From elkamath at yahoo.com Fri Feb 1 09:24:35 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:54:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: REMINDER: Migrant/Media/Metropolis: New Labour Struggles in the global city Message-ID: <580774.22799.qm@web53608.mail.re2.yahoo.com> FYI > Migrant / Media / Metropolis > New labour struggles in the global city > Saturday February 2nd, Amsterdam (Program Below) > > Migration and media-activists gather with theorists and labour > organizers to discuss and share best practices in the fight against > precarity and insecure labour conditions. Sharing inspiring examples of > social justice unionism and creative campaigning like "Justice for > Janitors" in the U.S. and "Cleaners For a Better Future" in the > Netherlands. The aim is to challenge traditional labour practices, > syndicate and inspire a sharper network of social activists, academics, > media makers and artists to join contemporary urban labour struggles and > confederate into a globalization from below. > > With: Enrica Rigo (migration researcher); Marcel van der Linden (Labour > Historian) Zoe Romano (Chainworkers); Nico Sguiglia (Oficinas Sociales), > Massimo De Angelis (the Commoner), Dagmar Diesner (No Borders London), > Seoren Kohler (Multitude), Hagen Kopp (migration activist), preceded by > the book launch of Urban Politics Now! (NAi, 2007). > > Date | Saturday February 2 > > Time | 13.00 - 18.30 hrs. > > Language | English > > Live webcast | www.debalie.nl/live > > Organised in collaboration with Flexmens / Coalition For a Better Future / > FNV Bongenoten > > ========== > > Programme: > > 13:00-13:45 preprogramme – book launch: Urban Politics Now! Reimagining > democracy in the Neoliberal City. With participation from BAVO, Henk van > Houtum en Merijn Oudenampsen. > > 14:00 – 15:30 Start main programme > > panel #1 "Towards a Globalisation from Below" > Facilator: Valery Alzaga (Justice for Janitors – Global Campaign) > > -Massimo De Angelis, Beginning of History: global capital, global value > struggle > -Enrica Rigo, Contested Migrant Citizenship in Europe > -Marcel van der Linden, Organizing and New Labour Internationalism > -Hagen Kopp, Forging a Transnational chain of migration-activism > > Globalization has brought us an increasingly integrated global circuit > of large corporations and financial conglomerates, which have > concentrated power in fewer and fewer hands. On the other side, we can > find an emerging globalization from below, that of migrants, labour > struggles and social activists, claiming space and redistributing wealth. > > 15:30-16:00 Break with possibility of sandwich and conspiring. > > 16:00- 17:15 > panel #2 "Syndicalism 2.0" > > -Dutch Cleaners Campaign (Juliano Vieira & Herrie Hoogenboom,organizer FNV > Bongenoten) > -Migrant labour struggles in South Spain (Nico Scuglia, Indymedia > Estrecho) > -Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers Union (Fe Jusay - CFMW & Katrien > Depuydt - Abvakabo) > -German Retail Strike (Franziska Bruder, Verdi) > > Examples of campaigns that have brought inspiration and innovation back > to labour, revolving around organizing and social movement unionism, > building community, going back to the base and out of the office. > > 17:15-18:30 > panel #3 "No Longer Invisible: Labour & Media" > -Zoe Romano (Chainworkers Milano), interventions of a bio syndicate > -Merijn Oudenampsen (Betere Toekomst), Mediawork in Dutch Cleaners > Campaign > -Soeren Kohler (Multitude e.V) : Media-activism and worker participation > at German Retail strike > -Dagmar Diesner (NoBorders London), Screening Underground Londoners > > Media-activism has provided a vital ingredient to new campaigns, to > visibilize what normally remains hidden from view. Media-activists > showcase their work, and discuss issues of participation and > representation. > Cross-posted frm DEBATE list ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From aman.am at gmail.com Fri Feb 1 11:26:56 2008 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 11:26:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: REMINDER: Migrant/Media/Metropolis: New Labour Struggles in the global city In-Reply-To: <580774.22799.qm@web53608.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <580774.22799.qm@web53608.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <995a19920801312156y7cfef3c1wb8e9e43b29579e56@mail.gmail.com> "Hagen Kopp (migration activist)" I ask this question in all innocence. What is a migration activist? best a. On Feb 1, 2008 9:24 AM, lalitha kamath wrote: > > > FYI > > > > Migrant / Media / Metropolis > > New labour struggles in the global city > > Saturday February 2nd, Amsterdam (Program Below) > > > > > Migration and media-activists gather with theorists and labour > > organizers to discuss and share best practices in the fight against > > precarity and insecure labour conditions. Sharing inspiring examples of > > > social justice unionism and creative campaigning like "Justice for > > Janitors" in the U.S. and "Cleaners For a Better Future" in the > > Netherlands. The aim is to challenge traditional labour practices, > > > syndicate and inspire a sharper network of social activists, academics, > > media makers and artists to join contemporary urban labour struggles and > > confederate into a globalization from below. > > > > > With: Enrica Rigo (migration researcher); Marcel van der Linden (Labour > > Historian) Zoe Romano (Chainworkers); Nico Sguiglia (Oficinas Sociales), > > Massimo De Angelis (the Commoner), Dagmar Diesner (No Borders London), > > > Seoren Kohler (Multitude), , preceded by > > the book launch of Urban Politics Now! (NAi, 2007). > > > > Date | Saturday February 2 > > > > Time | 13.00 - 18.30 hrs. > > > > > Language | English > > > > Live webcast | www.debalie.nl/live > > > > Organised in collaboration with Flexmens / Coalition For a Better Future / > > > FNV Bongenoten > > > > ========== > > > > Programme: > > > > 13:00-13:45 preprogramme – book launch: Urban Politics Now! Reimagining > > democracy in the Neoliberal City. With participation from BAVO, Henk van > > > Houtum en Merijn Oudenampsen. > > > > 14:00 – 15:30 Start main programme > > > > panel #1 "Towards a Globalisation from Below" > > Facilator: Valery Alzaga (Justice for Janitors – Global Campaign) > > > > > -Massimo De Angelis, Beginning of History: global capital, global value > > struggle > > -Enrica Rigo, Contested Migrant Citizenship in Europe > > -Marcel van der Linden, Organizing and New Labour Internationalism > > > -Hagen Kopp, Forging a Transnational chain of migration-activism > > > > Globalization has brought us an increasingly integrated global circuit > > of large corporations and financial conglomerates, which have > > > concentrated power in fewer and fewer hands. On the other side, we can > > find an emerging globalization from below, that of migrants, labour > > struggles and social activists, claiming space and redistributing wealth. > > > > > 15:30-16:00 Break with possibility of sandwich and conspiring. > > > > 16:00- 17:15 > > panel #2 "Syndicalism 2.0" > > > > -Dutch Cleaners Campaign (Juliano Vieira & Herrie Hoogenboom,organizer FNV > > > Bongenoten) > > -Migrant labour struggles in South Spain (Nico Scuglia, Indymedia > > Estrecho) > > -Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers Union (Fe Jusay - CFMW & Katrien > > Depuydt - Abvakabo) > > -German Retail Strike (Franziska Bruder, Verdi) > > > > > Examples of campaigns that have brought inspiration and innovation back > > to labour, revolving around organizing and social movement unionism, > > building community, going back to the base and out of the office. > > > > > 17:15-18:30 > > panel #3 "No Longer Invisible: Labour & Media" > > -Zoe Romano (Chainworkers Milano), interventions of a bio syndicate > > -Merijn Oudenampsen (Betere Toekomst), Mediawork in Dutch Cleaners > > > Campaign > > -Soeren Kohler (Multitude e.V) : Media-activism and worker participation > > at German Retail strike > > -Dagmar Diesner (NoBorders London), Screening Underground Londoners > > > > Media-activism has provided a vital ingredient to new campaigns, to > > > visibilize what normally remains hidden from view. Media-activists > > showcase their work, and discuss issues of participation and > > representation. > > > > Cross-posted frm DEBATE list > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better friend, newshound, and > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > _________________________________________ > 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 ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Fri Feb 1 16:28:16 2008 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 02:58:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] 17,060 farm suicides in one year Message-ID: <12893.54143.qm@web51409.mail.re2.yahoo.com> 17,060 farm suicides in one year P. Sainath Uptrends in major States unchanged Mumbai: Farm suicides in Maharashtra rose dramatically in 2006, more than in any other part of the country. The State saw 4,453 farmers’ suicides that year, over a quarter of the all-India total of 17,060, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its report Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, 2006. That is the worst figure recorded ‘in any year for any State’ since the NCRB first began logging farm suicides. The previous worst — 4,147 in 2004 — was also in Maharashtra. It has seen ‘36,428 farmers’ suicides’ since 1995, ‘in official count.’ ‘2006 is the latest year for which data are available.’ The suicides in Maharashtra mark an increase of 527 over the 2005 figure. This was four and a half times bigger than that in Andhra Pradesh, the next worst-hit State, which saw a rise of 117 farm suicides over 2005. It was also more than twice the increase of 198 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh taken together. Worse, it means farmers accounted for half ‘the increase’ in all suicides in Maharashtra in 2006. Significantly, Maharashtra’s upward spike occurred in the year when the relief packages of both the Prime Minister and Chief Minister — worth Rs. 4,825 crore in all — were being implemented in the Vidharbha region, where suicides have been most intense. The NCRB figures show an unrelenting uptrend in what can be termed the ‘SEZ’ or (Farmers) ‘Special Elimination Zone’ States. These States, which account for nearly two-thirds of all farm suicides in the country, include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (including Chhattisgarh). As a group, the ‘SEZ’ States saw an increase of 6.2 per cent in such deaths. Among them, Maharashtra (4,453), Andhra Pradesh (2,607) and Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (2,858) show a sharp upward spike. Karnataka (1,720) reports a decline. So though the all-India numbers for 2006 reflect a very small decline of 61 over the 2005 figure of 17,131, the broad trends of the last decade continue. And the trend of rapidly rising farm suicides, particularly post-2001 in the ‘SEZ’ States, remains unchanged. So the minuscule decline in the figure for the country as a whole marks no break from the dismal decade-long trend. NCRB data record 1,66,304 farmers’ suicides in a decade since 1997. Of these, 78,737 occurred between 1997 and 2001. The next five years — from 2002 to 2006 — proved worse, seeing 87,567 farmers take their own lives. This means that on average, there has been one farmer’s suicide every 30 minutes since 2002. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 1 17:14:34 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:44:34 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] 17,060 farm suicides in one year In-Reply-To: <12893.54143.qm@web51409.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <12893.54143.qm@web51409.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: True, and unfortunate, as the Prime minister of the nation announces the packages for the farmers, that too, 3000 crores, to be siphoned off by sycophants with the supplies of farm equipments of under quality material what else can be expected. ? With trip to Arunachal after visit to China, this lame duck PM has neither the guts nor the authority or the political will to be of any good governing figure for India, talking of 9 or 10 prcent growth in terms of kickbacks. Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: Yousuf Date: Friday, February 1, 2008 4:30 pm Subject: [Reader-list] 17,060 farm suicides in one year To: sarai sarai > 17,060 farm suicides in one year > > P. Sainath > > Uptrends in major States unchanged > > Mumbai: Farm suicides in Maharashtra rose dramatically > in 2006, more than in any other part of the country. > The State saw 4,453 farmers’ suicides that year, over > a quarter of the all-India total of 17,060, according > to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its > report Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, 2006. > That is the worst figure recorded ‘in any year for any > State’ since the NCRB first began logging farm > suicides. > > The previous worst — 4,147 in 2004 — was also in > Maharashtra. It has seen ‘36,428 farmers’ suicides’ > since 1995, ‘in official count.’ ‘2006 is the latest > year for which data are available.’ > > The suicides in Maharashtra mark an increase of 527 > over the 2005 figure. This was four and a half times > bigger than that in Andhra Pradesh, the next worst-hit > State, which saw a rise of 117 farm suicides over > 2005. > > It was also more than twice the increase of 198 in > Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh taken together. > > Worse, it means farmers accounted for half ‘the > increase’ in all suicides in Maharashtra in 2006. > > Significantly, Maharashtra’s upward spike occurred in > the year when the relief packages of both the Prime > Minister and Chief Minister — worth Rs. 4,825 crore in > all — were being implemented in the Vidharbha region, > where suicides have been most intense. > > The NCRB figures show an unrelenting uptrend in what > can be termed the ‘SEZ’ or (Farmers) ‘Special > Elimination Zone’ States. These States, which account > for nearly two-thirds of all farm suicides in the > country, include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, > Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (including Chhattisgarh). > > > As a group, the ‘SEZ’ States saw an increase of 6.2 > per cent in such deaths. > > Among them, Maharashtra (4,453), Andhra Pradesh > (2,607) and Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (2,858) show a > sharp upward spike. > > Karnataka (1,720) reports a decline. So though the > all-India numbers for 2006 reflect a very small > decline of 61 over the 2005 figure of 17,131, the > broad trends of the last decade continue. And the > trend of rapidly rising farm suicides, particularly > post-2001 in the ‘SEZ’ States, remains unchanged. > > So the minuscule decline in the figure for the country > as a whole marks no break from the dismal decade-long > trend. > > NCRB data record 1,66,304 farmers’ suicides in a > decade since 1997. > > Of these, 78,737 occurred between 1997 and 2001. The > next five years — from 2002 to 2006 — proved worse, > seeing 87,567 farmers take their own lives. > > This means that on average, there has been one > farmer’s suicide every 30 minutes since 2002. > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________Looking for last minute shopping deals? > Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. > http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping_________________________________________ > 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 radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 1 17:26:08 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:56:08 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: REMINDER: Migrant/Media/Metropolis: New LabourStruggles in the global city In-Reply-To: <995a19920801312156y7cfef3c1wb8e9e43b29579e56@mail.gmail.com> References: <580774.22799.qm@web53608.mail.re2.yahoo.com> <995a19920801312156y7cfef3c1wb8e9e43b29579e56@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Well have any of us observed when following incidents take place.-- ? 1. Sewerage lines are clogged, the sewerage board has no staff ,ask the contractor to clean up the clogged lines. The person who gets into sewerage line smells of cheap IMFL, but unhesitatingly takes bamboo sticks long ones, dips himself in the filth , cleans the clogged lines, comes out, there is hardly a bucket of water for him to clean himself of the filthy sewrage, but again drowns his smell of filth in country arrack, gets as less as a dollar for a days work, Rs,50/- for all the filth and cleaning of the clogged drain. 2. garment factories have enough jobs for the female workers on contract basis, but working conditions are simply horrible, to add insult to injury, the sexual abuses is also have to be tolereated, for a meagre sum of Rs.50/- for ten hours of hard work. 3. Workers in unorganised sector and also in organised sector, where they have their union, but the top office bearers are not workers but foisted on them by comrade leaders, who live on the subscription of the comrade workers, have the silence to suffer when management uses all methods of greed to appease the comrade leaders. May be these are the migratory workers who migrate for better working conditions/ salaries.? ----- Original Message ----- From: Aman Sethi Date: Friday, February 1, 2008 11:29 am Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: REMINDER: Migrant/Media/Metropolis: New LabourStruggles in the global city To: reader-list at sarai.net > "Hagen Kopp (migration activist)" > I ask this question in all innocence. What is a migration activist? > best > a. > > On Feb 1, 2008 9:24 AM, lalitha kamath wrote: > > > > > > FYI > > > > > > > Migrant / Media / Metropolis > > > New labour struggles in the global city > > > Saturday February 2nd, Amsterdam (Program Below) > > > > > > > > Migration and media-activists gather with theorists and labour > > > organizers to discuss and share best practices in the fight > against> > precarity and insecure labour conditions. Sharing > inspiring examples of > > > > > social justice unionism and creative campaigning like "Justice for > > > Janitors" in the U.S. and "Cleaners For a Better Future" in the > > > Netherlands. The aim is to challenge traditional labour practices, > > > > > syndicate and inspire a sharper network of social activists, > academics,> > media makers and artists to join contemporary urban > labour struggles and > > > confederate into a globalization from below. > > > > > > > > With: Enrica Rigo (migration researcher); Marcel van der > Linden (Labour > > > Historian) Zoe Romano (Chainworkers); Nico Sguiglia (Oficinas > Sociales),> > Massimo De Angelis (the Commoner), Dagmar Diesner > (No Borders London), > > > > > Seoren Kohler (Multitude), , preceded by > > > the book launch of Urban Politics Now! (NAi, 2007). > > > > > > Date | Saturday February 2 > > > > > > Time | 13.00 - 18.30 hrs. > > > > > > > > Language | English > > > > > > Live webcast | www.debalie.nl/live > > > > > > Organised in collaboration with Flexmens / Coalition For a > Better Future / > > > > > FNV Bongenoten > > > > > > ========== > > > > > > Programme: > > > > > > 13:00-13:45 preprogramme – book launch: Urban Politics Now! > Reimagining> > democracy in the Neoliberal City. With > participation from BAVO, Henk van > > > > > Houtum en Merijn Oudenampsen. > > > > > > 14:00 – 15:30 Start main programme > > > > > > panel #1 "Towards a Globalisation from Below" > > > Facilator: Valery Alzaga (Justice for Janitors – Global Campaign) > > > > > > > > -Massimo De Angelis, Beginning of History: global capital, > global value > > > struggle > > > -Enrica Rigo, Contested Migrant Citizenship in Europe > > > -Marcel van der Linden, Organizing and New Labour Internationalism > > > > > -Hagen Kopp, Forging a Transnational chain of migration-activism > > > > > > Globalization has brought us an increasingly integrated global > circuit> > of large corporations and financial conglomerates, > which have > > > > > concentrated power in fewer and fewer hands. On the other > side, we can > > > find an emerging globalization from below, that of migrants, > labour> > struggles and social activists, claiming space and > redistributing wealth. > > > > > > > > 15:30-16:00 Break with possibility of sandwich and conspiring. > > > > > > 16:00- 17:15 > > > panel #2 "Syndicalism 2.0" > > > > > > -Dutch Cleaners Campaign (Juliano Vieira & Herrie > Hoogenboom,organizer FNV > > > > > Bongenoten) > > > -Migrant labour struggles in South Spain (Nico Scuglia, Indymedia > > > Estrecho) > > > -Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers Union (Fe Jusay - CFMW & > Katrien> > Depuydt - Abvakabo) > > > -German Retail Strike (Franziska Bruder, Verdi) > > > > > > > > Examples of campaigns that have brought inspiration and > innovation back > > > to labour, revolving around organizing and social movement > unionism,> > building community, going back to the base and out of > the office. > > > > > > > > 17:15-18:30 > > > panel #3 "No Longer Invisible: Labour & Media" > > > -Zoe Romano (Chainworkers Milano), interventions of a bio > syndicate> > -Merijn Oudenampsen (Betere Toekomst), Mediawork in > Dutch Cleaners > > > > > Campaign > > > -Soeren Kohler (Multitude e.V) : Media-activism and worker > participation> > at German Retail strike > > > -Dagmar Diesner (NoBorders London), Screening Underground > Londoners> > > > > Media-activism has provided a vital ingredient to new > campaigns, to > > > > > visibilize what normally remains hidden from view. Media-activists > > > showcase their work, and discuss issues of participation and > > > representation. > > > > > > > Cross-posted frm DEBATE list > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________> Be a better friend, newshound, and > > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ> > _________________________________________> reader-list: an open > discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > list > List archive: From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 1 17:33:00 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:03:00 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] The devil in the White House kills a million in IRAQ In-Reply-To: <98f331e00801310719o18c19d85i4b80f55b6374f917@mail.gmail.com> References: <98f331e00801310719o18c19d85i4b80f55b6374f917@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Human greed to dominate in the guise of idealogy or religion and utter disregard of ethics and morals in life for the greed of material wealth has seen many devils in action. Buddhadeb battacharjee has also contributed his might to reduce the population of his voters. ! If american leader wants to control oil facilities, it is Buddha who wants to favour his indusrtial tycoons that have indulged in the activities to be devil in writers building, Biman bose has the credentials to be shakuni mama. ! ----- Original Message ----- From: prakash ray Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008 8:52 pm Subject: [Reader-list] The devil in the White House kills a million in IRAQ To: reader-list at sarai.net > Accordig to a joint study by a London based agency Opinion > Research Business > (ORB) and an Iraqi agency Independent Institute for Administration > and Civil > Society Studies (IIACSS), more than ONE MILLION Iraqis had lost > their lives > as a result of violence between March 2003 and August 2007. > > This study was published on Wednesday and widely reported in leading > newspapers across the globe. > > In a report of the US (in July last year), the population of Iraq was > estimated around 27 MILLION. > > The capital city of Iraq, Baghdad, has witnessed maximum > casualities where > more than 40 PERCENT FAMILIES HAD LOST ONE MEMBER. > > > > Prakash > _________________________________________ > 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 amitabh at sarai.net Fri Feb 1 17:47:54 2008 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 17:47:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why Not Comcs..?? A Panel Discussion on the Art, Economics and the Future of the Comic Book Culture of India Message-ID: Why Not Comics? A Panel Discussion on the Art, Economics and the Future of the Comic Book Culture of India Comics in India has a history that extends a little more than 40 years, but it is only now that we are witnessing a rise in public interest towards them, with publishing houses taking the form in its modern renditions more seriously, and more readers turning into creators. In this scenario, it is imperative for a platform to exist through which a new understanding about comics might emerge. Sarai-CSDS, The French Embassy and the FIRC (French Information Resource Center) invite you to an evening celebrating the comic book culture in New Delhi, as well as the culmination of a nine-day workshop on comic books and graphic novels. Jointly produced by the YP foundation (The Youth Parliament), the event will include a first-of-its-kind dialogue between comic book artists and publishers. Join us in trying to understand the economics and the art of comics in India and be witness to a dialogue that will give you a sense of what the future holds! Discussants include : Orijit Sen, Comic Book Author Sarnath Banerjee, Comic Book Author Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Comic Book Artist/Practitioner Diya Kar-Hazra, Commissioning Editor, Penguin India V.K. Karthika, Publisher & Chief Editor, Harper Collins India Sanjay Gupta/ Kshitsh Padhy , Raj Comics Amitabh Kumar, Comic Book Researcher & Practitioner, Sarai Marielle Morin, Director FIRC & Books Attachée French Embassy Suddhabrata Sengupta, Co-Founder Sarai & Member of Raqs Media Collective 5 February, 2008 at 5.30 pm. 18th New Delhi World Book Fair Hall No. 6, Conference Room No.1 Mezzanine Floor Pragati Maidan, New Delhi The Sarai-FIRC comic book workshop has been conceived as one of the new projects undertaken by the Sarai – FIRC collaboration that brings together a fresh crop of practitioners and readers, thus playing a critical role in the emergence of a new sensibility regarding forms of print production in India. This is part of a larger collaboration of Sarai-CSDS and FIRC to promote comic books. The first series of events under this collaboration were the comic book readings where readers/practitioners are invited to talk about comic books (both old and recently published). Both Sarai and the FIRC had conducted comic book workshops independently in the years 2006-2007 and had felt the need to draw out a programme that could provide a space where newer practitioners could enter the fold as well as existing practitioners find ways to extend and deepen their engagement with the form. This understanding yielded to a common ground that gave birth to a collaboration dedicated to the production of a thriving comic book culture in India. From amitabh at sarai.net Fri Feb 1 17:47:54 2008 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 17:47:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Why Not Comcs..?? A Panel Discussion on the Art, Economics and the Future of the Comic Book Culture of India Message-ID: Why Not Comics? A Panel Discussion on the Art, Economics and the Future of the Comic Book Culture of India Comics in India has a history that extends a little more than 40 years, but it is only now that we are witnessing a rise in public interest towards them, with publishing houses taking the form in its modern renditions more seriously, and more readers turning into creators. In this scenario, it is imperative for a platform to exist through which a new understanding about comics might emerge. Sarai-CSDS, The French Embassy and the FIRC (French Information Resource Center) invite you to an evening celebrating the comic book culture in New Delhi, as well as the culmination of a nine-day workshop on comic books and graphic novels. Jointly produced by the YP foundation (The Youth Parliament), the event will include a first-of-its-kind dialogue between comic book artists and publishers. Join us in trying to understand the economics and the art of comics in India and be witness to a dialogue that will give you a sense of what the future holds! Discussants include : Orijit Sen, Comic Book Author Sarnath Banerjee, Comic Book Author Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Comic Book Artist/Practitioner Diya Kar-Hazra, Commissioning Editor, Penguin India V.K. Karthika, Publisher & Chief Editor, Harper Collins India Sanjay Gupta/ Kshitsh Padhy , Raj Comics Amitabh Kumar, Comic Book Researcher & Practitioner, Sarai Marielle Morin, Director FIRC & Books Attachée French Embassy Suddhabrata Sengupta, Co-Founder Sarai & Member of Raqs Media Collective 5 February, 2008 at 5.30 pm. 18th New Delhi World Book Fair Hall No. 6, Conference Room No.1 Mezzanine Floor Pragati Maidan, New Delhi The Sarai-FIRC comic book workshop has been conceived as one of the new projects undertaken by the Sarai – FIRC collaboration that brings together a fresh crop of practitioners and readers, thus playing a critical role in the emergence of a new sensibility regarding forms of print production in India. This is part of a larger collaboration of Sarai-CSDS and FIRC to promote comic books. The first series of events under this collaboration were the comic book readings where readers/practitioners are invited to talk about comic books (both old and recently published). Both Sarai and the FIRC had conducted comic book workshops independently in the years 2006-2007 and had felt the need to draw out a programme that could provide a space where newer practitioners could enter the fold as well as existing practitioners find ways to extend and deepen their engagement with the form. This understanding yielded to a common ground that gave birth to a collaboration dedicated to the production of a thriving comic book culture in India. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From asitredsalute at gmail.com Fri Feb 1 18:58:06 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 08:28:06 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] The devil in the White House kills a million in IRAQ In-Reply-To: References: <98f331e00801310719o18c19d85i4b80f55b6374f917@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: well lets not trivialise the grim historical moment today our focus should not be lost on the predatory us imperialism to day the sadist super imperial state with a formidable military machine in a helpless hopelessley unipolar neoliberal world oe has to careful while drawing comparisions wit iraq the scale of its devastation rape plunder and genocide lets not forgt more than one million iraqis died by us invasion lts not forget the death of fivemillion iraqi children thrugh us economic blockade its high time we take the issue of us imerialism deriously and strive for a world wide anti imperialist movement thats most principal contraction today hence thetop most political priority of the toiling democratic masses of the third world asit On Feb 1, 2008 7:03 AM, wrote: > Human greed to dominate in the guise of idealogy or religion and utter > disregard of ethics and morals in life for the greed of material wealth has > seen many devils in action. Buddhadeb battacharjee has also contributed his > might to reduce the population of his voters. ! If american leader wants to > control oil facilities, it is Buddha who wants to favour his indusrtial > tycoons that have indulged in the activities to be devil in writers > building, Biman bose has the credentials to be shakuni mama. ! > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: prakash ray > Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008 8:52 pm > Subject: [Reader-list] The devil in the White House kills a million in > IRAQ > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > Accordig to a joint study by a London based agency Opinion > > Research Business > > (ORB) and an Iraqi agency Independent Institute for Administration > > and Civil > > Society Studies (IIACSS), more than ONE MILLION Iraqis had lost > > their lives > > as a result of violence between March 2003 and August 2007. > > > > This study was published on Wednesday and widely reported in leading > > newspapers across the globe. > > > > In a report of the US (in July last year), the population of Iraq was > > estimated around 27 MILLION. > > > > The capital city of Iraq, Baghdad, has witnessed maximum > > casualities where > > more than 40 PERCENT FAMILIES HAD LOST ONE MEMBER. > > > > > > > > Prakash > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > > list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From tasveerghar at gmail.com Sat Feb 2 10:03:58 2008 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 10:03:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] India's Popular Culture: a Marg book release Message-ID: <484c1050802012033q11cf3bb7x8da1f05cf73851d8@mail.gmail.com> Marg Publications, India International Centre, and Asia Society (India Centre) cordially invite you to a panel discussion on Marg's latest publication INDIA'S POPULAR CULTURE Iconic Spaces and Fluid Images Edited by Jyotindra Jain Venue: The Auditorium, IIC Annexe, 40 max Mueller Marg, New Delhi 10003 On Wednesday, February 06, 2007, at 6:30 pm Panel: JYOTINDRA JAIN (Professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi) SUMATHI RAMASWAMY (Professor of History at Duke University, North Carolina) YOUSUF SAEED (Independent filmmaker and researcher, also associated with Tasveer Ghar) ====== MARG REFLECTIONS (a discussion forum and an educational initiative) www.marg-art.org ====== Contents of the book Introduction: image mobility in India's popular culture. Jyotindra Jain Of Gods and Globes: the territorialization of Hindu deities in popular visual culture. Sumathi Ramaswamy "The Accidental Ramdev": the spread of a popular culture Christopher Pinney Optics for the Stage: curtains of the Surabhi Company Anuradha Kapur India's Republic Day Parade: restoring identities, constructing the nation Jyotindra Jain Mecca versus the Local Shrine: the dilemma of orientation in the popular religious art of Indian Muslims Yousuf Saeed The Bombay Film Poster: a short biography Ranjani Mazumdar The Family Archive: photo narratives from Goan villages Savia Viegas The Enclaved Gaze: exploring the visual culture of "world class living" in urban India Christiane Brosius From turbulence at turbulence.org Fri Feb 1 20:57:12 2008 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 10:27:12 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Networked_Music_Review Commission: "Flou" by Jason Freeman, et al Message-ID: <004701c864e6$fe36f790$faa4e6b0$@org> February 1, 2008 Networked_Music_Review Commission: "Flou" by Jason Freeman, with Andrew Beck, Xiang Cao, Mark Godfrey, Jagadeeswaran Jayaprakash, Al Matthews, Rachel Ponder, Alex Rae, and Sriram Viswanathan http://turbulence.org/works/flou/ Needs Java 1.5+ "Flou" (pronounced "flew") is not exactly a game; you do fly a ship through space, but you cannot shoot anything, score points, or win or lose. The focus, rather, is on the soundtrack: as you navigate through a 3D world and zoom through objects in space, you add loops and apply effects to an ever-evolving musical mix. You can also design your own worlds to fly through and share them with other "Flou" users. "Flou" is a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for Networked_Music_Review. It was made possible with funding from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. BIOGRAPHIES Jason Freeman (http://www.jasonfreeman.net) uses new technology and unconventional notation to break down barriers between composers, performers, and listeners, creating music that "stands as an example of the Web's mind-expanding possibilities" (Billboard) and helps to "bring composition into the Xbox age" (Wired). Recent projects include "Flock", a full-evening performance for saxophone quartet, dancers, and audience participation commissioned by Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami; "Graph Theory", a solo violin and web-based work commissioned by Turbulence; "iTunes Signature Maker", a software artwork commissioned by Rhizome; and "Glimmer", an audience-participation piece commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra. Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University. He is currently an assistant professor at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he teaches in the Music Department in the College of Architecture. The students in Freeman's Networked Music course at Georgia Tech (Andrew Beck, Xiang Cao, Mark Godfrey, Jagadeeswaran Jayaprakash, Al Matthews, Rachel Ponder, Alex Rae, and Sriram Viswanathan) are currently pursuing M.S. degrees in music technology, digital media, and human-computer interaction, and they have diverse backgrounds as composers and performers of experimental and popular music, as computer scientists, and as engineers. Over the course of the fall 2007 semester, they collaborated to develop the concept for "Flou", to design its user interface, visual components, and sound worlds, and to write, test, and deploy the software. They are currently creating a live-performance version of the work for presentation in spring 2008. For more Networked_Music_Review Commissions please visit http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review/tags/nmr_commission 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 anansi1 at earthlink.net Sat Feb 2 23:16:32 2008 From: anansi1 at earthlink.net (Paul D. Miller) Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 12:46:32 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [Reader-list] Hey from Paul/Dj Spooky - Michael Jackson!!! Message-ID: <21261179.1201974393602.JavaMail.root@elwamui-milano.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Hey y'all - I know I'm not normally the one to think about Michael Jackson, but when his people got in touch with me to comment on the 25th Anniversary of his album "Thriller," it was hard to turn down. The podcasts of the interviews and commentary will be up and running in a couple of days. For me, Thriller was one of the weirdest albums to hear as a kid, and the re-release should be interesting. They have crazy video stuff of Michael Jackson behind the scenes (no need to comment on how strange that could be!) and lots of other interesting goodies. For anyone who is into music of the last 30 years, regardless of how strange MJ has been... this is an often hilarious look into one of pop culture's most intriguing figures. And yes... there will be remixes!!! Paul Info below: ThrillerCast: A Free Thriller 25th Anniversary podcast series In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s multi-platinum, multi-award winning album Thriller, Legacy Recordings is proud to present Thrillercast: A groundbreaking podcast event dedicated to the 25th anniversary celebration of the world's biggest selling album of all time, "Thriller". The 40-episode podcast will run throughout 2008 and feature icons of music and screen, including hip-hop legend DMC, current superstars Akon, Nick Cannon, Kanye West, Chris Brown, will.i.am, Quincy Jones, Imogen Heap, choreographers Shane Sparks and Mia Michaels, turntablist DJ Spooky as well as many more special guests. Each guest sat down with us to discuss their experiences with Thriller, the various singles and videos, and its influence on them, both personally and professionally. Their stories are each unique and profound and singular in their message: Thriller was a game-changer across the board. 25 Years ago, Michael Jackson created what would become the biggest selling album of all time, Thriller. In 2008, Legacy Recordings is proud to present Thrillercast, a year-long podcast event featuring legends of music, film and culture taking you behind the scenes to their own experiences with Michael and hearing the album for the first time. Thrillercast launches on February 12th with Run-DMCs Darryl McDaniels. The free podcasts start today with "Episode 0", a teaser of what's to come, with a new episode available (roughly) each week starting on February 12. To be sure you and your readers don't miss an episode, subscribe the following ways: Embed the ThrillerCast widget into your web page: http://www.springwidgets.com/widgets/view/22851/ Through an RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thrillercast Listen at the Official Michael Jackson website: http://www.michaeljackson.com/ Or subscribe via iTunes or Zune From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sun Feb 3 21:13:47 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 09:43:47 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] URGENT LETTER AGAINST THE ANTI-PROSTITUTION PLEDGE In-Reply-To: <2dea8d9c0802030300p71b78b30oc2ccceebab6ef9d8@mail.gmail.com> References: <2dea8d9c0802030256w69b0de9cq765c12161acdec6b@mail.gmail.com> <2dea8d9c0802030300p71b78b30oc2ccceebab6ef9d8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62cba67a0802030743v40694d96m9c4544a2d9349634@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Manohar Elavarthi Date: Feb 3, 2008 5:00 AM Subject: [rainbowplanet] URGENT LETTER AGAINST THE ANTI-PROSTITUTION PLEDGE To: rainbowplanet at yahoogroups.com Dear friends, A strong group of advocates is working to strike the anti-prostitution pledge from PEPFAR (www.pepfar.gov ). We need your help from OUTSIDE the USA. The pledge requires organizations receiving U.S. funding to sign a pledge "opposing prostitution." This has created problems for effective programs to combat AIDS. Please sign on to this letter to US Congress recommending that the pledge be removed. To sign on, write to pepfarletter at taumail.com. If you would like to add a sentence about the ways the pledge has affected your work, please send that too! The deadline to sign on is Tuesday, 5 February, at 5 pm GMT. In solidarity, Manohar To Congress Re: PEPFAR A Letter from the Field by January 31, 2008 Dear Member of the US Congress: We are members of non-governmental and community-based organizations from throughout the developing world. We are writing out of concern about the so-called anti-prostitution pledge within the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the ways it affects our work. The pledge requires organizations receiving U.S. funding to sign a pledge "opposing prostitution." This policy has undermined the work of many of our organizations and we must protest it. PEPFAR demonstrates the US's commitment to address one of the world's most urgent health problems, the need to prevent, treat, and care for people infected with or affected by HIV and AIDS. The United States Congress has generously appropriated nearly $23 billion for this program, yet the conditions attached to PEPFAR limit the success of this program and in fact even prevent the people most in need from accessing both the prevention services and anti-retroviral drugs the program was established to provide. In addition, this and other restrictions have seriously diminished the effectiveness of the plan by denying funding purely on ideological grounds to organizations and programs seeking to prevent the greatest number of new infections possible among some of the most vulnerable populations, specifically sex workers. Many of us have turned down US funding because of these restrictions, which if adopted would prevent us from reaching some of the people most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Those of us who in fact still receive USAID funding are forced to restrict our activities and sometimes end our support for programs that have proven successful in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. The vagueness of both the law and policy implementing the pledge fosters self-censorship and stymies programs aimed at building skills within vulnerable populations and saving the lives of those daily at risk of infection, violence, discrimination and even death. We cannot effectively do our work of HIV prevention with the pledge. This restriction leads to violence against sex workers and other human rights violations by further isolating sex workers from mainstream society. Furthermore, this makes them prey to corrupt police and officials. Our work gives us critical perspective on the gaps between U.S. funding through PEPFAR and the reality on the ground. For example: · Sex workers in Bangladesh include women who have no other income-generating opportunities but whose programs have been cut due to the anti-prostitution pledge. HIV/AIDS has reached epidemic proportions among sex workers in some places. This pledge has been used as justification to deprive sex workers and suspected sex workers of clinical and humanitarian services. Sixteen drop-in centers for sex workers in Bangladesh were closed after their parent organization signed the pledge. For most of these women, the drop-in centers were the only places they had to bathe, to use the toilet, and to sleep. · In Thailand, male sex workers were prevented from accessing care at a clinic because offering services to sex workers was seen as violating the anti-prostitution pledge. · In Cambodia and Thailand, sex worker organizations have lost long-term partnerships with other service providers who feared losing their funding if they accepted sex workers at their facilities. We strongly advocate striking the prostitution pledge from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This well-intentioned clause has had extremely detrimental effects upon thousands of women, their families, and men throughout the developing world. It has undermined the effectiveness of US aid efforts. And it has undermined our trust in US support for the basic human rights of all persons, no matter their place in society. Yours sincerely, Manohar Elavarthi Bangalore, India __._,_.___ Messages in this topic ( 1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages| Files| Photos| Links| Database| Polls| Members| Calendar [image: Yahoo! Groups] Change settings via the Web(Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest| Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Visit Your Group Need traffic? Drive customers With search ads on Yahoo! Moderator Central Yahoo! Groups Join and receive produce updates. Weight Loss Group on Yahoo! Groups Get support and make friends online. . __,_._,___ - -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From rakesh at sarai.net Tue Feb 5 12:00:57 2008 From: rakesh at sarai.net (rakesh at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:00:57 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwd: Anurag Kashyap at Habitat today!] Message-ID: <1960.61.17.118.235.1202193057.squirrel@mail.sarai.net> ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: Anurag Kashyap at Habitat today! From: "Ranjani Mazumdar" Date: Tue, February 5, 2008 11:57 am To: rakesh at sarai.net bhagwati at sarai.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *The Habitat Film Club * Presents Director of *Black Friday*, scriptwriter of *Satya** *and dialogue writer of *Yuva* *ANURAG KASHYAP* With his Film *NO SMOKING* At the Stein Auditorium India Habitat Centre *Tuesday, 5th February at 7 pm* A Discussion with the Director will follow the Screening -- Ranjani Mazumdar Associate Professor Cinema Studies School of Arts and Aesthetics Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi 110067 http://www.jnu.ac.in/SAA/ ----------------------------------------- This email was sent using SquirrelMail. "Webmail for nuts!" http://squirrelmail.org/ From tcm1 at cornell.edu Mon Feb 4 02:37:01 2008 From: tcm1 at cornell.edu (timothy murray) Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 16:07:01 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Cornell Goldsen Archive Website and Workshop Message-ID: Please Forward (sorry for cross-postings) Inaugural Workshop: New Media Art and Archival Ambitions Friday, February 8, 2008 Carl A. Kroch Library, Lecture Rom, 2B48 Cornell University A Workshop to inaugurate the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art and its website: http://goldsen.library.cornell.edu The Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art serves as a research repository of new media art and resources, featuring digital interfaces and artistic experimentation by international, independent artists. Designed as an experimental center of research and creativity, the Goldsen Archive includes materials by individual artists and collaborates on conceptual experimentation and archival strategies with international curatorial and fellowship projects. 10:00 Welcoming Remarks Timothy Murray, Curator, Rose Goldsen Archive; Professor of Comparative Literature & English Anne Kenney, Acting University Librarian Brett de Bary, Director of The Society for the Humanities Elaine Engst, University Archivist 10:15-11:45 Archival Ambitions Moderator, Renate Ferro, Department of Art, Goldsen Advisory Board H. Thomas Hickerson, Vice-Provost and University Librarian, University of Calgary Sherry Miller Hocking, Assistant Director, Experimental TV Center, Owego, NY Lucila Moctezuma, Media Arts Fellowship Director, Renew Media, New York City 1:45-3:30 New Media Art Practices Moderator, Maria Fernandez, Department of Art History & Visual Studies John Conomos, Senior Lecturer, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, Australia Annette Barbier, Chair, Department of Interactive Arts and Media, Columbia College, Chicago Kevin McCoy, Associate Professor of Art, New York University 3:45-4:30 Overview of the Rose Goldsen Archive Timothy Murray and Mickey Casad, Curators, Rose Goldsen Archive 4:30-6:00 Public Reception -- Timothy Murray Professor of Comparative Literature and English Curator, The Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art, Cornell Library http://goldsen.library.cornell.edu Director of Graduate Studies in Comparative Literature Director of Graduate Studies in Film and Video 285 Goldwin Smith Hall Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853 office: 607-255-4012 e-mail: tcm1 at cornell.edu From pkray11 at gmail.com Wed Feb 6 10:42:30 2008 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (prakash ray) Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 10:42:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Films from Latin America Message-ID: <98f331e00802052112o1c38ae28yb0783dbad7430c44@mail.gmail.com> Centre for European & Latin American Studies & Mass Communication Research Centre Jamia Millia Islamia (in collaboration with the Embassies of Cuba, Ecuador,Mexico, Peru & Venezuela) present a Festival of Films from Latin America February 06-12 (3.00- 6.30 pm) at the MCRC- Old Studio Jamia Millia Islamia All are welcome Programme Schedule * (all films with subtitles in English) *subject to change Feb 06 Viva Cuba/ Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti /2005/80min/Cuba Olga/Jayme Monjardim/2004/141min/Brazil/ Feb 07 Dancing Cha Cha Cha(Bailando Cha Cha Cha)/ Inti Herrera /2005/100min/Cuba/ City of God(Cidade de Deus)/Fernando Meirelles/2002/130min/Brazil Feb 08 Nine Queens/Fabian Belinsky/Argentina/114 mins/ The Arcangel's Feather(La Pluma del Arcángel)/Luis Manzo /2002 /92min/Venezuela Feb 09 Amores Perros/Alejandro González Iñárritu/2001/153 min/Mexico Play and Strggle(Tocar y Luchar)/ Alberto Arvelo Mendoza /2006/60min/Venezuela Feb 11 Between Marx and a Naked Woman(Entre Marx y Una Mujer Desnuda)/ Camilo Luzuriaga/1996/90 min/Ecuador La Tigra/ Camilo Luzuriaga/Ecuador Feb 12 Y Tu Mamá Tambien/Alfonso Cuaron/2001 /105 min/Mexico As the Day Arrives(Mientras Llega el Día)/ Camilo Luzuriaga/100 min/Ecuador From shahzulf at yahoo.com Wed Feb 6 11:44:15 2008 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 22:14:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Question of land reforms in Pakistan Message-ID: <558178.43938.qm@web38813.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Question of land reforms in Pakistan By Zulfiqar Shah [Daily Dawn, February 2, 2008] THE rural society and agriculture sector of Pakistan is chained by feudal relationships which has given birth to an evil land-tenure system with a high degree of land concentration, absentee landlordism, insecurity of tenure for share-croppers and low agricultural productivity. According to a report, around ten million children are doing labour in brick kilns, farms, carpet manufacturing workshops and restaurants and another twenty million workers engaged in agriculture and industry work as bonded labour. Feudalism is the real problem and all other problems strem from it. The feudal lords and their allies constitute only five per cent of our agricultural households and own 64 per cent of our farm land. The rest of the 95 per cent are only their political vote-bank. The total land area of the country is about 803,940 square kilometres. About 48 million hectares, or 60 percent, is classified as unusable for forestry or agriculture and consists mostly of deserts, mountain and demographic settlements. About 21.9 million hectares is being cultivated. Nearly 65 per cent of the cropped area is in Punjab, perhaps 25 per cent in Sindh and 10 per cent in the NWFP and in Balochistan. Farming is Pakistan's largest economic activity. In Punjab, tenancies are split more evenly between share and fixed rent contracts. Landlords in Punjab are much smaller than those in Sindh, with a median holding of only seven acres of land, and are more likely to be residing in the same village as their tenants. In Sindh, more than one third of the land is tenanted and about two-thirds of land is under sharecropping, a form of farming where output is shared between the landowner and tenant. Sharecropping is the predominant form of tenancy in Sindh where the land ownership distribution is particularly skewed. According to a study, a median landlord in Sindh owns 28 acres of land, whereas nearly 80 per cent of the share-tenants are landless farmers. Big landlords in the province often employ kamdars to manage their tenants. Unlike India, Pakistan did not carry out essential land reforms soon after independence and has, as a result, failed to facilitate the much-needed transition of productive relations from feudal-agrarian stage to industrial one. However, three isolated attempts were made to reduce landholdings at intervals but these could not bring feudal system to an end. In the early 1950s, provincial governments attempted to eliminate some of the absentee landlords or rent collectors, but they had little success in the face of strong opposition. In January 1959, General Ayub Khan's government issued land reform regulations that aimed ‘to boost agricultural output, promote social justice, and ensure security of tenure.’ A ceiling of about 200 hectares of irrigated land and 400 hectares of non-irrigated land was placed on individual ownership; compensation was paid to owners for land surrendered. Numerous exemptions, including title transfers to family members, dampened the impact of the ceilings. Slightly fewer than one million hectares of land were surrendered, of which a little more than 250,000 hectares were sold to about 50,000 tenants. The land reforms failed to lessen the power or privileges of the landed elite. In March 1972, the Z. A. Bhutto government announced further land reform measures, which went into effect in 1973. The landownership ceiling was lowered to about five hectares of irrigated land and about twelve hectares of non-irrigated land; exceptions were limited to an additional 20 per cent of land for owners having tractors and tube wells. The ceiling could also be extended for poor-quality land. The owners of confiscated land received no compensation, and beneficiaries were not charged for land distributed. Official statistics showed that by 1977 only about 520,000 hectares had been surrendered, and nearly 285,000 hectares had been redistributed among about 71,000 farmers. The 1973 measure required landlords to pay all taxes, water charges, seed costs, and one-half of the cost of fertilizer and other inputs. It prohibited eviction of tenants as long as they cultivated the land, and it gave tenants first rights of purchase. Other regulations increased tenants' security of tenure and prescribed lower rent rates than had existed. The ceilings on private ownership of farmland in 1977 were further reduced to about four hectares of irrigated land and about eight hectares of non-irrigated land. Besides, agricultural income became taxable but small farmers owning ten hectares or fewer were exempted. The military regime of Zia ul-Haq did not make efforts to implement these reforms. Governments in the 1980s and early 1990s avoided any significant attempt at strict implementation of the land reform measures, because they got much of their support from landed aristocracy of the country. Agrarian reforms in Pakistan have never transformed rural society in the context of property structure and production re lations. The limits in reforms were fixed in terms of the individual but not family holdings, which resulted in transfer of land to family members and relatives. In times of the military rule, feudal lords support the ruling junta to protect their system. And the military badly needs them. Even after three waves of land reforms, 3,529 zamindars have 5,13,114 holdings of more than 100 acres in the irrigated areas, and 3,32,273 holdings exceeding 100 acres in un-irrigated areas. Some 7,94,774 Khatedars have 54,64,771 land holdings of less than 12 acres in irrigated areas. In un-irrigated areas 1,44,098 are reported to have 16,28,826 holdings of less than 24 acres. Land reforms play an important role in reducing poverty and empowering the poor farmers. In Pakistan, the power of landed aristocracy has acted as a barrier to social and economic progress of the rural society. Genuine land reform can help solve the problems caused by the fact that farmers often use relatively inefficient capital-intensive techniques due to distorted market prices and that small farmers do not have access to the liberal credit subsidies on imported machinery and capital equipment. Under any scheme of serious reforms, the land ceiling should be fixed at 50 acres irrigated and 100 acres non-irrigated land. The necessary legislation should be done in favour of land reforms and Haq-e-Shifa. All laws and regulations regarding land developed under colonial era need to be abandoned and a judicial commission on land utilisation should be formed to check exceeding commercialization of land. Under Haq-e-shifa, the agriculture land of about 8 acres should be allotted to the landless agriculture workers and peasants families. The agriculture land occupied by or allotted to military forms and government departments should be revoked and distributed among the landless peasants under the principle of Haq-e-shifa. Corporate forming should not be promoted. Allotment of forest land to the influential persons has to be revoked and re-allotted to the peasants on the condition of re-forestation. The occupied surveyed or un-surveyed lands in Kacho, Kaachho, Kohistan, Kach, Bailpat, Thar, Thal and elsewhere in the country must be re-surveyed and distributed among the landless peasants and agriculture workers families. Equitable distribution at the tail-end is imperative. It is necessary that all disputed irrigation projects including Kalabagh dam are given up and water requirements of Indus Delta fully met. To avoid water logging and salinity, the canals, branches and watercourses should be lined. The government must draw up an agriculture policy with the consultation of agriculture scientists, peasants, agriculture workers and growers. The parliament should be persuaded to pass a legislation for protection of the peasant’s rights, allowing them to have their trade unions, ensuring social justice and providing old age benefits to them. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com From prayas.abhinav at gmail.com Wed Feb 6 16:00:31 2008 From: prayas.abhinav at gmail.com (Prayas Abhinav) Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 16:00:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Participants: India's First Intensive Biological Art Workshop Message-ID: <825bb7b00802060230u3b05d6dbh2a87386a73825ec5@mail.gmail.com> hi all, might be interest to the members of this list, prayas --- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore March 10-14 2008 Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology and the National Centre for Biological Sciences, in collaboration with the Arts Catalyst and SymbioticA, is organizing an intensive 5 day workshop for artists and others interested people. It will be led by SymbioticA¹s Director Oron Catts and his scientific collaborator Greg Cozens from the University of Western Australia. This is a hands-on workshop where the tools of modern biology are demonstrated through artistic engagement, which in turn gives voice to the broader philosophical and ethical exploration into the extent of human intervention with other living things. It involves exploration of biological technologies and issues stemming from their use, and serves as a theoretical and practical introduction to the creation of biological art and is aimed at educating artists from India in issues of biotechnology and the life sciences. The workshop will cover hands-on engagement with these technologies in order to be able to carry out and critique manipulation of living systems from an informed practical perspective. The practical components include DNA extraction and fingerprinting, genetic engineering, plant and animal tissue culture and basic tissue engineering techniques. The workshop will present work of contemporary artists dealing with biotechnology. Scientists will be involved discussing ethical issues raised by artists' work in this area and leading visit to NCBS laboratories. At the end of the week, the ideas explored in the workshop will be opened out with a public discussion event at a venue to be announced in Bangalore. Attendance and Conditions: Attendance at the workshop will be by selection through open submission or by invitation. The selection will be made by Srishti, SymbioticA, the artist in residence at NCBS, and the Arts Catalyst's curator, currently in residence at Srishti. Artists are expected to be available and present for the entire week-long workshop, as this is an intensive process of learning and social interaction. Artists should be based in India, or nearby countries in South Asia. There is no cost to selected participants to attend the workshop, but travel and other expenses will not be covered. Limited accommodation is available at NCBS for artists traveling from outside Bangalore. Subsidized meals will be available for participants at NCBS. The organizers believes that the effects of the workshop will be felt in the long-term, as the artists, having learned the technology, will start working on their own biotech projects, or at least feel their work is informed by the experience. Please send an expression of interest in attending as an email, including a CV and brief bio, by February 8 2008 at the latest to Yashas Shetty: yashas at cema.in For More Information Visit: http://cema.srishti.ac.in/bioart From padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com Wed Feb 6 17:21:43 2008 From: padmalatha.ravi at gmail.com (Padmalatha Ravi) Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 17:21:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] JustFemme Film festival - calling for entries Message-ID: Hi, http://Justfemme.in is a women's online magazine. It is meant to be a platform for women to discuss issues and ideas that do not find space in the mainstream media. Women from all walks of life - from software engineers to housewives to students from across country and globe are writing for us. We are trying to create an opportunity for first time writers and non-journalists to make their opinion count. To take the discussion further, Justfemme is organising a women's film festival on 8th of March 2008, on the occasion of Women's day. We are looking for short films on women centric themes (not necessarily made by women). The films can be of a duration between 10min to 50 min. Please send in a brief synopsis of the film to justfemme.in at gamil.com The films should be in DVD format. Last date for submission of synopsis - 10 Feb 2008 -- Padma Spunky and unabashedly female http://justfemme.in From vivek at sarai.net Wed Feb 6 17:57:26 2008 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:57:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <47986FF9.1030807@gmail.com> References: <48c2916d0801212324m25c66ab3p5bf16ace5ec90864@mail.gmail.com> <47986FF9.1030807@gmail.com> Message-ID: <47A9A7AE.90709@sarai.net> Strange... I have no idea about the recent "incident" that you all are talking about... I feel completely calm and happy with what has been happening on the reader list. Oh, wait a minute, that must be because I have 58 unread messages (since january 21) that went directly into my "bullshit" folder! Time to go and delete them, I suppose. Vivek Tapas Ray wrote: > I agree with Aarti and Nishant. I have been using filters quite > effectively against these individuals, whose crudity entertained me > initially in a perverse sort of way, but became tiresome after a while. > There is no need for anyone to engage with them, since it is now clear > that their objective is not to take part in rational debate but to > destroy this space by swamping it with hate speech. (The reason, I > think, is that they know they lack the ability to engage in reasoned > debate, and cannot hope to "win" it.) > > Mail filters are effective and can be put in place by anyone in a few > minutes. Nishant's suggestion about tagging and reporting abuse is also > good, but having such a system would mean someone, acting as moderator, > having to spend part of his/her day because of the actions of these > individuals - and I do not think they deserve so much importance. > > Tapas > > > > Nishant Shah wrote: > >> Hi Arti, All, >> I have been a silent lurker in these days of virulent invective and >> hate-speech that have unfolded on the reader-list. I haven't been silent >> because I had nothing to say, or that I was not provoked. I haven't been >> silent because I did not feel equally angered, sometimes to such an extent >> that I had to walk away from the computer and swear for the nth time that I >> will just unsubscribe from the reader's list. I have been silent because I >> do not think I have the vocabulary to counter arguments that are based on >> nothing more than personal prejudices, or the resources to deal with emails >> that read a little more than poison pen. >> >> However, there is also another reason why I prefer to be silent, as missiles >> are hurled from one end to the other, one camp offering peace flags and >> reasons, the other camp packaging the same in mails that resemble hand made >> grenades used in violent spaces. Out of long habit of dwelling on various >> digital forms, I have realised that the behaviour (read as writing) of some >> of the members who have come to haunt this particular digital platform, can >> only be classified as 'Troll'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll). >> And as the classic motto goes, 'Do Not Feed The Troll.' There have been many >> discussions on the reader-list about questions of censorship, moderation, >> facilitation and so on. Each time a particularly venomous bunch of people >> descend upon the reader-list, probably abusing their office time and >> professional resources to spew horror on to the unwary people, we talk about >> the possibilities of lags, of delays, of moderation and of down-right >> banning. However, all these, as we have have often observed, will lead to >> nowhere. Death, assassination and banning on the interwebz is unfortunately, >> only notional, symbolic. There are no finalities to either of them and the >> banning or the moderation of one ID would only lead to the Trolls spinning >> of many more IDs which would then come back for their pound and a half of >> flesh. >> >> Hence, IMHO, the best thing to do is to stop FEEDING the TROLLS. I second >> your request that there are so many other more fruitful ways of engaging >> with so many different topics, that it is almost criminal (in the non-legal >> sense of the word) to waste time and resources in trying to convince the >> digital equivalent of a black box with six pre-fed scripts and no semblance >> of intelligence - artificial or otherwise. We might, next, as well start >> arguing with characters in a novel, parts in a movie, components of a >> website. Instead, it is best to just move on. >> >> Having said that, I also realise that it is sometimes difficult to move on. >> More often than not, Trolls specialise in putting their finger on the exact >> right spot that triggers our buttons and induce instantaneous combustion. >> And hence, there will always be people replying to these Flames that come >> our way; unfortunately thinking all the time that they are doing >> fire-fighting, when actually they are just adding fuel to the Troll Fire. >> One technical measure that I can think of - and this takes away the >> unenviable job of a list moderator - is to implement a tagging system in >> place for all mails that come to the reader list. This at least, allows >> people to tag their mails - sometimes the titles are misleading and provide >> no warning for what is to come - so that when a mail arrives, the readers >> can see the tags and decide for themselves whether they want to read the >> mail or not. >> >> The second suggestion I have might be more open for discussion - Most user >> based free spaces of interaction in the cyberspace have developed a policy >> of reactive resistance to what they look upon as an abuse of the space or >> its resources. Under such a policy, you do not ban users from saying what >> they want to say, in whichever way they want to say it, but instead allow >> other users to 'Report Abuse' against a particular user. The Terms of what >> constitutes Abuse can often be generic but also be very specific in nature >> and can have a large consultation from the people who have any stake in it. >> Reporting Abuse eventually needs some sort of a moderator who either >> resolves the problem or simply marks the charged person as guilty of abuse. >> Many times, the reason for this marking is also made public. This ensures >> that some IDs which are seen as destructive or Trollish, can appear >> differently in the conversations, flagged as potentially abusive in nature. >> This also helps in new readers or readers who have more invested in the >> questions, to stay away from the responses that these IDs might be >> generating. >> >> I hope both these suggestions sound feasible. I would be available for >> further communication or planning out of the architectural integration of >> such sort to the Reader's List. I am glad for your intervention and pleased >> to see that instead of wasting time in responding to the Trolls, we are now >> looking upon them as symptomatic to a certain kind of problem that emerges >> in 'free speech and free space' and trying to constructively deal with them. >> >> Un-lurking after a long time, >> Nishant >> On Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM, Aarti Sethi wrote: >> >> >> >>> Dear all, >>> >>> It is becoming more and more difficult to read the writing on the >>> reader-list. From misogyny, the likes of which I do not recall ever seeing >>> before, to threats of physical violence against women's bodies, to >>> right-wing Hindu vitriol, what is going on? It is actually now painful to >>> have to see 37 responses on a thread which deserves not even one, because >>> people are valiantly trying to talk rationally, reason with, respond to >>> people who should just be told to shut up. I know its very hard to keep >>> quite and let things go, especially when we have exemplars like chanchal >>> and >>> vedavati on this list. But we are all just getting fatigued now with this >>> relentless barrage of invective and hate that the list is constantly >>> subjected to. >>> >>> So now I am asking for solutions. What is to be done?, as Lenin asked many >>> years ago. What is to be done to save the reader-list? Can we have a >>> discussion on this? Clearly responding to them in any rational fashion is >>> not a solution. And I frankly have no interest or hope that anything any >>> of >>> us can say will make any difference. This is not about me refusing to have >>> a >>> conversation, because the fact is, they do not want to have a conversation >>> at all. And i think that is quite clear from the writing on the list in >>> the >>> past two weeks. >>> >>> This is a request to to please stop engaging with them. Lets ignore them, >>> lets not respond to them, lets please just mark all their mails so they go >>> into our collective trash folders, lets talk about other things, anything. >>> They can then keep talking to each other about the wonderful Hindu nation >>> they will build ad nauseum. But we dont have to listen to this. And of >>> course they will claim this as a victory etc etc. How we cant respond to >>> them, how we have nothing to say to their brilliant argumentation. I can >>> already predict the responses to this mail. But I have no trouble saying >>> that they are right. I am limited by my own linguistic incapacity to >>> respond >>> to writing which is so poisonous. >>> >>> And a final qualification about my use of "us" and "them" and any >>> questions >>> regarding othering, insularity, assumption of moral superiority etc etc. I >>> can unabashedly say that I have absolutely no problems creating this >>> binary >>> divide. I have no issues saying that these are people I want to have >>> nothing >>> to do with, as far as I am concerned they are unethical and violent and I >>> dont see why they should have any purchase on my time at all. There are >>> far >>> more interesting things being said and there are interesting people saying >>> them who I would much rather read, than the reams and reams of boring >>> hateful drivel that constantly issue from the likes of chanchal.. >>> >>> If anyone else has any other ideas please lets hear them. And if anyone >>> has >>> forgotten how to make filters so you can trash the trash, here is a link >>> to >>> Vivek's very instructive mail on the matter: >>> http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2007-November/011005.html >>> >>> best >>> Aarti >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Thu Feb 7 13:01:44 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:01:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? References: <48c2916d0801212324m25c66ab3p5bf16ace5ec90864@mail.gmail.com> <"a c 6c08200801240216j2929a3a2yf8a6156ea46f0655"@mail.gmail.com> <47986FF9.1030807@gmail.com> <47A9A7AE.90709@sarai.net> Message-ID: Hi, all, it was amusing to read this response from a debater or an individual who lives in society but wants to shut himself from all thoughts, great, indeed. The following incidents atleast must evoke some humane response irrespective of the faith, religion or caste in a democratic individual to least a few, from the only recent past, - 1. Four activists of a rulong partner shot dead at a peaceful protest against taking over farmers lands at Coochbihar, reaction by total bundh in the state capital, being part of the governing system. 2. A fanatic from a region calls other individuals from other states as outsiders in the state, responded by violence of hurting innocent citizens., this individual expects loyalty to the small region and not to the nation. ! 3. Few individuals aided and abetted by across the border funds and explosives plan to violence for their percived faith, and are caught when planning strikes at their own places of worship, training to violence at again a place of worship. ! Common feature in all thse incidents is greed and unseemly implicit will to impose their thoughts on the society and its citizens. Yes, we can use filters and block these thoughts till it hits hard on the fundamental rights of our own, good governance going for a toss.? Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vivek Narayanan" To: "Tapas Ray" ; Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 5:57 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] what is to be done? > Strange... I have no idea about the recent "incident" that you all are > talking about... I feel completely calm and happy with what has been > happening on the reader list. > > Oh, wait a minute, that must be because I have 58 unread messages (since > january 21) that went directly into my "bullshit" folder! Time to go > and delete them, I suppose. > > Vivek > > Tapas Ray wrote: >> I agree with Aarti and Nishant. I have been using filters quite >> effectively against these individuals, whose crudity entertained me >> initially in a perverse sort of way, but became tiresome after a while. >> There is no need for anyone to engage with them, since it is now clear >> that their objective is not to take part in rational debate but to >> destroy this space by swamping it with hate speech. (The reason, I >> think, is that they know they lack the ability to engage in reasoned >> debate, and cannot hope to "win" it.) >> >> Mail filters are effective and can be put in place by anyone in a few >> minutes. Nishant's suggestion about tagging and reporting abuse is also >> good, but having such a system would mean someone, acting as moderator, >> having to spend part of his/her day because of the actions of these >> individuals - and I do not think they deserve so much importance. >> >> Tapas >> >> >> >> Nishant Shah wrote: >> >>> Hi Arti, All, >>> I have been a silent lurker in these days of virulent invective and >>> hate-speech that have unfolded on the reader-list. I haven't been silent >>> because I had nothing to say, or that I was not provoked. I haven't been >>> silent because I did not feel equally angered, sometimes to such an >>> extent >>> that I had to walk away from the computer and swear for the nth time >>> that I >>> will just unsubscribe from the reader's list. I have been silent because >>> I >>> do not think I have the vocabulary to counter arguments that are based >>> on >>> nothing more than personal prejudices, or the resources to deal with >>> emails >>> that read a little more than poison pen. >>> >>> However, there is also another reason why I prefer to be silent, as >>> missiles >>> are hurled from one end to the other, one camp offering peace flags and >>> reasons, the other camp packaging the same in mails that resemble hand >>> made >>> grenades used in violent spaces. Out of long habit of dwelling on >>> various >>> digital forms, I have realised that the behaviour (read as writing) of >>> some >>> of the members who have come to haunt this particular digital platform, >>> can >>> only be classified as 'Troll'. >>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll). >>> And as the classic motto goes, 'Do Not Feed The Troll.' There have been >>> many >>> discussions on the reader-list about questions of censorship, >>> moderation, >>> facilitation and so on. Each time a particularly venomous bunch of >>> people >>> descend upon the reader-list, probably abusing their office time and >>> professional resources to spew horror on to the unwary people, we talk >>> about >>> the possibilities of lags, of delays, of moderation and of down-right >>> banning. However, all these, as we have have often observed, will lead >>> to >>> nowhere. Death, assassination and banning on the interwebz is >>> unfortunately, >>> only notional, symbolic. There are no finalities to either of them and >>> the >>> banning or the moderation of one ID would only lead to the Trolls >>> spinning >>> of many more IDs which would then come back for their pound and a half >>> of >>> flesh. >>> >>> Hence, IMHO, the best thing to do is to stop FEEDING the TROLLS. I >>> second >>> your request that there are so many other more fruitful ways of engaging >>> with so many different topics, that it is almost criminal (in the >>> non-legal >>> sense of the word) to waste time and resources in trying to convince the >>> digital equivalent of a black box with six pre-fed scripts and no >>> semblance >>> of intelligence - artificial or otherwise. We might, next, as well start >>> arguing with characters in a novel, parts in a movie, components of a >>> website. Instead, it is best to just move on. >>> >>> Having said that, I also realise that it is sometimes difficult to move >>> on. >>> More often than not, Trolls specialise in putting their finger on the >>> exact >>> right spot that triggers our buttons and induce instantaneous >>> combustion. >>> And hence, there will always be people replying to these Flames that >>> come >>> our way; unfortunately thinking all the time that they are doing >>> fire-fighting, when actually they are just adding fuel to the Troll >>> Fire. >>> One technical measure that I can think of - and this takes away the >>> unenviable job of a list moderator - is to implement a tagging system in >>> place for all mails that come to the reader list. This at least, allows >>> people to tag their mails - sometimes the titles are misleading and >>> provide >>> no warning for what is to come - so that when a mail arrives, the >>> readers >>> can see the tags and decide for themselves whether they want to read the >>> mail or not. >>> >>> The second suggestion I have might be more open for discussion - Most >>> user >>> based free spaces of interaction in the cyberspace have developed a >>> policy >>> of reactive resistance to what they look upon as an abuse of the space >>> or >>> its resources. Under such a policy, you do not ban users from saying >>> what >>> they want to say, in whichever way they want to say it, but instead >>> allow >>> other users to 'Report Abuse' against a particular user. The Terms of >>> what >>> constitutes Abuse can often be generic but also be very specific in >>> nature >>> and can have a large consultation from the people who have any stake in >>> it. >>> Reporting Abuse eventually needs some sort of a moderator who either >>> resolves the problem or simply marks the charged person as guilty of >>> abuse. >>> Many times, the reason for this marking is also made public. This >>> ensures >>> that some IDs which are seen as destructive or Trollish, can appear >>> differently in the conversations, flagged as potentially abusive in >>> nature. >>> This also helps in new readers or readers who have more invested in the >>> questions, to stay away from the responses that these IDs might be >>> generating. >>> >>> I hope both these suggestions sound feasible. I would be available for >>> further communication or planning out of the architectural integration >>> of >>> such sort to the Reader's List. I am glad for your intervention and >>> pleased >>> to see that instead of wasting time in responding to the Trolls, we are >>> now >>> looking upon them as symptomatic to a certain kind of problem that >>> emerges >>> in 'free speech and free space' and trying to constructively deal with >>> them. >>> >>> Un-lurking after a long time, >>> Nishant >>> On Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM, Aarti Sethi wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>>> Dear all, >>>> >>>> It is becoming more and more difficult to read the writing on the >>>> reader-list. From misogyny, the likes of which I do not recall ever >>>> seeing >>>> before, to threats of physical violence against women's bodies, to >>>> right-wing Hindu vitriol, what is going on? It is actually now painful >>>> to >>>> have to see 37 responses on a thread which deserves not even one, >>>> because >>>> people are valiantly trying to talk rationally, reason with, respond to >>>> people who should just be told to shut up. I know its very hard to keep >>>> quite and let things go, especially when we have exemplars like >>>> chanchal >>>> and >>>> vedavati on this list. But we are all just getting fatigued now with >>>> this >>>> relentless barrage of invective and hate that the list is constantly >>>> subjected to. >>>> >>>> So now I am asking for solutions. What is to be done?, as Lenin asked >>>> many >>>> years ago. What is to be done to save the reader-list? Can we have a >>>> discussion on this? Clearly responding to them in any rational fashion >>>> is >>>> not a solution. And I frankly have no interest or hope that anything >>>> any >>>> of >>>> us can say will make any difference. This is not about me refusing to >>>> have >>>> a >>>> conversation, because the fact is, they do not want to have a >>>> conversation >>>> at all. And i think that is quite clear from the writing on the list in >>>> the >>>> past two weeks. >>>> >>>> This is a request to to please stop engaging with them. Lets ignore >>>> them, >>>> lets not respond to them, lets please just mark all their mails so they >>>> go >>>> into our collective trash folders, lets talk about other things, >>>> anything. >>>> They can then keep talking to each other about the wonderful Hindu >>>> nation >>>> they will build ad nauseum. But we dont have to listen to this. And of >>>> course they will claim this as a victory etc etc. How we cant respond >>>> to >>>> them, how we have nothing to say to their brilliant argumentation. I >>>> can >>>> already predict the responses to this mail. But I have no trouble >>>> saying >>>> that they are right. I am limited by my own linguistic incapacity to >>>> respond >>>> to writing which is so poisonous. >>>> >>>> And a final qualification about my use of "us" and "them" and any >>>> questions >>>> regarding othering, insularity, assumption of moral superiority etc >>>> etc. I >>>> can unabashedly say that I have absolutely no problems creating this >>>> binary >>>> divide. I have no issues saying that these are people I want to have >>>> nothing >>>> to do with, as far as I am concerned they are unethical and violent and >>>> I >>>> dont see why they should have any purchase on my time at all. There are >>>> far >>>> more interesting things being said and there are interesting people >>>> saying >>>> them who I would much rather read, than the reams and reams of boring >>>> hateful drivel that constantly issue from the likes of chanchal.. >>>> >>>> If anyone else has any other ideas please lets hear them. And if anyone >>>> has >>>> forgotten how to make filters so you can trash the trash, here is a >>>> link >>>> to >>>> Vivek's very instructive mail on the matter: >>>> http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2007-November/011005.html >>>> >>>> best >>>> Aarti >>>> _________________________________________ >>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>>> Critiques & Collaborations >>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>>> subscribe in the subject header. >>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > 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 sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 7 13:22:06 2008 From: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in (S.Fatima) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 07:52:06 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <47A9A7AE.90709@sarai.net> Message-ID: <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Vivek Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails from you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them further goes to another level. Isn't that a personal vendetta that some on this list are requesting not to get into. Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine which is driving through the filthy roads and slums, which your darkened windows don't allow you to see. sf --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > Strange... I have no idea about the recent > "incident" that you all are > talking about... I feel completely calm and happy > with what has been > happening on the reader list. > > Oh, wait a minute, that must be because I have 58 > unread messages (since > january 21) that went directly into my "bullshit" > folder! Time to go > and delete them, I suppose. > > Vivek > > Tapas Ray wrote: > > I agree with Aarti and Nishant. I have been using > filters quite > > effectively against these individuals, whose > crudity entertained me > > initially in a perverse sort of way, but became > tiresome after a while. > > There is no need for anyone to engage with them, > since it is now clear > > that their objective is not to take part in > rational debate but to > > destroy this space by swamping it with hate > speech. (The reason, I > > think, is that they know they lack the ability to > engage in reasoned > > debate, and cannot hope to "win" it.) > > > > Mail filters are effective and can be put in place > by anyone in a few > > minutes. Nishant's suggestion about tagging and > reporting abuse is also > > good, but having such a system would mean someone, > acting as moderator, > > having to spend part of his/her day because of the > actions of these > > individuals - and I do not think they deserve so > much importance. > > > > Tapas > > > > > > > > Nishant Shah wrote: > > > >> Hi Arti, All, > >> I have been a silent lurker in these days of > virulent invective and > >> hate-speech that have unfolded on the > reader-list. I haven't been silent > >> because I had nothing to say, or that I was not > provoked. I haven't been > >> silent because I did not feel equally angered, > sometimes to such an extent > >> that I had to walk away from the computer and > swear for the nth time that I > >> will just unsubscribe from the reader's list. I > have been silent because I > >> do not think I have the vocabulary to counter > arguments that are based on > >> nothing more than personal prejudices, or the > resources to deal with emails > >> that read a little more than poison pen. > >> > >> However, there is also another reason why I > prefer to be silent, as missiles > >> are hurled from one end to the other, one camp > offering peace flags and > >> reasons, the other camp packaging the same in > mails that resemble hand made > >> grenades used in violent spaces. Out of long > habit of dwelling on various > >> digital forms, I have realised that the behaviour > (read as writing) of some > >> of the members who have come to haunt this > particular digital platform, can > >> only be classified as 'Troll'. > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll). > >> And as the classic motto goes, 'Do Not Feed The > Troll.' There have been many > >> discussions on the reader-list about questions of > censorship, moderation, > >> facilitation and so on. Each time a particularly > venomous bunch of people > >> descend upon the reader-list, probably abusing > their office time and > >> professional resources to spew horror on to the > unwary people, we talk about > >> the possibilities of lags, of delays, of > moderation and of down-right > >> banning. However, all these, as we have have > often observed, will lead to > >> nowhere. Death, assassination and banning on the > interwebz is unfortunately, > >> only notional, symbolic. There are no finalities > to either of them and the > >> banning or the moderation of one ID would only > lead to the Trolls spinning > >> of many more IDs which would then come back for > their pound and a half of > >> flesh. > >> > >> Hence, IMHO, the best thing to do is to stop > FEEDING the TROLLS. I second > >> your request that there are so many other more > fruitful ways of engaging > >> with so many different topics, that it is almost > criminal (in the non-legal > >> sense of the word) to waste time and resources in > trying to convince the > >> digital equivalent of a black box with six > pre-fed scripts and no semblance > >> of intelligence - artificial or otherwise. We > might, next, as well start > >> arguing with characters in a novel, parts in a > movie, components of a > >> website. Instead, it is best to just move on. > >> > >> Having said that, I also realise that it is > sometimes difficult to move on. > >> More often than not, Trolls specialise in putting > their finger on the exact > >> right spot that triggers our buttons and induce > instantaneous combustion. > >> And hence, there will always be people replying > to these Flames that come > >> our way; unfortunately thinking all the time that > they are doing > >> fire-fighting, when actually they are just adding > fuel to the Troll Fire. > >> One technical measure that I can think of - and > this takes away the > >> unenviable job of a list moderator - is to > implement a tagging system in > >> place for all mails that come to the reader list. > This at least, allows > >> people to tag their mails - sometimes the titles > are misleading and provide > >> no warning for what is to come - so that when a > mail arrives, the readers > >> can see the tags and decide for themselves > whether they want to read the > >> mail or not. > >> > >> The second suggestion I have might be more open > for discussion - Most user > >> based free spaces of interaction in the > cyberspace have developed a policy > >> of reactive resistance to what they look upon as > an abuse of the space or > >> its resources. Under such a policy, you do not > ban users from saying what > >> they want to say, in whichever way they want to > say it, but instead allow > >> other users to 'Report Abuse' against a > particular user. The Terms of what > >> constitutes Abuse can often be generic but also > be very specific in nature > >> and can have a large consultation from the people > who have any stake in it. > >> Reporting Abuse eventually needs some sort of a > moderator who either > >> resolves the problem or simply marks the charged > person as guilty of abuse. > >> Many times, the reason for this marking is also > made public. This ensures > >> that some IDs which are seen as destructive or > Trollish, can appear > >> differently in the conversations, flagged as > potentially abusive in nature. > >> This also helps in new readers or readers who > have more invested in the > >> questions, to stay away from the responses that > these IDs might be > >> generating. > >> > >> I hope both these suggestions sound feasible. I > would be available for > >> further communication or planning out of the > architectural integration of > >> such sort to the Reader's List. I am glad for > your intervention and pleased > >> to see that instead of wasting time in responding > to the Trolls, we are now > >> looking upon them as symptomatic to a certain > kind of problem that emerges > >> in 'free speech and free space' and trying to > constructively deal with them. > >> > >> Un-lurking after a long time, > >> Nishant > >> On Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM, Aarti Sethi > wrote: > >> > >> > >> > >>> Dear all, > >>> > === message truncated === Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it on http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups From monica.mody at gmail.com Thu Feb 7 15:42:50 2008 From: monica.mody at gmail.com (Monica Mody) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 15:42:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Feb 8/Delhi: Double Feature: Carolyn Forche & Joy Harjo Message-ID: <4badad3b0802070212y2f7d9485kb85a059ea0558b50@mail.gmail.com> Open Baithak presents a reading by two of the most exciting contemporary American poets: CAROLYN FORCHE & JOY HARJO Feb 8, 2008, Friday @ 7 pm Amphitheatre, Gate # 2, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003 Co-sponsors: The American Center & India Habitat Centre CAROLYN FORCHE is the author of "Blue Hour"; "The Angel of History", which received the Los Angeles Times Book Award; "The Country Between Us", which received the Poetry Society of America's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, and was the Lamont Poetry Selection of The Academy of American Poets; and "Gathering the Tribes", which was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. She has edited an anthology on poetry of witness and has translated many poets. Over the years Forche's quest to understand the individual's struggle with social upheaval and political turmoil has taken her from El Salvador to the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and South Africa. Her trip is being funded by the NEA. JOY HARJO's books of poetry include "The Woman Who Fell From the Sky", which received the Oklahoma Book Arts Award; "In Mad Love and War", which received an American Book Award and the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award, and others. She also performs her poetry and plays saxophone with her band, Joy Harjo and the Arrow Dynamics Band. Her many honors include The American Indian Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award, the Josephine Miles Poetry Award, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, and fellowships from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Witter BynnerFoundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Hawaii. Her trip is being funded by the NEA. *** OPEN BAITHAK is a contemporary gathering of poets in Delhi who perform. openbaithak at gmail.com openbaithak.wordpress.com From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Thu Feb 7 16:58:12 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:28:12 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <47A9A7AE.90709@sarai.net> <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Fatima, I greatfully accept your observation of a traveller in limousine driving thru filth and rot in the society, it is not meant to be any personal attack on any one, but in democratic society, where an individual who for his selfish reasons to gain power, was attacking every individual from south as "madrasis" without even knowing how many states are there in south India, when these individuals were hapless victims of this atrocity, Shivsena was boen as goon brigade, make over as "hindu " defenders was a misnomer, need of the time after the appeasement drama went to the extreme, by opening the gates of dilapidated building in Ayodhya, and the Shah bano case verdict upturned by ordinance. In a democratic society, faith is a very personal issue, which should not, I strongly opine should not come in the way of good governance of the communities as all are equal in law, must get good governance irrespective of faith, caste and region.Good governance is realised only when law treats every citizen equally, system punishes every one who takes law into his/her own hands to undermine the system. Raj Thackeray who seems to be iconic of Marathi pride gives no pride to any humanity in his boorish behaviour. But the way the system is hesitating to take action against such goons irrespective of faith, be it a Owaisi, or a Raj is really sad ugly belly of democratic governance. If a tennis player has to be reluctant to play the game she loves, which gave greater glories to her and the nation because of fathwas, such fathwa creators should be behind the bars along with these goons. Then only we can have rights and duties respected and cherished in the nation. When governance is to be without fear or favour as per the oath taken by every individual in the system of governance, when they fail to deliver good governance to all, discriminate on the basis of caste and faith , region and language, it is neither healthy democracy or good governance. ? Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: "S.Fatima" Date: Thursday, February 7, 2008 1:24 pm Subject: Re: [Reader-list] what is to be done? To: Vivek Narayanan , reader-list at sarai.net > Dear Vivek > Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails from > you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the > bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them > further goes to another level. Isn't that a personal > vendetta that some on this list are requesting not to > get into. > Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine which > is driving through the filthy roads and slums, which > your darkened windows don't allow you to see. > > sf > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > > Strange... I have no idea about the recent > > "incident" that you all are > > talking about... I feel completely calm and happy > > with what has been > > happening on the reader list. > > > > Oh, wait a minute, that must be because I have 58 > > unread messages (since > > january 21) that went directly into my "bullshit" > > folder! Time to go > > and delete them, I suppose. > > > > Vivek > > > > Tapas Ray wrote: > > > I agree with Aarti and Nishant. I have been using > > filters quite > > > effectively against these individuals, whose > > crudity entertained me > > > initially in a perverse sort of way, but became > > tiresome after a while. > > > There is no need for anyone to engage with them, > > since it is now clear > > > that their objective is not to take part in > > rational debate but to > > > destroy this space by swamping it with hate > > speech. (The reason, I > > > think, is that they know they lack the ability to > > engage in reasoned > > > debate, and cannot hope to "win" it.) > > > > > > Mail filters are effective and can be put in place > > by anyone in a few > > > minutes. Nishant's suggestion about tagging and > > reporting abuse is also > > > good, but having such a system would mean someone, > > acting as moderator, > > > having to spend part of his/her day because of the > > actions of these > > > individuals - and I do not think they deserve so > > much importance. > > > > > > Tapas > > > > > > > > > > > > Nishant Shah wrote: > > > > > >> Hi Arti, All, > > >> I have been a silent lurker in these days of > > virulent invective and > > >> hate-speech that have unfolded on the > > reader-list. I haven't been silent > > >> because I had nothing to say, or that I was not > > provoked. I haven't been > > >> silent because I did not feel equally angered, > > sometimes to such an extent > > >> that I had to walk away from the computer and > > swear for the nth time that I > > >> will just unsubscribe from the reader's list. I > > have been silent because I > > >> do not think I have the vocabulary to counter > > arguments that are based on > > >> nothing more than personal prejudices, or the > > resources to deal with emails > > >> that read a little more than poison pen. > > >> > > >> However, there is also another reason why I > > prefer to be silent, as missiles > > >> are hurled from one end to the other, one camp > > offering peace flags and > > >> reasons, the other camp packaging the same in > > mails that resemble hand made > > >> grenades used in violent spaces. Out of long > > habit of dwelling on various > > >> digital forms, I have realised that the behaviour > > (read as writing) of some > > >> of the members who have come to haunt this > > particular digital platform, can > > >> only be classified as 'Troll'. > > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll). > > >> And as the classic motto goes, 'Do Not Feed The > > Troll.' There have been many > > >> discussions on the reader-list about questions of > > censorship, moderation, > > >> facilitation and so on. Each time a particularly > > venomous bunch of people > > >> descend upon the reader-list, probably abusing > > their office time and > > >> professional resources to spew horror on to the > > unwary people, we talk about > > >> the possibilities of lags, of delays, of > > moderation and of down-right > > >> banning. However, all these, as we have have > > often observed, will lead to > > >> nowhere. Death, assassination and banning on the > > interwebz is unfortunately, > > >> only notional, symbolic. There are no finalities > > to either of them and the > > >> banning or the moderation of one ID would only > > lead to the Trolls spinning > > >> of many more IDs which would then come back for > > their pound and a half of > > >> flesh. > > >> > > >> Hence, IMHO, the best thing to do is to stop > > FEEDING the TROLLS. I second > > >> your request that there are so many other more > > fruitful ways of engaging > > >> with so many different topics, that it is almost > > criminal (in the non-legal > > >> sense of the word) to waste time and resources in > > trying to convince the > > >> digital equivalent of a black box with six > > pre-fed scripts and no semblance > > >> of intelligence - artificial or otherwise. We > > might, next, as well start > > >> arguing with characters in a novel, parts in a > > movie, components of a > > >> website. Instead, it is best to just move on. > > >> > > >> Having said that, I also realise that it is > > sometimes difficult to move on. > > >> More often than not, Trolls specialise in putting > > their finger on the exact > > >> right spot that triggers our buttons and induce > > instantaneous combustion. > > >> And hence, there will always be people replying > > to these Flames that come > > >> our way; unfortunately thinking all the time that > > they are doing > > >> fire-fighting, when actually they are just adding > > fuel to the Troll Fire. > > >> One technical measure that I can think of - and > > this takes away the > > >> unenviable job of a list moderator - is to > > implement a tagging system in > > >> place for all mails that come to the reader list. > > This at least, allows > > >> people to tag their mails - sometimes the titles > > are misleading and provide > > >> no warning for what is to come - so that when a > > mail arrives, the readers > > >> can see the tags and decide for themselves > > whether they want to read the > > >> mail or not. > > >> > > >> The second suggestion I have might be more open > > for discussion - Most user > > >> based free spaces of interaction in the > > cyberspace have developed a policy > > >> of reactive resistance to what they look upon as > > an abuse of the space or > > >> its resources. Under such a policy, you do not > > ban users from saying what > > >> they want to say, in whichever way they want to > > say it, but instead allow > > >> other users to 'Report Abuse' against a > > particular user. The Terms of what > > >> constitutes Abuse can often be generic but also > > be very specific in nature > > >> and can have a large consultation from the people > > who have any stake in it. > > >> Reporting Abuse eventually needs some sort of a > > moderator who either > > >> resolves the problem or simply marks the charged > > person as guilty of abuse. > > >> Many times, the reason for this marking is also > > made public. This ensures > > >> that some IDs which are seen as destructive or > > Trollish, can appear > > >> differently in the conversations, flagged as > > potentially abusive in nature. > > >> This also helps in new readers or readers who > > have more invested in the > > >> questions, to stay away from the responses that > > these IDs might be > > >> generating. > > >> > > >> I hope both these suggestions sound feasible. I > > would be available for > > >> further communication or planning out of the > > architectural integration of > > >> such sort to the Reader's List. I am glad for > > your intervention and pleased > > >> to see that instead of wasting time in responding > > to the Trolls, we are now > > >> looking upon them as symptomatic to a certain > > kind of problem that emerges > > >> in 'free speech and free space' and trying to > > constructively deal with them. > > >> > > >> Un-lurking after a long time, > > >> Nishant > > >> On Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM, Aarti Sethi > > wrote: > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >>> Dear all, > > >>> > > > === message truncated === > > > > Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we > have it on http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups > _________________________________________ > 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 asitredsalute at gmail.com Thu Feb 7 19:32:00 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 09:02:00 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: References: <47A9A7AE.90709@sarai.net> <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: dear all this debate takes us back to fundamentals like democrac citizenship rule of law etc governance should be looked through our concept of state is there a neutral state or is a biased class state rule of law is a luxury for people who are influential and pay the lawyers every one knows how a poorman is treted in the police statined so we should come ut of these niciteis as governance democracy equalty etc in a class societ the state apparus is biased against the poor so lets have no illusions about democracy and rule of law emocacy means power is shared equally in a class society the poor are powerles lets have no illusions about voting rule of la etc they make no difference for the subalterns unless we take up the property question seriously there can be no equality hence democracy hence rule of law without radical restructering of property relationships toput it bluntly there can be no democracy without socialism asit On Feb 7, 2008 6:28 AM, wrote: > Dear Fatima, > > > I greatfully accept your observation of a traveller in limousine driving > thru filth and rot in the society, it is not meant to be any personal > attack on any one, but in democratic society, where an individual who for > his selfish reasons to gain power, was attacking every individual from south > as "madrasis" without even knowing how many states are there in south India, > when these individuals were hapless victims of this atrocity, Shivsena was > boen as goon brigade, make over as "hindu " defenders was a misnomer, need > of the time after the appeasement drama went to the extreme, by opening the > gates of dilapidated building in Ayodhya, and the Shah bano case verdict > upturned by ordinance. > > In a democratic society, faith is a very personal issue, which should > not, I strongly opine should not come in the way of good governance of the > communities as all are equal in law, must get good governance irrespective > of faith, caste and region.Good governance is realised only when law > treats every citizen equally, system punishes every one who takes law into > his/her own hands to undermine the system. > > Raj Thackeray who seems to be iconic of Marathi pride gives no pride to > any humanity in his boorish behaviour. But the way the system is hesitating > to take action against such goons irrespective of faith, be it a Owaisi, or > a Raj is really sad ugly belly of democratic governance. > If a tennis player has to be reluctant to play the game she loves, which > gave greater glories to her and the nation because of fathwas, such fathwa > creators should be behind the bars along with these goons. Then only we can > have rights and duties respected and cherished in the nation. > > When governance is to be without fear or favour as per the oath taken by > every individual in the system of governance, when they fail to deliver good > governance to all, discriminate on the basis of caste and faith , region and > language, it is neither healthy democracy or good governance. ? > > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "S.Fatima" > Date: Thursday, February 7, 2008 1:24 pm > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] what is to be done? > To: Vivek Narayanan , reader-list at sarai.net > > > Dear Vivek > > Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails from > > you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the > > bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them > > further goes to another level. Isn't that a personal > > vendetta that some on this list are requesting not to > > get into. > > Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine which > > is driving through the filthy roads and slums, which > > your darkened windows don't allow you to see. > > > > sf > > > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > > > > Strange... I have no idea about the recent > > > "incident" that you all are > > > talking about... I feel completely calm and happy > > > with what has been > > > happening on the reader list. > > > > > > Oh, wait a minute, that must be because I have 58 > > > unread messages (since > > > january 21) that went directly into my "bullshit" > > > folder! Time to go > > > and delete them, I suppose. > > > > > > Vivek > > > > > > Tapas Ray wrote: > > > > I agree with Aarti and Nishant. I have been using > > > filters quite > > > > effectively against these individuals, whose > > > crudity entertained me > > > > initially in a perverse sort of way, but became > > > tiresome after a while. > > > > There is no need for anyone to engage with them, > > > since it is now clear > > > > that their objective is not to take part in > > > rational debate but to > > > > destroy this space by swamping it with hate > > > speech. (The reason, I > > > > think, is that they know they lack the ability to > > > engage in reasoned > > > > debate, and cannot hope to "win" it.) > > > > > > > > Mail filters are effective and can be put in place > > > by anyone in a few > > > > minutes. Nishant's suggestion about tagging and > > > reporting abuse is also > > > > good, but having such a system would mean someone, > > > acting as moderator, > > > > having to spend part of his/her day because of the > > > actions of these > > > > individuals - and I do not think they deserve so > > > much importance. > > > > > > > > Tapas > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Nishant Shah wrote: > > > > > > > >> Hi Arti, All, > > > >> I have been a silent lurker in these days of > > > virulent invective and > > > >> hate-speech that have unfolded on the > > > reader-list. I haven't been silent > > > >> because I had nothing to say, or that I was not > > > provoked. I haven't been > > > >> silent because I did not feel equally angered, > > > sometimes to such an extent > > > >> that I had to walk away from the computer and > > > swear for the nth time that I > > > >> will just unsubscribe from the reader's list. I > > > have been silent because I > > > >> do not think I have the vocabulary to counter > > > arguments that are based on > > > >> nothing more than personal prejudices, or the > > > resources to deal with emails > > > >> that read a little more than poison pen. > > > >> > > > >> However, there is also another reason why I > > > prefer to be silent, as missiles > > > >> are hurled from one end to the other, one camp > > > offering peace flags and > > > >> reasons, the other camp packaging the same in > > > mails that resemble hand made > > > >> grenades used in violent spaces. Out of long > > > habit of dwelling on various > > > >> digital forms, I have realised that the behaviour > > > (read as writing) of some > > > >> of the members who have come to haunt this > > > particular digital platform, can > > > >> only be classified as 'Troll'. > > > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll). > > > >> And as the classic motto goes, 'Do Not Feed The > > > Troll.' There have been many > > > >> discussions on the reader-list about questions of > > > censorship, moderation, > > > >> facilitation and so on. Each time a particularly > > > venomous bunch of people > > > >> descend upon the reader-list, probably abusing > > > their office time and > > > >> professional resources to spew horror on to the > > > unwary people, we talk about > > > >> the possibilities of lags, of delays, of > > > moderation and of down-right > > > >> banning. However, all these, as we have have > > > often observed, will lead to > > > >> nowhere. Death, assassination and banning on the > > > interwebz is unfortunately, > > > >> only notional, symbolic. There are no finalities > > > to either of them and the > > > >> banning or the moderation of one ID would only > > > lead to the Trolls spinning > > > >> of many more IDs which would then come back for > > > their pound and a half of > > > >> flesh. > > > >> > > > >> Hence, IMHO, the best thing to do is to stop > > > FEEDING the TROLLS. I second > > > >> your request that there are so many other more > > > fruitful ways of engaging > > > >> with so many different topics, that it is almost > > > criminal (in the non-legal > > > >> sense of the word) to waste time and resources in > > > trying to convince the > > > >> digital equivalent of a black box with six > > > pre-fed scripts and no semblance > > > >> of intelligence - artificial or otherwise. We > > > might, next, as well start > > > >> arguing with characters in a novel, parts in a > > > movie, components of a > > > >> website. Instead, it is best to just move on. > > > >> > > > >> Having said that, I also realise that it is > > > sometimes difficult to move on. > > > >> More often than not, Trolls specialise in putting > > > their finger on the exact > > > >> right spot that triggers our buttons and induce > > > instantaneous combustion. > > > >> And hence, there will always be people replying > > > to these Flames that come > > > >> our way; unfortunately thinking all the time that > > > they are doing > > > >> fire-fighting, when actually they are just adding > > > fuel to the Troll Fire. > > > >> One technical measure that I can think of - and > > > this takes away the > > > >> unenviable job of a list moderator - is to > > > implement a tagging system in > > > >> place for all mails that come to the reader list. > > > This at least, allows > > > >> people to tag their mails - sometimes the titles > > > are misleading and provide > > > >> no warning for what is to come - so that when a > > > mail arrives, the readers > > > >> can see the tags and decide for themselves > > > whether they want to read the > > > >> mail or not. > > > >> > > > >> The second suggestion I have might be more open > > > for discussion - Most user > > > >> based free spaces of interaction in the > > > cyberspace have developed a policy > > > >> of reactive resistance to what they look upon as > > > an abuse of the space or > > > >> its resources. Under such a policy, you do not > > > ban users from saying what > > > >> they want to say, in whichever way they want to > > > say it, but instead allow > > > >> other users to 'Report Abuse' against a > > > particular user. The Terms of what > > > >> constitutes Abuse can often be generic but also > > > be very specific in nature > > > >> and can have a large consultation from the people > > > who have any stake in it. > > > >> Reporting Abuse eventually needs some sort of a > > > moderator who either > > > >> resolves the problem or simply marks the charged > > > person as guilty of abuse. > > > >> Many times, the reason for this marking is also > > > made public. This ensures > > > >> that some IDs which are seen as destructive or > > > Trollish, can appear > > > >> differently in the conversations, flagged as > > > potentially abusive in nature. > > > >> This also helps in new readers or readers who > > > have more invested in the > > > >> questions, to stay away from the responses that > > > these IDs might be > > > >> generating. > > > >> > > > >> I hope both these suggestions sound feasible. I > > > would be available for > > > >> further communication or planning out of the > > > architectural integration of > > > >> such sort to the Reader's List. I am glad for > > > your intervention and pleased > > > >> to see that instead of wasting time in responding > > > to the Trolls, we are now > > > >> looking upon them as symptomatic to a certain > > > kind of problem that emerges > > > >> in 'free speech and free space' and trying to > > > constructively deal with them. > > > >> > > > >> Un-lurking after a long time, > > > >> Nishant > > > >> On Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM, Aarti Sethi > > > wrote: > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>> Dear all, > > > >>> > > > > > === message truncated === > > > > > > > > Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we > > have it on http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > > list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From chad.chowbey at gmail.com Thu Feb 7 23:06:51 2008 From: chad.chowbey at gmail.com (Chad Chowbey) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 23:06:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hello all Message-ID: Hello all. A friend of mine has been showing me, from time to time, glimpses of the kind of dialogue that goes on on this list. He has been urging me to join the list. Now I have. So I just want to say for now: Hello all From shuddha at sarai.net Fri Feb 8 02:30:57 2008 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 02:30:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Pianist and a Passport: Daniel Barenboim, Palestine and Israel Message-ID: <9a48312b8f6cfe2dc2033ca91fd193d0@sarai.net> Dear all, for quite some time now, I have had an interest in what might be described somewhat roughly as 'the ethics of treason', or, the moral choices made by a person who is described as a 'traitor' by his own people. The word 'own'here is used somewhat thoughtlessly, because the kind of 'traitor' I am interested in is precisely the kind of person who refuses to let his conscience, or his acts be 'owned' by his 'own' people. He is the Hindu who is hated by Hindutva types, the Muslim harrassed by Islamists, the Christian anathemized by the church, the Communist who has no place within a Communist Party, the person who loves the land he or she lives in (not necessarily exclusively, but nevertheless passionately) but who is hounded out by Nationalists. I believe (following a reading of the Italian-German writer, activist and politican Alexander Langer) that such 'traitors' (on all sides) are actually vitally necessary for the difficult undertaking of getting people caught in webs of animosity to learn to live with each other. I am learning how to be a traitor, an apprentice in treason. That is one reason why I am appending the text below (which was posted recently by Patrice Riemens on Nettime) . It is written by Daniel Barenboim, a person whose music making (he is an excellent classical Pianist) has occasionally given me some moments of solace when the weather on this list has been particularly heavy. He (Barenboim) shared with the late Edward Said a great love for music (Said was also a talented pianist) and a conversation that included dealing with the difficult destiny of being an Israeli in dialogue with Edward Said. (Said, as is well known, was a Palestinian exile). Being Israeli means being implicated in the tribulations of Palestinians, just as being Palestinian means an ongoing and difficult engagement (whether you like it or not) with the reality of the State of Israel. In the piece below, Barenboim spells out his reasons for accepting a Palestinian passport (an act for which he will no doubt be considered a traitor by many in Israel). While I personally would not invest a gesture like accepting or refusing a nationality with meaning for myself(because I am not a nationalist, and accepting or refusing nationalities is in some ways meaningless to me). I do appreciate what it means for someone like Daniel Barenboim to do so. I am not saying this to offer some patronizing endorsement of Barenboims act, but as a token of my respect for some one who performs a manifestly unpopular act on the basis of his convictions about the conduct of his own nation-state. He accepts a Palestinian passport, because he values what it means for someone like him to be an Israeli. I view passports and nationalities, coldly, instrumentally. Barenboim probably does not, which is preciely why his position is interesting to me. His is a choice that I may not make, but I am compelled to value the ethical ground from which it arises. I am not religious, but I often respect the sources of religious action far more than I do the arrogance of people who are not religious. I am not a patriot, but in Barenboim, I see the kind of confllicted, but deeply passionate patriotism that even someone as indifferent as I am to the affects that tie people to land(s) must learn to respect. Barenboim's own dissent towards Zionism (which does not take away a jot from his love and passion for Jewish culture and traditions, and his passionate commitment vis-a-vis locating himself within the history of Israel) and Said's dissatisfaction with Palestinian nationalism (and his lifelong commitment to fighting the good fight for justice for Palestinian people) makes both of them the kind of people I have learnt to respect. Perhaps Barenboim's act could be seen in close proximity to the passionately (and some would argue, peculiarly Jewish refusal) of people like Hannah Arendt and Franz Rosenzweig to buy into the nationalist particularism of zionism. The more immersed I am in the vocabularies and cultures that are associated with the history of the landmass of the country called India, the more internally distant I become to the claims (constitutional and otherwise) made on me by the apparatus of the state called the Republic of India. Sometimes I think that an appreciation of a civilization must necessarily require one to abjure the grandiose perversion of its ideals that occurs within the civilizational travesty called the nation-state. This is especially true when nation states pretend to inherit for themselves the mantle of civilizations, rather than seeing themselves as being the mere accidents of history that they are. Accordingly, I pay my taxes scrouplously as a citizen, but I save my conscience through acts of ethical treason to the very entity I pay my taxes to. Inhabiting this paradox is one of the consequences of having to live here, now. And I will always quietly sit or walk away when a national anthem is played, or a flag is hoisted. Here (below) is the recent piece by Barenboim in the International Herald Tribune that I began by talking about and I offer it on this list with the hope that it may be of interest to some of you. I find Barenboim's candour and sensibility refreshing, and as full of light as his music making. regards Shuddha --------------------------------------------------------------------- Israeli and Palestinian By Daniel Barenboim International Herald Tribune: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 BERLIN: I have often made the statement that the destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian people are inextricably linked and that there is no military solution to the conflict. My recent acceptance of Palestinian nationality has given me the opportunity to demonstrate this more tangibly. When my family moved to Israel from Argentina in the 1950s, one of my parents' intentions was to spare me the experience of growing up as part of a minority - a Jewish minority. They wanted to me to grow up as part of a majority - a Jewish majority. The tragedy of this is that my generation, despite having been educated in a society whose positive aspects and human values have greatly enriched my thinking, ignored the existence of a minority within Israel - a non-Jewish minority - which had been the majority in the whole of Palestine until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Part of the non-Jewish population remained in Israel, and other parts left out of fear or were forcefully displaced. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there was and still is an inability to admit the interdependence of their two voices. The creation of the state of Israel was the result of a Jewish-European idea, which, if it is to extend its leitmotif into the future, must accept the Palestinian identity as an equally valid leitmotif. The demographic development is impossible to ignore; Palestinians within Israel are a minority but a rapidly growing one, and their voice needs to be heard now more than ever. They now make up approximately 22 percent of the population of Israel. This is a larger percentage than was ever represented by a Jewish minority in any country in any period of history. The total number of Palestinians living within Israel and in the occupied territories (that is, greater Israel for the Israelis or greater Palestine for the Palestinians) is already larger than the Jewish population. At present, Israel is confronted at once with three problems: the nature of the modern democratic Jewish state - its very identity; the problem of Palestinian identity within Israel; and the problem of the creation of a Palestinian state outside of Israel. With Jordan and Egypt it was possible to attain what can best be described as an ice-cold peace without questioning Israel's existence as a Jewish state. The problem of the Palestinians within Israel, however, is a much more challenging one to solve, both theoretically and practically. For Israel, it means, among other things, coming to terms with the fact that the land was not barren or empty, "a land without a people," an idea that was propagated at the time of its creation. For the Palestinians, it means accepting the fact that Israel is a Jewish state and is here to stay. Israelis, however, must accept the integration of the Palestinian minority even if it means changing certain aspects of the nature of Israel; they must also accept the justification for and necessity of the creation of a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel. Not only is there no alternative, or magic wand, that will make the Palestinians disappear, but their integration is an indispensable condition - on moral, social and political grounds - for the very survival of Israel. The longer the occupation continues and Palestinian dissatisfaction remains unaddressed, the more difficult it is to find even elementary common ground. We have seen so often in the modern history of the Middle East that missed opportunities for reconciliation have had extremely negative results for both sides. For my part, when the Palestinian passport was offered to me, I accepted it in the spirit of acknowledging the Palestinian destiny that I, as an Israeli, share. A true citizen of Israel must reach out to the Palestinian people with openness, and at the very least an attempt to understand what the creation of the state of Israel has meant to them. The 15th of May, 1948, is the day of independence for the Jews, but the same day is Al Nakba, the catastrophe, for the Palestinians. A true citizen of Israel must ask himself what the Jews, known as an intelligent people of learning and culture, have done to share their cultural heritage with the Palestinians. A true citizen of Israel must also ask himself why the Palestinians have been condemned to live in slums and accept lower standards of education and medical care, rather than being provided by the occupying force with decent, dignified and liveable conditions, a right common to all human beings. In any occupied territory, the occupiers are responsible for the quality of life of the occupied, and in the case of the Palestinians, the different Israeli governments over the last 40 years have failed miserably. The Palestinians naturally must continue to resist the occupation and all attempts to deny them basic individual needs and statehood. However, for their own sake this resistance must not express itself through violence. Crossing the boundary from adamant resistance (including non-violent demonstrations and protests) to violence only results in more innocent victims and does not serve the long-term interests of the Palestinian people. At the same time, the citizens of Israel have just as much cause to be alert to the needs and rights of the Palestinian people (both within and outside Israel) as they do to their own. After all, in the sense that we share one land and one destiny, we should all have dual citizenship. (Daniel Barenboim, a pianist and conductor, is music director of the Staatskapelle Berlin and principal guest conductor at La Scala Opera in Milan. He is co-founder with Edward Said of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings together Arab and Israeli musicians.) From shahzulf at yahoo.com Fri Feb 8 12:04:26 2008 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 22:34:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Balochistan on the brink Message-ID: <556496.91596.qm@web38808.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Balochistan on the brink By Zulfiqar Shah [Dawn February 8, 2008] THE absence of a democratic dialogue between the people of Balochistan and the authorities in Islamabad has resulted in protracted violence, widespread human rights abuses, mass internal displacement and the deaths of hundreds of civilians and armed personnel. Due to Islamabad’s attempt to impose a ‘national identity’ upon the Baloch and the latter’s long-standing resentment towards federal policies the four major insurgencies in 1948, 1958, 1963 and 1973 have become a part of the political history of Pakistan. The first guerilla movement ended in July 1960, when Nauroz Khan, commander of the movement, died during his detention and five of his companions were hanged. Thereafter, the Pakistan army started building new garrisons at key points in the province, triggering another guerilla movement. The armed Baloch revolt comprised left-leaning militants led by Sher Mohammad Marri who set up a network of base camps spread from the Mengal tribal areas of Jhalawan in the south to the Marri and Bugti areas in the north. The sporadic fighting ended in 1969, when General Yahya Khan withdrew the ‘One Unit’ plan and the Baloch agreed to a ceasefire. In 1970, Balochistan was granted the status of a ‘province’. In 1972, Baloch nationalists and the National Awami Party allied with the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam to oppose President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In 1973, Bhutto dismissed the Balochistan government on charges of treason and governor’s rule was imposed on the province. A large number of Marri tribesmen and Baloch students fought against the government and attacked Pakistani and American oil companies leading to the halting of drilling and survey operations. The Pakistani army deployed 80,000 soldiers, used helicopter gun-ships provided by Iran and $200m as financial and emergency aid, to put down the revolt that continued until 1977 in which more than 5,000 Baloch and 3,300 army men lost their lives. In the post-1988 democratic phase, the Baloch tribes were represented in the governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and ethnic tensions subsided. Baloch nationalist parties were given an opportunity to articulate their grievances through national and provincial legislatures. In the 1988 elections, Akbar Bugti led the Baloch National Alliance — a coalition of tribal leaders and left-wing nationalists that won a number of seats in the provincial assembly. Sui gas, which was first discovered in 1953, was first supplied to Multan and Rawalpindi in Punjab in 1964, but Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, waited until 1986 for its own supply. This too was possible only after the federal government set up a corps headquarters in Quetta. Dera Bugti received gas in the mid-1990s when a paramilitary camp was set up there. Even today only four of the 26 districts of Balochistan are supplied with gas from Sui. Sui accounts for 36 per cent of Pakistan’s total gas production. However, Balochistan receives only 17 per cent of the gas produced in the region. The remaining 83 per cent is sent to the rest of the country. Moreover, Balochistan receives no more than 12.4 per cent of the royalties due to it on gas. The province supplies more than 40 per cent of Pakistan’s primary energy needs. The example of the Saindak copper project illustrates the discrimination Balochistan is being subjected to. The Chinese manage the project with 50 per cent of the share going to them, 48 per cent to the federal government and only two per cent to the government of Balochistan. In 1992, Nawaz Sharif’s government decided to build a seaport at Gwadar on the Makran coast. Initially, Baloch nationalists supported the project but subsequent developments like the creation of a land market, a planned military base and the expected massive inflow of non-Baloch in a province with a total population of six to seven million, disturbed indigenous political elements. These issues had not been discussed in the Balochistan Assembly. The small population of the province means that a massive influx of outsiders will swamp the locals, deprive them of a share in the opportunities created by these mega projects, and wipe out their identity from the face of the earth. Gwadar has only one intermediate college and no technical school. No major steps have been taken to improve health facilities or access to safe drinking water. Most of the locals rely on fishing for a livelihood and have lost prime fishing grounds after the port was constructed. According to an estimate, 89 per cent of rural Balochistan and 49 per cent of Sindh’s rural population live in high-deprivation areas. Over 50 per cent of the population subsists below the poverty line in the province. According to the Labour Force Survey 2003-2004, urban unemployment is 9.7 per cent in Pakistan, and 12.5 per cent in Balochistan. Between 2001 and 2003, unemployment decreased from 8.3 to 7.7 per cent in Pakistan but went up from 7.8 per cent to 8.2 per cent in the province. The literacy rate is low in Balochistan as compared to the rest of the country. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2006-2007, in Balochistan 54 per cent men and 20 per cent women (with a total of 38 per cent) are literate. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, as the interim prime minister in 2004, had constituted a parliamentary committee on Balochistan. There were two sub-committees to look into current as well as constitutional issues. The current issues committee led by Mushahid Hussain dealt with issues such as the building of military cantonments, mega development projects and violence, whereas the constitutional committee led by Wasim Sajjad dealt with issues related to provincial autonomy. The sub-committees recommended a 15 to 20 per cent increase in gas royalty, 20 to 30 per cent resource allocation for local development, and 5.4 per cent quota for Baloch workers in the federal government. Moreover, they recommended social sector development and constitutional changes for providing greater provincial autonomy to Balochistan. The Wasim Sajjad Committee also recommended a complete revision of the concurrent list and distribution of federal resources on the basis of poverty, backwardness, unemployment and the development level of provinces, instead of using the criterion of population. Conflict between the army and the insurgents has taken the lives of Nawab Akbar Bugti and Balach Marri further alienating the Baloch from Islamabad. The uprising in Balochistan goes on unabated. It is rooted in the structure of the federation. The recommendations of both the committees mentioned above and the 15 points communicated by Akbar Bugti during his talks with Tariq Aziz have still not been addressed. Today, the danger of the dismemberment of the country is greater than ever before. The time has come for Pakistan’s civil-military establishment to change its attitude towards the people and their problems. Let the federating units be given provincial autonomy so that a just socio-economic contract may be implemented. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Fri Feb 8 12:25:16 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 12:25:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?A_review_of_Rajesh_Jala=92s_Floati?= =?windows-1252?q?ng_lamp_of_the_Shadow_valley_-_Lalit_Ambardar?= In-Reply-To: <6353c690802072230q64edb529s1df1c4a08da09de7@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802072230q64edb529s1df1c4a08da09de7@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802072255r7b1d9ad6lae9414475abdc4be@mail.gmail.com> *A review of Rajesh Jala's Floating lamp of the Shadow valley …* **Lalit Ambardar* It is a paradox that the tragedy of Kashmir has been allowed to be presented to the world at large mostly by the very protagonists of the ongoing turmoil. Ruthless competition within the budding TV media in India has only helped the secessionists acquire political legitimacy what with the channels vying with each other to host them. Film makers have done no better. The absence of Kashmir in mainstream fiction cinema is understandable due to the obvious reasons. In the bygone days it used to be an unwritten 'must' to include at least one song sequence picturised in the scenic valley. *Roja & Mission Kashmir* did highlight the issue of pan Islamic terrorism & to a great extent managed to actually show the menace prevailing in the valley. Many other films did attempt too but failed to make any significant impact. It is ironic that the documentaries that have generally been depicting only the alleged human rights violation in the valley often to the extent that these could at best be labelled as propaganda films made at the behest of the vested interests, are well received by the self proclaimed liberals while the films focussing on the plight of common Kashmiris hardly find any audience. Documentary film makers have a greater responsibility as they are expected to reach out to the opinion makers & the civil society in general. They need to be unbiased in all respects. But unfortunately there is a tendency to overlook the fact that the much spoken about social fabric called 'Kashmiriyat' today stands ruptured almost beyond repair what with the near total aboriginal Pandit community continuing to languish in exile for the past eighteen years now. The impact of mindless violence on the common Kashmiri Muslim folks is generally ignored. It is a pity that the writers, columnists, artists, film makers & intellectuals & the civil society in general continue to be lackadaisical towards the growing political stature of the those responsible for founding the 'gun culture' in the valley & who have now a vested interest in the on going strife, while the vast majority of hapless Kashmiris continues to mourn the tragedy of their venerated MAUJ KASHIR in silence. *Read the entire piece on* - http://shehjar.kashmirgroup.com/Admin/magazineresourcepage.do?pageUrl=/files/resources/zip/080127090031_Floating-lamp_Shadow_valley/index.html&MAG_ID=8 Thanks Aditya Raj Kaul Campaign Blog - www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com From image.science at donau-uni.ac.at Fri Feb 8 17:41:06 2008 From: image.science at donau-uni.ac.at (Image Science) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:11:06 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] place collectively re:viewed Message-ID: <47AC54EA0200007D000050EE@gwgwia.donau-uni.ac.at> re:place conference collectively reviewed by: Jon CATES (US), Winnie FU (HK), Mary HAMMER (US), Rachelle Viader KNOWLES (CA), Eleni MICHAILIDI (GR), Reginald NJEMANZE (NG), Nicolas ROMANACCI (DE), Joanna WALEWSKA (PL), Nina WENHART (AT) and Rolf WOLFENSBERGER(CH) ::: re:place collectively re:viewed ::: ::: full-length reviews of each panel www.mediaarthistory.org/replace/reviews re:place 2007 was the second international conference on the histories of Media, Art, Science and Technology. It took place in Berlin from the 15th until the 18th of November 2007 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. re:place followed the first conference Refresh!, the First International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology held at the Banff New Media Institute, Canada, in 2005 (cf. Oliver Grau ed., MediaArtHistories, MIT 2007). In the second conference, re:place was chaired by Andreas Broeckmann and Gunalan Nadarajan supported by an advisory board and a program committee with many well-known key players of the field Media Art Histories. The conference consisted of several pre- and post-conference activities, which were only partly open to the public, and many parallel events. The three-day conference itself was organized into ten thematic panels, evening key lectures, lunchtime lectures and poster sessions. The conference was also complemented by three independently organized exhibitions that were shown in Berlin at the same time: 9 Evenings Reconsidered: Art, Theatre and Engineering at the TESLA, From Spark to Pixel at the Martin-Gropius-Bau and History Will Repeat Itself at the KW. The combination of conference proceedings, parallel events and exhibitions, gave conference attendees many choices to engage in a wide range of activities during re:place. In the introductory talk Oliver Grau gave an overview of the development of the field of MediaArtHistories before and after Refresh! and asked what value can research in this field achieve within the framework of Image Science and Digital Humanities? Starting with the mission of the conference series (www.mediaarthistory.org) the presentation created a "discipline strategic" bridge opening up a perspective to overcome the often placement of Media Arts in a ghetto. In support of that Grau showed the increasing significance of new scientific instruments for the field, *collective* online image and text archives, like www.virtualart.at, www.mediaarthistory.org, which document the art and theory production of the last decades. He finished with a note of caution regarding the too strong particularization in this area and made a plea for a concerted policy and strategy for collectively documenting, archiving and collecting the art of the latest history. In his opening remarks, Andreas Broeckmann referred specifically to the comma between "Media" and "Art" in the subtitle of the conference. He repeated this comment later while introducing the speakers of Panel 5 (which he moderated). Broeckmann stated the organizers gave a great deal of consideration to this distinction while organizing the conference and that it is indicatory of their approach. Unfortunately, as a result, Media Art Histories were less thoroughly addressed as a field. In Broeckmann's explanation, most of the panelists came from very diverse fields. Panels were arranged around special topics. This combination of various fields and approaches in the topical panels would have offered the opportunity to inform a cross-disciplinary toolset of Media Art Histories methods and strategies, but this chance went by unused. ::: Panels ::: The 10 panels of re:place covered a variety of subjects and topics with a few themes connecting multiple panels and presentations. Longer panel reviews follow this general review of re:place. Panel 1 was on the topic of ART, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING as sites/places where early experiments in Media Art took place, most often as a combined form of research and development, focusing on examples of their intersections. The panel was moderated by Edward Shanken, with panelists Michael Century, Stephen Jones, Eva Moraga and Robin Oppenheimer and is reviewed by Nina Wenhart. The second panel, INTERSECTIONS OF MEDIA AND BIOLOGY, incorporated speakers from vastly different study or artistic backgrounds and study epochs. The first two speakers, Assimina Kaniari and Jussi Parikka, adopted a historical approach on understanding the relationship between Biology and Media Art, while the last two attempted to incorporate theories into their respective art works with Michele Barker describing how the Life Sciences interact with Digital culture and Boo Chapple experimented with sound in relation with biological systems. This panel was moderated Ingeborg Reichle and is reviewed by Winnie Fu. In Panel 3, HISTORIES OF ABSTRACTION, the four lecturers offered brilliant and sophisticated studies on seemingly quite different subjects. Laura Marks, Arianna Borrelli, Amir Alexander and Paul Thomas offered complex and diverse perspectives with highly specialized and elaborated insights that are detailed in the review by Nicolas Romanacci. Panel 4, The COMPARATIVE HISTORIES OF ART INSTITUTIONS, was moderated by Stephan Kovats and included presentations by Lioudmila Voropai, Renata Sukaityte, Christoph Klütsch and Catherine Hamel. This panel raised questions of the possibilities of institutional critiques and is reviewed by jonCates. Panel 5 traced some of the Media Art Histories that can be told in a local context, namely in Australia, Poland, Japan and the North American Pacific Coast. This panel, PLACE STUDIES: MEDIA ART HISTORIES, raising the complex issue of how national and local processes relate to broader national and international media art contexts. Eleni Michailidi reviews this panel, discussing how, as Media Art's global networks have had an acute impact on the development of local artistic and critical practices, analyzing their interactions and mutual influences can help us understand the different ways in which Media Art develops. With: Daniel Palmer, Ryszard W. Kluszczynski, Caroline Seck Langill, Machiko Kusahara. The panelists of Panel 6, MEDIA THEORY IN PRACTICE, charted intersections of Media theory and practice through points of tension and friction, conflicts between innovation and institutional frameworks, displacements, immateriality and the instability of memory in all its forms. This panel included Kathryn Farley, Nils Röller, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Antony Hudek and Antonia Wunderlich as panelists and is reviewed by Rachelle Viader Knowles. INTERDISCIPLINARY THEORY IN PRACTICE, the 7th Panel, started by a brief introduction of the speakers by the Moderator Sara Diamonds. She buttressed the effort made by the speakers to apply the emerging forms of Interdisciplinary Theories to Practice, not only in Media Art History but across various domains of knowledge. The papers presented by Christopher Salter, Simone Osthoff, Janine Marchassault and Michael Daroch painted pictures of a hybridized knowledge of Meta Analysis of Methodology and the various points of Productive Collision; not only to New Theories but as they relate to New Practices. Panel 7 is reviewed by Reginald Njemanze. All lectures of Panel 8, PLACE STUDIES: RUSSIA / SOVIET UNION, as well as an introduction by Inke Arns (who tried to outline the importance of Russian avant-garde movements and its technology related utopias) clarified the background of New Media Art in Central and East Europe. In Joanna Walewska's review of Panel 8, she discusses the panel's attempt to extrapolate the future meaning of collaboration between artists and engineers from the histories of such collaborations. With: Olga Goriunova, Margareta Tillberg, Margareta Voehringer, and Irina Aristarkhova. Panel 9, CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, investigated the interrelationships and differences between Western and non-Western views. The moderator, Bernd Scherer, stated that this investigation involves a great deal of exchange between cultures, and that the results may challenge the current definitions of modernity. Each panelist, including Erkki Huhtamo, Cynthia Ward, Manosh Chowdhury and Sheila Petty, presented a paper that attempted to challenge the traditional Western view and encourage exchange between cultures. The Cross Cultural Perspectives panel is reviewed by Mary Hammer. The final panel, CYBERNETIC HISTORIES OF ARTISTIC PRACTICES, was introduced and moderated by Geoff Cox. The connections between cybernetics and artistic or, more precisely, emergent everyday practices was presented in two computer-archaeological case studies by David Link and Kristoffer Gansing. Both speakers were separately looking at different occurrences in the early software/hardware history when engineers and programmers were experimenting with the cybernetic machines to produce something other than what they were originally designed for. Brian Reffin Smith then delivered the literally final speech of the panels in a kind of conference performance. In his review of Panel 10, Rolf Wolfensberger, describes how Brian Reffin Smith passionately denounced the ongoing mystification of the computer by artists, scientists and art-critics alike since the early 1970ies and the progressive culture of the spectacle fed by the capitalistic IT-industries since the mid 1990ies. ::: Poster Presentation ::: In addition to the panels, re:place also hosted a Poster Presentation of about 20 projects, reaching from doctoral projects about individual artists such as Lenka Dolanova's poster on her research into the Vasulkas or Darko Fritz's research on Vladimir Bonacic to a poster from and about The Experimental Television Center. If time is limited, posters are a way of at least including projects in the context of the conference. But the way in which the posters were physically presented at re:place was very impolite. The posters were put on simple stand, quite small and too close to one another. Still, the worst aspect of the presentation of the posters was their location. The posters stood in the last corner of the entrance hall, a place with no sufficient lighting. In addition there were two poster presentations, where everyone had 5 minutes to present their projects. Even if time is limited, there can be better ways of showing and presenting these posters, if the organizers are really interested in enriching the content of the conference. Links to all the posters can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninawenhart/sets/72157603265770404/ ::: Key Note ::: The most pointed approach to describe the framework of a potential field of media art histories was formulated, performed and put into a flaming manifesto by Siegried Zielinski. He made a claim for being enthusiastic, something which was missing in a lot of presentations. ::: Critique & Conclusion ::: The notion of 'place' in the title of the conference was not as evident as the premise of the conference seemed to promise. Perhaps the proposed "thematic focus on located-ness and the migration of knowledge and knowledge production in the interdisciplinary contexts of art, historiography, science and technology" was by definition too vague. Glimpses of local practices at the fringes of mainstream reception (such as the Eastern European Media Art Histories thread that connected a few panels and panelists) or inspirations taken from crossing borders and boundaries did come up momentarily during several of the panels, but practically none of the panelists or moderators made a specific reference to the title of the conference or used this theme to 'locate' her presentation in a broader context. Some of the panels left the impression of a more or less artificially conceived theme with a collection of presentations. This impression seemed to render the hope of the moderators for controversial discussions almost futile from the start. Seen in retrospect the conference did not fully re:cover its 'place' although many of the presentations, posters and discussions as such were fascinating without doubt. ::: Links ::: - re:place 2007 at Haus der Kulturen der Welt: http://www.mediaarthistory.org/replace/reviews - 9 Evenings Reconsidered at TESLA: http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=2092 - History Will Repeat Itself at the KW: http://www.kw-berlin.de/deutsch/program_frameset.htm - From Spark to Pixel at the Martin-Gropius-Bau: http://tinyurl.com/3asg88 From ratishn at gmail.com Fri Feb 8 19:49:41 2008 From: ratishn at gmail.com (Ratish Nanda) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 19:49:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] E MAIL FROM MANOJ MISRA, YAMUNA JIYE ABHIYAN REGARDING ONGOING COURT CASE Message-ID: Dear Friends, In continuation of my mail of last tuesday here is the whole story. 3.1.2008 Kindly recall that the Hon'ble Bench of HC of Delhi had made a site visit and spent more than 2 hrs at the impugned sites. Clearly the extent and nature of damage to the river bed indulged in both by DDA and DMRC had become evident to the court. 9.1.2008 Sri Kapil Sibal, the Hon'ble Union Minister of Science and Technology (MOS&T) calls a meeting at Delhi at which only NEERI and DDA are invited. It may be noted that NEERI being a constitutent of CSIR is directly answerable to the MOS&T. NEERI also has a client - contractor relationship with DDA for the Yamuna work. Some kind a strategy is assumably devised at this meeting. 14.1.2008 DDA writes a letter to NEERI specifically asking three leading questions and providing some material from 2006 and 2007 to it for reference. 24.1.2008 NEERI responds to DDA with a so called 'Assessment Report' which says that since they (NEERI) were not aware of the presence of the new bund in the river bed close to the Akshardham when they submitted their report in 2005 (it is notable that the bund had been illegally constructed by the DDA in 2002), hence now that the bund exists the area in question no longer is deemed to be part of the flood plain. A lie of the highest order and technically an incorrect statement. 