Graduation Event Date: Sunday, June 3, 2007 Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Venue: 3rd floor, P L Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai Chief Guest: Dr. S. Parasuraman Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences 2. The Fourth Annual PUKAR Lecture Date: Thursday, June 21, 2007 Time: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Venue: Godrej Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point Keynote address: Tim Marshall Dean, Parsons The New School for Design, New York Detailed synopses of these events will follow. 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/20070518/3f8d335b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nutan_du at yahoo.co.in Fri May 18 21:20:01 2007 From: nutan_du at yahoo.co.in (nutan maurya) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 16:50:01 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Venezuela: Price regulation, food scarcity, speculation and socialism Message-ID: <831861.20319.qm@web8704.mail.in.yahoo.com> We also need firm determination...... from marxist.com Venezuela: Price regulation, food scarcity, speculation and socialism By Erik Demeester in Caracas Wednesday, 16 May 2007 "Reading Lenin, who made a call to the Russian people to struggle against the scarcity of meat and bread, we notice the same method; a hundred years have passed but they did the same with the Russian people; the old capitalist state is still alive... I'm not referring to the State but to the capitalist situation, the system, above all in the economic field and this is another part of the subject, socialism needs to enter in the economic arena, if it doesn't it will not be socialism that we are building, it will not be a revolution we are making." (Extract from Hugo Chavez's speech at the first meeting of the "Propulsores" of the Partido Socialisto Unido - United Socialist Party - on March 24, 2007. Regular shortages of basic foodstuffs (eggs, milk, sugar, meat, chicken, cooking oil, etc) both in public and private markets and supermarkets are part of the low intensity economic war going on against the Bolivarian revolution. The oligarchy, especially in the agro-business sector, is organising this open economic sabotage. This is not new, but since the beginning of the year the intensity and regularity of "organised scarcity" has clearly increased. It is a real tug-of-war between revolution and counter-revolution on the strategic terrain of food supplies. This confrontation is undermining the efforts of the government to guarantee food supplies. It is also a field where some weaknesses of the revolution come to the fore. The mere fact that the main food processing plants, transport and distribution networks are still in private hands - that is, in capitalist hands - is a serious threat against the revolution. Price controls threaten profit margins One of the measures taken by the government, price regulation of food to combat high prices, is the explanation given by the bosses in agro industry and trade for those shortages. "Traders in the public markets of Guaicaipuro and Quinta Crespo are forced to sell thirty eggs at the regulated price of 8,302 bolivars. However, those same thirty eggs have been bought for 7,830 bolivars, which leaves a margin of 500 bolivars. Giovanni Balducci, president of the Asociación de Concesionarios del Mercado de Guaicaipuro, points out that the problem comes from the fact that the food industry does not respect the price regulation which imposes a price of 89,000 bolivars for 360 eggs. In practice we buy the eggs at 94,000 bolivars. The eggs are sold at the correct price but they add new bills so that the final price increases." (El Universal, April 18, 2007) A similar pattern can be seen in the sale of meat whose availability on the markets is irregular and is at prices above the official price established by the government. Some argue that increased demand is causing those shortages. "In the past we consumed 21kgs of chicken per capita now it is 35kgs per capita. The same is taking place with eggs. In the past we consumed 115 eggs a year, now it is 136. Again with pork, where 1.5kgs kilo were consumed in the past, now it is 3.5kgs" says Gustavo Moreno, president of Fedeagro, the bosses' organisation in agro-industry. Without a doubt, increased purchasing power has fuelled demand. However, this does not explain the food scarcity. "Price controls are totally divorced from the real trading situation," pleads the leader of Fedeagro. What he really means is that price controls, if applied, are reducing profit margins especially for the big food industry and traders. National industry crippled A closer look at the state of the milk industry will give us more clues as to the real underlying mechanisms behind the ‘shortages'. (Based on an article in El Universal, April 22, 2007). Almost two thirds (64,3%) of the productive capacity of the industry is standing idle. Six plants, with a total daily capacity of 4.7 million litres of milk, are producing only 1.7 million litres or 35.7% of total capacity. The figures provided by the Chamber of Commerce of the Milk Industry (Cavilac) are even more revealing. Over the last eight years milk production has decreased. In 1998 some 1,410 million litres of milk were produced. In 2006 the volume decreased to 1,250 million litres. Genaro Méndez, president of the Federacion Nacional de Ganadores (Fedenaga) goes further: "Milk production has decreased over the past 17 years. We are far away from the peak of 1998. (...) The decisions of the government [price controls] are stimulating demand but not production." Today the per capita production of milk stands at 42.4 litres a year which is the level of ... 1952! Imports of powdered milk have not stopped increasing over the last 20 years. Figures for the industry reveal that in 1986 the country produced 86% of the milk consumed and only imported 14%. In 2006, 39 % of the milk consumed was imported. The industry estimates that 120,000 tons of milk needs to be imported to meet demand. But on the world market prices are increasing as China and India are sucking in more imported milk and there may not be sufficient milk available. The president de Cavilac, Roger Figueroa, in a very clear message, explained that to produce one litre of milk and sell it at 1860 bolivars is not profitable enough. What the owners of the milk industry are in reality saying is: "as long as we cannot make enough profits you will have no milk!" The capitalists in the other sectors of the food processing industry repeat in unison "keep away from our profit margins or we will starve you". On the part of the bosses this is a way of retaliating against the price controls, but it is also a political tool aimed at destabilising the country, trying to foment unrest and finally undermining confidence among the masses in the effectiveness of the social reforms of the revolution. It is part of more general strategy to sabotage the revolutionary process from within. A sterile bourgeois class In a debate a few years ago a member of the Ministry of Agriculture who visited the European Union told me that if there were some problems with the capitalists in the agro-business it was not because they were bourgeois elements but only because they were not patriotic enough!!! This little survey shows us the real patriotism of the bourgeois class in Venezuela. Historically it has always been what is described in the country as a "sterile bourgeoisie", parasitic and organically incapable and unwilling to develop even a basic industrial infrastructure to guarantee basic food supplies. Is this not enough proof of the utter reactionary character of the bourgeoisie? There is not one ounce of progressiveness or so-called patriotism in the capitalist class of Venezuela or in the rest of the continent. Their only "fatherland" is profit. Those "organised shortages" also affect the famous public network of cheap food outlets, the Mercals. In a recent Alo Presidente (number 263), the Sunday TV programme of president Hugo Chavez, he expressed his concerns. "I have been reading also about shortages in the Mercals. This worries me greatly. I have asked the Minister for Food, Erika Farias and the president of Mercal, Felix Osorio, to make a superhuman effort. This cannot be allowed, everything is supposed to be getting better and not worse. How is it possible that Mercal is now distributing less than before? How is this possible?" Some Mercals are indeed complaining that in the last weeks the volume of goods delivered has been reduced by 80%. Corruption is a part of the problem when deliveries are channelled away from these supermarkets to be sold at high prices on the private markets. In the last period the Mercals have been the network through which the food shortages have been partially overcome by a massive increase in supplies of the missing products. So if this important lever is now being affected, the alarm bells must start ringing! This situation highlights the limitations of developing a public network of supermarkets alongside a private network. Although wholeheartedly supported by the Marxists, Mercal is still very dependent on the private food companies, such as Polar, a company known for its openly counter-revolutionary stance. This approach is considered by the reformists inside and outside the government as a model for the mixed economy, that Venezuela is supposed to become. By mixed economy they understand a capitalist economy but with a big public sector as was the case in some countries in Western Europe in the past. At the beginning of the year a law against hoarding and speculation was approved. Strategic food stocks are being established to guarantee food for three months in case of urgency and the intelligence services have been put to work to uncover secret stocks throughout the country. The problem is that in its struggle against hoarding, speculation and illegal price increases the government is still relying on the old capitalist state apparatus, which is notoriously inefficient, corrupt and linked to the oligarchy. Through this apparatus they are sabotaging the efforts of the government. This is the reformist way of dealing with the problem and is ineffective. A revolutionary, a Leninist, content has to be given to price controls. In order to achieve effective price controls and to be successful in combating the phenomenon of hoarding, the masses and their organisations must be put into action, through elected bodies of inspectors based on the communal councils and the factory councils for instance. They would have the task of controlling prices, uncovering secrets stocks, etc. These would guarantee that there is no impunity and that the law would be used against speculators. However, it is also important to underline the fact that price controls are only a halfway measure. In a capitalist economy such as that in Venezuela any attempt at imposing price controls is answered by economic sabotage by the bosses and furthers destabilise the economy. You cannot control what you do not own! Nationalise the food industry The government's answer in the ongoing crisis in the milk industry has been to establish new publicly owned milk-processing plants with the help of Iranian know-how. One of these plants has just opened in the state of Zulia. More plants will open soon and process a total of 216,000 litres of milk a day and 78 million litres a year. This is definitely a step in the right direction, but it is still not enough though to cover the existing national demand for milk or to compensate for the deficit in production of the private sector. To make up for this, increasing imports is being proposed as a solution by some sectors in the government. Temporarily this can help and stave off the inevitable confrontation with the bosses, but we should not fool ourselves that they will sit idly by while they are "outmanoeuvred" by increased imports. We must expect more sabotage on their part. This policy of massive food imports financed by the oil revenues also directly contradicts the government's strategic aim of food self-sufficiency. This is leading to a situation where food supplies are guaranteed through increased imports and food self-sufficiency become even more difficult to achieve. To guarantee a sufficient level of milk production the private processing plants must be expropriated and nationalised under the control of the workers and the peasants. The same needs to happen with the other branches of the food industry. They then need to be integrated into an urgent plan of food production (including developing agriculture through expropriation of the big landowners) and distribution based not on meeting profit margins but on the social needs of the revolution. Masses need to act Chavez himself hinted at this when at the beginning of this year he threatened the food industry with expropriation. He even called on the mayors and state governors to "municipalize" the local slaughterhouses or industrial "frigorificos". This is another way of nationalising them. In one area the local population also took the initiative to take over such industrial ‘frigorificos'. But the mayors and governors did not back this up with legislation. Many of them are reformists and do not want to infringe on capitalist private property. Comrade Simon of the Ezequiel Zamora Peasants Front, who was present at the Congress of the Coriente Marxista Revolucionaria commented thus: "The question is not that there is no meat or sugar but that the food processing companies refuse to buy our products. In some parts of the country we even have the situation of peasants burning a part of their crop of sugarcane because the agro-industry does not want to buy it. That is why we are now considering organising occupations and take-overs of some of those plants to make sure that our products are bought, processed and distributed to the markets at the regulated prices. Since the beginning of the year the number of conflicts with the landowners in the countryside has not stopped increasing. The level of conflict has rarely been so high as it is today." The leaders of the working class movement, the UNT, should follow example of their peasant colleagues and launch a campaign of take-overs of factories under workers' control as is being put forward by the FRETECO, the revolutionary front of workers from the factories under workers' control. The bourgeoisie is attempting to sabotage the revolution, using the levers it has in its hands, ownership of land and industry. The aim is to cause economic chaos and put the blame on the government, thus undermining confidence in the government and prepare for a reactionary backlash. Economic sabotage and how it is combated is an important question at this stage of the Venezuelan revolution. It is a litmus test for the different political currents within the Bolivarian movement. --------------------------------- Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Here's a solution! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070518/c1b65804/attachment.html From nutan_du at yahoo.co.in Fri May 18 21:20:14 2007 From: nutan_du at yahoo.co.in (nutan maurya) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 16:50:14 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Venezuela: Price regulation, food scarcity, speculation and socialism Message-ID: <669703.41562.qm@web8715.mail.in.yahoo.com> We also need firm determination...... from marxist.com Venezuela: Price regulation, food scarcity, speculation and socialism By Erik Demeester in Caracas Wednesday, 16 May 2007 "Reading Lenin, who made a call to the Russian people to struggle against the scarcity of meat and bread, we notice the same method; a hundred years have passed but they did the same with the Russian people; the old capitalist state is still alive... I'm not referring to the State but to the capitalist situation, the system, above all in the economic field and this is another part of the subject, socialism needs to enter in the economic arena, if it doesn't it will not be socialism that we are building, it will not be a revolution we are making." (Extract from Hugo Chavez's speech at the first meeting of the "Propulsores" of the Partido Socialisto Unido - United Socialist Party - on March 24, 2007. Regular shortages of basic foodstuffs (eggs, milk, sugar, meat, chicken, cooking oil, etc) both in public and private markets and supermarkets are part of the low intensity economic war going on against the Bolivarian revolution. The oligarchy, especially in the agro-business sector, is organising this open economic sabotage. This is not new, but since the beginning of the year the intensity and regularity of "organised scarcity" has clearly increased. It is a real tug-of-war between revolution and counter-revolution on the strategic terrain of food supplies. This confrontation is undermining the efforts of the government to guarantee food supplies. It is also a field where some weaknesses of the revolution come to the fore. The mere fact that the main food processing plants, transport and distribution networks are still in private hands - that is, in capitalist hands - is a serious threat against the revolution. Price controls threaten profit margins One of the measures taken by the government, price regulation of food to combat high prices, is the explanation given by the bosses in agro industry and trade for those shortages. "Traders in the public markets of Guaicaipuro and Quinta Crespo are forced to sell thirty eggs at the regulated price of 8,302 bolivars. However, those same thirty eggs have been bought for 7,830 bolivars, which leaves a margin of 500 bolivars. Giovanni Balducci, president of the Asociación de Concesionarios del Mercado de Guaicaipuro, points out that the problem comes from the fact that the food industry does not respect the price regulation which imposes a price of 89,000 bolivars for 360 eggs. In practice we buy the eggs at 94,000 bolivars. The eggs are sold at the correct price but they add new bills so that the final price increases." (El Universal, April 18, 2007) A similar pattern can be seen in the sale of meat whose availability on the markets is irregular and is at prices above the official price established by the government. Some argue that increased demand is causing those shortages. "In the past we consumed 21kgs of chicken per capita now it is 35kgs per capita. The same is taking place with eggs. In the past we consumed 115 eggs a year, now it is 136. Again with pork, where 1.5kgs kilo were consumed in the past, now it is 3.5kgs" says Gustavo Moreno, president of Fedeagro, the bosses' organisation in agro-industry. Without a doubt, increased purchasing power has fuelled demand. However, this does not explain the food scarcity. "Price controls are totally divorced from the real trading situation," pleads the leader of Fedeagro. What he really means is that price controls, if applied, are reducing profit margins especially for the big food industry and traders. National industry crippled A closer look at the state of the milk industry will give us more clues as to the real underlying mechanisms behind the ‘shortages'. (Based on an article in El Universal, April 22, 2007). Almost two thirds (64,3%) of the productive capacity of the industry is standing idle. Six plants, with a total daily capacity of 4.7 million litres of milk, are producing only 1.7 million litres or 35.7% of total capacity. The figures provided by the Chamber of Commerce of the Milk Industry (Cavilac) are even more revealing. Over the last eight years milk production has decreased. In 1998 some 1,410 million litres of milk were produced. In 2006 the volume decreased to 1,250 million litres. Genaro Méndez, president of the Federacion Nacional de Ganadores (Fedenaga) goes further: "Milk production has decreased over the past 17 years. We are far away from the peak of 1998. (...) The decisions of the government [price controls] are stimulating demand but not production." Today the per capita production of milk stands at 42.4 litres a year which is the level of ... 1952! Imports of powdered milk have not stopped increasing over the last 20 years. Figures for the industry reveal that in 1986 the country produced 86% of the milk consumed and only imported 14%. In 2006, 39 % of the milk consumed was imported. The industry estimates that 120,000 tons of milk needs to be imported to meet demand. But on the world market prices are increasing as China and India are sucking in more imported milk and there may not be sufficient milk available. The president de Cavilac, Roger Figueroa, in a very clear message, explained that to produce one litre of milk and sell it at 1860 bolivars is not profitable enough. What the owners of the milk industry are in reality saying is: "as long as we cannot make enough profits you will have no milk!" The capitalists in the other sectors of the food processing industry repeat in unison "keep away from our profit margins or we will starve you". On the part of the bosses this is a way of retaliating against the price controls, but it is also a political tool aimed at destabilising the country, trying to foment unrest and finally undermining confidence among the masses in the effectiveness of the social reforms of the revolution. It is part of more general strategy to sabotage the revolutionary process from within. A sterile bourgeois class In a debate a few years ago a member of the Ministry of Agriculture who visited the European Union told me that if there were some problems with the capitalists in the agro-business it was not because they were bourgeois elements but only because they were not patriotic enough!!! This little survey shows us the real patriotism of the bourgeois class in Venezuela. Historically it has always been what is described in the country as a "sterile bourgeoisie", parasitic and organically incapable and unwilling to develop even a basic industrial infrastructure to guarantee basic food supplies. Is this not enough proof of the utter reactionary character of the bourgeoisie? There is not one ounce of progressiveness or so-called patriotism in the capitalist class of Venezuela or in the rest of the continent. Their only "fatherland" is profit. Those "organised shortages" also affect the famous public network of cheap food outlets, the Mercals. In a recent Alo Presidente (number 263), the Sunday TV programme of president Hugo Chavez, he expressed his concerns. "I have been reading also about shortages in the Mercals. This worries me greatly. I have asked the Minister for Food, Erika Farias and the president of Mercal, Felix Osorio, to make a superhuman effort. This cannot be allowed, everything is supposed to be getting better and not worse. How is it possible that Mercal is now distributing less than before? How is this possible?" Some Mercals are indeed complaining that in the last weeks the volume of goods delivered has been reduced by 80%. Corruption is a part of the problem when deliveries are channelled away from these supermarkets to be sold at high prices on the private markets. In the last period the Mercals have been the network through which the food shortages have been partially overcome by a massive increase in supplies of the missing products. So if this important lever is now being affected, the alarm bells must start ringing! This situation highlights the limitations of developing a public network of supermarkets alongside a private network. Although wholeheartedly supported by the Marxists, Mercal is still very dependent on the private food companies, such as Polar, a company known for its openly counter-revolutionary stance. This approach is considered by the reformists inside and outside the government as a model for the mixed economy, that Venezuela is supposed to become. By mixed economy they understand a capitalist economy but with a big public sector as was the case in some countries in Western Europe in the past. At the beginning of the year a law against hoarding and speculation was approved. Strategic food stocks are being established to guarantee food for three months in case of urgency and the intelligence services have been put to work to uncover secret stocks throughout the country. The problem is that in its struggle against hoarding, speculation and illegal price increases the government is still relying on the old capitalist state apparatus, which is notoriously inefficient, corrupt and linked to the oligarchy. Through this apparatus they are sabotaging the efforts of the government. This is the reformist way of dealing with the problem and is ineffective. A revolutionary, a Leninist, content has to be given to price controls. In order to achieve effective price controls and to be successful in combating the phenomenon of hoarding, the masses and their organisations must be put into action, through elected bodies of inspectors based on the communal councils and the factory councils for instance. They would have the task of controlling prices, uncovering secrets stocks, etc. These would guarantee that there is no impunity and that the law would be used against speculators. However, it is also important to underline the fact that price controls are only a halfway measure. In a capitalist economy such as that in Venezuela any attempt at imposing price controls is answered by economic sabotage by the bosses and furthers destabilise the economy. You cannot control what you do not own! Nationalise the food industry The government's answer in the ongoing crisis in the milk industry has been to establish new publicly owned milk-processing plants with the help of Iranian know-how. One of these plants has just opened in the state of Zulia. More plants will open soon and process a total of 216,000 litres of milk a day and 78 million litres a year. This is definitely a step in the right direction, but it is still not enough though to cover the existing national demand for milk or to compensate for the deficit in production of the private sector. To make up for this, increasing imports is being proposed as a solution by some sectors in the government. Temporarily this can help and stave off the inevitable confrontation with the bosses, but we should not fool ourselves that they will sit idly by while they are "outmanoeuvred" by increased imports. We must expect more sabotage on their part. This policy of massive food imports financed by the oil revenues also directly contradicts the government's strategic aim of food self-sufficiency. This is leading to a situation where food supplies are guaranteed through increased imports and food self-sufficiency become even more difficult to achieve. To guarantee a sufficient level of milk production the private processing plants must be expropriated and nationalised under the control of the workers and the peasants. The same needs to happen with the other branches of the food industry. They then need to be integrated into an urgent plan of food production (including developing agriculture through expropriation of the big landowners) and distribution based not on meeting profit margins but on the social needs of the revolution. Masses need to act Chavez himself hinted at this when at the beginning of this year he threatened the food industry with expropriation. He even called on the mayors and state governors to "municipalize" the local slaughterhouses or industrial "frigorificos". This is another way of nationalising them. In one area the local population also took the initiative to take over such industrial ‘frigorificos'. But the mayors and governors did not back this up with legislation. Many of them are reformists and do not want to infringe on capitalist private property. Comrade Simon of the Ezequiel Zamora Peasants Front, who was present at the Congress of the Coriente Marxista Revolucionaria commented thus: "The question is not that there is no meat or sugar but that the food processing companies refuse to buy our products. In some parts of the country we even have the situation of peasants burning a part of their crop of sugarcane because the agro-industry does not want to buy it. That is why we are now considering organising occupations and take-overs of some of those plants to make sure that our products are bought, processed and distributed to the markets at the regulated prices. Since the beginning of the year the number of conflicts with the landowners in the countryside has not stopped increasing. The level of conflict has rarely been so high as it is today." The leaders of the working class movement, the UNT, should follow example of their peasant colleagues and launch a campaign of take-overs of factories under workers' control as is being put forward by the FRETECO, the revolutionary front of workers from the factories under workers' control. The bourgeoisie is attempting to sabotage the revolution, using the levers it has in its hands, ownership of land and industry. The aim is to cause economic chaos and put the blame on the government, thus undermining confidence in the government and prepare for a reactionary backlash. Economic sabotage and how it is combated is an important question at this stage of the Venezuelan revolution. It is a litmus test for the different political currents within the Bolivarian movement. --------------------------------- Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Here's a solution! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070518/4c3b40f3/attachment.html From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 15:19:29 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 02:49:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <92665.15860.qm@web32402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 15:19:55 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 02:49:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <659621.20101.qm@web32401.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________You snooze, you lose. Get messages ASAP with AutoCheck in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_html.html From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 15:20:28 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 02:50:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <318409.16010.qm@web32402.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________ Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. http://sims.yahoo.com/ From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 15:20:40 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 02:50:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <826846.11842.qm@web32409.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 From ashoksuku at yahoo.com Sat May 19 17:15:59 2007 From: ashoksuku at yahoo.com (Ashok Sukumaran) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 04:45:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] thoughts re: baroda Message-ID: <711750.62345.qm@web50012.mail.re2.yahoo.com> now that we have temporarily gotten past the "get your bloody hands off our bloody artists" phase, a few thoughts: 1. A statement I have heard more than once in artist's gatherings in bombay is "the boom in the art market has given us so much freedom of expression. " This is true at various levels, and is familiar and recent. It also marks a path towards various imaginations of artistic "autonomy" . It is the order of things that we have to pay attention to: boom...then freedom, success... then choices, and the posing as "free" that hopefully someone will see and say: this deserves to be free... buy it!! For young art students being tapped by gallerists (as the "internal" student show in baroda was) this is an aspiration that leaks into academic art's "intentions" and Kant's "...although no purpose can be found" - in ways that are not easy to dismiss. Is it better to disclose this confinement or pretend otherwise? 2. The trajectories of free speech and "fearless listening" in this case (after enjoying Lawrence's text in TOI) appear to dance around the question of language. How do we (or they) build up a level of "tolerance", a commitment to listen to that which we cannot understand? Or rather, whose understanding, motivations, etc are seemingly deliberately kept away from us? How do we tolerate, on these terms? There is an old debate around contemporary art's miniscule sphere of influence, and its genuflection to the same, and there are enough reasons to defend either side. The thing is that the current gaping holes in understanding, (which are valuable spaces for artists to manuever in), become nevertheless easy pickings for forces like the right-wing in Gujarat, who became the only voices heard in baroda when they proclaimed to the public: "your gods are being painted with penises around them! and sold in bombay!" The arts fraternity (which includes me) broadly has found no language to respond to such charges, other than to say, weakly, "so what, it happens all the time in ancient indian history", or a defence via the extreme abstraction of "free speech". Either way, from what I saw, no one in a deeply-divided gujarat is convinced. In such conditions, the "insanity plea" doesn't really help either (outside the courts, that is). In the local public eye, the right-wing often succeeds in dismissing student-artists anyway, as "charsis" and so on... we could do with subtler, or more directly threatening, forms of "impostership". Or, as others have suggested in the various meetings I have attended, have the ability to discuss and interpret the work in public. That is also, the freedom to change (not just lose) our minds. Yes, the protection of present and future freedoms is a greater challenge than concerns of artistic "value", as shuddha said here earlier. And maybe the point isn't to convince the majority in Gujarat, or elsewhere. But a lot of these questions go beyond artistic value, into what art "wants", especially us, here... what do we want, and what freedoms, special or ordinary, are needed to achieve it? I will also defend the right to not be transparent, in our wants. But some vocabularies beyond a somewhat avant-gardist evocation of "free speech" need to be built, even if it means finding something evocative to sing at protests. Maybe then someone will listen. As Sudhir Patwardhan said the other day, and perhaps he can expand his thought if he's around, artists who want to work "socially" (and even those who dont, but who understand that their work is at the threshold of a mass media exposure, at the slightest "offence") have to be prepared to answer some of these challenges. 3. Market-driven exclusivity and notions of artistic autonomy are only some of the reasons why, as Max Bruinsma puts it in a recent issue of Open (see his Revenge of the Symbols in OPEN 10, (in)tolerance)... "the codes of the making and the reception of art have evolved in different directions". To turn this around, to have something more significant at stake than the art market, we have to consider the receding zones of reception as important. For this reason I am interested in art that not only tries to be read symbolically as/ against, but also inhabits/ performs other dominant codes: advertising, television, interior designs, public decorations, conferences, literature, science or infrastructure, a terrain to me more interesting than free speech in a box. (You could claim that Chandra mohan's work was able to "enter" the codes of religious representation. To what degree he succeeded, and in what ways this has been productive, we shall slowly find out.) We may not need to bridge these distances of understanding in a conventional do-gooder sense. The challenge is cleary to turn this conflict into a constructive dissensus, (because consensus even internally is unneccessary and probably a waste of time). This could mean for example a careful curation of the most poignant terms of abuse, or for people with different styles, the design of platforms for genuine dialogue. In either case, such legible "interface objects" are key, I think, to prevent the instrumentation of art by external and arbitrary political agendas. further thoughts welcome.. ashok http://0ut.in ____________________________________________________________________________________Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 17:23:01 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 04:53:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <930874.39963.qm@web32412.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222 From patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com Sat May 19 17:25:10 2007 From: patwardhan_gauri at yahoo.com (gouri) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 04:55:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? Message-ID: <75261.97974.qm@web32411.mail.mud.yahoo.com> It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/ From mail at shivamvij.com Sat May 19 18:46:28 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 18:46:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Vikalp Presents Bombay Premiere of 'India Untouched', 25th May In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9c06aab30705190616u3e608807l21f92fb69737b4a@mail.gmail.com> Those of you in Mumbai, please do try to see this valuable film. best shivam VIKALP Invites you to the first Mumbai screening of Stalin K's new documentary film INDIA UNTOUCHED - Stories of a People Apart On 25th May, 2007 at 6:30pm Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan, 85 Sayani Road, Prabhadevi, Mumbai (Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan is diagonally opposite to Rabindra Natya Mandir) INDIA UNTOUCHED - Stories of a People Apart (108 minutes) Hindi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalm with English sub-titles Directed by Stalin K. Produced by Drishti, Presented by Navsarjan "INDIA UNTOUCHED - Stories of a People Apart" is perhaps the most comprehensive look at Untouchability ever undertaken on film. Director Stalin K. spent four years traveling the length and breadth of the country to expose the continued oppression of 'Dalits,' the 'broken people' who suffer under a 4000 year-old religious system. The film introduces leading Benares scholars who interpret Hindu scriptures to mean that Dalits 'have no right' to education, and Rajput farmers who proudly proclaim that no Dalit may sit in their presence, and that the police must seek their permission before pursuing cases of atrocities. The film captures many 'firsts-on-film,' such as Dalits being forced to dismount from their cycles and remove their shoes when in the upper caste part of the village. It exposes the continuation of caste practices and Untouchability in Sikhism, Christianity and Islam, and even amongst the communists in Kerala. Dalits themselves are not let off the hook: within Dalits, sub-castes practice Untouchability on the 'lower' sub-castes, and a Harijan boy refuses to drink water from a Valmiki boy. The viewer hears that Untouchability is an urban phenomenon as well, inflicted upon a leading medical surgeon and in such hallowed institutions as JNU, where a Brahmin boy builds a partition so as not to look upon his Dalit roommate in the early morning. A section on how newspaper matrimonial columns are divided according to caste presents urban Indians with an uncomfortable truth: marriage is the leading perpetuator of caste in India. But the film highlights signs of hope, too: the powerful tradition of Dalit drumming is used to call people to the struggle, and a young Dalit girl holds her head high after pulling water from her village well for the first time in her life. Spanning eight states and four religions, this film will make it impossible for anyone to deny that Untouchability continues to be practiced in India. Directed by Stalin K: Stalin K. is a human rights activist and award- winning documentary filmmaker. In recent years, he has become known for his pioneering 'participatory media' work with urban and rural communities, in which local people produce their own videos and radio programs as an empowerment tool. He is the Co-Founder of DRISHTI - Media, Arts and Human Rights, Convener of the Community Radio Forum - India, and the India Director of Video Volunteers. He is a renowned public speaker and has lectured or taught at over 20 institutions ranging from the National Institute of Design and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India, to New York University and Stanford and Berkeley in the US. 'INDIA UNTOUCHED' is Stalin's second film on the issue of caste — his earlier film 'Lesser Humans,' on manual scavenging, won the Silver Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the Excellence Award at Earth Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, and helped to bring international attention to the issue of caste. Produced by DRISHTI - Media, Arts and Human Rights: DRISHTI is a leading media and human rights organization in India, with program areas of community radio, campaign design, documentary filmmaking, street theatre, participatory video, community arts and youth activism. Presented by Navsarjan Trust: Navsarjan Trust, a leading Dalit human rights organization, works in over 3000 villages in Gujarat. Its mission is to eradicate Untouchability through legal remedies and struggles against forced occupations such as manual scavenging, and by ensuring Dalits' access to education and livelihood. www.navsarjan.org From lawrence at altlawforum.org Sat May 19 23:19:20 2007 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 23:19:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] thoughts re: baroda In-Reply-To: <711750.62345.qm@web50012.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <711750.62345.qm@web50012.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <464F38A0.7050406@altlawforum.org> Hey Ashok enjoyed your piece, i was also a little disturbed the the rather shrill indignant artistic voices in the Delhi protest where artistic freedom is taken to be some kind of a guarantee, rather than a practice.... of course they had strange bedfellow sin the form of T Raja and Seetaram yechury making anti censorship noises, while some of us wanted to scream nandigram........ and of course the equation of free speech and free market which has been achieved in the uSseems to be making iots debut in india too.... chalo, aur baat cheet karte hai iske baare mein, berlin mein, so what is your scene, when do you guys get to the big b, i am leaving tommorow night, chalo adda karte hain \ Lawrence From atreyee.m at gmail.com Sat May 19 14:06:06 2007 From: atreyee.m at gmail.com (atreyee majumder) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 14:06:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] reader-list Digest, Vol 46, Issue 43 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1944bc230705190136p167479cci3cfd8f7a297ba0c5@mail.gmail.com> On Hindol Sengupta: "*We, the middle-class, educated, metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young. We, the backbone of the knowledge, entreneurial economy. We, who have no representation. We have no voice. We have no one who speaks our language, our idiom." * I think Sengupta hints at something more than the 'objective' position- he mentions the enormous power wielded by the middle-class- in terms social capital, economic power, access to global economy and opportunities arising through the global window, but does not seem to think much of it. He mentions that the middle-classes don't matter as a vote-bank, but forgets that our higher judiciary and top bureaucracy is entirely middle-class, and hence, a large part of the middle-class worldview resonates in the state machinery already. Sengupta seems to have ignored or underestimated the role played by agencies like the Planning Commission, other non-elected governing bodies, which are significant avenues of power and influence especially in an unwieldy democracy. Sengupta seems to have also assumed the 'objective' point of view in imagining that the middle-classes are immune to corruption- cambridge-educated leaders, judges, bureaucrats, corporate top bosses across the world have not exactly lived up to the rational, squeaky clean, mega-efficient, accountable portrait that Sengupta seems to have painted. On the other hand, I don't agree with Shivam's pristine picture of Dalit political leadership either. Had a Mayawati or Yadav been the key solution to caste-marginalisation, UP and Bihar would not pick up guns everytime an election was around. Had the CP(I)M been representative of the 'proleteriat' it would not be feeding land to big corporates today. I think our intellectual urge to analyse drives us soemtimes to simplify power equations, because the other option would be to leave the puzzle unsolved, which is an urge I identify with, but wish away... On 5/18/07, reader-list-request at sarai.net wrote: > > Send reader-list mailing list submissions to > reader-list at sarai.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > reader-list-request at sarai.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > reader-list-owner at sarai.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of reader-list digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Why i am afraid of Mayawati? (Rakesh) > 2. Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? (Shivam Vij) > 3. National centre for Advocacy Studies - internship programme > (anil varghese) > 4. Dragonball in India? (christiane brosius) > 5. [Announcements] URBAN ALLEGORIES: The City in Bombay Cinema - > Lecture by Ranjani Mazumdar (Aarti Sethi) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 18:04:56 +0800 > From: Rakesh > Subject: [Reader-list] Why i am afraid of Mayawati? > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: <464C28C8.1030209 at sarai.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed > > Certainly not my opinion, but an opinion from a "middle-class, educated, > metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young" journalist... > Salaam > Rakesh > > Mayawati's historic victory has left me speechless. And scared. Her > victory tells me once again how I, and people like me, have no voice in > Indian politics anymore. We, the middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > Christian-education raised, young. We, the backbone of the knowledge, > entreneurial economy. We, who have no representation. We have no voice. > We have no one who speaks our language, our idiom. > > We are the people who rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage. He > is us. He is the success of education and middle class values rising to > the top. Only, shudder, he failed to win a poll. > > We, the non-vote bank. We, who must remember that Manmohan Singh rises > because of Sonia Gandhi. Because of loyalty to the Family. We, who form > no mass base. > > For more read > > http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/hindolsengupta/104/40458/why-i-am-afraid-of-mayawati.html > > -- > Rakesh Kumar Singh > Sarai-CSDS > 29, Rajpur Road > Delhi-110054 > Ph: 91 11 23960040 > Fax: 91 11 2394 3450 > web site: www.sarai.net > web blog: http://blog.sarai.net/users/rakesh > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 02:28:08 +0530 > From: "Shivam Vij" > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Why i am afraid of Mayawati? > To: rakesh at sarai.net > Cc: sarai list > Message-ID: > <9c06aab30705171358s17abbc3cy9c14849d9dfd05d0 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"; format=flowed > > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This is a very important post on the > CNN IBN website's otherwise dull blog section. It has been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers fashion and suchlike for them. He says he > can't relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that the "backbone of the > knowledge, entreneurial [sic] economy" should be a "non-vote bank". He > says that his class of people, his 'type' - People Like Us, to use a > cliche - "rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage" but alas, > even he couldn't win a Lok Sabha election from South Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an important post is that unlike most > other PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to 'objectivity'. When Youth for > Equality / United Students / other 'anti-reservationists' oppose > reservations, and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they claim to be doing so > with a claim to 'objectivity', that is, they do not admit that the > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a certain section of > society that is influential in shaping public opinion despite being in > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not only his discomfiture with a democratically > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture stems from his > background, from who he is. He describes himself and his ilk as > "middle-class, educated, metro-bred, Christian-education raised, > young." That would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let's just use the word > 'yuppie'. > > It is quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie to admit his > distance from the political rise of the 'low-class, neo-literate, > village-bred, government school-raised, middle aged'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it is exactly what the > 'anti-anti-reservationists' want the 'anti-reservationists' to admit. > > Sengupta's 'realisation', though, is an incomplete one. Except for a > passing reference in the last paragraph, he does not mention that the > distance between Us and Them is in great measure that of language. > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike these days seem > to forget the Hindi/English divide. It has been left to Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the realisation of his being a PLU doesn't go too far. > But the honesty does extend to his class bias: his problem with Lalu > having a buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati he writes: "But > forward planning? Infrastructure ideas? Modernity? Mayawati, alas, is > the quintessential behenji." > > So what about Lalu's success as railway minister? Could it be that > Mayawati hasn't been able to work on development because she's not > been in power for more than two years collectively in three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati's Ambedkar Villages scheme has made the > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and allowed a few Dalits > to gather the courage to go to the police station and file an FIR > against the men who raped their daughter? Could it be that the > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability and accept dalits as part of the same social > realm as theirs? > > The questions don't bother Sengupta because the answers don't affect > him. In other words, another area where I would like Sengupta to > extend his realisation to is middle class self-centredness. The middle > class cares only about itself, the rest may go to hell. If this is > true even in perception, that is bad enough. > > I also hope his realisation will sooner or later extend to adding the > phrase 'upper caste' to MEMCRY. After so much heat on reservations, > are the yuppies still blind to the fact that PLUs are exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by design or default that the middle class > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is arguable. Whether > this should be changed by improving the quality of primary schools > and/or by reservations in higher education, is debatable. But no one > can dispute that the Indian middle class is composed of the upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit this. Sengupta honestly admits > that his convent education, metropolitan upbringing, class status are > the causes of his dismay (and 'fear'!) over Mayawati's victory. I wish > he'd extend this honesty to admitting that his caste is responsible in > the first place for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He detests the heartland politicians because they don't speak his > idiom. But the heartland politicians are who they are largely because > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Lalu Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are symbols, literally, of the political > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic of such political > assertion, according to Sengupta, is: > > "It's the same logic that kept Lalu in power, that allowed him to > argue that development is nothing. He brought something more to his > voters - he was one of them, and for those who had been oppressed for > centuries, to see one of them in power, to see a CM who kept buffalos > in his backyard was intoxicating. It was a real sense of power. No > roads or electricity could beat that." > > If Sengupta roots for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra just because he > can relate to them, why shouldn't those not fortunate to have his > MEMCRY yuppie status not vote for leaders whom *they* can relate with? > If "those who had been oppressed for centuries" (as if they aren't > anymore) can enjoy a "real sense of power" by having one of their ilk > in the CM's chair, then should we conclude that Sengupta and the > yuppie class he represents also wants the same venal pleasure by > seeing people of their ilk in power? > > Sengupta's understanding of caste politics - that the lower castes, > the 'oppressed', vote for People Like Them for a sense of power - is > to miss the wood for the trees. Indeed, if you ask Dalits in a remote > village in eastern Uttar Pradesh (as I did in the middle of February > this year) why they vote for Mayawati, they will actually say that > they do so because she brings them dignity, because she is one of > their own. In the mid-nineties Mayawati used to say in her rallies, > "Main Chamar ki beti hoon. Main Chamari hoon, main tumhari hoon." > > But the reason why Dalits feel the need to have one of their own in > power is because they think that only then will they have the roads > and electricity they need - something Sengupta suggests > foreign-educated Rahul Gandhi will deliver better than someone like > Mayawati who has risen from a village and knows what it is like not to > have roads and electricity. > > In one village I went to near Allahabad, there was a road going to a > Brahmin basti, one to a Srivastava basti, but not one to a Dalit > basti. The residents of that Pasi (a Dalit caste) basti told me that > this was plain discrimination because of their caste. And they voted > for Mayawati for her to change that. They voted for her again and > again in the hope that some day she'll get full five years in power. > (I thought it was quite remarkable that in a Dalit basti in a village > they knew of the five year system!) If they see Mayawati not > delivering the goods, they will stop voting for her one day. Just like > they stopped voting for the Congress that produced the Rahuls and > Priyankas but not roads and electricity in villages. > > An office colleague, who despite having done his customary duties at > the JNU elections can be counted as a member of the MEMCRY yuppie > class, told me that his Brahmin parents in urban, BJP-voting Lucknow > enthusiastically voted for the BSP. Growing up in Lucknow myself, I > learnt less about the non-existent 'Lakhnavi tehzeeb' than about > Dalit-OBC politics because it was all happening before me. The day La > Martiniere College shut down to allow a Samajwadi Party rally on its > grounds was, in retrospect, a remarkable day when heartland politics > was able to interrupt a middle class factory. > > But so many years of living under Maya and Mulayam has taught > Lucknow's and Uttar Pradesh's middle class to live with it. And love > it. If my colleague's parents voted for the BSP, and Brahmin lawyers > like Satish Chandra Mishra are suddenly becoming aware of their > Brahmin status and joining the BSP in large numbers, it speaks of a > convergence of interests. > > Ambedkar, and his followers such as Mayawati, wanted Dalits to > "educate, organise and agitate", capture power and then use power to > open the doors of equality for Dalits. Kanshi Ram translated the idea > to the masses by showing them a pen. The cap, he said, was how much > the upper castes were. The rest of the body of the pen was > Dalits/OBCs/Muslims ("Bahujans"). Despite being together in a majority > they were being ruled by a minority o upper castes. The pen stood > vertically. He said he wanted to make it horizontal, where everyone > was equal. Brahmins, OBCs and Muslims voting for Mayawati and bringing > her to power is exactly the fulfilment of that idea, even if > politically but not yet socially. > > Caste politics, Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Mayawati n UP have proved, > is not stagnant. It is rather a caste *churning*. Something's > happening here. Some thing's changing. Hindol Sengupta doesn't need to > be afraid of it. He can join it. > > [apologies for a long post and for cross-posting it on Kafila.org] > > best > shivam > > On 5/17/07, Rakesh wrote: > > Certainly not my opinion, but an opinion from a "middle-class, educated, > > metro-bred, Christian-education raised, young" journalist... > > Salaam > > Rakesh > > > > Mayawati's historic victory has left me speechless. And scared. Her > > victory tells me once again how I, and people like me, have no voice in > > Indian politics anymore. We, the middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, young. We, the backbone of the knowledge, > > entreneurial economy. We, who have no representation. We have no voice. > > We have no one who speaks our language, our idiom. > > > > We are the people who rejoice every time Manmohan Singh takes stage. He > > is us. He is the success of education and middle class values rising to > > the top. Only, shudder, he failed to win a poll. > > > > We, the non-vote bank. We, who must remember that Manmohan Singh rises > > because of Sonia Gandhi. Because of loyalty to the Family. We, who form > > no mass base. > > > > For more read > > > http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/hindolsengupta/104/40458/why-i-am-afraid-of-mayawati.html > > > > -- > > Rakesh Kumar Singh > > Sarai-CSDS > > 29, Rajpur Road > > Delhi-110054 > > Ph: 91 11 23960040 > > Fax: 91 11 2394 3450 > > web site: www.sarai.net > > web blog: http://blog.sarai.net/users/rakesh > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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.shivamvij.com > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 05:53:33 +0000 > From: "anil varghese" > Subject: [Reader-list] National centre for Advocacy Studies - > internship programme > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed > > National centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS)announce internship programme > for > 9th batch 2007- 2008. > > Advocacy Internship Programme (AIP) is a unique venture of National Centre > for Advocacy Studies, which has been in operation since the year 1999. It > aims at developing a set of young and dedicated professionals who are > committed to social activism. It is a program that caters to the need of > social activism and enriches the participants with the political > perspective, knowledge, and skills required for effective public advocacy. > > for prospectus and application form go though the below link: > http://www.ncasindia.org/public/staticpages/ncas_internship.asp > > for more information regarding NCAS go through below link: > www.ncasindia.org > > _________________________________________________________________ > Free & easy posting . Yello Classifieds. > > http://www.yello.in/home.php?utm_source=hotmailtag&utm_medium=textlink&utm_content=in&utm_campaign=april > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 07:30:44 +0000 > From: "christiane brosius" > Subject: [Reader-list] Dragonball in India? > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed > > Dear Sarai list-members > Is there anyone among you who would be able to help me out about a > particular storyline that has circulated widely, especially in and between > China and Japan, but also the western hemisphere: I am referring to > �Dragonball�, also known under �The Journey to the West�, the story of a > monkey/man going on an adventurous pilgrimage to look for Buddhist > scriptures in India. The Chinese novel has, for instance, been adapted in > manga format in Japan. > I wonder whether this tale has been received and traded in India too, and > whether you know of comics or any other (audio-)visual media that have > dealt > with the theme? > Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks for our attention and help, > Christiane > > > > > Christiane Brosius > Assistant Professor, > Department of Anthropology > South Asia Institute > Im Neuenheimer Feld 330 > 69120 Heidelberg > Germany > ph.: ++49-(0)6221-548938 > see also www.tasveerghar.org > > _________________________________________________________________ > Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! > http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 14:41:09 +0530 > From: "Aarti Sethi" > Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] URBAN ALLEGORIES: The City in > Bombay Cinema - Lecture by Ranjani Mazumdar > To: announcements at sarai.net > Message-ID: > <48c2916d0705170211j7e48eab1o9e7d5a4edcabd294 at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), University of > Westminster > > PUBLIC LECTURE > > > > *URBAN ALLEGORIES: The City in Bombay Cinema* > > Dr Ranjani Mazumdar > > British Academy/ESRC Visiting Fellow at University of Westminster > > Associate Professor of Cinema Studies > > School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, > India. > > Thursday 31st May, 6.15pm > > The Old Cinema, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B > 2UW > Chair: Rosie Thomas, Director of Centre for Research and Education in Arts > and Media (CREAM), University of Westminster. > > You are invited to a lecture by Dr Ranjani Mazumdar to inaugurate her > British Academy/ESRC Visiting Fellowship at the University of Westminster > and also to launch her book* Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the > City*published this month by University of Minnesota Press: > Minneapolis and > London. There will be a drinks reception afterwards. All welcome. > > Cinema is not only a major Industry in India, it is a powerful cultural > force. But until now, no one has undertaken a major examination of the > ways > in which films made in Bombay mediate the urban experience in India. In > her > analysis of the cinematic city, Ranjani Mazumdar reveals a complex > postnationalist world, convulsed by the social crisis of the 1970s and > transformed by the experience of globalisation in the 1990s. Her account > leads us into the heart of the urban labyrinth in India, revising and > deepening our understanding of both the city and the cinema. > > For further details please contact Ranita Chatterjee at CREAM: > R.Chatterjee at westminster.ac.uk > > > ALL WELCOME > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070517/9bddc63a/attachment.htm > -------------- next part -------------- > _______________________________________________ > announcements mailing list > announcements at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > reader-list mailing list > reader-list at sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > End of reader-list Digest, Vol 46, Issue 43 > ******************************************* > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070519/acb21ccf/attachment.html From wonton_warriorprincess at yahoo.com Sat May 19 17:25:58 2007 From: wonton_warriorprincess at yahoo.com (hasina hasan) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 04:55:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? Message-ID: <404298.83550.qm@web54110.mail.re2.yahoo.com> hi gouri, pls stop repeatedly sending same email 5 times or more list moderator. pls intervene warrior cry ----- Original Message ---- From: gouri To: Hemangini Gupta ; reader-list at sarai.net Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 5:23:01 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point specifically regarding Hindol's piece. He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests of his class. And that he and his class are comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very clear about it. wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222 _________________________________________ 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070519/fe2bf310/attachment.html From nityajacob at yahoo.com Sat May 19 19:30:15 2007 From: nityajacob at yahoo.com (Nitya Jacob) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 07:00:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Jal Satyagraha Message-ID: <848942.33195.qm@web30814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Jal Satyagraha launched in New Delhi 19 May 2007 The problem of the River Yamuna is a problem of pollution and encroachments. Both have to be tackled to restore the river to its former glory, felt experts at a meeting organized in New Delhi on 19 January, 2007, to discuss the river’s crisis in the context of India’s water problems, called by the Rashtriya Jal Biradari. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said people have to be involved and planning has to be decentralized for this to be successful. In Delhi, it is essential that the public be made aware of the need to reduce and recycle water. Rainwater harvesting is also critical to ameliorate the city’s water problems. “We should adopt decentralized water collection methods and catch water where it falls,” he said. Blaming the concept of sustainable development, he said this was the main reason for environmental degradation. Rapid economic development has destroyed both manmade and natural water bodies in India. However, there were many models of local water management by which it was possible to arrest this decline. Former chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board Paritosh Tyagi enumerated three measures that could solve Delhi’s water crisis. These were plugging leakages in distribution, educating people to use less water and accurate metering that would enable better service and higher water tariffs. “If all these are done properly, Delhi will not face a water crisis as it has adequate supply of water.” The Yamuna’s flood plain is under threat from development. The Commonwealth Games Village, Metro railway stations and other developments planned will reduce the area available for water recharge by half. It was 94 sq. km. but once these developments are complete, it will be only around 47 sq km, he said. This means that the recharge potential of the flood plain for the city’s groundwater aquifers will be severely affected. Most of the river’s water is used for irrigation by riparian states – Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. If irrigation efficiency is increased by even 30 percent, it will make much more water available for drinking because irrigation uses eight times as much water as domestic users do. Delhi had a peculiar problem of online boosters that actually worsened the water situation because these pumps drew air and dirt from outside pipelines into the water, contaminating supply. “People should not use online boosters,” Mr Tyagi said. Arjun, who has worked with Jal Biradari convenor Rajendra Singh for the past two decades, said trees are father, and earth the mother, of water. Both have to be taken care of to protect our water resources and ensure that groundwater and surface water resources are adequate. Rajendra Singh said the government has to work in partnership with people to manage water resources. “When people are given ownership of resources, they manage them with pride, responsibility and honesty. No government can claim to do as good a job.” In the area where his NGO, Tarun Bharat Sangh works, people have revived dead rivers through decentralized, community centred watershed management, he said. They have taken control of this critical resource. The Rajasthan government, under its former chief minister, passed a cabinet order that no polluting or water-intensive industry will be allowed in the Alwar area, where TBS works. However, the current government overturned this order in 2004. As a result, 40 companies producing bottled water and distilleries acquired land for their operations in this belt. “The people opposed them, sat on dharnas outside their factories and we went to court to get them shut. Nearly all except United Breweries have closed down and we have an on-going dharna outside their factory to force them to close too,” Mr. Singh said. Yamuna is in danger and no single organization or person can handle this. Everybody in Delhi has to come together to tackle its problems. Instead of laying a concrete jungle, we should build a natural jungle of 10,000 hectares on the flood plain of the river. The people should help in reviving recharge structures and distributaries of the river. The Ridge should be declared as a recharge zone and the baolis and talaabs that existed there should be restored. The ghats on the Yamuna should also be restored. The Jal Satyagraha 2007 was also launched at the event. It aims to raise awareness among school and college children. It will create awareness in both rural and urban India on the optimal use of water and need to recharge to groundwater. The Satyagraha will work with media to raise public awareness on water-related issues. It will advocate water as a basic human right and hold camps in different states. The campaign will also discourage people from using bottled water and drinking soft drinks. Lastly, it will work to stop the privatization of rivers and other water sources. ____________________________________________________________________________________Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070519/8411a69f/attachment.html From iram at sarai.net Sun May 20 11:18:32 2007 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 11:18:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <404298.83550.qm@web54110.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <404298.83550.qm@web54110.