29.1.2008 DDA submits an affidavit to the Hon'ble HC saying that now that this new NEERI report is in place and as it clarifies all the 'confusion' and hence there is no problem left. The fact of the matter is that NEERI not only knew about the bund but had carried google images of it and referred to it in its 2005 report which is the basis of the whole case against the DDA and the proposed Residential Complex in the name of Games Village as well as the impugned polluting Depot and residential flats by the DMRC in the river bed. Clearly NEERI had been pressurised both by MOS&T and DDA to submit a report quoting wrong facts and condemning it own previous report and thereby tried to misinform and mislead the Court. Today, Sri S M Agrawal, the Convenor of the HC appointed Usha Mehra Committee demolished very systematically and methodically in his inimitable style, the said new report by NEERI and laid bare the whole game of deceit and lies being played by the DDA in the Court. Obviously the DDA had little to say in its defence. (It is now left to be seen as to how does the court take up the matter of the deliberate mischief of both the DDA and NEERI in the matter). Here it may be mentioned that more we see of the Sri Agrawal, a former District and Sessions Judge, in action in the court the more we understand and appreciate the reason why the Court chose him to become the Convenor of this Committee. If there is one true unsung hero in the saga of Save Yamuna Campaign then it is HIM. We (Sri Sanjay Parikh our Counsel) in our counter affidavit filed today have sought suo moto initiation of action for perjury and contempt by the Hon'ble Court against these agencies for deliberate misrepresentation, lies and misinformation. Whatever the final outcome, the larger issue is that if this is the manner in which prestigious and assumably professional agencies are behaving and tend to succumb to extraneous pressures to the extent of out right lying just to please their political masters then can they ever be looked upon with respect for their scientific abilities and achievements? The case shall resume next tuesday (12.1.2008) and hopefully the arguments should conclude on that day, unless DDA or DMRC comes up with some new trump card. The matter of Dr Pachauri heading some Monitoring Committee as suggested by the SG and objected to by Sri Parikh has hopefully been laid to rest when we presented, in response to a letter submitted by DDA from Dr Pachauri (where he agreed to do it if the work was given to TERI), evidence to the fact that TERI and Dr Pachauri has a vested interest in the whole matter. manoj -- www.yamunajiyeabhiyaan.blogspot.com -- Ratish Nanda From indersalim at gmail.com Sat Feb 9 01:05:55 2008 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2008 01:05:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Pianist and a Passport: Daniel Barenboim, Palestine and Israel In-Reply-To: <9a48312b8f6cfe2dc2033ca91fd193d0@sarai.net> References: <9a48312b8f6cfe2dc2033ca91fd193d0@sarai.net> Message-ID: <47e122a70802081135v1aab75e1t74a8e36be61389af@mail.gmail.com> Dear All Only the un-artistic will disagree with what Shuddha has written, but the problem is that very few amongst us are privileged to declare that they are artistic. The fact is that either we all are artists or we all are in the process of becoming artists. What makes us un-artistic is perhaps our inability to identify our vital drives of life. That is why we takes sides, often blindly, and discover our mistakes only when our personal ( selfish ) interests come to harm. That still does not make us artists, because we take another side to safeguard our interests. People in general are not at fault for being so casual with their choices, but the privileged amongst us are certainly playing a dirty role that mislead and manipulate at the same time. One only wishes a revolution, but as we all know that now there will be no such thing, but something else. Perhaps, that is why you wrote ' the ethics of treason', and perhaps, why I am also reflecting that.. So, no wonder, that 'courage' is rare commodity….to say this or that at appropriate time…Ghalib comes to my mind KAAY WHO NIMROD KI KHUDIYEE THEE, BANDAGEE MEIN MAYRA BALLA NAA HUVA. ( Now I realize that it was a mistake to worship (the fascist) King Nimrod as my God) Indeed, artists have rarely danced to the national anthem under a national flag. But, if the times were, say, pre 1947 (pre-independence), it might have attracted a veritable artistic expression. Shaheed Bhagat Singh is one such example, who had both courage and vision. He too would have paid taxes in the present, but one can only guess what he might have done to shake the dull and corrupt imagination of our politicians. In any case he was the ideal citizen who might have even asked for a Pakistani Pass port if alive in 1947. The question why one has the tendency to become an arrogant Nationalist is perhaps because the nation-state mundanely castrates a citizen to the extent that he no longer believes in his inherent drives gifted to him by nature. So, the insecurity… As you have rightly said that there are good nationalists, good communists, good Muslims and good Hindus but they are all in minority, because they are simultaneously Artists as well, and therefore, minority within minority. So more insecure, but ironically, it is the majority who cry loudly about their so called insecurity. Now imagine what an un-artistic hindu would do, if s/he suddenly gets a free Hussain Canvas. Obviously it wont be confined to flames, rather it would immediately changed into hard currency. An artistic Hindu does not need a Hussain, because s/he can create an work of art herself and hang it on the wall if needed. Forget what un-artistic communists, did to Taslima in Kolkata, see what they did in Berlin at the end of world war 2nd. They robbed all the museums and took the treasures to Moscow. That includes a lot of stuff which had nothing to do with communism. And as usual an artistic communist does not need a stolen museum object for her/his home, because s/he can create a work of art as and when required. Here, I must use the word Bourgeoisie, and I guess there is a little bourgeoisie is each one of us. I believe, it is fine if the little monster breathes within, but without any growth. But if it grows and comes out and dominates the personality then nothing works. It then grows terribly under the skin of ones gloss as we see in Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Gray. What I am then, or what a person like Shuddha is? Do we necessarily need a word to define the self? If suddenly some of us decide not to be part of that popular vocabulary which fits into this or that then there should be some freedom for a person to be this or that. What eve that be. I recall, that there was a discussion on 'Archives..' by Mr. Arnab on this list recently. Now then what is the significance of the memory of a being vis-à-vis an individual who refrains from being identified this or that. For a while let us say that such a person is RUNIS. WE ALL ARE RUNIS. Ruins that contains the echo of a past, embedded deeply within, which not only we need to retrieve spontaneously, but also to become part of it. I see all the runis reverberating until they merge into each other to realize a collective hysteria. A ruin is naturally pregnant with shadow of a still that hides the form of an existential core. I see, ghosts in the form of words coming and going... A city buried under the runis, as Freud would whisper…we think we heard it, but he perhaps, meant something else… With love and regards Inder salim On Feb 8, 2008 2:30 AM, wrote: > Dear all, > > for quite some time now, I have had an interest in what might be described > somewhat roughly as 'the ethics of treason', or, the moral choices made by > a person who is described as a 'traitor' by his own people. The word > 'own'here is used somewhat thoughtlessly, because the kind of 'traitor' I > am interested in is precisely the kind of person who refuses to let his > conscience, or his acts be 'owned' by his 'own' people. He is the Hindu who > is hated by Hindutva types, the Muslim harrassed by Islamists, the > Christian anathemized by the church, the Communist who has no place within > a Communist Party, the person who loves the land he or she lives in (not > necessarily exclusively, but nevertheless passionately) but who is hounded > out by Nationalists. > > I believe (following a reading of the Italian-German writer, activist and > politican Alexander Langer) that such 'traitors' (on all sides) are > actually vitally necessary for the difficult undertaking of getting people > caught in webs of animosity to learn to live with each other. I am learning > how to be a traitor, an apprentice in treason. > > That is one reason why I am appending the text below (which was posted > recently by Patrice Riemens on Nettime) . It is written by Daniel > Barenboim, a person whose music making (he is an excellent classical > Pianist) has occasionally given me some moments of solace when the weather > on this list has been particularly heavy. > > He (Barenboim) shared with the late Edward Said a great love for music > (Said was also a talented pianist) and a conversation that included dealing > with the difficult destiny of being an Israeli in dialogue with Edward > Said. (Said, as is well known, was a Palestinian exile). Being Israeli > means being implicated in the tribulations of Palestinians, just as being > Palestinian means an ongoing and difficult engagement (whether you like it > or not) with the reality of the State of Israel. > > In the piece below, Barenboim spells out his reasons for accepting a > Palestinian passport (an act for which he will no doubt be considered a > traitor by many in Israel). > > While I personally would not invest a gesture like accepting or refusing a > nationality with meaning for myself(because I am not a nationalist, and > accepting or refusing nationalities is in some ways meaningless to me). I > do appreciate what it means for someone like Daniel Barenboim to do so. I > am not saying this to offer some patronizing endorsement of Barenboims act, > but as a token of my respect for some one who performs a manifestly > unpopular act on the basis of his convictions about the conduct of his own > nation-state. He accepts a Palestinian passport, because he values what it > means for someone like him to be an Israeli. I view passports and > nationalities, coldly, instrumentally. Barenboim probably does not, which > is preciely why his position is interesting to me. His is a choice that I > may not make, but I am compelled to value the ethical ground from which it > arises. I am not religious, but I often respect the sources of religious > action far more than I do the arrogance of people who are not religious. I > am not a patriot, but in Barenboim, I see the kind of confllicted, but > deeply passionate patriotism that even someone as indifferent as I am to > the affects that tie people to land(s) must learn to respect. > > Barenboim's own dissent towards Zionism (which does not take away a jot > from his love and passion for Jewish culture and traditions, and his > passionate commitment vis-a-vis locating himself within the history of > Israel) and Said's dissatisfaction with Palestinian nationalism (and his > lifelong commitment to fighting the good fight for justice for Palestinian > people) makes both of them the kind of people I have learnt to respect. > Perhaps Barenboim's act could be seen in close proximity to the > passionately (and some would argue, peculiarly Jewish refusal) of people > like Hannah Arendt and Franz Rosenzweig to buy into the nationalist > particularism of zionism. > > The more immersed I am in the vocabularies and cultures that are associated > with the history of the landmass of the country called India, the more > internally distant I become to the claims (constitutional and otherwise) > made on me by the apparatus of the state called the Republic of India. > Sometimes I think that an appreciation of a civilization must necessarily > require one to abjure the grandiose perversion of its ideals that occurs > within the civilizational travesty called the nation-state. This is > especially true when nation states pretend to inherit for themselves the > mantle of civilizations, rather than seeing themselves as being the mere > accidents of history that they are. > > Accordingly, I pay my taxes scrouplously as a citizen, but I save my > conscience through acts of ethical treason to the very entity I pay my > taxes to. Inhabiting this paradox is one of the consequences of having to > live here, now. And I will always quietly sit or walk away when a national > anthem is played, or a flag is hoisted. > > Here (below) is the recent piece by Barenboim in the International Herald > Tribune that I began by talking about and I offer it on this list with the > hope that it may be of interest to some of you. I find Barenboim's candour > and sensibility refreshing, and as full of light as his music making. > > regards > > Shuddha > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Israeli and Palestinian > By Daniel Barenboim > > International Herald Tribune: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 > > BERLIN: I have often made the statement that the destinies of the Israeli > and Palestinian people are inextricably linked and that there is no > military solution to the conflict. My recent acceptance of Palestinian > nationality has given me the opportunity to demonstrate this more tangibly. > > When my family moved to Israel from Argentina in the 1950s, one of my > parents' intentions was to spare me the experience of growing up as > part of a minority - a Jewish minority. They wanted to me to grow up > as part of a majority - a Jewish majority. > > The tragedy of this is that my generation, despite having been > educated in a society whose positive aspects and human values have > greatly enriched my thinking, ignored the existence of a minority > within Israel - a non-Jewish minority - which had been the majority in > the whole of Palestine until the creation of the state of Israel in > 1948. Part of the non-Jewish population remained in Israel, and other > parts left out of fear or were forcefully displaced. > > In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there was and still is an > inability to admit the interdependence of their two voices. The > creation of the state of Israel was the result of a Jewish-European > idea, which, if it is to extend its leitmotif into the future, must > accept the Palestinian identity as an equally valid leitmotif. > > The demographic development is impossible to ignore; Palestinians > within Israel are a minority but a rapidly growing one, and their > voice needs to be heard now more than ever. They now make up > approximately 22 percent of the population of Israel. This is a larger > percentage than was ever represented by a Jewish minority in any > country in any period of history. The total number of Palestinians > living within Israel and in the occupied territories (that is, greater > Israel for the Israelis or greater Palestine for the Palestinians) is > already larger than the Jewish population. > > At present, Israel is confronted at once with three problems: the > nature of the modern democratic Jewish state - its very identity; the > problem of Palestinian identity within Israel; and the problem of > the creation of a Palestinian state outside of Israel. With Jordan > and Egypt it was possible to attain what can best be described as an > ice-cold peace without questioning Israel's existence as a Jewish > state. > > The problem of the Palestinians within Israel, however, is a much > more challenging one to solve, both theoretically and practically. > For Israel, it means, among other things, coming to terms with the > fact that the land was not barren or empty, "a land without a people," > an idea that was propagated at the time of its creation. For the > Palestinians, it means accepting the fact that Israel is a Jewish > state and is here to stay. > > Israelis, however, must accept the integration of the Palestinian > minority even if it means changing certain aspects of the nature of > Israel; they must also accept the justification for and necessity > of the creation of a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel. > Not only is there no alternative, or magic wand, that will make the > Palestinians disappear, but their integration is an indispensable > condition - on moral, social and political grounds - for the very > survival of Israel. > > The longer the occupation continues and Palestinian dissatisfaction > remains unaddressed, the more difficult it is to find even elementary > common ground. We have seen so often in the modern history of the > Middle East that missed opportunities for reconciliation have had > extremely negative results for both sides. > > For my part, when the Palestinian passport was offered to me, I > accepted it in the spirit of acknowledging the Palestinian destiny > that I, as an Israeli, share. > > A true citizen of Israel must reach out to the Palestinian people with > openness, and at the very least an attempt to understand what the > creation of the state of Israel has meant to them. > > The 15th of May, 1948, is the day of independence for the Jews, but > the same day is Al Nakba, the catastrophe, for the Palestinians. A > true citizen of Israel must ask himself what the Jews, known as an > intelligent people of learning and culture, have done to share their > cultural heritage with the Palestinians. > > A true citizen of Israel must also ask himself why the Palestinians > have been condemned to live in slums and accept lower standards > of education and medical care, rather than being provided by the > occupying force with decent, dignified and liveable conditions, a > right common to all human beings. In any occupied territory, the > occupiers are responsible for the quality of life of the occupied, and > in the case of the Palestinians, the different Israeli governments > over the last 40 years have failed miserably. The Palestinians > naturally must continue to resist the occupation and all attempts to > deny them basic individual needs and statehood. However, for their own > sake this resistance must not express itself through violence. > > Crossing the boundary from adamant resistance (including non-violent > demonstrations and protests) to violence only results in more innocent > victims and does not serve the long-term interests of the Palestinian > people. At the same time, the citizens of Israel have just as much > cause to be alert to the needs and rights of the Palestinian people > (both within and outside Israel) as they do to their own. After all, > in the sense that we share one land and one destiny, we should all > have dual citizenship. > > > (Daniel Barenboim, a pianist and conductor, is music director of the > Staatskapelle Berlin and principal guest conductor at La Scala Opera > in Milan. He is co-founder with Edward Said of the West-Eastern Divan > Orchestra, which brings together Arab and Israeli musicians.) > > _________________________________________ > 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://indersalim.livejournal.com From alice at tank.tv Thu Feb 7 16:22:09 2008 From: alice at tank.tv (Alice O'Reilly) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 10:52:09 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] www.tank.tv : Screening at Phoenix Arts, Leicester - Fresh Moves: New Moving Images from the UK Message-ID: <442eb4460802070252x3e14dce4wf2b635c1f288e8d9@mail.gmail.com> www.tank.tv Screening of Fresh Moves: New Moving Images from the UK Phoenix Arts Leicester 12th February 2008 6.05pm tank.tv's DVD - Fresh Moves: New Moving Images from the UK will be screened at the Phoenix Arts Centre in Leicester. The artworks get the screensize they deserve and the audience get 80 eclectic minutes of non stop moving images. "...this special project addresses the idea of carrying video and filmic work beyond the boundaries of contextually, or spatially, confined spaces pertaining to where a work can be seen. [...] It furthers the investigation into how different modes of filmmaking evolve within the changing consciousness of the public media [...] ..." Hans Ulrich Obrist An opportunity not to be missed. Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester 21 Upper Brown St LE1 5TE www.phoenix.org.uk www.tank.tv -- - - - - - - - - - - - - Alice O'Reilly tank.tv 2nd Floor Princess House 50 - 60 Eastcastle Street London W1W 8EA alice at tank.tv T: +44 (0)207323 3475 F: +44 (0)207631 4280 http://www.tank.tv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now showing: The Whole World Curated by Ian White for www.tank.tv 1st January 2008 - 1st March 2008 Fresh Moves - Out now! Order your copy on www.tank.tv "A significant archive of creative practices in the early years of twenty-first century England" Tyler Coburn, Tomorrow Unlimited --- 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 -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From phadkeshilpa at gmail.com Tue Feb 5 23:45:19 2008 From: phadkeshilpa at gmail.com (Shilpa Phadke) Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 23:45:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Urban Typhoon - Koliwada Dharavi In-Reply-To: <517431.71433.qm@web56208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <517431.71433.qm@web56208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Please forward widely: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: rahul srivastava Date: Feb 5, 2008 3:07 PM Subject: Urban Typhoon - Koliwada Dharavi Dear Friends, This is an invitation to participate in the Urban Typhoon Workshop to be held in Dharavi, Mumbai during March 16 and 22 2008. (www.urbantyphoon.com) The workshop is being organized together with the residents of Dharavi Koliwada, the support of PUKAR, a Mumbai based research collective and Asia Initiatives. Dharavi's Koliwada is a traditional fisher folk community in one of Asia's largest informal settlements. Koliwada's village like character has been preserved even in the midst of the dramatic urban and demographic changes that Mumbai has experienced in the last century. The workshop will produce creative design alternatives for Koliwada as well as a multimedia testimony to the unique spirit of the community. This workshop will also be an experiment in participatory planning and global collaborative work. Architects, urban planners, artists, activist and legal experts from India and the rest of the world will work in small teams with local residents. At the end of the workshop all the produced output work will be uploaded on a community owned website. This material could then be used to inform any future redevelopment plan - whether it is lead by the government, NGOs, or local communities. In case you or your organization is interested in joining the workshop, please contact us at the earliest - through the website - www.urbantyphoon.com. We look forward to your participation and are confident that the workshop will generate innovative ideas through this rare encounter with a community in such an open and creative environment. The Urban Typhoon 2008 Committee Ravi Keny, Secretary, Koliwada-Dharavi Association Anita D Patil, Director, PUKAR, Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research, Mumbai Geeta Mehta, Professor, Temple University, Tokyo Matias Echanove, Coordinator, Urban Typhoon, University of Tokyo. Rahul Srivastava, Research Advisor, PUKAR, Mumbai and others. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Thu Feb 7 16:04:23 2008 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (NMF2007) Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:34:23 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_NewMediaFest2007?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_in_India?= Message-ID: <20080207113423.EECA0459.C7007DC2@192.168.0.3> NewMediaFest2007, the 1st common festival of [NewMediaArtprojectNetwork]:||cologne http://www.newmediafest.org/blog/ is happy to announce the presentation of two festival selections curated by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne on 3rd CeC. and CaC ('Carnival of e-Creativity & Change-agents Conclave') at India International Centre organised by The Academy of Electronic Art New Dehli 15,16, 17 February 2008 - http://www.theaea.org/cec_cac/ceccac08/ i.e. --> 1. CologneOFF III - Toon! Toon! - art cartoons and animated narratives http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=15 featuring films/videos by Konstantin Dimitriev (Russia) Kaspars Groshevs (Latvia), Silvia Cacciatori Filloy (Uruguay) Henry Gwiazda (USA), Gerald Habarth (USA), Lycette Bros. (Australia),, Hermes Mangialardo (Italy) , Lars Nagler (Germany), Martin Oja (Estonia), Tom de Pekin (France), Simon Streatfeild (Australia), Andy Sykes (UK), Alexander Satim Timofeev (Russia) Leonardo R. Beltrán Navarro (Chile) 2. Cinematheque - streaming media project environments "Slowtime/Dreamtime" - http://cinema.nmartproject.net/blog/?page_id=19 featuring videos by Marco Batista (Slovenia), Larissa Sansour (Palestine) Jon Keith Brunelle (USA), Artur Augustynowicz (Canada) Agricola de Cologne (Germany), Antony Rousseau (France) Margarida Paiva (Portugal), Laurent Pernot (France) Oksana Shatalova (Kazakhstan), Jeremiah Jones (USA) Norbert Francis Attard (Malta), Anders Weberg (Sweden) Daniel Iturriza (Peru) -------------------------------------------------- These info are released by netEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net netex.(at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Fri Feb 8 00:24:06 2008 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 13:54:06 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Commissions: "Mixed Realities" Message-ID: <007f01c869ba$e3a9f8e0$aafdeaa0$@org> February 7, 2008 Turbulence Commissions: "Mixed Realities" http://turbulence.org/mixed_realities/turbulence.html Join us for a reception tonight, 5-7 pm EST! Huret & Spector Gallery 10 Boylston Place, 6th Floor Emerson College Boston, MA Ars Virtua (Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seventh%20Eye/6/77/48) Artists/Works: CATERWAUL by Pierre Proske with technical assistance from Artem Baguinski and Brigit Lichtenegger IMAGING BEIJING by John (Craig) Freeman NO MATTER by Scott Kildall and Victoria Scott REMOTE by Neill Donaldson, Usman Haque, Ai Hasegawa, Georg Tremmel THE VITRUVIAN WORLD by Michael Takeo Magruder, Drew Baker and David Steele "Mixed Realities" is an exhibition that explores the convergence-through cyberspace-of real and synthetic places made possible by computers and networks. "Mixed Realities" links and overlays the Huret & Spector Gallery (10 Boylston Place, 6th Floor, Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts), Turbulence.org (http://turbulence.org/mixed_realities/turbulence.html), and Ars Virtua (Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seventh%20Eye/6/77/48). Second Life is a shared, synthetic, 3-D environment through which people can interact in real-time by means of a virtual self or avatar. Although it's an imaginary place, it is often able to "masquerade as real" (Richard Bartle) because it approximates reality persuasively enough to facilitate player immersion. Audience members - who will be embodied as avatars in Second Life, browsing the works at turbulence.org, and/or be physically present in the gallery - will interact with the works and with one another. Thus, "Mixed Realities" will enable people who are distributed across multiple physical and virtual spaces to communicate with one another and share experiences in real time. Five works were commissioned by New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. specifically for the "Mixed Realities" exhibition. They are: "Remote" by Neill Donaldson, Usman Haque, Ai Hasegawa, Georg Tremmel http://turbulence.org/Works/remote/applet/index.html "Remote" connects together two spaces, one in Boston the other in Second Life, and treats them as a single contiguous environment, bound together by the Internet so that things that occur in one space affect things that happen in the other and vice versa - remotely controlling each other. Communication between the two halves of this extended environment is a complex choreography coupling the environmental phenomena of humidity, temperature, light, speech, mist, wind, sound and proximity across the two. The object in Boston appears to be a seat; but, experientially, the Second Life space appears to be inside the seat. A similar alteration of scale occurs in the other direction. Visitors to the Boston space and the Second Life space must negotiate to achieve goals: e.g. by sitting down, breathing, touching, knocking, colliding. The environmental data of both spaces is publicly available in realtime via the EnvironmentXML repository enabling others to build devices and spaces that connect directly to both Boston and Second Life. The intention is to explore an architecture that is resolutely "human" (in the sense of being inhabited, configured and determined by its occupants) yet context-free (because it does not privilege geographical location). "Imaging Beijing" by John (Craig) Freeman http://turbulence.org/works/ImagingBeijing "Imaging Beijing" is the latest installment of Imaging Place, a place-based, virtual reality project that combines panoramic photography, digital video, and virtual worlds to investigate and document situations where the forces of globalization are impacting the lives of individuals in local communities. When a denizen of Second Life first arrives at "Imaging Beijing", he, she or it can walk over a satellite image of central Beijing where they will find a networks of nodes constructed of primitive spherical geometry with panoramic photographs texture mapped to the interior. The avatar can walk to the center of one of these nodes and use a first person perspective to view the image, giving the user the sensation of being immersed in the location. A web-cam captures live video of the user and transmits it to the head of an exhibition avatar. Dated links in the virtual space launch a browser, which opens a web journal of the Imaging Beijing field research. "NO MATTER" by Scott Kildall and Victoria Scott http://turbulence.org/works/nomatter "NO MATTER" is an interactive installation that activates the transformation of imaginary objects through the Second Life virtual economy into physical space. Second Life builders construct replicas of famous buildings, luxury goods and custom-designed objects, first reproducing, then inverting the notion of value itself. With zero cost for gathering resources, production of goods and transport of finished product, these items proliferate widely and quickly. In the real world, consumer items and imaginary objects serve as forms of emotional attachment - projection screens for desire, fear and love. A 3D-simulated space, combined with a virtual currency and social interaction, Second Life is a fully functioning economy of the immaterial. "The Vitruvian World" by Michael Takeo Magruder, Drew Baker and David Steele http://turbulence.org/works/vitruvianworld In the 1st century BC, Roman writer, architect and engineer Vitruvius authored specific building formulae based on the guiding principles of strength, utility and beauty. For him, architecture was intrinsically linked to nature and is an imitation of cosmic order. The most well-known interpretation of this postulate is the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci in which the human form is depicted in unity with the square and circle - representing material and spiritual existence respectively. "The Vitruvian World" is a real-time immersive installation that embodies the principles of Vitruvius within a contemporary context. Existing in three distinct yet interconnected spaces, the artwork simultaneously embraces the virtual, the physical, and the network that connects them. "CATERWAUL" by Pierre Proske, with technical assistance from Artem Baguinski and Brigit Lichtenegger http://turbulence.org/works/caterwaul When someone screams in real life, do they hear us in virtual reality? Do they want to? "CATERWAUL" is an interactive sound installation that operates as a one way "portal" to Second Life via the internet. A physical wall in Boston operates as a totemic locus of grief. People approach it with intent to wail and mourn. The mourners grieve their lost loved ones who spend more time in virtual and on-line worlds than they do communicating in real life. The cacophony of the lamentation is recorded by hidden microphones in the wall, transmitted across the Internet and piped out of an "identical" wall in the virtual world Second Life. A website displaying a simulation of the wall allows other people, on the threshold of "real" and "second" life, to vicariously eavesdrop the wailing. "Mixed Realities" on Turbulence.org was funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. We are deeply grateful for their support. 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 cahen.x at levels9.com Sun Feb 10 16:45:05 2008 From: cahen.x at levels9.com (xavier cahen) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 12:15:05 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] pourinfos Newsletter / 06-02 to 29-02-2008 Message-ID: <47AEDCB9.4050007@levels9.com> pourinfos.org l'actualite du monde de l'art / daily Art news ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >From Sunday, February 06, 2008 through Monday, February 29, 2008 (included) ------------------------------------------------------------------- (mostly in french) @ 001 (06/02/2008) Residence: Art Factory International Artist in Residence Program Bialystok, Poland. http://pourinfos.org/art-35419-tit-Residence-Art-Factory-International-Artist -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 002 (06/02/2008) Residences: for artists, NEKaTOENEa, Domaine d'Abbadia in Hendaye, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35420-tit--d-artistes-NEKaTOENEa-Domaine-d-Abbadia -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 003 (06/02/2008) Residence: for artists, art school of la Roche sur Yon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35421-tit-Residence-d-artistes-Ecole-d-art-de-la -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 004 (06/02/2008) Residence: A.I.R. International Artists Residencies / FilmFest - Summer 2008 -- BUDAPEST, Hungary. http://pourinfos.org/art-35422-tit-Residence-A-I-R-International-Artists -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 005 (06/02/2008) Residence: Call _Residencies 08/09: box _Bourges, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35423-tit-Residence-08-09-la-box-Bourges- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 006 (06/02/2008) Residence: Eyebeam Residency Call, applications for 2008 Summer Residencies, New York, USA. http://pourinfos.org/art-35424-tit-Residence-Eyebeam-Residency-Call- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 007 (06/02/2008) Programme : semi-annual programme of conferences,Ensba, February 2008, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35433-tit--le-programme-semestriel-de-la-salle-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 008 (07/02/2008) Program: February 2008, the Point Ephémère, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35437-tit--mois-de-fevrier-2008-le-Point-Ephemere- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 009 (08/02/2008) Meetings: FACTS VRILLÉS 2008, 26 Rockbrown, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35431-tit--FAITS-VRILLES-2008-26-Rockbrown- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 010 (08/02/2008) Publication: important monograph and catalogue raisonné on designer Pierre Paulin, publishing Museum Grand Hornu archibooks Sautereau and publisher, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-35438-tit--importante-monographie-et-catalogue -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 011 (08/02/2008) Publication: MISTICO FEBBRAIO CON DROME magazine, Rome, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/art-35446-tit--MISTICO-FEBBRAIO-CON-DROME-magazine- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 012 (08/02/2008) Publication: New New releases, Joel Hubaut, POLYPHONIX 40 / Journals spoken and DOCUMENTS / Collages, cut-ups, sampling, Tracelabel, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35447-tit--Nouveautes-New-releases-Joel-Hubaut- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 013 (08/02/2008) Publication: DVDs, editions MK2, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35449-tit--DVDs-edition-MK2-Paris- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 014 (08/02/2008) Publication: THE UNREADy 07, A MAGAZINE PROJECT, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35450-tit--THE-UNREADy-07-A-MAGAZINE-PROJECT- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 015 (08/02/2008) Publication: NEWS MEDIA, r-diffusion, Strasbourg, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35451-tit--NOUVELLES-PARUTIONS-r-diffusion- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 016 (08/02/2008) Publication: Release of books in March edition archibooks, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35452-tit--sortie-d-ouvrages-en-mars-edition -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 017 (08/02/2008) Publication: Ai Kitahara, "How We Divide The World," The exhibition catalogue, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. http://pourinfos.org/art-35453-tit--Ai-Kitahara-How-We-Divide-The-World- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 018 (08/02/2008) Publication: DROME magazine, DROME 12 - freedom, the first in the trilogy, Rome, Italy. http://pourinfos.org/art-35454-tit--DROME-magazine-DROME-12-liberte-the -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 019 (08/02/2008) Formation : Workshop "mixt," In partnership with Kër Thiossane, the collective Culture Ailleurs, Dakar, Senegal. http://pourinfos.org/art-35456-tit-Formation-Workshop-mixt-En -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 020 (08/02/2008) Job Vacancy: International Competition for the post of Director at the MACBA in Barcelona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-35457-tit--Concours-international-pour-le-poste-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 021 (08/02/2008) Formation : 2007-2008 SEASON, Cipac, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35458-tit-Formation-SAISON-2007-2008-Cipac-Paris- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 022 (08/02/2008) Offre d'emplpoi : Offer emplpoi: offer of the post civil volunteering, Convenor (trice) network IASTAR, the campus radio network, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35459-tit-Offre-d-emplpoi-offre-de-poste-en -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 023 (08/02/2008) Job Vacancy: Kinglassie Radio Project Co-ordinator, Fife, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-35460-tit--Kinglassie-Radio-Project-Co-ordinator- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 024 (08/02/2008) Various: THE RIGHT OF ARTISTS TO ENFORCE THE ARTISTS BY THEMSELVES, Fred Forest, webnetmuseum.org, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35462-tit-Divers-LE-BON-DROIT-DES-ARTISTES-A-FAIRE -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 025 (08/02/2008) Various: Third letter interactive, Progress of the permanent centre of Design, Echirolles, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35463-tit-Divers-Troisieme-lettre-interactive- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 026 (08/02/2008) Divers : program (Printemps des Poètes) Spring program of Poets in Cahors, 4-15 March 2008, Cahors, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35464-tit-Divers-programme-Printemps-des-Poetes-a -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 027 (08/02/2008) Various: Land Art in peril, yet few days to "save" Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Robert Smithson, Usa. http://pourinfos.org/art-35465-tit-Divers-Land-Art-en-peril-encore-quelques -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 028 (08/02/2008) Various: opening a new space 'La taupinière', Plaine de Plainpalais, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-35466-tit-Divers-ouverture-de-La-taupiniere- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 029 (08/02/2008) Various: Release of the French actors of "Media Culture", France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35467-tit-Divers-Communique-des-acteurs-culture -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 030 (08/02/2008) Various: Les Ateliers de Rennes, new contemporary art biennale, Rennes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35468-tit-Divers-Les-Ateliers-de-Rennes-nouvelle -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 031 (08/02/2008) Various: Artist photographer Sarah Dobai research models, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35469-tit-Divers-Artiste-photographe-Sarah-Dobai -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 032 (08/02/2008) Various: FOUR - moving forward, Dubblin, Ireland. http://pourinfos.org/art-35471-tit-Divers-FOUR-moving-forward-Dubblin- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 033 (08/02/2008) Call: Prix Ars Electronica 2008 - Call for Entries, Linz, Austria. http://pourinfos.org/art-35472-tit--Prix-Ars-Electronica-2008-Call-for -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 034 (08/02/2008) Call for Participation: "FOR YOU AND WHAT IS ART? "Draft International (!) Collective 2008, Toulouse, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35473-tit--ET-POUR-TOI-C-EST-QUOI-L-ART-Projet -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 035 (08/02/2008) Call: Call for Artists: Contemporary Flanerie: Reconfiguring Cities, Oakland University, USA. http://pourinfos.org/art-35474-tit--Call-for-Artists-Contemporary-Flanerie- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 036 (08/02/2008) Call: for artists, artisty space, Denain, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35475-tit--Espace-artisty-Denain- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 037 (08/02/2008) Call: Search artist (innovative and original!) Who worked on Theme of "home" to organize an exhibition in offices, TroisTemps Agency, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35476-tit--Recherche-artiste-innovant-et-original -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 038 (08/02/2008) Call: ARTCAST: CALL FOR ART PODCASTABLE, Lancaster, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-35477-tit--ARTCAST-CALL-FOR-PODCASTABLE-ART- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 039 (08/02/2008) Call: CONCURS REAL TIME - ULTIMS DIES - FESTIVAL REC, Tarragona, Spain. http://pourinfos.org/art-35478-tit--CONCURS-REAL-TIME-ULTIMS-DIES- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 040 (08/02/2008) Call: Visual artists, SOKO (A), gallery window, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-35479-tit--Plasticiens-A-SOKO-galerie-vitrine- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 041 (08/02/2008) Call for Participation: Reminder Call for Abstracts: The Future of Space Exploration, Glasgow, United Kingdom. http://pourinfos.org/art-35480-tit--Reminder-Call-for-Abstracts-The -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 042 (08/02/2008) Publication: Invitation to an artist book project by Shahram Entekhabi, Berlin, Germany. http://pourinfos.org/art-35481-tit--Invitation-to-an-artist-book-project-by -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 043 (08/02/2008) Residences: Call for artists - A.I.R. International Artists Residencies / FilmFest-Summer 2008 - BUDAPEST, Hungary http://pourinfos.org/art-35482-tit-Residences-Call-for-artists-A-I-R- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 044 (08/02/2008) Call: EUROPEAN SOUND DELTA, COLLECTIVE MU, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35483-tit--EUROPEAN-SOUND-DELTA-COLLECTIF-MU- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 045 (08/02/2008) Call: "Ici et ailleurs", Here and elsewhere, Brest 2008, Brest, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35484-tit--Ici-et-ailleurs-Brest-2008-Brest- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 046 (08/02/2008) Call: call for the project, creating a work of art in tribute to Antoine Pinay, Saint-Symphorien-on-Coise, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35485-tit--appel-a-projet-creation-d-une-uvre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 047 (08/02/2008) Residence: Komplot Residency in Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-35486-tit-Residence-Komplot-Residency-in-Brussels- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 048 (08/02/2008) Call: TWO PROJECTS MAIL ART, "Rue des Graphics and the Comic Strips", Castelnau-Montratier, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35487-tit--DEUX-PROJETS-MAIL-ART-Rue-des -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 049 (08/02/2008) Call: CALL FOR FILMS / CNG 7th FESTIVAL, New Generation Theater, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35489-tit--APPEL-A-FILMS-7eme-FESTIVAL-CNG-Cinema -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 050 (09/02/2008) Meetings: publication, the magazine "le croquant " Our Modernity Between technical and aesthetic, Saturday, February 9, library, in many ways, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35354-tit--la-revue-le-croquant-Notre -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 051 (09/02/2008) Call: Any sound or music, Canadian 60x60 Project, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-35488-tit--Any-sound-or-music-Canadian-60x60 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 052 (09/02/2008) Call: EUROPA Transitland Commissioned Videos, InterSpace Association, Sofia, Bulgaria. http://pourinfos.org/art-35490-tit-Appel-a-canidature-Transitland-EUROPA -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 053 (09/02/2008) Call for Participation: Submit Your Stories of Love, Open Call, Vancouver, Canada. http://pourinfos.org/art-35491-tit--Submit-Your-Stories-of-Love-Open-Call- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 054 (09/02/2008) Call for Participation: Call for artists, Queer Festival 2008 Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia http://pourinfos.org/art-35492-tit--Call-for-artists-Queer-Zagreb-Festival -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 055 (10/02/2008) Meetings: Stéphane Carrayrou, Sunday, February 10, 2008, Photographic Centre d'Ile-de-France, Pontault-Combault, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35443-tit--Stephane-Carrayrou-Le-bruissement-des -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 056 (10/02/2008) Call: call for the project, "Nuit blanche d'Amiens 2008", Amiens, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35493-tit--appel-a-projet-Nuit-blanche-d-Amiens -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 057 (10/02/2008) Call for Participation: One Minute Film & Video Festival Aarau, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-35494-tit--One-Minute-Film-Video-Festival-Aarau- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 058 (10/02/2008) Call: An International open competition to take part in the exhibition "ILLUMINATORS, Russia. http://pourinfos.org/art-35495-tit--An-International-open-competition-to-take -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 059 (11/02/2008) Meetings: myth, art and politics 4 Encounters with Marc Nichanian, February 11, 2008, UTOPIANA, Geneva, Switzerland. http://pourinfos.org/art-35434-tit--mythe-art-et-politique-4-avec-Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 060 (12/02/2008) Meetings: Christelle Familiari, campus of the University of Nantes, Tuesday, February 12, 2008, Nantes, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35439-tit--Christelle-Familiari-campus-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 061 (15/02/2008) Rencontres : Fourth meeting of the round table discussion of cycle art [espace] at the Sorbonne, and amphi Turgot amphi Richelieu, the Sorbonne University, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35425-tit--Quatrieme-rencontre-debat-du-cycle-art -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 062 (15/02/2008) Meetings: Conversations European artistic theories and practices in the former Eastern Europe, February 15, 2008, Jeu de Paume, Paris, http://pourinfos.org/art-35429-tit--Conversations-europeennes-theories-et -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 063 (15/02/2008) Publication: 2008 Utopia, guide Rhone-Alpes Mediterranean culture Paris 2008, Lyon, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35445-tit--Utopia-2008-guide-Rhone-Alpes-culture -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 064 (15/02/2008) Meetings: Economics is a 0-off series Upgrade! The Glass Menagerie, February 15 to 20h on Sunday, February 17 at 20h, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35455-tit--Economie-0-est-un-hors-serie-Upgrade-la -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 065 (16/02/2008) Meetings: Streaming Media Toi / Stream on You, on 16 and 17 February 2008, iMAL Center for Digital Cultures and Technology, Brussels, Belgium. http://pourinfos.org/art-35436-tit--Streaming-de-Toi-Stream-on-You-les-16 -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 066 (17/02/2008) Meetings: Meetings Internet mon amour Should we be afraid of Web 2.0?, February 17, 2008, Third Eye cycle, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35428-tit--Internet-mon-amour-Faut-il-avoir-peur -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 067 (20/02/2008) Meetings: Contemporary Typography, deValence Conference, Fine Arts Department, University of Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35426-tit--Typographie-contemporaine-Conference-de -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 068 (22/02/2008) Meetings: Robotics: emotional machines, Nautilus.cet, Friday, February 22, 2008, Montreuil, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35440-tit--Robotique-les-machines-emotionnelles- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 069 (22/02/2008) Various: New national mobilization - cinema and audiovisual, Friday, February 22 at 21:00, Cesar ceremony, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35461-tit-Divers-Nouvelle-mobilisation-nationale- -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 070 (23/02/2008) Exhibition: Wandering Library 2, the mobile library, here Cargo 21, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35427-tit--Wandering-Library-2-La-bibliotheque -------------------------------------------------------------------- @ 071 (26/02/2008) Formation : Workshop / MASTERCLASS SuperCollider, 26 to 29 February and 1 March 2008, Confluences, Paris, France. http://pourinfos.org/art-35373-tit-Formation-ATELIER-MASTERCLASS ----------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From oishiksircar at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 02:05:57 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:35:57 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Tariq Ali on Turin Book Fair Message-ID: <62cba67a0802101235kfaca78cv72bd11f3ac7a5ed8@mail.gmail.com> Why I Will Not Participate in the Turin Book Fair by TARIQ ALI When I agreed to participate in the Turin Book Fair, which I have done before, I had no idea that the 'guest of honour' was Israel and its 60th birthday. But this is also the 60th anniversary of what the Palestinian call the 'nakba'the disaster that befell them that year, when they were expelled from their villages, some killed, women raped by the settlers. These facts are no longer disputed. So why did the Turin Book Fair not invite Palestinians in equal numbers? 30 Israeli writers and 30 Palestinian writers (and I promise you they exist and are very fine poets and novelists) might have been seen as a positive and peaceful gesture and a positive debate might have taken place. A literary version of Daniel Barenboim's Diwan Orchestra, half-Israeli, half-Palestinian. Such a move would have brought people together, but no. The cultural commissars know best. I have argued vigorously with some of the Israeli writers visiting the fair on other occasions and would have happily done the same again if conditions had been different. What they decided to do is an ugly provocation. http://www.counterpunch.org/tariq02052008.html -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Mon Feb 11 07:53:28 2008 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:23:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Baba Amte is no more Message-ID: <764756.68342.qm@web53601.mail.re2.yahoo.com> I was lucky to once have met this great man;and observe him for a distance for some time. I have never seen anyone else whose very sight could be so inspiring. May his memory and inspiration live for ever. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From aman.am at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 11:32:49 2008 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:32:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aman Sethi on Gajar Matar Message-ID: <995a19920802102202y47010361gdd39e5afdb86a66e@mail.gmail.com> Cross posted on www.kafila.org This is something that i have been thinking of ever since Chomsky et all brought out their series of letters on Nandigram, left unity etc, shuddha's post on Daniel Baremboim and now Tariq Ali on Why he will not participate in Turin Book Fair. At such points, i imagine the writer of the letter in an almost kung-fu posture - balanced on one foot, maybe raised on one toe to make the stance more complete, the other leg bent at the knee, hands in classic double punch pose. The moment of "taking a stand", defining his/her stance. I do not doubt the intentions of those who take stances - its important that people do take stances on things. What i am interested is public act of taking stance. I suppose when our kung-fu fighter takes stance, s/he assumes that s/he is a "somebody" - that the taking stance has some public value - that people actually care. Could we say that the act of taking stands is often an attempt to remain alive and relevant in increasingly fast paced debates that span countries, cultures and regions? Tariq Ali could have written about why everyone should boycott the Turin Book Fair - Why the Turin Book Fair committee should be condemned - I would have gladly condemned and boycotted. In fact I had already decided not to go to the Turin Book Fair well before Tariq did, for two very good reasons: a) I wasnt invited; and b) I can't afford the air fare. However, Tariq chose to tell us why "he" is not going. So its no longer about Turin, its about Tariq. Maybe Tariq and Noam get up every morning and scan through the papers at light speed - selecting events that they will attend and boycott, endorse and disown; looking at candidates in rainbow revolutions across central asia and eastern europe; speaking out, hitting out, and talking up; emancipating, commiserating, condoling and supporting by simply writing about why they will not go to sistine chapel, shop at Walmart, wear nikes or feed animals in the delhi zoo (because its against zoo rules of course). Maybe Noam slaps his forehead as he thinks "Damn that Tariq, he has rejected the invitation to the weekly meeting of the Siliguri Gram Panchayat because they are parochial, narrow minded and only speak in bengali. I wasnt even invited." And Tariq silently curses Noam for taking a stand on the Cynical Supporters of Mass Hypnosis before he even knew they existed. Perhaps they have secretaries who provide them with a list every morning - a sheaf of cuttings, a zip folder of revolving revolutions. Maybe they actually covertly set up organisations and institutions only to take stands on them. I propose we all come up with lists and stands. I shall take the plunge by declaring that I shall not eat Gajar Matar ki Subzi with Ghee wali roti- because its yucky, fattening and the red and green represents an unholy alliance of the communists and the green movement. Come on guys take your stances, I'll be the crouching tiger, you can be the hidden dragons. Best A. On Feb 11, 2008 2:05 AM, OISHIK SIRCAR wrote: > Why I Will Not Participate in the Turin Book Fair > by TARIQ ALI > > When I agreed to participate in the Turin Book Fair, which I have > done before, I had no idea that the 'guest of honour' was Israel and > its 60th birthday. But this is also the 60th anniversary of what the > Palestinian call the 'nakba'the disaster that befell them that year, > when they were expelled from their villages, some killed, women raped > by the settlers. These facts are no longer disputed. So why did the > Turin Book Fair not invite Palestinians in equal numbers? 30 Israeli > writers and 30 Palestinian writers (and I promise you they exist and > are very fine poets and novelists) might have been seen as a positive > and peaceful gesture and a positive debate might have taken place. A > literary version of Daniel Barenboim's Diwan Orchestra, half-Israeli, > half-Palestinian. Such a move would have brought people together, but > no. The cultural commissars know best. I have argued vigorously with > some of the Israeli writers visiting the fair on other occasions and > would have happily done the same again if conditions had been > different. What they decided to do is an ugly provocation. > > http://www.counterpunch.org/tariq02052008.html > > -- > OISHIK SIRCAR > > Scholar in Women's Rights > Faculty of Law, University of Toronto > > 60 Harbord Street > Room 016 B > Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 > > oishiksircar at gmail.com > oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca > > 416.876.7926 > _________________________________________ > 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 ravikant at sarai.net Mon Feb 11 12:15:21 2008 From: ravikant at sarai.net (Ravikant) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:15:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Focus on Guru Dutt Message-ID: <200802111215.21178.ravikant@sarai.net> *School of Arts and Aesthetics* *Jawaharlal Nehru University* *Presents * *A Focus on Guru Dutt* *With *** *Writer & Documentary Filmmaker* *Nasreen Munni Kabir* *With her film * *In Search of Guru Dutt * *At the SAA Auditorium * *15th February at 2 pm* *A Discussion with the Director will follow the Screening* *Additional Screenings of Guru Dutt films at the SAA Auditorium* *Mr and Mrs 55** : *Thursday 14th Feb, 1.30 pm and *Pyaasa : *Friday, 15th Feb, 10.30 am From vivek at sarai.net Mon Feb 11 12:53:19 2008 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:53:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <754835.760.qm@web8407.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47AFF7E7.6000103@sarai.net> Dear Fatima, Absolutely no personal vendetta intended-- and I find it hard to understand how you might read what I have written as a "personal vendetta". I am merely addressing a situation (*without* advocating the removal of anyone from the list) where the list has lost dozens of readers who are not easily able to sort through for important announcements or discussions that they might actually want to participate in. There have been some important recent events that members of the reader list have missed because they have not been able to sort through all the messages. But I'd like to address a more important and revealing slip in your email. Once again, you insist on suggesting/ inferring that a set of posters are residents of "slums" and from non-elite backgrounds based on their political views and incoherence. Please refrain from making such assumptions. Apart from this being very demeaning to a number of non-elites who don't hold forth with those simplistic views, who don't share those political views against muslims, etc, and who cannot afford to spam the list with up to five messages a day because of their lack of internet access-- apart from these kinds of insulting inferences and assumptions, you're also demonstrably wrong. The members whose posts end up in my bullshit folder all post with such a great frequency that they must either have personal broadband access or, at the very least, be spending hundreds of rupees a day at cybercafes. They are elites themselves. And, moreover, apart from being wrong, you're playing right into the hands of these propagandists, who would like to claim that their anti-muslim and jingoistic views represent the views of "the people", "the masses", "the non-elite" and so on. They would make the same claims as you that anyone who believes in equality or questions the violence of the nation-state or anyone interested in meaningful discussion beyond simplistic coercive and bullying language must be elite. So do be careful before your metaphors actually begin to do some damage. In fact, I'd rather not get into metaphors, since a metaphor by definition replaces its object, sometimes making the object harder to see with clarity, but just for the sake of underlining this, let me offer a counter-metaphor, even if, like all metaphors, it will distort, it will fail to represent the situation completely: what if it is me who is walking on the street. Yes indeed the street may be dirty, maybe it is strewn with shit and dust but let's say that the shit doesn't really bother me as much as it seems to bother you. It really doesn't, even in real life-- if I happen to step in shit while on my way to work, well, I scrape my shoe against the pavement and I keep walking. What if I am walking on the street then, enjoying its productive chaos and its instinctive tolerance for diversity, its camaraderie. Let's say a limousine passes by with people who are *not* subaltern, people who are actually quite powerful, maybe they have access to the police and the security forces and the intelligence services. Let's say that it is these people in the limousine who can talk so blithely and simplistically of kicking the muslims out and defending the nation, because they stand to benefit and because they would be shielded from the ensuing violence themselves. Let's say that for some reason you want to try and get in that limousine with them because you believe that you can actually convince them, that they will change their minds simply on witnessing the goodness of your heart. Well, good for you. For my part I already know well what the people in the limousine have to say, I have heard them out, and I know well that they have not a jot of respect for me, or you. It's my right to stay out of that limousine, Fatima. I already know what their views are, and I know what the costs of those views are. Vivek S.Fatima wrote: > Dear Vivek > Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails from > you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the > bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them > further goes to another level. Isn't that a personal > vendetta that some on this list are requesting not to > get into. > Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine which > is driving through the filthy roads and slums, which > your darkened windows don't allow you to see. > > sf > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > >> Strange... From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 14:48:16 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:48:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pampering Killers In-Reply-To: <6353c690802101100j1297c8cfj7ea6af81b4796dda@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802101100j1297c8cfj7ea6af81b4796dda@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802110118q3d50655elcaa7e1a8bba7e071@mail.gmail.com> Pampering Killers - Joginder Singh *Politicians are predisposed not to see spending Other People's Money as a problem, because spending Other People's Money is what politicians do for a living. If politicians thought there were something wrong with it, they would be in a different line of work.* * - Michael F Cannon* ** *The UPA Government has decided to provide a relief package to dependents of terrorists -- those men who fought against the integrity of India and were killed by the security forces in encounters in Jammu & Kashmir. They did nothing for the country except attempting to destabilise it and kill innocent civilians. They tried their best to demoralise and assassinate those who were standing against them and for our nation.* ** *If implemented, the policy will make India look foolish in the eyes of the world, especially since our rulers are crying hoarse over terrorism. Incidentally, India is still bound by the UN resolution that demands strict action against terrorists. That the Government has also decided to come out with an aid package for the Kashmiri Pandits, rendered refugees in their own country, must have been an afterthought. Now, if the Government decision applies to the killers in Jammu & Kashmir, there is no reason not to extend it to other terrorists - Maoists and rebels in the North-East. The following chart will give an idea of the terrorists and killers in the other parts of the country.* ** *Read more on - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* ** *Thanks* ** *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * ** *Aditya Raj Kaul * *New Delhi* ** *P.S. - RIK has just launched its Campaign Video here - * * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g* ** * Please do watch and comment if possible.* From asitredsalute at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 18:21:13 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:51:13 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Pampering Killers In-Reply-To: <6353c690802110118q3d50655elcaa7e1a8bba7e071@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802101100j1297c8cfj7ea6af81b4796dda@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802110118q3d50655elcaa7e1a8bba7e071@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: this is a cheap right wing communal fascist propoganda you just cant brand every one terrorist maoists are political activists and maoism is a politcal ideaology which talks about freeing the society from the expoitation of the man by man and did any any on care to find out why the people there are rebelling its stupid to brand peole terrorists with out knowing the facts about the roots of historical injustice done to the societies which force people to rebel why are these unpaid cia agents quite about milllions of death in iraq afganisthan ad billoions of deaths caused by imperialism colonilism nd the plunder of the third world why are these people silent on farmers suicide starvation deaths unempoleyment illteracy hunger and disease thousand deing in tortore fake encounters why are these people silent on millions of girls killd in the womb for patriarchal values in the great hindu society why are these peole silent when the great hindus burn thierbrides fordowry there is a rape in everyhalf an hour in hour great hindu country according to the figures from our great govt why are thses people silent and not ashamed of the daily humilition and expoitationf dalits since centuries whom does thses people represent at least the cia agents get salaries and the capitalits profit world imperialism ould never be so happy after getting so many unpaid agents in india asit On Feb 11, 2008 4:18 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Pampering Killers - Joginder Singh > > *Politicians are predisposed not to see spending Other People's Money as > a > problem, because spending Other People's Money is what politicians do for > a > living. If politicians thought there were something wrong with it, they > would be in a different line of work.* > * > - Michael F Cannon* > > ** > *The UPA Government has decided to provide a relief package to dependents > of > terrorists -- those men who fought against the integrity of India and were > killed by the security forces in encounters in Jammu & Kashmir. They did > nothing for the country except attempting to destabilise it and kill > innocent civilians. They tried their best to demoralise and assassinate > those who were standing against them and for our nation.* > ** > *If implemented, the policy will make India look foolish in the eyes of > the > world, especially since our rulers are crying hoarse over terrorism. > Incidentally, India is still bound by the UN resolution that demands > strict > action against terrorists. That the Government has also decided to come > out > with an aid package for the Kashmiri Pandits, rendered refugees in their > own > country, must have been an afterthought. Now, if the Government decision > applies to the killers in Jammu & Kashmir, there is no reason not to > extend > it to other terrorists - Maoists and rebels in the North-East. The > following > chart will give an idea of the terrorists and killers in the other parts > of > the country.* > ** > *Read more on - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* > ** > *Thanks* > ** > *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * > ** > *Aditya Raj Kaul * > *New Delhi* > ** > *P.S. - RIK has just launched its Campaign Video here - * > * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g* > ** > * Please do watch and comment if possible.* > _________________________________________ > 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 sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in Mon Feb 11 18:33:20 2008 From: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in (S.Fatima) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:03:20 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <47AFF7E7.6000103@sarai.net> Message-ID: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Vivek You have a knack of making a hill of out of a mole - and all in the wrong direction. In my analogy of a limousine going through filth, the filth is not at all supposed to mean the economic status of people writing high-volume hate-mails. But by calling someone's views as "bullshit", it is you who is demeaning them. (Ok, I'd like to take back the word "slum" - I apologize for it). My problem with your mail was that as long as you apply those filters and send the unwanted mails to whatever insulting folder quietly, it is fine. But by being sarcastic about it (as in your original message) we are only infuriating them further. Will that help in breaking any ice? Or maybe we do'nt want to break any ice. I don't think I'm playing into the hands of these propagandists - I'm only complicating this issue a little further, because I believe that ignoring them and and not answering their simplistic questions is not a long-term solution. If you read some of my earlier mails, I have mostly been advocating DIALOGUE between the two-parties. Now your immediate reaction would be: "huh, these guys don't deserve an ear - you can't have a dialogue with them". Yes I know it is very irritating to read through most of those hate-mails. But the point is that all their rigid stereotypes and biases are a reality and most of us don't have the time, patience or inclination to sit with these folks and talk. An email discussion in any case doesn't lead to anything fruitful, especially when it comes to such a topic. So, the least we can do is to ignore them. But being sarcastic is worse. Another point : you say that since those folks are using broadband to send that many mails, they must be rich enough to be called elite. Well then, what happened to the claim that internet/broadband is supposed to be empowering and democratizing the thrid world, and so on. You seem to be defining the access to internet still in caste/class terms! cheers --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > Dear Fatima, > > Absolutely no personal vendetta intended-- and I > find it hard to > understand how you might read what I have written as > a "personal > vendetta". I am merely addressing a situation > (*without* advocating the > removal of anyone from the list) where the list has > lost dozens of > readers who are not easily able to sort through for > important > announcements or discussions that they might > actually want to > participate in. There have been some important > recent events that > members of the reader list have missed because they > have not been able > to sort through all the messages. > > But I'd like to address a more important and > revealing slip in your > email. Once again, you insist on suggesting/ > inferring that a set of > posters are residents of "slums" and from non-elite > backgrounds based on > their political views and incoherence. Please > refrain from making such > assumptions. > > Apart from this being very demeaning to a number of > non-elites who don't > hold forth with those simplistic views, who don't > share those political > views against muslims, etc, and who cannot afford to > spam the list with > up to five messages a day because of their lack of > internet access-- > apart from these kinds of insulting inferences and > assumptions, you're > also demonstrably wrong. The members whose posts > end up in my bullshit > folder all post with such a great frequency that > they must either have > personal broadband access or, at the very least, be > spending hundreds of > rupees a day at cybercafes. They are elites > themselves. > > And, moreover, apart from being wrong, you're > playing right into the > hands of these propagandists, who would like to > claim that their > anti-muslim and jingoistic views represent the views > of "the people", > "the masses", "the non-elite" and so on. They would > make the same > claims as you that anyone who believes in equality > or questions the > violence of the nation-state or anyone interested in > meaningful > discussion beyond simplistic coercive and bullying > language must be > elite. So do be careful before your metaphors > actually begin to do some > damage. > > In fact, I'd rather not get into metaphors, since a > metaphor by > definition replaces its object, sometimes making the > object harder to > see with clarity, but just for the sake of > underlining this, let me > offer a counter-metaphor, even if, like all > metaphors, it will distort, > it will fail to represent the situation completely: > > what if it is me who is walking on the street. Yes > indeed the street > may be dirty, maybe it is strewn with shit and dust > but let's say that > the shit doesn't really bother me as much as it > seems to bother you. It > really doesn't, even in real life-- if I happen to > step in shit while on > my way to work, well, I scrape my shoe against the > pavement and I keep > walking. What if I am walking on the street then, > enjoying its > productive chaos and its instinctive tolerance for > diversity, its > camaraderie. Let's say a limousine passes by with > people who are *not* > subaltern, people who are actually quite powerful, > maybe they have > access to the police and the security forces and the > intelligence > services. Let's say that it is these people in the > limousine who can > talk so blithely and simplistically of kicking the > muslims out and > defending the nation, because they stand to benefit > and because they > would be shielded from the ensuing violence > themselves. Let's say that > for some reason you want to try and get in that > limousine with them > because you believe that you can actually convince > them, that they will > change their minds simply on witnessing the goodness > of your heart. > Well, good for you. For my part I already know well > what the people in > the limousine have to say, I have heard them out, > and I know well that > they have not a jot of respect for me, or you. It's > my right to stay > out of that limousine, Fatima. I already know what > their views are, and > I know what the costs of those views are. > > Vivek > > S.Fatima wrote: > > Dear Vivek > > Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails > from > > you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the > > bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them > > further goes to another level. Isn't that a > personal > > vendetta that some on this list are requesting not > to > > get into. > > Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine > which > > is driving through the filthy roads and slums, > which > > your darkened windows don't allow you to see. > > > > sf > > > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > > > > >> Strange... > > Share files, take polls, and discuss your passions - all under one roof. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups From asitredsalute at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 19:01:45 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:31:45 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] what is to be done? In-Reply-To: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <47AFF7E7.6000103@sarai.net> <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: dear all iwould advocate of takin the bull by its horn in a civilisd maner we should rationaly explain these irrational medivaal communal hate mongeres that how foolishily they are out of tune in a modrn dmocratic society and how thier vicious retrogade fuedal communal propoganda will help the obscurantist forces to roll back the rights won by centuries of unremmiting struggles asit On Feb 11, 2008 8:03 AM, S.Fatima wrote: > Dear Vivek > You have a knack of making a hill of out of a mole - > and all in the wrong direction. In my analogy of a > limousine going through filth, the filth is not at all > supposed to mean the economic status of people writing > high-volume hate-mails. But by calling someone's views > as "bullshit", it is you who is demeaning them. (Ok, > I'd like to take back the word "slum" - I apologize > for it). My problem with your mail was that as long as > you apply those filters and send the unwanted mails to > whatever insulting folder quietly, it is fine. But by > being sarcastic about it (as in your original message) > we are only infuriating them further. Will that help > in breaking any ice? Or maybe we do'nt want to break > any ice. > > I don't think I'm playing into the hands of these > propagandists - I'm only complicating this issue a > little further, because I believe that ignoring them > and and not answering their simplistic questions is > not a long-term solution. If you read some of my > earlier mails, I have mostly been advocating DIALOGUE > between the two-parties. Now your immediate reaction > would be: "huh, these guys don't deserve an ear - you > can't have a dialogue with them". Yes I know it is > very irritating to read through most of those > hate-mails. But the point is that all their rigid > stereotypes and biases are a reality and most of us > don't have the time, patience or inclination to sit > with these folks and talk. An email discussion in any > case doesn't lead to anything fruitful, especially > when it comes to such a topic. So, the least we can do > is to ignore them. But being sarcastic is worse. > > Another point : you say that since those folks are > using broadband to send that many mails, they must be > rich enough to be called elite. Well then, what > happened to the claim that internet/broadband is > supposed to be empowering and democratizing the thrid > world, and so on. You seem to be defining the access > to internet still in caste/class terms! > > cheers > > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > > Dear Fatima, > > > > Absolutely no personal vendetta intended-- and I > > find it hard to > > understand how you might read what I have written as > > a "personal > > vendetta". I am merely addressing a situation > > (*without* advocating the > > removal of anyone from the list) where the list has > > lost dozens of > > readers who are not easily able to sort through for > > important > > announcements or discussions that they might > > actually want to > > participate in. There have been some important > > recent events that > > members of the reader list have missed because they > > have not been able > > to sort through all the messages. > > > > But I'd like to address a more important and > > revealing slip in your > > email. Once again, you insist on suggesting/ > > inferring that a set of > > posters are residents of "slums" and from non-elite > > backgrounds based on > > their political views and incoherence. Please > > refrain from making such > > assumptions. > > > > Apart from this being very demeaning to a number of > > non-elites who don't > > hold forth with those simplistic views, who don't > > share those political > > views against muslims, etc, and who cannot afford to > > spam the list with > > up to five messages a day because of their lack of > > internet access-- > > apart from these kinds of insulting inferences and > > assumptions, you're > > also demonstrably wrong. The members whose posts > > end up in my bullshit > > folder all post with such a great frequency that > > they must either have > > personal broadband access or, at the very least, be > > spending hundreds of > > rupees a day at cybercafes. They are elites > > themselves. > > > > And, moreover, apart from being wrong, you're > > playing right into the > > hands of these propagandists, who would like to > > claim that their > > anti-muslim and jingoistic views represent the views > > of "the people", > > "the masses", "the non-elite" and so on. They would > > make the same > > claims as you that anyone who believes in equality > > or questions the > > violence of the nation-state or anyone interested in > > meaningful > > discussion beyond simplistic coercive and bullying > > language must be > > elite. So do be careful before your metaphors > > actually begin to do some > > damage. > > > > In fact, I'd rather not get into metaphors, since a > > metaphor by > > definition replaces its object, sometimes making the > > object harder to > > see with clarity, but just for the sake of > > underlining this, let me > > offer a counter-metaphor, even if, like all > > metaphors, it will distort, > > it will fail to represent the situation completely: > > > > what if it is me who is walking on the street. Yes > > indeed the street > > may be dirty, maybe it is strewn with shit and dust > > but let's say that > > the shit doesn't really bother me as much as it > > seems to bother you. It > > really doesn't, even in real life-- if I happen to > > step in shit while on > > my way to work, well, I scrape my shoe against the > > pavement and I keep > > walking. What if I am walking on the street then, > > enjoying its > > productive chaos and its instinctive tolerance for > > diversity, its > > camaraderie. Let's say a limousine passes by with > > people who are *not* > > subaltern, people who are actually quite powerful, > > maybe they have > > access to the police and the security forces and the > > intelligence > > services. Let's say that it is these people in the > > limousine who can > > talk so blithely and simplistically of kicking the > > muslims out and > > defending the nation, because they stand to benefit > > and because they > > would be shielded from the ensuing violence > > themselves. Let's say that > > for some reason you want to try and get in that > > limousine with them > > because you believe that you can actually convince > > them, that they will > > change their minds simply on witnessing the goodness > > of your heart. > > Well, good for you. For my part I already know well > > what the people in > > the limousine have to say, I have heard them out, > > and I know well that > > they have not a jot of respect for me, or you. It's > > my right to stay > > out of that limousine, Fatima. I already know what > > their views are, and > > I know what the costs of those views are. > > > > Vivek > > > > S.Fatima wrote: > > > Dear Vivek > > > Sorry to sound like this, but some of such mails > > from > > > you reek of elitism. Redirecting some mails to the > > > bullshit folder is one thing, but insulting them > > > further goes to another level. Isn't that a > > personal > > > vendetta that some on this list are requesting not > > to > > > get into. > > > Your calmness is akin to sitting in a limousine > > which > > > is driving through the filthy roads and slums, > > which > > > your darkened windows don't allow you to see. > > > > > > sf > > > > > > --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > > > > > > > >> Strange... > > > > > > > > Share files, take polls, and discuss your passions - all under one > roof. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups > > _________________________________________ > 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 pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Feb 11 19:48:00 2008 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:48:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pampering Killers In-Reply-To: References: <6353c690802101100j1297c8cfj7ea6af81b4796dda@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802110118q3d50655elcaa7e1a8bba7e071@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6b79f1a70802110618m49c4bb0euda40ea962728afc7@mail.gmail.com> Asit , Can you kindly make use of paragraphs, otherwise your mails doesnt even look soothing ,,,,,,forget about someone attempting to read it. Pawan On 2/11/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > this is a cheap right wing communal fascist propoganda you just cant brand > every one terrorist maoists are political activists and maoism is a > politcal > ideaology which talks about freeing the society from the expoitation of > the > man by man and did any any on care to find out why the people there are > rebelling its stupid to brand peole terrorists with out knowing the facts > about the roots of historical injustice done to the societies which force > people to rebel why are these unpaid cia agents quite about milllions of > death in iraq afganisthan ad billoions of deaths caused by imperialism > colonilism nd the plunder of the third world why are these people silent > on > farmers suicide starvation deaths unempoleyment illteracy hunger and > disease thousand deing in tortore fake encounters why are these people > silent on millions of girls killd in the womb for patriarchal values in > the > great hindu society why are these peole silent when the great hindus burn > thierbrides fordowry there is a rape in everyhalf an hour in hour great > hindu country according to the figures from our great govt why are thses > people silent and not ashamed of the daily humilition and expoitationf > dalits since centuries whom does thses people represent at least the cia > agents get salaries and the capitalits profit world imperialism ould never > be so happy after getting so many unpaid agents in india > asit > > On Feb 11, 2008 4:18 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > > > Pampering Killers - Joginder Singh > > > > *Politicians are predisposed not to see spending Other People's Money > as > > a > > problem, because spending Other People's Money is what politicians do > for > > a > > living. If politicians thought there were something wrong with it, they > > would be in a different line of work.* > > * > > - Michael F Cannon* > > > > ** > > *The UPA Government has decided to provide a relief package to > dependents > > of > > terrorists -- those men who fought against the integrity of India and > were > > killed by the security forces in encounters in Jammu & Kashmir. They did > > nothing for the country except attempting to destabilise it and kill > > innocent civilians. They tried their best to demoralise and assassinate > > those who were standing against them and for our nation.* > > ** > > *If implemented, the policy will make India look foolish in the eyes of > > the > > world, especially since our rulers are crying hoarse over terrorism. > > Incidentally, India is still bound by the UN resolution that demands > > strict > > action against terrorists. That the Government has also decided to come > > out > > with an aid package for the Kashmiri Pandits, rendered refugees in their > > own > > country, must have been an afterthought. Now, if the Government decision > > applies to the killers in Jammu & Kashmir, there is no reason not to > > extend > > it to other terrorists - Maoists and rebels in the North-East. The > > following > > chart will give an idea of the terrorists and killers in the other parts > > of > > the country.* > > ** > > *Read more on - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* > > ** > > *Thanks* > > ** > > *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * > > ** > > *Aditya Raj Kaul * > > *New Delhi* > > ** > > *P.S. - RIK has just launched its Campaign Video here - * > > * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g* > > ** > > * Please do watch and comment if possible.* > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Asit , From epk at xs4all.nl Tue Feb 12 04:17:02 2008 From: epk at xs4all.nl (Eric Kluitenberg) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:47:02 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Conference: Economies of the Commons - Strategies for Sustainable Access and Creative Reuse of Images and Sounds Online, April 10-12, 2008, The Netherlands Message-ID: Dear members of the Reader-list, Since this list and the Sarai initiative have over the years given considerable attention to the construction of the digital commons I take the liberty to post this general announcement of our upcoming conference (in April) on this list. The conference will be streamed and archived. Video registration will also be made available for download and / or p2p file sharing distribution (bit torrent). best wishes, Eric ------------------------------------ FIRST GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT Economies of the Commons Strategies for Sustainable Access and Creative Reuse of Images and Sounds Online International Working Conference De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics, Amsterdam, April 11 & 12, 2008 Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, April 10, 2008 www.ecommons.eu A wide range of actors around the globe is currently involved in the creation of unprecedentedly rich and invaluable audiovisual cultural and knowledge resources on the internet. These range from national audiovisual archives, broadcasters, professional cultural producers and institutions to civic and p2p file sharing initiatives. De Balie in Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum, in collaboration with Knowledgeland, Images for the Future, and Virtual Platform, organise a two-day international public working conference on the economies, sustainability, and opportunities for creative reuse of these public audiovisual resources and archives. While the level of activity and investment in this area is enormous, the question of the longer-term sustainability of these audiovisual resources remains wide open. Continued massive public investment is one obvious solution, with equally obvious drawbacks. The conference intends to question which alternative economic models exist, or could be developed that can sustain invaluable public resources. Paradoxically, we may have to ask: What is a sustainable business model for the digital commons? The Economies of the Commons conference will focus on three core issues: strategies for sustainability, new modes of value creation, and the potentials for creative reuse around the digital commons. Our main questions are: - What kind of strategies are available to facilitate the growth of these emerging public knowledge resources, and guarantee their longer- term sustainability? - How is value created around the emerging digital commons, and how can this value be capitalised on for the public good? - How can these resources be activated as a creative productive force for contemporary culture, and how can the reuse of these enormously rich resources be facilitated and stimulated? These questions will be related to current projects, such as Images of the Future (the largest digitisation project of audiovisual heritage in the Netherlands), P2P Fusion (European research project on audio and video sharing), BBC Creative Archives, Prelinger Archives, Smithsonian Global Sound and UbuWeb. The conference brings together a highly international group of specialists, including Peter Kaufman (Intelligent Television), Rick Prelinger (prelinger Archives), Roei Amit (INA), Kenneth Goldsmith (UbuWeb), Anthony McCann (Hallam University), Hubert Best (Best & Soames / FOCAL), Lucy Guibault (University of Amsterdam), Florian Schneider (Kein.tv) and many others. Economies of the Commons creates spaces of discussion in which perspectives of mainstream audiovisual archives are mixed with those of market players as well as public domain and non-legal exchange networks (p2p). The program comprises a variety of formats, such as public keynote lectures, interdisciplinary workshops for the exchange of ideas, experiences and the formulation of strategies, as well as targeted seminars addressing very specific problems relevant to specialists, cultural and media producers, policy makers, and decision makers in public and private organisations. The Economies of the Commons conference addresses a range of target groups that do not regularly meet each other. These include: (broadcast) media professionals, representatives from cultural heritage organisations, internet entrepreneurs, ethnomusicologists, musicians and representatives of the music industry, media activists, researchers in the domains of internet law, economy, information science, p2p file sharing activists, policy makers, and professionals from the field of art and culture. Special public evening programs will introduce the topics of the conference to a wider audience and present best practice examples. A one-day seminar at the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum, on Intellectual Property Rights issues in the digital audiovisual domain, precedes the conference on Thursday April 10, the results of which will feed into the conference program. A web dossier has been set up that provides further information on the conference program and side events, program updates, and information on speakers and highlighted case studies, as well as general background and research materials. This dossier can be found at: www.ecommons.eu Enquiries about the conference program and registration can be directed at: Eric Kluitenberg De Balie Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10 1017 RR Amsterdam www.debalie.nl e-mail: erick at balie.nl From jcm at ata.org.pe Tue Feb 12 05:37:09 2008 From: jcm at ata.org.pe (Jose-Carlos Mariategui) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:07:09 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] The Habitat of Information: Social and Organizational Consequences of Information Growth Message-ID: <52CCFEB8-1099-45B8-8D28-DAEE3191BE19@ata.org.pe> 8th Social Study of ICT Workshop Information Systems and Innovation Group, Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science The Habitat of Information: Social and Organizational Consequences of Information Growth Friday 25th of April, 2008 The workshop will take place in the Hong Kong Theatre, Ground Floor, Clement House, LSE http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/informationSystems/newsAndEvents/2008events/SSIT8programme.htm Information growth is a distinctive phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st century. Large varieties of information are currently produced and circulated, in a rapidly increasing scale, across the various institutional domains of contemporary societies. Technical and administrative innovations have been expanding the interoperable platforms that make possible the development and diffusion of information within and across systems and organizations. At the same time, a range of devices from desktop computing to cell phones and digital cameras have been spreading across the population, making individuals and social groups important producers and consumers of information. A pivotal development has been the emergence, expansion and deepening involvement of the internet in social and economic life. Taken together, these developments establish a new socio-economic environment in which information-based operations, and information goods and services acquire crucial importance. This is clearly shown in the rapid ascent to economic dominance of internet-based companies that demonstrate superior data editing and information management strategies. New commercial possibilities steadily develop around the production, ordering and distribution of information, as data become interoperable across sources and older forms of information (e.g. image, text and sound) are brought to bear upon one another. But information growth has wider social implications as well. The involvement of information in every walk of life redefines the relationship between information and reality, and reshapes the social practices through which information is stored, retrieved, understood, disseminated and remembered. Increasingly, information mediates between humans and reality. In this context, the activities of ordering, making sense, evaluating, navigating and acting upon information step onto the centre-stage of contemporary life, impinging upon skill profiles and personal choices. They often do so under conditions in which the established boundaries between individuals and institutions are rendered shifting and negotiable. There is a growing awareness of the current information growth dynamics and the emerging information habitat. However, the recent character of the phenomenon makes the social and economic implications of these dynamics not well understood. The 8th Social Study of ICT workshop brings together a number of prominent scholars and practitioners whose work and experience help illuminate the relevant developments. Program 8.30-9.15 Registration 9.15 Welcome Morning Session 9.45 – 10.45 Keynote: Information Growth and the Texture of Reality Albert Borgmann, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Montana. 10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break 11.00 – 12.00 The Expanding Information Universe John Gantz , Chief Research Officer and Senior Vice President of IDC – International Data Corporation. 12.00 – 13.00 Panel on the Organizational Consequences of Information Growth This panel will address how companies and organizations are managing their information resources. Which strategies do they develop to cope with information growth and the increasing involvement of information in organizational operations? Which new practices, skills and roles emerge in today's information-intensive organizations and industries? Chair: Dr. Carsten Sorensen, Information Systems and Innovation Group, Department of Management, London School of Economics. Panel Participants: - Azeem Azhar, Head of Innovation, Reuters. - James Backhouse, Reader, Information Systems and Innovation Group, Department of Management, London School of Economics. - Richard Boulderstone, Director of eStrategy, The British Library. - Ole Hanseth, Professor, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. 13.00 – 14.30 Lunch Afternoon Session 14.30 – 15.30 Living in Ephemeria: On the Short-lived and Disposable Character of Information Jannis Kallinikos, Professor, Information Systems and Innovation Group, Department of Management, London School of Economics. 15.30 – 16.30 The Fog of Data: Memory, the Past and Computers Geoffrey Bowker, Professor and Director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society, University of California, Santa Clara. 16.30 – 17.00 Coffee Break 17.00 – 18.00 Panel on Information, Memory, and Culture The panel will address the contrast between, on the one hand, the durability of technological information (e.g. databases) and, on the other hand, the short lifespan of information and its rapidly evaporating value (e.g. global stock markets). Information growth is intimately tied to the management of time and the proliferation of events in contemporary life. In this respect, it is as much an instrumental as a cultural phenomenon. Chair: Giovan Francesco Lanzara, Professor, Department of Organization and Political Systems, University of Bologna, Italy. Panel Participants: - Elena Espósito, Associate Professor, Faculty of Communication Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. - Mireille Hildebrandt, Associate Professor, Law Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Free University Brussels. - Lev Manovich, Associate Professor, Visual Arts Department, University of California, San Diego, California. - Felix Stadler, Senior Lecturer, Media Arts Program, Zurich University of the Arts. 18.00-18.15 Final Remarks If you are interested in coming please send an email to Frances White to reserve a place (F.White at lse.ac.uk ). From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 09:54:07 2008 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:54:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] mission to revive Shardapeeth Message-ID: <6b79f1a70802112024n20ec998bw700072d299f5dae7@mail.gmail.com> *A mission to revive Shardapeeth* Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sharda Sarvagyapeeth, Swami Amritananda Dev Teerth, plans to revive the Shankaracharya parampara in Shardapeeth, which is located in PoK. To attain this goal, he plans to restart the fair (mela) of Sharda Ashtami in Shardapeeth, which begins on the Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi and goes on for five days till Sharda Ashtami with the consent of the authorities concerned. The old record says that it was celebrated there in Kashmir—now PoK—till 1949. Organiser correspondent Deepak Kumar Rath spoke to the Shankaracharya to know about the aims and objectives of his math and how he plans the revival of the Peeth. Excerpts: *What is the relevance to revive Shardapeeth at the moment, when India and Pakistan are not having that good diplomatic relations?* Shardapeeth is the one where Shankaracharya parampara originated. In the Mathamnayopanishad written by Adi Shankara, it is clearly stated that there are seven Aamnay in Shankara parampara namely 1. Nishkalamnay, 2. Poorvamnay, 3. Paschimamnay, 4. Uttaramnay, 5. Dakshinamnay, 6. Atmamnay and 7. Urdhvamnay. Nishkalamnay, Sharda Sarvagya-peeth is the first among them and is in Kashmir (Village—Shardi, Tehsil—Attmuqam, District—Muzzaffarabad, PoK). It is purely and clearly an Indian heritage. So the revival of it becomes significant and relevant specially when India and Pakistan are not having good diplomatic relations on Kashmir issue. *What is the possibility of reviving the Peeth and how do you plan to do this? * The pictures of the ruins of Nishkalamnay, Sharda Sarvagyapeeth (provided by our trust) have been published in various magazines, newspapers and even on the website: www.sarvagyapeeth.com. We also plan to restart the fair (mela) of Sharda Ashtami in Shardapeeth (PoK) which begins on the Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi and goes on for five days till Sharda Ashtami with the consent of the authorities concerned. The old record says that it was celebrated there in Kashmir—now PoK—till 1949. The situation can only be improved by reviving the Sharda temple of the Nishkalamnay, but the government support and help is a must. The action plans that have been taken so far are—A) A deep study of Kashmir was undertaken and Kashmir-related documents were collected from different manuscripts. B). It was conveyed to public through magazines, discourses, and newspapers. C) People with similar aims and thoughts are being approached and joined for the achievement of the common goal to revive the Peeth. We had also met the then President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to discuss the issue. *What are the major objectives of your Math?* The major objectives of our Math are: To bring about a social system in which there are no caste differences in India. Like in Kashmir there is no other caste besides Kashmiri Pandits. This can happen by following the pratyabhigyan darshan system, which was practised to abolish the caste system from Kashmir. To keep the rest of India from becoming another Kashmir in terms of terrorism. This can happen only when Kashmir is brought back completely to the rest of India from the jaws of terrorism. To revive the Sharda Sarvagyapeeth, which is not only the pride and honour of millions of Bharatiyas but also a symbol of human cultural heritage. To make all the Bharatiyas aware of the devastating consequences of spreading of jehad in Bharat and thus securing the borders of our nation from such future invasions like jehad through public programmes, discourses etc. To restart the Kumbh Mela in Shadipur, Kashmir, that was being organised there till 1972. A mission to declare 10 lakh families as the state subjects of Kashmir has been undertaken and worked upon. These families earlier belonged to PoK, which were banished from there for a single reason that they are Hindus. This is their third generation and the government so far has made no arrangement for their basic requirements. This is because they are not the part of vote bank like other Indians, as they have no right to vote. So no political party in the country is interested in their settlement. *It seems that after attack on Swami Jayendra Saraswati, people have somehow lost hope from this great institution. Comment.* This is a conspiracy of the government (state/central) and media together. The news of the arrest and imprisonment of Swamiji was constantly telecasted on all the news channels but when his innocence was proved there was only small news somewhere in a corner of the newspapers. The government did it by joining hands with foreign countries that aim at the destruction of Sanatan sanskriti. When the government itself acts against the public faith how can common man protest and fight for the safety of his religious rights? Is there really a freedom of religion in this country as stated in the preamble and under the rule of this government, which claims to be secular? It is not the people who have lost their hope from this great institution but it was clearly the plan of the anti-Indian groups which might include some of the traitors to make or force Hindus lose their hope and faith in Sanatan culture and the Hindu saints because these groups have a great fear from the popularity of these saints. Their growing popularity among Indians will make Hindus stronger from within and this will be the biggest obstacle in the way of all anti-Indian movements. It was very prominent during Swamiji's arrest that the people expressed their faith in Shankaracharya tradition rather than in the government. People have witnessed the double-standard of government under the garb of secularism. When the priests and mullahs of other religions were caught red-handed in some malicious activities and when it was brought to the notice of the public there were communal riots and so the further proceedings of these cases were suppressed and even closed. What can one call it? What does this all prove? Under the name of secularism all the fundamentalist mullahs, maulavis and priests are supported and protected. It is the conspiracy practised against Hinduism and Hindus in order to uproot them and their rich culture from the world. So now it's time for all the Shankaracharyas to unite and stand by each other, be it the arrest of Swami Jayendra Saraswati or the revival of Sharda Sarvagyapeeth. *As you spend your most of the time in Kashmir, have you got any plan for the rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmir Hindus?* Kashmir has been a clear example of pseudo-secularism. For the last 20 years whatever has taken place in Kashmir with Kashmiri Hindus is so horrifying that all the Kashmiri Hindus are frightened to stay there and have settled down with their families in other parts of India. They now cannot trust anyone, not even the secular government who just kept promising to eradicate terrorism from Kashmir before every election and neglected it completely after assuming the power. After declaring India a secular country, the Hindus were sent away from Kashmir only because they were kafirs (non-Muslims). Is it what should happen in a secular nation? And even now after 20 years of terrorism in Kashmir, it's a shame that the government hasn't taken any step to rehabilitate Kashmiri Hindus and establish peace in Kashmir, which is an inseparable part of India. Though I have plans for their rehabilition, they are not ready to accept anything because they have the fear for their lives. Even when I heard as to what they went through I was horrified. I can understand their fear. Now unless they witness the complete eradication of terrorism they cannot even think of coming back. It is almost impossible to save Kashmir as a part of India unless Hindus are sent back and rehabilitated there. It's high time we found a strong solution on the Kashmiri issue and brought the Kashmir Hindus back to their native place. Even today the Hindu natives from Doda, Bhadrawah and Kishtwar are running away. *Now Hindus are targeted and attacked by the pseudo-secularists, politicians and the media. What is your view?* What is the definition of secularism? Is targeting Hindus a part of secularism? The politicians pretend to be secularists so that they could win votes of people of all the religions in India. The politician does not belong to any religion. Their only religion is fulfilling their selfish ends. The only dharma that preaches and practises tolerance is the Sanatan (Hindu) dharma. Hence the Hindus are targeted and attacked. Targeting and attacking any other religion is not affordable to the politicians both financially and in terms of reactions. The media follows and obeys these politicians for its own selfish purposes. Media's mission is no more for the awareness of the society; it is now a business, which is run for the profit and like politicians it too has no religion. It follows the one who gains it profit. Since anti-Hindu elements are ready to spend unlimited wealth for rooting out Hinduism, they have a strong support of greedy politicians and media. *How do you react to the UPA government's appeasement policy?* What can be more satirical than the fact that in a democratic country like India the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, etc. are nominated and not elected. The Congress, which was in the power for 40 years, on losing the public support, started using the Muslims as its vote bank. Now joining hands with the communists, Congress is giving shelter to almost two crore Bangladeshi Muslims by providing them with ration cards and other facilities, which in a way will be an addition to their vote bank. If this continues, Hindus will soon be the minorities. Obviously, the UPA government's appeasement policy is not acceptable. http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=224&page=41 From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 16:36:31 2008 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:36:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 13-17Feb2007: ViBGYOR International Short and Documentary Festival Message-ID: <47B17DB7.8050607@gmail.com> (With the usual apologies for cross posting) Dear friends, The Third Edition of ViBGYOR International Film Festival for Short & Documentary films will be inaugurated on February 13, 2008 in Peechi, in the Pananchery village panchayath, some 10 miles away from Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala State in India. `Celebrating identitites and diversity’ is the central theme of ViBGYOR Festival. The environmental focus for the year 2008 is ENERGY. We also have chosen `EASTERN INDIA as the Region focus for 2008. This 5-day fiesta of films, music and cultural expressions is more of a get-together of peoples’movements, students, scholars, filmmakers and artists. It’s Mazhavilmela (rainbow-feast), a celebration of harmony and affirmation of alternative and multi-lateral political stances. http://2008.vibgyorfilm.com WHAT to look forward? ================== Festival from the people: ++++++++++++++++++ During ViBGYOR-07 we had introduced `Festival from the People’, organizing parallel film screenings and interactions with filmmakers at some 5 centres of Pananchery panchayath, 10 miles away from the main festival venue in Trichur town. In 2008 we have planned `Festival from the People’, inaugurating the Festival at Peechi in Pananchery panchayath, on February 13th at 5.30pm. All dignitaries, filmmakers and delegates coming to ViBGYOR will attend the inaugural function in Peechi. The intention is to offset the importance of towns and cities where there are n number of film festivals and cultural extravaganza that reach only a cross-section of the population. We wish to ensure that ViBGYOR reaches those ordinary people in the suburbs and villages, whose life and struggles are portrayed in most of the films that are showcased at our festival. Campus ViBGYOR: +++++++++++++++ In the same spirit of Village ViBGYOR, this year we are introducing a Campus ViBGYOR series, a project to reach-out college and high school students and sensitize them to the pertinent issues of our society and environment through documentary films. We are hoping to arrange a full/half day screening programme in 5 colleges/schools in and around Trichur town. At least one filmmaker who attends ViBGYOR Festival in the town will be invited to each college, show his/her work along with other films and interact with the student community. We are sure this exercise will be enriching both to the filmmakers and students as well. Music NIGHTs: +++++++++++ At least one night of open air screening and cultural expressions have been always an essential part of the alternate film festivals we have been organizing since 2004. As ViBGYOR enters into its third edition, the NIGHT festival is becoming an exuberant celebration with films, music, skits etc, a celebration that begins in the evening and might end next morning! At ViBGYOR-08 we will have two Music Nights, on February 14th & 16th, the focus will be music videos from around the world that tell the story of resistance, struggles and small victories. Mini Conferences: +++++++++++++ We will not have a Full day National Conference during the ViBGYOR Festival; that is planned in January at Thiruvananthapuram as a curtain raiser event. Instead, during the festival in February, we are planning Mini Conferences of 3-4 hours duration under the intiative and leadership of the partner organizations of the ViBGYOR Collective. The themes for the conferences held parallel to the screenings will be `Gender & Sexuality’, `Sustainable Energy in the context of Global climatic changes’ and such topics that are of paramount importance to ViBGYOR. Film Workshop: +++++++++++ A 2-day Film workshop is arranged during ViBGYOR-08, intended mainly for the young filmmakers, but all are welcome! Different aspects of filmmaking and distribution will be discussed by experts from the filed. Renowned Malayalam film director Shyamaprasad is the Workshop Director. Media Exhibition: ++++++++++++ As ViBGYOR is becoming a meaningful space for promoting alternate and politically sensitive films, we are also trying to use the annual festival as an important platform for filmmakers to promote and sell their films. Apart from the film market, we will have different NGOs and agencies displaying books, posters and other campaign materials. Hope to meet you all at ViBGYOR 2008 Anivar Aravind ViBGYOR Collective From anivar.aravind at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 16:39:38 2008 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:39:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?15-17thFeb_=3A_photography_Exhibition=22T?= =?utf-8?q?ourism_in_Kerala_-_a_matter_of_fairness=E2=80=9C?= Message-ID: <47B17E72.5030006@gmail.com> EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHS – “Tourism in Kerala a matter of fairness “ Young photographers’ views on tourism in Kerala Venue: Town Hall, Trissur Date: 15th -17th Feb 2008. Dear friends, KABANI – the other direction is organizing a photography exhibition in collaboration with GAIA (Thrissur): “Tourism in Kerala - a matter of fairness“, at the VIBGOR International Film Festival, Thrissur, Kerala, from 15th – 17th Feb, 2008. The exhibition is the outcome of a photography contest organized by KABANI – the other direction together with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung (akte), Basle. The contest was an opportunity for young photographers to express their perceptions, concerns and expectations on tourism in Kerala though the lens. The photographs are trying to raise and answer questions like: How do local inhabitants live with tourism? How do they see the foreign guests? How does tourism change or affect their lives, environment, culture, traditions? How fair or unfair is tourism? To what extend are people benefiting from tourism? We are also organising an award ceremony on 16th Feb 2008, 4.30 pm, at the same venue. Samson Samuel, a professional photographer from Alleppy, and Sunil Lexmen, a freelance photographer from Trivandrum (the first winners of the contest), will receive their cash awards. We invite all of you to be part of the exhibition, award ceremony and film festival with your friends. KABANI & GAIA team Please visit www.vibgyorfilm.com for more information about VIBGYOR International Film Festival From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Tue Feb 12 11:30:16 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:30:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pampering Killers References: <6353c690802101100j1297c8cfj7ea6af81b4796dda@mail.gmail.com> <"63 5 3c690802110118q3d50655elcaa7e1a8bba7e071"@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: well, usual rantings from comrade, Laal Salaam to you, but the issue here is about the behaviour of individuals in democratic society when bad governance or lack of governance in society makes the deprived lot protest, with or without violent means. India being democratic, has right from inception branded itself as secular, but in practise it is not secular, as sections of individuals, communes of individuals based on caste and faith were ruled with fear and favours to caste, religion and region. The very fact that Nethaji had to say about the division of the nation on faith for islam, is worth reminding, when he said, is it fair to divide the nation when both hindus and muslims fought and struggled for freedom, why this division of the nation ,is it a loot of robbery or dacoity to share the spoils. , were the words. Having created the nation on faith of islam, it was again foolish to allow the large lots of islam followers to stay back, instead of their encouragement to migrate to pakistan, created by the faithful follower(?) when they promised to stay in harmony and live like brothers in India, which they have forgotten over the years. Nation saw later appeasement of communes on the basis of caste, region and religion when good governance was the need, without fear or favour to any caste or commune, in delivery of good of democracy. Neglected individuals formed groups and associations to demand fair share of their cake in democratic life, thus the very term "terrorist" is now misused often to describe even the martyrs who sacrificed their lives with smile on their face for the nation.Bhagath Singh is for new generation termed as terrorist, who owned up his act of violence and smiled to death, compare this with Afjal guru, who even after trial and conviction is a "state guest" ! Every region in the nation which lacks good governance be it Vidharbha or singur or nandigram is the fertile grounds for kick backs to ruling combine.Packages are announced, in practise they become packages for hangers on, sycophants to loot the national exchequer with farmers waiting with their hungry children and widows, when the PM and his bindi entourage has sumptous lunch at Vidarbha, even as they are shooed away to meet later. ? Cadres are used to suppress dissent, few at the helm called as politburo decide which farmers have to be deprived of their livelihood. ? Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Asit asitreds" To: "Aditya Raj Kaul" Cc: Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 6:21 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pampering Killers > this is a cheap right wing communal fascist propoganda you just cant brand > every one terrorist maoists are political activists and maoism is a > politcal > ideaology which talks about freeing the society from the expoitation of > the > man by man and did any any on care to find out why the people there are > rebelling its stupid to brand peole terrorists with out knowing the facts > about the roots of historical injustice done to the societies which force > people to rebel why are these unpaid cia agents quite about milllions of > death in iraq afganisthan ad billoions of deaths caused by imperialism > colonilism nd the plunder of the third world why are these people silent > on > farmers suicide starvation deaths unempoleyment illteracy hunger and > disease thousand deing in tortore fake encounters why are these people > silent on millions of girls killd in the womb for patriarchal values in > the > great hindu society why are these peole silent when the great hindus burn > thierbrides fordowry there is a rape in everyhalf an hour in hour great > hindu country according to the figures from our great govt why are thses > people silent and not ashamed of the daily humilition and expoitationf > dalits since centuries whom does thses people represent at least the cia > agents get salaries and the capitalits profit world imperialism ould never > be so happy after getting so many unpaid agents in india > asit > > On Feb 11, 2008 4:18 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > >> Pampering Killers - Joginder Singh >> >> *Politicians are predisposed not to see spending Other People's Money as >> a >> problem, because spending Other People's Money is what politicians do for >> a >> living. If politicians thought there were something wrong with it, they >> would be in a different line of work.* >> * >> - Michael F Cannon* >> >> ** >> *The UPA Government has decided to provide a relief package to dependents >> of >> terrorists -- those men who fought against the integrity of India and >> were >> killed by the security forces in encounters in Jammu & Kashmir. They did >> nothing for the country except attempting to destabilise it and kill >> innocent civilians. They tried their best to demoralise and assassinate >> those who were standing against them and for our nation.* >> ** >> *If implemented, the policy will make India look foolish in the eyes of >> the >> world, especially since our rulers are crying hoarse over terrorism. >> Incidentally, India is still bound by the UN resolution that demands >> strict >> action against terrorists. That the Government has also decided to come >> out >> with an aid package for the Kashmiri Pandits, rendered refugees in their >> own >> country, must have been an afterthought. Now, if the Government decision >> applies to the killers in Jammu & Kashmir, there is no reason not to >> extend >> it to other terrorists - Maoists and rebels in the North-East. The >> following >> chart will give an idea of the terrorists and killers in the other parts >> of >> the country.* >> ** >> *Read more on - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* >> ** >> *Thanks* >> ** >> *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * >> ** >> *Aditya Raj Kaul * >> *New Delhi* >> ** >> *P.S. - RIK has just launched its Campaign Video here - * >> * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g* >> ** >> * Please do watch and comment if possible.* >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 12:27:50 2008 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:27:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] On ignoring Taslima Message-ID: It is said that after he announced his Prophethood Hazrat Mohammed suffered severe persecution in Mecca. The vitriol and calumny extended from the verbal to the physical. There was one woman who would always throw filth on him whenever he passed by her house. He would unfailingly take the same route everyday and she would equally invariably throw filth on her. He never protested. One day as he passed her house, she was missing. He inquired after her and learning that she was sick he went up to her room, and finding her bed-ridden, tended to her. I grew up listening to a lot of stories from my grandmother about the Prophet Mohammed. Told in an anecdotal form, the stories largely avoided his image as a conqueror and concentrated instead on his personality, specially his grace under hardship. I narrate this story especially to remind my compatriots about what they might do when faced with hostility, or criticism. I write this particularly in the context of Taslima Nasrin, whose vise expires this week and she still does not know whether it will be extended or not. Taslima Nasrin must be given an opportunity to stay on in India, and must be provided that opportunity not as a grace or favor but because she is, as a South Asian, as a fellow human, fully entitled to it. My appeal rests not merely on a liberal idea of freedom of expression, or on making this a litmus test for India's pluralism. India's pluralism, where it exists in practice, is not dependent on appeals or testimonials from intellectuals. Our pluralism does not, and has not, precluded violent confrontations between different social groups. However, we also have countervailing traditions of coming to a working adjustment with each other, which, as an aside, partly explains why the word 'adjust' is so popular in all Indian languages. Denying her asylum is not, suddenly, going to make India less pluralistic or more intolerant than it currently is. It would not, anyway, be unprecedented. We have banned books enough, books which continue to circulate anyway, and have gagged and arrested authors and artists too. It is also not, for me, a case for harking back to the first principles of freedom of expression. I could question the value of freedom of expression in a society where large minorities do not have the freedom to be, but I will let that pass for the moment. We all know what Voltaire said about difference of opinions, and of course we know much less about how much he himself deviated from that maxim, but it is more important for us to find ways of understanding that maxim which make sense to our traditions of treating certain matters with reverence, and veneration. I can't say whether Taslima Nasrin erred in writing what she did, which we of course do not know much about. She grew up in a society dominated by an Islam which, unlike in India, is, in many ways, an establishment religion. In such circumstances, questioning authority can easily lead to questioning traditions that are sanctified in the name of religion and in patriarchal societies, authority needs to be questioned. There are, of course, ways of questioning patriarchal religions and we may find some ways less appealing than ours, in fact some ways may arouse our just wrath. But in civilized societies, the sort of society the Islamic prophet wanted to build, wrath should not, cannot lead to mob judgments about a person's right to live. It would be easy to dismiss demonstrations against Taslima Nasrin, at Calcutta and elsewhere, because, especially after the recent events in Bombay, we know how easily demonstrations can be mounted and how, transient, passions can be manufactured. The thousands of young men roaming the streets of Calcutta were probably good Muslims, in some ways, but who would, perhaps, flout, many Islamic injunctions, and taboos, in their everyday lives. Like watching films, at one time regarded, at least in my family, as an absolute kufr, (an act of infidelity), or ogling at women. Nevertheless, they have the right, as Muslims, to be upset about somebody's attitude. However, I also know that feelings about Taslima Nasrin run wider than the Calcuttan community. Not all that strong feeling, however, will translate into stone throwing or demanding death and banishment. To those who are upset about what Taslima Nasrin has said and done, I would say that she has already suffered enough. She has spent twelve years in Europe in exile and had she simply hated Bangladesh and loved the west, as some believe to be the case, she cold have gone on living there. She has been buffeted around from Calcutta to Jaipur to Delhi, where she lives almost as a pariah, unable to move, unable to do things she would like to do, to go to places she would like to go to. She is deprived, currently, of normal human freedoms. But even if she hadn't suffered, even if she was merrily partying every night with the swish set of Delhi, she still has the right to demand and receive asylum in this country. Besides she has already been gagged, she will dare not say the things she has already said, she has already agreed to delete pages from her forthcoming books, she has already lost, and so have we. I understand an emasculated community's need for symbolic sops such as exiling Taslima or banning Rushdie. But, to the community, or (it not being a monolith), those among them who feel passionately about this, and to our political class, I would urge the avoidance of false pursuits. Freedom of expression is not an absolute, when free from coercion of our rulers we may become victims of ideological fetters. But Taslima is a dissenter, and in spite of Voltaire, we must protect dissenters. She must stay in India because we must be free to criticize and not unfree to maim in return. In the name of Islamic values, we must protect her and listen to her, specially. _______________ From atreyee.m at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 12:31:48 2008 From: atreyee.m at gmail.com (atreyee majumder) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:31:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Invitation for public meeting on "Anti-displacement struggles in Orissa" In-Reply-To: References: <20080208082944.9592.qmail@webmail55.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <1944bc230802112301t24eb5abew9ee47309b45288b2@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Shomona Khanna Date: Feb 12, 2008 12:26 PM Subject: Fwd: Invitation for public meeting on "Anti-displacement struggles in Orissa" *JANHASTAKSHEP; A CAMPAIGN AGAINST FASCIST DESIGNS* * * *Invitation for a public meeting on* * * *"Challenges before Anti-Displacement Struggles In Orissa"* * * Period of last two decades has seen intensification of the pro-imperialist economic policies of the Indian ruling classes. The new 'SEZ Policy' policy is a particularly rabid manifestation of the servility of the comprador Indian rulers to their imperialist masters. Though SEZs are being touted as the fast track to country's industrial development and employment generation, in effect they are part of the well laid out strategy of the imperialist powers to destroy the backbone of our agricultural economy, on which overwhelming section of India's people survive and to hasten the exploitation of our vast natural resources. The widespread agricultural distress being deepened due to acquisition of vast tracts of agricultural land for so called development projects, has spelled doom for our food security besides destroying livelihood of millions of poor Indians. SEZs are 'special exploitation zones' where cheap labor is being lent for rapacious exploitation by industrial corporations in absence of any labor laws. Exceptional tax exemptions are being offered to the companies for setting up their shop in SEZs, in return for the kickbacks for the friendly politicians and bureaucrats. As regards compensation, let alone any compensation for the lands being acquired now, even the oustees of the development projects of the fifties and sixties have not been properly rehabilitated. People have learnt from their experience. No wonder then that SEZs have met with stiff resistance from the people, specially the peasantry in all corners of the country. Orissa has been witness to some of the most heroic of these struggles. 13 tribal peasants were martyred at Kalinganagar in their struggle against forcible acquisition of land for setting up of steel plant by Tata Steel. Villagers at Jagatsinghpur have stood up bravely against the setting up of the POSCO's steel plant. These humble sons and daughters of Orissa have thus far succeeded in foiling the designs of the industrial corporations backed by the coercive machinery of the state. However the unabashed use of muscle power by the CPM in Nandigram to crush the opposition of the peasantry to setting up of a SEZ there, seems to have emboldened the governments elsewhere to resort to open use of police and goonda force for suppressing anti-displacement movements. This poses new challenges before these movements and underlines the need for broader democratic support to these struggles. It is a welcome sign that people in different parts of the country; specially the peasantry has not succumbed to this onslaught as a fiat accompli and has posed a formidable challenge even by sacrificing of their lives. As concerned citizens of the country we can hardly afford the 'know all' arrogance of the elite. It is our patriotic duty to stand in support of the anti-displacement struggles of the peasantry, against the pro-imperialist development model being pushed by our rulers. * * *Panelists:* · *Representative of Bisthapan Birodhi Manch, Sukinda* · *Prafulla Das: POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti* · *Rajendra Sarangi: Convener, Lokpakhya* * Date: 13th February, 2008 at 5.00 pm. Venue: Gandhi Peace Foundation, ITO* From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Tue Feb 12 13:28:32 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:28:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] On ignoring Taslima References: Message-ID: Well appreciated good views and thoughts representing perhaps the silent majority of true muslims .In any faith, there are silent majority who would love to live good life, both at materialistic, intellectual and spiritual spheres and the system of governance always takes it for granted this silence majority and tries to coerce such majority when an election is around the corner with the typical foisted "leaders" in those communities, methods of coercion differ with funds of the political parties and access to national exchequer. A democratic nation needs a system of good governance that has legislatures who abide by the rules, not get above the laws, beaurocrats who execute laws without fear or favour, judiciary which is accountable to society, to adjudicate without fear or favour and is of good morals and ethics, but is it too much to expect where material gains are more important than good life for all in society. ? Freedom of expression of an individual or a society is not absolute , is correct and right as long as it does not impinge other individuals and societies.In a civil society, if some individuals take license in the guise of freedom of expression to express their dissent in moderate views, that certainly is good for the society to have an introspection of itself and correct the ills in society. With media and technology, we have now celebrity anchors who live on miseries of the humanity, with new HR perks of promotion and titles, awards and rewards, but are they truely journalists or just celebrity anchors who have absolutely no social responsibilty in media. ? Taslima, Hussain and many dissenters have become celebrities more because of these anchors who love to titillate and sensationalise every incident when a Raj Thackeray utters some views it is played out every half hour again and again and the reaction of an Abu Azmi is then more of a repeat of hit for the masses, thus provoking the elephantine societies to have a go at each other as more news and breaking news is created of induced rift and earthquake in peaceful society, thanks to hungry more for more news attitude of whatever it takes to create news, even at the cost of destruction of tranquil societal peace, such anchors should first be taken care of by laws of the nation, booked and prosecuted for the same offence as a Raj or Abu, as otherwise the mob takes care of them which is highly undesirable. Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: "mahmood farooqui" To: "SARAI" Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:27 PM Subject: [Reader-list] On ignoring Taslima > It is said that after he announced his Prophethood Hazrat Mohammed > suffered severe persecution in Mecca. The vitriol and calumny extended > from the verbal to the physical. There was one woman who would always > throw filth on him whenever he passed by her house. He would > unfailingly take the same route everyday and she would equally > invariably throw filth on her. He never protested. One day as he > passed her house, she was missing. He inquired after her and learning > that she was sick he went up to her room, and finding her bed-ridden, > tended to her. I grew up listening to a lot of stories from my > grandmother about the Prophet Mohammed. Told in an anecdotal form, the > stories largely avoided his image as a conqueror and concentrated > instead on his personality, specially his grace under hardship. I > narrate this story especially to remind my compatriots about what they > might do when faced with hostility, or criticism. > > I write this particularly in the context of Taslima Nasrin, whose vise > expires this week and she still does not know whether it will be > extended or not. Taslima Nasrin must be given an opportunity to stay > on in India, and must be provided that opportunity not as a grace or > favor but because she is, as a South Asian, as a fellow human, fully > entitled to it. My appeal rests not merely on a liberal idea of > freedom of expression, or on making this a litmus test for India's > pluralism. India's pluralism, where it exists in practice, is not > dependent on appeals or testimonials from intellectuals. Our pluralism > does not, and has not, precluded violent confrontations between > different social groups. However, we also have countervailing > traditions of coming to a working adjustment with each other, which, > as an aside, partly explains why the word 'adjust' is so popular in > all Indian languages. > > Denying her asylum is not, suddenly, going to make India less > pluralistic or more intolerant than it currently is. It would not, > anyway, be unprecedented. We have banned books enough, books which > continue to circulate anyway, and have gagged and arrested authors and > artists too. It is also not, for me, a case for harking back to the > first principles of freedom of expression. I could question the value > of freedom of expression in a society where large minorities do not > have the freedom to be, but I will let that pass for the moment. We > all know what Voltaire said about difference of opinions, and of > course we know much less about how much he himself deviated from that > maxim, but it is more important for us to find ways of understanding > that maxim which make sense to our traditions of treating certain > matters with reverence, and veneration. > > I can't say whether Taslima Nasrin erred in writing what she did, > which we of course do not know much about. She grew up in a society > dominated by an Islam which, unlike in India, is, in many ways, an > establishment religion. In such circumstances, questioning authority > can easily lead to questioning traditions that are sanctified in the > name of religion and in patriarchal societies, authority needs to be > questioned. There are, of course, ways of questioning patriarchal > religions and we may find some ways less appealing than ours, in fact > some ways may arouse our just wrath. But in civilized societies, the > sort of society the Islamic prophet wanted to build, wrath should not, > cannot lead to mob judgments about a person's right to live. > > It would be easy to dismiss demonstrations against Taslima Nasrin, at > Calcutta and elsewhere, because, especially after the recent events in > Bombay, we know how easily demonstrations can be mounted and how, > transient, passions can be manufactured. The thousands of young men > roaming the streets of Calcutta were probably good Muslims, in some > ways, but who would, perhaps, flout, many Islamic injunctions, and > taboos, in their everyday lives. Like watching films, at one time > regarded, at least in my family, as an absolute kufr, (an act of > infidelity), or ogling at women. Nevertheless, they have the right, as > Muslims, to be upset about somebody's attitude. However, I also know > that feelings about Taslima Nasrin run wider than the Calcuttan > community. Not all that strong feeling, however, will translate into > stone throwing or demanding death and banishment. > > To those who are upset about what Taslima Nasrin has said and done, I > would say that she has already suffered enough. She has spent twelve > years in Europe in exile and had she simply hated Bangladesh and loved > the west, as some believe to be the case, she cold have gone on living > there. She has been buffeted around from Calcutta to Jaipur to Delhi, > where she lives almost as a pariah, unable to move, unable to do > things she would like to do, to go to places she would like to go to. > She is deprived, currently, of normal human freedoms. But even if she > hadn't suffered, even if she was merrily partying every night with the > swish set of Delhi, she still has the right to demand and receive > asylum in this country. Besides she has already been gagged, she will > dare not say the things she has already said, she has already agreed > to delete pages from her forthcoming books, she has already lost, and > so have we. > > I understand an emasculated community's need for symbolic sops such as > exiling Taslima or banning Rushdie. But, to the community, or (it not > being a monolith), those among them who feel passionately about this, > and to our political class, I would urge the avoidance of false > pursuits. Freedom of expression is not an absolute, when free from > coercion of our rulers we may become victims of ideological fetters. > But Taslima is a dissenter, and in spite of Voltaire, we must protect > dissenters. She must stay in India because we must be free to > criticize and not unfree to maim in return. In the name of Islamic > values, we must protect her and listen to her, specially. > > _______________ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mail at shivamvij.com Tue Feb 12 13:44:12 2008 From: mail at shivamvij.com (=?UTF-8?Q?Shivam_Vij?= =?UTF-8?Q?_=E0=A4=B6=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=B5=E0=A4=AE?= =?UTF-8?Q?=E0=A5=8D_=E0=A4=B5=E0=A4=BF=E0=A4=9C=E0=A5=8D?=) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:44:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?The_man_who_didn=E2=80=99t_know_too_much?= Message-ID: <9c06aab30802120014s1086c0a6rae88e1dc92d857ff@mail.gmail.com> The man who didn't know too much Cho Ramaswamy February 07, 2008 http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=17d9cde3-bb44-494f-bed8-3c1df7d5f293&&Headline=The+man+who+didn%u2019t+know+too+much Dr Manmohan Singh was worried. No, not worried, but concerned. No, not concerned, but agitated. Yes. When curiosity starts biting viciously, the mind cannot but get agitated. He was, of course, curious. And there seemed to be no way of quenching that curiosity. The media were agog with rumours about an impending cabinet reshuffle. If it had been an official announcement, the PM would not have bothered. He knew that a formal denial would follow. This was a rumour featured in all gossip columns. The greatest gossip of them all, the visual media, were also forecasting a cabinet reshuffle. One can ignore news, but the man who disregards a rumour, does so at his own peril. So the cultured Doctor was sure that there was going to be a reshuffle. But who was going to barge in and who was going to be kicked out? Will the portfolios of the ministers be changed? Who will get what? The PM was anxious to know. Of course, being only the PM and not Sonia Gandhi, he had no right to expect to know anything in advance. His lot, he knew, was to wait and watch. He would come to know, when the ministers would be sworn in by Abdul Kalam. No, no, not Abdul Kalam. He was no longer the President. That woman — what was her name? — some Patel. Ahamed Patel? No, a woman. Some other Patel. Ah! Pratibha Patil! When she would say 'I...' and rest her office, the ministers — at least the new ones if any — would have to confess their names and admit their identities. Then the Prime Minister would know. But curiosity is something that cannot wait to be killed at the last moment. He wanted to know in advance, at least before the invited audience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan came to know the names and the faces. What faces? Does it matter at all? After all, whatever the face is now, it will be lost once the person joined the cabinet. But that is a side issue. Who are going to become ministers? That is the question now. Curiosity, earlier biting the PM, now started eating into him. He had to do something about it. He could ask Karunanidhi. At least he would know, whether his daughter was going to be inducted into the cabinet or not. But if Dr Manmohan Singh talked to him, Karunanidhi would definitely talk about the Ram Sethu issue. He would want to know the Centre's position on it and the line it was going to take before the Supreme Court. And what could the PM say? If the government knew what it was going to tell the Supreme Court, it would have already done so. The government, being a secular one, had nothing but contempt for Rama. But he seemed to carry some votes in his pocket. If there was a way of keeping the votes and letting Rama go, the government would have embraced the idea with enthusiasm. But Karunanidhi would not listen. He wanted the bridge to go along with Rama, making way for TR Balu, the Shipping Minister to sail in the Palk Straits. So talking to Karunanidhi would only be inviting acrimony. Lalu Prasad Yadav might know all about the cabinet reshuffle. But if the PM asked Lalu to satisfy his curiosity, Lalu may use the occasion to demand a Bharat Ratna for Rabri Devi. Sure, anyone who would be prepared to accept the award from the hands of the present President would be making the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifice of self-respect. That itself, being an act of the highest form of humility, would make the person deserving of the highest award. But then, if Rabri was given the Bharat Ratna, the next in line would be Mrs Deve Gowda. And Sonia Gandhi would not like that. So Lalu cannot be approached. Who else? Pranab Mukherjee? He was already considering himself to be more important than the PM. Why confirm it by seeking enlightenment from him? Chidambaram could be knowing some particulars, as his son was close to DMK circles, thus being in a position to know Sonia Gandhi's mind. But, after the recent coronation by a TV channel as the Indian Politician of the Year, Chidambaram would be assuming airs. Not that he did not have any earlier. But the air assumed by him now could be so dense that he may be causing a low pressure area around himself. And worse, under the pretext of mentioning in passing the next budget, he may start giving lessons in economics to Dr Manmohan Singh. That being the ultimate in humiliation, would be the limit. No, no Chidambaram. Anyway who knew what was going to happen to him in the reshuffle? The Leftists were already baying for his blood. Talking of Leftists, Prakash Karat would certainly be posted with all details about the reshuffle. But if he was approached, he may start talking about the nuclear deal. It was already exploding in the PM's face, and he did not want to invite another blast. The effects of radiation had started to tell. Arjun Singh may be expected to find out at least some aspects of the reshuffle. But he would carry tales to Sonia Gandhi, accusing the PM of being a nosey sort of man, exhibiting an inquisitiveness, totally unbecoming of his office. The PM was by now a man resigned to his fate. He wrote on a piece of paper lying on his table, "Who am I to aspire to know anything in advance? I am only a Prime Minister. There are higher powers." He studied it to steady himself, and stifle his curiosity. And to divert his mind, he switched on the TV set. Someone was giving a pitch report prior to a one-day fixture and pointing to a spot on the pitch said, "Look… over here, yes over here…" The other words were lost on the PM. The words "over here" had an electrifying effect on him. Yes. That's it! One can 'overhear'! Sonia and Rahul Gandhi would definitely be discussing the cabinet reshuffle, to decide who was going to be made what. If only he could go to Sonia Gandhi's residence, hide in a convenient corner, and listen, he could get all details. But could he? The hiding part of it, he could carry out with consummate skill, having perfected the art by sheer practice. After all, whenever the communists came to discuss the proposed pact with the US, he had successfully hidden himself. When he started weighing the pros and cons of attempting to overhear the conversation between Sonia and her son, his enthusiasm diminished. There were no pros, but plenty of cons. Just then, he heard some footsteps. Someone was approaching. No, there were two of them, somebody talking to somebody. Yes. They were Sonia and Rahul approaching his room. Dr Manmohan Singh was shaken. Their arrival on the scene, just as he was considering the outrageous act of overhearing their conversation, disconcerted him. He felt as if he was already eavesdropping. His conscience castigated him. He felt guilty. He also knew, that his face would reveal all. His was the face of a nobleman, and it would not hide his inner secrets. One look at him, and she would know. He must avoid the mother and the son. He took a decision. His face would not hide anything, but he could hide himself. He jumped from his chair, jumped around the sofa set, jumped over a table, and the final jump led him behind a wardrobe. As he stood motionless, a practice which had grown on him through his years of prime ministership, Sonia and Rahul seated themselves near the table where he had been sitting and brooding. They thought that he had gone to the restroom, and would be returning shortly. Just then, Sonia Gandhi's eyes fell on the piece of paper on which he had been scribbling. The words, "Who am I to aspire to know anything in advance? I am only a Prime Minister. There are higher powers," stared at her. She was impressed and showed it to Rahul. He too was impressed. "Could we ever hope to get a Prime Minister like him? Whoever comes or goes, he must stay." As he heard these words of Sonia Gandhi, Dr Manmohan Singh, heaved a silent sigh of relief. Whatever the blasted reshuffle did, it would not touch him. Cho Ramaswamy is a political commentator and Editor, Tughlak From machleetank at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 23:18:32 2008 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:18:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] question/ answer : Blank Noise Message-ID: Hello With our most recent blog postat Blank Noise we want to open a space for dialogue. Please send in your rarely asked burning questions about Blank Noise to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com or leave it in the comments section below. New volunteers are requested to participate more so, because with the answering of questions and clearing of doubts we will be able to hopefully move forward. It is always exciting and challenging to work with volunteers from across the country because every individuals brings in his or her enthusiasm and interprets Blank Noise in a unique way. At the end 20 questions will be selected and answered right here on the blog! All questions will be shared on the blog*. * *Deadline for questions is Feb 22nd. Answers will be published in a week from the due date ** * We thank you. always! Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE www.blog.blanknoise.org PHONE : 0091 98868 40612 -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Wed Feb 13 10:09:30 2008 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:39:30 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin Message-ID: Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and Expression At a time when India is projecting itself on the world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts international literary festivals and book fairs, the Government of India, most mainstream political parties and their armed squads are mounting a concerted assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of the world's best-known writers were attending the Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) being held in custody by the Government of India in an undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to misleading press reports stating that her visa has been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of February, after which she is liable to be deported or remain confined as an illegal alien. Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile or had their work desecrated in this country. At different points of time, different governments have either directly or indirectly resorted to these measures in order to fan the flames of religious, regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to Free Speech and Expression increases. In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and not any religious or sectarian group who first tried to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without any threat to her person, without being the cause of public disorder, protests or demonstrations. Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people marched in Calcutta to protest the government's actions. Within days a little known group claiming to speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that it could not offer her security, and lost no time in deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal card of pitting minority communalism against majority communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, television studios, galleries, cinema halls, filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known painters, into exile. Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press conferences and television cameras, journalists are being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, who is on a hunger strike in prison is being force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary people, including people like Binayak Sen have been arrested and held illegally under false charges. We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious differences with them. We agree that many of them do offend our (or someone else's) religious, political and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe that instead of making them simultaneously into both victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern democracy. If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We demand that the journalists who are being illegally detained in prison against all principles of natural justice be released immediately. Signed: Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish Karnad From project.labels at gmail.com Wed Feb 13 14:27:00 2008 From: project.labels at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:27:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Speaking Secularism and meaning it. Message-ID: The *White Ribbon Arts Collective* is a group of individuals from across the sub-continent committed to redefining secularism in today's context. While setting up a goal as big as a One State Solution seems suicidal to many people, I gather that there are also others out there who think that this possible and worth doing. While we are all harrowed by the erosion of the secular fabric within the subcontinent, bringing our energies together will give us the momentum we need to see this through. Do you need convincing? Do you need to be nudged out your and our dormancy? *Among the tasks that I envision us performing are sustaining the One State Solution blog , and organising diverse initiatives under White Ribbon Campaign in order to strenghten and sustain your own idea of what it means to be tolerant, secular and plural.* [image: q] *Interested people can please contact me at apsidalobe at gmail.com,* *For The White Ribbon Campaign, **Raheema Begum.** * From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Wed Feb 13 12:50:15 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:50:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin References: Message-ID: Sir, the very statement that freedom of speech and expression is absolute and unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised society, as societal right to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do have a bearing on societal rights in civilised society with duties as the other side of right. While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and the political games being played with this issue by the athiests in the society, with views expressed one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom of expression is absolute is like saying that as free citizen every one has right to have coitus on the median of highway in front of all passing vehicular traffic. No freedom is absolute in a society where it impinges on the rights of others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express themselves freely within the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his expression so creative uses his artistic skills to graphically expose his pervert sense of depravity in showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative expression looks at his mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols considered sacred and worshipped as believers like, are his objects of expression and crative artistic liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the same creative expression does not get inspired to portray his parents in conjugal bliss on canvass. ? In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not offended anybody except the clergies of a faith who think that they are the tekedars of the faith, which again is bad in any faith irrespective of the faith, but same is happening in all faiths. All faiths are ways of living a good life, in material, intellectual and spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe or not to believe in any faith is free choice. But the clergies of the faith ,in any faith, always try to impose that their faith is the only saviour, which is unfortunate. Society in free India is divided at the very instant of achieving the freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the land mass on faith, then allowing the citizens the option not to go that land mass created for faith. The truth of the matter is even though the bangladesh and pakistan were created for the followers of faith, they are failed states in governance. India, which could have good governance chose to be "secular" but in practise, it only created more divisions in the land mass with language, region and castes communes for political gains. to cap it left further encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to have a stay in the free India with fake ration cards, ids and opportunities to live in this nation, while governance in the federal state was diluted to total lack of governance or no governance with fuedal lords of individual communes mastering the art of securing "class votes", " commune votes" and "regional votes" in the election frey. And today election is a fight to secure votes by any fair or foul means to secure power and possession of material wealth, not service to all citizens.In the process, the free India is now islands of communes with every commune trying to corner maximun benefits of democracy to their communes with out fear, depriving the common citizen of all the opportunities to live a dignified life in the nation. Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" To: Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin > Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and Expression > > At a time when India is projecting itself on the > world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts > international literary festivals and book fairs, the > Government of India, most mainstream political parties > and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > > It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of > the world's best-known writers were attending the > Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers > were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, > the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) > being held in custody by the Government of India in an > undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in > conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to > misleading press reports stating that her visa has > been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > February, after which she is liable to be deported or > remain confined as an illegal alien. > > Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have > been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile > or had their work desecrated in this country. At > different points of time, different governments have > either directly or indirectly resorted to these > measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity > and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to > Free Speech and Expression increases. > > In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and > not any religious or sectarian group who first tried > to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban > was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was > in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal > for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin > lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without > any threat to her person, without being the cause of > public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began > immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose > to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people > marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > actions. Within days a little known group claiming to > speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal > immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that > it could not offer her security, and lost no time in > deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The > Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by > holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus > far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public > humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal > card of pitting minority communalism against majority > communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. > > Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of > the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile > tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect > people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have > been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have > forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > painters, into exile. > > Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh > and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press > conferences and television cameras, journalists are > being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi > from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from > Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, > who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary > people, including people like Binayak Sen have been > arrested and held illegally under false charges. > > We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose > rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > differences with them. We agree that many of them do > offend our (or someone else's) religious, political > and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe > that instead of making them simultaneously into both > victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, > criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the > Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and > Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern > democracy. > > If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or > holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live > and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious > cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he > be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We > demand that the journalists who are being illegally > detained in prison against all principles of natural > justice be released immediately. > > Signed: > > Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish > Karnad > _________________________________________ > 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 jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Feb 13 16:44:55 2008 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:14:55 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <767F9167-120E-4DE7-8C87-8ACE7297E6B6@sarai.net> dear All, In this case the question is not about freedom of speech. Taslima is not a citizen of India, so State in India has no jurisdiction to have a say on her freedom of speech. The state can persecute her publishers or ban the book but her freedom of speech is not guaranteed here. The question is of "ashraya" (or what is termed as asylum). Every culture has developed ways of thinking about "ashraya" and very interesting histories can be uncovered here from all over the world. It will be interesting how "ashraya" is thought in our times. warmly jeebesh On 13-Feb-08, at 12:20 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > Sir, > > the very statement that freedom of speech and expression is > absolute and > unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised society, as > societal right > to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do have a bearing on > societal rights in civilised society with duties as the other side > of right. > While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and the political > games being > played with this issue by the athiests in the society, with views > expressed > one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom of expression is > absolute > is like saying that as free citizen every one has right to have > coitus on > the median of highway in front of all passing vehicular traffic. > No freedom is absolute in a society where it impinges on the > rights of > others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express themselves freely > within > the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his expression so > creative uses > his artistic skills to graphically expose his pervert sense of > depravity in > showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative expression looks > at his > mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols considered sacred and > worshipped > as believers like, are his objects of expression and crative artistic > liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the same creative > expression > does not get inspired to portray his parents in conjugal bliss on > canvass. ? > In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not offended anybody except > the > clergies of a faith who think that they are the tekedars of the > faith, which > again is bad in any faith irrespective of the faith, but same is > happening > in all faiths. > All faiths are ways of living a good life, in material, > intellectual and > spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe or not to believe > in any > faith is free choice. But the clergies of the faith ,in any faith, > always > try to impose that their faith is the only saviour, which is > unfortunate. > Society in free India is divided at the very instant of achieving > the > freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the land mass on faith, > then > allowing the citizens the option not to go that land mass created > for faith. > The truth of the matter is even though the bangladesh and pakistan > were > created for the followers of faith, they are failed states in > governance. > India, which could have good governance chose to be "secular" but in > practise, it only created more divisions in the land mass with > language, > region and castes communes for political gains. to cap it left further > encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to have a stay in the > free > India with fake ration cards, ids and opportunities to live in this > nation, > while governance in the federal state was diluted to total lack of > governance or no governance with fuedal lords of individual communes > mastering the art of securing "class votes", " commune votes" and > "regional > votes" in the election frey. And today election is a fight to > secure votes > by any fair or foul means to secure power and possession of > material wealth, > not service to all citizens.In the process, the free India is now > islands of > communes with every commune trying to corner maximun benefits of > democracy > to their communes with out fear, depriving the common citizen of > all the > opportunities to live a dignified life in the nation. > > Regards. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" > To: > Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM > Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima > Nasrin > > >> Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and >> Expression >> >> At a time when India is projecting itself on the >> world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts >> international literary festivals and book fairs, the >> Government of India, most mainstream political parties >> and their armed squads are mounting a concerted >> assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. >> >> It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of >> the world's best-known writers were attending the >> Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers >> were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, >> the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) >> being held in custody by the Government of India in an >> undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in >> conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to >> misleading press reports stating that her visa has >> been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of >> February, after which she is liable to be deported or >> remain confined as an illegal alien. >> >> Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of >> journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have >> been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile >> or had their work desecrated in this country. At >> different points of time, different governments have >> either directly or indirectly resorted to these >> measures in order to fan the flames of religious, >> regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity >> and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to >> Free Speech and Expression increases. >> >> In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and >> not any religious or sectarian group who first tried >> to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban >> was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was >> in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal >> for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin >> lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without >> any threat to her person, without being the cause of >> public disorder, protests or demonstrations. >> Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began >> immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the >> people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose >> to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to >> takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people >> marched in Calcutta to protest the government's >> actions. Within days a little known group claiming to >> speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on >> Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be >> deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal >> immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that >> it could not offer her security, and lost no time in >> deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The >> Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by >> holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus >> far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public >> humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal >> card of pitting minority communalism against majority >> communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. >> >> Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of >> the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile >> tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of >> offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect >> people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have >> been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, >> threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, >> television studios, galleries, cinema halls, >> filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have >> forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known >> painters, into exile. >> >> Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh >> and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press >> conferences and television cameras, journalists are >> being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi >> from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, >> Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from >> Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, >> who is on a hunger strike in prison is being >> force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary >> people, including people like Binayak Sen have been >> arrested and held illegally under false charges. >> >> We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, >> endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose >> rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious >> differences with them. We agree that many of them do >> offend our (or someone else's) religious, political >> and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe >> that instead of making them simultaneously into both >> victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, >> criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the >> Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and >> Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern >> democracy. >> >> If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or >> holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and >> diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a >> Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, >> Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live >> and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious >> cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he >> be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We >> demand that the journalists who are being illegally >> detained in prison against all principles of natural >> justice be released immediately. >> >> Signed: >> >> Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish >> Karnad >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nitbhag at gmail.com Wed Feb 13 16:28:29 2008 From: nitbhag at gmail.com (Nitesh Bhatnagar) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:28:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'bad news' Message-ID: Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'bad news' By Sonia Phalnikar Sunday, January 27, 2008 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/technology/mag28.php NEW DELHI: A glance at a newsstand in any major Indian city reveals a media market in the midst of a boom. There are frothy tabloids, slick business papers, racy Bollywood glossies and lifestyle magazines, with new titles hitting the stands every week. Advertisers are shoveling out cash and foreign investors are stampeding in. But the news is not as good for the country's boldest English-language news magazine, Tehelka. The crusading independent weekly is struggling to expand and take a bigger slice of a highly competitive print market. Like many anti-establishment publications around the world, Tehelka has garnered only lukewarm support from advertisers and relative disinterest from readers more interested in upbeat news. Tehelka, which means "sensational" in Hindi, has lived up to its name with hard-hitting investigations that have often used undercover cameras to confront officials and expose corruption. Its crusading reports also focus on the downtrodden of India. After beginning as a Web site in 2000, Tehelka rocked the country the next year with a sting operation in which its reporters secretly filmed senior politicians and army officers taking bribes and, in some cases, consorting with prostitutes. The scandal forced top politicians, including the defense minister, to resign. "Tehelka has pioneered a new kind of journalism in India," Anil Dharker, a media critic and columnist who has edited several Indian publications, said. "It has forced other papers to investigate more and become more competitive in their reporting." But shortly after the bribery scandal broke, a government-appointed inquiry turned its focus on Tehelka. Reporters were arrested and questioned and the Web site's main financial backer was imprisoned for two months. Tax raids and judicial investigations followed, and its staff fell from 120 to three. The site went into debt and finally out of business. In early 2004, Tehelka emerged from the rubble as a reader-financed weekly newspaper. Calling itself the "People's Paper" and promoting what it called "free, fair and fearless" journalism, it was, and still is, backed by the intellectual and social elite - writers, lawyers, businesspeople and activists. Arundhati Roy, Shashi Tharoor and V.S. Naipaul lined up to support it. More than 200 people became founder-subscribers by paying 100,000 rupees, or $2,500, to be associated with the venture. "Tehelka attracts a very affluent, influential, well-educated readership in India, which could potentially be very attractive to both investors and advertisers," Harjinder Singh-Heer, a media analyst based in London, said. >From its offices in a swank south Delhi neighborhood, Tehelka's staff of about 45 journalists combines vigorous reporting, interviews and straight analysis with essays and columns by high-profile writers and intellectuals. "It is crucial to bring stories of people who will never read a magazine to those who ought to be made aware of them," said Tarun Tejpal, the paper's founder and editor in chief, a charismatic 44-year-old who has worked for and edited several major Indian magazines. The weekly's hallmark remains its sting operations. The footage is often sold to national television channels. "That's why people who will never read a magazine in English in India will still have heard of Tehelka," said Shreekant Khandekar, a media analyst who said the method also provided a clever marketing tool. Last year, a Tehelka reporter spent six months undercover in the western state of Gujarat, where more than 2,000 Muslims were killed during a pogrom in 2002. The undercover footage showed Hindu nationalists confessing to murder and rape. The transcripts were published in November. The next issue, headlined "India Writes Back," contained only reader mail, most expressing deep shock. Nonetheless, the chief minister of the state, Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who was implicated in the sting, was re-elected last month. The weekly's fame, however, has done little to help lift its financial fortunes. Tehelka has been hampered by a cash crunch. With a budget of close to $3 million last year, according to Tejpal, the loss last year was under $1 million. Tehelka, which sells around 75,000 to 90,000 copies a week and has a subscriber base of about 30,000, attracts few advertisements. Its 106-page special issue on the Gujarat massacre featured just three ads. Last year, ad revenue came to around $750,000, Tejpal said. Its main rivals - the English-language political news magazines Outlook, India Today and The Week - are backed by large media groups and, in one case, a business conglomerate. The market leader, India Today, has a circulation of 1.1 million each week and a readership of more than 15 million, according to its Web site. To bolster its position with potential advertisers and improve its visibility on newsstands, Tejpal reinvented Tehelka once again in September and changed the tabloid-format newspaper into a magazine. He said the new look has already increased interest from advertisers. But Tejpal acknowledged that Tehelka's tendency to rock the boat might still put off investors. "There's a certain reluctance to be associated with us because we are seen as people who create trouble and get into the wrong side of money and power," Tejpal said. The problem is not confined to India. Around the world in emerging economies with troubling records on press freedom, the critical, independent media are failing to sell ads. "Advertisers and big business houses in many developing countries often don't want to take the risks involved with doing critical and investigative stories," said Vincent Brossel, head of the Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders, a media watchdog based in Paris. The first Malaysian independent news Web site, Malaysiakini - or Malaysia Now - has faced government raids and its reporters are routinely harassed, according to its founder, Steven Gan. It is financed primarily by 10,000 subscribers who pay $5 a month to view the site. Though it has made a small profit in past years, Gan said attracting advertising was a struggle. "In Malaysia, there's a nexus between politicians and companies," he said. "Since we report critically on the government, we're not getting a lot of advertisements." Likewise, Radomir Licina, senior editor of the left-of-center Serb daily Danas, or Today, which was set up in 1997 by a group of journalists and still owned by them, said the newspaper had stopped getting advertisements from companies whose business practices were criticized in its reporting. Undeterred, Tejpal is again taking Tehelka into new territory. To reach a wider audience, he recently introduced a Hindi language Web site. About 180 million Indians are estimated to consider standard Hindi as their native tongue. There are plans to expand the content to other Indian languages. "We want to have a louder voice, be more visible and revive public discourse that's touched rock-bottom levels in this country," Tejpal said. In his search for a cash injection, Tejpal is engaged in his first professional round of financing with Indian investors, with a target of $5 million to $10 million. Over the years, he has mainly raised capital from personal contacts by diluting equity in his media company, Agni Media, which owns Tehelka. He remains the single largest shareholder. Tehelka may yet strengthen its foothold in the media, but some doubt whether its overtly political message fits the zeitgeist in modern India. "Psychologically, Indians are on such a high with the economy booming," Dharker, the media critic, said. "They are in no mood to hear bad news. And that's what Tehelka offers." From patrice at xs4all.nl Wed Feb 13 17:50:26 2008 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:20:26 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: <767F9167-120E-4DE7-8C87-8ACE7297E6B6@sarai.net> References: <767F9167-120E-4DE7-8C87-8ACE7297E6B6@sarai.net> Message-ID: <20080213122026.GA64978@xs4all.nl> dear All, 'Ashraya' or 'asylum' looks like dead in our times. However, it seems that the French minister for Human Rights has pleaded for giving French citizenship to both Taslima Nasreen and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ciaou from Paris, patrizio & Diiiinooos! On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 04:14:55PM +0500, Jeebesh Bagchi wrote: > dear All, > > In this case the question is not about freedom of speech. Taslima is > not a citizen of India, so State in India has no jurisdiction to have > a say on her freedom of speech. The state can persecute her > publishers or ban the book but her freedom of speech is not > guaranteed here. > > The question is of "ashraya" (or what is termed as asylum). Every > culture has developed ways of thinking about "ashraya" and very > interesting histories can be uncovered here from all over the world. > It will be interesting how "ashraya" is thought in our times. > > warmly > jeebesh > From mrsg at vsnl.com Wed Feb 13 19:57:38 2008 From: mrsg at vsnl.com (MRSG) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:57:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Plz Correct the misrepresentation of facts in thestatement on Taslima References: Message-ID: <000601c86e4c$c242b2a0$0201a8c0@MRAY> The statement by Mahasweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish Karnad is a glaring example to hide Islamic Fundamentalism. There are a number of misrepresentations in this statement. Plz GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT before supproting/signing it. The statement said that "In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and not any religious or sectarian group who first tried to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago." Only a government or a court can ban a book, not any group. CPIM-led Government banned it not because the book has said anything against CPIM, but because the Islamic groups in West Bengal DEMANDED that and all other major political parties in West Bengal - Trinamul Congress and Congress supported the move to appease the islamic groups. The demand was corroborated by a list of '25 intellectuals', led by 'eminent literatuere Sunil Gangopadhyay. Please note 'communal' BJP has no presence in the state. So the ban was done to appease the Islamic Fundamentalist. By blaming only CPIM, it tries to hide the power of Islamic fundamentalists in West Bengal today. After Calcutta High Court lifted the ban, no one went to the Supreme Court against the ban. But the islamic groups, particualrly Milli Ittehad Parishad, including Mr.Siddikullah, the champion of Nandigram, came on streets demanding the head or expulsion of Taslima Nasrin from the country. They met Chief Minister to warn of dire consequence. There were street protests and demand to kill Taslima by islamic groups at the centre of Kolkata. Even a CPIM-backed journal Pathasanket was banned as an article there justified Taslima's views on Islam. This publication springed a subsequent round of not only banning the journal (its September 2007 issue), but the protests turned violent even after the journal was banned and all its copies were withdrawn fromn the market. No 'secular' intellectual protested this ban. Eminent 'secular' intellectuals of West Bengal and muslim MPs of CPIM fanned the demand against Taslima. And then on 21 Novemeber 2007, the Islamists carried out violence throughout the day in Kolkata. And the police, who fires readily on any peasant demonstrations like Nandigram or Dinhata, looked the other way. No political parties in West Bengal came out against this violence. The petition by Mahasweta Devi et al is silent on this black day of Kolkata. Islamic muscle, appeasement by political parties and silence of these "intellctuals" - all together bundled out Taslima from her room into a car to kick her out from great "progressive" Kolkata. All these are recorded in the media and it is not any activity of any 'unknown' muslim group to defuse the land issue by appeasing Muslims. To hide the role of islamic fundamentalists the issue of Nandigram has been dragged into in this statement. The statement says that Taslima issue was raised by an unknown group and CPIM caved in to appease the muslims and in turn to destroy the 'dalit - muslim' protest of Nandigram. It is a blatant lie as one of the most championed leader of Nandigram, Mr. Siddikullah of Jamaet Ulema Hind (a secular party for Mahasweta Devi) himself and Milli Ittehad Parishad led a big street protest in Kolkata few days before the 21st Novemeber. Was it also arranged by CPIM? All kinds of Islamic groups have supported the demand. To hide this face of Islamic fundmentalists this petition is unfortunately changing a peasant revolt of Namdigram as a 'dalit - muslim' protest, thus communalising the protest movement of Bengal. And finally to confuse the main issue a host of other issues have been included. And if those issues are not solved why then Taslima should return to Kolkata or stay in India. Is it really in favour of Taslima? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" To: Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin > Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and Expression > > At a time when India is projecting itself on the > world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts > international literary festivals and book fairs, the > Government of India, most mainstream political parties > and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > > It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of > the world's best-known writers were attending the > Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers > were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, > the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) > being held in custody by the Government of India in an > undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in > conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to > misleading press reports stating that her visa has > been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > February, after which she is liable to be deported or > remain confined as an illegal alien. > > Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have > been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile > or had their work desecrated in this country. At > different points of time, different governments have > either directly or indirectly resorted to these > measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity > and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to > Free Speech and Expression increases. > > In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and > not any religious or sectarian group who first tried > to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban > was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was > in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal > for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin > lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without > any threat to her person, without being the cause of > public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began > immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose > to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people > marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > actions. Within days a little known group claiming to > speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal > immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that > it could not offer her security, and lost no time in > deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The > Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by > holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus > far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public > humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal > card of pitting minority communalism against majority > communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. > > Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of > the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile > tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect > people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have > been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have > forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > painters, into exile. > > Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh > and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press > conferences and television cameras, journalists are > being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi > from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from > Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, > who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary > people, including people like Binayak Sen have been > arrested and held illegally under false charges. > > We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose > rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > differences with them. We agree that many of them do > offend our (or someone else's) religious, political > and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe > that instead of making them simultaneously into both > victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, > criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the > Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and > Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern > democracy. > > If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or > holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live > and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious > cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he > be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We > demand that the journalists who are being illegally > detained in prison against all principles of natural > justice be released immediately. > > Signed: > > Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish > Karnad > _________________________________________ > 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 info at contemporaryart-india.com Thu Feb 14 01:03:24 2008 From: info at contemporaryart-india.com (info at contemporaryart-india.com) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:33:24 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation-an art show 19th -26th February 2008 Message-ID: <20080213143324.nwlyosj50k044sso@www.youngagainforever.com> Hello friends, I'm writing to tell you about an art show being presented in Kolkata this month: Venue: Birla Academy of Art & Culture, (2nd floor), 108 Southern Avenue, Kolkata 700029. Dates: 19th February ? 26th February 2008 ; Time: 4.00 pm ? 8.00 pm Event: "Windows on the World" - a solo show of paintings by Ranadip Mukherjee, presented by Contemporary Art-India, Kolkata A graduate of the Government College of Art & Crafts, Kolkata, the artist, now based in Mumbai, has had 22 solo shows in India and abroad. In his present series, Ranadip Mukherjee sets out to discover that essence of place, those forms and colours of mind and spirit that inhabit and give shape to a city or a physical community ? the quality, which makes them ?the type of some great idea ?whose image dwells on the memory of man ...? For as surely as men create cities, cities too grow into live entities that temper the minds of men. The journey starts in Varanasi, a city which the artist sees as a work of art, and moves to Sarnath to explore the nature of the aura, the many faces of charged stillness ? serenity, austerity, tenderness, transcendence ? that are revealed to him in the Buddha. Finally, he follows the river towards the teeming hub of Kolkata. An effusion of images drenched in sepia shades of nostalgia throng his canvas ? cultural icons, urban markers, historical figures, artistic and religious heritage interwoven with glimpses of daily life ? people, lifestyles and landmarks forged in the flux and ferment, heat and light of the city?s evolution. This exhibition will be interesting viewing for anyone who has ever been fascinated by the ?charge? that is palpable in any of the great cities. Best, Roshmi Raychaudhuri www.contemporaryart-india.com Or view it online at: http://www.contemporaryart-india.com/index.php?page=exhibition_in&th_id=11 From vivek at sarai.net Thu Feb 14 10:12:51 2008 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:12:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The noisy nativist crowd In-Reply-To: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> This is from "Leaving Prague: A Notebook" by Alexei Tsvetkov, who is widely considered one of the most important Russian poets writing today: "When I first came here [Prague], it had been years since I’d written a poem. I stopped writing poetry without a clear explanation of why it happened. Later on I came up with lots of convincing reasons: one of the best, as I recall, was the turmoil in my erstwhile homeland, Russia. In some way poetry, no matter how private, is always addressed to an audience, and when a level of noise in that audience exceeds a certain value, the exercise becomes pointless. It is possible to imagine an opera star performing to an empty hall but not to a full and noisy one. There’s an old saying: when guns talk, the Muses fall silent. But that’s wrong: Cicero was talking about laws, not Muses. When people talk, especially when they talk feverishly, the Muses definitely shut up. "I remember at the time I could not figure out who it was that Joseph Brodsky was addressing in his late verse—it still seems to me driven largely by inertia. Brodsky’s best poetry is the voice of someone who deliberately positions himself between and above two mighty empires: it’s a running commentary on their perceived decline. When one of those empires suddenly collapsed, he was left groping. We will never know how he would have regained his internal balance. "When I lost mine, I came to Prague voiceless. Brodsky died soon after and, however shocking, the news seemed fitting: the last universal voice fell silent, leaving the stage in full possession of the noisy nativist crowd." I bring this thesis up not as some kind of advice from the gods, but because I am not certain if it is true. Tsvetkov himself presents it only as a possible theory, and of course I'm still puzzling around that example (metaphor?) of the opera singer. I'd be curious to know what readers on this list think about-- am eager to hear both philosophical and pragmatic responses-- how to bring the muses back to this list. In a way this is to explore the inverse, positive side of the anti-censorship debate: what are the conditions for speech, what makes speech possible, how does one revive rich conversation? The essay is from the February issue of Poetry magazine from the US which, by the way, has now gone entirely online. (Except for the Beckett poems in this issue--that upload was most likely blocked by the Beckett estate, which probably did not give permission out of concern for copyright. Fools.): http://www.poetrymagazine.org/ . Thanks Vivek S.Fatima wrote: > Dear Vivek > You have a knack of making a hill of out of a mole - > and all in the wrong direction. In my analogy of a > limousine going through filth, the filth is not at all > supposed to mean the economic status of people writing > high-volume hate-mails. But by calling someone's views > as "bullshit", it is you who is demeaning them. (Ok, > I'd like to take back the word "slum" - I apologize > for it). My problem with your mail was that as long as > you apply those filters and send the unwanted mails to > whatever insulting folder quietly, it is fine. But by > being sarcastic about it (as in your original message) > we are only infuriating them further. Will that help > in breaking any ice? Or maybe we do'nt want to break > any ice. > > I don't think I'm playing into the hands of these > propagandists - I'm only complicating this issue a > little further, because I believe that ignoring them > and and not answering their simplistic questions is > not a long-term solution. If you read some of my > earlier mails, I have mostly been advocating DIALOGUE > between the two-parties. Now your immediate reaction > would be: "huh, these guys don't deserve an ear - you > can't have a dialogue with them". Yes I know it is > very irritating to read through most of those > hate-mails. But the point is that all their rigid > stereotypes and biases are a reality and most of us > don't have the time, patience or inclination to sit > with these folks and talk. An email discussion in any > case doesn't lead to anything fruitful, especially > when it comes to such a topic. So, the least we can do > is to ignore them. But being sarcastic is worse. > > Another point : you say that since those folks are > using broadband to send that many mails, they must be > rich enough to be called elite. Well then, what > happened to the claim that internet/broadband is > supposed to be empowering and democratizing the thrid > world, and so on. You seem to be defining the access > to internet still in caste/class terms! > > cheers > From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 14 11:17:17 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:47:17 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien or Hindu betrayers? In-Reply-To: <767F9167-120E-4DE7-8C87-8ACE7297E6B6@sarai.net> Message-ID: <502356.88308.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Sarai readers and writers, While I had just started thinking about Shudha's ethics of treason, Jeebesh washed me away with his asylums and aliens.So two short notes on both of them before getting any further. Shuddha first ;( though I still need to go through his post fully). A muslim considered traitor by fellow muslims and thus a hindu considered a betrayer by other hindus makes interesting case against say Amartya Sen's views on these ( And why did Shuddha celebrate them elsewhere?). Consider Amartya's examples on an intolerant Auurangzeb remaining a Muslim and a tolerant Akbar also remaining a Muslim. Now, if go by the ethics of treason( in its rudiments) then who remains a muslim and who does not will be settled by whom? They will be settled, as it is well known by now, by "the structures of recognition" well incorporatable into the "politics of recognition" as such.Here how I or we will be recognised is dependent on others rather than how we decide for ourselves. So, Amartya's views are media celebrated but vacous to say the least. Shuddha's insertion opens this debate in this interesting direction. How to get out of this dilemma? There is no way out; we are knee deep into the modern multicultural trap and pursuit. Theoretically, if we want to know this more, I can suggest a way. Drawing on hermenetuic phenomenology, this brilliant Indian guy ( though you will find him not in any seminars in India)Rajeswara Sunder Rajan ( not the feminist one)I remember talked about something called "structures of transcendence" by which, I opine, these structures of recognition by others and one self, could be attempted-- by you, me and all of us-- in a braceketed form, so that they could be transcended --atleast in a pure form. More on this latter. Jeebesh has struck again and has hit a new chord. While I temporarily disagree with his no freedom of speech for aliens etc., I agree that asylum should be dug for deeper news. Though I think Lawrence Liang( who I guess is undergoing a long leaning vasectomy operation in Bangalore) could tell us best about this, I think denying freedom of speech to aliens or immigrants is a violation of their huamn rights under international laws. The rights are not available to enemy aliens or those booked under preventive detention. They do have freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and modifications that the government could subject these laws and modifications to.But asylum is a different case; has Taslima sought political asylum in writing? I don't remember. ( So Pranab Mukherjee's call for self control( and celebrated in idiotic editorials in Indian newspapers) from asylum seekers is seriously misplaced.)No political executive can settle for such a call; it has to be juridically negotiated. But let me cite here an American example in refutation of Jeebesh's first thought.( Though Ashis Nandy speaking for protection of constitutional rights is an irony in all theoretical senses.) In the wake of an arrest of immigrants alleged to have been participating in subversive activities and thus the first amendment ( protecting free speech)in the US conflicting with the rights that could be enjoyed and pursued by aliens, here is an important piece of insertion. "U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson has ruled in Los Angeles that when immigrants' First Amendment rights collide with the Government's right to control immigration, the First Amendment wins. It's a victory for free speech and common sense. Judge Wilson, a Reagan Administration appointee, now supports their view, declaring those provisions (of deportation harmful aliens) unconstitutional. He found that aliens, once admitted to the United States, have free-speech rights which generally take precedence over the Government's right to control immigration. But that concession does not diminish the Government's power to deport aliens engaged in harmful activity unrelated to speech, like terrorism or crime. Too often, however, the harmful activity that Government seeks to control is only speech. As Judge Wilson noted: ''In this case, the Government is trying to stifle certain ideas from entering our society from certain aliens through its immigration power. Our society, however, was built on the premise that only through the free flow of ideas can our nation grow and prosper.'' It's a judgment worth cheering. Judge Wilson rightly recognizes that immigration law ought to control offensive actions, not offensive views." (The New York Times, Feb 13, 2008) Thank you, arnab --- Jeebesh Bagchi wrote: > dear All, > > In this case the question is not about freedom of > speech. Taslima is > not a citizen of India, so State in India has no > jurisdiction to have > a say on her freedom of speech. The state can > persecute her > publishers or ban the book but her freedom of speech > is not > guaranteed here. > > The question is of "ashraya" (or what is termed as > asylum). Every > culture has developed ways of thinking about > "ashraya" and very > interesting histories can be uncovered here from all > over the world. > It will be interesting how "ashraya" is thought in > our times. > > warmly > jeebesh > > > On 13-Feb-08, at 12:20 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net > wrote: > > > Sir, > > > > the very statement that freedom of speech and > expression is > > absolute and > > unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised > society, as > > societal right > > to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do > have a bearing on > > societal rights in civilised society with duties > as the other side > > of right. > > While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and > the political > > games being > > played with this issue by the athiests in the > society, with views > > expressed > > one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom > of expression is > > absolute > > is like saying that as free citizen every one has > right to have > > coitus on > > the median of highway in front of all passing > vehicular traffic. > > No freedom is absolute in a society where it > impinges on the > > rights of > > others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express > themselves freely > > within > > the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his > expression so > > creative uses > > his artistic skills to graphically expose his > pervert sense of > > depravity in > > showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative > expression looks > > at his > > mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols > considered sacred and > > worshipped > > as believers like, are his objects of expression > and crative artistic > > liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the > same creative > > expression > > does not get inspired to portray his parents in > conjugal bliss on > > canvass. ? > > In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not > offended anybody except > > the > > clergies of a faith who think that they are the > tekedars of the > > faith, which > > again is bad in any faith irrespective of the > faith, but same is > > happening > > in all faiths. > > All faiths are ways of living a good life, in > material, > > intellectual and > > spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe > or not to believe > > in any > > faith is free choice. But the clergies of the > faith ,in any faith, > > always > > try to impose that their faith is the only > saviour, which is > > unfortunate. > > Society in free India is divided at the very > instant of achieving > > the > > freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the > land mass on faith, > > then > > allowing the citizens the option not to go that > land mass created > > for faith. > > The truth of the matter is even though the > bangladesh and pakistan > > were > > created for the followers of faith, they are > failed states in > > governance. > > India, which could have good governance chose to > be "secular" but in > > practise, it only created more divisions in the > land mass with > > language, > > region and castes communes for political gains. to > cap it left further > > encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to > have a stay in the > > free > > India with fake ration cards, ids and > opportunities to live in this > > nation, > > while governance in the federal state was diluted > to total lack of > > governance or no governance with fuedal lords of > individual communes > > mastering the art of securing "class votes", " > commune votes" and > > "regional > > votes" in the election frey. And today election is > a fight to > > secure votes > > by any fair or foul means to secure power and > possession of > > material wealth, > > not service to all citizens.In the process, the > free India is now > > islands of > > communes with every commune trying to corner > maximun benefits of > > democracy > > to their communes with out fear, depriving the > common citizen of > > all the > > opportunities to live a dignified life in the > nation. > > > > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" > > > To: > > Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM > > Subject: [Reader-list] > Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima > > Nasrin > > > > > >> Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of > Free Speech and > >> Expression > >> > >> At a time when India is projecting itself on the > >> world's stage as a modern democracy, while it > hosts > >> international literary festivals and book fairs, > the > >> Government of India, most mainstream political > parties > >> and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > >> assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > >> > >> It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some > of > >> the world's best-known writers were attending the > >> Jaipur literary festival and prestigious > publishers > >> were doing business at the World Book fair in > Delhi, > >> the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and > is) > >> being held in custody by the Government of India > in an > >> undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi > in > >> conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary > to > >> misleading press reports stating that her visa > has > >> been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > >> February, after which she is liable to be > deported or > >> remain confined as an illegal alien. > >> > >> Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > >> journalists, writers, scholars and artists who > have > >> been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into > exile > >> or had their work desecrated in this country. At > >> different points of time, different governments > have > >> either directly or indirectly resorted to these > >> measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > >> regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain > popularity > >> and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the > threat to > >> Free Speech and Expression increases. > >> > >> In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) > and > >> not any religious or sectarian group who first > tried > >> to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The > ban > >> was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the > book was > >> in the market and on bestseller lists in West > Bengal > >> for several years. During those years Taslima > Nasrin > >> lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta > without > >> any threat to her person, without being the cause > of > >> public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > >> Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India > began > >> immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > >> people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, > rose > >> to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > >> takeover their land, and tens of thousands of > people > >> marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > >> actions. Within days a little known group > claiming to > >> speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > >> Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > >> deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West > Bengal > >> immediately caved in to the demand, informed her > that > >> it could not offer her security, and lost no time > in > >> deporting her from West Bengal against her will. > The > >> Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act > by > >> holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, > thus > >> far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her > public > >> humiliation. They have once again played the > suicidal > >> card of pitting minority communalism against > majority > >> communalism, a game that can only end in > disaster. > >> > >> Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out > of > >> the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding > crocodile > >> tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > >> offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to > expect > >> people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres > have > >> been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > >> threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > >> television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > >> filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they > have > >> forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > >> painters, into exile. > >> > >> Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra > Pradesh > >> and Karnataka, away from the public glare of > press > >> conferences and television cameras, journalists > are > >> being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant > Rahi > >> from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > >> Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty > from > >> Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind > Kutty, > >> who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > >> force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of > ordinary > >> people, including people like Binayak Sen have > been > >> arrested and held illegally under false charges. > >> > >> We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > >> endorse or admire the views or the work of those > whose > >> rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > >> differences with them. We agree that many of them > do > >> offend our (or someone else's) religious, > political > >> and ideological sensibilities. However, we > believe > >> that instead of making them simultaneously into > both > >> victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, > read, > >> criticized and vigorously debated. We believe > that the > >> Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute > and > >> Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a > modern > >> democracy. > >> > >> If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, > or > >> holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > >> diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > >> Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > >> Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to > live > >> and work freely in India. We demand that the > spurious > >> cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and > that he > >> be allowed to return to a normal life in India. > We > >> demand that the journalists who are being > illegally > >> detained in prison against all principles of > natural > >> justice be released immediately. > >> > >> Signed: > >> > >> Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, > Girish > >> Karnad > >> _________________________________________ > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > >> Critiques & Collaborations > >> To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >> subscribe in the subject header. > >> To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > 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: Chat on a cool, new interface. No download required. Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Wed Feb 13 18:50:19 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:50:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'badnews' References: Message-ID: In any democratic society, media is considered as fourth pillar upholding the freedom of free society and is respected for the work. Journalists are respected and honoured for their impartial work in journalism of reporting the news as it is, without the added masala of partisan views on news. However recent trend in media has been that was of more partisan reportage suiting the political outfit they are sponsored with. The sponsorship is many times indirect, with advertisements of PSUs and governance controlled ventures. many times it is indirect, with "well wishers of the political outfits sponsoring the advertisements with attached strings. Thehelka lost credibilty in the eyes of the viewers when it did not hesitate to use sex and sex workers which is quite a common weakness of all , say almost all humans for sensuous pleasures.Its own reporter in a press club at kerala, was boasting of the good times he had with his work in tehelka days. ! More to be precise, the editor seems to be having very soft corner for some political party with most corrupt leaders in it, may be he scared to take on the might of violent goon brigades of such parties. Many channels did a mayajal, to immediately resort to complete silence later when the goon brigades retorted with violent acts. ? Lalu Yadav is always good with media to use the media for his spins, but not even one expose" of his adventures are visible in media may be because he believes in his danda more than democratic rights. ? Ofcourse much mud slinging which does not stick is done against BJP and sangh parivar, but inspite of having the power, they are too decent even on channels for debate or discussions, but when it comes to Congress, Tarun is positively scared of its power of goon brigade also known as youth wing with leaders of the kind, Kamalnath,Jagadeesh Tytler, Sajan kumar, Hariprasad who have noteworthy records of sorts which are really worth coverage in stings. ?Ofcourse what happened to 300,000 oil coupons given to party along with coupons of natwar singh, and tarun seems to be selective in his stings ? This was not the scene in earlier days with chitra Subramaniam doing the wonderful investigation in Bofors scam, but those days tv was state controlled, later even the midnight visit of additional solicitor general to London without the knowledge of the highest court to defreeze the accounts of uncle Q was not matter of a sting for tarun, so much of journalistic ethics. ! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nitesh Bhatnagar" To: "sarai list" Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:28 PM Subject: [Reader-list] Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'bad news' > Combative Indian magazine struggles to sell 'bad news' > > By Sonia Phalnikar > Sunday, January 27, 2008 > http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/technology/mag28.php > > > NEW DELHI: A glance at a newsstand in any major Indian city reveals a > media market in the midst of a boom. There are frothy tabloids, slick > business papers, racy Bollywood glossies and lifestyle magazines, with > new titles hitting the stands every week. Advertisers are shoveling > out cash and foreign investors are stampeding in. > > But the news is not as good for the country's boldest English-language > news magazine, Tehelka. The crusading independent weekly is struggling > to expand and take a bigger slice of a highly competitive print > market. > > Like many anti-establishment publications around the world, Tehelka > has garnered only lukewarm support from advertisers and relative > disinterest from readers more interested in upbeat news. > > Tehelka, which means "sensational" in Hindi, has lived up to its name > with hard-hitting investigations that have often used undercover > cameras to confront officials and expose corruption. Its crusading > reports also focus on the downtrodden of India. > > After beginning as a Web site in 2000, Tehelka rocked the country the > next year with a sting operation in which its reporters secretly > filmed senior politicians and army officers taking bribes and, in some > cases, consorting with prostitutes. The scandal forced top > politicians, including the defense minister, to resign. > > "Tehelka has pioneered a new kind of journalism in India," Anil > Dharker, a media critic and columnist who has edited several Indian > publications, said. "It has forced other papers to investigate more > and become more competitive in their reporting." > > But shortly after the bribery scandal broke, a government-appointed > inquiry turned its focus on Tehelka. Reporters were arrested and > questioned and the Web site's main financial backer was imprisoned for > two months. Tax raids and judicial investigations followed, and its > staff fell from 120 to three. The site went into debt and finally out > of business. > > In early 2004, Tehelka emerged from the rubble as a reader-financed > weekly newspaper. Calling itself the "People's Paper" and promoting > what it called "free, fair and fearless" journalism, it was, and still > is, backed by the intellectual and social elite - writers, lawyers, > businesspeople and activists. Arundhati Roy, Shashi Tharoor and V.S. > Naipaul lined up to support it. More than 200 people became > founder-subscribers by paying 100,000 rupees, or $2,500, to be > associated with the venture. > > "Tehelka attracts a very affluent, influential, well-educated > readership in India, which could potentially be very attractive to > both investors and advertisers," Harjinder Singh-Heer, a media analyst > based in London, said. > > From its offices in a swank south Delhi neighborhood, Tehelka's staff > of about 45 journalists combines vigorous reporting, interviews and > straight analysis with essays and columns by high-profile writers and > intellectuals. > > "It is crucial to bring stories of people who will never read a > magazine to those who ought to be made aware of them," said Tarun > Tejpal, the paper's founder and editor in chief, a charismatic > 44-year-old who has worked for and edited several major Indian > magazines. > > The weekly's hallmark remains its sting operations. The footage is > often sold to national television channels. > > "That's why people who will never read a magazine in English in India > will still have heard of Tehelka," said Shreekant Khandekar, a media > analyst who said the method also provided a clever marketing tool. > > Last year, a Tehelka reporter spent six months undercover in the > western state of Gujarat, where more than 2,000 Muslims were killed > during a pogrom in 2002. The undercover footage showed Hindu > nationalists confessing to murder and rape. The transcripts were > published in November. The next issue, headlined "India Writes Back," > contained only reader mail, most expressing deep shock. Nonetheless, > the chief minister of the state, Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist > who was implicated in the sting, was re-elected last month. > > The weekly's fame, however, has done little to help lift its financial > fortunes. Tehelka has been hampered by a cash crunch. With a budget of > close to $3 million last year, according to Tejpal, the loss last year > was under $1 million. > > Tehelka, which sells around 75,000 to 90,000 copies a week and has a > subscriber base of about 30,000, attracts few advertisements. Its > 106-page special issue on the Gujarat massacre featured just three > ads. Last year, ad revenue came to around $750,000, Tejpal said. > > Its main rivals - the English-language political news magazines > Outlook, India Today and The Week - are backed by large media groups > and, in one case, a business conglomerate. The market leader, India > Today, has a circulation of 1.1 million each week and a readership of > more than 15 million, according to its Web site. > > To bolster its position with potential advertisers and improve its > visibility on newsstands, Tejpal reinvented Tehelka once again in > September and changed the tabloid-format newspaper into a magazine. He > said the new look has already increased interest from advertisers. > > But Tejpal acknowledged that Tehelka's tendency to rock the boat might > still put off investors. "There's a certain reluctance to be > associated with us because we are seen as people who create trouble > and get into the wrong side of money and power," Tejpal said. > > The problem is not confined to India. Around the world in emerging > economies with troubling records on press freedom, the critical, > independent media are failing to sell ads. > > "Advertisers and big business houses in many developing countries > often don't want to take the risks involved with doing critical and > investigative stories," said Vincent Brossel, head of the Asia desk at > Reporters Without Borders, a media watchdog based in Paris. > > The first Malaysian independent news Web site, Malaysiakini - or > Malaysia Now - has faced government raids and its reporters are > routinely harassed, according to its founder, Steven Gan. It is > financed primarily by 10,000 subscribers who pay $5 a month to view > the site. Though it has made a small profit in past years, Gan said > attracting advertising was a struggle. > > "In Malaysia, there's a nexus between politicians and companies," he > said. "Since we report critically on the government, we're not getting > a lot of advertisements." > > Likewise, Radomir Licina, senior editor of the left-of-center Serb > daily Danas, or Today, which was set up in 1997 by a group of > journalists and still owned by them, said the newspaper had stopped > getting advertisements from companies whose business practices were > criticized in its reporting. > > Undeterred, Tejpal is again taking Tehelka into new territory. To > reach a wider audience, he recently introduced a Hindi language Web > site. About 180 million Indians are estimated to consider standard > Hindi as their native tongue. There are plans to expand the content to > other Indian languages. > > "We want to have a louder voice, be more visible and revive public > discourse that's touched rock-bottom levels in this country," Tejpal > said. > > In his search for a cash injection, Tejpal is engaged in his first > professional round of financing with Indian investors, with a target > of $5 million to $10 million. Over the years, he has mainly raised > capital from personal contacts by diluting equity in his media > company, Agni Media, which owns Tehelka. He remains the single largest > shareholder. > > Tehelka may yet strengthen its foothold in the media, but some doubt > whether its overtly political message fits the zeitgeist in modern > India. > > "Psychologically, Indians are on such a high with the economy > booming," Dharker, the media critic, said. "They are in no mood to > hear bad news. And that's what Tehelka offers." > _________________________________________ > 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 asitredsalute at gmail.com Thu Feb 14 12:18:27 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:18:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] posco struggle Message-ID: * * *"Over Our Dead Bodies" A Report from the Barricades.* *A brief note on the Anti POSCO struggle in Orissa* * * *The crisis of capitalism and the collapse of the Brettonwood system:** * The coming in of Neo-Liberal Economics in the form of "globalization", read imperialism, has led to the intensification of imperialist intervention solely because of capital's ruthless drive for accumulation and profit maximization. This incessant drive is forcing developed capitalist countries in an ever increasing search for cheap labour, cheap resources and captive markets. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the counter revolutionary reforms in China, the space allowing imperialist interventions with impunity has increased manifold. In the recent past the globe has witnessed numerous violent and insidious so called "non violent" interventions across the globe, i.e Nicaragua, Granada, Panama, Tahiti, Afghanistan, Argentina, several countries of Africa. The most striking example of early 21st century accumulation through direct occupation and even genocide as is happening in Iraq. These interventions have upset regional and national economies, disposed millions and created areas of unrest and strife; the pauperisation of Latin America, hunger famine and ethnic strife in Africa and the establishment of compradors, outright World Bank puppets, dictatorships/client regimes and military juntas such as in India, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, South Korea, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Interventions from imperialist agencies such as the World Bank, IMF, WTO, The ADB and NGO's and donor agencies etc. have so far been effective in imposing a structural shift within the third world economies. This shift from a relative notion of self reliance through "import substitution" industrialisation, food self sufficiency towards dismantling their welfare structures and imposing an outright commodified imperialist culture heavily dependant on the privatization of services and the commodification of natural resources has only resulted in further marginalisation of the people and increasing inequalities. In the context of India, these imperialist interventions are being implemented by the comprador elite which has taken on the task to facilitate the easy entry of capital. The task for capitalist intervention has been through these compradors who divert the people attention from issues confronting their immediate life and necessities through strengthening feudal oppression and captivating the middle classes within an illusionary web of crass consumerism and cash nexus. Because of this ruling comprador class, imperialist capital has at its disposal an unprecedented quantity of cheap mineral resources, land, labour, youth and government funds. In India we can see the rapid increase in the private service sector, where a huge number of our youth are being lured into working as semi-slaves in late night call centers and BPO's, thousands of which sprung up overnight only because of rising labour costs in core capitalist countries. With developed nations facing rapidly depleting resources, rising unemployment, high costs of unsustainable consumerism and falling productivity their ruling classes are compelled to intensify their economic, cultural, political and armed interventions in developing nations. This form of brutal primitive accumulation has also given an impetus to several centers of resistance across developing nations. In India we can see an intensification of the struggles of the peasantry against forced displacement taking place across the length and breadth of India, especially in those resource rich regions where the levels of neo colonial extraction are high and brutal. A case in point would be the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa. Taking the particular case of Orissa we can see that since the colonial period there have been a huge number of imperialist interventions and parallel struggles being waged by the peasantry on the issue of displacement from forests and farm lands. Orissa is the continuous target for loot by the imperialist powers, finding within an amicable ally in the comprador ruling class puppet such as Naveen Patnaik. Nevertheless, there have been several heroic tribal uprisings against the earlier colonial plunder by martyrs such as Laxman Nayak in the early 20th century and in the recent years we can see the emergence of several struggles in Kashipur, Hirakud, Kalinganagar, Lanjigarh and Jagatsingpur (Anti POSCO). It is in Kalinganagar where resistance by the adivasi peasantry changed the very contours of resistance across India. The Kalinganagar struggle marks a break with the earlier existing forms of Gandhian/Sarvodaya and other liberal forms of protest as organized by various NGO's etc which looked at anti displacement resistance within the structures of official grievance redressal mechanisms of the Indian state which ironically was the primary agent for this imperialist loot. Even while co-opting and diffusing people's anger, these interventions were found inadequate when faced with the wrath and greed of rapacious capital and the armed might of the comprador state. On the contrary, the mass militant resistance at Kalinganagar, for the first time refused to negotiate and engage with the state on its assumed legalistic terms of dialogue which also restricted and set the terms for protest within the ambit and ideology of the ruling classes on how it perceives and allows dissent. The activists of the Kalinganagar Vistaphan Birodhi Janmanch took a stance of no rehabilitation no compensation and no forced displacement from their lands which have now become an immense source of inspiration for other anti displacement movements across India. The anti POSCO people's resistance has been going on in parts of Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa against the steel plant and captive port proposed in the area. This struggle has been on since July 2005, a month after the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the project was signed between the Government of Orissa and Pohang Steel Company Limited (POSCO). In many ways the anti POSCO struggle is a logical outcome of the mass peasant resistance at Kalinganagar. *The Economy of the region* There is need to counter the misinformation being disseminated by the ruling classes regarding the economy of the region. According to the government the people of this area are very poor and only subsist as marginal farmers. Nothing can be further from the truth. According to a fact finding team's survey done in the area[1]; • The local economy is a thriving, labour-intensive one, based on agriculture and fishing. The economy is also sustained, apart from staple crops such as paddy, coconut etc., on cash crops such as betel, cashew, supari and kewra. Fishing and pisiculture are also prominent sources of livelihood. Most of these sources provide income and employment throughout the year. • The uniqueness of the betel vine cultivation economy, due to the typicality of the geographical and topographical features like soil, was highlighted repeatedly by everybody the Team interviewed. It is a thriving, highly labour intensive activity which provides income throughout the year, supporting and providing work to a wide age group of people—from the young to the old—who are engaged in various productive tasks related to cultivation, plucking, transport and marketing of betel leaves. The locals are certain that they will not be able to get most of these jobs at the POSCO factory because they do not have the requisite skills. Even if they do manage to get a few of these jobs, they emphasize, the steel project and port will not be able to provide with the kind of secure livelihood they currently enjoy. • The Jatadhari river, estuary and the forest resource base play a very important role in supporting the cultivation, fishing as well as household needs like fuel wood etc. In the late 1960s, Loknath Chaudhury, a local leader and former CPI(MP), led a struggle for transfer of much of the common land in the area, some of which was already under betel vine, from the revenue records to the Forest Department so that afforestation initiatives could be carried out to provide a natural barrier for protection of villages from impacts of cyclone and to provide for the basic needs of firewood and stalk for betel vine cultivation. Finally the land was transferred to the category of gramya jungle or community forests. *The MOU* Similarly, concerning the MOU, both the Centre and the Orissa state government have been extremely secretive about the terms and conditions. The above mentioned fact finding team also investigated and found startling facts about the deal. ON June 22, 2005 the State of Orissa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South Korean Steel giant—Pohang Steel Company Limited, also known as POSCO. Touted as India's largest Foreign Direct Investment (worth Rs 52,000 crores) the project involves building of a 12 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant and a captive port in the Ersama Block of Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa. * * *As per the MoU, based on the needs of the "Steel Project", the Company will also develop and operate the following infrastructure:* [2] ** *Mining* facilities in the areas allocated by Government of Orissa/Government of India: i). To help POSCO produce steel, the Orissa government has promised recommend to the Union government to hand over captive coal mines to POSCO until it is ready for mining of its coal block. ii). To make steel POSCO needs 600 million tonnes of ore from the government of Orissa. Iron Ore is available at Rs. 2000 to Rs. 2600 per ton. Discounting extraction costs at Rs 400 per ton, the state government is subsidizing POSCO at Rs. 96000 crore per year in only the use of iron ore. And this does not include the amount it may take away. The MoU is set up to allow extraction for 30 years with extension possible for 20 years. In addition, unspecified amounts of chromium and manganese will also be provided to POSCO. Dolomite and limestone will also be made available at subsidized rates. *Communications and Transport:* Road, rail and port infrastructure will be provided with government help, including the dedicated railway line from the mine-belt to Paradeep. POSCO will also construct its own port at Paradeep. *The government will also construct, a railway line from Haridaspur-Paradeep and Bansapanl-Paradeep for export of POSCO company's iron ore. * *Integrated township:* The state government will provide about 6500 acres of land for the plant site in Paradeep. There is no statement regarding the price that POSCO will pay for this land. In addition, the state government has agreed to provide about 20-25 acres of land in Bhubaneswar and hand it over to POSCO for its office. At what price the company will take this land has not been mentioned. *Water supply infrastructure:* According to the MoU, the Government of Orissa is to permit withdrawal and use of water (near- about 12 thousand to 15 thousand crore liters) from the Mahanadi barrage at Jobra and Naraj in Cuttack for construction and operation of the "Overall Project". Concerns have been repeatedly raised over the past two years by citizens of the area and technical experts that this would severely impact the drinking and agricultural water supply of Cuttack and neighbouring four districts. The MoU also promises water to POSCO from the Mahanadi from Jobra barrage. For free. The MoU is silent about the quantity of water to be provided. *Revenue:* In order to increase profits for POSCO, the government of India has given Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to POSCO. The company will not have to follow various trade, labour and economic regulations. None can compel POSCO to even pay tax in view of liberalised regime prevalent in SEZs. *As per current understanding, in 30 years time, the government of Orissa will get Rs 22,500 crore and the central government Rs 89,000 crore i.e. a total of Rs 1,11,500 crore in the form of tax revenue. This works out to Rs 3,700 crore income per annum. This is less than the amount Orissa is paying POSCO in subsidies only for Iron Ores.* *Administrative support:* In addition, senior IAS officers of the state will be put at the service of POSCO for implementation and coordination. It is mentioned in the conditionality also that if POSCO wants, it can accept foreign and indigenous private players as partners, whenever it finds necessary. The local administration is acting in close collaboration with the Ersama MLA Damodar Rout, (General Secretary BJD). Adept at mobilising Goondas, Damodar Raut, with POSCO officials, the district collector, have been gathering their forces, all of this is monitored by Priyabrata Pattnaik, a notorious IAS officer whose action of applying for mining contract for the officers' club named 'Bhubaneswar Club' was recently exposed. Incidentally Priyabrata Pattnaik is also the Govt. nodal officer for the POSCO. Even the present Collector, Mr. Pramod Kumar Meherda has a history of repression against people's democratic protest, while collector in Rayagada district, he unleashed a reign of repression to silence the Kashipur Movement, against the proposed Utkal Alumina bauxite mining and Alumina plant of the Birlas. The Struggle: The modus of the intervention by the Indian state to forcibly evict large mass of the peasantry from their farmlands and forests has also undergone a radical change in the last year. In Nandigram the state first used its armed forces to try and defeat the democratic resistance of the people, failing which, the ruling party sent its armed cadres to brutally suppress the dissent. On Nov 29th 2007 it was the BJD in Jagatsingpur which made the use of goons to terrorize those involved in the anti POSCO struggle. This is an alarming trend seen across India, the Congress and NCP in Maharastra has allowed Reliance to use its goons in intimidating the anti SEZ movement in Raigarh, the BJP has been using the Bajrang Dal to forcibly acquire land for SEZs in Gujarat, the BJP has repeated this using the land mafia to forcibly acquire land for an SEZ near Indore, in Kerala the CPI(M) once again used its armed cadres to evict adivasis in Wynad, the BJP and Janta Dal(S) used goons to evict people from Bangalore and other SEZ's spread across the state and the list is endless. What marks the danger of this current mode of forced displacement by the state is its increase dependence on using extra constitutional means and the hiring of goons and lumpen elements to suppress the democratic struggles and voices of the people. In POSCO the stakes are very high, not only for the resistance being organized under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, but also for the political and business interests. POSCO is a project which's cost is estimated to about Rs.52,000 crores; flush with money, the POSCO management in open connivance of the ruling class elite is desperate to please their imperialist masters, while the corrupt bureaucracy jump like hungry dogs at even the small crumbs POSCO throws at them. After the goons of BJD and POSCO drove the agitators from Balitutha in the evening of 29th November 2007, within a period of one hour the police entered Nuagaon village, erected road blockade at Balitutha and establishing a camp at the same site where the protesters were sitting for the last 2 months, barricaded the road and the police establishing check point near Trilochanpur, with two platoons staying in a camp in the Trilochanpur school. The goons with complete support of the armed forces attacked in a strength of about 1500, heavily armed, with bombs, guns, bows and arrows and other weapons. After throwing a bomb at the protestors gathering and burning their tent, the goons mercilessly beat the anti POSCO protestors, especially targeting the aged and women. The BJD goons were ruthless; Mrs. Ghura Das of Dhinkia a lady of about 65 had her broken by beating her with an iron rod; Mrs. Tulsi Das about 60 years old also had her hand broken by a severe beating; Mrs. Kunilata Swain, 32 years old was grievously injured on her forehead; Mr. Dwijo Dash, about 60 years old and Mr. Parikshit Maiti also about 60 were ruthless beaten and hands fractured. There is a huge list of others injured and beaten black and blue by the lumpen brigade of the BJD and POPSCO and none of the injured have been provided any medical assistance by the state till now, on the other hand the injured have to secretly smuggle themselves out of Dinkia and get medical assistance at Paradeep or Cuttack. Through this entire sordid episode the police were shameless partisans and they watched while old women and men were being beaten ruthlessly. In a classic revelation of the true nature of the criminal justice system of India, those who were beaten have had further additions to their already absurdly long list of criminal cases filed against them. Several of the anti POSCO leaders and sympathizers have more than 200 criminal cases lodged against them, they cannot leave the area on fear of immediate arrests under ranging from attempt to murder, rape, criminal trespass, dacoity, arson etc. Not one goon has had a single case registered against them. This exposes the farce called the Indian Justice System and the truth behind the much touted "Largest Democracy in the World". This is the truth behind empty slogans such as "India Shining" "Land of Ahimsa" "Land of Mahavira and Buddha" "Father of the nation and non violent Gandhi" all this lies completely exposed while the class nature of the Indian state and its comprador rulers leave no stone unturned in serving their imperialist masters. But why to blame a boot licking dog such as Naveen Patnaik, when his true master, our revered soft spoken P.M., Manmohan Singh can shamelessly declare in Oxford that "India has greatly benefited from Colonial rule…" and in Washington he opens his address to Congress with the words, "I have come to sell India.." *Situation in Dhinkia Gram Panchayat*: Despite the reverses suffered, the morale of the villagers is very high and they are willing to face the police at any moment. The people expect that the first occasion for a decisive fight may come in the shape of entry of survey team along with Goons and Police. Their steely resolve was echoed in words from all age groups, "POSCO can be built only over our dead bodies". They are keeping night vigil on the boundary of the village and are preparing themselves to face the ensuing Nandigram style combined assault by the Armed Goons and Police. About 13 platoons of the police have been deployed all around Dhinkia with the notion of "maintaining peace and order", in reality they have laid siege to Dhinkia panchayat and its villages. Despite this ordeal and isolation, the people of Dhinkia putting behind all personal hardships are ready for a decisive fight. Grocery shops are not functioning properly for the lack of materials, as merchants supplying goods are facing hardships from the Goons and the police. Many injured are suffering without treatment. Despite such fascist repressive measures the PPSS have been organizing meetings in Gobindpur and Nawagaon. In the last month some positive developments have taken place; the refusal of the Orissa government to compensate any affected families farming on so called government land has forced the pro POSCO agitators to take a harsh look at their anti people stance and to come to terms with the fact that their real interest lie with the PPSS and not with corrupt middle men and contractors such as Damodar Raut. After the ruthless occupation of Iraq and the down trend and slowdown in the world economy the intensification of loot by developed nations is bound to get even sharper. The only realistic and practical solution to this onslaught can be through mass resistance movements such as Kalinganagar and the anti-POSCO resistance. The point to be noted is that these movements are inspiring in showing the resolve of the militant peasantry, hence they are the important sites of resistance against imperialism and the comprador elite in the third world. Therefore it is imperative for the democratic and progressive forces to firmly rally behind these struggles and provide them their unflinching support. ------------------------------ [1]A team of independent observers comprising Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Manistream weekly, New Delhi; Sridevi Panikkar, Delhi Solidarity Group; Bijulal M. V., Indian Social Institute, New Delhi; Manshi Asher, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Pune, visited Bhubaneswar and Jagatsinghpur between April 19 and 22, 2007 [2] http://orissagov.nic.in/posco/POSCO-MoU.htm From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 14 14:24:48 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:54:48 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Freedom of Speech for Alien traitor muslims & hindus? Message-ID: <222997.6192.qm@web8501.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Sarai readers and writers, ( This mail didn't go through in my first attempt, so Im trying for the second time and there are some changes for good.) While I had just started thinking about Shudha's ethics of treason, Jeebesh washed me away with his asylums and aliens.So two short notes on both of them before getting any further.( And this does not reflect my own positions on freedom of expression etc.) Shuddha first ;( though I still need to go through his post fully). A muslim considered traitor by fellow muslims and thus a hindu considered a betrayer by other hindus makes interesting case against say Amartya Sen's views on these ( And why did Shuddha celebrate them elsewhere?). Consider Amartya's examples on an intolerant Auurangzeb remaining a Muslim and a tolerant Akbar also remaining a Muslim. Now, if go by the ethics of treason( in its rudiments) then who remains a muslim and who does not will be settled by whom? They will be settled, as it is well known by now, by "the structures of recognition" well incorporatable into the "politics of recognition" as such.Here how I or we will be recognised is dependent on others rather than how we decide for ourselves. So, Amartya's views are media-celebrated but vacous to say the least ( by this simple reason that 'structures of recognition' in Akbar's time are neither available,nor are they same as of now.) Shuddha's insertion opens this debate in this interesting direction. How to get out of this dilemma? Shuddha seems to be calling for an enjoyment of the allegation of treason or urging us to indulge in ethical treason ( like ethical hacking?.Anybody can suggest this to Taslima as well ( I guess oishik is well placed to do this with furor) but even this suggestion can rarely be universalized.What is the way out? There is no way out; we are knee deep into the modern multicultural trap and pursuit. While an other- recognition is mandatory and I may have respect and responsibility, it is not necessary they will be redoubled and returned in the manner in which I expect it to be. Theoretically, if we want to know this more, I can suggest a way. Drawing on hermenetuic phenomenology, this brilliant Indian philosopher ( though you will not find him invited at any seminars in India atleast)Rajeswara Sunder Rajan ( not the feminist one)I remember talked about something called "structures of transcendence" by which, I opine, these structures of recognition by others and one self, could be attempted-- by you, me and all of us-- in a braceketed form, so that they could be transcended -- in a pure form. More on this latter. Jeebesh has struck again and has hit a new chord. While I temporarily disagree with his no freedom of speech for aliens etc., I agree that asylum should be dug for deeper news. Though I think Lawrence Liang( who I guess is undergoing a long leaning vasectomy operation in Bangalore) could tell us best about this, I think denying freedom of speech to aliens or immigrants is a violation of their huamn rights under international laws. The rights are not available to enemy aliens or those booked under preventive detention. The former do have freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and modifications that the government could subject these laws and modifications to.But asylum is a different case; has Taslima sought political asylum in writing? I don't remember. ( So Pranab Mukherjee's call for self control for asylum seekers is seriously misplaced.)No political executive can settle for such a call; it has to be juridically negotiated first. But let me cite here an American example in refutation of Jeebesh's first thought.( Though Ashis Nandy speaking for protection of constitutional rights is an irony in all theoretical senses.) In the wake of an arrest of immigrants alleged to have been participating in subversive activities and thus the first amendment ( protecting free speech)in the US conflicting with the rights that could be enjoyed and pursued by aliens, here is an important piece of insertion. "U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson has ruled in Los Angeles that when immigrants' First Amendment rights collide with the Government's right to control immigration, the First Amendment wins. It's a victory for free speech and common sense. Judge Wilson, a Reagan Administration appointee, now supports their view, declaring those provisions (of deportation harmful aliens) unconstitutional. He found that aliens, once admitted to the United States, have free-speech rights which generally take precedence over the Government's right to control immigration. But that concession does not diminish the Government's power to deport aliens engaged in harmful activity unrelated to speech, like terrorism or crime. Too often, however, the harmful activity that Government seeks to control is only speech. As Judge Wilson noted: ''In this case, the Government is trying to stifle certain ideas from entering our society from certain aliens through its immigration power. Our society, however, was built on the premise that only through the free flow of ideas can our nation grow and prosper.'' It's a judgment worth cheering. Judge Wilson rightly recognizes that immigration law ought to control offensive actions, not offensive views." (The New York Times, Feb 13, 2008) Thank you, arnab Save all your chat conversations. Find them online at http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From namratakakkar1 at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 14 14:30:08 2008 From: namratakakkar1 at yahoo.co.in (Namrata Kakkar) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:00:08 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: <20080213122026.GA64978@xs4all.nl> Message-ID: <956904.71520.qm@web8614.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear All, The last news is Taslima has had her visa extended but her freedom of movement is going to be curtailed. Why are we talking about her freedom of expression? Namrata - -- Patrice Riemens wrote: > dear All, > > 'Ashraya' or 'asylum' looks like dead in our times. > However, it seems that > the French minister for Human Rights has pleaded for > giving French > citizenship to both Taslima Nasreen and Ayaan Hirsi > Ali. > > Ciaou from Paris, patrizio & Diiiinooos! > > On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 04:14:55PM +0500, Jeebesh > Bagchi wrote: > > dear All, > > > > In this case the question is not about freedom of > speech. Taslima is > > not a citizen of India, so State in India has no > jurisdiction to have > > a say on her freedom of speech. The state can > persecute her > > publishers or ban the book but her freedom of > speech is not > > guaranteed here. > > > > The question is of "ashraya" (or what is termed as > asylum). Every > > culture has developed ways of thinking about > "ashraya" and very > > interesting histories can be uncovered here from > all over the world. > > It will be interesting how "ashraya" is thought in > our times. > > > > warmly > > jeebesh > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > subject header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> 5, 50, 500, 5000 - Store N number of mails in your inbox. Go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html From jeebesh at sarai.net Thu Feb 14 15:23:36 2008 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh Bagchi) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:53:36 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Freedom of Speech for Alien traitor muslims & hindus? In-Reply-To: <222997.6192.qm@web8501.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <222997.6192.qm@web8501.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <602EB0E9-1D21-4E3B-83DE-45F962F5E386@sarai.net> On 14-Feb-08, at 1:54 PM, ARNAB CHATTERJEE wrote: > While I temporarily disagree with his no > freedom of speech for aliens etc., Did i say that? not really. I was just saying the "protection of speech" by the state is available to the citizens. A non-citizen does not have that protection. State and it's everyday million invocations has circumscribed the space fundamentally. Now what will be the basis of "protection of speech" will rage on for many many years. Whether it will be on normative grounds or other grounds cannot be resolved. Protected speech will have it's own "reasonable restrictions". So the ground conditions of this debate will go on for a long time, and will be more venomous in the coming times. But the questions around condition of speech, socially acceptable and unacceptable speech, freedom negotiated within each act of speech, significant speech or heretical speech cannot be understood if all our arguments are about how we will petition the state or how best to think like the state. The present debate remains at the level of how to speak to the state or convince the state or condemn the state. How do we understand the limits of "unacceptable" speech that we can live with or bear with is an area that gets left behind, within this. The tendency to mobilize sentimental or paranoid fictions of communities to argue reaches a dead end quickly. Then how do we think about speech - without the state as the guarantor and without fiction of communities as the crutch? ------------------- Formally asylum came up as an address to the condition of stateless people in the first part of the 20th century. But the culture of giving shelter to the prosecuted, the traveller who is not acceptable in some places or the one who is on the run is deep in all cultures and has been part of stories for ages. Maybe time has come re- invigorate these domains of practices and thinking from various cultures and see what has been the ways of practicing "ashraya" (refuge) in cultures and civilizations. warmly jeebesh From lawrence at altlawforum.org Thu Feb 14 15:53:55 2008 From: lawrence at altlawforum.org (Lawrence Liang) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:53:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien or Hindu betrayers? In-Reply-To: <502356.88308.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <502356.88308.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47B416BB.4090009@altlawforum.org> Hi Arnab and Jeebesh The doctors have given me permission to take a quick break from this very painful vasectomy to clarify and add a legal point; There is a clear distinction in the constitution between Art. 19 (freedom of speech) and Art. 21(right to life), and while Art 21 is available to to all persons, Art. 19 is only available to citizens, which means that non citizens do not have the same claim that citizens can in the case of free speech, and hence do not have access to same remedies either. In any case i read jeebesh's posts as not making a legal argument but urging us to move beyond the rather narrow conceptual frame of liberal legality, and explore the possibilities of a wider set of cultural resources through which we can think of hospitality, and again not as candy floss virtue ethic but as forms of life Lawrence From anne at freewaves.org Thu Feb 14 06:43:19 2008 From: anne at freewaves.org (Anne Bray) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:13:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Reminder: Freewaves Media Art Festival OPEN CALL - due Feb. 29 Message-ID: <24595540.1202951600001.JavaMail.root@localhost> A reminder: the submission deadline is February 29, 2008 *PLEASE POST/FORWARD* OPEN CALL: Freewaves (experimental media art, video, animation, cell videos, wifi events, images for electronic moving signs+) HollyWould... Freewaves' 11th Festival of New Media Arts Freewaves' HollyWould... festival will take place in October 2008, in the perceived world capital of media on Hollywood Boulevard. We are looking for INTERESTING WORKS THAT REPRESENT AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAINSTREAM MEDIA or directly relate to Hollywood. Selected festival works will be installed in this urban hall of mirrors in screening rooms, art centers, stores, vacant walls intersecting with audiences where they live, recreate and shop. Competitive selection process will be conducted online by a group of international and local curators with a range of specialties and backgrounds. - Work must be completed since January 1, 2005. - Notification of acceptance is in July 2008. - Artists will be paid $100-$200 for selected works. For submission details, online entry form and Hollywood Boulevard photo gallery, see: http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190967241&u=1926394 Contact: anne at freewaves.org and http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190967241&u=1926395 ---------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this list as reader-list at sarai.net. To unsubscribe, send email to unsubscribe.236124.190967241.3774505697520880263-reader+2Dlist_sarai.net at en.groundspring.org. Our postal address is 2151 Lake Shore Avenue Los Angeles, California 90039 United States Visit http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190967241&u=1926396 From asitredsalute at gmail.com Thu Feb 14 11:13:19 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:13:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] POSCO write up Message-ID: "Over Our Dead Bodies" A Report from the Barricades. A brief note on the Anti POSCO struggle in Orissa The crisis of capitalism and the collapse of the Brettonwood system: The coming in of Neo-Liberal Economics in the form of "globalization", read imperialism, has led to the intensification of imperialist intervention solely because of capital's ruthless drive for accumulation and profit maximization. This incessant drive is forcing developed capitalist countries in an ever increasing search for cheap labour, cheap resources and captive markets. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the counter revolutionary reforms in China, the space allowing imperialist interventions with impunity has increased manifold. In the recent past the globe has witnessed numerous violent and insidious so called "non violent" interventions across the globe, i.e Nicaragua, Granada, Panama, Tahiti, Afghanistan, Argentina, several countries of Africa. The most striking example of early 21st century accumulation through direct occupation and even genocide as is happening in Iraq. These interventions have upset regional and national economies, disposed millions and created areas of unrest and strife; the pauperisation of Latin America, hunger famine and ethnic strife in Africa and the establishment of compradors, outright World Bank puppets, dictatorships/client regimes and military juntas such as in India, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, South Korea, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Interventions from imperialist agencies such as the World Bank, IMF, WTO, The ADB and NGO's and donor agencies etc. have so far been effective in imposing a structural shift within the third world economies. This shift from a relative notion of self reliance through "import substitution" industrialisation, food self sufficiency towards dismantling their welfare structures and imposing an outright commodified imperialist culture heavily dependant on the privatization of services and the commodification of natural resources has only resulted in further marginalisation of the people and increasing inequalities. In the context of India, these imperialist interventions are being implemented by the comprador elite which has taken on the task to facilitate the easy entry of capital. The task for capitalist intervention has been through these compradors who divert the people attention from issues confronting their immediate life and necessities through strengthening feudal oppression and captivating the middle classes within an illusionary web of crass consumerism and cash nexus. Because of this ruling comprador class, imperialist capital has at its disposal an unprecedented quantity of cheap mineral resources, land, labour, youth and government funds. In India we can see the rapid increase in the private service sector, where a huge number of our youth are being lured into working as semi- slaves in late night call centers and BPO's, thousands of which sprung up overnight only because of rising labour costs in core capitalist countries. With developed nations facing rapidly depleting resources, rising unemployment, high costs of unsustainable consumerism and falling productivity their ruling classes are compelled to intensify their economic, cultural, political and armed interventions in developing nations. This form of brutal primitive accumulation has also given an impetus to several centers of resistance across developing nations. In India we can see an intensification of the struggles of the peasantry against forced displacement taking place across the length and breadth of India, especially in those resource rich regions where the levels of neo colonial extraction are high and brutal. A case in point would be the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa. Taking the particular case of Orissa we can see that since the colonial period there have been a huge number of imperialist interventions and parallel struggles being waged by the peasantry on the issue of displacement from forests and farm lands. Orissa is the continuous target for loot by the imperialist powers, finding within an amicable ally in the comprador ruling class puppet such as Naveen Patnaik. Nevertheless, there have been several heroic tribal uprisings against the earlier colonial plunder by martyrs such as Laxman Nayak in the early 20th century and in the recent years we can see the emergence of several struggles in Kashipur, Hirakud, Kalinganagar, Lanjigarh and Jagatsingpur (Anti POSCO). It is in Kalinganagar where resistance by the adivasi peasantry changed the very contours of resistance across India. The Kalinganagar struggle marks a break with the earlier existing forms of Gandhian/Sarvodaya and other liberal forms of protest as organized by various NGO's etc which looked at anti displacement resistance within the structures of official grievance redressal mechanisms of the Indian state which ironically was the primary agent for this imperialist loot. Even while co-opting and diffusing people's anger, these interventions were found inadequate when faced with the wrath and greed of rapacious capital and the armed might of the comprador state. On the contrary, the mass militant resistance at Kalinganagar, for the first time refused to negotiate and engage with the state on its assumed legalistic terms of dialogue which also restricted and set the terms for protest within the ambit and ideology of the ruling classes on how it perceives and allows dissent. The activists of the Kalinganagar Vistaphan Birodhi Janmanch took a stance of no rehabilitation no compensation and no forced displacement from their lands which have now become an immense source of inspiration for other anti displacement movements across India. The anti POSCO people's resistance has been going on in parts of Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa against the steel plant and captive port proposed in the area. This struggle has been on since July 2005, a month after the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the project was signed between the Government of Orissa and Pohang Steel Company Limited (POSCO). In many ways the anti POSCO struggle is a logical outcome of the mass peasant resistance at Kalinganagar. The Economy of the region There is need to counter the misinformation being disseminated by the ruling classes regarding the economy of the region. According to the government the people of this area are very poor and only subsist as marginal farmers. Nothing can be further from the truth. According to a fact finding team's survey done in the area[1]; • The local economy is a thriving, labour-intensive one, based on agriculture and fishing. The economy is also sustained, apart from staple crops such as paddy, coconut etc., on cash crops such as betel, cashew, supari and kewra. Fishing and pisiculture are also prominent sources of livelihood. Most of these sources provide income and employment throughout the year. • The uniqueness of the betel vine cultivation economy, due to the typicality of the geographical and topographical features like soil, was highlighted repeatedly by everybody the Team interviewed. It is a thriving, highly labour intensive activity which provides income throughout the year, supporting and providing work to a wide age group of people—from the young to the old—who are engaged in various productive tasks related to cultivation, plucking, transport and marketing of betel leaves. The locals are certain that they will not be able to get most of these jobs at the POSCO factory because they do not have the requisite skills. Even if they do manage to get a few of these jobs, they emphasize, the steel project and port will not be able to provide with the kind of secure livelihood they currently enjoy. • The Jatadhari river, estuary and the forest resource base play a very important role in supporting the cultivation, fishing as well as household needs like fuel wood etc. In the late 1960s, Loknath Chaudhury, a local leader and former CPI(MP), led a struggle for transfer of much of the common land in the area, some of which was already under betel vine, from the revenue records to the Forest Department so that afforestation initiatives could be carried out to provide a natural barrier for protection of villages from impacts of cyclone and to provide for the basic needs of firewood and stalk for betel vine cultivation. Finally the land was transferred to the category of gramya jungle or community forests. The MOU Similarly, concerning the MOU, both the Centre and the Orissa state government have been extremely secretive about the terms and conditions. The above mentioned fact finding team also investigated and found startling facts about the deal. ON June 22, 2005 the State of Orissa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South Korean Steel giant—Pohang Steel Company Limited, also known as POSCO. Touted as India's largest Foreign Direct Investment (worth Rs 52,000 crores) the project involves building of a 12 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant and a captive port in the Ersama Block of Jagatsinghpur district, Orissa. As per the MoU, based on the needs of the "Steel Project", the Company will also develop and operate the following infrastructure: [2] Mining facilities in the areas allocated by Government of Orissa/ Government of India: i). To help POSCO produce steel, the Orissa government has promised recommend to the Union government to hand over captive coal mines to POSCO until it is ready for mining of its coal block. ii). To make steel POSCO needs 600 million tonnes of ore from the government of Orissa. Iron Ore is available at Rs. 2000 to Rs. 2600 per ton. Discounting extraction costs at Rs 400 per ton, the state government is subsidizing POSCO at Rs. 96000 crore per year in only the use of iron ore. And this does not include the amount it may take away. The MoU is set up to allow extraction for 30 years with extension possible for 20 years. In addition, unspecified amounts of chromium and manganese will also be provided to POSCO. Dolomite and limestone will also be made available at subsidized rates. Communications and Transport: Road, rail and port infrastructure will be provided with government help, including the dedicated railway line from the mine-belt to Paradeep. POSCO will also construct its own port at Paradeep. The government will also construct, a railway line from Haridaspur-Paradeep and Bansapanl- Paradeep for export of POSCO company's iron ore. Integrated township: The state government will provide about 6500 acres of land for the plant site in Paradeep. There is no statement regarding the price that POSCO will pay for this land. In addition, the state government has agreed to provide about 20-25 acres of land in Bhubaneswar and hand it over to POSCO for its office. At what price the company will take this land has not been mentioned. Water supply infrastructure: According to the MoU, the Government of Orissa is to permit withdrawal and use of water (near- about 12 thousand to 15 thousand crore liters) from the Mahanadi barrage at Jobra and Naraj in Cuttack for construction and operation of the "Overall Project". Concerns have been repeatedly raised over the past two years by citizens of the area and technical experts that this would severely impact the drinking and agricultural water supply of Cuttack and neighbouring four districts. The MoU also promises water to POSCO from the Mahanadi from Jobra barrage. For free. The MoU is silent about the quantity of water to be provided. Revenue: In order to increase profits for POSCO, the government of India has given Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to POSCO. The company will not have to follow various trade, labour and economic regulations. None can compel POSCO to even pay tax in view of liberalised regime prevalent in SEZs. As per current understanding, in 30 years time, the government of Orissa will get Rs 22,500 crore and the central government Rs 89,000 crore i.e. a total of Rs 1,11,500 crore in the form of tax revenue. This works out to Rs 3,700 crore income per annum. This is less than the amount Orissa is paying POSCO in subsidies only for Iron Ores. Administrative support: In addition, senior IAS officers of the state will be put at the service of POSCO for implementation and coordination. It is mentioned in the conditionality also that if POSCO wants, it can accept foreign and indigenous private players as partners, whenever it finds necessary. The local administration is acting in close collaboration with the Ersama MLA Damodar Rout, (General Secretary BJD). Adept at mobilising Goondas, Damodar Raut, with POSCO officials, the district collector, have been gathering their forces, all of this is monitored by Priyabrata Pattnaik, a notorious IAS officer whose action of applying for mining contract for the officers' club named 'Bhubaneswar Club' was recently exposed. Incidentally Priyabrata Pattnaik is also the Govt. nodal officer for the POSCO. Even the present Collector, Mr. Pramod Kumar Meherda has a history of repression against people's democratic protest, while collector in Rayagada district, he unleashed a reign of repression to silence the Kashipur Movement, against the proposed Utkal Alumina bauxite mining and Alumina plant of the Birlas. The Struggle: The modus of the intervention by the Indian state to forcibly evict large mass of the peasantry from their farmlands and forests has also undergone a radical change in the last year. In Nandigram the state first used its armed forces to try and defeat the democratic resistance of the people, failing which, the ruling party sent its armed cadres to brutally suppress the dissent. On Nov 29th 2007 it was the BJD in Jagatsingpur which made the use of goons to terrorize those involved in the anti POSCO struggle. This is an alarming trend seen across India, the Congress and NCP in Maharastra has allowed Reliance to use its goons in intimidating the anti SEZ movement in Raigarh, the BJP has been using the Bajrang Dal to forcibly acquire land for SEZs in Gujarat, the BJP has repeated this using the land mafia to forcibly acquire land for an SEZ near Indore, in Kerala the CPI(M) once again used its armed cadres to evict adivasis in Wynad, the BJP and Janta Dal(S) used goons to evict people from Bangalore and other SEZ's spread across the state and the list is endless. What marks the danger of this current mode of forced displacement by the state is its increase dependence on using extra constitutional means and the hiring of goons and lumpen elements to suppress the democratic struggles and voices of the people. In POSCO the stakes are very high, not only for the resistance being organized under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, but also for the political and business interests. POSCO is a project which's cost is estimated to about Rs.52,000 crores; flush with money, the POSCO management in open connivance of the ruling class elite is desperate to please their imperialist masters, while the corrupt bureaucracy jump like hungry dogs at even the small crumbs POSCO throws at them. After the goons of BJD and POSCO drove the agitators from Balitutha in the evening of 29th November 2007, within a period of one hour the police entered Nuagaon village, erected road blockade at Balitutha and establishing a camp at the same site where the protesters were sitting for the last 2 months, barricaded the road and the police establishing check point near Trilochanpur, with two platoons staying in a camp in the Trilochanpur school. The goons with complete support of the armed forces attacked in a strength of about 1500, heavily armed, with bombs, guns, bows and arrows and other weapons. After throwing a bomb at the protestors gathering and burning their tent, the goons mercilessly beat the anti POSCO protestors, especially targeting the aged and women. The BJD goons were ruthless; Mrs. Ghura Das of Dhinkia a lady of about 65 had her broken by beating her with an iron rod; Mrs. Tulsi Das about 60 years old also had her hand broken by a severe beating; Mrs. Kunilata Swain, 32 years old was grievously injured on her forehead; Mr. Dwijo Dash, about 60 years old and Mr. Parikshit Maiti also about 60 were ruthless beaten and hands fractured. There is a huge list of others injured and beaten black and blue by the lumpen brigade of the BJD and POPSCO and none of the injured have been provided any medical assistance by the state till now, on the other hand the injured have to secretly smuggle themselves out of Dinkia and get medical assistance at Paradeep or Cuttack. Through this entire sordid episode the police were shameless partisans and they watched while old women and men were being beaten ruthlessly. In a classic revelation of the true nature of the criminal justice system of India, those who were beaten have had further additions to their already absurdly long list of criminal cases filed against them. Several of the anti POSCO leaders and sympathizers have more than 200 criminal cases lodged against them, they cannot leave the area on fear of immediate arrests under ranging from attempt to murder, rape, criminal trespass, dacoity, arson etc. Not one goon has had a single case registered against them. This exposes the farce called the Indian Justice System and the truth behind the much touted "Largest Democracy in the World". This is the truth behind empty slogans such as "India Shining" "Land of Ahimsa" "Land of Mahavira and Buddha" "Father of the nation and non violent Gandhi" all this lies completely exposed while the class nature of the Indian state and its comprador rulers leave no stone unturned in serving their imperialist masters. But why to blame a boot licking dog such as Naveen Patnaik, when his true master, our revered soft spoken P.M., Manmohan Singh can shamelessly declare in Oxford that "India has greatly benefited from Colonial rule…" and in Washington he opens his address to Congress with the words, "I have come to sell India.." Situation in Dhinkia Gram Panchayat: Despite the reverses suffered, the morale of the villagers is very high and they are willing to face the police at any moment. The people expect that the first occasion for a decisive fight may come in the shape of entry of survey team along with Goons and Police. Their steely resolve was echoed in words from all age groups, "POSCO can be built only over our dead bodies". They are keeping night vigil on the boundary of the village and are preparing themselves to face the ensuing Nandigram style combined assault by the Armed Goons and Police. About 13 platoons of the police have been deployed all around Dhinkia with the notion of "maintaining peace and order", in reality they have laid siege to Dhinkia panchayat and its villages. Despite this ordeal and isolation, the people of Dhinkia putting behind all personal hardships are ready for a decisive fight. Grocery shops are not functioning properly for the lack of materials, as merchants supplying goods are facing hardships from the Goons and the police. Many injured are suffering without treatment. Despite such fascist repressive measures the PPSS have been organizing meetings in Gobindpur and Nawagaon. In the last month some positive developments have taken place; the refusal of the Orissa government to compensate any affected families farming on so called government land has forced the pro POSCO agitators to take a harsh look at their anti people stance and to come to terms with the fact that their real interest lie with the PPSS and not with corrupt middle men and contractors such as Damodar Raut. After the ruthless occupation of Iraq and the down trend and slowdown in the world economy the intensification of loot by developed nations is bound to get even sharper. The only realistic and practical solution to this onslaught can be through mass resistance movements such as Kalinganagar and the anti-POSCO resistance. The point to be noted is that these movements are inspiring in showing the resolve of the militant peasantry, hence they are the important sites of resistance against imperialism and the comprador elite in the third world. Therefore it is imperative for the democratic and progressive forces to firmly rally behind these struggles and provide them their unflinching support. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA AND M/s POSCO FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTEGRATED STEEL PLANT AT PARADEEP. (http://orissagov.nic.in/posco/POSCO-MoU.htm) This Memorandum of Understanding is made on the Wednesday day of June 22, 2005, between the Governor of Orissa on the one part and M/s POSCO on the other part. 1. M/s POSCO having its registered office at 1 Koidong-Dong, Nam-Ku, Pohang-City, Kyungsanbuk Province, Republic of Korea, (hereinafter referred to as POSCO, which expression shall, unless repugnant to the context or meaning thereof, include its successors, executors, administrators, representatives and permitted assignees), is proposing to set up an Integrated Steel Plant of a total capacity of 12 million tonnes per annum in the State of Orissa at Paradeep, in Jagatsinghpur district. 2. The Government of Orissa, desirous of utilizing its natural resources and rapidly industrializing the State, so as to bring prosperity and wellbeing to its people, has been making determined efforts to establish new industries in different locations. In this context, the Government of Orissa have been seeking to identify suitable promoters to establish new Integrated Steel Plants in view of the rich iron ore and coal deposits in the State. 3. POSCO will establish an Indian company (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") through their relevant subsidiaries, related companies or third parties nominated by POSCO to invest in the State of Orissa in : (A) steel manufacturing; (B) infrastructure necessary for the Integrated Steel Plant and related Projects; and (C) related mining of iron ore and other ores. 4. (1)The Company is desirous of developing and operating the following facilities on the basis described in this MoU in the State of Orissa with proposed investment of around US$ 12 billion or Rs. 51,000 crores (approximately). The details of the facilities are given in the table below : Project Phase No. Capacity in MTPA Project Details Project cost in Rs. Crore (Approx.) Time Schedule Finished products Steel Plant with FINEX / BF, along with other facilities like Lime Calcining Plant, Oxygen Plant, Captive Power Plant, Steel Melt Shop with Converters, Casters, Rolling Mills etc. (collectively, the "Steel Project") & Minor Port Phase-1 6 (in two modules of 3 MT each) 1st Module Crude Steel - 3 MTPA Finished Steel -2.82MTPA 10,100 To be commissioned by July 2010 or 36 months from the date of (i) taking title to and possession of land. (ii) registration of the executed prospecting licence, whichever is later Slabs (3MT) 2nd Module Crude steel – 3MTPA Finished Steel -2.82MTPA 11,800 To be commissioned by July 2012 or 24 months from Commissioning of Phase - I, Module – I, whichever is later Hot rolled Coil (4.5MT), Plate (1.5MT) etc.* Phase-2 6 (in two modules of 3 MT each) 1st Module Crude Steel -3MTPA Finished Steel -2.82MTPA 9,500 To be commissioned by July 2014 or 24 months from commissioning of Phase - I, Module – 2, whichever is later Slabs (3MT) 2nd Module Crude steel – 3MTPA Finished Steel -2.82MTPA 12,000 To be commissioned by July 2016 or 24 months from commissioning of Phase - 2, Module - 1. Hot Rolled Coil (4.5MT), Plate, Cold rolled coil (1.5MT) etc.** Note: Detailed time schedule for the commissioning of each phase will be determined pursuant to Clause 18. * Cumulative of Phase-1; ** Cumulative of Phase-2. (2) The Company is also desirous of developing and operating the following related infrastructure based on the needs of the "Steel Project", on the basis described in this MoU : i. mining facilities in the areas allocated by Government of Orissa/Government of India (the "Mining Project"); ii. road, rail and port infrastructure (the "Transportation Project"), including the dedicated railway line from the mine-belt to Paradeep; iii. integrated township; and iv. water supply infrastructure (the "Water Project"). (3) The Steel Project will be located at Paradeep. The Mining Project will be established at the mining site(s) that are identified as the mineral resources for the Company. (4) To achieve the foregoing purposes, the Government of Orissa and the Company agree to be "Partners in Development" and have, therefore, come together to record their intentions through this MoU. 5. LAND : (i) The Company will establish their registered office and national headquarters in the State of Orissa, in the city of Bhubaneswar. The Government of Orissa will identify, acquire and transfer a suitable tract of land between 20 and 25 acres for this purpose, in accordance with the specifications provided by the Company. (ii) The Company will require approximately 4,000 acres of land (hereinafter referred to as the "Land") for the purpose of setting up the Steel Project and associated facilities, including the port facilities and a storage yard for coking coal. (iii) In addition, the Company will require approximately 2,000 acres of land for township development, recreational activities and all related social infrastructure development (collectively, the "Integrated Township Development"). Out of this, approximately 1,500 acres would be identified adjacent/near to the Steel project and another 500 acres (approx.) near the Mining Project. State Government will facilitate all clearances and approvals of the Central Government, if required. (iv) In addition to the land required for the core activities of the Overall Project, the Company may require additional land pockets for development of the "transportation project", the "water project" and any other project-related infrastructure facilities. (v) The Government of Orissa agrees to acquire and transfer all the above-mentioned land required for the Overall Project, free from all encumbrances through Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) on payment of the cost of land. (vi) The Company shall pay to the relevant authority (ies) the cost of such land. For private land, the Company shall pay the cost as determined under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act and incidental charges as mutually agreed upon. For Government land, the Company shall pay as per the rates determined by the prevailing Industrial Policy Resolution on this date. For forest land, the Company shall pay the rates determined under the applicable Rules. (vii) On its part, the Government of Orissa will expeditiously and within a reasonable time frame, hand over to the Company non-forest Government land for which the Company has completed all formalities. Acquisition of private land will be taken up on priority. (viii) For rehabilitation of displaced families, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Package would be implemented as per prevailing guidelines and practices. 6. RAW MATERIALS : (i) Coal : The State Government agrees to recommend to the Government of India for allotment of suitable coal blocks for captive coal mining for the project either directly or through a PSU. Further, the State Government will assist the Company to get the allocation of coal linkage of suitable grade in the desired quantity to meet its requirement until it is ready for mining of its coal block. (ii) Iron Ore : The Company will need the equivalent of 600 million tonnes of iron ore of an average Fe content of 62%, to meet the requirements of the proposed Steel Project of 12 million tonnes per annum. The Company may swap certain quantities (not exceeding 30% of the total requirement for the Paradeep Plant annually) of such iron ore which have high alumina content with equal quantity of low alumina content iron ore of equivalent or better Fe content imported for blending, in order to produce better quality steel in the Paradeep Project and conserve energy . Any export of iron ore by way of swap will be allowed only after an equivalent quantity of ore has been imported for the plant. The extent of the above quantity of iron ore by way of replacement for equal quantity of import of higher grade iron ore, will be within the framework of the Export-Import Policy of the Government of India applicable from time to time. It is clarified that no export of iron ore will be allowed from the captive mine except by way of full replacement through import of equal quantity of high grade ore and within the limits mentioned above. (iii) The Government of Orissa agrees to grant prospecting licenses and captive mining leases for 600 million tonnes of iron ore to the Company after following prescribed procedures and completion of required milestones including approvals of Government of India. For this purpose, the Government of Orissa shall recommend to the Central Government and use its best efforts to obtain the Central Government's approval within the minimum possible time for the grant of prospecting licenses and the captive mining leases for the iron ore mines. (iv) The Government of Orissa will recommend grant of the Prospecting Licences only after the following milestones have been achieved : a) Formation of the Indian Company referred to in Clause - 3 has been done; b) Feasibility study has been started and a Detailed Project Report has been commissioned ( July - November, 05); c) Additional Soil test and site survey has been started ; d) Preparation of Port Development Plan has been commissioned (July, 05 – January,06); e) Preparation of Industrial Water Development Plan has been commissioned (July, 05 – January,06); f) Preparation of Township Master Plan has been commissioned (August,05 – March 06); g) Preparation of Environment Impact Assessment Study has been commissioned (July,05 – January,06); h) Requisition has been submitted to the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) for acquisition of land for the steel plant as well as the port; i) The Indian Company is provided with paid up equity to the tune of at least US$ 50 million to enable it to undertake all the preparatory work required for setting up the plant. (v) The Government of Orissa will recommend such areas as are free from litigation as well as encumbrances. In the event of litigation at any stage, Government of Orissa will diligently defend their recommendations made in favour of the Company in the appropriate judicial, quasi judicial fora. (vi) Prior to recommending the case of the Company for Mining Lease, the State Government will ensure that the following milestones have been achieved : a) The Company has submitted the Detailed Project Report; b) The Company has submitted the Port Development Plan ; c) The Company has submitted the Industrial Water Development Plan ; d) The Company has submitted the Township Master Plan ; e) The Company has ensured that application for Environment Impact Assessment Study has been submitted to the Government of India ; f) The Company has filed necessary requisition for land for different components of the project with IDCO and has deposited necessary funds; g) The Company has submitted the rehabilitation and re-settlement package for the oustees to the competent authority and received the approval of Government of Orissa; h) The Company has submitted the proposal with requisite details for diversion of forest land which the Government of Orissa will recommend to the Government of India; i) The Company has applied for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. (vi) The Indian Company is provided with paid up equity to the tune of at least US$ 200 million to enable it to undertake adequate investment connected with the setting up of the plant. (vii) Recommendation for the mining lease will be made in two phases, commensurate with the first two modules and the last two modules of 3 million tonnes each. The recommendation will, however, be subject to suitable adjustment of mining blocks. State Government will take a decision pertaining to the first phase after the following milestones have been achieved for the first phase of 6 million tonnes : a) Award of 50% of orders for civil and structural contracts in terms of value. b) Placement of 20% of firm orders for machinery in terms of value. (viii) State Government will make recommendation pertaining to the second phase after : a) Commissioning of the first module of 3 million tonnes of the first phase has been achieved ; b) Award of 50% of orders for civil and structural contracts in terms of value for the second phase of 6 million tonnes ; c) Placement of 20% of firm orders for machinery in terms of value for the second phase of 6 million tonnes. (ix) The State Government agrees to assist the Company in making a firm arrangement with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) along with other private iron ore lessees in the State, to meet a substantial portion of the requirement of iron ore of suitable grade for initial period of steel making under mutually agreeable terms and conditions, if required by the Company. (x) All iron ore Mining Leases and Prospecting Licenses shall be clean and free of any encumbrances. (xi) Before the grant of mining lease, the Company would submit a detailed progress report of all components of the project with reference to the agreed implementation schedule (referred to Clause 18 (ii) hereinafter). The mining lease would be granted subject to the satisfaction of the Government of Orissa that adequate progress has been achieved in all critical parameters. (xii) The iron ore mining leases shall be granted to the Company initially for a period of 30 years and will be considered for renewal on an application by the Company before expiry, for another 20 years. (xiii) The Government of Orissa will assist the Company in obtaining all clearances, including forest and environment clearance and approval of the State Pollution Control Board, and the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 for opening up the iron ore mines, laying roads, constructing township etc. (xiv) The Government of Orissa agrees to provide all possible assistance to the Company for acquiring mineral concession for limestone and dolomite within the ambit of the MMDR Act and MC Rules. (xv) Govt. of Orissa will make best efforts and provide all possible assistance to POSCO for expeditious clearance of applications relating to mining lease and related matters such as forest, environment etc. so as to enable POSCO to start its mining operations in time to synchronize with the commissioning of its steel plant. POSCO have requested to source an additional 400 MT of Iron ore from India for their existing steel plants in South Korea. This can be done through a long–term commercial supply arrangement from the open market. Any such trading arrangement shall fall entirely within the domain of the Government of India and will be regulated by the prevailing Export – Import Policy of the Country. No mine-able reserves can be provided by Government of Orissa purely for the purpose of direct exports beyond what has been indicated for value addition in the steel plant of the Company in Orissa in the preceding paragraphs. However, Government of Orissa will assist POSCO in establishing suitable contacts and interfaces with Government of India for this purpose. (xvi) Chrome Ore : State Government will facilitate suitable long term arrangement with OMC and other lessees for supply of chrome ore to meet the requirement of the plant. (xvii) Manganese Ore : The State Government would consider assigning appropriate priority to an application of the Company for mineral concession for manganese ore in the State as and when available within the ambit of MMDR Act and MC Rules. 7. WATER : (i) The Government of Orissa will permit drawal and use of water from the Mahanadi barrage at Jobra in Cuttack or any other suitable source for construction and operation of the Overall Project as per the prevailing rates and appropriate terms and approval of the Water Allocation Committee, subject to availability. (ii) The Company shall prepare and inform the Government of Orissa within a short period of time, the water requirement for each phase and the total water requirement for each component. The Government of Orissa will facilitate meeting these water requirements. (iii) The Government of Orissa will permit implementation of a suitable water supply scheme prepared jointly by the Company and the Department of Water Resources, Government of Orissa. The Government of Orissa will allow the Company to operate and maintain necessary infrastructure including creation of water bodies, laying of pipelines etc. to pump required quantity of water for the development and operation of the Project. (iv) The Government of Orissa will facilitate the process of obtaining various approvals expeditiously for the Company. 8. DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE : (i) The Government of Orissa shall assist the Company to provide adequate drainage and sewerage off-take facilities for each component project during both the construction and operation stages prior to commencement of construction after following all prescribed procedures and obtaining required approvals. (ii) The Government of Orissa shall facilitate grant of all necessary approvals for provision of such facilities and the discharge of drainage and sewerage into such facilities. 9. POWER : (i) The Government of Orissa have agreed to ensure that about 25 MW of power is made available to the Company to meet the construction power requirements of the steel plant, port, township and also the mining project. During the operation phase, the Government of Orissa will make best efforts to meet the power requirement of all components of the project including each of its components. The details of the requirement of power during the construction phase of the Overall Project including each of its components and year-wise requirement thereafter for the operation of the project, will be prepared by the Company and the Government of Orissa or agency designated by it and will be duly informed in good time. (ii) The Government of Orissa will facilitate the execution of an agreement for the Transmission line from the sub-stations to their project sites, under the supervision of GRIDCO. 10. CAPTIVE POWER PLANT : (i) The Company will establish a Captive Power Plant (CPP) to meet the power requirement in full or part of the overall project including its components. (ii) The Government of Orissa will facilitate grant of approvals, if any, required for setting up of this CPP and also execution of necessary Power Purchase Agreement or Agreement for wheeling of electricity or both, with GRID Corporation of Orissa or any other agency designated by the Government of Orissa. (iii) The Government of Orissa will facilitate the establishment of fuel linkages, if any, for the CPP. (iv) The Company will offer to sell any surplus power to GRIDCO or to any other corporation so designated by the Government at a tariff to be mutually agreed between the Company and GRIDCO/ any other corporation so designated by the Government and approved by OERC. 11. ENVIRONMENT: (i) The Government of Orissa agrees to facilitate and use its best efforts to enable the Company to obtain a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) through the State Pollution Control Board in the minimum possible time for the development and operation of the Project. (ii) The Company will conduct a rapid Environment Impact Assessment ("EIA") and prepare a detailed EIA Report and an Environment Management Plan ("EMP") for the Project. The Government of Orissa agrees to provide any assistance requested by the Company during the time the EIA is conducted and the EMP is prepared. (iii) The Government of Orissa agrees to use its best efforts to procure the grant of all environmental approvals and forest clearances from the Central Government within the minimum possible time for the Project. 12. INCENTIVES AND CONCESSIONS : (i) The State Government would consider granting to the Company such incentives and concessions as are provided in the relevant Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) in force on this date. (ii) The Government of Orissa shall recommend to the Central Govt. and facilitate granting of "Special Economic Zone" (SEZ) status as required by the Company. This would include granting to the various aspects of the Project, the status of "SEZ Developer" or "SEZ Unit", as the case may be, so as to receive the same incentives and benefits as an SEZ (as permissible under the policy of Central Government). (iii) If the Company makes an application for setting up its different facilities under the SEZ scheme of the Government of India, the Government of Orissa would recommend their case to the Government of India and accord necessary facilitation with regard to the approved scheme of the Government of India as modified from time to time. 13. RAILWAYS, ROADWAYS & PORT: (1) Railways : (i) The Government of Orissa shall coordinate with the Ministry of Railways to ensure expeditious completion of Daitari – Banspani broad gauge rail link. (ii) Haridaspur – Paradeep broad gauge rail link is proposed to be developed through public private partnership by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., an instrumentality of the Ministry of Railways. The Government of Orissa will actively pursue with the Ministry of Railways and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. for expeditious completion of this project. The Company shall explore the possibility of participating in the SPV for this project. The Government of Orissa shall facilitate all assistance in this connection. (iii) Banspani – Paradeep broad gauge rail link based on the transportation capacities available and project economics, the Company may develop a dedicated railway line from the site of the Mining Project to the Steel Project. This development may be undertaken by the Company or jointly with RVNL or third parties in consultation with the Ministry of Railways. All assistance in this regard will be provided by the Government of Orissa. (iv) In this connection, the Government of Orissa shall extend all possible support for securing the cooperation of the Ministry of Railways, East Coast Railways & Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. etc. to facilitate necessary clearance from the Ministry of Railways. (v) The Government of Orissa shall facilitate the Steel Project and Mining Project to make appropriate commercial arrangements for use of the railroads mentioned above as per existing laws and procedures. (2) Roads : (i) The Government of Orissa shall provide all support to facilitate the early completion of the National Highway between Haridaspur (Chandikhol) and Paradeep and for upgradation of the State Highway from Cuttack to Paradeep to a two lane road. (ii) The Government of Orissa shall actively consider construction of two lane, free access, public roads connecting the Steel Project, the Mine Project and the Integrated Township Development to the nearest National Highway or State Highway. (3) Port : (i) The Company may : a) develop a new minor port adjacent to the existing Major Port of Paradeep and/or, b) develop a dedicated berth at the Major Port of Paradeep and/or c) make use of the existing port facilities at the Major Port of Paradeep. (ii) In connection with subparagraphs (b) & (c) of (i) above, Government of Orissa shall facilitate cooperation between the Paradeep Port Trust and the Company. (iii) In case the Company decides to develop a new minor port, the Government of Orissa will consider granting the Company necessary permission under its existing policy for development and operation of such a port as per standard concessions prescribed. (iv) The Government of Orissa agrees to provide all necessary infrastructure and logistic support required for setting up of the minor port by the Company. (v) Such minor port or berth will be constructed and operated on the basis of BOO/BOOT/BOOST. (vi) The Government of Orissa shall facilitate drawal of power and water for the port project. (vii) For this purpose, the Government of Orissa subject to fulfillment of prescribed procedures and requirements shall grant necessary approvals within its power and facilitate grant of all approvals from the Central Government and other relevant agencies including clearance by the Central Government, the Ministry of Environment and Forest under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification [S.O.114(E)] of 1991 pursuant to the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. 14. PROJECT FACILITATION : (i) A dedicated High Powered Committee shall be constituted jointly by the Government of Orissa and the Company to ensure that the Project proceeds as per the planned schedule. The High Powered Committee shall include as permanent members, senior officers of the departments of Steel & Mines, Industries, Energy, Water Resources, Works, Commerce and Transport, Forest and Environment and representatives from the Company. The Government of Orissa shall arrange for representatives of other departments to be present for each meeting as required. (ii) The High Powered Committee shall meet from time to time to review the progress of the Project. (iii) The High Powered Committee will also have regular interactions with the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary of the Government of Orissa to apprise them of the progress made on the Overall Project and each component project. 15. SINGLE WINDOW : The Government of Orissa shall establish a special "Single Window Clearance Committee" to ensure clearances under State laws from agencies / departments within specified time limits. 16. NODAL OFFICER : (1) The Government of Orissa shall appoint a senior officer to be the Nodal Officer for the Project. (2) All applications made by the Company for all relevant clearances, permits, approvals, licenses, consents and the like or facilitation for the Project shall be routed through the Nodal Officer. The Nodal Officer shall diligently pursue the granting of all such approvals/ clearances within the minimum possible time and update the Company at regular intervals on the status of these applications. (3) An Officer reporting to the Nodal Officer would be designated by the Government of Orissa to assist in obtaining necessary approvals from the Central Government as well as its agencies as quickly as possible. 17. SECURITY : The Government of Orissa will take action to provide overall security as per applicable law, as may be required to all parts of the Project during the operation phase. All necessary steps in this regard including setting up of police stations, if required, would be taken by Government of Orissa. 18. NEXT STEPS (i) Immediately following the execution of this MoU, the Government of Orissa shall second (at its own cost) to the Company's Project office in Bhubaneswar, an Officer of the appropriate level to be dedicated to the facilitation of the Project. (ii) Within 6 months from the formulation of the Company, (i) a detailed project schedule will be prepared by the Company and submitted to the Government of Orissa, (ii) a detailed implementation plan will be prepared by the Company and submitted to the Government of Orissa and (iii) Agreement will be signed between the Government of Orissa and the Company along the lines of this MoU. 19. GENERAL CLAUSES (i) The Government of Orissa appreciates that the Company will be a responsible corporate house with a high involvement in employees' welfare and social development. The Government of Orissa, therefore, anticipates that the Company will bring this philosophy to the steel plant project being set up in the district of Jagatsingpur and other district(s) where captive mines linked to the project are located to ensure the well being of these districts in particular and the people of Orissa in general. In terms of employment, preference will be given to the people of Orissa subject to need and their possessing the necessary qualifications. The Company will make every effort to improve their skill levels, if necessary, through specialized training. For this purpose State Government will nominate a nodal Agency/Officer to coordinate with the Company. (ii) The Government of Orissa appreciates that the Company will be entitled to induct suitable foreign and/or Indian Joint Venture partners, choose appropriate financial options, suppliers, credit options and technologies in the best interests of the project. (iii) The Company shall effect sale of all its products in the domestic tariff area (including inter-state sales) in the State of Orissa and shall not effect any branch transfer of its products to out side the State. These stipulations are not, however, applicable to export of finished products outside the country. (iv) The Company shall comply with all applicable laws and policies of the Republic of India and the State of Orissa including more specifically those relating to environment, mining, rehabilitation and socio-economic development in the periphery of the project and also including the Orissa Government Notification No.375 dated 15th January, 2004. (v) The MoU shall remain valid for a period of five years from the date of signing. Further extension, if necessary, shall be made as per mutual agreement. However, no such extension shall be considered unless the Company has made substantial progress on implementation of the project in terms of construction, erection of plant and machinery and investment at site to the satisfaction of the State Government in these five years in implementing the first phase as envisaged in this MoU. (vi) The Company understands that the offers and special considerations of the State Government indicated in this MoU are for the overall Steel project (vii) The Company while implementing the project undertakes to comply with all statutory requirements/clearances in respect of laws, regulations and procedures governing establishment and operation of Industries. (viii) In the event of non-implementation of the project or part thereof, the corresponding support/commitment of the State Government indicated in the MoU with regard to Iron ore Mines/Coal Block, incentives and concessions of the State Government in particular shall be deemed to be withdrawn. Signed on the date mentioned herein above at Orissa Secretariat, Bhubaneswar by the authorized representatives of the parties to this Memorandum of Understanding. For and on behalf of the Government of Orissa (Mr. Bhaskar Chatterjee) Principal Secretary to Government Department of Steel & Mines For and on behalf of POSCO (Mr. Soung Sik Cho) Senior Executive Vice President [1] A team of independent observers comprising Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Manistream weekly, New Delhi; Sridevi Panikkar, Delhi Solidarity Group; Bijulal M. V., Indian Social Institute, New Delhi; Manshi Asher, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Pune, visited Bhubaneswar and Jagatsinghpur between April 19 and 22, 2007 [2] http://orissagov.nic.in/posco/POSCO-MoU.htm From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Thu Feb 14 17:36:43 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:36:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-AlienorHindubetrayers? References: <502356.88308.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B416BB.4090009@altlawforum.org> Message-ID: Hi all, freedom of speech and then show of lati along with the free speech has resulted in enough violence and show of intolerence in maharashtra,one non-entity who with his navnirman sena went on to destroy the property that belonged to all in his state invoking the marati manoos for the violence, another talking of retaliation holding a lati in his hand, did his best to further divide the citizens in to communes on language and faith. All along the Marata great fuedal lord, minister for agriculture and king of sports body with billions to control all, had secret parleys to divide the commune votes of maratis, and the sufferer in all this game is reflected with death of a marati manoos by a stone thrown at him ! So, is freedom of speech available to invoke violence to Abu and Raj who were media hyped into celebrities overnight, that centre had to send para military forces for the drama of arrest and bailing out. ? Is this democratic working of the system where citizens are scared of goons and the system actively helps to breed such goons in the politics of the nation and governance. ?Apologetic words of a CM of a state, that police arrested the culprits and CM has no role in the arrests is atbest a reflection of an impotent ruler who has no courage to own acts of prosecution of evil criminals. ? Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence Liang" To: "ARNAB CHATTERJEE" Cc: ; ; "Jeebesh Bagchi" Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 3:53 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien orHindubetrayers? > Hi Arnab and Jeebesh > > The doctors have given me permission to take a quick break from this > very painful vasectomy to clarify and add a legal point; There is a > clear distinction in the constitution between Art. 19 (freedom of > speech) and Art. 21(right to life), and while Art 21 is available to to > all persons, Art. 19 is only available to citizens, which means that > non citizens do not have the same claim that citizens can in the case > of free speech, and hence do not have access to same remedies either. > > In any case i read jeebesh's posts as not making a legal argument but > urging us to move beyond the rather narrow conceptual frame of liberal > legality, and explore the possibilities of a wider set of cultural > resources through which we can think of hospitality, and again not as > candy floss virtue ethic but as forms of life > > > > > Lawrence > > > > > > _________________________________________ > 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 asitredsalute at gmail.com Thu Feb 14 19:46:13 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:46:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: freinds the taslima issue is not only the question of right to freedom of expression but also the third world womens struggle against patriarchy taslima has consistently written about the rights of women which has angerd the religious establishment who are pampered for vote bank poltics asit On 2/13/08, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > > Sir, > > the very statement that freedom of speech and expression is absolute and > unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised society, as societal > right > to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do have a bearing on > societal rights in civilised society with duties as the other side of > right. > While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and the political games being > played with this issue by the athiests in the society, with views > expressed > one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom of expression is > absolute > is like saying that as free citizen every one has right to have coitus on > the median of highway in front of all passing vehicular traffic. > No freedom is absolute in a society where it impinges on the rights of > others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express themselves freely within > the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his expression so creative uses > his artistic skills to graphically expose his pervert sense of depravity > in > showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative expression looks at his > mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols considered sacred and worshipped > as believers like, are his objects of expression and crative artistic > liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the same creative expression > does not get inspired to portray his parents in conjugal bliss on canvass. > ? > In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not offended anybody except the > clergies of a faith who think that they are the tekedars of the faith, > which > again is bad in any faith irrespective of the faith, but same is happening > in all faiths. > All faiths are ways of living a good life, in material, intellectual and > spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe or not to believe in any > faith is free choice. But the clergies of the faith ,in any faith, always > try to impose that their faith is the only saviour, which is unfortunate. > Society in free India is divided at the very instant of achieving the > freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the land mass on faith, then > allowing the citizens the option not to go that land mass created for > faith. > The truth of the matter is even though the bangladesh and pakistan were > created for the followers of faith, they are failed states in governance. > India, which could have good governance chose to be "secular" but in > practise, it only created more divisions in the land mass with language, > region and castes communes for political gains. to cap it left further > encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to have a stay in the free > India with fake ration cards, ids and opportunities to live in this > nation, > while governance in the federal state was diluted to total lack of > governance or no governance with fuedal lords of individual communes > mastering the art of securing "class votes", " commune votes" and > "regional > votes" in the election frey. And today election is a fight to secure votes > by any fair or foul means to secure power and possession of material > wealth, > not service to all citizens.In the process, the free India is now islands > of > communes with every commune trying to corner maximun benefits of democracy > to their communes with out fear, depriving the common citizen of all the > opportunities to live a dignified life in the nation. > > Regards. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" > To: > Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM > Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin > > > > Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and > Expression > > > > At a time when India is projecting itself on the > > world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts > > international literary festivals and book fairs, the > > Government of India, most mainstream political parties > > and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > > assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > > > > It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of > > the world's best-known writers were attending the > > Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers > > were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, > > the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) > > being held in custody by the Government of India in an > > undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in > > conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to > > misleading press reports stating that her visa has > > been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > > February, after which she is liable to be deported or > > remain confined as an illegal alien. > > > > Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > > journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have > > been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile > > or had their work desecrated in this country. At > > different points of time, different governments have > > either directly or indirectly resorted to these > > measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > > regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity > > and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to > > Free Speech and Expression increases. > > > > In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and > > not any religious or sectarian group who first tried > > to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban > > was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was > > in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal > > for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin > > lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without > > any threat to her person, without being the cause of > > public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > > Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began > > immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > > people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose > > to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > > takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people > > marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > > actions. Within days a little known group claiming to > > speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > > Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > > deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal > > immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that > > it could not offer her security, and lost no time in > > deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The > > Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by > > holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus > > far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public > > humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal > > card of pitting minority communalism against majority > > communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. > > > > Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of > > the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile > > tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > > offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect > > people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have > > been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > > threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > > television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > > filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have > > forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > > painters, into exile. > > > > Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh > > and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press > > conferences and television cameras, journalists are > > being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi > > from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > > Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from > > Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, > > who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > > force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary > > people, including people like Binayak Sen have been > > arrested and held illegally under false charges. > > > > We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > > endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose > > rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > > differences with them. We agree that many of them do > > offend our (or someone else's) religious, political > > and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe > > that instead of making them simultaneously into both > > victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, > > criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the > > Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and > > Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern > > democracy. > > > > If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or > > holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > > diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > > Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > > Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live > > and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious > > cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he > > be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We > > demand that the journalists who are being illegally > > detained in prison against all principles of natural > > justice be released immediately. > > > > Signed: > > > > Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish > > Karnad > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Thu Feb 14 20:27:31 2008 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:27:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-AlienorHindubetrayers? In-Reply-To: References: <502356.88308.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B416BB.4090009@altlawforum.org> Message-ID: Are intellectuals/artistes/writers special people whom we should treat differently from other people...are Bangladeshi migrants seeking freedom from tyranny of hunger part of those whom we can give asylum to...could this extend to Pakistanis, who went from India, or those that didn't but who now want to come and live in India...the great modernist short story writer and poet Ahmed Hamesh, who did his high school from India, tried hard to return to India and live here, in the eighties, but failed and had to be deported here... Would asylum depend on the fitness of the candidate, whethe she is deserving or not? Can we use examples from lived practices, from the past, or history, without drawing any general conclusions from it, without, in short, becoming normative--can history serve us as particulars alone? On 14/02/2008, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > Hi all, > > freedom of speech and then show of lati along with the free speech has > resulted in enough violence and show of intolerence in maharashtra,one > non-entity who with his navnirman sena went on to destroy the property that > belonged to all in his state invoking the marati manoos for the violence, > another talking of retaliation holding a lati in his hand, did his best to > further divide the citizens in to communes on language and faith. All along > the Marata great fuedal lord, minister for agriculture and king of sports > body with billions to control all, had secret parleys to divide the commune > votes of maratis, and the sufferer in all this game is reflected with death > of a marati manoos by a stone thrown at him ! > So, is freedom of speech available to invoke violence to Abu and Raj who > were media hyped into celebrities overnight, that centre had to send para > military forces for the drama of arrest and bailing out. ? Is this > democratic working of the system where citizens are scared of goons and the > system actively helps to breed such goons in the politics of the nation and > governance. ?Apologetic words of a CM of a state, that police arrested the > culprits and CM has no role in the arrests is atbest a reflection of an > impotent ruler who has no courage to own acts of prosecution of evil > criminals. ? > Regards, > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lawrence Liang" > To: "ARNAB CHATTERJEE" > Cc: ; ; "Jeebesh Bagchi" > > > Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 3:53 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien > orHindubetrayers? > > > > Hi Arnab and Jeebesh > > > > The doctors have given me permission to take a quick break from this > > very painful vasectomy to clarify and add a legal point; There is a > > clear distinction in the constitution between Art. 19 (freedom of > > speech) and Art. 21(right to life), and while Art 21 is available to to > > all persons, Art. 19 is only available to citizens, which means that > > non citizens do not have the same claim that citizens can in the case > > of free speech, and hence do not have access to same remedies either. > > > > In any case i read jeebesh's posts as not making a legal argument but > > urging us to move beyond the rather narrow conceptual frame of liberal > > legality, and explore the possibilities of a wider set of cultural > > resources through which we can think of hospitality, and again not as > > candy floss virtue ethic but as forms of life > > > > > > > > > > Lawrence > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Thu Feb 14 20:30:40 2008 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:30:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Press Invite: Against Witch Hunts of Minorities; In solidarity with Aftab Ansari In-Reply-To: <192fb7330802140015g3ff8d293g6a58d8960c96f90f@mail.gmail.com> References: <192fb7330802140015g3ff8d293g6a58d8960c96f90f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: manisha sethi Date: 14 Feb 2008 13:45 Subject: Press Invite: Against Witch Hunts of Minorities; In solidarity with Aftab Ansari To: alam.arshad at gmail.com PRESS INVITE JNUSU and Forum for Democratic Initiatives (FDI) invite you to a Press Meet Case Of False Framing Of Aftab Alam Ansari and Justice Against Witch-Hunt Of Minorities Date: 15.2.08 Venue: IWPC Time: 2.00pm Speakers: Aftab Alam Ansari, the victim of false terror charges and torture. An employee of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC), Aftab, was arrested and tortured on false charges of being a 'terrorist' by the STF of UP in conjunction with Kolkata Police on 27 Dec 07. After being tortured for 20 days he was eventually released and proved innocent due to the efforts of his mother. Md. Sohaib Aftab's Lawyer Piyush Shrivastava Journalist (Mail Today) who first made Aftab's story public Manoj Kr. Singh ( Dainik Hindustan, Gorakhpur Correspondent) Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court advocate Prof. Tanika Sarkar, JNU and Office Bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union and Forum for Democratic Initiatives. The meeting and the Press conference are being organized to highlight the atrocities on Aftab Ansari, demand due justice and compensation, and also to emphasize the rampant witch-hunt against minorities that is going on in UP at this juncture in the name of "war on terror". Please ensure your presence and support by sending your correspondent and photographer/cameraperson to cover the event. Sandeep Singh, President, JNUSU, Radhika Menon, Convenor, FDI From sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 14 21:26:04 2008 From: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in (S.Fatima) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:56:04 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Transcendental love Message-ID: <102516.55228.qm@web8401.mail.in.yahoo.com> Transcendental love Tarun Vijay Hindus are the most celebrative people who could create a Khajuraho and depict all aspects of life with the finesse of gods and divinity of Mother Earth. No one saw any eroticism and lust in it till the secularists of the Valentine's Day variety arrived, trying to push “live-in relationships” and “one night stand” freedom motifs, using Hindu motifs of eternal love that defined higher levels of spirituality and submission. They want us to oppose their notion of Valentine’s Day so that a controversy is created and fetches more publicity and money. I think we better disappoint them. To each his own. To me love is sacrifice, giving without ever demanding anything in return. True love has to be blind and beyond logic. In fact it begins where logic ends. And it's essentially beyond the realm of the physical, something that can only be felt and not described. Bulle Shah, the great poet of love, had reached a state of union with the creator whom he loved as his beloved. Then only he could say: let all the temples and mosques be razed but never hurt a heart because God resides there. God does not seek a one-room cosy place but prefers to live in the heart of devotees. We sing many songs to this effect but keep erecting places of worship everyday and ignore and insult those who have god in their heart. Suppose there was not a single temple, mosque or church on this planet but all of us lived happily respecting each others' sensitivities and viewpoints, with love prevailing sans boundaries. Wouldn’t this be great? Deriding love in the name of obscurantist values and then shouting the name of god from rooftops disturbs the heavens and destroys the earth. Why do we need a temple or a mosque when we have a heart to worship and respect? I began this column on Basant, the auspicious day when spring begins and the air brings love, joy and spirituality. It's the day when Saraswati Puja is conducted and children offer flowers to their teachers, buy new books and wear new clothes. The day has a biological relation with us and we have grown with it; it's not a transplanted kidney. A few years ago, I was in Lahore on this day and saw colourful and delightful celebrations there. Basant brings all-pervading joy and hotels in Pakistan are booked months in advance; there are special food festivals, kite-flying competitions and people wish each other warmly. The advent of spring is celebrated for a fortnight around the same time in China. Spring is New Year time too and they celebrate it with a lot of gaiety. “Valentine's Day has reduced the feelings of true love to mere physical relationship,” lamented the great Chinese literateur Li Zhi, who is also the President of the Writers’ Association (equivalent to our Sahitya Akademi). In China they are trying to promote the spring festival as their biggest annual event and special efforts are made to popularise it among college students. Love can't be vulgar and a mechanism to extract favours and gratification. It's not permissiveness or materialistic. It's an uncontrollable, indescribable fire of bliss that can’t be reversed or extinguished. It's a river of fire and the blessed soul has to cross it swimming. Mahadevi Verma wrote: “Agnipath ke paar chandan chandni ka desh hai kya, ab kaho sandesh hai kya (Is there a regime of moonlit sandal beyond this path of fire?)” Nobody knows. This love made Meera a symbol of love sublime and she smilingly drank the cup of poison sent to her by her belligerent husband. Love and lust have to be differentiated like a wife and prostitute. It was the love for the motherland that made revolutionaries embrace death with Mera Rang De Basanti Chola playing on their lips. And it’s the love for serving humanity and ensuring that children do not suffer that makes yogis like Sri Sri Ravishankar and Ramdev and the ochre-robed monks of Swaminarayan and Gayatri Pariwar, pracharaks of the RSS and Mata Amritanandmayi's spiritual followers dedicate their life for service. The same spirit of love and submission to the cause I have seen among Christian missionaries who leave their home and hearth thousands of miles away and serve people and their faith in the most trying circumstances. We may differ with their objective but their love to serve can't be questioned. The element of undiluted love made Bhai Kanhaiya to offer water even to injured opponents and Jesus to pardon all those who had betrayed him. Love is a state of mind where nothing exists except you and the beloved. This love is the love of Basant. Give what you can, and be content. The rest is simple masala and self-deception. And who else can represent that power of love and strength of character than Sita? Ram and Sita – they couldn't live without each other, yet adhered to the values of righteousness and became an immortal embodiment of love. Sita was all that India could think of in womanhood. That's the reason perhaps those scholars and so-called modern analysts of women issues find it so revolting to see a Gandhi projecting Sita's ideal before Indian masses as a symbol of lioness, anti-colonialism, indigenous cultural values and a powerful icon of unyielding swadeshi spirit . To him and many other thinkers rooted in the civilisational contours that make us identifiable as Indians, Sita remains a far superior character than even Rama. Her silent suffering and enduring patience epitomises Indian moral values. There is an attempt to place Sita in the framework of so-called modern day value systems and attributes that a western oriented contemporary writer would like to see in a woman of today. So Sita has to be portrayed as a rebellious, uncompromising, courageous and independent character in the mould of Simone de Beauvoir or Betty Friedan. Why should it be necessary? Why can't we appreciate and adore what Sita was and has remained since time immemorial? Why do we end up subscribing to the notion that devotion to one’s husband, agreeing to an agni pariksha (ordeal by fire), silent suffering and accepting exile in a forest even when pregnant are the actions of a woman who deserves pity and not respect? Such interpretations are meant to make wrong an entire socio-cultural fabric of a civilisationally rich land. Its ironical that values that have sustained our society for thousands of years and inspired great souls are sought to be “reformed” and amended by modernists whose singular passion is to debunk and dispossess whatever India has cherished for ages. It's not necessary to denounce the past to glorify the present and the future should find its own feet. Sita's insistence on following Rama into exile and Rama's anguish on seeing her in agony while walking to the forest has been vividly narrated in the Kavitavali of Tulsidas. Her love for Rama and his deep feelings for her overwhelm people even today. Rama's tears began to flow when he saw his beloved trying to walk the rough road ridden with pebbles and thorns while following him to the forest. It was breaking with tradition for Sita to insist that she would join her husband in exile. A timid, compromising and traditional wife wouldn't have dared to defy the norms of her times in such manner. When Rama tells her about the rigours of life in exile, Sita replies: "Any term of austerities or forest or even heaven, let it be to me with you only. To me, who follow you behind, there will be no tiredness. I shall remain in the path without any fatigue, as remaining in a place of recreation or as in a sleep. While walking with you, blades of kusha grass, shrubs by the name of kaasa, reeds and rushes and plants with prickles which fall in the path will touch my soles like a heap of cotton or soft deerskin. I shall reckon the dust raised by the strongest wind that will cover my body as sandal dust of highest advantage. Your companionship will be a heaven to me. Without you, it will be a hell. Oh, Rama! By knowing thus my great love, obtain supreme joy with me.” (Valmiki Ramayana). Even Lankan authors admiringly acknowledge Sita’s strong character. They have kept intact Sita's memory with great respect. I recently read a beautiful description of the place where Sita was kept as Ravana's captive: "Ravana took Sita from Ravana Kotte for greater security to the smallest plateau of Nuwara Eliya and to a locality known as Asoka Aramaya a pleasure garden which had beautiful scenery and dense of forest surrounding it. Asoka trees flowered there. Sita Eliya on the outskirts of Nuwara Eliya is associated with Sita. Hanuman also came here looking for Sita.” (Rama, Ravana & Sita: Road to Ramayana, by Sirancee Gunawardene). Ravana held her captive in Ashok Vatika; that place too is well preserved even today and a temple has been constructed with generous help from an entrepreneur from Punjab. In captivity, Sita was chaste even in her thoughts and consistently rejected Ravana's advances, remaining unwavering in her love and devotion to her husband. Rama too left no stone unturned to free her and organised a massive assault on Lanka in order to see his beloved again. Sita was anguished when asked to prove her purity after returning from Lanka; even the fire refused to harm her, the gods were pained and protected her. The famous Tamil poet Kamba has vividly described Sita's anguish in his celebrated Ramayana Iravataram, written in the 12th century AD. The entire universe is deeply disturbed when she is about to enter the fire. The fire (Agni) leaves her untouched and scolds Rama: "Have you abandoned Dharma [righteousness]? The earth may get divided into two and there will be unprecedented famine, the universe may not survive this ordeal to the most pious lady.” Such is the strength of Sita's love and inner self. If Sita's character was weak, why would Indians and east Asians adore her as the greatest icon for their life? >From Thailand to Laos, Janaki's characterisation in literature and temples has inspired generations. Without Janaki, there is no Rama. A pious person mentions Sita’s name before Rama’s in everyday chants – it is always Sitaram, never ever Ramasita. That's the power of love sublime, the spirit of Basant and message of a celebrative Bharat. The author is the editor of Panchjanya, a Hindi weekly brought out by the RSS. The views expressed are his personal. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tarun_Vijay_Transcendental_love/articleshow/2780342.cms 5, 50, 500, 5000 - Store N number of mails in your inbox. Go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html From bawazainab79 at gmail.com Fri Feb 15 00:23:45 2008 From: bawazainab79 at gmail.com (Zainab Bawa) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:23:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems Message-ID: Dear all, I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming metro rail project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on metro rail systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems work/don't work for certain cities, displacements that have occurred owing to the construction of the metro and the various social, economic and political impacts of metro rail projects. Thanks. Cheers, Zainab -- Zainab Bawa Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher Between Places ... http://wbfs.wordpress.com From sudeshna.kca at gmail.com Fri Feb 15 09:22:26 2008 From: sudeshna.kca at gmail.com (Sudeshna Chatterjee) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:22:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3ef603b70802141952s7bdf8af5t8bcdca800c537f85@mail.gmail.com> It seems to me the more important thing to discuss in the context of free expression of one's thoughts is not so much "freedom *of* speech" as "freedom *after* speech". Sudeshna On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 7:46 PM, Asit asitreds wrote: > freinds the taslima issue is not only the question of right to freedom of > expression but also the third world womens struggle against patriarchy > taslima has consistently written about the rights of women which has > angerd > the religious establishment who are pampered for vote bank poltics > asit > > > On 2/13/08, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > > > > Sir, > > > > the very statement that freedom of speech and expression is absolute and > > unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised society, as societal > > right > > to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do have a bearing on > > societal rights in civilised society with duties as the other side of > > right. > > While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and the political games > being > > played with this issue by the athiests in the society, with views > > expressed > > one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom of expression is > > absolute > > is like saying that as free citizen every one has right to have coitus > on > > the median of highway in front of all passing vehicular traffic. > > No freedom is absolute in a society where it impinges on the rights of > > others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express themselves freely > within > > the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his expression so creative > uses > > his artistic skills to graphically expose his pervert sense of depravity > > in > > showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative expression looks at > his > > mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols considered sacred and > worshipped > > as believers like, are his objects of expression and crative artistic > > liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the same creative expression > > does not get inspired to portray his parents in conjugal bliss on > canvass. > > ? > > In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not offended anybody except the > > clergies of a faith who think that they are the tekedars of the faith, > > which > > again is bad in any faith irrespective of the faith, but same is > happening > > in all faiths. > > All faiths are ways of living a good life, in material, intellectual and > > spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe or not to believe in > any > > faith is free choice. But the clergies of the faith ,in any faith, > always > > try to impose that their faith is the only saviour, which is > unfortunate. > > Society in free India is divided at the very instant of achieving the > > freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the land mass on faith, then > > allowing the citizens the option not to go that land mass created for > > faith. > > The truth of the matter is even though the bangladesh and pakistan were > > created for the followers of faith, they are failed states in > governance. > > India, which could have good governance chose to be "secular" but in > > practise, it only created more divisions in the land mass with language, > > region and castes communes for political gains. to cap it left further > > encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to have a stay in the free > > India with fake ration cards, ids and opportunities to live in this > > nation, > > while governance in the federal state was diluted to total lack of > > governance or no governance with fuedal lords of individual communes > > mastering the art of securing "class votes", " commune votes" and > > "regional > > votes" in the election frey. And today election is a fight to secure > votes > > by any fair or foul means to secure power and possession of material > > wealth, > > not service to all citizens.In the process, the free India is now > islands > > of > > communes with every commune trying to corner maximun benefits of > democracy > > to their communes with out fear, depriving the common citizen of all the > > opportunities to live a dignified life in the nation. > > > > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" > > To: > > Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM > > Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima > Nasrin > > > > > > > Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and > > Expression > > > > > > At a time when India is projecting itself on the > > > world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts > > > international literary festivals and book fairs, the > > > Government of India, most mainstream political parties > > > and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > > > assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > > > > > > It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of > > > the world's best-known writers were attending the > > > Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers > > > were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, > > > the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) > > > being held in custody by the Government of India in an > > > undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in > > > conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to > > > misleading press reports stating that her visa has > > > been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > > > February, after which she is liable to be deported or > > > remain confined as an illegal alien. > > > > > > Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > > > journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have > > > been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile > > > or had their work desecrated in this country. At > > > different points of time, different governments have > > > either directly or indirectly resorted to these > > > measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > > > regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity > > > and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to > > > Free Speech and Expression increases. > > > > > > In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and > > > not any religious or sectarian group who first tried > > > to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban > > > was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was > > > in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal > > > for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin > > > lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without > > > any threat to her person, without being the cause of > > > public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > > > Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began > > > immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > > > people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose > > > to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > > > takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people > > > marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > > > actions. Within days a little known group claiming to > > > speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > > > Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > > > deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal > > > immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that > > > it could not offer her security, and lost no time in > > > deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The > > > Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by > > > holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus > > > far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public > > > humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal > > > card of pitting minority communalism against majority > > > communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. > > > > > > Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of > > > the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile > > > tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > > > offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect > > > people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have > > > been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > > > threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > > > television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > > > filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have > > > forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > > > painters, into exile. > > > > > > Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh > > > and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press > > > conferences and television cameras, journalists are > > > being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi > > > from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > > > Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from > > > Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, > > > who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > > > force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary > > > people, including people like Binayak Sen have been > > > arrested and held illegally under false charges. > > > > > > We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > > > endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose > > > rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > > > differences with them. We agree that many of them do > > > offend our (or someone else's) religious, political > > > and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe > > > that instead of making them simultaneously into both > > > victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, > > > criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the > > > Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and > > > Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern > > > democracy. > > > > > > If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or > > > holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > > > diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > > > Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > > > Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live > > > and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious > > > cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he > > > be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We > > > demand that the journalists who are being illegally > > > detained in prison against all principles of natural > > > justice be released immediately. > > > > > > Signed: > > > > > > Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish > > > Karnad > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > 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 virtuallyme at gmail.com Fri Feb 15 09:45:58 2008 From: virtuallyme at gmail.com (Rohan DSouza) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:45:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Message-ID: <79e82f610802142015i368dce63n6c8ba6d8b363383@mail.gmail.com> Raj Thackeray says Maharashtra for Maharashtrians, Sangh Parivar says India for Hindus. Not much difference in sentiment, is there? Rohan > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:36:43 +0530 > From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim > Traitor-AlienorHindubetrayers? > To: Lawrence Liang , ARNAB CHATTERJEE > > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net, shuddha at sarai.net, Jeebesh Bagchi > > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"; > reply-type=original > > Hi all, > > freedom of speech and then show of lati along with the free speech has > resulted in enough violence and show of intolerence in maharashtra,one > non-entity who with his navnirman sena went on to destroy the property that > belonged to all in his state invoking the marati manoos for the violence, > another talking of retaliation holding a lati in his hand, did his best to > further divide the citizens in to communes on language and faith. All along > the Marata great fuedal lord, minister for agriculture and king of sports > body with billions to control all, had secret parleys to divide the commune > votes of maratis, and the sufferer in all this game is reflected with death > of a marati manoos by a stone thrown at him ! > So, is freedom of speech available to invoke violence to Abu and Raj who > were media hyped into celebrities overnight, that centre had to send para > military forces for the drama of arrest and bailing out. ? Is this > democratic working of the system where citizens are scared of goons and the > system actively helps to breed such goons in the politics of the nation and > governance. ?Apologetic words of a CM of a state, that police arrested the > culprits and CM has no role in the arrests is atbest a reflection of an > impotent ruler who has no courage to own acts of prosecution of evil > criminals. ? > Regards, > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lawrence Liang" > To: "ARNAB CHATTERJEE" > Cc: ; ; "Jeebesh Bagchi" > > Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 3:53 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien > orHindubetrayers? > > > > Hi Arnab and Jeebesh > > > > The doctors have given me permission to take a quick break from this > > very painful vasectomy to clarify and add a legal point; There is a > > clear distinction in the constitution between Art. 19 (freedom of > > speech) and Art. 21(right to life), and while Art 21 is available to to > > all persons, Art. 19 is only available to citizens, which means that > > non citizens do not have the same claim that citizens can in the case > > of free speech, and hence do not have access to same remedies either. > > > > In any case i read jeebesh's posts as not making a legal argument but > > urging us to move beyond the rather narrow conceptual frame of liberal > > legality, and explore the possibilities of a wider set of cultural > > resources through which we can think of hospitality, and again not as > > candy floss virtue ethic but as forms of life > > > > > > > > > > Lawrence > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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 dhatr1i at yahoo.com Fri Feb 15 11:24:04 2008 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:54:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim In-Reply-To: <79e82f610802142015i368dce63n6c8ba6d8b363383@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <234262.44062.qm@web45505.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Using Indian exported Buddism differently the China and Muslim Pakistan has been trying to possess Indian terrotories illegally, being an Indian resident citizen and Hindu whats wrong If Raj Thackeray says Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians? Pl Leave the thought to fellow citizens including Maharashrians. But by asking like this, do you mean that Raj Thakeray is not a HINDU? Rohan DSouza wrote: Raj Thackeray says Maharashtra for Maharashtrians, Sangh Parivar says India for Hindus. Not much difference in sentiment, is there? Rohan > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:36:43 +0530 > From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim > Traitor-AlienorHindubetrayers? > To: Lawrence Liang , ARNAB CHATTERJEE > > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net, shuddha at sarai.net, Jeebesh Bagchi > > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"; > reply-type=original > > Hi all, > > freedom of speech and then show of lati along with the free speech has > resulted in enough violence and show of intolerence in maharashtra,one > non-entity who with his navnirman sena went on to destroy the property that > belonged to all in his state invoking the marati manoos for the violence, > another talking of retaliation holding a lati in his hand, did his best to > further divide the citizens in to communes on language and faith. All along > the Marata great fuedal lord, minister for agriculture and king of sports > body with billions to control all, had secret parleys to divide the commune > votes of maratis, and the sufferer in all this game is reflected with death > of a marati manoos by a stone thrown at him ! > So, is freedom of speech available to invoke violence to Abu and Raj who > were media hyped into celebrities overnight, that centre had to send para > military forces for the drama of arrest and bailing out. ? Is this > democratic working of the system where citizens are scared of goons and the > system actively helps to breed such goons in the politics of the nation and > governance. ?Apologetic words of a CM of a state, that police arrested the > culprits and CM has no role in the arrests is atbest a reflection of an > impotent ruler who has no courage to own acts of prosecution of evil > criminals. ? > Regards, > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lawrence Liang" > To: "ARNAB CHATTERJEE" > Cc: ; ; "Jeebesh Bagchi" > > Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 3:53 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Free expression for a Muslim Traitor-Alien > orHindubetrayers? > > > > Hi Arnab and Jeebesh > > > > The doctors have given me permission to take a quick break from this > > very painful vasectomy to clarify and add a legal point; There is a > > clear distinction in the constitution between Art. 19 (freedom of > > speech) and Art. 21(right to life), and while Art 21 is available to to > > all persons, Art. 19 is only available to citizens, which means that > > non citizens do not have the same claim that citizens can in the case > > of free speech, and hence do not have access to same remedies either. > > > > In any case i read jeebesh's posts as not making a legal argument but > > urging us to move beyond the rather narrow conceptual frame of liberal > > legality, and explore the possibilities of a wider set of cultural > > resources through which we can think of hospitality, and again not as > > candy floss virtue ethic but as forms of life > > > > > > > > > > Lawrence > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Fri Feb 15 12:46:38 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:16:38 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] More on free expression for (non)citizens: Response to Jeebesh, Lawrence and others Message-ID: <643172.49613.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Sarai readers and writers, Some confusions have been creeping it seems. Perhaps I am aware of what could be claimed by non-citizens in terms of close-ended constitutional statements in India. For that specially, there were two levels I had demarcated for arguing differently, one--the case for ordinary legalism in India and other international paradigms when taken globally. Let me expand on this further and clarify this through an example! And that too the Taslima one! You will remember that her Dwakhindita was banned by the west Bengal government, the government lost the case and the book was released. Though it was published by an Indian publisher, the writer being a non-citizen is ofcourse a case in point since the clause within which it was banned, inhibited its production on the web too (meaning this text by this writer could not made available in some other form as well). If it were simply a case of an alien writer who has no protection, it would have been enough for the government to ban it on that ground, and ban it eternally. It would have been an end there. But the case ( of forbidding legitimate speech) was filed and won with some qualifications; one of them being Taslima had to agree to delete ( or distort: Samsul Haque became Said Haque) in order to escape the charge of defamation-- the proper names of real writers whom she had named for unethical sexual escapades with her. Now, the case of the Indian publisher filing the case may be cited paramountly as a counter point. But any non-citizen when speaks or writes-you will find a whole regime of parties involved ( the landlord is also arrested with a suspected snooper) and therefore ultimately it is considered within the norm and grounds of the familiar turf that is here; the reasonable permissions and restrictions that obtain. This is in the case of speech; charges of terrorism, spying, active political parleying and sedition take a different hue altogether. However, look at it now from another angle. That the Taslima case could not be won juridically was understood and thus given another turn: the threat of public disorder and communal war was staged practically and Taslima deported to another state successfully with sheer haste( Calcutta Highcourt had said that W.B Government’s anticipative simple threat perception was not an adequate ground to forbid the production and circulation of Dwakhindito). So I again reiterate, in the Taslima case free speech is ofcourse a strong ground and that is where the battle has been fought till now. And the defeat on that ground being imminent, the grounds of reasonable restriction are being irrationally charted with voluntarism: they are lifted out from the pages of law and played out in the open fields. And in this case if you read my statement “The former do have freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and modifications that the government could subject these laws and modifications to” will have become clearer.As evident when I specially mention ordinary, it has a special weight. Every government ( and the political type so much matters here) does sanction in this some form ( consider some American poets have assembled for a poetry session in an India city, they cannot just be hounded out because only right to life is guranteed here [ in a country where capital punishment exists, Lawrence and Jeebesh know how this fundamental right features for their own citizens and in what form]. This apart, I repeat, the freedom of speech of aliens not only are sanctioned under Human rights orders, international law and European convention-al norms, they do exist “ordinarily” and could be seen in practice in our everyday life and when it meets a challenge is considered within the juridical parameters of the nation state that is in question. ( Peter Bleach-a Uk citizen convicted in the Purulia Arms dropping case—and spending years in Alipore central jail wrote a memoir in the Hindustan Times how he wrote the second mercy petition to the President for that infamous Dhananjay Chaterjee, the first flop petitition having been written by the welfare officer of the Alipore jail.) International legal protection or other cases ( the US one that I have cited) come later when the national restrictions are themselves found to have been unjustified. Now, to answer Sudeshna, here there is no temporal qualification like freedom before-at-after speech and yes ofcourse Mahmood will agree that certain forms of writing ( literature or art) have different claims to remedies; in this the certain authorial agencies have also restrictive claims proper ( e.g, intellectual property rights). And much of what Lawrence says, I’ve addressed above, but a short reminder about the liberal clause. I myself have been a vociferous critique of the liberal argument for freedom of expression and Farooqui is all the way with me here . But I want to forget my own critique and as a counter point to Liang here, let me spell briefly what the liberals would argue in defence. They will say, it is not about Taslima’s freedom of critical speech that is in question here; when the citizens or other Indians ( now you have the citizen reason here)stand for her, it is their and all of our freedom that is in peril here. That cannot undercoded by the clause that Taslima is a non-citizen. There is already a large literature in the philosophy of law and jurisprudence on the fact that protection to freedom of speech is a misnomer; freedom of speech itself is a protection against evils unlimited. Let this be for the day; I hope more diffcult legal, extra legal arguments will be coming up. Till then arnab 5, 50, 500, 5000 - Store N number of mails in your inbox. Go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html From machleetank at gmail.com Tue Feb 12 23:18:32 2008 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:18:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] question/ answer : Blank Noise Message-ID: Hello With our most recent blog postat Blank Noise we want to open a space for dialogue. Please send in your rarely asked burning questions about Blank Noise to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com or leave it in the comments section below. New volunteers are requested to participate more so, because with the answering of questions and clearing of doubts we will be able to hopefully move forward. It is always exciting and challenging to work with volunteers from across the country because every individuals brings in his or her enthusiasm and interprets Blank Noise in a unique way. At the end 20 questions will be selected and answered right here on the blog! All questions will be shared on the blog*. * *Deadline for questions is Feb 22nd. Answers will be published in a week from the due date ** * We thank you. always! Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE www.blog.blanknoise.org PHONE : 0091 98868 40612 -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From difusion at medialab-prado.es Wed Feb 13 15:56:24 2008 From: difusion at medialab-prado.es (Difusion Medialab-Prado) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:26:24 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Digital Networks and Physical Space: Call for Collaborators] Message-ID: <47B2C5D0.9000100@medialab-prado.es> logo medialab-prado Plaza de las Letras C/ Alameda, 15 · 28014 Madrid 913692303 www.medialab-prado.es *ENTRADA GRATUITA / * *FREE ADMISSION* (Spanish below) *<2nd Inclusiva-net Meeting: Digital Networks and Physical Space> * *Open Call for Collaborators** **Deadline: February 26* Medialab-Prado issues a call for all those interested in taking part in the Inclusiva-net workshop, by collaborating in any of the teams that will develop the selected proposals on *digital networks and physical space*, that will be taking place at Medialab-Prado from *March 3 through 14*. If you are interested, please check the selected projects and visit the forum where you can contact authors, ask questions or Online submissions deadline: *February 26* Medialab-Prado will offer accommodation in a youth hostel for 10 collaborators coming from outside Madrid (first-come-first-served basis): don't forget to specify arrival and departure date if your are going to chose this option. More information: http://www.inclusiva-net.org * *Inclusiva-net Forum: http://forommm.intermediae.es/viewforum.php?id=5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *<2º Encuentro Inclusiva-net: Redes digitales y espacio físico> * *Convocatoria abierta para colaboradores **Hasta el 26 de febrero* Convocatoria para colaborar en el desarrollo de los proyectos seleccionados para el taller/seminario sobre *Redes digitales y espacio físico*, que se celebrará en Medialab-Prado *del 3 al 14 de marzo*. Los interesados pueden consultar los proyectos en y participar en el foro para contactar directamente con los autores, plantear dudas o exponer sus intereses y expectativas. Inscripciones online *hasta el 26 de febrero* Para los residentes fuera de Madrid, Medialab-Prado cubrirá 10 estancias en un albergue juvenil (las plazas se asignarán por orden de recepción de solicitudes). Más información en: http://www.inclusiva-net.org * *Enlace al foro: http://forommm.intermediae.es/viewforum.php?id=5 -- Nerea García Garmendia Medialab Prado Área de Las Artes, Ayuntamiento de Madrid Plaza de las Letras Alameda, 15 28014 Madrid Tfno. +34 914 202 754 difusion at medialab-prado.es www.medialab-prado.es -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From anne at freewaves.org Thu Feb 14 06:42:20 2008 From: anne at freewaves.org (Anne Bray) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:12:20 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Reminder: Freewaves Media Art Festival OPEN CALL - due Feb. 29 Message-ID: A reminder: the submission deadline is February 29, 2008 *PLEASE POST/FORWARD* OPEN CALL: Freewaves (experimental media art, video, animation, cell videos, wifi events, images for electronic moving signs+) HollyWould... Freewaves' 11th Festival of New Media Arts Freewaves' HollyWould... festival will take place in October 2008, in the perceived world capital of media on Hollywood Boulevard. We are looking for INTERESTING WORKS THAT REPRESENT AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAINSTREAM MEDIA or directly relate to Hollywood. Selected festival works will be installed in this urban hall of mirrors in screening rooms, art centers, stores, vacant walls intersecting with audiences where they live, recreate and shop. Competitive selection process will be conducted online by a group of international and local curators with a range of specialties and backgrounds. - Work must be completed since January 1, 2005. - Notification of acceptance is in July 2008. - Artists will be paid $100-$200 for selected works. For submission details, online entry form and Hollywood Boulevard photo gallery, see: http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php? module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190966778&u=1926394 Contact: anne at freewaves.org and http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php? module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190966778&u=1926395 ---------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this list as monica at sarai.net. To unsubscribe, send email to unsubscribe.236124.190966778.3888227696366860023- monica_sarai.net at en.groundspring.org. Our postal address is 2151 Lake Shore Avenue Los Angeles, California 90039 United States Visit http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php? module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=190966778&u=1926396 _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From stevedietz at yproductions.com Sun Feb 10 22:15:10 2008 From: stevedietz at yproductions.com (Steve Dietz) Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 08:45:10 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Climate Clock Artist Commission Message-ID: Hi all, Below is some information about a significant artist commission opportunity in several stages resulting, ultimately, in a potential $15 million project. Please consider applying and/or forwarding to people and networks you believe should know about this opportunity. Thanks. Steve Company: fuse:_ CADRE / Montalvo / San Jose / ZERO1 Job Title: Climate Clock artist-led team Description: The Climate Clock Global Initiative is seeking ideas from artist-led teams to create a major artwork entitled Climate Clock, which will measure changes in greenhouse gas levels, and be the first in a series of global projects calling attention to climate change. Climate Clock will be an instrument of long-term measurement and will collect data for 100 years. The artwork will be located in downtown San Jose, California, Silicon Valley’s city center, and will be a collaboration between an artist-led team composed of artists, international and Silicon Valley engineers and other creative professionals who are working with climate measurement and data visualization. It is anticipated that the budget for the construction of Climate Clock will be between $5 and $15 million, depending upon the scope of the final proposal. To view the call visit http://cadre.sjsu.edu/fuse/strategem.html, for a PDF of the call, please visit http://www.sanjoseculture.org/? pid=4500 and to apply, go to http://www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search for “San Jose Climate Clock”. The Climate Clock Initiative is a collaboration between FUSE: cadre/ montalvo artist research residency initiative and the City of San Jose Public Art program in cooperation with ZERO1. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Mon Feb 11 19:46:20 2008 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:16:20 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Upgrade! Boston: Bill Seaman Message-ID: <001101c86cb8$c0117150$403453f0$@org> Upgrade! Boston: Bill Seaman http://turbulence.org/upgrade/archives/02_12_08BS.html DATE: February 12, 2008 TIME: 7:00-9:00 pm VENUE: North 181 - entrance on Evans Way Massachusetts College of Art + Design 621 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA. Bill Seaman explores Recombinant Poetics through installations, virtual reality, video, computer controlled laserdisc, and other computer-based media. Major new works include the Hybrid Invention Generator, an exploration of machinic genetics with collaborator Gideon May; two site specific works, Epiphany / Zjavenie, Trnava, Slovakia; and a piece for P0es1s: Aesthetics of Digital Poetry, Berlin, Germany. He is currently working on The Thoughtbody Environment with scientist Otto Rössler, and developing new digital works with David Durand and Daniel Howe. Seaman's works have been in numerous international festivals and museum shows. He was awarded the Prix Ars Electronica in Interactive Art (1992 & 1995), Linz, Austria; International Video Art Prize, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany; Bonn Videonale prize; First Prize, Berlin Film / Video Festival, for Multimedia in 1995; and the Visual Arts Prize. He won the Leonardo Award for Excellence in 2002 for his article OULIPO | vs | Recombinant Poetics. Seaman received a PH.D. from the Centre for Advanced Inquiry In The Interactive Arts (CAiiA), University of Wales, Newport. He holds a Master of Science in Visual Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a self-taught composer and musician. Seaman is Chair of the Graduate Digital+Media Department at Rhode Island School of Design where he is exploring issues related to the continuum between physical and virtual/media space. PLAN AHEAD: Calendar http://turbulence.org/upgrade/calendar.html About Upgrade! Boston http://turbulence.org/upgrade Upgrade! Boston is curated by Jo-Anne Green for Turbulence.org in partnership with the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art + Design. It is one of 27 nodes currently active in Upgrade! International, an emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. If you would like to present your work or get involved, please email jo at turbulence dot org. If you no longer wish to receive these notices, please reply to this email with “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line. Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org New York: 917.548.7780 • Boston: 617.522.3856 Turbulence: http://turbulence.org 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 kj.impulse at gmail.com Wed Feb 13 12:23:43 2008 From: kj.impulse at gmail.com (Kavita Joshi) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:23:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [DFA NewsLetter] Fwd: Where's Sandra? on NDTV 24x7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <821019d70802122253x4c795741wc21300a928450097@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Dear Friends Where's Sandra? will be broadcast on NDTV 24x7's new slot Documentary 24x7 at the following times: Thursday Feb. 14 – 9.30 p.m. (at night) Sunday Feb 17 - 1.30 p.m (in the afternoon) Please do watch and let as many people know as possible. Also, please send feedback/support for the slot to documentary24x7 at ndtv.com since it will help in expanding the space we hope! Paromita ABOUT THE FILM WHERE'S SANDRA? (Documentary, 18 min., English, Digital Video) Produced by: CELEBRATE BANDRA TRUST Directed by: PAROMITA VOHRA Camera: AVIJIT MUKUL KISHORE Sound: ANITA KUSHWAHA Editors: JABEEN MERCHANT, SANKALP MESHRAM Actors: TUHINA VOHRA, SONALI VERMA, RACHEL LOPEZ Who is Sandra? And if she's from Bandra where is she? If you saw her would you know her? As you walk through Bandra past the rozedars buying food from Jeff's, the college kids making the mochas last, the aunties haggling with the vegetable sellers, the biker boys on Bandstand, the commuters pouring out of the sunlit old station building you may well ask Where's Sandra? This short film looks for the answers in random encounters and intimate conversations – in Church, with a priest who leads us through the graveyard, in the words of poets and the songs of Hindi films, in the ladies compartment of the local train where a group of women sing Konkani songs, finally finding several Sandras in Bandra. Some hate their name, some love it but didn't start out in Bandra and some turn out to be fraudulently claiming the title. The film wanders around Bandra wondering about Sandra – stereotype or fantasy? Affectionate parody or vicious mockery? Still here or just a figment from the past? - -- Paromita Vohra DEVI PICTURES Email:parodevi AT gmail.com - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please DO NOT REPLY to the sender. To contact the MODERATOR: delhifilmarchive [at] gmail.com To UNSUBSCRIBE: send an email to delhifilmarchive-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com More OPTIONS are on the web: http://groups.google.com/group/delhifilmarchive WEBSITE: www.delhifilmarchive.org See the LIST OF FILMS in the Archive: http://www.delhifilmarchive.org/archive.html -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From keshvani at leoalmanac.org Wed Feb 13 14:30:26 2008 From: keshvani at leoalmanac.org (Nisar Keshvani, LEA) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:00:26 +0800 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Leonardo Electronic Almanac Supplement Volume 15, Number 11 - 12, 2007 Message-ID: <5d60ab0c0802130100o7b4ce2e1y981f19d844f644ab@mail.gmail.com> ________________________________________________________________ Leonardo Electronic Almanac Volume 15, Number 11 - 12, 2007 http://leoalmanac.org ISSN #1071-4391 ________________________________________________________________ LEONARDO REVIEWS ---------------- < Introduction > by Michael Punt < Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson > reviewed by Amy Ione < (Un)common Ground: Creative Encounters across Sectors and Disciplines > reviewed by Jonathan Zilberg LEONARDO -------- < Contents: Leonardo Vol. 41, No. 1 (2008) > LEONARDO NETWORK NEWS --------------------- < Leonardo Connects with Educators and Students > < LEA Named Official Media Sponsor of ISEA 2008 > < Leonardo Collaborates on Art and Climate Project > < Leonardo Book Series Enjoys Another Successful Year > < Discussion on Tenure in Art/Science/Technology Departments > < Smart Textiles: Science and Technology of Textile Art > < Leonardo Day at UC Berkeley New Media Festival > < In memoriam: Karlheinz Stockhausen > By Annick Bureaud < In memoriam: Dimitris Skoufis > BYTES ----- < Rensselaer Polytechnic seeks Electronic Arts Department Head > < Cleveland Institute of Art seeks Assistant/Associate Professor for Biomedical Art Department > < Cleveland Institute of Art seeks full-time faculty Design Theorist > ______________________________________________________ LEONARDO REVIEWS FEBRUARY 2008 ______________________________________________________ For this issue of Leonardo Electronic Almanac we are featuring two long reviews from the February postings not least because they do what we do best: keeping track of events drawing on the first person expertise that exists in the world. Amy Ione, as many of you know, is an international lecturer, a painter, and a writer, and has long explored discovery, creativity, innovation, invention, and historical challenges in art and science. She maintains a constant flow of current events and debates through the Diatrope Institute http://www.diatrope.com/ and is one of the long-standing contributors to the Leonardo Reviews Project. Jonathan Zilberg, who is the author of the second featured review is a cultural anthropologist with field research and museum experience in Latin America, America, Europe, Africa and Asia. He specialises in art and religion. Since the early 1980s, he has been exploring religious symbolism in diverse art forms past and present in Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia. His current research is on the Indonesian reaction to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and on the nexus of archaeology and fashion in Indonesia. His review of (Un)common Ground: Creative Encounters across Sectors and Disciplines is especially welcome since, as a study of cross-sector collaborations between the academic and commercial worlds, he is able to comment on it from the ground of his own field experience. These and the rest of the reviews for February 2008 are at < www.leonardo.info/ldr.html> along with the archive of all the work of our review panel. Michael Punt Editor-in-Chief Leonardo Reviews < Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson > Curated by Madeleine Grynsztejn San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Madeleine Grynsztejn Thames & Hudson, 2007 272 pages, 200+ color reproductions Hardcover: $50 Language: English ISBN-10: 0500093407 ISBN-13: 978-0500093405 Reviewed by Amy Ione The Diatrope Institute 2342 Shattuck Ave, #527 Berkeley, CA 94704 USA ione [at] diatrope [dot] com After spending several afternoons with Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, engaging with light-filled kaleidoscopic environments, his free-standing sculpture, his series of wall-mounted photographic stills, and his reconfiguration of elements (e.g., moss, water, rock, etc.), it is clear that Eliasson's reputation as a seasoned and influential artist is well deserved. Words are not capable of replicating the real time sensory engagement with the ordinary spaces that he transforms into sites of wonder. Indeed, it is even hard to say whether the results are art, science, architecture, play, or something else entirely. Fortunately, for those not yet acquainted with his work, the full-scale survey now on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will also travel to New York, Dallas, and Sydney, Australia (see below). Suffice to say that Take Your Time captures Eliasson's ability to promote an awareness of the conventions of seeing and stimulates a critical attitude toward the processes of perception as well. It is an effective space for displaying his distinctive energy, inviting the viewer's active participation, and raising perceptual questions. On display are the six fundamental aspects of his practice: a distinctive use of mirrors to displace the viewer's perception of both object and self; an exploration of light and optical phenomena via immersive environments that interact with the viewer for full effect; the use of kaleidoscopic elements to bring the outdoors into the gallery, merging nature with culture; a deep attention to and manipulation of landscape referents; a disposition toward scientific methods and materials, including the willful exposure of the creative process; and, finally, photographic suites of the Icelandic landscape. Among the most tantalizing pieces in the show is the One-way Colour Tunnel (2007), a walk-through structure built on the Museum's thirty-eight-foot pedestrian sky bridge and visible from the atrium five stories below. Serving as one of two entrances to the show, (the other one is from off the elevator), this piece demonstrates how effectively the artist takes advantage of this museum's architectural features (much the way the Sol LeWitt exhibition at SFMOMA did several years ago). Saying that this work's position and visibility invites the viewer in, while accurate, would seem to underplay the degree to which each installation stimulates active participation. Constructed with stainless steel, color-effect acrylic, and acrylic mirrors, two aspects of the construction continued to fascinate me. One is that it evoked the kaleidoscopes I used as a child. These devices contained mirrors and colored objects, and when held to the light and turned, an evolving symmetrical pattern would emerge. Within the One-way Colour Tunnel, it is as if you have walked into a kaleidoscope. Ambient light seamlessly meshes with the object, and the pattern alters with your movement. This sensation of natural immersion feels more organic than computer-assisted virtual reality, although no less effective. The second aspect of this piece that fascinates me is its involvement with the light that surrounds the tunnel, much of which comes through the many windows at the museum. Each time I walked through the tunnel, I wondered how much the colors would change from day to day or even as the sun followed its course throughout the day. Multiple Grotto (2004), an enchanting stainless steel piece owned by SFMOMA, also has perfect pitch. Here, too, the artwork is a dramatic extension beyond the tubular kaleidoscope that one holds. The cones that form this walk-in sculpture are based upon crystalline patterns found in nature. When standing within its core and gazing out through the myriad openings, the viewer sees the kaleidoscopic colors of the surrounding environment turned into a pattern that changes as other people travel around outside of the sculpture. From the outside, it is obvious that the open, outer ends of the cones have different shapes and angles, with some having three sides and others four. This influences the geometry of the patterned reflections that form on the mirrors, although I cannot comment specifically on how. What I can say is that the installation created a meditative feeling (in a sublime sense) without removing my cognitive impulse to know how it worked, although this comparison may sound like a self-contradiction. More thought-provoking than meditative is The Model Room, a collection of objects intended to provide a glimpse into Eliasson's creative process, (e.g., Möbius strips, mirrored geodesic domes, quasi-crystals made of foamcore and foil, kaleidoscopes, and intricate lattice shapes based on mathematical principles). These maquettes and mixed media models features the inquisitiveness that is at play in Eliasson's studio. Some of the catalogue essays mention that these studies are often unsuccessful explorations. Yet, overall they express a rigor that belies the sensual triggers within the art itself. His studio, it seems, serves as a laboratory for investigating diverse materials and forms and, within this space, he seems to balance the intuitive and mathematical sides of his mind. On the one hand, the clutter brings to mind the curiosity cabinets of earlier eras. But, on the other hand, when walking amid the experiments, it is evident that the predominantly geometrical shapes on display are strikingly different from his artistic installations. It is not just a question of the clutter versus the sparseness of the artistic enterprises. It is also that the mathematical inclination seemed to predominate. Thus, while said to represent a playful, creative side of his work, the objects do not suggest the kind of playfulness frequently associated with art. I can recall art instructors telling me long ago that you need to know the rules before you can break them. This is the comment that comes to mind when reflecting on The Model Room. What also comes to mind in this studiolo is Eliasson's aspiration that his art should stimulate communication. Each time I visited the show I found myself engaging with strangers and friends as we discussed our perceptions and how all of the exhibits "worked." In The Model Room, however, I found that Eliasson himself was the person I wanted to communicate with about the various objects. Talking to others was simply speculative and no one else could say what his goal was with each model, or explain precisely how he expanded on what he learned when he moved his "exercises" into the art. (Similarly, when it seemed that one of the stills in The Domadalur Daylight Series [South] [2006] was out of order, I would have liked to ask him if this was the case. Unfortunately, I could not find this series reproduced in the catalogue.) A short review cannot touch upon the variety of experiences available at the show. Much could be said about the mist and rainbow of Beauty (1993), the spectral panoramic within the 360º Room for All Colours (2002), the smell and texture of the Moss Wall (1994), and Remagine (2002), a room with spotlights that creates a moving illusion of distance and depth. All deserve more attention, as does the second Eliasson show at SFMOMA, Your Tempo (on view at SFMOMA until January 13, 2008), which features a work created as part of a long-running art car program sponsored by BMW. It is intended to focus our attention on the relation between car design and global warming. This exhibition also includes another suite of photographs and a short film focusing on a series of workshops in the artist's studio. The large-format, high-quality catalogue that accompanies Take Your Time does a fine job in critically placing Eliasson's work and supplementing the display. Edited by Madeleine Grynsztejn, who also curated the show, this publication includes more than two hundred color reproductions and 6 essays that survey Eliasson's most significant works from 1990 to the present. Eliasson's conversation with Robert Irwin offers a glimpse into the practices of both artists. Enhanced by a photograph of them speaking and supplemented by reproductions of Irwin's work that make it easy to see their stylistic affinities, it alone is worth the price of the book. Several essays reference The Weather Project, exhibited at the Tate Museum from 2003-2004 and no doubt Eliasson's best-known work. Other tantalizing projects that I wish I could detail here are also brought into focus (e.g., Green River and Frost Activity). Several sections of photographs document his career to date. These images are large enough to offer a sense of the work, with many angles and details offering further clarification. I was fascinated to see how malleable the installations are. For example, the dimensions of the rooms in the reproductions for the Moss Wall and the Room for One Colour as shown in the reproductions are clearly different from the rooms used at SFMOMA. Even from the printed visuals it was easy to imagine how my sense of the space would change had I experienced the alternative environments, where the rooms appeared larger and lower than the ones in the SFMOMA space. Many of the essays also integrate how Eliasson has been influenced by thinkers outside the art world who have commented on perceptual experience, (e.g., Merleau-Ponty, Bergson, Varela, etc.). While exceptional in most respects, Take Your Time is not flawless. Some pieces, such as the site-specific One-way Color Tunnel (2007), complement the SFMOMA space well. At other times, I thought the overall layout had some drawbacks. I missed the 360º Room for All Colours (2002) room on my first visit, found it on the second walkthrough, and missed it the third time, to my amazement, because I had planned to show it to a companion during the visit. The layout also provides two points of entry, which seemed unusual to me after reading the catalogue. Grynsztejn, for example, writes in her essay that Eliasson often opens his exhibitions with a Room for One Colour (1997) to underline the productive operation of our perceptual qualities. If one takes the elevator, the show does indeed begin that way. However, taking the stairs brings one in through the One-way Color Tunnel, which I think is a better place to start. I entered both ways, on different days, and think the bridge offers a more striking entry point. Also noteworthy is the degree to which this exhibition immediately brings to mind the Light and Space artists, James Turrell and Robert Irwin in particular. For example, the Room for One Colour (1997) reminded me of Turrell's Ganzfeld spaces, although Eliasson's work seems to have more conceptual affinities with Irwin's approach. Eliasson does distinguish himself from these older artists with his decision to expose the mechanical apparatus so that viewers can ponder how the pieces are contrived. Notion Motion (2005) shows his approach well. Visitors enter a darkened gallery with a floor of wooden planks and a gray floor-to-ceiling scrim. It quickly becomes apparent that stepping on some of the raised planks will change the wave pattern rippling on the scrim. Upon leaving this space one discovers that, behind the scrim, is the apparatus that pilots the display: a spotlight is focused on a large, shallow basin of water and the performative act creates the ripple effect on the water's surface that is projected onto the vertical scrim. All in all, Eliasson's effectiveness stems from his ability to bring you into the created environment. Take Your Time does so admirably. After seeing the show several times, I concluded that the title, Take Your Time, which struck me as a bit clichéd initially, is an apt one. Each time I walked away from the exhibits, the magic of Eliasson's creations continued to linger and my reflections drew me back to the rewarding process of being with the work. Without a doubt, this show is a must-see for all people interested in the varied ways in which art, science, and natural phenomena converge to create extraordinary, multisensory experiences. Artists, art historians, vision scientists, philosophers, and general enthusiasts will, I believe, also find that the catalogue is a definitive and comprehensive resource. Tour schedule: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: September 8, 2007, to February 24, 2008. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and P.S.1Contemporary Art Center: April 20 to June 30, 2008. Dallas Museum of Art: November 9, 2008, to March 15, 2009. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia: summer 2009. < (Un)common Ground: Creative Encounters across Sectors and Disciplines > Edited by Cathy Brickwood, Bronac Ferran, David Garcia and Tim Putnam BIS Publishers, Amsterdam, 2007 159 pp. Paper. ISBN: 978-90-6369-166-0 Reviewed by Jonathan Zilberg jonathanzilberg [at] gmail [dot] com (Un)common Ground: Creative Encounters across Sectors and Disciplines is an inspiring collection of reflective case studies of multi-dimensional cross-sector collaborations between the academic and commercial worlds, specifically in the context of a partnership between the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU) and the media center Virtueel Platform, with support from Arts Council England. The book itself, written in the spirit of "radical pragmatism," emerged from a seminar for media experts at Amsterdam's Cross Media Week in 2006. Its aim is to investigate the dynamics of interdisciplinary practice and identify research methodologies so as to better understand how academic research and the creative industries involved in new media can engage in collaborations in mutually enriching ways. Above all, it is the intriguing notion of uncommon rather than common ground that make this such an intellectually interesting book, that is, in participatory challenges and in the contingencies, the incommensurability and the provisional relations through which knowledge emerges in interdisciplinary cross-sector collaborations. True to the title, each chapter reveals how creativity emerges from uncommon ground and how inter-disciplinary projects that nurture this natural incommensurability can produce unintended creative consequences. One of the most interesting aspects of the study is how it self-reflectively documents the unfolding of its own creation. The way in which it does so not only provides a useful model for conceptualizing, organizing, managing and documenting such projects but a record of some interesting new ventures. For instance, in the realm of art education, a guild system has been revived to provide a transitional space for art students entering the market place. Other ventures can be found in the emergent fields of inclusive design and consumer driven innovation and in the use of inclusive design in the public sphere in grassroots creative communities, and much more. In addition, (Un)common Ground describes the emergence of tactical innovation media labs and lab culture as a service industry that can be combined with educational projects so as to provide a context for enabling generative and constructivist learning environments linking academia and industry. In short, no one interested in working in new media and cross sector inter-disciplinary collaborations can afford not to read this book. That being said, the problematic aspect of this study lies in its underlying idealist sense that there is an irresolvable contradiction between creativity on the artist's part and control in industry, that is between the desire for uncontrolled expression and the power and need of the organizer to facilitate and control that expression for the purpose of the collaboration. Beyond that tension, the most interesting insights in this study have to do with how knowledge emerges in such contexts. Here it is Ann Galloway's fascinating conclusion, which stands out as remarkable. Galloway explores why we need to closely examine the scars and seams that in effect structurally define these projects. As she relates, it is important to understand what gets cut, where, when and why, and of how knowledge comes to lie in the fold. Thus beyond the markedly brief case studies, it is Galloway's reflection combined with Trebor Scholz's reprinted article "The Participatory Challenge" from Curating Immateriality (2006) that provide the kind of intellectual labor that both intellectually oriented managers and artists will want to attend. Some of these more theorized discussions are indeed surprisingly stimulating, surprising in terms of how, while they come across as intellectually playful, they are nevertheless rigorous and important for understanding new media and the changing nature of the world in the age of mass participation, or should we say potential mass participation. For instance, Charles Leadbeater introduces the notion of the beach ethic, drawing on the ordered and self-regulated behavior we experience on beaches without overt control. His insights into the profound shifts occurring in contemporary society make for fascinating reading. When read against the tensions expressed in the participatory and collaborative challenges as evident in the wide-ranging discussion of ownership, constraints and dissent in open and closed systems in Ferran's article, the fully collaborative intellectual nature of this project becomes particularly evident. There are several interesting issues relating to collaborative projects that stand out in this study. Historically, the project is interesting because it documents the creation of a new artists' guild society in Holland, where such guilds first originated, but this time in the institutionalization of interdisciplinary cross-sectoral collaborations. In terms of team building, the project is interesting as these collaborations rely on bringing together individuals who have sufficient common ground in terms of their broad competencies and uncommon ground in their respective specialist depth. And yet, despite the claims for a unique productive nexus of professionalism and achievement of the aims of the interdisciplinary creative quest, stark contradictions and shortcomings emerge - indeed uncommon ground. Two central assumptions of the study are questionable: the said rarity of successful collaborations and the importance of accepting anti-consensus over the importance of achieving consensus. Moreover, it is perhaps telling that after the collaborations, every artist stated that they would have been keen to accept a job with the companies they had worked with and yet in no instance did the companies make any such offers. The question then might be asked that if these type of collaborations were as successful as claimed, in terms of being innovative and economically productive, then why did industry not hire any of these artists with the mutual diplomatic caveat instead of allowing for the possibility of future such internships and collaborations? What has been left unsaid here, what has been cut out to a large degree, is industry's perspective, wherein in fact lies the essential differences in the critical folding process. These are the questions that I am left with, especially considering how exceedingly scant the bibliographies are in terms of engaging the enormous literature on collaborations more generally. This is particularly revealing, perhaps, in that interdisciplinary cross-sectoral collaborations are highly productive when common ground and common aims are established to achieve specific ends. One is left wondering whether collaborations involving new media are so different from other forms of collaboration that the larger literature on collaboration could not have been bridged, abridged or - in the language of this study - folded in. Simply put, in the cutting and folding process, the whole history of collaboration in the arts, science, academia and industry has been left out of the equation. Besides the challenge for more academically rigorous work, it is arguable on another level that the flaw in this study lies in the privileging of the anti-consensus model. Artists are herein being treated as gifted outsiders whose egos have to be protected in order to sustain the collaboration. Crudely put, they have to be tolerated for their potential creative input in a process in which the requirements of business to achieve particular types of products for specific ends are seen oppositionally as antithetical to the creative process. For instance, in the spirit of allowing for uncommon ground and an anti-consensus model the concerns of the managers are set aside in order not to dampen the artist's creativity. In these instances, as predicted by business, the results were indeed unsuccessful. It seems to me that there is a double standard at work in which the knowledge of the managers of the requirements of the market is not given equal standing as the need to pamper the artist. On the other hand, when one examines any successful creative industry, I would contend, that acute creative consensus and acceptance of the need to sometimes make difficult and contentious decisions is part of the process of creating any great work of art, product or project. It is surely this delicacy over avoiding rather than accepting conflict that weakens this project in its practical dimensions over and above the acceptance of the plurality of difference. Indeed, in order to analyze and reflect upon this range of experience, an anthropologist, Samuelle Carson, was hired by Arts Council England to report upon the Interact Programme in which artists were placed in creative industrial contexts. In stark contrast to the other articles in this study, Carson emphasizes a great deal of common ground and how the real differences devolve upon ownership of intellectual property generated during such collaborations. In significantly furthering this discussion, Bronac Ferran provides a critical article on contracts, "Models of Ownership in Challenges of Contemporary Creativity," which highlights the 2006 Intellectual Property Summit: Codes and Creativity through drawing together comments by key figures in new media collaborations such as Roger Malina. In this domain, it is particularly interesting to read how contracts are seen as boundary objects that allow for security and common ground. Ultimately perhaps, it is the dynamic between creativity and control that emerges as this study's contribution, an issue of substance to which Sholz and Galloway add powerful insight. However, all in all, considering that the seminar in Amsterdam (out of which this book emerged) was organized in the spirit of a radical pragmatism with the explicit goal of examining "what actually happens" in collaborations so as to dramatize differences, surely a more nuanced perspective on power and the irreducible difference between pure and applied creativity is required. In order for managers, educators and art and design professionals to engage in productive cross-sector collaborations, one has to achieve at least provisional common ground in order to create a successful product or manage a successful collaboration. And there not only should we nurture and accept friction as conflict zones in which decisions as to what to cut and how to fold inevitably have to be made but draw on the virtually galactic history of such experience both positive and negative. For instance, perhaps the starkest contradiction in the inter-disciplinary era lies in the claim that while academic institutions are populated by the most creative, innovative and individualistic of people, these same institutions, in contrast to industry when required, show the greatest resistance to change. In some degree this is certainly the case in the sense that fully interdisciplinary work can only be done from the professional safety of a firm location within one's own discipline. In fact, as interdisciplinary work is deeply constrained by turf wars between and within disciplines, it might best be seen as a zone of productive conflict akin to the folding process defining uncommon ground. While the struggle between cultural studies and anthropology is a particularly divisive example, when one considers the extraordinary vitality of the emergence of new cross-connecting sub-fields in biology, genetics and biochemistry, the vast productive nexus of university research and industry and the whole history of the industrial revolution and design, and the response to it in the Arts and Crafts Movement, never mind the penultimate example of Leonardo Da Vinci as an arts and scientist arms consultant, one has to wonder at the way in which this new Dutch guild assesses the assumed irresolvable differences between business and academia, arts and sciences, process and product. Perhaps the greatest value of better understanding uncommon ground then is that it provides us with a means to achieving more productive common ground. ______________________________________________________ LEONARDO, VOL. 41, No.1 (January 2008) TABLE OF CONTENTS AND SELECTED ABSTRACTS ______________________________________________________ < Editorial: A Call for New Leonardos > by Roger F. Malina _______________________ Special Section: Art Embodies A-Life: The VIDA Competition < Art Embodies A-life: The VIDA Competition > by Nell Tenhaaf Abstract: Artificial life artworks hold a unique place in the art world, one that has been largely mapped by the VIDA international competition through its annual recognition of outstanding works based on A-life. Works that have received awards since the VIDA competition began in 1999 (25 prize-winning artworks and 56 honorary mentions) have gained viewer appreciation and popularity at the same level as any other kind of art. Yet these works define a territory of their own, delineated here through characteristics of A-life art that arise from both the artist's studio and the research lab and that mark the 25 awarded artworks. Following this article, the Leonardo VIDA gallery presents a selection of eight prize-winning works that show the breadth of the competition to date; each is discussed here. The VIDA gallery: Paula Gaetano; France Cadet; Federico Muelas; Scott Draves; Michelle Teran and Jeff Mann; Haruki Nishijima; María Verstappen and Erwin Driessens; Marc Böhlen and JT Rinker _______________________ Artist's Article < Fractured Cybertales: Navigating the Feminine > by Juliet Davis ABSTRACT: The author considers ways in which her interactive artworks "fracture" narratives relating to femininity and critique web-design conventions that often encode these narratives. In the process, she discusses how interactive media and electronic culture provide unique opportunities for exploring gender. _______________________ Special Section: Leonardo on Leonardo da Vinci < Introduction: Leonardo and Leonardo da Vinci > by David Carrier < Leonardo da Vinci and Perpetual Motion > by Allan A. Mills ABSTRACT: Leonardo da Vinci illustrated several traditional forms of "perpetual-motion machine" in small pocket books now known as the Codex Forster. He was well aware that these designs, based on waterwheel/pump combinations, mechanical overbalancing hammers or rolling balls, would not---and could not---work. < L'Arte dei "Romori": Leonardine Devotion in Luigi Russolo's Oeuvre > by Luciano Chessa ABSTRACT: The author has discerned a deep interest in the occult arts at the core of Luigi Russolo's Art of Noises. Such an interest is confirmed by Russolo's admiration for Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo's writings on music and acoustics constituted in fact a scientific and spiritual paradigm for Russolo; the former's mechanical musical-instrument projects were important models for Russolo's own, from 1913's intonarumori to the nuovo istrumento musicale a corde of 1931. Perhaps because of the futurists' ambivalent position toward the figure of Leonardo (proto-futurist or passatista), Russolo profusely quoted Leonardo but carefully avoided mentioning any borrowing. < Leonardo, Nonlinearity and Integrated Systems > by Ian M. Clothier ABSTRACT: In one of his lesser-known studies of flow, Leonardo da Vinci in 1513 came upon yet another question he could not answer: When blood hits the wall of the heart, does the flow split in two? In 1977, this question was answered by Albert Libchaber in an experiment that became a cornerstone of chaos theory. Can Leonardo's question, Libchaber's solution and notions of integrated systems be drawn together to create a whole? While this trajectory has its limitations, the journey has some rewards, taking in Leonardo's cosmology, chaos theory, poststructuralist philosophy, the Polynesian worldview, the Internet and the weather. < The Proportional Consistency and Geometry of Leonardo's Giant Crossbow > by Matthew Landrus ABSTRACT: The traditional scholarly appraisal of Leonardo's Giant Crossbow design dismisses it as a fanciful object, although often with praise of it as a quintessential example of his technical draftsmanship. The author offers evidence of Leonardo's likely intent that the drawing function as a reliable plan with which readers of a treatise on military engineering could consider a strategy, or an imaginative solution (a fantasia), for building the full-scale giant crossbow. At issue are the agreements between the illustrated dimensions and the written specifications, the proportional consistency of those dimensions and the possible use of Archimedean geometry to determine the primary dimensions. _______________________ Special Section: REFRESH! Conference Papers < Introduction: The Reception and Rejection of Art and Technology: Exclusions and Revulsions > by Edward Shanken < Gordon Pask: Cybernetic Polymath > by María Fernández ABSTRACT: Despite his influence in art, architecture and theater, British cybernetician Gordon Pask is rarely acknowledged in histories of digital culture and virtually unknown in the history of art. Pask is better known as a theoretician than as an artist or designer, although his machines, artwork and theories were closely related. This article investigates the relevance of specific aspects of Pask's theories to his best-known artwork, TheColloquy of Mobiles, to illustrate his characteristic unification of science and art, and theory and material experimentation. Select works of contemporary art are discussed to indicate Pask's significance to contemporary art practices. < From Technophilia to Technophobia: The Impact of the Vietnam War on the Reception of "Art and Technology" > by Anne Collins Goodyear ABSTRACT: Using the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's 1971 exhibition "Art and Technology" as a case study, this essay examines a shift in attitude on the part of influential American artists and critics toward collaborations between art and technology from one of optimism in the mid-1960s to one of suspicion in the early 1970s. The Vietnam War dramatically undermined public confidence in the promise of new technology, linking it with corporate support of the war. Ultimately, the discrediting of industry-sponsored technology not only undermined the premises of the LACMA exhibition but also may have contributed to the demise of the larger "art and technology" movement in the United States. < Vladimir Bonačić: Computer-Generated Works Made within Zagreb's New Tendencies Network (1961–-1973) > by Darko Fritz ABSTRACT: Scientist Vladimir Bonačić began his artistic career in 1968 under the auspices of the international New Tendencies movement (NT). From 1968 to 1971 Bonačić created a series of "dynamic objects"---interactive computer-generated light installations, five of which were set up in public spaces. The author shows the context of Bonačić's work within the Zagreb cultural environment dominated by the New Tendencies movement and network (1961--1973). The paper shows his theoretical and practical criticism of the use of randomness in computer-generated art and describes his working methods as combining the algebra of Galois fields and an anti-commercial approach with custom-made hardware. It seems that Bonačić's work fulfills and develops Matko Meštrović's proposition that "in order to enrich that which is human, art must start to penetrate the extra-poetic and the extra-human." _______________________ From the Leonardo Archive < Letterpress Language: Typography as a Medium for the Visual Representation of Language > by Johanna Drucker _______________________ Leonardo Reviews Reviews by Rob Harle, Nick Cronbach, Amy Ione, George Shortess, Jan Baetens, Stefaan Van Ryssen, Allan Graubard, Craig Hilton, Michael R. (Mike) Mosher,Geoff Cox, Mike Leggett, Kathryn Adams _______________________ Transactions < Graph Theory: Linking Online Musical Exploration to Concert Hall Performance > by Jason Freeman < The Seven Valleys: Capturing the Numinous in a 3D Computer Game Engine > by Chris Nelson < Obliterated Bodies: An Installation > by Ersan Ocak and Safak Uysal < Picbreeder: Collaborative Interactive Evolution of Images > by Jimmy Secretan, Nicholas Beato, David B. D'Ambrosio, Adelein Rodriguez, Adam Campbell and Kenneth O. Stanley ______________________________________________________ LEONARDO NETWORK NEWS ______________________________________________________ < Leonardo Connects with Educators and Students > As part of an ongoing effort to connect with the educational community, Leonardo/ISAST continues to promote several initiatives under the Leonardo Educators and Students Program. These include participation in conferences and events in the areas of art, science, technology and pedagogy through the Leonardo Education Forum, publication of Ph.D., MA and MFA thesis papers in the Leonardo Abstracts Service (LABS), job postings on the Leonardo International Faculty Alerts list (LIFA) and special discounts on student memberships. Students working in or interested in art, science and engineering are invited to join the Leonardo community with an annual associate membership to Leonardo/ISAST at the special student rate of $50 ( U.S.), $53 (Canada) or $83 (all other countries). Benefits include associate membership in the organization, discounts on books and invitations to join us at conferences and symposia, including the College Art Association Conference, SIGGRAPH, ISEA and others. Leonardo/ISAST is also interested in connecting with educational organizations and organizations with similar goals and interests through the Leonardo Organizational Membership Program, which was initiated in 2004 and continues to expand with new member organizations worldwide. Through the program, Leonardo/ISAST connects members of the Leonardo network and with organizations, faculty and students who are working at the confluence of art, science and technology. For more information about the Leonardo Educators and Students Program, visit: < leonardo.info/isast/educators.html>. For more information about student or organizational memberships, please visit the members page of Leonardo On-Line: . < Leonardo Electronic Almanac Named Official Media Sponsor of ISEA 2008 > We are pleased to announce that the Leonardo Electronic Almanac is the official media partner for the conference of the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2008, which is to be held in Singapore, 25 July to 3 August 2008. The conference will be held alongside workshops, courses, exhibitions, performances and other events over the duration of ISEA2008. The conference, as in previous ISEAs, is expected to bring together artists, theorists, historians, curators and researchers of media arts from around the world to jointly explore the most urgent and exciting questions in the field. The five themes of ISEA2008 (Locating Media, Wiki Wiki, Ludic Interfaces, Reality Jam and Border Transmission) are especially focused on eliciting a wide range of international scholars and artists. < Leonardo Collaborates on Art and Climate Project > In celebration of Leonardo's 40th anniversary, Leonardo is collaborating on a three-year project with Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny. The collaboration, tied to the Leonardo/OLATS Pioneers & Pathbreakers Project and directed by Annick Bureaud, will include an exhibition coupling pioneers in art, science and technology with younger artists working in the same conceptual territories. In addition, the collaboration includes a three-year project, coordinated by the Leonardo Lovely Weather Art and Climate Working Group, which explores the ways in which artists and scientists are working together to address issues around global warming and climate change. The Leonardo co-sponsored YASMIN network initiated a discussion around the topic in November 2007 led by Janine Randerson. The thread is available on-line at . Leonardo seeks to document the works of artists, researchers and scholars involved in the exploration of weather and climate (change) and is soliciting texts for *Leonardo* and Leonardo Transactions, special issue proposals for the Leonardo Electronic Almanac and book proposals for the Leonardo Book Series. More information about the collaboration and how to submit material is available at: < www.leonardo.info/isast/spec.projects/lovelyweather.html>. < Leonardo Book Series Enjoys Another Successful Year > The Leonardo Book Series (LBS) continues to buzz with activity, with 6 new titles published in 2007 and many more in the pipeline. New titles in 2007 included: *Digital Performance,* by Steve Dixon; *MediaArtHistories*, edited by Oliver Grau; *From Technological to Virtual Art,* by Frank Popper; * META/DATA*, by Mark Amerika; *Signs of Life*, edited by Eduardo Kac; and *The Hidden Sense*, by Crétien van Campen. In June 2007, the publication of Eduardo Kac's book *Signs of Life* was celebrated in Paris, France with a roundtable discussion between Kac, Frank Popper, Roger Malina and Annick Bureaud (as moderator), on the role and issues of publishing for new art forms. In July 2007 LBS authors Mark Amerika and Alex Galloway each gave keynote addresses at the Tate Modern in London for the "Disrupting Narratives" symposium. In November 2007 LBS Editor-in-Chief Sean Cubitt, LBS author/editor Oliver Grau (*MediaArtHistories)* and LBS author Lev Manovich (*The Language of New Media)* participated in a telelecture, hosted by Danube University, titled "Remixing Cinema: Future and Past of Moving Images." The LBS continues to welcome new proposals by authors interested in publishing material in the converging realm of art, science and technology. Editorial guidelines are available on-line: < http://leonardo.info/isast/leobooks.html>. < Discussion on Tenure in Art/Science/Technology Departments > A discussion has been initiated on the Leonardo Education Forum (LEF) list about promotion and tenure for faculty in art/science/technology departments. See . The discussion was initiated by LEF in response to a paper outlining criteria being developed at the University of Maine in the U.S.A. The paper, titled "New Criteria for New Media," authored by Joline Blais, Jon Ippolito and Owen Smith in collaboration with Steve Evans and Nate Stormer, is available on the LEF web site: . LEF is interested in approaches by other universities for evaluating and promoting young faculty in hybrid practices that may involve professional activity in both the arts and sciences or engineering, traditional scholarly publishing or new on line publishing mechanisms. Leonardo Education Forum is focused on the professional interests of educators and young faculty as well as young professionals intending to enter teaching careers. To join the LEF discussion list, visit the LEF web site: 2007--2008 Chairs: Eddie Shanken (Chair); Andrea Polli (Co-Chair), Nina Czegledy (Co-Chair), Victoria Vesna (Co-Chair) 2007/8 Graduate and Emerging Professional Chairs: Mariah Klaneski, Josh Levy, Justin Cone < Smart Textiles: Science and Technology of Textile Art > A number of articles have been published in *Leonardo* and *Leonardo Music Journal* on topics related to the textile arts. The Smart Textiles special project expands on Leonardo's archive of textile art documentation by focusing on textile artists and scientists around the world who work with smart textiles or the new textiles science and technology. The project is supported by the Marjorie Duckworth Malina Fund, which honors the memory of a key longtime supporter of Leonardo/ISAST. The project recognizes Marjorie's dedication to the ideals of international cooperation by emphasizing the participation of artists throughout the world. Artists and researchers interested in writing about their work involving the science and technology of smart textile and clothing arts are invited to view the Leonardo Editorial Guidelines and related information at < leonardo.info/Authors> and send in a manuscript proposal to <* leonardomanuscripts at gmail.com>.*** A list of articles previously published in *Leonardo* and *LMJ* over the years is available on the Leonardo web site at: < www.leonardo.info/isast/journal/calls/smartextiles_call.html>. < Leonardo Day at UC Berkeley New Media Festival > Leonardo/ISAST is pleased to host a day-long symposium on June 3, 2008, devoted to art, science and technology as part of the UC Berkeley New Media Festival in Berkeley, CA. The two-day academic conference will be augmented with digital art exhibitions, social events and campus events and is scheduled to occur immediately before the ZeroOne Festival in San Jose, CA. One day of the UC Berkeley festival will be hosted by the UC Berkeley Center for New Media and directed by Richard Rinehart (Digital Media Director & Adjunct Curator, Berkeley Art Museum University of California at Berkeley). The other day will be hosted by Leonardo/ISAST as part of the Leonardo 40th anniversary celebrations. The theme of Leonardo Day is "Remix: From Science to Art and Back in the Digital Age"; it will include presentations by Steve Wilson, Bronac Ferran, Jim Crutchfield, Chris Chafe, Michael Joaquin Grey, Laura Peticolas, Douglas Kahn, Ruth West, Gordan Wozniak and Wayne Lanier. More information about the event is available on the Leonardo web site: < www.leonardo.info>. < In memoriam: Karlheinz Stockhausen > By Annick Bureaud The German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen died 5 December 2007 at his home in Kürten (Germany). Unanimously regarded as one of the most important figures in contemporary music, Stockhausen composed a large number of works that have profoundly marked the second half of the 20th century. A pioneer of electronic music in Köln in the early 1950s, the inventor of the Momentform and a genuine visionary who was involved in numerous innovations, Stockhausen will be remembered for his unwavering desire to discover new aesthetic horizons. In 2002, Bruno Bossis wrote a very detailed notice about Stockhausen---to which he very kindly contributed by providing information and images---in the framework of the Leonardo/Olats Pioneers & Pathbreakers project . Leonardo would like to thank him again and pay homage to the great artist he has been. < In memoriam: Dimitris Skoufis > Dimitris Skoufis, the co-publisher, webmaster and member of the Board of Directors of the non-governmental organization Artopos , is no longer with us. After an unequal battle with cancer, he passed away on the morning of Thursday, 22 November 2007. His early departure at the age of 54 bereaves his friends and colleagues of an impressive mind and a big heart. "Art in the Age of Biotechnological Revolution," a bilingual book-catalogue, subsidized by the I. Kostopoulos Foundation, to be published by Futura Publications, is dedicated to his memory. Dimitris Skoufis was an electrical engineer from the University of Patras who had struggled against the military Greek regime of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a multifaceted, talented person, a pioneer in Internet theory and practice and multilingual. Skoufis was a man of a concrete literary and philosophical background, a remarkable columnist for *ANTI* magazine and a gifted teacher at the Mass Media Studies Department of the University of Athens. He had been dearly loved by his students at the university and his professor Michalis Meimaris, as well as by his colleagues at Oracle, where he contributed as a localization consultant. His loss leaves a serious, irreplaceable gap, and all of us who cared for him are in mourning. _____________________________ LEONARDO NETWORK NEWS COORDINATOR: Kathleen Quillian kq [@] leonardo [dot] info ______________________________________________________ BYTES ______________________________________________________ < Rensselaer Polytechnic seeks Electronic Arts Department Head > The School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic seeks a prominent artist, writer or educator, in any area of electronic art or music, to lead an innovative electronic arts department. The candidate should have a proven teaching, professional and administrative track record. The spectrum of responsibilities for this position would range from teaching, to interfacing with EMPAC (the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) and the Institute, to mentoring and supporting faculty and staff. This position requires a Ph.D., MFA, or other terminal degree. The candidate should be eligible for appointment at Associate or Full Professor rank with tenure. The iEAR Studios (integrated Electronic Arts at Rensselaer) of the Department of the Arts at Rensselaer is dedicated to interdisciplinary creative research in electronic arts. As an art program situated within a technological university, it offers a uniquely creative environment for development and realization of innovative music and art, performance and interdisciplinary art works. The department's Ph.D. in Electronic Arts, MFA degree program, and thriving undergraduate programs (BS E-ARTS and EMAC) attract accomplished faculty and students. The department's iEAR Presents! is a longstanding public performance series. In fall 2008, Rensselaer will open EMPAC, which will become a major research center. Rensselaer is located in Troy, New York, in the vibrant and growing Capital District area, 150 miles north of New York City. Please see the impressive array of faculty, students and projects: http://www.arts.rpi.edu To apply, send a resume, a cover letter describing your qualifications and interest in our program, and a sample of your work. Letter of recommendation may be requested after receipt of your application. Work samples may be in the form of scores, articles, books, videotapes, DVDs, CDs, websites, or other media. Applications will be considered beginning January 15, 2008, and will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications should be sent to: Igor Vamos, Chair, Faculty Search Committee, iEAR Studios, Arts Department, West Hall, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180 USA tel: 518-276-4778, fax: 518-276-4370 email: vamosi at rpi.edu. _____________________________ < Cleveland Institute of Art seeks Assistant/Associate Professor for Biomedical Art Department > The Cleveland Institute of Art is accepting nominations and applications for a Biomedical Art faculty member in the Institute's Department of Biomedical Art. The Department is committed to providing the student with a solid foundation in the basic natural and medical science, new media theory, and applied and fine art intersections of Art, Science, and Technology. Students develop conceptual and technical skills in traditional and digitally integrated media. The curriculum emphasizes: research & knowledge, levels of accuracy and visual communication, values of concept development and educational media, information design and theory, problem solving & critical thinking, cumulative technical skills and proficiency, innovative integration of both digital 2D/3D media and interactivity, and strong professional and presentation/oratory skills. The importance of collaborations, interdisciplinary research, and professional projects are integral to curricular goals and objectives. The Department of Biomedical Art supports a BFA program of study. The Cleveland Institute of Art is seeking a qualified individual to help expand the current department faculty and fill a full-time ranked Assistant/Associate Professor position with a focus on natural science art, media theory, and technology. Qualifications: Minimum of Masters degree from accredited university or college of arts, sciences, and/or technology; record of professional activity, exhibitions, lectures, and published work; administrative & leadership skills are essential; quality driven & experienced in project management, and strong ability to communicate within an interdisciplinary environment; teaching experience at an institution of higher learning preferred; ability to convey technical & conceptual information at different levels for students; good organizational skills in both written and verbal lectures, research, and broad communications; flexibility in communication style for different majors and faculty collaborations; strong research and knowledge in natural sciences, art, media, and technology; demonstrated technical proficiency in digital media with an emphasis on: 2D image development, knowledge of 3D imaging and integration into time-based media, web & interactive media, and aptitude to learn innovative technologies; a demonstrated knowledge in visual problem solving, research methods, science, art, and new media theory, technology, and professional experience in both client-driven and fine-art-driven fields. The Cleveland Institute of Art is a comprehensive school of art and design located in Cleveland's culturally rich district of University Circle. As one of sixteen majors, the Department of Biomedical Art has developed strong curricular collaborations across the Institute's departments and with surrounding institutions such as academics at Case Western Reserve University in Departments of Biology, Anatomy, Cognitive Science, etc. The ability to work with clinicians and professional medical illustrators at the Cleveland Clinic (an internationally known hospital and research facility) is also possible. The available resources of the immediate institutions are significant and range from superlative collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History with a collection of skeletons of 3,000 humans and 1,000 primates, and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, to the Allen Medical Library with a broad medical rare book collection that includes early editions of Vesalius and Albinus. All full-time ranked faculty members participate in departmental and school-wide committees, curriculum development, advising of students, and assessment of programs. Applications should include: curriculum vitae; portfolio of professional work (CD-ROM, DVD, & website); No more than 20 examples demonstrating a broad depth of media & skills; statement of philosophy on teaching; vision statement as to the future direction of art, science, technology, and the education of students involved in the contemporary evolution of the field of biomedical art (formerly medical and scientific illustration, as it is nationally recognized); examples of student work (if applicable); names and contact information of 3 references; SASE for return of materials. Please mail all application materials: Biomedical Art Search, Attn: Tanya Lee Shadle, The Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106 Position begins August 2008. The department's review of candidates' credentials is scheduled to begin January 15, 2008 and will continue until the position is filled. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The Institute offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. Academic transcripts and background check authorizations will be required for finalists. Rank and compensation are commensurate with experience and qualifications. For further information please contact Tanya Lee Shadle at tshadle at cia.edu. The Cleveland Institute of Art is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Visit our website at www.cia.edu _____________________________ < Cleveland Institute of Art Seeks Full-Time Faculty Design Theorist > The Cleveland Institute of Art seeks qualified applicants for a full-time faculty position as Design Theorist at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Candidates should have extensive knowledge of current approaches to theory as integral to culture and society. A primary emphasis will be on an interdisciplinary engagement of production; global politics; ethics; semantics and semiotics; and convergent media. The successful candidate will be engaged in program and curriculum development. Opportunities exist for innovative collaboration and joint program development with neighboring institutions such as Case Western Reserve University. Position begins July 2008. Qualifications: Ph.D. is preferred in one of the following: physics; mathematics; philosophy; cognitive science; technology studies; media studies; information studies; design; or other appropriate field. Applicants should show evidence of professional activity and demonstrate promise of contributing to curricular development at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to teach in the Liberal Arts and Studio areas. Position Requirements: Participation in school-wide committees and assessment of programs is required by full-time ranked faculty members. Review of credentials will begin January 10, 2008. Interested candidates must submit letter of interest summarizing qualifications and teaching philosophy; CV; sample syllabi; and 3 letters of reference to: Design Theorist Search Committee, Attn: Tanya Lee Shadle, The Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1710, tshadle at gate.cia.edu An equal opportunity employer. Visit our web site at www.cia.edu Application packet will be sent to the final candidates along with request for academic transcripts. ________________________________________________________________ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * CREDITS * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ________________________________________________________________ Nisar Keshvani: LEA Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Cronbach: LEA Editor Kathleen Quillian: LEA e-news digest Coordinator Michael Punt: LR Editor-in-Chief Andre Ho: Web Concept and Design Consultant Roger Malina: Leonardo Executive Editor Stephen Wilson: Chair, Leonardo/ISAST Web Committee Craig Harris: Founding Editor Editorial Advisory Board: Irina Aristarkhova, Roy Ascott, Craig Harris, Fatima Lasay, Michael Naimark, Julianne Pierce Gallery Advisory Board: Mark Amerika, Paul Brown, Choy Kok Kee, Steve Dietz, Kim Machan fAf-LEA Corresponding Editors: Lee Weng Choy, Ricardo Dal Farra, Elga Ferreira, Young Hae- Chang, Fatima Lasay, Jose-Carlos Mariategui, Marcus Neustetter, Elaine Ng, Marc Voge ________________________________________________________________ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * LEA PUBLISHING INFORMATION * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ________________________________________________________________ Editorial Address: Leonardo Electronic Almanac PO Box 850 Robinson Road Singapore 901650 keshvani [@] leoalmanac [dot] org ________________________________________________________________ Copyright (2008), Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology All Rights Reserved. Re-posting of the content of this journal is prohibited without permission of Leonardo/ISAST, except for the posting of news and events listings that have been independently received. Leonardo/ISAST and the MIT Press give institutions permission to offer access to LEA within the organization through such resources as restricted local gopher and mosaic services. Open access to other individuals and organizations is not permitted. ________________________________________________________________ < Ordering Information > Leonardo Electronic Almanac is a free supplement to subscribers of Leonardo and Leonardo Music Journal. 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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 -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Thu Feb 14 02:54:57 2008 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:24:57 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Networked Music Review Commission: "Air Detritus" by Miya Masaoka Message-ID: <00ca01c86e86$f50508c0$df0f1a40$@org> Networked Music Review Commission: "Air Detritus" by Miya Masaoka http://turbulence.org/works/detritus "Air Detritus" is derived from sounds that were collected from the air and water detritus of Central Park, New York. Sounds were collected via a 2-way radio submerged in a pond, and on land. The act of recycling materials into a new piece, and re-using objects and sound fragments seems a way to re-imagine the world, a symbolic treatment that enacts the idea of sustainability as an elusive but critical goal of consuming fewer materials. As a consumer working with digital tools, I have accumulated many old monitors, hard drives, cords, and interfaces that are quickly obsolete. The molded plastic and metal have a perverse dialectical relationship to the data of ones and zeros that are transported and stored. This piece is a moment of reflection upon these relationships, and our relationship to the world. - Miya Masaoka "Air Detritus" is a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., for Networked Music Review. It was made possible with the funding from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. BIOGRAPHY Miya Masaoka is a classically trained musician, composer and sound/ installation artist. She has created works for solo koto, laser interfaces, laptop and video. She has also made works for sculpture installations and written scores for ensembles, chamber orchestra and mixed choirs. In her pieces, she often works with the sonification of data, and maps the behavior of brain activity, plants and insect movement to sound. For more Networked_Music_Review Commissions please visit http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review/tags/nmr_commission 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 impeachment at hush.ai Thu Feb 14 06:10:13 2008 From: impeachment at hush.ai (impeachment at hush.ai) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:40:13 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [0war] WORLD AGAINST WAR I [London to DC (March 2008)] Message-ID: <718135E4-D5C5-4145-93D6-6B47F92DF42C@hush.ai> \\PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY...thanks WORLD AGAINST WAR I London to DC (March 15-19 2008) -Join us for World Against War I, the antiwar protest for the people and planet. We are a clandestine organization located within the United States forging an underground movement for the people. We are deeply affected by the events following September 11th and the genocide in the Middle east. Our intention is to disrupt the illegal empire and stop the war machine from functioning from the inside. We will engage the enemy, take advantage of vulnerabilities and expose every weakness. We encourage the people to standup and stand strong with confidence, leadership, and continue organizing against every form of struggle. The politicians in America will continue to wage war for glory and the pigs will not stop, until they are jailed for their crimes against humanity. We call on all free nations of the world, to unite, in our struggle against tyranny and imperialism. The u$ government, International Bankers, war profiteering corporations, along with the president and his administration are guilty. In just four short years, the people of the united states has murdered over one million civilians in Iraq. The parties representing the American people during the genocide, were the DEMOCRAT and REPUBLICAN Parties. The current Democrat and Republican parties that are campaigning for President were DIRECTLY involved in these Crimes Against Peace and will continue using the imperial doctrine. The military war machine continues to feed off the blood of the innocent ruled by the wealthy elite majority. They are now continuing to spread more lies about other countries, breeding hate for the next targets for preemptive invasion. The American media networks are also guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their involvement in using advanced propaganda techniques against the American people. America's dignity and long standing history has been destroyed forever and the people will continue to struggle. We must demand an International tribunal for the entire federal government, media organizations, and all those who participated in these war crimes. Rebel States must consider separation from the union to save itself from slavery by the Federal Reserve dollar. We the people must use every resource available to save mankind from American politicians and special interest war profiteering corporations who will continue to lobby war for profit with the blood of innocent children. Join us for... WORLD AGAINST WAR I MARCH 15-19 2008 jim and the CHANGE team WE WILL NEVER FORGET, WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE this message has been sponsored by 0War & LOOSE CHANGE http://loose-change-911.com TRANSLATE http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY...thanks _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Fri Feb 15 15:00:47 2008 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:30:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] A great Film Festival on East European in Delhi University Message-ID: <74927.98263.qm@web65402.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> If you are around DU do not miss this! DEPARTMENT OF SLAVONIC & FINNO-UGRIAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI with active support from the THE EMBASSY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC cordially invites you to Little Europe 2008 'Todays Youth' A Festival of Films from Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Serbia 12 – 22nd February 2008 at The Academic Research Centre, Guru Teg Bahadur Marg, Opp. Khalsa college, University of Delhi Programme 12th February 2008, Tuesday 1.30pm : Czech Film: The Rebels . 2001 (Rebelove) 109 mins Director : Filip Renc This artistically stylized film tells of a passionate love story that is thwarted by history itself. Graduating high - school senior, Tereza and a young army deserter are the principal characters in a movie dominated by dance and music. The filmmakers goal was to shoot a movie which, though set in against a background of dire historical realities, offers a light gloss on all life’s positive aspects, notably love. Awards – Five wins and two nominations 13th February 2008, Wednesday 14.00 : Hungarian Film: I love Budapest , 2001 (I love Budapest) 85 mins Director :Ágnes Incze This film is about seduction, bad decisions and a world where things are out of place. What can a young man learn in a place where he does not belong; to which he was lured by others or by his false dreams. Four youths are the protagonists of this film. One couple feels at home in this world; they look nice, want to get rich, drive an expensive car and wear expensive clothes. The other girl wears clumsy shoes, daydreams constantly, and dates a clutzy security guard with torn underwear. Such characters cross our path every day, but we pass them unaware. A modern tale, emotional and ironic, in Budapest in the year 2000. abankrupt parish are struggling to come to terms with the post-war environment, complete with 14th February 2008, Thursday 14.0 0 : Serbian Film : When I Grow Up, I'm Gonna Be a Kangaroo,2004 ( Kad porastem bicu kengur) 92 mins Director : Radivoje Andric This is a sincere and profound hymn of the lost generation of post-communist and post-war Serbia. Neverending adolescence, purity, and innocence of young people caught in between their desires to overcome poverty, self-destruction and low self-esteem, and yet their genuine talent to praise life in a unique way. Humor, irony, love misunderstandings, Beckett-like meditations on life make this movie a fresh one and receptive for audience. Three stories intervene to be resolved in awesome finale of catharsis, a closing scene yet never seen in Serbian cinematography. 15th February 2008, Friday 14.00 : Bulgarian Film., L.’S REVOLT 2006, (Buntat na L) 115 mins, Director. : Kiran Kolarov It is 1986. At night, the graduation ball of the English Language High School. The best student – Loris – tries to flee to the West, but he is captured due to a betrayal. Loris is sentenced for political reasons. The slogan at the prison written on the wall with red letters says “If you don't know – we will teach you; if you can't – we will show you how; if you don't want to – we will force you!”, and it is put into practice. Torture, cynicism and physical violence turn the talented young man Loris into a passive and cold-blooded observer. 18th February 2008, Monday 14.0 0 : Film from Bosnia and Herzegovina :Summer in the golden valley,2003 ( Ljeto u zlatnoj dolini)105 MINS Director :Srdjan Vuletic At the traditional Muslim funeral service for his father Fikret Varupa, sixteen year old boy from Sarajevo, learns that his father owes money to Hamid, a man he does not even know. The debt is considerable and Hamid does not want it to go to the grave with the body, so the debt automatically passes from the father to the son. Since in Bosnia this way of collecting debts, at a funeral, is considered to be utterly humiliating, it is never, ever applied. Fikret and his entire family become subjects of ridicule. Fikret, who is practically still a child, is decisive to "redeem his father's soul". Wishing to repay his father's debt and to secure the forgiveness, Fikret wanders into the real world of Sarajevo, the world that is ruled by post-war chaos, misery and poverty and becomes an ideal target for two corrupted policemen who wish to "help" him: 19th February 2008, Tuesday 14.00 : Slovak Film :The Fountain for Suzanne, 2006 (Fontana Pre Zuzanu) 81 mins Director : Dusan Rapos This is a story about the life and troubles of young people living in the city. The teenagers have to face real life, make their first major decisions, and learn that romance sometimes brings disappointment . 20th February 2008, Wednesday 14.0 : Croatian Film :God forbid greater evil. 2002 (Dao ne Bog veceg zla) 95 mins Director : Snjezana Tribuson This delightfully humorous film set in provincial Croatia follows the story of Frula from pre- to post- adolescence, and documents a painfully slow coming of age, offering a sidelong glance at life under Tito. Family troubles, school life, a fascination with motion pictures and a lasting love affair with the daughter of the local cinema projectionist form the backbone of an intimately engaging personal history. Frula is divided between the need for his father's affection and the temptations offered by his maternal uncle, a gambler and black-marketeer who brings a gun and condoms into the house and spends several years in jail. Yet a happy ending is close at hand as Frula graduates, gains the affection of his beloved -- and boards the coach to Zaghreb to attend university. 21st February 2008, Thursday 14.0 : Polish Film: The Debt , 2000 (Dlug ) 107 mins. Director : Krzystof Klauze "The Debt," is a psychological thriller/drama based on a true story. Two young entrepreneurs from Warsaw want to start up a firm manufacturing Italian scooters in Poland but they need money in order to get things going. After the bank refuses to provide them with a loan, they think their whole plan will never work. Then Stefan meets an old friend of his, Gerard, and things change drastically. This is a film about choices, about what one will do when under pressure, without a way out, without hope. It deals with real places, real life people, and the atmosphere that director Kszysztof Krauze has captured is eerie and enthralling. 22nd February 2008, Friday 14.00 : Russian Film: Peter FM, 2006 ( Peter FM) 85 mins Director : Oksana Bichkova This is a film about two young adults whose lives cross thanks to a lost cell phone. They had both already chosen their paths — Maksim as an accomplished architect, and Masha as a happily engaged radio DJ. When Maksim finds Masha’s lost phone, their lives become entangled and they start second-guessing themselves and their choices. These things happen when telecommunication devices get involved, 15.30 : Panel Discussion – Todays youth. Discussants: . - Ms. Smita Banerjee, Dept. of English, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. - Ms. Bindu Menon , Dept. of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College. - Ms. Shikha Jhingan,Documentary Film Maker, Dept of Journalism, Lady Shri ram College. ALL FILMS ARE PROVIDED WITH SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH. ALL SCREENINGS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A DISCUSSION AND TEA P.S. The film on 12th February will be screened at the Conference Centre, Opposite the Botany Department University of Delhi, Chhatra Marg, Delhi. Unfortunately, the balance of nature decrees that a super-abundance of dreams is paid for by a growing potential for nightmares. Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. Peter Ustinov ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From abshi at vsnl.com Fri Feb 15 16:38:42 2008 From: abshi at vsnl.com (abshi at vsnl.com) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:08:42 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Me Pun Mumbaikar - please forward widely Message-ID: It is important that as secular Maharashtrians we speak and not allow the Raj Thackerays of this city to assume the unilateral voice of the Mumbai Maharashtrian. We're hoping to collect over 500 signatures of Maharashtrians who live in Mumbai currently and have the letter published in a city newspaper. Please do sign your name and forward this to as many Mumbai Maharashtrians as you can. When forwarding the mail please also copy it to mepunmumbaikar at gmail.com Letter from Mumbai Maharashtrians Me Pun Mumbaikar As Mumbai Maharashtrians, we would like to say that we disagree with Raj Thackeray. We believe that Mumbai has been built on the hard work of people from different linguistic and religious communities and as such belongs to everyone. We also subscribe to the fundamental right of every Indian citizen to live and work anywhere in the country upheld by the constitution. It is also true that Mumbai is a highly divided city and it's very easy for some Maharashtrians to be manipulated by a nativist ideology. This is as true in many other parts of the country as well. However we firmly believe that the vast inequalities in the city need to be addressed in real ways rather than this shadow-boxing that Mumbai has been a victim of for decades. We the undersigned would like to place on record that Raj Thackeray does not speak for all Maharashtrians. He certainly does not speak for us. No. Name Affiliation (optional) 1. Shilpa Phadke TISS, Mumbai 2. Shilpa Ranade PUKAR, Mumbai 3. From shuddha at sarai.net Fri Feb 15 16:57:13 2008 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:57:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More on free expression for (non)citizens: Response to Jeebesh, Lawrence and others In-Reply-To: <643172.49613.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <643172.49613.qm@web8515.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <9a1ab313f336b9f489c6259eac8e52cd@sarai.net> Dear All, I have followed with interest the discussion on Taslima Nasrin's status as an alien and her freedom of speech. While my views on the matter are reasonably well known on this list from my writing on this list earlier (and I will not repeat them here). I do want to add a thought that I think has not been seen to present itself in the entire discussion till now. I will be making what I hope is an argument (for arguments sake) strictly within the domain of constitutionality. I am concerned with the freedom, not only of the speaker, but also of the listener. In any act of curtailment of speech, there are two parties who can be said to be affected. The speaker, (who is rendered speechless) and the listener, (who is denied access to what might have been spoken). While Taslima's rights to free speech may not be guaranteed under the law because she is not an citizen. Our rights to listen to her, (or to anyone else) are also taken away when she is rendered silent. As an Indian citizen, I can no longer exercise my right to listen, be informed, form my judgement (critical or appreciative or indifferent) of what this alien might have said. Does this denial of a citizens right to listen to the voice of an alien not constitute a diminishing of the citizens exercise of the freedom of his/her conscience. I would be interested to hear any thoughts that anyone on this list might have on this matter. Similarly, the barrier to the aliens presence on our soil prevents us from coming into contact with the alien. Does the denial of the possibility of hospitality not also constitute a damage to the possilbe enrichment of experience of the person who could have been the host. My concern with the issue of Taslima is two fold. On the one hand denying her the free use of her expressive faculties while she lives in India is an act of gross inhospitality which implicates us all, because it is being done in our name. Secondly, the matter of her freedom of expression involves not just her, but all of us. Because we are sought to be prevented from forming our independent judgements about what she says. A great deal has been said about how Taslima's is an unreasonable voice. That may be so. What interests me is the intense paranoia and neurosis that surrounds the simple fact of the presence of that unreasonable voice. It is a matter of conjecture, but I believe that every Bengali family has a a mad relative. The Pagol Pishi who suddenly emerges naked and cursing in the middle of some respectable bhadralok occasion like a wedding. The terrible hullaballoo that occurs after this fact tells us more about the neurosis of the bhadralok family than it does about the specific and rich insanity of the Pagol Pishi. I think that the matter of Taslima Nasrin has revealed a rich vein of neuroses in our public consciousness. If she is so crazy (as people say she is) then why not let her be. What harm can her speech do? What, if anything did the Pagol Pishi harm, other than the fusty sense of propriety that the bhadralok so neurotically cling to. Are the institutions of this republic or the public life of respectable religions so fragile as to be threatened by her occasional outbursts. If they are, I would be more interested in thinking about the aetiology of the neuroses that assail them. If we are so bothered by Taslima, it is time to ask what might the matter be with us. Do we all need therapy? It often happens that people say something that many people consider terribly offensive on this list. I myself am offended very often. But whenever anyone allows that feeling of being offended to translate into a demand for silence they are revealing their own inability to deal with the presence of the alien, the outsider, the person who does not speak or think like them. There is always the option of choosing not to listen. It protects you from having to listen to what you dont want to, and at the same time it does not prevent other people from listening. I wonder why this option, which is actually quite simple, is exercised so seldom. regards Shuddha On 12:46 pm 02/15/08 ARNAB CHATTERJEE wrote: > Dear Sarai readers and writers, > > Some confusions have been creeping it seems. > Perhaps I am aware of what could be claimed by > non-citizens in terms of close-ended constitutional > statements in India. For that specially, there were > two levels I had demarcated for arguing differently, > one--the case for ordinary legalism in India and other > international paradigms when taken globally. Let me > expand on this further and clarify this through an > example! And that too the Taslima one! > > You will remember that her Dwakhindita was banned by > the west Bengal government, the government lost the > case and the book was released. Though it was > published by an Indian publisher, the writer being a > non-citizen is ofcourse a case in point since the > clause within which it was banned, inhibited its > production on the web too (meaning this text by this > writer could not made available in some other form as > well). If it were simply a case of an alien writer who > has no protection, it would have been enough for the > government to ban it on that ground, and ban it > eternally. It would have been an end there. But the > case ( of forbidding legitimate speech) was filed and > won with some qualifications; one of them being > Taslima had to agree to delete ( or distort: Samsul > Haque became Said Haque) in order to escape the charge > of defamation-- the proper names of real writers whom > she had named for unethical sexual escapades with her. > Now, the case of the Indian publisher filing the case > may be cited paramountly as a counter point. But any > non-citizen when speaks or writes-you will find a > whole regime of parties involved ( the landlord is > also arrested with a suspected snooper) and therefore > ultimately it is considered within the norm and > grounds of the familiar turf that is here; the > reasonable permissions and restrictions that obtain. > This is in the case of speech; charges of terrorism, > spying, active political parleying and sedition take a > different hue altogether. > However, look at it now from another angle. That > the Taslima case could not be won juridically was > understood and thus given another turn: the threat of > public disorder and communal war was staged > practically and Taslima deported to another state > successfully with sheer haste( Calcutta Highcourt had > said that W.B Government’s anticipative simple threat > perception was not an adequate ground to forbid the > production and circulation of Dwakhindito). > So I again reiterate, in the Taslima case > free speech is ofcourse a strong ground and that is > where the battle has been fought till now. And the > defeat on that ground being imminent, the grounds of > reasonable restriction are being irrationally charted > with voluntarism: they are lifted out from the pages > of law and played out in the open fields. And in this > case if you read my statement “The former do have > freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are > prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and > modifications that the government could subject these > laws and modifications to” will have become clearer.As > evident when I specially mention ordinary, it has a > special weight. Every government ( and the political > type so much matters here) does sanction in this some > form ( consider some American poets have assembled for > a poetry session in an India city, they cannot just be > hounded out because only right to life is guranteed > here [ in a country where capital punishment exists, > Lawrence and Jeebesh know how this fundamental right > features for their own citizens and in what form]. > This apart, I repeat, the freedom of speech of aliens > not only are sanctioned under Human rights orders, > international law and European convention-al norms, > they do exist “ordinarily” and could be seen in > practice in our everyday life and when it meets a > challenge is considered within the juridical > parameters of the nation state that is in question. ( > Peter Bleach-a Uk citizen convicted in the Purulia > Arms dropping case—and spending years in Alipore > central jail wrote a memoir in the Hindustan Times how > he wrote the second mercy petition to the President > for that infamous Dhananjay Chaterjee, the first flop > petitition having been written by the welfare officer > of the Alipore jail.) International legal protection > or other cases ( the US one that I have cited) come > later when the national restrictions are themselves > found to have been unjustified. > > Now, to answer Sudeshna, here there is no temporal > qualification like freedom before-at-after speech and > yes ofcourse Mahmood will agree that certain forms of > writing ( literature or art) have different claims to > remedies; in this the certain authorial agencies have > also restrictive claims proper ( e.g, intellectual > property rights). And much of what Lawrence says, I’ve > addressed above, but a short reminder about the > liberal clause. I myself have been a vociferous > critique of the liberal argument for freedom of > expression and Farooqui is all the way with me here . > But I want to forget my own critique and as a counter > point to Liang here, let me spell briefly what the > liberals would argue in defence. They will say, it is > not about Taslima’s freedom of critical speech that is > in question here; when the citizens or other Indians ( > now you have the citizen reason here)stand for her, it > is their and all of our freedom that is in peril > here. That cannot undercoded by the clause that > Taslima is a non-citizen. There is already a large > literature in the philosophy of law and jurisprudence > on the fact that protection to freedom of speech is a > misnomer; freedom of speech itself is a protection > against evils unlimited. > > Let this be for the day; I hope more diffcult legal, > extra legal arguments will be coming up. > Till then > arnab > > > 5, 50, 500, 5000 - Store N number of mails in your inbox. Go to > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html > _________________________________________ reader-list: an open > discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.ne > t/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 15 18:41:15 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:11:15 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi, metro rail basically is a concept, where the rails in the transport system in metros run below the ground level, like in mega metro cities of London, also known as tube rail, or in Neyyork, inderground rail system.In such a system, the boarding and alighting is done at underground stations, and the entire work is carried out with huge tunnelling machines below the ground level at around 500 feet, but indian metro seems to be on the metro grounds, thus causing great inconvenience to all citizens, be it business, residence or road usage. Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: Zainab Bawa Date: Friday, February 15, 2008 12:26 am Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, sarai list > Dear all, > > I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming > metro rail > project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on > metro rail > systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems > work/don'twork for certain cities, displacements that have > occurred owing to the > construction of the metro and the various social, economic and > politicalimpacts of metro rail projects. > > Thanks. > > Cheers, > > Zainab > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > list > List archive: From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 15 19:24:40 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:54:40 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Asit, Laal Salaam, The funny aspect in freedom of expression is that I have just received a mail in my inbox from Zainab that I am not in readers list, hence my response to him regarding metro rail is rejected by "owner" of urbanstudy group at sarai.net. ! So much of right to freedom of rejection. ? ----- Original Message ----- From: Asit asitreds Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 7:47 pm Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on Taslima Nasrin To: "radhikarajen at vsnl.net" Cc: Naeem Mohaiemen , reader-list at sarai.net > freinds the taslima issue is not only the question of right to > freedom of > expression but also the third world womens struggle against patriarchy > taslima has consistently written about the rights of women which > has angerd > the religious establishment who are pampered for vote bank poltics > asit > > > On 2/13/08, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > > > > Sir, > > > > the very statement that freedom of speech and expression is > absolute and > > unfettered is absolutely incorrect in a civilised society, as > societal> right > > to be civilised in expression of speech.Rrights do have a > bearing on > > societal rights in civilised society with duties as the other > side of > > right. > > While I fully empathise with Taslima nasreen and the political > games being > > played with this issue by the athiests in the society, with views > > expressed > > one may or may not agree. But to say that freedom of expression is > > absolute > > is like saying that as free citizen every one has right to have > coitus on > > the median of highway in front of all passing vehicular traffic. > > No freedom is absolute in a society where it impinges on the > rights of > > others in society. Taslima or Hussain can express themselves > freely within > > the parametres of civil society.Hussain in his expression so > creative uses > > his artistic skills to graphically expose his pervert sense of > depravity> in > > showing his motherland in nude. ? Why his creative expression > looks at his > > mother fully clothed. ? All those symbols considered sacred and > worshipped> as believers like, are his objects of expression and > crative artistic > > liberty and right to express in nude. ? Why the same creative > expression> does not get inspired to portray his parents in > conjugal bliss on canvass. > > ? > > In Taslimas expression, sure, she has not offended anybody > except the > > clergies of a faith who think that they are the tekedars of the > faith,> which > > again is bad in any faith irrespective of the faith, but same is > happening> in all faiths. > > All faiths are ways of living a good life, in material, > intellectual and > > spiritual spheres of human existence. To believe or not to > believe in any > > faith is free choice. But the clergies of the faith ,in any > faith, always > > try to impose that their faith is the only saviour, which is > unfortunate.> Society in free India is divided at the very instant > of achieving the > > freedom of the nation in 1947, by dividing the land mass on > faith, then > > allowing the citizens the option not to go that land mass > created for > > faith. > > The truth of the matter is even though the bangladesh and > pakistan were > > created for the followers of faith, they are failed states in > governance.> India, which could have good governance chose to be > "secular" but in > > practise, it only created more divisions in the land mass with > language,> region and castes communes for political gains. to cap > it left further > > encouraged the neighbouring nations' citizens to have a stay in > the free > > India with fake ration cards, ids and opportunities to live in this > > nation, > > while governance in the federal state was diluted to total lack of > > governance or no governance with fuedal lords of individual communes > > mastering the art of securing "class votes", " commune votes" and > > "regional > > votes" in the election frey. And today election is a fight to > secure votes > > by any fair or foul means to secure power and possession of material > > wealth, > > not service to all citizens.In the process, the free India is > now islands > > of > > communes with every commune trying to corner maximun benefits of > democracy> to their communes with out fear, depriving the common > citizen of all the > > opportunities to live a dignified life in the nation. > > > > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Naeem Mohaiemen" > > To: > > Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:09 AM > > Subject: [Reader-list] Arundhati/Mahasweta/Ashish/Girish on > Taslima Nasrin > > > > > > > Public Statement by Forum For The Protection of Free Speech and > > Expression > > > > > > At a time when India is projecting itself on the > > > world's stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts > > > international literary festivals and book fairs, the > > > Government of India, most mainstream political parties > > > and their armed squads are mounting a concerted > > > assault on peoples' right to Free Speech. > > > > > > It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of > > > the world's best-known writers were attending the > > > Jaipur literary festival and prestigious publishers > > > were doing business at the World Book fair in Delhi, > > > the exiled Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin was (and is) > > > being held in custody by the Government of India in an > > > undisclosed location somewhere in or around Delhi in > > > conditions that amount to house arrest. Contrary to > > > misleading press reports stating that her visa has > > > been extended, her visa expires on the 18th of > > > February, after which she is liable to be deported or > > > remain confined as an illegal alien. > > > > > > Taslima Nasrin is only one in a long list of > > > journalists, writers, scholars and artists who have > > > been persecuted, banned, imprisoned, forced into exile > > > or had their work desecrated in this country. At > > > different points of time, different governments have > > > either directly or indirectly resorted to these > > > measures in order to fan the flames of religious, > > > regional and ethnic obscurantism to gain popularity > > > and expand their 'vote-banks'. Every day the threat to > > > Free Speech and Expression increases. > > > > > > In the case of Taslima Nasrin it was the CPI (M) and > > > not any religious or sectarian group who first tried > > > to ban her book Dwikhondito some years ago. The ban > > > was lifted by the Calcutta High Court and the book was > > > in the market and on bestseller lists in West Bengal > > > for several years. During those years Taslima Nasrin > > > lived and worked as a free person in Calcutta without > > > any threat to her person, without being the cause of > > > public disorder, protests or demonstrations. > > > Ironically, Taslima Nasrin's troubles in India began > > > immediately after the Nandigram uprising when the > > > people of Nandigram, mostly Dalits and Muslims, rose > > > to resist the West Bengal Government's attempt to > > > takeover their land, and tens of thousands of people > > > marched in Calcutta to protest the government's > > > actions. Within days a little known group claiming to > > > speak for the Muslim community asked for a ban on > > > Dwikhondito and demanded that Taslima Nasrin be > > > deported. The CPI(M)-led government of West Bengal > > > immediately caved in to the demand, informed her that > > > it could not offer her security, and lost no time in > > > deporting her from West Bengal against her will. The > > > Congress-led UPA Government has condoned this act by > > > holding her in custody in Delhi and refusing, thus > > > far, to extend her visa and relieve her of her public > > > humiliation. They have once again played the suicidal > > > card of pitting minority communalism against majority > > > communalism, a game that can only end in disaster. > > > > > > Inevitably, hoping to make political capital out of > > > the situation, the BJP is publicly shedding crocodile > > > tears over Taslima Nasrin, going to the extent of > > > offering her asylum in Gujarat. It seems to expect > > > people to forget that the BJP, VHP and RSS cadres have > > > been at the forefront of harassing, persecuting, > > > threatening and vandalizing newspaper offices, > > > television studios, galleries, cinema halls, > > > filmmakers, artists and writers. Or that they have > > > forced M.F. Husain, one of India's best-known > > > painters, into exile. > > > > > > Meanwhile, in states like Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh > > > and Karnataka, away from the public glare of press > > > conferences and television cameras, journalists are > > > being threatened and even imprisoned. Prashant Rahi > > > from Uttarakhand, Praful Jha from Chattisgarh, > > > Srisailum from Andhra Pradesh, P. Govind Kutty from > > > Kerala are a few examples. As we speak Govind Kutty, > > > who is on a hunger strike in prison is being > > > force-fed, bound hand and foot. Scores of ordinary > > > people, including people like Binayak Sen have been > > > arrested and held illegally under false charges. > > > > > > We the undersigned do not necessarily agree with, > > > endorse or admire the views or the work of those whose > > > rights we seek to defend. Many of us have serious > > > differences with them. We agree that many of them do > > > offend our (or someone else's) religious, political > > > and ideological sensibilities. However, we believe > > > that instead of making them simultaneously into both > > > victims and heroes, their work should be viewed, read, > > > criticized and vigorously debated. We believe that the > > > Freedom of Speech and Expression is an Absolute and > > > Inalienable Right, and is the keystone of a modern > > > democracy. > > > > > > If the Indian Government deports Taslima Nasrin, or > > > holds her as an illegal alien, it will shame and > > > diminish all of us. We demand that she be given a > > > Resident's Permit or, if she has applied for it, > > > Indian citizenship, and that she be allowed to live > > > and work freely in India. We demand that the spurious > > > cases filed against M.F. Husain be dropped and that he > > > be allowed to return to a normal life in India. We > > > demand that the journalists who are being illegally > > > detained in prison against all principles of natural > > > justice be released immediately. > > > > > > Signed: > > > > > > Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Ashish Nandy, Girish > > > Karnad > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > list> > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > From jace at pobox.com Fri Feb 15 20:14:38 2008 From: jace at pobox.com (Kiran Jonnalagadda) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:14:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Radhika, the New York MRT runs just below ground level, not deep underground. I believe the London system is similar. NYC's roads have grates covering the tunnels. One can feel a strong gush of air when a train runs below -- an occurrence immortalised by Marilyn Monroe's skirt in _The Seven Year Itch_ [1]. These metro rail systems predate the technology that allowed deep underground systems such as in Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore. Incidentally, the Singapore MRT runs above ground everywhere except in the central business district, and Bangkok has a parallel Skytrain system that covers more territory than the metro. [1] http://www.marilyncollector.com/legend/syi.html -- Kiran Jonnalagadda http://jace.seacrow.com/ http://jace.livejournal.com/ On 15-Feb-08, at 6:41 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > Hi, > > metro rail basically is a concept, where the rails in the transport > system in metros run below the ground level, like in mega metro > cities of London, also known as tube rail, or in Neyyork, > inderground rail system.In such a system, the boarding and alighting > is done at underground stations, and the entire work is carried out > with huge tunnelling machines below the ground level at around 500 > feet, but indian metro seems to be on the metro grounds, thus > causing great inconvenience to all citizens, be it business, > residence or road usage. > > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Zainab Bawa > Date: Friday, February 15, 2008 12:26 am > Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems > To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, sarai list > >> Dear all, >> >> I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming >> metro rail >> project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on >> metro rail >> systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems >> work/don'twork for certain cities, displacements that have >> occurred owing to the >> construction of the metro and the various social, economic and >> politicalimpacts of metro rail projects. >> >> Thanks. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Zainab >> >> -- >> Zainab Bawa >> Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher >> >> Between Places ... >> http://wbfs.wordpress.com >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- >> list >> List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > 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 luigi at artificialia.com Fri Feb 15 21:17:04 2008 From: luigi at artificialia.com (Luigi Pagliarini) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:47:04 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Fatherboard, The SuperAvatar In-Reply-To: <5d60ab0c0802130100o7b4ce2e1y981f19d844f644ab@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47AB409D0127E03F@> (added by postmaster@aa013msr.fastwebnet.it) Dears, in occasion of the Share Festival (Turin, Italy) I'll present, on the 13 March 2008, a short performance of Fatherboard, The SuperAvatar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YVgmJ16zhY Please, for further information, check http://www.artificialia.com/Fatherboard All the best! Luigi Pagliarini From indersalim at gmail.com Fri Feb 15 22:03:16 2008 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:03:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The noisy nativist crowd In-Reply-To: <47e122a70802150832ue227031sd9c62814f8b0448d@mail.gmail.com> References: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> <47e122a70802150832ue227031sd9c62814f8b0448d@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70802150833s612390a3icad0749a62ae16fb@mail.gmail.com> > dear Vivek > i was waiting for some reflection on ur wondeful piece... > just found a little web site, hope that friends will click to see > > http://www.notbored.org/reich.html > > i shall come back... > > love > inder salim > > > > On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 10:12 AM, Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > This is from "Leaving Prague: A Notebook" by Alexei Tsvetkov, who is > > widely considered one of the most important Russian poets writing today: > > > > "When I first came here [Prague], it had been years since I'd written a > > poem. I stopped writing poetry without a clear explanation of why it > > happened. Later on I came up with lots of convincing reasons: one of the > > best, as I recall, was the turmoil in my erstwhile homeland, Russia. In > > some way poetry, no matter how private, is always addressed to an > > audience, and when a level of noise in that audience exceeds a certain > > value, the exercise becomes pointless. It is possible to imagine an > > opera star performing to an empty hall but not to a full and noisy > > one. There's an old saying: when guns talk, the Muses fall silent. But > > that's wrong: Cicero was talking about laws, not Muses. When people > > talk, especially when they talk feverishly, the Muses definitely shut up. > > > > "I remember at the time I could not figure out who it was that Joseph > > Brodsky was addressing in his late verse—it still seems to me driven > > largely by inertia. Brodsky's best poetry is the voice of someone who > > deliberately positions himself between and above two mighty empires: > > it's a running commentary on their perceived decline. When one of those > > empires suddenly collapsed, he was left groping. We will never know how > > he would have regained his internal balance. > > > > "When I lost mine, I came to Prague voiceless. Brodsky died soon after > > and, however shocking, the news seemed fitting: the last universal voice > > fell silent, leaving the stage in full possession of the noisy nativist > > crowd." > > > > I bring this thesis up not as some kind of advice from the gods, but > > because I am not certain if it is true. Tsvetkov himself presents it > > only as a possible theory, and of course I'm still puzzling around that > > example (metaphor?) of the opera singer. I'd be curious to know what > > readers on this list think about-- am eager to hear both philosophical > > and pragmatic responses-- how to bring the muses back to this list. In a > > way this is to explore the inverse, positive side of the anti-censorship > > debate: what are the conditions for speech, what makes speech possible, > > how does one revive rich conversation? > > > > The essay is from the February issue of Poetry magazine from the US > > which, by the way, has now gone entirely online. (Except for the Beckett > > poems in this issue--that upload was most likely blocked by the Beckett > > estate, which probably did not give permission out of concern for > > copyright. Fools.): http://www.poetrymagazine.org/ . > > > > Thanks > > Vivek > > > > S.Fatima wrote: > > > Dear Vivek > > > You have a knack of making a hill of out of a mole - > > > and all in the wrong direction. In my analogy of a > > > limousine going through filth, the filth is not at all > > > supposed to mean the economic status of people writing > > > high-volume hate-mails. But by calling someone's views > > > as "bullshit", it is you who is demeaning them. (Ok, > > > I'd like to take back the word "slum" - I apologize > > > for it). My problem with your mail was that as long as > > > you apply those filters and send the unwanted mails to > > > whatever insulting folder quietly, it is fine. But by > > > being sarcastic about it (as in your original message) > > > we are only infuriating them further. Will that help > > > in breaking any ice? Or maybe we do'nt want to break > > > any ice. > > > > > > I don't think I'm playing into the hands of these > > > propagandists - I'm only complicating this issue a > > > little further, because I believe that ignoring them > > > and and not answering their simplistic questions is > > > not a long-term solution. If you read some of my > > > earlier mails, I have mostly been advocating DIALOGUE > > > between the two-parties. Now your immediate reaction > > > would be: "huh, these guys don't deserve an ear - you > > > can't have a dialogue with them". Yes I know it is > > > very irritating to read through most of those > > > hate-mails. But the point is that all their rigid > > > stereotypes and biases are a reality and most of us > > > don't have the time, patience or inclination to sit > > > with these folks and talk. An email discussion in any > > > case doesn't lead to anything fruitful, especially > > > when it comes to such a topic. So, the least we can do > > > is to ignore them. But being sarcastic is worse. > > > > > > Another point : you say that since those folks are > > > using broadband to send that many mails, they must be > > > rich enough to be called elite. Well then, what > > > happened to the claim that internet/broadband is > > > supposed to be empowering and democratizing the thrid > > > world, and so on. You seem to be defining the access > > > to internet still in caste/class terms! > > > > > > cheers > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > 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://indersalim.livejournal.com > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Fri Feb 15 23:50:15 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:50:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Terrorist Yasin Malik at the India Today Conclave Message-ID: <6353c690802151020w27eb8151t71d4a20ea55e4160@mail.gmail.com> *It wouldn't be the first or the last time in the **history of mankind that a killer is freed or elevated to a position which in all likelihood he doesn't deserve. The crowd has sometimes chosen to free Barbaras and instead crucify Jesus.It has been us the"Ashraf-ul-makhlooq" who chose to stone Hallaj to death. So when India Today decided to invite Yasin Malik as a speaker in one of their sessions titled" Youth Forum - If I Could Change The World" they were only following what fellow human beings in done in the past. What however shocked me was this description ( http://conclave.digitaltoday.in/2008/speakersprofile.html#mailik) wherein they mentioned nothing of his pending TADA cases some indeed as shocking as kidnapping the then Union Home Minister's daughter (which he has himself admitted to,read here, * *http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms ** * *or killing 4 unarmed air-force officials. When someone recently asked him about the killings of 4 unarmed air-force officers who were waiting to board a bus, he blurted almost nonchalantly" The IAF personnel were not innocent victims. They were the agents of the 'enemy'. (read here, http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/13blood1.htm ) * *So was it fair to kill these personnel Mr.Malik? The answer in all likelihood meant YES. **Read the complete post and see the the video where Yasin accepts being complicit in killings and kidnappings :- *http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ *Best Regards* ** *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * ** *Aditya Raj Kaul* *New Delhi* *Campaign Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g&feature=related * From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 00:10:11 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:40:11 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Terrorist Yasin Malik at the India Today Conclave In-Reply-To: <6353c690802151020w27eb8151t71d4a20ea55e4160@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802151020w27eb8151t71d4a20ea55e4160@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62cba67a0802151040p4061878ej53bdcf8df7b6739b@mail.gmail.com> Arre, if Modi can be invited to speak at the Conclave to spew words of wisdom on how to use hatred to play vote bank politics.. why can't Yasin? On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > *It wouldn't be the first or the last time in the **history of mankind > that > a killer is freed or elevated to a position which in all likelihood he > doesn't > deserve. The crowd has sometimes chosen to free Barbaras and instead > crucify > Jesus.It has been us the"Ashraf-ul-makhlooq" who chose to stone Hallaj to > death. > > So when India Today decided to invite Yasin Malik as a speaker in one of > their sessions titled" Youth Forum - If I Could Change The World" they > were > only following what fellow human beings in done in the past. What > however shocked me was this description ( > http://conclave.digitaltoday.in/2008/speakersprofile.html#mailik) wherein > they mentioned nothing of his pending TADA cases some indeed as shocking > as > kidnapping the then > Union Home Minister's daughter (which he has himself > admitted to,read here, * > *http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms< > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms%C2%A0> > ** * > *or killing 4 unarmed air-force officials. When someone recently asked him > about the killings of 4 unarmed air-force officers who were waiting to > board > a bus, he blurted almost nonchalantly" The IAF personnel were > not innocent victims. They were the agents of the 'enemy'. > (read here, http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/13blood1.htm ) > * > *So was it fair to kill these personnel Mr.Malik? The answer in all > likelihood meant YES. > > **Read the complete post and see the the video where Yasin accepts being > complicit in killings and > kidnappings :- > > *http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ > > > *Best Regards* > ** > *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * > ** > *Aditya Raj Kaul* > *New Delhi* > > *Campaign Video - > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g&feature=related > * > _________________________________________ > 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/> -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From sdatta at MIT.EDU Sat Feb 16 02:20:37 2008 From: sdatta at MIT.EDU (Saugato Datta) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:50:37 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20080215155037.jjulgr33v30g0wog@webmail.mit.edu> Incidentally, although trains run underground in the city centre in *most* metro systems, much of the track length is at grade or on elevated tracks. In London, for example, about 55 per cent of the system is above-ground (although you wouldn't know it if the only parts you used were in Central London, as most tourists do). In New York, too, about 140 km of track is overground, and 220 underground. In this respect, the Delhi Metro is fairly typical: it's simply incorrect to say that the definition of a metro system is that trains run underground. Instead, it is the frequency and carrying capacity, as well as the use of dedicated tracks, that sets a metro system apart from light rail or suburban commuter networks. Quoting Kiran Jonnalagadda : > Radhika, the New York MRT runs just below ground level, not deep > underground. I believe the London system is similar. NYC's roads have > grates covering the tunnels. One can feel a strong gush of air when a > train runs below -- an occurrence immortalised by Marilyn Monroe's > skirt in _The Seven Year Itch_ [1]. > > These metro rail systems predate the technology that allowed deep > underground systems such as in Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore. > Incidentally, the Singapore MRT runs above ground everywhere except in > the central business district, and Bangkok has a parallel Skytrain > system that covers more territory than the metro. > > [1] http://www.marilyncollector.com/legend/syi.html > > -- > Kiran Jonnalagadda > http://jace.seacrow.com/ > http://jace.livejournal.com/ > > On 15-Feb-08, at 6:41 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> metro rail basically is a concept, where the rails in the transport >> system in metros run below the ground level, like in mega metro >> cities of London, also known as tube rail, or in Neyyork, >> inderground rail system.In such a system, the boarding and alighting >> is done at underground stations, and the entire work is carried out >> with huge tunnelling machines below the ground level at around 500 >> feet, but indian metro seems to be on the metro grounds, thus >> causing great inconvenience to all citizens, be it business, >> residence or road usage. >> >> Regards. >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Zainab Bawa >> Date: Friday, February 15, 2008 12:26 am >> Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems >> To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, sarai list >> >>> Dear all, >>> >>> I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming >>> metro rail >>> project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on >>> metro rail >>> systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems >>> work/don'twork for certain cities, displacements that have >>> occurred owing to the >>> construction of the metro and the various social, economic and >>> politicalimpacts of metro rail projects. >>> >>> Thanks. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> Zainab >>> >>> -- >>> Zainab Bawa >>> Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher >>> >>> Between Places ... >>> http://wbfs.wordpress.com >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- >>> list >>> List archive: >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 05:08:24 2008 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?WINDOWS-1256?Q?=ED=C7_=D3=D1_~_yasir_?=) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:38:24 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: <20080215155037.jjulgr33v30g0wog@webmail.mit.edu> References: <20080215155037.jjulgr33v30g0wog@webmail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <5af37bb0802151538i29b5153fhfc75b5473e83b1f0@mail.gmail.com> dears, there are several levels of underground trains that run at various depths, sometimes 3 or 4. the NYC train has a great website. actually i thought the subject of this mail was something like shaers on buses and rickshaws, and 'poetry in motion' in NYC transportation. They also have a transit museum. i think i send these links around once year [!] http://www.mta.info/mta/pim/poems.htm http://www.transitmuseumeducation.org/trc/resources and music http://www.mta.info/mta/aft/muny/ theres a form for auditions, its terribly bureacratic for all the inspiration On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 12:50 PM, Saugato Datta wrote: > Incidentally, although trains run underground in the city centre in > *most* metro > systems, much of the track length is at grade or on elevated tracks. In > London, > for example, about 55 per cent of the system is above-ground (although you > wouldn't know it if the only parts you used were in Central London, as most > tourists do). In New York, too, about 140 km of track is overground, and 220 > underground. In this respect, the Delhi Metro is fairly typical: it's simply > incorrect to say that the definition of a metro system is that trains run > underground. Instead, it is the frequency and carrying capacity, as > well as the > use of dedicated tracks, that sets a metro system apart from light rail or > suburban commuter networks. > > > > > Quoting Kiran Jonnalagadda : > > > Radhika, the New York MRT runs just below ground level, not deep > > underground. I believe the London system is similar. NYC's roads have > > grates covering the tunnels. One can feel a strong gush of air when a > > train runs below -- an occurrence immortalised by Marilyn Monroe's > > skirt in _The Seven Year Itch_ [1]. > > > > These metro rail systems predate the technology that allowed deep > > underground systems such as in Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore. > > Incidentally, the Singapore MRT runs above ground everywhere except in > > the central business district, and Bangkok has a parallel Skytrain > > system that covers more territory than the metro. > > > > [1] http://www.marilyncollector.com/legend/syi.html > > > > -- > > Kiran Jonnalagadda > > http://jace.seacrow.com/ > > http://jace.livejournal.com/ > > > > On 15-Feb-08, at 6:41 PM, radhikarajen at vsnl.net wrote: > > > >> Hi, > >> > >> metro rail basically is a concept, where the rails in the transport > >> system in metros run below the ground level, like in mega metro > >> cities of London, also known as tube rail, or in Neyyork, > >> inderground rail system.In such a system, the boarding and alighting > >> is done at underground stations, and the entire work is carried out > >> with huge tunnelling machines below the ground level at around 500 > >> feet, but indian metro seems to be on the metro grounds, thus > >> causing great inconvenience to all citizens, be it business, > >> residence or road usage. > >> > >> Regards. > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: Zainab Bawa > >> Date: Friday, February 15, 2008 12:26 am > >> Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems > >> To: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net, sarai list > >> > >>> Dear all, > >>> > >>> I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming > >>> metro rail > >>> project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on > >>> metro rail > >>> systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems > >>> work/don'twork for certain cities, displacements that have > >>> occurred owing to the > >>> construction of the metro and the various social, economic and > >>> politicalimpacts of metro rail projects. > >>> > >>> Thanks. > >>> > >>> Cheers, > >>> > >>> Zainab > >>> > >>> -- > >>> Zainab Bawa > >>> Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > >>> > >>> Between Places ... > >>> http://wbfs.wordpress.com > >>> _________________________________________ > >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >>> Critiques & Collaborations > >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >>> subscribe in the subject header. > >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > >>> list > >>> List archive: > >> > >> > >> _________________________________________ > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >> Critiques & Collaborations > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >> subscribe in the subject header. > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aman.am at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 08:30:57 2008 From: aman.am at gmail.com (Aman Sethi) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:30:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <995a19920802151900q69fe8658g185832238840374a@mail.gmail.com> Zainab, I would suggest you contact Dinesh Mohan at TRIPP[ Transport Related Injury Prevention Programme] at IIT Delhi - you could probably get their contacts from IIT D. He, and his collegue Geetam Tripati are the brains behind the Bus Rapid Transport system that is being tried out on some stretches of road in Delhi. He has been quite a fierce critic of some aspects of the Delhi Metro. Further, I believe someone in Sarai has done an i-fellow project on the Delhi metro and displacement - you could contct Mr Quereshi at Sarai - he would be able to help you. best a. On 2/15/08, Zainab Bawa wrote: > Dear all, > > I am working on an article/series of articles on the upcoming metro rail > project in Bangalore. I am looking for literature/references on metro rail > systems across the world in terms of the how metro rail systems work/don't > work for certain cities, displacements that have occurred owing to the > construction of the metro and the various social, economic and political > impacts of metro rail projects. > > Thanks. > > Cheers, > > Zainab > > -- > Zainab Bawa > Ph.D. Student and Independent Researcher > > Between Places ... > http://wbfs.wordpress.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 10:03:13 2008 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:03:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who owns Bombay Message-ID: A piece I wrote sometime ago...taaki sanad rahe ki liberal musalman ko ghair-musalmani maslon pe bhi bolne ki ijazat hai.... ---------------- "This opium trade is a sin on England's head and a curse on India for her share in being the instrument." Dada Bhai Naoroji-1880. It sometimes appears, from the nature of current historical debates, as if the British Empire in India was purely an Orientalising mission whose discourses generated a politics of identity but that it was little more than an ideological apparatus that hegemonised us. It is difficult therefore to connect back to the earliest Nationalists who decried the drain of wealth from India, who lamented India's deindustrialization and the economic exploitation of our people by foreign occupiers. It is easy, in the miasma of post-colonialisms emanating from American Universities, to forget that the Empire came into being and remained in force as an economic entity, that it was instituted by traders, that there was also something called economic Imperialism. Amar Farooqui's "Opium City-The Making of Colonial Bombay," is welcome first of all because it reorients us to the fundamentals of how and why we were colonized by the East India Company. It is a new title by the Three Essays Press, a Delhi based outfit, which has been publishing tracts in the form, as its name implies, of three essays in slim volumes by renowned and radical academics in a style and on subjects that are of general interest. Opium City, like everything else published by it-ranging from Hindi film music to the search for an Indian Enlightenment-breaks new ground at the same time as reorienting the debate into a radical yet suitably indigenous direction. In our school histories we have read about the opium triangle, the unholy trade nexus established by the East India Company wherein it forced Indian peasants to grow opium, under its own monopoly and control, smuggled it to China and sold it in return for Chinese tea and repatriated profits back home. They made entire generations of Chinese addicted to opium because it was the only way to solve the balance of payments problem. This opium trade, once the commonest polemic against Empire, has today virtually passed into oblivion. Amar Farooqui's book returns it centre stage at the same time as showing us how important the opium trade was for the businessmen of Western India, particularly Bombay and how significant a role it played in generating the capital that later on built Bombay. The peculiar nature of British, piecemeal, conquest of India meant that they could control the monopoly of opium growth, sales and import far better in Bengal and Bihar than in western India. Since large chunks of territory in western India was not directly under British rule until the 1850s-Portugese Daman to the North of Bombay and Goa to the South, numerous indigenously ruled states in western India, Sind- it was therefore possible for merchants to access opium grown in Malwa and smuggle it via Pali in Rajasthan, to Jaisalmer then to Karachi and from Karachi by sea to Daman. By the 1820s a large number of Parsis, Marwaris, Gujarati Banias and Konkani Muslims had moved into the opium trade at Bombay. Of the 42 foreign firms operating in China at the end of the 1830s, 20 were fully owned by Parsis. Indigenous shipping and opium trade too were closely interlinked. For two decades the figure who dominated the opium trade at Bombay was Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (1783-1859). He was the first Indian to be knighted (1842), the first to win a baronetcy (1857) who partnered Jardine and Matheson, the largest opium trading network in China. Apart from owning ships, agents and commercial clearing houses, he was also one of the six directors of the Bank of Bombay. It was the capital accumulation of these years that allowed these same people to later on lay the foundation of the industrial Bombay as well as the grand public buildings that survive in South Bombay. From being an obscure port which could not even generate its own revenues Bombay's transformation into one of the leading cities of the Empire occurred fairly rapidly within the space of about half a century, between the 1790s and 1840s. The share of Bombay in 1820-40 for bullion inflow, especially for opium, was much larger than Calcutta. During this period, the Malwa opium was worth Rs 15-20 million annually to India and unlike Bengali opium which directly benefited the colonial state, earnings from Malwa opium largely represented private, mainly indigenous profits, giving it a great multiplier effect. This effect was evident in the geographical make up of the city. It was the Parsis, many of them beneficiaries of opium's huge profits, who developed South Bombay. The bungalows of Malabar and Cumbala Hills, of Breach Candy and Walkeshwar were mostly Parsi-owned and unexceptionally lent out to Europeans. But in the 1830s and 40s they also owned and developed many of Bombay's quintessential suburbs. Cursetji Manockji owned Anik, Dhakji Dadaji owned Varasavy (present day Versova), Framji Cowasji (Poway estate), Jamestji Bomanji (Vila Parla, Jhu); Cursetji Cowasji (Goregaum); Ratanji Edulji (Gatkopar); Krushnarao Raghunath (Borvday); and Laxman Hurrichanderji (Chincholi). Opium City, a distillation of the same writer's bigger treatise "Smuggling as Subversion-Colonialism, Indian Merchants and the Politics of Opium," (Lexington, 2005) also shows how this opium trade caused no pangs of conscience among community leaders in Bombay who engaged in numerous moral crusades on other issues while simultaneously shipping the drug to china. We know that the Indian nationalists too in the last quarter of the 19th c showed no inclination to oppose the opium trade, actually extending tacit support to it. These businessmen, remembered as great public figures by us, would not countenance paying taxes to improve the city's water supply (in 1850s) while ratifying stringent provisions, like some of our present day politicos, for sending aliens off the island-particularly those who live 'idle without work.' The biggest merit of the book, however, is to show us how it was "the poppy fields of Bihar that built Bombay." Biharis and Karachiites, therefore, have more than a natural right to live in Bombay. From vrjogi at hotmail.com Sat Feb 16 11:13:21 2008 From: vrjogi at hotmail.com (Vedavati Jogi) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:43:21 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] FW: Yasin Malik at the India Today Conclave In-Reply-To: <13df7c120802140253s238afb27q26c6ddad73781b59@mail.gmail.com> References: <13df7c120802140253s238afb27q26c6ddad73781b59@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: From: vrjogi at hotmail.comTo: rashneek at gmail.comSubject: RE: Yasin Malik at the India Today ConclaveDate: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:41:27 +0000 thanks Rashneek. Yasin Malik is a muslim and showing generosity towards any muslim irrespective of his background is the definition of secularism/ liberalism in India. India Today is not an exception! Unfortunately these seculars don't understand the difference between Yasin Malik/ Afzal Guru/Soharabuddin AND Dr. Abdul Kalam/Aamir Khan/Irfan Pathan/common Indian muslim. Regards Vedavati Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:23:18 +0530From: rashneek at gmail.comTo: ab_aush at yahoo.com; amar.bakshi at gmail.com; aarshkashmiri at gmail.com; amitabhkumar84 at gmail.com; abhishek.magazine at gmail.com; bhavnesh_bhat06 at yahoo.co.in; btikku at juno.com; koshurboy at gmail.com; rsaproo at googlemail.com; cm at gujaratindia.com; checkvivek at gmail.com; pandit at iakf.org; dharaarti at gmail.com; drnishithsharma at yahoo.co.in; dr.nikhil.ganjoo at gmail.com; swapan55 at usa.net; deepakkannal at gmail.com; queenlygeek at gmail.com; nidhi.fotedar at gmail.com; fgautier at sify.com; gitika.talwar at gmail.com; gulla.robin at gmail.com; paramita_gh at yahoo.com; vikram.tikko at gmail.com; indu.jalali at gmail.com; vrjogi at hotmail.com; jsandhya at gmail.com; johnyml at gmail.com; juhidua at gmail.com; rajvidhya.kher at gmail.com; lakhvinder.batolar at ranbaxy.com; lakshamanaswamy at indiatvnews.com; lalitambardar at hotmail.com; bl_sadhu at yahoo.com; maanvini at gmail.com; misrajibhai at yahoo.co.nz; mukulkesavan at hotmail.com; shammi at rteservices.com; neeraj_santoshi at rediffmail.com; nidhir at ndtv.com; artynabo at gmail.com; niyetikannal at gmail.com; nitinkoul11 at gmail.com; rkohri at gmail.com; vikas.padora at gmail.com; sk_pandita at hotmail.com; poojakoul at hotmail.com; partha0 at gmail.com; suruchiparimu at gmail.com; sushmawangoo at yahoo.co.in; sidharth.kaul at indoasian.com; rajni.tiku at genpact.com; raginitrakroo at rediffmail.com; urvashiw at gmail.com; vidhi07 at gmail.com; usha_deshpande at yahoo.com; vikalp at yahoogroups.com; vivek.tankha at gmail.com; zafarmeraj at gmail.com; rahu.tsi at gmail.com; rahuls at zeenetwork.comSubject: Yasin Malik at the India Today ConclaveIt wouldn't be the first or the last time in the history of mankind that a killer is freed or elevated to a position which in all likelihood he doesn't deserve. The crowd has sometimes chosen to free Barbaras and instead crucify Jesus.It has been us the"Ashraf-ul-makhlooq" who chose to stone Hallaj to death. So when India Today decided to invite Yasin Malik as a speaker in one of their sessions titled" Youth Forum - If I Could Change The World" they were only following what fellow human beings in done in the past. What however shocked me was this description (http://conclave.digitaltoday.in/2008/speakersprofile.html#mailik)wherein they mentioned nothing of his pending TADA cases some indeed as shocking as kidnapping the then Union Home Minister's daughter (which he has himself admitted to,read here, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms ),or killing 4 unarmed air-force officials. When someone recently asked him about the killings of 4 unarmed air-force officers who were waiting to board a bus, he blurted almost nonchalantly" The IAF personnel were not innocent victims. They were the agents of the 'enemy'.(read here, http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/13blood1.htm)So was it fair to kill these personnel Mr.Malik? The answer in all likelihood meant YES.Read the complete post and see the the video where Yasin accepts being complicit in killings and kidnappings.http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/Best RegardsRoots in Kashmir -- Rashneek Kherhttp://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com Fly HYD-BLR for Rs.499 Log on to MakeMyTrip! Check it out! _________________________________________________________________ Post free property ads on Yello Classifieds now! www.yello.in http://ss1.richmedia.in/recurl.asp?pid=220 From sudhesh.unniraman at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 11:37:36 2008 From: sudhesh.unniraman at gmail.com (sudhesh) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:37:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] References/literature on metro rail systems In-Reply-To: <995a19920802151900q69fe8658g185832238840374a@mail.gmail.com> References: <995a19920802151900q69fe8658g185832238840374a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <73cd0cce0802152207k185faf3fm99beaded661c01af@mail.gmail.com> Hi, Am a film maker,who writes about the Delhi Metro on my blog. You could visit it on www.0611metro.blogspot.com. I have also talked about my experience in Istanbul and Paris Metros. Istanbul in fact has the largest variety of transport systems for different parts of the city. These were made over the last 150 years and incorporated different technologies. My take is that while there have been many critiques on the Metro - environment, displacement etc, no one has really spoken to people who actually use it. One has to look at whether it has reduced road traffic and pollution in Delhi and whether it has made travel easy and safe. In the end, the Metro can only be be a part solution integrated with other systems. It was never intended as a stand alone system in the first place. Sudhesh From hpp at vsnl.com Sat Feb 16 12:32:10 2008 From: hpp at vsnl.com (hpp at vsnl.com) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:02:10 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Metro construction Message-ID: Dear Friends The posts on the metro brought to mind an investigation I had conducted in 1984-85, together with my friend and fellow-activist, Sandip Bandopadhyay, on the working conditions of labourers on the Calcutta metro. In late 1984, I had approached the public sector construction company working on the Park Street section of the Calcutta metro, to allow me to start a school for the children of the workers' settlement there. The workers were predominantly from the Chota Nagpur region, and for a long time, a small adivasi village of these workers existed beside the water body at the Park Street - Chowringhee junction. Near where the Gandhi statue earlier stood, before it was shifted (in the early 80s) to Mayo Road during the metro construction. My application to start a school went unheeded, and a few weks later, the settlement was demolished in early 1985. That promopted Sandip and me to begin our investigation. Our findings were subsequently published as reports in the EPW, and a booklet, "Calcutta's Metro Workers", was published by us in the name of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR). We found that all the labour laws, provisions of Contract Workers' Act, Equal Remineration Act etc were being habitually violated on the metro works. Bonded labour from Murshidabad district were also at work on some stretches. Workers suffering injuries were paid nominal amounts and packed off. There were incidents of rape of women workers. But all this was simply accepted by everyone concerned. One section of the metro, between Shyambazar and Belgachia, ran under the canal there. Hence the construction technique used elsewhere, the "cut and cover" method, could not be used. "Shield tunnelling" was taken up. An underground tunnel was bored, and the tunnel walls then supported by steel shields. Then compressed air was filled in the tunnel to prevent the earth below the canal from collapsing. Hence the work inside the tunnel was under compressed air. It was found that this had significant health impacts on the workers. That too was not attended to. I will not forget my visit to the compressed air tunnel, arranged by the workers' union. In 1985, based on our reports, a citizens' group filed a public interest litigation on violation of labour laws in the Calcutta High Court, naming the construction companies and the Railways as respondents. The court appointed a study team to investigate the matter. Several months later, the team submitted a report to the court expressing their frustration regarding lack of cooperation from the respondents, and asserting that the problems were systemic and hardly likley to be solved through expostulation and such litigations. That was the end of that. Meanwhile, I had become involved with the question of squatters in the city, their evictions and campaigning for their resettlement. But among other things, in the course of the metro investigation - with which my life of public activism in my city began - I had the opportunity of working with towering people like Biren Roy, a veteran trade union leader and leftist figure of the city, who was the working president of the APDR. I also met Pasupati Prasad Mahato, anthropologist; we have been lifelong friends and comrades in several important transformative ventures. I hope young activists in Delhi and Bangalore will monitor the working conditions of metro labourers in these cities. Best V Ramaswamy Calcutta cuckooscall.blogspot.com From onlysocio at yahoo.co.in Sat Feb 16 14:43:43 2008 From: onlysocio at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:13:43 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] More on Free expression for Non-citizens Message-ID: <550.7215.qm@web8412.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Sarai readers and writers, Some confusions have been creeping it seems. Perhaps I am aware of what could be claimed by non-citizens in terms of close-ended constitutional statements in India and how they are extended in interpretive operation. For that specially, there were two levels I had demarcated for arguing differently, one--the case for ordinary legalism in India and other international paradigms when taken globally. Let me expand on this further and clarify this through an example! And that too the Taslima one! You will remember that her Dwakhindita was banned by the west Bengal government, the government lost the case and the book was released. Though it was published by an Indian publisher, the writer being a non-citizen is ofcourse a case in point since the clause within which it was banned, inhibited its production on the web too (meaning this text by this writer ( minus its publisher) could not made available in some other form as well). If it were simply a case of an alien writer who has no protection akin to the citizen, it would have been enough for the government to ban it on that ground, and ban it eternally. It would have been an end there. But the case ( against forbidding legitimate speech) was filed and won with some qualifications; one of the two (results of litigation) being Taslima had to agree to delete ( or distort: Samsul Haque became Said Haque) in order to escape the charge of defamation-- the proper names of real writers whom she had named for unethical sexual escapades with her. Now, the case of the Indian publisher filing the case may be cited paramountly as a counter point. But any non-citizen when speaks or writes-you will find a whole regime of parties involved ( the landlord is also arrested with a suspected snooper) and therefore ultimately it is considered within the norm and grounds of the familiar turf that is here; the reasonable permissions and restrictions that obtain. This is in the case of speech; charges of terrorism, spying, active political parleying and sedition take a different hue altogether. However, look at it now from another angle. That the Taslima case could not be won juridically was understood and thus given another turn: the threat of public disorder and communal war was staged practically and Taslima deported to another state successfully with sheer haste( Calcutta Highcourt had said that W.B Government’s anticipative simple threat perception was not an adequate ground to forbid the production and circulation of Dwakhindito; though take it that this was all an opration inspired by Sunil Gangopadhyaya and co. influencing Buddhadev Bhattacharya and not the reverse). So I again reiterate, in the Taslima case free speech is ofcourse a strong ground and that is where the battle has been fought till now. And the defeat on that ground being imminent, the grounds of reasonable restriction are being irrationally charted with voluntarism: they are lifted out from the pages of law and played out in the open fields. And in this case if you read my statement “The former do have freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and modifications that the government could subject these laws and modifications to” will have become clearer.As evident when I specially mention ordinary, it has a special weight. Every government ( and the political type so much matters here) does sanction in this some form ( consider some American poets have assembled for a poetry session in an India city, they cannot just be hounded out because only right to life is guranteed here [ in a country where capital punishment exists, Lawrence and Jeebesh know how this fundamental right features for their own citizens and in what form]. This apart, I repeat, the freedom of speech of aliens not only are sanctioned under Human rights orders, international law and European convention-al norms, they do exist “ordinarily” and could be seen in practice in our everyday life and when it meets a challenge is considered within the juridical parameters of the nation state that is in question. ( Peter Bleach-a Uk citizen convicted in the Purulia Arms dropping case—and spending years in Alipore central jail wrote a memoir in the Hindustan Times how he wrote the second mercy petition to the President for that infamous Dhananjay Chaterjee, the first flop petitition having been written by the welfare officer of the Alipore jail.) International legal protection or other cases ( the US one that I have cited) come later when the national restrictions are themselves found to have been unjustified. Now, to answer Sudeshna, here there is no temporal qualification like freedom before-at-after speech and yes ofcourse Mahmood will agree that certain forms of writing ( literature or art) have different claims to remedies; in this the certain authorial agencies have also restrictive claims proper ( e.g, intellectual property rights). And much of what Lawrence says, I’ve addressed above, but a short reminder about the liberal clause. I myself have been a vociferous critique of the liberal argument for freedom of expression and Farooqui is all the way with me here . But I want to forget my own critique and as a counter point to Liang here, let me spell briefly what the liberals would argue in defence. They will say, it is not about Taslima’s freedom of critical speech that is in question here; when the citizens or other Indians ( now you have the citizen reason here)stand for her, it is their and all of our freedom that is in peril here. That cannot undercoded by the clause that Taslima is a non-citizen. There is already a large literature in the philosophy of law and jurisprudence on the fact that protection to freedom of speech is a misnomer; freedom of speech itself is a protection against evils unlimited. What I want to mean is, despite the stereotypical immunity, freedom of speech istelf being protective, stands on autonomous grounds. Let this be for the day; I hope more diffcult legal, extra legal arguments will be coming up. Till then arnab Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php/ From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 15:03:53 2008 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (S. Jabbar) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:03:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Petrol prices Message-ID: Worried about rising fuel costs? Here¹s an interesting piece that was published in the Indian Express a couple of days ago. Hope this will make people think twice before joining the ranks of the whiners. Best Sonia Jabbar Perverse Subsidy for the Rich By Atanu Dey Nobel prize-winning economist Douglass North observed that ³economic history is overwhelmingly a story of economies that failed to produce a set of economic rules of the game (with enforcement) that induce sustained economic growth.² Producing a set of rational economic rules is a political rather than an economic process. Frequently basic economic truths are willfully disregarded in a myopic but cynically calculated process of short-term electoral gains. In the long run, however, the persistent practice of politically motivated economically unsound policies has the unsurprising and unfortunate effect of impoverishing the economy. India is a case in point. Despite being endowed with substantial human and natural resources, it has failed to provide a vast majority of its citizens the basic necessities for a decent life. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that what India mainly lacks is a rational set of economic rules. An important contemporary example of a flawed economic policy is the subsidy that the consumers of petroleum enjoy. The price of a barrel of crude is hovering around US$ 100 a barrel and yet the price of petrol at the pump remains essentially what it was when crude was selling at half that price about a year ago. The resultant gap between the cost and the price has to be bridged through a subsidy that is estimated to be around Rs 70,000 crores this year. The case is made that by keeping the price artificially low, the so-called ³common man² benefits. But that is certainly not the case. It is a perverse and regressive subsidy for a number of reasons. First, it is the ³uncommon man² who actually benefits directly from the subsidy. In fact, the wealthier you are, the more vehicles you own, the more subsidy you capture. For every litre of petrol or diesel you consume, you benefit by around Rs 10; for every cylinder of LPG, someone else chips in Rs 250. The really poor person does not own cars nor has a gas connection. Second, when distorted low prices do not reflect the full costs, it sends the wrong signals and consumption is more than is socially optimal. India meets about three-quarters of its petroleum needs through imports at an approximate cost of US$ 50 billion a year. Increased consumption inflates that import bill and is economically wasteful. Third, the burden of the opportunity cost of the subsidy falls squarely on the people who cannot reap its benefits. The resources that the subsidy consumes are not available for services that the poor benefit from such as subsidies for public transportation systems, primary health and education. Fourth, the subsidy is financed by bonds issued to oil marketing companies. These bonds represent a future liability. Essentially it is a mechanism employed by the present voting generation to secure benefits that will be paid for by the future generations who do not have a vote and therefore do not have the option to reject that burden. Fifth, if prices were more aligned to true costs, alternatives such as better public transportation system can have a fair shot at being developed. It would also send the right signals for more conservative use of private cars, leading to less congestion and pollution. The basic economic truth is that there is really no such thing as a free lunch. Today¹s subsidy comes at a cost that will only grow larger the longer the delay in pricing petroleum products at full cost. It is fairly simple to remedy the situation. Raising the price at the pump is the simplest but the most politically risky. The UPA government knows that and will definitely not risk losing power even if raising prices is for the larger benefit of the economy. But those subsidies have to be reduced, if not totally abolished overnight. A start could be made immediately to reduce the subsidy to the rich while continuing it for the poor. A mechanism for doing so would be to impose a tax on car owners which would reflect the full cost of the petrol they use. Depending on the size of the engine and average fuel consumption, an annual fee could be assessed which has be paid to maintain registration. So if a particular make and model of car typically consumes, say, 1,000 litres of petrol a year, the tax could be Rs 10,000. This type of a mechanism would leave all two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses untouched. Since it is usually the common man who uses public transportation, the common man would continue to enjoy the subsidy. Implementing rational economic policy is not impossible for India even though for decades on end we have been burdened with flawed policies. We are moving slowly towards a more rational way of running an economy. Whether we persist on along that path is a political matter which can only be determined ultimately by the enlightened self-interest of an educated population. For more see Atanu Dey¹s blog: deesha.org From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sat Feb 16 15:42:35 2008 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:12:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Terrorist Yasin Malik at the India Today Conclave In-Reply-To: <62cba67a0802151040p4061878ej53bdcf8df7b6739b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <868201.90126.qm@web45513.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I think mody never indulged himself in anybody murder. All the sick organisation like JKLF should be abolished immediately, this is my personal opinion. I really do not understand how the government is tolerating. OISHIK SIRCAR wrote: Arre, if Modi can be invited to speak at the Conclave to spew words of wisdom on how to use hatred to play vote bank politics.. why can't Yasin? On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > *It wouldn't be the first or the last time in the **history of mankind > that > a killer is freed or elevated to a position which in all likelihood he > doesn't > deserve. The crowd has sometimes chosen to free Barbaras and instead > crucify > Jesus.It has been us the"Ashraf-ul-makhlooq" who chose to stone Hallaj to > death. > > So when India Today decided to invite Yasin Malik as a speaker in one of > their sessions titled" Youth Forum - If I Could Change The World" they > were > only following what fellow human beings in done in the past. What > however shocked me was this description ( > http://conclave.digitaltoday.in/2008/speakersprofile.html#mailik) wherein > they mentioned nothing of his pending TADA cases some indeed as shocking > as > kidnapping the then > Union Home Minister's daughter (which he has himself > admitted to,read here, * > *http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms< > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms%C2%A0> > ** * > *or killing 4 unarmed air-force officials. When someone recently asked him > about the killings of 4 unarmed air-force officers who were waiting to > board > a bus, he blurted almost nonchalantly" The IAF personnel were > not innocent victims. They were the agents of the 'enemy'. > (read here, http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/13blood1.htm ) > * > *So was it fair to kill these personnel Mr.Malik? The answer in all > likelihood meant YES. > > **Read the complete post and see the the video where Yasin accepts being > complicit in killings and > kidnappings :- > > *http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ > > > *Best Regards* > ** > *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * > ** > *Aditya Raj Kaul* > *New Delhi* > > *Campaign Video - > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g&feature=related > * > _________________________________________ > 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: -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 _________________________________________ 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: --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 16:46:25 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:46:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Terrorist Yasin Malik at the India Today Conclave In-Reply-To: <868201.90126.qm@web45513.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <62cba67a0802151040p4061878ej53bdcf8df7b6739b@mail.gmail.com> <868201.90126.qm@web45513.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802160316m42602199qc287abe58bc38289@mail.gmail.com> Wonder what happened to Government of India's stand on declaring JKLF as a banned terrorist organisation. Till sometime back it surely was in the list as proven by this below given summary on MHA Website. This surely leads to something shocking. Readers can surely understand what we are into. Thanks - Aditya Raj Kaul * * *BAN ON JKLF EXTENDED* * * *From MHA Website - http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr98/l0298/PIBR180298.html* *T*he Central Government have decided to further extend the ban on JKLF in view of the continued anti-national activities of the JKLF. A notification to this effect has been issued on 17.2.98. This ban will be valid for a period of two years from 17.2.98. Incidentally, the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is an association, with the aim of secession of the State of Jammu & Kashmir from the Union of India. In view of its activities being prejudicial to the security and integrity of the nation, JKLF was declared as an Unlawful Association under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 on 18th February, 1992. The ban was extended for a further period of two years in February, 1994 and in February, 1996. *UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES (PREVENTION) TRIBUNAL ISSUES TO JKLF* * T*he unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal has issued a show cause notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) asking them as to why they should not be declared unalwful. The notice also says that why the notification issued on 17th February, 1998 declaring JKLF, including its members, activists, armed groups, sympathisers and self-styled leaders operating inside India and abroad, as unlawful should not be confirmed. JKLF has been asked to send its reply to the tribunal within 30 days of this showcause notice issued on 28th March, 1998. On 2/16/08, we wi wrote: > > I think mody never indulged himself in anybody murder. All the sick > organisation like JKLF should be abolished immediately, this is my personal > opinion. I really do not understand how the government is tolerating. > > *OISHIK SIRCAR * wrote: > > Arre, if Modi can be invited to speak at the Conclave to spew words of > wisdom on how to use hatred to play vote bank politics.. why can't Yasin? > > On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul > wrote: > > > *It wouldn't be the first or the last time in the **history of mankind > > that > > a killer is freed or elevated to a position which in all likelihood he > > doesn't > > deserve. The crowd has sometimes chosen to free Barbaras and instead > > crucify > > Jesus.It has been us the"Ashraf-ul-makhlooq" who chose to stone Hallaj > to > > death. > > > > So when India Today decided to invite Yasin Malik as a speaker in one of > > their sessions titled" Youth Forum - If I Could Change The World" they > > were > > only following what fellow human beings in done in the past. What > > however shocked me was this description ( > > http://conclave.digitaltoday.in/2008/speakersprofile.html#mailik) > wherein > > they mentioned nothing of his pending TADA cases some indeed as shocking > > as > > kidnapping the then > > Union Home Minister's daughter (which he has himself > > admitted to,read here, * > > *http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms< > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/484093.cms%C2%A0> > > ** * > > *or killing 4 unarmed air-force officials. When someone recently asked > him > > about the killings of 4 unarmed air-force officers who were waiting to > > board > > a bus, he blurted almost nonchalantly" The IAF personnel were > > not innocent victims. They were the agents of the 'enemy'. > > (read here, http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/13blood1.htm ) > > * > > *So was it fair to kill these personnel Mr.Malik? The answer in all > > likelihood meant YES. > > > > **Read the complete post and see the the video where Yasin accepts being > > complicit in killings and > > kidnappings :- > > > > *http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > *Best Regards* > > ** > > *On behalf of Roots In Kashmir * > > ** > > *Aditya Raj Kaul* > > *New Delhi* > > > > *Campaign Video - > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0STMGgA4g&feature=related > > * > > _________________________________________ > > 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: > > > > > -- > OISHIK SIRCAR > > Scholar in Women's Rights > Faculty of Law, University of Toronto > > 60 Harbord Street > Room 016 B > Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 > > oishiksircar at gmail.com > oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca > > 416.876.7926 > _________________________________________ > 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: > > > ------------------------------ > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. > > From shuddha at sarai.net Sat Feb 16 17:15:58 2008 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:15:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin Message-ID: Dear All, As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin issue on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written and read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, and in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) in conditions of detention in India currently. I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, regards Shuddha ----------------------------------- ARUNDHATI ROY’ S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT OF TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of a battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her website, she says: “Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. It is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation and tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not.” How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees itself as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational thinking — that banned Nasrin’s autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not once, but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the Calcutta High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the matter remained — without incident. Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the government’s attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the “Muslim vote.” So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the story. The government launched its operation to “recapture” Nandigram at the end of October 2007: On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an anonymous letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults of its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the government banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called printing the letter a “historic blunder.” But, of course, vernacular newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on the streets protesting the government’s actions in Nandigram — the little- known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then “erupted” in violence. The army was called in. The government deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss “free speech.” Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. It seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much from chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land grab, enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has been cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those from minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it may be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful political device to further the agendas of others. The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes they are intertwined in the strangest ways. Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and that when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This is not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used by the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, the Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some of these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide at leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for example, the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without giving any specific reason for placing the ban. Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: “ ‘Organization’ means any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant law or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not.” Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net it casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. Here is how the CSPSA defines an “unlawful activity”: “Any action taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise.” And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are - "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, peace or tranquility (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of public order And, remarkably (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law and its institutions." In Section 8(5) it says that “Whoever commits or abets or attempts to commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.” So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as well as seers. How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government’s plans is being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. Govind Kutty, the editor of People’s March, a publication banned for being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of expression, as much right to place their ideology — however abhorrent the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the public domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else does. I believe that the ban on People’s March should be lifted immediately and its editor unconditionally released. Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must not turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who deserve this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found in some “Naxalite kit,” whatever that means. In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their inhabitants. That’s more than 300,000 people — displacement on a mass scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate mining interests. Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti Maoist“people’s militia” created and funded by the state government). Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to escape the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? The buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted for non-agricultural purposes. Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut down by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a bowl, the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be entertaining the idea “of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law and its institutions” is the continued imprisonment of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly fabricated evidence. Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying to close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. It is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — “If you are not with us, you are with the terrorists” — in which people only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of the poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won’t go back. There are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for 70 battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that are already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists whose names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting the realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this ship that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich too. There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay keen attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws that do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 17:24:40 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:24:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this Acron piece at - http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ Thanks Aditya Raj Kaul New Delhi On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > Dear All, > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin issue > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written and > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, and > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) in > conditions of detention in India currently. > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, > > regards > > Shuddha > > ----------------------------------- > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT OF > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of a > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. It > is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation and > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not." > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — led > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees itself > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational thinking > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not once, > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the Calcutta > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the > matter remained — without incident. > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the story. > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram at > the end of October 2007: > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an anonymous > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults of > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the government > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, vernacular > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on the > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the little- > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss "free > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. It > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much from > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land grab, > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has been > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those from > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it may > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful > political device to further the agendas of others. > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes they > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and that > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This is > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used by > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, the > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some of > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide at > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for example, > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' means > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant law > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net it > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any action > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs or > by visible representation or otherwise." > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are - > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, peace > or tranquility > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of > public order > And, remarkably > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law > and its institutions." > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or attempts to > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years." > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as well > as seers. > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans is > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned for > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however abhorrent > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the public > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else does. > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted immediately > and its editor unconditionally released. > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must not > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who deserve > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found in > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a mass > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > mining interests. > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state government). > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to escape > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? The > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted > for non-agricultural purposes. > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut down > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a bowl, > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience to > established law and its institutions" is the continued imprisonment > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > fabricated evidence. > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with the > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying to > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. It > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — "If > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which people > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of the > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. There > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for 70 > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that are > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists whose > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting the > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this ship > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich too. > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay keen > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws that > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > _________________________________________ > 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 Feb 16 17:27:27 2008 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:27:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ranjit Hoskote on Death Sentence to Journalist in Afghanistan Message-ID: Dear All, Here is another text on the freedom of expression issue, by Ranjit Hoskote, on a very sad situation in Afghanistan, where the US Backed government of Hamid Karzai continues to operate in a matter not altogether different (with regard to freedom of expression and conscience) from the Taliban days. I thought that this would be of interest to many on this list. best Shuddha --------------- Dear Friends, I enclose an OpEd article that I have just written for the Hindustan Times. A longer version of this piece, incorporating a view for Central European readers by Ilija Trojanow, will appear in the Süddeutsche Zeitung tomorrow. Please feel free to share this article with friends and colleagues, as the life of Sayid Pervez Kambaksh now depends on the intensity of the international opinion we can build up. Friends in the EU countries and in the US could consider getting in touch with your elected representatives or with organisations committed to the defence of human rights and cultural freedoms -- especially in those countries that have troops posted in Afghanistan, or are involved in reconstruction and infrastructure projects there. In solidarity, Ranjit ---------- (Hindustan Times: OpEd Page, Friday: 15 February 2008) Liberally dispensing death A journalist faces the gallows RANJIT HOSKOTE Half a decade after the overthrow of the Taliban, young Afghans can still risk their lives by pressing the copy-paste buttons on their PCs. As you read this, a 23-year-old journalist sits in prison in the northern city of Mazhar-e-Sharif, sentenced to death by a religious council. His crime? He downloaded an article on Islam and its views on women from the internet, and distributed it among fellow students with a view to promoting discussion. Sayid Pervez Kambaksh, a Balkh University student who also reports for a local daily, Jehan-e-Nau, was charged with indulging in 'anti- Islamic activities' and arrested on October 27 last year. In blatant defiance of Constitutional provisions, he was not produced before a court but turned over to the Shura-e-Ulema, the high council of religious scholars, which tried him on January 22, diagnosed him guilty of apostasy and recommended hanging as the cure. Although the Shura-e-Ulema confines itself to interpreting the religious Shari'a law and does not enjoy judicial authority, its ruling has been endorsed by the Afghan Senate. And President Hamid Karzai, promoted by his US sponsors as the poster boy of a war- ravaged country liberated from theocratic barbarism, has indicated that he may not overturn the decision. International outrage at these kangaroo-court proceedings has grown steadily during the last few weeks. Civil society networks have appealed to world leaders to act. The Independent and the Guardian have petitioned the British government to reason with President Karzai. It has been pointed out that Kambaksh was not permitted access to legal defence, during a trial held in camera. It has been argued that the judgement makes a mockery of Afghanistan's Constitution, which asserts that "freedom of expression shall be inviolable. Every Afghan shall have the right to express thoughts through speech, writing, illustrations as well as other means in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution." The Kambaksh case has been read as a classic illustration of the Islamic clergy's intolerance of the freedom of expression, its apparent inability to cope with a plurality of views. At one level, this is true. Having renounced the philosophical spirit of ijtihad, critical re-interpretation, which once animated and profoundly enriched Islamic thought, many (though not all) Muslim jurists now take up conservative, even regressive positions. The Member of Parliament who moved the Senate's condemnation of Kambaksh was none other than Sibghatullah Mojadedi, an Islamic scholar and President Karzai's spiritual guide. Mojadedi briefly served as his country's President during the early 1990s, heading the US-backed Mujahideen government that morphed into the Northern Alliance after Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's forces put it to flight. Between them, the academic Mojadedi and the former oil company consultant and CIA trainee Karzai present a suave, reasonable face to the world. Trace their connections within the patchwork of Mujahideen factions, and they emerge in their true colours: as front-men for the rapacious oligarchy of clerics, warlords, turncoats and thugs that dominates post-Taliban Afghanistan. This brings us to the deeper reality of the Kambaksh case, which is masked by the too-easily-convincing narrative of religious intolerance. It is the reality of a puppet regime's rampant corruption, violent misrule, and disdain for public scrutiny. The key actors in this sordid tale are politicians who have got their hands on vast redevelopment funds flowing in from the West. Also, officials who regard torture, rape and extortion as legitimate instruments of governance. And above all, chieftains who control Parliament and the poppy harvest with equal facility, creaming the profits from a flourishing narcotics trade that is vaster than the government's annual budget and accounts for more than half of Afghanistan's total income. Kambaksh is paying the price for his brother, Sayid Yaqub Ibrahimi's outspoken criticism of this situation. Ibrahimi, a leading investigative journalist who works with the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, has consistently exposed government corruption and human rights abuses in northern Afghanistan. In recent months, he has been subjected to escalating harassment by the National Directorate of Security (NDS). His computer has been ransacked. He has been asked to reveal the sources for some of his stories. Even as Kambaksh was being arrested, Ibrahimi's office was sealed and his home searched by the NDS. Reports suggest that Hafizullah Khaliqyar, deputy attorney of Balkh province, threatened local journalists with arrest if they voiced any protest at these perversions of the rule of law. The Sayid brothers are not the first Afghan journalists to have fallen foul of the establishment. While Karzai has repeatedly congratulated himself on international platforms for having ensured media freedom, his record is impressively shabby. In June 2003, for instance, he was all approval when Afghanistan's chief justice ordered the closure of the Kabul newspaper Aftab (The Sun) and the arrest of its chief editor Sayeed Mir Hussein Mahdavi and deputy editor Ali Reza Payam Sistany. This, at a time when Afghanistan was caught up in a momentous public debate over the shape of its new Constitution. Mahdavi and Sistany had committed the unforgivable sin of publishing articles questioning the role of religion in politics and the clergy's methods of interpreting religious texts. The chief justice, Fazl Hadi Shinwari, was an ally of the ultra-Right Kabul politician Abdul-Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf; he stuck the same deadly label on the Aftab editors that Kambaksh now carries, "charged with insulting Islam". True, the Karzai government has promulgated a 'media law' that allows for independent newspapers, radio stations and television channels, and guarantees their freedom. However, one of its provisions insists that no one may publish anything that affronts Islam, while leaving the terms of affront vague and capacious. The commission set up to handle infringements of the media law was chaired by the minister for information and culture, skewing its decisions in favour of the state; under criticism, the government proposed the token inclusion of a few representatives of civil society groups. In a recent article, Waheed Warasta, executive director of the Afghanistan PEN Centre, deplores the Karzai government's discreet withdrawal of support for media freedom. "Proof of this can be found in the Press Guidelines paper that was distributed to the free media runners last year," writes Warasta. The document forbids criticism of the US-led coalition, coverage of Taliban suicide attacks, and the publication of any news that could lower public morale. "This letter was distributed by the Afghan intelligence to the media … The spokesman of the President later claimed that he did not know that the intelligence had issued such a letter." Was Karzai playing along with the intelligence service? Or is there a deep state within the state, over which he has little control? In either case, he has betrayed the hope that he would lead Afghanistan out of decades of ecclesiastical terror and endemic violence, and towards a liberal order. He first betrayed it during the Loya Jirga or grand council of June 2002, when Afghanistan's warlords and clerics made it clear that they would not return to their barracks and seminaries, threatening women delegates and insulting civil society activists. With the Kambaksh case, Karzai has fallen lower still. Will he condone the most appalling contraventions of natural justice and democratic procedure, if it helps him retain his shaky grip over what is essentially a narco-polity? * Ranjit Hoskote is a poet and cultural theorist. He is also general secretary of the PEN All-India Centre, a platform committed to the defence of intellectual and cultural freedoms. From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 17:51:14 2008 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:21:14 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Taslima and not-so-mad days Message-ID: Reading Shuddha's text on Taslima and parallels to pagli pishi in every family, I was reminded of Taslima's not-so-mad days. Isolation from her original inspiration in the creative ferment of Bangladesh, a life as a shut-in floater in European capitals (from one PEN dinner to another, until suddenly abruptly those dried up) has resulted in a shrinking of Taslima's intellectual space and thinking. When she talks/writes now, delivering ad hominem attacks on "mullahs", her analysis is crude and tone deaf enough that it's embarrassing to watch. She also seems noticably disconnected from broader political movements even in her immediate surroundings (e.g., Nandigram)-- but perhaps this is the price tag for her continued tenuous existence in India (as a "guest" at her majesty's pleasure). An unproductive exile. I remember a different Taslima. The one that exploded onto the Dhaka scene in late 1980s. Long before LAJJA, before KA, before AMARE MEYEBELA, before DIKHWANDITO (all books the world discovered after exile), there were the weekly column she used to write for a purely Bangladeshi audience. It's interesting to note that even the wiki entry on her starts her list of achievements with her 1992 Ananda Puroshkar, i.e., with her discovery by the intelligentsia (which ended up being the beginning of her downfall-- the seduction of the Indian literary circuit, which used her and then disposed of her). But there is a different Taslima, from a period when there was no fame, but there was a lot of earnest and meaningful feminist writing/activism The topics she wrote about in late 80s seem like Feminism 1.0 now, but at that time she was like a molotov cocktail into the complacency of Bangla mucholman bhodrolok society. February is the month of language martyrs (also recognized by UN as "Mother Tongue Day", in recognition of the anti-Pakistan movement that began in Bangladesh/East Pakistan on Feb 21, 1952 with the killing of protesters fighting against the imposition of Urdu as state language of all of Pakistan). It all culminates on February 21st. The boi mela/book fair that runs all month in Bangla Academy is a unifying cultural phenomenon that brings in a gigantic middle and lower income group to buy books. Today's newspaper carries a picture of a 3 year old kidney damage patient who is being carried by his father to boi mela to get a glimpse at the crowds. Within that extremely sacrosanct hallowed space, Taslima was the first to write in 1989/90 about how the narrow confines and massive crowds of boi mela had given cover to groups of eve teasers. In angry, clean, precise Bangla (something she has lost over the years), she described which line, which area, which body part, which finger, where when how-- the mathematics of nasty invasive groping. Through that campaign of writing she actually managed to inspire a group of activists who formed human chains at boi mela (this is all long forgotten). Angry confrontational politics, all of which has retreated in the face of more internecine warfare in the 00s. [Now instead of the left against the islamist, the left against the chauvinists, the secular left is battling the islamist left, all one big hojoborolo.] It all seems tremendously retro now, but in 1990/91, I could feel my head exploding as I read her angry columns, week after week. That sort of in your face, f***-the-patriarchy brand of feminism was still raw. Eve teasing goon squads, lit cigarettes flitting into hooded rickshas, why women had to ride motorcycles side saddle, the old uncle molesting his young ward, the filth being taught in schools, the hypocrisy of the prostitute frequenting middle class, the sniffing dogs of propriety (kukur er naam syphilis), Biman Airlines discrimination against older stewardesses-- these were all targets of her early broadsides. Writing about wanting a room of one's own, many of us learnt about Virginia Woolf via the Bangla translations she did in her column (as well as Humayun Azad's NAARI, also banned by GOB). Essential work in a xerox world before wiki/google/internet. Of course there is much to criticize of Taslima as well. The way she allowed herself to be used post 1992, and especially the BJPs' embrace of LAJJA, which she failed to distance herself from. The arrogant perch from which she said "there were no proper feminists before me in Bangladesh" (but perhaps isolation led to delusions). Etc, etc these are all tired, shopworn, well-read. But the ultimate treason was of the Bangla middle class, the secular intelligentsia, the left, the group that failed. When a national campaign by the mullahs peaked and Taslima went into hiding and eventually into exile, it is the secular left that failed. That decided through a complicated set of equations that it was better not to fall on the sword of Taslima. Compared to that pioneering role, her writing and public posture now is frozen in time. Tremendously stilted, stale ideas. For this I blame above everything else the complete isolation she has fallen into in exile. Cut off from meaningful challenge, and isolated from the debates that are going on inside Bangladesh now (which have advanced many aeons since her time as an angry radical) she is the sad lioness in winter. At the time of Taslima fires, wall graffiti went up with Niemoller's line "First they came for...". The last line there was "Today they come for Taslima..." Soon, those grafs were painted over with much bigger slogans in cherry red "Taslima r chamra/Tule Nibo Amra" (Taslima's Skin/We Will Take It Off). Perhaps they meant clothes, not skin. At any rate, in the face of that righteous anger, the genteel secularists beat a hasty retreat. There's was always a politics of fool'er wreath, Tagore songs, Harmonium (what my friend calls pen penani politics), human chain, etc. Faced with angry mobs and big sticks, they meakly bleated and retreated. Hell with taslima anyway they said, how dare she say she was the first feminist. Ok, our conscience was soothed, we never liked her anyway. Taslima was the first big victory for the Islamists in two decades. Many more followed. There is Arifur Rahman, blasphemous cartoonist, still in jail (three months running). Daud Haider, blasphemous poet, still in exile in Berlin (with his books freshly banned by Home Ministry this year-- for writing the Mecca Kaba-Lucknow Baiji line). Humayun Azad, blasphemous professor, hacked with a machette right outside this very same February Boi Mela (died six months later in Berlin). There was that issue of Shaptahik 2000, banned. Humor magazine Alpin, banned. Prothom Alo newspaper, almost burnt to the ground. Many more such cases. And more to add. There is a way she ignited passions inside Bangladesh, and for that role as a provocateur, she was priceless, unique, and necessary. A crucible for so much anger. How tragic to see that today the voices defending her are inside India, and not in Bangladesh. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Note: Chronology of Blasphemy Cases http://rumiahmed.wordpress.com/2007/09/30/chronology-of-major-blasphemy-cases-in-bangladesh-1972-2007/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Naeem Mohaiemen skype: naeembangali +88 01711 548 770 [Dhaka] http://www.shobak.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From asitredsalute at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 19:18:46 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:48:46 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: mr aditya rajs reaction to arundhati roy is sick this shows the days to come when minories will be hounded out writers gaggled dalits tortured more and the list can be horrifieng and long now his comment on terrorism if that word has any negetive conotation george bush is the biggest terrorist in the world having massacred millions in iraq the zionist israli state and the nda govt was shameless in proclaiming thier loyalty to their imperialst masters and the zionists who is a biggerterrorist then modi who was instumental in the massacre of thousands of minories in gujrat arundhati roy makes open the facade of our great free democracy where dissenters are persecuted who is a publicity seeker arundhati or advani who in his bloody rath yatra communalisedthe whole country ushering in fascim in india asit On Feb 16, 2008 6:54 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates > Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this Acron piece > at - > > http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ > > Thanks > Aditya Raj Kaul > New Delhi > > > On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > > > Dear All, > > > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin issue > > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written and > > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, and > > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) in > > conditions of detention in India currently. > > > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, > > > > regards > > > > Shuddha > > > > ----------------------------------- > > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT OF > > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of a > > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her > > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism > > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. It > > is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation and > > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not." > > > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — led > > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees itself > > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational thinking > > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not once, > > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the Calcutta > > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the > > matter remained — without incident. > > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the > > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed > > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the story. > > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram at > > the end of October 2007: > > > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an anonymous > > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults of > > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the government > > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, vernacular > > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were > > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on the > > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the little- > > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss "free > > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. It > > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much from > > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land grab, > > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has been > > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those from > > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script > > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it may > > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful > > political device to further the agendas of others. > > > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, > > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes they > > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a > > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and that > > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and > > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This is > > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used by > > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but > > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is > > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates > > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, the > > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some of > > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide at > > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for example, > > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without > > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' means > > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant law > > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net it > > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any action > > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs or > > by visible representation or otherwise." > > > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are - > > > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, peace > > or tranquility > > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of > > public order > > And, remarkably > > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law > > and its institutions." > > > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or attempts to > > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years." > > > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as well > > as seers. > > > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under > > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans is > > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned for > > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however abhorrent > > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the public > > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else does. > > > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted immediately > > and its editor unconditionally released. > > > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must not > > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who deserve > > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor > > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found in > > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a mass > > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > > mining interests. > > > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state government). > > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to escape > > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? The > > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if > > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted > > for non-agricultural purposes. > > > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut down > > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a bowl, > > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience to > > established law and its institutions" is the continued imprisonment > > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > > fabricated evidence. > > > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with the > > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area > > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying to > > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. It > > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — "If > > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which people > > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. > > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of the > > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. There > > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for 70 > > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that are > > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of > > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional > > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists whose > > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting the > > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this ship > > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip > > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich too. > > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay keen > > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a > > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws that > > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 19:26:41 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 19:26:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802160556v581f9318xa895f3448178b66a@mail.gmail.com> Dear Asit, Wait a little my friend...you have already gone too far. I never put my reaction here on Arundhati Roy; I merely pasted a link for the knowledge of the Reader's List. Hope you understand that well. And, it would be great if discussions and comments are written in a more civilised manner. Moreover, I personally don't think that I should care to have an opinion on such fake people like Arundhati herself. As you don't have an iota of knowledge on terrorist Yasin Malik and his doings; you shift towards blabberings against Advani/Modi. Wake up dear. Learn to differentiate. God Bless Aditya Raj Kaul On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > mr aditya rajs reaction to arundhati roy is sick this shows the days to > come when minories will be hounded out writers gaggled dalits tortured more > and the list can be horrifieng and long > now his comment on terrorism if that word has any negetive conotation > george bush is the biggest terrorist in the world having massacred millions > in iraq the zionist israli state and the nda govt was shameless in > proclaiming thier loyalty to their imperialst masters and the zionists who > is a biggerterrorist then modi who was instumental in the massacre of > thousands of minories in gujrat arundhati roy makes open the facade of our > great free democracy where dissenters are persecuted who is a publicity > seeker arundhati or advani who in his bloody rath yatra communalisedthe > whole country ushering in fascim in india > asit > > On Feb 16, 2008 6:54 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > > > Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates > > Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this Acron > > piece > > at - > > > > http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ > > > > Thanks > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > New Delhi > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > > > > > Dear All, > > > > > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin issue > > > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written and > > > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, and > > > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) in > > > conditions of detention in India currently. > > > > > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, > > > > > > regards > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT OF > > > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > > > > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > > > > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > > > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of a > > > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > > > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her > > > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > > > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism > > > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > > > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. It > > > is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation and > > > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not." > > > > > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — led > > > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees itself > > > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational thinking > > > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not once, > > > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the Calcutta > > > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > > > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the > > > matter remained — without incident. > > > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the > > > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > > > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed > > > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the story. > > > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram at > > > the end of October 2007: > > > > > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an anonymous > > > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults of > > > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the government > > > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > > > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, vernacular > > > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were > > > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > > > > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on the > > > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the little- > > > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > > > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > > > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > > > > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss "free > > > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > > > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. It > > > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much from > > > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land grab, > > > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > > > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has been > > > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those from > > > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script > > > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it may > > > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful > > > political device to further the agendas of others. > > > > > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, > > > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > > > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes they > > > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > > > > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a > > > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and that > > > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and > > > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This is > > > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > > > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used by > > > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > > > > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but > > > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is > > > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates > > > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > > > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > > > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, the > > > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > > > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some of > > > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > > > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide at > > > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for example, > > > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without > > > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > > > > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' means > > > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > > > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant law > > > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > > > > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net it > > > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > > > > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any action > > > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > > > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs or > > > by visible representation or otherwise." > > > > > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are - > > > > > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, peace > > > or tranquility > > > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of > > > public order > > > And, remarkably > > > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law > > > and its institutions." > > > > > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or attempts to > > > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > > > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven > > years." > > > > > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as well > > > as seers. > > > > > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under > > > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > > > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans is > > > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > > > > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned for > > > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > > > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > > > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however abhorrent > > > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the public > > > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else does. > > > > > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted immediately > > > and its editor unconditionally released. > > > > > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must not > > > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > > > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who deserve > > > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor > > > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found in > > > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > > > > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > > > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a mass > > > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > > > mining interests. > > > > > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > > > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > > > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state government). > > > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to escape > > > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > > > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? The > > > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if > > > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted > > > for non-agricultural purposes. > > > > > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut down > > > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a bowl, > > > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > > > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience to > > > established law and its institutions" is the continued imprisonment > > > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > > > fabricated evidence. > > > > > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with the > > > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area > > > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > > > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > > > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > > > > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying to > > > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. It > > > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — "If > > > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which people > > > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > > > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. > > > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of the > > > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. There > > > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for 70 > > > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that are > > > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > > > > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of > > > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional > > > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists whose > > > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > > > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting the > > > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this ship > > > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip > > > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich too. > > > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay keen > > > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a > > > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws that > > > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > From shahzulf at yahoo.com Sat Feb 16 19:57:19 2008 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:27:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Seeking World Support for the Liberation of Sindh Message-ID: <701481.88760.qm@web38808.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Bureau Report HYDERABAD, Feb 15: Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Chairman Basheer Khan Qureshi has appealed to the world powers to help Sindhi nation in creating an independent “Sindhu Desh” as the problems of fundamentalism and cultural differences could only be resolved through the “Paigham-i-Sindh”. Flanked by party leaders, Akash Mallah, Sagar Hanif Burdi, Fatah Mahessar, Aziz Phul and others, he was addressing a news conference at the press club here on Friday. He said Sindh was passing through a critical period as a war was going on between liberal, secular and peace loving nations on the one side and fundamentalist and religious extremist on the other side. He said harmony among religions and cultures is the cornerstone of “Paigham-i-Sindh” as propounded by Shah Latif, Sachal Sami and other saints. He said the country has become a centre of fundamentalism and religious extremism which patronised the ‘clergy’ and retrogressive forces. He said the prevailing state of affairs has endangered the world peace. He said the solution to fundamentalism and cultural differences lay in Paigham-e-Sindh.JSQM chairman said that economic exploitation of Sindh has continued unabated for 60 years which can be gauged from the fact that Sindh provide 70 per cent of revenue to the federation but receive only 24 per cent in return. Courtsy: Daily Dawn http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/16/local25.htm Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com From asitredsalute at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 20:15:16 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:45:16 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: <6353c690802160556v581f9318xa895f3448178b66a@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802160556v581f9318xa895f3448178b66a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: what is civilising modrern secular democracy or mediaval fuedal varnashram where one fourth of the poulation is declared untouchable and women domestic slaves who is civilised people spew venom on religious lne o peole who speak out against exploitation injustice and human right what so civilised inthe gory communal riots of gujrat where a womans womb was torn apart women gang raped who is civilised advani and modi prpogating fascism and mediaval barbarism arundhati roy doesnt need anybodies opinion sheis ad b millions and has spoken out for the marginalised the poor the advasis and agianst american imperialism asit On Feb 16, 2008 8:56 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Dear Asit, > > Wait a little my friend...you have already gone too far. I never put my > reaction here on Arundhati Roy; I merely pasted a link for the knowledge of > the Reader's List. Hope you understand that well. And, it would be great if > discussions and comments are written in a more civilised manner. Moreover, I > personally don't think that I should care to have an opinion on such fake > people like Arundhati herself. > > As you don't have an iota of knowledge on terrorist Yasin Malik and his > doings; you shift towards blabberings against Advani/Modi. Wake up dear. > Learn to differentiate. > > God Bless > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > > > mr aditya rajs reaction to arundhati roy is sick this shows the days to > > come when minories will be hounded out writers gaggled dalits tortured more > > and the list can be horrifieng and long > > now his comment on terrorism if that word has any negetive conotation > > george bush is the biggest terrorist in the world having massacred millions > > in iraq the zionist israli state and the nda govt was shameless in > > proclaiming thier loyalty to their imperialst masters and the zionists who > > is a biggerterrorist then modi who was instumental in the massacre of > > thousands of minories in gujrat arundhati roy makes open the facade of our > > great free democracy where dissenters are persecuted who is a publicity > > seeker arundhati or advani who in his bloody rath yatra communalisedthe > > whole country ushering in fascim in india > > asit > > > > On Feb 16, 2008 6:54 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul > > wrote: > > > > > Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates > > > Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this Acron > > > piece > > > at - > > > > > > http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ > > > > > > Thanks > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > New Delhi > > > > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > > > > > > > Dear All, > > > > > > > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin > > > issue > > > > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written and > > > > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, and > > > > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) in > > > > conditions of detention in India currently. > > > > > > > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, > > > > > > > > regards > > > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT > > > OF > > > > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > > > > > > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > > > > > > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > > > > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of a > > > > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > > > > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her > > > > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > > > > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism > > > > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > > > > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. It > > > > is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation > > > and > > > > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not." > > > > > > > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — led > > > > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees itself > > > > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational > > > thinking > > > > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not once, > > > > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the Calcutta > > > > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > > > > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the > > > > matter remained — without incident. > > > > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the > > > > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > > > > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed > > > > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the story. > > > > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram at > > > > the end of October 2007: > > > > > > > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an anonymous > > > > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults of > > > > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the government > > > > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > > > > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, vernacular > > > > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were > > > > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > > > > > > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on the > > > > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the > > > little- > > > > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > > > > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > > > > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > > > > > > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss "free > > > > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > > > > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. It > > > > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much from > > > > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land > > > grab, > > > > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > > > > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has been > > > > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those > > > from > > > > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script > > > > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it may > > > > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful > > > > political device to further the agendas of others. > > > > > > > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, > > > > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > > > > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes they > > > > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > > > > > > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a > > > > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and that > > > > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and > > > > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This > > > is > > > > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > > > > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used by > > > > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > > > > > > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but > > > > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is > > > > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates > > > > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > > > > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > > > > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, the > > > > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > > > > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some of > > > > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > > > > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide > > > at > > > > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for example, > > > > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without > > > > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' means > > > > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > > > > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant > > > law > > > > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > > > > > > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net it > > > > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any action > > > > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > > > > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs > > > or > > > > by visible representation or otherwise." > > > > > > > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are - > > > > > > > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, peace > > > > or tranquility > > > > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of > > > > public order > > > > And, remarkably > > > > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law > > > > and its institutions." > > > > > > > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or attempts > > > to > > > > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > > > > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven > > > years." > > > > > > > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as well > > > > as seers. > > > > > > > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under > > > > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > > > > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans is > > > > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > > > > > > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned for > > > > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > > > > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > > > > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however > > > abhorrent > > > > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the public > > > > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else does. > > > > > > > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted > > > immediately > > > > and its editor unconditionally released. > > > > > > > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must > > > not > > > > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > > > > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who deserve > > > > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor > > > > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found > > > in > > > > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > > > > > > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > > > > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a > > > mass > > > > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > > > > mining interests. > > > > > > > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > > > > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > > > > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state > > > government). > > > > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to > > > escape > > > > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > > > > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? > > > The > > > > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if > > > > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted > > > > for non-agricultural purposes. > > > > > > > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut down > > > > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a bowl, > > > > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > > > > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience to > > > > established law and its institutions" is the continued imprisonment > > > > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > > > > fabricated evidence. > > > > > > > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with the > > > > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area > > > > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > > > > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > > > > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > > > > > > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying to > > > > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. It > > > > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — > > > "If > > > > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which people > > > > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > > > > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. > > > > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of the > > > > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. There > > > > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for 70 > > > > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that are > > > > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > > > > > > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of > > > > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional > > > > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists > > > whose > > > > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > > > > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting the > > > > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this ship > > > > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip > > > > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich too. > > > > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay keen > > > > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a > > > > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws > > > that > > > > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 22:03:15 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:03:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: References: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802160556v581f9318xa895f3448178b66a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802160833j7f9704ccg2bb0b0a15f57fba7@mail.gmail.com> Flowing with the wave is quite easy to do; and things which get easy money are as well easier done. But, speaking against terrorists like Yasin Malik need balls. Lets not compare it with what happened in Gujrat. In Kashmir, Sarla Bhat was raped, murdered and then cut into pieces by your Yasin Malik and Javed Mir; they even killed 4 IAF Officers who were standing at bus-stop with their baggage. And, your Godess Arundhati Roy supports them from the core of her heart. Maybe because Yasin fights against injustice; and is voice of the marganalised; and is secular from top to bottom. The answer we all know is a big NO. Yasin Malik owns crores worth of property in Kashmir (Obviously illegal;and through HAWALA money) and portrays himself to be a Gandhian. God save people who blindly support him. Want to get enlightened more about Yasin Malik read - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/2008/02/yasin-malik-and-india-today-conclave.html P.S. - Using terms like Human Rights, Imperialism, Marganalised, Domestic Slaves and again attacking Advani/Modi won't solve your purpose and neither does it serve your point. It shows lack of knowledge, defeatist approach. God Bless...! On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > what is civilising modrern secular democracy or mediaval fuedal varnashram > where one fourth of the poulation is declared untouchable and women domestic > slaves who is civilised people spew venom on religious lne o peole who speak > out against exploitation injustice and human right what so civilised inthe > gory communal riots of gujrat where a womans womb was torn apart women gang > raped who is civilised advani and modi prpogating fascism and > mediaval barbarism arundhati roy doesnt need anybodies opinion sheis ad b > millions and has spoken out for the marginalised the poor the advasis and > agianst american imperialism > asit > > > On Feb 16, 2008 8:56 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > > > Dear Asit, > > > > Wait a little my friend...you have already gone too far. I never put > > my reaction here on Arundhati Roy; I merely pasted a link for the knowledge > > of the Reader's List. Hope you understand that well. And, it would be great > > if discussions and comments are written in a more civilised manner. > > Moreover, I personally don't think that I should care to have an opinion on > > such fake people like Arundhati herself. > > > > As you don't have an iota of knowledge on terrorist Yasin Malik and his > > doings; you shift towards blabberings against Advani/Modi. Wake up dear. > > Learn to differentiate. > > > > God Bless > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > > > > > mr aditya rajs reaction to arundhati roy is sick this shows the days > > > to come when minories will be hounded out writers gaggled dalits tortured > > > more and the list can be horrifieng and long > > > now his comment on terrorism if that word has any negetive conotation > > > george bush is the biggest terrorist in the world having massacred millions > > > in iraq the zionist israli state and the nda govt was shameless in > > > proclaiming thier loyalty to their imperialst masters and the zionists who > > > is a biggerterrorist then modi who was instumental in the massacre of > > > thousands of minories in gujrat arundhati roy makes open the facade of our > > > great free democracy where dissenters are persecuted who is a publicity > > > seeker arundhati or advani who in his bloody rath yatra communalisedthe > > > whole country ushering in fascim in india > > > asit > > > > > > On Feb 16, 2008 6:54 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul > > > wrote: > > > > > > > Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates > > > > Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this Acron > > > > piece > > > > at - > > > > > > > > http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > New Delhi > > > > > > > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Dear All, > > > > > > > > > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin > > > > issue > > > > > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written > > > > and > > > > > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, > > > > and > > > > > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) > > > > in > > > > > conditions of detention in India currently. > > > > > > > > > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this list, > > > > > > > > > > regards > > > > > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN SUPPORT > > > > OF > > > > > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > > > > > > > > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > > > > > > > > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > > > > > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens of > > > > a > > > > > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > > > > > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On her > > > > > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > > > > > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, > > > > secularism > > > > > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > > > > > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith.…. > > > > It > > > > > is a conflict between the future and the past, between innovation > > > > and > > > > > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not." > > > > > > > > > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — > > > > led > > > > > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees > > > > itself > > > > > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational > > > > thinking > > > > > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not > > > > once, > > > > > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the > > > > Calcutta > > > > > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > > > > > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there the > > > > > matter remained — without incident. > > > > > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of the > > > > > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > > > > > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by Mohammed > > > > > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the > > > > story. > > > > > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram at > > > > > the end of October 2007: > > > > > > > > > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an > > > > anonymous > > > > > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults > > > > of > > > > > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the > > > > government > > > > > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > > > > > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, > > > > vernacular > > > > > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter were > > > > > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > > > > > > > > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on > > > > the > > > > > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the > > > > little- > > > > > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > > > > > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > > > > > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > > > > > > > > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss > > > > "free > > > > > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > > > > > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. > > > > It > > > > > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much > > > > from > > > > > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land > > > > grab, > > > > > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > > > > > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has > > > > been > > > > > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those > > > > from > > > > > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a script > > > > > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it > > > > may > > > > > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely useful > > > > > political device to further the agendas of others. > > > > > > > > > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate many, > > > > > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > > > > > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes > > > > they > > > > > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > > > > > > > > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is a > > > > > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and > > > > that > > > > > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias and > > > > > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. This > > > > is > > > > > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > > > > > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always used > > > > by > > > > > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > > > > > > > > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech but > > > > > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There is > > > > > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which incorporates > > > > > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > > > > > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > > > > > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, > > > > the > > > > > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > > > > > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some > > > > of > > > > > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > > > > > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to decide > > > > at > > > > > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for > > > > example, > > > > > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization without > > > > > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' > > > > means > > > > > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > > > > > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any relevant > > > > law > > > > > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > > > > > > > > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the net > > > > it > > > > > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any action > > > > > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > > > > > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by signs > > > > or > > > > > by visible representation or otherwise." > > > > > > > > > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these are > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, > > > > peace > > > > > or tranquility > > > > > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance of > > > > > public order > > > > > And, remarkably > > > > > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established law > > > > > and its institutions." > > > > > > > > > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or attempts > > > > to > > > > > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > > > > > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven > > > > years." > > > > > > > > > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as > > > > well > > > > > as seers. > > > > > > > > > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom under > > > > > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > > > > > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans is > > > > > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > > > > > > > > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned > > > > for > > > > > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > > > > > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > > > > > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however > > > > abhorrent > > > > > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the > > > > public > > > > > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else > > > > does. > > > > > > > > > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted > > > > immediately > > > > > and its editor unconditionally released. > > > > > > > > > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech must > > > > not > > > > > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > > > > > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who > > > > deserve > > > > > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a doctor > > > > > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been found > > > > in > > > > > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > > > > > > > > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > > > > > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a > > > > mass > > > > > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > > > > > mining interests. > > > > > > > > > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > > > > > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > > > > > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state > > > > government). > > > > > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to > > > > escape > > > > > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > > > > > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a farmer? > > > > The > > > > > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that if > > > > > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be diverted > > > > > for non-agricultural purposes. > > > > > > > > > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut > > > > down > > > > > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a > > > > bowl, > > > > > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > > > > > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience to > > > > > established law and its institutions" is the continued > > > > imprisonment > > > > > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > > > > > fabricated evidence. > > > > > > > > > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with > > > > the > > > > > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the area > > > > > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > > > > > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > > > > > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > > > > > > > > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying > > > > to > > > > > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic space. > > > > It > > > > > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine — > > > > "If > > > > > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which > > > > people > > > > > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > > > > > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up arms. > > > > > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of > > > > the > > > > > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. > > > > There > > > > > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for > > > > 70 > > > > > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that > > > > are > > > > > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > > > > > > > > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting of > > > > > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and unconditional > > > > > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists > > > > whose > > > > > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > > > > > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting > > > > the > > > > > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this > > > > ship > > > > > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does tip > > > > > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich > > > > too. > > > > > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay > > > > keen > > > > > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin a > > > > > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws > > > > that > > > > > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From asitredsalute at gmail.com Sun Feb 17 11:00:38 2008 From: asitredsalute at gmail.com (Asit asitreds) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:30:38 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Statement by Arundhati Roy in Support of Taslima Nasrin In-Reply-To: <6353c690802160833j7f9704ccg2bb0b0a15f57fba7@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802160354j7ddc3dc2wac5b0154f522534f@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802160556v581f9318xa895f3448178b66a@mail.gmail.com> <6353c690802160833j7f9704ccg2bb0b0a15f57fba7@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: as if domestic slavery ,imperialism human rights violation poverty,unemployment dwry death humilition of dalits dont exist every one know what the sangh parivar and people like advani and modi have done to the country any one who doesnt acknoledge the above problem is not only ignorant in fact it is a soft term is totally out of touch withcontemporary social reality either he connoves with the above crime or isremoved from objective realty in psychritric term we call those people sczhopreniacs niw it ies wasstew of time to engage with these people who stay in a make beiliveworld now one last thing about funding what about the thousands of crores of rupees coming to viswa hindu parishad ans the sangfh privar from abroad to carry out the fascist hindutva agenda who funds crores of rupees to banavasi kalyan ashrams to saffronise the adivaSIS ITS ROLE IN KANDMAL COMMUNAL voilence was really notorious ive nothing to say after this any one who denies these facts either is extremely brutailised in the saffron agenda or totally cut off from realty so it is friut less to engage in further dialouge with them On Feb 16, 2008 11:33 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Flowing with the wave is quite easy to do; and things which get easy money > are as well easier done. But, speaking against terrorists like Yasin Malik > need balls. > > Lets not compare it with what happened in Gujrat. In Kashmir, Sarla Bhat > was raped, murdered and then cut into pieces by your Yasin Malik and Javed > Mir; they even killed 4 IAF Officers who were standing at bus-stop with > their baggage. And, your Godess Arundhati Roy supports them from the core of > her heart. Maybe because Yasin fights against injustice; and is voice of the > marganalised; and is secular from top to bottom. The answer we all know is a > big NO. Yasin Malik owns crores worth of property in Kashmir (Obviously > illegal;and through HAWALA money) and portrays himself to be a Gandhian. God > save people who blindly support him. > > Want to get enlightened more about Yasin Malik read - > http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/2008/02/yasin-malik-and-india-today-conclave.html > > P.S. - Using terms like Human Rights, Imperialism, Marganalised, Domestic > Slaves and again attacking Advani/Modi won't solve your purpose and neither > does it serve your point. It shows lack of knowledge, defeatist approach. > > God Bless...! > > > On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > > > what is civilising modrern secular democracy or mediaval fuedal > > varnashram where one fourth of the poulation is declared untouchable and > > women domestic slaves who is civilised people spew venom on religious lne o > > peole who speak out against exploitation injustice and human right what so > > civilised inthe gory communal riots of gujrat where a womans womb was torn > > apart women gang raped who is civilised advani and modi prpogating fascism > > and mediaval barbarism arundhati roy doesnt need anybodies opinion sheis ad > > b millions and has spoken out for the marginalised the poor the advasis and > > agianst american imperialism > > asit > > > > > > On Feb 16, 2008 8:56 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul > > wrote: > > > > > Dear Asit, > > > > > > Wait a little my friend...you have already gone too far. I never > > > put my reaction here on Arundhati Roy; I merely pasted a link for the > > > knowledge of the Reader's List. Hope you understand that well. And, it would > > > be great if discussions and comments are written in a more civilised manner. > > > Moreover, I personally don't think that I should care to have an opinion on > > > such fake people like Arundhati herself. > > > > > > As you don't have an iota of knowledge on terrorist Yasin Malik and > > > his doings; you shift towards blabberings against Advani/Modi. Wake up dear. > > > Learn to differentiate. > > > > > > God Bless > > > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Asit asitreds wrote: > > > > > > > > mr aditya rajs reaction to arundhati roy is sick this shows the days > > > > to come when minories will be hounded out writers gaggled dalits tortured > > > > more and the list can be horrifieng and long > > > > now his comment on terrorism if that word has any negetive > > > > conotation george bush is the biggest terrorist in the world having > > > > massacred millions in iraq the zionist israli state and the nda govt was > > > > shameless in proclaiming thier loyalty to their imperialst masters and the > > > > zionists who is a biggerterrorist then modi who was instumental in the > > > > massacre of thousands of minories in gujrat arundhati roy makes open the > > > > facade of our great free democracy where dissenters are persecuted who is a > > > > publicity seeker arundhati or advani who in his bloody rath yatra > > > > communalisedthe whole country ushering in fascim in india > > > > asit > > > > > > > > On Feb 16, 2008 6:54 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > Though in reality - Ms. Arundhati "PUBLICITY-SEEKING Roy advocates > > > > > Terrorism. I think readers would find interesting to read this > > > > > Acron piece > > > > > at - > > > > > > > > > > http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2005/03/19/arundhati-roy-advocates-terrorism/ > > > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > New Delhi > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 2/16/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Dear All, > > > > > > > > > > > > As there has been considerable discussion on the Taslima Nasrin > > > > > issue > > > > > > on this list, I am forwarding on to the list a statement written > > > > > and > > > > > > read by the writer Arundhati Roy, in support of Taslima Nasrin, > > > > > and > > > > > > in support of the many others (journalists, doctors, and others) > > > > > in > > > > > > conditions of detention in India currently. > > > > > > > > > > > > I hope that this will be of interest to some of you on this > > > > > list, > > > > > > > > > > > > regards > > > > > > > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > ARUNDHATI ROY' S STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED IN > > > > > SUPPORT OF > > > > > > TASLIMA NASRIN'S RIGHT TO STAY IN INDIA IN CONDITIONS OF LIBERTY > > > > > > > > > > > > February 13, 2008, Press Club of India, New Delhi, India > > > > > > > > > > > > I would like to caution us all against looking at this issue, in > > > > > > particular the issue of Taslima Nasrin, through the single lens > > > > > of a > > > > > > battle between religious fundamentalism and secular liberalism. > > > > > > Taslima Nasrin herself sometimes contributes to that view. On > > > > > her > > > > > > website, she says: "Humankind is facing an uncertain future…. In > > > > > > particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, > > > > > secularism > > > > > > and fundamentalism…. To me, this conflict is basically between > > > > > > modern, rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind > > > > > faith.…. It > > > > > > is a conflict between the future and the past, between > > > > > innovation and > > > > > > tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do > > > > > not." > > > > > > > > > > > > How strange it is then, that it was the West Bengal Government — > > > > > led > > > > > > by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party that sees > > > > > itself > > > > > > as the vanguard of secularism, modern, logical, and rational > > > > > thinking > > > > > > — that banned Nasrin's autobiographical novel Dwikhandita, not > > > > > once, > > > > > > but twice. Twice the ban was successfully challenged in the > > > > > Calcutta > > > > > > High Court. The book was published, and for four years people in > > > > > > Bengal read it and Taslima Nasrin lived in Calcutta. And there > > > > > the > > > > > > matter remained — without incident. > > > > > > Then Nandigram happened. Muslims and Dalits bore the brunt of > > > > > the > > > > > > government's attack. The CPI(M) began to worry about losing the > > > > > > "Muslim vote." So it played the Taslima card. A report by > > > > > Mohammed > > > > > > Safi Samsi in the Indian Express (December 1, 2007) tells the > > > > > story. > > > > > > The government launched its operation to "recapture" Nandigram > > > > > at > > > > > > the end of October 2007: > > > > > > > > > > > > On November 1, Path Sanket a CPI(M) magazine published an > > > > > anonymous > > > > > > letter supporting Taslima Nasrin, adding some gratuitous insults > > > > > of > > > > > > its own against Prophet Mohammed. On the November 8, the > > > > > government > > > > > > banned the magazine and a member of the editorial team called > > > > > > printing the letter a "historic blunder." But, of course, > > > > > vernacular > > > > > > newspapers republished the letter. Photocopies of the letter > > > > > were > > > > > > then distributed in Muslim-dominated localities. > > > > > > > > > > > > On November 21 — a week after more than 60,000 people marched on > > > > > the > > > > > > streets protesting the government's actions in Nandigram — the > > > > > little- > > > > > > known All India Minority Forum organized a protest that then > > > > > > "erupted" in violence. The army was called in. The government > > > > > > deported Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal. > > > > > > > > > > > > And today, on February 13, we are all gathered here to discuss > > > > > "free > > > > > > speech." Not the recapturing of Nandigram or the continuing > > > > > > terrorizing, humiliation, and rape of the people who live there. > > > > > It > > > > > > seems pretty clear that the threat to free speech comes as much > > > > > from > > > > > > chemical hubs and iron ore mines — and from the project of land > > > > > grab, > > > > > > enclosure, and mass displacement — as it does from religious > > > > > > fundamentalism. To not see this is to fall into a trap that has > > > > > been > > > > > > cleverly laid for us.Religious fundamentalists, especially those > > > > > from > > > > > > minority communities, are often inadvertently playing out a > > > > > script > > > > > > that has been written for them. Their outrage, genuine though it > > > > > may > > > > > > be, has become a dependable, predictable, and an extremely > > > > > useful > > > > > > political device to further the agendas of others. > > > > > > > > > > > > The principle of free speech and expression has to negotiate > > > > > many, > > > > > > many fundamentalisms. Religious fundamentalism, ultranationalist > > > > > > fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, among others. Sometimes > > > > > they > > > > > > are intertwined in the strangest ways. > > > > > > > > > > > > Liberals often make the mistake of believing that free speech is > > > > > a > > > > > > fundamental right given to us by the Indian constitution — and > > > > > that > > > > > > when it is curbed either by the state or by vigilante militias > > > > > and > > > > > > thugs, it is because the the constitution is being subverted. > > > > > This is > > > > > > not true. Free speech is not our constitutional right. It is a > > > > > > contained right, beset with caveats, caveats that are always > > > > > used by > > > > > > the powerful to control and dominate those who are powerless. > > > > > > > > > > > > Now, we have a slew of new laws that make not just free speech > > > > > but > > > > > > freedom itself in India a pathetic joke, a distant dream. There > > > > > is > > > > > > the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which > > > > > incorporates > > > > > > some of the worst provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act > > > > > > (POTA) and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act > > > > > > (TADA). There is the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, > > > > > the > > > > > > Madhya Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, and the utterly > > > > > > draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Some > > > > > of > > > > > > these laws contain provisions whose sole purpose seems to be to > > > > > > criminalize everybody and then leave the government free to > > > > > decide at > > > > > > leisure whom to imprison. Under the CSPSA and the UAPA, for > > > > > example, > > > > > > the government is free to arbitrarily ban any organization > > > > > without > > > > > > giving any specific reason for placing the ban. > > > > > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPA defines an organization: " 'Organization' > > > > > means > > > > > > any combination, body or group of persons whether known by any > > > > > > distinctive name or not and whether registered under any > > > > > relevant law > > > > > > or not and whether governed by any written constitution or not." > > > > > > > > > > > > Remember, the vaguer the provisions in the law, the wider the > > > > > net it > > > > > > casts, the greater the threat to civil and democratic rights. > > > > > > > > > > > > Here is how the CSPSA defines an "unlawful activity": "Any > > > > > action > > > > > > taken by such [banned] individual or organization whether by > > > > > > committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by > > > > > signs or > > > > > > by visible representation or otherwise." > > > > > > > > > > > > And then there are some sub-clauses that widen the net: these > > > > > are - > > > > > > > > > > > > "(i) which constitutes a danger or menace to public order, > > > > > peace > > > > > > or tranquility > > > > > > (iii) which interferes or tends to interfere with maintenance > > > > > of > > > > > > public order > > > > > > And, remarkably > > > > > > (vi) of encouraging or preaching disobedience to established > > > > > law > > > > > > and its institutions." > > > > > > > > > > > > In Section 8(5) it says that "Whoever commits or abets or > > > > > attempts to > > > > > > commit or abet or plans to commit any unlawful activity shall be > > > > > > punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven > > > > > years." > > > > > > > > > > > > So now they have mind readers in the Chattisgarh government, as > > > > > well > > > > > > as seers. > > > > > > > > > > > > How can there be even the pretense of free speech or freedom > > > > > under > > > > > > laws like these? All over the country, not just journalists and > > > > > > writers, but anybody who disagrees with the government's plans > > > > > is > > > > > > being arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. Sometimes murdered. > > > > > > > > > > > > Govind Kutty, the editor of People's March, a publication banned > > > > > for > > > > > > being sympathetic to Maoist ideology, has been arrested and > > > > > > imprisoned. The Maoists have as much right to the freedom of > > > > > > expression, as much right to place their ideology — however > > > > > abhorrent > > > > > > the government or anybody else may believe it to be — in the > > > > > public > > > > > > domain, in the so-called marketplace of ideas as anybody else > > > > > does. > > > > > > > > > > > > I believe that the ban on People's March should be lifted > > > > > immediately > > > > > > and its editor unconditionally released. > > > > > > > > > > > > Finally, I would like to say that the battle for free speech > > > > > must not > > > > > > turn into a battle that limits itself to the freedom of writers, > > > > > > journalists, and artists alone. We are not the only ones who > > > > > deserve > > > > > > this right. A friend from Chattisgarh recently told me of a > > > > > doctor > > > > > > who had been arrested because a prescription of his had been > > > > > found in > > > > > > some "Naxalite kit," whatever that means. > > > > > > > > > > > > In Chattisgarh, 644 villages have been evacuated of their > > > > > > inhabitants. That's more than 300,000 people — displacement on a > > > > > mass > > > > > > scale, which is eventually intended to clear space for corporate > > > > > > mining interests. > > > > > > > > > > > > Fifty thousand people have been moved into police camps and have > > > > > > become recruits for the dreaded Salwa Judum (the supposedly anti > > > > > > Maoist"people's militia" created and funded by the state > > > > > government). > > > > > > Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring states to > > > > > escape > > > > > > the horror. Nobody is allowed to go back to their villages or to > > > > > > cultivate their land. What is freedom of expression for a > > > > > farmer? The > > > > > > buzz in town is that a new law is on the anvil which says that > > > > > if > > > > > > farmland has not been cultivated for two years, it can be > > > > > diverted > > > > > > for non-agricultural purposes. > > > > > > > > > > > > Every form of resistance, peaceful or otherwise, is being shut > > > > > down > > > > > > by the state. Of all the cases on the anvil, the goldfish in a > > > > > bowl, > > > > > > the dire, menacing warning to us all and to anybody who may be > > > > > > entertaining the idea "of encouraging or preaching disobedience > > > > > to > > > > > > established law and its institutions" is the continued > > > > > imprisonment > > > > > > of Dr. Binayak Sen under false charges, underpinned by blatantly > > > > > > fabricated evidence. > > > > > > > > > > > > Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a civil rights activist with > > > > > the > > > > > > People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a doctor in the > > > > > area > > > > > > for more than 30 years, was arrested last May, charged under the > > > > > > CSPSA, the UAPA, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has been in > > > > > > prison for eight months, denied bail even by the Supreme Court. > > > > > > > > > > > > By imprisoning someone like Binayak Sen the Government is trying > > > > > to > > > > > > close out the option of peaceful resistance, of democratic > > > > > space. It > > > > > > is creating a polarization along the lines of the Bush Doctrine > > > > > — "If > > > > > > you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" — in which > > > > > people > > > > > > only have the choice between succumbing to displacement and > > > > > > destitution or resisting by going underground and taking up > > > > > arms. > > > > > > This is the beginning of either civil war or the annihilation of > > > > > the > > > > > > poor. Once that genie is out of the bottle, it won't go back. > > > > > There > > > > > > are reports that the Chhattisgarh state government has asked for > > > > > 70 > > > > > > battalions of paramilitary forces beyond the 17 battalions that > > > > > are > > > > > > already there. A fourfold increase. I fear the worst. > > > > > > > > > > > > And so, from this platform I would like to ask for the granting > > > > > of > > > > > > citizenship to Taslima Nasrin, for the immediate and > > > > > unconditional > > > > > > release of Binayak Sen, Govind Kutty, and the other journalists > > > > > whose > > > > > > names have been mentioned at this press conference, experienced > > > > > > journalists and peaceful activists who understand that reporting > > > > > the > > > > > > realities of these situations is the only hope of righting this > > > > > ship > > > > > > that is tilting dangerously and about to tip over. If it does > > > > > tip > > > > > > over, everybody will suffer, the poor definitely, but the rich > > > > > too. > > > > > > There will be no hiding place. I urge those present here to pay > > > > > keen > > > > > > attention to the specter that is looming before us. And to begin > > > > > a > > > > > > campaign demanding the repeal of these very frightening new laws > > > > > that > > > > > > do not merely threaten free speech, but freedom itself. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.netwith > > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > > > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From pkray11 at gmail.com Sun Feb 17 11:22:22 2008 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (prakash ray) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:22:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] COM. AJIT SARKAR'S MURDERERS CONVICTED Message-ID: <98f331e00802162152pae5a7c5t76eabefca60f22b8@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, I post the statement issued by CPI(M), Bihar on conviction of Com Sarkar's killers. Prakash The Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M)'s statement issued on 15 Feb,2008- Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M) welcomes the CBI special courts judgment awarding life imprisonment to Pappu Yadav, member of parliament(LS), Rajan Tiwary, former MLA and Anil Yadav who were held guilty for the murder of CPI(M) MLA, Com. Ajit Sarkar. Ajit Sarkar was a larger than life leader of masses, particularly rural poor, dalits and adviasis. He was elected to Bihar assembly in 1980 from Purnea, and continued to represent his constituency till June 14, 1998 till he was shot dead by the above criminals at the behest of feudal landlords against whom CPI(M) and Kisan Sabha had launched an uncompromising struggle for the cause of landless poor. The nexus of feudal-bureaucrats-police as well as bourgeoisies politicians is so strong in Bihar that it took about 10 years to obtain this judgment. Millions of people including the democratic forces consider life imprisonment insufficient for these accused. We urge upon the judiciary to hand these criminals till death considering the facts of the case, continuous threatening of witnesses and the political-criminal nexus support to the convicts. About 100 committed activists and leaders of CPI(M) and the democratic mass organisations led by the party have been martyred in the last two decades in our struggle against illegal feudal occupation of surplus land, government land, bhoodan land, etc, eviction of bataidars and social oppression. We are all waiting for justice in respect of all such cases. The party reiterates that the struggle will continue till the feudal-criminal nexus is defeated decisively in Bihar. The model before us is the historic kisan movement in West Bengal which subsequently led to the formation of left front government which introduced the basic land reforms, Panchayat elections on political party basis and achieved unprecedented agricultural productivity paving the way for the current industrial development programme. 