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <464FE130.30203@sarai.net> Dear Hasina, As has been repeated many times, the reader list is not a moderated list. Mails sent in plain text (keeping in mind other protocols regarding attachments, html etc etc), are automatically passed. The list administrator is equally helpless in cases like this. I know it can be really annoying to receive multiple emails but perhaps there was a problem with Gouri's mail account. She should have that checked. Cheers Iram hasina hasan wrote: > hi gouri, > > pls stop repeatedly sending same email 5 times or more > > list moderator. pls intervene > warrior cry > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: gouri > To: Hemangini Gupta ; reader-list at sarai.net > Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 5:23:01 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? > > It doesn't seem to me that there is a larger point > specifically regarding Hindol's piece. > He is clear that Mayawati can not represent interests > of his class. And that he and his class are > comfortable if the identity politics of the Gandhis > fails to transcend and be more productive. He is very > clear about it. > wrote: From indersalim at gmail.com Sun May 20 16:29:46 2007 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 16:29:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Baroda case and... ( response to Prof. Shivji's letter) . Message-ID: <47e122a70705200359x552b4605mc1976e2a19f51827@mail.gmail.com> Dear Prof. shivji You stand in 'the case' is commendable. In general, I believe, artists are with chandra mohan and those affected in the unfortunate incident. The real damage is the psychological victory over the creative minds .... which we can not measure right now. It is already damaged, but instead of some restoration it is slipping out of our hands. That is most worrying part. When we realize that the singular-i-tease, of the society/artists is at stake then we certainly need to come forward for a new solidarity. That has happened in this case, but I believe the ways of protest are still a little conventional. I am myself wondering about the possible innovative ways of protest, so that becomes more audible. The politics out there want to deal with the 'tease' part of singular-i-tease on their own terms, which is the challenge. Artists, i believe have to be mentally strong enough to fight out their respective 'choices' through their works, performances and other ways of expressions. Zasha has intelligently pointed out the illusory role of 'market' that seems to enhance freedom of expression. The fact is that only the radical face of the art is well equipped to lead in this march towards freedom of expression to secure 'present and future' of art and society, as Shuddha has also pointed out. There are number of examples in the past and the recent past that how artists/poets/film makers, musicians and even saints have taken a stand against the establishment to grant this 'freedom' to themselves in the first place and then to the society in general. I am profoundly inspired by that kind of past, and because of that I feel myself a part of this 'protest'. The second layer: now it is almost predictable that what kind of art can offend the right wing politics. But Dera Saccha Sauda controversy was unpredictable, and that makes one think, time and again, about what is 'politics of the image'. As far as I am informed, Dera has a Dalit base who have been outsiders within the Gurudwara poltics of Punjab. Then it is not surprising that the genesis of Dera is rooted in Bulochistan ( Pakistan ) and is deeply associated with Radha Somi SatSang sect. The name Ram Raheem Singh, in-itself signifies that it has some sufi background, and the believers have a right to exercise their political will in the present vote bank game. Ram Raheem Singh is cool and has gained spiritually and politically even when he says that he regrets that it has offended other Sikh sects. Unwittingly, but it seems I am mixing the two different poles of reality: both Ram Raheem singh and Chandra Mohan are insecure simply because they exercised their choices of representation. There are many questions which remain unanswered and some veritable reflections can be added to all this…. with love and regards indersalim protest image, pasted on my back and around during protest organized by Sahmat in Delhi http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- ............................................................................. Dear Friends, thank you all so very much for your support. The past 10 days had been harrowing. I just returned home after the vanavas and trying to gather the threads. Thank you for being with us in this difficult time. Chandramohan is safe and is with his parents in Warangal, although his case is in the court. As for me & him and many others the present is bleak, I hope the future will be bright for all of us. Best wishes - Shivaji From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Sun May 20 20:34:22 2007 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 08:04:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Re :Re: Why i am afraid of Mayawati? In-Reply-To: <1179511990.S.13355.14130.webmail97.rediffmail.com.old.1179521025.30635@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <324539.23704.qm@web53609.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Hemangini, "but i am wondering how the shift will be made from what has been a politics of exclusion and discrimination to one of power and governance." In the political hierarchy of needs,issues of "roti,kapRa aur makaan" probably come after the issue of identity.We are a young democracy and groupthink may evolve beyond issues of identity in due course of time. After making that elliptical statement about democracy,Ill try to make two points about mayawati's victory in particular- 1.The Executive is predominantly upper caste.So, there wont be a sense of easy comfort between the relationship between the two. The ego issues involved may lead to both keeping each other on their toes which can only be good. 2.The more important achievement of BSP in this elections is to change the rules of the market from monopolistic competition to oligopoly. We can look forward to that scenario in which a vote bank is not the baap kii jaagiir of any political party. Perhaps the very reason that brahmins voted for her is that BSP is the party that does not represent the brahmins by default..in fact it is the farthest from doing so.The brahmins want to be wooed as a vote bank and they value democratic impact more than the comfort of the age old social status quo in which they were the drivers,not the dalits. Such an event can have wonderful consequences for the politics of our country.The social impact of this political coup will also be very interesting; but that is probably beyond the scope of this discussion. Democracy,like God,works in mysterious ways I guess. Rahul --- Hemangini Gupta wrote: > > > hey shivam > maybe theres a larger point that can be taken with > regards to hindol?s piece?? > caste-politics in UP (and elsewhere?) are associated > so closely with > identity-politics which are, of course, vital and > empowering and so on, > and i don?t think that any of us (or anyone) would > be in a position to > take a normative view of a democratic vote (elite > consociationalism?!!) > - but what of the questions of what comes after > identity politics? > you?ve emphasised (very eloquently, if i may say so) > the importance > of identity politics in driving empowerment, but > this election more > than being driven by caste seems to have driven by > ?sarva samaj?; > perhaps a coalition of the poor, of the needy, more > than one of caste > alone? how will the dalit party?s emphasis on > identity politics > translate into other (more material, perhaps) gains > such as education, > healthcare etc.? i think it was weiner who said that > with the exception > of kerala, the efforts of states to provide material > benefits for > dalits remains marginal; ?dalit politicians and > bureaucrats and dalit > associations and political parties have had little > impact on public > policies?. you\'ve argued that the ambedhkar > villages scheme may have caused positive change, but > the other examples are identity-self-respect-related > ones. > mayawati?s win has likely impacts on the upcoming > gen elections as > well, with UP under her and a significant presence > in neighbouring > states, she could impact the votes of maybe 150 > seats? so if we are > looking at her in a national sense, what can we > expect in terms of > policy and planning that moves beyond what is seen > as ?dalit rage? and > the politics of exclusion which mark the > intersections between (dalit) > caste and politics? much of dalit politics has been > based on the need > to gain power, confer dignity, self respect etc. - > so with the > assumption of power are we now inevitably moving to > step 2: > implementation? or can we wonder about that > progression? > i?m not offering the ?what will she know of global > politics? line, > because of course i agree that for atleast a decade > now, in terms of > economic issues, elections seem to have been won on > issues of democracy > and social justice but then policies framed have > been macro-economic, > elite ones (this is what yadav calls the > ?bifurcation of politics?? the > bhasha-english divide)? but i am wondering how the > shift will be made > from what has been a politics of exclusion and > discrimination to one of > power and governance. in fact maybe i?ll stick my > neck out further to > suggest that to view hindol?s post as a MEMCRY > lament alone is to miss > the wood for the trees. the bsp is associated with > amassing wealth, > gaining power - what indicates that these traits > will change now, or > that they will work well on the natl/intl arena? > ps: and need i say, my views do not represent those > of cnn-ibn etc. etc.!hemangini > On Fri, 18 May 2007 05:20:25 -0700 (PDT) gouri > wrote This is a very moving response to a yuppy > view of politics. Ordinarily such responses tend to > be self-righteous and have a very angry tone. It is > difficult not to be. best, Gouri --- Shivam Vij > wrote: > Thanks for posting this Rakesh. This > is a very > important post on the > CNN IBN > website\'s otherwise dull blog section. It > has > been written by > Hindol Sengupta who covers > fashion and suchlike for > them. He says he > > can\'t relate to Mayawati, finds it ironic that > the > \"backbone of the > knowledge, > entreneurial [sic] economy\" should be a > > \"non-vote bank\". He > says that his class of > people, his \'type\' - People > Like Us, to use > a > cliche - \"rejoice every time Manmohan Singh > takes > stage\" but alas, > even he > couldn\'t win a Lok Sabha election from South > > Delhi. > > The reason why I think it is an > important post is > that unlike most > other > PLUs, Sengupta makes no claim to > > \'objectivity\'. When Youth for > Equality / > United Students / other > > \'anti-reservationists\' oppose > reservations, > and speak about Dalits/OBCs, they > claim to be > doing so > with a claim to \'objectivity\', that > is, they do not > admit that the > > viewpoint(s) they are putting forward are of a > > certain section of > society that is influential > in shaping public > opinion despite being in > > a minority. > > Sengupta admits not > only his discomfiture with a > democratically > > elected Mayawati but also that his discomfiture > > stems from his > background, from who he > is. He describes himself and > his ilk as > > \"middle-class, educated, metro-bred, > > Christian-education raised, > young.\" That > would abbreviate into MEMCRY, but let\'s > just > use the word > \'yuppie\'. > > It is > quite extraordinary and laudatory for a yuppie > > to admit his > distance from the political rise > of the \'low-class, > neo-literate, > > village-bred, government school-raised, middle > > aged\'. Such an > admission is a rarity, and it > is exactly what the > > \'anti-anti-reservationists\' want the > > \'anti-reservationists\' to admit. > > > Sengupta\'s \'realisation\', though, is an > incomplete > one. Except for a > passing > reference in the last paragraph, he does not > > mention that the > distance between Us and Them > is in great measure > that of language. > > Conversations on class, social mobility and suchlike > > these days seem > to forget the > Hindi/English divide. It has been left > to > Kancha Iliah > and Chandrabhan Prasad now to > remind us of it. > > Unfortunately the > realisation of his being a PLU > doesn\'t go too > far. > But the honesty does extend to his class > bias: his > problem with Lalu > having a > buffaloes in his backyard and on Mayawati > he > writes: \"But > forward planning? Infrastructure > ideas? Modernity? > Mayawati, alas, is > the > quintessential behenji.\" > > So what about > Lalu\'s success as railway minister? > Could it > be that > Mayawati hasn\'t been able to work on > development > because she\'s not > been in > power for more than two years collectively > in > three terms? > Could it be that Mayawati\'s > Ambedkar Villages scheme > has made the > > ceiling fan finally whirl in a few villages and > > allowed a few Dalits > to gather the > courage to go to the police station > and file > an FIR > against the men who raped their > daughter? Could it > be that the > > Dalit-Brahmin alliance by Mayawati could force a > > Brahmin or two to > give up untouchability > and accept dalits as part of > the same social > > realm as theirs? > > The questions > don\'t bother Sengupta because the > answers > don\'t affect > him. In other words, another > area where I would like > Sengupta to > > extend his realisation to is middle class > > self-centredness. The middle > class cares only > about itself, the rest may go to > hell. If this > is > true even in perception, that is bad > enough. > > I also hope his realisation > will sooner or later > extend to adding the > > phrase \'upper caste\' to MEMCRY. After so much > heat > on reservations, > are the yuppies > still blind to the fact that PLUs > are > exclusively > upper-caste? Whether its is by > design or default > that the middle class > > is predominantly (if not exclusively) upper caste is > > arguable. Whether > this should be changed > by improving the quality of > primary schools > > and/or by reservations in higher education, is > > debatable. But no one > can dispute that > the Indian middle class is composed > of the > upper > castes. Yet they choose not to admit > this. Sengupta > honestly admits > that his > convent education, metropolitan upbringing, > > class status are > the causes of his dismay (and > \'fear\'!) over > Mayawati\'s victory. I wish > > he\'d extend this honesty to admitting that his > caste > is responsible in > the first place > for his MEMCRY yuppie status. > > He > detests the heartland politicians because they > > don\'t speak his > idiom. But the heartland > politicians are who they > are largely because > > of their caste. > > Kumari Mayawati, > Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas > Paswan, Lalu > Prasad > Yadav and others of their ilk are > symbols, > literally, of the political > > assertion of those below the middle class. The logic > > of such political > assertion, according > to Sengupta, is: > > \"It\'s the same logic > that === message truncated ===> _________________________________________ > 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/> ____________________________________________________________________________________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ From sayandebmukherjee at yahoo.co.in Sun May 20 21:14:34 2007 From: sayandebmukherjee at yahoo.co.in (sayandeb mukherjee) Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 16:44:34 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] corridor spaces... the third posting/1 Message-ID: <439675.39056.qm@web7708.mail.in.yahoo.com> dear all, i regret for the delay in my third posting. this happened since i was utterly occupied in doing certain audio recordings and photography pertaining to my research. nextly, my comp, where i work on is recently giving some trouble. however, i present my third posting along with a questionare in the interface section. any responses to those will be very helpful for me. THE IIIRD POSTING THE MAINFRAME (CONTINUATION OF THE LAST POSTING) ...these indigenously made houses were the examples of pre-colonial architectural models abundantly applied by the then local architects. the advent of european colonization and the subsequent British rule in India had its impression on Indian architecture. consequently with its presence, there had been impositions of the western architectural models on Indian architectural firms. the English in India and french in Indo-China and in their colonies in North Africa, for instance tried to retain control of the semantic content of the styles in which they built. at the same time, however, the local elites were freely using elements of western architectural vocabularies to create their own 'hybrid' products. to exemplify, in certain mansions in West Bengal - 'Dhanyakuria Rajbariat at barasat, 'panchthabi rajbari at murshidabad, 'byen' rajbari, we find the application of indian architectural elements like 'garur pakhi', courteyards (as stated above) alongwith the adoption of Western architectural styles like 'neo-classical', 'art deco' or that which is contemporary to the period. so to express it briefly, in this colonial period, Indian architectural scenario was an admixture of western architectural styles, hybridized forms and also indigenous styles restoring the designs of the traditional past/local past. much later, during the post-colonial period there happened much disintegration of the western content and a new style evolved as post-neo classical and post art deco that dominated and somewhat ruled away the other forms; the form popularized as 'international style' is still predominant today. but parallel to this architectural historicity and improvisations of styles, one concern among the architects was gradually intensifying and creeping up as a primary one and finally toward the end of the twentieth century it overcaste the other issues of urban-scape; that was the SPACE CRISIS. the severe infaltion of urban population due to relentless migration of people from different rural sectors to the cities for the need of employment and the uncontrolled increase of work-spaces rendered a steep decline of space. the space-contraction while altering the facade of land economy and its politics brought a new consciousness and to some extent a kind of conscience that somewhat prevented the elitists to lavishly and unboudedly expand their territory thereby making a proportionated existence. also the changing norms of the society inflicted the big family of the past to get disjointed ( antonym of so-called joint family ) into nuclear families that further negated the necessities of making bungalows or mansions. resultantly the local architects had to re-consider space thereby modelling it according to the cardinal necessities of life. small family houses, catering to the demands of the land economy, thereby cropped up which used to be simplistic/basic, yet gratifying a comrortable living. My early childhood memories are associated with one such small family house in Raniganj, a town in West Bengal. Here I would like to express the spatial configuration of the house where I lived in the period of late 70s. a. A one storied house with one small balcony facing the road and the entrance (main) was through that unbounded balcony. b. No living room, the main door unleashes to the 1st bedroom. This room was chiefly occupied by 7'-7' wooden mahogany cot. The room was not big enough to give a comfortable passage beside the cot to the other rooms. c. This living-cum-bed room had a left side opening to another bed room. This was a well lit up bright room, very comfortable space for me to live-in, to study, since it had a radio at the corner of it and was therefore, a source of endeavor. Also from here, lying on the bed, I could see the sky, the daylight falling diffusedly on the bed and a portion of the boundary that runs through out the house. I used to feel reassured in this room, because it was attached to the kitchen where my mother used to spend most of her time. d. As it is already evident, the room led to an opening at the left, the small darker chamber - the kitchen, where I still could have a nostalgic feeling that I can see a silhouette outline of my mother cooking our food. e. The first living-cum-bed room led to a non-functional room occasionally employed for receiving guests. f. My favorite space was my playground - the courtyard. The non-functional room as mentioned above, opens up to this well maintained, cemented space with sky overhead and nature all around. The space, where I had spent most of my leisure time of my childhood, was well-protected by a fence. The self-explorations of all seasons, all kinds of weather and its changes happened here. The images and sounds got imprinted so deeply that I can still recollect the sounds of ice-crystals on an iron-bucket during a hailstorm, the sounds of raindrops falling on different surfaces - leaves, branches, cemented floor, rain shades, the faded image of distant trees and its waving during a storm, the stream created by a rapid collection of water flowing through the small drain beside the courtyard, the long banana leaves, the sounds of fireworks blown during festivals. These memories are so fresh that I can still see/hear and the events appear to happen in front of me. The description also reflects the intensive environmental associations as we played in the courtyard. .... to be continued THE INTERFACE will be posted in a short while SAYANDEB MUKHERJEE FT#308, SUBBARAJU TOWERS, ROAD NO.4, VIJAYAPURI COLONY, KOTHAPET, HYDERABAD PIN: 500 035 PH#9849383863 Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From lmadhura77 at gmail.com Sun May 20 12:13:00 2007 From: lmadhura77 at gmail.com (madhura l) Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 12:13:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Exploring the vartaphalak culture: Third posting Message-ID: <4dea04310705192343v3883f333p6d4942136df16511@mail.gmail.com> hi all! this is my third posting on my work about looking at the practice of writing vartaphalaks in pune city. i have also created a blog, so that the photographs taken can be easily accessible. the link is www.vartaphalak-photos.blogspot.com . my third posting has been posted on the blog itself. looking forward to comments, feedback... madhura -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070520/14957e1b/attachment.html From pkray11 at gmail.com Mon May 21 12:33:14 2007 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (prakash ray) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 12:33:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who is afraid of Mayawati? Message-ID: <98f331e00705210003x19031227s1a0cdff74f625d31@mail.gmail.com> The matter posted by Rakesh is interesting but we should read more in the post written by the CNN-IBN blogger. It looks to me like the book 'The Great Indian Middle Class' by Pavan K Verma which *criticizes *the middle class but is very sure of the triumph of this mentality and sensiblity. The victory of Mayawati and the BSP must be an eye-opener for political pundits and it is high time to look into the politics initiated by Late Kanshiram. It will enrich our understanding about the polity and the society of the nation. This result must be an eye-opener for those who chant *LOCAL*-*LOCAL *all the time. One likes it or not, the results endorses the need to emphasize on the *grand*-*narrative*/s. Though I think we must be afraid of Mayawati as we fear many other politicians and political colours, the time calls for a post-mortem of all the studies begining with *POST.* -- Prakash K Ray cinemela.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070521/2e2e5bbf/attachment.html From kcoelho at email.arizona.edu Tue May 22 10:04:51 2007 From: kcoelho at email.arizona.edu (Karen Coelho) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 10:04:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: [URBANTH-L] FW: The Global City and Media Ethnography: Registration extended to April, 10, 2007 Message-ID: <014d01c79c2a$8bdbb620$1001a8c0@sysljpwjsdzwkj> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allen Feldman" To: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; "Caitlin Kerker Mennen" ; ; ; ; "Visual Culture Seminar NYU/Cooper Union" ; Cc: "Deesha Narichania" ; ; "Maria Veits" ; "ALKIM ALMILA AKDAG" ; Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 4:47 AM Subject: [URBANTH-L] FW: The Global City and Media Ethnography: Registration extended to April, 10,2007 Due to a last minute cancellation we still have one slot currently open from our 15 student enrollment limit. The Global City and Media Ethnography: Practice-led Research and the Critical Ethnography of the Senses. Summer Study Abroad Location: Dublin, Ireland Dates: June 17 - July 7, 2007 Application Deadline: extended The Department of Culture and Communication, in collaboration with the Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice, Faculty of Applied Arts, Dublin Institute of Technology, present a three-week study abroad program in practice-led media research and the political /critical ethnography of the senses. The curriculum is aimed at graduate students from diverse disciplines who want to explore creative media practice as a participatory research methodology. The summer school brings together a multi-national cohort of core and visiting scholars/practitioners/artists who engage the theories and methods of multiplex media and sensory ethnography, visual culture, performance studies, through the linked topics of transcultural and trans-local processes, diaspora identities, the post colonial and human rights. This course provides students with theoretical and practical grounding in multi-sited action research in trans-cultural and transnational settings. Through social historical and trans-cultural ethnographic perspectives practice-led pedagogy promotes an historically self- reflexive contextual and political understanding of the use of media for the conduct and dissemination of research and the creation of social knowledge. Practice-led research overcomes divisions between social theory and action-research, and between creative practice and evidence-based research. Through theory-building seminars, project development clinics, multimedia lab instruction, and one-to-one advisement, students are enabled in the design and development of practice-based M.A.- and Ph.D.-level research projects, combining text and visual-audio media artifacts across a variety of platforms, including video, photography and digital imaging, and networked environments. The Summer School is located at the Irish Photographic Centre in Dublin's Temple Bar Cultural Quarter, comprising 28 acres of historical architecture dedicated to arts, media, culture, and entertainment. Themes and Topics · Transcultural Geographies of the Gaze and the Auditory · Politics and Ethics of Multi-Sited Fieldwork · Mapping Mediascapes · Sensory Formations of Modernity · Cultural Anesthesia, Human Rights and Structural Visibility/Invisibility · Body, Mediacy and Violence · New Media, Memory and the Politics of the Virtual · The Aesthetics and Ethics of Evidence · Reading/Performing/Politicizing the Archive · Translating/Transcribing Cross-Sensory Fieldwork 6 Points. Offered through the Department of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University Selected Core Faculty: Allen Feldman, Co-director, (MA PhD, Cultural Anthropology, Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research), Associate Professor Department of Culture and Communication, New York University. http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/steinhardt/db/faculty/1346 Áine O¹Brien Co-director, (PhD, Modern Studies Program, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee); Director: Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice, Dublin Institute of Technology. http://www.dit.ie/DIT/news/events/2005/26-09-05.html\ http://update.dit.ie/12-06-06/01calendar1506b.php Glenn Jordan, (PhD, Anthropology, University of Chicago) Reader in Cultural Studies in the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries http://www.swansea.ac.uk/english/crew/transatlanticexchange/keynote.htm Roshini Kempadoo MFA, Senior Lecturer In Media Production Media and Cultural Studies, University of London. http://www.roshinikempadoo.co.uk/ Advisory Faculty Susan Buck Morss (MA, Yale University, PhD, European Intellectual History, Georgetown University), Professor of Political Philosophy and Social Theory in the Department of Government, and a member of the graduate fields of German Studies and History of Art, Cornell University. http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/sbm5/Buck-Morss.html Nicholas Mirzoeff (PhD ,Art History, University of Warwick) Professor, Visual Culture Program, New York University http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/steinhardt/db/faculty/1399 C. Nadia Seremetakis, (MA, Sociology New York University, MA PhD, Cultural Anthropology, Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research) Anthropology Editor, New Sociology, Athens, Greece. http://www.seremetaki.com/en/ http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/13095.ctl Paul Stoller (MA, PhD Anthropology, University of Austin, Texas), Professor of Anthropology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. http://www.cawc.muohio.edu/documents/Stoller%20Bio.pdf. Costs: Tuition: $992 per credit point (6 points) plus registration fees. Accommodations: approximately $1550, Trinity College, Dublin (breakfast included) Activities: approximately $250 Travel: Round-trip airfares to New York City and Dublin approximately $500-$800 (students make reservations individually) Thank you for your inquiry; most of your questions are discussed below in the FAQ section below. I have attached a schedule of seminars, media labs and events from last year that will give you an idea of the curriculum and structure of the summer school. There will be some minor sequencing and staff changes this summer. This years dates are June 17 to July 7th, 2007. For More Information: Professor Allen Feldman, Department of Culture and Communication, The Steinhardt School of Education, New York University, NY 10003-6680: 212-998-5096; email: af31 at nyu.edu. http://www.steinhardt.nyu.edu/steinhardt/db/summer/149 _______________________________________________ URBANTH-L mailing list URBANTH-L at lists.ysu.edu http://lists.ysu.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/urbanth-l From surya_rajan21 at yahoo.com Tue May 22 12:39:55 2007 From: surya_rajan21 at yahoo.com (surya upadhyay) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 00:09:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] I-Fellowship: III Posting for Guru on the Air Message-ID: <91772.75993.qm@web32101.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear All, There is not so much this time to write about Sant Asaramji. I have watched his satsang programs that are telecasted by four different channels- spiritual as well as entertainment through out the year. His satsang programs are available throughout the day. It starts at 6:30 on Zee Jagran. Then at 7:00 AM on Sony Channel as "Sant Asaramji Vani" and continues till 8:00AM. Again in the afternoon he could be seen as well as listened at 12:30 PM on Aastha Channel as "Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu ki Amritvani". The telecasting agency known as Aastha International telecasts the program in UK at 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM. Again, he could be visualized on TV on Sanskara Channel at 2:00PM and again in night 9:50 PM. The program is named as "Param Pujya Loksant Shri Asaram Bapu ki Amritvarsa". In the beginning his satsang program was available only on Sony TV. This shows that his popularity as well as viewership has increased over the period of time, since the inception of cable channels.The subject of satasng is not defined, it could be highly spiritual and philosophical and at the same moment it could be very much mundane and related to everyday life of people. Apart from this, one could know about the ashram sites and contact no of Ashrams as well as the upcoming live satsang programs the end of episode. Also,information about his programs and ashram activities are available at http://www.aasthatv.com/contactusframe.htm As informed by the asram officials, these satsangs are those recordings of the live satsang in any city which are recorded by the ashram people at that time. So whatever is telecasted by these Channels are the pre-recorded satsangs. I am in touch with the officials of these channels and their interviews will be discussed after analysis in the next month. Wishes Surya Prakash Upadhyay I-Fellow 2007, Sarai. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather From prithu7 at hotmail.com Tue May 22 14:47:52 2007 From: prithu7 at hotmail.com (pritham k chakravarthy) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 14:47:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Urban Sabha Drama - May 2007 Message-ID: Urban Sabha Drama -III Posting May 2007 Pritham K. Chakravarthy Pammal Samandha Mudaliyar [1873-1967] a lawyer by profession, was the person who designed the ethics of Amateur Theatre in Madras Presidency in the year 1891, with his Suguna Vilas Sabha, now functioning from Mount Road [Anna Salai] in Chennai with its one performance stage. It is no more a theatrical space of performance. But in the early part of the century along with People's Park and Victoria Public Hall, this was quite an active space where both professional and amateur groups frequently performed their plays. Having witnessed performances by professional groups at People's Park and observed the 'obscene' behavior of the troop members, also having seen British groups perform at Loyola College, Samandha Mudaliyar initially did not have a very noble impression about Tamil theatre or its agents. As a teenager seeing Stree Saagasam, by Sarasa Vinodhini Sabha he drafts his own Tamil adaptation under the title Pushpavalli and forms his own sabha to perform it with. The esteemed members of the sabha then, beside himself were the seven members; U. Muthukumarasami Reddiyar, V. Venkatakrishna Naidu, T. Jayarama Nayakar, G. E. Sampat Reddiyar, and Subramanya Pillai. The enthusiastic youngsters approached the esteemed citizens of the city including Diwan Bahadur Paakam Rajarathna Mudaliyar who demanded 'what is the use of such groups? What does the nation have to gain from them?' to which Samandha Mudaliyar angrily retorts 'Why don't ask this to the great poet Shakespeare?' and walks out. He later not only convinces Mudaliyar to become his prime patron but also marries his daughter. The forerunner to Suguna Vilas Sabha was Oriental Dramatic Society which was run by Brahmins of the city but which soon its operations and existed only in name. When Samandha Mudaliyar recruited Rangasami Iyengar into his group there were frantic efforts to revive the former and woo Iyengar into their folds, an effort that did not succeed. He distinguishes those who have to resort to theatre as an income generating profession and therefore have to resort to all sorts of obscenity to satisfy the gallery as opposed those of his kind who are in theatre for the development of the art field and usage of theatre as a forum to educate the people. In this endeavor several political and cultural elite of Chennai supported him. Beginning his rendezvous with theatre at a very young age of 18 Samandha Mudaliyar went on script 94 plays. He acted in most of them, not necessarily in the lead role. His huge report ire includes adaptations of Shakespeare, Kalidas and French classics. Many of his scripts were filmed often while being performed on stage at Victoria Public Hall like the second talkie of Tamil cinema, Galaba Rishi [1932]. A.V.M Chettiyar found his gold mine by filming Mudaliyar's Sabhapathi [1941]. Mudaliyar himself directed Sati Sulochana and Manohara, which was later, modified to suite the purposes of the Dravidian party. _________________________________________________________________ Shaadi.com Matrimonials. Register FREE! http://www.shaadi.com/ptnr.php?ptnr=mhottag From anjalijyoti at yahoo.com Tue May 22 16:03:35 2007 From: anjalijyoti at yahoo.com (anjali jyoti) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 03:33:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] hunt for hitler in hindi Message-ID: <604314.79854.qm@web38913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Am desperately trying to get hold of a hindi translation of 'Mein Kampf' Would anyone have any idea if such a thing exists and how i could get hold of it.. ____________________________________________________________________________________Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/norton/index.php From hie_deepak at yahoo.com Tue May 22 14:47:51 2007 From: hie_deepak at yahoo.com (Deepak Kadyan) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 02:17:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] issue of authorship in oral traditions Message-ID: <37453.19770.qm@web32008.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi, i am a recepient of independent fellowship 2007 and working on 'popular musical traditions and configuration of jat identity in haryana1900-2000'. this is my third posting in which i intend to bring out the issue of authorship in folk traditions. in this posting i'm looking at two figures Mehr Singh(1917-46) and Pundit Dayachand(n.d., but a contemporary of Mehr Singh). Mehr Singh, a jat by caste, broke away from the traditional themes and composed raganis(narrative mode of svang which became prominent inthe first half of 20th century and major contributor to this form being Lakhmi Chand, whom i discussed in my last posting). Mehr Singh acknowledged lakhmi Chand as his master but never composed on his lines. As i have mentioned in my previous postings that oral tradition doesn't follow a guru-shisya relationship and thus has scope of innovation. Mehr Singh bets into colonial army in 1937 and as anecdotes goes, Mehr Singh was singing when the wife of English officer heard him and asked her to husband to relieve Mehr singh of all other works and entertain the regiment. it is from here that the popularity of Mehr singh rises to being one of the most popular singer in Haryana. the other aspect of Mehr singh is that he never performed on stage with other artiste of his times, partly because he was in colonial army and thus hardly got any cahnce to do so. before analyzing the contents let's also understand why he has acquired a cult status in Haryana. During the second world war,he became a soldier in Indian National Army, founded by Subhash Chandra Bose and it is believed that Mehr Singh performed in front of him as well and was thus entrusted with the job of entertaining the recruits and in one of the compositions Mehr Singh describes the grand reception that was meted out to Bose by Hitler. Mehr Singh died in Singapore in 1946. the other character in this story is Pundit Dayachand, a brahmin by caste, recruited in 1941 in colonial army and his rise to prominence also takes similar trajectory as that of Mehr singh. but the difference is that whereas Mehr Singh died, dayachand returned safely and from here starts the problem. It is asserted by jat scholars that Dayachand on his return appropriated the compositions of Mehr Singh and started compiling his compositions, though few in number, by meeting the soldiers who had herad Mehr singh and also meeting older generation, who had listened to Mehr Singh prior to his recruitment. A similar attempt was made by the son of dayachand and published a compilation of his compositions. Nonica Datta in her book, 'Forming of an identity: A social history of Jats', very aptly brings the tension between jats and brahmins in the first half of 20th century and demonstrates that jat identity emerged out of intra-hindu tension than posing any antagonism to muslims. this aspect continues in the second half of c.20th too, and jats slowly but steadily rises in the social ladder. But, let's come back again to the issue of authorship in such circumstances. the answer to such questions is to contextualize the two figures and putting them in their socio-cultural miliieu and then ascertaining those aspects in their compositions. mehr singh, a jat by caste and an unlettered person, composes on everyday issues like the relationship between husband and wife and the longing of man foe his woman when he is in army. thus much of the compostions of mehr singh revolve around the longing of man for his woman and the relationships that he brings out are husband-wife, jija-sali, devar-bhabhi and has a jocular aspect to it as well and some of them are highly double-entendred. But, i encountered one composition which evokes lord krishna and has striking metaphors which in comparision to his other compositions, would suggest thia it is not by him. Dayachand, a brahmin by caste and occupying the top of social ladder, has some of his compositions that evoke gods and his language is too poetic. the reason for this could well be that the sphere of oral tradition in haryana has for long been dominated by brahmins and it is only in the past two and half decades that jats have occupied some hold with the emergence of cassette as mass commodity. the previous generation despises to th commercialization of traditional music. It is one of the instances of contested claims of authorship in oral traditon and is marred by such instances, some of which are pointed out by Kathryn hansen in her work, 'Grounds of Play: the politics of nautanki theater in UP' and shows that right from 1920's when the oral was acquiring a fixity into text in the form of chapbooks, there were warnings on the covers of these cautuioning the reader against the cheap stuff and claiming theirs as the most authentic one. Deepak Kadyan --------------------------------- Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070522/ab98ea1a/attachment.html From sadan at sarai.net Tue May 22 21:02:10 2007 From: sadan at sarai.net (Sadan) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 11:32:10 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] CFP:Globalising Urban Histories:Interdisciplinary approaches to politics, material cultures and ideologies in world cities Message-ID: <46530CFA.1070404@sarai.net> Globalising Urban Histories: Interdisciplinary approaches to politics, material cultures and ideologies in world cities 4th and 5th December 2007 Sponsored by the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge. This conference looks at the city as a site through which global networks of exchange and cultural transmission can be explored. Though the city has become a popular focus for research across academic disciplines and chronological periods, these studies often see urban space as an iteration of a larger system (be it nation, empire, or cosmopolitan network). Looking to develop new approaches and analytical tools for the study of world history, this conference seeks to situate the city within wider frameworks of material and cultural dissemination. In so doing we are interested in interrogating conventional views of ‘modern globalisation’ and in developing our understanding of longer-term processes of global transmission. The conference will explore the ways in which ideology and material culture intersect and interact to shape urban spaces and urban lives. We therefore welcome papers that cover a broad chronological and geographical spectrum, within the following broad themes: Problematizing Identity: notions of identity and community within the complex plurality of urban life, with particular attention to gender, race and class. Rights, Social Obligation and Citizenship: the construction and operation of ideas of selfhood, belonging and municipal citizenship. Interrogating the Discipline: new theoretical and analytical approaches to world history and urban studies. We particularly welcome participation from graduate and early career academics. Applicants should submit a 500 word paper proposal and c.v. (in Word, RTF, or PDF format) to ern20 at cam.ac.uk by Saturday 30th June 2007. We will contact accepted participants by Monday 23rd July 2007. The conference will take be held on 4th and 5th December in the seminar rooms of the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge. For additional information about the conference, please contact the conference organizers or visit the conference website at http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/2006-7/urbanhistcfp.html _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ravikant at sarai.net Tue May 22 21:58:27 2007 From: ravikant at sarai.net (Ravikant) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 21:58:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] hunt for hitler in hindi In-Reply-To: <604314.79854.qm@web38913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <604314.79854.qm@web38913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200705222158.27109.ravikant@sarai.net> Hi Anjali, It is available in all popular hindi bookshops. Check out any wheeler's at railway stations across north India. Hindi Book Centre at Daryaganj(opp. LNJP) is a sure shot address. Write to them if you are not in a position to travel. You will get their address from Google. I think it is called Mera Sangharsh in Hindi. cheers ravikant मंगलवार 22 मई 2007 16:03 को, anjali jyoti ने लिखा था: > Am desperately trying to get hold of a hindi > translation of 'Mein Kampf' > Would anyone have any idea if such a thing exists and > how i could get hold of it.. > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ >_________Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added > security of spyware protection. > http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/norton/index.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 apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Wed May 23 19:20:10 2007 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 14:50:10 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] Is Personal the terrorized unity of private & Public?IF--Post 3 Message-ID: <78100.24445.qm@web8512.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Readers, After giving you a breather, here is the third post. Hope you'll like it. Love, arnab BIFURCATION OF THE SIMPLE : IS PERSON/AL THE TERRORIZED UNITY OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC? “I think the political life must be an echo of private life and that there cannot be any divorce between the two.” (1) —Mahatma Gandhi . This is the statement that has led hordes of critics astray. But I'll allow this to appear in the middle; a story first to begin at the beginning. In the years of 1920-21 Motilal Nehru is reported to have played a leading role in anti liquor picketing (2). Three years after this it was 1924. Read the tract of the dilemma via the voice of Gandhi – who having received a dubious paper cutting from a journalist, writes to Motilal Nehru, “ The writer has sent me the enclosed cutting ( from The Leader ). I had not read it before. He says that at another dinner you are reported to have said: Water has been called pure. But wine is made after being thrice distilled. It is, therefore, purer than water.” if the report is to be relied upon, I cannot but be grieved that you, who lead the antiliquor campaign, should publicly drink it and, what is worse, chaff at teetotalism. [ PS.] I know that if a man drinks privately, he may drink publicly too. A public man, however, may not drink publicly, if he is likely to offend. I distinguish between private drinking and secret drinking (3). Motilal Nehru in a lengthy reply avoided answering the main question: whether it is apt to lead an anti-liquor campaign as well as drink at the same time; instead wrote, “ the charge divides itself into two counts: (1) that I have drunk wine publicly, and (2) that I said in the course of an after dinner speech that ‘ Water has been called pure but wine is made after being thrice distilled. It is therefore, purer than water.’ My answer to the first count is an unequivocal “yes”. As to the second, I am sure I did not institute any comparison between the respective merits of wine and water. The statement, as reported, is too silly ”(4) In fact, during the forty years preceding 1921, I had seldom missed my evening drink for 11 months in the year. I abstained for one month in every year simply to avoid getting enslaved to the habit” “I must also respectfully differ from the distinction you draw between ‘ Private drinking and secret drinking’. In my humble opinion, it is a distinction without a difference.” .. “ pray do not misunderstand me. I do not mean that I am going to take to regular boozing at this time of my life because of the stupid attacks made on me. I may or may not drink at all. This is my own concern. But if I do, nothing in the world will make me seek privacy for doing so. I would have the world judge as I am and not as others would wish me to appear The tongue of slander will not deter me from what is right and proper.” [ all italics mine] “ It is for you to judge which is the graver offence—the levity in which I indulged in the course of a private talk with a friend or the publication of the talk by that friend” (5). Two synoptic inferences should be made here: Gandhi is proposing an integration between the public agenda that a public man puts forward and whether s/he believes and practices the same in his/her private life—as far as that is practicable; two, at the same time he is also proposing a model of the ‘public man’: a private person may drink publicly, he does not offend any one; a public person cannot do so, he offends because he has preached to the contrary--- (And let us remind ourselves here that to the picketer Motilal boozing was an evil—not a temporary one but an “evil incarnate”, evil in itself (6) .) This has been referred to in ethical debates as the problem of integration (7) , which I assume, should be pegged at the level of the person-al and Gandhi exactly does that by making a distinction between persons. This is very different from making the private and public one as eschewed in dominant Gandhian discourse. An elaborate comment on the above inferences: It is not true that in our anti-modernist discourse the public/private distinction is not deployed; the significant point here is, even being devoid of a cultural signification, Gandhi uses it to enforce an integration-- responding to which ultimately Motilal turns the table on Gandhi. But irrespective of the rhetorical game between Gandhi and Motilal, it would be instructive to remember that this unity or fracture then will be different for different persons. Similarly, as the Gandhian discourse goes, a public person needs to prove himself differently for particular kinds of acts and messages than the ordinary average person on the road who is inscribed within the rigours of a non-public or janta. ( and because I elsewhere detail the history of our non-public/non-private, janta, sadhahron, byaktikhetra etc in conversation with a number of useful standing notions drawn from the Indian discussion of the public sphere --like “ imperfect public”, public as an “unresolved concept” public “imaginary” as public “ought to be”, public as the domain of future “conversation” etc. while distinguishing them from each other, here I shall limit myself to making liminal but understandable references to them only). Briefly, my idea of non-public ( not in the Rawlsian sense but as sadaharon or aam janta) or non-private is derived largely from the idea of no-bodies. Persons in India who are generally held to be publicly consequential, and a majority of the others - who are condemned to move as private individuals only —without security cover, publicity or mass importance are not public persons. The beggars who copulate on the footpath—are not, in terms of essence, even private individuals. The somebodies are those whose individuality - by virtue of property, office or “manipulative coping” are never lost in the average vagueness or the forced inferiority of the ‘aam janta’. But a no-body is s/he who as a member of the anonymous ordinary collective (‘janta’) and even as an individual is “the “one” who in fact lives the life of the individual”, [and] “who in the end is no one.” (8) Therefore, having understood that Gandhi is far from any such cultural deployment of the private and public, it may also be asserted that the problem of integration at the level of the individual (9) is also not original. A surprise awaits us in the next section. (II) But at first even at the cost of exposing myself to boring repetition, I shall summarize what we’ve discussed so far because this summary is crucial not to have to loose the thread. Gandhi then ends with his will to integrate the public and the private for public persons. For private persons he would not make this compulsory, since –it seems-- they could not be held to have a message at the public level, thereby, any question of violating them does not arise. Therefore what we have here is the axiom that public/private can be brought together at the level of the person-al third by this maneuver of Gandhi; maneuver because the binary is—otherwise-- locked in its own insurmountable and instrumental opposition. But this overcoming, as it is evident, Gandhi would hold active only for public persons and not for private persons. But this will not work. We enter into discussing this by asking a preliminary question, what kind of consequential understanding it entails for the concepts public and private? We enter this domain of discussion surely (but) by acknowledging first that Gandhi is well within the liberal distinction; the only transcendence that he can achieve is when he wants to forge a unity and discover a third. Secondly, unity of course but allegedly or evidently for public persons only; but who are public persons anyway? From which inventory and by what taxonomy can they be defined? “By a ‘Public person’ we mean either the State, or the sovereign part of it, or a body or individual holding delegated authority under it. By a ‘Private person’ we mean an individual or collection of individuals however large, who, or each one of whom is of course a unit of the State, but in no sense represents it, even for a special purpose”(10). I am suspending for the time being the way Holland uses this distinction to explicate a radical division of rights on the basis of this distinction between the “public or private character of the persons with whom the right is connected” (11). But with our non-public, janta or sadharon jonogon as argued above this integrity can rarely be proposed. Why? Now we can answer: They are well within society and not state; further drinking is a social life practice related to the ideal of good life that I have not to be regulated by a liberal state. Unless Gandhi takes recourse to an algorithm ( we shall name the genre later) where society and state are undivided in one person, he cannot pose the question of such integrity. Private persons are liberated from this constraint from the beginning. The non-private persons ( beggars who copulate on the footpath or hospitalised or in prison or those bearing the burden of involuntary poverty, children, babies, senile or those lacking functional normalcy) would be automatically excluded. Firstly therefore, they ( the non-publics, non-private persons) are within society and public persons belong to the state. The formal equality of persons is disturbed and distributed along differences. To integrate them requires a magic, what is that? This is the question we’ve been deferring so long but not any more. (III) To answer this we’ll have to start at the beginning. Lets take hold of the apparent content of the dispute : drinking. As a life practice it ought to be located within the emancipatory motivation of the nationalist signifier that Gandhi propelled. But this can rarely be discussed if not related to various other syntagms in context, i.e., drinking as a singular instance, if critiqued or considered, will render us insensitive, if not we give it a horizon of totality by linking it to its associational neighbours. Let us start then by asking a simple question : How is Gandhi to be situated in relation to the problem of drinking? In other words, how does he discover and translate it as a problem? It should be obvious to anybody having preliminary acquaintance with Gandhi and Gandhiana, there is a broader narrative always with him to absorb every fragment of experimentation or protest he proposes. Drinking therefore predictably as “evil” (All citations from M.K Gandhi, Prohibition at any cost, unless otherwise stated). is “ national evil”(12) to Gandhi—and that he can allow secret drinking for a public person or private drinking for a private person, is a testimony to the fact that as he confessed once, he didn’t want to make a “fetish of consistency”. Thus being inconsistent allowed differences and encouraged a positive, nearly unpredictable plurality. However, this difference is abolished the moment we hear his call for absolute prohibition on the sale of drinking. Why drinking after all and why subsequently --a call for prohibition? Firstly, “prohibition is to mean a great moral awakening in India” and the campaign for prohibition led by women would be an immense civic education of the masses ( Gandhi uses a peculiar ascriptor here : “adult education”—we’ll soon come to that). But this evil as it is evident, Gandhi knows, is shared both by the ruler and the ruled, the colonizer and the colonized, by the rich and the poor without distinction. So here it is necessary to wrench oneself away not supposedly from an evil infused by a colonizer, but from the evil or the habit itself. But what is so evil or morally degenerative about drinking? Here we come to the most interesting part and that which will anticipate more surprises when it finally takes the interpretive turn. Gandhi clearly and repetitively dubs drinking as a “ robber of reason” (p.5) so much so that he asserts alleging that the alcoholic tends to forget “ the distinction between wife and mother, lawful and unlawful” (5). Gandhi shivers imagining this dark night of incest and this time, he wants to protect reason-- eluding his anti-enlightenment admirers, but at the same time it must be acknowledged, to the latter’s relief, this is communicative reason and not substantive reason of the enlightenment—that Gandhi wants to protect. And when it comes to incest he is into a more serious, severe sexual economy. “ The drunkard forgets the distinction between wife, mother and sister and indulges in crimes of which in his sober moments he will be ashamed” (3); but this evil levels all : “ I have seen respectable Englishmen rolling in the gutter under the effect of alcohol” (6). To invoke this moral reasoning where sexual reasoning and prohibitions are not done away with, what needs to be done? Primarily “adult education” (in above matters stamped with the symbol A, perhaps!!) “Women .will visit those who are addicted to drink and try to win them from the habit. Employers of labour will be expected by law to provide cheap, healthy refreshment, reading and entertainment rooms where the working men can go and find shelter, knowledge, health giving food and drink and innocent fun” (18). Fine, but will this –ultimately-- in terms of effectiveness and finality, work? “ ..it would be a wrong thing for you to say that education has to precede legislation. Education will never be able to cope with the evil” (8). Gandhi is aware of the obstacles in his path to eradicate the above ( or any) evil of unreasonableness exemplified in involuntary incest and for which he justifiably thinks his “adult education” insufficient. He is well aware that either private right would be invoked or public rights would be transposed onto the state to hurt this agenda: this is the first hazard; thirdly, Gandhi does not make private/ public one because he seems well aware of the menace. To Gandhi a woman becomes a “public woman” by selling sex which is an intimately private “virtue” not to be sold (p.11-12); further, evident in the statement -- “Those who speak in the name of individual freedom do not know their India” (p.11) is the anxiety that if the language of liberal freedom as a private right is projected or allowed to interpellate, then, thus spake Gandhi : “ There is as much right of a person to demand drinking facilities from the state as there is to demand facilities for the supply of public women for the satisfaction of his animal passion” (p.11). And therefore neither would Gandhi invoke the mixing of public & private, keeping the example of “public woman” and demand for liquor, nor would he surrender to the liberal language of rights which would act as hindrances to the abolition of the “evil”. Here we’ve had certain answers to questions we’ve been posing throughout. However, the impasse seems to be overbearing; Gandhi requires a transcendental magic, what is that? (IV) To protect the prohibition on incest then what does Gandhi suggest? Prohibition of liquor ofcourse, but an iota more than that and here is the long awaited answer ; and a long quote here –with apologies : “ If I was appointed dictator for one hour for all India, the first thing I would do would be to close without compensation all the liquor shops, destroy all the toddy palms such as I know them in Gujarat, compel factory owners to produce humane conditions for their workmen and open refreshment and recreation rooms where these workmen would get innocent drinks and equally innocent amusements. I would close down the factories if the owners pleaded want of funds. Being a teetotaler I would I would retain my sobriety in spite of the possession of one hour’s dictatorship and therefore and therefore arrange for the examination of my European friends and diseased persons who may be in medical need of brandy and the like at State expense by medical experts and where necessary, they would receive certificates which would entitle them to obtain the prescribed quantity of fiery waters from certified chemists. The rule will apply mutates mutandis to intoxicating drugs. For the loss of revenue from drinks, I would straightway cut down the military expenditure and expect the Commander –in –Chief to accommodate himself to the new conditions in the best way he can. The workmen left idle by the closing of factories, I would remove to model farms to be immediately opened as far as possible in the neighbourhood of the factories unless I was advised during that brief hour that the State could profitably run the factories under the required conditions and could therefore take over from the owners” (9). Apologies again for the long quote but its indispensability should be understood: this is not to inscribe within the Gandhian discourse an elemental hour of contradiction and prove discursive incoherence; our engagement is not with the psycho biography or truth of Gandhian discourse in general so that it can be countered by a contrasting utterance made by Gandhi elsewhere. Truly, in dealing with the irreconcilable differentiation of life spheres in modernity and subsequently public and private, we have been examining the origin and future of a discourse trying to make them compatible. What I shall try to argue here is that this dictatorial apparatus is not a matter of intellectual or infinite, manifest desire belonging to an agency but an immanent necessity which rises in response to transcend public/private and unite them in one. But this is not the originary moment. It is elsewhere. (V) The incestuous excess induced by drinking has to be countered by a power that is excessive : why? In other words, it could not be confronted by the ‘politics of pure means’, again-why? Because such a practice --not only is inextricably, and elementally tied to non-violent peace or the discourse of pure means; it is its habitus. “ Unproductive expenses : luxury, mourning, ceremonies, wars, cults, the erection of splendid buildings, games, theater, the arts, perverse sexuality (that is, detached from genitality) represent activities that atleast originally have their end in themselves.”(13) Without a single strike of doubt we may incorporate drinking and sytagmatically relate it to the perverse sexuality of incest in the list of unproductive expenses. Thereby Gandhi’s proposal to institute “cheap, healthy refreshment, reading and entertainment rooms where the working men can go and find shelter, knowledge, health giving food and drink and innocent fun”, or drinking as allowed to fulfill a “medical necessity” ( --all within a rubric we might name as ‘productive expense and consumption’) is not be had in the temporality of pure means where activities are ends in themselves. And here it will be remembered that in my previous post invoking such a context of ‘peace’, I had tried to relate it to leisure; here interestingly it finds a support in Habermas arguing this for Bataille, “The self sufficient activity performed for its own sake ( Aristotle), as displayed in the luxury of the leisure classes, still reveals something of primordial sovereignty” (223). This excess that gives content to the discourse of pure means: non-violent peace or primordial sovereignty, could not be overcome from within that discourse but only violently from without : forcible prohibition “without compensation”. In other words, the excess of drinking leading to a loss of reason and sexual economy, could be overcome yet by another power that is excessive : the dictatorial negation. Gandhi is true to this structure, therefore, by immanent necessity; there is no other way. Let us put this schematically in the form of an elaboration. If you look at the list of unproductive expenses above you’ll find a curious heterogeneity of items: from ‘war’ to ‘orgies’ and ‘perverse sexuality’. In other words, that what we shall classify today under private and public are rooted in a disastrous unity there. But this is not an artificial, synthetically superimposed unity of differences; it instances the medieval, monarchical sovereignty which is the origin of these unity. There is no state/society distinction by which these objects could be divided. The person or the body of the monarch holds them all without distinction; since any discrimination would divide his person/body and his powers. Hobbes stated this classically when he said that the representer is the sovereign, not the represented. This argument, what to say of the middle ages, would flow correctly and absorb even history during the ancien regime. “The society of the ancien regime represented its unity and its identity to itself as that of a body---a body which found its figuration in the body of the king, or rather which identified itself with the king’s body, while at the same time it attached itself to it as its head” (14). With the onset of the democratic revolution this unity “ burst out when the body of the king was destroyed, when the body politic was decapitated and when, at the same time, the corporeality of the social was dissolved”(303). The historical opposition to universal suffrage, where the represented is the sovereign, was thus well placed because “Number breaks down unity, destroys identity”(303). With the state/society and public/private division now inaugurated there was no looking back. Divisions in the “ungraspable” society now looked clear and could not be demythized by a formal equality before law. With Marx came the first blow and with the fascists the second. Both retained dictatorship in some theoretical form to transcend the disintegrating fractures proposed by the liberal divide and charted according to the registers of the state/society and public/private division. Mercuse in his memorable explanation of the fascists documented this attempt in tenuous theoretical detail. But this unity could not be forged artificially for the second time; divorced from the person of the king it could never be de-differentiated again. The private and the public could never come again in the person-al figure of the king. The language used to deplore dictatorship is charted in these terms and history perhaps proves the anachronism of such experiments. Let us be synoptic and demonically transparent on this point. The public private once upon a time were united and that in the body of the sovereign monarch. Post anti-absolutist movements and the rise of liberal capitalism bifurcated this simple and once divided they were never to meet again. Any attempt in this direction and that too in the times after its sovereign times are over, if reappears it has to meet with the reprobation that assumes the form of a strong rejection, even without a dialogue, of the dictatorial imago. But this narrative has its ruptures: Somewhere in the middle of this nowhere, some one like Gandhi would invoke “an hour” of dictatorship to transcend “evils” that are genealogically aligned with peaceful leisure, by prohibiting them forcibly without compensation. But alas only an hour ! Not wrongly because this springs from Gandhi’s own idea of “not more than what is strictly needed” (15) an idea which is behind the strong notion of voluntary poverty resurrected with a lovely force by Ashish Nandy. Even the great utterance inscribed on the head of De Sade—which Giorgio Agamben is so fond of quoting everywhere, “There is no man who does not want to be a despot when he has an erection”(16) —may be demystified similarly by pointing out that going by this--one wants to become a dictator only when has an erection; in other times s/he is –purportedly a democrat. But bypassing this precarious ( and clearly masculine)mood swings, we may now brace ourselves to sense why pornography in 18th century Europe wanted to de-sacralize the kings body and why later the liberal critiques would condemn pornography as aiming only at sexually stimulating its readers while this curious category called the ‘erotic’ using arty, figural language aimed at combining the sexual with other departments of human existence and maintain an equilibrium as if by a weighing scale, was situated. In this (not so very etymological) sense pornography ( with De Sade and Gandhi of “one hour” being its screaming representatives) is pre-modern and erotica is modern. To me Machiavelli or Gandhi or De Sade are anti-modern only in this sense of political pornography. But that is another story. CONCLUSION What is the major outcome or as they say “ impact” of the study? The first is, as I have said already, the well established view that Gandhi wanted the public and the private to be the echoes of each other is, if I’m correct, stands demolished. But this is to endorse the point of their irreconcilability only and Gandhi was well within this paradigm--always. Infact Gandhi is rather suspicious of the radical translation the two categories (Public /private) might entail: “public woman” or “private rights”. He finds them as obstacles not to be diluted by means of the politics of pure means –his brand of what he calls “adult education.” Very rightly, he would transcend them by means of dictatorship. Dictatorship because “..the Fuhrer is no longer an office in the sense of traditional public law, but rather something [“ a whole body that is neither private nor public”] that springs forth without mediation from his person” (Agamben, Ibid., p.184) If we want to connect it to its past, dictatorship is the modernist transformation of the monarch: Transforming a Hegelian discursive fragment, he is “ a person, but the solitary person who stands over against all the rest” [ constituting] “the real authoritative universality of that person;” which is “but a natural result of the personal hunt for content and determinateness” “...their impotent” “self consciousness is the defenceless enclosed arena of their tumult” whose “activities and self enjoyment are equally monstrous excesses.”