19th Bihar sate conference of CPI(M) concluded in the first week of February, has already given a call to launch a massive movement centering on the demands of rural poor and unemployed youth. The party is also determined to fight against the criminalization in politics which has affected all the bourgeoisie parties, particularly the ruling JD(U)-BJP. The cancellation of the trial of JD(U) Lok Sabha leader Prabhunath Singh (for murder) by the High Court and ordering retrial at Patna because the witnesses were threatened is an eye-opener. Long Live Comrade Ajit Sarkar! From prem.cnt at gmail.com Sun Feb 17 13:25:34 2008 From: prem.cnt at gmail.com (Prem Chandavarkar) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 13:25:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The noisy nativist crowd In-Reply-To: <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> References: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> Message-ID: <7e230b560802162355s14f2c331u2efd9aa801215ad2@mail.gmail.com> On 14/02/2008, Vivek Narayanan wrote: > > I bring this thesis up not as some kind of advice from the gods, but > because I am not certain if it is true. Tsvetkov himself presents it > only as a possible theory, and of course I'm still puzzling around that > example (metaphor?) of the opera singer. I'd be curious to know what > readers on this list think about-- am eager to hear both philosophical > and pragmatic responses-- how to bring the muses back to this list. In a > way this is to explore the inverse, positive side of the anti-censorship > debate: what are the conditions for speech, what makes speech possible, > how does one revive rich conversation? > Dear Vivek, I do not have a specific answer to your most interesting and very relevant question (and I find the metaphor of the opera singer very powerful). But let me share current thoughts on possible direction. First of all, we tend to believe that the best way to combat irrational noise is clear and rational argument. And this is an approach that is doomed to failure. Let me enumerate a few reasons why I believe it to be so (my list is somewhat artificial as the points made are highly intertwined, and are stated here rather simplistically): 1. As Foucault argued, power is not achieved purely by force, but largely by constructing a system of knowledge that is widely believed to be proper. Very often, the noise emerges from this dominant knowledge base. An attempt to resist it through argument, will result in your argument being treated as inadmissible purely because it rubs against the grain of this knowledge base. As a result, the argument is not evaluated on its own terms, and tends to be dismissed outright, before consideration, as treasonous, destructive or ignorant. 2. We currently live in a world where the relationship with one's sense of history is difficult to logically comprehend. This is for a variety of reasons too complex to go into here. The response to this problem has been to treat history itself as a transcendent rather than a logical issue, and people seek to believe in a history that is considered inevitable, transcendent and immanent. A critique of such a history is treated as being outside it - as Michael Polyani observed,the Nazi would not react to an argument on public morality, not because he was an untaught savage but because he disbelieved in it in the way that we may disbelieve in witchcraft - he saw it as something antiquated and out of tune with history. 3. Rational arguments about social and cultural issues have to face the fact that such issues are extremely complex. The rational argument therefore has to accommodate depth and complexity. In a world where a thing is not felt to be real unless it also appears in some form of mass media, such argument fails to survive when it has to oppose simplistic and aphoristic slogans. 4. As Michael Goldhaber (and others after him) pointed out, we now live in an attention economy. An economy is conditioned by its scarcest resource. We are in an information age, and information consumes attention, so attention is now our scarcest resource. Most organisational forms in our era are preoccupied with techniques of capturing attention. The primary means of capturing attention are novelty and scale (noise would be one of the dimensions of scale). Rational argument, because of its inherent nature, is a poor means of connecting with either novelty or scale. The only conditions under which rational argument serves a purpose is when relationships have an a priori orientation towards deep engagement, where all sides make the commitment to pause their thinking and seriously and intensely listen to the other. I am posting this message in the expectation that my interaction with you (and some others) will be in this spirit of deep engagement. But given the amount of noise generated on the reader-list in the recent past, I am sceptical of generating wider debate. So if reason tends to run up against a brick wall, then what are the options? The first, of course, is to seek to devote more focused attention to the construction of spaces for deep engagement. Clearly the reader-list started out with such an intention. But the problem with the reader-list is that it also seeks to be a scale neutral network - that is it is totally neutral to the scaling up of the number of members. This has been a matter of design rather than accident: the ethical desire for inclusivity has led to its design as a scale free network. This means that noise generators are also free to join the network. Since deep engagement is predicated on listening, it cannot flourish in the presence of noise. And the need to filter noise becomes a contradiction with the ethical principle of free speech. The easy resolution is to introduce the filter - do not put impediments on network membership, but moderate posts so that noise is filtered out. But this is not without its problems. I remember hearing a remark once that the most efficient system of governance is a benevolent dictatorship, but the only problem is dictatorships rarely remain benevolent, even in cases when they have started out that way. A moderated list is dependent on the moderators being benevolent dictators. The question of long term sustainability arises, as the network becomes personality-centric rather than system-centric. If one has to seek a system-centric specification for networks of deep engagement, then one may have to move to networks that are composed of scale hierarchies rather than being scale neutral. This is to say that the basic building blocks are scale sensitive - for examples groups of like-minded friends. Such a group may choose to link with a few other groups over shared interests. And this smaller network may choose to subsequently link with other such networks, to form a network at a larger scale. Perhaps the basic building blocks could be also linked to physical geographies so that they supplement digital connections with face-to-face contact. The characteristic of a scale hierarchical network is that it has the capacity to be self healing when subject to noise. Since the basic building blocks are scale sensitive, they are less subject to noise, and the prevalence of noise will tend to be at larger levels of scale. When the level of noise becomes too much at a particular scale, one only has to make the relatively small scale adjustment of moving down to the next level of the hierarchy. In comparison, in a scale free network one's only choice is to make the large scale jump between remaining in the total network or retreating to isolated individualism by leaving the network. The scale of this jump makes the choice difficult and problematic. In the initial period, the reader-list possessed an overall level of like-mindedness so that noise was negligible, but it has now scaled up to a level where it cannot sustain its earlier (relatively) unitary mode of appproach and intent. While the situation is still not too bad, if current trends continue, a point may be eventually reached where one will have to face the choices of moderation, dissolution or redesign. The central question that arises here is what kind of connections does the network facilitate that entices a group at one level to connect with another level. Clearly they have to be the kind of connections that strengthen the richness of the network as well as the autonomy and depth of the group. The jump in scale also has to result in a jump in the level of thinking, so that the group benefits from the complexity that can be handled by wider connections. So for example, the group dialogue could be oriented toward practices, tools and prototypes, the next level above that toward critique of practice, and the next level above that toward philosophical critique. The jumps in scale can then be beneficial in both directions: the movement upwards achieves a critique of practice, whereas the movement downard achieves a rooting and contextualisaion of philosophy. I do not have any clear ideas to propose here, but it would be good to see more thinking and research in this direction. But the other direction worth exploring is to respond to the limitations of rational argument not by bypassing reason (and resorting to noise oneself), but by seeking to transcend reason. Italo Calvino in his book "Six Memos for the Next Millenium" has an essay on "Lightness" where he talks about his early attempts to write, where he found an increasing gulf developing between the natural lightness and fluency of literature and the world he wanted to write about. Since the complexity of the world was unlimited, he felt driven to add more and more to his description until his writing was weighed down by an excess of information. It is as though ligthness was impossible to achieve, there was an unavoidable heaviness, and inescapable process of petrification. And once he thought of petrification, he naturally thought of the myth of Medusa where it seemed to impossible to avoid her gaze and subsequent petrifcation. But the conquest of Medusa is eventually achieved by Perseus, who has wings on his sandals and is able to step on the lightest of things, and he achieves his task by refusing to look at Medusa directly but at her reflection in his shield. To Calvino this myth is an allegory of the poet's relationship with the world, refusing the direct look (of rational analysis) and looking only indirectly through metaphor. And that is how the poet achieves lightness while still being able to tackle complexity. This seems fine for poetry, but what about the everyday world of politics. We have not tended to look at politics that way, but there are examples in history - a primary one being Mahatma Gandhi's role in the Indian freedom movement. Analysis has tended to be in terms of Gandhi's ethics and politics, and while these are worthwhile handles for analysis, we have not tended to devote sufficient attention to his poetics. One of his major contributions was his ability to transform the spirit of swaraj into metaphors such as spinning wheel, khadi and salt. The construction of these metaphors offered two major impacts: firstly they made the whole idea of freedom more accessible to a wider population, and secondly the fact that these metaphors could be appropriated by a wide range of people allowed a sense of cohesion to what was actually a fairly diverse sets of struggles. This also has its set of issues that have to be tackled. Firstly, the metaphor has to be friendly to its subsequent appropriation by others (and all metaphors are not necessarily friendly to appropriation). Secondly the metaphor has to be capable of making the connection between the routines of life and higher level aspirations such as freedom, justice and creativity. What are the characteristics of such metaphors? It would be good to see further thinking and research on this too - analysis that does not confine itself to an examination of the politics of resistance, but also seeks to include the poetics of resistance. Regards, Prem From tapasrayx at gmail.com Sun Feb 17 14:22:50 2008 From: tapasrayx at gmail.com (Tapas Ray) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 03:52:50 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] COM. AJIT SARKAR'S MURDERERS CONVICTED In-Reply-To: <98f331e00802162152pae5a7c5t76eabefca60f22b8@mail.gmail.com> References: <98f331e00802162152pae5a7c5t76eabefca60f22b8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47B7F5E2.7060007@gmail.com> A minor point - "Com Sarkar's" widow has apparently joined the CPI(ML) because of what she sees as the CPI(M)'s sell-out to the party whose goon-parliamentarian murdered him. Tapas prakash ray wrote: > Dear all, > I post the statement issued by CPI(M), Bihar on conviction of Com Sarkar's > killers. > > Prakash > > > The Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M)'s statement issued on 15 Feb,2008- > > Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M) welcomes the CBI special courts > judgment awarding life imprisonment to Pappu Yadav, member of > parliament(LS), Rajan Tiwary, former MLA and Anil Yadav who were held > guilty for the murder of CPI(M) MLA, Com. Ajit Sarkar. Ajit Sarkar was a > larger than life leader of masses, particularly rural poor, dalits and > adviasis. He was elected to Bihar assembly in 1980 from Purnea, and > continued to represent his constituency till June 14, 1998 till he was > shot dead by the above criminals at the behest of feudal landlords > against whom CPI(M) and Kisan Sabha had launched an uncompromising > struggle for the cause of landless poor. > > The nexus of feudal-bureaucrats-police as well as bourgeoisies > politicians is so strong in Bihar that it took about 10 years to obtain > this judgment. Millions of people including the democratic forces > consider life imprisonment insufficient for these accused. We urge upon > the judiciary to hand these criminals till death considering the facts > of the case, continuous threatening of witnesses and the > political-criminal nexus support to the convicts. About 100 committed > activists and leaders of CPI(M) and the democratic mass organisations > led by the party have been martyred in the last two decades in our > struggle against illegal feudal occupation of surplus land, government > land, bhoodan land, etc, eviction of bataidars and social oppression. We > are all waiting for justice in respect of all such cases. > > The party reiterates that the struggle will continue till the > feudal-criminal nexus is defeated decisively in Bihar. The model before > us is the historic kisan movement in West Bengal which subsequently led > to the formation of left front government which introduced the basic > land reforms, Panchayat elections on political party basis and achieved > unprecedented agricultural productivity paving the way for the current > industrial development programme. > > 19th Bihar sate conference of CPI(M) concluded in the first week of > February, has already given a call to launch a massive movement > centering on the demands of rural poor and unemployed youth. The party > is also determined to fight against the criminalization in politics > which has affected all the bourgeoisie parties, particularly the ruling > JD(U)-BJP. The cancellation of the trial of JD(U) Lok Sabha leader > Prabhunath Singh (for murder) by the High Court and ordering retrial at > Patna because the witnesses were threatened is an eye-opener. > > Long Live Comrade Ajit Sarkar! > _________________________________________ > 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 taraprakash at gmail.com Sun Feb 17 21:37:31 2008 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:07:31 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] COM. AJIT SARKAR'S MURDERERS CONVICTED References: <98f331e00802162152pae5a7c5t76eabefca60f22b8@mail.gmail.com> <47B7F5E2.7060007@gmail.com> Message-ID: <014301c8717f$35a266c0$6400a8c0@taraprakash> Interestingly, the statement is so silent on those who are trying to protect the murderers of Mr. Sarkar and those who are part of the cabinet, courtesy support of Capitalist Party of India (Murderers). As about Com. Sarkar's wife joining the ML, Com. Sarkar himself wouldn't have stuck with version 2 of the CPI(M) for long. I am whole-heartedly with the last part of the statement, "Long Live Comrade Ajit Sarkar!" However, does it really go along with CPI(M) and RJD nexus? . ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tapas Ray" To: "sarai list" Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 3:52 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] COM. AJIT SARKAR'S MURDERERS CONVICTED >A minor point - "Com Sarkar's" widow has apparently joined the CPI(ML) > because of what she sees as the CPI(M)'s sell-out to the party whose > goon-parliamentarian murdered him. > > Tapas > > > > prakash ray wrote: >> Dear all, >> I post the statement issued by CPI(M), Bihar on conviction of Com >> Sarkar's >> killers. >> >> Prakash >> >> >> The Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M)'s statement issued on 15 Feb,2008- >> >> Bihar state secretariat of CPI(M) welcomes the CBI special courts >> judgment awarding life imprisonment to Pappu Yadav, member of >> parliament(LS), Rajan Tiwary, former MLA and Anil Yadav who were held >> guilty for the murder of CPI(M) MLA, Com. Ajit Sarkar. Ajit Sarkar was a >> larger than life leader of masses, particularly rural poor, dalits and >> adviasis. He was elected to Bihar assembly in 1980 from Purnea, and >> continued to represent his constituency till June 14, 1998 till he was >> shot dead by the above criminals at the behest of feudal landlords >> against whom CPI(M) and Kisan Sabha had launched an uncompromising >> struggle for the cause of landless poor. >> >> The nexus of feudal-bureaucrats-police as well as bourgeoisies >> politicians is so strong in Bihar that it took about 10 years to obtain >> this judgment. Millions of people including the democratic forces >> consider life imprisonment insufficient for these accused. We urge upon >> the judiciary to hand these criminals till death considering the facts >> of the case, continuous threatening of witnesses and the >> political-criminal nexus support to the convicts. About 100 committed >> activists and leaders of CPI(M) and the democratic mass organisations >> led by the party have been martyred in the last two decades in our >> struggle against illegal feudal occupation of surplus land, government >> land, bhoodan land, etc, eviction of bataidars and social oppression. We >> are all waiting for justice in respect of all such cases. >> >> The party reiterates that the struggle will continue till the >> feudal-criminal nexus is defeated decisively in Bihar. The model before >> us is the historic kisan movement in West Bengal which subsequently led >> to the formation of left front government which introduced the basic >> land reforms, Panchayat elections on political party basis and achieved >> unprecedented agricultural productivity paving the way for the current >> industrial development programme. >> >> 19th Bihar sate conference of CPI(M) concluded in the first week of >> February, has already given a call to launch a massive movement >> centering on the demands of rural poor and unemployed youth. The party >> is also determined to fight against the criminalization in politics >> which has affected all the bourgeoisie parties, particularly the ruling >> JD(U)-BJP. The cancellation of the trial of JD(U) Lok Sabha leader >> Prabhunath Singh (for murder) by the High Court and ordering retrial at >> Patna because the witnesses were threatened is an eye-opener. >> >> Long Live Comrade Ajit Sarkar! >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nutan_du at yahoo.co.in Mon Feb 18 07:49:31 2008 From: nutan_du at yahoo.co.in (nutan maurya) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:19:31 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Participants Message-ID: <343834.60452.qm@web8713.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Friends, I would like to inform all of you that Research Seminar Group of department of anthropology is organising an inter-disciplinary and inter-university seminar on 7 and 8th March, 2008. Research Seminar group is a research scholars' group of the department of Anthropology. It organises Thursday Seminar on every Thursday, where teachers and research students of the department and scholars of other institutions present their papers followed by discussions. We are organising an Inter-University and inter-disciplinary two days seminar on 7th and 8th March, 08. We cordially invite you to participate in the same. Here is the detail, EXPLORATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES: EMERGING TRENDS AND CHALLENGES (An Inter-University and inter-disciplinary seminar) Department of Anthropology University of Delhi March 7 and 8, 2008 The discipline of anthropology has evolved from the study of simple societies or primates, and has experienced a period of reflexivity and recent changes with accompanying paradigm shifts. Emphasis have moved from space to issue, local single-site to multi-sited ethnography, from culture specific to global and transnational flow of people, capital, commodities, and cultural events and from post modernist ethnographic writings to the production of cultural and social theory. Methods and Methodology of allied disciplines have their own significance in the domain of anthropology. Other disciplines have also been trying to evolve new methods and methodologies to face and answer the emerging trends and challenges of socio-cultural and natural changes. This seminar is a small attempt to provide a platform to budding scholars for sharing knowledge on various topics ranging from methods and methodologies to work being conducted in different disciplines. The focus of the seminar is to perform an exploration in anthropology and other allied disciplines while highlighting their strategies to cope with the challenges faced by such disciplines in contemporary times. Venue: Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi Papers, Presentations and Posters are invited on any of the related themes. Seminar will include presentations followed by a discussion. Research Scholars may submit their abstract (not more than 250 words) by Wednesday 20th February 2008 to seminargroupanthro at gmail.com Registration Fees*: Rs.100 (Certificates will be provided to all registered participants attending the seminar) Patron Prof. P.K.Ghosh Seminar Convener Prof. Subhadra Channa Seminar Secretary Nutan Maurya Mohit Rajan Note: Research Scholars who are interested in attending the seminar should confirm their name latest by 22nd February 2008. Registration is compulsory for all the participants. For any further query, kindly mail to seminargroupanthro at gmail.com * Registration will be done on the spot and would include lunch and snacks with tea on both the days. Regards Nutan Maurya Secretary Research Seminar Group Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it. From oishiksircar at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 07:50:06 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:20:06 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF): CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 Message-ID: <62cba67a0802171820mbbd6305j664acb2a82854b5e@mail.gmail.com> *CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) We are pleased to invite film makers from across Canada and all over the world to submit entries for possible inclusion in the first-ever Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF). CliFF will present feature films and videos made by, for, and about the world of work and those who do it - in Canada and internationally. Films selected for the Festival will be about unionised workers as well as those not represented by unions. We encourage projects regarding any and every aspect of work, as well as issues affecting work or workers. The festival will run from November 22 - 27, 2009 in Toronto, Canada. Entries are being accepted until July 30, 2009, and selected submissions will be screened at the festival. Entries are welcome from professional, amateur and student film makers. All genres will be considered; short dramas, short documentaries, experimental videos, video art, animation, music videos, feature films and documentaries. The festival also accepts works in progress. We are pleased to announce that cash prizes will be awarded in many categories. Limited financing for travel and local stay may also be available on request for contributors whose films are selected for screening. Entry forms can be downloaded from our website http://www.labourfilms.caafter March 15th, 2008, when the Selection Committee and the Board of Directors will approve entry format, as well as many other items of information. Sincerely, Frank Saptel CliFF Take One, Selection Committee* -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Mon Feb 18 12:57:36 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:27:36 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] (non)citizen'sTaslima : Response to Shuddha and Naeem Mohaiemen In-Reply-To: <9a1ab313f336b9f489c6259eac8e52cd@sarai.net> Message-ID: <606098.92225.qm@web8511.mail.in.yahoo.com> Firstly apologies to SARAI readers and writers for reposting More on free expression for (non)citizens--for the second time on the 16th (though with some additions) but still minor errors and lacks go rife: Who knows that confusion could be plural( ist line)? Even I didn't. And that this post had gone through on the 15th and Shuddha's impostant response I had aboslutely missed though Naeem Mohaiemen'one presented itself before my eyes. Im surely aging. Two things for both of them : first Shuddha. The central that I wanted to make,and I think it went through well except a reemphasis here is warranted: not only freedom of speech and other liberties, all are ordinarily obtained by the aliens including protection irrespective of the consitutional guarantee that is given to citizens. Consideran US citizen with a valid visa--who is raped, her valuables stolen, and who is hounded out from aseminar just because she is white. Isn't this infraction? Can't she file a private complaint and look for redress within the national laws and then if fails, under international laws? Shuddha and all of the SARAI list community know that she surely can do and claim. That is,even the protection does 'ordinarily obtain.' The rest I've already elaborated in my post and I think Shuddha agrees with much of it. The right to listen I think could be construedonly as a moral right or a complex legal one. And I think we should discuss this in the realm of civilrights--whether it is a freedom rather than a right.But one thing, could a right to listen vioate the rightagainst self incrimination? --The convict's right to keep silent and not responsd to even exacting questions? I"ll request Shuddha, Jeebesh,Lawrence and all others to use this URL for an illuminating discussion of the right to silence vis a vis English Common law in-- http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/180rpt.pdf. Naeem here, "Taslima was the first to write in 1989/90 about how the narrow confines and massive crowds of boi mela had given cover to groups of eve teasers. In angry,clean, precise Bangla (something she has lost over the years), shedescribed which line, which area, which body part, which finger, where when how-- the mathematics of nasty invasive roping. Through that campaign of writing she actually managed to inspire a group of activists who formed human chains at boi mela (this is all long forgotten." Firstly, I may remind Naeem that it was not Taslima, Sanjib Chattopadhyaya was the commercial first to talk about sexual groping in bengali buses and puja crowds; the Hungries were the first avantgarde to dothat in parallel magazines. And the theoretical error in all this has ( Naeem's "nasty,invasive groping")just started to be acknowledged in orthodox, ordinary feminist circles in Bengal. I'll give a fatal example. That all girls are groped by lecherous men and they hate it will be denied by a response theory first of all; secondly what is known as a phenomenology of feeling ( I had hinted at this in my IF SARAI post 2.5 ( Towards a personal transformation of the public sphere). That such generalisations are ridiculous have been acknowledged by a book published by ALAP(?) in alignment with the West Bengal Women's Commission written by Bhaswati Chakraborty.She said while discussing the inevitable sexual harassment contexts --that there might be women who feel that through such attention they discover themselves as desirable and even might enjoy such attention, but ..BUT we are not into discussing complex sexual psychology....etc etc and she takes the predictable turn and u know what. Now,I'm far from generalising the reverse and harp on the masculist scandal that all women enjoy or ought to enjoy. I only think that feeling cannot be theorised; the immediacy of consciousness cannot be categorised in feminist or masculist brackets. That makes them boring, theoretically incorrect and predictable---the lack they cover by cunning. What is significant about this in Taslima is how she 'rightly exaggerates' this and brings in the tailor, the doctor and everybody. The genuine pornographic moment except the fictional kick.And the power of acknowledged feminists to perform the same--she has lately been realizing this. She will be the best author of half,ill bred theoretical narratives of the pure politics of dirty hands --a stuff some people been theorising for some time. In Taslima--I find some grand application of that. The way she narrates her sexual escapades and names proper names for cognitive redressal is just one instance of the immense allergy among Calcutta feminists she has been able to garner.Naeem's memoir made me think through and visit this blind alley, once more. bye arnab --- shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear All, > > I have followed with interest the discussion on > Taslima Nasrin's status as > an alien and her freedom of speech. While my views > on the matter are > reasonably well known on this list from my writing > on this list earlier > (and I will not repeat them here). I do want to add > a thought that I think > has not been seen to present itself in the entire > discussion till now. I > will be making what I hope is an argument (for > arguments sake) strictly > within the domain of constitutionality. > > I am concerned with the freedom, not only of the > speaker, but also of the > listener. In any act of curtailment of speech, there > are two parties who > can be said to be affected. The speaker, (who is > rendered speechless) and > the listener, (who is denied access to what might > have been spoken). While > Taslima's rights to free speech may not be > guaranteed under the law because > she is not an citizen. Our rights to listen to her, > (or to anyone else) are > also taken away when she is rendered silent. As an > Indian citizen, I can no > longer exercise my right to listen, be informed, > form my judgement > (critical or appreciative or indifferent) of what > this alien might have > said. > > Does this denial of a citizens right to listen to > the voice of an alien not > constitute a diminishing of the citizens exercise of > the freedom of his/her > conscience. I would be interested to hear any > thoughts that anyone on this > list might have on this matter. Similarly, the > barrier to the aliens > presence on our soil prevents us from coming into > contact with the alien. > Does the denial of the possibility of hospitality > not also constitute a > damage to the possilbe enrichment of experience of > the person who could > have been the host. > > My concern with the issue of Taslima is two fold. On > the one hand denying > her the free use of her expressive faculties while > she lives in India is an > act of gross inhospitality which implicates us all, > because it is being > done in our name. Secondly, the matter of her > freedom of expression > involves not just her, but all of us. Because we are > sought to be prevented > from forming our independent judgements about what > she says. > > A great deal has been said about how Taslima's is an > unreasonable voice. > That may be so. What interests me is the intense > paranoia and neurosis that > surrounds the simple fact of the presence of that > unreasonable voice. > > It is a matter of conjecture, but I believe that > every Bengali family has a > a mad relative. The Pagol Pishi who suddenly emerges > naked and cursing in > the middle of some respectable bhadralok occasion > like a wedding. The > terrible hullaballoo that occurs after this fact > tells us more about the > neurosis of the bhadralok family than it does about > the specific and rich > insanity of the Pagol Pishi. I think that the matter > of Taslima Nasrin has > revealed a rich vein of neuroses in our public > consciousness. If she is so > crazy (as people say she is) then why not let her > be. What harm can her > speech do? What, if anything did the Pagol Pishi > harm, other than the fusty > sense of propriety that the bhadralok so > neurotically cling to. Are the > institutions of this republic or the public life of > respectable religions > so fragile as to be threatened by her occasional > outbursts. If they are, I > would be more interested in thinking about the > aetiology of the neuroses > that assail them. If we are so bothered by Taslima, > it is time to ask what > might the matter be with us. Do we all need therapy? > > It often happens that people say something that many > people consider > terribly offensive on this list. I myself am > offended very often. But > whenever anyone allows that feeling of being > offended to translate into a > demand for silence they are revealing their own > inability to deal with the > presence of the alien, the outsider, the person who > does not speak or think > like them. There is always the option of choosing > not to listen. It > protects you from having to listen to what you dont > want to, and at the > same time it does not prevent other people from > listening. > > I wonder why this option, which is actually quite > simple, is exercised so > seldom. > > regards > > Shuddha > > > > On 12:46 pm 02/15/08 ARNAB CHATTERJEE > wrote: > > Dear Sarai readers and writers, > > > > Some confusions have been creeping it > seems. > > Perhaps I am aware of what could be claimed by > > non-citizens in terms of close-ended > constitutional > > statements in India. For that specially, there > were > > two levels I had demarcated for arguing > differently, > > one--the case for ordinary legalism in India and > other > > international paradigms when taken globally. Let > me > > expand on this further and clarify this through > an > > example! And that too the Taslima one! > > > > You will remember that her Dwakhindita was banned > by > > the west Bengal government, the government lost > the > > case and the book was released. Though it was > > published by an Indian publisher, the writer being > a > > non-citizen is ofcourse a case in point since the > > clause within which it was banned, inhibited its > > production on the web too (meaning this text by > this > > writer could not made available in some other form > as > > well). If it were simply a case of an alien writer > who > > has no protection, it would have been enough for > the > > government to ban it on that ground, and ban it > > eternally. It would have been an end there. But > the > > case ( of forbidding legitimate speech) was filed > and > > won with some qualifications; one of them being > > Taslima had to agree to delete ( or distort: > Samsul > > Haque became Said Haque) in order to escape the > charge > > of defamation-- the proper names of real writers > whom > > she had named for unethical sexual escapades with > her. > > Now, the case of the Indian publisher filing the > case > > may be cited paramountly as a counter point. But > any > > non-citizen when speaks or writes-you will find a > > whole regime of parties involved ( the landlord is > > also arrested with a suspected snooper) and > therefore > > ultimately it is considered within the norm and > > grounds of the familiar turf that is here; the > > reasonable permissions and restrictions that > obtain. > > This is in the case of speech; charges of > terrorism, > > spying, active political parleying and sedition > take a > > different hue altogether. > > However, look at it now from another angle. > That > > the Taslima case could not be won juridically was > > understood and thus given another turn: the > threat of > > public disorder and communal war was staged > > practically and Taslima deported to another state > > successfully with sheer haste( Calcutta Highcourt > had > > said that W.B Government’s anticipative simple > threat > > perception was not an adequate ground to forbid > the > > production and circulation of Dwakhindito). > > So I again reiterate, in the Taslima > case > > free speech is ofcourse a strong ground and that > is > > where the battle has been fought till now. And the > > defeat on that ground being imminent, the grounds > of > > reasonable restriction are being irrationally > charted > > with voluntarism: they are lifted out from the > pages > > of law and played out in the open fields. And in > this > > case if you read my statement “The former do > have > > freedom of speech( in the ordinary sense) but are > > prone to all 'reasonable restrtictions' and > > modifications that the government could subject > these > > laws and modifications to” will have become > clearer.As > > evident when I specially mention ordinary, it has > a > > special weight. Every government ( and the > political > > type so much matters here) does sanction in this > some > > form ( consider some American poets have assembled > for > > a poetry session in an India city, they cannot > just be > > hounded out because only right to life is > guranteed > > here [ in a country where capital punishment > exists, > > Lawrence and Jeebesh know how this fundamental > right > > features for their own citizens and in what form]. > > This apart, I repeat, the freedom of speech of > aliens > > not only are sanctioned under Human rights orders, > > international law and European convention-al > norms, > > they do exist “ordinarily” and could be seen > in > > practice in our everyday life and when it meets a > > challenge is considered within the juridical > > parameters of the nation state that is in > question. ( > > Peter Bleach-a Uk citizen convicted in the Purulia > > Arms dropping case—and spending years in Alipore > > central jail wrote a memoir in the Hindustan Times > how > > he wrote the second mercy petition to the > President > > for that infamous Dhananjay Chaterjee, the first > flop > > petitition having been written by the welfare > officer > > of the Alipore jail.) International legal > protection > > or other cases ( the US one that I have cited) > come > > later when the national restrictions are > themselves > > found to have been unjustified. > > > > Now, to answer Sudeshna, here there is no temporal > > qualification like freedom before-at-after speech > and > > yes ofcourse Mahmood will agree that certain forms > of > > writing ( literature or art) have different claims > to > > remedies; in this the certain authorial agencies > have > > also restrictive claims proper ( e.g, intellectual > > property rights). And much of what Lawrence says, > I’ve > > addressed above, but a short reminder about the > > liberal clause. I myself have been a vociferous > > critique of the liberal argument for freedom of > > expression and Farooqui is all the way with me > here . > > But I want to forget my own critique and as a > counter > > point to Liang here, let me spell briefly what the > > liberals would argue in defence. They will say, it > is > > not about Taslima’s freedom of critical speech > that is > > in question here; when the citizens or other > Indians ( > > now you have the citizen reason here)stand for > her, it > > is their and all of our freedom that is in peril > > here. That cannot undercoded by the clause that > > Taslima is a non-citizen. There is already a large > > literature in the philosophy of law and > jurisprudence > > on the fact that protection to freedom of speech > is a > > misnomer; freedom of speech itself is a protection > > against evils unlimited. > > > > Let this be for the day; I hope more diffcult > legal, > > extra legal arguments will be coming up. > > Till then > > arnab > > > > > > 5, 50, 500, 5000 - Store N number of mails > in your inbox. Go to > > > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open > > discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & > Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.ne > > t/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > Now you can chat without downloading messenger. Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php From seminargroupanthro at gmail.com Sat Feb 16 09:03:16 2008 From: seminargroupanthro at gmail.com (Seminar group) Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:03:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Participants Message-ID: Dear Friends, I would like to inform all of you that Research Seminar Group of department of anthropology is organizing an inter-disciplinary and inter-university seminar on 7 and 8th March, 2008. Research Seminar group is a research scholars' group of the department of Anthropology. It organizes Thursday Seminar on every Thursday, where teachers and research students of the department and scholars of other institutions present their papers followed by discussions. We are organizing an Inter-University and inter-disciplinary two days seminar on 7th and 8th Marc, 08. We cordially invite you to participate in the same. Here is the detail, *EXPLORATIONS IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES: EMERGING TRENDS AND CHALLENGES* * * *(An Inter-University and inter-disciplinary seminar)* *Department of Anthropology* *University** of **Delhi* *March 7 and 8, 2008* The discipline of anthropology has evolved from the study of simple societies or primates, and has experienced a period of reflexivity and recent changes with accompanying paradigm shifts. Emphasis have moved from space to issue, local single-site to multi-sited ethnography, from culture specific to global and transnational flow of people, capital, commodities, and cultural events and from post modernist ethnographic writings to the production of cultural and social theory. Methods and Methodology of allied disciplines have their own significance in the domain of anthropology. Other disciplines have also been trying to evolve new methods and methodologies to face and answer the emerging trends and challenges of socio-cultural and natural changes. This seminar is a small attempt to provide a platform to budding scholars for sharing knowledge on various topics ranging from methods and methodologies to work being conducted in different disciplines. The focus of the seminar is to perform an exploration in anthropology and other allied disciplines while highlighting their strategies to cope with the challenges faced by such disciplines in contemporary times. * * * * *Venue:* Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi *Papers, Presentations and Posters* are invited on any of the related themes. Seminar will include presentations followed by a discussion. Research Scholars may submit their abstract (not more than 250 words) by* * *Saturday **16th February 2008** **to* *seminargroupanthro at gmail.com* *Registration Fees**** *: Rs.100* * * (Certificates will be provided to all registered participants attending the seminar) * Patron* Prof. P.K.Ghosh *Seminar Convener* Prof. Subhadra Channa *Seminar Secretary* Nutan Maurya Mohit Rajan *Note:* Research Scholars who are interested in attending the seminar should confirm their name latest by 22nd February 2008. For any further query, kindly mail to seminargroupanthro at gmail.com *Registration will be done on the spot and would include lunch and snacks with tea on both the days. Regards Nutan Maurya Secretary Research Seminar Group Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi. ------------------------------ From oishiksircar at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 07:50:06 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:20:06 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF): CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 Message-ID: <62cba67a0802171820mbbd6305j664acb2a82854b5e@mail.gmail.com> *CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) We are pleased to invite film makers from across Canada and all over the world to submit entries for possible inclusion in the first-ever Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF). CliFF will present feature films and videos made by, for, and about the world of work and those who do it - in Canada and internationally. Films selected for the Festival will be about unionised workers as well as those not represented by unions. We encourage projects regarding any and every aspect of work, as well as issues affecting work or workers. The festival will run from November 22 - 27, 2009 in Toronto, Canada. Entries are being accepted until July 30, 2009, and selected submissions will be screened at the festival. Entries are welcome from professional, amateur and student film makers. All genres will be considered; short dramas, short documentaries, experimental videos, video art, animation, music videos, feature films and documentaries. The festival also accepts works in progress. We are pleased to announce that cash prizes will be awarded in many categories. Limited financing for travel and local stay may also be available on request for contributors whose films are selected for screening. Entry forms can be downloaded from our website http://www.labourfilms.caafter March 15th, 2008, when the Selection Committee and the Board of Directors will approve entry format, as well as many other items of information. Sincerely, Frank Saptel CliFF Take One, Selection Committee* -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From turbulence at turbulence.org Sat Feb 16 05:34:50 2008 From: turbulence at turbulence.org (Turbulence) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:04:50 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Turbulence Commission: "Invisible Influenced" by Will Pappenheimer and Chipp Jansen Message-ID: <015601c8702f$9fd8d2a0$df8a77e0$@org> Turbulence Commission: "Invisible Influenced" by Will Pappenheimer and Chipp Jansen http://turbulence.org/works/invis/ "Invisible Influenced" is a Rorschach test for envisioning the US as the recipient rather than the cause of worldwide events. Contrary to the notion of impervious superpower, the artwork projects the emerging perception that the country is vulnerable to foreign conditions of climate, public opinion, economics and a variety of social institutions. Shape reads, in this case, as the confluence of intercontinental subconscious activity, which is in the process of becoming visible. The work also operates metaphorically through the concept of the "butterfly effect" from chaos theory. Small changes to nonlinear dynamical systems can produce large long term transformational phenomena. The beating of a butterfly's wings in the Kurile Islands causes a hurricane over Florida. The site displays a simple map silhouette of the country with pull-down menus for a number of searchable real-time categories of influence. Users select from foreign sources of news, weather conditions, health conditions, stock indexes, and blogs. Informational sources are chosen for their seeming "distance" from the US daily experience. Qualitative and quantitative indices found in global internet texts and databases are translated into up to four directional vector "magnitude" forces surrounding the continent. The US map silhouette then responds and distorts according to elastic physics properties programmed to its perimeter. The right-hand selection panel displays menu choices and the source information, text and imagery being retrieved. There are two modes for operation, a default "test" mode that allows the forces to act for a limited period of time, generating a finished image test and an alternate "drift" mode allowing the map to continue to transform until the program is reset. "Invisible Influenced" is a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the Jerome Foundation. BIOGRAPHIES WILL PAPPENHEIMER is an artist working in new media, installation and multi-media. His projects utilize home surveillance networks, participatory media and information aesthetics. He has exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions including the ICA Boston, Exit Art, FILE 2005, Sao Paulo, ISEA 2006/ZeroOne, San Jose Museum of Art, Florence Lynch Gallery and Postmasters Galleries, New York, Cabaret Voltaire and Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zurich and the Museum Fine Arts, Boston. His work received a half page photo citation in the New York Times at Art Basel Miami 2003 and a chapter of Gregory Ulmer's theoretical book, "Electronic Monuments." Current projects include commissions from Turbulence.org, Rhizome.org and the Tampa Lights program for the Super Bowl 2009. CHIPP JANSEN'S interests currently lie at various intersections of Art, Computer Science, and Geography. Artistically, his work is based on food production performance, cable network news subversion, and cartographic advocacy. His work in "CNNPlusPlus" was exhibited at ISEA 2006/ZeroOne, San Jose Museum of Art. With an interdisciplinary programming culture focus, Chipp has taught in the schools of Computer Science, Art and Architecture at the University of Michigan, Brooklyn College, City College, and at the Pratt Institute. Currently he is also pursuing a Master's degree in Geography at Hunter College - CUNY with a focus on new media in cartography, and transportation geography. He is also a research member of Bu-Con, working on infrastructural solutions for the after-future and exhibits with them regularly. 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 gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 12:17:35 2008 From: gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com (gorakhpur filmfestival) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:17:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] THIRD GORAKHPUR FILM FESTIVAL 2008 - February 23 to 26, 2008 - Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, UP Message-ID: In memory of Trilochan and Qurratulain Hyder Jan Sanskriti Manch and Gorakhpur Film Society - 'Expression' Cordially Invite you to * THIRD GORAKHPUR FILM FESTIVAL 2008* *Cinema of **Resistance* * * *Central Theme: Sixty Years of Division and Displacements* * * *On February 23 to 26, 2008,* * * *At Samvad Bhavan, Gorakhpur University,* *Gorakhpur**, Uttar Pradesh* * * *Chief Guest of the Festival: Mr MS Sathyu* *Inaugural Film: Garam Hawa* * * *All are Welcome, no entry fee* * * *Main** highlights of the festival: * § Screening of films like Garam Hawa, Subranarekha, Nandigram – The Land is Mine, Naseem, The Kid, Choori (Iranian film), Halo, Jahaji Music etc § 'Natak Jaari Hai' – a play by Yugmanch, Nainital § Folk songs and dances of Uttarakhand by Yugmanch, Nainital § Kaabya Sandhya – a poetry reading session by some renowned poets § Kabir Songs by Kabir Gayan Mandali from Devas, Madhya Pradesh) § Interaction with film eminent film directors like MS Sathyu, Biju Toppo, Surabhi Sharma, Ajay Bharadwaj etc. * * *For complete programme schedule –Please check in: http://gorakhpurfilmfestival.blogspot.com/* * * * * *You can send your contribution through demand draft/ cheque (preferably a demand draft) to Expression payable at Gorakhpur or directly give it to me in cash/cheque. For depositing cash please use following account no. No. 30008505658 in favour of Sanjay Joshi, SBI,Vasundhara Branch, Ghaziabad. * Please forward this appeal to your friends and like minded people and contribute with your valuable suggestions to make this cultural movement more effective and meaningful. With warm regards, Sanjay Joshi Convener 3rd Gorakhpur Film Festival ** *Contact Address*: C- 303 Jansatta Apartments, Sector 9, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad-201012 9811577426, 0120-2885017 E mail id: gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com, joproductions at gmail.com** * * *Expression address*: Shri Manoj Singh Convener, Expression 216 K, Ashok Nagar, Gorakhpur, India - 273003 Mobile:9415282206 Email id: gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com mk_12 at rediffmail.com -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From nalaka at tveap.org Fri Feb 15 09:13:55 2008 From: nalaka at tveap.org (Nalaka Gunawardene, TVE Asia Pacific) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:13:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [infosouth] Global journalism workshops organised by Media21 in Geneva Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20080215090229.01ce19f8@mail.tveap.org> Apologies for cross-posting! Dear colleagues, I write to share information about two global journalism workshops being organised by Media21 Global Journalism Network Geneva http://media21geneva.org. It is a programme of the Swiss-based media network InfoSud designed to enhance broader public awareness of global issues through better coverage worldwide, but also more effective interaction between the media and important information resources such as donor governments, United Nations agencies, NGOs, the private sector, academics, and other specialists. I attended one of their workshops on climate change last June, and found it well planned and organised. Scholarships are available for those coming from low and middle income countries to cover travel and accommodation. See links below. Please spread this news and encourage interested journalists to apply! Warm regards, Nalaka Gunawardene Director, TVE Asia Pacific, www.tveap.org * * * * * Journalist Workshop Ending Wars, Building Peace: How Effective Are International Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Efforts? Dates: 31 March 2008 12 April 2008 Venue: GCSP, Geneva (Switzerland) Field Trips: Afghanistan and Lebanon Deadline for grant application: 24 Feb 2008 More info: http://www.media21geneva.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=141 Journalist Workshop: Understanding Global Health Threats Venue: Geneva, Switzerland and Field Trips Dates: 25 May - 6 June 2008 Deadline for grant application: 28 April 2008 More info: http://www.media21geneva.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=175 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 15:36:58 2008 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:06:58 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Taslima/Sanjib/Hungries Message-ID: >>From: ARNAB CHATTERJEE >Naeem here, "Taslima was the first to write in 1989/90 about how the narrow confines and massive crowds of boi mela had given cover to groups of eve teasers. >>remind Naeem that it was not Taslima, Sanjib Chattopadhyaya was the commercial first to talk about sexual groping in bengali buses and puja crowds >>the Hungries were the first avantgarde to do that in parallel magazines. Arnab, I was specifically talking about her being "the first" in the Bangladesh context, and in the Ekushey Boi Mela (Bangla Academy, Dhaka) context. The Hungries and Sanjib were both writing about West Bengal, not Bangladesh. When the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visited Kolkata in 1990s, she was introduced at a Boi Mela (over public loudspeaker) as the "Chief Minister of Bangladesh" (this led to a huge diplomatic row, but as it was the slightly India-leaning AL government in power, it did not reach nuclear level as it would surely have done under BNP/JAMAAT of last 5 years). So while there are numerous synergies, learning, common histories, conjoined fates, tragic mulatto being, 'separate but equal' narratives, etc., something being written about in West Bengal does not automatically make it across the border (there's a separate discussion needed about the culture balance deficit between WB and BD, i.e. BD culture space is far more aware of what's being written in Kolkata than vice versa). So in the sense of raising awareness about this in Bangladesh, Taslima was the "first" I remember [I am sure some Bangladeshi reader on this list will now remind me of some little magazine from Aziz Super Market Dhaka that also talked about it, but certainly no one talked about it with the velocity and public attention grabbing (in a positive sense of that word) of Taslima.] As for the analysis that women somehow discover their sexuality/object of desire status through public groping, well I can only hope you were taking the piss in citing those "studies". From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 15:42:49 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:42:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] How Government bent Laws to free Yasin Malik ! - Praveen Swami Message-ID: <6353c690802180212u121dddf3t648dac24174cd23a@mail.gmail.com> *MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED stormed to power campaigning, among other things, against the widespread illegal detentions prevalent under the National Conference regime. Now his government has set about righting the previous rule's wrongs with another wrong: illegal releases.* *Scan the newspaper of December 13 for a headline that reads `Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Mohammad Yasin Malik re-arrested'. You will not find it, because it did not happen — although the law mandated it. The State government was legally obliged to arrest Malik on December 12, because the 30-day parole it had granted him expired that morning. Instead it granted another 30-day parole to Malik and five others, an order of dubious legal legitimacy that flies in the face of the Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978. To heighten the farce, the government document (Home/PB.V/2414) granting extension of parole was founded on an earlier parole order that set free five other prisoners, but not on the decree releasing Malik from custody.* *Read the entire report on - **http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/* On behalf of Roots In Kashmir - www.rootsinkashmir.org Aditya Raj Kaul New Delhi From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 15:44:57 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:44:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A PECULIAR PAROLE by Parveen Swami in Frontline In-Reply-To: <575133.34301.qm@web51108.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <575133.34301.qm@web51108.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802180214t4f98be2ft3726f084d85cb1d5@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends, In continuation with our keeping spotlight on the dreaded criminal of yesteryears-Yasin Malik, please read how the supposed strong BJP government bent rules to let free a man who was involved in scores of murders and kidnappings...Though this is an old report but the facts stare us...since this wolf roams free looking probably for more prey.. An excerpt from the report "Few today remember that the Central Bureau of Investigation is prosecuting Malik on three separate counts of murder— the killing of four unarmed Indian Air Force personnel in Srinagar, the murder of civil servant Lassa Kaul, and a shootout that claimed the life of a Border Security Force trooper." read the complete report at http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ Despite all this heap of evidence against him the INDIA TODAY group invited him as a speaker at its conclave. Best Regards Rashneek Kher for ROOTS IN KASHMIR Rashneek Kher blog:http://nietzschereborn.blogspot.com __________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages| Files| Photos| Links| Database| Polls| Members| Calendar [image: Yahoo! 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Groups Find garden, home & auto groups. . __,_._,___ From prayas.abhinav at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 16:19:08 2008 From: prayas.abhinav at gmail.com (Prayas Abhinav) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:19:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] CALL for advanced diploma students in Experimental Media Arts Message-ID: <825bb7b00802180249y30a74308jc7af3149b3eae5a3@mail.gmail.com> Hi All, the call might be interesting for the members of this list. sorry for cross-posting. prayas - - - << CALL >> The Srishti School of Art Design & Technology (Bangalore, India) seeks artists, hackers, writers, engineers and scientists to enroll a new advanced diploma in Experimental Media Arts. Students will join the CEMA lab for 2.5 years and work with artists in residence and Srishti faculty on collaborative and individualized transdisplinary research. Applications are due MARCH 15th. The fall semester begins in Bangalore, in July. For more information about the lab and the advanced diploma visit: http://cema.srishti.ac.in/ Prospective students can find out how to apply here: http://cema.srishti.ac.in/content/admissions APPLICANT FAQs: ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Q: What kind of UG (undergraduate) degree do I need? Students who have completed a UG in the Arts, Architecture, Hard Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, Law, Social Sciences or Business are eligible for entry. If the candidate has not completed a UG, 2-4 years of professional experience may be considered as an equivalent to UG. There is no age requirement for entry into the program. The requirements for applying to the program are: 1. an application form with personal statement 2. A portfolio of work and / or writings. Appropriate candidates will be invited for a personal interview. Q: What type of students do you accept? Successful candidates for the Advanced Diploma in Experimental Media Arts will have a variety of interests and accomplishments. We do not expect all candidates to have formal training in the visual or media arts, but candidates should express an interest in creatively engaging topics using experimental media arts as a medium of investigation. In the past students have arrived at the lab and begun work in areas such as Physical Computing, Bio-Arts, and Tactical Media. Successful candidates demonstrate combinations of curiosity, self-direction and open mindness and maturity. Q: What should be in my portfolio? Candidates for entry into the CEMA advanced diploma may have a variety of achievements in art and non-art background. Although not all candidates will have a proper visual art portfolio we require a portfolio of work or accomplishments. This portfolio may include anything from published scientific papers to poetry, blogs or documentation of political activism. We know that candidates have a variety of interests and backgrounds and the portfolio is an opportunity to share those with the selection committee. Q: Are international students allowed to apply? Yes. Srishti is an international institution. All course work at Srishti is conducted in English. We have many students, faculty and visitors from around the world. If you are not from India and have questions about studying and living in India please contact us by email and we will be happy to answer your questions. THE ADVANCED DIPLOMA PROGRAM Q: What will I learn at the lab? It is expected that during 2.5 years students in the Advanced Diploma in Experimental Media Art will: produce creative work | bring their work to the world through exhibition and distribution | develop collaborative strategies for a variety of situations | increase their global network of individuals and organizations through internships and participation in e-communities | engage with local organizations and communities in and around Bangalore | engage in critical reflection of their work and the work of their peers | articulate verbally and in text the social, political, and technological implications of their creative work | develop an ethical framework for their creative work The Course Structure of the program can be found here (http://cema.srishti.ac.in/content/credits). Past and Current class descriptions can be found here: (http://cema.srishti.ac.in/content/courses). Q: Where is the lab located? The CEMA lab is a part of the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology located in Bangalore, India.The School is in the Yelehanka (New Town) neighborhood, very close to the newly opening International Airport. The 2.5 year program is an in-residence program, although there are opportunities for travel to conferences in India and internationally, and it is expected that students take international internships or shows during the summer break. Q: How much does the program cost? The program fees are 125,000 rp. a year. [US$ 3,150] [Euro: 2,170] Q: What kind of work and job opportunities can I expect after my graduation? Students completing the advanced diploma will be uniquely positioned as innovaters and change agents in the global information economy. All students should be able to translate the set of tools and creative design strategies they develop during the program into employment in industry, as an entrepreneur, or as a consultant or artist in residence for a variety of organizations. However, the particular path each student chooses after college will depend on the network of contacts they create during the many lectures, visits, and conferences that occur during their stay at Srishti. We expect students to be activley seeking collaborators, funders and employers during their stay at Srishti, and they are given many opportunities to make these connections. Centre for Experimental Media Arts [Bangalore, India] http://cema.srishti.ac.in/ - - - << >> -- Prayas Abhinav http://prayas.in From machleetank at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 17:28:43 2008 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:28:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] correction for question/ answer : Blank Noise Message-ID: Hello again apologies for the wrong link in the last email. The blog post I was referring to is this: http://blog.blanknoise.org/2008/02/ask-us-rarely-asked-burning-question.html#links Thanks Jasmeen ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jasmeen P Hello *With our most recent blog post at Blank Noise we want to open a space for dialogue. * Please send in your rarely asked burning questions about Blank Noise to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com or leave it in the comments section below. New volunteers are requested to participate more so, because with the answering of questions and clearing of doubts we will be able to hopefully move forward. It is always exciting and challenging to work with volunteers from across the country because every individuals brings in his or her enthusiasm and interprets Blank Noise in a unique way. At the end 20 questions will be selected and answered right here on the blog! All questions will be shared on the blog*. * *Deadline for questions is Feb 22nd. Answers will be published in a week from the due date ** * We thank you. always! Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE www.blog.blanknoise.org PHONE : 0091 98868 40612 - -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 - -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 From project.labels at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 18:40:47 2008 From: project.labels at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:40:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Reader-List][Announcements] Straight from the top of my dome. Message-ID: *We're entering a new level on the l a b e l s paradigm.* * All pilgrims please come this way .* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'labels' is an arts and social entrepreneurial initiative about dealing with identity in a globalising world. See http://whosebody.wordpress.com. Contact Raheema Begum at project.labels at gmail.com From rana at ranadasgupta.com Tue Feb 19 10:08:20 2008 From: rana at ranadasgupta.com (Rana Dasgupta) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:08:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] China's race to build roads, railways and airports Message-ID: <47BA5D3C.4070503@ranadasgupta.com> Leaves you a little speechless... R Rushing on by road, rail and air Feb 14th 2008 | BEIJING From The Economist print edition China's race to build roads, railways and airports speeds ahead. Democracy, says an official, would sacrifice efficiency “IT'S like approaching the Forbidden City, it's absolutely incredible.” The adjective is one that Mouzhan Majidi, chief executive of Foster + Partners, liberally attaches to Beijing's new airport terminal, designed by his British firm. The world's largest, designed in the gently sinuous form of a Chinese dragon, it was planned and built in four years by an army of 50,000 workers. “The columns on the outside are red and you see them marching for miles and miles,” says Mr Majidi. A little hyperbole is understandable. The terminal is 3km (1.8 miles) long. The floor space is 17% bigger than all the terminals at London's Heathrow combined (including about-to-open Terminal Five). Chinese officials like the Forbidden City analogy. Just as the towering vermilion walls and golden roofs of the imperial palace inspire visitors with awe, China wants its golden-roofed terminal to impress those arriving for the Olympic games in August. Part of a $3.8 billion expansion, which included the opening of a third runway in October, it is due to open on February 29th, weeks ahead of schedule. The new terminal is not merely window-dressing for foreigners. Beijing badly needs to expand its handling capacity. In 2002 the airport ranked 26th in passenger numbers worldwide. Now it is the ninth busiest. China's rapid economic growth and equally rapid integration into the global economic system is putting huge strains on its infrastructure. This has led to a spate of spending on transport. Between 2001 and the end of 2005 more was spent on roads, railways and other fixed assets than was spent in the previous 50 years. According to the state media, investment will see double-digit growth every year for the rest of the decade. Between 2006 and 2010, $200 billion is expected to be invested in railways alone, four times more than in the previous five years. Superlatives abound. The world's longest sea-crossing bridge is due to open in June: a 36km six-lane highway across Hangzhou Bay (about the same length as the undersea portion of the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France). This will halve travel time between two of China's busiest ports, Ningbo and Shanghai, to about two hours. Shanghai itself is home to the current world-record holder for such a structure, the 32km Donghai bridge. This was opened less than three years ago to link the city with Yangshan port, now being built on two flattened islands. Yangshan is intended to be one of the world's biggest deep-water facilities when completed at some point after 2010. From August the 115km journey from Beijing to Tianjin, its nearest port, will be reduced to half an hour with the inauguration of a bullet-train link, China's fastest intercity rail service. There are big plans for bullet trains. Work began in January on a 1,300km line between Beijing and Shanghai that, when completed in five years' time, will reduce rail time between the two cities from ten hours to five—and thus be a competitive alternative to flying. At $30 billion, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line is the most expensive project in China's railway history. But with cash to spare the government, which is reportedly shouldering nearly 80% of the cost (with a consortium of insurance companies providing much of the rest), is pushing ahead after years of debate over what technology to use and how much to spend on it. By comparison China's construction of a conventional line (but the world's highest railway) from Golmud to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, which was completed in 2006 amid much self-congratulation over its technological accomplishment, cost only $4 billion (or so officials said: infrastructure price tags are subject to little scrutiny in China and overruns are rarely reported publicly). More prosaic but cumulatively no less remarkable projects abound. Fifteen years ago intercity travel was often a choice between slow, crowded trains or a perilous journey by car or bus on narrow rural roads (flying was for the privileged; until 1993 buying a plane ticket required a letter of authorisation from an employer). But since the 1990s China has built an expressway network criss-crossing the country that is second only to America's interstate highway system in length (see article). By the end of 2007, some 53,600km of toll expressways had been built. The pace of construction will now be slowing a bit, but the aim is to have 70,000km of expressways by 2020. The Ministry of Communications (which is responsible for roads) boasts that China's expressway builders achieved in 17 years what the West took 40 to accomplish. Oh for the open road The expressway network has helped divert some of the freight traffic from the overburdened railway system. It has also—to the delight of China's burgeoning car industry but to the horror of environmentalists—helped to promote a sharp increase in private car ownership. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which financed part of a 660km expressway linking Beijing with Shenyang in the north-east, found that the new toll road was little used after its completion in 2000. Now, says an ADB official, traffic flow (and therefore revenue) far exceeds initial predictions thanks to the growth of industries near the route and the increasing use of private cars for long-distance travel. It is not just expressways that are getting attention. In 2005 China's leadership launched a programme to build what it called a “new socialist countryside”. This was an effort to assuage discontent in the countryside over the widening gap between rural and urban incomes and public services. The programme includes the planned construction of 300,000km of new rural roads between 2006 and 2010, an increase of nearly 50%. Investment in railways has been far slower to gather pace. In southern China the worst snowstorms in decades paralysed much of the network in late January and early February. But the rail connections between north and south were already inadequate. Much of the south's coal supply is sent by rail from northern mines to the coast and then loaded onto ships. The World Bank says that China's railways carry 25% of the world's railway traffic on just 6% of its track length. But change is coming. In the past couple of years investment has grown considerably. This year's target is $42 billion, compared with a total of $72 billion in the preceding five years. World Bank officials call it the biggest expansion of railway capacity undertaken by any country since the 19th century. China had 78,000km of track at the end of last year. The original plan, published in 2004, was to increase this to 100,000km by 2020. Last October this was revised to 120,000km (and officials now say the target will be met by 2015). Even sticking to the 2020 target, this will mean laying 60% more track in the next dozen years than was built since the start of the economic reform programme 30 years ago. Huang Min, the Ministry of Railways' chief economist, says that by 2020 the railway system's freight-handling capacity should be greater than demand. At present, he says, it can handle only 40%. Mr Huang reckons that railway expansion will bring down logistics costs, which he says amount to 18% of GDP in China compared with 10% in America. It will also help reduce pollution, he says, since fewer polluting lorries will be needed. Aviation facilities will expand rapidly too. The increase in air passenger traffic has been dramatic: from 7m passengers in 1985 to over 185m in 2007. To deal with this rise, the government announced last month that it planned to add another 97 airports by 2020 to the 142 China had at the end of 2006. The number with an annual handling capacity of over 30m passengers will grow from three to 13. There will also be a huge expansion of seaport capacity. The government predicts container throughput will increase by 85% between 2010 and 2020. In all this activity it greatly helps to have a secretive planning bureaucracy and a government that brooks little dissent. In Britain, as Mr Majidi points out, it took as long to conduct a public inquiry into the proposed construction of Heathrow's Terminal Five as it took to build Beijing's new airport terminal from scratch. There was no consultation with the public on the terminal. Nor was there any public debate about the construction of Beijing's third runway, notwithstanding the noise pollution already suffered by thousands of nearby residents. Beijing is now planning a second airport (even with Mr Majidi's terminal, the current airport is expected to exceed its designed capacity of 60m passengers this year, seven years before schedule). The location is being considered in secret. Xu Li, an official at the Ministry of Communications' transport research institute, agrees that China's infrastructure expansion is not as restrained by rules as it is in America. Once a plan is made, it is executed. “Democracy”, she says, “sacrifices efficiency.” An often heavy-handed approach to land appropriation also helps. For Beijing's airport expansion, 15 villages were flattened and their more than 10,000 residents resettled nearby. But several of the former farmers told your correspondent that they were still barred from the unemployment benefits and other welfare privileges of city dwellers even though their farmland had been grabbed from them. One elderly man said that officials had threatened them with violence if they refused to leave their villages. No tree-huggers permitted Another factor is the hazy definition of who owns rural land (see article). Local officials tend to regard it as the government's and readily seize it—often for little compensation. In a recent study of China's transport, the World Bank says that roads are sometimes built expressly for the purpose of converting countryside into revenue-generating urban land. This causes a rapid outward expansion of cities, which combined with a lack of adequate public transport increases dependence on private cars. Beijing's polluted air and congested streets, to which 1,000 cars are added daily, are evidence of the problem. Some of China's grand plans for the coming years may encounter a bit more resistance. In urban areas a property-owning middle class that hardly existed a decade ago is now growing rapidly. Some of its members are becoming increasingly vocal in their demands for more open decision-making, particularly when it comes to projects that might affect property values. In China's biggest-ever urban protest against a transport-related project, thousands of Shanghai residents gathered outside the city government's headquarters in January to demand the cancellation of plans to extend a Maglev (magnetic levitation) train line through the city's main urban area. The existing Maglev line was opened with much fanfare in 2003 as the first commercial service of its kind in the world. It provides a 30km ride at astonishing speed, peaking at 420kph, from the city's Pudong airport to a rather inconvenient spot on the city's outskirts. The government wants to link it with the city's other airport, Hongqiao. But many residents along the route say they are fearful of noise and radiation from the trains. Many also question whether the Maglev will ever be much more than an expensive joy-ride that tourists will take once, just for the thrill of it. Shanghai has had a tendency in recent years to spend big money on projects of questionable value. The billions of dollars spent on Yangshan port and its cross-sea bridge might well have been better invested in expanding existing, and far more convenient, deep-water facilities in nearby Ningbo. The opening of the Hangzhou Bay bridge this year will make Ningbo's port all the more accessible to Shanghai. But cities in China have a poor record of co-operating, particularly when they belong, as these two do, to different provincial administrations. Olympic swank A show-off tendency among Chinese urban planners (as well as a dire lack of suburban rail networks) has helped to fuel a rapid expansion of costly underground railways. In some cases, says the World Bank, this is diverting resources away from urgent needs in the bus systems. Two decades ago only two cities, Beijing and Tianjin, had subways (and only three lines between them). Now 15 cities are building them at a total cost of tens of billions of dollars. Beijing and Shanghai are leading the way, spurred on by their desire to impress the world at the Olympic games and, in Shanghai's case, the World Expo which it will host in 2010. Beijing's official Olympics website displays a story saying that the city will have the biggest underground network in the world by 2015. Complaints still abound about the way things work. Highways—both expressways and other intercity roads—are studded with traffic-slowing toll booths. China reportedly has 70% of the world's tolled roads and its tolls are the highest in the world (using exchange rates adjusted according to currencies' purchasing power). To cut costs, lorries routinely overload. This helps to make the roads among the most dangerous in the world (89,000 deaths in 2006 by official reckoning; the actual number may be much higher). And it pushes up the cost of maintaining them. The construction of expressways has been speeded up by making the provinces shoulder the costs. This they readily do, using toll revenues to repay construction loans provided by state-owned banks (the banks happily roll over debts that are not repaid on time). But this decentralisation makes it difficult for the central government to order an end to tolls or impose limits on them. A member of a district legislature in Beijing, Li Shuyuan, has been fighting a high-profile campaign for an end to tolls on one of the city's expressways which has long since repaid its loans. In 2002 she and her supporters won a rare victory by getting the city government to persuade the expressway operator (which the city owns) to reverse a toll increase. But both the government and operator refuse, she says, to budge further. The railways' problem is that they are still highly centralised and the central government is unwilling to shoulder the whole cost of its massive expansion programme. The Ministry of Railways is also now turning to provincial governments as well as to companies (including private ones) and the stock markets for funds. The ministry's Huang Min says that railways in the booming east of the country could be run “according to market principles”. Investors, he says, will be attracted by the huge pent-up demand and “appropriate” increases in freight tariffs and passenger fares. Sceptics wonder whether the hidebound ministry will give market forces the leeway it says it will. And big fare increases would not go down well with passengers whose complaints about overcrowded, uncomfortable and corruptly managed train services are legion. But talk of reform is getting louder. Strong political will may have helped what one World Bank adviser calls China's “mind-boggling” pace of rail and road construction. But even the Communist Party's resolve may not suffice for what would be the most jaw-dropping project of all. A plan published by the Ministry of Communications in 2004 mentions, off-handedly, an expressway from Beijing to Taipei (target completion date: 2030). How the road would traverse the 150km Taiwan Strait is not mentioned. Nor does the document suggest how to tackle the even bigger problem of reaching agreement with Taiwan. But government maps of the completed expressway network show it. It would be unwise to rule it out. From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Feb 19 14:36:09 2008 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (S. Jabbar) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:36:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Petrol prices Message-ID: Worried about rising fuel costs? Here¹s an interesting piece that was published in the Indian Express a couple of days ago. Hope this will make people think twice before joining the ranks of the whiners. Best Sonia Jabbar Perverse Subsidy for the Rich By Atanu Dey Nobel prize-winning economist Douglass North observed that ³economic history is overwhelmingly a story of economies that failed to produce a set of economic rules of the game (with enforcement) that induce sustained economic growth.² Producing a set of rational economic rules is a political rather than an economic process. Frequently basic economic truths are willfully disregarded in a myopic but cynically calculated process of short-term electoral gains. In the long run, however, the persistent practice of politically motivated economically unsound policies has the unsurprising and unfortunate effect of impoverishing the economy. India is a case in point. Despite being endowed with substantial human and natural resources, it has failed to provide a vast majority of its citizens the basic necessities for a decent life. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that what India mainly lacks is a rational set of economic rules. An important contemporary example of a flawed economic policy is the subsidy that the consumers of petroleum enjoy. The price of a barrel of crude is hovering around US$ 100 a barrel and yet the price of petrol at the pump remains essentially what it was when crude was selling at half that price about a year ago. The resultant gap between the cost and the price has to be bridged through a subsidy that is estimated to be around Rs 70,000 crores this year. The case is made that by keeping the price artificially low, the so-called ³common man² benefits. But that is certainly not the case. It is a perverse and regressive subsidy for a number of reasons. First, it is the ³uncommon man² who actually benefits directly from the subsidy. In fact, the wealthier you are, the more vehicles you own, the more subsidy you capture. For every litre of petrol or diesel you consume, you benefit by around Rs 10; for every cylinder of LPG, someone else chips in Rs 250. The really poor person does not own cars nor has a gas connection. Second, when distorted low prices do not reflect the full costs, it sends the wrong signals and consumption is more than is socially optimal. India meets about three-quarters of its petroleum needs through imports at an approximate cost of US$ 50 billion a year. Increased consumption inflates that import bill and is economically wasteful. Third, the burden of the opportunity cost of the subsidy falls squarely on the people who cannot reap its benefits. The resources that the subsidy consumes are not available for services that the poor benefit from such as subsidies for public transportation systems, primary health and education. Fourth, the subsidy is financed by bonds issued to oil marketing companies. These bonds represent a future liability. Essentially it is a mechanism employed by the present voting generation to secure benefits that will be paid for by the future generations who do not have a vote and therefore do not have the option to reject that burden. Fifth, if prices were more aligned to true costs, alternatives such as better public transportation system can have a fair shot at being developed. It would also send the right signals for more conservative use of private cars, leading to less congestion and pollution. The basic economic truth is that there is really no such thing as a free lunch. Today¹s subsidy comes at a cost that will only grow larger the longer the delay in pricing petroleum products at full cost. It is fairly simple to remedy the situation. Raising the price at the pump is the simplest but the most politically risky. The UPA government knows that and will definitely not risk losing power even if raising prices is for the larger benefit of the economy. But those subsidies have to be reduced, if not totally abolished overnight. A start could be made immediately to reduce the subsidy to the rich while continuing it for the poor. A mechanism for doing so would be to impose a tax on car owners which would reflect the full cost of the petrol they use. Depending on the size of the engine and average fuel consumption, an annual fee could be assessed which has be paid to maintain registration. So if a particular make and model of car typically consumes, say, 1,000 litres of petrol a year, the tax could be Rs 10,000. This type of a mechanism would leave all two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses untouched. Since it is usually the common man who uses public transportation, the common man would continue to enjoy the subsidy. Implementing rational economic policy is not impossible for India even though for decades on end we have been burdened with flawed policies. We are moving slowly towards a more rational way of running an economy. Whether we persist on along that path is a political matter which can only be determined ultimately by the enlightened self-interest of an educated population. For more see Atanu Dey¹s blog: deesha.org From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Feb 19 15:36:55 2008 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (S. Jabbar) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:36:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Petrol prices In-Reply-To: <47BAA3A7.50408@ranadasgupta.com> Message-ID: Hard to imagine today, but between 1994-98 I rode a bicycle on Delhi's roads. It was lovely. In the early years there wasn't much traffic and I went everywhere on the bike, in summer and in winter: shopping, seminars, films, to the Qutb Minar to do watercolours and once, even to DLF for lunch. Had to give up in 1998 when I started breaking out in hives and even popping 2 antihistamines at night wouldn't stop the itching. One wise Tibetan doctor attributed it to the condition of my lungs and the pollution affecting it. I had little choice but to get myself a car. What I wish for is this: that the government stop subsidisng petrol, that people stop buying cars and say nono to the nano, that pollution levels drop to what they were in the early '90s, and that I'm back on my dark blue 'Hero' with the drop handle bars. If wishes were bicycles... On 2/19/08 3:08 PM, "Rana Dasgupta" wrote: > thanks for this. this is exactly what i think when people complain > about the cost of petrol. it should be much more! > > R > > > S. Jabbar wrote: >> Worried about rising fuel costs? Here¹s an interesting piece that was >> published in the Indian Express a couple of days ago. Hope this will make >> people think twice before joining the ranks of the whiners. >> Best >> Sonia Jabbar >> >> >> Perverse Subsidy for the Rich >> By Atanu Dey >> >> Nobel prize-winning economist Douglass North observed that ³economic history >> is overwhelmingly a story of economies that failed to produce a set of >> economic rules of the game (with enforcement) that induce sustained economic >> growth.² Producing a set of rational economic rules is a political rather >> than an economic process. Frequently basic economic truths are willfully >> disregarded in a myopic but cynically calculated process of short-term >> electoral gains. In the long run, however, the persistent practice of >> politically motivated economically unsound policies has the unsurprising and >> unfortunate effect of impoverishing the economy. >> >> India is a case in point. Despite being endowed with substantial human and >> natural resources, it has failed to provide a vast majority of its citizens >> the basic necessities for a decent life. It is hard to avoid the conclusion >> that what India mainly lacks is a rational set of economic rules. An >> important contemporary example of a flawed economic policy is the subsidy >> that the consumers of petroleum enjoy. >> >> The price of a barrel of crude is hovering around US$ 100 a barrel and yet >> the price of petrol at the pump remains essentially what it was when crude >> was selling at half that price about a year ago. The resultant gap between >> the cost and the price has to be bridged through a subsidy that is estimated >> to be around Rs 70,000 crores this year. The case is made that by keeping >> the price artificially low, the so-called ³common man² benefits. But that is >> certainly not the case. It is a perverse and regressive subsidy for a number >> of reasons. >> >> First, it is the ³uncommon man² who actually benefits directly from the >> subsidy. In fact, the wealthier you are, the more vehicles you own, the more >> subsidy you capture. For every litre of petrol or diesel you consume, you >> benefit by around Rs 10; for every cylinder of LPG, someone else chips in Rs >> 250. The really poor person does not own cars nor has a gas connection. >> >> Second, when distorted low prices do not reflect the full costs, it sends >> the wrong signals and consumption is more than is socially optimal. India >> meets about three-quarters of its petroleum needs through imports at an >> approximate cost of US$ 50 billion a year. Increased consumption inflates >> that import bill and is economically wasteful. >> >> Third, the burden of the opportunity cost of the subsidy falls squarely on >> the people who cannot reap its benefits. The resources that the subsidy >> consumes are not available for services that the poor benefit from such as >> subsidies for public transportation systems, primary health and education. >> >> Fourth, the subsidy is financed by bonds issued to oil marketing companies. >> These bonds represent a future liability. Essentially it is a mechanism >> employed by the present voting generation to secure benefits that will be >> paid for by the future generations who do not have a vote and therefore do >> not have the option to reject that burden. >> >> Fifth, if prices were more aligned to true costs, alternatives such as >> better public transportation system can have a fair shot at being developed. >> It would also send the right signals for more conservative use of private >> cars, leading to less congestion and pollution. >> >> The basic economic truth is that there is really no such thing as a free >> lunch. Today¹s subsidy comes at a cost that will only grow larger the longer >> the delay in pricing petroleum products at full cost. It is fairly simple to >> remedy the situation. Raising the price at the pump is the simplest but the >> most politically risky. The UPA government knows that and will definitely >> not risk losing power even if raising prices is for the larger benefit of >> the economy. >> >> But those subsidies have to be reduced, if not totally abolished overnight. >> A start could be made immediately to reduce the subsidy to the rich while >> continuing it for the poor. A mechanism for doing so would be to impose a >> tax on car owners which would reflect the full cost of the petrol they use. >> Depending on the size of the engine and average fuel consumption, an annual >> fee could be assessed which has be paid to maintain registration. So if a >> particular make and model of car typically consumes, say, 1,000 litres of >> petrol a year, the tax could be Rs 10,000. >> >> This type of a mechanism would leave all two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and >> buses untouched. Since it is usually the common man who uses public >> transportation, the common man would continue to enjoy the subsidy. >> >> Implementing rational economic policy is not impossible for India even >> though for decades on end we have been burdened with flawed policies. We are >> moving slowly towards a more rational way of running an economy. Whether we >> persist on along that path is a political matter which can only be >> determined ultimately by the enlightened self-interest of an educated >> population. >> >> For more see Atanu Dey¹s blog: deesha.org >> >> _________________________________________ >> 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 patrice at xs4all.nl Tue Feb 19 16:29:03 2008 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:59:03 +0100 (CET) Subject: [Reader-list] Petrol prices Message-ID: <14671.81.57.94.61.1203418743.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> Ahem.... once upon a time in South Delhi, I rode on the pillion of a bicycle pedalled by a crazy Dutch co-student (he rode as if we were in Holland, where motorists pay up big time if they only touch a bike) and my, I thought I'd die. Happilly honking trucks on the verge of 'turning turtle', dashing ambies and premiers, mad-maxed sikhs on their Harleys reconfigured as collective taxis... You guessed, the year was 1980. > Hard to imagine today, but between 1994-98 I rode a bicycle on Delhi's > roads. It was lovely. In the early years there wasn't much traffic and I > went everywhere on the bike, in summer and in winter: shopping, seminars, > films, to the Qutb Minar to do watercolours and once, even to DLF for > lunch. > Had to give up in 1998 when I started breaking out in hives and even > popping > 2 antihistamines at night wouldn't stop the itching. One wise Tibetan > doctor attributed it to the condition of my lungs and the pollution > affecting it. I had little choice but to get myself a car. > > What I wish for is this: that the government stop subsidisng petrol, that > people stop buying cars and say nono to the nano, that pollution levels > drop > to what they were in the early '90s, and that I'm back on my dark blue > 'Hero' with the drop handle bars. > > If wishes were bicycles... > > > On 2/19/08 3:08 PM, "Rana Dasgupta" wrote: > >> thanks for this. this is exactly what i think when people complain >> about the cost of petrol. it should be much more! >> >> R >> >> >> S. Jabbar wrote: >>> Worried about rising fuel costs? Here¹s an interesting piece that was >>> published in the Indian Express a couple of days ago. Hope this will >>> make >>> people think twice before joining the ranks of the whiners. >>> Best >>> Sonia Jabbar >>> >>> >>> Perverse Subsidy for the Rich >>> By Atanu Dey >>> >>> Nobel prize-winning economist Douglass North observed that ³economic >>> history >>> is overwhelmingly a story of economies that failed to produce a set of >>> economic rules of the game (with enforcement) that induce sustained >>> economic >>> growth.² Producing a set of rational economic rules is a political >>> rather >>> than an economic process. Frequently basic economic truths are >>> willfully >>> disregarded in a myopic but cynically calculated process of short-term >>> electoral gains. In the long run, however, the persistent practice of >>> politically motivated economically unsound policies has the >>> unsurprising and >>> unfortunate effect of impoverishing the economy. >>> >>> India is a case in point. Despite being endowed with substantial human >>> and >>> natural resources, it has failed to provide a vast majority of its >>> citizens >>> the basic necessities for a decent life. It is hard to avoid the >>> conclusion >>> that what India mainly lacks is a rational set of economic rules. An >>> important contemporary example of a flawed economic policy is the >>> subsidy >>> that the consumers of petroleum enjoy. >>> >>> The price of a barrel of crude is hovering around US$ 100 a barrel and >>> yet >>> the price of petrol at the pump remains essentially what it was when >>> crude >>> was selling at half that price about a year ago. The resultant gap >>> between >>> the cost and the price has to be bridged through a subsidy that is >>> estimated >>> to be around Rs 70,000 crores this year. The case is made that by >>> keeping >>> the price artificially low, the so-called ³common man² benefits. But >>> that is >>> certainly not the case. It is a perverse and regressive subsidy for a >>> number >>> of reasons. >>> >>> First, it is the ³uncommon man² who actually benefits directly from >>> the >>> subsidy. In fact, the wealthier you are, the more vehicles you own, the >>> more >>> subsidy you capture. For every litre of petrol or diesel you consume, >>> you >>> benefit by around Rs 10; for every cylinder of LPG, someone else chips >>> in Rs >>> 250. The really poor person does not own cars nor has a gas connection. >>> >>> Second, when distorted low prices do not reflect the full costs, it >>> sends >>> the wrong signals and consumption is more than is socially optimal. >>> India >>> meets about three-quarters of its petroleum needs through imports at an >>> approximate cost of US$ 50 billion a year. Increased consumption >>> inflates >>> that import bill and is economically wasteful. >>> >>> Third, the burden of the opportunity cost of the subsidy falls squarely >>> on >>> the people who cannot reap its benefits. The resources that the subsidy >>> consumes are not available for services that the poor benefit from such >>> as >>> subsidies for public transportation systems, primary health and >>> education. >>> >>> Fourth, the subsidy is financed by bonds issued to oil marketing >>> companies. >>> These bonds represent a future liability. Essentially it is a mechanism >>> employed by the present voting generation to secure benefits that will >>> be >>> paid for by the future generations who do not have a vote and therefore >>> do >>> not have the option to reject that burden. >>> >>> Fifth, if prices were more aligned to true costs, alternatives such as >>> better public transportation system can have a fair shot at being >>> developed. >>> It would also send the right signals for more conservative use of >>> private >>> cars, leading to less congestion and pollution. >>> >>> The basic economic truth is that there is really no such thing as a >>> free >>> lunch. Today¹s subsidy comes at a cost that will only grow larger the >>> longer >>> the delay in pricing petroleum products at full cost. It is fairly >>> simple to >>> remedy the situation. Raising the price at the pump is the simplest but >>> the >>> most politically risky. The UPA government knows that and will >>> definitely >>> not risk losing power even if raising prices is for the larger benefit >>> of >>> the economy. >>> >>> But those subsidies have to be reduced, if not totally abolished >>> overnight. >>> A start could be made immediately to reduce the subsidy to the rich >>> while >>> continuing it for the poor. A mechanism for doing so would be to impose >>> a >>> tax on car owners which would reflect the full cost of the petrol they >>> use. >>> Depending on the size of the engine and average fuel consumption, an >>> annual >>> fee could be assessed which has be paid to maintain registration. So if >>> a >>> particular make and model of car typically consumes, say, 1,000 litres >>> of >>> petrol a year, the tax could be Rs 10,000. >>> >>> This type of a mechanism would leave all two-wheelers, three-wheelers, >>> and >>> buses untouched. Since it is usually the common man who uses public >>> transportation, the common man would continue to enjoy the subsidy. >>> >>> Implementing rational economic policy is not impossible for India even >>> though for decades on end we have been burdened with flawed policies. >>> We are >>> moving slowly towards a more rational way of running an economy. >>> Whether we >>> persist on along that path is a political matter which can only be >>> determined ultimately by the enlightened self-interest of an educated >>> population. >>> >>> For more see Atanu Dey¹s blog: deesha.org >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe >>> in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > From nitbhag at gmail.com Tue Feb 19 17:35:54 2008 From: nitbhag at gmail.com (Nitesh Bhatnagar) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:35:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Muslim_undertaker_for_Kashmir=92s_?= =?windows-1252?q?Hindus?= Message-ID: Muslim undertaker for Kashmir's Hindus Ishfaq-ul-Hassan Monday, February 18, 2008 03:08 IST DNA: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1151454 SRINAGAR: Under the majestic chinar in a cremation ground, Mohammad Yasin Dar, 55, has lit a bonfire to stay warm on a nippy February morning. He has spent a larger part of his days at the place for 10 years. A devout Muslim, he has embarked on an unusual mission—to perform last rites of the dead of Kashmir's minuscule Hindu population. "Earlier, it was a pathetic situation here. There was no one to cremate bodies of Hindus as everyone was afraid. Cops would ferry the dead in dingy vans and lit the pyre in a callous manner," said Dar. After Kashmiri pandits migrated from the valley in 1990, there was no one to take care of the dead of those who stayed back. Official figures reveal 34,878 Kashmiri pandit families are registered as migrants in Jammu. "I remember in 1990, police brought the body of a Hindu youth and there was no one to conduct his last rites. This haunted me and I decided to take care of the cremation ground," said KL Wali, president Hindu Welfare Forum. Later, he roped in Dar. Dar, a father of three, is paid a monthly honorarium of Rs3,000 by the crematorium's management. The 55-year-old also pressurised the management to restore temples set on fire by militants. "I had a dream in which a Hindu goddess commanded me to restore her temple in the cremation ground. As I had no means, I told the management to do it else I would not stay here," quipped Dar. From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Tue Feb 19 18:44:22 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:14:22 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Beyond: Taslima's mimesis and feminist theory In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <295028.87271.qm@web8514.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Naeem and all others, I don't doubt the territories of context that you want for Taslima's narratives of groping, but then the question that would haunt many is, how come even though Sanjib and the hungries had talked about it well before her,took an amount of time to have been adopted and put to prolific use by Taslima. Is it the degree of textual awareness of Bangladeshi audience or writers which is , as you say, more than that is gotten in this bengal? And following that, this keenness of attention then, proved productive for Taslima at least ( with her "public attention grabbing" etc.;) this, in a moment of mimetic rivalry, she had done in her critiques of religious antifeminism as well, much from Sukumari Bhattacharya and so on. I was reluctant to grant Taslima this status of narrow confinement since this is, and many other feminists,an experience that goes into their theory building ( Naeem also, "nasty, invasive groping"). Internationally even this is true. James Dawson, considered by many ( including me) as one of the greatest writers of sexual fiction, in a piece called ...." .......Japanese torments" talks with excess about groping in Japanese trains. And the word "awareness " used by you is doubly significant. It is a part of that feminist " consciousness raising" paradigm. And Taslima ( and exemplified by numerous examples from Bengal and the world)uses that too to draw major inferences. My hunch then is less to do with the archival originality of this form of sexification than the force with which it is integrated to higher levels. And while reading me here, Naeem makes the same mistake which some in Kolkata have taken deliberately to miraculous heights ( Arnab justifies rape, sexual harassment etc.)I'm a believer in a different formm of critical theory.( Critique brings texts ( all texts) to crisis and neither advocates nor destroys any of them.) Despite my warning, Naeem says I justify ( in a sense) these acts. It was not me,I quoted from a book published by the women's commission of West bengal in order to argue that there are problems in generalising and universalising feeling -- is slowly dawning upon orthodox and ordinary feminist circles too. There are major theoretical objections to reckon with. What I said is, I find the masculist argument ( that all women enjoy being groped) and this feminist argument ( that all men are gropers and all women hate it) boring, predictable and theoretically incorrect. And again, the counter example is from Bhaswati Chakraborty. I'm for neither kind. My articles on sexual harassment, rape are being finalised and may be they will be published someday and I may tell you that they will be very very different. This lesson is what phenomenology teaches without ever trying to teach. To work or arrive at "without presuppositions" is a hard lesson. To bracket all ideological naivete seems to many as impossible; to bracket means to be in a state of quotation, to write while "withholding commitment."We need to do just that and if you want a bright example which I will cite from an ideological in-house magazine and which I will suggest all and that what I suggest my students, friends and everybody is to read Shuddhabrata Sengupta's "I/Me/mine" article in the Signs journal. Here is what I call a "feminism from nowhere", that recognises the essential contingency of all and each. The sexual harassment books and bibles ( including the one I've cited) fail because they either suppress this fact, or override the challenges posed by them. That may help them win funds and jobs and scholarships and so on but also mediocrity --and which many know but are scared to rehearse ( unlike me) that they are really poor. Taslima therefore should be read differently and not in terms of the force of theoretically incorrect examples. That was my sole hunch. Thank you arnab --- Naeem Mohaiemen wrote: > >>From: ARNAB CHATTERJEE > > >Naeem here, "Taslima was the first to write in > 1989/90 about how the > narrow confines and massive crowds of boi mela had > given cover to > groups of eve teasers. > > >>remind Naeem that it was not Taslima, Sanjib > Chattopadhyaya was the > commercial first to talk about sexual groping in > bengali buses and > puja crowds > >>the Hungries were the first avantgarde to do that > in parallel magazines. > > Arnab, > > I was specifically talking about her being "the > first" in the > Bangladesh context, and in the Ekushey Boi Mela > (Bangla Academy, > Dhaka) context. The Hungries and Sanjib were both > writing about West > Bengal, not Bangladesh. > > When the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visited > Kolkata in 1990s, she > was introduced at a Boi Mela (over public > loudspeaker) as the "Chief > Minister of Bangladesh" (this led to a huge > diplomatic row, but as it > was the slightly India-leaning AL government in > power, it did not > reach nuclear level as it would surely have done > under BNP/JAMAAT of > last 5 years). So while there are numerous > synergies, learning, > common histories, conjoined fates, tragic mulatto > being, 'separate but > equal' narratives, etc., something being written > about in West Bengal > does not automatically make it across the border > (there's a separate > discussion needed about the culture balance deficit > between WB and BD, > i.e. BD culture space is far more aware of what's > being written in > Kolkata than vice versa). > > So in the sense of raising awareness about this in > Bangladesh, Taslima > was the "first" I remember [I am sure some > Bangladeshi reader on this > list will now remind me of some little magazine from > Aziz Super Market > Dhaka that also talked about it, but certainly no > one talked about it > with the velocity and public attention grabbing (in > a positive sense > of that word) of Taslima.] > > As for the analysis that women somehow discover > their sexuality/object > of desire status through public groping, well I can > only hope you were > taking the piss in citing those "studies". > _________________________________________ > 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/> Bring your gang together - do your thing. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Feb 19 20:39:04 2008 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:39:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Beyond: Taslima's mimesis and feminist theory In-Reply-To: <295028.87271.qm@web8514.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <295028.87271.qm@web8514.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2C55C4DC-B56E-4517-891C-C107D341AF2C@sarai.net> Dear Arnab, I will respond to some of what you have said later. But first a question, what on earth is 'theoretically incorrect'? Can theory be 'correct' or 'incorrect'? curious, Shuddha On 19-Feb-08, at 6:44 PM, ARNAB CHATTERJEE wrote: > Dear Naeem and all others, > I don't doubt the territories of > context that you want for Taslima's narratives of > groping, but then the question that would haunt many > is, how come even though Sanjib and the hungries had > talked about it well before her,took an amount of time > to have been adopted and put to prolific use by > Taslima. Is it the degree of textual awareness of > Bangladeshi audience or writers which is , as you say, > more than that is gotten in this bengal? And following > that, this keenness of attention then, proved > productive for Taslima at least ( with her "public > attention grabbing" etc.;) this, in a moment of > mimetic rivalry, she had done in her critiques of > religious antifeminism as well, much from Sukumari > Bhattacharya and so on. > I was reluctant to grant Taslima this status of narrow > confinement since this is, and many other feminists,an > experience that goes into their theory building ( > Naeem also, "nasty, invasive groping"). > Internationally even this is true. James Dawson, > considered by many ( including me) as one of the > greatest writers of sexual fiction, in a piece called > ...." .......Japanese torments" talks with excess about > groping in Japanese trains. And the word "awareness " > used by you is doubly significant. It is a part of > that feminist " consciousness raising" paradigm. And > Taslima ( and exemplified by numerous examples from > Bengal and the world)uses that too to draw major > inferences. My hunch then is less to do with the > archival originality of this form of sexification than > the force with which it is integrated to higher > levels. And while reading me here, Naeem makes the > same mistake which some in Kolkata have taken > deliberately to miraculous heights ( Arnab justifies > rape, sexual harassment etc.)I'm a believer in a > different formm of critical theory.( Critique brings > texts ( all texts) to crisis and neither advocates > nor destroys any of them.) Despite my warning, Naeem > says I justify ( in a sense) these acts. It was not > me,I quoted from a book published by the women's > commission of West bengal in order to argue that > there are problems in generalising and universalising > feeling -- is slowly dawning upon orthodox and > ordinary feminist circles too. There are major > theoretical objections to reckon with. What I said is, > I find the masculist argument ( that all women enjoy > being groped) and this feminist argument ( that all > men are gropers and all women hate it) boring, > predictable and theoretically incorrect. And again, > the counter example is from Bhaswati Chakraborty. I'm > for neither kind. My articles on sexual harassment, > rape are being finalised and may be they will be > published someday and I may tell you that they will > be very very different. This lesson is what > phenomenology teaches without ever trying to teach. > To work or arrive at "without presuppositions" is a > hard lesson. To bracket all ideological naivete seems > to many as impossible; to bracket means to be in a > state of quotation, to write while "withholding > commitment."We need to do just that and if you want a > bright example which I will cite from an ideological > in-house magazine and which I will suggest all and > that what I suggest my students, friends and everybody > is to read Shuddhabrata Sengupta's "I/Me/mine" article > in the Signs journal. Here is what I call a "feminism > from nowhere", that recognises the essential > contingency of all and each. The sexual harassment > books and bibles ( including the one I've cited) fail > because they either suppress this fact, or override > the challenges posed by them. That may help them win > funds and jobs and scholarships and so on but also > mediocrity --and which many know but are scared to > rehearse ( unlike me) that they are really poor. > Taslima therefore should be read differently and not > in terms of the force of theoretically incorrect > examples. That was my sole hunch. > Thank you > arnab > > > > > > --- Naeem Mohaiemen wrote: > >>>> From: ARNAB CHATTERJEE >> >>> Naeem here, "Taslima was the first to write in >> 1989/90 about how the >> narrow confines and massive crowds of boi mela had >> given cover to >> groups of eve teasers. >> >>>> remind Naeem that it was not Taslima, Sanjib >> Chattopadhyaya was the >> commercial first to talk about sexual groping in >> bengali buses and >> puja crowds >>>> the Hungries were the first avantgarde to do that >> in parallel magazines. >> >> Arnab, >> >> I was specifically talking about her being "the >> first" in the >> Bangladesh context, and in the Ekushey Boi Mela >> (Bangla Academy, >> Dhaka) context. The Hungries and Sanjib were both >> writing about West >> Bengal, not Bangladesh. >> >> When the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visited >> Kolkata in 1990s, she >> was introduced at a Boi Mela (over public >> loudspeaker) as the "Chief >> Minister of Bangladesh" (this led to a huge >> diplomatic row, but as it >> was the slightly India-leaning AL government in >> power, it did not >> reach nuclear level as it would surely have done >> under BNP/JAMAAT of >> last 5 years). So while there are numerous >> synergies, learning, >> common histories, conjoined fates, tragic mulatto >> being, 'separate but >> equal' narratives, etc., something being written >> about in West Bengal >> does not automatically make it across the border >> (there's a separate >> discussion needed about the culture balance deficit >> between WB and BD, >> i.e. BD culture space is far more aware of what's >> being written in >> Kolkata than vice versa). >> >> So in the sense of raising awareness about this in >> Bangladesh, Taslima >> was the "first" I remember [I am sure some >> Bangladeshi reader on this >> list will now remind me of some little magazine from >> Aziz Super Market >> Dhaka that also talked about it, but certainly no >> one talked about it >> with the velocity and public attention grabbing (in >> a positive sense >> of that word) of Taslima.] >> >> As for the analysis that women somehow discover >> their sexuality/object >> of desire status through public groping, well I can >> only hope you were >> taking the piss in citing those "studies". >> _________________________________________ >> 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/> > > > > Bring your gang together - do your thing. Go to http:// > in.promos.yahoo.com/groups > > _________________________________________ > 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 elkamath at yahoo.com Wed Feb 20 09:03:47 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:33:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Gates_Foundation=E2=80=99s_Influence_Crit?= =?utf-8?q?icized?= Message-ID: <994284.51089.qm@web53609.mail.re2.yahoo.com> FYI http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/science/16malaria.html?scp=1&sq=kochi&st=nyt February 16, 2008 Gates Foundation's Influence Criticized By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. The chief of malaria for the World Health Organization has complained that the growing dominance of malaria research by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation risks stifling a diversity of views among scientists and wiping out the world health agency's policy-making function. In a memorandum, the malaria chief, Dr. Arata Kochi, complained to his boss, Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., that the foundation's money, while crucial, could have "far-reaching, largely unintended consequences." Many of the world's leading malaria scientists are now "locked up in a 'cartel' with their own research funding being linked to those of others within the group," Dr. Kochi wrote. Because "each has a vested interest to safeguard the work of the others," he wrote, getting independent reviews of research proposals "is becoming increasingly difficult." Also, he argued, the foundation's determination to have its favored research used to guide the health organization's recommendations "could have implicitly dangerous consequences on the policy-making process in world health." Dr. Tadataka Yamada, executive director of global health at the Gates Foundation, disagreed with Dr. Kochi's conclusions, saying the foundation did not second-guess or "hold captive" scientists or research partnerships that it backed. "We encourage a lot of external review," he said. The memo, which was obtained by The New York Times, was written late last year but circulated this week to the heads of several health agency departments, with a note asking whether they were having similar struggles with the Gates Foundation. A spokeswoman for the director general said Dr. Chan saw the memo last year but did not respond to it. It is "the view of one department, not the W.H.O.'s view," said the spokeswoman, Christine McNab. The agency has cordial relations with the foundation, and the agency's policies are set by committees, which include others besides Gates-financed scientists, she said. The Gates Foundation has poured about $1.2 billion into malaria research since 2000. In the late 1990s, as little as $84 million a year was spent — largely by the United States military and health institutes, along with European governments and foundations. Drug makers had largely abandoned the field. (China was developing a drug, artemisinin, that is now the cornerstone of treatment.) The World Health Organization is a United Nations agency with a $4 billion budget. It gives advice on policies, evaluates treatments — especially for poor countries — maintains a network of laboratories and sends teams to fight outbreaks of diseases, like avian flu or Ebola. It finances little research; for diseases of the poor, the Gates Foundation is the world's biggest donor. Dr. Kochi, an openly undiplomatic official who won admiration for reorganizing the world fight against tuberculosis but was ousted from that job partly because he offended donors like the Rockefeller Foundation, called the Gates Foundation's decision-making "a closed internal process, and as far as can be seen, accountable to none other than itself." Moreover, he added, the foundation "even takes its vested interest to seeing the data it helped generate taken to policy." As an example, he cited an intervention called intermittent preventive treatment for infants, known as IPTi. Other experts said IPTi involved giving babies doses of an older anti- malaria drug, Fansidar, when they got their shots at 2 months, 3 months and 9 months. In early studies, it was shown to decrease malaria cases about 25 percent. But each dose gave protection for only a month. Since it is not safe or practical to give Fansidar constantly to babies because it is a sulfa drug that can cause rare but deadly reactions and because Fansidar-resistant malaria is growing, World Health Organization scientists had doubts about it. Nonetheless, Dr. Kochi wrote, although it was "less and less straightforward" that the health agency should recommend it, the agency's objections were met with "intense and aggressive opposition" from Gates-backed scientists and the foundation. The W.H.O., he wrote, needs to "stand up to such pressures and ensure that the review of evidence is rigorously independent of vested interests." Amir Attaran, a health policy expert at the University of Ottawa who has criticized many players in the war on malaria, said he thought Dr. Kochi's memo was "dead right." His own experience with Gates-financed policy groups, he said, was that they are cowed into "stomach-churning group think." But Dr. Attaran said he believed that scientists were not afraid of the foundation, but of its chief of malaria, Dr. Regina Rabinovich, whom he described as "autocratic." Dr. Rabinovich, when told of Dr. Attaran's characterization, said she did not want to respond. Dr. Yamada of the Gates Foundation called it "unfortunate and inaccurate." "I'm not a grantee of hers," he said, "but she's an extremely knowledgeable leader. And if she has an opinion, she's entitled to it." He said he did not know the details of the IPTi issue, but added that researchers often differed about policy implications. There have been hints in recent months that the World Health Organization feels threatened by the growing power of the Gates Foundation. Some scientists have said privately that it is "creating its own W.H.O." One oft-cited example is its $105 million grant to create the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Its mission is to judge, for example, which treatments work or to rank countries' health systems. These are core W.H.O. tasks, but the institute's new director, Dr. Christopher J. L. Murray, formerly a health organization official, said a new path was needed because the United Nations agency came under pressure from member countries. His said his institute would be independent of that. _______________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping From gora at sarai.net Wed Feb 20 10:15:55 2008 From: gora at sarai.net (Gora Mohanty) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:15:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] An invitation to participate in Freed.in 2008 Message-ID: <20080220101555.3a10a81d@anubis> Hi, The annual free software event of ILUG-Delhi is upon us, sooner than you suspected. We have switched from a Sep. to a Feb. cycle in order to take advantage of the better weather. This year, we are aiming to reach out beyond the confines of software to join up with like-minded people working in other areas. At the same time, we wish to retain a practical focus in helping facilitate the evolution of an open, shared, and community-based knowledge ecosystem. The event is divided into three broad parts: (a) A planning conclave which will attempt to define the parameters of such a system, drawing from the experience of people from various fields. (b) A parallel series of talks from luminaries working in such areas. (c) Adjunct workshops, and birds-of-a-feather get-togethers, including: o Free maps: Community-based maps, and items of interest for geolocation. o Indic text rendering in open-source software: Towards a common, and robust system. Also, aspects related to Indic computing. o KDE 4. Some useful links: o Event website, with schedules, blogs, and details on speakers: http://freed.in/2008/ o General invitation to participate, outlining what Freed.in 2008 is all about: http://freed.in/2008/news/knowledge-shall-set-you-free.html o General areas of focus: http://freed.in/2008/areas-of-interest o Conclave details: o Talk schedule: http://freed.in/2008/schedule o Getting to the venue: http://freed.in/2008/getting-to-freedin o You can register as a delegate, though you are not required to, and admission is free. If you wish to register, please see: http://freed.in/2008/delegate-registration Regards, Gora From fredericsultan at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 13:39:37 2008 From: fredericsultan at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?RnLDqWTDqXJpYyBTdWx0YW4=?=) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:09:37 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Political dialogue between scientists and social movements In-Reply-To: <20080220101555.3a10a81d@anubis> References: <20080220101555.3a10a81d@anubis> Message-ID: <47BBE041.2020700@gmail.com> Dear friend I have the pleasure to invite you to participate in the Social Forum Science and Democracy for a political dialog between scientists and social movement that will take place in 2009, January in BELEM (Bresil). I invite you : - to sign the call online individually and for your organization at : http://wsf-science.org - At the end of 2007, the initiative have received 367 individuals signatures from 44 countries and 44 collectives signatures from 15 different countries. - to be involved in the process of the Social Forum : please sent a message to subscribe to the discussion list - to participate in the brainstorming by sending your ideas, your proposals, your needs and your claims for the Social Forum science and democracy to You can have a look on the contributions sent by people in the wiki website : http://fsm-science.org/wiki For more information, please send your message to Hope to meet you in this challenging and meaningful project. Best regards Frédéric Sultan VECAM http://www.vecam.org From bangalorefilmsociety at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 14:06:10 2008 From: bangalorefilmsociety at gmail.com (Bangalore Film Society ,) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:06:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] BFS Presents:' The Conflicts of our Histories' Message-ID: 'He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the shit that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, but especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.' - Kevin Smith on God's feelings towards humanity in 'Dogma' The predicament is of the past as it winds through the present into the future. The past is not history but many histories, each one of us carrying our own separate baggage of values and prejudices into the future. As the world closes in on itself our paths and pasts collide in a vulnerable and decisive moment of change, a moment that may seem to care not for your values, prejudices even existence but is actually a moment of immense possibility. It is a moment that calls for reckoning- does one negotiate one's beliefs and histories to 'fit in' 'adjust' and fall in harmony with the new future or does one cast one's beliefs in stone, histories in identities and humans in categories? It is the ink in which the future will be written. Bangalore Film Society presents 'The Conflicts of Our Histories', three incidents of times of change made turbulent and bloody by the dirty hands of so many histories. Friday 22nd February, 2008 Time: 6.30pm Bloody Sunday (2002/110min) Dir: Paul Greengrass Acclaimed director Greengrass's breakthrough film is a modern classic, a gritty, eyewitness account of the controversial 1972 shootout in Derry, Northern Ireland as soldiers of the British Parachute Regiment opened fire on a group of civil right demonstrators. Shooting in cinema verite style, Greengrass tracks both sides of the conflict as he tries to recreate the reason, horror and the consequences of the violence. Winner of Audience Award at Sundance 02 and Golden Bear at Berlinale 02. Saturday 23rd February, 2008 Time: 6.30pm Attila 74: The Rape of Cyprus (1975/101min) Dir: Michael Cacoyannis Director Cacoyannis rushed with a two man crew from London to Cyprus on hearing new of the Turkish invasion to craft this poignant and candid chronicle of his motherland reeling under death and displacement of over 200,000 Cypriots. Never released theatrically, Attila 74 was used by the director to generate funds for the refugees. Sunday 24th February, 2008 Time: 6.30pm Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (1996/115min) Dir: Srdjan Dragojevic Shot in times of actual conflict, Director Dragojevic's brutal yet absurdly comic tale of the Yugoslavian conflict turns a common parable of friends forced into opposite factions of war into a melancholic yearning for the pre-war idyll of their childhoods as also by showing both sides of the conflict, a searing anti-war plea. Venue: Ashirvad, 30, St. Mark's Road cross, Op. State Bank of India Tel: 2549 2774/ 2549 3705/ 9886213516 ADMISSION FOR MEMBERS ONLY. NON-MEMBERS ARE REQUESTED TO ARRIVE 15 MINS EARLY AND REGISTER. (Members whose membership has expired are requested to kindly renew their membership.) From fsultan at vecam.org Sun Feb 17 20:51:10 2008 From: fsultan at vecam.org (=?UTF-8?B?U3VsdGFuIEZyw6lkw6lyaWM=?=) Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:21:10 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Social Forum Science and Democracy BELEM (BRAZIL) 2009 Message-ID: <47B850E6.8010809@vecam.org> CALL FOR A SOCIAL FORUM SCIENCE AND DEMOCRACY FOR A DIALOG BETWEEN RESEARCH, RESEARCHERS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD Dear friend The Social Forum science and democracy will take place in 2009, January in BELEM. It will be open the day before the World Social Forum and continue during it. At the end of 2007, this initiative have received 367 individuals signatures from 44 countries and 44 collectives signatures from 15 different countries. I have the pleasure to invite you : - to sign the call online individually and for your organization at : http://wsf-science.org - to be involved in the process of the Forum : sent a message to subscribe to the discussion list - to participate in the brainstorming by sending your ideas, your proposals, your needs and your claims for the Social Forum science and democracy to You can have a look on the contributions sent by people in the wiki website : http://fsm-science.org/wiki Hope to meet you in this challenging and meaningful project. Best regards Frédéric Sultan VECAM _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From machleetank at gmail.com Mon Feb 18 17:28:43 2008 From: machleetank at gmail.com (Jasmeen P) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:28:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] correction for question/ answer : Blank Noise Message-ID: Hello again apologies for the wrong link in the last email. The blog post I was referring to is this: http://blog.blanknoise.org/2008/02/ask-us-rarely-asked-burning-question.html#links Thanks Jasmeen ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jasmeen P Hello *With our most recent blog post at Blank Noise we want to open a space for dialogue. * Please send in your rarely asked burning questions about Blank Noise to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com or leave it in the comments section below. New volunteers are requested to participate more so, because with the answering of questions and clearing of doubts we will be able to hopefully move forward. It is always exciting and challenging to work with volunteers from across the country because every individuals brings in his or her enthusiasm and interprets Blank Noise in a unique way. At the end 20 questions will be selected and answered right here on the blog! All questions will be shared on the blog*. * *Deadline for questions is Feb 22nd. Answers will be published in a week from the due date ** * We thank you. always! Blank Noise Team BLANK NOISE www.blog.blanknoise.org PHONE : 0091 98868 40612 - -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 - -- ph: + 91 98868 40612 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From kj.impulse at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 14:39:46 2008 From: kj.impulse at gmail.com (Kavita Joshi) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:39:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] [DFA NewsLetter] The House on Gulmohar Avenue on NDTV 24X7 In-Reply-To: <8ced26e0802180857l2566adcaj6d46ff9b185cb98f@mail.gmail.com> References: <8ced26e0802180857l2566adcaj6d46ff9b185cb98f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <821019d70802200109j2d129218v2c9ffeba01df8cc6@mail.gmail.com> NOTE: Kindly do not reply to the sender. Please mark your replies to Samina Mishra (e-id below). tks. ---------- SCREENING ANNOUNCEMENT ---------- From: Samina Mishra Date: 18 Feb 2008 22:27 Friends, The House on Gulmohar Avenue (a shorter version!) will be broadcast on NDTV 24x7's new slot Documentary 24x7. Please watch the film and let others know as well. Do also write in and send feedback for the slot to documentary24x7 at ndtv.com. Warmly, Samina THE HOUSE ON GULMOHAR AVENUE Hindustani & English with English subtitles ON NDTV 24X7 Thursday, Feb 21 / 9.30 pm Sunday, Feb 24 / 1.30 pm ABOUT THE FILM Sometimes the story of a life is the story of a search to be at home. The House on Gulmohar Avenue traces the personal journey of the filmmaker through the ideas of identity and belonging. The film is set in a part of New Delhi called Okhla, where four generations of the filmmaker's family have lived. An area that is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. An area that is sometimes also called Mini Pakistan. The filmmaker's personal history is a hybrid one but she grew up as a Muslim. Set against a quiet presence of the political context in India, the film seeks an honest and deeply personal understanding of what this means – when is she aware of being Muslim, when does it matter to her and when is it easier to forget it. In the journey to answer these difficult questions, the film seeks out encounters with other residents of Okhla to arrive at a complex understanding of what it can mean to be Muslim in India today. CREDITS Direction Samina Mishra / Camera Mrinal Desai / Editing Shan Mohammed / Location Sound S Subramanian / Music Sawan Dutta --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please DO NOT REPLY to the sender. To contact the MODERATOR: delhifilmarchive [at] gmail.com To UNSUBSCRIBE: send an email to delhifilmarchive-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com More OPTIONS are on the web: http://groups.google.com/group/delhifilmarchive WEBSITE: www.delhifilmarchive.org See the LIST OF FILMS in the Archive: http://www.delhifilmarchive.org/archive.html -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ratishn at gmail.com Tue Feb 19 00:12:55 2008 From: ratishn at gmail.com (Ratish Nanda) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:12:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Delhi Urban Arts Commission Message-ID: Dear All Some of you would have read the Indian Express report titled *'DUAC set for a new, young look'* on February 16/17 2008; for those who did not, the story is available at http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/273614.html# I write to share my angst, as a Delhi based architect, at alarming proposals for Delhi that would set the city towards self destruction AND the disrespect shown to senior professionals volunteering advice with nothing but the city's interest in mind. While being a proponent of 'Bhagidari' or partnership in governance this government has ably demonstrated its disdain for following the due process. The Delhi Urban Art Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1973to " *advise the Government of India in the matter of preserving, developing and maintaining the aesthetic quality of urban and environmental design within Delhi and to provide advice and guidance to any local body in respect of any project of building operations or engineering operations or any development proposal which affects or is like to affect the skyline or the aesthetic quality of the surroundings or any public amenity provided therein*". DUAC is non-statutory and has only an advisory role, even this is too much for our political masters to bear. It is obvious from the report that the Government of Delhi has not taken kindly on being given occasional advice by an eminent though non-statutory DUAC on the several projects that are brought to the commission for 'advice or approval'. It is also obvious from the Indian Express report that the government circular has been 'leaked' by the government in a disgraceful manner as the present DUAC headed by internationally remowned architect Charles Correa still has several months of its term yet to expire. I have interacted with some very fine officers in the government with a deep knowledge of urban issues yet their voices seem to have been similarly stamped out. Contrary to the impression the article and the anonymous source it quotes gives, the DUAC members is essentially provide a voluntary service essential in times when Delhi has been under tremendous pressure for haphazard (at best) construction and when poorly prepared proposals that would inflict irreparable damage to the historic city of Delhi at the cost several hundred crores of tax payers money. It appears that the government wishes to give a 'new young look' to the DUAC yet it is clear the government is more keen on compliant members than those whose advice really counts. With several hundred projects to screen, it is experience in urban issues that is required NOT the enthusiasm of youth. While writing this e mail I was surprised to learn from the DUAC website * http://www.duac.org/ *of the number of approvals given with ease and the simple advice offered in other situations.* *While an average Delhi resident may require over a dozen permissions to build his/her home – more so if it is sited in a special zone, the government is seemingly 'fed up' at having to take 'advice' for mega infrastructure projects such as the elevated east-west corridor – partly on the riverbed and partly at a 'five storeyed building height' and despite an over 1000 crore expected cost being proposed without any linkages to the city's urban transport network, without a Community Impact Assessment or an Environmental Impact Asssement or any of the other studies that would be considered routine in any other civilized country before an expenditure of such magnitude or a development with such an enormous aesthetic impact. Even the common man takes a second opinion in matters of health and does not trust a quack for treatment of disease yet this sense does not prevail for the health of a city we all call home. Just as a medical disease cannot be cured without proper pathological tests, urban infrastructure projects, such as the famed High Capacity Bus System, should not be designed without proper studies and planning, is that too hard for the government to accept? For many in Delhi, DUAC has not been 'aggressive enough' at dismissing 'mindless schemes' that have occasionally been proposed under political/developer pressure but does an organization set up as a result of an act of Parliament not deserve more respect by the government. Does it also not deserve to command statutory power? DUAC would not be so important if the government followed the law in spirit and not only in letter. The only way forward seems to be more citizen interest in urban affairs, I write to you to share thoughts and record my anguish, in the hope that someone, somewhere will have the ability of reminding this 'mai baap' government and its media savvy officials of their responsibility towards our city and courtesy towards its citizens – a long term vision for Delhi is needed and we need a stronger DUAC to help create it. Warm regards From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Feb 18 16:51:36 2008 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (netEX) Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:21:36 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_Call_for_entries?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3A_CologneOFF_IV_-_Here_We_Are!?= Message-ID: <20080218122136.983A31A9.D80EA052@192.168.0.3> Call for entries: Deadline: 30 June 2008 --------------------------- CologneOFF IV - 4th edition of Cologne Online Film Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org is planned to be launched in October/November 2008 under the festival theme: Here We Are! - "memory" and "identity" in an experimental context ---------------------------------------------------- Entry ---------------------------------------------------- VideoChannel - video project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org invites artists and directors for submitting videos/films, i.e. narratives and documentations (max 15 min.) experimenting with new concepts of transforming artistic contents into moving images, new forms of representing und new technologies Deadline: 30 June 2008 All entry details and the submission form can be found on netEX - networked experience http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=238 ---------------------------------------------------- About CologneOFF ---------------------------------------------------- CologneOFF - Cologne Online Film Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org was founded in 2006 by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne. He is directing and curating this new type of film & video festival taking place simultaneously online and physical space in cooperation with partner festivals The first 3 festival editions CologneOFF I - "Identityscapes" - 2006 CologneOFF II - "Image vs Music" - 2006 CologneOFF III - "Toon! Toon! - art cartoons and animates narriatives" - 2007 were presented between 2006 and 2008 in cooperation with festivals in New Dehli/India, Rotterdam/NL, Maracaibo/Venezuela, Rosario/Argentina, Lyon/France, Belgrade/Serbia, Szeczin/Poland, Brussels/Belgium, Istanbul/Turkey, Guadalajara/Mexico, and yet to come in 2008 Athens/Greece, Sarajevo/Bosnia-Hercegovia and Valencia/Spain and others More info on http://coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------- This call is released by netEX - networked experience http://www.nmartproject.net/netex . _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From chad.chowbey at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 23:05:49 2008 From: chad.chowbey at gmail.com (Chad Chowbey) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:05:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Delhi Urban Arts Commission In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, We may, or may not, have registered Ratish's anguish. He writes, in the last paragraph, "The only way forward seems to be more citizen interest in urban affairs". In the same sentence in which he records his anguish, he also writes this phrase: "in the hope that someone, somewhere will have the ability..." I do not want to complete this quote as it exists in Ratish's writing. I bring your attention to two phrases: "more citizen interest in urban affairs" vs "in the hope that someone, somewhere will have the ability..." Here is material for thought. "only way forward" vs "in the hope"; "more citizen interest" vs "someone, somewhere"; "urban affairs" vs "will have the ability...". I would request Ratish to define "ability" here. I request a discussion on this figure of the 'citizen' Ratish has appealed to, indeed on the horizon that the phrase 'more citizen interest' opens up . I am sure, because I have been an invisible reader, the reader list has already discussed this issue threadbare. My point here is: even so, the ambiguities in Ratish's write-up (last para) shows there is more to be understood, shared. This is certainly a debate that can be re-opened, or re-visited. For one reason: there is the citizen. And then there is the someone, somewhere. with respect, chad chowbey On 2/19/08, Ratish Nanda wrote: > > Dear All > > > > Some of you would have read the Indian Express report titled *'DUAC set > for > a new, young look'* on February 16/17 2008; for those who did not, the > story > is available at http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/273614.html# > > > > I write to share my angst, as a Delhi based architect, at alarming > proposals > for Delhi that would set the city towards self destruction AND the > disrespect shown to senior professionals volunteering advice with nothing > but the city's interest in mind. While being a proponent of 'Bhagidari' or > partnership in governance this government has ably demonstrated its > disdain > for following the due process. > > > > The Delhi Urban Art Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament in > 1973to " > *advise the Government of India in the matter of preserving, developing > and > maintaining the aesthetic quality of urban and environmental design within > Delhi and to provide advice and guidance to any local body in respect of > any > project of building operations or engineering operations or any > development > proposal which affects or is like to affect the skyline or the aesthetic > quality of the surroundings or any public amenity provided therein*". DUAC > is non-statutory and has only an advisory role, even this is too much for > our political masters to bear. > > > > It is obvious from the report that the Government of Delhi has not taken > kindly on being given occasional advice by an eminent though non-statutory > DUAC on the several projects that are brought to the commission for > 'advice > or approval'. It is also obvious from the Indian Express report that > the government circular has been 'leaked' by the government in a > disgraceful > manner as the present DUAC headed by internationally remowned architect > Charles Correa still has several months of its term yet to expire. I have > interacted with some very fine officers in the government with a deep > knowledge of urban issues yet their voices seem to have been similarly > stamped out. > > > > Contrary to the impression the article and the anonymous source it quotes > gives, the DUAC members is essentially provide a voluntary service > essential > in times when Delhi has been under tremendous pressure for haphazard (at > best) construction and when poorly prepared proposals that would inflict > irreparable damage to the historic city of Delhi at the cost several > hundred > crores of tax payers money. It appears that the government wishes to give > a > 'new young look' to the DUAC yet it is clear the government is more keen > on > compliant members than those whose advice really counts. With several > hundred projects to screen, it is experience in urban issues that is > required NOT the enthusiasm of youth. > > > > While writing this e mail I was surprised to learn from the DUAC website * > http://www.duac.org/ *of the number of approvals given with ease and the > simple advice offered in other situations.* *While an average Delhi > resident > may require over a dozen permissions to build his/her home – more so if it > is sited in a special zone, the government is seemingly 'fed up' at having > to take 'advice' for mega infrastructure projects such as the elevated > east-west corridor – partly on the riverbed and partly at a 'five storeyed > building height' and despite an over 1000 crore expected cost being > proposed > without any linkages to the city's urban transport network, without a > Community Impact Assessment or an Environmental Impact Asssement or any of > the other studies that would be considered routine in any other civilized > country before an expenditure of such magnitude or a development with such > an enormous aesthetic impact. > > > > Even the common man takes a second opinion in matters of health and does > not > trust a quack for treatment of disease yet this sense does not prevail for > the health of a city we all call home. Just as a medical disease cannot be > cured without proper pathological tests, urban infrastructure projects, > such > as the famed High Capacity Bus System, should not be designed without > proper > studies and planning, is that too hard for the government to accept? > > > > For many in Delhi, DUAC has not been 'aggressive enough' at dismissing > 'mindless schemes' that have occasionally been proposed under > political/developer pressure but does an organization set up as a result > of > an act of Parliament not deserve more respect by the government. Does it > also not deserve to command statutory power? DUAC would not be so > important > if the government followed the law in spirit and not only in letter. > > > > The only way forward seems to be more citizen interest in urban affairs, I > write to you to share thoughts and record my anguish, in the hope that > someone, somewhere will have the ability of reminding this 'mai baap' > government and its media savvy officials of their responsibility towards > our > city and courtesy towards its citizens – a long term vision for Delhi is > needed and we need a stronger DUAC to help create it. > > > > Warm regards > _________________________________________ > 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 mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 23:17:11 2008 From: mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com (mahmood farooqui) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:17:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why say no to Kitab festival Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dan Husain Date: 19 Feb 2008 20:36 Subject: Kitab 2007 To: Mahmood Farooqui , Ambarish Satwik Date: Mon, Feb 18 2008 1:40 pm From: "peter griffin" Passing this through from a friend who is one of the signatories. And I can vouch for the very different treatment of the Brits as compared to the Indians, having seen it first hand. Don't take my word for it; it was also written about in the media. ==== We, the organisers of Kitab 2007, write to you in order to inform of the unprofessional practices of our employer, the owner of Liberatum, organizer of Kitab, Pablo Ganguli. We write to register our protest against his actions, to demand that he resolve his outstanding dues, and to urge you to all to consider these factors before lending support to Kitab 2008. > Some of our main concerns are listed below > > 1. Kitab 2008 is poised to take place next week, yet we are still owed > thousands of pounds in salary and expenses from the last event. We have been > communicating with Pablo for the past 12 months, requesting our full > salaries, to no avail. We also paid for expenses out of our pocket, and to > date have not received all this money back. > > 2. In emails and draft programmes sent to staff, invitees, and potential > sponsors, Pablo was misleading about those participating in the festival. > This indirectly compromised the integrity of those working on the project, > who passed on false information to potential guests and sponsors. > > 3. The bias that he showed towards the British guests over the Indian > guests made it difficult for us to hold an inclusive and relevant festival, > and to give all our participants the respect they deserved. British guests > were given top priority for all VIP events. Indian guests who were not > already based in Bombay were discouraged from being invited. Transport and > accommodation was offered to guests from the UK, whereas guests flying in > from other parts of India were not offered the same facilities. *This bias > was also noted and pointed out by many of the invitees and participants*. > > 4. Pablo's frequent unavailability, both physical and via telephone, > notably in the week preceding the festival, during the event itself, and > afterwards. A refusal to take responsibility for problems often left us to > pick up the pieces. An example of this being taking a holiday in Goa > immediately after the festival without informing any of the staff. We were > left to make outstanding payments out of our own pockets, as Pablo's > reassigning of allocated funds without consultation led to sponsorship money > falling short. > > 5. Overt emphasis on self PR over interest in the content, ideology or > logistics of the festival. Evidenced further by the fact that Pablo Ganguli > referred to himself as a Cultural Impressario in the media and gave the > impression that the festival was a one man show. The disproportionate > emphasis on PR hindered the progress of an already severely understaffed > team by not allowing staff to work as a team. > > > 6. Despite requests to the contrary, Pablo maintained secrecy, discouraged > cooperation, and encouraged a segregation of duties amongst us, including > the separation of Indian and UK participants, so we had to trust him, at the > helm, to keep us abreast of relevant information. He completely failed to do > this. There was also unfounded vilification of staff's hard work. > > 7. We were initially told that we would be given accommodation in Bombay > in the months leading up to the festival (since none of us were based > there). However, we were unable even to visit the city that the festival > was taking place in, unless it was on our own expense, to the detriment of > the event. > > To sum up, we feel that we were misled by Pablo Ganguli and are very > disappointed by his behaviour prior to, during, and subsequent to the > festival. We urge you to express your disapproval for this unjust behaviour; > to email Pablo on the address above and not to lend your support to Kitab > 2008. > > Lastly, we would like to apologise to all the participants who were also > left inconvenienced and disappointed by Kitab 2007 - those who were > cancelled on at the last minute, those that were misled, and those who were > given lower priorities than their British counterparts - and we assure you > that we expressed our concerns about all these factors throughout. > > Sincerely > > Kavita Bhanot (bhanot.kavita at gmail.com) > Ayesha Siddiqi (ayeshaemail at gmail.com) > Shazia Nizam (shazia at presstopcreatives.com) > ============================================================================== - -- Dan's Blogs http://shamethepoem.blogspot.com http://proseonama.blogspot.com http://dastangoi.blogspot.com http://writersagainstterrorism.blogspot.com http://www.kafila.org http://www.caferati.com http://cookingcinema.blogspot.com From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Wed Feb 20 23:55:11 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:55:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Latest from Kashmir Herald..... Message-ID: <6353c690802201025g1a19799et70c8e7fc2c1fb392@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lalit Koul Date: Feb 20, 2008 7:57 PM *Kashmir: The Autumn of the Jihad? * *Kashmir's Jamaat-e-Islami is beginning to undo its two decades-old hijacking by the jihadist agenda. PRAVEEN SWAMI *http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=357 *Opportunity of Heaven – Lost in Exile KAMAL HAK* http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=356 *The Expanding Jihad KANCHAN LAKSHMAN * http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=355 *Respite from a Proxy War KANCHAN LAKSHMAN * http://www.kashmirherald.com/main.php?t=OP&st=D&no=354 Regards Lalit Koul MA, USA *"Footprints on the sands of time are not made by sitting down."