(17) But a rider: Gandhi requires this monstrous excess to counter the excess induced by drinking not as an instance of his own emotional pathology but as the reenactment of an indispensable, unconscious structural genealogy. The modern dictator tries to absorb or override, or forcibly transcend the public /private divisions but fails; fails because once the division has had been made and they having emerged with their own irreconcilable validity claims, they survive on their differences. They cannot be mutated as one in the post bifurcation times. They were one in the person of the monarch who didn’t have to unite them synthetically like the modern dictator. He was the original habitus of the division where they peacefully and [practically] slept as one; origin of all values-- his voice was conscience, his speech--law. Today this monstrous excess of the person would be condemned like hell and denounced by the help of divisions that originated in him ( protection of society or privacy). Gandhi understands this and calls for an “hour” of dictatorship. This hour must be a very lonely hour. But we are not concerned with the niceties of the Gandhian discourse or the truth claims made on it’s behalf. With reference to our own project here, we have arrived in this wake, at the history of the person-al as the prehistory of the public and private and in the next post I shall pursue that and wonder what could be a possible theory of the personal. Thank You. REFERENCES 1. Mahatma Gandhi, The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Ed. Raghavan Iyer, Oxford University Press: Delhi,1991, p.109. 2. For his own version of the success of those events, See Selected Works of Motilal Nehru, Vol.3, Edited by Ravinder Kumar & D. N Panigrahi, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Limited: New Delhi, 1984, p45. 3. In Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol.XXIV, The Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India: India, 1967, p 350-351 ( All Italics mine.) And in this sense only—I assume –Gandhi could be called religious : “ religion exists once the secret of the sacred, orgiastic, or demonic mystery has been, if not destroyed, at least integrated, and finally subjected to the sphere of responsibility.” Jacques Derrida, The Gift of Death, Transl. David Wills, ( Chicago: The University of Chicago Press ) 1995, p.2. 4. M.R Jayakar, The Story of My Life, Asia Publishing House: Bombay, Vol.II, 1958, pp.333-34. 5. All quotations from Ibid. pp. 334-335. 6. Selected Works of Motilal Nehru, Vol.3, Edited by Ravinder Kumar & D. N Panigrahi, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Limited: New Delhi, 1984, p.45. 7. For an initial philosophical account of the discourse of integrity see Alan Montefiore, ‘Identity and Integrity’ in Rajev Bhargava, Amiya Bagchi& R. Sudarshan (eds.) Multiculturalism, Liberalism and Democracy, Oxford University Press: New Delhi, 1999, pp 58-79; where he argues integrity as being inscribed within a larger discourse of ‘essential identity’ and how such integration is always deferred and incomplete. The result I conjecture would be this: there will always be some people who will feel cheated or let down even by an integrated person - who going by the indices of an essential identity is not supposed to ‘cheat’ others. Alan thinks, taking full responsibility of an acknowledged change of position would do the job here, but rememorating the Hegelian objection to Kantian U norm, the same strategy could be easily deployed by an immoral person too. Some think this paradox could be avoided when an ‘I’ is integrated into ‘we’ accounts. 8. To mark this existential drift of the non-public, I draw upon Theodore Kisiel, The Genesis Of Heidegger’s Being and Time, University of California Press : Berkeley, 1993, pp.257-260. 9. In a perceptive history of the western public man, Richard Sennett informs how the molecule public/private broke the moment individual character was used to form a social principle. “From this idea of individual personality as a social principle came ultimately the modern impulse to find political measures worthwhile only to the extent that their champions are “ credible,” “believable,” “decent” persons.” Richard Sennett, The Fall of Public Man, Cambridge University Press : Cambridge, 1976, p105. 10. Sir Thomas Erskine Holland, Elements of Jurisprudence, Progressive Publishers, Calcutta, reprint of 1924 edition, p.127. 11. Ibid. p.127. 12. All citations from M.K Gandhi, Prohibition at any cost, compiled by R.K Prabhu, Navajivan Publishing House: Ahmedabad,1960, page numbers specified in brackets. 13. Jurgen Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity: Twelve Lectures, Transl: F. Lawrence, The MIT press : Cambridge, 1993, p.223. 14. Claude Lefort, “ The Image of the Body and Totalitarianism” in The Political forms of Modern Society, 292-306, Ed. John B. Thompson, Disha Publications: Delhi,1989. 15. M.K Gandhi, Voluntary Poverty, Navajivan Publishing House: Ahmedabad,1960, p.7. 16. Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, Transl: D.H. Roazen, Stanford University Press : Standford, California, 1998, pp.134—135. 17. G.W.F Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, Trans. A.V Miller, Motilal Banarasi dass Publishers, Delhi, 1998, pp.292-293. Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Click here: http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From b.mukhopadhyay at gmail.com Wed May 23 20:03:42 2007 From: b.mukhopadhyay at gmail.com (Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 10:33:42 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Shops & Est Acts for Bihar, Andhra and TN Message-ID: Hi all, I am involved in a project on working conditions, and for a number of months have been trying to track down state-specific labour laws. I am wondering whether anyone could direct me to the full texts of the Shops and Establishments Acts for Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is fairly difficult to find this information long-distance, but being in Delhi earlier this year did not prove very useful either. If it helps though, I will be back in the country briefly in a few weeks. Please let me know, and feel free to ask questions to me personally. Baijayanta. From amitabh at sarai.net Thu May 24 00:08:12 2007 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 00:08:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Internet Censorship Message-ID: Internet Increasingly Censored The first comprehensive global survey of Internet filtering shows that online repression is on the rise worldwide. By Clark Boyd A report released today by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) concludes that the scale, the scope, and the sophistication of state-based Internet filtering have all increased dramatically in recent years. The survey highlights the tools and techniques used by countries to keep their citizens from viewing certain kinds of online material. ONI is a collaboration among four leading universities: Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, and Toronto. The group's testing was carried out during 2006 and early 2007. ONI used a combination of tools that can remotely test filtering conditions within given countries. The group also relied heavily on local researchers who evaluated Internet conditions from inside certain countries. Some countries, such as Cuba and North Korea, were deemed too dangerous for either remote or in-country testing. But of the 41 different countries tested by ONI, 25 were found to block or filter online content. "Over the course of five years, we've gone from just a few places doing state-based technical filtering, like China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, to more than two dozen," says John Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. "As Internet censorship and surveillance grow, there's reason to worry about the implications of these trends for human rights, political activism, and economic development around the world." But it's not just the sheer number of countries doing content filtering that has grown; it's also the breadth and depth of material being blocked. The report discusses three primary rationales that nations have for blocking Internet content. The first is political, which leads to, for example, the blocking of opposition-group websites. The second rationale is social: some countries block pornography and sites dealing with gambling or sexuality issues. The third rationale is national security, which can lead some nations to block online material produced by, for example, extremist groups. According to the report, China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia remain the top blockers. Each nation filters not just pornography, but also a wide range of political, human-rights, religious, and cultural sites deemed subversive by those countries' governments. Other countries are more selective in what they let citizens see or not see. Syria and Tunisia, for example, filter a great deal of political content, while Burma and Pakistan target websites that pertain to national-security issues. One interesting case is that of heavily wired South Korea, where ONI found Internet filtering limited to one topic: North Korea. "The South Koreans block several North Korean websites," says Nart Villeneuve, director of technical research at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. "They even tamper with the system so that when you try to access one of those North Korean sites, the URL resolves to a South Korean police page telling you, 'What you're trying to access is illegal, and we know your IP [Internet protocol] address.'" (An IP address could be used to locate the computer where the search is conducted, with the ultimate goal of identifying the individual involved.) South Korea's approach also speaks to the growing sophistication of the filtering employed by countries. Gone are the days when filtering one blog or one website necessarily meant shutting down, say, all of Blogspot, or an entire domain. "In the early days, countries used relatively crude blocking mechanisms at the national backbone level, or imposed restrictions upon ISPs that were applied in uneven ways," says Ronald Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab. "Now we see first and foremost that many countries are using commercial filtering technologies, most of which are made by U.S. companies. That's providing them with a finer-grain level of service." Many countries are also getting better at homegrown filtering, according to the report. Five years ago, most countries would only block English-language material deemed offensive. But as more content has been created in local languages, the report concludes, repressive regimes have had to tweak their filtering technology to keep up. Deibert also notes that ONI found evidence that filtering has moved beyond websites and into applications. Some nations now block access to programs such as Google Maps and the voice-over-Internet application Skype. Thailand recently blocked access to the video-upload site YouTube. But most pernicious, Deibert says, is something he calls "event-based" filtering, of which Belarus provides an interesting example. Before the elections in March of 2006, Deibert notes, Belarus wasn't blocking Internet content by technical means. Instead, the country's strict laws regarding online content kept many Belarusians critical of the government in check. Then, at the time of key moments in the election, ONI realized that opposition websites were suddenly inaccessible inside the country. This led Deibert to believe that for just this brief period of time, laws designed to promote self-censorship weren't enough. The government had indeed started blocking content. "This is a harbinger of what's to come worldwide," Deibert says. "You'll have filtering just during critical times, such as elections. Countries realize they risk becoming pariahs, and so they'll find more surreptitious ways of filtering." Cambodia recently took this kind of censorship beyond the confines of the computer, when it ordered that cell-phone text-messaging services be cut off during elections. ONI is already thinking of ways to incorporate this kind of filtering into future studies. "We're going to have to keep an eye not just on the network, but on the endpoint," says Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, "because the device you use and how it works, whether it's a computer or, say, a Blackberry, will have a huge impact on what you can do or not do on the Net, and how easily you can be monitored." From venkatt2k at gmail.com Thu May 24 00:57:53 2007 From: venkatt2k at gmail.com (venkat t) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 00:57:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Living_and_Working_Conditions_of_M?= =?windows-1252?q?igrant_Workers_on_Chennai=92s_=91IT_corridor=92?= Message-ID: <388da81f0705231227g3d451376w2e9813985e3d8b9f@mail.gmail.com> Living and Working Conditions of Migrant Workers on Chennai's 'IT corridor' Third posting The work on the IT corridor is gearing up. Large patches of land, bulldozed years ago to make way for the corridor are being filled with gravel and tar as more and more high rises are emerging. Every other day the landscape is changing beyond recognition. (or is it that I made very few trips this month). The summer heat might have put me away from the corridor, but the work seems to go on unabated. This month has been pretty hot in Chennai. The extensive construction activity has made the IT corridor only worse. This had hampered our work. We could only make very minimal visits to the sites and therefore I do not have much to say. But the spare time was used to plan the next stage of the research. We have decided to look at 6-8 sites where the migrant workers are living as well as a few of the working sites. The camp sites can be broadly classified into three categories, a) on-site camps b) camps run by companies away from the work site c) tenements not managed or built by companies/contractors. We would like to study different worksites including the IT express way and look into the working conditions, safety standards etc. Apart from this we would like to interview various officials as well as contractors and sub contractors. On the other side we would also be reading into the labour legislations to get a sense of the rules and the ground realities. We intend to pack all this up for June so as to give us time for more detailed ethnography. Before I conclude let me narrate a little about one of visits. On the 16th of may, we visited a construction site, where a hospital is coming up. The workers were on a spontaneous strike and the work had come to a halt. After some talking the security did leave us in and when we spoke to the workers. There had been an accident involving a worker a couple of days ago and he had been rushed to a prominent private hospital. "The medical expenses have come to Rs 3 lakhs and the company has refused to foot the bill" said a worker. He also said that there had been two other accidents in the past. While one of them had a snake bite, another died of heart attack. The workers were demanding that the company foot the bill and also provide better safety standards. While the contractor had provided tenements and also had made arrangements for non formal education for the children, on the count of accidents and safety it was a dismal record. While it is wrong to generalize this event, what we gather from our interviews, as I had mentioned in my earlier posting is that accidents get under reported and only fatal accidents come to light. Though it might be hard to gauge the accident rates, it is very important that a detailed study of the safety standards is made. As we travel through the corridor we can observe the numerous petty shops, small temples, and other petty business that are thriving. Share autos and share vans vie with each other and the MTC to corner the better part of the passenger traffic. On the background, mega residential complexes and glass cased IT companies direct our vision to the future while long luxury busses and cars ply all day carrying thousands of IT employees. Would these two worlds blend or would one have to give way to another? I cannot but ponder From mail at shivamvij.com Thu May 24 01:43:52 2007 From: mail at shivamvij.com (Shivam Vij) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 01:43:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Job vacancy: Internet police in China Message-ID: <9c06aab30705231313w17f890d3p8a2de01b5c8f8d19@mail.gmail.com> [From http://www.danwei.org/internet/a_recruitment_ad_for_internet.php ] Dujiangyan Personnel Bureau Dujiangyan Public Security Bureau Notice about recruitment of professional "Skynet" monitoring managers Work needs require the recruitment of 96 professional "Skynet" monitor manager; pertinent information is included below: 1. Position name Professional 'Skynet' monitoring manager, 96 individuals (10 women) 2. Recruitment scope and target Any individuals with a vocational diploma or higher (recognized by the State Education Commission), who is a long-term resident of Dujiangyan and who fits the position requirements and the registration conditions may apply. 3. Basic conditions for the candidate (a) Possess PRC citizenship and a citizen's political rights; (b) Support CPC leaders; love socialism; (c) Respect the law, have an upright character, dedicated to work, and possessed of a spirit of serving the people; (d) Men must be at least 1.68 meters tall; women at least 1.55 meters. In good health with all five senses; no communicable diseases; not hard of hearing; no internal hemorrhoids; age between 20 and 30; unassisted vision at least 4.8; (e) Must know Mandarin, be able to use a calculator; (f) Individuals who fit any of the following may not apply: i. Been subject to criminal punishment, public security penalties, reform through labor, or juvenile discipline; ii. Been subject to administrative discipline or who have had their status revoked; iii. Currently the subject of an unresolved criminal investigation; iv. Immoral, or have engaged in improper acts such as hooliganism or peeping; v. Have a close relative, or a distant relative who has been a major life influence, who has been sentenced to death or who has engaged in overseas activities to topple the government; vi. Have a close relative, or a distant relative who has been a major life influence, who is the subject of an unresolved criminal investigation. 4. Registration and review of qualifications (a) Registration time and place Registration time: 2007/04/16-20; place: PSB reception room (b) Registration materials Applicants must bring their residential ID card, their household registration, their diploma, unemployment card, discharge certificate (original), two photos (bare-headed 1 cm) to the designated place at the designated time and must fill in the Contractual Professional "Skynet" Monitoring Manager Qualification Inspection Form (two copies) for review. 5: Tests and administrative review (a) Recruits should come to the registration location on 24 April 2007 to confirm their review status and obtain a test certificate. (b) Computer exam will be held on 25 April 2007. (c) Culture exam will be held on 28 April 2007. (d) Physical checkup will be held on 8 May 2007. (e) Interview will be held in one session on 11 May 2007. (f) Group inspection will be held on 16 May 2007. (g) Interviews, administrative review, and test results will be announced on 21 May 2007. 6. Contract signing (a) For candidates who pass review by the administrators, the test, and the interview, a contract will be signed between the employer and the recruit. (b) The probationary contract will last three months. At the end of the three month probation, satisfactory recruits will sign a formal employment contract. If within the probationary period there are violations, the employer may refuse the offer contingent on the specific situation. (c) The contract comes in three copies and is prepared by the municipal personnel bureau. The contract lasts for one year; at the end of the contract period the employer will determine on the basis of work conditions whether to extend the contract; should the employer decide not to extend the contract, or should the employee wish to resign, then things will be handled according to the contract stipulations. Disputes will be resolved according to state law and relevant departmental regulations. 7. Salary and benefits Monthly salary; retirement, medical, and unemployment insurance (according to relevant national regulations, paid by the employer). Salary: wages contingent on performance assessment; holiday and overtime wages; uniform fees. Total: 1300 per person per month. For the latest information, please inquire at the Dujiangyan Municipal Personnel Bureau and Public Security Bureau: 87110896, 87112383, 87132216 2007.04.13 (seals of Dujiangyan Personnel Bureau, Dujiangyan Public Security Bureau) From zzjamaal at yahoo.co.in Tue May 22 17:47:08 2007 From: zzjamaal at yahoo.co.in (khalid jamal) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 13:17:08 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] hunt for hitler in hindi In-Reply-To: <604314.79854.qm@web38913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <890231.60819.qm@web8914.mail.in.yahoo.com> hey jyoti, I am travelling like a gypsy..only to reach delhi on 23rd may.. As ravi suggested i can pick it up from anywhere.. Confirm. best k anjali jyoti wrote: Am desperately trying to get hold of a hindi translation of 'Mein Kampf' Would anyone have any idea if such a thing exists and how i could get hold of it.. ____________________________________________________________________________________Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/norton/index.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: ONE LIFE. ONE SHOT. Happiness, Health & Peace, Syed Khalid Jamal --------------------------------- Here’s a new way to find what you're looking for - Yahoo! Answers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070522/c5471ea7/attachment.html From surojit369 at yahoo.co.in Tue May 22 19:43:57 2007 From: surojit369 at yahoo.co.in (SUROJIT SEN) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 15:13:57 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] IFS'07 - 3rd posting - May - displacement of prostitutes Message-ID: <136880.5736.qm@web8607.mail.in.yahoo.com> Hi All, This is my third posting. Some Notes on Bodmayes Jobdo Prankrishna Datta wrote Bodmayes Jobdo when he was only seventeen. He lived in close vicinity to Sonagachi, the oldest brothel in Bengal, if not in India. He saw the reactions that the Act 14 of 1868 sparked off and wrote this text on 31st March, 1869. Bodmayesh jobdo as usual, begins with hailing Queen Victoria who is the queen of England and mother of India as well. She loves her white and black children equally and punishes those who do injustice to her good-natured children. Those who speak against this move lack loyalty to the crown and prove guilty in the eye of God. Datta thus makes the point that the objective of Contagious Diseases Act 14, popularly known as Act 14, is to tackle those wickeds who distract the minds of good natured people and pollute society by visiting brothels. That is why Datta dubbed this Act as an act that has ‘punished the wickeds’. His text covers the time period of full twenty four hours from the evening of the day preceding the promulgation of the Act to the evening of the following day, he writes: “ Tomorrow on the 1st of April, 1869, the 1868 Act 14 ( which makes it mandatory for the prostitutes to get their names registered and undergo medical treatment if they have contracted syphilis ) will be in force. It has created a great stir in the entire city. Sitting inside their rooms or out in the verenda or at the doorstep, prostitutes are lamenting that they will now have to turn up for registration and ( medical ) examination in the same area where from they pick up at least five customers everyday. Sometimes their outbursts of laughter are startling birds and animals. Among the babus , some are reading, some are interpreting the Act 14, while breaking into laughter some are ridiculing and some condemning the Act. Some simulate to be smiling but some are looking really frightened : Alas, how would we go to the police station to record the names of our fathers and grandfathers! But if we don’t, we’ll have to live as a dead man if we can’t indulge in whoring!” The Act has also frightened the prostitutes. Those who are already affected by syphilis know that they will have to record their names in the official register and then will land up in hospitals for treatment. This means they will be losing their earnings during their stay in hospital. Moreover, once they are known to be affected, they would lose the trust of the customers even on recovery. None of the customers would come to them. That would totally block their way of earning. Some of them are also feeling ashamed because they know that ( under this Act ) in one room or another in this area, one doctor will examine their sexual organs. May be they are harlots but they too have a sense of respect. The Act made it a rule that both prostitutes and babus would have to get their names registered. And babus would have to disclose the names of their fathers and grandfathers to prove their identities. It thus put both sections in a fix. Prankrishna datta depicts the reactions of both the prostitutes and the babus. Some of the babus still hold on the belief that the Act will not be in force, and are desperately looking for escape routes. Datta narrates the ongoing dialogue between two regular brothel- goers: “ The first friend, a fop, said, ‘ this new Act is going to do us in!’ The second one: Why friend of mine , the Act is to seize the whores. Why should we worry?’ First: ‘ No , not only the whores but to take hold of the wickeds too. This Act is not Act 14; it is an act to punished the wickeds, understand!” It clearly bears out that author stands by the Act. The Act, in fact, affected the poorest of the prostitutes – those who had no regular, fixed babus ( customers). And the wickeds were those who didn’t have means to keep a harlot on a regular basis. They represented the poorer section of the brothel – goers. The dialogue between the two friends reveals this situation in clear terms. One of them gives the other a dig : ‘ You can drink the whole day away; but in the evening can you restrain yourself from stepping in Siddheswaritola or Balakhana at least once? You, guy. Can somehow gather the money for your drink by selling one of your family utensils; but how would you pay the fine that they will charge the moment you get into that area? Hence you are now fated to spend the whole evening sitting like a metal- pot on the floor and warding off mosquitoes. They have taken you by the horn, understand!’ Balakhana refers to the hospital set up for medical treatment of prostitutes. It was located near Nakhoda Masjid at Kalutola, the southern end of the red- light area which extend from Siddheswaritala at Bagbazar on the north. The speakers represent the subaltern section of brothel – goers. While the rich babus can get away by paying off the fine, these men find themselves in a fix because they don’t have the money to pay the fine that the Act 14 is going to impose on them. The author then describes the Calcutta scenario in the context of said Act. He narrates the reactions of not only the prostitutes and their clients but also some other sections like the clerical class and refers to the bumper sale of mewspapers and journals that dealt with the Act and its aftermath in detail. Let us see how he describe the day ( April 1, 1869 ) on which the Act actually came into face : “ The Act will be put into force from today. All the harlots and lechers ( wickeds ) are scared. . By and by, all the quarters became vacant as those women have started fleeing. On the day of chrak festival ( Charak festival is held usually on 13/14 April every year. Bhanphora, literally, sticking, pointed iron sticks the skin is a rite performed by the devotees on this day. Procession of clowns is also a special feature of this festival. ), the women who teem in balconies to have a look at the clowns from Kansaripara, all are gone, the balconies lying vacant .. Whereas chandannagar is brimming. Houses which are let in for Rs 10 ( a month ) are now charging Rs 50. While brothel oweners in Calcutta are regretting for their loss, exclaiming; Alas, for luck; lechers are having a field day in Chandannagar.” The fact is that following the Act 14, prostitutes in the Sonagachi area in Calcutta fled to Chandannagar, 33km away from the city. Some took to water way some went by train down the Howrah – Hooghly (railway ) line. Their choice of Chandannagar as a refuge is significant. Chandannagar, which now belongs to hooghly district, was then under French rule and therefore outside the purview of British Law. Prostitutes moving en masse, from one coloney to another for the sake of their living, stands out as uncanny event in our colonial history. But unfortunately, this incident has not attracted the attention of researchers that it deserved. Prankrishna datta’s text is significant because it documents the entire sequence of events including this one in the wake of the Act 14 of 1868. --------------------------------- Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT? Here's a solution! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070522/7857dd7c/attachment.html From dwaipayanbanerjee at yahoo.co.in Wed May 23 17:19:43 2007 From: dwaipayanbanerjee at yahoo.co.in (Dwaipayan Banerjee) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 12:49:43 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] IFS 2nd Post - Towards a genealogy of 'Code' Message-ID: <514156.50665.qm@web94507.mail.in2.yahoo.com> Hi everyone, Apologies for the delayed posting, I wanted to make sure I had something concrete to say before putting something up. To briefly recap, I have said that I am interested in understanding 'coding' as a practice, and in understanding 'cryptography' as one specific instance of such a practice. Now it is quite clear that I am interested in a specific kind of phenonmenon - artificial languages that in some way entail a break from context and posit some notion of universal truth that it is able to access due partly to this break. This phenomenon has had a long genealogy since medieval semi-magical European thought, to enlightenment thinking and to a new manifestation under modernity in quasi-formal mathematical and logical languages and computing languages. I am beginning then to understand coding and cryptography then as general phenomenon that have had a long genealogy, and must be excavated archaelogically as such. What are the uses of such a project? The relationship - in all epistemic configurations - between thought/materiality and language tells us many things. By understanding how people represent themselves in language, we are able to access a notion of order that underlies the distribution of rules and things in that culture. When these languages are active in their ordering function - in the sense that they are languages of enquiry (mathematics) or languages of design (code) - one is allowed direct insight into the fundamental assumptions that underlie the culture's understanding of things, representations and the relations between them. To put it less abstractly, a couple of examples will suffice. In the medieval period, the pre-dominance of magic and incantations was by no means a throwback to previous 'darker' ages. It was instead a relationship between thought and language that pre-dated signification, that assumed a unity between signs and their referents which allowed names to access things in themselves. As Foucault would have it, this relationship of similitude would erode further and further into modernity - with vestiges only in literature and poetry (like that of Mallarme's) that tried to obstinately retain the strong nominalist function of language. In the Renaissance and the classical epistemes in Europe, signification would emerge in different ways, and the relationship between language and the ordering of thought would define itself through this time. With modernity however, the disjunction of signs and referents is pushed so far that the ability of language to order and enquire is pushed into an even smaller niche - quasi-formal mathematical languages. One is suggesting that the manifestation of 'coding languages' is an interesting development in this long genealogical trajectory. This project will attempt to find its pasts and its place. The first part (this posting) will attempt to do the former - draw out a genealogical trajectory rooting it in the search for universal languages in 16th to 18th century Europe. The second part will continue this genealogy (foregrounding the emergence of symbolic thought in Leibniz and Vieta) and then attempt some comments on the later - the place of coding in our modern epistemic configuration. Since the first part is heavy in images, I have placed it in a blog which allows that kind of formatting. http://whateverbeing.blogspot.com/ The entry to be read is entitled: 'Symbolic Thought and Artificial Languages' Thanks for your patience. Sincerely, Dwaipayan --------------------------------- Here’s a new way to find what you're looking for - Yahoo! Answers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070523/bd7e2d26/attachment.html From fsrnkashmir at gmail.com Thu May 24 17:12:21 2007 From: fsrnkashmir at gmail.com (Shahnawaz Khan) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 13:42:21 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?3rd_Posting=3A_A_cinema_lover=92s_?= =?windows-1252?q?tale?= Message-ID: <2ad82fd30705240442w6aaee2b7w65148e53be2872d9@mail.gmail.com> 3rd Posting: A cinema lover's tale Mohmad Hussain, 28, a resident of Srinagar, loves cinema. In his childhood he has been a movie buff. He used to save pocket money to go to movies, mostly without the knowledge of his parents. And when the cinema halls were closed because of a militant diktat in 1990, Hussain cried. Tears filled his eyes and he couldn't stop himself. He was a child then, and got the news of cinema closure, while he was at school. Recalling events of the day Hussian says, "We saw a mob being chased by the police outside our school. The mob was raising slogans and had gone towards the Firdous cinema in Hawal, where from it was now being chased by the police." "As we were wondering what the problem was, some of the teachers at the school were talking of cinema closure. They said the mob had gone to close the Firdous cinema, and that all cinemas in Kashmir will be closed," he relates. "And I wept," Hussain says. He kept on crying for the rest of the day. The Firdous cinema was closest to his house, and his favorite. He loved Firdous so much that some years later, when he was picked up by security forces and brought to this hall, he was happy. In 1993 while Hussain was waiting for his grandfather, outside an acquaintance's house, a patrolling CRPF party, picked him up. Hussain was a bit frightened at first, but in the vehicle the troopers were talking to each other about taking him to Firdous cinema, and Hussian was relieved. The mere mention of the Firdous made Hussain feel at home, although it had been converted into a notorious interrogation centre by then, like some other cinema halls occupied by the paramilitary troopers in Kashmir. The cinema halls in Kashmir have had real torture scenes as a routine in the nineties with paramilitary troopers picking up youth for questioning and subjecting them to intense torture. Hussain was lucky however. "When I was taken inside the hall, I was really happy. I couldn't believe I was here, inside again. I looked intensely at all the walls, with nostalgia. I was looking at the changes that had occurred, and things that reminded me of my days here," Hussain recalls. Meanwhile Hussian's family had approached for help, and he was released without any harm. Passing by the cinema halls in his childhood was very exciting. He would fancy about the world inside, think about the movies running, and probably plan of going inside. However after the nineties, things changes. Passing by these halls, now "infuse terror". Like Kashmir the halls are in a horrible state, occupied mostly by the troopers. Hussain however was always hopeful that the cinemas would reopen in Kashmir. He has been longing for his favorite hall Firdous to reopen. "I always hoped and longed for it's reopening" he says. In 1997 the Broadway, a cinema hall located in the high security zone of Sonwar – in the vicinity of 15 Corps headquarters- was reopened with a lot of euphoria. Hussain was happy with the reopening, and hoped that it will lead to the reopening of Firdous too. Despite his excitement Hussian did no go to watch a movie at the Broadway. He thought it would be silly, with so much of risk. With militants opposing the opening of cinema halls, these were soft targets. He however went to have a look. So he boarded a bus to go to Broadway, have a look at it from outside, watch the hoardings and return. He waited for his favorite hall to reopen. So far it hasn't. The hall is still occupied by the paramilitary troopers, the BSF replacing the CRPF, and later the CRPF taking over back from the BSF. One day while he was returning from his work he saw the cinema chairs lying outside the Firodus. On enquring he was told that the hall was undergoing renovation. He was excited, expecting the hall to reopen soon, but his wait hasn't ended. Recalling his childhood days with nostalgia, Hussain says one sunny day he entered the hall in the afternoon, but when he came out it was snowing and the streets were already full of snow. -- Shahnawaz Khan +91-9419006204 (cell) +91-194-2412130 (R) Visit www.kashmirnewz.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070524/c66c5ce1/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Thu May 24 22:51:49 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 22:51:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Two Articles on What Really Happened At Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad Message-ID: <48097acc0705241021u4530ce93o9f8e8b6af4ce2dc8@mail.gmail.com> 1. What Really Happened At Mecca Masjid A Fact Finding Report 23 May, 2006 Countercurrents.org Report of the fact finding committee on the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid and subsequent police firing A fact finding committee was constituted by the organizations mentioned at the end of this report to collect facts about the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid on 18-05-2007 at Hyderabad and the subsequent police firing. The committee visited the Mecca Masjid on 20-05-2007, enquired with the eye witnesses to the occurrence in Masjid and later with the injured at Owaisi Hospital and arrived at the following conclusions. The committee strongly condemns the heinous act of bomb blasting at Mecca Masjid killing 5 and injuring about 35 people. The committee equally condemns the police firing on innocent people killing 9 and injuring several others with out any provocation. The committee is of the opinion that the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid while the Friday prayers were going on was aimed at only to terrorize Muslim people and to shatter their confidence. The committee also feels that the police firing was also aimed at terrorizing Muslim people and to crush even a small attempt of agitation from the Muslims. The police firing was done at a place which is about 200 meters from the Masjid which show that the police were aiming at people who were proceeding towards Masjid or going away from the Masjid. According to the version of the injured in the police firing, the firing was aimed at people which have no concern to the incident. One was fired at while he was proceeding towards his house by that side and another 17 year old boy was fired at when he was going in to the Asra hospital to donate his blood for one of his relative. Yet another was fired at when he was trying to lift a fallen man of the bullet injuries. These are classic examples of how the police fired indiscriminately. According to police version which appeared in the press that they fired at the mob which was about to attack a petrol pump and a wine shop. In fact there were no signs of any attack. The petrol pump was closed on 3 sides and opened to road on one side which is well guarded. If the shutters of the wine shop were down it will be easily protected. It is ridiculous for the police to claim that they were to kill 9 people and injure about 25 people in order to save a petrol pump and a wine shop. It appears that the police value property more that human lives. More condemnable than the above incident is the police opening fire into the Masjid putting the rifle on the iron rails of the Masjid from the road side. An eye witness to this ghastly behavior of police is none else than Mr. Mohd Ghouse a former cooperator from that area. When the people trying to rush out after the blast the police aimed at firing at such terror stricken people. The manner in which the police opened fire, one aiming inside the Masjid and the other firing indiscriminately from a place away from the Masjid show that the police also aiming at terrorizing Muslims. The police firing started after about an hour of the blast. People must have been by that time agitated and anxious to know about the condition of their relatives who have gone to offer namaz. The police did not warn them. Even if the mob has become uncontrolled, the police should have used rubber bullets. All the injuries are from bullets only. There are no traces of any injury of a rubber bullet, which shows that the police simply fired at the mob. Till to date there is no evidence of who gave the permission to open fire. The government till date is not in a position to give the exact number of deaths due to bomb blast and police firing. According to information gathered by the committee the deaths due to police firing are more than the deaths due to bomb blast. This fact alone speaks volumes. According to version given by the police the bomb blast is of the handiwork of two Islamic organizations which operate from outside India. In fact the police has released a Muslim name who is said to be the master mind of the blast. According to facts reveled by a medical officer of Asra Hospital who treated the injured, some nails, door hinges, and briefcase handle were removed from the bodies of the injured. This establishes that the bomb used in the blast was a crude one made with indigenous technology. The injuries received during the blast and the foreign objects recovered from the bodies of the injured do not establish any connection with either RDX or TNT. The naming of the two Islamic organizations as responsible for the blast with out any acceptable clue reveal the mind of the investigating agency either to mislead the public or to divert their attention. By identifying the probable accused and the organizations with out any preliminary evidence show the attempts of the police to close all other areas of suspicion. The investigating agency can only come up with the names of the organizations which are responsible for the blast only after eliminating all other organizations which can be suspected in such nature of crimes. The committee feels that both the bomb blast and the subsequent police firing are aimed at terrorizing Muslims and trampling minimum agitation from that side. The state government should take the responsibility for the whole incident. Even after the warnings by the central government about the possible terrorist attacks in states including Andhra Pradesh, the police did not take any necessary precautions to guard sensitive places like places of worship. It seams there will be regular check up at Mecca Masjid especially on Fridays by the concerned police. Surprisingly there was no regular check up on that Friday. Sufficient force was also not deployed when about 10,000 people gathered at the time of namaz. It is unfortunate to know that the government is appreciating the police for controlling the situation instead of taking action against the police who are responsible either for the lapse regarding arrangements at the Masjid or for indiscriminate killing people with out any provocation. This is the first time in the history of Hyderabad city or the for the matter of India where a bomb was blast when thousands of people were offering prayers in a mosque. It is a very serious matter and of concern for all to know the persons responsible for it. No investigating agency can simply wash off its hands by naming terrorist organization. When such incidents are likely to happen again, it is the duty of the investigating agency to clear of all possible suspicions and arrive at a definite conclusion. Even after lapse of 4 days no such traces are evident in the investigation. It is surprising to know that one more cell phone was recovered on 20-05-2007 from the pound. In such incidents there shall be no left up from any side. The committee makes the following Demands. 1. The committee holds the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh morally responsible for the bomb blast and administratively responsible for the police firing. Hence the committee demands the resignation of the chief minister. 2. In addition to the indiscriminate firing by the police there were innumerable lapses from the police side to protect the lives of innocent people. No responsible police officer is forth coming owning the responsibility for the police firing. Hence the committee demands the immediate suspension of the Director General of Police and other high officers who have immediately trooped at the place of incident and responsible for the firing. Prosecution shall be launched against those police men who opened fire at innocent people either killing them or causing injuries. 3. The investigation shall be immediately handed over to CBI. The Organizations who participated in the fact finding: Bojja Tharakam (State President Republican Party Of India) Lateef Mohd Khan G.secreatery.Civil Liberties Monitoring committee Varvara Rao VERASAM D. Suresh Kumar Secretary. APCLC Prabahakar PKM Abhinova. KNPS Radha APCMS Mujahid Hashmi AMA Leo Augastine E.Gri yaduvo Praja party Received from Lateef Mohd Khan, G.Secretary CLMCI Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, India Amberpet, Hyderabad, A.P - 500013 India, Tel: +91-9391051586 Fax: 91-40-27403392, Email: clmci at hotmail.com 2. Hyderabad Blasts: Malegaon Syndrome Travels South By Mubasshir Ahmed 23 May, 2007 Countercurrents.org It was a blast from the recent past. The past was replicated with pure precision and exemplary execution. Past-precision is a lesson for those who are in the security business. It demands the attentive attention of capricious crooks (read not so-intelligent intelligence-wallas) to study the intricacies of the operation. Venerable vigilantes are taught not to allow history to repeat itself. Sadly, history was (deliberately?) allowed to repeat itself in Hyderabad. Malegaon syndrome travelled to South for the very first time. RAW (Research Analysis Wing) proved to be really raw. Our 'expert' interceptors (now singing Aladdin's magic phrase ' Khul Ja SIM SIM'), did not behave like seasoned seismologists in predicting the unpredictable, so the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes (elimination by encounters) was not employed this time! ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) was too busy proving in Supreme Court that it does not stand for Acquired Teasing Syndrome for the Muslim community! So we were left with only R.K. Laxman's common man to protect us! Security agencies that have just come out of their hibernation mode are sniffing out the same old and 'standard pattern' once again. Our always hyper National Security Advisor (who recently panicked that terrorists are investing heavily in the stock markets without any substantiation) must introduce a new and broad pattern of investigation instead of selective intimidation. The theorists of the old and standard pattern suggest that whatever happens in India (Prime Minister's sneeze included!) is the ultimate outcome of the designs made on the other side of the border. And designs are implemented by the educated Muslim youths of the country. Isn't it a unique case of remote-control governance? What more, deadly designs direct these youths to kill their co-religionists in mosques! Believers are being killed by the believers. So is it safe to assume that the devotees at Akshardam temple were gunned down by their co-religionists? Or should we conclude that the 7/11 train blasts were the handiwork of Hindus? What would be the reaction of the Hindu mass, if we extend believers versus believers theory in the Varanasi temple blast? Investigators who are relying heavily on SIM card registration must know that today's hi-tech terrorists are smart enough not to leave any thick trail of evidence. And fabricating documents is not a big deal these days as has been shown by many investigative reports by various newspapers. So why would terrorists register SIM cards in their real names? Therefore, SIM card registration in a Muslim name may be an attempt to disguise the investigators. Time is ripe for India to come out of its conditioned mentality. Investigators must break their mental blocks. Indian law enforcement agencies suffer from the fatal disease of prejudice. India is once again going through the 'siege within' phase. Today's India is reminiscent of the 1980s when it was being torn apart by sectarian violence. ULFA and Maoists are threatening the entire North-East. Naxalite movement and Peoples' War Group (PWG) have become a household name in South India. The North-West shudders at the mention of police encounters. In the North, Kashmir narrates an all together different story. So, internal vigilance is more important than the external outlook. India's lop-sided policy is obsessed with the external element only. As M.J. Akbar wrote, "Vigilance needs three eyes, only one of which looks across the border. Two must look within." The writer is a freelance journalist. He may be reached at mubasshir.ahmed at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070524/a2b3d90a/attachment.html From bangali_mnb at yahoo.com Fri May 25 21:02:51 2007 From: bangali_mnb at yahoo.com (bangali_ mnb) Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 16:32:51 +0100 (BST) Subject: [Reader-list] 3rd posting Message-ID: <247108.95945.qm@web35704.mail.mud.yahoo.com> As I had mentioned in my abstract, the main Types of the Kolkata Rickshaw-pictures are can be divided in some very prominent genres. Though the Motifs can vary. These Types are-- (1) Film stars (2) Religious (3) Birohini or the detached wife (4) Eagle or Rock bird with the world in its paw (5) Landscapes( both urban and rural ) (6) Anything related with motion (7) Anything which is both new and striking (8) Pictures of near and dear ones (9) Tajmahal (10) National Flag or something which can evoke Nationalism (11) Miscellaneous * * * * * * * * * * Most of the Rickshaws are full of cine-posters and postcard pictures of different cine-stars. Which star has the most credibility among these people can be an interesting field of survey- I thought, and the result is excellent. I saw that these people love bare chested machismo and instant justice. If they could see Van-Damn or Steven Seagull they would worship them. I can bet on it. Thus it is seen that good old Dharampa or Bengal's very own Mithunda is favourite till date. These people, living on the verge of the society, try to fulfil their wishes through these paintings. After the hard day's work what these poor fellows want is pure entertainment. That's why not only Shahrukh Khan-starring films but also the films like "Jaani Dushman" or "Loha" is among the favourites in these people. Big B, King Khan, Sanjubaba OR sALLUBHAI are the part of these poor peoples family members, they love them, imitate them and dream to be like them. Aamir khan or Kamal Hasan cant be seen- I thought, but there are rickshaws where Aamir Khan in "Bazii" and Kamal Hasan in "Hindusthani" are can be traced. KIng Khan is surely very hit among these fellows, be it bespectacled "Bazigar" or violin-teacher in "Mohabbatein" or the new age "Don", Sharukh Khan can be seen in his every avatar. Same with Mr. Amitabh Bacchan. from "Kalia" and "Kalicharan" to "Kajra re"- he is everywhere. The metro-sexual look of Salman Khan with middle-parted hair in "Tere Naam" is a runway hit among the kolkata rikshaw-pullers, literally. How can the Bollywood bombshells can be far away from the gang of guys? So there are Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukherji and Priyanka Chopras are allover on the rickshaws with skimpy clothes and with dimples on their cheeks. The presence of Tollywood is also very much visible on the rickshaw-pics. Prosenjit and Rituparna Sengupta of "Main, Meri Patni aur Woh"fame are most popular, whereas pictures of newcomers like Jeet, Koel Mullick and Swastika are can be traced on the back of the rickshaws. As these people are a large chunk of the decider of Box-office fate of a film, the Producers and directors should look after this type of survey. As a result of the dubbing, Hollywood is also make it presence felt. That's why the pictures of Jack and Rose of "Titanic" or the number 007 with the picture of Pierce Brosnan in "Tomorrow Never Dies" as the super-sleuth are as much popular as Bollywood or Tollywood cine-stars. Though naturally they does not appreciate Johnny Depp or Tom Hanks yet. Still these ricshaws of Kolkata are certainly going global, isn't it? Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070525/d2811801/attachment.html From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Sat May 26 21:29:23 2007 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 21:29:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Perineum Launch Message-ID: You are invited to the launch of PERINEUM-NETHER PARTS OF THE EMPIRE, a collection of short stories by Ambarish Satwik at Amaltas, India Habitat Centre on 30 May at 6.30 pm. The author will read excerpts from the book and Mahmood Farooqui will give readings in Urdu based on the book. For invites please write to dan.husain at gmail.com Perineum: The perineum refers to both an external surface area and a shallow compartment of the body. It is a diamond shaped area extending from the pubic bone anteriorly, the insides of the thighs laterally, and the gluteal folds and the upper end of the intergluteal cleft (buttcrack) posteriorly. From ysikand at gmail.com Mon May 28 11:17:47 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 11:17:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Muslim Deprivation: Some Thoughts in the Context of the Sachar Committee Report Message-ID: <48097acc0705272247p5f9b3befh966511f83b62c90d@mail.gmail.com> Muslim Deprivation: Some Thoughts in the Context of the Sachar Committee Report By Yoginder Sikand [Paper presented at a conference on the Sachar Committee Report, 19 May, 2007, Trivandrum, organised by the Forum for Social Action] This presentation is not a rigorously-argued academic paper. Instead, it seeks to offer stray thoughts on the very complex issue of the sociology of Indian Muslim deprivation in the light of the Sachar Committee Report. Rather than focusing on the deep-rooted historical causes as well as dimensions of Muslim deprivation, about which much has already been written, I would rather reflect on certain other aspects related to this question, in addition to making a critique of some aspects of the Sachar Committee Report and also offering some suggestions for Muslim organizations to consider. The first issue that I would like to deal with relates to the literature and knowledge-base that we have on the subject of Muslim deprivation. In this regard, reference to an interview I recently conducted with a senior Muslim leader is pertinent. I asked him what he felt about the Sachar Committee Report. His reply was that the overall findings and conclusions of the report were hardly novel. The same basic findings—that Muslims, by and large, are a deprived community and suffer from various levels of discrimination and neglect—have been repeatedly highlighted by Muslims themselves, in addition to various committees and commissions appointed by the Central and state governments in the past. After the Sachar Committee Report was sent to the Government of India, he said, it had done almost nothing at all, failing to act on the recommendations of the report. He was not optimistic that the Government would do much in any case. It had not tabled the Report in Parlimant, a sign that it was probably not interested in doing anything about it. 'We'll just have to wait and see', he replied, clearly not expecting much to come of the report. He rightly made the point that it was quite possible that, as in the case of numerous such committee reports in the past, this report, too, would be left ignored by the Government and that it would simply be used as a means to garner Muslim votes, at best to justify a few cosmetic sops to some Muslims in order to preserve or expand the vote-bank of a certain political party. I think that sums up the feeling that large sections of the Muslims who are aware of the report have about it. This Muslim leader I interviewed made some other interesting points with reference to the Sachar Committee Report. Although the fact of Muslim deprivation and anti-Muslim discrimination was something that Muslim organizations and leaders have been constantly repeating, he said, now it was the Government itself that was acknowledging this fact, through the committee that it had appointed. Hence, the complaints of Muslim leaders and organizations could no longer be taken as exaggerated or false, he said. Nor could remedial measures to address the issue of Muslim deprivation be dismissed as unwarranted 'minority appeasement', as the Hindutva right-wing argues. Hence, he said, even if the Government failed to act on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee Report, at least now Muslims would have with them an official document issued by the Government which they could use to argue their case of being a deprived community and, therefore, deserving of positive discrimination. Turning the question in a somewhat different direction, I asked this leader why it was that we have had to wait all these years for a Government-appointed committee to tell or convince us of the obvious fact of Muslim deprivation. Why is it, I asked, that Muslim organizations have not done any sort of serious academic research and analysis on the subject in order to highlight the fact of Muslim deprivation and to press the case for greater involvement of civil society groups as well as the state in addressing the issue. His answer simply was to say that if any Muslim organization had produced a document of this sort it would not have been treated as 'reliable' or 'authentic' by the state or by many non-Muslims simply because it had been authored or commissioned by a Muslim individual or organisation, even if it had been entirely accurate—a sign of the deep-rooted prejudices in our society that are so difficult to challenge. This point relates to the broader issue of scholarship on Indian Muslims, including on the crucial aspect of their overall deprivation. Obviously, understanding the roots and the various facets and dimensions of Muslim deprivation and then doing something practical about it requires serious scholarship, which is seriously lacking today. There exist relatively few well-researched, empirically based studies of contemporary Indian Muslim society. Much that has been written about the Indian Muslims is simply historical. It is as if Indian Muslim history stops at 1947, at the Partition. And even here the focus is on the history of Muslim elites, be they various Muslim ruling dynasties or Muslim princes or ulema who fought the British in 1857 or the leaders of the Muslim League and Muslims in the Congress Party. 'Ordinary' Muslims, that is to say, the vast majority of the Indian Muslims, have received find very little attention in the existing corpus of writings. Coming to the post-1947 period, here, too, there is a great paucity of serious scholarship on the empirical realities and conditions of the Indian Muslims. Much that has been written on the subject has been in a journalistic mode, lacking sufficient empirical depth, and often tending to make overly broad and untenable generalizations, thereby reinforcing negative stereotypes. Further, the limited corpus of writings on the subject is dominated by the question of secularism versus communalism, as if this were a unique Muslim concern or as if Muslims have only this as their concern and that their other crucial concerns, such as poverty, poor education, unemployment and so on, were of no importance to them. Two more themes have received considerable attention in both academic as well as journalistic writings on the post-1947 Indian Muslims—the question of the status of Muslim women and the issue of the madrasa system of education. But even here the focus has tended to be on certain sensational stories, which were sought to be linked to the secularism versus communal debate in some way or the other. Consequently, relatively very little has been written on a range of other crucial social, educational and economic challenges facing Muslims in India today, apart from some very broad surveys that using quantitative data. Detailed, empirical, qualitative studies on these issues are hard to come by. Few scholars have cared to take the trouble of doing actual ground-level fieldwork that is essential for this sort of research. There are various reasons for this lack of serious social science literature on these crucial aspects of contemporary Indian Muslim society, which, as I mentioned above, is essential for us to have a clearer understanding of the multiple causes of overall Muslim deprivation and of the means to address the issue. There are relatively few Indian Muslim social scientists of note who have done such work. Sociology is probably not considered by many as a means for a well-paid career that can attract serious students. Scholarship on the subject by non-Muslim scholars is also, for a variety of reasons, very limited. Indeed, extremely few non-Muslim Indian social scientists have devoted their scholarly attention to Muslims in contemporary India, other than dealing with such issues as women, personal law, communal riots, and the secularism versus communalism debate. While Indian Muslim organizations run numerous research centres and institutes to do with Islam, there are only a negligible number of such institutes for research and publication on Indian Muslim social, as distinct from religious, issues. The only such institution of note with somewhat of a national profile, presence and reach I can think of is the New Delhi-based Institute of Objective Studies. This is probably the only institution in the country that regularly publishes social science-related works on the Indian Muslims, although even here there is considerable room for improvement in the quality of its research output. Considering the fact that the Indian Muslims number more than 150 million, the fact that we have just one such institution doing this sort of work is indeed very unfortunate. The same pattern is reflected in the Muslim publishing industry, at least in north India, which I am more familiar with. Few such publishing houses deal in this sort of social scientific, research-based literature on and about the Indian Muslims. Instead, the issues they focus on are largely religious, historical or literary. And so it is virtually impossible to find literature other than on these issues in any Muslim bookshop. One of the results of the serious lack of scholarship on and about contemporary Indian Muslim social reality is that talk about the issue is often framed in very general terms, with broad generalizations being made that are, at the empirical level, not really valid. This, for instance, is the case about the very issue of 'Muslim deprivation', which this paper purports to discuss. The extreme paucity of research on the subject feeds the tendency to present the Indian Muslims as a monolith. This suits the interests of certain Muslim elites who claim to speak for all Muslims, the state, which relates to these elites as 'spokesemen' of the community, and, curiously enough, Hindutva zealots, who, likewise, seek to tar all Muslims with the same brush. Ignoring the internal diversities of caste, class, region and gender within the broader pan-Indian Muslim community leads to certain demands and arguments that claim to reflect the views and interests of all the Indian Muslims, but, which, in fact, might benefit only a very small elite of self-appointed 'leaders' of the community. This, for instance, is the case for the demand, made by some Muslim leaders, for reservations for all Muslims, based on the fallacious argument that all Muslims are 'backward'. Obviously, this demand would benefit only a small section of Muslim elites. In the absence of adequate social science research on the subject of Muslim 'backwardness', such demands are easily allowed to pass by uncontested. Another illustration of the disastrous effects of the lack of sociological research on the Indian Muslims is the fact that, in the absence of such studies, the claims by the Central and various state governments of providing various benefits and schemes for Muslims are left unproven and so the state is able to get away scot-free, without being challenged for reneging on its promises. Thus, in recent years, the Government of India has set up numerous bodies and commissions, such as the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the National Minorities Education Commission, the National Commission for Linguistic Minorities, the National Minorities Finance and Development Corporation, the Maulana Azad Foundation and so on. One has no idea of precisely what these organizations have actually done for Muslim welfare. Presumably they have done but little. Take the case of a body that has been in existence for years—the National Minorities Commission. That the annual reports of this Commission have not been tabled in Parliament for years now speaks volumes of the Government's supposed commitment to minority rights and welfare. Had we rigorous documentation and research on these organizations and the work they claim to have done, we could have been able to argue against the claims of the state of having done a lot for Muslim welfare. But because we have no such research, we cannot do this effectively and so our case for greater affirmative action is considerably weakened. Of course, the state has a major role to play with regard to Muslim empowerment precisely because it has played a critical role in sustaining structures of disempowerment and marginalization. But in addition to the agencies of the state, civil society organizations need also to play a far more socially engaged role both in terms of practical work as well as advocacy and lobbying with the government. This is something that Muslim organizations, particularly in the north, have not effectively explored. The situation in the south may be different, but in the north and the north-east, where the bulk of the Indian Muslims reside, there appear to be relatively few Muslim NGOs doing effective work in seeking to address the issue of Muslim deprivation in concrete terms. Recently, a friend of mine published a directory of Muslim NGOs. Glancing through it, I discovered that the vast majority of these NGOs were engaged in providing religious education and instruction. While this is, of course, very essential, there appears to be a distinct lack of Muslim NGOs in the north doing practical work to address the issues of Muslim poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and so on. A study conducted by the eminent social scientist Imtiaz Ahmad found that well over 80% of zakat funds provided by members of the community is given to madrasas. While madrasa education is, of course, important, one wonders if community leaders should not also seek to channelise zakat funds to other sorts of organizations and institutions as well. Serious measures need to be considered to promote voluntary organizations in the community for purposes in addition to religious education, to appraise such organizations of various government schemes and to promote co-ordination among these organizations and also with non-Muslim or secular organizations. Another issue that needs to be urgently addressed in the context of the question of Muslim deprivation is that of media policy or the lack thereof. We need to ask if Muslim organizations, including the Muslim-owned media, are indeed being able to counter anti-Muslim or Islamophobic discourses that are now so deeply engrained in large parts of the Indian (in addition to the Western) media. Of course they are not. What are the reasons for this? What measures need to be taken in this regard? Insofar as large sections of the non-Muslim media do refer to Islam or Muslims, it is generally in the context of some or the other sensational or dramatic news, whether real or imaginary or exaggerated, often with the intention of further reinforcing negative stereotypes. So, the media will highlight cases related to Muslim women, or madrasas or violence committed on or by Muslims, but rarely, if ever, does it have any positive stories on Muslims. Rarely, if ever, does it talk about the issue and magnitude of Muslim marginalization. In this regard, Muslim organizations need to be much more professional than they are in reaching out to the non-Muslim media to have their voices heard. They need to have a proper media and lobbying policy. They need to establish contact and dialogue with elements in the media that are concerned about Muslim rights and issues. They are several such people in the media and they only need to be properly reached out to. The Muslim media also has a crucial to play in the context of efforts to address Muslim deprivation. I don't know what the situation is in the south, but in large parts of the north, the Urdu media plays devotes little attention to the manifold social, economic and educational