* - ------------------------------ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages ************************************************** Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the persons posting the mail and not of the Owner/Moderator of this YahooGroup. Members of this group continue to remain members of this group of their own will. Anyone who wishes to unsubscribe from this group can do so by sending an email to KPNetwork-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com email id. ************************************************** Websites : http://iKashmir.org : http://PanunKashmir.org Symbol Links : http://www.geocities.com/sopori/kashmir.html : http://www.geocities.com/sopori/index.html Postings : KPNetwork at yahoogroups.com Unsubscriptions: KPNetwork-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Other queries : KPNetwork-owner at yahoogroups.com Group URL : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KPNetwork ************************************************** [image: Yahoo! Groups] Change settings via the Web(Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest| Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity - 2 New Members Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Y! Messenger Files to share? Send up to 1GB of files in an IM. Yahoo! Groups Lawn & Garden ideas and tips for a green thumb. . __,_._,___ From naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com Thu Feb 21 09:26:30 2008 From: naeem.mohaiemen at gmail.com (Naeem Mohaiemen) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:56:30 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Amitav Ghosh Dhaka Reading Schedule Message-ID: Friday February 22 10:30 a.m Talk by Amitav Ghosh Of Fanaas and Forecastles: The Indian Ocean and a Lost Language of the Age of Sail Independent University, Bangladesh House 6, Road 13, Baridhara (open to all) Saturday February 23 10 a.m. Amitav Ghosh will read from The Glass Palace University of Dhaka, R. C. Majumdar Auditorium Faculty of Arts 6 p.m. Reception and Readings hosted by The Reading Circle at Words 'n Pages 125 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 2 From apnawritings at yahoo.co.in Thu Feb 21 14:39:52 2008 From: apnawritings at yahoo.co.in (ARNAB CHATTERJEE) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:09:52 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] Theoretical Correctness : From Habermas to Leslie Green In-Reply-To: <2C55C4DC-B56E-4517-891C-C107D341AF2C@sarai.net> Message-ID: <801488.32494.qm@web8509.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear Shuddha and others, Your question in resonse to my Beyond : Taslima's mimesis and feminist Theory(what on earth is 'theoretically incorrect'? Can theory be 'correct' or 'incorrect'?) is intriguing, interesting and enabling enough so much so that I might just begin by a provocative counter question: if all theories are correct and no theory is incorrect or false, then the theory of error itself is erroneous and so on and so forth. In fact you are not keen to recognize that the theory of truth itself might not be true. When we argue we are actually into debating this contrary correctness and determined by the “force of the better argument” often there could be just one true correct answer. This apart there are a few didactic ruses for me by which my usage, purposively, could be meant : I’ll urge that the current assumptions in sexual harassment discourse -- in which tactile sense data of touching and the question of sexual feeling is absolutely expelled or rooted out ( except the revolting feeling ( feeling still) of the respondent) to make a normative point, be contrasted with the theoretical discussion of feeling and here I give a precise reference instead of just citing a high sounding phrase like "phenomenology of feeling" in understanding sexual commitment in groping behaviour in public places. I will primarily refer to this text by CS Pierce http://www.textlog.de/4298.html and request the readers to inquire why the feminist discussion of sexual violence ( or sexual ethics) bypasses several theoretical-and philosophical objections—even schools in order to engage in what is known as ‘feminist reductionisms.” Avoidance of this deep, inward critique is more visible in newspaper articles : have a look at that and you’ll understand what is gender, caste or class sensitive but theoretically incorrect and incoherent standpoint. A theoretically correct standpoint can take all challenges, it doesn’t take recourse to cunning or makes practical excuses. Leslie Green similarly talks about Dworkin and Mackinnon et. al for making such theoretically incorrect arguments to ban pornography in Canada; but even though theoretically incorrect, they were practically enough and who knows –socially required too. Today’s feminisms are full of such vacuous muscle flexing. Now, to the main point : what on earth is “theoretical correctness?” There is a huge literature on all of this so I’ll be limited and sketchy for the time being but promise more if required. Let me tell you my source first : I owe much to Habermas when I use this phrase; owe but with a difference. Today I shall state this while not going into the details of my adoption with qualification. We can start with an offhand approach by taking theoretical correctness in scientific ( or empirico analytic) discourses. There a theory is incorrect if the axioms it proposes is invalidated say—in experiments or other forms of self -referential ‘methodological’ moorings peculiar to science. In other forms of human ( historical-hermeneutic) sciences, the question of theoretical correctness has been debated for the last 200 years or so. But to ease this trouble let us take a simple approach. Marx himself never believed that all theories could be equally true or correct or otherwise he would not have laid emphasis on practical-critical sensuous activity where theory has to prove itself and vice versa. But these are old debates and Shuddha and all others are well aware of this; my point here is to hint at the availability of the option of true theory in older discourses also. So there you have the precursors. In between you can throw in the fact that theory consistently has been held to have been generating or relying upon abstract universals ( supposedly immune to interests) while practice is concrete, particular and interested. Much of this has been refuted. But what has not been refuted is that truth is simply not discursive : that we sit and talk and come to a consensus that this is true and it becomes true. There are statements or propositions which are true or false. There are such things as true, false, right, good and correct.There is an internal justification that is necessary other than an external one. Starting from this assumption and using Habermas’s insights, we can make a clear departure here. The erstwhile discourse of practice didn’t admit of truth or correctness (I’m overriding for simplicity’s sake the little hiatus of levels between declarative claim to truth and the normative claim to correctness—as in late Habermas.). For example that women should go out and vote or wear a particular sign when they are married or who will love whom was not considered akin to statements that could be true or false. But the moment the feminists started debating these rules, norms, or customs—it could be said that the question of correctness was brought about in the realm of practice through their argumentation. That social norms could be debated for their validity claims has been emphatically made by Habermas. Why child marriage should be shunned became a matter of argumentative justification and thus particular norms or customs were not simply in-appropriate, they were incorrect. “Practical questions admit of truth ..and correct norms must be capable of being grounded in a way similar to true statements.” Validity involves a notion of correctness analogous to the idea of truth. And this applies to all those harassment norms, groping forms and all that we were discussing. And if there is a debate ( moreover if they are to be justified) then it must be intersubjectively validated, agreed? Now, to examine a validity claim in a discourse, one stops conveying information or experiences from the empirical standpoint ( i.e., variety in difference), and brackets or suspends all judgment to examine a problematised validity claim. This is extrication from all claims to action or practical rationality and is absolutely self reflexive or theoretical. A “critique of knowledge” is the aim of theoretical discourse; “political will formation “ is the aim of practical discourse. Therefore, it is easy and obvious now : what is politically incorrect may be theoretically correct and what is theoretically incorrect may be politically correct. Let me try to explain this a bit. And this though I first wrote as a post edit article in Anandabazar Patrika in 2000, I still hold that point as unrefuted. Consider the anti harassment legislation initiated by the Supreme Court which it calls ‘norms’ and must be instituted in all offices. It catalogues a list of ‘unwelcome sexual behaviour’which ranges from sexual propositions to showing pornography and so and so forth. My question was, why don’t they give a list of welcome sexual behaviour, all men/women will act accordingly and there will be no problems. But everybody knows that that is ridiculous. Hence if you cannot bring that list, how come you bring the list of unwelcome sexual behaviour and catalogue hilarious items? If sexual propositioning in workplace is harassment, then where there are so called ‘sex workers’ -who are looking forward and waiting badly for those sexual propositions, what will happen to the norm?. Sexual harassment in workplace is ridiculous when sex itself is work. But couldn’t the sex workers be harassed ? Ofcourse, but there the harassment has to be non sexual in order to be outside of work ( like sex here is considered external to work in office). For them there will be a separate list I guess. But my central tendency was theoretically considered such lists are not possible. In this, I remember having phoned Partha Chatterjee- when I was writing this article and I did include his point in the article. He simply discouraged me by saying that there is less use of theoretical objections here; a consensus is assumed and such norms should be put in place as protection -- is also warranted; it is practically useful. There was nothing for me not to agree. I’ll argue today—after seven years since that article, in the domain of ordinary discourse feminist claims are still made in the context of everyday life, but are not allowed to be problematised. Correctness here is in accordance with the rules. The call for argumentative justification is overruled in favour of moral, practical or political propriety. Let me tell you that I don’t doubt the strategic essentiality in all this but reiterate again as above that what is practically useful or politically correct may not be theoretically correct too. We have to live with this disjunction like people live with gonorrhea or AIDS. And this is why I use and often use ‘theoretical correctness ( in the sense of truth)’, and I only hope Shuddha now onwards will use that too. Finally an exemplary reference : Leslie Green—one of the greatest legal ( and social ) philosophers of our time and now a philosopher of law at Oxford has deployed the phrase theoretical correctness while he talks in this mode , “the central theoretical error thus lies etc .” [ Leslie Green, Sexuality, Authenticity, and Modernity, Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 8(1), January 1995, p.80]. I consider Leslie ( who is equally outspoken about “feminist reductionisms”) one of my abstract gurus, so if Shuddha goes to Leslie with this--- a bit sly entreaty, “What on earth is theoretical error?” I’m sure Leslie will give a far better answer. Till then Arnab Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now, on http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/ From joproductions at yahoo.com Wed Feb 20 15:08:52 2008 From: joproductions at yahoo.com (sanjay joshi) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:38:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] THIRD GORAKHPUR FILM FESTIVAL 2008 - February 23 to 26, 2008, Gorakhpur, UP Message-ID: <118288.44644.qm@web51809.mail.re2.yahoo.com> In memory of Trilochan and Qurratulain Hyder Jan Sanskriti Manch and Gorakhpur Film Society -'Expression' Cordially Invite you to THIRD GORAKHPUR FILM FESTIVAL 2008 Cinema of Resistance Central Theme: Sixty Years of Division and Displacements On February 23 to 26, 2008, At Samvad Bhavan, Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Guest of the Festival: Mr MS Sathyu Inaugural Film: Garam Hawa All are Welcome, no entry fee Main highlights of the festival: 1. Screening of films like Garam Hawa, Subranarekha, Nandigram – The Land is Mine, Naseem, The Kid, Choori (Iranian film), Halo, Jahaji Music etc 2. 'Natak Jaari Hai' – a play by Yugmanch, Nainital 3. Folk songs and dances of Uttarakhand by Yugmanch, Nainital 4. Kaabya Sandhya – a poetry reading session by some renowned poets 5. Kabir Songs by Kabir Gayan Mandali from Devas, Madhya Pradesh) 6. Interaction with film eminent film directors like MS Sathyu, Biju Toppo, Surabhi Sharma, Ajay Bharadwaj etc. For complete programme schedule –Please check in: http://gorakhpurfilmfestival.blogspot.com/ You can send your contribution through demand draft/ cheque (preferably a demand draft) to Expression payable at Gorakhpur or directly give it to me in cash/cheque. For depositing cash please use following account no. No. 30008505658 in favour of Sanjay Joshi, SBI,Vasundhara Branch, Ghaziabad. Please forward this appeal to your friends and like minded people and contribute with your valuable suggestions to make this cultural movement more effective and meaningful. With warm regards, Sanjay Joshi Convener 3rd Gorakhpur Film Festival Contact Address: C- 303 Jansatta Apartments, Sector 9, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad-201012 9811577426, 0120-2885017 E mail id: gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com, joproductions at gmail.com Expression address: Shri Manoj Singh Convener, Expression 216 K, Ashok Nagar, Gorakhpur, India - 273003 Mobile:9415282206 Email id: gorakhpurkafilmfestival at gmail.com mk_12 at rediffmail.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From shalini_cancer at yahoo.com Thu Feb 21 16:53:15 2008 From: shalini_cancer at yahoo.com (Shalini Venugopal) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:23:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: <406846.4088.qm@web54407.mail.yahoo.com> Hi, I'm doing some research on the Commonwealth Games Village that's being constructed on the floodplains of the Yamuna. Does anyone on the list know how I can get in touch with Manoj Mishra, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan and Rajendra Singh, Tarun Bharat Sangh. Phone numbers or email ids will be much appreciated. Thanks a lot! Regards, Shalini Venugopal --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. From elkamath at yahoo.com Thu Feb 21 17:52:47 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:22:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Gates foundation again, this time facing fire wrt its green revoln program in africa Message-ID: <325880.33974.qm@web53604.mail.re2.yahoo.com> As a follow up to the last post on the wide-ranging influence of the Gates Foundation, this article focuses on Gates and Rockefeller foundations efforts to forge a green revolution in Africa. Critics fault the program as a trojan horse to promote the fertilizer-pesticide-GM seed lobbies. Whats also of interest is that doubts about the program's efficacy are based in large part on problems in implementation in india... Business Daily Africa http://www.bdafrica.com:80/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5936&Itemid=5811 Written by Wanjiru Waithaka February 18, 2008: Agriculture experts have criticised a programme seeking to restore soil fertility in Kenya and other African countries, saying that similar programmes implemented in India and elsewhere aggravated farmer's problems instead of providing solutions. At stake is the future of the continent's agricultural practices —what is grown, how it is grown, who gets to grow it, who processes it, who sells it and where and how much the African consumer will pay. The programme is an initiative of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), which recently announced that it was committing $180 million to the five-year project in 13 African countries. Agra's soil health programme is targeted at small scale farmers and aims to increase farm yields and incomes by giving farmers seeds and inputs such as fertilizers through licensed agro-dealers. The Sh12.6 billion grant has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Sh11.55 billion) and the Rockefeller Foundation (Sh1.05 billion). Kenya's pilot project started last year and farmers have been receiving a Sh6,000 voucher from the Government enabling them to acquire various farm inputs like seeds, fertilisers, stock borer dust and post-harvest pesticides. Agro-dealers in major towns are being trained on how to handle farmers and supported financially to have enough stocks to ensure farmers have adequate supply. 8,000 farmers in 10 districts across the country, mainly in Western Kenya are currently signed up. In Chuka and Runyenjes, the programme is being made sustainable by compelling farmers to give to the village programme coordinator about five bags of the harvest, which is collectively sold and used to buy inputs for the next planting season. In western Kenya, farmers who meet every day or the last day of the week to discuss farming issues also deposit about Sh10 per day each. The money is deposited with an agro-dealer and used to purchase inputs when the planting season arrives. Critics, however say that Agra's programmes are a Trojan horse for genetically modified seeds which in Africa have only been fully embraced by South Africa. Although popular in many regions of the world GMO use in Africa has been hindered by safety concerns and regulatory issues even though the continent is in dire need of boosting its food production. Agra has also been accused of fronting for seed and fertilizer companies in the West such as Syngenta and Monsanto that are hungry to take a slice of the African seed market. "Although Agra does not on the face of it promote the use of GM technologies, 70 organisations from 12 African countries see Agra as shifting African agriculture to a system dependent on expensive, harmful chemicals, monocultures of hybrid seeds, and ultimately GMOs," says the African Centre for Biosafety in a paper authored by Mariam Mayet. "These groups argue that the Green Revolution under the guise of solving hunger in Africa is nothing more than a push for a parasitic corporate-controlled chemical system of agriculture that will feed on Africa's rich biodiversity," she says. These concerns were also echoed by participants from 25 countries representing farmers, agricultural and pastoralist organisations at a forum held in Mali from November 25 to December 2 last year to discuss the pitfalls of Green Revolution in Africa. "Once the mask of philanthropy is removed, we find profit-hungry corporations vying to control the seed market in African countries, create a path for genetically modified seeds and foods and to pry open a market for chemical fertilizers—which in turn will have an adverse effect on African indigenous seed populations and destroy bio-diversity, not to mention the devastation of the environment and the salination of the soil," said Mukoma wa Ngugi, co-editor of Pambazuka News in a recent commentary in Business Daily. Agra's programme has been likened to Monsato's "Seeds of Hope Campaign" in South Africa. The company which has a strong foothold in South Africa's seed industry introduced 'Combi-Packs' containing hybrid maize seed, some fertilizer, and some herbicide. The company also promotes 'no or low till farming' meant to meant to be a minimally invasive conservation farming technique, in that farmers do not plough or till the land. Instead, they cut small furrows for the seeds. This farming practice entails negligible soil disturbance, maintenance of a permanent vegetative soil cover, direct sowing, and sound crop rotation and is particularly beneficial for smallholder farmers, because there is no need to use a tractor, a major cost saving. However, using this technique requires the increased use of herbicides, since weeds are not removed by tilling the land, and Monsanto is therefore a fervent supporter of this technique says Ms Mayet. "Several studies have shown that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide is a threat to human health; not only a hormone-disruptor, but is also associated with birth defects in humans," she says. In most areas these packs are sold through private agents. They are substantially more expensive than conventional seed and usually subsidized meaning that withdrawal of state support will leave poor farmers out in the cold, in a replica of the first Green Revolution in India in the 1960s. Dr. Namanga Ngongi, Agra's president, says comparing Agra's programmes with those of Monsanto in South Africa is a mistaken view of Agra. "Agra's seed programme is firmly rooted in conventional breeding and the use of Africa's rich agro-biodiversity. We will use indigenous crop varieties that are adapted to the various agro-ecological zones of the continent," he says. "Green revolution" was first coined in 1968 to describe the success in increasing yields in wheat, maize and rice in India and Southeast Asia. The essential features of that model comprised of a technology package involving the use of external inputs such as inorganic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, laboratory developed hybrid seeds, mechanisation and extensive irrigation projects. The Rockerfeller Foundation which is also financing Agra played a crucial role in promoting this technology package that also formed the basis of agriculture development aid and assistance at that time. "These varieties only produced the desired 'high yielding' results if there was irrigation, mechanisation, and plenty of chemical fertilisers (the real key) and pesticides," says Grain, an international non-governmental organisation which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge. Under the programme, India increased its wheat production ten-fold and its rice production three-fold. But the country paid a heavy price. "The use of large amounts of water, fertilisers and chemical pesticides impoverished soils, leaving them less fertile and highly polluted," says Grain in a paper titled 'A new Green Revolution for Africa?' Local biodiversity was drastically reduced, bringing farmers under the dependence of pesticide manufacturers and outside seed suppliers. "The profound cultural and economic changes wrought by the Green Revolution produced a massive rural exodus, and, with it, a profound loss of traditional knowledge and skills. For most farmers, any early profits were soon converted into debts, with many farmers, unable to repay their debts, taking their own lives," says the NGO. Dr. Ngongi disagrees with this assessment of Asia's green revolution. "Asia's green revolution saved many millions of lives and contributed immensely to the dynamic economic performance of Asian countries. Yes, it also had some negative impact on small-scale farmers and on the environment. However, the positives greatly outweighed the negatives," he says adding that an African green revolution has the advantage of learning from the errors that were committed when Asia was launching its green revolution. Dr Ngongi says that misuse of fertilizers, improper and uncontrolled use of water, the construction of huge dams, and the concentration on breeding a few miracle varieties of a few crops are now well understood and will not be repeated. "Agra's approach is to work with national institutions, in both public and private sector in close partnership with farmers, especially small-scale farmers, most of whom are women, to resolve problems that have a negative impact on farmers' productivity and incomes," he says. _______________________________________________ DEBATE mailing list DEBATE at debate.kabissa.org http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping From abshi at vsnl.com Thu Feb 21 18:34:42 2008 From: abshi at vsnl.com (abshi at vsnl.com) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:04:42 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Vagina Monologues - A TISS Campus Production Message-ID: Dear All, Students are performing The Vagina Monologues - if you can make it do come. Please also forward it to friends and anyone who might be interested. And also on your lists. Shilpa V-DAY Tata Institute of Social Sciences IS COMING! V-Day Tata Institute of Social Sciences 2008 A Production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues As Part of the 2008 V-Day Campaign · · · · Join us as we celebrate V-Day's Ten Year Anniversary, raise awareness and end violence against women TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY! at the Convention Center on March 1st and 2nd, 2008 · · · · Who: Tata Institute of Social Sciences Centre for Women's Studies What: V-Day Tata Institute of Social Sciences 2008, a benefit production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, raising funds for SNEHA, Centre for Vulnerable Women and Children (CVWC) Where: Convention Centre, Naoroji Campus (New Campus), Tata Institute of Social Sciences Deonar, Chembur, Mumbai – 400 088 When: Saturday March 1st at 6:45 p.m. and Sunday March 2nd at 6:45 p.m. Admission: Minimum contribution of 50 Rupees/student and 150 Rupees/other. Contact: Mithika-9970017130 or Karuna 9820589960 Goal: To raise awareness to stop violence against women and girls and funds for our beneficiaries – SNEHA, Centre for Vulnerable Women and Children (CVWC) Sponsored by: Tata Institute of Social Sciences Centre for Women's Studies ______________________________________________________________________ About V-Day V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler's award winning play The Vagina Monologues. 2008 marks V-Day's 10 year anniversary and with it V-Day has introduced two new events, V-Day's A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer: Writings on Violence Against Women and Girls, and the V-Day documentary Until The Violence Stops. In 2007, more than 3000 V-Day events took place in the U.S. and around the world. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $50 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina. http://www.vday.org What is a V-Day Campaign? A V-Day Campaign is a catalyst for mobilizing women and men to heighten awareness about violence against women and girls. By creating this global community, V-Day strives to empower women to find their collective voices and demand an end to the violence that affects one in three women in the US and around the world. From theunderscoredhood at gmail.com Thu Feb 21 22:46:59 2008 From: theunderscoredhood at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:46:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama Message-ID: Not just because of this, but also because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ Best, Raheema. -- labels- http://whosebody.wordpress.com Kauntext- http://raahi.wordpress.com One State Solution- http://onestatesolution.wordpress.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 'On the just and unjust alike it doth rain, and the quality of mercy is not strained.' From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Feb 21 23:28:26 2008 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:28:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Theoretical Correctness : From Habermas to Leslie Green In-Reply-To: <801488.32494.qm@web8509.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <2C55C4DC-B56E-4517-891C-C107D341AF2C@sarai.net> <801488.32494.qm@web8509.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70802210958y6172e695gb132f53fbfebc5a7@mail.gmail.com> Tnor can we gain knowledge of any feeling by introspection, the feeling being completely veiled from introspection, for the very reason that it is our immediate consciousness. Possibly this curious truth was what Emerson was trying to grasp — but if so, pretty unsuccessfully — when he wrote the lines, The old Sphinx bit her thick lip — Said, »Who taught thee me to name? I am thy spirit, yoke-fellow, Of thine eye I am eyebeam. »Thou art the unanswered question; Couldst see thy proper eye, Always it asketh, asketh; And each answer is a lie.« ) Needless to say that Aranab is truly a Muse on the List, and Vivek has all the reasons to agree with and celebrate. Today is a Language day, and today, after reading your piece 'on feelings', i believe a lot of people ( muses ) on the list would agree that to say a thing one needs a little more than a good arrangement of words…. So influenced, that I want to write a poem to talk further on that, but that too happens, it may happen or not, who knows. And even if it happens, it may be less than a simple prose piece. What to do ? Given the nature of complexity, it is not surprising that 'muses' always try to find it difficult to put full stop on their outbursts. On the contrary, some one who is less than a muse, always finds it easy to put the thought in words, crisply, usually to a lethal effect. But who is less than a Muse ? None again. I see from my balcony, domestic sparrows and crows driving away colourful birds and koels, which often irritates me, but I then educate my choices. As one can see, I am theoretically correct, but politically incorrect. Who is theoretically 'a not-muse' None. But I have found the art of living with paradoxes and so may be I am wrong, but who really cares about the truth. Not only Arnab but there is a river of text in the world that speaks about the non-existence of truth, and yet that truth…. In fact it must be there simply, but as we know, we don't have the necessary tools at our disposal to convey it accurately. We are simply without the absolute. But to say that even, Peirce rightly uses the expression , 'pretty unsuccessfully' while quoting a gem like Emerson stanza. If I the essay by Arnab has that quality of bringing theatre closer to philosophy, as we see how Derrida while talking about deconstruction as performativity, then then it becomes a little easier than otherwise. First I quote : Deconstruction is a theory that posits that signifiers and signifieds are continually breaking apart and reattaching in new combinations, indeed there is no fixed distinction between signifier and signified. The deconstruction process is not only infinite but also somehow circular. Signified keeps transforming into sigfnifiers and vice versa, and you never arrive at a final sign that is not a signifier itself. Deconstruction is not simply a strategic reversal of categories. Deconstruction is an attempt to dismantle the logic by which a particular system of thought is grounded as well as how a whole system of political situation and social control maintains its force. Deconstruction is a theme of the absent centre. The post-modern experience is widely held to stem from a profound sense of ontological uncertainty. For Judith Butler performative is understood as a stylized repetition of acts that like Derridian citation—" always a reiteration of a norm or set of norms, which means that the act that one does , the act that one performs it, in a sense, an act that has been going on before one arrived on the scene.So in that sense, we are condemned to repeat to say and act what has been going on before we arrived on the scene. We can say ' theoritically incorrect' as well, because it was uttered before as well, and only some performativity can mix its theory and practice together, to unleash that unpridictable....Thus what was not uttered too can get its wings to contribute to " The Architecture of Deconstruction" Here, I am writing all this, not because people don't know, but to repeat, and repeat it like a performance, to see it again, to realize it again. I shall do it again, and that I guess is the job of a reasonable muse. I am trying to be one. In the above quoted passage from Derrida, there is a phrase ' ontological uncertainty'. I hope Arnab can give us more on that than I can….. I remember, that how surrealists once used a term ' critical paranoia: a state of mind that brings madness closer to consciousness without falling into its abyss. So, I guess one has to keep on talking about all the interesting things and also uninteresting things. We really don't know how to decipher the ontology of our uncertainties. They were not uncertainties in the first place if we know them, and that is why I am not even writing about that . For example, the debate on sexuality which Aranab initiated around a post on Taslima. I once read a line " Sexuality is not innate but a product " and I thought that I know enough about the word sexuality and its politics etc, but from feminist readings I am too narrowly positioned on the discourse on sexuality. Similarly about politics, I looks it is dead, but it is not. May I am dead or may be not kind of thing… The question is really about 'the present' which encompasses all the thought in one go, which somehow ejects out our beings from the tightly held structures, not only of languages, but other contrived corridors of thinking. We can move from written word to oral and come back to photography. From there we can move to painting, and then do some theatre. From there we can reflect a piece on the Sarai reader list, and wash our socks. Then go to bazaar to buy some vegetables and pay the telephone bill. The list is long, as long as life itself, and that is how it is…. Before, coming back to Taslima, I think of Teesta. When I heard about Teesta, I got a carpenter's call who had this Pakeeza ringtone in a mobile. Inhee Logoon nay… sipayan say poocho, jis nay bazarya mein cheena dupta mera. ( These are the people who snatched my head scarf… Don't ask me, ask the policeman who snatched my headscarf in the market ) song of a prostitute in the film. Some one is there who provoked CJI, otherwise a lot of such stuff gets published in the country. That is that, but the fact has come to the fore, that the law can not compromise on the dissent when it comes to direct criticism of law itself. That is the message. Now if someone questions about the delayed justice in India, or about the millions of pending cases then what will be his excuse, except that judiciary is structurally inadequate and only some quick governmental remedy can save the judiciary from committing mistakes unwittingly. Some 17 or 18 years back I read in newspaper that how an under trail threw his shit ( ) on the face of a judge because he was poor and was languishing in jail for years. His name was Rakesh. I had that paper cutting preserved somewhere, I must find it. That was performance. What do you think? With love and regards indersalim On Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 2:39 PM, ARNAB CHATTERJEE wrote: > > > Dear Shuddha and others, > Your question in > resonse to my Beyond : Taslima's mimesis and feminist > Theory(what on earth is 'theoretically incorrect'? > Can theory be 'correct' or 'incorrect'?) is > intriguing, interesting and enabling enough so much > so that I might just begin by a provocative counter > question: if all theories are correct and no theory > is incorrect or false, then the theory of error > itself is erroneous and so on and so forth. In fact > you are not keen to recognize that the theory of truth > itself might not be true. When we argue we are > actually into debating this contrary correctness and > determined by the "force of the better argument" often > there could be just one true correct answer. This > apart there are a few didactic ruses for me by which > my usage, purposively, could be meant : I'll urge that > the current assumptions in sexual harassment > discourse -- in which tactile sense data of touching > and the question of sexual feeling is absolutely > expelled or rooted out ( except the revolting feeling > ( feeling still) of the respondent) to make a > normative point, be contrasted with the theoretical > discussion of feeling and here I give a precise > reference instead of just citing a high sounding > phrase like "phenomenology of feeling" in > understanding sexual commitment in groping behaviour > in public places. I will primarily refer to this text > by CS Pierce http://www.textlog.de/4298.html and > request the readers to inquire why the feminist > discussion of sexual violence ( or sexual ethics) > bypasses several theoretical-and philosophical > objections—even schools in order to engage in what is > known as 'feminist reductionisms." Avoidance of this > deep, inward critique is more visible in newspaper > articles : have a look at that and you'll understand > what is gender, caste or class sensitive but > theoretically incorrect and incoherent standpoint. > A theoretically correct standpoint can take all > challenges, it doesn't take recourse to cunning or > makes practical excuses. Leslie Green similarly talks > about Dworkin and Mackinnon et. al for making such > theoretically incorrect arguments to ban pornography > in Canada; but even though theoretically incorrect, > they were practically enough and who knows –socially > required too. Today's feminisms are full of such > vacuous muscle flexing. > > Now, to the main point : what on earth is > "theoretical correctness?" There is a huge literature > on all of this so I'll be limited and sketchy for the > time being but promise more if required. > > Let me tell you my source first : I owe much to > Habermas when I use this phrase; owe but with a > difference. Today I shall state this while not going > into the details of my adoption with qualification. > We can start with an offhand approach by > taking theoretical correctness in scientific ( or > empirico analytic) discourses. There a theory is > incorrect if the axioms it proposes is invalidated > say—in experiments or other forms of self -referential > 'methodological' moorings peculiar to science. In > other forms of human ( historical-hermeneutic) > sciences, the question of theoretical correctness has > been debated for the last 200 years or so. But to ease > this trouble let us take a simple approach. Marx > himself never believed that all theories could be > equally true or correct or otherwise he would not have > laid emphasis on practical-critical sensuous activity > where theory has to prove itself and vice versa. But > these are old debates and Shuddha and all others are > well aware of this; my point here is to hint at the > availability of the option of true theory in older > discourses also. So there you have the precursors. In > between you can throw in the fact that theory > consistently has been held to have been generating or > relying upon abstract universals ( supposedly immune > to interests) while practice is concrete, particular > and interested. Much of this has been refuted. But > what has not been refuted is that truth is simply not > discursive : that we sit and talk and come to a > consensus that this is true and it becomes true. There > are statements or propositions which are true or > false. There are such things as true, false, right, > good and correct.There is an internal justification > that is necessary other than an external one. > Starting from this assumption and using Habermas's > insights, we can make a clear departure here. The > erstwhile discourse of practice didn't admit of truth > or correctness (I'm overriding for simplicity's sake > the little hiatus of levels between declarative claim > to truth and the normative claim to correctness—as in > late Habermas.). For example that women should go out > and vote or wear a particular sign when they are > married or who will love whom was not considered akin > to statements that could be true or false. But the > moment the feminists started debating these rules, > norms, or customs—it could be said that the question > of correctness was brought about in the realm of > practice through their argumentation. That social > norms could be debated for their validity claims has > been emphatically made by Habermas. Why child marriage > should be shunned became a matter of argumentative > justification and thus particular norms or customs > were not simply in-appropriate, they were incorrect. > "Practical questions admit of truth ..and correct > norms must be capable of being grounded in a way > similar to true statements." Validity involves a > notion of correctness analogous to the idea of truth. > And this applies to all those harassment norms, > groping forms and all that we were discussing. And if > there is a debate ( moreover if they are to be > justified) then it must be intersubjectively > validated, agreed? Now, to examine a validity claim > in a discourse, one stops conveying information or > experiences from the empirical standpoint ( i.e., > variety in difference), and brackets or suspends all > judgment to examine a problematised validity claim. > This is extrication from all claims to action or > practical rationality and is absolutely self reflexive > or theoretical. A "critique of knowledge" is the aim > of theoretical discourse; "political will formation " > is the aim of practical discourse. Therefore, it is > easy and obvious now : what is politically incorrect > may be theoretically correct and what is > theoretically incorrect may be politically correct. > > Let me try to explain this a bit. And this > though I first wrote as a post edit article in > Anandabazar Patrika in 2000, I still hold that point > as unrefuted. Consider the anti harassment legislation > initiated by the Supreme Court which it calls 'norms' > and must be instituted in all offices. It catalogues a > list of 'unwelcome sexual behaviour'which ranges from > sexual propositions to showing pornography and so and > so forth. My question was, why don't they give a list > of welcome sexual behaviour, all men/women will act > accordingly and there will be no problems. But > everybody knows that that is ridiculous. Hence if you > cannot bring that list, how come you bring the list of > unwelcome sexual behaviour and catalogue hilarious > items? If sexual propositioning in workplace is > harassment, then where there are so called 'sex > workers' -who are looking forward and waiting badly > for those sexual propositions, what will happen to > the norm?. Sexual harassment in workplace is > ridiculous when sex itself is work. But couldn't the > sex workers be harassed ? Ofcourse, but there the > harassment has to be non sexual in order to be outside > of work ( like sex here is considered external to > work in office). For them there will be a separate > list I guess. But my central tendency was > theoretically considered such lists are not possible. > In this, I remember having phoned Partha Chatterjee- > when I was writing this article and I did include his > point in the article. He simply discouraged me by > saying that there is less use of theoretical > objections here; a consensus is assumed and such norms > should be put in place as protection -- is also > warranted; it is practically useful. There was nothing > for me not to agree. > I'll argue today—after seven years since that > article, in the domain of ordinary discourse > feminist claims are still made in the context of > everyday life, but are not allowed to be > problematised. Correctness here is in accordance with > the rules. The call for argumentative justification is > overruled in favour of moral, practical or political > propriety. Let me tell you that I don't doubt the > strategic essentiality in all this but reiterate again > as above that what is practically useful or > politically correct may not be theoretically correct > too. We have to live with this disjunction like people > live with gonorrhea or AIDS. And this is why I use and > often use 'theoretical correctness ( in the sense of > truth)', and I only hope Shuddha now onwards will use > that too. > > Finally an exemplary reference : Leslie > Green—one of the greatest legal ( and social ) > philosophers of our time and now a philosopher of law > at Oxford has deployed the phrase theoretical > correctness while he talks in this mode , "the central > theoretical error thus lies……etc…." [ Leslie Green, > Sexuality, Authenticity, and Modernity, Canadian > Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 8(1), January 1995, > p.80]. I consider Leslie ( who is equally outspoken > about "feminist reductionisms") one of my abstract > gurus, so if Shuddha goes to Leslie with this--- a > bit sly entreaty, "What on earth is theoretical > error?" I'm sure Leslie will give a far better > answer. > > Till then > Arnab > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now, on http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From gora at sarai.net Fri Feb 22 01:07:35 2008 From: gora at sarai.net (Gora Mohanty) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:07:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20080222010735.53278ffa@anubis> On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:46:59 +0530 "Raheema Begum" wrote: > Not just because of this, but also because of this: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ [...] Excuse me for being crude, but why the hell should we care about random incidents affecting a minimal fraction of people in the world? At least as far as I see it, the US has already taken active steps *not* to be a global citizen, Obama, or no Obama. Regards, Gora From taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Feb 22 08:35:53 2008 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:05:53 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama References: <20080222010735.53278ffa@anubis> Message-ID: <00cf01c874ff$daa30b60$6400a8c0@taraprakash> Hi Gora and all. I don't know who you mean by "we", however, there are people on the list who stay in the US and some of us have voting rights. Even if that was not the case, not caring about "a minimal fraction of the world" will always be counter productive. Another thing which is counterproductive is, homogenizing; it is repressive and destructive in the context of India, it is equally harmful in the context of the US. So "a minimal fraction of the world" has its fractions who would like to express their opinion in the primaries and later in the presidential election. Hope that answers your question. Regards ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gora Mohanty" To: Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:37 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama > On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:46:59 +0530 > "Raheema Begum" wrote: > >> Not just because of this, but also because of this: >> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ > [...] > > Excuse me for being crude, but why the hell should we care about > random incidents affecting a minimal fraction of people in the > world? At least as far as I see it, the US has already taken > active steps *not* to be a global citizen, Obama, or no Obama. > > Regards, > Gora > _________________________________________ > 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 anivar.aravind at gmail.com Fri Feb 22 16:41:37 2008 From: anivar.aravind at gmail.com (Anivar Aravind) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:41:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Condemnation of Maoist and State violence in Orissa(fwd) Message-ID: <47BEADE9.7030508@gmail.com> PRESS RELEASE 22 FEBRUARY 2008 Condemnation of Maoist and State violence in Orissa We the undersigned strongly condemn the massacre of thirteen policemen and two civilians in Nayagarh town of Orissa by armed Maoists on February 17. At the same time we also condemn, equally strongly, the subsequent killing of thirty five alleged Maoists as claimed by the Orissa police in a desperate measure of revenge and to show they are still 'in control'. Going by past experience there are grave doubts as to who the people they have killed really are- Maoist guerrillas or innocent villagers. Media reports about acts of wanton brutality by the Maoists, such as burning alive a policeman and castrating another – if true- are specially condemnable. There can be no justification whatsoever for such actions, especially by a political group claiming to wage an armed struggle for social justice and striving to build a new revolutionary society. We are completely opposed to this cult of violence, even though we are fully aware that the way the central and state governments treat non-violent movements with utter cynicism, they inevitably push people towards such cults. The Maoist atrocity in Nayagarh is particularly unfortunate as it is detrimental to the various democratic mass movements all over Orissa that are resisting the policies of land grab and diversion of natural resources to global and domestic corporations. The Orissa government is bound to use this incident as yet another excuse to crack down on the militant but non-violent struggles of the people against unjust development policies in the state. We also call upon the government of Orissa as well as the Indian government to stop their brazen misuse of state power to carry out arbitrary arrests, torture and even murder of innocent citizens in the name of containing the Maoists. As elected bodies bound by the Indian Constitution they are expected to adhere to the laws of the land and democratic norms instead of resorting to vigilante justice. Finally we request the media in the state to stop labeling activists fighting democratically against state policies and oppression as 'Maoists' with no evidence to back up such claims. Amit Bhaduri, Economist, New Delhi Achin Vanaik, Political Scientist, New Delhi Apoorvanand, Academic, New Delhi Aditya Nigam, Political Scientist, New Delhii Amit Sengupta, Journalist, New Delhi Mamata Dash, Activist, New Delhi Praful Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi Rabi Shankar, Activist, Kashipur, Orissa Sumit Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi Satya Sivaraman, Journalist, New Delhi Tanika Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi From vivek at sarai.net Fri Feb 22 15:00:22 2008 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:00:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The noisy nativist crowd In-Reply-To: <7e230b560802162355s14f2c331u2efd9aa801215ad2@mail.gmail.com> References: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> <7e230b560802162355s14f2c331u2efd9aa801215ad2@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47BE962E.3040401@sarai.net> Dear Prem, Thank you for your detailed and deeply informed riposte. There are many things to chew in it that do in fact relate to our little crisis on the reader list-- the difficulty of comprehending one's relationship to history, Gandhi as poet, the questions of lightness and scale, the question of how to scale up as a network-- so on. I'm not going to be able to run with all your interrelated points, so I'm curious to see if anyone else on this list might build on them or even, perhaps, link the other discussions going on with this one. I am going to pick some bones with a few things you have mentioned here and there, but I want to do it so as to open out your discussion and your questions in some ways, and this is because we are pretty much in agreement. I owe this to the conciliatory but engaged tone of your riposte. What I want to try to do is make some minor contributions in places where I think I might have something to add. And, as I hope to suggest, my larger interest is really in the idea of adding itself. I obviously have nothing against metaphors as a form of thought-- I use them myself all the time. And yet, this is precisely why I want to note that they can be misleading as well as seductive. As an aside, I think that the notion that metaphors (while being, admittedly, indirect) are the opposite of direct, rational thought is not quite true. Moreover, the commonly held belief that poetry, or poetics (while being, admittedly, indirect) is purely a place for the "irrational" or the "emotional" is also not quite true-- a poem's real charge (and I think I could show this with examples) really comes from the interaction of the rational and irrational within its structure, its mingling of "emotion", "thought" and "logic", not to mention the words in which these things are inseparable. That said, I want to note that, after thinking about it some more, I find Tsvetkov's metaphor of the opera singer, while being powerful and seductive, as you say, is deeply misleading for our purposes here on the list (and for understanding poetry's current crisis as well-- but I'll leave that discussion aside for now). Is the idea of an "audience" really the most useful here? Am I singing now to the rapt audience of the reader list, whose duty is only to either applaud or throw tomatoes? And is the idea of an audience of connoisseurs in the opera hall likely to scale up well? Does the idea of "audience" help us to productively understand the idea of "noise"? Keeping those questions on hold for a second, I want to turn briefly to your idea of the "poetics of resistance"-- it fascinates me and I want to hear more of course, but I'm a bit uncertain about that old bugbear-- resistance, aka negation. Again, resistance is important, of course, and ever present; but the idea of resistance itself became its own romance in the twentieth century; eventually, we became unable to think beyond resistance. Disagreement -- which is but a synonym of resistance for our purposes-- is fetishized purely for its own sake, and the idea of agreement is simplistically equated with the idea of power. And disagreement, when it becomes a singular and primary objective, turns all discussion towards the idea of winning, of replacing or obliterating one's opponent, and this is done either by means of gleeful point-scoring and one-upmanship, sometimes in the canon-thumping style of sophomoric sophomores or, much worse, by ritualistic repetition of one's basic position, louder and louder in the manner of a child seeking attention, until all thought-- and emotion-- flees from the minds of those assembled. (Another metaphor, flawed.) I have nothing against disagreement, obviously. But I have a feeling that we have something against, and misunderestimate, agreement. Shouldn't agreement be the legitimate other side of disagreement's coin? Can't quite unpack it fully yet, but I have a hunch that the idea of "audience" and the idea of "disagreement / resistance" are somehow linked. And a hunch that it is the conjoining of these two notions that sometimes gives our list the flavour of a debating society, moreover one with some bullies sitting in who might shout everyone else down or even call the police on us. Is there a way to move beyond both of these terms in searching for an appropriate model for our list? I would be the first to include myself among those who have been overly seduced by the idea of disagreement as a model for productive talk on this list. And note that I am not saying we should "do away" with fighting or point scoring or bullies; wherever we go from here, it would have to be by consensus if it is to have any meaning. I am only asking: is there anything we can all agree on? What protocols might we establish and find consensus on? And: what would be the best picture of our list to adopt? Prem, although I am also disagreeing with some of your minor points, I am earnestly trying to add to what you are saying, and I hope that others might add to what I have to say. I am asking (uncertain, still thinking) if it would be useful to start from the point where we all consciously think of the reader list as something to add to, as opposed to something to resolve. This would mean that we think of the reader list not as a debating club, or as a continuation of war by other means, but rather as an experiment in collective collaborative writing. Which is exactly what it is! Vivek Prem Chandavarkar wrote: > On 14/02/2008, *Vivek Narayanan* > wrote: > > I bring this thesis up not as some kind of advice from the gods, but > because I am not certain if it is true. Tsvetkov himself presents it > only as a possible theory, and of course I'm still puzzling around > that > example (metaphor?) of the opera singer. I'd be curious to know what > readers on this list think about-- am eager to hear both philosophical > and pragmatic responses-- how to bring the muses back to this > list. In a > way this is to explore the inverse, positive side of the > anti-censorship > debate: what are the conditions for speech, what makes speech > possible, > how does one revive rich conversation? > > > > Dear Vivek, > I do not have a specific answer to your most interesting and very > relevant question (and I find the metaphor of the opera singer very > powerful). But let me share current thoughts on possible direction. > > First of all, we tend to believe that the best way to combat > irrational noise is clear and rational argument. And this is an > approach that is doomed to failure. Let me enumerate a few reasons > why I believe it to be so (my list is somewhat artificial as the > points made are highly intertwined, and are stated here rather > simplistically): > > > 1. As Foucault argued, power is not achieved purely by force, but > largely by constructing a system of knowledge that is widely > believed to be proper. Very often, the noise emerges from this > dominant knowledge base. An attempt to resist it through > argument, will result in your argument being treated as > inadmissible purely because it rubs against the grain of this > knowledge base. As a result, the argument is not evaluated on > its own terms, and tends to be dismissed outright, before > consideration, as treasonous, destructive or ignorant. > 2. We currently live in a world where the relationship with one's > sense of history is difficult to logically comprehend. This is > for a variety of reasons too complex to go into here. The > response to this problem has been to treat history itself as a > transcendent rather than a logical issue, and people seek to > believe in a history that is considered inevitable, > transcendent and immanent. A critique of such a history is > treated as being outside it - as Michael Polyani observed,the > Nazi would not react to an argument on public morality, not > because he was an untaught savage but because he disbelieved in > it in the way that we may disbelieve in witchcraft - he saw it > as something antiquated and out of tune with history. > 3. Rational arguments about social and cultural issues have to face > the fact that such issues are extremely complex. The rational > argument therefore has to accommodate depth and complexity. In > a world where a thing is not felt to be real unless it also > appears in some form of mass media, such argument fails to > survive when it has to oppose simplistic and aphoristic slogans. > 4. As Michael Goldhaber (and others after him) pointed out, we now > live in an attention economy. An economy is conditioned by its > scarcest resource. We are in an information age, and > information consumes attention, so attention is now our scarcest > resource. Most organisational forms in our era are preoccupied > with techniques of capturing attention. The primary means of > capturing attention are novelty and scale (noise would be one of > the dimensions of scale). Rational argument, because of its > inherent nature, is a poor means of connecting with either > novelty or scale. > > The only conditions under which rational argument serves a purpose is > when relationships have an a priori orientation towards deep > engagement, where all sides make the commitment to pause their > thinking and seriously and intensely listen to the other. I am > posting this message in the expectation that my interaction with you > (and some others) will be in this spirit of deep engagement. But > given the amount of noise generated on the reader-list in the recent > past, I am sceptical of generating wider debate. > > So if reason tends to run up against a brick wall, then what are the > options? The first, of course, is to seek to devote more focused > attention to the construction of spaces for deep engagement. Clearly > the reader-list started out with such an intention. But the problem > with the reader-list is that it also seeks to be a scale neutral > network - that is it is totally neutral to the scaling up of the > number of members. This has been a matter of design rather than > accident: the ethical desire for inclusivity has led to its design as > a scale free network. This means that noise generators are also free > to join the network. Since deep engagement is predicated on > listening, it cannot flourish in the presence of noise. And the need > to filter noise becomes a contradiction with the ethical principle of > free speech. > > The easy resolution is to introduce the filter - do not put > impediments on network membership, but moderate posts so that noise is > filtered out. But this is not without its problems. I remember > hearing a remark once that the most efficient system of governance is > a benevolent dictatorship, but the only problem is dictatorships > rarely remain benevolent, even in cases when they have started out > that way. A moderated list is dependent on the moderators being > benevolent dictators. The question of long term sustainability > arises, as the network becomes personality-centric rather than > system-centric. > > If one has to seek a system-centric specification for networks of deep > engagement, then one may have to move to networks that are composed of > scale hierarchies rather than being scale neutral. This is to say > that the basic building blocks are scale sensitive - for examples > groups of like-minded friends. Such a group may choose to link with a > few other groups over shared interests. And this smaller network may > choose to subsequently link with other such networks, to form a > network at a larger scale. Perhaps the basic building blocks could be > also linked to physical geographies so that they supplement digital > connections with face-to-face contact. The characteristic of a scale > hierarchical network is that it has the capacity to be self healing > when subject to noise. Since the basic building blocks are scale > sensitive, they are less subject to noise, and the prevalence of noise > will tend to be at larger levels of scale. When the level of noise > becomes too much at a particular scale, one only has to make the > relatively small scale adjustment of moving down to the next level of > the hierarchy. In comparison, in a scale free network one's only > choice is to make the large scale jump between remaining in the total > network or retreating to isolated individualism by leaving the > network. The scale of this jump makes the choice difficult and > problematic. In the initial period, the reader-list possessed an > overall level of like-mindedness so that noise was negligible, but it > has now scaled up to a level where it cannot sustain its earlier > (relatively) unitary mode of appproach and intent. While the > situation is still not too bad, if current trends continue, a point > may be eventually reached where one will have to face the choices of > moderation, dissolution or redesign. > > > > The central question that arises here is what kind of connections does > the network facilitate that entices a group at one level to connect > with another level. Clearly they have to be the kind of connections > that strengthen the richness of the network as well as the autonomy > and depth of the group. The jump in scale also has to result in a > jump in the level of thinking, so that the group benefits from the > complexity that can be handled by wider connections. So for example, > the group dialogue could be oriented toward practices, tools and > prototypes, the next level above that toward critique of practice, and > the next level above that toward philosophical critique. The jumps in > scale can then be beneficial in both directions: the movement upwards > achieves a critique of practice, whereas the movement downard achieves > a rooting and contextualisaion of philosophy. I do not have any clear > ideas to propose here, but it would be good to see more thinking and > research in this direction. > > > > But the other direction worth exploring is to respond to the > limitations of rational argument not by bypassing reason (and > resorting to noise oneself), but by seeking to transcend reason. > Italo Calvino in his book "Six Memos for the Next Millenium" has an > essay on "Lightness" where he talks about his early attempts to write, > where he found an increasing gulf developing between the natural > lightness and fluency of literature and the world he wanted to write > about. Since the complexity of the world was unlimited, he felt > driven to add more and more to his description until his writing was > weighed down by an excess of information. It is as though ligthness > was impossible to achieve, there was an unavoidable heaviness, and > inescapable process of petrification. And once he thought of > petrification, he naturally thought of the myth of Medusa where it > seemed to impossible to avoid her gaze and subsequent petrifcation. > But the conquest of Medusa is eventually achieved by Perseus, who has > wings on his sandals and is able to step on the lightest of things, > and he achieves his task by refusing to look at Medusa directly but at > her reflection in his shield. To Calvino this myth is an allegory of > the poet's relationship with the world, refusing the direct look (of > rational analysis) and looking only indirectly through metaphor. And > that is how the poet achieves lightness while still being able to > tackle complexity. > > > > This seems fine for poetry, but what about the everyday world of > politics. We have not tended to look at politics that way, but there > are examples in history - a primary one being Mahatma Gandhi's role in > the Indian freedom movement. Analysis has tended to be in terms of > Gandhi's ethics and politics, and while these are worthwhile handles > for analysis, we have not tended to devote sufficient attention to his > poetics. One of his major contributions was his ability to transform > the spirit of swaraj into metaphors such as spinning wheel, khadi and > salt. The construction of these metaphors offered two major > impacts: firstly they made the whole idea of freedom more accessible > to a wider population, and secondly the fact that these metaphors > could be appropriated by a wide range of people allowed a sense of > cohesion to what was actually a fairly diverse sets of struggles. > > > > This also has its set of issues that have to be tackled. Firstly, the > metaphor has to be friendly to its subsequent appropriation by others > (and all metaphors are not necessarily friendly to appropriation). > Secondly the metaphor has to be capable of making the connection > between the routines of life and higher level aspirations such as > freedom, justice and creativity. What are the characteristics of such > metaphors? It would be good to see further thinking and research on > this too - analysis that does not confine itself to an examination of > the politics of resistance, but also seeks to include the poetics of > resistance. > > > > Regards, > > Prem > From theunderscoredhood at gmail.com Fri Feb 22 15:29:15 2008 From: theunderscoredhood at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:29:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama In-Reply-To: <00cf01c874ff$daa30b60$6400a8c0@taraprakash> References: <20080222010735.53278ffa@anubis> <00cf01c874ff$daa30b60$6400a8c0@taraprakash> Message-ID: Dear Gora and all, Maybe I needed to explain myself in endorsing a US presidential candidate, especially since I wasn't as vocal in supporting my choice for the Indian President. I think Barack Obama is a good leader. Raheema. On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 8:35 AM, TaraPrakash wrote: > Hi Gora and all. > I don't know who you mean by "we", however, there are people on the list > who > stay in the US and some of us have voting rights. > Even if that was not the case, not caring about "a minimal fraction of the > world" will always be counter productive. > Another thing which is counterproductive is, homogenizing; it is > repressive > and destructive in the context of India, it is equally harmful in the > context of the US. > So "a minimal fraction of the world" has its fractions who would like to > express their opinion in the primaries and later in the presidential > election. > Hope that answers your question. > Regards > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gora Mohanty" > To: > Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:37 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Take the time to know Obama > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:46:59 +0530 > > "Raheema Begum" wrote: > > > >> Not just because of this, but also because of this: > >> > >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ > > [...] > > > > Excuse me for being crude, but why the hell should we care about > > random incidents affecting a minimal fraction of people in the > > world? At least as far as I see it, the US has already taken > > active steps *not* to be a global citizen, Obama, or no Obama. > > > > Regards, > > Gora > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- labels- http://whosebody.wordpress.com Kauntext- http://raahi.wordpress.com One State Solution- http://onestatesolution.wordpress.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 'On the just and unjust alike it doth rain, and the quality of mercy is not strained.' From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Fri Feb 22 17:32:59 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:32:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Talibanisation of India In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6353c690802220402n297cfab6jafb8b76cb8982251@mail.gmail.com> Hope something is done to address this issue. - Aditya Raj Kaul Campaign Blog - www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nishant Dudha Date: Feb 22, 2008 3:31 PM Subject: Fwd: The Talibanisation of India Regret that this document is lengthy. However, it contains some important facts and figures which should be available to each and every thinking Indian irrespective of their religion to let them know what a scourge Minortyism is and the potential it has for destroying our social fabric and fuelling the growth of Hindu Fanaticism. If you do not know me well enough or have not received any mails from me in a long time, the reason why this comes your way is because I reckon, this impacts us all. Cheers! Nishant *Copies of this memo have been forwarded to the President and Prime Minister of India as also to the members of the Indian Parliament for their information and necessary action.* *Letter to Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir State* *THE HINDU JAGRAN FORUM-USA* 3145 Gilbert Avenue, Roseburg, OR (USA) 97470 Subject: *Massive destruction of temples in J&K amounts to state sponsored Talibanization of the state: These religious structures must be protected against the predatory & illegal Sales, demolition and Vandalism and a Waqf like Hindu Board be formed for their upkeep and governance.* Hon'ble Chief Minister Azad, Through this memo we would like to express our deep disappointment, indignation and out right condemnation on behalf of a billion members strong worldwide Hindu fraternity about the self induced "*tactical failure*" of the successive J&K governments in protecting the Hindu community of Kashmir. Encouraged by the anti-secular, anti-minority and Mogul like discriminative policies of the state government. Now these Islamists, who drove the non-Muslims out of the Kashmir region, have embarked upon the illegal sale of Hindu temples and their properties. All these criminal activities by the Islamists represent the extension of their foreign inspired "*civilizational* *war*" undertaken to remove all traces of the historical Hindu past in the vale of Kashmir. Massive protests by the remaining less than 5,000 Kashmiri Pandits in the valley against criminally altering the socio-cultural complexion of Kashmir has been of no avail. On the contrary these extremely vulnerable non-Muslim Kashmiris have been exposed to serious threats by a very powerful "*Islamic Land Mafia*" that if they do not stop protesting they would face dire consequences like the rest of the exiled Pandit community. We have been given to understand that powerful interests in the Muslim dominated State Legislature including the *Islamic Land Mafia*, scuttled the legislation that was supposed to stop the illegal sale and/or destruction of Hindu religious structures. Despite the state government's "*verbal assurances*" to protect temples & their properties nothing has been done to save them. Even the promise to bring in legislation during the recent assembly session to prevent sale of such properties was not fulfilled and the legislature was allowed to adjourn sine die without the introduction of the promised bill (attachment A). Obviously the assurance by the state authorities has simply proved to be yet another tactic for buying time and doing nothing. * 1) Govt. re-built Cherar-e-Shareef why not Hindu temples?* Chief Minister Azad when the Pakistani and indigenous Islamic terrorists burnt and destroyed the holy shrine at Cherar-e-Shareef responding to the public outcry the Indian as well as Kashmir governments agreed to rebuild the shrine. Thereupon a team of engineering specialists was detailed to visit some of the major Islamic states in Central Asian region for examining their mosques in an attempt to select one of the best of them as a model for building the new shrine at Cherar-e-Shareef. In the final analysis that is exactly what was done. Based on this experience the question that arises now is: if the officials could go to that extent for pleasing and or appeasing the Muslim community why can't they re-build Hindu temples destroyed in the wake of ethnic cleansing unleashed by the local and foreign Jihadists? * 2) Govt. Talibanizing everything in Kashmir:* The former J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's public declaration describing Hari Parbat as *'Koh-i-Maran'* in 2005 could only be termed as a shot in the arm of '*talibanization*' by the coalition government. It is believed that the misguided Congress party has been extending its tacit and full support to the People's Democratic Party (of Mehbooba Mufti) – the political outfit that has been aggressively engaged in systematically destroying the symbols of historical importance, cultural pluralism and talibanizing everything in Kashmir," (attachment B). * 3) Hindu temples being destroyed on at an unprecedented Scale:* The process of desecration, loot, vandalizing and destruction of temples has continued under the anti-Hindu Islamic rule through generations with intent to wipe out all traces of religious and cultural symbols of Hindus. These targets besides the temples included libraries, universities and ashrams. After India achieved freedom and Kashmir acceded to the Union of India in 1947 the destruction and desecration of temples under the new Islamic regimes wearing secular turbans received added impetus and acceleration. Temple lands, cremation grounds, etc. of Hindus were usurped and utilized for expansion of the Islamic populace. The famous Bhairavnath temple of Chattabal, Srinagar was locked up by the police. The judicial case pending in court concerning this temple was never allowed to be decided. Precious lands around Hari Parbat hill, Durganag temple of Srinagar and lands at several Hindu places of worship in the Valley were slowly and steadily turned into lands under occupation of the Muslim trusts (Maqboozai-Ahali-Islam). In 1967, Shivala temple, Chotta Nazar, Srinagar was desecrated. Again in 1984 Shri Hanuman temple at Hari Singh High Street was damaged and in the same year Arya Samaj temple of Wazir Bagh, Srinagar was burnt down. In view of the Islamic fundamentalist conspiracy against Hindus in general and unqualified support for their plans from across the border, the law and order situation in the Valley since 1986 deteriorated progressively and temple desecration became the order of the day. Here are some of the glaring examples that defy and shred into a million pieces the tall claims made by the Muslim leaders of Kashmir about their dedication and adherence to nationalism, multiculturalism, secularism, Kashmiriyat and religious freedom: A) In February 1986 some 39 temples were destroyed in Anantnag, Srinagar, Budgam, Kupwara and Baramula districts (attachment C). B) From 1987 to 1990 at least fifteen temples were destroyed (attachment C). * C) Temples desecrated and damaged in Kashmir from 1990 to December 1992* (attachment C) 1. DASHNAMI AKHARA, SRINAGAR 2. GANPATYAR TEMPLE 3. RAGHUNATH MANDIR, SRINAGAR 4. SHIVA TEMPLE, JAWAHAR NAGAR, SRINAGAR 5. HANUMAN MANDIR, SRINAGAR 6. SHIVA TEMPLE, BARBAR SHAH, SRINAGAR 7. JAI DEVI TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA 8. VIJESHWAR TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA 9. SHIVA MANDIR, BIJBEHARA 10. RAGHUNATH TEMPLE, ANANTNAG 11. GAUTAM NAG TEMPLE, ANANTNAG 12. THREE TEMPLES OF LUKHBHAVAN, LARKIPURA, ANANTNAG 13. WANPOH MANDIR, ANANTNAG 14. SHAILPUTRI TEMPLE, BARAMULLA 15. DAYALGAM MANDIR, ANANTNAG 16. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, BARAMULLA 17. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, SOPORE 18. RUPABHAVANI MANDIR, VASAKURA 19. KHIRBHAVANI MANDIR, GANDERBAL 20. SHIVA TEMPLE, GANDERBAL 21. MATTAN TEMPLE, ANANTNAG D) The *Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri M.M. Jacob disclosed in the Lok Sabha on 12-3-1993 that 38 Hindu places of worship were damaged in J&K state, 13 in 1989, nine in 1990 and 16 in 1991.* E) There are reports of further destruction of some 39 temples in Kashmir after December 6, 1992 for which FIR were filed (attachment C). Please note that FIRs on all destruction cases were not filed with the authorities in view of the complicity of the administration and warnings of retaliation against the complainants by the Islamic terrorists. F) According to local eye witnesses accounts there were additional 38 temples that were vandalized after December 6, 1992 (attachment C) These examples represent only a fraction of the systematic mass destruction of temples in J&K after independence of India when the Islamists assumed the total and unfettered control of the state. *4) The Indian Parliament adopted a law in 1991 specifically requiring that* – "the status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be retained". This pre-emptive measure was taken by the national legislature anticipating possible dishonorable designs of trouble makers and anti- national elements in various administrations. A faithful implementation of these laws will require assuring the security and restoration of the community based management of Hindu temples and their estates. Sayeed had on June 20 described Hari Parbat as *'Koh-i-Maran'* and a ministerial colleague of his had called Shankaracharya Hill *'Sulaiman Teng'*. Have these short sighted Jihadis ever imagined as to what might happen if the Indian nation, which is more than 83% Hindu, was to enforce similar communal, vindictive and religious based punitive policies in India and start undoing what the successive tyrannical Islamic regimes have done to the Hindu nation? From that stand point aren't these fundamentalist, irresponsible street politicians playing with the lives and welfare of the 140 million Muslims of India? * 5) Mr. Chief Minister, government's indifference towards the temple security and their functioning has been termed as its support to persecution of Hindus and denial of their freedom of religion:* Govt. must realize that the temples and their endowments have been built over the centuries by our forefathers and therefore, it is the community which is their real owner and which must have the final say in the management and utilization of temple resources. Under the present circumstances it is obligatory upon the Govt. as envisaged by the above referred Act passed by the Indian Parliament to maintain the integrity of religious entities as it stood in 1947. Any deviation from that will clearly be violation of the national law and the will unambiguously expressed by the Indian Parliament. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Govt. to restore all the destroyed, vandalized, looted and desecrated temples and their properties to their glory as it existed in 1947 and hand them over to the Hindu community. Any thing less than that will be unacceptable. * 6) Formation of a Waqf like autonomous Hindu Board for temples governance under the Hindu community's guidance:* Mr. Chief Minister, we strongly believe that for social issues, religious affairs, community services and temple administration there must be a representative and an autonomous Hindu Board with full jurisdiction over temple governance and management. Accordingly we suggest that the representatives of shrines, temples, Hindu community and state and national religious leaders, be motivated to convene an assembly where they could be asked to take charge of clearly defining legal and religious framework for the community governance of temples and other religious places in the state. Since the universal right of freedom to manage religious places is available to the Muslim community which constitutes the majority in your state, there is absolutely no justification to deny it to Hindus? * 7) The Govt. must make room for community's vital role in the interim temple management through Hindu Advisory Councils:* Such Councils could play a role in oversight and decision making process of the endowments department and temple Trusts, where Councils elected or nominated by the Community and state and national religious leaders could shoulder these responsibilities. Additionally these Councils could also stop desecration and decimation of the religious infrastructure by bringing these issues to the notice of the Govt. and the public, and till an autonomous Board is constituted for taking over the charge, like the Waqf Board. * 8) Hindus as a minority community in J&K need and must get special protection:* In view of the internationally recognized ethnic cleansing and genocide of Hindus in Kashmir it would have been most desirable if the J&K Govt. had brought into play a policy of special protection as well as financial support to the Hindus who are in a minority - on the same basis as Muslims are allowed in the rest of India. We regret to say that Hindus have been effectively cleansed out of the Kashmir Valley, disenfranchised and now the focus seems to be on cleansing them out of Jammu as well. The calculated lack of action by the state in this regard seems to effectively contribute to the realization of the Jihadists objectives of the talibanization of the state. * 9) Chief Minister Azad, for a starter may we request your urgent attention for protecting Hindu temples and Hindu community properties* from illegal sales and encroachment by urgently passing the Kashmiri Hindus shrines and religious places Bill and take other administrative measures like formation of a Waqf- like Hindu Board for their protection, preservation and development. This will be in keeping with: a) high standards of ethics, b) norms and practices in all open and democratic societies; and, c) the secular Constitution of India. Needless to say that inaction by the state and continuing demolition of Hindu religious infrastructure carries with it a serious potential for a backlash with possibility of horrific consequences. The privileges enjoyed by the Muslims as a minority community in India could also become a subject matter of controversy if Hindus are continually persecuted in the Muslim majority J&K state. It is also relevant to point out that most of the budgetary expenditures in the J&K state are gifted by the Indian Govt. with taxes mostly paid by Hindus. Surely these taxpayers do not fund the Kashmir Govt. so it could destroy Hinduism and achieve forced talibanization of the state. Thank you Mr. Chief Minister and we are looking forward to your response and prompt action towards resolving this explosive situation. Sincerely, Dr. Jagan Kaul Krishan Bhatnagar Hindu Jagran Forum (USA) email: *krishan.kb at verizon.net *February 21, 2008 ============================================================ Attachment A *J&K temples being sold, allege Pandits ** ** *Kavita Suri Statesman, Feb 11, 2008 JAMMU, Feb. 10: Kashmiri Pandits allege that the Muslim-majority government in Jammu and Kashmir is ignoring illegal sale of Hindu temples and other community properties in the state. Less than 5,000 Kashmiri Pandits who live in the Kashmir valley say that their resistance to sale of temple properties has exposed them to threats from a very powerful land mafia. Pandits allege they have been warned against protesting, or face the consequences. These Pandits say that despite the state government's "verbal assurances" to protect temple properties, nothing is being done to save them. A promise to bring in legislation during the recent assembly session to prevent sale of such properties was not fulfilled. To the disappointment of Pandits, the legislature was adjourned sine die without introduction of the bill. The Pandits say there is more to the non-introduction of the Bill than meets the eye. They claim that powerful interests, including a land mafia, scuttled the legislation. The ground realities in Kashmir are alarming. The Dharmarth Trust headed by Dr Karan Singh has locked up an ancient and historical temple Ram jee of Barbar Shah. This is the first time in its known history that the temple has been locked. Security forces living in the adjacent dharmashala have been told not to enter the temple precincts. "For all these years, it was a routine with us, the few Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley, to come here every Sunday for a get-together, make prasad and distribute it among devotees. But the trust management, with the help of the state government, locked up the temple and no one has been allowed to enter for the past month," said Mr Vijay Sas of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), Kashmir. Pandits allege that some in the Dharmarth Trust management want to sell off the property of the temple, valued at Rs 300 crore. In fact, some of them allege that the property will be sold to an influential Muslim living in the Valley. The property located just across the Rambagh Bridge and opposite the Metrological Department is at a prime location. Inside the huge plot of land, there is an ancient Shiva temple, said to be around 1200 years old. The lingam is said to be more than 8.5 feet high. The KPSS filed a PIL in the Supreme Court and was asked to file a fresh case in the concerned High Court. A case is already pending in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar Wing. "Since January 2008, another incident of sale of our religious and community property has surfaced in Kashmir. It is the sale of DAV School in Rainawari by one Roshan Lal Raina who was just a teacher in that school but turned into a broker," said Mr Sas. Pandits allege that the sale took place at the behest of an influential official attached to the Director-General of Police, J&K. "KPSS has taken the legal course in the matter but we are worried," said a displaced pandit. But they hope the court will intervene and stay the sale of temples. "The problem is that the national media is not interested in the story while the local Muslim-majority media does not care," said Mr Sas. "If the government fails to bring a Bill in the ongoing session of the state Assembly to ban sale of temples and other religious properties, we will proceed on a fast unto death," KPSS president Mr Sanjay Tickoo said. http://www.thestatesman.org/page.arcview.php?clid=2&id=216888&usrsess=1 ====================================== Attachmant B *Mufti govt 'talibanising everything': BJP* Source: PTI Publication: Rediff on Net Date: July 2, 2005 URL: http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jul/02mufti.htm Taking exception to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed describing Hari Parbat as 'Koh-i-Maran', the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the coalition government of supporting 'talibanisation'. "The BJP is of the opinion that the Congress party is giving full support to the People's Democratic Party (of Mehbooba Mufti) that has been systematically destroying the symbols of historical importance and talibanising everything in Kashmir," state unit BJP vice president and spokesperson Hari Om told reporters in Jammu. The BJP claimed to have 'definite information' that a few days ago, officials from the state and New Delhi held a meeting in Srinagar about a proposal to change names of some landmarks in the state. Sayeed had on June 20 described Hari Parbat as 'Koh-i-Maran' and a ministerial colleague of his had called Shankaracharya Hill 'Sulaiman Teng', Hari Om said, adding that the BJP rejected outright Pradesh Congress Committee chief Peerzada Sayeed's assurance that there was no proposal to rename the two hills. ============================================ Attachmant C *Destruction of Cultural Symbols :** Reprehensible History of Fanatic Vandalism* Organiser, November 14, 2004 Desecration, damage and destruction of temples is not a new and unusual phenomenon. The process has been continuously going on ever since Kashmir passed into the political domination of Muslim rulers in the first quarter of the fourteenth century. Islam, like other Semitic religions enjoins upon the faithfuls to expand their religion by proselytising the heathens, infidels and kafirs (non-believers) to their faith to gain religious merit. Jehad or holy war is the instrument that is used for proselytisation. The Muslim rulers of Kashmir, the Mughals and Pathans made full use of their political authority to effect conversion of Hindus of the Valley. To achieve the objectives, it became imperative for them to wipe out all traces of religious and cultural symbols of Hindus, which included their temples, libraries, universities and ashrams. In Kashmir, gunpowder was used for the first time, not for fighting a war, but for destroying massive Hindu stone temples. When it was felt that the fissionable material was not available in a sufficient quantity for iconoclasm, the nearby jungles were cut down and used for setting on fire the giant stone structures of the Hindu temples. By excessive heat the stones burst, broke away and these gigantic structures crumbled in the fire that spread through the length and breadth of Kashmir. The ruins of Martand, Avantipur, Devar, etc. are mute witnesses of the depredation. *Temples** Vandalised in February 1986* *ANANTNAG DISTRICT:* 1. Anantnag Town: Two temples damaged and one looted. 2. Achhabal: One temple desecrated, shit thrown on idols. 3. Moripura: One temple demolished. 4. Sagam: One temple partially burnt. 5. Naogam: One temple partially burnt. 6. Telvani: One temple partially burnt. 7. Gautamnag: One two-storeyed temple burnt and a dharamshala stoned. 8. Krangsoo: Pujari Baba of a temple beaten. 9. Akura (Mattan): One temple and its entire property looted and shed set on fire. 10. Dialgam: One temple heavily damaged by stoning. 11. Salar: One temple set on fire. 12. Aishmuqam: One temple set on fire. 13. Bijbehara town: Two temples completely looted; ancient idol valued at more than Rs 10 lakh broken; Jai Devi temple desecrated and idol stolen. 14. Wanpoh (Gasipura): Two temples and samadhi of Swami Dama Kak completely burnt. 15. Dhanav (Bogund): Two temples and one dharamshala burnt. 16. Chogam: One temple stoned; its doors, windows and three pillars broken. 17. Verinag: One temple on the parikrama of the holy spring damaged, doors broken, idols thrown into the spring. Pawan Sandhya, a religious teerth, converted into a place for construction of mosque. 18. Larkipora: Three temples of Goddess Durga, Siddha Lakshmi and Shiva completely burnt; idols broken into pieces. 19. Fatehpura: One temple completely burnt alongwith its entrance gate; ancient Shiva idol broken into pieces. 20. Quill (Pulwama): One temple damaged partially. 21. Trisal: One temple stoned; compound wall of another temple damaged. 22. Pawan Sandhya: Converted into mosque. *SRINAGAR DISTRICT:* 23. Ganpatyar (Srinagar): Temple heavily stoned. 24. Jawahar Nagar: Shiva Mandir desecrated and damaged; its property brought out and consigned to flames. 25. Maisuma: Dashnami akhara, from where Charri Mubarak leaves for holy Amarnath cave burnt down. 26. Raghunath Mandir: Damaged by stoning. 27. Tulamulla: One temple in the village burnt. 28. Waskura: The famous temple of Mata Rupa Bhawani partially burnt. 29. Gandherbal: Two temples burnt and two temples damaged. *BUDGAM DISTRICT:* 30. Yachhgam: One temple partially damaged. 31. Badgam town: Sharda temple damaged. 32. Chadura: One temple damaged. *KUPWARA DISTRICT:* 33. Tekpora: One temple burnt. 34. Lalpura: One temple burnt. 35. Handwara: One temple damaged. *BARAMULLA DISTRICT:* 36. Baramulla town: One temple partially damaged. 37. Venkura: One temple fully damaged. 38. Sopore: One temple partially damaged. 39. Bandipora: One temple partially burnt. After India achieved freedom and Kashmir acceded to the Union of India, temple desecration was resumed. Temple lands, cremation grounds, etc. of Hindus were usurped for expansion of Islam. The famous Bhairavnath temple of Chattabal, Srinagar was locked up by the police. The judicial case pending in court concerning this temple was never allowed to be decided. Precious lands around Hari Parbat hill, Durganag temple of Srinagar and lands at several Hindu places of worship in the Valley were slowly and steadily turned into lands under occupation of Muslim trusts (Maqboozai-Ahali-Islam). In 1967, Shivala temple, Chotta Nazar, Srinagar was desecrated. Again in 1984 Shri Hanuman temple at Hari Singh High Street was damaged and in the same year Arya Samaj temple of Wazir Bagh, Srinagar was burnt down. From 1986, the law and order situation in the Valley deteriorated day by day and temple desecration became the order of the day. After India achieved freedom and Kashmir acceded to the Union of India, temple desecration was resumed. Temple lands, cremation grounds, etc. of Hindus were usurped for expansion of Islam. *Temples** desecrated, damaged or destroyed in response to community calls for Jehad from 1987 to 1990* 1. Sri Puran Raja Bhairav at Hawal, Srinagar (completely burnt). 2. Vandev Mandir, Hari Parbat (completely burnt). 3. Kathlishwar Mandir, Zaindar Mohalla, Srinagar (partly damaged). 4. Gouri Shanker Mandir, Kani-Kadal (damaged). 5. Somyar Mandir, Habba Kaddal shopping complex (completely burnt). 6. Shiva Mandir, Shetalnath, Srinagar (burnt). 7. Shiva Mandir, Malapora, Srinagar (burnt). 8. Shailputri Asthapan Mandir, Baramulla (burnt). 9. Gautam Nag Mandir, Anantnag (attacks have been frequent). 10. Raghunath Mandir, Anantnag (attacks have been frequent). 11. Tikipora Mandir, Kupwara. 12. Sri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, Bulbul Lankar, Srinagar (ancient priceless idol removed by breaking one of the temple walls). 13. Temple at Shopian with four buildings and shopping complex burnt. The mahant at Napli mercilessly beaten; a south Indian sadhu assisting the mahant was asked to kill a cow. Pine, walnut, apple, kikar and poplar trees spread over 18 kanals of temple land to a great extent were destroyed. The sadhu identified some people of Danda Mohalla, mainly one Hussan Dand and Kuda Dand, leading the mob besides Jamaat-i-Islami workers on carnage. 14. Idols in Shiva Mandir, Batayar (desecrated). 15. Holy spring with Shiva idol desecrated at Khrew, resulting in Hindu-Muslim conflict in the village. *Temples** desecrated and damaged in Kashmir from 1990 to December 1992* *1. DASHNAMI AKHARA, SRINAGAR* On the opposite side of the shopping complex of WAKF building, housing a library, reading room and an office of Jamaat-i-Islami, lies the age-old akhara in Badshah Chowk, Srinagar. The temple in the akhara is surrounded by three storeyed shopping-cum-hotel-cum-office complex on three sides. There is a beautiful park in the premises, dharamshalas for sadhus, residence of the mahant, etc. The akhara has provided a vast area to Suraj Transport Company for use as godown and parking space on rent. The akhara has been a chronic eyesore to the Jamaat-i-Islami. It was attacked countless times but in early 1990, mobs forced entry into the premises causing a devastating fire, and loss of property in crores in godowns and a portion of mahant's residence. CRPF suffered heavy injuries while protecting the temple. *2. GANPATYAR TEMPLE* Ganpatyar has been attracting mob attacks right from 1953. Al-Aksa episode, Satanic Verses, Zia's death, fall of East Pakistan, defeat of Pakistan in cricket, etc. have been the causes. From the onset of insurgency it was stoned, attacked by bomb blasts and rockets on various occasions but CRPF in one of its dharamshalas saved the shrine at great cost. *3. RAGHUNATH MANDIR, SRINAGAR* The school caught fire when the dharamshala of the temple was set on fire in early 1990 while worshipping in the temple was forbidden. However, the worshippers refused to stop worship. The premises were set on fire. *4. SHIVA TEMPLE, JAWAHAR NAGAR, SRINAGAR* The property in the dharamshala was brought out along with some puja material and idols from the temple; some removed and some consigned to flames. *5. HANUMAN MANDIR, SRINAGAR* Desecrated long before the start of insurgency which necessitated round-the-clock CRPF guard. The massive Panchamukhi Hanuman idol suffered some damage in early 1990. *6. SHIVA TEMPLE, BARBAR SHAH, SRINAGAR* It was desecrated a number of times. What is desecrated is not safe. Desecration itself is heinous sacrilege. *7. JAI DEVI TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA* Desecrated, idols stoned, compound wall broken in 1986. *8. VIJESHWAR TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA* Night soil was thrown on 10 Shiva lingas inside the temple in 1986, and compound wall broken. *9. SHIVA MANDIR, BIJBEHARA* Ancient idols valued over Rs 10 lakhs in the shrine were looted in 1986. *10. RAGHUNATH TEMPLE, ANANTNAG* According to Mahant Sukhram and other sources, mostly Muslims, it suffered nine bomb attacks, seven blasts in police station, Anantnag. Refer to FIR No. 307/427 dated 9-1-91. *11. GAUTAM NAG TEMPLE, ANANTNAG* The double-storey temple (60 x 40) was burnt to ashes in presence of homeguard personnel and property loss was estimated to the tune of Rs 28 lakhs, leaving aside priceless ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit and Sharda. The orchard on 145 canals of land with thirty thousand fruit trees was mercilessly attacked by fanatical mobs, leaving hardly three thousand trees to survive. *12. THREE TEMPLES OF LUKHBHAVAN, LARKIPURA, ANANTNAG* Damaged in 1986. Subsequently repaired. Dharamshala burnt, temple suffered some damage again in 1992. *13. WANPOH MANDIR, ANANTNAG* The idols have been desecrated publicly in respect of this shrine on 21-2-1992, according to sources. *14. SHAILPUTRI TEMPLE, BARAMULLA* Damaged in 1990. *15. DAYALGAM MANDIR, ANANTNAG* It was stoned heavily but was somehow not razed to the ground. *16. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, BARAMULLA* Damaged in 1990. *17. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, SOPORE* Desecrated and damaged. *18. RUPABHAVANI MANDIR, VASAKURA* Idols, ashram utensils removed. Night soil thrown on the steps in early 1990, a dozen times. Protesting Hindus of the vicinity mercilessly beaten. *19. KHIRBHAVANI MANDIR, GANDERBAL* According to B.G. Verghese, "Its origin goes to epic times. The security forces in its precincts attracted rocket attacks on April 4, 1991, which chipped some concrete off the outer gate. It again came under attack on May 4. Bullet marks can be seen on the other structures." *20. SHIVA TEMPLE, GANDERBAL* Desecrated and damaged. *21. MATTAN TEMPLE, ANANTNAG* A mob entered the premises, after namaz, claiming it to be a Muslim shrine. *Minister of State for Home, Shri M.M. Jacob told the Lok Sabha on 12-3-1993 that 38 places of worship were damaged in J&K state, 13 in 1989, nine in 1990 and 16 in 1991.* *DETAILS OF THE TEMPLES DESTROYED IN J&K STATE AFTER DECEMBER 6, 1992* *DISTRICT ANANTANAG* *S.No* *Date* *Description of Temple* *FIR No.* *Police Station* 1. 8.12.1992 - -- "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Alvin Toffler http://wanderlustt.blogspot.com From kranenbu at xs4all.nl Sat Feb 23 01:15:14 2008 From: kranenbu at xs4all.nl (kranenbu at xs4all.nl) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:45:14 +0100 (CET) Subject: [Reader-list] [caravan99] Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 9 (February 2008) (fwd) Message-ID: <20080222204438.H29609-200000@xs2.xs4all.nl> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:33:51 +0100 From: "antoniamautempo at gmx.net" Reply-To: caravan99 at lists.riseup.net, "antoniamautempo at gmx.net" To: caravan99 at lists.riseup.net Subject: [caravan99] Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 9 (February 2008) Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 9 (February 2008) (full version at: www.gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com) Gurgaon in Haryana is presented as the shining India, a symbol of capitalist success promising a better life for everyone behind the gateway of development. At a first glance the office towers and shopping malls reflect this chimera and even the facades of the garment factories look like three star hotels. Behind the facade, behind the factory walls and in the side streets of the industrial areas thousands of workers keep the rat-race going, producing cars and scooters for the middle-classes which end up in the traffic jam on the new highway between Delhi and Gurgaon. Thousands of young middle class people lose time, energy and academic aspirations on night-shifts in call centres, selling loan schemes to working-class people in the US or pre-paid electricity schemes to the poor in the UK. Next door, thousands of rural-migrant workers uprooted by the agrarian crisis stitch and sew for export, competing with their angry brothers and sisters in Bangladesh or Vietnam. And the rat-race will not stop; on the outskirts of Gurgaon, Asia's biggest Special Economic Zone is in the making. The following newsletter documents some of the developments in and around this miserable boom region. If you want to know more about working and struggling in Gurgaon, if you want more info about or even contribute to this project, please do so via: www.gurgaonworkersnews.wordpress.com gurgaon_workers_news at yahoo.co.uk In the Febuary issue you can find: 1) Proletarian Experiences - Daily life stories and reports from a workers' perspective *** Mass Redundancies in the Gurgaon Textile Export Sector In late autumn 2007 tens of thousands of garment workers in Gurgaon were sacked. The textile exports to the US slackened, partly due to the relatively strong Rupee. In Gurgaon the paradox of capitalist boom and crisis is obvious. Private developers like DLF and Reliance thrive on the industrial and stock-market-boom, attracting billions of Rupees from international finance capital flows and thereby increasing the value of the Rupee. With the capital they attract these companies are heavily involved in setting up the Special Economic Zone in Gurgaon, of which the Textile Export Park is of major importance. Their boom, the increased value of the Rupee, is at the same time part of the reason for the slump in textile exports, a sector these very companies want to boost. All this would be a mediocre math game, if it were not about the resulting misery of thousands of working class families, e.g. like those of the Fashion Express workers (see update in this issue). Attached are several short reports from textile workers in Gurgaon, told to friends from FMS in September 2007. It becomes obvious that the economic cycle of the textile sector does not allow these workers to build up the upward pressure on wages like workers in the local metal and automobile industries currently do (see reports on several spontaneous actions to enforce the payment of the new minimum wage in this issue). *** Thoughts on Gurgaon Kidney Trade and the local Medical-Industrial Complex, January 2007 Mid-January 2008 the media reported on a private clinic in Gurgaon that during the last eight to nine years has removed about 500 kidneys, mainly from migrant workers, for the global organ trade. Most of these workers are very likely to be dead by now. This 'scandal' is just one public secret side of the capitalist drive to open new markets by opening bodies, be it as source or receivers of 'new' commodities: organs, stem cells, drugs, fertility treatment, abortions, surgery services. In Gurgaon the general 'body shop' is yet another boom sector. If you have a look at the specific industrial composition in Gurgaon you will notice that Gurgaon is an eldorado for bio-technology and the extension of the body market: a constant supply of desperate and cheap bodies from the poor parts of India (or from recently sacked garment workers?!), dozens of private clinics and medical institutions, dozens of pharmaceutical laboratories of major international companies, state subsidies for 'clean industries', a rich career-orientated upper middle-class in need of medical treatment or adjusmtment, a pleasant (medical-)'tourism infrastructure', well established (transport-)links to international markets, a mafia-type collaboration between state and private sector. In Gurgaon the capitalist production process consumes bodies on a daily basis, without producing media worthy 'scandals'. On a daily basis poor labourers are mutilated and die in factories, on construction sites, on the way to or from work. Their injuries and deaths are often covered by the very same mechanisms that made the 'kidney trade scandal' possible: victims of industrial accidents are brought to company-friendly doctors, the official administrations turn a blind eye, the victims are victimised once more (see the report on industrial accidents in newsletter #7). First we briefly summarise the facts on the 'kidney scandal' and then consider some questions concerning the systemic and 'unscandalous' elements behind it, and conclude with a brief over-view of the medical-industrial complex in Gurgaon. ***Short news item on police raids against 'illegal' migrant workers in Gurgaon, December 2007 In Gurgaon Workers News #8 we already covered the issue of an increasing safety paranoia of the local upper middle classes in Gurgaon. Against the background of the 'kidney scandal' the public (meaning ruling class!) opinion tries to turn the 'dangerous classes' (the moving proletariat!) either into helpless victims or individual punishable culprits. Given the involvement of the police in both anti-workers attacks - the collaboration with the kidney mafia and the raids against migrant workers - the only solution is the strengthening of mutual aid within the proletarian communities. 2) Collective Action - Reports on proletarian struggles in the area *** Workers' spontaneous actions enforce the payment of minimum wage in several factories, September 2007 In summer 2007 the Haryana government raised the minimum wage from a monthly 2,540 Rs to now 3,510 Rs. Most of the industrial workers did not get the minimum wage in the first place, but the government's move seems to be an anticipation of the general anger and despair amongst the workers. Friends from Faridabad Majdoor Samaachaar (FMS) collected various stories from factory workers in the area. They reported that a lot of companies try to make people sign a pay slip showing the new minimum wage while actually paying the old one. They also told us that in several factories workers refused the lower wage, organised spontaneous strikes and thereby enforced payment of the official minimum wage. Their actions show that the question of minimum wages is not a legal one, but is about immediate power relations. While the workers in the booming automobile sector managed to put pressure on the companies, their brothers and sisters in the textile sector face massive attacks at the same time. The stories are told by workers from: Maharaani Paints, Senden Vikas, Punit Udyog, Pepsi, Shyam Elanyaz, Talbros, Ahuja Plastics. *** Up-date on Fashion Express Factory Conflict In Gurgaon Workers News #3 (May 2007) we reported about a factory occupation and union conflict at Gurgaon based Fashion Express. Most workers have been working for 12-16 years at the same factory. The factory manufactures womens' garments (primarily t-shirts, blouses etc). In autumn 2007 the management decided to close down the factory. Wages were not paid. A friend sent a short update in September 2007: "Workers are also facing a lot of financial difficulties since they have not been paid in recent months. Their children have already been thrown out of school once due to non-payment of school fees. After the payment of 50 per cent of the July wages, many children have rejoined school but now the workers are facing the same problem again. We have a list of the workers and the amount of school fees each one needs to pay. The total comes to nearly 34,000". By the end of 2007 all permanent workers at Fashion Express Udyog Vihar Factory lost their jobs, up to now the issue of compensation or severance pay is not settled. 3) According to Plan - General information on the development of the region or on certain company policies ***Not yet special enough: Special Economic Zones, Part Six - - Summary on recent news items on the developing SEZ in Gurgaon The government considers abolishing the 5,000 hectare limit for SEZs and crisis-ridden Citibank internationalises their debt-disaster by investing in various IT SEZs in the Gurgaon and Faridabad areas. 4) About the Project - Updates on Gurgaon Workers News *** Glossary - Updated version of the Glossary: things that you always wanted to know, but could never be bothered to google. Now even in alphabetical order. -------------- next part -------------- caravan99 at lists.riseup.net From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sat Feb 23 11:00:14 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:30:14 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Invitation to a Talk on Capturing Calcutta- Politics of Seeing..(Mail2) In-Reply-To: <9c5daa380802220407p631c54f1wec8d24aba3449a76@mail.gmail.com> References: <9c5daa380802220407p631c54f1wec8d24aba3449a76@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <62cba67a0802222130v3d91cb01ha6faf1f191787f52@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Drik India Date: Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 6:07 AM Subject: Invitation to a Talk on Capturing Calcutta- Politics of Seeing..(Mail2) To: Drik India Dear friend, Sincerely apologies for cross posting ! Drik India cordially invites you to a talk by Ms. Ariadne Van de Ven on 23 February at the Conference Hall of Academy of Fine Arts, Cathedral Road, Kolkata from 2 pm -5 pm. * * *Ms. Ariadne Van de Ven will speak on * *'Capturing Calcutta? The Politics of Seeing'.* If you are in the city Kolkata please drop in the programme. ARIADNE VAN DE VEN was born in Holland but has lived in London for the past 20 years. She earns her living in book publishing (PR) and has been visiting India since 1993. Since 2002, she has visited Kolkata once a year for a two-week holiday. Here, she takes photographs in the streets with black-and-white film and manual 35 mm cameras. She is a tourist who has been investigating the politics of being a white woman from the west walking around a city like Kolkata with a camera around her neck. Her multi-year project, called THE EYES OF THE STREET: The Politics of Looking (Back) is ongoing. - ---------------------- In 'CAPTURING CALCUTTA? The Politics of Seeing', Ariadne explores the western photographic eye on India and the damage it does. According to her, for even when taken with the best political or humanist intentions, the famous photographs taken by the master photographers -- Henri Cartier-Bresson and Don McCullin are just two -- these images often reinforce the stereotypes that the west has of India. An exotic paradise full of graceful women in colourful saris, with elephants and gods, too, on the one hand; and a desperate hell-hole in grainy black-and-white unacceptably full of victims of poverty, hunger and disease on the other hand. She considers that both extremes are true, of course, but three major layers are missing: 1. The western view is so overwhelming that there is no space in the west for representations from India itself. 2. The icons of exoticism and of destitution both show a timeless India: without history, without politics and without western economic responsibility. 3. The complexity that the westerners see, love and crticise in their own societies, which they deny to the subcontinent and to 1 billion people. Ariadne's argument is that photographs play a major role in this stereotypical view - but an under-recognised role. She looks at images from Cartier-Bresson and McCullin to examine its effects and impacts. - -- Drik India 17/1C, Ganga Prasad Mukherjee Road Kolkata: 700025 Tel : (+91 33) 2454 5596/2475 5391 Fax : (+91 33) 2476 4794 Email : drikindia at gmail.com Web : www.drik.net/india Head Office: Drik House 58, Road 15A(New) Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Bangladesh. Tel: + 880 2 9120125, 811 2954 Fax: + 880 2 911 5044 office at drik.net www.drik.net www.majorityworld.com www.driknews.com - -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From chiarapassa at gmail.com Sat Feb 23 12:54:07 2008 From: chiarapassa at gmail.com (Chiara Passa) Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:24:07 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] "speaking at wall" OUT NOW ! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dearez, I'm glad to inform you the interactive video installation "speaking at wall" is out now. Movies at:http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall.html http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall.swf Images at: http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingat.html http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall2.html "Speaking at the wall" interactive video installation time var. 2008 by Chiara Passa This interactive video installation synthesises the voice into virtual architecture. The spectator's voice is recorded from a microphone and live time audio-video processed through the software Quartz Composer. "Speaking at the wall" develops itself on two walls and the floor. The three screenings around the corner of the three Cartesian axes reconstructs one central illusory perspective. While the spectator is inside the room and speaks close to the walls, he modifies with his voice (volume and spectrum) the whole environment around him. The words he pronounces draw a new atmosphere... a virtual desert. In this illusory dimension, infinite lines generating emptiness and distances are 'attracted' and skim one with the others, fading. The projections reconstruct the scene of a 3-D software grid as a virtual extension in motion of the architectonic space (like an animated "tromp l'eoil" on the 'Z' raw co-ordinate). The environments in motion crossing the spectator lead it to an 'unfinished space'. So the spectator is forced to confront himself with another atmosphere, a new 'digital-where'. This dimension is by now ours, is the fourth dimension. "Speaking at the wall" is a virtual opening never averred, it is a process in constant transformation and therefore it doesn't characterize any specific place. A performance idea is the base of this artwork. Watching "Speaking at the wall " the spectator will see a place that moves naturally beyond its functionality. Therefore the term "Super-place" (I had invented) can be attributed to this video installation. Exactly the contrary happens in the 'no-where' in which static presences have only the function to receive temporarily. "Speaking at the wall" probes the notion of space or better of place in order to search new possibility and dimensions which the digital world, not so much separated from the real one, offers. In fact, in this installation the space is meant as the pure shape of intuition. This three-dimensional interactive installation constructs a sort of virtual architectures and territories that elude the corporeal limits. The synthetic shape becomes design, structure, architecture and truth. If the space is the extension in all the directions by our intuitions of the real world in which material bodies are placed, "Speaking at the wall" wants to expand these possibilities of perception. Best regards, Chiara Chiara Passa chiarapassa at gmail.com http://www.chiarapassa.it http://www.ideasonair.net http://twitter.com/jogador Skype: ideasonair From namratakakkar1 at yahoo.co.in Sat Feb 23 16:23:17 2008 From: namratakakkar1 at yahoo.co.in (Namrata Kakkar) Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:53:17 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Reader-list] For and against the nativist crowd etc. In-Reply-To: <47BE962E.3040401@sarai.net> Message-ID: <796559.32048.qm@web8611.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear everybody, Thinking about the list is taking big proportions than sometimes thinking through the list. However, after reading this brilliant exchange between Vivek and Prem on this and previously the piece of Naeem mohamein, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Arnab Chatterjee and Inder Salim as already established icons of "thinking through this list", I propose SARAI should think about bringing a collection of writings titled as Best From the Reader's List. Yearly it would be, and I'm sure the quality of list writing will take care of itself. Well wishing Namrata --- Vivek Narayanan wrote: > Dear Prem, > > Thank you for your detailed and deeply informed > riposte. There are many > things to chew in it that do in fact relate to our > little crisis on the > reader list-- the difficulty of comprehending one's > relationship to > history, Gandhi as poet, the questions of lightness > and scale, the > question of how to scale up as a network-- so on. > I'm not going to be > able to run with all your interrelated points, so > I'm curious to see if > anyone else on this list might build on them or > even, perhaps, link the > other discussions going on with this one. I am > going to pick some bones > with a few things you have mentioned here and there, > but I want to do it > so as to open out your discussion and your questions > in some ways, and > this is because we are pretty much in agreement. I > owe this to the > conciliatory but engaged tone of your riposte. What > I want to try to do > is make some minor contributions in places where I > think I might have > something to add. And, as I hope to suggest, my > larger interest is > really in the idea of adding itself. > > I obviously have nothing against metaphors as a form > of thought-- I use > them myself all the time. And yet, this is > precisely why I want to note > that they can be misleading as well as seductive. > As an aside, I think > that the notion that metaphors (while being, > admittedly, indirect) are > the opposite of direct, rational thought is not > quite true. Moreover, > the commonly held belief that poetry, or poetics > (while being, > admittedly, indirect) is purely a place for the > "irrational" or the > "emotional" is also not quite true-- a poem's real > charge (and I think I > could show this with examples) really comes from the > interaction of the > rational and irrational within its structure, its > mingling of "emotion", > "thought" and "logic", not to mention the words in > which these things > are inseparable. > > That said, I want to note that, after thinking about > it some more, I > find Tsvetkov's metaphor of the opera singer, while > being powerful and > seductive, as you say, is deeply misleading for our > purposes here on > the list (and for understanding poetry's current > crisis as well-- but > I'll leave that discussion aside for now). Is the > idea of an "audience" > really the most useful here? Am I singing now to > the rapt audience of > the reader list, whose duty is only to either > applaud or throw tomatoes? > And is the idea of an audience of connoisseurs in > the opera hall likely > to scale up well? Does the idea of "audience" help > us to productively > understand the idea of "noise"? > > Keeping those questions on hold for a second, I want > to turn briefly to > your idea of the "poetics of resistance"-- it > fascinates me and I want > to hear more of course, but I'm a bit uncertain > about that old bugbear-- > resistance, aka negation. Again, resistance is > important, of course, > and ever present; but the idea of resistance itself > became its own > romance in the twentieth century; eventually, we > became unable to think > beyond resistance. Disagreement -- which is but a > synonym of resistance > for our purposes-- is fetishized purely for its own > sake, and the idea > of agreement is simplistically equated with the idea > of power. And > disagreement, when it becomes a singular and primary > objective, turns > all discussion towards the idea of winning, of > replacing or > obliterating one's opponent, and this is done either > by means of gleeful > point-scoring and one-upmanship, sometimes in the > canon-thumping style > of sophomoric sophomores or, much worse, by > ritualistic repetition of > one's basic position, louder and louder in the > manner of a child seeking > attention, until all thought-- and emotion-- flees > from the minds of > those assembled. (Another metaphor, flawed.) > > I have nothing against disagreement, obviously. But > I have a feeling > that we have something against, and > misunderestimate, agreement. > Shouldn't agreement be the legitimate other side of > disagreement's coin? > > Can't quite unpack it fully yet, but I have a hunch > that the idea of > "audience" and the idea of "disagreement / > resistance" are somehow > linked. And a hunch that it is the conjoining of > these two notions that > sometimes gives our list the flavour of a debating > society, moreover one > with some bullies sitting in who might shout > everyone else down or even > call the police on us. Is there a way to move > beyond both of these > terms in searching for an appropriate model for our > list? > > I would be the first to include myself among those > who have been overly > seduced by the idea of disagreement as a model for > productive talk on > this list. And note that I am not saying we should > "do away" with > fighting or point scoring or bullies; wherever we go > from here, it would > have to be by consensus if it is to have any > meaning. I am only asking: > is there anything we can all agree on? What > protocols might we > establish and find consensus on? And: what would be > the best picture of > our list to adopt? > > Prem, although I am also disagreeing with some of > your minor points, I > am earnestly trying to add to what you are saying, > and I hope that > others might add to what I have to say. I am asking > (uncertain, still > thinking) if it would be useful to start from the > point where we all > consciously think of the reader list as something to > add to, as opposed > to something to resolve. > > This would mean that we think of the reader list not > as a debating club, > or as a continuation of war by other means, but > rather as an experiment in > > collective collaborative writing. > > Which is exactly what it is! > > Vivek > > Prem Chandavarkar wrote: > > On 14/02/2008, *Vivek Narayanan* > > wrote: > > > > I bring this thesis up not as some kind of > advice from the gods, but > > because I am not certain if it is true. > Tsvetkov himself presents it > > only as a possible theory, and of course I'm > still puzzling around > > that > > example (metaphor?) of the opera singer. I'd > be curious to know what > > readers on this list think about-- am eager to > hear both philosophical > > and pragmatic responses-- how to bring the > muses back to this > > list. In a > > way this is to explore the inverse, positive > side of the > > anti-censorship > > debate: what are the conditions for speech, > what makes speech > > possible, > > how does one revive rich conversation? > > > > > > > > Dear Vivek, > > I do not have a specific answer to your most > interesting === message truncated === Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it on http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups From prem.cnt at gmail.com Sun Feb 24 10:54:19 2008 From: prem.cnt at gmail.com (Prem Chandavarkar) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:54:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The noisy nativist crowd In-Reply-To: <47BE962E.3040401@sarai.net> References: <960986.64584.qm@web8403.mail.in.yahoo.com> <47B3C6CB.70704@sarai.net> <7e230b560802162355s14f2c331u2efd9aa801215ad2@mail.gmail.com> <47BE962E.3040401@sarai.net> Message-ID: <7e230b560802232124j4e8be994k9401f75850ef579a@mail.gmail.com> Dear Vivek, A few thoughts / comments on your post: > I obviously have nothing against metaphors as a form of thought-- I use > them myself all the time. And yet, this is precisely why I want to note > that they can be misleading as well as seductive. I have found Cynthia Ozick's essay "Metaphor and Memory" most useful. One cannot say that all poetics uses metaphor. She talks about the fact that people tend to associate creativity with inspiration, whereas she prefers to talk about metaphor. This is not because inspiration is not used by artists (it is used frequently), but because inspiration does not demand any memory, it does not require any starting point. But because metaphor seeks to transform one thing into another, it has to start with what the other person already knows. Metaphor demands memory, it demands engagement, and is one of the means by which one can sustain memory. So if one makes that distinction between inspiration and metaphor, and looks at metaphor as a way of engaging in relationships, then perhaps that puts a check on the seductivity of poetics. As an aside, I think > that the notion that metaphors (while being, admittedly, indirect) are > the opposite of direct, rational thought is not quite true. Moreover, > the commonly held belief that poetry, or poetics (while being, > admittedly, indirect) is purely a place for the "irrational" or the > "emotional" is also not quite true-- a poem's real charge (and I think I > could show this with examples) really comes from the interaction of the > rational and irrational within its structure, its mingling of "emotion", > "thought" and "logic", not to mention the words in which these things > are inseparable. Here, let me cite the Russian Formalist - Viktor Shklovsky (who articulated these thoughts early in the 20th century). Shklovsky contested the popular notion of poetry as providing a window that frames a view of the world; where the aesthetic beauty of poetry lay outside itself in a content that resided in a reality that was external to the poem. He argued that the aesthetic of poetry lay in its form, and that is sustained by an opposition between ordinary language and poetic language. We typically use language on a daily basis in such a routine manner that we become anaesthetised to what we say. But poetry - through devices of form that are not found in ordinary language, such as rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, metre and so on - forces us out of our stock modes of perception and makes us see language again, and therefore the world again. Shklovsky defined the central aesthetic function of poetry as "making strange". He defines a powerful metaphor when he argues that all art is like the knight's move in chess - one move straight and one move crooked. The straight move relates to established memory, whereas the crooked move makes strange. Keeping those questions on hold for a second, I want to turn briefly to > your idea of the "poetics of resistance"-- it fascinates me and I want > to hear more of course, but I'm a bit uncertain about that old bugbear-- > resistance, aka negation. I do not agree that if we are talking about resistance, we are necessarily only talking about negation. That would be to argue that the issue only exists at its extreme poles and there is no space inbetween. Then you also wind up stuck in other binary oppositions such as "speaker/audience". Let us use a metaphor from science for a minute, and look at a technical definition of resistance as existing in the capability of a device - the rheostat. The device recognises that if electric current is allowed to flow unimpeded in one direction, then that is not necessarily productive, and can in fact prove destructive. By creating a resistance to the current, it channels the energy towards productive use - for example the capability to adjust the speed of a ceiling fan. Would the ceiling fan be a useful gadget if we could not control the flow of electricity through it? What we have been calling "noise" is a demand that the energy flow of speech should only go unimpeded in one direction - a group of people has to be divided into two, where only some are speakers, and the rest are only listeners. So if speech is the primary energy, an unimpeded flow in one direction translates only into power and dominance - a destructive energy. So the first level of resistance is to attempt to also reverse the direction and transform speech into conversation - an effort to make the energy constructive. Conversation takes some important first steps. It introduces the other side of speech, which is listening, and therefore defines the grounds for engagement with others. It suggests that a minimum level of symmetry should characterise all forms of engagement. But mere conversation is not enough - one should also introduce the notion of "critique". We have tended to define criticism as a form of judgment, of categorisation of good and bad, and therefore trapped by a subjectivity that limits its utility. I would propose another notion of criticsm - one proposed by the architectural critic Alan Colquhoun who said: "Criticism occupies the no-man's-land between enthusiasm and doubt, between poetic sympthy and analysis. Its purpose is not, except in rare cases, either to eulogise or condemn, and it can never grasp the essence of the work it discusses. It must try to get behind the work's apparent originality and expose its ideological framework without turning it into a mere tautology". This notion of criticism as the uncovering of ideology is most useful. It should start with the notion of critical intimacy: criticism (like charity) has to begin at home, and the first level of criticism is to seek to uncover one's own ideology. And it would go on to argue that if we do not embed an impulse to uncover ideology in our routine transactions with each other, then that allows ideology to wear a mask that permits power to seem natural. So I would strongly contest a notion of resistance as restricted to negation. I would prefer a notion of resistance as the productive channeling of energy, resistance as criticism (in the sense identified above). That would define resistance as laying down the conditions of "deep engagement" (which I defined in my earlier message), and to liberate the emergent potential that is created by engagement. To only look at resistance as negation, is to shift the discourse away from engagement, and trap it within a formal logic of binary oppositions. Regards, Prem From oishiksircar at gmail.com Sun Feb 24 11:51:53 2008 From: oishiksircar at gmail.com (OISHIK SIRCAR) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:21:53 -0600 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?For_Marx_too=2C_market=92s_boss?= Message-ID: <62cba67a0802232221u7becf103m260537c4c00e0aeb@mail.gmail.com> For Marx too, market's boss - To own proletariat bible, dish out up to a lakh to US or UK http://telegraphindia.com/1080224/jsp/frontpage/story_8942075.jsp JAYANTH JACOB New Delhi, Feb. 23: Call it the market's revenge on Marx or Marx's revenge on the market. But if you want to possess the proletariat's bible, you'll need to put some capital on the table and then some. The complete works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels can cost up to Rs 1.5lakh and come bearing the stamp of the US and Britain, two most potent symbols of capitalism. No Indian publisher brings them out — not even Leftword, which has CPM general secretary Prakash Karat as its managing director. Before the collapse of the USSR, the Soviet-owned Progressive Publishers used to sell the collected works in 50 volumes for Rs 3,000, or even less with discounts. The company wound up long ago but some old, worn-out volumes — though usually not the complete set — can still be found at the odd bookshop. In Calcutta, where the communists are ruling for 30 years, it's hard finding *Capital* Volume I, let alone the whole set, of Soviet vintage. The London-based Lawrence & Wishart offers the Indian buyer a 33 per cent discount on the Marx-Engels complete works but the price still comes to £1,500 or Rs 1.15 lakh. That goes up to Rs 1.5 lakh when you add shipping. If you want one particular volume, it costs £48, that is, Rs 3,689. The US, the Left's enemy number one, offers a better deal. International Publishers, New York, sells the entire works for Rs 52,840 — at just over Rs 1,000 a volume on an average — but the price of each volume differs. Volumes 37, 48 and 50 cost $34.95 (Rs 1,384) each. Ratish Kumar of Cosmo, the English-language publishing division of Current Books, the largest bookstore chain in communist-ruled Kerala, said: "We don't have any stocks of the series, and because of the price only libraries can afford it." The last order had come from the Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University in Kalady, near Kochi, two years ago. "It cost them around Rs 1.5 lakh," Kumar said. Russia was the theme country at this year's Delhi international book fair but not a single stall had the complete works of Marx and Engels. "The price is the reason for the fall in demand," said Ram Briksha of People's Publishing House, a bookstore on the JNU campus. PPH still has old stocks of some 24 volumes of the Progressive Publishers edition and sells them at Rs 100 per volume with a "discount up to 10 per cent" on offer. Industry sources say Indian publishers don't bring out editions of the collected works as they believe they will not find enough buyers. Leftword manager Sudhava Deshpande said his company had no plans to bring out the complete writings and preferred to publish books that explained the duo's views on current issues. As an example, Deshpande cited On the National and Colonial Questions by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, edited by Aijaz Ahmad (Rs 325). "With the fall of the Soviet Union, we don't have the cheap editions of the Marx-Engels collected works. What we are doing is bringing to people what Marx and Engels thought on various issues such as nationalism, internationalism, etc," Deshpande said. It's the market that rules, Marx would have been sad to learn. But then he might be pleased that the market puts a high price not just on his head but on his works, too. -- OISHIK SIRCAR Scholar in Women's Rights Faculty of Law, University of Toronto 60 Harbord Street Room 016 B Toronto, ON M5S 3L1 oishiksircar at gmail.com oishik.sircar at utoronto.ca 416.876.7926 From amitabh at sarai.net Sun Feb 24 18:05:40 2008 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:05:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Fifth Comic Book Reading- An Introdution to Manga Comics by Bharat Murthy. Message-ID: After the momentous 9- day comic book workshop, Sarai- CSDS and the French Embassy-FIRC are pleased to announce the 5th comic book reading , "An Introduction to Manga Comics." , by Bharat Murthy . WHAT IS THE MANGA? When did it start? How did it start? Through this reading we intend to answer these and other such questions. We will be focussing on the post-war manga boom and will elaborate on the role of Osamu Tezuka and some other important manga artists like Fujiko Fugio, Kazuo Umezu, Rumiko Takahashi, Kazuo Koike, Katshuhiro Otomo. The reading will also include a deep insight into the aesthetics of manga comics and some important genres within it. We will be talking about manga publishing/reading culture and about women's manga and women mangaka. The reading would end with a comparison between the manga and western comics. Difference between the cultural, economic and distribution models of the two. Date: 29th Febraury, 2008 Time : 5:30 p.m Venue : 2 , Aurengzeb Road, French Information Resource Center, New Delhi. Bharat Murthy has been trained as a painter in the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda. He then went to cinema from SRFTII, Kolkota and is presently an IFA Grantee' researching the comic book culture in India. He has had a long engagement with manga comic books and has personally interacted with the artists and had first hand view of the industry and the makers. From fullcontact at k-hello.org Mon Feb 25 02:07:33 2008 From: fullcontact at k-hello.org (k-hello.org) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:37:33 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] Meta Technology: ONLINE NOW. Message-ID: <47C1D58D.7010209@k-hello.org> website: http://www.TheMetaTechnology.com New strategy to understand technology gets spotlight via TheMetaTechnology.com Reggio Emilia, Italy – February 24th, 2008 – An online course about meta-technology, a new type of strategy to understand technology, has recently been launched online via the website, TheMetaTechnology.com. According to founder, Luca D'Angelo, "Meta-technology is created by taking a piece of technology and modifying its standard input-process-output flow. By using meta-technology, we can experience a different type of interaction so when we use the original technology, we gain a deeper understanding of it. It's like going to the moon, experiencing a different gravity force, and then coming back to the world so we can have a deeper understanding of the world's gravity." Meta-technology takes a piece of technology and modifies the input-process-output flow; deleting a part, altering a part, or adding a part. Meta-language was invented many years ago in order to develop an understanding of language. Now it's time for meta-technology to provide an understanding of technology. TheMetaTechnology.com offers an online course about meta-technology. The course has been prepared in a way that provides a complete multi-sensory experience to users. The online course is free and has meta-technologies and videos that explain them. Please get in touch with Giovanni Blini via email address, giovanni.blini at themetatechnology.com, for details and further information. http://www.TheMetaTechnology.com From yasir.media at gmail.com Mon Feb 25 02:08:58 2008 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?WINDOWS-1256?Q?=ED=C7_=D3=D1_~_yasir_?=) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:38:58 -0800 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: PPP to decimate judiciary (strong title) In-Reply-To: <5af37bb0802241236v5110b08ay504a8f6ef79079f3@mail.gmail.com> References: <5af37bb0802241236v5110b08ay504a8f6ef79079f3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <5af37bb0802241238x45d714c4jf8ed5f4922d1bb08@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 2008/2/21 Thanks, ____ and others for getting this important discussion going. I am afraid I may be too cynical, but I saw Zardari's press conference and it wasn't exactly confidence inspiring. When asked about restoration of judges, he dodged the issue by talking about a larger systemic change that would be brought about by the Parliament. When asked about working with Musharraf, he dodged the issue by leaving it to the Parliament to decide. When asked about forming an alliance with PML (Q), he dodged the issue by denying the existence of PML (Q) as a party without clarifying whether he'd ally himself with the group of 39 individuals who were elected on the PML (Q) ticket. In a party-based parliamentary system, parties are expected to define their position on issues and members of parliament who have been elected on the party ticket are expected to follow the party line on those issues. Zardari knows that full well. For instance, he didn't leave it for 'the Parliament to decide' whether there should be a UN enquiry into Benazir's assassination. He didn't leave it for the Parliament to decide whether the freedom of media should be protected by repealing the draconian provisions of the PEMRA Ordinance. He clearly stated his party's position on these issues and said that any coalition partners would have to agree on these pre-conditions. Quite frankly, this talk of a long-term strengthening of the judicial institution rather than a short-term focus on the restoration of individuals merely seems to be a ploy to gain time and somehow brush the travesty of 3rd November under the carpet. We didn't take to the streets clamouring for restoration because Iftikhar Chaudhry was a nice guy. We did it because we believe that if today the executive is allowed to get away with kicking out undesirable judges, we shall never in future have an independent judiciary in Pakistan. Assuring judges of security of tenure is possibly the most important single step you can take to ensure their independence. To my rather plodding mind, if you want to strengthen the judicial institution and ensure its independence, you start out by reversing the damage caused on 3rd November. There can be no ifs and buts about that. Sure, if you want take further measures to reform and improve the institution, go ahead and publicly float your specific proposals - discuss it with your coalition allies and the other stakeholders including the Bar and the Bench - and pass a law. But there is no call for linking the former to the latter (particularly when you haven't even formulated any of your radical 'reformative' ideas). It seems that PPP is creating this linkage simply to win time and eventually side-step the issue of restoration. As we saw even back when BB was alive, what Aitzaz says and what PPP says are frequently two different things. A couple of days before the election, Makhdoom Amin Fahim was asked on Geo to explain what the PPP actually meant when it talked about focusing upon the 'independence of the judiciary' rather than 'restoring individuals'. He didn't seem to have a clue. First he asked why everybody is focused on the restoration of judges removed in last November and not on the judges earlier removed by Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharraf (in 2001). Well - actually Ayub and Yahya didn't remove any judges. The judges removed by Zia are either dead or over 80 years in age. Likewise, all except 2 judges (Rasheed Razvi and Mushtaq Memon) removed by Musharraf in 2001 have long passed their retirement ages. If the PPP wants to restore those 2 as well, we would be more than happy. Also, the crucial difference between then and now is that the removal of the earlier judges through the PCO only became final once it was (unfortunately) ratified through a constitutional amendment passed by a 2/3rd majority of parliament. There has been no such ratification in the present case. Without this ratification, the deposed judges legally continue to be judges. What is stopping PPP from recognising them as such? Fahim also said that the PPP is more interested in introducing constitutional safeguards that will prevent the arbitary removal of judges as happened on 3rd November. It seems that he was simply oblivious to the whole 9th March ruckus. Those safeguards are already part of our constitution. A judge simply cannot be removed without a enquiry before the Supreme Judicial Council. The problem was that a military dictator used brute force to simply brush aside all the constitutional restraints. What we need is the political will to, firstly, resist and secondly, reverse the desecration of the constitution. Future improvements to the constitution, while welcome, come third. As far as Zardari's ideas about forming parliamentary committees to sift good judges from bad are concerned, I don't think I've heard a worse idea. If he means to use these committees to oversee the restoration process - decide on a case to case basis whether to restore or not - it is simply unacceptable. Musharraf had also offered to restore the judges on a case to case basis but the judges and lawyers refused to accept this pick and choose policy. Even if he means to use this process only for future appointments, it's still a terrible idea. Our judiciary does not need further politicisation. Political involvement in the appointment of judges will only harm the long-term stability and impartiality of the institution. Even in a country like the U.S., the fact that Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate has led to a situation where judges are defined by their political affiliations and judicial decisions become dependent on whether there are more Democratic or Republican nominees on the bench. I am sure everyone remembers the 5-4 Republican-Democrat split in the US Supreme Court that allowed Bush to become President. Our current constitutional system of appointments is not too bad. The President appoint HC and SC judges in consultation with the Chief Justice of the SC and the Governor and Chief Justice of the province concerned. The problem starts when the CJs and the Governor/President start disagreeing. In BB's second stint, matters came to a head when the PPP forced through numerous political appointees to the Bench over the objections of the CJs. Incidentally, Dogar is a product of the same period. In another famous example, a non-practising lawyer with strong PPP links was asked to take oath as a judge but needed directions to get to the High Court. Eventually, the SC resolved the issue in the Al-Jehad case by holding that the President did not enjoy discretionary powers to appoint whom he pleased but was bound to ordinarily abide by the advice/recommendation tendered by the CJs and, in case he disagreed with their recommendations, he was required to assign concrete reasons for doing so. If the guidelines laid down in Al-Jehad are strictly followed, appointment of judges becomes a relatively merit-based and politics-free affair. However, there is one important improvement that can be made to the system which is to make this whole process of consultations/appointments/assignment of reasons between the CJs and the executive branch more transparent and visible to the public so that everyone can be satisfied that the constitutional provisions and the Al-Jehad guidelines have been followed. Once again, this would not require any constitutional amendment. A simple law passed by a parliamentary majority would be enough. The next 2-3 weeks are absolutely crucial. Its make or break time. The lawyers put a very good show in Lahore and Karachi today. We need to raise the level of pressure all round to make it clear to all political parties that this issue will not die down. Rgds Salahuddin From taraprakash at gmail.com Mon Feb 25 09:10:20 2008 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:40:20 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] On Jodhaa Akbar (editorial from Hindu) References: <47C1D58D.7010209@k-hello.org> Message-ID: <003301c87760$25faac50$6500a8c0@taraprakash> Hi all. The editorial published in Hindu is really commendible. I wish the paper had taken such a stand on Taslima's tormentors, including West Bengal and central government. Culture of intolerance If we are too easily offended as a people, then we capitulate even more easily to those who take offence. The suspension of the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar in Madhya Pradesh and two Haryana districts expresses the distressing tendency of governments and local administrations to appease the intolerant by banning films or books. The Hindi film -- an extravaganza in which a marriage of political convenience between the great Mu ghal emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) and a proud Rajput princess, 'Jodhaa Bai' (Aishwarya Rai), develops, through many a fiery trial, into true love -- has evoked nasty protests in some States. Cinema halls in Rajasthan were coerced into not screening the film following threats of violence; a low intensity bomb went off at a hall screening the film in Maharashtra; and there has been some trouble in other States such as Gujarat, Bihar, and Delhi. The trouble over Jodhaa Akbar ostensibly stems from 'hurt sentiments' the film's ahistoricity caused among some groups claiming to speak for the Rajput community. There certainly "wasn't any historical character called Jodhaa Bai," as Irfan Habib, the eminent historian of Mughal India, points out; he clarifies that while it is true that Akbar married the Amber ruler Raja Bharmal's eldest daughter, "her name isn't mentioned anywhere ... and she was certainly not Jahangir's mother." (Some historians believe 'Jodhaa Bai' was emperor Jahangir's wife.) But then Jodhaa Akbar doesn't claim to be history and indeed its director has described it as "70 per cent fiction." It is significant that there was no protest when K. Asif's 1960 classic, Mughal-E-Azam, drawing on folklore and claiming no historicity, featured 'Jodha Bai' (Durga Khote) as the Rajput wife of Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor). The involvement of politicians, cutting across party lines, in the current campaign of protest and intimidation suggests, in addition to political opportunism, a worsened attitude to freedom of expression. There is absolutely no warrant for banning films on account of a perceived or real threat of violence and thus flouting Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which safeguards the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The principle that "freedom of expression protects not merely ideas that are accepted but those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population"; that law and order problems are no justification for suppressing freedom of expression; and that succumbing to threats of violence is "tantamount to negation of the rule of law" was firmly laid down by the Supreme Court in its landmark Ore Oru Gramathile judgment (1989). To suspend the screening of Jodhaa Akbar or turn a blind eye as bigots coerce cinema halls into pulling out the film is to surrender to the culture of intolerance and dishonour the Constitution. From matters.art at gmail.com Thu Feb 21 19:34:38 2008 From: matters.art at gmail.com (mattersofart.com) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:04:38 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] Mattersofart.com Feb 20th upload can be viewed online now! Message-ID: <9bbea5780802210604x5d7a2f6mdbe01e58827d99af@mail.gmail.com> Dear Friends, Greetings from www.mattersofart.com. Our Feb 20th upload can be viewed online now! * - Harsh Goenka *taks to* Anoop Kamath *about his recent show* A MAZ ING** - Special Interview with T.V. Santhosh* * - Infocus: Paddy Johnson on Jeff Koons - Feature: Archande Hande on her new website ** arrangeurownmarriage.com/ - My Work: Ashim Purkayastha *on his wok* Wings with Watermarks - Exhibition Reviews *of shows by* Ram Rahmanm, Ranadip Mukherjee, T.V. Santhosh, Josh P.S., T.P. Premjee, Dayanita Singh, Sheba Chhachhi, Kartik Chandra Pyne and Ram Bali Chauhan * Also, check our blog http://mattersofart.blogspot.com for the daily news 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 www.mattersofart.com Mobile: 98111 68775 -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From ok.president+foil at gmail.com Sun Feb 24 12:33:39 2008 From: ok.president+foil at gmail.com (Sayan Bhattacharyya) Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:03:39 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?=5Bfoil=5D_For_Marx_too=2C_market?= =?windows-1252?q?=92s_boss?= In-Reply-To: <62cba67a0802232221u7becf103m260537c4c00e0aeb@mail.gmail.com> References: <62cba67a0802232221u7becf103m260537c4c00e0aeb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <908b689f0802232303s635061cevd43a993d2dbfd3a@mail.gmail.com> On 2/24/08, OISHIK SIRCAR wrote: > For Marx too, market's boss > > The complete works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels can cost up to Rs > 1.5 lakh and come bearing the stamp of the US and Britain, two most > potent > symbols of capitalism. The yellow journalism of the Telegraph fails to mention that the complete works of Marx and Engels, and many other Marxist writers, are freely available online at the MIA: Marxists Internet Archive (MIA) -- www.marxists.org : The most complete library of Marxism with content in over 40 languages and the works of over 400 authors readily accesible by archive, subject, or history. www.marxists.org Furthermore, for those without Internet connection, they supply DVDs -- and the DVDs are FREE/DISCOUNTED for people from the developing world who won't be able to afford them. See below: : DVDs are DISCOUNTED OR FREE for residents/citizens of developing and underdeveloped countries *Most DVD sets are discounted: the buyer needs to pay for the costs of postage and/or cost of reproducing the DVDs. Most areas will require you to provide in local currency the cost of postage, usually never amounting to a 2 or 3 US dollars.* Those *not* eligable for the free or a discounted DVD are anyone living in any of the advanced industrialized countries such as the former European Community countries; Japan; New Zealand and Australia; South Korea; Taiwan; United States of America, the Israeli state and Canada. If you have any questions, must write us at payments (@) marxists.org. For more information, click here . For Free/Discounted DVDs for residents in the following countries: *Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay* or *Uruguay*, click here *Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines* or *Sri Lanka*, click here . *Turkey*, click here . *South Africa*, click here . *Vietnam*, click here . Former republics of *Yugoslavia*, click here If your country is not listed above, please write us at payments (@) marxists.org. 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Hey, why do we sell the DVD?:If the Archive is shut down by a publishing conglomerate or the government, having this information widely dispersed around the world, essentially untraceable, with the content entirely intact, is a great thing. *Putting this content on DVD allows anyone to easily burn extra copies and give them out to others, and pass the information onwards.* We've received letters of thanks from school teachers in Indonesia to workers in England who pass MIA discs on to others — with a single disc getting more wear than a growing child's shoes. Why does it cost this amount?:Partly for the reasons above and also to raise money to pay for the costs associated with running this archive. All excess money we make goes into buying and distributing *for free* discs to those who can't afford them in less advanced countries. *Did you know...* each DVD sold costs MIA $15 (to produce, mail, and subsidise free DVDs)? Thus $15 is used by MIA to pay for other costs such as server expenses, office expenses, domain name purchases, etc. From chiarapassa at gmail.com Sat Feb 23 12:53:33 2008 From: chiarapassa at gmail.com (Chiara Passa) Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:23:33 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] "speaking at wall" OUT NOW ! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dearez, I'm glad to inform you the interactive video installation "speaking at wall" is out now. Movies at:http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall.html http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall.swf Images at: http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingat.html http://www.chiarapassa.it/speakingatwall2.html "Speaking at the wall" interactive video installation time var. 2008 by Chiara Passa This interactive video installation synthesises the voice into virtual architecture. The spectator's voice is recorded from a microphone and live time audio-video processed through the software Quartz Composer. "Speaking at the wall" develops itself on two walls and the floor. The three screenings around the corner of the three Cartesian axes reconstructs one central illusory perspective. While the spectator is inside the room and speaks close to the walls, he modifies with his voice (volume and spectrum) the whole environment around him. The words he pronounces draw a new atmosphere... a virtual desert. In this illusory dimension, infinite lines generating emptiness and distances are 'attracted' and skim one with the others, fading. The projections reconstruct the scene of a 3-D software grid as a virtual extension in motion of the architectonic space (like an animated "tromp l'eoil" on the 'Z' raw co-ordinate). The environments in motion crossing the spectator lead it to an 'unfinished space'. So the spectator is forced to confront himself with another atmosphere, a new 'digital-where'. This dimension is by now ours, is the fourth dimension. "Speaking at the wall" is a virtual opening never averred, it is a process in constant transformation and therefore it doesn't characterize any specific place. A performance idea is the base of this artwork. Watching "Speaking at the wall " the spectator will see a place that moves naturally beyond its functionality. Therefore the term "Super-place" (I had invented) can be attributed to this video installation. Exactly the contrary happens in the 'no-where' in which static presences have only the function to receive temporarily. "Speaking at the wall" probes the notion of space or better of place in order to search new possibility and dimensions which the digital world, not so much separated from the real one, offers. In fact, in this installation the space is meant as the pure shape of intuition. This three-dimensional interactive installation constructs a sort of virtual architectures and territories that elude the corporeal limits. The synthetic shape becomes design, structure, architecture and truth. If the space is the extension in all the directions by our intuitions of the real world in which material bodies are placed, "Speaking at the wall" wants to expand these possibilities of perception. Best regards, Chiara -- Chiara Passa chiarapassa at gmail.com http://www.chiarapassa.it http://www.ideasonair.net http://twitter.com/jogador Skype: ideasonair _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Mon Feb 25 17:36:16 2008 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:06:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] On Jodhaa Akbar (editorial from Hindu) In-Reply-To: <003301c87760$25faac50$6500a8c0@taraprakash> Message-ID: <260115.13077.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear All, I saw the movie. It was awesome. Not going into the deep intricacies, Emperor Akbar was against for his son SALIM(later popularly known as JAHANGIR) marriage with slave girl come court dancer ANARKALI. The only reason for this is mughalais were unhappy about AKBAR marriage with the HINDU princess (Jodhabai alias Mariam Zamâni ). Due to this marriage SALIM borne and SALIM again interested to marry a Hindu girl Anarkali. Hence being feared to face the aggression from own and rival communities and to avoid conflicts and fights, Akbar sandwiched Anarkali in brick wall. This is the original story. 70% fiction is like the 2 questions that jodha putforth to Akbar at the time of her marriage, the songs in it etc., . Rest is all for destructive criticism for vulgar comments. Regards, Dhatri. TaraPrakash wrote: Hi all. The editorial published in Hindu is really commendible. I wish the paper had taken such a stand on Taslima's tormentors, including West Bengal and central government. Culture of intolerance If we are too easily offended as a people, then we capitulate even more easily to those who take offence. The suspension of the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar in Madhya Pradesh and two Haryana districts expresses the distressing tendency of governments and local administrations to appease the intolerant by banning films or books. The Hindi film -- an extravaganza in which a marriage of political convenience between the great Mu ghal emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) and a proud Rajput princess, 'Jodhaa Bai' (Aishwarya Rai), develops, through many a fiery trial, into true love -- has evoked nasty protests in some States. Cinema halls in Rajasthan were coerced into not screening the film following threats of violence; a low intensity bomb went off at a hall screening the film in Maharashtra; and there has been some trouble in other States such as Gujarat, Bihar, and Delhi. The trouble over Jodhaa Akbar ostensibly stems from 'hurt sentiments' the film's ahistoricity caused among some groups claiming to speak for the Rajput community. There certainly "wasn't any historical character called Jodhaa Bai," as Irfan Habib, the eminent historian of Mughal India, points out; he clarifies that while it is true that Akbar married the Amber ruler Raja Bharmal's eldest daughter, "her name isn't mentioned anywhere ... and she was certainly not Jahangir's mother." (Some historians believe 'Jodhaa Bai' was emperor Jahangir's wife.) But then Jodhaa Akbar doesn't claim to be history and indeed its director has described it as "70 per cent fiction." It is significant that there was no protest when K. Asif's 1960 classic, Mughal-E-Azam, drawing on folklore and claiming no historicity, featured 'Jodha Bai' (Durga Khote) as the Rajput wife of Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor). The involvement of politicians, cutting across party lines, in the current campaign of protest and intimidation suggests, in addition to political opportunism, a worsened attitude to freedom of expression. There is absolutely no warrant for banning films on account of a perceived or real threat of violence and thus flouting Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which safeguards the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The principle that "freedom of expression protects not merely ideas that are accepted but those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population"; that law and order problems are no justification for suppressing freedom of expression; and that succumbing to threats of violence is "tantamount to negation of the rule of law" was firmly laid down by the Supreme Court in its landmark Ore Oru Gramathile judgment (1989). To suspend the screening of Jodhaa Akbar or turn a blind eye as bigots coerce cinema halls into pulling out the film is to surrender to the culture of intolerance and dishonour the Constitution. _________________________________________ 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: --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. From project.labels at gmail.com Mon Feb 25 19:56:54 2008 From: project.labels at gmail.com (Raheema Begum) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:56:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] On Jodhaa Akbar (editorial from Hindu) In-Reply-To: <260115.13077.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <003301c87760$25faac50$6500a8c0@taraprakash> <260115.13077.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: applause! On Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 5:36 PM, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > > I saw the movie. It was awesome. > > Not going into the deep intricacies, Emperor Akbar was against for his > son SALIM(later popularly known as JAHANGIR) marriage with slave girl come > court dancer ANARKALI. The only reason for this is mughalais were unhappy > about AKBAR marriage with the HINDU princess (Jodhabai alias Mariam Zamâni > ). Due to this marriage SALIM borne and SALIM again interested to marry a > Hindu girl Anarkali. Hence being feared to face the aggression from own and > rival communities and to avoid conflicts and fights, Akbar sandwiched > Anarkali in brick wall. This is the original story. 70% fiction is like > the 2 questions that jodha putforth to Akbar at the time of her marriage, > the songs in it etc., . Rest is all for destructive criticism for vulgar > comments. > > Regards, > Dhatri. > > TaraPrakash wrote: > Hi all. The editorial published in Hindu is really commendible. I wish > the > paper had taken such a stand on Taslima's tormentors, including West > Bengal > and central government. > > > Culture of intolerance > > If we are too easily offended as a people, then we capitulate even more > easily to those who take offence. The suspension of the screening of > Ashutosh Gowariker's > Jodhaa Akbar in Madhya Pradesh and two Haryana districts expresses the > distressing tendency of governments and local administrations to appease > the > intolerant > by banning films or books. The Hindi film -- an extravaganza in which a > marriage of political convenience between the great Mu ghal emperor Akbar > (Hrithik > Roshan) and a proud Rajput princess, 'Jodhaa Bai' (Aishwarya Rai), > develops, > through many a fiery trial, into true love -- has evoked nasty protests in > some States. Cinema halls in Rajasthan were coerced into not screening the > film following threats of violence; a low intensity bomb went off at a > hall > screening the film in Maharashtra; and there has been some trouble in > other > States such as Gujarat, Bihar, and Delhi. > > The trouble over Jodhaa Akbar ostensibly stems from 'hurt sentiments' the > film's ahistoricity caused among some groups claiming to speak for the > Rajput > community. There certainly "wasn't any historical character called Jodhaa > Bai," as Irfan Habib, the eminent historian of Mughal India, points out; > he > clarifies > that while it is true that Akbar married the Amber ruler Raja Bharmal's > eldest daughter, "her name isn't mentioned anywhere ... and she was > certainly not > Jahangir's mother." (Some historians believe 'Jodhaa Bai' was emperor > Jahangir's wife.) But then Jodhaa Akbar doesn't claim to be history and > indeed its > director has described it as "70 per cent fiction." It is significant that > there was no protest when K. Asif's 1960 classic, Mughal-E-Azam, drawing > on > folklore and claiming no historicity, featured 'Jodha Bai' (Durga Khote) > as > the Rajput wife of Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor). The involvement of > politicians, > cutting across party lines, in the current campaign of protest and > intimidation suggests, in addition to political opportunism, a worsened > attitude to > freedom of expression. There is absolutely no warrant for banning films on > account of a perceived or real threat of violence and thus flouting > Article > 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which safeguards the fundamental right of > freedom of expression. The principle that "freedom of expression protects > not merely > ideas that are accepted but those that offend, shock or disturb the State > or > any sector of the population"; that law and order problems are no > justification > for suppressing freedom of expression; and that succumbing to threats of > violence is "tantamount to negation of the rule of law" was firmly laid > down > by > the Supreme Court in its landmark Ore Oru Gramathile judgment (1989). To > suspend the screening of Jodhaa Akbar or turn a blind eye as bigots coerce > cinema > halls into pulling out the film is to surrender to the culture of > intolerance and dishonour the Constitution. > > > _________________________________________ > 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: > > > --------------------------------- > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! > Search. > _________________________________________ > 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 indersalim at gmail.com Mon Feb 25 20:41:26 2008 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:41:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Theoretical Correctness : From Habermas to Leslie Green In-Reply-To: <452852.27668.qm@web8512.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <47e122a70802210958y6172e695gb132f53fbfebc5a7@mail.gmail.com> <452852.27668.qm@web8512.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70802250711v57c2dec3h56b5e32c474be20a@mail.gmail.com> in continuation to the performance of an undertrail throwing shit on the Judge.... 1. The flowers in the lawn were waiting for a surprise, when I went in as Aratud's double, a body without organs, but they saw me not. Part of me was farts, which rubbed the olfactory nerves of guard's noses at the gate. Whatever turned their faces to other side, I found a suitable space to move in, to enter, to push the door with text at the top: Pradhan Mantri ( PM). He was not there, but I saw a table, a miniature flag, a couple of pens, a chair with a table glass, a bouquet, a painting by the country's most expensive artist. I got up slowly and sat on the table with a table glass which reflected back, my trousers torn from behind. I pushed a little, and there it was: a lump of shit. I was the proud mother of a baby without organs. A rebel baby who will speak to the nation on Television tomorrow. 2. Shit, in 1947 they forgot. We were told that the surgeons of the partition forgot to remove a scissor a towel in the abdomen of the lady who was delivering the multi-limbed babies with two different names. It was shitty, in fact less than shit. Even shit needs a smooth passage, but they blocked it, and now it is shit of a history of bandages, blood and Betadine. They never cared, and their children too never cared to go deeper. Her body is in pain, subsequently damaging her other organs too. 3. Sallam-alikum Mohammad Joo, You don't recognize me, but I can't forget your serene and tall bearded graceful being, a Christian god like. You used to pull a raidee/thailee (cart ) full of shit on the Highway. You perhaps remember, that a short cut to our school through your mohalla (Vatal Mohalla: Dalit Colony) was full of big blue bees, bushes and a Vattal- graveyard( Dalit Graveyard ). I cant forget that… you alone, pulling that cart on the J&K Highway near Bijbehara: cart full of shit of the other. 4. ' For the unbrahmin accent of the little girl Even Saraswati wouldn't be able to write its phonetics.' (Rama Rao-Poet Telgu ) This area of the body contains shit. The universal Brahmin said to himself. The Muladhar chakra ( the cycle of root ) borrows the smell of shit, mixes it with red of the blood. The warm orange and yellow thing at this point writes inwardly: GOD. Outside, the cold yellow and orange word between two stones on the river bank next to a honey bee on the flower is desire: a reality. And this area of my body near the throat which looks bluish as one looks at it from the moon is distant from where this Brahmin yearns to be. Between my eye brows, that violet and white spinning light is madness. That journey from the bottom of spine is incapable to decipher his ' I' or the space that locates beyond 'I' .The sound OM, goes out to see stars, the sun, the moon, returns back as silence. Nothing, but nothing is the curx. There is no language. But the Brahmincal society has one… 5. "Who is this man called M.F.Hussain who loves to buy expensive cars". "My son" quickly I replied to my son's innocent question. Ha, Ha, Ha, laughed my son, who loves to upload expensive cars on my desktop. Needless to say, that I love him, so I have no choice but to live with this shit. On Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 1:25 PM, ARNAB CHATTERJEE wrote: > Dear Inder, > Thank you for this brilliant response. I > shall soon post my response to it. > Till then > arnab > > > > --- inder salim wrote: > > > nor can we gain knowledge of any feeling by > > introspection, the > > feeling being completely veiled from introspection, > > for the very > > reason that it is our immediate consciousness. > > Possibly this curious > > truth was what Emerson was trying to grasp — but > > if so, pretty > > unsuccessfully — when he wrote the lines, > > > > The old Sphinx bit her thick lip — > > Said, »Who taught thee me to name? > > I am thy spirit, yoke-fellow, > > Of thine eye I am eyebeam. > > »Thou art the unanswered question; > > Couldst see thy proper eye, > > Always it asketh, asketh; > > And each answer is a lie.« ) > > Needless to say that Aranab is truly a Muse on the > > List, and Vivek has > > all the reasons to agree with and celebrate. > > Today is a Language day, and today, after reading > > your piece 'on > > feelings', i believe a lot of > > > > people ( muses ) on the list would agree that to > > say a thing one > > needs a little more than a good arrangement of > > words…. So influenced, > > that I want to write a poem to talk further on that, > > but that too > > happens, it may happen or not, who knows. And even > > if it happens, it > > may be less than a simple prose piece. What to do ? > > Given the nature of complexity, it is not surprising > > that 'muses' > > always try to find it difficult to put full stop on > > their outbursts. > > On the contrary, some one who is less than a muse, > > always finds it > > easy to put the thought in words, crisply, usually > > to a lethal effect. > > But who is less than a Muse ? None again. I see > > from my balcony, > > domestic sparrows and crows driving away colourful > > birds and > > koels, which often irritates me, but I then educate > > my choices. > > As one can see, I am theoretically correct, but > > politically incorrect. > > Who is theoretically 'a > > > > not-muse' None. But I have found the art of living > > with paradoxes and > > so may be I am wrong, but who really cares about > > the truth. Not only > > Arnab but there is a river of text in the world that > > speaks about the > > non-existence of truth, and yet that truth…. In > > fact it must be there > > simply, but as we know, we don't have the necessary > > tools at our > > disposal to convey it accurately. We are simply > > without the absolute. > > But to say that even, Peirce rightly uses the > > expression , 'pretty > > unsuccessfully' while quoting a gem like Emerson > > stanza. > > If I the essay by Arnab has that quality of bringing > > theatre closer to > > philosophy, as we see how Derrida while talking > > about deconstruction > > as performativity, then then it becomes a little > > easier than > > otherwise. > > > > First I quote : Deconstruction is a theory that > > posits that > > signifiers and signifieds are > > > > continually breaking apart and reattaching in new > > combinations, indeed > > there is no fixed distinction between signifier and > > signified. The > > deconstruction process is not only infinite but also > > somehow circular. > > Signified keeps > > transforming into sigfnifiers and vice versa, and > > you never arrive at > > a final sign that is not a > > signifier itself. Deconstruction is not simply a > > strategic reversal of > > categories. > > Deconstruction is an attempt to dismantle the logic > > by which a > > particular system of thought is grounded as well as > > how a whole system > > of political situation and social control maintains > > its force. > > Deconstruction is a theme of the absent centre. The > > post-modern > > experience is widely held to stem from a profound > > sense of ontological > > uncertainty. > > > > For Judith Butler performative is understood as a > > stylized repetition > > of acts that like Derridian citation—" always a > > reiteration of a norm > > or set of norms, which means that the act that one > > does , the act that > > one performs it, in a sense, an act that has been > > going on before one > > arrived on the scene.So in that sense, we are > > condemned to repeat to > > say and act what has been going on before we arrived > > on the scene. We > > can say ' theoritically incorrect' as well, because > > it was uttered > > before as well, and only some performativity can mix > > its theory and > > practice together, to unleash that > > unpridictable....Thus what was not > > uttered too can get its wings to contribute to " The > > Architecture of > > Deconstruction" > > > > Here, I am writing all this, not because people > > don't know, but to > > repeat, and repeat it like a > > performance, to see it again, to realize it again. I > > shall do it > > again, and that I guess is the job of a reasonable > > muse. I am trying > > to be one. > > In the above quoted passage from Derrida, there is a > > phrase ' > > ontological uncertainty'. I hope Arnab can give us > > more on that than > > I can….. I remember, that how surrealists once > > used a term ' critical > > paranoia: a state of mind that brings madness closer > > to consciousness > > without falling into its abyss. > > > > So, I guess one has to keep on talking about all the > > interesting > > things and also uninteresting things. We really > > don't know how to > > decipher the ontology of our uncertainties. They > > were not > > uncertainties in the first place if we know them, > > and that is why I > > am not even writing about that > > . > > For example, the debate on sexuality which Aranab > > initiated around a > > post on Taslima. I once read a line " Sexuality is > > not innate but a > > product " and I thought that I know enough about the > > word sexuality > > and its politics etc, but from feminist readings I > > am too narrowly > > positioned on the discourse on sexuality. Similarly > > about politics, I > > looks it is dead, but it is not. May I am dead or > > may be not kind of > > thing… > > > > The question is really about 'the present' which > > encompasses all the > > thought in one go, which somehow ejects out our > > beings from the > > tightly held structures, not only of languages, but > > other contrived > > corridors of thinking. We can move from written > > word to oral and come > > back to photography. From there we can move to > > painting, and then do > > some theatre. From there we can reflect a piece on > > the Sarai reader > > list, and wash our socks. Then go to bazaar to buy > > some vegetables and > > pay the telephone bill. The list is long, as long as > > life itself, and > > that is how it is…. > > > > Before, coming back to Taslima, I think of Teesta. > > When I heard about > > Teesta, I got a carpenter's call who had this > > Pakeeza ringtone in a > > mobile. Inhee Logoon nay… sipayan say poocho, jis > > nay bazarya mein > > cheena dupta mera. ( These are the people who > > snatched my head scarf… > > Don't ask me, ask the policeman who snatched my > > headscarf in the > > market ) song of a prostitute in the film. > > > > Some one is there who provoked CJI, otherwise a lot > > of such stuff gets > > published in the country. That is that, but the fact > > has come to the > > fore, that the law can not compromise on the > > dissent when it comes to > > direct criticism of law itself. That is the message. > > Now if someone > > questions about the delayed justice in India, or > > about the millions of > > pending cases then what will be his excuse, > > except that judiciary is structurally inadequate and > > only some quick > > governmental remedy can save the judiciary from > > committing mistakes > > unwittingly. > > > > Some 17 or 18 years back I read in newspaper that > > how an under trail > > threw his shit ( ) on the face of a judge because he > > was poor and was > > languishing in jail for years. > > His name was Rakesh. I had that paper cutting > > preserved somewhere, I > > must find it. That was performance. What do you > > think? > > > > With love and regards > > indersalim > > > > > > > > > > > > On Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 2:39 PM, ARNAB CHATTERJEE > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > Dear Shuddha and others, > > > Your question > > in > > > resonse to my Beyond : Taslima's mimesis and > > feminist > > > Theory(what on earth is 'theoretically > > incorrect'? > > > Can theory be 'correct' or 'incorrect'?) is > > > intriguing, interesting and enabling enough so > > much > > > so that I might just begin by a provocative > > counter > > > question: if all theories are correct and no > > theory > > > is incorrect or false, then the theory of error > > > itself is erroneous and so on and so forth. In > > fact > > > you are not keen to recognize that the theory of > > truth > > > itself might not be true. When we argue we are > > > actually into debating this contrary correctness > > and > > > determined by the "force of the better argument" > > often > > > there could be just one true correct answer. This > > > apart there are a few didactic ruses for me by > > which > > > my usage, purposively, could be meant : I'll urge > > that > > > the current assumptions in sexual harassment > > > discourse -- in which tactile sense data of > > touching > > > and the question of sexual feeling is absolutely > > > expelled or rooted out ( except the revolting > > feeling > > > ( feeling still) of the respondent) to make a > > > normative point, be contrasted with the > > theoretical > > > discussion of feeling and here I give a precise > > > reference instead of just citing a high sounding > > > phrase like "phenomenology of feeling" in > > > understanding sexual commitment in groping > > behaviour > > > in public places. I will primarily refer to this > > text > > > by CS Pierce http://www.textlog.de/4298.html > > and > > > request the readers to inquire why the feminist > > > discussion of sexual violence ( or sexual ethics) > > > bypasses several theoretical-and philosophical > > > objections—even schools in order to engage in > > what is > > > known as 'feminist reductionisms." Avoidance of > > this > > > deep, inward critique is more visible in newspaper > > > articles : have a look at that and you'll > > understand > > > what is gender, caste or class sensitive but > > > theoretically incorrect and incoherent > > standpoint. > > > A theoretically correct standpoint can take all > > > challenges, it doesn't take recourse to cunning or > > > makes practical excuses. Leslie Green similarly > > talks > > > about Dworkin and Mackinnon et. al for making such > > > theoretically incorrect arguments to ban > > pornography > > > in Canada; but even though theoretically > > incorrect, > > > they were practically enough and who knows > > –socially > > > required too. Today's feminisms are full of such > > > vacuous muscle flexing. > > > > > > Now, to the main point : what on earth is > > > "theoretical correctness?" There is a huge > > literature > > > on all of this so I'll be limited and sketchy for > > the > > > time being but promise more if required. > > > > > > Let me tell you my source first : I owe much to > > > Habermas when I use this phrase; owe but with a > > > difference. Today I shall state this while not > > going > > > into the details of my adoption with > > qualification. > > > We can start with an offhand approach > > by > > > taking theoretical correctness in scientific ( or > > > empirico analytic) discourses. There a theory is > > > incorrect if the axioms it proposes is > > invalidated > > > say—in experiments or other forms of self > > -referential > > > 'methodological' moorings peculiar to science. In > > > other forms of human ( historical-hermeneutic) > > > sciences, the question of theoretical correctness > > has > > > been debated for the last 200 years or so. But to > > ease > > > this trouble let us take a simple approach. Marx > > > himself never believed that all theories could be > > > equally true or correct or otherwise he would not > > have > > > laid emphasis on practical-critical sensuous > > activity > > > where theory has to prove itself and vice versa. > > But > > > these are old debates and Shuddha and all others > > are > > > well aware of this; my point here is to hint at > > the > > > availability of the option of true theory in > > older > > > discourses also. So there you have the precursors. > > In > > > between you can throw in the fact that theory > > > consistently has been held to have been generating > > or > > > relying upon abstract universals ( supposedly > > immune > > > to interests) while practice is concrete, > > particular > > > and interested. Much of this has been refuted. But > > > what has not been refuted is that truth is simply > > not > > > discursive : that we sit and talk and come to a > > > consensus that this is true and it becomes true. > > There > > > are statements or propositions which are true or > > > false. There are such things as true, false, > > right, > > > good and correct.There is an internal > > justification > > > that is necessary other than an external one. > > > Starting from this assumption and using Habermas's > > > insights, we can make a clear departure here. The > > > erstwhile discourse of practice didn't admit of > > truth > > > or correctness (I'm overriding for simplicity's > > sake > > > the little hiatus of levels between declarative > > claim > > > to truth and the normative claim to > > correctness—as in > > > late Habermas.). For example that women should go > > out > > > and vote or wear a particular sign when they are > > > married or who will love whom was not considered > > akin > > > to statements that could be true or false. But > > the > > > moment the feminists started debating these rules, > > > norms, or customs—it could be said that the > > question > > > of correctness was brought about in the realm of > > > practice through their argumentation. That social > > > norms could be debated for their validity claims > > has > > > been emphatically made by Habermas. Why child > > marriage > > > should be shunned became a matter of > > argumentative > > > justification and thus particular norms or customs > > > were not simply in-appropriate, they were > > incorrect. > > > "Practical questions admit of truth ..and correct > > > norms must be capable of being grounded in a way > > > similar to true statements." Validity involves a > > > notion of correctness analogous to the idea of > > truth. > > > And this applies to all those harassment norms, > > > groping forms and all that we were discussing. > > And if > > > there is a debate ( moreover if they are to be > > > justified) then it must be intersubjectively > > > validated, agreed? Now, to examine a validity > > claim > > > in a discourse, one stops conveying information or > > > experiences from the empirical standpoint ( i.e., > > > variety in difference), and brackets or suspends > > all > > > judgment to examine a problematised validity > > claim. > > > This is extrication from all claims to action or > > > practical rationality and is absolutely self > > reflexive > > > or theoretical. A "critique of knowledge" is the > > aim > > > of theoretical discourse; "political will > > formation " > > > is the aim of practical discourse. Therefore, it > > is > > > easy and obvious now : what is politically > > incorrect > > > may be theoretically correct and what is > > > theoretically incorrect may be politically > > correct. > > > > > > Let me try to explain this a bit. And this > > > though I first wrote as a post edit article in > > > Anandabazar Patrika in 2000, I still hold that > > point > > > as unrefuted. Consider the anti harassment > > legislation > > > initiated by the Supreme Court which it calls > > 'norms' > > > and must be instituted in all offices. It > > catalogues a > > > list of 'unwelcome sexual behaviour'which ranges > > from > > > sexual propositions to showing pornography and so > > and > > > so forth. My question was, why don't they give a > > list > > > of welcome sexual behaviour, all men/women will > > act > > > accordingly and there will be no problems. But > > > everybody knows that that is ridiculous. Hence if > > you > > > cannot bring that list, how come you bring the > > list of > > > unwelcome sexual behaviour and catalogue hilarious > > > items? If sexual propositioning in workplace is > > > harassment, then where there are so called 'sex > > > workers' -who are looking forward and waiting > > badly > > > for those sexual propositions, what will happen > > to > > > the norm?. Sexual harassment in workplace is > > > ridiculous when sex itself is work. But couldn't > > the > > > sex workers be harassed ? Ofcourse, but there the > > > harassment has to be non sexual in order to be > > outside > > > of work ( like sex here is considered external to > > > work in office). For them there will be a > > separate > > > list I guess. But my central tendency was > > > theoretically considered such lists are not > > possible. > > > In this, I remember having phoned Partha > > Chatterjee- > > > when I was writing this article and I did include > > his > > > point in the article. He simply discouraged me by > > > saying that there is less use of theoretical > > > objections here; a consensus is assumed and such > > norms > > > should be put in place as protection -- is also > > > warranted; it is practically useful. There was > > nothing > > > for me not to agree. > > > I'll argue today—after seven years since that > > > article, in the domain of ordinary discourse > > > feminist claims are still made in the context of > > > everyday life, but are not allowed to be > > > problematised. Correctness here is in accordance > > with > > > the rules. The call for argumentative > > justification is > > > overruled in favour of moral, practical or > > political > > > propriety. Let me tell you that I don't doubt the > > > strategic essentiality in all this but reiterate > > again > > > as above that what is practically useful or > > > politically correct may not be theoretically > > correct > > > too. We have to live with this disjunction like > > people > > > live with gonorrhea or AIDS. And this is why I use > > and > > > often use 'theoretical correctness ( in the sense > > of > >> truth)', and I only hope Shuddha now onwards will > > use > > > that too. > > > > > > Finally an exemplary reference : Leslie > > > Green—one of the greatest legal ( and social ) > > > philosophers of our time and now a philosopher of > > law > > > at Oxford has deployed the phrase theoretical > > > correctness while he talks in this mode , "the > > central > > > theoretical error thus lies……etc…." [ Leslie > > Green, > > > Sexuality, Authenticity, and Modernity, Canadian > > > Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 8(1), January > > 1995, > > > p.80]. I consider Leslie ( who is equally > > outspoken > > > about "feminist reductionisms") one of my abstract > > > gurus, so if Shuddha goes to Leslie with this--- > > a > > > bit sly entreaty, "What on earth is theoretical > > > error?" I'm sure Leslie will give a far better > > > answer. > > > > > > Till then > > > Arnab > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it > > now, on > > > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/ > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > > the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > > subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > > the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the > > subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > Bring your gang together - do your thing. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups > > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From swakkhyar at gmail.com Tue Feb 26 00:02:40 2008 From: swakkhyar at gmail.com (swakkhyar deka) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:02:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FM radio Message-ID: <99ca36500802251032v8539948l68c0fe2e5530c88e@mail.gmail.com> hi folks......can anybody inform me as to how to go about setting up an FM radio station....right from the costs involved to getting the permission.... From sadan at sarai.net Tue Feb 26 16:03:45 2008 From: sadan at sarai.net (Sadan Jha) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:03:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History Message-ID: <1a9a8b710802260233s7e576159u84f70096ca2383a3@mail.gmail.com> Dear All, Today, I have read this mail from H-ASIA and thought to share it with you. This is in solidarity with faculty members and students of History Department, D.U. sadan. H-ASIA: Assault upon the Delhi University History Department H-ASIA Frank Conlon to H-ASIA H-ASIA Feburary 25, 2008 Assault by Hindutva mob on the Delhi University History Department ************************************************************************ From: Frank Conlon Earlier this month, our colleague Sumit Guha, forwarded some posts regarding a protest that had been generated by the VHP-linked ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad)--a highly politicized "student" movement of the Hindu right in India. Some of our readers will take exception to that description, but on the basis of all press accounts, I feel comfortable writing it. Like everything else, the story requires some context, and, remarkably, as in the debacle fifteen years ago when a Hindutva-inspired crowd demolished a mosque at Ayodhya on the pretense that it was built on the actual historical birthplace of the god Rama, Rama once again figures prominently in the story. Over the past months there has been a resurgance "Rama"publicity arising in part out of a proposed dredging of the sea bed near the southern tip of India for creation of a safe deepwater passage for coastal vessels. This was seized upon by interested parties who argued that this dredging would involve disruption of a natural feature in the seabed, known as "the Rama Setu" that has been credited in mythology to Rama's conquest of Lanka in the Ramayana epic poem. In popular consciousness mythology usually trumps geology and hydrology--(and I refer here not only to India!) if they ever mix it up in the ring of public affairs. So, much has been written in the past months about reasserting the vitality of Lord Rama and the preservation of the Rama legacy. Ever alert for issues upon which to mobilize followers and generate press, a substory of the above emerged in Delhi earlier this year. Protests were mounted over what was called a "book" "published" by the Delhi University History Department--and attributed--erroneously--to Professor Upinder Singh, a Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Indian History. The fact that Professor Singh happens to be the daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is, one suspects, not coincidental with the association of her name with the protest. The "book" was in fact not a publication at all, but a collection of "readings" for the Delhi University concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture in the B. A. (Honours) programme. The packet included an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation", which has appeared earlier in a collection of the works of Ramanuman edited by Vinay Dharwadker and previously in Paula Richman's path-breaking collection of essyas _Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia_ (U California Press, 1991). Of course, many readers of H-ASIA are familiar with the broad corpus of A. K. Ramanujan's contributions to the study of the history and culture of India including his wonderful translations of Tamil and Kannada bhakti poetry. At some point, a packet of these essays was photocopied in a Delhi shop with a "title page" crediting Upinder Singh, and out of that was manufactured a "new outrage regarding the hurting of feelings of devout Hindus" by the Delhi University History Department. An example of the rhetoric plied against Ramanujan's essay may suffice to give a flavor of the campaign. >From http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/3819.html The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Jan 18, 2008 post proclaims that Ramanujan in his essay "even sorts out a tale from Santhal folklore and puts forth the greatest outrage to Hindu psyche before the students of literature that Ravan as well as Lakshman both seduced Sita. No one on Earth so far dared to question the character of Sita so brazenly as Shri Ramanunjan has done, though, all through under the convenient cover of a folklore! "Sorting and picking out anything negative found in different versions of Ramayana spread all over the world with malicious intention has become a practice under the UPA [current Indian coalition government]. Despite the repeated protests by Hindu leaders, Shiksha Bharati and Shiksha Bachao Andolan, the practice still continues. "In a latest instance, the Delhi University for its BA (Hons) second year course has included portions defaming and denigrating the characters of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita and projecting the entire episode as fallacious, capricious, imaginary and fake." and it goes on to cite a groundswell of Hindu indignation that such blasphemies could be perpetrated by the Delhi University History department, and, of course, in particular, the daughter of the Prime Minister. On February 2, 2008, the Delhi University History Department issued the following statement: DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, IN ITS MEETING OF 04/02/2008 1. A number of groups have organised protest and have raised objections to the inclusion of an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation". The essay had been published in Vinay Dharwadker (ed.) The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 131-60; [this was an expanded version of a piece that first appeared in Paula Richman (ed.) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia Berkeley: niversity of California Press, 1991]. The said essay is one of he readings for the Delhi University concurrent course on ncient Indian Culture in the B. A.(Honours) programme, which has been offered in several Colleges from July 2006 onwards. 2. The sole purpose of this course is to create an awareness and understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ancient India among students, and to acquaint them with original sources. Apart from the reading mentioned in the letter, the course includes readings on Kalidasa's poetry, Jataka stories, ancient Tamil poets and poetry, ancient iconography, and the modern history of ancient artifacts. The essay is part of a unit titled 'The Ramayana and Mahabharata - stories, characters, versions.' It is accompanied by an excerpt from Iravati Karve's book, Yuganta: The end of an epoch. Supplementary readings include the Introduction of Robert P. Goldman's The Ramayana of Valmiki: an epic of ancient India (the most recent and most authoritative English translation of the epic), which gives a detailed, scholarly introduction to the Valmiki Ramayana. 3. The late A. K. Ramanujan (recipient of several honours, including the Padmashri) was a widely acclaimed scholar with impeccable academic credentials. His expertise in a range of languages including Sanskrit,Tamil and Kannada was perhaps without parallel. His credentials as a scholar, writer, and teacher with extensive knowledge of ancient Indian literary traditions are incontestable. It is sad to see his name and work being subjected so such ill-informed controversy. In the article in question, he illustrates and analyses the great dynamism and variety in what he describes as 'tellings' of the story of Rama within India and across the world. 4. The concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture and the readings for it went through the same procedure as all other courses in the University of Delhi pass before being adopted. The readings have not been devised or 'compiled' by any individual. Like all the other University courses, they are the product of a consultative process involving many members of the University community. The content and readings for this course were discussed extensively among Department members and College teachers, and were approved through the regular University procedures in statutory bodies, namely the Committee of Courses, Faculty of Social Sciences, Academic Council, and the Executive Council, which include teachers of all disciplines. The Academic Council is the highest statutory body on academic matters in the University. 5. We would like to emphasize that there is no published compilation of the course readings by Dr. Upinder Singh or any other member of the Department of History. However, it has come to our notice that there is a spiral-bound collection of photocopies of the individual articles and excerpts related to this course at certain photocopying shops. This set of hotocopies has a covering page on which Dr. Upinder Singh's name has been typed, without any authorization whatsoever, as a 'compiler.' It is this collection of photocopies that is being incorrectly described as a 'book' compiled by her. There is in fact no book. 6. When readings are prescribed in a course, it is not essential that the course-designers, teachers, or students should agree with or defend each and every word therein. In fact debate, dissent, and dialogue are important parts of the discipline of history. It may be pointed out that the terms that have apparently caused offence to certain individuals should in no way be construed as mischievous or slanderous. There is no question whatsoever of intending or attempting to denigrate or hurt the sentiments of any culture, religion, tradition, or community. 7. The aim of the course in question is to teach University students (who are, after all, young adults) to be able to analyze a variety of source material academically, analytically, and without embarrassment or denigration. That is the spirit in which the course was framed and that is the spirit in which we believe it is being taught. ------ On the same day _The Telegraph_ (Kolkata) reported that Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had demanded that "the book" be banned. (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080203/jsp/nation/story_8857319.jsp) under a headline: "PM daughter in Ramayan row" New Delhi, Feb. 2: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati has asked the Prime Minister to ban a text recommended for Delhi University history students that allegedly contains objectionable references to characters in the Ramayan. Mayavati made the written request to Manmohan Singh after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's student wing, protested in Delhi and Lucknow, claiming the contentious text was part of a book compiled by the Prime Minister's daughter Upinder Singh. Upinder Singh, a professor of ancient Indian history at DU, has, however, denied she had compiled the piece or recommended it to her students. "I have absolutely nothing to do with this text. The contentious article is not written by me. Nor is there any book of mine which contains the article. I fail to understand why I am being linked to the text," she told The Telegraph. Sources close to Mayavati confirmed that the chief minister had not yet seen the "book", but said her letter to the Prime Minister was motivated by concerns over law and order in her state." The report continued with a quotation from the ABVP Delhi General Secretary Ms. Niharika Sharma "This is a deliberate attempt to hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community." Asked why the ABVP was seeking a ban instead of allowing college students to debate the contents of a research publication, Sharma said the organisation was worried students would feel pressured to replicate Ramanujan's version in their exam. "If the article is taught, students will be expected to reproduce it in exams as well. IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, UNLESS YOU WRITE WHAT IS TAUGHT IN CLASS, YOU DO NOT GET MARKS [emphasis added] Hindu students will be forced to write something they do not believe in," she said. The ABVP has already sent memoranda to the DU vice-chancellor and the head of the history department seeking deletion of Ramanujan's essay from the course. "Upinder Singh has most definitely compiled a book with the objectionable text as a chapter. The book has not yet been published but we have a copy," Sharma said." Karl Rove has nothing to teach the Hindu Right when it comes to generating controversy (and here I will adopt the standard American ploy for remarks that generate offense--I apologize to those who may be offended by my editorial comment. FFC] To make a long story longer, today I received a report that a group of ABVP activists vandalized the office of the Delhi University History department and physically manhandled the head of the department. The following is reproduced as received including a note from the Head of Department Professor S. Z. H. Jafri and an open letter from department students. It was forwarded by Professor Indrani Chatterjee. Dear Colleague, This is to inform you that the ABVP activists had come to the Department around 2.00 p.m. with the intention of causing some damage to the structure and gaining some mileage from it. They partly succeeded in their venture. No injuries to anybody except the glass doors has been caused. The other details you can see from the students letter which follows. Professor S.Z.H. JAFRI DOWN WITH ABVP VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS! PUNISH THE CULPRITS! 25th February 2008. At about 2 pm in the afternoon an organised mob of more than 100 people from outside the university led by the ABVP activist Vikas Dahiya gathered outside the building of the School of Social Sciences. Some 8-10 people came to the office of the Head of the Department of History, Prof S.Z.H. Jafri saying that they wished to speak to him and to Prof B.P. Sahu about the curriculum of BA Part II, History (Concurrent). They insisted on speaking only once the media was present. Once the media arrived, in place of speaking to the department members, they began to ransack the department. Even without speaking or giving a chance to the people present there from the department to speak, these people toppled the table and ransacked the office of the head of the department. One of them also manhandled Prof. Jafri and held him by his collar and hurled abuses at those present there. Considerable damage to the property of the department by breaking the glass panes, damaging books, office files and other objects in the office was done and all inthe presence of the media personnel and the very passive police! The outsiders threatened the faculty members and warned them of dire consequences. This is a clear act of vandalism. It is clear that they had come with the clear intention of perpetuating violence in the department and it was a planned action to create an atmosphere of terror. This incidence occurred in the very presence of the police personnel as well as the media. The media footage would clearly show all that happened in the office of the head of the Department of History on the 25th afternoon. The attack by 8-10 robust hooligans, not belonging to the university, on absolutely defenceless faculty members of the Department of History is a shameful act in itself. Trying to force the faculty members to change the curriculum of history which has been passed by the due legal process of the University through the use of force is a clear act of fascism which is not acceptable in a democracy. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right of every individual and any encroachment on the same is not tolerable. It is democratic structures and values which are seriously threatened. This is an appeal from the students of history department to everyone in the University to raise their voice against this vandalism and this fascist attempt to scuttle the freedom of expression . We appeal to all students, staff and teachers To JOIN the Protest March at 10.30 a.m. at Vivekanand Statue, Faculty of Arts on the 26th of February, 2008. Whether one feels that A. K. Ramanujan was a great intellectual or not; and whether one agrees that India's past is a fit subject for critical analysis, I believe that H-ASIA members will deplore this 'media-savvy' creation of a physical assault on an academic department at Delhi University. As of the moment, I have not received an e-mail address to which comments may be relayed, but one immediate possibility would be to send comment for forwarding to Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan at Delhi University. The postal address for the head of the department is: Prof. Saiyid Zaheer Hussain Jafri, Head, Department of History, Faculty of Social Science building, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007. I will add one more personal editorial note that again will offend some folks (and not the ones offended earlier either)--this episode offers, in my view, the fruits of politicizing the past and our study of it--and while concepts of secular humanistic research in Europe, America and other parts of the world may not resemble the Indian concept in which secularism means "no offense to any religion"--we frequently find urselves as scholars and teachers facing the "concerns" of various practitioners of what may be called 'identity politics'--in the secure world of North America, the risks of mob action are small--but there are far too many university administrators--wedded to the concept of 'student as customer' who wring their hands over anything academic which smacks of ontroversy. In other words, Delhi University's misfortune is not quite as exotic as some folks on this side of the kala pani would like to believe. Frank Frank F. Conlon Professor Emeritus of History, South Asian Studies & Comparative Religion University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3560 USA Co-editor, H-ASIA President, H-NET Humanities & Social Sciences Online Managing Director, Bibliography of Asian Studies Online ****************************************************************** To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: -- Sadan Jha Assistant Professor, Centre for Social Studies. Vir Narmad South Gujarat University Campus. Udhna-Magdalla Road. Surat. Gujarat. India. blog: mamuliram.blogspot.com From dissemination.jbnaudy at gmail.com Wed Feb 27 04:18:42 2008 From: dissemination.jbnaudy at gmail.com (Jean-Baptiste Naudy) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:48:42 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] SOCIETE REALISTE - Activities: March 2008. In-Reply-To: <80561c450802261446o608f232j97efe2f21dcc14d2@mail.gmail.com> References: <80561c450802261446o608f232j97efe2f21dcc14d2@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <80561c450802261448w5567f0f0wc3ee4e687a374961@mail.gmail.com> SOCIÉTÉ RÉALISTE Activities: March 2008. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TABLE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - i/ UTOPIA TRANSFER Collective exhibition Opening: Tuesday 4 MAR, 18:00 Open through Sun 6 APR. Kiscelli Museum, Kiscelli u. 108, BUDAPEST within the frame of The Low Festival http://www.lowfestival.hu ii/ SPECULUMS FOR SPECULATIONS Lecture Tuesday 25 MAR, 20:00 a lecture at Maison Descartes Vijzelgracht 2A, AMSTERDAM www.maisondescartes.com iii/ MA: SOLITON Lecture Friday 28 MAR, 19:00 following an invitation by The Upgrade! Paris at La Cantine 12 Galerie des Panoramas / 151 rue Montmartre, IIe, PARIS http://www.incident.net/theupgrade http://lacantine.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CONTENT: *UTOPIA TRANSFER* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Collective exhibition Featuring works by: Aernout Mik, Atelier van Lieshout, Bik van der Pol, Falke Pisano, Krijn de Koning and Société Réaliste. Curated by: Barnabás Bencsik UtopiaTransfer is a group show intended to represent different artistic approaches to the notion of 'utopia', using the sources and methods of utopian thought and reflecting the consequences of either the continuation or the rejection of this intellectual tradition. Utopian thinking produces a vision of the future, regardless of whether the utopia is realizable or not. What matters most is perception of the human instinct, the impulse to speculate about the future equipped with one's hopes, wishes, wants and dreams. The vision that emerges from these 'raw materials' is secondary. Ultimately, utopia exists in the mind of anyone who voices their dissatisfaction with the status quo or who has a vision of the future that differs in some respects from the present. After the failure of the twentieth century's biggest political utopian experiment, so-called 'real socialism', as well as the failure of the century's greatest cultural utopian experiment, modernism, our society has entered a state of transition between illusion and disappointment, between continuously renewed hope and unavoidable supervening of disillusion. This societal malaise is not just an experience found in the ex-Communist world; in the era of global capitalism, dissatisfaction is present everywhere. Opening: Tuesday 4 MAR, 18:00 Open through Sun 6 APR. Location: Kiscelli Museum, Kiscelli u. 108, Budapest within the frame of The Low Festival http://www.lowfestival.hu Monday 3 MAR, 18:00 Together with the other artists of the exhibition, Société Réaliste will present its contribution to UtopiaTransfer at KÉK - Contemporary Architecture Centre, Nefelejcs u. 26, Budapest - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CONTENT: *SPECULUMS FOR SPECULATIONS* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lecture In *Speculums for speculations*, Société Réaliste, using etymological resources, produces an interbred research around two lexemes: *speculum* and *speculation*. The archaic latin verb *specere*, meaning *to look*, has developped three derivative terms, currently dissociated: * spectacle; * speculum, *mirror* in latin, or in the contemporary medical lexicon, *a tool for examining cavities*; * speculation, theoretical as well as financial. By comparing, melting and instrumentalzing these terms, Société Réaliste yields a reading prism for contemporary art forms and positions its own reseraches in a double perpective: the progress towards a "speculative" as well as "specular" knowledge construction. Tuesday 25 MAR, 20:00 a lecture at Maison Descartes Vijzelgracht 2A, Amsterdam www.maisondescartes.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CONTENT: *MA: SOLITON* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lecture *MA: Soliton* is a typological inquiry about Solitonism, commissioned by Ministčre de l'Architecture . In this research, Ministčre de l'Architecture has demanded to continue the work of some eminent physicists about non-linear waves, by proposing to extend the analysis of Solitons to the field of the politics of space, and more precisely for reading activities like design or the erection of buildings. *MA: Soliton* has been produced in 2007 for Multitudes Icones, a collective website contributing to the Documenta 12 Magazineproject. Friday 28 MAR, 19:00 following an invitation by The Upgrade! Paris La Cantine 12 Galerie des Panoramas / 151 rue Montmartre, IIe, PARIS http://lacantine.org ========================= SOCIÉTÉ RÉALISTE Gróf / Naudy intelligence at societerealiste.net http://www.societerealiste.net ========================= -- SOCIÉTÉ RÉALISTE, Paris, 2008. From sananth99 at gmail.com Wed Feb 27 12:50:54 2008 From: sananth99 at gmail.com (Ananth S) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:50:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Global Warming and Commerce Message-ID: Global Warming Melts New Sea Lanes for Norilsk, ConocoPhillips By Hugo Miller http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news? pid=20601109&sid=aQ4ROJIItxvU&refer=home Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Norilsk, the world's biggest producer of nickel, is building its own shipping fleet to capitalize on the melting of the polar ice caps. The company ordered five reinforced cargo vessels that can plow through the waters north of Siberia as new sea routes open. Norilsk is spending at least 320 million euros ($467 million) to buy reinforced vessels rather than rent both freighters and icebreaker escorts. The thawing sea ``has enormous economic implications, and commerce is going to push this ecological zone to the limit,'' says Rear Admiral Timothy McGee, head of the U.S. Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Global warming, while threatening environmental disasters, is creating economic opportunity for shippers, makers of ocean cargo vessels and tour operators. New routes may expand access to the world's second-biggest oil supply, deliver U.S. wheat to Asia 30 percent faster and increase Arctic tourism as much as 50 percent in a decade. Ice shrinkage may enable ships to sail straight over the top of the world, cutting an 11,000-mile (17,699-kilometer) trip to 7,000 miles and saving as much as 11 days and $800,000 in fuel and labor. Investment in reinforced vessels jumped fivefold to $2.5 billion in 2006 from $500 million in 1999 and may climb 10 percent a year through 2010, London-based shipping broker Clarkson Plc estimates. Norway's Aker Yards AS and South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries Co. are producing ships for Arctic investors including oil refiner ConocoPhillips and metals producer OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel. ``We decided we'd be better off with our own'' equipment, says Victor Borodin, a spokesman for Moscow-based Norilsk. Pollution Risks Temperatures above the Arctic Circle have risen at about twice the rate of the global average in the past three decades, United Nations data show. Arctic sea ice shrank to the smallest area on record last summer, covering 22 percent less than the previous low in September 2005, says the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. Pollution risks are greater in a region isolated from cleanup resources, says David Jackson, the Ottawa-based manager of the Canadian Coast Guard's icebreaking service. The grounding in 1989 of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska's Prince William Sound, an accident that was accessible only by helicopter and boat, cost $2 billion to clean up. Ships unfamiliar with operating in Arctic waters may add to pollution if they pump bilges overboard or dump other waste in the sea, Jackson says. Bulldozed North Pole Norilsk is shipping nickel, copper and palladium north of Siberia to Europe from the Taimyr Peninsula in Northern Russia. One reinforced ship is already in service and four are being built by Aker Yards for delivery by mid-2009, all using new hull designs that allow for bow- or stern-first sailing, depending on the thickness of the ocean surface. While Norilsk and others may benefit from the melting, Borodin says the ship orders were driven by cost calculations rather than global warming. Most of the Siberia route is navigable from June through September, and it may become the first trans-Arctic channel open to reinforced vessels, say scientists including Douglas Bancroft, director of Environment Canada's Ice Service, a government agency. ``The price of oil and gas will drive Arctic shipping growth,'' Bancroft says. The next most likely route to open is a straight line across the magnetic North Pole, bulldozed by a new generation of ships. That course would save 4,000 miles and 11 days compared with an 11,000- mile, one-month trip between Hamburg and Yokohama, Japan, via the Suez Canal. `Whole New World' The shorter route would also shave $800,000 from the cost of sailing a Panamax class, 75,000-deadweight ton freighter, London- based broker Howe Robinson & Co. says. The number of voyages in the Canadian Arctic jumped to 132 in 2007 from 78 in 2005, according to the Canadian Coast Guard. ``If the Northern Sea route or Northwest passage opens up, it truly does open a whole new world of commerce in terms of our ability to move around the globe,'' says Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. Investment is under way. The portion of the world's commercial tankers that can ply frozen waters will rise to as much as 10 percent in 2008 from 3 percent in 1992, Clarkson estimates. As of December, the order backlog for reinforced ships stood at 152, almost half the size of the current worldwide fleet of 352 such vessels, Clarkson says. The Bloomberg World Shipbuilding stock index, which includes Samsung Heavy Industries, climbed 252 percent in the three years through Feb. 1, stoked by demand for all classes. Aker Yards gained 41 percent in Oslo in that time, while Samsung climbed 251 percent. Arctic Danger Samsung, the world's third-biggest shipbuilder, is making three reinforced oil tankers for Russia's OAO Sovcomflot and ConocoPhillips for $450 million. Sovcomflot will operate them for ConocoPhillips, the second-largest U.S. refiner, to carry crude south for processing, says ConocoPhillips's chief naval architect, Peter Noble. More mobile floes are a reason Conoco is embarking on the project, he says. In the rush to explore waterways, bigger ships are making mistakes. Seventeen British tourists were injured last August when chunks of glacier fell onto the deck of the Russian cruise ship Aleksey Maryshev near the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen. On Canada's Frobisher Bay 1,240 miles north of Montreal, Andrey Rudenko edges the Lyubov Orlova through the Arctic night. The captain of the 122-passenger polar expedition ship, refitted in 2006 for Arctic tourism cruises, studies his charts for shoals by the glow of instruments. `Always Changing' Global warming means rocks can pose as big a threat as ice. ``I don't know what to expect any more,'' says Rudenko, 45, who went to sea at 15 from his Russian hometown of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. ``Conditions are always changing.'' Dugald Wells, president of Cruise North Expeditions Inc., which offers eco-tours aboard the Lyubov Orlova, agrees. ``A lot of damage is caused by shipping that doesn't know the waters in and around the Arctic,'' Wells says. One area of interest for oil companies is the Alberta tar sands, a region of boreal forest the size of Florida in northern Alberta 455 miles north of Calgary. Geologists estimate it may contain the world's largest oil reserves outside Saudi Arabia. Getting heavy equipment to the oil poses a challenge because drilling machinery must be flown or driven to the site, forcing up costs. The tar sands are accessible via the Mackenzie River, a 1,080-mile long waterway that links the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and Great Slave Lake just north of the sands. Longer Sailing Season An open Mackenzie River for at least nine months a year would provide a conduit from the Beaufort Sea to the tar sands region. ``By 2012, we're going to see a lot more barge traffic down the Mackenzie,'' the Canadian Coast Guard's Jackson says. Northern Transportation Co., a Hay River, Northwest Territories-based operator of tugs and barges, says freight increased 59 percent last summer as it shipped supplies to a Royal Dutch Shell Plc project on the Beaufort Sea and a gold mine operated by Miramar Mining Corp. Churchill on the western shore of Hudson Bay is best known as a magnet for polar bears and as a sleepy, underused port. That may change: Ice cover in the bay during the warmest months has dropped about 50 percent since 1970, says John Falkingham, chief forecaster at Environment Canada. More Tourists Omnitrax Inc., based in Denver, bought the port operations at Churchill in 1997. The sailing season has since lengthened by at least two weeks a year, managing director Mike Ogborn says. The port of Churchill has been used almost exclusively for exports, with just one single inbound shipment of copper concentrate in the past six years, says Ogborn. Last summer there was one delivery of 12,000 metric tons. In 2008 that may increase to as much as 100,000 tons, he says. ``The buzz this shipment has created is tremendous,'' says Ogborn, who has heard from businesses in Canada and Russia interested in importing goods into North America via the port. Omnitrax is spending at least $20 million to upgrade the rail line that links Churchill in northeast Manitoba to tracks that run south into the U.S., 750 miles away, and Canadian Prairies. Sailing time from Murmansk, Russia, to Churchill is about 10 days, four days faster than via the Great Lakes ports which serve as hubs for railroads into the Prairies, he says. Cargo vessels are increasingly joined by Arctic tourist ships in plying northern waters. The number of travelers visiting the Arctic has risen to more than 1.5 million from about 1 million in the early 1990s, a rate that will accelerate in coming years, a June 2007 study by the United Nations found. Vacation in Nunavut Cruise ships accounted for 2,096 visitors to the Canadian Arctic in the summer of 2007. The number of cruise voyages in the region climbed to nine in 2006 from seven in 2005. Tourism in Nunavut, an area the size of Western Europe with just 31,000 residents, is increasing as well. Total visitor spending in Nunavut, whose capital Iqaluit is 1,280 miles north of Montreal, reached $3.5 million in the summer of 2007 with 18,000 tourists, according to the first study of its kind in the territory, commissioned by the local government. The increase is significant to a small population, says John Snyder, editor of the 2007 book, ``Prospects for Polar Tourism.'' ``Ecotourism is quite clearly a vital part of the economic base,'' he says From kalakamra at gmail.com Thu Feb 28 03:59:36 2008 From: kalakamra at gmail.com (shaina a) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:59:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Announcement: Pad.ma video archive preview | Today Message-ID: <33eee40c0802271429g4af3124fsce9defd0a737238c@mail.gmail.com> Dear all, You are invited to: A Preview of PAD.MA : the public access digital media archive. Thursday, 28th february 2008 6:00pm Jnanapravaha, 3rd floor, Queen's Mansion, (Opposite Gallery Chemould) G.Talwatkar Marg, Fort, Mumbai-1. For directions, see: http://camputer.org/images/jnanaMap.jpg 6:00 pm. Introductions, and the Collaborative Project: Shaina Anand, Ashok Sukumaran. The Dominant, the Residual and the Emergent in the Imagination of the Archive: Lawrence Liang. Lost/Found/made Public, Images to Narratives: Madhusree Dutta. Introduction to a True History of Digital Video: Sebastian Luetgert, and Unveiling of pad.ma website with Jan Gerber. 30 mins. 7:30 pm. Interval: Browse through the archive over tea and snacks. Followed by presentations on: Legal framework: Namita Malhotra Practical FAQs, and on how you can contribute: Sanjay Bhangar Q and A session, moderated by Bishakha Dutta. Pad.ma is an online archive of densely annotated video material,primarily footage and not finished films. The entire collection is text-searchable and viewable online, and is free to download for non- commercial use. We see Pad.ma as a way of opening up a set of images, intentions and effects present in video footage, resources that conventions of video-making, editing and spectatorship have tended to suppress, or leave behind. This expanded treatment then points to other, political potentials for such material, and leads us into lesser-known territory for video-based practices... beyond the finite documentary film or the video clip on youtube. The design of the archive makes possible various types of "viewing", and contextualisation: from an overview of themes and timelines to much closer readings of transcribed dialogue and geographical locations, to layers of "writing" on top of the image material. Descriptions, keywords and other annotations have been placed on timelines by both archive contributors and users. At the moment, Pad.ma has approximately 150 "events" on video, mostly from Mumbai and Bangalore. This adds up to about 100 hours of fully transcribed video footage, which we expect to grow to more than 400 hours by early 2009. The PAD.MA project is initiated by a group consisting of oil21.org from Berlin, the Alternative Law Forum from Bangalore, and three organisations from Mumbai: Majlis, Point of View and chitrakarkhana.net /CAMP. From elkamath at yahoo.com Thu Feb 28 13:01:38 2008 From: elkamath at yahoo.com (lalitha kamath) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:31:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Reader-list] the urban evangelists by sugata srinivasaraju Message-ID: <722964.52317.qm@web53606.mail.re2.yahoo.com> http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080226&fname=sugata&sid=1 Web| Feb 26, 2008 Bangalore Byte Urban Evangelists Are they really "converting" men at key places? Is it a real threat that they may "takeover" Bangalore? Who are they? What language do they speak? What do they do? Where did they come from? SUGATA SRINIVASARAJU The conversation post-lunch, the other day, veered around how 'urban evangelists' were trying to "takeover" Bangalore. I offered a small correction by saying that they have repeatedly tried to "takeover" the city since circa 2000 AD, but have somewhat failed. A friend at the table cautioned me not to be so optimistic after all. The way things are moving, he said, they may actually be in-charge in the near future. They are converting men at key places, he warned. It is not important to know how we went about sticking to our positions in the debate, as much as to profile the ones we had, with incredible ease, labelled as 'urban evangelists'. So who are these urban evangelists? What language do they speak? What do they do? Where did they come from? The answers to these questions cannot be precise, but let's hazard a rough construction of their persona. These are people who have a very clinical and economically-viable, but acultural and ahistorical idea of an urban space. For them the city should naturally homogenise, individualise and universalise itself. Essentially, the city for them is a place where you work. And every infrastructure you build should help you to work more and earn more. So you need big airports, metro rail, malls, expressways etc. This idea is so much different from living and living well. These urban evangelists are an established creed abroad and are fast spreading across India. But it is important to understand them in the context of Bangalore because they have been delivering doomsday messages about the imminent collapse of the city's 'infrastructure' on national television, on frontpages of friendly English newspapers, at five-star seminar halls and even at Page 3 parties. Their voice has now reached a shrill pitch because the road that leads to the new airport at Devanahalli, is not exactly clutter-free. Earlier they had raised an alarm when the roads to the Electronic City and the software parks were narrow and bouncy. Bangalore has crossed their earlier date of doom, but then there is a new date to grapple with: March 30 is the day when the new international airport near Devanahalli will be inaugurated. Airplanes will land and take off, but will people be able to catch the flights is the panic question that these evangelists have spread in the city. Their presumably well-intentioned panic comes with an impractical solution. They have been arguing for keeping the old airport as well, though it is in the diagonally opposite direction. They don't mind reneging the contract that the government has entered into with the European consortium building the new airport to shutdown the old one. They have also been cribbing about the pre-determined user fees that the new airport would be charging for both domestic and international passengers. These arguments are puzzling, given the fact that they come from those who otherwise support the PPP-schemes (the new airport is one); press for sound revenue models and swear by the sanctity of a contract. Expanding the scope of their arguments, they have also raised technical issues related to the ability of the new airport to handle growing traffic with just one runway. The blogs with a focus on the city, as usual, have picked up these arguments and asked one consuming question: Why didn't these people, who are known to have a futuristic pair of eyes, raise these arguments earlier? Has one of those ancient, despicable Indian ailments affected these people too, who not long ago were fresh, dreamy-eyed 'returnees' from prosperous Western cities? The other rather exaggerated suspicion on blogs is that these people may be taking up the cause of those who 'inhabit' the Electronics City and the international tech park in Whitefield, situated far away from the new airport.In essence, it is made out to be a battle between South Bangalore, with a predominantly IT crowd (Jayanagar, Koramangala, BTM Layout, J.P. Nagar, Sarjapura) and North Bangalore, where the new airport is located. The government has no doubt woken up late to clear the clutter on the roads that lead to the new airport. But, the commissioner of the city's municipal corporation, Dr. S. Subramanya, has come up with innovative ideas like 'magic box' underpasses and overpasses that can be installed in less than a month's time and at less than ten per cent of the traditional costs. When was the last time you heard a government servant thinking lateral and taking a risk? Instead of fine-tuning these ideas and offering constructive support, why are the 'evangelists' throwing the whole thing out of gear? Is it primarily because they shoot with borrowed expertise? Perhaps, the 'doubt' about 'urban evangelists' on the blogs would have been less had they even occasionally spoken about the crowded central bus-stand, where ordinary citizens fear being run over by speeding buses; the approach road to the railway station; the congestion on Balepet, Tharugpet, Fort Area, City Market, Magadi Road and Avenue Road. Perhaps they never use the bus-stand or the railway station and their cars never cross the areas mentioned above, but that too is Bangalore. Not the outskirts, but the nerve-centre. They would surely agree that building Bangalore's infrastructure is not simply about building elevated roads, ring roads and six-lane expressways. They may, for all we know, be concerned about all these issues, but in the public eye they are never associated with these concerns and this perception does not augur well for them. I recently drove down to the site of the new airport and the one thing that surprised me was the number of houses, government buildings, farms, small factories, roadside automobile workshops, petty shops etc. that have been ripped and nudged out by earth-moving equipment to build the six-lane expressway to the new airport. The exposed bedrooms and bathrooms of what were once homes seemed to be eagerly waiting to tease the first riders to the airport on March 30. For a moment, I wondered if a bombed road in Bush's 'shock and awe' Iraq would have a similar eerie feel. It is enormously difficult to build homes and livelihoods, but why have these displaced people never become news in our city? Where have they gone? Something similar will soon happen with the route being carved out for the Metro rail. Development has always posed difficult questions and here again they were lining up to haunt. Should or shouldn't the 'evangelists' weave these people into their power-point presentations? Does this serious problem of inclusion arise because these 'evangelists' think they are not shackled by 'ideology' and are 'apolitical,' except of course when it comes to advising governments that can converse with them in English. But can simple utilitarian pragmatism create the inclusiveness that today's India badly needs, not just between the rural and the urban, but also to bridge the growing fissures within our cities? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Thu Feb 28 17:50:28 2008 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:50:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation - "Roots In Kashmir" play to be staged in Panjab University, Chandigarh In-Reply-To: <6353c690802280418o65f08273u9f6bbcd1101cfb37@mail.gmail.com> References: <6353c690802280418o65f08273u9f6bbcd1101cfb37@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6353c690802280420n40884357yd61e30089fa66570@mail.gmail.com> ROOTS IN KASHMIR – A Kashmiri Youth Initiative… *Blog: www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com * *Website: www.rootsinkashmir.org* *E-mail: contact at rootsinkashmir.org* INVITATION *Roots In Kashmir, Chandigarh Chapter* * * *Cordially invites you to attend the staging of the play titled* * * *'TRISHNA'* * * * "Roots In Kashmir" – an initiative by the Kashmiri Pandit youth aims to highlight the atrocities inflicted upon the Kashmiri Pandit minority community, which led to an unprecedented exodus. * * * *This play is the story of terrorism unleashed in its most gruesome form and the subsequent victimization of the members of a peace –loving, patriotic community. It also highlights the undying spirit of resilience that has become the hallmark of the exiled community.* * * *The play has been made possible because of a marathon effort by a group of passionate, talented students of Punjab University who wish to spread the message of hope amidst ruins and indifference by government institutions during one of the worst human tragedies in modern history. * ** *The play would be followed by a candle light vigil in memory of the victims of terrorism; giving a call for justice.* * * *Mr. Nek Chand has graciously accepted to be the Chief Guest for the evening. We have also invited some eminent beaureacrats, notably Mr.VivekAtrey, for the play. * *We look forward to your participation in this important event as per following schedule: * * * Venue: LAW Auditorium, Punjab University, Chandigarh * * *Day & Date: Friday, 29th February, 2008* * * Time: 5:15 pm onwards * * *For further details please contact RIK Volunteers in Chandigarh:* *Bhavik Jalali (9876678558), Sugandhi Thusoo (9780492599), Manish Mattoo (9868159516)* * * *RIK New Delhi Coordination: Sunilji Bhat (9911783469) Rashneek Kher (9810049979), Aditya Raj Kaul (9873297834), Veerji Wangoo (9818197061)* From amitabh at sarai.net Thu Feb 28 19:59:48 2008 From: amitabh at sarai.net (Amitabh Kumar) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:59:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] An Introduction to Manga Comics (Tomorrow) Message-ID: <46F6A112-DADF-4716-B5DF-C914D9032E76@sarai.net> After the momentous 9- day comic book workshop, Sarai- CSDS and the French Embassy-FIRC are pleased to announce the 5th comic book reading ,"An Introduction to Manga Comics." , by Bharat Murthy . WHAT IS THE MANGA? When did it start? How did it start? Through this reading we intend to answer these and other such questions. We will be focussing on the post-war manga boom and will elaborate on the role of Osamu Tezuka and some other important manga artists like Fujiko Fugio, Kazuo Umezu, Rumiko Takahashi, Kazuo Koike, Katshuhiro Otomo. The reading will also include a deep insight into the aesthetics of manga comics and some important genres within it. We will be talking about manga publishing/reading culture and about women's manga and mangaka. The reading would end with a comparison between the manga and western comics. Difference between the cultural, economic and distribution models of the two. Date: 29th Febraury, 2008 Time : 5:30 p.m Venue : 2 , Aurengzeb Road, French Information Resource Center, New Delhi. Bharat Murthy has been trained as a painter from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda. He then went to study cinema from SRFTII, Kolkota and is presently an IFA Grantee' researching the comic book culture in India. He has had a long engagement with manga comic books , and has first hand view of the industry and the makers. From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Wed Feb 27 15:46:30 2008 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (soundLAB) Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:16:30 +0100 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_call=3A_soundart?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_for_SoundLAB_VI?= Message-ID: <20080227111631.1FCAD531.6E73F1FA@192.168.0.3> SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab.newmediafest.org is happy to make 2 announcements: 1. Call for soundart for SoundLAB VI Deadline: 30 November 2008 2. SoundLAB IV on FILE Rio 2008 ---------------------------------------------- 1. Call for entries: SoundLAB VI - soundPOOL - sound compositions - a challenge for imagination - SoundLAB is looking for its 6th edition to be launched in March 2009, sound compositions which represent a real challenge for human imagination All details, the complete call, the regulations and entry form can be found here http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=242 ---------------------------------------------- 2. SoundLAB IV - "memoryscapes" - launched in 2006 http://soundlab.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=20 incorporating sound works by 144 soundartists - previously presented in Palestine, Poland, Italy and Argentina and on FILE Hipersonica Festival 2007 Sao Paulo/Brazil, is participating now in FILE - Electronic Language Festival Rio 2008 http://www.file.org.br 26 February - 29 March 2008 ------------------------------------------------ SoundLAB - sonic art project environments http://soundlab. newmediafest.org corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne www.nmartproject.net directed by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne Visit also SoundLAB I -V on - http://soundlab. newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------------ This call is released by netEX - networked experience http://www.nmartproject.net/netex info (at) nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From radhikarajen at vsnl.net Fri Feb 29 14:02:42 2008 From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net (radhikarajen at vsnl.net) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:32:42 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History In-Reply-To: <1a9a8b710802260233s7e576159u84f70096ca2383a3@mail.gmail.com> References: <1a9a8b710802260233s7e576159u84f70096ca2383a3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Sadan, it is open secret that JNU and DU is filled with psuedo secular "scholars" with political connections for "educating the cadres for subversion of democratic India, living examples are Yechury and Karats in public life. That apart, politicians fill in their useless wards in to paying jobs at these two filling stations. Secularism does not mean disrespect to any faith, but respect to all faiths. Left parties consistently with abetting Congress have undermined the faith and built non believers in to cadres of violent workers, later politburo uses these cadres for their selfish gains like in Nandigram or Singur is well documented now. Regards. ----- Original Message ----- From: Sadan Jha Date: Thursday, February 28, 2008 6:25 pm Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History To: reader-list at sarai.net > Dear All, > Today, I have read this mail from H-ASIA and thought to share it > with you. > This is in solidarity with faculty members and students of History > Department, D.U. > sadan. > > > H-ASIA: Assault upon the Delhi University History Department H-ASIA > Frank Conlon to H-ASIA > > > H-ASIA > Feburary 25, 2008 > > Assault by Hindutva mob on the Delhi University History Department > ************************************************************************ > From: Frank Conlon > > Earlier this month, our colleague Sumit Guha, forwarded some posts > regarding a protest that had been generated by the VHP-linked ABVP > (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad)--a highly politicized "student" > movement of the Hindu right in India. Some of our readers will take > exception to that > description, but on the basis of all press accounts, I feel > comfortable writing it. > > Like everything else, the story requires some context, and, > remarkably, as in the debacle fifteen years ago when a > Hindutva-inspired crowd demolished a mosque at Ayodhya on the pretense > that it was built on the actual historical birthplace of the god Rama, > Rama once again figures prominently in the story. Over the past > months there has been a resurgance "Rama"publicity arising in part > out of a proposed dredging of the sea bed near the southern tip of > India for creation of a safe deepwater passage for coastal vessels. > This was seized upon by interested parties who argued that this > dredging would involve disruption of a natural feature in the seabed, > known as "the Rama Setu" that has been credited in mythology to > Rama's conquest of Lanka in the Ramayana epic poem. > > In popular consciousness mythology usually trumps geology and > hydrology--(and I refer here not only to India!) if they ever mix it > up in the ring of public affairs. So, much has been written in the > past months about reasserting the vitality of Lord Rama and the > preservation of the Rama legacy. > > Ever alert for issues upon which to mobilize followers and generate > press, a substory of the above emerged in Delhi earlier this year. > Protests were mounted over what was called a "book" "published" by the > Delhi University History Department--and attributed--erroneously--to > Professor Upinder > Singh, a Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Indian History. The > fact that Professor Singh happens to be the daughter of Prime Minister > Manmohan Singh is, one suspects, not coincidental with the association > of her name with the protest. The "book" was in fact not a > publication at all, but a > collection of "readings" for the Delhi University concurrent > course on > Ancient Indian Culture in the B. A. (Honours) programme. The packet > included an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled "Three Hundred > Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation", which has > appeared earlier in a collection of the works of Ramanuman edited by > Vinay Dharwadker and previously in Paula Richman's path-breaking > collection of essyas _Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative > Tradition in South Asia_ (U California Press, 1991). Of course, many > readers of H-ASIA are > familiar with the broad corpus of A. K. Ramanujan's contributions to > the study of the history and culture of India including his wonderful > translations of Tamil and Kannada bhakti poetry. > > At some point, a packet of these essays was photocopied in a Delhi > shop with a "title page" crediting Upinder Singh, and out of that was > manufactured a "new outrage regarding the hurting of feelings of > devout Hindus" by the Delhi University History Department. > > An example of the rhetoric plied against Ramanujan's essay may suffice > to give a flavor of the campaign. > > From http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/3819.html > The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Jan 18, 2008 post proclaims that > Ramanujan in his essay "even sorts out a tale from Santhal folklore > and puts forth the greatest outrage to Hindu psyche before the > students of literature that Ravan as well as Lakshman both seduced > Sita. No one on Earth so far dared to question the character of Sita > so brazenly as Shri Ramanunjan has done, though, all through under the > convenient cover of a folklore! > "Sorting and picking out anything negative found in different versions > of Ramayana spread all over the world with malicious intention has > become a practice under the UPA [current Indian coalition government]. > Despite the repeated protests by Hindu leaders, Shiksha Bharati and > Shiksha Bachao Andolan, the practice still continues. > > "In a latest instance, the Delhi University for its BA (Hons) second > year course has included portions defaming and denigrating the > characters of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita and projecting the > entire episode as fallacious, capricious, imaginary and fake." and > it goes on to cite a > groundswell of Hindu indignation that such blasphemies could be > perpetrated by the Delhi University History department, and, of > course, in particular, the daughter of the Prime Minister. > > On February 2, 2008, the Delhi University History Department issued > the following statement: > > DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, > IN ITS MEETING OF 04/02/2008 > > 1. A number of groups have organised protest and have raised > objections to the inclusion of an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, > titled "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on > Translation". The essay had been published in Vinay Dharwadker (ed.) > The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan, New Delhi: Oxford University > Press, 1999, pp. 131-60; [this was an expanded version of a piece > that first > appeared in Paula Richman (ed.) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a > Narrative Tradition in South Asia Berkeley: niversity of California > Press, 1991]. The said essay is one of he readings for the Delhi > University concurrent course on ncient Indian Culture in the B. > A.(Honours) programme, which has been offered in several Colleges from > July 2006 onwards. > 2. The sole purpose of this course is to create an awareness and > understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ancient > India among students, and to acquaint them with original sources. > Apart from the reading mentioned in the letter, the course includes > readings on Kalidasa's poetry, Jataka stories, ancient Tamil poets and > poetry, ancient > iconography, and the modern history of ancient artifacts. The > essay is > part of a unit titled 'The Ramayana and Mahabharata - stories, > characters, versions.' It is accompanied by an excerpt from Iravati > Karve's book, Yuganta: The end of an epoch. Supplementary readings > include the Introduction of Robert P. Goldman's The Ramayana of > Valmiki: an epic of > ancient India (the most recent and most authoritative English > translation of the epic), which gives a detailed, scholarly > introduction to the Valmiki Ramayana. > > 3. The late A. K. Ramanujan (recipient of several honours, > including the Padmashri) was a widely acclaimed scholar with > impeccable academic credentials. His expertise in a range of languages > including Sanskrit,Tamil and Kannada was perhaps without parallel. His > credentials as a scholar, writer, and teacher with extensive knowledge > of ancient Indian literary traditions are incontestable. It is sad to > see his name and work > being subjected so such ill-informed controversy. In the article in > question, he illustrates and analyses the great dynamism and variety > in what he describes as 'tellings' of the story of Rama within India > and across the world. > > 4. The concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture and the > readings for it went through the same procedure as all other courses > in the University of Delhi pass before being adopted. The readings > have not been devised or 'compiled' by any individual. Like all the > other University courses, they are the product of a consultative > process involving many members of the University community. The > content and readings for this > course were discussed extensively among Department members and College > teachers, and were approved through the regular University procedures > in statutory bodies, namely the Committee of Courses, Faculty of > Social Sciences, Academic Council, and the Executive Council, which > include > teachers of all disciplines. The Academic Council is the highest > statutory body on academic matters in the University. > > 5. We would like to emphasize that there is no published > compilation of the course readings by Dr. Upinder Singh or any other > member of the Department of History. However, it has come to our > notice that there is a spiral-bound collection of photocopies of the > individual articles and excerpts related to this course at certain > photocopying shops. This set of hotocopies has a covering page on > which Dr. Upinder Singh's name has been typed, without any > authorization whatsoever, as a 'compiler.' It is this collection of > photocopies that is being incorrectly described as a 'book' compiled > by her. There is in fact no book. > > 6. When readings are prescribed in a course, it is not essential > that the course-designers, teachers, or students should agree with or > defend each and every word therein. In fact debate, dissent, and > dialogue are important parts of the discipline of history. It may be > pointed out that the terms that have apparently caused offence to > certain individuals should in no way be construed as mischievous or > slanderous. There is no question whatsoever of intending or attempting > to denigrate or hurt the sentiments of any culture, religion, > tradition, or community. > > 7. The aim of the course in question is to teach University > students (who are, after all, young adults) to be able to analyze a > variety of source material academically, analytically, and without > embarrassment or denigration. That is the spirit in which the course > was framed and that is the spirit in which we believe it is being > taught. > > ------ > On the same day _The Telegraph_ (Kolkata) reported that Mayawati, the > Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had demanded that "the book" be > banned. > (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080203/jsp/nation/story_8857319.jsp)under a headline: > "PM daughter in Ramayan row" > > New Delhi, Feb. 2: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati has asked the > Prime Minister to ban a text recommended for Delhi University history > students that allegedly contains objectionable references to > characters in the Ramayan. > > Mayavati made the written request to Manmohan Singh after the Akhil > Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's student wing, protested > in Delhi and Lucknow, claiming the contentious text was part of a book > compiled by the Prime Minister's daughter Upinder Singh. > > Upinder Singh, a professor of ancient Indian history at DU, has, > however, denied she had compiled the piece or recommended it to her > students. > "I have absolutely nothing to do with this text. The contentious > article is not written by me. Nor is there any book of mine which > contains the article. I fail to understand why I am being linked to > the text," she told The Telegraph. > > Sources close to Mayavati confirmed that the chief minister had not > yet seen the "book", but said her letter to the Prime Minister was > motivated by concerns over law and order in her state." > > The report continued with a quotation from the ABVP Delhi General > Secretary Ms. Niharika Sharma "This is a deliberate attempt to hurt > the sentiments of the Hindu community." Asked why the ABVP was seeking > a ban instead of allowing college students to debate the contents > of a > research publication, Sharma said the organisation was worried > students would feel pressured to replicate Ramanujan's version in > their exam. > > "If the article is taught, students will be expected to reproduce it > in exams as well. IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, UNLESS YOU WRITE WHAT IS > TAUGHT IN CLASS, YOU DO NOT GET MARKS [emphasis added] Hindu students > will be > forced to write something they do not believe in," she said. > > The ABVP has already sent memoranda to the DU vice-chancellor and the > head of the history department seeking deletion of Ramanujan's essay > from the course. "Upinder Singh has most definitely compiled a book > with the objectionable text as a chapter. The book has not yet been > published but we have a copy," Sharma said." > > Karl Rove has nothing to teach the Hindu Right when it comes to > generating controversy (and here I will adopt the standard American > ploy for remarks that generate offense--I apologize to those who may > be offended by my editorial comment. FFC] > > To make a long story longer, today I received a report that a > group of > ABVP activists vandalized the office of the Delhi University History > department and physically manhandled the head of the department. The > following is reproduced as received including a note from the Head of > Department Professor S. Z. H. Jafri and an open letter from department > students. It was forwarded by Professor Indrani Chatterjee. > > Dear Colleague, > > This is to inform you that the ABVP activists had come to the > Department around 2.00 p.m. with the intention of causing some damage > to the structure and gaining some mileage from it. They partly > succeeded in their venture. No injuries to anybody except the glass > doors has been caused. The other details you can see from the > students letter which follows. > > Professor S.Z.H. JAFRI > > DOWN WITH ABVP VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS! > PUNISH THE CULPRITS! > > 25th February 2008. At about 2 pm in the afternoon an organised > mob of > more than 100 people from outside the university led by the ABVP > activist Vikas Dahiya gathered outside the building of the School of > Social Sciences. Some 8-10 people came to the office of the Head of > the Department of History, Prof S.Z.H. Jafri saying that they wished > to speak > to him and to Prof B.P. Sahu about the curriculum of BA Part II, > History (Concurrent). They insisted on speaking only once the media > was present. > Once the media arrived, in place of speaking to the department > members, they began to ransack the department. Even without speaking > or giving a chance to the people present there from the department to > speak, these people toppled the table and ransacked the office of the > head of the > department. One of them also manhandled Prof. Jafri and held him by > his collar and hurled abuses at those present there. Considerable > damage to the property of the department by breaking the glass panes, > damaging books, office files and other objects in the office was done > and all inthe presence of the media personnel and the very passive > police! The outsiders threatened the faculty members and warned them > of dire consequences. This is a clear act of vandalism. It is clear > that they had come with the clear intention of perpetuating violence > in the department and it was a planned action to create an atmosphere > of terror. > > This incidence occurred in the very presence of the police personnel > as well as the media. The media footage would clearly show all that > happened in the office of the head of the Department of History on the > 25th afternoon. The attack by 8-10 robust hooligans, not belonging to > the university, on absolutely defenceless faculty members of the > Department of > History is a shameful act in itself. Trying to force the faculty > members to change the curriculum of history which has been passed by > the due legal process of the University through the use of force > is a > clear act of fascism which is not acceptable in a democracy. Freedom > of expression is a fundamental right of every individual and any > encroachment on the same is > not tolerable. It is democratic structures and values which are > seriously threatened. > > This is an appeal from the students of history department to > everyone in the University to raise their voice against this > vandalism and this fascist attempt to scuttle the freedom of > expression . We appeal to all students, staff and teachers > > To JOIN the Protest March at 10.30 a.m. at Vivekanand Statue, Faculty > of Arts on the 26th of February, 2008. > > Whether one feels that A. K. Ramanujan was a great intellectual or > not; and whether one agrees that India's past is a fit subject for > critical analysis, I believe that H-ASIA members will deplore this > 'media-savvy' creation of a physical assault on an academic department > at Delhi University. > > As of the moment, I have not received an e-mail address to which > comments may be relayed, but one immediate possibility would be to > send comment for forwarding to Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan > at Delhi University. The postal address > for the head of the department is: > Prof. Saiyid Zaheer Hussain Jafri, > Head, > Department of History, > Faculty of Social Science building, > University of Delhi, > Delhi-110007. > > I will add one more personal editorial note that again will offend > some folks (and not the ones offended earlier either)--this episode > offers, in my view, the fruits of politicizing the past and our study > of it--and while concepts of secular humanistic research in Europe, > America and other parts of the world may not resemble the Indian > concept in which secularism means "no offense to any religion"--we > frequently find urselves as scholars and teachers facing the > "concerns" of various practitioners of what may be called 'identity > politics'--in the secure world of North America, the risks of mob > action are small--but there are far too many university > administrators--wedded to the concept of 'student as customer' who > wring their hands over anything academic which smacks of ontroversy. > In other words, Delhi University's misfortune is not quite as exotic > as some folks on this side of the kala pani would like to believe. > > > Frank > > Frank F. Conlon > Professor Emeritus of History, South Asian > Studies & Comparative Religion > University of Washington > Seattle, WA 98195-3560 USA > Co-editor, H-ASIA > President, H-NET Humanities & Social Sciences Online > Managing Director, Bibliography of Asian Studies Online > ****************************************************************** > To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: > > > > -- > Sadan Jha > Assistant Professor, > Centre for Social Studies. > Vir Narmad South Gujarat University Campus. Udhna-Magdalla Road. > Surat. Gujarat. India. > blog: mamuliram.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > list > List archive: From parthaekka at gmail.com Fri Feb 29 14:23:25 2008 From: parthaekka at gmail.com (Partha Dasgupta) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:23:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History In-Reply-To: References: <1a9a8b710802260233s7e576159u84f70096ca2383a3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <32144e990802290053q33288181m893adf4dd22e8234@mail.gmail.com> Dear Radhikarajen, As an art student, learnt of the 'renaissance movement' in Europe when after decades of being kept in strict check by the Papal Church, artistes and people from different walks of life refused to swallow what was forced upon them in terms of belief. And I do hope that this madness of enforcing 'belief' stops soon and is replaced with a modern renaissance movement. Todays' paper also contains an incident where the ABVP goofed badly without knowing their facts - which unfortunately seems to be the rule with ABVP instead of being an exception! Rgds, Partha .............................. On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 2:02 PM, wrote: > Dear Sadan, > > it is open secret that JNU and DU is filled with psuedo secular > "scholars" with political connections for "educating the cadres for > subversion of democratic India, living examples are Yechury and Karats in > public life. That apart, politicians fill in their useless wards in to > paying jobs at these two filling stations. > Secularism does not mean disrespect to any faith, but respect to all > faiths. Left parties consistently with abetting Congress have undermined the > faith and built non believers in to cadres of violent workers, later > politburo uses these cadres for their selfish gains like in Nandigram or > Singur is well documented now. > Regards. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Sadan Jha > Date: Thursday, February 28, 2008 6:25 pm > Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > Dear All, > > Today, I have read this mail from H-ASIA and thought to share it > > with you. > > This is in solidarity with faculty members and students of History > > Department, D.U. > > sadan. > > > > > > H-ASIA: Assault upon the Delhi University History Department H-ASIA > > Frank Conlon to H-ASIA > > > > > > H-ASIA > > Feburary 25, 2008 > > > > Assault by Hindutva mob on the Delhi University History Department > > ************************************************************************ > > From: Frank Conlon > > > > Earlier this month, our colleague Sumit Guha, forwarded some posts > > regarding a protest that had been generated by the VHP-linked ABVP > > (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad)--a highly politicized "student" > > movement of the Hindu right in India. Some of our readers will take > > exception to that > > description, but on the basis of all press accounts, I feel > > comfortable writing it. > > > > Like everything else, the story requires some context, and, > > remarkably, as in the debacle fifteen years ago when a > > Hindutva-inspired crowd demolished a mosque at Ayodhya on the pretense > > that it was built on the actual historical birthplace of the god Rama, > > Rama once again figures prominently in the story. Over the past > > months there has been a resurgance "Rama"publicity arising in part > > out of a proposed dredging of the sea bed near the southern tip of > > India for creation of a safe deepwater passage for coastal vessels. > > This was seized upon by interested parties who argued that this > > dredging would involve disruption of a natural feature in the seabed, > > known as "the Rama Setu" that has been credited in mythology to > > Rama's conquest of Lanka in the Ramayana epic poem. > > > > In popular consciousness mythology usually trumps geology and > > hydrology--(and I refer here not only to India!) if they ever mix it > > up in the ring of public affairs. So, much has been written in the > > past months about reasserting the vitality of Lord Rama and the > > preservation of the Rama legacy. > > > > Ever alert for issues upon which to mobilize followers and generate > > press, a substory of the above emerged in Delhi earlier this year. > > Protests were mounted over what was called a "book" "published" by the > > Delhi University History Department--and attributed--erroneously--to > > Professor Upinder > > Singh, a Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Indian History. The > > fact that Professor Singh happens to be the daughter of Prime Minister > > Manmohan Singh is, one suspects, not coincidental with the association > > of her name with the protest. The "book" was in fact not a > > publication at all, but a > > collection of "readings" for the Delhi University concurrent > > course on > > Ancient Indian Culture in the B. A. (Honours) programme. The packet > > included an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled "Three Hundred > > Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation", which has > > appeared earlier in a collection of the works of Ramanuman edited by > > Vinay Dharwadker and previously in Paula Richman's path-breaking > > collection of essyas _Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative > > Tradition in South Asia_ (U California Press, 1991). Of course, many > > readers of H-ASIA are > > familiar with the broad corpus of A. K. Ramanujan's contributions to > > the study of the history and culture of India including his wonderful > > translations of Tamil and Kannada bhakti poetry. > > > > At some point, a packet of these essays was photocopied in a Delhi > > shop with a "title page" crediting Upinder Singh, and out of that was > > manufactured a "new outrage regarding the hurting of feelings of > > devout Hindus" by the Delhi University History Department. > > > > An example of the rhetoric plied against Ramanujan's essay may suffice > > to give a flavor of the campaign. > > > > From http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/3819.html > > The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Jan 18, 2008 post proclaims that > > Ramanujan in his essay "even sorts out a tale from Santhal folklore > > and puts forth the greatest outrage to Hindu psyche before the > > students of literature that Ravan as well as Lakshman both seduced > > Sita. No one on Earth so far dared to question the character of Sita > > so brazenly as Shri Ramanunjan has done, though, all through under the > > convenient cover of a folklore! > > "Sorting and picking out anything negative found in different versions > > of Ramayana spread all over the world with malicious intention has > > become a practice under the UPA [current Indian coalition government]. > > Despite the repeated protests by Hindu leaders, Shiksha Bharati and > > Shiksha Bachao Andolan, the practice still continues. > > > > "In a latest instance, the Delhi University for its BA (Hons) second > > year course has included portions defaming and denigrating the > > characters of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita and projecting the > > entire episode as fallacious, capricious, imaginary and fake." and > > it goes on to cite a > > groundswell of Hindu indignation that such blasphemies could be > > perpetrated by the Delhi University History department, and, of > > course, in particular, the daughter of the Prime Minister. > > > > On February 2, 2008, the Delhi University History Department issued > > the following statement: > > > > DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, > > IN ITS MEETING OF 04/02/2008 > > > > 1. A number of groups have organised protest and have raised > > objections to the inclusion of an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, > > titled "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on > > Translation". The essay had been published in Vinay Dharwadker (ed.) > > The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan, New Delhi: Oxford University > > Press, 1999, pp. 131-60; [this was an expanded version of a piece > > that first > > appeared in Paula Richman (ed.) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a > > Narrative Tradition in South Asia Berkeley: niversity of California > > Press, 1991]. The said essay is one of he readings for the Delhi > > University concurrent course on ncient Indian Culture in the B. > > A.(Honours) programme, which has been offered in several Colleges from > > July 2006 onwards. > > 2. The sole purpose of this course is to create an awareness and > > understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ancient > > India among students, and to acquaint them with original sources. > > Apart from the reading mentioned in the letter, the course includes > > readings on Kalidasa's poetry, Jataka stories, ancient Tamil poets and > > poetry, ancient > > iconography, and the modern history of ancient artifacts. The > > essay is > > part of a unit titled 'The Ramayana and Mahabharata - stories, > > characters, versions.' It is accompanied by an excerpt from Iravati > > Karve's book, Yuganta: The end of an epoch. Supplementary readings > > include the Introduction of Robert P. Goldman's The Ramayana of > > Valmiki: an epic of > > ancient India (the most recent and most authoritative English > > translation of the epic), which gives a detailed, scholarly > > introduction to the Valmiki Ramayana. > > > > 3. The late A. K. Ramanujan (recipient of several honours, > > including the Padmashri) was a widely acclaimed scholar with > > impeccable academic credentials. His expertise in a range of languages > > including Sanskrit,Tamil and Kannada was perhaps without parallel. His > > credentials as a scholar, writer, and teacher with extensive knowledge > > of ancient Indian literary traditions are incontestable. It is sad to > > see his name and work > > being subjected so such ill-informed controversy. In the article in > > question, he illustrates and analyses the great dynamism and variety > > in what he describes as 'tellings' of the story of Rama within India > > and across the world. > > > > 4. The concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture and the > > readings for it went through the same procedure as all other courses > > in the University of Delhi pass before being adopted. The readings > > have not been devised or 'compiled' by any individual. Like all the > > other University courses, they are the product of a consultative > > process involving many members of the University community. The > > content and readings for this > > course were discussed extensively among Department members and College > > teachers, and were approved through the regular University procedures > > in statutory bodies, namely the Committee of Courses, Faculty of > > Social Sciences, Academic Council, and the Executive Council, which > > include > > teachers of all disciplines. The Academic Council is the highest > > statutory body on academic matters in the University. > > > > 5. We would like to emphasize that there is no published > > compilation of the course readings by Dr. Upinder Singh or any other > > member of the Department of History. However, it has come to our > > notice that there is a spiral-bound collection of photocopies of the > > individual articles and excerpts related to this course at certain > > photocopying shops. This set of hotocopies has a covering page on > > which Dr. Upinder Singh's name has been typed, without any > > authorization whatsoever, as a 'compiler.' It is this collection of > > photocopies that is being incorrectly described as a 'book' compiled > > by her. There is in fact no book. > > > > 6. When readings are prescribed in a course, it is not essential > > that the course-designers, teachers, or students should agree with or > > defend each and every word therein. In fact debate, dissent, and > > dialogue are important parts of the discipline of history. It may be > > pointed out that the terms that have apparently caused offence to > > certain individuals should in no way be construed as mischievous or > > slanderous. There is no question whatsoever of intending or attempting > > to denigrate or hurt the sentiments of any culture, religion, > > tradition, or community. > > > > 7. The aim of the course in question is to teach University > > students (who are, after all, young adults) to be able to analyze a > > variety of source material academically, analytically, and without > > embarrassment or denigration. That is the spirit in which the course > > was framed and that is the spirit in which we believe it is being > > taught. > > > > ------ > > On the same day _The Telegraph_ (Kolkata) reported that Mayawati, the > > Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had demanded that "the book" be > > banned. > > ( > http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080203/jsp/nation/story_8857319.jsp)undera headline: > > "PM daughter in Ramayan row" > > > > New Delhi, Feb. 2: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati has asked the > > Prime Minister to ban a text recommended for Delhi University history > > students that allegedly contains objectionable references to > > characters in the Ramayan. > > > > Mayavati made the written request to Manmohan Singh after the Akhil > > Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's student wing, protested > > in Delhi and Lucknow, claiming the contentious text was part of a book > > compiled by the Prime Minister's daughter Upinder Singh. > > > > Upinder Singh, a professor of ancient Indian history at DU, has, > > however, denied she had compiled the piece or recommended it to her > > students. > > "I have absolutely nothing to do with this text. The contentious > > article is not written by me. Nor is there any book of mine which > > contains the article. I fail to understand why I am being linked to > > the text," she told The Telegraph. > > > > Sources close to Mayavati confirmed that the chief minister had not > > yet seen the "book", but said her letter to the Prime Minister was > > motivated by concerns over law and order in her state." > > > > The report continued with a quotation from the ABVP Delhi General > > Secretary Ms. Niharika Sharma "This is a deliberate attempt to hurt > > the sentiments of the Hindu community." Asked why the ABVP was seeking > > a ban instead of allowing college students to debate the contents > > of a > > research publication, Sharma said the organisation was worried > > students would feel pressured to replicate Ramanujan's version in > > their exam. > > > > "If the article is taught, students will be expected to reproduce it > > in exams as well. IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, UNLESS YOU WRITE WHAT IS > > TAUGHT IN CLASS, YOU DO NOT GET MARKS [emphasis added] Hindu students > > will be > > forced to write something they do not believe in," she said. > > > > The ABVP has already sent memoranda to the DU vice-chancellor and the > > head of the history department seeking deletion of Ramanujan's essay > > from the course. "Upinder Singh has most definitely compiled a book > > with the objectionable text as a chapter. The book has not yet been > > published but we have a copy," Sharma said." > > > > Karl Rove has nothing to teach the Hindu Right when it comes to > > generating controversy (and here I will adopt the standard American > > ploy for remarks that generate offense--I apologize to those who may > > be offended by my editorial comment. FFC] > > > > To make a long story longer, today I received a report that a > > group of > > ABVP activists vandalized the office of the Delhi University History > > department and physically manhandled the head of the department. The > > following is reproduced as received including a note from the Head of > > Department Professor S. Z. H. Jafri and an open letter from department > > students. It was forwarded by Professor Indrani Chatterjee. > > > > Dear Colleague, > > > > This is to inform you that the ABVP activists had come to the > > Department around 2.00 p.m. with the intention of causing some damage > > to the structure and gaining some mileage from it. They partly > > succeeded in their venture. No injuries to anybody except the glass > > doors has been caused. The other details you can see from the > > students letter which follows. > > > > Professor S.Z.H. JAFRI > > > > DOWN WITH ABVP VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS! > > PUNISH THE CULPRITS! > > > > 25th February 2008. At about 2 pm in the afternoon an organised > > mob of > > more than 100 people from outside the university led by the ABVP > > activist Vikas Dahiya gathered outside the building of the School of > > Social Sciences. Some 8-10 people came to the office of the Head of > > the Department of History, Prof S.Z.H. Jafri saying that they wished > > to speak > > to him and to Prof B.P. Sahu about the curriculum of BA Part II, > > History (Concurrent). They insisted on speaking only once the media > > was present. > > Once the media arrived, in place of speaking to the department > > members, they began to ransack the department. Even without speaking > > or giving a chance to the people present there from the department to > > speak, these people toppled the table and ransacked the office of the > > head of the > > department. One of them also manhandled Prof. Jafri and held him by > > his collar and hurled abuses at those present there. Considerable > > damage to the property of the department by breaking the glass panes, > > damaging books, office files and other objects in the office was done > > and all inthe presence of the media personnel and the very passive > > police! The outsiders threatened the faculty members and warned them > > of dire consequences. This is a clear act of vandalism. It is clear > > that they had come with the clear intention of perpetuating violence > > in the department and it was a planned action to create an atmosphere > > of terror. > > > > This incidence occurred in the very presence of the police personnel > > as well as the media. The media footage would clearly show all that > > happened in the office of the head of the Department of History on the > > 25th afternoon. The attack by 8-10 robust hooligans, not belonging to > > the university, on absolutely defenceless faculty members of the > > Department of > > History is a shameful act in itself. Trying to force the faculty > > members to change the curriculum of history which has been passed by > > the due legal process of the University through the use of force > > is a > > clear act of fascism which is not acceptable in a democracy. Freedom > > of expression is a fundamental right of every individual and any > > encroachment on the same is > > not tolerable. It is democratic structures and values which are > > seriously threatened. > > > > This is an appeal from the students of history department to > > everyone in the University to raise their voice against this > > vandalism and this fascist attempt to scuttle the freedom of > > expression . We appeal to all students, staff and teachers > > > > To JOIN the Protest March at 10.30 a.m. at Vivekanand Statue, Faculty > > of Arts on the 26th of February, 2008. > > > > Whether one feels that A. K. Ramanujan was a great intellectual or > > not; and whether one agrees that India's past is a fit subject for > > critical analysis, I believe that H-ASIA members will deplore this > > 'media-savvy' creation of a physical assault on an academic department > > at Delhi University. > > > > As of the moment, I have not received an e-mail address to which > > comments may be relayed, but one immediate possibility would be to > > send comment for forwarding to Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan > > at Delhi University. The postal address > > for the head of the department is: > > Prof. Saiyid Zaheer Hussain Jafri, > > Head, > > Department of History, > > Faculty of Social Science building, > > University of Delhi, > > Delhi-110007. > > > > I will add one more personal editorial note that again will offend > > some folks (and not the ones offended earlier either)--this episode > > offers, in my view, the fruits of politicizing the past and our study > > of it--and while concepts of secular humanistic research in Europe, > > America and other parts of the world may not resemble the Indian > > concept in which secularism means "no offense to any religion"--we > > frequently find urselves as scholars and teachers facing the > > "concerns" of various practitioners of what may be called 'identity > > politics'--in the secure world of North America, the risks of mob > > action are small--but there are far too many university > > administrators--wedded to the concept of 'student as customer' who > > wring their hands over anything academic which smacks of ontroversy. > > In other words, Delhi University's misfortune is not quite as exotic > > as some folks on this side of the kala pani would like to believe. > > > > > > Frank > > > > Frank F. Conlon > > Professor Emeritus of History, South Asian > > Studies & Comparative Religion > > University of Washington > > Seattle, WA 98195-3560 USA > > Co-editor, H-ASIA > > President, H-NET Humanities & Social Sciences Online > > Managing Director, Bibliography of Asian Studies Online > > ****************************************************************** > > To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: > > > > > > > > -- > > Sadan Jha > > Assistant Professor, > > Centre for Social Studies. > > Vir Narmad South Gujarat University Campus. Udhna-Magdalla Road. > > Surat. Gujarat. India. > > blog: mamuliram.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > > list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > 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/> > -- Partha Dasgupta +919811047132 From gaurav at schmizz.net Fri Feb 29 21:20:27 2008 From: gaurav at schmizz.net (Gaurav Bhushan) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:20:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Design Project: The Culture of Haats in India Message-ID: <8f821bcf0802290750q67dcb85esc0baf3a249005219@mail.gmail.com> Hi! I am a post-graduate student of 'Information Design' at National Institute of Design , India (NID). Currently, I am doing a project on the Culture of Haats in India. You can refer to my project blog... http://projecthaat.blogspot.com/ The term 'Haat' which originally referred to any marketplace, is being reinvented in the form of cultural centers in urban areas where craftsmen, artisans, merchants from all over the country assemble. This kind of a trend is seen in many cities like Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Udaipur etc. They have their own little niche at these places, and are quite popular amongst foreigners and Indians alike. They are seen as a means of revival for the arts and crafts community in India. Through this project, I want to explore the myths and realities behind the concept and identify problems and opportunity areas. At the end of it my plan is to compile all the information I gather in the form of a series of Information Graphics about the Haats in general. I wish to gather some starting points/pointers/references/links/etc. about Haats. Right now I am planning my field visits for the project. I would be really glad if I can get some help regarding these before I begin my field research in March second week. Do check the project blog and send in your comments about the project or opinions about 'Haats' if you find the subject interesting! Thanks... Regards, Gaurav Bhushan Information Design (07- 09) National Institute of Design, India P.S: I am also trying to find the meaning of the word 'Haat' in different languages. From tasveerghar at gmail.com Fri Feb 29 22:40:35 2008 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:40:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] New Visual Galleries of Popular Art Message-ID: <484c1050802290910h9ecde1dpe04dd2281595f557@mail.gmail.com> Tasveer Ghar Newsletter Spring 2008 Dear friends Tasveer Ghar (the House of Pictures), a trans-national digital archive of south Asia's popular visual culture, is happy to announce the first anniversary of its founding. We formally started in January 2007 with an aim to collect, digitize, and document various materials produced by South Asia's exciting popular visual sphere, including posters, calendar art, pilgrimage maps and paraphernalia, cinema hoardings, advertisements, and other forms of street and bazaar art. In July 2007, Tasveer Ghar awarded a few short-term fellowships to document several unique forms of popular visual arts of India with a focus on "Gender, Nation and Spaces for the Everyday", to culminate in the digitization of several collected specimens and their virtual exhibition on our website at the end of the fellowship year. It was an exciting beginning with three principal Fellows and six other grantees spread all over India, who began working on a really wide spectrum of topics ranging from South Indian display dolls to Bhojpuri raunchy album covers and much more! We are now pleased to announce the first batch of these exciting virtual galleries. You can visit these online exhibits and enjoy the richness of their visuals and accompanied essays on the following links. We would be very happy to receive your feedback about them: 1. Miniature Societies and Grihani Aesthetics: Display Dolls from Southern India By Annapurna Garimella http://tasveerghar.net/2007/annapurna/ 2. Catering to Indian and British Tastes: Gender in Early Indian Print Advertisements By Javed Masood http://tasveerghar.net/2007/javed/ 3. A Survey of Raunchy Bhojpuri Music Album Covers: Transitioning Sexualized Imagery By Vishal Rawlley http://tasveerghar.net/2007/vishal/ 4. Objects of Desire: Commodification of Gender on the Titles of Popular Hindi Novels By Atmaram K. Bhakal http://tasveerghar.net/2007/atmaram/ The above galleries are part of a larger series of visual presentations which we hope to continue evolving with much more exciting material. Don't forget to visit on our website some of the earlier visual galleries produced by eminent art collectors and scholars. Another new and interesting feature on our website is the "Picture of the Month" where we present a unique photograph or image depicting a quirky example from South Asian popular culture, and expect the readers/visitors to comment on it. See one of our first such image on the link below: http://tasveerghar.net/picomonth.html INVITATION: Tasveer Ghar also invites artists, art collectors, photographers, students and others to contribute exciting images representing examples of popular visual culture of India/South Asia. You can send us photo prints, old photographs, old printed material, photo negatives, transparencies, digital photographs, high-resolution scans, posters, calendar, old advertisements, printed packing material, wall graffiti, hoardings, road-side banners, or any other medium, preferably mass-produced or truly archival and rare, but representing certain popular trends of our society. You can get a sense of the kinds of materials we are looking for in our Call for Proposals on our website. Your contributions, if accepted by us, would be compensated with a basic honorarium. We can also sign a contract with you about the use of such images. Kindly send us samples of such art work, so that we can respond. Your contribution to Tasveer Ghar could either be one or two interesting images, or a series of related images that we can use for a thematic virtual gallery. A virtual gallery is basically a compilation of images (say between 8 and 15, or even more, if necessary) depicting a unique aspect of popular visual culture. Such images are generally accompanied by a text introduction and detailed captions that weave all the images into one coherent presentation spread over several interactive pages on the website. The individual images could either be scans of authentic artwork or photographs of scenarios (streets or homes) where such public art is displayed. A contributor can either send us hard copies of images or electronic versions (scanned in the prescribed format). Tasveer Ghar will not buy or own the image contributed by you. If you submit hard copies of any art work, we will return the same to you after digitizing it. The contributor would have to provide the text and captions for the images (or any other details that may be necessary for the gallery). Very soon, we are also going to announce the Call for Proposal for our short-term fellowships for the year 2008. We also invite authors who have recently published books or essays on south Asian visual culture, or scholars hosting conferences on visual culture to inform us about their ventures, so that we can provide a link on our website to their books, conferences or other related resources. Looking forward to your participation in the building of our virtual House of Pictures. Christiane Brosius Manishita Dass Sumathi Ramaswamy Yousuf Saeed -- http://www.tasveerghar.net From indersalim at gmail.com Fri Feb 29 23:58:21 2008 From: indersalim at gmail.com (inder salim) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:58:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History In-Reply-To: <32144e990802290053q33288181m893adf4dd22e8234@mail.gmail.com> References: <1a9a8b710802260233s7e576159u84f70096ca2383a3@mail.gmail.com> <32144e990802290053q33288181m893adf4dd22e8234@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47e122a70802291028g534d79cfsfbadecae3e1b54e7@mail.gmail.com> A LITTLE CUT AND PASTE FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL CONFUSED ABOUT CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF FAITH: Agamben defines religion as the sphere of separation: consequently every kind of separation seems to be religious. His rationale roughly follows that of Walter Benjamin, who declared that the religion of our times was capitalism, and that capitalism has raised the category of separation to its utmost degree of perfection. Capitalist nihilism is a religious cult of the purest kind - formal - its contents being the empty forms of separation and sacredness. We may easily surmise where he is leading us: profanation is the logical solution to the hegemonic curse of the commodity; the pure and empty form of separation - sacrare - rules among men. Still we will run up against a difficulty. [...] Agamben argues that in the capitalist cult everything is profaned, yet at the same time everything is useless so that use itself has become impossible. To describe the cultural emptiness of capitalist profanation Agamben resorts to pornography and fashion. The affinities between contemporary art and these two spheres of production are quite obvious. In Fuerbach's terms, pornography is defined by sex as the identity of the profane and truth, whereas fashion is defined by money as the identity of the sacred and the illusion. All this seems fairly clear, and nevertheless why does Agamben target pornography as the potential and elective object of profanation rather than fashion? In a sense, fashion would be more entitled, and would certainly be likely disposed, to profanation than pornography, despite the fact that the latter is prone to profanation as well. Roughly speaking, Agamben tells us: "The profanation of the unprofanable is the political task of the coming generation." * On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 2:23 PM, Partha Dasgupta wrote: > Dear Radhikarajen, > > As an art student, learnt of the 'renaissance movement' in Europe when after > decades of being kept in strict check by the Papal Church, artistes and > people from different walks of life refused to swallow what was forced upon > them in terms of belief. > > And I do hope that this madness of enforcing 'belief' stops soon and is > replaced with a modern renaissance movement. Todays' paper also contains an > incident where the ABVP goofed badly without knowing their facts - which > unfortunately seems to be the rule with ABVP instead of being an exception! > > Rgds, Partha > .............................. > > > > > On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 2:02 PM, wrote: > > > Dear Sadan, > > > > it is open secret that JNU and DU is filled with psuedo secular > > "scholars" with political connections for "educating the cadres for > > subversion of democratic India, living examples are Yechury and Karats in > > public life. That apart, politicians fill in their useless wards in to > > paying jobs at these two filling stations. > > Secularism does not mean disrespect to any faith, but respect to all > > faiths. Left parties consistently with abetting Congress have undermined the > > faith and built non believers in to cadres of violent workers, later > > politburo uses these cadres for their selfish gains like in Nandigram or > > Singur is well documented now. > > Regards. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Sadan Jha > > Date: Thursday, February 28, 2008 6:25 pm > > Subject: [Reader-list] Assault upon the Delhi University History > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > > > Dear All, > > > Today, I have read this mail from H-ASIA and thought to share it > > > with you. > > > This is in solidarity with faculty members and students of History > > > Department, D.U. > > > sadan. > > > > > > > > > H-ASIA: Assault upon the Delhi University History Department H-ASIA > > > Frank Conlon to H-ASIA > > > > > > > > > H-ASIA > > > Feburary 25, 2008 > > > > > > Assault by Hindutva mob on the Delhi University History Department > > > ************************************************************************ > > > From: Frank Conlon > > > > > > Earlier this month, our colleague Sumit Guha, forwarded some posts > > > regarding a protest that had been generated by the VHP-linked ABVP > > > (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad)--a highly politicized "student" > > > movement of the Hindu right in India. Some of our readers will take > > > exception to that > > > description, but on the basis of all press accounts, I feel > > > comfortable writing it. > > > > > > Like everything else, the story requires some context, and, > > > remarkably, as in the debacle fifteen years ago when a > > > Hindutva-inspired crowd demolished a mosque at Ayodhya on the pretense > > > that it was built on the actual historical birthplace of the god Rama, > > > Rama once again figures prominently in the story. Over the past > > > months there has been a resurgance "Rama"publicity arising in part > > > out of a proposed dredging of the sea bed near the southern tip of > > > India for creation of a safe deepwater passage for coastal vessels. > > > This was seized upon by interested parties who argued that this > > > dredging would involve disruption of a natural feature in the seabed, > > > known as "the Rama Setu" that has been credited in mythology to > > > Rama's conquest of Lanka in the Ramayana epic poem. > > > > > > In popular consciousness mythology usually trumps geology and > > > hydrology--(and I refer here not only to India!) if they ever mix it > > > up in the ring of public affairs. So, much has been written in the > > > past months about reasserting the vitality of Lord Rama and the > > > preservation of the Rama legacy. > > > > > > Ever alert for issues upon which to mobilize followers and generate > > > press, a substory of the above emerged in Delhi earlier this year. > > > Protests were mounted over what was called a "book" "published" by the > > > Delhi University History Department--and attributed--erroneously--to > > > Professor Upinder > > > Singh, a Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Indian History. The > > > fact that Professor Singh happens to be the daughter of Prime Minister > > > Manmohan Singh is, one suspects, not coincidental with the association > > > of her name with the protest. The "book" was in fact not a > > > publication at all, but a > > > collection of "readings" for the Delhi University concurrent > > > course on > > > Ancient Indian Culture in the B. A. (Honours) programme. The packet > > > included an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled "Three Hundred > > > Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation", which has > > > appeared earlier in a collection of the works of Ramanuman edited by > > > Vinay Dharwadker and previously in Paula Richman's path-breaking > > > collection of essyas _Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative > > > Tradition in South Asia_ (U California Press, 1991). Of course, many > > > readers of H-ASIA are > > > familiar with the broad corpus of A. K. Ramanujan's contributions to > > > the study of the history and culture of India including his wonderful > > > translations of Tamil and Kannada bhakti poetry. > > > > > > At some point, a packet of these essays was photocopied in a Delhi > > > shop with a "title page" crediting Upinder Singh, and out of that was > > > manufactured a "new outrage regarding the hurting of feelings of > > > devout Hindus" by the Delhi University History Department. > > > > > > An example of the rhetoric plied against Ramanujan's essay may suffice > > > to give a flavor of the campaign. > > > > > > From http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/3819.html > > > The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Jan 18, 2008 post proclaims that > > > Ramanujan in his essay "even sorts out a tale from Santhal folklore > > > and puts forth the greatest outrage to Hindu psyche before the > > > students of literature that Ravan as well as Lakshman both seduced > > > Sita. No one on Earth so far dared to question the character of Sita > > > so brazenly as Shri Ramanunjan has done, though, all through under the > > > convenient cover of a folklore! > > > "Sorting and picking out anything negative found in different versions > > > of Ramayana spread all over the world with malicious intention has > > > become a practice under the UPA [current Indian coalition government]. > > > Despite the repeated protests by Hindu leaders, Shiksha Bharati and > > > Shiksha Bachao Andolan, the practice still continues. > > > > > > "In a latest instance, the Delhi University for its BA (Hons) second > > > year course has included portions defaming and denigrating the > > > characters of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita and projecting the > > > entire episode as fallacious, capricious, imaginary and fake." and > > > it goes on to cite a > > > groundswell of Hindu indignation that such blasphemies could be > > > perpetrated by the Delhi University History department, and, of > > > course, in particular, the daughter of the Prime Minister. > > > > > > On February 2, 2008, the Delhi University History Department issued > > > the following statement: > > > > > > DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, > > > IN ITS MEETING OF 04/02/2008 > > > > > > 1. A number of groups have organised protest and have raised > > > objections to the inclusion of an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, > > > titled "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on > > > Translation". The essay had been published in Vinay Dharwadker (ed.) > > > The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan, New Delhi: Oxford University > > > Press, 1999, pp. 131-60; [this was an expanded version of a piece > > > that first > > > appeared in Paula Richman (ed.) Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a > > > Narrative Tradition in South Asia Berkeley: niversity of California > > > Press, 1991]. The said essay is one of he readings for the Delhi > > > University concurrent course on ncient Indian Culture in the B. > > > A.(Honours) programme, which has been offered in several Colleges from > > > July 2006 onwards. > > > 2. The sole purpose of this course is to create an awareness and > > > understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ancient > > > India among students, and to acquaint them with original sources. > > > Apart from the reading mentioned in the letter, the course includes > > > readings on Kalidasa's poetry, Jataka stories, ancient Tamil poets and > > > poetry, ancient > > > iconography, and the modern history of ancient artifacts. The > > > essay is > > > part of a unit titled 'The Ramayana and Mahabharata - stories, > > > characters, versions.' It is accompanied by an excerpt from Iravati > > > Karve's book, Yuganta: The end of an epoch. Supplementary readings > > > include the Introduction of Robert P. Goldman's The Ramayana of > > > Valmiki: an epic of > > > ancient India (the most recent and most authoritative English > > > translation of the epic), which gives a detailed, scholarly > > > introduction to the Valmiki Ramayana. > > > > > > 3. The late A. K. Ramanujan (recipient of several honours, > > > including the Padmashri) was a widely acclaimed scholar with > > > impeccable academic credentials. His expertise in a range of languages > > > including Sanskrit,Tamil and Kannada was perhaps without parallel. His > > > credentials as a scholar, writer, and teacher with extensive knowledge > > > of ancient Indian literary traditions are incontestable. It is sad to > > > see his name and work > > > being subjected so such ill-informed controversy. In the article in > > > question, he illustrates and analyses the great dynamism and variety > > > in what he describes as 'tellings' of the story of Rama within India > > > and across the world. > > > > > > 4. The concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture and the > > > readings for it went through the same procedure as all other courses > > > in the University of Delhi pass before being adopted. The readings > > > have not been devised or 'compiled' by any individual. Like all the > > > other University courses, they are the product of a consultative > > > process involving many members of the University community. The > > > content and readings for this > > > course were discussed extensively among Department members and College > > > teachers, and were approved through the regular University procedures > > > in statutory bodies, namely the Committee of Courses, Faculty of > > > Social Sciences, Academic Council, and the Executive Council, which > > > include > > > teachers of all disciplines. The Academic Council is the highest > > > statutory body on academic matters in the University. > > > > > > 5. We would like to emphasize that there is no published > > > compilation of the course readings by Dr. Upinder Singh or any other > > > member of the Department of History. However, it has come to our > > > notice that there is a spiral-bound collection of photocopies of the > > > individual articles and excerpts related to this course at certain > > > photocopying shops. This set of hotocopies has a covering page on > > > which Dr. Upinder Singh's name has been typed, without any > > > authorization whatsoever, as a 'compiler.' It is this collection of > > > photocopies that is being incorrectly described as a 'book' compiled > > > by her. There is in fact no book. > > > > > > 6. When readings are prescribed in a course, it is not essential > > > that the course-designers, teachers, or students should agree with or > > > defend each and every word therein. In fact debate, dissent, and > > > dialogue are important parts of the discipline of history. It may be > > > pointed out that the terms that have apparently caused offence to > > > certain individuals should in no way be construed as mischievous or > > > slanderous. There is no question whatsoever of intending or attempting > > > to denigrate or hurt the sentiments of any culture, religion, > > > tradition, or community. > > > > > > 7. The aim of the course in question is to teach University > > > students (who are, after all, young adults) to be able to analyze a > > > variety of source material academically, analytically, and without > > > embarrassment or denigration. That is the spirit in which the course > > > was framed and that is the spirit in which we believe it is being > > > taught. > > > > > > ------ > > > On the same day _The Telegraph_ (Kolkata) reported that Mayawati, the > > > Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh had demanded that "the book" be > > > banned. > > > ( > > http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080203/jsp/nation/story_8857319.jsp)undera headline: > > > > > > "PM daughter in Ramayan row" > > > > > > New Delhi, Feb. 2: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayavati has asked the > > > Prime Minister to ban a text recommended for Delhi University history > > > students that allegedly contains objectionable references to > > > characters in the Ramayan. > > > > > > Mayavati made the written request to Manmohan Singh after the Akhil > > > Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's student wing, protested > > > in Delhi and Lucknow, claiming the contentious text was part of a book > > > compiled by the Prime Minister's daughter Upinder Singh. > > > > > > Upinder Singh, a professor of ancient Indian history at DU, has, > > > however, denied she had compiled the piece or recommended it to her > > > students. > > > "I have absolutely nothing to do with this text. The contentious > > > article is not written by me. Nor is there any book of mine which > > > contains the article. I fail to understand why I am being linked to > > > the text," she told The Telegraph. > > > > > > Sources close to Mayavati confirmed that the chief minister had not > > > yet seen the "book", but said her letter to the Prime Minister was > > > motivated by concerns over law and order in her state." > > > > > > The report continued with a quotation from the ABVP Delhi General > > > Secretary Ms. Niharika Sharma "This is a deliberate attempt to hurt > > > the sentiments of the Hindu community." Asked why the ABVP was seeking > > > a ban instead of allowing college students to debate the contents > > > of a > > > research publication, Sharma said the organisation was worried > > > students would feel pressured to replicate Ramanujan's version in > > > their exam. > > > > > > "If the article is taught, students will be expected to reproduce it > > > in exams as well. IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, UNLESS YOU WRITE WHAT IS > > > TAUGHT IN CLASS, YOU DO NOT GET MARKS [emphasis added] Hindu students > > > will be > > > forced to write something they do not believe in," she said. > > > > > > The ABVP has already sent memoranda to the DU vice-chancellor and the > > > head of the history department seeking deletion of Ramanujan's essay > > > from the course. "Upinder Singh has most definitely compiled a book > > > with the objectionable text as a chapter. The book has not yet been > > > published but we have a copy," Sharma said." > > > > > > Karl Rove has nothing to teach the Hindu Right when it comes to > > > generating controversy (and here I will adopt the standard American > > > ploy for remarks that generate offense--I apologize to those who may > > > be offended by my editorial comment. FFC] > > > > > > To make a long story longer, today I received a report that a > > > group of > > > ABVP activists vandalized the office of the Delhi University History > > > department and physically manhandled the head of the department. The > > > following is reproduced as received including a note from the Head of > > > Department Professor S. Z. H. Jafri and an open letter from department > > > students. It was forwarded by Professor Indrani Chatterjee. > > > > > > Dear Colleague, > > > > > > This is to inform you that the ABVP activists had come to the > > > Department around 2.00 p.m. with the intention of causing some damage > > > to the structure and gaining some mileage from it. They partly > > > succeeded in their venture. No injuries to anybody except the glass > > > doors has been caused. The other details you can see from the > > > students letter which follows. > > > > > > Professor S.Z.H. JAFRI > > > > > > DOWN WITH ABVP VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS! > > > PUNISH THE CULPRITS! > > > > > > 25th February 2008. At about 2 pm in the afternoon an organised > > > mob of > > > more than 100 people from outside the university led by the ABVP > > > activist Vikas Dahiya gathered outside the building of the School of > > > Social Sciences. Some 8-10 people came to the office of the Head of > > > the Department of History, Prof S.Z.H. Jafri saying that they wished > > > to speak > > > to him and to Prof B.P. Sahu about the curriculum of BA Part II, > > > History (Concurrent). They insisted on speaking only once the media > > > was present. > > > Once the media arrived, in place of speaking to the department > > > members, they began to ransack the department. Even without speaking > > > or giving a chance to the people present there from the department to > > > speak, these people toppled the table and ransacked the office of the > > > head of the > > > department. One of them also manhandled Prof. Jafri and held him by > > > his collar and hurled abuses at those present there. Considerable > > > damage to the property of the department by breaking the glass panes, > > > damaging books, office files and other objects in the office was done > > > and all inthe presence of the media personnel and the very passive > > > police! The outsiders threatened the faculty members and warned them > > > of dire consequences. This is a clear act of vandalism. It is clear > > > that they had come with the clear intention of perpetuating violence > > > in the department and it was a planned action to create an atmosphere > > > of terror. > > > > > > This incidence occurred in the very presence of the police personnel > > > as well as the media. The media footage would clearly show all that > > > happened in the office of the head of the Department of History on the > > > 25th afternoon. The attack by 8-10 robust hooligans, not belonging to > > > the university, on absolutely defenceless faculty members of the > > > Department of > > > History is a shameful act in itself. Trying to force the faculty > > > members to change the curriculum of history which has been passed by > > > the due legal process of the University through the use of force > > > is a > > > clear act of fascism which is not acceptable in a democracy. Freedom > > > of expression is a fundamental right of every individual and any > > > encroachment on the same is > > > not tolerable. It is democratic structures and values which are > > > seriously threatened. > > > > > > This is an appeal from the students of history department to > > > everyone in the University to raise their voice against this > > > vandalism and this fascist attempt to scuttle the freedom of > > > expression . We appeal to all students, staff and teachers > > > > > > To JOIN the Protest March at 10.30 a.m. at Vivekanand Statue, Faculty > > > of Arts on the 26th of February, 2008. > > > > > > Whether one feels that A. K. Ramanujan was a great intellectual or > > > not; and whether one agrees that India's past is a fit subject for > > > critical analysis, I believe that H-ASIA members will deplore this > > > 'media-savvy' creation of a physical assault on an academic department > > > at Delhi University. > > > > > > As of the moment, I have not received an e-mail address to which > > > comments may be relayed, but one immediate possibility would be to > > > send comment for forwarding to Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan > > > at Delhi University. The postal address > > > for the head of the department is: > > > Prof. Saiyid Zaheer Hussain Jafri, > > > Head, > > > Department of History, > > > Faculty of Social Science building, > > > University of Delhi, > > > Delhi-110007. > > > > > > I will add one more personal editorial note that again will offend > > > some folks (and not the ones offended earlier either)--this episode > > > offers, in my view, the fruits of politicizing the past and our study > > > of it--and while concepts of secular humanistic research in Europe, > > > America and other parts of the world may not resemble the Indian > > > concept in which secularism means "no offense to any religion"--we > > > frequently find urselves as scholars and teachers facing the > > > "concerns" of various practitioners of what may be called 'identity > > > politics'--in the secure world of North America, the risks of mob > > > action are small--but there are far too many university > > > administrators--wedded to the concept of 'student as customer' who > > > wring their hands over anything academic which smacks of ontroversy. > > > In other words, Delhi University's misfortune is not quite as exotic > > > as some folks on this side of the kala pani would like to believe. > > > > > > > > > Frank > > > > > > Frank F. Conlon > > > Professor Emeritus of History, South Asian > > > Studies & Comparative Religion > > > University of Washington > > > Seattle, WA 98195-3560 USA > > > Co-editor, H-ASIA > > > President, H-NET Humanities & Social Sciences Online > > > Managing Director, Bibliography of Asian Studies Online > > > ****************************************************************** > > > To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Sadan Jha > > > Assistant Professor, > > > Centre for Social Studies. > > > Vir Narmad South Gujarat University Campus. Udhna-Magdalla Road. > > > Surat. Gujarat. India. > > > blog: mamuliram.blogspot.com > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- > > > list > > > List archive: > > _________________________________________ > > 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/> > > > > > > -- > Partha Dasgupta > +919811047132 > > > > _________________________________________ > 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://indersalim.livejournal.com From tasveerghar at gmail.com Fri Feb 29 22:30:57 2008 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:30:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] New Visual Galleries of Popular Art Message-ID: <484c1050802290900t42342525j4d1fe0b2baa5c22e@mail.gmail.com> Tasveer Ghar Newsletter Spring 2008 Dear friends Tasveer Ghar (the House of Pictures), a trans-national digital archive of south Asia's popular visual culture, is happy to announce the first anniversary of its founding. We formally started in January 2007 with an aim to collect, digitize, and document various materials produced by South Asia's exciting popular visual sphere, including posters, calendar art, pilgrimage maps and paraphernalia, cinema hoardings, advertisements, and other forms of street and bazaar art. In July 2007, Tasveer Ghar awarded a few short-term fellowships to document several unique forms of popular visual arts of India with a focus on "Gender, Nation and Spaces for the Everyday", to culminate in the digitization of several collected specimens and their virtual exhibition on our website at the end of the fellowship year. It was an exciting beginning with three principal Fellows and six other grantees spread all over India, who began working on a really wide spectrum of topics ranging from South Indian display dolls to Bhojpuri raunchy album covers and much more! We are now pleased to announce the first batch of these exciting virtual galleries. You can visit these online exhibits and enjoy the richness of their visuals and accompanied essays on the following links. We would be very happy to receive your feedback about them: 1. Miniature Societies and Grihani Aesthetics: Display Dolls from Southern India By Annapurna Garimella http://tasveerghar.net/2007/annapurna/ 2. Catering to Indian and British Tastes: Gender in Early Indian Print Advertisements By Javed Masood http://tasveerghar.net/2007/javed/ 3. A Survey of Raunchy Bhojpuri Music Album Covers: Transitioning Sexualized Imagery By Vishal Rawlley http://tasveerghar.net/2007/vishal/ 4. Objects of Desire: Commodification of Gender on the Titles of Popular Hindi Novels By Atmaram K. Bhakal http://tasveerghar.net/2007/atmaram/ The above galleries are part of a larger series of visual presentations which we hope to continue evolving with much more exciting material. Don't forget to visit on our website some of the earlier visual galleries produced by eminent art collectors and scholars. Another new and interesting feature on our website is the "Picture of the Month" where we present a unique photograph or image depicting a quirky example from South Asian popular culture, and expect the readers/visitors to comment on it. See one of our first such image on the link below: http://tasveerghar.net/picomonth.html INVITATION: Tasveer Ghar also invites artists, art collectors, photographers, students and others to contribute exciting images representing examples of popular visual culture of India/South Asia. You can send us photo prints, old photographs, old printed material, photo negatives, transparencies, digital photographs, high-resolution scans, posters, calendar, old advertisements, printed packing material, wall graffiti, hoardings, road-side banners, or any other medium, preferably mass-produced or truly archival and rare, but representing certain popular trends of our society. You can get a sense of the kinds of materials we are looking for in our Call for Proposals on our website. Your contributions, if accepted by us, would be compensated with a basic honorarium. We can also sign a contract with you about the use of such images. Kindly send us samples of such art work, so that we can respond. Your contribution to Tasveer Ghar could either be one or two interesting images, or a series of related images that we can use for a thematic virtual gallery. A virtual gallery is basically a compilation of images (say between 8 and 15, or even more, if necessary) depicting a unique aspect of popular visual culture. Such images are generally accompanied by a text introduction and detailed captions that weave all the images into one coherent presentation spread over several interactive pages on the website. The individual images could either be scans of authentic artwork or photographs of scenarios (streets or homes) where such public art is displayed. A contributor can either send us hard copies of images or electronic versions (scanned in the prescribed format). Tasveer Ghar will not buy or own the image contributed by you. If you submit hard copies of any art work, we will return the same to you after digitizing it. The contributor would have to provide the text and captions for the images (or any other details that may be necessary for the gallery). Very soon, we are also going to announce the Call for Proposal for our short-term fellowships for the year 2008. We also invite authors who have recently published books or essays on south Asian visual culture, or scholars hosting conferences on visual culture to inform us about their ventures, so that we can provide a link on our website to their books, conferences or other related resources. Looking forward to your participation in the building of our virtual House of Pictures. Christiane Brosius Manishita Dass Sumathi Ramaswamy Yousuf Saeed -- http://www.tasveerghar.net