problems besetting the Muslim masses. Few Muslim magazines, journals newspapers carry in-depth stories and reports on the plight of the poor among the Muslims or about efforts by various individuals and social action groups engaged in trying to practically address these issues. In this regard, it may be pertinent to mention that there are just two English-language Muslim periodicals of note in the country—the Bangalore-based Islamic Voice and the New Delhi-based Milli Gazette. The former is more concerned with religious issues, while it does devote some attention to community news. The latter is more oriented to community issues, but, like the former, does not have the network and resources needed for regular reporting on social, economic and educational issues across the country. They are both urban-centric, and only rarely do they carry stories about the conditions of Muslims living in rural areas—that is to say, the considerable majority of the Indian Muslim population. Sometime ago I did a random survey of Indian Muslim online groups and I found the same pattern being repeated—the discussions were mainly about religion and elite level politics, with few, if any, references to the complex social, economic and educational problems of the Muslim masses. This, of course, is a very important issue that the Muslim media needs to take up with the seriousness that it deserves. And in this way, the Muslim media can work towards getting precisely these issues to be included in the agenda of various political parties. One possible creative initiative in this regard would be to start a features agencies specializing in Muslim social issues. Feature stories could be translated into various languages and sent out to different newspapers, Muslim as well as others, so that the concerns of Muslims are made more public. As things stand today, the Muslim-owned media is largely a Muslim ghetto, with few non-Muslims reading Muslim-owned papers or watching Muslim television channels. To come back to the Sachar Committee Report—while its numerous recommendations are indeed welcome, it is possible, as earlier mentioned, that the Government might do little, if at all, to act on them. In welcoming the report, we must not lose sight of its limitations. Thus, for instance, while talking of the need for empowering the Muslim community, the Report speaks precious little about the insecurity that Muslims suffer in large parts of the country, often as a result of connivance of the state with Hindutva forces. The link between this and Muslim economic deprivation is obvious, but this is something that the report does not deal with in the manner it should have. The report does not talk of deep-rooted anti-Muslim biases in school textbooks and the Hinduistic ethos of the state school system in several states in the country as a possible reason for Muslim educational 'backwardness'. The report does not mention the particular needs of Muslim women and the necessity of specific provision for them. Nor does it talk about the policies of rampant exploitation in the garb of globalization and liberalism that are playing havoc with Muslim artisans and small manufacturers, driving them out of the market and into the abyss of penury. Likewise, it leaves out the whole question of land ownership, which is extremely crucial, given the fact that, as a whole, Muslims suffer from a considerably higher degree of landlessness than most other communities. There is much more that one can say with regard to the complex issue of Muslim deprivation, but I think I would stop here. Briefly, what I have tried to argue here is for Muslim organizations to take a far more active role in commissioning research on the subject, lobby with the state and political parties based on these issues and findings, dialogue with the non-Muslim-owned media and encourage the Muslim media to take the issue of Muslim marginalization much more seriously and to encourage the setting up of voluntary agencies, not as a substitute for, but, rather, as complimenting state initiatives to address the manifold problems facing the community. __________________________________________________________________ The author is associated with Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Mon May 28 16:51:44 2007 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 16:51:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Urban Sabha Drama - May 2007 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Pritham, How is that Tamil commercial theatre has such a strong reformist and nation-building edge whereas at the same time the North Indian Parsi theatre is content to produce 'pure entertainers.' Many would trace the salient features of popular Hindi cinema to the impact of Parsi theatre, in themes, dialogues, technique and writing. How is it then that contemporary Tamil cinema, without the influence of Parsi theatre, seems so similar today to Hindi cinema? Best, Mahmood On 22/05/07, pritham k chakravarthy wrote: > Urban Sabha Drama -III Posting May 2007 > Pritham K. Chakravarthy > > Pammal Samandha Mudaliyar [1873-1967] a lawyer by profession, was the person > who designed the ethics of Amateur Theatre in Madras Presidency in the year > 1891, with his Suguna Vilas Sabha, now functioning from Mount Road [Anna > Salai] in Chennai with its one performance stage. It is no more a theatrical > space of performance. But in the early part of the century along with > People's Park and Victoria Public Hall, this was quite an active space where > both professional and amateur groups frequently performed their plays. > Having witnessed performances by professional groups at People's Park and > observed the 'obscene' behavior of the troop members, also having seen > British groups perform at Loyola College, Samandha Mudaliyar initially did > not have a very noble impression about Tamil theatre or its agents. As a > teenager seeing Stree Saagasam, by Sarasa Vinodhini Sabha he drafts his own > Tamil adaptation under the title Pushpavalli and forms his own sabha to > perform it with. The esteemed members of the sabha then, beside himself were > the seven members; U. Muthukumarasami Reddiyar, V. Venkatakrishna Naidu, T. > Jayarama Nayakar, G. E. Sampat Reddiyar, and Subramanya Pillai. The > enthusiastic youngsters approached the esteemed citizens of the city > including Diwan Bahadur Paakam Rajarathna Mudaliyar who demanded 'what is > the use of such groups? What does the nation have to gain from them?' to > which Samandha Mudaliyar angrily retorts 'Why don't ask this to the great > poet Shakespeare?' and walks out. He later not only convinces Mudaliyar to > become his prime patron but also marries his daughter. The forerunner to > Suguna Vilas Sabha was Oriental Dramatic Society which was run by Brahmins > of the city but which soon its operations and existed only in name. When > Samandha Mudaliyar recruited Rangasami Iyengar into his group there were > frantic efforts to revive the former and woo Iyengar into their folds, an > effort that did not succeed. He distinguishes those who have to resort to > theatre as an income generating profession and therefore have to resort to > all sorts of obscenity to satisfy the gallery as opposed those of his kind > who are in theatre for the development of the art field and usage of theatre > as a forum to educate the people. In this endeavor several political and > cultural elite of Chennai supported him. Beginning his rendezvous with > theatre at a very young age of 18 Samandha Mudaliyar went on script 94 > plays. He acted in most of them, not necessarily in the lead role. His huge > report ire includes adaptations of Shakespeare, Kalidas and French classics. > Many of his scripts were filmed often while being performed on stage at > Victoria Public Hall like the second talkie of Tamil cinema, Galaba Rishi > [1932]. A.V.M Chettiyar found his gold mine by filming Mudaliyar's > Sabhapathi [1941]. Mudaliyar himself directed Sati Sulochana and Manohara, > which was later, modified to suite the purposes of the Dravidian party. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Shaadi.com Matrimonials. Register FREE! > http://www.shaadi.com/ptnr.php?ptnr=mhottag > > _________________________________________ > 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 ysikand at gmail.com Tue May 29 14:53:27 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 14:53:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Latest issue of Kashmir Affairs Online Magazine Message-ID: <48097acc0705290223x139280d3xd95452a0134b6e02@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends! Please check the current issue of KASHMIR AFFAIRS on www.kashmiraffairs.org Contents Kashmir: The Way Forward by General Pervez Musharraf Kashmiris Sceptical of Pakistani Moves by ZG Muhammad Understanding J&K Economy by Gautam Naulakha Indian 'Democracy' in Kashmir by Farooq Siddiqui India Pakistan Dialogue and the Kashmir Conflict by Zafar Khan Political Nature of the Right to Self-determination by Jernej Letnar Cernic Peace and Human Rights in Kashmir by Prof. Marco Lombardi Current Human Rights Situation in Kashmir - A Report The First Victim of State Sponsored Militancy SN Pandit Pandit Family in Kupwara Begging to Live a Life Sheikh Fayyaz Ahmed Azad Kashmir via Gilgit-Baltistan Amina Rawat Interviews Sanjay Kak, Film Director, Jashn-e-Azadi Khalid Ibrahim Khan, J&K People's Party Dr. Humayun Khan, Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Syed Ali Shah Geelani, APHC Kuldip Raj Gupta, General Secretary BJP Harcharan Singh Khalsa, Teacher Photo Feature Kashmiri Women by Amina Rawat Reviews Film Review: Jashn-e-Azadi by Jeremy Seabrook Why We are All Martyrs - Roland Palyale Book Review: Mir Sayyid Hamadani Aur Kashmirby Murtaza Shibli Literature Short Story by Hari Krishan Kaul Poems Best Regards, Murtaza Shibli Editor From ash.disorient at gmail.com Mon May 28 19:11:50 2007 From: ash.disorient at gmail.com (Ashwani Sharma) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 14:41:50 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] darkmatter Journal: Race/Matter - Call for Papers In-Reply-To: <8993550c0705280628v3d81faa6yb7818cdb9f2cd348@mail.gmail.com> References: <8993550c0705280628v3d81faa6yb7818cdb9f2cd348@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <8993550c0705280641s33017b3eq85fc05bdb8daf37@mail.gmail.com> apologies for x-posting. please distribute. RACE/MATTER:MATERIALISM AND THE POLITICS OF RACIALIZATION SPECIAL JOURNAL ISSUE OF DARKMATTER http://www.darkmatter101.org CALL FOR PAPERS A materialist turn in the humanities and social sciences has revitalized work in feminism, science and technology studies, critical social theory and phenomenology. But what of 'race' thinking from a materialist standpoint? Can a materialist ontology of race transform anti-racist politics? A politics of representation and changing the conditions of representation has ostensibly become an anti-racist orthodoxy. How many times have we repeated the mantra of race as a social and discursive construct and still be left with a feeling that it fails to tell the whole story. And discourses of post-race are found to be wanting for their potential to erase why race matters. While the association of phenotypical differences with cultural categories is a socially and historically contingent process, we continue to be confronted by the irreducibility of race. From the perspective of materiality, embodied difference is not the end point which has to be discursively negotiated or dissolved. Rather, difference is a real point of departure and struggle, in order to contest the constitution of race on the very ground of everyday life. The second journal issue of darkmatter seeks to open up the question of the material facticity of race - possible topics of interest: - post-race and the problem of liberal humanism - anti-racism after multiculturalism - the limits of vitalism and productionism - race, migration, mobility - neo-orientalism as differential exclusion - non-essentialist biological approaches to race - Justice beyond citizenship - becoming post-human - spatiality of race - materiality of memory, voice, language or music - racialization in bio-capitalism and embodied capitalism Send expressions of interest with short description of possible contributions to Dimitris Papadopoulos - papadopoulosd at cardiff.ac.uk and Sanjay Sharma - sanjay.sharma at brunel.ac.uk by 30 June 2007. Article length: 1,500 – 5,000 words. Alternative formats, such as essays, political commentaries, book and art reviews are welcome, in particular audio, visual and digital contributions. http://www.darkmatter101.org/site/2007/05/27/racematter-materialism-and-the-politics-of-racialization/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070528/10b15c75/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From cahen.x at levels9.com Mon May 28 03:54:25 2007 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 00:24:25 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] ))))) radiolist.org ((((( Plate-forme sonore des arts visuels ))))) | ))))) visual arts noise platform ((((( 11 Message-ID: <465A0519.2050101@levels9.com> RadioList.org Plate-forme sonore des arts visuels / visual arts noise platform (((((((((.)))))))))) # 11 .((((( Abonnement RSS : podcast, ipodder, sage, etc... http://radiolist.org/index.php?feed=rss2 .((((( Abonnement à la newsletter http://radiolist.org Les K.Kliniques : J’ai attendu et j’attends toujours )))))))).(((((((((( Pour cette sixième virée sonore, les K.Kliniques, duo de performeuses sonore, vous interprètent : “J’ai attendu et j’attends toujours”. Emission réalisée par : caroline delieutraz et justine abittan http://www.radiolist.org//?p=148 Art maniac : Le triomphe de l’art contemporain ? )))))))).(((((((((( Quand la bibliothèque ferme ses portes commençe alors Art-maniac, une émission sur les ouvrages consacrés aux arts visuels et sonores. Lorsque les spectateurs disaient à Picasso qu’ils adoraient ce qu’il faisait mais qu’ils n’y comprenaient rien, que c’était du chinois, ce dernier répondait que le chinois c’était comme tout ça s’apprenait. Tel est donc le but d’Art-maniac, faire découvrir l’art. Les ouvrages sont issus de la bibliothèque municipale de Nogent-sur-Marne. Emission réalisée par : fabrice decamps http://www.radiolist.org//?p=149 Hollywood - #1 La Guerre des Mondes )))))))).(((((((((( Hollywood : variations libres au sujet des images mortes et des impressions de leur mouvement. Emission réalisée par : grégoire courtois http://www.radiolist.org//?p=147 Miniatures : miniature_5_avril07 )))))))).(((((((((( Les miniatures ont rarement un titre. Elles sont numérotées dans une série elle-même repérée par un mois et une année … Emission réalisée par : guillaume loizillon http://www.radiolist.org//?p=137 logotracteur01_au fil des 4'33'’ de John Cage )))))))).(((((((((( Cette pièce sonore, en commentant l’oeuvre de John Cage 4'33'’, se consitue comme un fil serpentant entre une voix intérieure et les bruits du monde. Parfois un hasard, d’autres fois une occurence, plus loin une rencontre… entre perception de soi et appréhension du réel. Emission réalisée par : daphné le sergent http://www.radiolist.org//?p=146 Miniatures : miniature_4_avril07 )))))))).(((((((((( Les miniatures ont rarement un titre. Elles sont numérotées dans une série elle-même repérée par un mois et une année … Emission réalisée par : guillaume loizillon http://www.radiolist.org//?p=135 MWalk4=Fondation Cartier, Paris )))))))).(((((((((( MuseumWalk : 4ème déambulation sonore - Exposition David Lynch - mercredi 4 du mois d’avril 2007 - Fondation Cartier, Paris. Emission réalisée par : julia drouhin http://www.radiolist.org//?p=143 Miniatures : miniature_3_avril07 )))))))).(((((((((( Les miniatures ont rarement un titre. Elles sont numérotées dans une série elle-même repérée par un mois et une année … Emission réalisée par : guillaume loizillon http://www.radiolist.org//?p=136 Cuisine sonore : la longe de poulain aux prunes )))))))).(((((((((( La cuisine comme un milieu sonore où les enjeux de la cuisine se constituent en même temps que se constitue la cuisine. Emission réalisée par : John Deneuve http://www.radiolist.org//?p=144 Miniatures : miniature_2_avril07 )))))))).(((((((((( Les miniatures ont rarement un titre. Elles sont numérotées dans une série elle-même repérée par un mois et une année … Emission réalisée par : guillaume loizillon http://www.radiolist.org//?p=138 Les K.Kliniques : J’suis folle )))))))).(((((((((( Pour cette cinquième émission, les K.Kliniques, duo de performeuses sonore, vous interprètent : “J’suis folle”. Emission réalisée par : caroline delieutraz et justine abittan http://www.radiolist.org//?p=140 Miniatures : miniature_1_avril07 )))))))).(((((((((( Les miniatures ont rarement un titre. Elles sont numérotées dans une série elle-même repérée par un mois et une année … Emission réalisée par : guillaume loizillon http://www.radiolist.org//?p=139 -- RadioList.org (((((((.))))))) xavier cahen administrateur xavier.cahen at radiolist.org http://www.radiolist.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From lieneman at umn.edu Wed May 23 22:35:22 2007 From: lieneman at umn.edu (Stacy Lienemann) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 12:05:22 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Sarai Reader List / BOMBAY CINEMA: An Archive of the City Message-ID: Dear ListServ Administrator: Please post this to Sarai Reader List. Also, please let me know if you'd like to review the book for your listserv. Thanks! Best wishes, Stacy Lienemann Direct Response and Scholarly Promotions Manager University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 612-627-1934 http://www.upress.umn.edu The urban experience in India through the lens of popular Bombay cinema. BOMBAY CINEMA: An Archive of the City Ranjani Mazumdar University of Minnesota Press | 312 pages | 2007 ISBN 978-0-8166-4941-9 | hardcover | $67.50 ISBN 978-0-8166-4942-6 | paperback | $22.50 Cinema is not only a major industry in India, it is a powerful cultural force. In Bombay Cinema, Ranjani Mazumdar takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding Bombay cinema as the unofficial archive of the city in India. In this analysis, Mazumdar reveals a complex postnationalist world, convulsed by the social crisis of the 1970s and transformed by the experience of globalization in the 1990s. ³Bombay Cinema is an inspired account of Hindi films as a rich and textured archive of modern urban life in India. Challenging the nationalist idealization of the village, its ingenious portrayal of the cinematic city conclusively shows that urban modernity stands at the center of the Indian postcolonial experience. A true gem.² ‹Gyan Prakash ³Investigating urban types‹angry young men, dangerous psychotics, street loafers, prostitutes, yuppies, and gangsters‹Ranjani Mazumdar shows how recent Indian cinema provided an archive of urban spaces and of the trauma of a deep social disillusionment. From claustrophobic alleyways and slum dwellings to the Œpanoramic¹ apartments whose vast interior sets shelter middle-class families from encounters with the chaos of the street, Mazumdar describes an urban space imploding under the pressure of globalization and new technology. She has produced an important work not only on Indian cinema but also on the cinematic city.² ‹Tom Gunning For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book¹s webpage: http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/mazumdar_bombay.html Sign up to receive news on the latest releases from University of Minnesota Press: http://www.upress.umn.edu/eform.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070523/0bc4a6ef/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From pukar at pukar.org.in Thu May 24 13:35:22 2007 From: pukar at pukar.org.in (PUKAR) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 13:35:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [announcements] June 3: Youth Fellowship Annual Celebration Message-ID: <005801c79dda$49731a60$9966c2cb@freeda> PUKAR cordially invites you to Churchgate to Kalyan An exhibition of research projects Sunday, 3rd June 2007, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM 1st floor, P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025 PUKAR Youth Fellowship Graduation Event Sunday, 3rd June 2007, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM 3rd floor, P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 25 Chief Guest Dr. S. Parasuraman Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences 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/20070524/cba38f14/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From abhikauliya at googlemail.com Mon May 28 16:36:22 2007 From: abhikauliya at googlemail.com (Abhik Samanta) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 16:36:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 2nd posting Message-ID: <83253d810705280406k6627fc0dl513fd4ce1880a617@mail.gmail.com> *Second posting ; extremely sorry that it is so; images and the Gita Press* These pictures as mentioned in the earlier posting serve to illustrate or illuminate i.e. bring to light or throw light on words which are an act of translation into a printed vernacular language. This was the paradigm of time consciousness that was suggested in the earlier posting as the contribution of Hanumanprasad Poddar, the man who had been a revolutionary as a member of some of the various organisations that came into being in and around Calcutta after the partition of Bengal in 1905. His involvement and conviction in the Rodda arms conspiracy case as well as the significance of the period of imprisonment in the story of his life perhaps shows an intensity in the juxtaposition of an ideal time with that of an ongoing dark time that is important in understanding the structuration of the Gita Press cheapbook. However Hanumanprasad's efforts at textually depicting this juxtaposition is part of wider efforts that were undertaken from the premises of the Press itself. This can be understood from the rubric 'Gita Press saint' which occurs in some blogs on the net. Hanuman's spiritual guide Jayadayal Goyandaka was as important in the configuration of this circle of devotees . There is thus a juxtaposition at the heart of a juxtaposition that lies at the core of the resounding success of the Gita Press as an institution . Here it is Hanuman's position as a figure of charisma that makes him significant. The strategy of illustration is intimately connected with the notion of the vernacular language through sensuality implicated in the idea of usage. The sense of the picture can be had only through a notion of a social being. This is the social being in which the figures enact or signify their shapes. For instance in a tract entitled Jeevanupyogi Pravachan, the picture that occurs on the cover is a male preacher who preaches from a text in front of him to what can be quite literally called a 'sea of humanity' which is also male. In another tract called 'stories for inspiration' or Prerak Kahaniyan a bald and old preacher again preaches from a text to a group of four, who can best be described as boys. The object of inspiration is also depicted in the form of a man feeding a cow which symbolizes ideal work. The composition of this picture is meaningful yet again in the suggested abeyance of the laws of nature where the lion and the deer as well a peacock gaze in different directions at the heart of which, is a blooming bush amidst which is a banana tree standing firm and tall. The perspective of European landscape art forms the embodiment of a sea of humanity in the first picture while in the figures , a quintessentially male depiction of the preacher is contrasted with more androgynous but male figures in the audience. Similarly in the second picture the banana tree stands out as a very subcontinental form of the depiction of banana trees which however occurs in a picture in which everything else is drawn to sight and scale of European painting. Preaching, listening and consequent action are the forms of social being that are depicted. The preacher sits on a raised platform while the audience blends into the contours of the earth. In the second picture though the man of action is located in the background it is the courtyard of a home symbolized by two thatched huts. The background is thus a journey forward into what the boys grow into which is a crucial indicator of the time of usage which a vernacular addresses. As can be seen from the composition the pictures seek to describe social being as a sensual reality. The other two pictures I have chosen reflect a more individual quest, that too of two different kinds which embody the notions of two distinct personalities, Hanumanprasad Poddar and Jayadayal Goyandaka. Hanumanprasad's tract is entitled 'shanti kaise mile' or 'how does one find peace' and is part of a series entitled 'the reform of this world and the next; part 4' Both these images intend to convey a state of mind that is associated with the act of reading. Seeing these pictures is thus intended to be an act which is clearly the guiding principle which occurs before and after reading the tract. In Hanuman's piece it is a man depicted as a God holding an arrow and pondering while looking at it. He stands by a lake, shaded by a tree across which is a temple. This could be an illustration from a story with which I am not familiar but clearly the moment of soliloquy has the arrow as a focal point with the bow held on the other hand. The other picture is in Jayadayal's tract entitled how to bring about the deprivation of all grief or 'sampurna dukhhon ka abhav kaise ho' which shows a child meditating with closed eyes under a banyan tree beside a lake , being visited by Vishnu who stands besides the child and looks endearingly towards it. A striking aspect of both pictures is the way in which the components of the scenery occur in similar form with exactly the same implications. The lake and the trees on its bank are the sort of permanent background in which the viewer encounters different meanings embodied in human shapes. In this sense the figures are quite independent of their background but become quite distinctively part of a series of images which is distinctively repeated by the press. Since the past few decades the press has been using photographs which will be elaborated in subsequent postings. The production of these images show the way in which Hanumanprasad's notion of a millenarian time of becoming which reflects the principles of revolutionary organization in mass appeal juxtaposed with vanguard action as described in the first two images, is transformed into an existence which must be perpetually symbolic. This observation emanates from an historical reality of Indian painting where divine scenes are made explicable only in images which reffered to the contemporary-for instance Jayadevas Gita Govinda or Bihari's Sat Sai which were illustrated by artists purged from the Mughal court by Aurangzeb. Here the substances of the images are premised on their being not contemporary. It is as if the darkness of the contemporary is bound to return but is offset only by the creative depiction of icons embodied in scenery. The vernacular in Anderson's now historic depiction of nationalism is intimately woven around an imagined community. But the texts of the Gita Press can be meaningful only if it is perpetually so. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070528/e668867e/attachment.html From jbnaudy at gmail.com Wed May 23 05:54:55 2007 From: jbnaudy at gmail.com (Jean-Baptiste Naudy) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 02:24:55 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Manifesta 6, Department 3: Abschlussball Message-ID: Manifesta 6, Department 3: Abschlussball WestGermany | SkalitzerStr. 133 | Berlin May 28 – May 31, 2007 – Internal contract deliberations. Opening: Abschlussball June 1, 2007 | 20:00 Network communications as well as the First Draft Contract available at: http://www.abschlussball.net/ Manifesta 6, Department 3: Abschlussball is a collaborative initiative from 21 of the selected students from Dept III of the "failed" Manifesta 6 school-as-biennale project. We use the term "failed" purposefully in quotations. The mishap of the project has transformed it unforeseeable directions – becoming the first purely textual biennial. Since the inception of the project until now it has manifest itself exclusively through a collection of texts (applications, press articles, curatorial statements, legal documents, publications, emails, etc). This transformation has re-positioned the intentions, but has unwillingly produced the most trans-disciplinary biennial of its' kind, involving, but not excluded to the juridical, political, diplomatic, intellectual, media, economic and aesthetic spheres. >From this perspective the "still-born" network of Dept III participants, is seeking to reanimate itself into a "zombie network" as a collective, productive machine. The collaborative efforts are focused on a co-authored "confetti contract" – a text built in intervals between all participants of fragments, statements, digressions, interactions, re-writings, definitions and discords that take place amongst such a large group. Participants are working remotely, yet will convene for four days of contract deliberations face to face, at which time a final 1-day contract will be signed. On June 1st the contract signing will be celebrated with an "abschlussball" (end of school-year celebration). The collective contract negotiation will initially focus on the following issues: the distinctions between "symbiotic / parasitic projects" vs "tumorous structures"; the ergonomics of a zombie network; the carnival as collaborative form and contracts of discord. From these points several digressions will take place through the interventions of group members, and subsequently interventions upon interventions. The exponential nature of this multi-authored project mobilizes the abundance and multiplicity inherent to our estranged network towards a collective (albeit non-consensus forming) production – all the while constructing a temporary, agora-esque infrastructure for "play" as a dynamic group. The network has been exhumed. You are cordially invited to this ball on June 1st. Manifesta 6, Department 3: Abschlussball, a project initiated and edited by Societe Realiste and Pia Fuchs (dt. ID v. Patricia Reed), with Robin Bhattacharya, Chicks on Speed, Samuel Dowd, Pia Fuchs (dt. ID v. Patricia Reed), Gaia Fugazza, Gabriele Gaspari, Ingela Johansson, Ralph Kistler, Lyn Lowenstein, Susannah Mira, Petros Moris, Can Sarvan, Alexander Schikowski, Anthony Schrag, Societe Realiste, Craig Smith, Jens Strandberg et Inga Zimprich. Contact: m6.abschlussball at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070523/e687b34b/attachment.html From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Fri May 25 13:44:11 2007 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (soundART) Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 10:14:11 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_call_=3A_soundar?= =?iso-8859-1?q?t_for_SoundLAB_Edition_V?= Message-ID: <20070525101411.87B309D.24696B16@192.168.0.4> Call: soundart for SoundLAB - Edition V Theme: soundSTORY deadline 1 August 2007 --------------------------------------- SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab.newmediafest.org is currently preparing its fifth edition looking for new soundart works In 2004, SoundLAB was launched as a corporate part of the global networking project [R][R][F]200x--->XP - http://rrf200x.newmediafest.org on occasion of BEAP - Electronic Art Festival Perth/Australia 2004, but started soon also individually acting as an environment for sonic art. Edition IV was launched in October 2006 under the title "memoryscapes" incorporating 144 artists and 235 soundart pieces dealing with "memory and identity" in most different ways, and it became corporate part of the media art show ://selfportrait - a show for Bethlehem - a show for Peace http://self.engad.org. - which is currently running at MACRO - Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Rosario/Argentina http://www.marcromuseo.org.ar . Edition V stands under the theme: --> "soundSTORY" exploring "sound" as a tool for storytelling. Therefore besides the soundart piece itself, the story this piece is telling has a particular relevance. SoundLAB is inviting soundartists, musicians and composers to submit such a soundart narrative. Please find all entry details and the submission form on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=24 . -------------------------------------------- SoundLAB Editions I - IV can be visited on http://soundlab.newmediafest.org -------------------------------------------- Released by NetEX - networked experience http://nmartproject.net/netex powered by [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne www.nmartproject.net - the experimental platform for art and New Media operating from Cologne/Germany. . info& contact info (at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Tue May 29 14:10:55 2007 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (netEX) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 10:40:55 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_netEX=3A_calls_a?= =?iso-8859-1?q?nd_deadlines_June_2007?= Message-ID: <20070529104055.7F40F039.49F29922@192.168.0.4> netEX: calls & deadlines June 2007 ------------------------------------- [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne 04 Calls: deadlines internal 05 Calls: ongoing external 16 Calls: June deadlines external Calls: internal ---> [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne www.nmartproject.net published 2007 calls for four major projects -------------------------------------------- 1. Cinematheque - http://cinema.nmartproject.net is currently preparing Cinema_C for hosting a new steaming online show, entitled: "Slowtime 2007? - Quicktime as an artistic medium --->extended deadline 31 May 2007 find all entry details on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=1 2. JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art www.javamuseum.org released the call for a new show case to be launched in September 2007, entitled: a + b = ba? - [art + blog = blogart?] extended deadline 31 July 2007 find all entry details on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=7 3. CologneOFF - Cologne Online Film Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org - announced recently its 3rd festival edition to be launched in October 2007 --->Theme: Toon! Toon! - art cartoons & animates narratives --->Deadline 1 August 2007 all entry details on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=23 4. SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab.newmediafest.org released a call for SoundLAB - Edition V to be launched in October 2007 online --->theme: soundSTORY - sound& music as tools for narrating --->Deadline 1 August 2007 all entry details on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=24 ------------------------------------------------ Ongoing calls: external ------------------------------------------------ Films and video screenings Sioux City (USA) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=15 Laisle screenings Rio de Janeiro/Brazil http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=21 Videos for Helsinki based video gallery - 00130 Gallery http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=93 Web based works for 00130 Gallery Helsinki/Finland http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=94 Project: Repetion as a Model for Progression by Marianne Holm Hansen http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=95 ------------------------------------------------ June deadlines: external ------------------------------------------------ 30 June Kunstfilm Biennale Cologne 2007 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=90 30 June FIKE 2007 - Evora International Shortfilm Festival (Portugal) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=81 30 June Amber07 - body process arts festival Istanbul http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=78 30 June VAD - Video & Digital Art Festival Girona/Spain http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=76 30 June Brigade of Images, video screening in Jerusalem/Israel http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=70 30 June Les Attendus Videofestival Lyon/F 2008 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=67 29 Juni Aurora Animation Flm Festival Norwich/UK http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=37 21 June Instants Video Marseille (France) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=8 20 June Lucania Film Festival (Basilicata)/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=82 15 June ATA Film & Video Festival San Francisco/USA http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=84 15 June Nightcomers - 10th Istanbul Biennale 2007 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=79 10 June International Festival of New Film and New Media Split/Croatia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=62 7 June Outvideo Festival Ekaterinburg/Russia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=80 5 June Videominuto Prato/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=50 4 June 2007 Film Fest Mestre (Italy) http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=20 1 June Sonic Art Biennial New Dehli/India http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=55 ----------------------------------------------- more deadlines on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?page_id=4 ----------------------------------------------- NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/ # calls in the external section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=3 # calls in the internal section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=1 ----------------------------------------------- # This newsletter is also released on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=9 # NetEx--->:||nmapn||:Cologne ~ networked experiences http://netex.nmartproject.net is a free information service powered by [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne www.nmartproject.net - the experimental platform for Art and New Media from Cologne/Germany # info & contact: info (at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kumaramesh at gmail.com Mon May 28 14:47:00 2007 From: kumaramesh at gmail.com (Ramesh Kumar) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 14:47:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Independent Fellowship Posting: Film Exhibition Spaces in Delhi - Ramesh Kumar Message-ID: <8122bc0b0705280217h439d8b7flee18092e46bdf35d@mail.gmail.com> Hi all My sincere apologies for the delayed posting. Having recovered from prolonged illness and finally having freed myself of other commitments, I begin my research work now. As a quick reminder, my study attempts to do a comparative analysis of three different cinema halls belonging to the A, B and C segments each in the city of Delhi. As I have just begun, there is not much to report. This post is an attempt to share some preliminary thoughts about my work. The first step for my project was to identify the three cinema halls where the research is to be conducted and get the necessary permissions to be able to spend time on the premises, get interviews from the employees and take photographs. Ideally, I wanted all three halls to be in the same vicinity as this would have obvious practical advantages. It would literally give me a common ground for my work while making the differences between the three halls more starkly visible. It would also serve as a good opportunity to investigate the importance of siting on the identity of each hall while allowing me to understand the complexities of the notion of "neighborhood cinema hall". For my purposes, cinema halls located in and around residential areas would be best suited. For the A and B segment halls, I plan to look at PVR Priya (Vasant Vihar) and Sangam (R K Puram) respectively which are located barely two kilometers away from each other. I've been in touch with the concerned authorities and would be meeting them within the next few days to see if they are comfortable with the idea. As expected, seeking permissions has not been an easy task and I have been referred to a number of people without any one of them saying s/he has the final authority. I hope to have a clearer picture after my initial meetings with them, and if the permissions are denied, I would then have to look for alternate sites and start all over again. For the C segment hall, I am still short-listing possible places to look at. The rapid shutting down of many such sites in the recent past seems to have made it virtually impossible to find all three halls operating close to each other. Most C segment halls seem to be located in Old Delhi and North East Delhi, and I wish to find a hall in Shahdara, Seemapuri and other neighboring areas. Any suggestions in this regard are most welcome. Cheers -- Ramesh Kumar Tel: 011 26193229 Cel: +91 9891266246 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070528/19bcb882/attachment.html From ysikand at gmail.com Tue May 29 17:38:29 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 17:38:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 3rd Posting (Y.Sikand and Naseemur Rahman): On Urdu Publishing Industry in India Message-ID: <48097acc0705290508m1a20b57w5d42565766e7681e@mail.gmail.com> Urdu in India and a Man with a Mission: Arif Iqbal and His Urdu Book Review Yoginder Sikand A narrow lane leads out from a maze of crowded, winding streets in the heart of Old Delhi's Jamia Masjid area. Ancient crumbling havelis line the lane, which, probably dating back to Mughal times, is lined on either side with open drains laden with garbage. Cycle rickshaws, cattle and pedestrians jostle with each other amidst the interminable din of bells clanking, customers and shopkeepers loudly haggling and craftsmen in dim-lit hovels hammering away at tin sheets. At a nondescript building at one end of the lane a flight of broken stairs leads down to a dingy basement. It is there—housed in two diminutive rooms—that Urdu Book Review, India's only Urdu journal devoted solely to book reviews, has its premises—a telling comment on the sad state to which Urdu has been reduced in the land of its birth. Muhammad Arif Iqbal, the amiable middle-aged editor of the magazine, is a man with a mission. 'Urdu has been grossly neglected, by the state and by Urdu-speakers, and Urdu Book Review represents a modest effort to revive and promote the language', he says. The bi-monthly magazine was launched in 1995. 'There is nothing of the sort anywhere else in South Asia', Iqbal proudly says. The only other Urdu book review journal, published from Pakistan, deals solely with Pakistani books. Urdu Book Review, on the other hand, covers new Urdu books published all over the world, including India and Pakistan. Iqbal served as production manager of a leading Indian Muslim publishing house, the Delhi-based Markazi Maktaba Islami, for ten years, and in the course of this had the opportunity to interact with many publishing houses. 'That made me realize how much the Urdu publishing industry has to learn from others', he says. 'A week-long course in publishing organized by an institute really changed me', he relates. 'I was the only Muslim there, and, interacting with the course instructors and other students, I realized that Urdu publishers have much room for improvement. This experience inspired me with the idea of launching an Urdu book review magazine in order to help the Urdu language and the Urdu publishing industry'. Modestly priced at Rs. 100 per annum, Urdu Book Review comes out as a 100-odd page magazine, the whole of which is available online as well free of cost. Separate sections are devoted to book reviews, announcements of new titles along with the addresses of their publishers, obituaries of noted writers, names of new Ph.D. awardees in Urdu and related fields, summaries of writings in the Urdu press and biographical notes on important Urdu scholars. The magazine has a print-run of around 2000 copies, of which some 300 are sent free of cost to scholars and institutions. It receives hardly any advertisements and does not earn enough to cover costs, which Iqbal meets by doing contract printing jobs. 'Urdu publishers in India have particular problems of their own, besides the general problems that they share with other publishers', Iqbal says. 'Few of them have professionally qualified editorial teams. Technically, they are way behind Hindi and English publishers. They don't do book launches, and almost no Urdu newspaper has a book review column through which new titles can be introduced to the public', he comments. 'Since the number of Urdu readers in India is rapidly falling, Urdu publishers that used to publish two or three thousand copies of a book have now cut down to around five hundred, and even that takes some two years to sell. That is why some of them are now shifting to publishing in Hindi and English instead', he says. 'However', he adds, 'few of these are original titles, most of them being low-quality translations'. 'A distinct lack of vision', is Iqbal's answer as to why Indian Urdu publishers produce books almost entirely on historical, religious and literary issues but hardly anything on the empirical realities of the Indian Muslims. 'Many Urdu publishers do not have a sound academic background, often being just businessmen. They may have inherited their businesses from their fathers and run them simply as a commercial concern. But this cannot be said to be healthy commercialism. They suffer from a distinct lack of professionalism and often lack any social commitment. ' he rues. 'Most Urdu publishers are guided solely by the profit motive', Iqbal goes on. 'So, they produce what will bring them profits. They don't have any system to commission experts to write books on particular subjects. They generally publish whatever they get if they think it would be profitable, often without caring for the social relevance of their contents. They just want quick returns'. Thus, for instance, Iqbal says, many Urdu publishers are associated with one particular Muslim sect or the other, and they churn out books that rant and rave against other Muslim sects. 'Some of these publishers are actually paid to produce books in favour of or in opposition to certain governments and rival sects', he reveals. Living as a minority, such sectarianism fanned by certain publishing houses has serious consequences for the Muslim community, he says. 'The sort of sectarianism actively promoted by certain Urdu publishing houses has had a major role in keeping Muslim divided, so much so that religious scholars of the different sects often refuse to even sit with each other on a common platform', he says. This relates to the social background of a significant section of Urdu authors, the ulema, who are graduates of madrasas. The sort of education that they receive in traditional madrasas is reflected in the sorts of books that they write. 'Generally, madrasa students are kept unaware of the world surrounding them, and so when they graduate and step outside, they are often unable to properly adjust or relate to the world', Iqbal rues. For their part, 'modern' educated, middle-class Muslims increasingly prefer to write and read in English, thus narrowing down the class base which the Urdu publishing industry caters to. Further, Iqbal says, many middle-class Muslims seem to distance themselves from the Muslim masses, taking little interest in their problems and concerns. 'And so', he adds, 'a class of Muslims that could have played a key role in revitalizing the Muslim or Urdu publishing industry is largely disinterested in doing anything of the sort'. In the current context of growing Islamophobia, Iqbal says, Muslim-owned publishing houses, including Urdu publishers, have a major role to play in countering anti-Muslim discourses. But in this, he laments, they have not been very successful. 'Rebuttal of anti-Muslim propaganda is generally done in Urdu, through books and magazines, which few non-Muslims can read. Thus, their rebuttals do not reach the readers that they should. It is like preaching to the converted', he rues. 'Few Muslim publishing houses bring out literature aimed at non-Muslims and written in a mode that they can understand'. 'Perhaps', Iqbal reflects, 'Muslim publishing houses suffer from a sort of fear. They fear that if they actively challenge misinformation about Islam and Muslims they may be targeted. They don't want to court controversy'. 'And, in any case', he says, there are almost no Muslim research institutes or publication houses that do any serious analyses of anti-Muslim writings, and so their efforts to rebut this propaganda is generally quite ineffective'. Another area that the Urdu publishing industry is seriously lacking in, Iqbal relates, is in the matter of translations. 'So many good books are coming out in the market in English, on Islam, on Muslims and also on other issues which Urdu-readers might be interested in. Yet, translations of such books have been negligible', he says. 'Most Urdu publishers would be blissfully unaware of these new books, so narrow is their vision', he argues. Given the numerous problems that the Urdu publishing industry faces, Iqbal stresses that it is vital that Urdu publishers form an effective association of their own. Two such associations do exist, but he claims that they are virtually defunct. 'We need an active association that could help Urdu publishers be more professionally and technically competent', he insists. 'It could help the industry produce more socially relevant literature. It could also promote interaction between Urdu publishers and others, so that they can learn from them'. 'Some of us', he adds, 'think we don't need to learn from others, being content with living in our own little islands'. 'But that', he insists, 'is ridiculous'. 'Urdu faces a grim future in India', Iqbal tells me as we wind up our conversation, 'but there are spaces and opportunities that we need to make use of'. 'Ultimately', he says, 'it is up to lovers of Urdu to save, protect and promote the language'. And by publishing his magazine against heavy odds for over a decade now, Iqbal shows what a major difference a single individual can make in this regard. ================================================== Muhammad Arif Iqbal can be contacted on arifiqbalubr at yahoo.co.in Urdu Book Review can be accessed on www.urdubookreview.com From M.Baas2 at uva.nl Tue May 29 20:45:22 2007 From: M.Baas2 at uva.nl (Michiel Baas) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 17:15:22 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Research on Indian Middle Class / Overseas Students In-Reply-To: <1944bc230705190136p167479cci3cfd8f7a297ba0c5@mail.gmail.com> References: <1944bc230705190136p167479cci3cfd8f7a297ba0c5@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear All, For a while I have read the posts on this list and this is the first time I am posting myself. My name is Michiel Baas, and I am a fourth year PhD student in Amsterdam, doing research on the topic of Indian overseas students in Melbourne, Australia. Earlier research I was involved in had to do with the lives and lifestyles of IT professionals in Bangalore. It was also then that I first learned of the huge number of Indian students going to Australia. One of the most interesting things for me that many were actually planning a life out(side) of India. Studying in Australia meant immigrating out of India. If one studies in Australia for two years, one can apply for a permanent residency afterwards. In 2005 I conducted one year of anthropological fieldwork in Melbourne, gathering data on Indian overseas students, as well as others such as local Indian community members, immigration/education agents, tutors/lecturers/professors etc. Recently the List discussed Mayawati's come to power, and attention was also paid to the rise of the (new/upcoming) middle class. As most of the people my research focuses on belong to the (middle/upper) middle class, I am interested in reading work of others who have also focused on this topic. Through this forum I hope to get in touch with some of you. Do let me know if you are interested in exchanging views on the middle class, maybe sharing some findings etc. One of my key questions deals with: why do Indian (middle class) students want to leave India? Why this particular way? Kind regards, Michiel Baas ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------- Michiel Baas - Room B 2.05 'Het Oost-Indisch Huis' Amsterdam School for Social science Research(ASSR) University of Amsterdam Kloveniersburgwal 48 1012 CX Amsterdam The Netherlands Office: +31 (0) 20 525 22 53 Fax: +31 (0) 20 525 24 46 Mobile: +31 (0) 6 18 66 28 32 Email: m.baas2 at uva.nl / michielbaas at yahoo.com http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/assr/scholars/phdstudents/baas.html From ysikand at gmail.com Wed May 30 22:31:37 2007 From: ysikand at gmail.com (Yogi Sikand) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 22:31:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] CounterCurrents pdate: On US Imperialism Message-ID: <48097acc0705301001y449ab87cua87a608765a4560a@mail.gmail.com> Hello Kindly forward this newsletter to your friends and encourage them to join this mailing list. http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm In Solidarity Binu The Exit of Cindy Sheehan By Ron Jacobs http://www.countercurrents.org/jacobs300507.htm It can be reasonably argued that it was Cindy Sheehan that made it okay for Middle America to protest, and for that she must be thanked. Now that she is taking a breather from the madness it is up to us to continue expanding those protests. It is certainly not time to give up Good Riddance Attention Whore By Cindy Sheehan http://www.countercurrents.org/sheehan300507.htm This is my resignation letter as the "face" of the American anti-war movement. This is not my "Checkers" moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources Why I Am Ashamed To Be An American By Doug Soderstrom http://www.countercurrents.org/soderstrom300507.htm If we truly care about our country, if we really do want our nation to flourish, then we should realize that we have not only the right, but, much more importantly, the responsibility, perhaps even, one might say, a moral responsibility to point out its deficiencies in order that it might once again be revived Ideas Cannot Be Killed By Fidel Castro http://www.countercurrents.org/castro300507.htm When he was recently asked by an important personality about his Cuba policy, his answer was this: "I am a hard-line President and I am just waiting for Castro's demise." The wishes of such a powerful gentleman are no privilege. I am not the first nor will I be the last that Bush has ordered to be killed; nor one of those people who he intends to go on killing individually or en masse. But it would serve him well to remember that ideas cannot be killed Bush Decrees New Sanctions Against Sudan By Bill Van Auken http://www.countercurrents.org/auken300507.htm President Bush Tuesday announced that his administration is imposing a fresh set of economic sanctions on Sudan, claiming the measures are designed to pressure the government in Khartoum to halt the bloodshed in the country's western-most province of Darfur About Saving Darfur: Reflections On The Carrot And The Stick By Stephen Eric Bronner http://www.countercurrents.org/bronner300507.htm As pundits speak about the growth of "compassion fatigue" concerning Darfur, usually without mentioning the devastating lack of positive proposals offered by the political mainstream, now is the time -- echoing an old slogan -- to give up the cant and return to Kant Will The Lebanese Army Enter The Nahr el-Bared Camp? By Alexander Jenniches http://www.countercurrents.org/jenniches300507.htm What exactly will be the - at least temporary - solution is uncertain at this point. But there is good reason to assume that the Lebanese government will at the end not confront Fatah al-Islam directly. Not yet, and not under the circumstances that the group is hiding among Palestinian civilians Global Warming: Who's To Blame? By Nicole Colson http://www.countercurrents.org/colson300507.htm In any rational society, the threat of global warming would have gotten attention a long time ago, with every possible resource devoted to measures to slow climate change and alleviate its effects. But under capitalism, greed and profits come first--even at the risk of far-reaching global devastation Runaway Climate Change: An Obesity Analogy By Bill Henderson http://www.countercurrents.org/henderson300507.htm Sea-level rise in 2100. An increasing risk of hurricanes, weird weather and heat waves. Risks to farming and forestry; drought and famine leading to failed states and refugees. Corroding ecosystems; species extinction; disease migration and bug infestations. Predicted increasing but adaptable - not terminal - risks as the temperature rises Christians: A Faith Under Assault In Secular India By Vidya Bhushan Rawat http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat300507.htm A review of John Dayal's book "A matter of Equity: Freedom of Faith in Secular India" ========================= Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping From gora at sarai.net Thu May 31 00:38:57 2007 From: gora at sarai.net (Gora Mohanty) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 00:38:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] CounterCurrents pdate: On US Imperialism In-Reply-To: <48097acc0705301001y449ab87cua87a608765a4560a@mail.gmail.com> References: <48097acc0705301001y449ab87cua87a608765a4560a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1180552137.8480.1.camel@anubis> On Wed, 2007-05-30 at 22:31 +0530, Yogi Sikand wrote: > Hello > > Kindly forward this newsletter to your friends and > encourage them to > join this mailing list. > http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm [...] Do you have a point in this posting this collection of random articles about someone who has had their 15 minutes of fame, or is this just some new form of spam? Regards, Gora From indersalim at gmail.com Thu May 31 15:28:49 2007 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 15:28:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] invite- performance, part of Queer Fest 2007 Message-ID: <47e122a70705310258x58546a1ehed3ecad11b159a62@mail.gmail.com> Dear all Ist of June 7 PM, an evening of performances. Part of THE QUEER FEST organized by The Nigah. http://www.thequeerfest.com/performance.html I am doing a little performance piece on Hazrat Sufi Sarmad Shaheed Sahib. Please fill the ATTIC with your graceful presence. It is Sansad Marg, next to People Tree, C.P. I have uploaded some image in my blog. Please visit http://indersalim.livejournal.com with love indersalim -- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: at crafts museum delhi.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 410640 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070531/8d47d889/attachment-0002.jpg From xavier.cahen at pourinfos.org Thu May 31 15:49:06 2007 From: xavier.cahen at pourinfos.org (xavier cahen pourinfos.org) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:19:06 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] pourinfos Newsletter / 30-05 to 06-06-2007 Message-ID: <465EA11A.5090703@pourinfos.org> pourinfos.org l'actualité du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From Wenesday May 30, 2007 to Wenesday June 06 2007 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (30/05/2007) Meetings: The conference Hors limites : Qu’est-ce que le contemporain ?, 30 et 31 mai 2007, 30 and May 31, 2007, Association Libraries of Seine-Saint-Denis, CND de Pantin, Pantin, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34761-tit--Le-colloque-Hors-limites-Qu-est-ce-que -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (30/05/2007) Residences: Call for artist's studio from the town of Marseille, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34938-tit--pour-les-ateliers-municipaux-de-la-Ville -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (30/05/2007) Meetings: Les Rencontres Internationales, 25 at June 30, 2007, Film, video, multimedia, Cinéma Babylon Mitte, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/art-34943-tit--Les-Internationales-25-au-30-juin-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (30/05/2007) Meetings: 2nd International meeting of Eco-creation, the 20 to august 26, 2007, Maison Radieuse de Rezé, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34948-tit--2eme-Rencontre-Internationale -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (30/05/2007) Publication : Rituels hypermédiatiques (Ritual hypermediatic), archée, cybermensuel, May_2005, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-34949-tit--Rituels-hypermediatiques-archee- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (30/05/2007) Publication : Publication: Republication “the privilege to be”, George Mathieu, editions Complicités, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34950-tit--Reedition-Le-privilege-d-etre-Georges -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (30/05/2007) Publication: listening online : La critique d’art entre diffusion et prospection (The criticism of art between diffusion and prospection,), Colloque international Max et Iris Stern II, MACM, Montréal, Canada http://pourinfos.org/art-34952-tit-ublication-La-critique-d-art-entre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (30/05/2007) Publication: sixth edition, 2007/2008, Guide of the assistances to cinematographic, audio-visual and multi-media creation, editions vidéodoc, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34953-tit--sixieme-edition-2007-2008-Guide-des -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (30/05/2007) Présentation : Un pas de cote (A step on a side) French Alliance from Moldova, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. http://pourinfos.org/art-34955-tit-Presentation-Un-pas-de-cote-French -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (30/05/2007) Exhibition: Perhaps—, Etienne Chambaud & Hannes Schmidt, Nice and Fit Showroom, Berlin, Allemagne. http://pourinfos.org/art-34957-tit--Perhaps-Etienne-Chambaud-Hannes -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (30/05/2007) Exhibition: “the world is small”, restitution of project of visual arts, Interface , Dijon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34959-tit--le-monde-est-petit-restitution-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (30/05/2007) Formation: workshop photographs of Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34960-tit-Formation-workshop-stages-photos-des -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (30/05/2007) Formation: GOTO10 @ folly Summer School of Sound, St Martins College, Lancaster, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-34961-tit-Formation-GOTO10-folly-Summer-School-of -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (30/05/2007) Formation: workshop printing, engraving, , la xylographie, Progetto Ecate, Ghiffa, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/art-34962-tit-Formation-workshop-estampe-la-gravure- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (30/05/2007) Various: Award Winning Artists Selected for Gibraltar Point Residency Program, Toronto Island, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-34963-tit-Divers-Award-Winning-Artists-Selected-for -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (30/05/2007) Call: Sound engineer or artist required, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-34965-tit--Sound-engineer-or-artist-required- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (30/05/2007) Call: Peur II fears 2 n# 62 of the review esse arts + opinions, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-34966-tit--Peur-II-du-numero-62-de-la-revue-esse -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (30/05/2007) Call: Reciprocal actions n# 63 of the review ess arts + opinions, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-34967-tit--Actions-reciproques-du-numero-63-de-la -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (30/05/2007) Call: call for web based works, 00130gallery, Helsinki, finland. http://pourinfos.org/art-34968-tit--call-for-web-based-works-00130gallery- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (30/05/2007) Call: 6DOFMUESTRAPUEBLA07, Centre culturel LA CLOACA, Puebla, Mexico. http://pourinfos.org/art-34969-tit--6DOFMUESTRAPUEBLA07-Centre-culturel-LA -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (30/05/2007) Call: 6 studies and research in charge at l'INHA, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34970-tit--pour-le-recrutement-de-6-charges -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (30/05/2007) Call: Malevich Society Grant Competition 2007, New York, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/art-34971-tit--Malevich-Society-Grant-Competition-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (30/05/2007) Call: dance, residences of 2nd semester 2007, Point ephemere, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34972-tit--danse-residences-du-2nd-semestre-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (30/05/2007) Call: CALL FOR CURATORIAL PROPOSALS - LabforCulture.org, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. http://pourinfos.org/art-34973-tit--CALL-FOR-CURATORIAL-PROPOSALS- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (30/05/2007) Call: [CC] "curating media/net/art--discussions", Open Call for Participation and/or Papers, Vienna, Austria. http://pourinfos.org/art-34974-tit--CC-curating -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (31/05/2007) Meetings: Metal and contemporary creation, Thursday May 31, 2007, Amphitheatre of l’Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Valenciennes, Valenciennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34765-tit--Metal-et-creation-contemporaine-Jeudi-31 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (31/05/2007) Meetings: eureka, moment of the invention, a dialogue between art and science, May 31, 2007, University Paris 8, Saint-Denis-University, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34842-tit--eureka-le-moment-de-l-invention-un -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (31/05/2007) Meetings: Art, artificial intelligence and complexity, Laboratory Paragraph, University Paris 8, Saint denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34916-tit--Art-intelligence-artificielle-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (31/05/2007) Meetings: Bruno Latour, organized by the collective Echolalia, Thursday May 31, 2007, Sciences Po, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34946-tit--Bruno-Latour-organisee-par-le-collectif -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (01/06/2007) Meetings: Upgrade! #9: Igor Stormajer, Friday June 1, Ars Longa, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34939-tit--Upgrade-9-Igor-Stormajer-vendredi-1er -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (01/06/2007) Meetings: Philippe Millot, Friday June 1, 2007, University Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34942-tit--Philippe-Millot-vendredi-1er-juin-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (01/06/2007) Meetings: arte digital y nuevos medios, conférence Lauren Cornell , 1 juin 2007, Espacio Movistar, Barcelona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-34947-tit--arte-digital-y-nuevos-medios-conference -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (01/06/2007) Exhibition: The second Nature (Second Nature), arborescence, Foundation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34956-tit--Second-Nature-arborescence-Fondation -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (01/06/2007) Exhibition: Jos De Gruyter & Harald Thys, MuHKA, Antwerpen, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-34958-tit--Jos-De-Gruyter-Harald-Thys-MuHKA- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (02/06/2007) Meetings: Écrans de pensée, electronic Poetry, Saturday June 2, 2007, Orangerie de Cachan, Cachan, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34914-tit--Ecrans-de-pensee-Poesie-electronique- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (02/06/2007) Meetings: Water in the garden: art and environment ( L'eau dans le jardin : art et environnement ), Saturday June 2, 2007, Abbey of Maubuisson, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34921-tit--L-eau-dans-le-jardin-art-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (02/06/2007) Meetings: Pierre Faure, Saturday June 2, 2007, Artaïs-art contemporary, Brétigny sur Orge, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34941-tit--Pierre-Faure-samedi-2-juin-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (03/06/2007) Meeting: Eduardo Kac, Anomos and Troisième Oeil / Face au Présent, 3 June 3, 2007, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34913-tit--Eduardo-Kac-Anomos-et-Troisieme-Oeil- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (03/06/2007) Publication : Leo et Bos, La Mort derrière la paille, art book of May 2007, June 3 2007, editions CQFD, la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34951-tit--Leo-et-Bos-La-Mort-derriere-la-paille- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (04/06/2007) Rencontres : Johan Grimonprez, Cycle : Vidéo et après, June 4, 2007, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34944-tit--Johan-Grimonprez-Cycle-Video-et-apres- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (05/06/2007) Meetings: expo-rencontres, expo-meetings, a dialogue between poetry, music and visual arts, Tuesday 5, 2007, association acta, Isle sur la Sorgue, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34912-tit--expo-rencontres-un-dialogue-entre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 (05/06/2007) Exhibition: and performances, ECHOLALIE - OPEN 2007, organized by the collective Echolalia in lelabo, June 5, 2007, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34927-tit--et-performances-ECHOLALIE-OPEN-2007- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 043 (06/06/2007) Meetings: François Morellet, Wednesday June 6, 2007, Coffee of the Museum, the Museum of contemporary art of Lyon, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-34945-tit--Francois-Morellet-Mercredi-6-Juin-2007- -- pourinfos.org -------------- XAVIER CAHEN Direction de la publication xavier.cahen at pourinfos.org http://www.pourinfos.org _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements