From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Mon Aug 1 01:32:42 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 01:32:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: PUDR condemns threat being issued by CPI (Maoist) to members of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in Jharkhand In-Reply-To: <088901cc4dea$d5abbdb0$81033910$@com> References: <088901cc4dea$d5abbdb0$81033910$@com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: PUDR Delhi Date: 29 July 2011 17:48 Subject: [pudr-info] PUDR condemns threat being issued by CPI (Maoist) to members of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in Jharkhand To: pudr-info at pudr.org * * *PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS, DELHI (PUDR)* * * *PRESS RELEASE* * * *29/07/2011* ** ** People’s Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi (PUDR) condemns the threats being issued by the CPI (Maoist) party to members of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and to others investigating and protesting against the killing of Niyamat Ansari at Manika block in Jharkhand. ** ** Niyamat Ansari, the convenor of Manika block unit of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and the MNREGA Support Centre was killed on 2 March this year. ** ** PUDR expresses concern that posters and printed leaflets had appeared in Manika claiming to have been brought out by the CPI(Maoist) threatening to punish Gokul Vasant, Nand Lal, Jean Dreze and Aruna Roy for claiming Niyamat Ansari’s innocence. It also contained a renewed threat to the lives of Bhukan Singh and members of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. ** ** The CPI(Maoist) party has owned up and justified the killing of Ansari by claiming he was involved in corrupt practices. A two member team comprising Gokul Vasant and Nand Lal from Daltonganj have investigated these allegations and declared them to be baseless. ** ** PUDR and many other organisations have condemned the killing and demanded that the CPI(Maoist) hand over the culprits, that they publicly apologise and that an assurance be given that no harm should come to Ansari’s colleague, Bhukan Singh. ** ** PUDR finds this kind of intolerant behaviour by the CPI (Maoist) wholly unacceptable. We urge the CPI(Maoist) to recognize that people have a right to criticize and a right to carry on politics in accordance with their beliefs. Intolerance of people’s rights to question does not pave the way for a just society. ** ** PUDR demands that the CPI (Maoist) withdraw the threat immediately and respect the right of people to form associations as per their conscience. ** ** ** ** Paramjeet Singh Harish Dhawan Secretaries, PUDR From monica at sarai.net Mon Aug 1 16:07:43 2011 From: monica at sarai.net (Monica Narula) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 16:07:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Proposals: City as Studio, Edition 2 Message-ID: CALL FOR PROPOSALS City as Studio, Edition 2 The Sarai-CSDS Associate Fellowship for Contemporary Art and Cultural Practice The Sarai Programme at CSDS, Delhi is an interdisciplinary platform for the investigation and interpretation of contemporary urban life. Sarai produces events and processes, publishes offline and online content and generates contexts for research and creative practice. The Sarai Programme, in keeping with its history of support to independent thinking and creativity, invites applications from artists and practitioners in diverse media for the second edition of the "City as Studio" project. The "City as Studio" seeks to bring contemporary artistic and cultural practice into the contentious, active space of today’s urbanity. By studio we mean both a space, and a cluster of activities and interactions. The Sarai-CSDS "City as Studio" initiative will create contexts for high intensity inter-disciplinary processes in locations in Delhi and at the Sarai exhibition space at CSDS. The studio process proposes to bring together artists, urbanists, educationists, cultural workers, neighborhood initiatives and diverse audiences to create art works, participatory performances, media works, salons, transmissions of different kinds of signals and imaginative festive events. The process may be rendered as an exhibition, as also a gathering, as a library, as a temporary archive, a salon. It will also take the form of a workshop, a temporary atelier, a media studio and a reading group. We invite the applicants to imagine that the city itself is their studio, and that urban realities are their materials. The City as Studio (Edition 1) book is available for free download as a PDF at the Sarai website. (www.sarai.net) The applicants are invited to write a short note (no more than two pages) sketching an idea that they would like to see realized, participate in, or circulated if they were selected to participate in the "City as Studio". The artists and practitioners who are selected will work in dialogue with Sarai to develop artistic projects and interventions in a range of forms that could be anything from free standing art works to proposals for mini-exhibitions, installations, performances and happenings, publications, sound works, video, internet and mobile phone based works, graphic novels, public art works, graffiti and signage and speculative architectural proposals. The applicants who are selected will receive a fellowship amount of Rs. 85,000, and a modest material and logistical support for the realization of project ideas that are developed during the duration of the City as Studio process. The fellowship period will be for the duration of nine months, during which time the fellows will be expected to pursue their practice in consonance with their stated intentions while applying for the "City as Studio" Fellowship. The fellows will have access to a group of mentors who will act as sounding boards for their ideas. The Raqs Media Collective will be available as interlocutors, and the fellows will interact with each other and with their mentors through this period, and will be expected to send regular updates of their work, visual materials, notes, etc. on to a designated discussion group. They will also be expected to submit a final report of their work at the end of the nine month period, in fulfillment of the terms of the fellowship. The "City as Studio" Fellows will be required to spend six weeks (January-February 2012) 'in residence' as guests of Sarai in Delhi. Costs for travel to Delhi and accommodation will be borne by Sarai CSDS for candidates from outside Delhi. During this period, they will be expected to work intensively in dialogue with mentors from the Sarai network of artists and scholars. Who Can Apply: Anyone above the age of 21 with a bank account and a PAN number in India can apply for this fellowship. The residency period will be located in Delhi and is a compulsory part of the City as Studio process. What Should Applicant's Send: 1. A two page sketch of an idea that the applicant would like to pursue within the framework of the city studio initiative. 2. A one page note about their practice. 2. CV listing recent works and projects. 3. Samples of recent work - preferably in digital versions. 4. Contact details Last Date for Sending Applications: 30th August, 2011 Where to Send Applications: Send the application by post to City as Studio, Sarai-CSDS, 29, Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India. When can you expect to hear from us: The selected candidates will be informed by email and the list will be posted on the Sarai website by 15th September, 2011. Monica Narula Raqs Media Collective Sarai-CSDS www.raqsmediacollective.net www.sarai.net From t.sripathy at gmail.com Mon Aug 1 18:25:13 2011 From: t.sripathy at gmail.com (sri pathy) Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 18:25:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?CALL_FOR_BOOK_CHAPTER_PROPOSALS_?= =?windows-1252?q?=96_JOURNALISM_EDUCATION_IN_INDIA_AND_FUTURE_TREN?= =?windows-1252?q?DS=2E?= Message-ID: *CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER PROPOSALS – JOURNALISM EDUCATION IN INDIA AND FUTURE TRENDS.* Dear Colleagues, Chapter proposals are invited for an edited book published in memory of first death anniversary of Professor K.E.Eapen, a pioneer in Journalism and Mass Communication Education in India, titled – JOURNALISM EDUCATION IN INDIA AND FUTURE TRENDS, to be published by a reputed international publishing house. The proposed book will help the Students of post-graduate, under-graduate, professional course etc., faculty members and practitioners of communication studies. There will be two sections, namely chapters addressing specific themes and issues of ‘Journalism Education in India and Future Trends’ about 3000 to 4000 words and chapters reporting on ‘case studies’ about 2000 to 3000 words. Chapter proposals should include the Title page with details of Authors, A 200 – 500 word Abstract and brief bio-data of the authors. The submission deadline will be not later than *25th August 2011.* The Book is published in memory of first death anniversary of Professor K.E.Eapen, a pioneer in Journalism and Mass Communication Education in India. H.Y. Sharada Prasad, adviser to the former Prime Ministers, described him as “one of the most distinguished communication teachers and analysts in India”. Please read Tributes appeared on http://mediasceneindia.blogspot.com, titled ‘Tribute to KEE’ by Prof.B.P.Sanjay (4th November 2010) and ‘Communication Scholar K E Eapen is no more’ by Professor Kiran Thakur (24th October 2010). Professor K E Eapen was the first convener Mass Communication panel of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Eapen was the first convener of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Please also feel free to share this information with others who you think might be interested. T.Sripathy Assistant Professor in Electronic Media Department of Studies in Electronic Media Bangalore University Palace Road, Bangalore – 560 009 e-mail – t.sripathy at gmail.com Mobile: 98441 29885 From the-network at koeln.de Tue Aug 2 14:02:19 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (CologneOFF) Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:32:19 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?August_on_CologneOFF_2011=3A_Videoar?= =?iso-8859-1?q?t_from_Middle_East?= Message-ID: <20110802103219.2C3CD5C1.F97834CA@192.168.0.2> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2012 ----------------------------------------------- August 2011 focus --> videoart from Middle East http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?p=1607 ----------------------------------------------- Beirut/Lebenon will be hosting ColognOFF 2011 as the stand-alone event ---> CologneoFF 2011 Beirut @ Sunflower Art Center 30 Aug - 3 September 2011 - www.assshams.org, which will be also the 1st of three venues launching CologneOFF VII - the 7th festival edition, to be followed by Riga (Latvia) and Budapest (Hungary) in September 2011. But the Middle East aspect is manifesting itself particularly in the screening programs online and offline online access and info --> http://vad.nmartproject.net/?page_id=2364 http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?p=1607 featuring 1. Larissa Sansour - videoartist of the Month August 2011 the internationally reknown artist is living currently in London (UK) more details --> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1634 2. the curated selection "Close to My Heart" - videoart from Iran - curated by Alysse Stepanian including videos by Morehshin Allahyari - Maneli Aygani - Neda Darzi Samira Eskandarfar - Gelare Khoshgozaran - Laleh Mehran - Payam Mofidi - Hamed Shahihi - Parya Vatankhah more details ---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=761 3. the curated selection "Messages from Gaza" - videoart from Palestine in collaboration with "Windows from Gaza" & Gaza International Videoart Festival - including videos by Ayman Asraq - Mohammed Harb Shareef Sarhan - Majed Shala - Basel El Maqusi more details ---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1612 4. the curated selection - "Behind Words" - videoart from Syria - curated by Abir Boukhari (Damascus) including videos by Adnan Jatto , Fadi Hamwi, Hazem Hamwi, Hiba Aizouk, Giwan Khalaf - Female, Maha Shahine, Nisrine Boukhari, Razan Mohsen, Raed Zeino, Ruba Khweis more details ---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=788 -------------------------------------------- CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2012 is operated by Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ & artvideoKOELN - the curatorial initiative "art & moving images" http://video.mediaartcologne.org powered by Le Musee di-visioniste - the new museum of networked art - http://www.le-musee-divisioniste.org info (at) coff.newmediafest.org ---------------------------------------------- From chintan.backups at gmail.com Tue Aug 2 21:34:32 2011 From: chintan.backups at gmail.com (Chintan Girish Modi) Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 21:34:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Kabir Project needs researchers/editors/animators for Ajab Shahar Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Namrata Date: Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 4:38 PM Subject: Announcement for researcher/editors/animators for Ajab Shahar To: kabirsongblore at googlegroups.com, sunobhaisadho at googlegroups.com *ajab shahar* *Come into this colorful palace, this wondrous city* *Oh, my swan, my seeker friend!* - *Kabir* The Kabir Project is creating a lyrical web city– an *ajab shahar* –where browsers can encounter songs, poems and conversations around the poetry of Kabir and other mystic, Bhakti and Sufi poets, in contemporary landscapes of music, spirituality, politics and the self. We are looking for *Animators and Interactive Web Designers* to develop evocative web experiences around mystic poetry and music & *Researchers and Video Editors* - to transcribe video/audio footage of songs/conversations - to research into mystic poetry and music traditions - to annotate, edit and upload audio, video and text content for the archive Applicants should be inspired by mystic poetry and music and be fluent in Hindi. Ideal applicants should combine research with video editing skills, but both are not essential. Work entails a minimum a one-year commitment. Remuneration would be commensurate with profile of applicant. Contact us at thekabirproject at gmail.com Check us out at www.kabirproject.org & www.sunosadho.blogspot.com From patrice at xs4all.nl Wed Aug 3 14:17:58 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 10:47:58 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Gerard Oonk: Online Control - End of Free Speech? (in India) Message-ID: original to: http://www.indodutchconnect.com/articles/online-control_645.html (This site is run by and mainly intended for business people and fosters commercial exchanges between India and the Netherlands. Its main sponsor is the Netherlands Foreign Investments Agency, a governement outfit. So it is the more remarkable it lend its columns to what must be a disruptive opinion. But then business also is very much in favor of as little government interference with the Internet as possible ...) Online Control Gerard Oonk (interview) Following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Indian government is leaving no stone unturned to curb terrorism. In an effort to monitor cyber terrorism, the new Information Technology Rules 2011 have brought out stringent laws to eliminate website content that is deemed ‘offensive’. This law, however, is a severe blow to supporters of free speech. Gerard Oonk, Director of Dutch NGO, the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) shares his opinion. According to the Information Technology Rules 2011, government authorities will now be able to shut down web sites with offensive content. What, in your opinion, will be the consequences of this new law? The consequences will be that not only the government but everybody can ask for certain web content to be taken down by using their own interpretation of the present criteria which are extremely general and broad. Criteria such as ‘disparaging’, ‘hateful’, ‘harassing’ and even ‘blasphemous’ can be interpreted very differently by different people. Also criteria such as ‘web content that is potentially damaging to the relations with other countries’ is so broad, that it can apply to anything critical being written about those countries. If the government uses these criteria loosely it can amount to a severe restriction of what is communicated online. In this context, it also potentially very damaging as there is no legal check on removing web content nor is there a possibility of a legal appeal. This is not only (potential) government censorship but censorship of one citizen to another. How will this law affect the human rights situation in the country? Of course it is difficult to predict how the new rules will actually be applied, but there is a danger that individuals, organisations or the government that is being criticised for human rights violations, will try to silence the critics and human rights defenders. The other big risk is that people will become afraid to put information about human rights violations (including labour rights violations) on a website because the web content might be taken off. And what it even more likely is that web providers start screening their client’s content for possible information that they perceive as being against the new rules. These rules might be especially detrimental for ethnic, religious or caste minorities that are ‘under fire’ by certain groups in the society or even individuals. ICN has already been involved in a defamation case owing to their website content. With this new law in place, what measures is your NGO taking to avoid similar cases in future? We are not taking any new measures ourselves, but of course we will as usual publish factual information based on good research. And of course, our opinions remain our own. We are not going to censor ourselves because we are afraid that a problem might arise. On the other hand we have asked our government (and indirectly the European Union) to get more clarity on the possible extraterritorial consequences of these new Indian rules. In addition, we have asked our government to urge for a prior national or European legal assessment (on the basis of international human rights treaties and Dutch/European law) of requests from non-EU countries to remove web content by EU-based providers. Possible co-operation with international requests to give support to (practical and/or legal) action against certain web content should first pass this assessment. This is to avoid European citizens or organizations getting unwillingly and wrongly involved in such cases. What suggestions would you propose to the Indian government to curb cyber terrorism and yet, allow freedom of speech online? I am not an expert on cyber terrorism (I also do not know if there is an expected definition of it) and cannot comment on that directly. Yet, the way your question is phrased also sounds like we have we to sacrifice one or the other goal. It could imply: to have democracy and (human) rights, we have to do away with them! I think that curbing freedom of expression in the way that is now being proposed will do little or nothing to curb ‘cyber terrorism’. On the contrary: if you do not allow people to speak out on issues of human rights violations, for example, or construct barriers for that, it increases the probability that people will resort to terrorism. For fighting terrorism you have to detect the potential perpetrators and that cannot be done by allowing everybody, including the government, to take off web content that is not to their liking. Stringent cyber laws are not new and are prevalent in the West, including the Netherlands. Why is the Indian government being criticized for implementing the same in the name of national security? If we would be aware of such rules in The Netherlands using such broad terms and/or without any legal appeal, we would certainly support action to change it. But I am not aware of them. From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Aug 3 16:45:40 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:15:40 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Delhi 48 Hour Film Project / "Vanished Pirs and Absent Kings" - a talk on Delhi's medieval monuments Message-ID: <8CE1FE5CFE086B3-11F0-18B5@webmail-m008.sysops.aol.com> The 48 Hour Film Project comes to Delhi on the weekend of September 2. Filmmakers from all over the Delhi area will compete to see who can make the best short film in only 48 hours. The winning film will go up against films from around the world. Enter today! Space is limited. This year, teams will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Once the initial registration is complete, we will accept teams for the Waiting List. If a registered team must drop out, we will go to the Waiting List. Registration fee is Rs.2500. Payment details: Send cash or DD/cheques drawn in favour of 'Can Communicate' Address: 11, Satyam Industrial Estate, Govandi Station Road, near USV Ltd., Govandi, Mumbai 400088 Internet payment option: A/c no. 316301010036476 A/c name/ beneficiary: Can Communicate Bank: Union Bank Branch: Chembur (W) City: Mumbai Receipt and email confirmation will be provided on successful receipt of the fees. http://48hourfilm.com/registration/?cityid=145 View the films of 2010 here: http://www.48hfp.in ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Vanished Pirs and Absent Kings" - a talk on Delhi's medieval monuments INTACH nvites you to a talk y nand Vivek Taneja "Vanished Pirs and Absent Kings: Spirits, Saints and Stories around Delhi's edieval Monuments" on Friday, 5th August, 2011 t 3:30 PM t the Multipurpose Hall, NTACH, 71 Lodhi Estate ew Delhi – 110 003 Please join us for tea after the event Anand Vivek Taneja is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at Columbia University. He orks on contemporary Delhi’s links to its medieval past. His writings on Delhi ave appeared in Outlook Traveller, City Limits, Time Out Delhi, as well as umerous academic publications. Previously, he has worked as a media researcher, olumnist, quiz-master and tour-guide. From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Aug 3 17:42:50 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:12:50 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] EXPERIMENTA INDIA 2011 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS/ CALL FOR APPLICATIONS The Yellow Line Project (YLP) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CE1FEDCC5736F4-11F0-2D9A@webmail-m008.sysops.aol.com> EXPERIMENTA INDIA 2011 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS EXPERIMENTA – the international festival for moving image art in India, seeks artists’ films and videos from any country that challenge popular and conventional modes of cinema. Abstract to obscure compositions produced on the margins of contemporary screen-culture are welcome. Innovative, cutting edge and non-traditional work that attempts to aesthetically extend the parameters of the mediums of film and video is encouraged. Preview copies must be submitted for selection purposes. All lengths of film are considered. Please submit entries as soon as possible. The final deadline for receipt of submissions in 10th September 2011. The festival programme will be finalised by October 2011, at which time only those whose works are selected will be informed. EXPERIMENTA is a curated film festival, and will be held in Bangalore India, December 1-4, 2011 For more information on EXPERIMENTA and to download a submission form visit: www.experimenta.in Entry Regulations: - Final deadline for receipt of all submissions is 10th September 2011 - All submissions in languages other than English must be subtitled in English - only if language is central to the film’s content - All preview tapes will be added to the festival’s archives unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope (postage stamp included) and a request for return - If submitting more than one entry, please make a copy of the entry form for each submission - Please ensure that the following enclosures are sent to the festival: - Completed entry form (please refer below for specific entry guidelines to the Film and Video Categories) - DVD Preview copy of film/video - Hi-res film stills (300 dpi - jpeg, tiff or png) - All entries should be sent to the following address: Experimenta, #003, Ground floor, ‘Hebron’, 57 Benson Cross Road, Benson Town, Bangalore 560046, India - The festival reserves the right to excerpt programmed works for online promotional purposes - Selected filmmakers/artists will be notified if their submission has been accepted and may be contacted anytime after the submission has been received - If selected, film prints or videos must be sent to the festival prepaid to the specific address that is given to the filmmaker upon acceptance. - Return shipping costs OF FILM PRINTS ONLY (via select ground-service or postal service) will be covered by the festival, if the filmmaker is not in attendance. Additional charges for express shipping or transshipments to foreign film festivals must be paid by the entrant or the recipient. - Experimenta or any of its affiliates cannot accept nor assume responsibility for damage or loss of materials. Guidelines for FILM format: - The final exhibition format is 16mm only - For preview purposes film submissions may be made on DVD only. Please DO NOT send film prints or dvcam/mini dv tapes. The master film print will be requested for exhibition only after final selection - Label preview copy with your name, title of work, year/date of completion and duration - Films completed after January 2010 are admissible - For further clarification/information contact experimentaindia at gmail.com Guidelines for DIGITAL VIDEO format: - The final exhibition format is Mini DV / DVCam tape only - For preview purposes video submissions may be made on DVD only. Please DO NOT send dvcam/mini dv tapes. - Label preview copy with your name, title of work, year/date of completion and duration - Videos completed after January 2010 are admissible - For further clarification/information contact experimentaindia at gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS The Yellow Line Project (YLP) CALL FOR APPLICATIONS The Yellow Line Project (YLP) 28th Nov –18th Dec 2011 Deadline for submissions: 31 August 2011 Announcing YLP, a unique residency that brings together dancers, filmmakers and the city of Delhi! YLP is inviting applications from 1) dance choreographers 2) media artists/ filmmakers to make short dance films based on selected urban sites in Delhi. YLP IS A 3 WEEK RESIDENCY! YLP will be held in New Delhi. YLP IS COLLABORATIVE! YLP invites collaborations between choreographers and media artists. Each choreographer will work with a media artist to make a short, 4-6 minute dance-film during the 3 weeks of the residency. YLP IS SITE-SPECIFIC! Each dance-film needs to be set in an urban site in Delhi. Interaction with a public space in the city is one of the aspects of the residency. To request an application form, information on how to apply and eligibility criteria, please contact us on gati.mandeepraikhy at gmail.c​om From patrice at xs4all.nl Wed Aug 3 19:15:41 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 15:45:41 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Ranabir Samaddar: Rajarhat, the Urban Dystopia Message-ID: original to: http://transitlabour.asia/blogs/dystopia Transitlabour is a most interesting collaborative research project focusing on the consequences of the 'cognitive economy'for labour and workers mobility in Shanghai, Kolkata, and ... Sydney. See: http://www.transitlabour.asia/about/ Rajarhat, the Urban Dystopia by Ranabir Samaddar July 29, 2011 Kolkata has changed quite a lot in the last few decades. It wants to become Delhi. It must catch up with the flash and glitz found elsewhere. It too must have its high-tech township and must embody a new mode of circulation of money, information, human resources, and power. It does not think that its old organic character is worth retaining. If discarding the old organic character is the necessary sacrifice to make in order to develop, let that be. If road space increases while the space for human interaction decreases, that price Kolkata must pay. Likewise parallel journals have lost their edge, parallel theatre has lost audience, the river line earlier dotted with old storehouses has changed, and tram cars carry only the distant memories of a city criss-crossed with tramlines and streetcars. Old urban resources have wasted in a state of neglect. In this change of guards, something new is happening. As a product of this developmental imagination Rajarhat is coming up beyond Kolkata. Where is Rajarhat? If you enter the city from the airport side, after few kilometres, near Koikhali, you take the left turn, and then you will traverse the newly laid road that cuts through miles and miles of waste land, here and there marked with a shiny mall or few glass buildings, high rises built by new developers, and sign boards announcing the coming up of an office, or an e-firm, or a conference centre – all that Kolkata apparently did not have. This is a notified area, named after the deceased venerable leader of Bengal – the Jyoti Basu Nagar. After you have covered about fifteen miles in this way, you will bypass Salt Lake and reach the artery that will re-connect you with Kolkata. Possibly you will be relieved for you have not seen in the thirty minutes or so you were going in a car or the speeding bus ferrying you from the airport to the city any pond, any water body, any village, any school, any farmer, any farming land, any herd of cattle. All these are gone. Land has been taken over to meet the deficit of Kolkata. But from the city side that is from the west, Rajarhat is beyond Kolkata, with few buses to connect, only one road to lead to, and as a person of Kolkata you have no reason to go beyond unless you are a BPO employee, or an employee in a mall, or a construction worker (in that case you of course stay there), or have relatives who have bought houses there. When the night falls, then of course there is nothing for you. Only syndicates dealing with money, land, building material, waste disposal business, and firearms, are the denizens of the new city at night, the city beyond Kolkata. Rajarhat, described by L.S.S. O’Malley in the District Gazetteer of 24 Parganas as a land with vast water bodies and marked by salty marshes and the river Bidyadhari straddling between the sea and the city, had 55 mauzas under it; 25 of them were notified for acquisition by the HIDCO in 1998 under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 (Article 1 clause 4) and West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition Act, 1948) amounting to 3075 hectares of arable land. In the process HIDCO destroyed 15 lakh trees and plants, and dispossessed 1 lakh 31 thousand people of their livelihoods. Some of the important and prosperous centres of cultivation, grain trade, and settlements acquired are: Tarulia, Salua, Hatiara, Atghara, Koikhali, Tegharia, Mahishgate, Mahisbathan, Ghuni, Baligari, Jatragachi, Patharghata, Muhammadpur, and Jagadishpur. Of the total 55 mauzas 15 mauzas constituted a municipality, and the rest 40 mauzas were governed by 6 panchayats. According to District census Reports by the 2001 census Rajarhat panchayat area had a population of 145,381; the Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality had a population of 271,811. With the total population of Rajarhat being 417,192, the density of population in the village and municipal area per square kilometre has been respectively 1994 and 7773. The voter strength is 2 lakh 35 thousand. Rajarhat panchayat area has 1 panchayat samity, 6 gram sabhas, and 99 gram sansads. The total number of mauzas is 39, “inhabited” villages 38, and number of households 61,893. The total number of households in the Rajarhat Gopalpur municipality is 59,225. The total population had shown massive increase in the area – in 1991 it was 286,056; in 2001 it became 417192. And, one more significant set of demographics: Muslims and Dalits constitute two substantial groups within this population combining into a huge majority. In the panchayat area out of a total population of 145,381 Muslims are 60,108 in number and Dalits are 52233. In the municipal area out of a total population of 271,811 Muslims are 39,916 in number and Dalits are 50,634. According to one report of the Fisheries Department, about 17,000 people depended for their employment on recycling of waste and recovery system (through fish cultivation and vegetable growing in the wetlands). The same report notes the continuous conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use in the preceding two decades, therefore decline in the average size of marginal land holdings, middle scale fisheries becoming unprofitable due to soaring prices of land, declining flow of sewage-laden water to the fisheries, poor storage facilities for fishermen and agriculturalists, and near absence of institutional credit to the farmers and fishermen. The report also thought that constructing a new town was not an answer to the problems of the area. What were needed were steps such as clearing of existing canals through dredging, sewerage treatment tax system, keeping canal sides free of settlements, and declaring the wetlands a no development zone. The report found the poverty situation in the wetlands below the national average, and thus consumption pattern in Rajarhat highly skewed in favour of food consumption (as much as 70 per cent of the total consumption expenditure on food, while healthcare expenditure 0.9 per cent). On the basis of samples (two mouzas, Ghuni and Jatragachi, and 68 households surveyed) it found as already mentioned continuous conversion for the last two decades of agricultural land to non-agricultural use, the figure of consequent occupation shift was 47 per cent. In comparison to other wetland areas, in Rajarhat it found a larger share of population depending on non-agricultural activities. Its table 5.5 showed: Of the 68 households sampled and surveyed, 20 were owner-cultivator households, 2 were sharecropper households, 11 agricultural labour, owner fishermen 0, share fishermen 0, bhery labourer 2, trade related to picsiculture 1, trade related to agriculture 0, and others 32. The report does not elaborate, who are these others, the largest chunk in the occupational profile? Rickshaw pullers, cart drivers, loaders, bus conductors, helpers, people thriving on the commons, who else? In what way are they related to local economy? In short the Report describes an area with fragile environment and extremely low-cost subsistence economy, by logic providing highly subsidised inputs to the metropolis of Kolkata, like fresh air, low-cost fish and vegetables. Therefore the Report tells us of sizeable number of people holding the opinion that with the new town coming up waste recycling system would break down, water logging in suburbs would increase, economic rehabilitation of the dispossessed and deprived of livelihood would be difficult, social unrest would grow, bio-diversity would be lost, and the city would be deprived of fish, vegetables and other agricultural products. The challenge was as the Report put it: The New Town agenda was in line with what had been going on the past two decades all along the east of the city (both north and south), vast amount of wetland had been captured, filled in, and handed over to land dealers and promoters. New Town would aggravate the situation massively. Will the compensatory measures be able to compensate for the loss? Was this the way to break the poverty cycle? Would this not ruin the situation further? Who would gain and who would lose? The project of the New Town is a commentary on post-colonial capitalism, the return of primitive accumulation, on the way space plays a critical role in transformation, and the receding of the colonial city in the history of accumulation with the accompanying emergence of the new town. In short Rajarhat is a saga of space, capital, and people in the vortex of globalised time. Equally significant in this context is another set of figures that should remind us what was described in the previous paragraphs. In Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality according to Census report the total number of workers in 2001 was 94,001; of them the number of main workers was 88,458, the number of marginal workers 5542. Cultivators were 580 in number, and agricultural wage labour 326, and household industry workers 1583 (rest are thus other workers – main and marginal both). In Rajarhat panchayat area, the corresponding figures were main workers 38,362, marginal workers 5556, cultivators 4261, agricultural labour 7217, and household industry workers 2519. Yet typically with all these, Rajarhat is like other parts of the district of North 24 Parganas, which has 68.46 per cent of its total land as cultivable area. But these are God’s numbers now caught at the centre of controversy over land acquisition in Rajarhat. Rajarhat is not connected with Kolkata in any sense; it is connected with Sector 5 of the Salt Lake area, while being connected on another side with another notified area, the empire of BRADA (Bhangar Rajarhat Area Development Authority). Flanked by North 24 Parganas, the estuary region of Bhangar and Haroa in the South 24 Parganas, and Basanti, its real trade (daily, petty, and small) connection in terms of men, cash, vegetable market, etc. is with Baguihati, an unkempt dirty bazaar, bus stop and terminus, banking centre, eating place, cycle rickshaws, narrow lanes, hordes of day labourers waiting to be hired, and various kinds of sundry stalls – all rolled into one. The farmers, fishermen, vegetable growers and sellers, boatmen, and agricultural labour now robbed of livelihood – all roam around these marginal places, if they are not already serving the new comers of Rajarhat with domestic labour, transportation, vegetable supply, or serving tea and sundry Tiffin food. But those who work in the New Town (as the Jyoti Basu Nagar is called), in those malls, e-firms, hotels, other companies, or live in those high rises, have few reasons to visit Kolkata or these dirty marginal places. This new inner city supposed to produce urban wealth today is at once exterior to the city proper. It looks like a wasteland, combining virtual production with new types of consumption, symbolised by the mall, the City Centre of the North, or the giant building material depot. Interior to late twentieth century and early twenty first century mode of wealth production and therefore exterior to traditional wealth pattern of a city, Rajarhat represents simultaneously the virtuality of capital and reality of the primitive mode of accumulation – a utopia to financiers and speculators and a dystopia for urban imagination. Architects are excited over Rajarhat New Town, like long idle military commanders getting excited over the prospect of waging a war, or an idle doctor finding finally a patient, or a manufacturer of weapons finally getting chance to display his/her weaponry. So the plan began with designing sectors and action areas. They were then busy in designing placements of traffic intersections, bus stands, new transport system, new markets, new malls, and remember all in their greenest form. Remember also in this context that Rajarhat, as the planners say, will soon become with the help of US technology the first zero-energy town in the country. Realtors follow architects’ dreams, at times the other way round. Therefore even though there are very few essential infrastructural facilities in the area (and we cannot expect architects becoming excited over the presence or absence of those facilities, which they will leave happily to town planners and municipal engineers), schools in New Town and BRADA areas must have more space, more designed buildings, and more amenities. Since the cost of developing land is relatively high in a new town, schools become business. These schools (for instance Delhi Public School) must be ‘ideal’ schools with huge open spaces, different playgrounds and halls, community grounds, etc., with of course different priorities for different types of schools – nursery, primary, and higher secondary. There will be ‘educational zones’ – with additional space for peak office hours and parking facility. There will be designated places for vocational and training institutions. There will be ‘hardly any scope of a university’ there, as the architect declares, the ‘traditional concept of university/college in a bigger land is hardly viable without government subsidy.’ But with other kinds of ‘skill-oriented units’, urban areas will become ‘engines of the development of rural hinterlands’. Effective planning on a regional scale will provide ‘appropriate preference and promotion of industries and commercial activities’. Generation of jobs will attract people from the rural surroundings for livelihood. In Kolkata, an architect declared, ‘Several New Townships are being developed. This is creating a major development impetus in the region. Namely New Town, Rajarhat has already been started its development. This will create enormous employment opportunities, which obviously would be a benefit for the rural surroundings and villages. The change of the livelihood from the primary sector to the secondary and tertiary sectors is getting very fast. In the near future the profile of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area obviously will change due to the development of those New Towns. The economic activities will be well decentralized if the development goes as per intention.’ The urban architect has to think also of the faster circulation of men, money, services, and commodities. So, HIDCO is now acquiring ‘smart buses’. The point is: Is Rajarhat then the private game of capital, its own business to shape the world in its contemporary image, while the public character of the city becomes irrelevant in the history of urban imagination today? We may ask, is this difference between Kolkata and Rajarhat, their opposition, a structural one? Rajarhat will be what Kolkata is not? Or is it a matter of urban style only? Maybe, we can still consider Rajarhat as part of Kolkata and not beyond Kolkata. But in that case we must be ready to integrate the structural opposition between the utopia of a city and the dystopia of a wasteland within a narrative and explanatory framework that must go beyond a binary opposition. I have already said that Rajarhat suggests the unity of the most virtual form of capital accumulation and the primitive form. Eviction, threat, coercion, murder, gun running, and presence of bands of coolies from Murshidabad and Malda – these combine with shiny glass buildings, e-firms in the special economic zone, new health care facility built by the Tatas, new banks, gradual spread of ATM centres and this combination suggests the already happening breakdown of an integrated circuit of money, power, and capital into various segmented circuits; and it will be worth looking into the ways in which these local circuits of power feed into a bigger grid of capital. But merely stating this is not enough, the statement represents a problem or some problems. Let me mention here three problems. Problem number one: If by the wild play of the architects, planners, and moneybags a space is destroyed and a new space comes up, how to apprehend that change and its long term consequences? How shall we study not simply the product (the new city), but the production, the process, the practice of producing a city, with all the hazards of contemporariness? Problem number two: If the opposition between public and private, primitive and virtual, representation and void, city and periphery breaks down, what will be the new forms of collective action? After all, these binary oppositions had genuine social and historical context. Will they die down? Or will the contexts survive? In any case what will be the new public space, which was till now essential for public mobilisations and public actions? Problem number three: What will be the authentic nature of the private in this new public society? The private pleasures that shape our consumption patterns, encourage new commodification, and new ways of arranging the space? If they cannot be separated out as independent elements in the designed place called Rajarhat, and the model it develops, where consumption will take place side by side of production, will there be any authentic private, except the new centres of public assemblage for ‘private’ consumption and pleasure? In short Rajarhat beyond Kolkata disrupts the earlier pattern of the mutually constitutive relationship between space of accumulation of capital and the urbanity of democratic citizenship. In the immediate exclusion of one from the other, we may witness a new kind of realism in politics, possibly not desirable to our urban tastes. The spatial programme of the new town and by implication of the evolving new entity called Kolkata-New Town will demand new specifications about public action marking the new relation between capital and citizenship. It will take time to fill the empty fields of Rajarhat (a huge area of about 3100 hectares of land) in a planned way with houses, roads, streets, schools, people, office units, ‘green’ industries, shops and malls, water pipes, lanes, power and cable lines, etc, for much will depend on developers, land shirks, estate owners, software giants like WIPRO, INFOSYS, TATA Consultancy, etc., and the general state of the economy. The government stands penniless. The HIDCO has hardly any capital. All it has is the land looted from the local villagers, and now it has to sell them to private players to make the dream of public-private partnership successful. With no integral infrastructure of urban services in Rajarhat, the empty fields there (since 1998) represent in this scenario the death of agriculture with its subsidiary activities as a substantive occupation in Bengal, its murder by capital, savage commodification of land, and the resurgence of private property in city – private roads, private power generation equipment, private pleasure houses, private sources of drinking water, private schools, private villas, private housing estates with private guards, and the most private of all, private production units in the SEZs in Rajarhat-Sector V of Salt Lake. What will be the politics of anti-capital in this new spatial system of capital? Where is then Rajarhat? The Rajarhat I am speaking of here is at once a real place – a block of territory, a municipality, a new town in the process of emergence, a scenario of destroyed farmlands – Rajarhat is also a trapped land, a ghost for urban planners, dream for many more such planners, and a collective name of an ensemble of places. Rajarhat is a surface, which is made of miles of wasteland, a destroyed top level of earth. This surface is made of filled-in ponds, other water bodies, pilfered and acquired what was previously tilled land, vegetable gardens and farms, wetlands, small villages and hamlets. But Rajarhat is also the depth of several relations figured in space. In contrast with the sentimental image of space evoked by the philosopher Gaston Bachelard in the phrase and account, the poetics of space, we must situate the politics of space, which will mould several subjectivities in a particular way. This particular way is variational as opposed to the constitutive way of the city. From rohitrellan at aol.in Wed Aug 3 21:26:03 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:56:03 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Participate in India Today Mind Rocks youth summit 2011 Message-ID: <8CE200CFB8C45B3-11F0-6F32@webmail-m008.sysops.aol.com> BE A ROCKSTAR! (Your music our platform. Showcase your talent.Audition.Get votes. Get a show.) If you are an Indian, a music enthusiast and have a band or are a musician between 18-30* years of age, you've reached the right place. Register with us and you could get an opportunity to showcase your talent in front of your favourite youth icons. From political big-wigs to movie stars, this might be your perfect launchpad. On the basis of online voting*, 5 bands/musicians will be shortlisted for an audition-cum-concert in front of an eminent jury. The winner of this contest will then get the opportunity to rock the stage at Mind Rocks: India Today Youth Summit, 2011. And there's more-attend the summit for free, get a certificate of participation and a photo-op with our distinguished speakers. To participate please register at the following link Participate Now and send in your demos. Entries close on 15th August 2011. http://www.reverbnation.com/c/submission/create_cpo_submission?campaign_id=243 DIFFERENT STROKES (Your doodle our logo. A chance to redesign our logo. Show us how you see it.) Bring out the Picasso in you. Sketch, paint, photoshop-let your imagination run wild. Express the rocking mind creatively. If art is your forte and you are between the ages of 18-30*, don't hold back and give us your artistic vision about the phrase mind rocks. Your logo will be exhibited at Mind Rocks: India Today Youth Summit, 2011 for your favourite icons to appreciate. Three best entries will be selected by an esteemed jury and the winners get a chance to attend the summit. That's not all. All of this comes packaged with a certificate and a chance to interact with your role models. Entries close on 15th August 2011. Participate Now » http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/specials/youthsummit/myart.jsp ROCK AN IDEA (Your message our medium. Got a bright idea? Get it online. Change the world.) You have a voice and here's your chance to use it. Exercise your right to express yourself and tell us in not more than a tweetable 145* characters why your mind rocks the world. Your thoughts will be projected for the young-guns of the nation at Mind Rocks: India Today Youth Summit, 2011. Do it your own way-debate and ideate-and become the voice of the youth. Entries close on 15th August 2011. Participate Now » http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/specials/youthsummit/myidea.jsp The information for the nominees/participants All participants need to be between the ages of 18-30 and have to send us a registered link to their band on www.reverbnation.com. Non-registered links and demos will not be considered. On the basis of online voting*, the 5 bands/musicians selected for the auditions will perform for 45 minutes each, including sound check. India Today will only provide the performers with a drum-kit. We trust the musicians will carry their own instruments. Voting will start post 15 August, 2011, follow us on twitter/facebook to keep yourself updated. Kick-start yourself to rock the nation. From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 4 00:22:28 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:52:28 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] DocEdge - Panel Discussion: Documentary films in the times of Twitter, Facebook and Wikileaks, Bangalore Message-ID: <8CE2025A0777FB4-146C-9889@webmail-m033.sysops.aol.com> DocEdge - Panel Discussion: Documentary films in the times of Twitter, Facebook and Wikileaks Friday August 5, 2011, 6.00 p.m., at the Bhavan DocEdge - The Documentary Film Festival kicks off with a Panel Discussion on an innovative and thought-provoking topic: Documentary Films in the times of Twitter, Facebook and Wikileaks, moderated by independent journalist and documentary filmmaker Nupur Basu. Panelists include: Madhusree Dutta, filmmaker, Sugata Srinivasaraju, Senior Associate Editor (South), Outlook Magazine, M. K. Raghavendra, film and media critic and Kiruba Shankar, CEO, Business Blogging Pvt. Ltd. Before the Panel Discussion, we will screen Vodka Factory by Jerzy Sladkowski. The Festival continues on the 6th and on the 12th and 13th of August. All are welcome! The film package DocEdge comprises 11 award-winning documentaries and offers a selection of entries from the DOK Leipzig Film Festival along with other award-winning films from the Baltic states, China and India. All films are in DVD format. List of films: Vodka Factory Jerzy Sladkowski; 96 min. How to make a book with Steidl Gereon Wetzel and Jörg Adolph; 90 min. 10 Minutes before the Flight of Icarus Arunas Matelis; 10 min. Pianomania – Auf der Suche nach dem perfekten Klang (Pianomania – in Search of the Perfect Sound) Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis; 93 min. Uku Ukai Audrius Stonys; 30 min. Flight over Lithuania or 510 Seconds of Silence Audrius Stonys and Arunas Matelis: 10 min. Nero’s Guests Deepa Bhatia; 60 min. Das Rudel (The Mob) Alexander Schimpke; 47 min. Heartquake Mark Olexa; 52 min. Kawałek lata (A Piece of Summer) Marta Minorowicz: 24 min. The First Period Gua Jing and Ke Dingding; 82 min. We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be an exciting, maybe even explosive, discussion! best regards, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan 716 CMH Road Indiranagar 1st Stage Bangalore 560 038 Ph: +91 80 2520 5305/06/07/08-203 Fax: +91 80 2520 5309 arts at bangalore.goethe.org www.goethe.de/bangalore www.goethe.de/india From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 4 00:39:24 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:09:24 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] 12th Bitfilm Festival for Digital Film : Call for Entries Submission deadline: 01.09.2011 Message-ID: <8CE2027FE0FE3BE-146C-9C1F@webmail-m033.sysops.aol.com> Welcome to the 12th Bitfilm Festival! Since the year 2000 the Bitfilm Festival has been showing films that use digital technology in a creative and innovative way. Since 2006 all our films can be watched online, the worldwide audience decides on the Bitfilm Awards. In 2011 the Bitfilm Festival will take place on the Internet, in Germany's media capital Hamburg and in India's hi-tech metropolis Bangalore. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 3D SPACE category is open for films of all genres which are entirely computer generated, using 3D animation software. There is no limit in length or size. We accept free artistic works as well as music videos or commercials. We only accept submissions which are uploaded as video files. All submitted videos will also appear in our YouTube channel.http://www.youtube.com/bitfilm Here is some information on prize money. http://www.bitfilm.com/festival/prizemoney.php If you are a member of the Bitfilm Network already, http://bitfilm.de/club/ you may immediately >> submit your film.http://bitfilm.de/festival/checkin.php --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FX MIX category is open for films of all genres which mixvarious techniques digitally, eg. 3D animation, 2D animation and live action. There is no limit in length or size. We accept free artistic works as well as music videos or commercials. We only accept submissions which are uploaded as video files. All submitted videos will also appear in our YouTube channel. Here is some information on prize money. If you are a member of the Bitfilm Network already, you may immediately >> submit your film. http://bitfilm.de/festival/daten.php?page=fd&category=FX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The MACHINIMA category is open for films of all genres which are shot live inside a computer game or a virtual world like Second Life. There is no limit in length or size. We accept free artistic works as well as music videos or commercials. We only accept submissions which are uploaded as video files. All submitted videos will also appear in our YouTube channel. Here is some information on prize money. If you are a member of the Bitfilm Network already, you may immediately >> submit your film. http://bitfilm.de/festival/daten.php?page=fd&category=MA From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 4 10:40:50 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:10:50 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Entries invited for Shyamanand Jalan National Youth Theatre Award 2012/ Planman Motion Pictures is looking for Scripts and Stories/ Re.: Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi: Saturday film: TREDICI A TAVOLA (Thirteen at the table) Message-ID: <8CE207C02DF82A7-1930-1A451@webmail-m159.sysops.aol.com> The Kolkata based theatre group Padatik announces the Shyamanand Jalan National Youth Theatre Award 2011. Shri Shyamanand Jalan passed away in May 2010 leaving the Padatik family bereft but with a wonderful legacy that must be carried on, making all efforts to keep alive the spirit of exploration, encouragement & enthusiasm which he nurtured in all activities related to Theatre, Dance & other Art forms. Keeping in mind Shyamanand’s special attention to promoting and mentoring ‘young talent’, it is only appropriate to focus on programs with special emphasis on schemes for the youth. On 4th December 2010, a book on Shyamanand Jalan will be released at Rabindra Sadan; this will be followed by excerpts of some plays directed by him, enacted by actors he trained; There will also be an exhibition on Shyamanand’s works at Gaganendra Shilpa Pradarshanshala (Calcutta Information center) from 3rd – 6th December 2010. This will be inaugurated by Shri Girish Karnad; Shri Shyam Benegal and Shri Kulbhushan Kharbanda are also expected to be present at these programs. These initatives are supported by Anamika Kala Sangam and Natya Shodh Sansthan. Entrees are invited from young Indian playwrights for The Shyamanand Jalan National Youth Theatre Award 2012 instituted by Padatik, Kolkata. The SJNYTA Scheme is an annual award to be presented every year on the 13th of January. The 2012 award is for original scripts from Indian playwrights between 18 to 35 years of age. Submissions are open from July 30 – October 30, 2011. GUIDELINES The scheme is open to Indian playwrights between 18 to 35 years of age Selected playwright will be awarded Rs.25.000/- and invited for the presentation Plays must be full length (estimated playing time not less than 75 minutes and not more than 120 minutes).They must not have been produced earlier Play scripts may be submitted in Hindi, Bengali or English along with a synopsis of not more than 300 words in English Original plays in any Indian language may be submitted in translation (Hindi, Bengali or English) Scripts must be clearly typed, double spaced with wide margins. Pages must be numbered and the text securely bound. The author’s name must be mentioned only on the title page. The title of the play must be mentioned on each page of the text Authors must guarantee that they have sole rights to all matter contained within the play. Any play accepted for production elsewhere before the award is announced will be disqualified Winning entry will be selected by an independent panel of 3 judges Work which expands or challenges existing theatre paradigms in any way will be especially encouraged Padatik will, at its option, retain exclusive rights to produce and stage the play for a period of two years from the presentation of the award. No further royalty or any other fee will be paid for this period The play may be produced in any or all the three languages mentioned The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence concerning the results can be entered into Padatik does not hold any responsibility for the loss or damage of the submitted scripts. Scripts entered are not returnable The winner will be notified by post/e-mail, within 31stDec, 2011 and the result will be announced on the Padatik website Scripts submitted online via e-mails, will not be accepted Applications to include: Entry form as per format Biography of applicant in not more than 200 words Age proof Self-addressed, stamped envelope in case applicant desires acknowledgement of receipt The entries, marked SJNYTA should be send to Swapan Mitra Padatik 6/7A, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road Kolkata-700 017 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Planman Motion Pictures is looking for Scripts and Stories Do you know a story that you think needs to be told? A tale that would make a great film? A script that you think we would love to read? Or do you have a great idea but don’t know how to make it into a script? You can send to us any such brainchild that you have and be certain that it would reach the right people. And if the security of your idea is a concern, do not worry because it would be accessible to and read by only the top management at Planman Motion Pictures, who are the decision makers on all such matters. So wait no more and shoot your story ideas and scripts to scripts at planmanmotionpictures.com ! Please keep in mind that we get numerous scripts every single day. It is virtually impossible to give a personal and detailed feedback on all of them. Hence, if we are interested in taking the script forward, we shall get in touch with you. If you don’t hear from us within 45 days of sending your submission, it would mean that we are not in a position to take it ahead. We’re sorry, but individually writing back to everyone citing reasons, would not be possible for us. Just a few points before your script takes off on its journey: Kindly register your script with the concerned association before sending it to us. Mention these details in your script / synopsis. You can rest assured that Planman Motion Pictures will take every precaution to maintain the confidentiality of your script. It will never reach the wrong hands. Only our core creative team reads it. If we decide to not make it into a film, the script is permanently deleted from all records. Make sure that you have mentioned your personal and contact details on the first page of your script. This would make it easier for us to get in touch with you. Please send your scripts only in the Microsoft Word format. We often get RTF and other such formats, which are unable to open. If you are sending your synopsis and not the entire script, make sure that it does justice to the central idea of the story and we can figure out the narrative on reading the synopsis. Kindly note that the material submitted to Planman Motion Pictures shall not be returned. This is purely for logistical reasons. However, rest assured that all the material sent to us, including sensitive creative material such as scripts, music and picture portfolios, shall only be accessed by the Creative Head and shall not be misused. All material that we decide not take up, shall be securely destroyed. So, go on and send in your idea. Your film might be just a click away!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILM SCREENING AT ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTRE ON SATURDAY 6TH AUGUST 2011 AT 2.00 P.M FOCUS ON:COMEDY BY NEW GENERATION DIRECTORS The Film : TREDICI A TAVOLA (Thirteen at the table) Director : Enrico Oldoini Duration : 94 min. Year : 2004 Cast : Kasia Smutniak, Nicolas Vaporidis …. Venue : Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, New Delhi, Multimedia Hall Entry by a valid photo ID card ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Giulio a divorcedmiddle-aged man returns to the family villa in Tuscany where he spent his childhoodholidays with the entire family, in order to arrange for its sale together withhis brothers and cousins. The house brings back memories of his youth and ofthe beautiful Anna, relentlessly pursued by all his brothers but ultimately wonover by him. Overcome with emotions, and now aware of the significance of theproperty, will Giulio decide to settle there? Thanks and best regards Italian Embassy Cultural Centre 50- E Chandragupta Marg Chanakyapuri, New Delhi -110 021 Phone: 0091- 11- 26871901/03/04 Ext. 214 Fax: 0091- 11- 26871902 From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 4 14:59:48 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:29:48 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] JUMPSTART: Out of the Box 2011 Message-ID: <8CE20A030796809-1930-1C265@webmail-m159.sysops.aol.com> Jumpstart is back: bigger, better – and well and truly Out of the Box! In the fast-changing world of children’s books, innovation is the name of the game. It’s time to think different: to stay one step ahead of the present and take an imaginative leap into the future. We invite you to come and hear leading experts from India and across the world share their experiences of innovations and experiments; and to learn from each other about potential opportunities and possible pitfalls. With a packed programme of inspirational talks, hands-on workshops and networking sessions, Jumpstart 2011 is the place to be for anyone interested in the future of children’s books in India. - You're an author? Get advice on building new narratives, unusual approaches and new ways to present your work to publishers. - You're an illustrator/designer? Learn how to work with writers, create visual narratives and find new revenue models for your artwork - You're a publisher/bookseller? Explore new production and distribution platforms, from retro to digital, and reach out to new markets - You're a librarian/teacher? Re-think how the library is perceived in our schools. Discover interactive ways of enlivening the library space. REGISTER NOW! COST* Open Sessions (not including workshops) Individuals: @ INR 1500 Groups of 5 and more: @ INR 1000 Special Price for Librarians and Teachers: @ INR 1100 Separate Workshops, with limited seats, will be conducted for - Writers - Illustrators/ Designers - Teachers & Librarians * Not including taxes as applicable TO REGISTER: Write to us at gbo.jumpstart at gmail.com with the following details: __________________________​__________ Full Name: Please specify if you are: Author/ Illustrator/ Designer/ Publisher/ Bookseller/ Librarian/ Teacher/ Other Name of Organisation: Address: Email address: Tel/Mobile No.: You would like to register for - Open Sessions (not including workshops) - Open Sessions + Workshop __________________________​___________ Once we receive your email we will get back to you with complete details. A certificate of participation will be given to workshop participants. From rohitrellan at aol.in Fri Aug 5 15:29:43 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:59:43 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Public Lecture, Aug-6; NGMA, Bangalore - Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh (MKSS) In-Reply-To: <4E3BBC73.701@gmail.com> References: <4E3BBC73.701@gmail.com> Message-ID: <8CE216D887F9B2B-1870-1EC56@webmail-m087.sysops.aol.com> Azim Premji University Public Lecture Series A talk on FosteringInclusiveness, Plurality and Equal Opportunity Challengesfor India’s Imperfect Democracy Speakers: Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey & Shankar Singh, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan Venue: NationalGallery of Modern Art, Manekyavelu Mansion, 49 Palace Road, Bengaluru 560 052. (GoogleMaps Link) Date: Saturday,August 6, 2011. Time: 5 PM to 7 PM Registration: The talk is open to all. However, prior registration is required at www.apulectureseries.eventbrite.com/ Enquiries: events at apu.edu.in About the Speakers Aruna Roy is a social and political activist and one of the founders of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). As a member of the Central government’s National Advisory Council she has played a key role in shaping the Right to Information and National Rural Employment Guarantee Acts. She has been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management. She and the MKSS Collective have also been awarded the Rule of Law Award in the World Justice Forum held in Barcelona, Spain in June 2011. TIME Magazine has listed her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2011. Nikhil Dey was educated in India and the USA, and obtained his degree in law from the University of Delhi. He joined Aruna Roy and Shankar Singh in 1987 to found the MKSS). He has been involved in struggles of the poor for justice, including grass root struggles for land and the payment of minimum wages. He has also been a part of the organisation’s involvement in larger campaigns – most notably for the People’s Right to Information, and the Right to Work. He is also a member of the Central Employment Guarantee Council, which is mandated to oversee the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Shankar Singh is one of the founder members of the MKSS. Acknowledged to be one of India's leading figures in peoples theatre, he has combined over two decades of activism with the power of people’s communication through street theatre, puppetry, song, and drama to strengthen the voice of the poor. Through his uncanny, incisive wit and his keen political insight, he instinctively communicates complex issues in an idiom familiar to the people. About Azim Premji University Azim Premji University is an institution of excellence in teaching and research in education and allied development fields. The University has a clear social purpose of working towards a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. The University is committed towards developing outstanding professionals for the education and development sectors in India, conducting contextually relevant research in these fields and strengthening the capacities of existing professionals through high quality continuing education programmes. The University Public Lecture Series is intended to encourage public discourse and dialogue on critical issues around education and development. More information: www.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/home.html www.facebook.com/azimpremjifoundation About Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) MKSS is a grass roots people’s organisation formed in 1990 with its headquarters in a small village in Central Rajasthan. Its name roughly translates into “Organisation for the Empowerment of Workers and Peasants”, and it is one of the growing number of organisations in India which see themselves as part of the non party political process. The MKSS works on the concerns of its primary constituents – peasants and workers, but also engages with wider issues of participatory democracy, and democratic struggle. From subhachops at gmail.com Sun Aug 7 10:25:36 2011 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 10:25:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Top_ten_reasons_you_should_get_you?= =?windows-1252?q?r_UID_=91Aadhaar=92_immediately?= Message-ID: Top ten reasons you should get your UID ‘Aadhaar’ immediately 1. You want to give all your personal information to the Americans (L1, the subcontractors, have many ex-CIA spies on their staff and board.). 2. You want to give all your personal information to the Chinese. You like to live dangerously and/or want your personal details (and your children’s) to be flashed over the internet. (In 8 months, the Chinese hacked into the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, and the Prime Minister’s Office—twice. The government did not even know, it is a study by a foreign university that brought it to light.). 3. You want to change your finger-prints regularly. When (not if) the database is hacked the biometrics you provided will no longer be usable. You will need another set of ‘unique’ finger prints. Guess who will have to pay for the surgery involved. It is either that or upgrade the whole system to a DNA bank… and when that gets hacked… 4. You like spam and pesky SMS from companies. You think that in a country where MPs ask questions in parliament for Rs 10,000 and arrest warrants for the President are issued for even less, your data will not be sold to the marketing companies and anyone who can pay for it. 5. You think the government—with about 25% of the MPs involved in crimes such as rape and murder—will not misuse the data. The government will not lie to you. 5. You like having more ID proofs… after a passport, driving licence, ration card. You can also get multiple UID cards…. (see http://ibnlive.in.com/news/chaos-mars-unique-identification-number-scheme/155176-60-118.html) which is also the reason there are two items at number five on this list. 6. You want to make it easier for hackers to empty out your bank accounts. UIDAI is now working with banks to make it compulsory to have Aadhaar for opening accounts. But stored identification (like passwords for instance) are so insecure that banks now use one time passwords, valid for as little as 20 minutes, to be used from the same computer it was requested. 7. You believe that there will be 100% availability of electricity and a working broadband connexion within walking distance anywhere in this country at all times. There will be no ‘equipment failure’ called ‘human error’ and ‘genuine mistakes’ (as in the case of the terror list given to Pakistan). 8. You think that privacy is a western concept. Like Union Carbide (of Bhopal disaster fame) you know that Indians are lesser human beings and do not deserve fundamental freedoms essential to human dignity. 9. You believe that Nandan Nilenkani will personally enter the data and verify it each time. It will not be sub-contracted out to the lowest bidder and entered/verified by a barely literate person. 10. You believe that Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption is ill conceived and that the problem with the PDS is technology not human nature of excessive power of the government machinery. You do not believe that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely but rather that all the officials, including those controlling the data (including your fingerprints) are angels. For more go to: http://openspace.org.in/UIDaadhaar From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Tue Aug 9 00:01:08 2011 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 00:01:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Puffer fish wreaks havoc In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Published: August 8, 2011 11:37 IST | Updated:Hindu Thiruvananthapuram, Puffer fish wreaks havoc Traditional fishermen of Veli, Poonthura suffer heavy loss Fishermen who set out to sea from several locations in the district on Saturday returned with shredded nets and little or no catch. Shoals of puffer fish prowling the coastal waters are wreaking havoc, damaging fishing nets, preying on other species, and causing heavy loss to traditional fishermen. Fishermen who set out to sea from Veli to Poonthura reported the maximum damage caused by the predatory species. Fish workers estimated that the loss would run into lakhs of rupees. “The net is bitten and shredded to pieces by the puffer fish, leaving fishermen with no option but to buy a new net. Other fish caught in the net are picked clean, leaving only the bones,” said T. Peter, State president, Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF). Last year, the proliferation of puffer fish was reported from Kollam. The problem usually lasts for a week. Puffer fish is known by several names in local parlance, including ‘yaava,' ‘petha,' and sea frog. It is drawn to the small fish caught in nets. Once it gets entangled in the net, it uses its beak to break free. In the process, the net is often irreparably damaged. Scientists said the migration of puffer fish to coastal waters was a normal phenomenon. A predatory species, it mostly migrated for food. It was endowed with a hard, sharp beak instead of teeth. Local fishermen, however, suspected that the sudden emergence of puffer fish in large numbers was triggered by the resumption of trawling after the monsoon ban. They believed that the seabed disturbance caused by bottom trawling could be driving them to migrate to the coastal waters. ‘‘Puffer fish feed mainly on the mussels and shellfish that inhabit coral reefs, cracking them open with their sharp beaks. The decline in the shellfish population, post tsunami, could be another factor that had led them to migrate to new areas,'' Mr. Peter said. Yet another reason, fish workers said was the practice of dumping coconut peduncles off the coast to create an artificial reef that acted as breeding ground for several commercially important species, including the squid. A section of fishermen opposed to the practice believed that such peduncle reefs attracted puffer fish along with squid. The simmering tension between the groups had often led to open hostility, threatening peace in the coastal areas. Call for scientific study The federation called for a scientific study to assess the reason for the proliferation of puffer fish. It also demanded a special package to compensate fishermen for the losses. From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Aug 9 08:41:18 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:11:18 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] FESTIVAL OF EMERGING CINEMAS Connecting Indias, New Delhi/ The ACT Magazine invites applications for the following positions Message-ID: <8CE24592433C945-BC4-4F96@webmail-m079.sysops.aol.com> FESTIVAL OF EMERGING CINEMASConnecting Indias August 8-12, 2011 Organised by IAWRT, Chapter India In association with India Habitat Centre Time: 7 pm Venue: Gulmohar, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi Curated by: Jai Chandiram and Anupama Srinivasan The Festival of Emerging Cinemas is a celebration of the diversity in creative expression of the cinemas that are emerging in the towns and villages of India. These are made by people driven by love for cinema and/or irrepressible urge to talk about a social or political issue. The filmmaker may be a social activist or a bollywood buff, a trained director or a self taught practitioner. They live and work inRanchi, Imphal, Leh, Niyamgiri and Malegaon and other towns, and make films largely for the local people using innovative ways to tackle the paucity of financial resources. Their films are different in identity, style and content from what is generally seen in Delhi and other metros. They are films which have something to say, speak in a local idiom, and are rooted in the region. The films—features, short fiction, documentaries and music videos will be shown at Habitat Centre on five evenings (August 8-12). The festival is envisioned as a platform for dialogues between the different Indias that coexist, but usually do not interact with each other. Click here for Schedule http://iawrtindia.blogspot.com/p/emerging-cinemas-schedule.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ACT Magazine invites applications for the following positions: CREATIVE WRITERS (2) Description: Responsible for creating and editing highly effective content, compiling research and other collected data. Besides, the candidate will be assisting the Sub Editor in editing of content. Profile Required: • Excellent writing and editing skills • Creative bent of mind • A background in media, journalism and creative writing would be preferred PRINCIPAL COORDINATORS (2) Description: Coordinating with campus reporters for timely collection of the data required; compiling the data into the designated format. Also assisting the Creative Writers while compiling this data into creative content. Profile Required: • Should be efficient at managerial jobs • Good at interacting with different departments CAMPUS REPORTERS Description: The ACT Magazine requires ONE Campus Reporter from EACH Dramatics Society of colleges in Delhi. The Campus Reporter will compile any data required about his/her particular society and report to the Coordinators with the information. Profile Required: • Dedication and willingness to contribute and report despite hectic society schedules. PHOTOGRAPHERS (2) Profile Required: • Should have a good hand at event and lifestyle photography. • Should be readily available to cover events, etc. Interested candidates shall send their resume along with sample work to Vindhya Malik at the earliest. Email: vindhyamalik at gmail.com From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Aug 9 19:57:24 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 19:57:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Mexican Solution Message-ID: MEXICO CITY, Mexico -- The solution to ending price gouging, murder and mass graves in Mexico would be included in legalizing crime, former President Vicente Fox told UNews. “We can never hope to win the war on crime as long as crime is illegal!” He pointed out. “In order to get out of this trap (legal prosecution of organized crime), I'm specifically proposing the legalization of crime,” Fox said during a visit to Puerto Rico, where he was speaking at a conference for small gangsters in the township of Fajardo. Fox advocated decriminalizing drugs, guns, murder and rape in a 2009 interview with CNN en Espanol. Since then, he has repeatedly called on officials to rethink criminal laws. “The laws are only there to drive up the prices of everything, especially the costs of drugs, guns and murder.” In an interview that aired on CNN en Espanol Tuesday, he also said the Mexican government should “retire the police from the task of combating criminal gangs by simply legalizing crime.” Fox continued, “If crime is made legal, then where is the question of war on crime?” Current Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent as many as 50,000 police personal to prominent criminal hot spots around Mexico to extort the drug cartels, gunrunners, and hit men. The extortion strategy is considered a pillar in Calderon's overall get-rich-quick policy. Both Calderon and Fox belong to the controversial Conservative PAN (Partido Extorsión Codiciosos party). Fox, a former drug dealer, gunrunner, and hit man, who was the president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, said the Mexican government should also “demand that the United States do its part to legalize crime on their side of the border. That is the only way to make the NAFTA super-highway truly viable!” “Crime is not the problem! Law is at fault!” Fox stressed. “The United States has a huge responsibility. It's not enough that they give us (Mexico) guns, cash, and a tip, saying, 'Here's 500 dollars. Go kill some drug dealer named Pedro or Ramon. We can pay you back with cheap labor and weed,'” Fox said. “Mexican drug cartels buy their weapons by trading hard drugs with the United States,” he pointed out. “They then use the guns to slaughter people for excessive profit, and this has resulted in a crime wave unlike any crime wave ever seen since the Nixon presidency. Fox said Mexico has fallen into a trap “between the illegal U.S. drug market and the (illicit) weapons market in Mexico and other South American countries like Colombia and others.” Besides legalizing murder, guns and drugs, Fox is advocating the legalization of all crimes that could, possibly, be committed in the course of trading between governments. Brazil's Fernando Cardoso, Colombia's Cesar Gaviria, and Mexico's Ernesto Zedillo wrote in the 2009 final report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Weapons Trading that “Prohibitionist policies based on the phony banning of both drugs and weapons has resulted in the disruption of drugs flowing into America as well as the free flow of war weapons into our countries.” They all agreed. "But this has only caused increased prices of both products and protection. Legalizing crime would be a step in the right direction toward reducing the astronomically high prices for drugs, guns and assassination. “Drugs are merely grass and weeds, guns are only weapons, and murder is simple death!” Fox pointed out. “These are all nearly worthless things which should never have high prices. Laws against crime cause high prices. Therefore criminal laws alone should be outlawed!” The same conclusion was reached by the U.N.'s Global Commission on Drugs, Weapons & Murder Policy last month. The commission, comprised of former presidents (including Fox and Bill Clinton), recommended that governments experimenting with the idea of legalizing everything, including hard drugs and weapons, was a good move toward reducing violence and saving the global economy – nearly all of which is caused by the illegality of crime. __________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Aug 9 20:59:43 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 20:59:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Britain=92s_Riots=3A_A_Society_In_?= =?windows-1252?q?Denial_Of_The_Burning_Issues?= Message-ID: Britain’s Riots: A Society In Denial Of The Burning Issues by Finian Cunningham Britain saw its third consecutive night of widespread burning of properties and looting as riot police failed to contain gangs of masked youths marauding several parts of the capital, London. There were reports too of violence fanning out to other cities across Britain. And some commentators were even suggesting that the British Army might have to be redeployed from Northern Ireland to help restore order. Armoured police vehicles are now patrolling London streets amid calls in the media for the use of water cannons and plastic bullets. Politicians, police chiefs and the media have reacted to the chaos by labelling it as the result of “mindless criminality” that has seemingly sprung from nowhere. ‘The Rule of the Mob’ declared the rightwing Daily Telegraph. ‘Mob Rule’ is how the more liberal Independent put it. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25946 Home Secretary Theresa May stridently denounced “unacceptable thuggery”. London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin vowed that culprits would be tracked down and brought before the courts. He appealed to Londoners to identify individuals caught on CCTV and amateur video footage. Nearly 500 arrests have been made so far and police numbers in the capital have been tripled overnight to 16,000, with officers being drawn in from other parts of the country. Although the arson attacks on commercial and residential premises do have an element of criminal spontaneity by disparate groups of youths, it is simply delusional for Britain’s political leaders, police forces and the media to claim that it is all a matter of law and order. The burning issues that need to be addressed to explain the outburst of arson, looting and rioting are endemic racism endured by Britain’s black community and, more generally, the deepening poverty that is increasingly racking British society. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his summer holiday in Italy by flying home to London to hold a special “emergency security” meeting with other Cabinet members. Speaking outside Downing Street today and visibly vexed by the unfolding chaos, Cameron condemned “pure and simple criminality that must be defeated”. The government, he said, stands with “all law-abiding citizens”. Opposition Labour party leader Ed Milliband and the Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson are also making hasty returns to the capital from abroad to deal with a crisis that seems to be spiralling out of control. The British Parliament is to be recalled from its summer recess later this week so that “all parliamentarians can stand to together” to face down the sudden disorder. The disturbances – the worst in almost 30 years – began last Saturday in the rundown north London inner-city area of Tottenham. That followed the shooting dead two days earlier of a young black man by police officers. Mark Duggan was fatally shot by an armed police unit as he sat in his car. Police claimed that the man was threatening to use a gun. However, family and friends of the 29-year-old victim strongly denied that he was armed or involved in any criminal activity. The death is the subject of a police inquiry, but it has emerged that only two shots were fired in the incident, both by police officers. Sinisterly, BBC news reports on the killing have invariably showed what appeared to be a family photo of Duggan taken before his death in which he is seen holding up his hand up in mock gangster style. Angered by what they saw as a gratuitous police shooting and lack of immediate answers from authorities, the mixed black and white community in Tottenham held a vigil for the victim on Saturday. With tensions running high in the area, the peaceful rally turned into a riot against police, and several properties, including police cars, were attacked and set alight. Since then, similar disturbances have now spread to other parts of the capital, including Peckham, Brixton, Hackney, Lewisham and Clapham. A Sony factory was reduced to a charred shell in Enfield in north London. In the outer south London district of Croydon – several miles from Tottenham – there was a huge blaze last night after a large commercial property was torched. Even the affluent, leafy borough of Ealing in west London saw upmarket boutiques and residences attacked and destroyed by fire. The distraught owner of the razed family business in Croydon struggled to comprehend why his 150-year-old furniture shop had been targeted. Nevertheless his few words of disbelief had a ring of truth that the politicians and media commentators seem oblivious to. “There must be something deeply wrong about the [political] system,” he said. Police forces are seen to be struggling to contain the upsurge in street violence, with groups of youths appearing to go on the rampage at will, breaking into shop fronts and stealing goods. A real fear among the authorities is the spreading of disorder and violence to other cities, with reports emerging of similar disturbances in the centre of Birmingham in the British midlands, and further north in Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester. Inner-city deprived black communities in Britain complain of routine heavy-handed policing that is openly racist. Community leaders tell of aggressive stop-and-search methods by police that target black youths. The community leaders say that racist policing is as bad as it was during the 1980s when riots broke out in 1985 after a black woman, Cynthia Jarrett, died in a police raid on her home in Broadwater Farm, London. In the latest spate of violence – on a much greater scale than in the 1980s – there is no suggestion that subsequent street disturbances to the initial Tottenham riots are racially motivated. The growing number of areas and youths involved in arson, rioting and looting do not appear to be driven merely out of solidarity for the young black victim of police violence last week, although that may be a factor for some. Many of the disturbances in London and elsewhere seem to be caused by white and black youths together and separately. But there is one common factor in all of this that the politicians and media are studiously ignoring: the massive poverty, unemployment and social deprivation that are now the lot for so many of Britain’s communities. Britain’s social decay has been seething over several decades, overseen by Conservative and Labour governments alike. As with other European countries and the United States, the social fabric of Britain has been torn asunder by economic policies that have deliberately widened the gap between rich and poor. The collapse of manufacturing bases, the spawning of low-paid menial jobs, unemployment and cuts in public services and facilities have all been accompanied by systematic lowering of taxation on the rich elite. Britain’s national debt, as with that of the Europe and the US, can be attributed in large part to decades of pursuing neoliberal policies of prosperity for the rich and austerity for the poor – the burden of which is felt most keenly in inner-city neighbourhoods. David Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Coalition government has greatly magnified this debt burden on the poor with its swingeing austerity cuts since coming to office last year. Ironically, only days before the latest burnings and riots, British government spokesmen were congratulating themselves for “making the right decision” in driving through crippling economic austerity measures that have so far spared the United Kingdom from the overt fiscal woes seen elsewhere in Europe. But as thousands of Britain’s youths now lash out at symbols of authority/austerity, breaking into shops to loot clothes and other consumer goods that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, the social eruption may be just a sign of even greater woes to come for the Disunited Kingdom. Finian Cunningham is a Global Research Correspondent based in Belfast, Ireland. _______________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From the-network at koeln.de Wed Aug 10 13:43:51 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (JavaMuseum) Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:13:51 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Call=3A_a+b=3Dba=3F__-__art_+_blog_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3D_blogart=3F_-_v=2E2=2E0?= Message-ID: <20110810101351.933FCC72.C1424A3F@192.168.0.2> JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art http://www.javamuseum.org is happy to release the call for the 2nd version of a+b=ba? - art + blog = blogart? http://www.javamuseum.org/2007/a_and_b/ to be launched online on 1 January 2012. ------------------------------------------- Due to a dynamic technology, "blogging" is representing a most popular way to start and publish community orientated activities on the net. Also many artists are using "blogs" for keeping the community informed about the latest artistic activities, as well as using this concept as an alternative away to create online based art works. However, users and art enthusiasts are confused in finding out what's art - intentionally or unintentionally. JavaMuseum, since 2000 one of the pioneers on the field of Internet based art, started in 2007 a discussion by releasing v.1.0 of a+b=ba? - art + blog = blogart? http://www.javamuseum.org/2007/a_and_b/ which became one of its most most popular projects. Now in 2011, after another four years of the rapid online media developement, JavaMuseum would like to explore again the state of art of "blogging" as a community addressed and based form of dealing with artistic concepts online, and is calling again for artists who are using "blogs" and "blogging" for expressing their artistic ideas online. Please find the open call released on netEX - networked experience http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3569 ---------------------------------------------------- netEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net is the publishing platform run by Le Musee divisioniste - the new museum of networked art http://www.le-musee-divisioniste.org netex (at) nmartproject.net ------------------------------------------------------ From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 11 09:56:39 2011 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:26:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Regional Workshops on Science Broadcasting Message-ID: <1313036799.2380.YahooMailClassic@web161210.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India in partnership with SEVAKS, New Delhi and Host Institutions invites applications for participation in Regional Workshops on Science Broadcasting at Lucknow, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune Context Broadcast sector in India has grown rapidly in the last two decades. For the viewers and listeners, the supply is more than they might demand in terms of the number of channels to choose from. However, most regional language channels are still trying to imitate each other, vying for scoops and sensationalism in a bid to survive and if possible, to grow. In such a scenario only a few of the existing channels will survive into the next decade. If advances in technology do not wipe out some channels, the lack of adequate number of viewers/listeners will. Those who survive are those who are willing to meet the demands of the public for news, views and entertainment – content that is relevant for their day-to-day lives. Engaging content dealing with issues related to livelihood, health of family members, technologies that they have to deal with and may look forward to, and their own physical, biological, psychological, social, economic and political environment. Content that is authentic and credible, scientifically accurate, fair and balanced. Background VigyanPrasar in partnership with SEVAKS, an NGO organized a National workshop on Science Broadcasting in Delhi to overcome the problem. The workshop had an appreciable impact on the participants. The regional workshops are improved versions of the National workshop. Objectives The Regional Workshops on Science Broadcastingaims to build the capacity of TV and radio producers • to use a wider set of information sources quickly and efficiently, • to assess the quality, relevance and credibility of the content, • to deal with complex ideas and concepts, • to structure and tell the stories well through broadcast media The Workshop The workshop will focus on improving the skills needed to quickly locate scientific content relevant to specific target audiences and to structure the content in comprehensible and engaging ways. The workshop will provide tools, tricks and tips for covering issues related to health, agriculture, environment and technology. The workshop will orient the producers to the best practices used in attracting audiences in a competitive media environment. Who should participate? The workshops are intended for TV & Radio Professionals, Amateur video makers with demonstrable interest in science communication, Community Radio Producers and Script Writers, Science Communicators in laboratories and voluntary organizations, Faculty members of journalism schools, with experience in science video production and science communication / journalism through electronic media will also find the workshops particularly useful. Participants under the age of 40 will be preferred. The medium of instruction will be English interaction will include oral and written submissions. Minimum qualifications: • At least 2 years of experience in production. (Relaxable in cases of community radio stations). • The workshop will be conducted primarily in English. Ability to participate in group discussions using English language. • Computer skills – Experience with some basic uses of MS Word or equivalent, besides browsers like Internet Explorer or Motzillafirefox and search engines like Google. Expected Output and Outcome Towards the end of the 5 days, the participants will have worked out the concepts, done research, worked out a treatment for producing programmes which they can produce easily - after the workshop. In other words, the output will be story ideas backed by reasonable amount of research. There has been an explosive growth of TV and Radio channels in India. After a period of “more of the same” channels are struggling to specialize and to capture niche audiences. The ability to handle content that meets the information needs while satisfying the entertainment values of the viewers and listeners will ultimately determine the survival of most of the existing channels. This workshop provides an opportunity to train the content producers and to build their capacity to handle diverse contents efficiently and effectively. The trainer K P Madhu started out as a freelance science journalist in 1978 and in the last 3 decades have had extensive experience in print and television media. He has worked as a producer for UGC programmes in Jamia Millia Islamia, as producer for Turning Point, a popular science serial, as chief producer Medical Television, as Joint Director, CEC, coordinating UGC production and transmission, and as a media consultant to NGOs. He has published several academic papers in media journals. He is the lead author of “HIV on TV: Getting the Story and Telling it Right”, a UNESCO Journalism Education Series for TV trainers and Producers. His book “Social Media: Tips and Tricks for Citizen Journalists” is presently under publication by publication division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He has a passion for training. His skill sets as a trainer was refined when he worked as a Progamme Manager in the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development and conducted training workshops for TV and radio producers in many countries of the Asia-Pacific region. He has conducted workshops on Science for producers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Sudan. This led to the development and testing of a training material titled “Broadcasting Science”, published by AIBD and UNESCO. This resource allows the training to be focused on skills rather than knowledge. A National Workshop on Science Broadcasting was held in Delhi, based on these experiences and expertise. The participants of the National workshop on science broadcasting had this to say: “The workshop is very helpful.” “Now I can make programme on science. The techniques of studying scientific journals and useful websites and new searching techniques will improve my programmes.” “Now I have a clear idea of the objective of my programme. So I will practice all the skills learnt here. It will improve the quality of my programme “Making and broadcasting programmes through community radio – this workshop gave me various ideas.” “It will be useful to enhance the quality of my radio programmes and also the research for it.” Registration fee Registration fee: Rs. 3000/- is to be sent along with application cum registration form by crossed demand draft/multi city cheque drawn in favour of “Vigyan Prasar”, payable at New Delhi. Accommodation and Food Modest accommodation and food will be provided to the participants. Workshop will be totally residential to increase the interactions and to allow adequate time for group work. Travel expenses if any will have to be borne by the participants. For exact dates, venues, and application forms etc., please contact at the following addresses: Application form may be sent to Vigyan Prasar by the following emails: sciencebroadcasting at vigyanprasar.gov.in, sciencebroadcasting at gmail.com, sevaksindia at ymail.com Address for sending application form along with registration fee:- Nimish Kapoor Coordinator, Science Broadcasting Workshop Vigyan Prasar Plot no. A 50, Sector 62 Noida – 201 309 (U.P.) Phone: 0120 – 240 2009 (D), 2404430, 35 (Extn.: 205) From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Aug 11 21:35:45 2011 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:05:45 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] FRIDAY: Pot-hole Mending demonstration and planning meeting (for 14 Aug) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Pot-hole Mending demonstration and planning meeting Time: Friday, August 12 · 4:00pm - 5:30pm ________________________________ Location: Sohana Research Farm Block 1, Gulshan-e-Iqbal (near Iqra University Gulshan Campus) Karachi, Pakistan Directions below ________________________________ More Info http://www.facebook.com/groups/215452295162674/#!/event.php?eid=131798000246234 *** Pot-hole Mending demonstration and planning meeting* ہم اس بار جشن آزادی اپنے شہر کراچی کی سڑکوں کی مرمت کر کے منا رہے ہیں ...آئیے ہمارا ساتھ دیجئے ! We are celebrating *The Independence Day* by mending pot-holes in our city Karachi. Greener Karachi Trust will provide mixture of used oil and sand for this purpose. We will simply dump this into the holes and level it. Planning meeting and demonstration is on 12th August, 2011. Activity is planned for 14th August, 2011. Help us identify more streets which need pot-hole mending. We will arrange for the mixture. Spread the word. Lets make our streets better! Media is invited on 14th. Email: crops.in.pots at gmail.com contact: Yasir Husain 0333 214 954 3 Sohana Farm :021 349 704 78 *Sohana Farm is in Gulshan e Iqbal Block-1. Directions from Gulshan Chowrangi:* * From Gulshan Chowrangi go on road towards Rab Medical / Samdani hospital * Turn Right on 2nd Traffic Light (ie No Turn on 1st Traffic Light) * Go to end of Road, where you take Left * Go all the way until you see "Laraib Gardens" * Take a right into narrow lane just before "Laraib Gardens" * Sohana Farm gate is on the Left at the end of this lane, next to construction site. ++++++++++++ ++++++++++++ ++++++++++ ++++++++++ ** Mahmood Futehally's Message for Greener Karachi Trust GREENER KARACHI TRUST Dear Fellow Citizens, 10th Aug 2011 Greener Karachi Trust has been working for many years to develop an activity which will not only improve the quality of life for the people of Karachi, but will also develop their ability to work unitedly, to solve Karachi’s problems. After many trials, discussions, demonstrations etc, we have agreed that pot – hole mending in lanes and streets can be successfully used to win massive support from members of the private sector in Karachi, by Greener Karachi Trust. In view of the opposition which will flare up from the land mafia and other mafias, including political parties, if such an effort by GKT begins to achieve rapid success, it seems advisable to do our initial training and testing work very gently, only for making sure that our planning is correct, and to make a wide ranging effort on 14th August, and to involve the media on a big scale, so that even target killers may hesitate to attack, for fear of being caught by the large numbers of supporters we shall have. Word of month is the best means at our disposal, and if even only twenty of us make an effort to talk every day to five friends and acquaintances, we can manage to have ten to fifty demonstration, in as many localities, on 14th August, and we can probably manage to win media support, as well as columns from Mr. Cowasji, Mrs. Almeida, Zubeida Mustafa, and others. We are meeting at 4 p.m. at Sohana Farm, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Block 1, on Friday, 12th August to finalize our planning and request you to attend, and help with your ideas and suggestion. For GREENER KARACHI TRUST Sohana Research Farm, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Block 1, Karachi, Ph: 0300-2322110 list JF env2 From yasir.media at gmail.com Thu Aug 11 22:41:29 2011 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:11:29 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] a bit of judicial activism across the border In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: so whats going on here a bit of judicial activism :) to rattle the exec sounds too familiar here in PK http://www.newser.com/article/d9ovti9o0/with-indian-government-paralyzed-by-scandals-supreme-court-asserts-itself.html From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Thu Aug 11 23:24:31 2011 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:24:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] NFF flays report on marine sanctuary In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID:  Aug 11, 2011 11:13:34 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram NFF flays report on marine sanctuary Special Correspondent  The National Fishworkers’ Federation (NFF) and Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) have flayed the report of a study conducted by Greenpeace on the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Orissa, terming it as a misrepresentation of facts and an attempt to justify the infringement on traditional fishing rights. A press note quoting Matanhy Saldanha, chairperson, NFF and T. Peter, state president, KSMTF said the report prepared by Greenpeace in association with the United Artists' Association (UAA), a voluntary organization working on conservation issues, went against the interests of the fishing community. It termed the study as an effort to legitimize a draconian conservation regime. NFF points out that the fishing communities of the area were not consulted before declaration of the sanctuary and imposition of restrictions on fishing. The impact of the restrictions on the livelihood of fishermen was also not assessed by the authorities, the federation observes. Mr. Saldanha said the impact of the ban on fishing had been disastrous. “Impoverishment and indebtedness has gone up, destitution, mental derangement and even suicides stalk the fishing and allied communities. There has been widespread agitation and struggle”, he added. The Greenpeace study, he said, claims to have revealed an overwhelming support from fishermen communities in the region to consider alternate livelihood options. “However, the report does not mention the fishers’ demand for restoration of their right to fish. Thus it misses the context – a situation where the fishermen are being forced to opt for alternate livelihood”. Citing the claim about a high level of support and recognition of the role played by the marine sanctuary in the sustenance and management of fish stocks, Mr. Saldanha wondered how the fishermen could support a regime that did not allow them to access fish stocks. “In the absence of unrestricted fishing, how do they know that the stock has really increased? Are they aware of other less restrictive and accommodative measures which could enhance the fish stock?”. The press note said the report had tried to cover up the history of dislocation and displacement of fishermen that had entailed so much misery. “Blocking the main livelihood of fishermen for more than a decade, forcing them to opt for alternative livelihood, and then having a survey report showing that fishing is not the primary livelihood for a majority of the people completes the circle to legitimize continuation of the draconian conservation regime”, it alleged. “Mere increase of stock cannot justify a conservation measure; let alone an unjust, undemocratic and totally top down measure like Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary”. The press note further added, “This is playing into the hands of the people who imposed this most undemocratic measure. The fisher people have no interest or obligation to find out ways and means to make a draconian regime like Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary popular”. From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 13 03:26:28 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:26:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Attacks on Agricultural Workers in WB Message-ID: Apart from the violence and vendetta unleashed by the TMC on the Left.... _____________________________________ LEFT peasants’ organisations in West Bengal will launch a statewide movement to defend the rights and livelihood of the peasants. They will build up the movement with the support of the trade unions, students, youth and women organisations. West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha (Harekrishna Konar Memorial Bhavan), Agragami Kisan Sabha, Sanjukta Kisan Sabha and West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha( BB Ganguly Street) have decided to launch a powerful joint movement. Two conventions will be held on September 11 and 14 respectively in Kolkata and Siliguri to highlight the plight of the peasants in the state. Briefing about the outline of the movement, Madan Ghosh, president of West Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha (Harekrishna Konar Memorial Bhavan), said the peasants were very seriously affected by neo-liberal policies of centre. The cost of agricultural inputs have increased manifold. The decontrol policy pursued by the centre has resulted in increased price of fertilizer, seeds, pesticides. The diesel, needed for irrigation, has become too costly. In such a situation the peasants are not getting remunerative prices for their produces. For example, the jute producers are not getting enough price to meet their costs. There is a threat of decreasing price for paddy too. The condition of peasants in West Bengal has turned worse with Trinamool- Congress alliance coming to power in the state. One of the major crisis that has developed is the decreasing number of workdays for agricultural workers. The rural employment programmes, including MNREGA, have been halted in large areas. Madan Ghosh also described the attacks on legal rights of the peasants, unleashed in the last three months. The gains of the land reforms are now being snatched away. Thirty activists of the Left parties have been murdered, most of them peasants. More than 14,000 rural people have been forced to leave their villages. In a horrible operation of collecting so-called ‘fines’ (which actually is extortion), thousands of villagers are being forced to pay huge sums to Trinamool gangs. An amount of more than Rs 2 crore has been collected till date and many such incidents are as yet unreported. More than one thousand acres of tenancy land has been forcefully grabbed and 4700 title holders have been evicted from 2700 acres of land. More than 14,000 peasants have been evicted from legal operational control of 3490 acres of land and 3710 share croppers have been driven out from 1587 acres. Another new feature of the political attack is destabilising the elected panchayat system in the state. Kishan Sabha leaders alleged that elected panchayat members were not being allowed to function in many places. In some districts, almost entire panchayat functioning has been either stopped or forcefully usurped by unelected Trinamool leaders. They were forcing the local administration to follow their dictates. This is a full-fledged attack on decentralisation of power in West Bengal, so fondly nurtured by the rural people. The peasants will not tolerate such attacks on their rights and livelihood silently, asserted Kisan Sabha leaders. The movement will be stepped up phase by phase. _____________________________________________________ Report-2 PEASANTS in West Bengal have intensified their resistance against land grabbing. Thousands of acres of land have been forcefully grabbed and peasants evicted by older landowning classes with direct connivance of Trinamool Congress. In many places, police actively helped the armed land grabbers. As this was a complete new experience for the peasantry after three decades of unquestioned land rights, initially they were forced to step back. But the situation has began to turn now, and more and more villages have witnessed resistance and strong fight back by the evicted peasants. The latest event has taken place in Kamarkati in Burdwan district. The old landlord family, suddenly reactivated by change of guard in Writers’ Building, demanded that their land would have to be returned back. Eighteen acres of land were distributed among the peasants during the early period of Left Front government. It was not merely a verbal threat. The paddy seeds were destroyed by tractor in one night. The peasants, shocked and traumatised, sought the help of police. The local police officers replied that the regime has changed and now the landlord would be landlord again. There was frustration among 435 families who had legal rights over these lands. They felt that they have lost everything. It is rainy season now in West Bengal and the best period of sowing. It was the worst of nightmares. But, the situation changed within few days. The villagers, even those who have voted for Trinamool Congress, realised the nature of catastrophe and decided to fight back. Once again they mobilised with Red flags on their shoulders and recaptured a section of the land grabbed by the landlord. Immediately, the peasants started sowing again. The peasants were in good numbers and that forced the landlords to stay back. Later, Trinamool Congress leaders came and threatened the peasants with dire consequences. The peasants defied the threats and hundreds more gathered to fetch the rest of the lands. On August 1, the poor peasants of Kamarkati won back the whole land. They were joined by youths from agricultural workers’ families. The women played a leading role in this courageous assertion of democratic rights. The collective force of the peasants proved mightier than the armed gangs of the landlords. Kamarkati is an example. In last two months, 1200 bighas of land were forcefully grabbed from 2200 peasants. The peasants have won back more than 700 bighas through spirited struggle. The anti-land grabbing resistance has spread in Mateswar, Memari, Galsi, Bhatar, Mangalkot, Ketugram and other areas of Burdwan district. One of the fiercest attacks that have come with the new government in the state was on the gains of land reforms. It is not merely individual or sporadic incidents, but a systematic attack on land rights of the poor, marginal peasantry and share croppers. The peasants are now fighting back this assault with determination. ___________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Aug 14 14:19:09 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:19:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aarakshan: Much ado about nothing Message-ID: From: http://www.pragoti.in/node/4494 Aarakshan : Much ado about nothing Saqib Khan The film barely offers an honest debate on caste-based reservation; instead the plot merely promotes private education, mixed with an unhealthy dose of charity, individual morality and traditionalism, writes SAQIB KHAN Bollywood’s latest churn-out, Aarakshan, directed by Prakash Jha has raised furore in some parts of the country, with some State governments (namely, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh) going all out and deciding to ban the screening of the film, even demanding cuts in the film. A film touted as one that dealt with issues surrounding OBC reservations, some argued that the film has portrayed certain caste groups in poor light. However, when you watch the film you'll find that this issue is hardly its centre-point and that there has been an attempt to balance both sides of the argument in the limited space provided to the subject of reservation in the film (with more space provided to the anti-reservationist standpoint or view, brought out subtly). Basically, Aarakshan offers the story of a personal battle to reform the education system, where the approach and solutions presented are rather problematic. Firstly, the title of the film is not justified by the film's plot and story. It is only in the first half of the film that the issue of reservation is directly dealt with. Even there it can be seen that there has been attempt to balance both sides of the argument in which the anti-reservationist standpoint has been somewhat given more space. Yes, if we take into account the main characters of the film, there are more numbers of them against/who raise doubts about the reservation policy, and seem to express concern for “meritorious students”. So right from the staunch anti-reservationist vice-principal (Manoj Bajpai, who later becomes principal of the college), the lead actress (Deepika Padukone), anti-reservation youth led by the college student (Prateik Babbar) to the mother of lead actress; the list of characters who take an anti-reservation stance is long. This approach also seems to be the reason for depicting an upper caste meritorious student “suffering because of reservation” (the one who speaks in formal Hindi!). Meanwhile one of the main protagonists of the film, the principal of the private college (Amitabh Bachchan), can be at best said to keep a fairly apolitical stance, s one who only upholds and is concerned with tradition and discipline. In the second half, Aarakshan meanders into what can be termed at best as the story of a personal battle. Though it does talk about the mushrooming of private coaching centres, the issue of reservation takes a backseat and the personal charisma of the ousted principal (Amitabh) becomes the focus. So there is a renewed attempt to reform the education system (in terms of free coaching and helping of students), but what we get to see are acts of charity, moral goodness of oneself and discipline with a strong flavour of traditionalism (seen in repeated scenes of touching of feet, unquestionable authority of parents over children, starting of classes in cowshed, etc.) Given the college portrayed in the film is one run by a Private Trust, predictably, there is no attempt to talk about issues such as public education and the role of the state in ensuring education and coaching (if needed) for all. So what we get to see in the end is one set of private institutions being replaced by another private body led by the charismatic ex-principal (Bachchan). This emphasis on charisma also plays a key role in ‘change of heart’ among sections of population which help him to finally win his personal battle against the unscrupulous principal (Bajpai) and also succeed in his effort to reform the education system. To sum up, it can be said that the title Aarakshan seems to be quite misleading as the film is fairly removed from the issue; at best it just touches it from a very superficial standpoint and reiterates the often-repeated arguments propounded by the anti-reservationist lobby in recent times. The film's approach to reform the education system is also quite problematic. This is the approach where moral dimensions, charity and personal integrity of an individual play a key role. Added to this is the fact that what this change stands for: another private educational body. Thus, in the garb of reservation, what Aarakshan depicts is a miniscule discussion of the core issue with - subtly - more space to anti-reservationist position; and what instead it strongly puts forth and promotes, as a solution, is a private education system laced with charity and moral righteousness of an individual, mixed of course with traditionalism. (The author is with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences) _____________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From jha.srirang at gmail.com Sun Aug 14 15:31:19 2011 From: jha.srirang at gmail.com (Srirang Jha) Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:31:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Papers Message-ID: *Journal of Politics & Governance: Call for Papers** ** * Journal of Politics & Governance (JPG) is an online peer-reviewed journal to be published by Spartacus India shortly. JPG seeks to create a body of knowledge on contemporary issues in society, economy, business, education, environment, politics and governance. It is likely to serve as an independent forum for the academia, industry, civil society and the State to carry forward a candid and objective discussion on contemporary issues in politics and governance having a bearing on economy, business, community, environment and above all, the quality of life of the people. Papers/Articles/Cameos/Interviews/Book Reviews etc. are invited from scholars, political and social activists, media persons, lawyers, public administrators and concerned citizens. Contributions and queries may be sent via e-mail: editor.jpg at gmail.com editor at jpg.net.in *Website:* www.jpg.net.in From rohitrellan at aol.in Sun Aug 14 20:53:55 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:23:55 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] ANNOUNCEMENT OF 9TH EDITION OF WE CARE FILMFEST ON DISABILITY ISSUES In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8CE28AD50CB08BB-270C-41171@webmail-d172.sysops.aol.com> August 8, 2011 Dear Friends, Sub: CALL FOR ENTRIES NINTH ANNUAL WE CARE FILM FEST 2012 We Care Film Fest is an annual international travelling festival of documentary films on disability issues. It is organized by Brotherhood in association with the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the National Trust and the Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT). This unique Festival began in 2003 and is now in its ninth year. The Festival is an advocacy tool that seeks to bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes on approaches to disability, promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, and rid people of misconceptions, myths and prejudices surrounding disability issues. The Festival seeks to promote the rights of persons with disabilities as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which came into force on 3 May 2008, as also the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (‘PWD Act’) and the National Trust Act, 1999. The Festival’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is a 1. Travelling film festival: Screenings are organized at 25 venues including educational institutions, universities and hospitals across India and the SAARC countries (Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan). The next edition of the festival will begin in August 2011 and conclude in May 2012. We are expecting approximately 10,000 audience will watch and rate each and every film/documentary. 2. Involves a Participatory Rating Process (PRP) wherein the audience rates each film. An independent jury then judges the films on the basis of these ratings. 3. This process provides a unique opportunity to students to develop their understanding and perspectives relating to disability issues, and also contributes to the process of participatory rating. Entries of documentary films are invited for 9th edition of We Care Film festival 2012 from anywhere from the world on the issues of disability. For any query you can contact at wecarefilmfest at gmail.com. Regards, Satish Kapoor Director We Care Filmfest wecarefilmfest at gmail.com +91 9899472065 From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Aug 14 22:32:30 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:32:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Norway: The Untold Story Message-ID: The Untold Story Aug 11th In lots of ways, it is the ideal human interest story. It is the story of heroism in the face of the unthinkable. Yet we did not get to hear about it until a week later, and it is worth asking why. Two campers on the other side of the lake from the island of Utøya, where the Norwegian massacre happened, heard gunfire and screams while they were eating their supper. Without thought for their personal safety, they took their boat and crossed towards the firing. Bullets hit the boat, but they pulled the fleeing youngsters from the water and crossed back and forth repeatedly. It was not a very big boat, so it took four trips to save 40 teenagers who may otherwise have been shot, or drowned trying to escape. Without them, the massacre could have been considerably more bloody even than it was. So why have we hardly heard about them? In the first place, Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen are women. A lot of the press like their tales of heroism to fit standard narratives, in which men protect and women nurture. In action films, women are mostly there so that the manly men can be rivals for their love, and to make sure that audiences never ever think that there is anything even the littlest bit gay about the boyish tussling for supremacy they enact while being heroic. Women are not, in these narratives, supposed to be competent: they don’t drive well and they twist their ankles running away in unsuitable shoes. In the second place, Dalen and Hansen are lesbians. In television narratives, the few heroines we are allowed to see are always heterosexual; even when they are allowed to be competent, and wear sensible action-adventure outfits, they always end up melting into some man’s arms in the end. Mainstream culture does not like the idea of lesbians being people who would put themselves in danger to save teenagers, probably heterosexual teenagers, that they have never met. We are far more used to lesbian couples, in very special issue-driven episodes, being in danger, and having to be rescued themselves. Third, they are a married couple and you can just imagine news editors in Washington worrying that, if they pushed the story, they would be accused of promoting "the gay agenda". American rightwing pundits that came close to saying "well, we disapprove of Breivik’s methods but you have to understand that there is something quite sinister about a summer camp of leftwing youth activists" was never going to be happy with lesbian heroism, and married lesbian heroes would just have made their heads explode. It is a shame. We all need stories about people who put themselves in danger to save lives when bad things are happening; we all need to know that there are people out there who are not ideologically driven killers. In particular, gay teens need to be told not just that it gets better, but that they, personally, may one day get the chance to step up, be heroic and make it better. [By the Guardian] ________________________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Aug 15 02:52:39 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:52:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [The Moderates] Norway: The Untold Story In-Reply-To: <3245E71F-16AE-48AC-9FBD-A2CBB0AFA950@gmail.com> References: <3245E71F-16AE-48AC-9FBD-A2CBB0AFA950@gmail.com> Message-ID: There are no insinuations. I do not see how you find it 'negative'. Basically the article exposes negative attitude of the media. It is about the behaviour of the media in many parts of the world. It got reported by many Finnish newspapers for example with interviews. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100099405/utoya-massacre-a-married-lesbian-couple-an-act-of-heroism-and-a-media-silence/ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 2:07 AM, Mohammad Imran wrote: > There are three insinuations in this story: > > Women saving men and adolescents > > Lesbians saving men and adolescents > > Married lesbians saving men and adolescents > > > This story must have been written when someone heard about them and contacted them. > > Is it possible that the two of them Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen decided to keep a low profile because that is the way they want to live instead of showing off their heroism and bravery. > > I have no answer, but the tone of the story is negative towards lesbians and women > > Imran > > > > > On Aug 14, 2011, at 1:02 PM, A. Mani wrote: > >> The Untold Story >> >> Aug 11th >> >> >> In lots of ways, it is the ideal human interest story. It is the story >> of heroism in the face of the unthinkable. Yet we did not get to hear >> about it until a week later, and it is worth asking why. >> >> Two campers on the other side of the lake from the island of Utøya, >> where the Norwegian massacre happened, heard gunfire and screams while >> they were eating their supper. Without thought for their personal >> safety, they took their boat and crossed towards the firing. Bullets >> hit the boat, but they pulled the fleeing youngsters from the water >> and crossed back and forth repeatedly. It was not a very big boat, so >> it took four trips to save 40 teenagers who may otherwise have been >> shot, or drowned trying to escape. Without them, the massacre could >> have been considerably more bloody even than it was. So why have we >> hardly heard about them? >> >> In the first place, Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen are women. A lot of >> the press like their tales of heroism to fit standard narratives, in >> which men protect and women nurture. In action films, women are mostly >> there so that the manly men can be rivals for their love, and to make >> sure that audiences never ever think that there is anything even the >> littlest bit gay about the boyish tussling for supremacy they enact >> while being heroic. Women are not, in these narratives, supposed to be >> competent: they don’t drive well and they twist their ankles running >> away in unsuitable shoes. >> >> In the second place, Dalen and Hansen are lesbians. In television >> narratives, the few heroines we are allowed to see are always >> heterosexual; even when they are allowed to be competent, and wear >> sensible action-adventure outfits, they always end up melting into >> some man’s arms in the end. Mainstream culture does not like the idea >> of lesbians being people who would put themselves in danger to save >> teenagers, probably heterosexual teenagers, that they have never met. >> We are far more used to lesbian couples, in very special issue-driven >> episodes, being in danger, and having to be rescued themselves. >> >> Third, they are a married couple and you can just imagine news editors >> in Washington worrying that, if they pushed the story, they would be >> accused of promoting "the gay agenda". American rightwing pundits that >> came close to saying "well, we disapprove of Breivik’s methods but you >> have to understand that there is something quite sinister about a >> summer camp of leftwing youth activists" was never going to be happy >> with lesbian heroism, and married lesbian heroes would just have made >> their heads explode. >> >> It is a shame. We all need stories about people who put themselves in >> danger to save lives when bad things are happening; we all need to >> know that there are people out there who are not ideologically driven >> killers. In particular, gay teens need to be told not just that it >> gets better, but that they, personally, may one day get the chance to >> step up, be heroic and make it better. [By the Guardian] >> ________________________________________________________________________________________ >> >> >> Best >> >> A. Mani >> >> >> >> -- >> A. Mani >> CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS >> http://www.logicamani.co.cc >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Moderates" group. >> To post to this group, send email to the-moderates at googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to the-moderates+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/the-moderates?hl=en. >> > > From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Aug 15 03:13:15 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:13:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Britain Riots: Doug Nicholls Message-ID: __________________________________ ALIENATION IN OUR CITIES: Only a radical response will work Doug Nicholls is National Officer of Unite Youth and Community workers. He argues powerfully in the Morning Star, for a radical and working class-led response to the alienation of sections of young people. I have a picture in my office that shows the high-rise opulence of Canary Wharf, the centre of financial gambling, and in front a young person in a hoodie. The caption reads: "There is more crime in the suites than crime on the streets." This is worth bearing in mind as young people again become the demons for all society's ills. The opposite is of course the case. Sociologists and educationalists all over the world have shown how the condition of youth has changed in the neoliberal economies with acute degrees of inequality. The more unequal a society the more violent and alienated young people become. They turn against each other in gangs and against the high street trappings of wealth from which they are excluded. Young people in Knightsbridge won't be rioting. The classic account of this new reality is in the brilliant book by Henry Giroux called Youth In A Suspect Society, Democracy Or Disposability? Giroux looks at the severe trends of youth alienation and disaffection in the United States, the society with the least welfare state provision and the highest extremes of market madness and inequality. But these trends are all too clear in Britain now. The policies of a few are wrecking our communities. The Tories particularly have targeted youth services not for cuts but for closure. The significance of this is very great. Young people saw the new government come in and without a mandate to do so raise student tuition fees, get rid of the education maintenance allowance and then begin its most serious assault on the architecture of services closest to young people's hearts. What is little recognised is that one of the public services substantially built by young people in their own interests, the youth service, could be the first public service to disappear. Already a number of Tory councils have abandoned it and London Boroughs has been reckless in its neglect, with £17 million proposed to go from 15 already threadbare London youth services in the last half of this year. The youth service was created 50 years ago in its modern form as a service that young people choose to get involved with. This element of personal choice means it becomes a service that young people shape and mould themselves. It's part of our democracy. It is designed to give free association and fun, experience of collective decision-making and above all a democratic voice. Youth workers fundamentally are political educators whose subtle work to assist personal and social education belongs to a long progressive tradition of community learning and development. They work alongside young people on their agenda and do not approach them as "problems" or deficient individuals requiring "cure." Most youth councils have been created and sustained by youth workers. At a deeper level, literally millions of young people who once saw no hope or who lacked self-esteem, communication skills and felt miserable about their predicament have been transformed into active positive citizens by the youth service over the generations. It is a vital service in working-class communities where many other services have disappeared already or where services are about doing things to young people rather than with them. Youth workers empower young people and this empowerment is the best foil to the sense of hopelessness and worthlessness that mass unemployment and poverty breed. Around this service over the years a range of other support services developed for young people, advice and information, youth arts, disability and sexual issues support, street work, mental health services and legal guidance. Look at any study of the cuts and you will see that these are the first and hardest to be hit. Lifeline services which our young people need and help to create have been wilfully and deliberately targeted. Even the hardest-hit charities are those supporting children and young people. Many are closing. Fifty-seven per cent of young people volunteer in a positive way in their communities. For every one pound spent on youth work a further eight pounds are generated in voluntary activity. Youth workers are not just trained to engage responsible and properly treated volunteers in positive community activities, they area also trained to fund-raise. A third of the amount invested by local authorities in youth services is raised from other sources by youth workers keen to see young people resourced and supported. There will be 400,000 fewer young people engaged in voluntary activity in their neighbourhoods this year as a result of cuts to youth volunteering projects. Alongside the closure of Connexions services and youth services have gone the closure of vital street level advice and legal services. Also, hundreds of youth centres which have been the only source of safe, warm and creative activities in rural and urban areas have closed. In boroughs like Haringey and Hackney huge 75 per cent cuts to youth services have been proposed. Young people have campaigned tremendously and very responsibly against this vandalism of their services throughout the country, but Haringey's campaign was a shining example. Young people used and reused every element of the existing political machine to make their point. But, as in so many parts of the country, councillors and MPs simply have not listened to the voice of the disenfranchised with no vote. Despite some of the largest petitions ever gathered in defence of public services in many parts of the country against youth service cuts, Tory and Lib Dem councillors have ignored all of the warnings. Like the TUC and the British Youth Council, we say it is time for votes at 16. Alienation and frustration have been compounded as young people feel the established political system simply does not listen or care. At the end of this summer term I cautioned publicly that this was going to be the worst summer for young people since the second world war as the devil makes work for idle hands and the combined effect of youth unemployment and destruction of their services outside school, together with the feeling of being a target and being ignored, was creating a new cocktail of frustration and anxiety. A recent parliamentary select committee showed how about 85 per cent of young people's waking hours are spent outside formal education, yet each year local authorities spend 55 times more on formal education than they do on providing services for young people outside the school day. The committee went on to condemn the government for saying that youth service expenditure represented large slugs of public money and congratulated the sector for its long-standing dexterity in making limited resources go a long way. Yet the government is attempting to ignore this report and proceeding with the daftest set of youth policy papers ever produced. These are under the misleading title "positive for youth." Never has a government been more negative for youth as this one. It is managing a disposable generation of unemployed and unwanted young people who will not even be a reserve army of labour as the predicted double-dip recession now begins to bite. If policy is based on the idea of young people as being disposable, then it sheds any democratic aspirations. Even the "big society" bank originally designed under Labour to provide funding for youth organisations, has been redesigned as little more than a scam for the banks to recycle loans to each other for a profit. >From our perspective we must show that our progressive labour movement will be the source of engagement and nurture and political activity for the young. Trade unions must re-engage with young people as never before. The young people who have come forward to lead hope for the future must be welcomed more into our meetings at community and national trade union level. This is essential as these disturbances are different from the Notting Hill riots of the 1950s or the Brixton, Toxteth and other riots of the '80s. This time there is a lack of any semblance of direction, there is a lack of any faith in the public sphere to solve community problems. There is a turning in on each other as reflected in the continuing instances of youth-on-youth violent crime. The average age of the young people caught up in the disturbances is 16. Society has to offer something better and fast or next year's problems as the economy goes into tailspin will be even worse. Society should treasure our young, not vex them to this intense degree. Doug Nicholls is national officer for Unite the Union's community, youth workers and not-for-profit sector. __________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From ujwala at openspaceindia.org Mon Aug 15 20:36:15 2011 From: ujwala at openspaceindia.org (Ujwala Samarth) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:36:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Abu Abraham retrospective Message-ID: *Private View** – a retrospective of the cartoons * *of Abu Abraham* *Open Space *and *Either **O**r *invite you to *‘Private View’**, *an exhibition of political cartoons by the late Abu Abraham, curated by his daughter filmmaker Ayisha Abraham. As we mark Independence Day, and at a time when people’s participation in governance is being widely debated across the country, let’s revisit Indian democracy’s finest and dimmest moments through the cartoons and drawings of the legendary political cartoonist, *Abu Abraham* (1924-2002) -- Nehru and the UN, Gandhi, the Emergency years, vote bank politics and communalism, the Cold War, Vietnam and militarization, Pakistan and Bangladesh… And of course, Abu’s quirky travel sketches… *Abu Abraham* began his journalistic career in India, but made his name as a political cartoonist in London, working first for *The Tribune*, and then *The Observer* (1956-66) and *The Guardian* (1966-69). He returned to India in 1969 and joined the *Indian Express*, turning freelance in 1981. Abu Abraham passed away on December 1 2002, leaving behind almost four decades’ worth of political commentary. *Date:* August 13-19, 2011 *Venue*: Either Or, 24, Sohrab Hall, 21 Sassoon Road, Opposite Jehangir Hospital (09823029715) *Timings:* 11am-7pm *This exhibition is free. Donations at the door are welcome.* * * Open Space is happy to *co-host* this exhibition with *Either Or*, an unusual platform providing a diversity of eco-friendly, alternative, trendy, intimate choices in lifestyle, fashion, thought and philosophy, a perpetual festival of things beautiful made with hand, heart and imagination. Either Or includes products and literature of NGOs, students, artisans, weavers, and India’s young product and fashion designers. * * *Open Space* is the outreach programme of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies, Pune. Open Space engages with young people on social justice issues using films, literature, music, discussions, workshops, exhibitions, performances and field trips with the aim of working towards a more socially just, compassionate and equitable society. * * *Open Space**, B-3**01 Kanchanjunga building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd, Pune. Tel: 25457371 www.openspaceindia.org* -- -- Ujwala Samarth (Programme Coordinator, Open Space) www.openspaceindia.org www.infochangeindia.org https://www.facebook.com/OpenSpaceIndia.org B-301, Kanchanjunga Building, Kanchan Lane, Off Law College Rd,, Pune 411004 (020-25457371) From tasveerghar at gmail.com Mon Aug 15 23:25:30 2011 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:25:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "The Norman Rockwell of South India" - a new visual essay Message-ID: Dear friends of Tasveer Ghar, Greetings on the Independence Day of India. We are pleased to announce a new visual essay about a popular south Indian artist K. Madhavan, by Stephen Inglis: "The Norman Rockwell of South India": Multiformity and Repute in the Work of a 20th century Artist http://www.tasveerghar.net/cmsdesk/essay/119/ Although the American artist Norman Rockwell visited India in 1962, he probably never imagined he had a counterpart in this country. If the influences of popular culture had been more evenly distributed globally in the 20th century, Norman Rockwell might have been known as “the K. Madhavan of Middle America”. The author, Dr. Stephen Inglis, who has spent much time tracing Madhavan’s art in south India, is an anthropologist and art historian who specialises in the artistic traditions of India. Inglis was for over 25 years a curator and Director-General of Research and Collections at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Stephen Inglis earlier also wrote a shorter visual essay at Tasveer Ghar on the Pongal greeting cards painted by K. Madhavan: http://www.tasveerghar.net/cmsdesk/essay/53/ Hope you are enjoying the rest of the features and visual essays of Tasveer Ghar. Looking forward to your support. The Tasveer Ghar team http://www.tasveerghar.net From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Aug 16 09:56:58 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:26:58 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for entries | FILM, VIDEO, MULTIMEDIA / KATYAYANI PRESENTS `O'-- A UNIQUE PIECE OF DANCE-THEATRE, Delhi Message-ID: <8CE29E3DF30AC75-29AC-7EB3@webmail-m136.sysops.aol.com> Call for entries | FILM, VIDEO, MULTIMEDIA The call for entries is open until August 31, 2011, for the 'Rencontres Internationales' which will be held in Paris at the Centre Pompidou on Nov. 18 to 26, 2011, and in Madrid and Berlin in 2012. Any individual or organization can submit one or several proposals. The call for entries is open to film, video and multimedia proposals, http://www.art-action.org/site/en/info/appel.htm#genre without any restrictions for length or genre. All submissions are free, regardless of geographical origin. Works proposed to the "Rencontres Internationales" must not have been previously publicly shown in Paris. Please take a few minutes in order to read the FAQ page, it contains important information regarding the call for entries, click here.http://www.art-action.org/site/en/info/appel_faq.htm CALL FOR ENTRIES DEADLINE: AUGUST 31, 2011 TO ENTER A WORK You may choose between two types of registration. Please choose either one OR the other: • OPTION 1: Classic entry form to use WITH postal sending. • OPTION 2: 100% online entry form WITHOUT postal sending. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- KATYAYANI PRESENTS `O'-- A UNIQUE PIECE OF DANCE-THEATRE O...as a symbol encapsulates multiple meanings. It is Shunya, or the great Nothingness. It is also the Primordial Egg from which all life emerges. It represents the Feminine Principle, the circle of emotions, the Water Element, Orgasm, the Limitless Universe, the Divine Absolute… ...In this context, it is the story of two women who went through those infinite possibilities, to choose a life that incorporated struggle, bending the rules in the bargain. Revered in the end by the very men who subjugated them, these extraordinary saint-poets -- Rabia the Sufi from Iraq and Karaikkal Ammayar, the Shaivite from Tamil Nadu, were opposites in nature, but battled similar obstacles to attain their spiritual goals. A dance-theatre-multimedia production from Katyayani Conceived by Sohaila Kapur Script: H. Shivaprakash & Sohaila Kapur Choreographed and performed by Gilles Chuyen & Shilpika Bordoloi. Puppets created by Manish Halder Operated by Pawan Waghmare Lights designed by Gyandev Singh Sets designed by Manish Kansara Projections Created by Manish Halder & Gyandev Singh Sound Designed by Sohaila, Gilles & Shilpika, with inputs from Gyandev Operated by Pamela Prakash Costumes: Urvashi Bhargava Production: Aditya Sharma Photography: Mayank Gupta Ticket at the venues. SHOW VENUES AND DATES: AUGUST 25TH, EPICENTRE, APPAREL HOUSE, SECTOR 44, GURGAON, 7:30 P.M. AUGUST 27TH, INDIA HABITAT CENTRE, LODHI ROAD, 7 P.M. AUGUST 28TH BAHAI TEMPLE AUDITORIUM, NEHRU PLACE, 7 P.M. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Tue Aug 16 19:08:50 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:08:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: PUDR Delhi Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters To: pudr-info at pudr.org *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* *Press Release* *16th August 2011* ** ** Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who were scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the shrinking democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and actions. PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise people and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain from a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most talked about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. However, for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government being innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind the central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people elect their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by taking recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and compelling them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-corporations nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to violent means of protest. PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are peaceful. Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan (Secretaries PUDR) ** ** From ravig64 at gmail.com Tue Aug 16 20:29:09 2011 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:29:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=DCBER_LEBENSKUNST?= Message-ID: *About The Art of Living and the Art of Survival * *ÜBER LEBENSKUNST* A global conference *Friday, 19 August - Saturday, 20 August* *Siddhartha Hall, Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, 3 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi* On August 19 and 20, New Delhi will be the international partner in a global conference that connects the cities of Berlin, St. Petersburg, New Delhi, São Paulo and Nairobi via internet. The conference is at the heart of the ÜBER LEBENSKUNST Festival during which international artists, scientists and activists will turn Berlin into a showcase for the sustainable "art of living". Experts and artists will discuss possibilities for sustainable living in the 21st century. Performances and presentations of model projects will be on display and local problems and solutions for sustainable development will be discussed from a global perspective. The complete Festival programme can be found at www.ueber-lebenskunst.org The Delhi programme is curated by Ravi Agarwal (artist, environmentalist). * * *FRIDAY, 19 August* *5:30 **– 6.30 p.m **PERFORMANCE* *Mega-Delhi Sublime* “Mega-Delhi Sublime” is an experimental research project about contemporary New Delhi, India - a city designed 100 years ago from scratch among the ruins of seven previous cities by British architects and American planners that is currently facing the greatest challenges in its history. The results of the research will be curated into a multi-media installation centered around a 35-minute, single-channel film shot in Delhi over several months. The installation and film will lead audiences along an unlikely historical correspondence between two contested sites in New Delhi that mark 1911 and 2011 respectively: The neglected British heritage site of Coronation Park (the site of month-long massive Durbars in 1877, 1903, 1911); and the infamous folk-artist slum of Kathputli Colony ('Colony of Wooden Dolls'). These two sites, rooted in India’s colorful history of spectacle and film, provide the off-beat vantage points and inspiration for witnessing the capital of the world's largest democracy as it bulldozes itself to the verge of new self-discovery. *Chris Green*, artist (USA), *via video live stream from New Delhi* * * *6:30 **– 9.00 p.m **DISCUSSION*** *On Megacities* In the year 2008, more people lived in cities than in rural areas for the first time in human history. The United Nations projects that the world’s urban population will reach 5 billion people by 2030. The mass movement of people away from rural areas and urbanization have resulted in the formation of "unplanned" megacities particularly in countries in the southern hemisphere. In many of these cities, questions of social and environmental sustainability have thus become extremely pressing. What particular environmental and social problems are these rapidly growing cities in the Global South confronted with? What are potential solutions? How could models for social and environmentally sustainable urban development look – particularly in the rapidly growing slums in many areas? And how can these models be implemented? Introduction: Significance of the problem of urbanization and megacities *Paola Alfaro d'Alençon*, Habitat Unit, Technische Universität Berlin (D),*via live stream from Berlin *** Film clips from Slum TV – *Sam Hopkins* Discussion *Sam Hopkins*, artist (Kenia), *via live stream from Nairobi* *Arthur Adeya* Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology,* **initiator of the “Kibera Public Space Project”**,* *via* *live stream from Nairobi* *K.T. Ravindran**,* head of Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, *live in New Delhi * *Rahul Srivastava, *co-director, Institute of Urbanology and Co-founder of URBZ,* live in New Delhi* Input: *Marussia Whately*,* *coordinator*, *Programa Mananciais, Instituto SocioAmbiental, Sao Paulo, *via live stream from Sao Paulo* Facilitation: *Rahul Srivastava* *9.00 p.m **RECEPTION*** * * *SATURDAY, 20 August* *5:30 p.m. LECTURE, DEBATE and DISCUSSION* *On the role of the individual* Can a sustainable future be reached through changes in individual behaviour? What role can and must individual action and local "bottom-up" approaches play in transforming our society and what approaches are there? Where are their limits? * * *5:30 p.m. **LECTURE* *On the Ecological art of living* *Wilhelm Schmid**, *free philosopher and author of "Ökologische Lebenskunst" (Germany) What could an ecological art of living look like? How can we get there – how do we have to change our behaviour, what can we contribute as individuals? What new interpretations and concepts do we need?, *via live stream from Berlin* * * *6 p.m. **DEBATE* *On the limits of individual action* What role can and must individual changes in behaviour play in the transformation to a sustainable future? What limits do these contributions have in light of their individualised and apolitical character? Do we not need to instead change political institutions, don't we need *political *movements?, *via live stream from Berlin* *Wilhelm Schmid* *Martin Unfried, *expert for European environmental policy, European Institute of Public Administration and columnist for the taz newspaper ("Ökosex") (Germany) Facilitation: *Tilman Santarius, *head of International Climate and Energy Policy, Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany) *7 p.m. **DISCUSSION* *On bottom-up approaches* *Practical examples* In this discussion, examples of bottom-up approaches and their development in Germany, Russia and Brazil are presented. What potential do they have? Where are their limits? When do they have to be professionalised or institutionalised and what overall conditions are necessary for them? *Tatyana Kargina*, development director, EcoWiki Project (Russia) *Live stream from St. Petersburg* *Sebastian Sladek*, managing director of the Elektritzitätswerke Schönau (Schönau municipal power works) (Germany) *Live stream from Berlin* *Sergio Prado, *of Curadores da Terra (Brazil) *live stream from Sao Paulo* Facilitation: *Tilman Santarius, *Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany)* * * * *8:30 – 10:00 p.m. **DISCUSSION*** *Salto Mortale* For artists, a "Salto mortale" is a particularly risky leap no matter how talented one is. In many parts of the world, in the "Global South" and in the "emerging economies", many national economies face the challenge of guaranteeing basic rights such as shelter, food, education and healthcare for everyone and, at the same time, structuring economic development to achieve this goal in an environmentally sustainable way. Can these national economies simply bypass 250 years of extremely energy and resource-intensive industrialisation? What models are there and what obstacles are they up against? What environmental consequences could they bring with them? What role do governments and transnational organisations need to play to ensure that this Salto is successful? *Sunita Narain*, director of the Centre for Science and Environment (India), *live in New Delhi** *** *Chandran Nair*, founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow; author of "Consumptionomics. Asia's Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet" (Hong Kong), *live stream from Berlin* *Sergej Bobylev*, economics department, Moscow State University (Russia), *via live stream from St. Petersburg* Facilitation: *Angelina Davydova*, *live stream from St. Petersburg* *10 p.m. – 11 p.m*. *PERFORMANCE* *Earth.Territory.Music * Earth's music transcends, and orbits each one of us. Territories rotate on its axis. The earth knows. It no longer revolves around the sun, merely to repeat seasons, but History. *Inder Salim*, artist (India), live stream in New Delhi For the opening and the other dates please register by Wednesday, 17thAugust with Mr. Dennis Yücel from the programme department: Tel. 011-23471-132, Email: programm at delhi.goethe.org *This event is part of the project ÜBER LEBENSKUNST in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. **ÜBER LEBENSKUNST is an initiative project of the* *German Federal Cultural Foundation in cooperation with Haus der Kulturen der Welt. **The conference is funded by **German Federal Cultural Foundation**.* [image: Logo_HKW] [image: Logo_ulk_cmyk] [image: GY-logo-web-large size] From shwetatewari28 at gmail.com Wed Aug 17 12:07:49 2011 From: shwetatewari28 at gmail.com (shweta tewari) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:07:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Writing the Feminist Future Message-ID: *Zubaan and HIVOS cordially invite you to* * * *Cultures of Peace:* *25 Years of Women’s Publishing* * * * **WRITING THE FEMINIST FUTURE* *Location:* Jaaga, Bangalore No 68, Lalbagh KH Road Opp. Vijaya Bank & Next to HDFC Bank Bangalore - 56002 *Date:* Saturday 20th August 2011 * * *Time:* 4:00–8:00pm In the early 1980s, opportunities for women writers in India were few and far between. After 25 years of publishing, struggle, protest and celebration by the women’s movement, the scene is very different today. How has this affected the way we view feminism? Have all the battles been won? Are new forms of protest divorced from their political predecessors or are they building on what has gone before? What is the role of the media in today’s campaigns? How does the women’s movement deal with issues of the ever-widening gap between classes, and between rural and urban concerns? Have we gone beyond the need for positive discrimination and reservations? What are the ‘key issues’ facing the new generation of young women growing up in India? It is often said that the ‘second wave’ of feminism began in the seventies and that what we are now witnessing is a third wave – or perhaps not a wave at all but what is sometimes described as a backlash. For the new generation of young women, traditional modes of activism and protest such as the morcha or the street play seem outdated – even irrelevant. Instead, the internet is the new site of resistance. While this may be the case in urban areas, there are also other forms of activism ‘elsewhere’ – the use of rural media, the deployment of extra legal methods, the tactic of using shame as a weapon – that are common among young women. It is interesting to note how certain protests/campaigns get covered by the media while the other kind of interventions do not garner the same attention. The mainstream imagination of Indian feminism is conveniently synonymous to the urban middle-class feminist questions, and modes of protest. At the same time it is important to recognize other rural initiatives such as Khabar Lahariya, weekly rural newspaper written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of women – most of them from marginalized Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities – in Chitrakoot andBanda districts of Uttar Pradesh in north India. The recent debate vis-à-vis the Slut Walk again raised the questions of class and context. We plan to have an open and lively discussion about the shape and future of the ‘third’ wave or of the ‘new’ feminism. As well as poetry, songs, readings, and the launch of Annie Zaidi and Smriti Ravindra’s latest book:*The Bad Boy’s Guide to the Good Indian Girl*. There will also be a special display of Zubaan titles for sale at the venue. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome! From siddharth at videovolunteers.org Wed Aug 17 16:08:52 2011 From: siddharth at videovolunteers.org (Siddharth Pillai) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:08:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] How to Design Effective Social Campaigns- Workshop by Stalin K In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Learn to Design an Effective Social Campaign 28th - 29th September 2011 in Goa ARE YOU PLANNING TO LAUNCH A CAMPAIGN TO GATHER AND INVOLVE THE MASSES IN ISSUES YOU BELEIVE IN? DO YOU WANT TO LOBBY WITH A SPECIFIC GROUP TO ADVOCATE FOR A PARTICULAR CAUSE? ARE YOU TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS MISSING IN THAT LAST CAMPAIGN YOU DESIGNED? STALIN K - ONE OF INDIA'S LEADING SOCIAL COMMUNICATORS AND MEDIA ACTIVISTS - WILL HELP YOU FIND ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR CAMPAIGN QUESTIONS AND DESIGN AN EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN. WHO CAN APPLY? Social movements, non-profits, trade unions, social businesss and individuals who champion human rights causes. We highly recommend the NGO director or senior activist apply. *APPLY NOW* Please send in your applications forms by 30th August 2011 *WHAT WILL BE COVERED?* Identifying key elements and integrating diverse strategies *WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE WORKSHOP?* Critical analysis and creative solutions *WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER THE WORKSHOP?* Let the campaign begin WORKSHOP FACILITATOR : *Stalin K* Director of Video Volunteers and a media and human rights activist, with 20 years experience pioneering new models of participatory media. He is an internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker and a greatly admired teacher and trainer.He is one of India’s leading exponents of community radio, community video and has designed more than 20 *campaigns* *Workshop Fee: Rs. 15,000* For all expenses not including travel. *Click for details* For more information, please write to *naomi at videovolunteers.org* ------------------------------ Click to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe ------------------------------ Video Volunteers Video Volunteers, 600/1, Retreat House Road, Baga - Calangute Bardez, Goa 403516 India Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy. [image: Try Email Marketing with VerticalResponse!] From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Aug 18 03:38:09 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:08:09 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> Message-ID: <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the law makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" To: "Sarai" ; ; "Free Binayak Sen" Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: PUDR Delhi > Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 > Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the > unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > detaining > Anna Hazare and his supporters > To: pudr-info at pudr.org > > > *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* > > *Press Release* > > *16th August 2011* > > ** ** > > Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the > unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > detaining > Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who were > scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers > the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants > allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is > concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the > shrinking > democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent > citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and > actions. > > PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, > individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise people > and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or > oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp > disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain > from > a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most > talked > about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version > have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. > However, > for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the > parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government > being > innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind the > central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away > people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people elect > their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. > > PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by > taking > recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and > compelling > them, to *either *become mute witness to > government-bureaucracy-corporations > nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to > violent means of protest. > > PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on > clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to > decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are > peaceful. > > > > Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan > > (Secretaries PUDR) > > ** ** > _________________________________________ > 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 nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Aug 18 11:51:05 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:51:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> Message-ID: Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it is - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption is conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a few examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out mining to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, and rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals to private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the oil in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. Naga On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email > from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the law > makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" > To: "Sarai" ; >; > "Free Binayak Sen" > > > Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM > Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly > condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government > in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: PUDR Delhi >> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> detaining >> Anna Hazare and his supporters >> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >> >> >> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >> >> *Press Release* >> >> *16th August 2011* >> >> ** ** >> >> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> detaining >> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who were >> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers >> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants >> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is >> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >> shrinking >> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent >> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >> actions. >> >> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise people >> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or >> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp >> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain >> from >> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most >> talked >> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version >> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. However, >> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the >> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government >> being >> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind the >> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away >> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people elect >> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >> >> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by >> taking >> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >> compelling >> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >> corporations >> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to >> violent means of protest. >> >> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on >> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to >> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >> peaceful. >> >> >> >> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >> >> (Secretaries PUDR) >> >> ** ** >> ______________________________**___________ >> 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 ravig64 at gmail.com Thu Aug 18 16:45:36 2011 From: ravig64 at gmail.com (Ravi Agarwal) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:45:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=DCBER_LEBENSKUNST?= Message-ID: Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan invites you to About The Art of Living and the Art of Survival ÜBER LEBENSKUNST A global conference Friday, 19 August - Saturday, 20 August Siddhartha Hall and Library, Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, 3 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi On August 19 and 20, New Delhi will be the international partner in a global conference that connects the cities of Berlin, St. Petersburg, New Delhi, São Paulo and Nairobi via internet. The conference is at the heart of the ÜBER LEBENSKUNST Festival during which international artists, scientists and activists will turn Berlin into a showcase for the sustainable "art of living". Experts and artists will discuss possibilities for sustainable living in the 21st century. Performances and presentations of model projects will be on display and local problems and solutions for sustainable development will be discussed from a global perspective. The complete Festival programme can be found at www.ueber-lebenskunst.org The Delhi programme is curated by Ravi Agarwal (artist, environmentalist) FRIDAY, 19 August Live streaming events before 5:30 pm - details soon 5:30 – 6.30 p.m PERFORMANCE (Venue: Siddhartha Hall) Mega-Delhi Sublime “Mega-Delhi Sublime” is an experimental research project about contemporary New Delhi and the poetry unearthed as it bulldozes itself into new self-discovery. Chris Green, artist (USA), via video live stream from New Delhi 6:30 – 9.00 p.m DISCUSSION (Venue: Library) On Megacities What are the most pressing ecological and social problems faced by the ever-growing megacities in the “Global South” today? How could those cities develop more sustainably, what are existing projects and what could sustainable urban planning strategies look like? Introduction: Significance of the problem of urbanization and megacities Paola Alfaro d'Alençon, Habitat Unit, Technische Universität Berlin (D), via live stream from Berlin Film clips from Slum TV – Sam Hopkins Discussion Sam Hopkins, artist (Kenia), via live stream from Nairobi Arthur Adeya Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, initiator of the “Kibera Public Space Project”, via live stream from Nairobi K.T. Ravindran, head of Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, live in New Delhi Rahul Srivastava, research advisor at PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research) and co-founder of URBZ, live in New Delhi Marussia Whately, coordinator, Programa Mananciais, Instituto SocioAmbiental, Sao Paulo, via live stream from Sao Paulo Facilitation: Rahul Srivastava 9.00 p.m RECEPTION (Venue: Siddhartha Hall) SATURDAY, 20 August Live streaming events before 8:30 pm - details soon 8:30 – 10:00 p.m. DISCUSSION (Venue: Library) Salto Mortale Experts from various countries in the "Global South" will discuss sustainable strategies for prosperity. What kind of resistance is there to these types of approaches and what negative consequences can they bring with them? Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment (India), live in New Delhi Chandran Nair, founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow; author of "Consumptionomics. Asia's Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet" (Hong Kong), live stream from Berlin Sergej Bobylev, economics department, Moscow State University (Russia), via live stream from St. Petersburg Facilitation: Angelina Davydova, live stream from St. Petersburg 10 p.m. – 11 p.m. PERFORMANCE (Venue: Siddhartha Hall) Earth.Territory.Music Earth's music transcends, and orbits each one of us. Territories rotate on its axis. The earth knows. It no longer revolves around the sun, merely to repeat seasons, but History. Inder Salim, artist (India), live stream in New Delhi For the opening and the other dates please register by Wednesday, 17th August with Mr. Dennis Yücel from the programme department: Tel. 011-23471-132, Email: programm at delhi.goethe.org This event is part of the project ÜBER LEBENSKUNST in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. ÜBER LEBENSKUNST is an initiative project of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in cooperation with Haus der Kulturen der Welt. The conference is funded by German Federal Cultural Foundation. From aliens at dataone.in Thu Aug 18 20:41:29 2011 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:41:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] JETHMALANI RAJYA SABHA SPEECH Message-ID: <009901cc5db9$1bda5c50$538f14f0$@in> Its long speech but must read... main point i am repeating here, "Sir, is it not a commonsense inference why you are hiding those names? You are hiding those names because the names are of those people who are today in control of your party." no body objected or denied this statement from congress party...!!! SHRI RAM JETHMALANI (RAJASTHAN): Mr. Vice-Chairman, Sir, I have read the Prime Minister's statement with great care. I wish he had read, at least, the morning papers, which frequently, almost incessantly, speak on behalf of the Congress Party. Take, for example, the Times of India. The Headlines are: Government Can't Stop August Kranti; A Major Mutiny Erupt Across India. The extent of the countrywide support has shocked you, Mr. Prime Minister. The Times of India says, "Spontaneous protests broke out from Baroda to Bhuvneshwar, from Kanpur to Kochi, leaving the Government gasping at this amazing demonstration of democratic dissent. I wish the Prime Minister had the honesty to admit that there has been a demonstration of democratic dissent and that is being reflected in the large crowds that are assembling throughout the country, in all parts of the country, including the places outside India where people are congregating in large numbers and talking of Anna. Sir, it was the duty of the Prime Minister, it was the duty of the Congress Party, the ruling party, and their supporters to find out why is it that the crowds who don't know Anna, who have not heard of Anna are, now, trying to come and meet him and kiss his feet, if they can't meet him, they are willing to kiss the earth on which he has treaded and walked. Why is it today that the Congress Party is not able to organize some counter demonstration, adjoining Anna's demonstration, and see how many people come and attend to you, and see do you they come to kiss your feet or will they come there to jeer at you, if not spit at you. I wish only to tell you that the crowds, which are now collecting, are victims of the very corruption about which Anna has, now, become a prophet who is trying to cook in the spirit of people; who is going to illumine the brains of people; who is able to tell them as to who is responsible for this corruption; and, from where this corruption originates? I wish to give you only two illustrations. In recent times, the most important aspect of corruption has been the stolen wealth from this country; the stolen wealth of such a magnitude that if it was distributed in this country, every Indian family will have two and a half lakh rupees and poverty will disappear overnight. Sir, the people who are congregating in these places are people who are victims of corruption. They are condemned to eternal disease, eternal malnutrition, eternal lingering death and eternal suicide. It is these people who are now protesting against what is happening in this country. Sir, the Prime Minister has never contested any election all his life. I don't know how he would know the pulse of the people at all. Sir, there is a problem. You have lost your control of the people's understanding and their will. You don't understand which way the wind is today blowing. Sir, we are a poor country. The Germans are a rich country. They wanted to break the Swiss System of Banking and get at the names of the criminals and dacoits who have robbed all the countries of the world and stashed money there. What did they do? They paid Rs. 475 millions to an employee of a bank and got the names from that employee. They made a public pronouncement that we are willing to share this information with all friendly Governments without condition, without any expense, and without any cost. If I was the Prime Minister, I would form a Group of Ministers and immediately go to Germany, kiss the feet of the Germans and say please give us the names of the *. We want to go and prosecute them, punish * Expunged as ordered by the Chair. them and send them to Tihar Jail where you have sent poor Anna today. They did nothing of the kind. Their names are not being disclosed even till today. Till today we have been wrangling. We have gone to the Court and knocked the doors of the Judiciary. Sir, the names are not forthcoming. They are being hidden by them. Sir, is it not a commonsense inference why you are hiding those names? You are hiding those names because the names are of those people who are today in control of your party. That is why you are not able to tell us the names. Sir, please give me one more minute. Listen to one more amazing fact. The United Nations realised that corruption is a worldwide phenomenon. Therefore, Sir, the United Nations got into action and created a convention against corruption. India signed it in 2005. But before it becomes binding, sufficient number of countries have to ratify it. From 2005-2011, they did not ratify that convention because that convention gives you full access to the information about the dacoits who have stolen the poor people's money from this country. Sir, ultimately, in May this year, when they were expecting a very thundering judgement from the Supreme Court of India about this stolen money, they pretended to ratify the convention. Sir, the Prime Minister went on record to say, 'See, we have now ratified the convention. This shows that we have a very honest intention to get back this money.' But the Prime Minister did not have the ordinary decency and the ordinary courtesy to tell the people that they had rendered the ratification useless. Why? This is the * which I wish to expose before this hon. House. Sir, in August 2010, they called the Swiss Minister and signed a protocol. They signed a new protocol under which they gave up the right to require any information about the past. All information will be about the future and that future will start from 1st April, 2011. When they are ratifying this convention, they put a reservation. The reservation they have put is that wherever a bilateral treaty exists, we will act only under that treaty and not under the convention. Now, you have got a treaty with the Swiss under which you have given up the right to require any * Expunged as ordered by the Chair. previous information of any kind. Sir, this Government is a Government which ought to go because they don't have the slightest decency and the slightest integrity. Bipin Trivedi From aliens at dataone.in Thu Aug 18 20:45:25 2011 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:45:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: <00a201cc5db9$ab611120$02233360$@in> so govt bow down and agreed unconditional release of anna.!!! I really feel pity for think tank of govt even small village sarpanch would have been handled the situation in better way. anna had well declare to go on fast on 16 aug. instead of anna arrest drama at that time only started dialog leaving their arrogance and put all the points in the parliament the thing would have been solved. jab satta ka mad chad jata hai aur govt arrogant hoti hai tab. vinash kale viprit buddhi. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Aug 18 22:50:22 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:20:22 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com><929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> Message-ID: <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it a good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that makes it run? It good to hit this corruption? Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global warming, the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door says the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says the guy next door needs to change first. ----- Original Message ----- From: Nagraj Adve To: Tara Prakash Cc: Sarai Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it is - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption is conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a few examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out mining to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, and rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals to private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the oil in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. Naga On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the law makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" To: "Sarai" ; ; "Free Binayak Sen" Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: PUDR Delhi Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters To: pudr-info at pudr.org *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* *Press Release* *16th August 2011* ** ** Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who were scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the shrinking democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and actions. PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise people and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain from a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most talked about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. However, for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government being innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind the central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people elect their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by taking recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and compelling them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-corporations nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to violent means of protest. PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are peaceful. Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan (Secretaries PUDR) ** ** _________________________________________ 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 nagraj.adve at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 11:37:26 2011 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:37:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Tara Prakash, It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; that it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months reflects the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we have created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the huge challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in the near future, Naga On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: > ** > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it a > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that makes > it run? It good to hit this corruption? > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global warming, > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door says > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says the > guy next door needs to change first. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Nagraj Adve > *To:* Tara Prakash > *Cc:* Sarai > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it is > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption is > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a few > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out mining > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, and > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals to > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the oil > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. > Naga > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the law >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" >> To: "Sarai" ; >; >> "Free Binayak Sen" >> > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: PUDR Delhi >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> detaining >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >>> >>> >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >>> >>> *Press Release* >>> >>> *16th August 2011* >>> >>> ** ** >>> >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> detaining >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who >>> were >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >>> shrinking >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >>> actions. >>> >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise >>> people >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain >>> from >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most >>> talked >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. >>> However, >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government >>> being >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind >>> the >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people >>> elect >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >>> >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by >>> taking >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >>> compelling >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >>> corporations >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to >>> violent means of protest. >>> >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >>> peaceful. >>> >>> >>> >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >>> >>> (Secretaries PUDR) >>> >>> ** ** >>> ______________________________**___________ >>> 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 sharanlal at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 12:40:12 2011 From: sharanlal at gmail.com (Sharan ...) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:40:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the matter is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy to click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the individual level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy veil for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we practice it? Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. Sharan On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: > Tara Prakash, > It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't > seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on > one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; that > it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the > death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. > I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will > still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which > itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile > politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months reflects > the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we have > created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost > control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the huge > challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in > the near future, > Naga > > On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > ** > > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it a > > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that > makes > > it run? It good to hit this corruption? > > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global warming, > > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door > says > > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says the > > guy next door needs to change first. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > *From:* Nagraj Adve > > *To:* Tara Prakash > > *Cc:* Sarai > > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM > > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the > Central > > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it > is > > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption > is > > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a > few > > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out > mining > > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, and > > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals to > > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. > > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the > oil > > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. > > Naga > > > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email > >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the > law > >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. > >> > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" > > >> To: "Sarai" ; **com>; > >> "Free Binayak Sen" free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> > >> > > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM > >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly > >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > Government > >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > >> > >> > >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > >>> From: PUDR Delhi > >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 > >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > >>> detaining > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters > >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org > >>> > >>> > >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* > >>> > >>> *Press Release* > >>> > >>> *16th August 2011* > >>> > >>> ** ** > >>> > >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > >>> detaining > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who > >>> were > >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR > considers > >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of > participants > >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is > >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the > >>> shrinking > >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent > >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and > >>> actions. > >>> > >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, > >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise > >>> people > >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or > >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp > >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain > >>> from > >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most > >>> talked > >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team > version > >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. > >>> However, > >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the > >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government > >>> being > >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind > >>> the > >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away > >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people > >>> elect > >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. > >>> > >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by > >>> taking > >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and > >>> compelling > >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** > >>> corporations > >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to > >>> violent means of protest. > >>> > >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on > >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to > >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are > >>> peaceful. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan > >>> > >>> (Secretaries PUDR) > >>> > >>> ** ** > >>> ______________________________**___________ > >>> 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< > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/**pipermail/reader-list/< > 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 karunaadayal at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 12:59:51 2011 From: karunaadayal at gmail.com (Karuna Dayal) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:59:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Thank you for putting it down so clearly. I think we all need to accept the fact you have stated in your comment. I personally believe that an individual (you, me, all of us) can kill that streak of corruption in us with just a bit of effort. As simple as not paying an extra buck to get the essential things in life for a change. The movement (campaign) started by Anna Hazare is ground breaking for sure ...but as youth and individuals coming from urban and middle class - are we strictly following the principle of correcting ourselves first??? It's not just adding our mouse clicks and head counts to a movement on ending corruption .....it's about us following and practicing it! On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Sharan ... wrote: > A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and > that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you > need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see > why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the matter > is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are > steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not > all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to > register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their > individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? > > I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn > away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from > our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy > to > click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the > individual > level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy veil > for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we > tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we > practice it? > > Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. > > Sharan > > > On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: > > > Tara Prakash, > > It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't > > seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on > > one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; > that > > it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the > > death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. > > I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will > > still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which > > itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile > > politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months > reflects > > the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we > have > > created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost > > control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the > huge > > challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in > > the near future, > > Naga > > > > On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > > > ** > > > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it > a > > > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that > > makes > > > it run? It good to hit this corruption? > > > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global > warming, > > > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door > > says > > > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says > the > > > guy next door needs to change first. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > *From:* Nagraj Adve > > > *To:* Tara Prakash > > > *Cc:* Sarai > > > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM > > > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > > > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the > > Central > > > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > > > > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as > it > > is > > > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than > corruption > > is > > > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention > a > > few > > > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out > > mining > > > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, > and > > > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals > to > > > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. > > > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the > > oil > > > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. > > > Naga > > > > > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > > > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an > email > > >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the > > law > > >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. > > >> > > >> > > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" < > nagraj.adve at gmail.com > > > > > >> To: "Sarai" ; > **com>; > > >> "Free Binayak Sen" > free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> > > >> > > > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM > > >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly > > >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > > Government > > >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > >> > > >> > > >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > >>> From: PUDR Delhi > > >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 > > >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the > > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > > >>> detaining > > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters > > >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* > > >>> > > >>> *Press Release* > > >>> > > >>> *16th August 2011* > > >>> > > >>> ** ** > > >>> > > >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the > > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > > >>> detaining > > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who > > >>> were > > >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR > > considers > > >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of > > participants > > >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR > is > > >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the > > >>> shrinking > > >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to > prevent > > >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and > > >>> actions. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, > > >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise > > >>> people > > >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike > or > > >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe > sharp > > >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public > domain > > >>> from > > >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most > > >>> talked > > >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team > > version > > >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. > > >>> However, > > >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the > > >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government > > >>> being > > >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to > remind > > >>> the > > >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away > > >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people > > >>> elect > > >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by > > >>> taking > > >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and > > >>> compelling > > >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** > > >>> corporations > > >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse > to > > >>> violent means of protest. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on > > >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right > to > > >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are > > >>> peaceful. > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan > > >>> > > >>> (Secretaries PUDR) > > >>> > > >>> ** ** > > >>> ______________________________**___________ > > >>> 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< > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> > > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/**pipermail/reader-list/< > > 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/> > -- -------------------------------- With Regards, Karuna Dayal M: +91 9818269004 Connect with me on: Linkedin:http://in.linkedin.com/in/karunadayal Twitter: http://twitter.com/karuna Blogger: http://karunaa.blogspot.com/ From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 13:00:39 2011 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:00:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: dear Sharan, Utopia is a myth and will always remain so. Corruption, promiscuity, violence etc are among the natural traits of human and has been an integral part of the evolutionary process. Honesty, fairness, truthfulness, morality etc are contribution of the human society and are not part of the natural instincts of Homo sapiens. Its what the society internalize in the our minds right from the time we are born. And that's the reason for the eternal conflicts that we face through our lives. Remember we have to resist ourselves from committing 'sins' but we never have to resist ourselves from committing good. Why? Because there is no internal urge to do so. Sin, good, bad etc are morally laden vocabulary which are creation of the human race m=very much like religion. I like what Naga wrote earlier about capitalism. I think that brilliantly sums up the current scenario. It is but a fact is that corruption, power and war are the collateral costs of capitalism. And since we (human race) introduced it to our planet, who else deserves to bear the maximum burnt, but us? Although it might not be restricted to us alone. And for me that's the greatest tragedy. rajkamal On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Sharan ... wrote: > A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and > that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you > need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see > why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the matter > is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are > steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not > all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to > register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their > individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? > > I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn > away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from > our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy > to > click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the > individual > level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy veil > for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we > tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we > practice it? > > Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. > > Sharan > > > On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: > > > Tara Prakash, > > It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't > > seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on > > one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; > that > > it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the > > death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. > > I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will > > still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which > > itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile > > politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months > reflects > > the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we > have > > created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost > > control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the > huge > > challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in > > the near future, > > Naga > > > > On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > > > ** > > > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it > a > > > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that > > makes > > > it run? It good to hit this corruption? > > > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global > warming, > > > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door > > says > > > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says > the > > > guy next door needs to change first. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > *From:* Nagraj Adve > > > *To:* Tara Prakash > > > *Cc:* Sarai > > > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM > > > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > > > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the > > Central > > > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > > > > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as > it > > is > > > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than > corruption > > is > > > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention > a > > few > > > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out > > mining > > > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, > and > > > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals > to > > > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. > > > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the > > oil > > > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. > > > Naga > > > > > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > > > > > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an > email > > >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the > > law > > >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. > > >> > > >> > > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" < > nagraj.adve at gmail.com > > > > > >> To: "Sarai" ; > **com>; > > >> "Free Binayak Sen" > free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> > > >> > > > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM > > >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly > > >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > > Government > > >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > >> > > >> > > >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > >>> From: PUDR Delhi > > >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 > > >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the > > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > > >>> detaining > > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters > > >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* > > >>> > > >>> *Press Release* > > >>> > > >>> *16th August 2011* > > >>> > > >>> ** ** > > >>> > > >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the > > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in > > >>> detaining > > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who > > >>> were > > >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR > > considers > > >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of > > participants > > >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR > is > > >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the > > >>> shrinking > > >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to > prevent > > >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and > > >>> actions. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, > > >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise > > >>> people > > >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike > or > > >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe > sharp > > >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public > domain > > >>> from > > >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most > > >>> talked > > >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team > > version > > >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. > > >>> However, > > >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the > > >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government > > >>> being > > >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to > remind > > >>> the > > >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away > > >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people > > >>> elect > > >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by > > >>> taking > > >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and > > >>> compelling > > >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** > > >>> corporations > > >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse > to > > >>> violent means of protest. > > >>> > > >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on > > >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right > to > > >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are > > >>> peaceful. > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> > > >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan > > >>> > > >>> (Secretaries PUDR) > > >>> > > >>> ** ** > > >>> ______________________________**___________ > > >>> 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< > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> > > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/**pipermail/reader-list/< > > 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/> > -- Rajkamal From sharanlal at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 13:33:05 2011 From: sharanlal at gmail.com (Sharan ...) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:33:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Dear Rajkamal, If corruption etc. are indeed natural traits, a theory I am not totally opposed to accepting, then why fight it? and why, then, is it a tragedy? Even if you do think it is a tragedy then are you not going against the very grain of natural law? We are meant to be like this, where fittest survive, the mighty rule, and where the honest stand and watch as their co-habitants loot everything that can be looted, leaving the weak, the backward, and the impoverished to suffer, languish, and ultimately perish. This was the law of the jungle, this is the law of humans and the society that we have created. There is nothing new in this. No revolution has managed to dislodge this natural streak in us, nothing has changed. It is a basic tenet that sticks to us like the colour of our skin. You cannot wash it off. Least effective of all instruments we have seen fail is education, as those who loot most today are all educated people. The other is mass movements like Annas. It, ultimately, also resorts to violence and coercion as an instrument to achieve goals, and hence is another weapon from the same armoury that supplies to the other parts of the human jungle. This is nature at its best. But. If we have to change this, my contention is that the change will not come through a sms and media fuelled 'revolution', but it will come from the power within the self. At the level of the individual. Sharan On 19 August 2011 13:00, Rajkamal Goswami wrote: > dear Sharan, > > Utopia is a myth and will always remain so. Corruption, promiscuity, > violence etc are among the natural traits of human and has been an integral > part of the evolutionary process. Honesty, fairness, > truthfulness, morality etc are contribution of the human society and are not > part of the natural instincts of Homo sapiens. Its what the > society internalize in the our minds right from the time we are born. And > that's the reason for the eternal conflicts that we face through our lives. > Remember we have to resist ourselves from committing 'sins' but we never > have to resist ourselves from committing good. Why? Because there is no > internal urge to do so. Sin, good, bad etc are morally laden vocabulary > which are creation of the human race m=very much like religion. > > I like what Naga wrote earlier about capitalism. I think that brilliantly > sums up the current scenario. It is but a fact is that corruption, power and > war are the collateral costs of capitalism. And since we (human race) > introduced it to our planet, who else deserves to bear the maximum burnt, > but us? Although it might not be restricted to us alone. And for > me that's the greatest tragedy. > > rajkamal > > On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Sharan ... wrote: > >> A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and >> that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you >> need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see >> why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the >> matter >> is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are >> steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not >> all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to >> register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their >> individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? >> >> I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn >> away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from >> our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy >> to >> click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the >> individual >> level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy >> veil >> for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we >> tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we >> practice it? >> >> Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. >> >> Sharan >> >> >> On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: >> >> > Tara Prakash, >> > It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I >> don't >> > seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on >> > one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; >> that >> > it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports >> the >> > death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. >> > I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will >> > still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which >> > itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile >> > politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months >> reflects >> > the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we >> have >> > created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost >> > control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the >> huge >> > challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos >> in >> > the near future, >> > Naga >> > >> > On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: >> > >> > > ** >> > > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't >> it a >> > > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that >> > makes >> > > it run? It good to hit this corruption? >> > > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global >> warming, >> > > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door >> > says >> > > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says >> the >> > > guy next door needs to change first. >> > > >> > > ----- Original Message ----- >> > > *From:* Nagraj Adve >> > > *To:* Tara Prakash >> > > *Cc:* Sarai >> > > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM >> > > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR >> > > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the >> > Central >> > > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> > > >> > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as >> it >> > is >> > > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than >> corruption >> > is >> > > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention >> a >> > few >> > > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out >> > mining >> > > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, >> and >> > > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals >> to >> > > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. >> > > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely >> the >> > oil >> > > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. >> > > Naga >> > > >> > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: >> > > >> > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an >> email >> > >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to >> the >> > law >> > >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" < >> nagraj.adve at gmail.com >> > > >> > >> To: "Sarai" ; > > **com>; >> > >> "Free Binayak Sen" > > free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> >> > >> > >> > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM >> > >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR >> strongly >> > >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central >> > Government >> > >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> > >>> From: PUDR Delhi >> > >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >> > >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >> > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> > >>> detaining >> > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters >> > >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >> > >>> >> > >>> >> > >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >> > >>> >> > >>> *Press Release* >> > >>> >> > >>> *16th August 2011* >> > >>> >> > >>> ** ** >> > >>> >> > >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >> > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> > >>> detaining >> > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, >> who >> > >>> were >> > >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR >> > considers >> > >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of >> > participants >> > >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR >> is >> > >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >> > >>> shrinking >> > >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to >> prevent >> > >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >> > >>> actions. >> > >>> >> > >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >> > >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise >> > >>> people >> > >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike >> or >> > >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe >> sharp >> > >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public >> domain >> > >>> from >> > >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two >> most >> > >>> talked >> > >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team >> > version >> > >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. >> > >>> However, >> > >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before >> the >> > >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of >> government >> > >>> being >> > >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to >> remind >> > >>> the >> > >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take >> away >> > >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people >> > >>> elect >> > >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >> > >>> >> > >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by >> > >>> taking >> > >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >> > >>> compelling >> > >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >> > >>> corporations >> > >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse >> to >> > >>> violent means of protest. >> > >>> >> > >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on >> > >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right >> to >> > >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >> > >>> peaceful. >> > >>> >> > >>> >> > >>> >> > >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >> > >>> >> > >>> (Secretaries PUDR) >> > >>> >> > >>> ** ** >> > >>> ______________________________**___________ >> > >>> 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< >> > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> >> > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/**pipermail/reader-list/< >> > 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/> >> > > > > -- > Rajkamal > > > From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Fri Aug 19 14:21:46 2011 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:21:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Dear Sharan, For now I will answer a few question you have raised: then why fight it? I am not fighting. Others, who are fighting, may have several reasons, ideology, personal vendetta, joining the 'in' thing, hero-worshiping, pop fad, frustration, anger etc. But since the number of fighters is way below non-fighters (who are least bothered, unaware or donot care) its an exception and not the rule. To extend your take in your previous mail, no mass movement becomes a real mass movement unless the cause/motivation/passion is universally appealing: eg- identity, freedom or hunger. and why, then, is it a tragedy? Its a personal tragic feeling because I am deeply in love with the non-human parts of our planet. I am pretty passionate about it infact. And I am sure you would agree that love and passion are among the basic instincts. Hence the personal eulogy. Although I very well know that my insignificant emotion won't count at all in the greater scheme of things. Hope that these clears the cloud of doubt in your mind about my theory. regards Rajkamal On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 1:33 PM, Sharan ... wrote: > Dear Rajkamal, > > If corruption etc. are indeed natural traits, a theory I am not totally > opposed to accepting, then why fight it? and why, then, is it a tragedy? > > Even if you do think it is a tragedy then are you not going against the > very grain of natural law? We are meant to be like this, where fittest > survive, the mighty rule, and where the honest stand and watch as their > co-habitants loot everything that can be looted, leaving the weak, the > backward, and the impoverished to suffer, languish, and ultimately perish. > This was the law of the jungle, this is the law of humans and the society > that we have created. There is nothing new in this. No revolution has > managed to dislodge this natural streak in us, nothing has changed. It is a > basic tenet that sticks to us like the colour of our skin. You cannot wash > it off. > > Least effective of all instruments we have seen fail is education, as those > who loot most today are all educated people. The other is mass movements > like Annas. It, ultimately, also resorts to violence and coercion as an > instrument to achieve goals, and hence is another weapon from the same > armoury that supplies to the other parts of the human jungle. This is nature > at its best. > > But. If we have to change this, my contention is that the change will not > come through a sms and media fuelled 'revolution', but it will come from the > power within the self. At the level of the individual. > > Sharan > > > On 19 August 2011 13:00, Rajkamal Goswami wrote: > >> dear Sharan, >> >> Utopia is a myth and will always remain so. Corruption, promiscuity, >> violence etc are among the natural traits of human and has been an integral >> part of the evolutionary process. Honesty, fairness, >> truthfulness, morality etc are contribution of the human society and are not >> part of the natural instincts of Homo sapiens. Its what the >> society internalize in the our minds right from the time we are born. And >> that's the reason for the eternal conflicts that we face through our lives. >> Remember we have to resist ourselves from committing 'sins' but we never >> have to resist ourselves from committing good. Why? Because there is no >> internal urge to do so. Sin, good, bad etc are morally laden vocabulary >> which are creation of the human race m=very much like religion. >> >> I like what Naga wrote earlier about capitalism. I think that brilliantly >> sums up the current scenario. It is but a fact is that corruption, power and >> war are the collateral costs of capitalism. And since we (human race) >> introduced it to our planet, who else deserves to bear the maximum burnt, >> but us? Although it might not be restricted to us alone. And for >> me that's the greatest tragedy. >> >> rajkamal >> >> On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Sharan ... wrote: >> >>> A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and >>> that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you >>> need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont >>> see >>> why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the >>> matter >>> is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are >>> steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not >>> all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to >>> register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their >>> individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? >>> >>> I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply >>> turn >>> away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish >>> from >>> our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy >>> to >>> click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the >>> individual >>> level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy >>> veil >>> for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we >>> tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we >>> practice it? >>> >>> Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. >>> >>> Sharan >>> >>> >>> On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: >>> >>> > Tara Prakash, >>> > It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I >>> don't >>> > seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on >>> > one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; >>> that >>> > it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports >>> the >>> > death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. >>> > I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will >>> > still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, >>> which >>> > itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile >>> > politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months >>> reflects >>> > the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we >>> have >>> > created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost >>> > control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the >>> huge >>> > challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos >>> in >>> > the near future, >>> > Naga >>> > >>> > On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: >>> > >>> > > ** >>> > > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't >>> it a >>> > > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that >>> > makes >>> > > it run? It good to hit this corruption? >>> > > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global >>> warming, >>> > > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next >>> door >>> > says >>> > > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says >>> the >>> > > guy next door needs to change first. >>> > > >>> > > ----- Original Message ----- >>> > > *From:* Nagraj Adve >>> > > *To:* Tara Prakash >>> > > *Cc:* Sarai >>> > > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM >>> > > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR >>> > > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the >>> > Central >>> > > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >>> > > >>> > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as >>> it >>> > is >>> > > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than >>> corruption >>> > is >>> > > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to >>> mention a >>> > few >>> > > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out >>> > mining >>> > > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, >>> and >>> > > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable >>> hospitals to >>> > > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. >>> > > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely >>> the >>> > oil >>> > > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. >>> > > Naga >>> > > >>> > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: >>> > > >>> > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an >>> email >>> > >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to >>> the >>> > law >>> > >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" < >>> nagraj.adve at gmail.com >>> > > >>> > >> To: "Sarai" ; >> > **com>; >>> > >> "Free Binayak Sen" >> > free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> >>> > >> > >>> > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM >>> > >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR >>> strongly >>> > >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central >>> > Government >>> > >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> > >>> From: PUDR Delhi >>> > >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >>> > >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >>> > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> > >>> detaining >>> > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters >>> > >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >>> > >>> >>> > >>> >>> > >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >>> > >>> >>> > >>> *Press Release* >>> > >>> >>> > >>> *16th August 2011* >>> > >>> >>> > >>> ** ** >>> > >>> >>> > >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >>> > >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> > >>> detaining >>> > >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, >>> who >>> > >>> were >>> > >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR >>> > considers >>> > >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of >>> > participants >>> > >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. >>> PUDR is >>> > >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >>> > >>> shrinking >>> > >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to >>> prevent >>> > >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >>> > >>> actions. >>> > >>> >>> > >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >>> > >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise >>> > >>> people >>> > >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they >>> dislike or >>> > >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe >>> sharp >>> > >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public >>> domain >>> > >>> from >>> > >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two >>> most >>> > >>> talked >>> > >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team >>> > version >>> > >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. >>> > >>> However, >>> > >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before >>> the >>> > >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of >>> government >>> > >>> being >>> > >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to >>> remind >>> > >>> the >>> > >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take >>> away >>> > >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once >>> people >>> > >>> elect >>> > >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >>> > >>> >>> > >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which >>> by >>> > >>> taking >>> > >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >>> > >>> compelling >>> > >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >>> > >>> corporations >>> > >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take >>> recourse to >>> > >>> violent means of protest. >>> > >>> >>> > >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand >>> on >>> > >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's >>> right to >>> > >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >>> > >>> peaceful. >>> > >>> >>> > >>> >>> > >>> >>> > >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >>> > >>> >>> > >>> (Secretaries PUDR) >>> > >>> >>> > >>> ** ** >>> > >>> ______________________________**___________ >>> > >>> 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< >>> > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> >>> > >>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/**pipermail/reader-list/< >>> > 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/> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Rajkamal >> >> >> > -- Rajkamal From taraprakash at gmail.com Sat Aug 20 01:16:31 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:46:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com><929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara><225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Unless you were to stretch the definition of corruption, I claim to live a corruption free life. Corruption free life is not possible, but the PM can be brought under the purview of the Lokpal bill. That Sharon pays bribes regularly does not bother me as much as an elected member of parliament, or the PM makes the government a slave to the corporations. You are obviously talking about a different issue. Because Sharon is corrupt, it does not justify the PM to follow suit. Perfection is the enemy of good and cynicism is the friend of status quo. Thanks ----- Original Message ----- From: Sharan ... To: Nagraj Adve Cc: Tara Prakash ; Sarai Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 3:10 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the matter is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from our country forever. Try it. It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy to click on the mouse or to send an sms. If we can manage it at the individual level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an easy veil for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small lie we tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - do we practice it? Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. Sharan On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: Tara Prakash, It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; that it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months reflects the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we have created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the huge challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in the near future, Naga On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: > ** > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it a > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that makes > it run? It good to hit this corruption? > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global warming, > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door says > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says the > guy next door needs to change first. > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Nagraj Adve > *To:* Tara Prakash > *Cc:* Sarai > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it is > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption is > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a few > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out mining > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, and > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals to > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the oil > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. > Naga > > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: > >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the law >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" >> To: "Sarai" ; >; >> "Free Binayak Sen" >> > >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: PUDR Delhi >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> detaining >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >>> >>> >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >>> >>> *Press Release* >>> >>> *16th August 2011* >>> >>> ** ** >>> >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >>> detaining >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who >>> were >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR considers >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of participants >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR is >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >>> shrinking >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to prevent >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >>> actions. >>> >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise >>> people >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike or >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public domain >>> from >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most >>> talked >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team version >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. >>> However, >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government >>> being >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind >>> the >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people >>> elect >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >>> >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by >>> taking >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >>> compelling >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >>> corporations >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse to >>> violent means of protest. >>> >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right to >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >>> peaceful. >>> >>> >>> >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >>> >>> (Secretaries PUDR) >>> >>> ** ** >>> ______________________________**___________ >>> 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 rohitrellan at aol.in Sat Aug 20 10:27:06 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:57:06 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Entries:Going Green Film Fest / 8th Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival, 26-28 August 2011, India Habitat Centre, Delhi Message-ID: <8CE2D0CBE952856-704-15F70@webmail-d181.sysops.aol.com> WANTED: Filmmakers that cross the line... the GREEN line! SUBMIT YOUR FILM NOW; ALL GENRES Welcome! The GOING GREEN FILM FESTIVAL encourages green filmmaking by rewarding filmmakers who have lessened their carbon footprint on the planet during production, used alternative transportation within the storyline of their films, or have created a film whose subject includes the environment, third world issues, food, etc. For complete details on submissions: http://www.GoingGreenFilmFestival.com/landing1.html HURRY TO SUBMIT BEFORE AUGUST 26 DEADLINE! www.GoingGreenFilmFestival.com -------------------------------------------------------------- 8th Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival,26-28 August 2011, IndiaHabitat Centre,Delhi 14 documentaries (10 professional and 4 amateur) films showcasing various aspects of livelihood have been shortlisted from a total of 73 films that were submitted for the 8th JEEVIKA: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival to be held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi from 26 to 28 August 2011. National Award winning filmmaker and Padma Vibhushan, Shri Adoor Gopalakrishnan will declare the festival open and will give away the awards to the winners. Shri Ram Jethmalani, Lawyer and Member of Parliament will deliver the Keynote Address titled ‘Law, Liberty & Livelihood’. The documentaries touch upon sensitive subjects such as surrogate mothers, security guards, tribal land issues. Apart from screening of the documentaries, there will be discussions, dance performance and a photo competition as part of the festival, for which entry will be free. Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival is organised by Centre for Civil Society, a public policy think tank based in New Delhi. The documentary festival is a part of the larger Livelihood Freedom Campaign ‘JEEVIKA’ which helps develop public policy measures to clear the path for livelihood freedom. For schedule Log on to http://jeevika.org/schedule-2011/ From the-network at koeln.de Sat Aug 20 12:55:26 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (artNET) Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:25:26 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?2_calls_for_videoart=3A_extended_dea?= =?iso-8859-1?q?dline_-_1_October_2011?= Message-ID: <20110820092526.D69D05CC.BE76D101@192.168.0.2> Calls for entries extended deadline: 1 October 2011 Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org --------------------------------- 2 thematic calls: 1. Football - Soccer - Fussball 2. Let's Save the World!? --------------------------------- 1. Football - Soccer - Fussball In 2012, in Poland and Ukraine the "European Football Championships" will be held showing once again how deeply rooted football (US- soccer) is in the contemporary society. Cologne International Videoart Festival is looking for its nomadic festival project CologneOFF (2011/2012) - videoart in a globale context 1 January 2011 - 31 December 2012 for experimental films and video art - dealing with --> football (soccer) as an artistic topic, --> the enthusiasm people all over the world is encouraging, but also not to forget --> phenomenons like hoogligans, violence or drugs. Football is a complex social phenomenon which is more than worth to be reflected in new forms of contemporary art. CologneOFF is inviting film- and videomakers all over the world to contribute and submit experimental films and video art by using the entry form on - http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 Deadline: 1 October 2011 ------------------------------------------------------ Call for entries extended deadline: 1 October 2011 Cologne International Videoart Festival released a new call in the framework of its nomadic festival project CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context Let's Save the World !? 2011 was the year when people all over the world became aware again how vurnerable nature, but also the human species are. Especially, the disasters in Japan - earthquake/tsunami and nuclear - were causing countless human tragedies making all of us clear, neither nature nor technology can be controlled by humans. But these desasters stand in a long row of phenomenons with increasing negative effects on the enviroments we humans are living in, like global climate warming, global migrating, misuse of natural resources etc, and there is the real danger that our living sources are already destroyed before we actually are ready to react. Let's Save the World!? - is the theme of a special selection to be made in the framework of the nomadic festival project "CologneOFF 2011/2012 - videoart in a global context" http://coff.newmediafest.org which is not only appealing to work actively for the survival of our blue planet, but dealing with the questions what can be done to save the world and how can it be done, with environmental issues & substainability, social & global responsibility and much more. Artists working with "moving images" are invited to deal with all these and many more questions in their experimental films and videoart, to contribute and submit to this call by using the entry form on - http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 Deadline: 1 October 2011 ------------------------------------------- Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org operated & powered by artvideoKOELN- the curatorial initiative "art and moving images" http.//video.mediaartcologne.org 2011 (at) coff.newmediafest.org -------------------------------------------- From sharanlal at gmail.com Sun Aug 21 13:08:51 2011 From: sharanlal at gmail.com (Sharan ...) Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:08:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters In-Reply-To: References: <0be601cc5c12$0f9b1450$2ed13cf0$@com> <929E9EEAC9144B90A52B5EF124C5239E@tara> <225E9E5D6F5E483FB3F2D53864CCB120@tara> Message-ID: Tara, If if one billion Sharons paying bribe is OK then there is little hope for putting up a corruption free PM who is elected by the same Sharons. And that the Sharons are corrupt does not bother the Taras who lives a corruption fee life (of a certain definition), then there is not very much hope, as the indifference will lead to lack of proactiveness in removing corruption from day to day life from the middle class - where the cancer resides, hidden from the glare of publicity and even conscious acceptance towards the self. Remove corruption from the middle class, at the level of the individual, and then we will see a change. PMs will come, and go - and so will bills and parliament. I wonder why the NGO's are not included in the lokpal bill by the Anna team. Sharan On 20 August 2011 01:16, Tara Prakash wrote: > ** > Unless you were to stretch the definition of corruption, I claim to live a > corruption free life. Corruption free life is not possible, but the PM can > be brought under the purview of the Lokpal bill. That Sharon pays bribes > regularly does not bother me as much as an elected member of parliament, or > the PM makes the government a slave to the corporations. You are obviously > talking about a different issue. Because Sharon is corrupt, it does not > justify the PM to follow suit. Perfection is the enemy of good and cynicism > is the friend of status quo. > Thanks > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Sharan ... > *To:* Nagraj Adve > *Cc:* Tara Prakash ; Sarai > *Sent:* Friday, August 19, 2011 3:10 AM > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters > > A wordy effort. To stop the oil you will need to stop the oil wells and > that's not very good for the economy (or Reliance). To kill the wood you > need to fell trees, but that requires axes that require wood... I dont see > why we are making so much out of this campaign, when the fact of the matter > is that the very people who are supporting this campaign (you, me) are > steeped in corruption themselves - albeit small corruptions. Ok, Ok, not > all, but most. All it takes is a click of the left button of the mouse to > register your support for the protest, but do all of them, at their > individual level follow a 100% corruption free existence? Do you? Do I? > > I do believe if ALL who have registered their support for Anna simply turn > away from small corruptions in their day to day lives, it will vanish from > our country forever. Try it. *It is as difficult to achieve as it is easy > to click on the mouse or to send an sms. *If we can manage it at the > individual level, we will not need Anna, or the Parliament. A campaign is an > easy veil for our personal failings, it gives us an emotional brace, a small > lie we tell ourselves that we are, indeed, against corruption. We may be - > do we practice it? > > Let's leave the wood in the trees...please. > > Sharan > > > On 19 August 2011 11:37, Nagraj Adve wrote: > >> Tara Prakash, >> It's quite easy to take potshots at this corruption campaign, and I don't >> seek to do that. One can do so on many grounds and levels, depending on >> one's own politics - that it is largely urban and middle class driven; >> that >> it is openly supported by the Sangh Parivar orgns; that Anna supports the >> death penalty for the very corrupt, etc. >> I don't think you can stop the machinery by targetting the oil. It will >> still run, perhaps a little less smoothly (for elites and capital, which >> itself may be a welcome thing). Overall, that a number of high-profile >> politicians and business people have been jailed in recent months reflects >> the new found confidence of Indian capital. In capitalism, however, we >> have >> created a monster over which we are losing control, if not already lost >> control to a very large degree. Corruption does not address any of the >> huge >> challenges it throws up, and will continue doing so with greater chaos in >> the near future, >> Naga >> >> On 18 August 2011 22:50, Tara Prakash wrote: >> >> > ** >> > True. But how can you kill the wood without cutting the trees? Isn't it >> a >> > good strategy to defunct the machine by stopping the oil supply that >> makes >> > it run? It good to hit this corruption? >> > Let it not be the situation at the international stage on global >> warming, >> > the vested interests passing the buck to each other. The guy next door >> says >> > the main corruption is in the parliament and the parliamentarian says >> the >> > guy next door needs to change first. >> > >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> > *From:* Nagraj Adve >> > *To:* Tara Prakash >> > *Cc:* Sarai >> > *Sent:* Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:21 AM >> > *Subject:* Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR >> > strongly condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the >> Central >> > Government in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> > >> > Tara Prakash, the current focus on corruption - hugely significant as it >> is >> > - misses the wood for the trees a bit. What's much worse than corruption >> is >> > conscious govt policy that screws ordinary people's lives - to mention a >> few >> > examples offhand, what's happening to Indian agriculture; opening out >> mining >> > to large private corporates; the decline in rural extension services, >> and >> > rural banking, in Delhi the handing over of large charitable hospitals >> to >> > private corporates; the privatization of water, etc. >> > Corruption has a part in some though not all of this, but it merely the >> oil >> > in the machinery. Far worse is the machinery itself. >> > Naga >> > >> > On 18 August 2011 03:38, Tara Prakash wrote: >> > >> >> No comments from Shuddhabrata Sen on this? Last time there was an email >> >> from him on this issue on the list where he sounded deferential to the >> law >> >> makers and almost contemptuous of Anna Hazare and his supporters. >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nagraj Adve" < >> nagraj.adve at gmail.com> >> >> To: "Sarai" ; > **com>; >> >> "Free Binayak Sen" > free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com> >> >> > >> >> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 9:38 AM >> >> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly >> >> condemns the unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central >> Government >> >> in detaining Anna Hazare and his supporters >> >> >> >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> >>> From: PUDR Delhi >> >>> Date: 16 August 2011 18:04 >> >>> Subject: [pudr-info] Press Statement: PUDR strongly condemns the >> >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> >>> detaining >> >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters >> >>> To: pudr-info at pudr.org >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> *PEOPLES UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS* >> >>> >> >>> *Press Release* >> >>> >> >>> *16th August 2011* >> >>> >> >>> ** ** >> >>> >> >>> Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the >> >>> unconstitutional and undemocratic act of the Central Government in >> >>> detaining >> >>> Anna Hazare and his supporters in the early hours of 16th August, who >> >>> were >> >>> scheduled to arrive at the site of peaceful demonstration. PUDR >> considers >> >>> the conditions laid down by the government such as number of >> participants >> >>> allowed, timing of the demonstrations etc. to be authoritarian. PUDR >> is >> >>> concerned that this clampdown on democratic rights represents the >> >>> shrinking >> >>> democratic space in the country where S. 144 of CRPC is used to >> prevent >> >>> citizens from lodging their disapproval of government policies and >> >>> actions. >> >>> >> >>> PUDR is of the opinion that irrespective of politics they espouse, >> >>> individuals and organisations have the legitimate right to mobilise >> >>> people >> >>> and stage protest against the government policies which they dislike >> or >> >>> oppose. In the specific instance of the Lokpal bill there maybe sharp >> >>> disagreement over the various versions of the bill in the public >> domain >> >>> from >> >>> a variety of vantage points. We are mindful of the fact that two most >> >>> talked >> >>> about bills namely the government version and Anna Hazare’s team >> version >> >>> have been subjected to public criticism for a variety of reasons. >> >>> However, >> >>> for the government to claim that once the matter is placed before the >> >>> parliament there is no cause for public protest smacks of government >> >>> being >> >>> innocent of constitution they have sworn to protect. We wish to remind >> >>> the >> >>> central government that neither they nor the parliament can take away >> >>> people’s inalienable rights under the spurious plea that once people >> >>> elect >> >>> their representatives right to protest by citizens gets curtailed. >> >>> >> >>> PUDR is also concerned that it is the Central Government, which by >> >>> taking >> >>> recourse to undemocratic means, is further alienating people and >> >>> compelling >> >>> them, to *either *become mute witness to government-bureaucracy-** >> >>> corporations >> >>> nexus in loot and plunder of the public funds, or to take recourse >> to >> >>> violent means of protest. >> >>> >> >>> PUDR, therefore, calls upon people to oppose the government stand on >> >>> clamping down on legitimate protests and question government's right >> to >> >>> decide what is permissible and what is not, so long as protests are >> >>> peaceful. >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Paramjeet Singh and Harish Dhawan >> >>> >> >>> (Secretaries PUDR) >> >>> >> >>> ** ** >> >>> ______________________________**___________ >> >>> 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/< >> 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 a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Aug 21 15:34:27 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:34:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] War Propaganda Message-ID: From: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26084 War Propaganda: Libya and the End of Western Illusions by Thierry Meyssan Global Research, August 20, 2011 Voltaire Network Five months into the bombing campaign, it is no longer possible to believe the initial official version of the events and the massacres attributed to the "Gaddafi regime". Moreover, it is now essential to take into account Libya’s legal and diplomatic rebuttal, highlighting the crimes against peace committed by television propaganda, the war crimes perpetrated by NATO military forces, and the crimes against humanity sponsored by political leaders of the Atlantic Alliance. Just under half of Europeans still support the war against Libya. Their position is based on erroneous information. They still believe, in fact, that in February the "Gaddafi regime" crushed the protests in Benghazi with brutal force and bombed civilian districts in Tripoli, while the Colonel himself was warning of "rivers of blood" if his compatriots continued to challenge his authority. During my two months’ investigation on the ground, I was able to verify that these accusations were pure propaganda intoxication, designed by the NATO powers to create the conditions for war, and relayed around the world by their television media, in particular Al-Jazeera, CNN, BBC and France24. However, the reader who doesn’t know where he stands on this issue and who - despite the brainwashing of September 11 and Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction - is reluctant to accept that the United States, France, the UK and Qatar were actually capable of fabricating such lies, will be able to forge an opinion over time. NATO, the largest military coalition in history, has failed after five months of bombardments to overthrow the one it designated as a "tyrant." Every Friday, a large demonstration in support of the regime is organized in a different city and all experts are unanimous in considering that Colonel Gaddafi enjoys at least 90% of popular support in Tripolitania and 70% across the entire country, including the "rebel" areas. These are people who every single day put up with the blockade, aerial bombardments and ground fighting. Never would they be defending with their flesh and blood someone who committed against them the crimes of which he has been accused by the "international community." The difference between those in the West who believe that Gaddafi is a tyrant who fired on his own people, and those in Libya who believe that he is a hero of the anti-imperialist struggle, is that the former live in an illusion created by TV propaganda, whereas the others are exposed to the concrete reality on the ground. That said, there is a second illusion to which the West has succumbed - and in the "Western" camp I now include not only Israel, where it has always claimed to belong, but also the monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Turkey which, though of Eastern culture, have chosen to embrace it -, the illusion to think that it is still possible to devastate a country and kill its people without legal consequences. It is true that, until now, international justice has been the justice of the victors or the powerful. One may recall the Nazi official who heckled the judges at Nuremberg telling them that if the Reich had won the war, the judges would have been the Nazis while those held accountable for the war crimes would have been the Allies. More recently, we saw how NATO used the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to try to justify post facto that the war in Kosovo was "the first humanitarian war in History," according to the expression employed by Tony Blair. Or again, how the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was used in an attempt to overthrow the Syrian government, then to decapitate the Lebanese Hezbollah, and probably soon to accuse the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Not to mention, the International Criminal Court, the secular arm of the European colonial powers in Africa. However, the development of instruments and organs of international justice throughout the twentieth century has gradually established an international order with which the superpowers themselves will have to comply or which they will have to sabotage in order to escape their responsibilities. In the case of Libya, the violations of international law are countless. The main ones, presented below, were established by the Provisional Technical Committee, a Libyan ministerial coordination organ, and expounded at various press conferences by the legal adviser to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, French attorney Marcel Ceccaldi [1]. TV channels which, under the leadership of their respective Governments, have manufactured false information to lead to war, are guilty of "crimes against peace", as defined by the relevant UN General Assembly resolutions in the aftermath of World War II [2]. The journalist-propagandists should be considered even more culpable than the military who perpetrated war crimes or crimes against humanity, to the extent that none of these crimes would have been possible without the one that preceded them: the "crime against peace." The political leaders of the Atlantic Alliance, who diverted the object and purpose of Resolution 1973 to engage in a war of aggression against a sovereign state, are personally responsible before international justice. Indeed, according to the jurisprudence established by the Tokyo Court following the Second World War, crimes cannot be ascribed to either States or organizations, but to individuals. Plundering the assets of a state, establishing a naval blockade and bombing infrastructure to cause people to suffer, attacking an army inside its barracks and ordering the assassination of enemy leaders or, failing this, terrorizing them by murdering their families, all amount to war crimes. Their systematic perpetration, as is the case today, constitutes a crime against humanity. This crime is imprescriptible, which means that Messrs. Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron and Al-Thani will be pursued by the law for the rest of their lives. NATO, as an organization, is legally responsible for the material and human damage of this war. The law leaves no room for doubt that the organization must pay, even though it will surely try to invoke a privilege of jurisdiction to dodge its responsibilities. It will be up to the Alliance to decide how the bill for the conflict should be split among Member States, even though some of them may be on the verge of bankruptcy. This will be followed by disastrous economic consequences for their peoples, guilty of having endorsed such crimes. In a democracy, no one can claim to be innocent of the crimes committed in its name. International justice will have to address more specifically the case of the Sarkozy "administration" - I use this Anglicism here to underscore the fact that the French president has been piloting his Government’s policy directly, without going through his prime minister. Indeed, France has played a central role in preparing for this war since October 2010 by organizing a failed military coup and then, as early as November 2010, by planning with the United Kingdom the bombing of Libya and the landing of ground troops on its soil, which was then believed to be feasible, and finally by actively conspiring in the lethal unrest in Benghazi which led to the war. In addition, France, more than any other power, has deployed Special Forces on the ground - without uniforms, no doubt - and violated the arms embargo by supplying the insurgents, either directly or through Qatari airplanes. Not to mention that France has violated the UN freeze of Libyan assets, funnelling part of the fabulous cash from the Libyan Sovereign Fund to the CNT puppets, to the detriment of the Libyan people who wanted to guarantee the well-being of their children in the face of oil depletion. These gentlemen from NATO, who hoped to escape international justice by crushing their victim, Libya, in a few short days so that it would not survive to pursue them, will be disenchanted. Libya is still there. She is filing complaints with the International Criminal Court, the Belgian courts (whose jurisdiction NATO falls under), the European Court of Justice, and the national courts of aggressor states. She is undertaking steps before the Council of Human Rights in Geneva, the Security Council and General Assembly of the United Nations. It will be not be possible for the big powers to extinguish these fires all at once. Worse, the arguments they will use to evade a court will ricochet against them in another court. In a few weeks or months, if they have not succeeded in destroying Tripoli, they will have no other way out to avoid humiliating convictions than to negotiate the withdrawal of the complaints at a very high price. Notes [1] Putting an end to the confusion that prevailed at the beginning of the war when various departments hired lawyers for different disorderly proceedings, Libya has appointed Marcel Ceccaldi in July to oversee all proceedings. [2] “Journalists who engage in war propaganda must be held accountable”, by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 16 August 2011 ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Aug 21 15:42:57 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:42:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Massacres by NATO Message-ID: NATO, Rebels Accused of War Crimes in Libya by Alex Newman Global Research, August 19, 2011 The New American The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is being heavily criticized for civilian casualties and a series of bombings apparently targeting essential non-military infrastructure in Libya, with some observers calling the actions war crimes. The Libyan rebels being supported by coalition forces have also been accused of wanton savagery and even crimes against humanity. Most recently, a NATO bombing campaign near the Libyan city of Zlitan earlier this month reportedly killed almost 100 civilians — more than half of them women and children. The attack sparked a new wave of outrage worldwide as journalists and activists called for investigations. Representatives of the Gaddafi regime took a large group of foreign reporters to the site. They were reportedly shown bodies of women and children, including the remains of a baby. Multiple bombed out homes were also presented to international journalists. “Today was yet another crime by NATO against civilians,” Libyan regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Fox News about the attack, noting that over 1,000 civilians had been killed by NATO so far. “They are killing women and children. This happens every day. Help us to stop this madness.” The Western military alliance defended the strikes, saying they were against “legitimate” targets. According to NATO spokespeople, the coalition believed the town was being used as a staging ground for pro-Gaddaffi forces and tribes aimed at repelling an upcoming rebel invasion of Tripoli. But the victims cited in news reports said that was not the case. "NATO bombed us, for what reason? We did not do anything to them. We are civilian people," a man who lost his daughter and his home in the strike was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper. “Why did they kill us? We had peace in my house with our family. What did we do to the other countries?" International law expert Franklin Lamb, writing in the Foreign Policy Journal from Tripoli over the weekend, accused NATO of committing a “massacre” after visiting the bombing site. Citing international lawyers, U.S. congressional staffers and human rights activists visiting the war-torn nation, he charged that NATO had “committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Other foreign reporters — particularly from Russia — have been fiercely critical of the NATO campaign for months. “Do those who planned this and other crimes have a right to live? I'm talking about the Bilderberg club. What would they feel if their families are also deprived of a quiet life, and then killed in cold blood?” wrote Russian columnist Konstantyn Scheglikov following the bombings, attacking the “NATO maniacs who do not like the resistance of the small North African country.” Other reporters who toured the site offered similarly devastating analysis of what happened. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya with the Centre for Research on Globalization said civilians in Tripoli and other major Libyan cities were “bombed indiscriminately by NATO” in recent weeks. “In Zliten, 85 people were killed including 33 children, 32 women, and 20 men as a result of NATO’s deliberate targeting of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” he wrote, posting a dozen pictures showing the aftermath of the attack, which he called “photographic evidence of NATO war crimes.” International human rights groups also had questions about the bombing. "NATO continues to stress its commitment to protect civilians,” said Amnesty International’s Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui in a statement. “To that effect, it should thoroughly investigate this and all other recent incidents in which civilians were reportedly killed in western Libya as a result of air strikes." In addition to the hundreds or even thousands of “collateral damage” deaths so far, NATO is also under fire for air strikes on civilian infrastructure. On July 25, the Associated Press reported that the international coalition bombed a hospital, leaving several doctors dead. Another infrastructure attack that drew international condemnation was the bombing of facilities associated with Libya’s so-called Great Man-Made River system, a pipeline that delivers water to a large percentage of the population. The Pakistan Observer said the attack was “a clear war crime” and could easily lead to a “humanitarian disaster.” On July 30, NATO warplanes also repeatedly bombed a Libyan television station, killing three and injuring 15. Surviving journalists blasted the attack and called for international support from other reporters. “We are not a military target, we are not officers in the army and not a threat to civilians,” the Libya Broadcasting Department Employees said in a statement after the attack, which it called an “act of international terrorism” and a violation of international law. “We are doing our job as journalists in representing what from the bottom of my heart we believe is the reality of the NATO aggression and violence in Libya.” Countless press-freedom groups including the International News Safety Institute and the International Federation of Journalists have demanded an investigation of the attack. But NATO defended the bombing, saying the TV station was being used to spread pro-Gaddafi propaganda. A separate incident in early August involving NATO’s alleged failure to rescue ocean-bound refugees in distress has also been widely criticized around the world. According to news reports, up to 100 people died escaping Libya on a rickety boat after the engine died and nearby NATO ships failed to respond to SOS calls. “The idea that NATO, with all its surveillance technology, was not aware of a boat of this size is a story that not even Little Red Riding Hood would believe,” charged Italian Parliamentarian Roberto Castelli. The government of Italy has requested an inquiry to find out why the refugees were apparently left to die. The internationally backed rebels trying to seize power in Libya have also been accused of numerous war crimes and wide-scale barbarity — some of it too horrendous even to mention. Numerous gruesome videos have been posted online showing beheadings, lynchings and other crimes, proving that at least some of the allegations are true. “The evidence provided by these videos makes clear that the rebels' conception of warfare has more in common with that of Al-Qaeda than that of the Geneva Conventions,” explained John Rosenthal in a piece for the U.S.-based Hudson Institute. “The abuses documented in the videos could serve as textbook examples of precisely the sort of savagery that the Geneva Conventions were supposed to prevent.” As The New American and countless other sources have reported, the NATO-backed rebels are, in many cases, led by self-described leaders of al Qaeda and other extreme Islamic groups that have boasted of battling American forces everywhere from Iraq to Afghanistan. Some of the leaders are even former U.S. prisoners who were held in Guantanamo Bay. Suspicions about the rebels’ true motives and supporters were also raised when the self-proclaimed Interim Transitional National Council announced the creation of a new central bank weeks after the NATO invasion. It remains unclear whether the new monetary authority will follow the Gaddaffi regime’s state-owned model, or if it is to be privately owned like the U.S. Federal Reserve. Though Western powers were arming the rebels well before intervention became official, the Obama administration and NATO publicly intervened in Libya in mid-March to enforce a United Nations resolution. Since then, the “mission” has morphed into “regime change,” with foreign powers hoping to oust dictator Gaddafi and install the rebels as the new government. Without congressional approval, which Obama himself acknowledged in 2007 is required by the U.S. Constitution prior to foreign militarism, critics have charged that American involvement is itself illegal. And while the administration has already informed Congress that it would ignore any attempt to rein in the war, critics worldwide are still hoping that there will eventually be some accountability and justice if crimes were indeed committed. Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/stopnato/ messages Stop NATO website and articles: http://rickrozoff. wordpress. com _________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From jeebesh at sarai.net Mon Aug 22 12:26:58 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:26:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A comment Message-ID: Arundhati Roy's today in Hindu on the Hazare issues. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2379704.ece To me this is the limit of critique argument. Why not be inventive and think after the growing illegitimacy of the political class. All policies, all moves of this class now stand in doubt and in a comical way. A growing number of waged work professionals feel the heat of hire/fire economies. This restlessness will open the space of imagination. Why build critiques that go nowhere, as they rely on classic ideas of incorruptibility, invisibility and purity of origins. Maybe time has passed for this. This is the time to say that people who have conceived a governance through UID are in need of being governed. And there is a popular surge to say so! By inference, UID is an illegitimate project. Same inference could be drawn on many such moves. best Jeebesh From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Aug 23 08:47:48 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:47:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?IISc_students_boycott_UID=2C_don?= =?windows-1252?q?=92t_want_Big_Brother_to_keep_watch?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/20110823201108230010571621d4f13b8/IISc-students-boycott-UID-don%E2%80%99t-want-Big-Brother-to-keep-watch.html IISc students boycott UID, don’t want Big Brother to keep watch The programme doesn’t have statutory backing. It is still in parliament Sameer Ranjan Bakshi Posted On Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 12:10:29 AM Nandan Nilekani may be Bangalore’s blue-eyed boy making waves at the national level with his Unique Identification Number (UID), but there’s one part of the city that’s not impressed: A section of students and faculty of Indian Institute of Science (IISc). While many Bangaloreans have started enrolling for UID, the students are in boycott mode and say they will never do so. Professor Shiv Sethi, astrophysics department, Raman Research Institute, said, “They (the authorities) have moved faster than us by starting the enrolment. It was during the discussion phase that we tried to impress upon them the loopholes of UID. Now that they have started the enrolment, it’s our turn to protest. We will meet and discuss with other like-minded people.” IIScians say they don’t want to be under surveillance and that they are not comfortable with giving away their personal details since studies have proved how unsafe electronic data can be. The programme has been scrapped in the UK, they said. In fact, when Nilekani visited IISc a few months back to deliver a lecture, the anti-UID group protested with placards and banners that read, ‘Beware, Big Brother is watching you’ and ‘Secure electronic archive is a myth’. And now, apart from not signing up, some students are even considering burning copies of UID forms, a la team Anna burning copies of the draft Lokpal bill. Prathamesh, a scholar, said: “UID is not going to solve problems of leakages. The government should universalise the PDS system to control misuse of subsidised foodgrain that find their way to restaurants. The project is fraught with loopholes and doesn’t have statutory backing. I will burn copies of the forms.” Prathamesh added that the UID project was the brainwave of software companies who do not have a regular stream of revenue. Even IISc alumni are putting up a fight. One of them who participated in the protest said, “I will not register. The programme does not have statutory backing. It is still in parliament. First, they said it was voluntary. Now, they are trying to link it to banks, LPG connections and other utilities.” Sethi added, “A few people have approached the court. We will decide the next course of action.” There are others who have doubts. Consumer activist Chandrasekhar of Malle-swaram feels that he needs to clarify all his doubts before enrolling. “I spoke with the officials. They told me it was voluntary. But now, it looks like they are linking it with other utilities.” Nishant Shah, director, research, Centre for Internet Society, said, “We need to check for three issues: data retention, data protection and data privacy. Only after these issues are resolved can we have a UID for every citizen.” From kiccovich at yahoo.com Tue Aug 23 12:44:31 2011 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:14:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] pause 2: in times of conflict In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1314083671.94269.YahooMailNeo@web113206.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> for those of you who are in Bangalore   >PAUSE - IN TIMES OF CONFLICT >maraa presents PAUSE: in times of conflict, a forum for reflection on creative practices in countries of conflict. This will be a monthly series, where we intend to pause to note different creative practices across the world. Last month we paused at Palestine, this month we will pause at Iraqi Kurdistan with Place and Memory: a talk by Francesca Recchia. The talk examines the role that Amna Souraka, the Museum of War Crimes in Northern Iraq, plays in the construction of contemporary Kurdish identity. The building that now hosts the museum was one of the security jails where Saddam Hussein detained, tortured and killed Kurdish political prisoners. The setting up of the space evokes – almost literally – the tragedy of the ethnic prosecutions during the 1980s. Reflecting on the work of Giorgio Agamben and Walter Benjamin, the discussion touches upon the intersections between spaces of exception and places of memory. The elaboration of the Museum of War Crimes as a public place of shared memories and identity is a memento that aims at rescuing the redemptive power of the past. Amna Suraka, as the place of memory, warns us of the consequences of the cruelty of History and through this reminder, produces a spring of hope that can still possibly shape the future. >About the speaker: >Francesca Recchia currently consults with maraa on the Arts Programme: Spaces for Diverse Publics. She is also an independent researcher and lecturer, who has worked in several different countries: Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Pakistan, Palestine among others. She is mainly interested in the relations between social and creative practices, cultural identities and transformation of places. Her work focuses on the geo-political dimension of cultural processes and mainly deals with the connections between power, space design and social conflicts. Her approach is constructed on a strong interdisciplinary ground intersecting the fields of Social, Post colonial, Visual and Urban Studies. She has been a Post- Doctoral Research Fellow at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College of London, holds a PhD in Cultural Studies at the Oriental Institute in Naples and a MA in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her publications include ‘Within the Circle of Fear. Field notes from Iraqi Kurdistan’ in Sarai Reader 08: Fear; ‘Memory and Place. Perspectives from Iraqi Kurdistan’ in Third Text Asia and ‘Radical Territories of Affection” in Art and Activism in the Age of Globalization. >The talk will be on  28th August @ 5.00 - 7:00 pm  at Page Turners, Next to Canara Bank, MG Road, Opposite Pillar No. 198. >The event will conclude with a conversation with the audience on the examples of creative practice based on the talk. Please find attached a note which provides more details about the project. Please confirm your participation.  >Entry Free. All are welcome. Please spread the word around. >_________________________________________________________________________________________________________organised by maraa  >email: info at maraa.in >contact: 9880755875/8105875350 >www.maraa.in > > -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Notes mailing list Notes at lists.maraa.in http://lists.maraa.in/listinfo.cgi/notes-maraa.in From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Aug 23 17:43:16 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:43:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More on Libya Message-ID: __________________________________________________________________ http://www.answercoalition.org/national/news/truth-about-situation-libya.html The Truth About the Situation in Libya Cutting through the government propaganda and media lies August 22, 2011 By Brian Becker, National Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition Libya is a small country of just over 6 million people but it possesses the largest oil reserves in all of Africa. The oil produced there is especially coveted because of its particularly high quality. The Air Force of the United States along with Britain and France has carried out 7,459 bombing attacks since March 19. Britain, France and the United States sent special operation ground forces and commando units to direct the military operations of the so-called rebel fighters – it is a NATO- led army in the field. The troops may be disaffected Libyans but the operation is under the control and direction of NATO commanders and western commando units who serve as “advisors.” Their new weapons and billions in funds come from the U.S. and other NATO powers that froze and seized Libya’s assets in Western banks. Their only military successes outside of Benghazi, in the far east of the country, have been exclusively based on the coordinated air and ground operations of the imperialist NATO military forces. In military terms, Libya’s resistance to NATO is of David and Goliath proportions. U.S. military spending alone is more than ten times greater than Libya’s entire annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was $74.2 billion in 2010, according to the CIA’s World Fact Book. In recent weeks, the NATO military operations used surveillance-collecting drones, satellites, mounting aerial attacks and covert commando units to decapitate Libya’s military and political leadership and its command and control capabilities. Global economic sanctions meant that the country was suddenly deprived of income and secure access to goods and services needed to sustain a civilian economy over a long period. “The cumulative effect [of NATO’s coordinated air and ground operation] not only destroyed Libya’s military infrastructure but also greatly diminished Colonel Gaddafi’s commanders to control forces, leaving even committed fighting units unable to move, resupply or coordinate operations,“ reports the New York Times in a celebratory article on August 22. A False Pretext The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy targeted the Libyan government for overthrow or “regime change” not because these governments were worried about protecting civilians or to bring about a more democratic form of governance in Libya. If that were the real motivation of the NATO powers, they could start the bombing of Saudi Arabia right away. There are no elections in Saudi Arabia. The monarchy does not even allow women to drive cars. By law, women must be fully covered in public or they will go to prison. Protests are rare in Saudi Arabia because any dissent is met with imprisonment, torture and execution. The Saudi monarchy is protected by U.S. imperialism because it is part of an undeclared but real U.S. sphere of influence and it is the largest producer of oil in the world. The U.S. attitude toward the Saudi monarchy was put succinctly by Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he said that the U.S. government “will not permit” revolution in Saudi Arabia such as the 1979 Iranian revolution that removed the U.S. client regime of the Shah. Reagan’s message was clear: the Pentagon and CIA’s military forces would be used decisively to destroy any democratic movement against the rule of the Saudi royal family. Reagan’s explicit statement in 1981 has in fact been the policy of every successive U.S. administration, including the current one. Libya and Imperialism Libya, unlike Saudi Arabia, did have a revolution against its monarchy. As a result of the 1969 revolution led by Muammar Gaddafi, Libya was no longer in the sphere of influence of any imperialist country. Libya had once been an impoverished colony of Italy living under the boot heel of the fascist Mussolini. After the Allied victory in World War II, control of the country was formally transferred to the United Nations and Libya became independent in 1951 with authority vested in the monarch King Idris. But in actuality, Libya was controlled by the United States and Britain until the 1969 revolution. One of the first acts of the 1969 revolution was to eliminate the vestiges of colonialism and foreign control. Not only were oil fields nationalized but Gaddafi eliminated foreign military bases inside the country. In March of 1970, the Gaddafi government shut down two important British military bases in Tobruk and El Adem. He then became the Pentagon’s enemy when he evicted the U.S. Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli that had been operated by the United States since 1945. Before the British military took control in 1943, the facility was a base operated by the Italians under Mussolini. Wheelus had been an important Strategic Air Command (SAC) base during the Cold War, housing B-52 bombers and other front-line Pentagon aircrafts that targeted the Soviet Union. Once under Libyan control, the Gaddafi government allowed Soviet military planes to access the airfield. In 1986, the Pentagon heavily bombed the base at the same time it bombed downtown Tripoli in an effort to assassinate Gaddafi. That effort failed but his 2-year-old daughter died along with scores of other civilians. The Character of the Gaddafi Regime The political, social and class orientation of the Libyan regime has gone through several stages in the last four decades. The government and ruling establishment reflected contradictory class, social, religious and regional antagonisms. The fact that the leadership of the NATO-led National Transition Council is comprised of top officials of the Gaddafi government, who broke with the regime and allied themselves with NATO, is emblematic of the decades-long instability within the Libyan establishment. These inherent contradictions were exacerbated by pressures applied to Libya from the outside. The U.S. imposed far-reaching economic sanctions on Libya in the 1980s. The largest western corporations were barred from doing business with Libya and the country was denied access to credit from western banks. In its foreign policy, Libya gave significant financial and military support to national liberation struggles, including in Palestine, Southern Africa, Ireland and elsewhere. Because of Libya's economic policies, living standards for the population had jumped dramatically after 1969. Having a small population and substantial income from its oil production, augmented with the Gaddafi regime’s far-reaching policy of social benefits, created a huge advance in the social and economic status for the population. Libya was still a class society with rich and poor, and gaps between urban and rural living standards, but illiteracy was basically wiped out, while education and health care were free and extensively accessible. By 2010, the per capita income in Libya was near the highest in Africa at $14,000 and life expectancy rose to over 77 years, according to the CIA’s World Fact Book. Gaddafi’s political orientation explicitly rejected communism and capitalism. He created an ideology called the “Third International Theory,” which was an eclectic mix of Islamic, Arab nationalist and socialist ideas and programs. In 1977, Libya was renamed the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. A great deal of industry, including oil, was nationalized and the government provided an expansive social insurance program or what is called a welfare state policy akin to some features prevalent in the Soviet Union and some West European capitalist countries. But Libya was not a workers’ state or a “socialist government” to use the popular if not scientific use of the term “socialist.” The revolution was not a workers and peasant rebellion against the capitalist class per se. Libya remained a class society although class differentiation may have been somewhat obscured beneath the existence of revolutionary committees and the radical, populist rhetoric that emanated from the regime. As in many developing, formerly colonized countries, state ownership of property was not “socialist” but rather a necessary fortification of an under-developed capitalist class. State property in Iraq, Libya and other such post-colonial regimes was designed to facilitate the social and economic growth of a new capitalist ruling class that was initially too weak, too deprived of capital and too cut off from international credit to compete on its own terms with the dominant sectors of world monopoly capitalism. The nascent capitalist classes in such developing economies promoted state-owned property, under their control, in order to intersect with Western banks and transnational corporations and create more favorable terms for global trade and investment. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the “socialist bloc” governments of central and Eastern Europe in 1989-91 deprived Libya of an economic and military counter-weight to the United States, and the Libyan government’s domestic economic and foreign policy shifted towards accommodation with the West. In the 1990s some sectors of the Libyan economic establishment and the Gaddafi-led government favored privatization, cutting back on social programs and subsidies and integration into western European markets. The earlier populism of the regime incrementally gave way to the adoption of neo-liberal policies. This was, however, a long process. In 2004, the George W. Bush administration ended sanctions on Libya. Western oil companies and banks and other corporations initiated huge direct investments in Libya and trade with Libyan enterprises. There was also a growth of unemployment in Libya and in cutbacks in social spending, leading to further inequality between rich and poor and class polarization. But Gaddafi himself was still considered a thorn in the side of the imperialist powers. They want absolute puppets, not simply partners, in their plans for exploitation. The Wikileaks release of State Department cables between 2007 and 2010 show that the United states and western oil companies were condemning Gaddafi for what they called “resource nationalism.” Gaddafi even threatened to re-nationalize western oil companies’ property unless Libya was granted a larger share of the revenue for their projects. As an article in today’s New York Times Business section said honestly: “"Colonel Qaddafi proved to be a problematic partner for the international oil companies, frequently raising fees and taxes and making other demands. A new government with close ties to NATO may be an easier partner for Western nations to deal with." Even the most recent CIA Fact Book publication on Libya, written before the armed revolt championed by NATO, complained of the measured tempo of pro-market reforms in Libya: “Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps— including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization—are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy.” (CIA World Fact Book) The beginning of the armed revolt on February 23 by disaffected members of the Libyan military and political establishment provided the opportunity for the U.S. imperialists, in league with their French and British counterparts, to militarily overthrow the Libyan government and replace it with a client or stooge regime. Of course, in the revolt were workers and young people who had many legitimate grievances against the Libyan government. But what is critical in an armed struggle for state power is not the composition of the rank-and-file soldiers, but the class character and political orientation of the leadership. Character of the National Transition Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) constituted itself as the leadership of the uprising in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city. The central leader is Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who was Libya’s Minister of Justice until his defection at the start of the uprising. He was one of a significant number of Western-oriented and neoliberal officials from Libya’s government, diplomatic corps and military ranks who joined the opposition in the days immediately after the start of the revolt. As soon as it was established, the NTC began issuing calls for imperialist intervention. These appeals became increasing panicky as it became clear that, contrary to early predictions that the Gaddafi-led government would collapse in a matter of days, it was the “rebels” who faced imminent defeat in the civil war. In fact, it was only due to the U.S./NATO bombing campaign, initiated with great hurry on March 19 that the rebellion did not collapse. The last five months of war have erased any doubt about the pro-imperialist character of the NTC. One striking episode took place on April 22, when Senator John McCain made a “surprise” trip to Benghazi. A huge banner was unveiled to greet him with an American flag printed on it and the words: “United States of America – You have a new ally in North Africa.” Similar to the military relationship between the NATO and Libyan “rebel” armed forces, the NTC is entirely dependent on and subordinated to the U.S., French, British and Italian imperialist governments. If the Pentagon, CIA, and Wall Street succeed in installing a client regime in Tripoli it will accelerate and embolden the imperialist threats and intervention against other independent governments such as Syria and Venezuela. In each case we will see a similar process unfold, including the demonization of the leadership of the targeted countries so as to silence or mute a militant anti-war response to the aggression of the war-makers. We in the ANSWER Coalition invite all those who share this perspective to join with us, to mobilize, and to unmask the colonial agenda that hides under the slogan of “humanitarian intervention.” __________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Aug 23 23:10:37 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:40:37 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Italian_Cinemas/Italian_Histories_Confere?= =?utf-8?q?nce=2C__8th_September=2C_2011=2CDelhi/__Caferati_=40_Prithvi_Ca?= =?utf-8?q?f=C3=A9_September_Open_Mic=2CMumbai/_Empowering_Young_Girls_Wit?= =?utf-8?q?h_Video?= Message-ID: <8CE2FD2E6F4AD8E-16E4-1D65F@webmail-m166.sysops.aol.com> Conference, 8th September, 2011, at 6:30 pm, Title: Italian Cinemas/Italian Histories Venue: India International Centre; Alan O'Leary is Senior Lecturer in Italian at the University of Leeds. He is a specialist in Italian cinema and cultural studies and has spent the last few years researching the representation of terrorism in Italian cinema. He is now working on a series of case studies of commercial and critically despised films and cinema genres in Italy. He has written or edited several books and articles on both themes, and is the editor of the annual film issue of the academic journal The Italianist. This talk will consider the capacities and problems of cinema as a medium of historical understanding. It will be illustrated with examples from the century and more of Italian cinema, and consider aspects like genre, gender and the question of 'national' cinema. Alan will try to generalize from the Italian case to make clear the relevance of the material to other national contexts. Italian Cultural Centre 50 - E, Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110 021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Caferati @ Prithvi Café September Open Mic,Mumbai Entry Free * The rules: - Works performed can be in English, Hindi, Marathi and/or Urdu. - You must perform only your own writing. - You can perform one piece for a maximum of two minutes. - Only solo or duo performances; no groups please. Duos can only perform collaborative works authored by both performers. - Your name will be called once. If you don’t get to the microphone in 10 seconds, you lose your slot. - Your time starts the moment you come to the microphone - You can recite, declaim, shout, even sing (if you can hold a tune); you can sit, stand or lie down; you can dance, turn a cartwheel, play a musical instrument, or scratch your back while standing on your head, as long as you perform your words. - You get the use of a microphone, and two minutes. No other arrangements will be made for your performance. If you want to carry a prop, or a musical instrument, please do so. Note that any set-up time counts towards your two-minute limit. - A gong will be struck—loud!—at the end of the two-minute period and you must leave the microphone immediately. - Genres: No restriction. Poetry, scripts, stories, songs, it’s all good. - Prohibited: Foul language, explicit sexual imagery, slander, anything that flouts the laws of India. - Dress code: No nudity. 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You retain ownership of your work, but by submitting it, you give the Prithvi Theatre and Caferati the right to display your work, or photographs or recordings of your performance, at the Prithvi Theatre Cafe, and on their websites, should they so choose, with attribution to you, but with no payment. Should you wish to be excluded from being photographed or recorded, please inform the photographer / cameraperson before the performance. Any photographs or recordings will not be commercial in nature. * Email: prithvitheatre at prithvithea tre.org editors at caferati.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Empowering Young Girls With Video Video Volunteers is looking for socially-committed individuals from marginalized sectors of society to work as Community Correspondents, reporting on the issues and concerns of their communities. If you think it is a platform that you or someone you know can use to effectively channel the voices of those around you, you can nominate yourself and other suitable candidates online. An IndiaUnheard Community Correspondent: 1. Will be expected to attend a two week, expenses-paid training by Video Volunteers, where they will be given equipment and be trained as citizen journalists. 2. Are required to ideate and research on story ideas in her neighbourhood/locality/state while in consultation with the project coordinators/mentors. Videos are made on one of the following eleven social issues: Arts & Culture, Caste & Identity, Conflict, Corruption, Development, Education, Environment, Gender, Infrastructure, Technology. 3. Will shoot the footage and send it to the Video Volunteers head office in Goa with a paper edit. 4. Will be required to make a minimum of 2 videos per month. 5. 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Click here to fill out the form to nominate someone or to apply yourself to become a Community Correspondent for IndiaUnheard. http://videovolunteersindia.wufoo.com/forms/community-correspondent-application-form/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DELHI AUDITIONSDELHI AUDITIONS From ruchikanegi1 at gmail.com Wed Aug 24 12:35:12 2011 From: ruchikanegi1 at gmail.com (Ruchika Negi) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:35:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] an experience of ramlila maidan Message-ID: *witnessing* Ramlila Maidan/ 21st August At least this was one argument I was adept at, “Why 50 rupees? There’s always a jam at this time, so why should I pay you extra?” He replied smugly, “There is too much jam because of this Anna thing, you pay me 10 rupees extra, okay?” We both laughed uncomfortably, in that one moment both living our individual ironies of the reality around us. We understood each other. I find it hard to articulate what I am witnessing around me. Many adjectives have been debated and fought over this. My desire to experience these contentious adjectives probably led me to Ramlila Maidan. I felt oddly self-conscious asking the auto rickshaw man- “Ramlila Maidan?” One old chap simply smiled, silently shaking his head in refusal. The roads were clogged so the auto drivers were wary of going in that direction. The one who relented asked us to get off at Connaught Place and walk from there. The streets were spotted with a few people, flags in hand, their slogans of Jai Hind and Vande Mataram gently ruffling the quiet around them. As we neared the ground, the numbers increased, became large groups of assorted sizes and colour, some wearing the ‘I am Anna cap’, some holding candy floss in one hand struggling to pin the Anna badge on the their chests with the other; speeding bikes that grazed you slightly as they went past you- three or sometimes four huddled together with bandanas and all; children perched on backs and shoulders, the women chiding the older ones to walk in a row, men in uniform around a crossing looking a little bored and hot, a traffic policeman trying hard to smile while he told people to leave their vehicles at the barricade and walk, boys and girls, couples holding hands, the numbers more dissipated as compared to the swelled-up TV screens that I had been seeing at home. The crowds looked peaceful, even happy in their enthusiasm to participate. That moment seemed both a spectacle outside and a question within. Perhaps all of us walking in that one collective moment, carried the binaries within us. Most of the people around us filmed themselves or their friends and family members on their mobile phones as they marched ahead towards the Maidan. Some stopped to pose for each other and passersby smilingly obliged to take photographs of others- groups standing head to head, flashing their best smiles at the camera or a shy bride reclining against the Maidan wall slyly glancing at her husband from behind his mobile phone camera. My friend and I joined the crowd walking ahead of us led by a colorfully dressed Hanuman, with an anti-corruption chorus behind him. A TV camera soon perched its attention on the quirky Hanuman, teasing the crowds which now stopped walking and gathered around the TV crew, many talking simultaneously, while others shoving their necks into the frame to fill up the margins. At the entrance, some lady constables checked the women behind a curtain, the ones we now see at cinema halls, looking distracted and rushed, their fingers carelessly rummaging through women and their bags. A voice thundered through the loud speakers as hands came together in unison to applaud, in rhythm with the climax of the speech. A row of men with heads turned towards the stage at the Sulabh Shauchalaya van outlining the Maidan premises on one side, a group of young men talking among themselves only to stop to contribute to the cheers, a child held by his young mother looking startled at the shouts around him. Pauses in between filled up with a mass outcry against ‘them’, the state, the corruption, a collective vulnerability of a people. A few did not say anything, may be because they had just walked in and there was too much confusion and it was hard to follow or comprehend what one saw. The voice on the stage said the time was right. Those who think of us as servants must realize that we have become the Maliks now. So do not dare to treat us like Naukars any more. The owned had become the owners. There was something deeply disturbing in these assumed roles, implicitly implying a reversal of divisions, an inversion of categories. The language seemed to have appropriated a crack, a disjunct without questioning it for itself. A girl sitting on her father’s shoulders held the ends of her floral frock and yelled ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, her father the first one to shout after her till everyone standing around me turned to look at the little voice behind them, exchanging quick glances and sudden smiles of wonder and patronage to join in the slogan. The next voice on stage said that just because we do not see more of our Muslim brothers standing among us at that time, we should not think that they are not with us in our battle. The difficult month of Ramzan was holding them back. He himself had come from really far despite his Roza and others would come too. His Muslim brethren had already sacrificed a soldier in Anna’s Army, Shehla Masod who had laid down her life for Anna and this country. Corruption was a terrible thing, a great wrong that had to be amended. I looked around me. No one seemed interested in who the others around them were, there were no invasive curiosities, no prying questions when you refused to join the mass chorus and chose silence instead. The crowds asked little of itself. Everyone was ‘aam’ yet singular in that mood. We all seemed to share a common sentiment- a faint realization that this participation, at this juncture, really mattered, irrespective of which version of reality one adhered to or believed. The different calls from the stage beseeched you, evoked you, sometimes even told you to look at the situation in a certain way- the decays and the triumphs rolled in to a rhetoric that asked only one thing of the bystander- to perform in the moment, to partake of it in one’s own special way. That the rhetoric in itself seemed fractured was not important to think about just then. It was not a moment to flounder, not now when the Maidan stood for an expression, an experience and a chronicle, all at the same time. The crowds of Delhi cheered on and a few young people, cartons in hand, wove through the maze distributing drinking water pouches to everyone. These boys and girls asked you politely if you wanted water, gave it to you anyway and went on to the next. No one pushed you in the rib to get ahead, there was no need to be either rude or civil- the gesture of those who were helping the crowds sustain their resolution to stand and be a part of this moment was neither lauded or abused. It seemed like a given, a contribution that was both required yet unasked. It was an act of self-will that asked for neither a sanction nor censorship. Everyone standing in those crowds had something to say, a position personal, intimate perhaps. I have seen people talking to eager cameras on television about how, if they too had paid bribes, probably they would have become class I government officers. It was because they desisted that their fate was otherwise. People speaking of ration cards, admission to educational institutes, parking spaces in the city, Commonwealth Games, Kapil Sibal, farmers’ rights and much more- as if the aroused consciousness now saw no boundaries. Everyone was a victim, everyone outraged at this discovery. The stage broke into a song- “Mitwa”, from the film Lagaan. People swayed and clapped their hands. A man dressed as Gandhi swirling on one leg with a stick in hand, perhaps a symbol of Gandhi’s lathi. Few gathered around him in a circle and goaded him on. On another side of the Maidan, some people were sitting inside a tent, a man with a long beard lying on a table ahead of them. Another man stood close to his head, fanning him. Peering eyes looked at him and then passed on. Perhaps he was also fasting with Anna Hazare, like some others there. A woman came on to the stage and dedicated a song to Anna Hazare as she spoke about the fact that she, as a mother, wanted a “safe, secure nation to give her children”. Two young boys standing in front of me held the tricolor and swayed it gently from one side to the other while tapping to the beat of the song. They were smiling at the provocative lyrics of the singer, nodding to each other from time to time. There was something beautiful in that image for me, the complexity inherent and moving. There was no argument in that gesture, only the brevity to believe in a promise. It did not matter who made that promise, or if the reason to believe itself was foggy. People flashed chart papers at you, which said the Indian law was still based on what the British left us. It was time for change. The PM must go back. It was time to change. We will not bow down now. Change. The screams were loud and clear- everything around had to change. A loss of faith requires one to clutch on to something new, something immediate, an assurance sometimes, or even ambiguity. Something to shield while lying in wait. On the road, a man stood outside his Maruti car, wearing the Anna cap and shouting at the traffic constable who was probably telling him to walk ahead from that point on- “I will see how you stop me.” The constable was trying to calm the scene down as more people gathered around to see what was happening. The policeman looked strangely singular, perhaps because of his uniform, perhaps because one could not hear him from a distance as his voice drowned in the din. His hands, silently moving in the air in a gesture to pacify made him appear like a conductor of an orchestra that had completely gone out of tune. We stopped an auto-rickshaw. The driver asked for an inflated sum. We said, “We are coming from Anna’s rally. You should take us.” He smiled and agreed to charge us according to the meter. “If you were in the rally, why did you come back?” he quizzed us. “Tired, perhaps,” we said, “a little bored.” “If Anna also starts feeling like this what will happen?” “But don’t we need to think about what will happen now?” “Yes”, he said, “the work has to go on.” He had gone to the Maidan for some time, but had to go back to his work. We rode on as more motor-cyclists crossed us, revving their bikes, holding flags, shouting slogans, standing ahead of the zebra line on traffic signals or skipping them at times, in a rush to join the rally that was about to start at India Gate. Ruchika From jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Aug 24 14:20:30 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:20:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Some comments on the present Message-ID: <5D6574D2-A9FA-433D-A191-5454DBF198D3@sarai.net> Dear All, Have been thinking that If we drop "corruption" and "middle class" we may find some other way to understand what we sense unfolding from Ramila grounds and television studios. The term middle class has bloated so much that it now holds within it Narayan Murthy to Shekhar Gupta via Nandan Nilekani to a student in Sonepat to all people in this list and on facebook. And on the other hand corruption seem to have bloated much further in which commissions from infrastructure deals (in lakhs of crores), commissions for arms deals, someone delaying papers, to admission costs, to a hawker buying some uninterrupted time in the street (20 rupees) is all melted down. Could one start from some other point? In the many assertions around UID's efficacy, it was stated that the State needs to know its "poor" through a population registry. Here poor and population replaced people and the idea that State is not- knowledgable about its population was put forward by State and its various crusaders. The feeble argument against it through ideas of "citizens right to privacy" somehow did not look meaningful to these crusaders. It was clear to them that "poor" and "population" accounts for an adequate language to speak to the governed and is without consequence. What is this lack of knowledge about the "poor" on which the whole edifice of the spectacle of UID was launched? The question could be maybe asked in another way: What did the "poor" or the "population" hold back from the State over the last century that needed to be brought into visibility and legibility? This stages an enormous battle over ways of life and its tacit knowledge in our times. Much more substantial than what was encountered from the mid 19th century to the end of the last century. Now lets look at another plane. The question of land assembly for industry. Capital needs substantial territory to produce and accumulate. It cannot rest with rent-based assembly. It needs a coverage that is long term and all plots are contiguously available to it. This can only be achieved by the State apparatus through its legal curative and punitive modalities. This has not been easy as we all have seen in the last decade. The Special Economic Zone law was passed by parliament without a parliamentary standing committee going through it. And we are told now that the standing committee is at the heart of parliamentary form as it receives petitions, recommendations, and makes amendments to the bill keeping in mind plurality of interest and the long view. Land Acquisition, Special Economic Zones and UID all open up a space where we can start examining the vexed relation between sovereign and the people and capital and its accumulative drives. The division of labour that the State and Capital had performed was based on an idea of moral authority of the state and its knowledge of its subject. Capital on the other hand performed meritocracy, growth and innovation. This was sought to be best mediated by a form of democracy as it consolidated after world war 2. Through elections and welfare this seemed to have stabilized into a legible system, a well oiled machine to some, who thought this would be eternal. The last two decades witnessed the fusion of Capital and State displayed with impunity. No fear, no danger, no restraints, only frenzied ambition. As if both have risen above life and its uncertainty. Everywhere in the world, there is a clear dissipation of the "moral authority" of the state, its claim about knowing its subjects, and its ability to protect plurality of interests. This dissipation will only accelerate as the "state/soveriegn debts" increase and consumes more and more of the global surplus. (Now it is 41 trillion, a 69% of global GDP, added 19 trillion in the last 10 years). Within its own territory "harsh measures" will be launched along with "stimulus packages" to some in hope of an eventual balancing point in some future date. And externally sword fighting, scramble and occasional gobbling of resources or states will be in view. From 16th August onwards the events in Delhi ambushed the state functionaries and the political dispensation at the helm of affairs. This has opened up the question of moral authority in a substantial way. The reduction of the idea or practice of democracy to the events of elections exposed itself. Who can rule, how will it rule, why at all rule and who decides on the future? These questions usually get asked in the name of the people. The fracture deep inside the contradiction - of the people and for the people - keeps reasserting and agitates. This is how the space called in by democracy asserts and extends. But we do know it never gets asked directly. It is a question that occurs through events, dispersions, reversals, leakages, inchoateness, seepage, invasions, ploys, disguises. It travels through sentiments, conscience, instincts. Once forces have been released they will search options, flows, and gradients. My guess is we are in a moment that will be confusing about the meaning and purpose of rule. Sediments of consensus stand cracked, leaky and eroded. The event horizon of this looks fuzzy. It definitely has exhausted the established formulas. It was funny to see Shekhar Gupta do a walk the talk with Aruna Roy. He has been for the last 7 years doing a shrill campaign against her and all civil society usurpers of power. So we know these are intersecting and colliding times. Things will move with clamor, reversals, failures, mistakes. It may be worthwhile to take time to undertake a fresh rethinking of all that is at stake. warmly jeebesh From asit1917 at gmail.com Wed Aug 24 14:55:51 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:55:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] deconstructing the anna penomenon Message-ID: Messianism versus democracyPRABHAT PATNAIK The substitution of one man for the people, and the reduction of the people's role merely to being supporters and cheerleaders for one man's actions, is antithetical to democracy. The Central government's flip-flops on Anna Hazare are obvious: it went from abusing him (through the Congress spokesperson) for sheltering corruption, to extolling him for his idealism; from arresting him, without any justification, and getting him remanded to judicial custody for a week, to releasing him within a few hours. But the Anna group's flip-flops are no less striking: it moves from “we-have-a-democratic-right-to-protest-and-place-our-views-in-public,” which is an unexceptionable proposition, to “Anna-will-keep-fasting-until-his-bill-is-adopted-or-amended-with-his-permission,” which amounts to holding a gun to the head of the Centre, and by implication of Parliament, and dictating that the bill it has produced must be passed, or else mayhem will follow. The government's flip-flops are indicative of incompetence; the Anna group's flip-flops arise because of the compulsions of a particular style of politics on which it is embarked, which can be called “messianism” and which is fundamentally anti-democratic. The fact that it is striking a chord among the people, if at all it is (one cannot entirely trust the media on this), should be a source of serious concern, for it underscores the pre-modernity of our society and the shallowness of the roots of our democracy. Democracy essentially means a subject role for the people in shaping the affairs of society. They not only elect representatives periodically to the legislature, but intervene actively through protests, strikes, meetings, and demonstrations to convey their mood to the elected representatives. There being no single mood, freedom of expression ensures that different moods have a chance to be expressed, provided the manner of doing so takes the debate forward instead of foreclosing it. For all this to happen, people have to be properly informed. The role of public meetings where leaders explain issues, and of media reports, articles, and discussions, is to ensure that they are. The whole exercise is meant to promote the subject role of the people, and the leaders are facilitators. Even charismatic leaders do not substitute themselves for the people; they are charismatic because the people, in acquiring information to play their subject role, trust what they say. Messianism substitutes the collective subject, the people, by an individual subject, the messiah. The people may participate in large numbers, and with great enthusiasm and support, in the activities undertaken by the messiah, as they are doing reportedly at Anna Hazare's fast at the Ramlila grounds, but they do so as *spectators*. The action is of the messiah; the people are only enthusiastic and partisan supporters and cheerleaders. If at all they ever undertake any action on the side, this is entirely at the messiah's bidding, its ethics, rationale and legitimacy never explained to them (no need is felt for doing so); whenever they march they march only in support of the messiah, not for specific demands that they have internalised and feel passionately about. When they gather at the Ramlila grounds, for instance, the occasion is not used to enlighten them, to bring home to them the nuances of the differences between the government's Lokpal Bill and the Jan Lokpal Bill, so that they could act with discrimination and understanding. On the contrary, the idea is to whip up enthusiasm among them without enlightening them, through the use of meaningless hyperbole like “the government's bill is meant not for the*prevention* but for the * promotion* of corruption”, and “Anna is India and India is Anna”. If the venue was one where discussions, debates, and informative speeches were taking place, the matter would be different, but those alas have no place in the political activity around messianism. Informative speeches have been the traditional staple of political activity in India. Maulana Bhashani, a popular peasant leader in what is now Bangladesh, used to give marathon speeches that were interrupted when people went home for lunch or dinner, or even for a night's rest, and resumed when they re-assembled afterwards; and the speeches contained much information about everything, not just politics but even crop-sowing practices and the best means of irrigation. A speech was virtually a set of classes; it had an educative role. I myself have heard election speeches in West Bengal by the inimitable Jyoti Basu, and also others. The speeches were based on solid homework, and conveyed information and argument to the audience. They also sought to rebut what was being said by the opponents, and hence carried forward a debate in public. Political activity of this kind assumed a subject role of the people and prepared them for it; it was quintessentially *democratic*. Messianic political activity does no such thing; it quintessentially creates a *spectacle*, not just for the audience but above all for the TV cameras upon whose presence it is crucially dependent. I am not concerned here with whether the Jan Lokpal Bill is the best piece of legislation on the subject; nor am I concerned with the possible RSS links of the Anna campaign. These issues, though important, are not germane to my argument. My concern is with the “dumbing down” of the people that messianic political activity entails: “leave things to Anna but do come to cheer him.” Just as in a potboiler Hindi film the hero single-handedly does all the fighting required to rid the locale of villainous elements, messianic activity leaves all the fighting, that is, the subject role, to the messiah. The people stand around with sympathy, and cheer. When the Anna group announces that he will take up issues like land reforms, corporate land grab, and commercialisation of education, once his fight against corruption is over, one almost feels that Shekhar Kapoor's “Mr. India” has finally arrived on the scene! The problem, however, is that “Mr. India” is a negation of democracy; and relying upon “Mr. India”, like relying upon the arrival of an incarnation of Vishnu to cleanse the world of evil, is a throwback to our pre-modernity. It is not just an admission of a state of powerlessness of the people that may prevail at the moment; it reinforces that powerlessness. Messianism is fundamentally anti-democratic because it is complicit in this objectification of the people, this self-fulfilling portrayal of them as dumb objects that need a messiah. When the Anna group uses the term “people” as a substitute for itself (referring to its own bill as “the people's bill,” its own views as the “people's views”), it is implicitly carrying out a conceptual *coup d'etat*, namely, that messianism is democracy! But quite apart from the fact that the messiah is not elected by the people, a point made by many, there is the basic point that nobody, whether elected or not, can *substitute* for the people in a democracy. This presumption, however, explains the flip-flops made by the Anna group. If Anna *is* the people, then democracy, where the people are supreme, demands that his version of the bill *must* be accepted over any other version, including what the parliamentary Standing Committee may come to formulate. The people's supremacy over Parliament entails *ipso facto* Anna's supremacy over Parliament. Messianism necessarily implies an “Anna's-bill-has-got-to-be-adopted” position. Members of Anna's group, many of whom have been associated for long with people's causes, may have occasional discomfort with this messianic position, and may retreat to a “we-are-only-exercising-our-democratic-rights” stance; but since they do not repudiate the messianic position, they perforce come back to the “Anna-is-the-people-and-hence-supreme” stance. To accept that Anna's version of the bill is only one of many possible versions, which the final bill could draw upon, amounts to seeing Anna as one among equals, and not as *the * messiah, that is, to an abandonment of messianism; the Anna group is loath to do this. “Negotiations” with the government therefore come to mean negotiations to make it accept Anna's version; “compromise” comes to mean a compromise that makes Anna's version final. It may be asked: if the people prefer “messianism” to “democracy,” then what is wrong with it? Those thronging the Ramlila grounds or marching in support of Anna in the metros are not necessarily “the people” of the country, and it is dangerous to take the two as identical. Besides, even if a majority of the people genuinely wish at a particular time to elevate a messiah over Parliament, this is no reason to alter the constitutional order, just as a majority wishing to abandon secularism at a particular time is no reason to do so. The Constitution is the social contract upon which the Indian state is founded, and it cannot be overturned by the wishes of a majority at a particular time. If perchance the government accepts messianism out of expediency, it would be violating the spirit of the Constitution and undermining democracy. Besides, any such licence will make multiple (quasi-religious) messiahs sprout, who would compete and collude, as oligopolists do in the markets for goods, to keep people in thralldom. *(Prabhat Patnaik recently retired from the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.)* From taraprakash at gmail.com Wed Aug 24 19:36:31 2011 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:06:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] deconstructing the anna penomenon References: Message-ID: <8F580D1061A8474088EAAE4AB6EF1E8D@tara> The professor was equally perturbed during the NandiGram movement, which he called moral messianism. We know the result, at least the political one. We had the elite crying foul about Gandhi's movement, it may not be perfect but it had an impact. So here we have the results, corruption, erstwhile a nonissue, is causing ripples in the ivory towers and in the parliament. The dialogue is on. And we needed a messiah to do that. We needed a messiah to bring RTI act in to existence. Non-messiahs have not done much to educate people or effectively attack corruption so there is no point questing a messiah for the same. It's okay that Democracy is guided by the people, the mob. Hopefully the skepticism ----- Original Message ----- From: "asit das" To: "reader-list" Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 5:25 AM Subject: [Reader-list] deconstructing the anna penomenon > Messianism versus democracyPRABHAT PATNAIK > > The substitution of one man for the people, and the reduction of the > people's role merely to being supporters and cheerleaders for one man's > actions, is antithetical to democracy. > > The Central government's flip-flops on Anna Hazare are obvious: it went > from > abusing him (through the Congress spokesperson) for sheltering corruption, > to extolling him for his idealism; from arresting him, without any > justification, and getting him remanded to judicial custody for a week, to > releasing him within a few hours. But the Anna group's flip-flops are no > less striking: it moves from > “we-have-a-democratic-right-to-protest-and-place-our-views-in-public,” > which > is an unexceptionable proposition, to > “Anna-will-keep-fasting-until-his-bill-is-adopted-or-amended-with-his-permission,” > which amounts to holding a gun to the head of the Centre, and by > implication > of Parliament, and dictating that the bill it has produced must be passed, > or else mayhem will follow. The government's flip-flops are indicative of > incompetence; the Anna group's flip-flops arise because of the compulsions > of a particular style of politics on which it is embarked, which can be > called “messianism” and which is fundamentally anti-democratic. The fact > that it is striking a chord among the people, if at all it is (one cannot > entirely trust the media on this), should be a source of serious concern, > for it underscores the pre-modernity of our society and the shallowness of > the roots of our democracy. > > Democracy essentially means a subject role for the people in shaping the > affairs of society. They not only elect representatives periodically to > the > legislature, but intervene actively through protests, strikes, meetings, > and > demonstrations to convey their mood to the elected representatives. There > being no single mood, freedom of expression ensures that different moods > have a chance to be expressed, provided the manner of doing so takes the > debate forward instead of foreclosing it. For all this to happen, people > have to be properly informed. The role of public meetings where leaders > explain issues, and of media reports, articles, and discussions, is to > ensure that they are. The whole exercise is meant to promote the subject > role of the people, and the leaders are facilitators. Even charismatic > leaders do not substitute themselves for the people; they are charismatic > because the people, in acquiring information to play their subject role, > trust what they say. > > Messianism substitutes the collective subject, the people, by an > individual > subject, the messiah. The people may participate in large numbers, and > with > great enthusiasm and support, in the activities undertaken by the messiah, > as they are doing reportedly at Anna Hazare's fast at the Ramlila grounds, > but they do so as *spectators*. The action is of the messiah; the people > are > only enthusiastic and partisan supporters and cheerleaders. If at all they > ever undertake any action on the side, this is entirely at the messiah's > bidding, its ethics, rationale and legitimacy never explained to them (no > need is felt for doing so); whenever they march they march only in support > of the messiah, not for specific demands that they have internalised and > feel passionately about. When they gather at the Ramlila grounds, for > instance, the occasion is not used to enlighten them, to bring home to > them > the nuances of the differences between the government's Lokpal Bill and > the > Jan Lokpal Bill, so that they could act with discrimination and > understanding. On the contrary, the idea is to whip up enthusiasm among > them > without enlightening them, through the use of meaningless hyperbole like > “the government's bill is meant not for the*prevention* but for the * > promotion* of corruption”, and “Anna is India and India is Anna”. If the > venue was one where discussions, debates, and informative speeches were > taking place, the matter would be different, but those alas have no place > in > the political activity around messianism. > > Informative speeches have been the traditional staple of political > activity > in India. Maulana Bhashani, a popular peasant leader in what is now > Bangladesh, used to give marathon speeches that were interrupted when > people > went home for lunch or dinner, or even for a night's rest, and resumed > when > they re-assembled afterwards; and the speeches contained much information > about everything, not just politics but even crop-sowing practices and the > best means of irrigation. A speech was virtually a set of classes; it had > an > educative role. I myself have heard election speeches in West Bengal by > the > inimitable Jyoti Basu, and also others. The speeches were based on solid > homework, and conveyed information and argument to the audience. They also > sought to rebut what was being said by the opponents, and hence carried > forward a debate in public. Political activity of this kind assumed a > subject role of the people and prepared them for it; it was > quintessentially *democratic*. Messianic political activity does no such > thing; it quintessentially creates a *spectacle*, not just for the > audience > but above all for the TV cameras upon whose presence it is crucially > dependent. > > I am not concerned here with whether the Jan Lokpal Bill is the best piece > of legislation on the subject; nor am I concerned with the possible RSS > links of the Anna campaign. These issues, though important, are not > germane > to my argument. My concern is with the “dumbing down” of the people that > messianic political activity entails: “leave things to Anna but do come to > cheer him.” Just as in a potboiler Hindi film the hero single-handedly > does > all the fighting required to rid the locale of villainous elements, > messianic activity leaves all the fighting, that is, the subject role, to > the messiah. The people stand around with sympathy, and cheer. When the > Anna > group announces that he will take up issues like land reforms, corporate > land grab, and commercialisation of education, once his fight against > corruption is over, one almost feels that Shekhar Kapoor's “Mr. India” has > finally arrived on the scene! The problem, however, is that “Mr. India” is > a > negation of democracy; and relying upon “Mr. India”, like relying upon the > arrival of an incarnation of Vishnu to cleanse the world of evil, is a > throwback to our pre-modernity. It is not just an admission of a state of > powerlessness of the people that may prevail at the moment; it reinforces > that powerlessness. > > Messianism is fundamentally anti-democratic because it is complicit in > this > objectification of the people, this self-fulfilling portrayal of them as > dumb objects that need a messiah. When the Anna group uses the term > “people” > as a substitute for itself (referring to its own bill as “the people's > bill,” its own views as the “people's views”), it is implicitly carrying > out > a conceptual *coup d'etat*, namely, that messianism is democracy! But > quite > apart from the fact that the messiah is not elected by the people, a point > made by many, there is the basic point that nobody, whether elected or > not, > can *substitute* for the people in a democracy. > > This presumption, however, explains the flip-flops made by the Anna group. > If Anna *is* the people, then democracy, where the people are supreme, > demands that his version of the bill *must* be accepted over any other > version, including what the parliamentary Standing Committee may come to > formulate. The people's supremacy over Parliament entails *ipso facto* > Anna's > supremacy over Parliament. Messianism necessarily implies an > “Anna's-bill-has-got-to-be-adopted” position. Members of Anna's group, > many > of whom have been associated for long with people's causes, may have > occasional discomfort with this messianic position, and may retreat to a > “we-are-only-exercising-our-democratic-rights” stance; but since they do > not > repudiate the messianic position, they perforce come back to the > “Anna-is-the-people-and-hence-supreme” stance. To accept that Anna's > version > of the bill is only one of many possible versions, which the final bill > could draw upon, amounts to seeing Anna as one among equals, and not as > *the > * messiah, that is, to an abandonment of messianism; the Anna group is > loath > to do this. “Negotiations” with the government therefore come to mean > negotiations to make it accept Anna's version; “compromise” comes to mean > a > compromise that makes Anna's version final. > > It may be asked: if the people prefer “messianism” to “democracy,” then > what > is wrong with it? Those thronging the Ramlila grounds or marching in > support > of Anna in the metros are not necessarily “the people” of the country, and > it is dangerous to take the two as identical. Besides, even if a majority > of > the people genuinely wish at a particular time to elevate a messiah over > Parliament, this is no reason to alter the constitutional order, just as a > majority wishing to abandon secularism at a particular time is no reason > to > do so. The Constitution is the social contract upon which the Indian state > is founded, and it cannot be overturned by the wishes of a majority at a > particular time. If perchance the government accepts messianism out of > expediency, it would be violating the spirit of the Constitution and > undermining democracy. Besides, any such licence will make multiple > (quasi-religious) messiahs sprout, who would compete and collude, as > oligopolists do in the markets for goods, to keep people in thralldom. > > *(Prabhat Patnaik recently retired from the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair at > the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, > New Delhi.)* > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Aug 24 23:56:37 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:56:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Al Jazeera fabrications Message-ID: The Libya Media Hoax: Fabricated Scenes of Jubilation and Euphoria on Green Square by Metro Gael Global Research, August 23, 2011 picture source: http://cyaegha-c.livejournal.com/460657.html Surpassing previous mass media fabrications, both in scale and boldness, yesterday morning's Al Jazeera mise-en-scène will surely go down in history as one of the most cynical hoaxes committed by corporate media since the manipulated pictures of Iraqis topplying Saddam Hussein's statue after the US invasion in 2003. On the morning of August 22nd 2011, Al Jazeera aired a 'live' report from Green Square in Tripoli,which claimed to show the capture of the Libyan capital by rebel forces. Scenes of jubilation and euphoria enveloped Al Jazeera's reporter Zeina Khodr as she declared: " Liya is in the hands of the opposition'' The images were immediately reproduced throughout the global media complex, with headlines trumpeting the 'end of the Gaddafi regime' and editorials throughout the corporate media world speculating about the post-Gaddafi future of Libya. Gaddafi's sons were said to have been arrested, and more defections were announced. The Libyan capital was, we were told, now in the hands of the rebel forces. For many, it seemed a fait accompli. In fact, the Al Jazeera pictures from Green Square were an elaborate and criminal hoax. The report had been prefabricated in a studio in Doha Qatar . This information had been passed onto Libyan intelligence and the Libyan people had already been warned about the qatari psyops a couple of days previously on Rayysse state television. The Al Jazeera hoax was intended to create the impression that Tripoli had fallen so as: (1) to break the Libyan resistance by creating panic and chaos in the Libyan captial. (2) to provide cover for the massacres of civilians that would occur in the days following the declaration of rebel victory. In other words, the media would provide cover for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that are necessary in order to subjugate the Libyan Jamhahirya to Western corporate interests. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26155 ____________________________________________________ Shortly after the Al Jazeera pictures were released, this author contacted independent reporter Lizzie Phelan in Tripoli. Miss Phelan was able to confirm from what she described as realiable sources that the Al Jazeera pictures were false. By the end of the day, it emerged that all the twitter lies emanating from the criminals in the National Transitional Council were also, unsurprisingly, false. Gaddafi's sons had not been arrested, and the rebels were not in control of the city. In the meantime, Lizzie Phelan, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya and Thierry Meyssan have received veiled death threats from Western media staying in the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli. After the arrival of thousands of NATO/Al Qaeda terrorists, a brief period of chaos ensued in the city. When many of the mainstream reporters abandoned the Rixos Hotel, Libyan authorities discovered that most of them were CIA and MI6 agents working undercover as journalists. At present, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, Thierry Meysan and other real journalists remain trapped in the Rixos Hotel. Nazemroaya was fired upon by a NATO/rebel sniper when he attempted to place a press sign on top of the Rixos hotel to protect the building from NATO bombardement. Reporter Lizzie Phelan contacted a friend yesterday to say that she had been threatened by CNN personnel and had been blocked from using facebook and email. Below, you can see the warning given to the Libyan people by state media of Al Jazeera's coming psyops. The presenter tells the viewers that Al Jazeera have produced a simulation of Tripoli's Green Square, and that they are going to use this to produce a gigantic fiction of 'liberated' Libya. The picture above proves that the producers of the Al Jazeera hoax are no Dutch masters, as the glaring discrepancies between the real Green Square in Tripoli and the Al Jazeera version are patently obvious. The differences between the architecture in Green Square in Tripoli and the pictures shown in Al Jazeera are well documented in the video below. While the Al Jazeera mise-en-scène is entertaining, the leading actress Zeina Khodr is unlikey to receive awards for her rather slugish performance. She said her lines rather mechanically, as one who was not particularly enamoured of the script, or perhaps it was the far-fetched aspect of the entire screen play that bothered her. This media hoax is another poignant example of the desperation of NATO, who have ruthlessly bombed a sovereign nation for 6 months and have so far failed to effect regime change. It also proves yet again the role of the corporate media in disinformation and war- _____________________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From asit1917 at gmail.com Thu Aug 25 13:41:31 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:11:31 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] statement on Anna hazare mobilisation Message-ID: please endorse A Great Opportunity, A Serious Danger*The Anna Hazare situation invites two common reactions: many dismiss it as a middle class driven "urban picnic"; and others, notably the mainstream media, describe it as just short of a revolutionary movement to establish "people's power."* The same divide exists among progressives and those concerned with social change. Strategies differ on the basis of where one stands on this divide. *The problem, however, is that neither of these reactions fully reflects the reality of what is happening.* We note that our position below is focused on what can be done in this situation, and is not meant to excuse or defend the government. We condemn the brutal, corrupt and anti-democratic actions of the UPA; we also, it must be noted, condemn the actions of the BJP and its State governments in trying to portray themselves as crusaders against corruption. The dangerous Lokpal Bill that has been presented must be withdrawn, and, as said below, a process initiated for effective institutions of people's control that can be used to defeat corruption. We issue this statement precisely to caution against erroneous tactics that are strengthening the very state that we must fight against. The OpportunityIt is true that the protests so far have been dominated by middle classes, and that they have been exaggerated by the media. But this does not mean that this process becomes meaningless. *Precisely because there is no strong organised movement among the working class at the national level, no alternative media, and no consciously projected alternative to the existing system, a hyped up middle class movement can easily grow into something much larger.* We can already see that happening, as protests are spreading and diversifying in terms of their mass base. People's anger at this system and at the corrupt nature of the Indian state is hardly a middle class phenomenon alone. For that reason, we cannot and should not dismiss this situation. The more people are willing to see this system for what it is, and to express their anger and disgust with it, the more there is an opportunity to expose it and fight for something new. A crisis is an opportunity for those who are fighting for change. *Therefore we cannot agree with those who look at these protests and hunger strikes and see in them a "blackmailing" of Parliament. Parliamentary democracy in this country has never been more than a very limited space. Even this space has been rendered meaningless in recent decades, by precisely the forces who today are shouting about its virtues.* For instance, the SEZ Act was passed after barely a day's debate in Parliament. Economic reforms were introduced through stealth, FDI in retail is on the verge of being approved, and the UID project is going ahead - all without a whisper of Parliamentary approval. It is correct to be cynical of neoliberal pro-corporate leaders when they suddenly discover that Parliament is a sacrosanct institution. *When people feel that the system is rotten to the core, we should not attempt to dilute that reality by saying that Parliament will deal with the problem.* The danger is not to Parliament; it lies elsewhere. The DangerThe fact that people are angry is an opportunity. But it is also a risk, because that anger can be channeled in ways that actually strengthen the existing power structure. In this case, consider: - The message being conveyed about these protests - the tactics of the leadership notwithstanding - is that of support to Anna Hazare and his "Team Anna." Beyond the concept of "transparency", the public campaign does not engage at all with the idea of a democratic organisation of the people (as opposed to one "*supported*" by the people). As such, this raises the question of whether those participating are being asked to fight to build people's power, or whether they are fighting to increase the power of the "good leader." - The demand of the campaign too is not about, even in a minimal sense, democratising the Indian state or society. The Jan Lokpal being sought may address some types of corruption, or it may not do so; but it is not intended to give people any greater control over the state. It is projected as effective not because it will be democratic, but because it will be powerful, because it will stand "above" democracy and politics itself. Just as Anna is a good person who deserves support, so the Jan Lokpal will consist of good people who deserve power, and who will use it to "cleanse" the state. - Most of those joining these protests are doing so on the basis of media coverage. In practically all areas (with one or two exceptions) the mobilisation lacks any core organisation. At most there are ad hoc groups of urban elites; but in large measure, the place of the organisation has been filled by the mainstream media itself. All the ideas sought to be communicated are therefore seen through the lenses that the media applies to them. *As a result, even where elements in the leadership try to talk of popular struggle and democratic principles, they are overridden by an overwhelming focus on attacking the current power holders and replacing them with an even more powerful, more "clean" institution.* The net result of all this is that "corruption" becomes defined very narrowly, as the taking of benefit in violation of the law. *The ultimate message of this movement is: trust the rules, trust the state, trust the Lokpal; what matters is finding the right leaders and having faith in them. This is the message that is sent by the mobilising instrument, the media, regardless of what the leaders may actually say.* This is not only not a democratic message, it is an anti-democratic one. At this moment, in India, it is also dangerous. *Brutality, injustice and oppression in this country is not a result of violation of the law alone. Indeed, much of it happens because of the law in the first place. We have a state machinery which has brazenly shown itself to be the servant of predatory private capital.* This is the biggest reason for the current boom in corruption: the enormous money generated through superprofits that is then used to purchase the state and generate more superprofits. Sometimes this is exposed as violating some law and gets called a "scam"; but at other times, as in most economic reforms, it simply changes the law. The SEZ Act is again a good example. It triggered a wave of land grabbing across the country, which was only slowed by the global economic crisis; but there was nothing "corrupt" in the Lokpal sense about most SEZ-related actions. Our people are being crushed by a cycle of intensifying capitalist exploitation and repression. Can this be stopped by good leaders with the right powers? Many would answer "Obviously not; a Jan Lokpal cannot address everything." This may be true, but that is not the message actually being sent out. Rather the message is that Lokpal-style solutions and Anna Hazare-style "good leaders" are the answers to people's anger at injustice. When the leadership, Ramdev-style, starts adding on a laundry list of additional issues to its demands - as land acquisition has recently been added - it reinforces this dangerous message. *Thus this movement not only does not weaken the state; implicitly, through the message it sends, it builds people's support for making the state and its leadership more powerful.*This of course the reason that it attracts support from everyone from Jindal Aluminium to the RSS. What Can Be DoneThe mere fact that people are protesting against the government does not mean that they are fighting the state. The Indian state certainly has little to fear - as a state - from a mobilisation whose prime message is that change happens through good leaders. The current power holders are resisting the threat to their position, but the system itself is not under threat. Indeed, the danger is not to the state or its institutions, but to efforts at deeper social change in this society. *The dilemma of the current situation cannot be answered by simply joining wholeheartedly, or by withdrawing in silence.* Some have declared support for the current movement, while seeking to push it to take up other issues. The sympathies of some in the leadership for left and progressive positions is often cited. But the main engines of these protests - the media and urban elite circles - are actively opposed to any such positions. *One has simply to imagine what will happen if this mobilisation does begin to turn towards a more radical stance: the media will instantly change its position from "Anna is India" to "Anna is a power crazed megalomaniac", confusion, slanders and disinformation will start, and the movement will collapse.* Given this reality, simply joining at this stage will be counterproductive. People will no longer be able to distinguish between forces who fight for social transformation and those who are upholding the current system; and when the latter fail, they will take down the former with them. But to remain silent is to be irrelevant at an important time. It is also important not to fall into the trap of those who, in their criticism of the anti-democratic tendencies of this movement, start defending the existing state. In our view parliamentary supremacy is not and cannot be the slogan of those who seek social change. *What is required therefore is an approach built on two realities.* The first is that the current explosion of scams is a direct result of neoliberal policies that have converted the state into the arm of a particularly predatory, criminal form of big capital. Today the real face of the state is more apparent then ever before, and corruption is one glaring sign of it. *Therefore, to try to fight corruption without fighting for true people's power over the economy and society is impossible.* Therefore, our demands must focus on building such people's power over the institutions of the state. The second reality is that the current atmosphere of anger and suspicion of the state offers a chance to raise precisely these issues and to make the link between corruption and the system under which we live. *The more political forces, mass organisations and people's struggles do this, while keeping their identity separate from 'India Against Corruption', the more it will be possible to use this opportunity to build and expand radical struggles.* If people can see the system is rotten, that can be developed that into an awareness that this rottenness goes far deeper than mere corruption and dishonest leaders. That is the challenge of this moment. Abhay Shukla, Pune Arvind Ghosh, Nagpur Asit Das, POSCO Pratirodh Solidarity, Delhi Bijay-bhai, Adivasi Mukti Sanghatan Biju Mathew, Mining Zone People's Solidarity Group C.R. Bijoy, Coimbatore Kiran Shaheen, Journalist Pothik Ghosh, Radical Notes Pratyush Chandra, Radical Notes Ravi Kumar, Dept of Sociology, South Asian University Shankar Gopalakrishnan, Campaign for Survival and Dignity Shiraz Bulsara, Kasthakari Sanghatna Nayanjyoti, navayana delhi please send your endorsement to shankar (shankargopal at myfastmail.com) or CR Bijoy (cr.bijoy at gmail.com). From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 25 18:07:49 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:37:49 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] KATYAYANI'S NEW PRODUCTION, `O'. August 25-28 2011 at Gurgaon and New Delhi ( India Habitat & Bahai Temple Auditorium) In-Reply-To: <8CE313AC198E9C9-AD8-79FFC@webmail-m087.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CE313AC198E9C9-AD8-79FFC@webmail-m087.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CE313AEE73E5A1-AD8-7A037@webmail-m087.sysops.aol.com> O...as a symbol encapsulates multiple meanings. It is Shunya, or the great Nothingness. It is also the Primordial Egg from which all life emerges. It represents the Feminine Principle, the circle of emotions, the Water Element, Orgasm, the Limitless Universe, the Divine Absolute… In this context, it is the story of two women who went through those infinite possibilities, to choose a life that incorporated struggle, bending the rules in the bargain. Revered in the end by the very men who subjugated them, these extraordinary saint-poets -- Rabia the Sufi from Iraq and Karaikkal Ammayar, the Shaivite from Tamil Nadu, were opposites in nature, but battled similar obstacles to attain their spiritual goals. A Dance –Theatre production from Katyayani,. Concept: Sohaila Kapur Script: H. Shivaprakash & Sohaila Kapur Developed as a collaboration between Gilles Chuyen, Shilpika Bordoloi & Sohaila Kapur. Performed by Gilles Chuyen & Shilpika Bordoloi August 25th at the Epicentre, at Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon August 27th at the India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road Tickets at the venues August 28th at the Bahai Temple Auditorium (By invitation) In the Press: 1. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/O-My-Goodness/835074/ From rohitrellan at aol.in Thu Aug 25 23:20:54 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:50:54 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call For Papers:Indian English Drama: Thematic Reflections In-Reply-To: <8CE316685E923CE-13D0-25A7D@Webmail-m109.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CE316685E923CE-13D0-25A7D@Webmail-m109.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CE3166AB95D8DA-13D0-25ADC@Webmail-m109.sysops.aol.com> CFP: Indian English Drama: Thematic Reflections Call For Papers: Indian English Drama: Thematic Reflections Editor Dr. Vishwanath Bite Dear All, I am pleased to forward this call for book tentatively titled Indian English Drama: Thematic Reflections Scholarly articles/ papers are invited from Scholars, Critics and Academicians before30th October 2011 The book will be published by well-known publisher with ISBN. Editing requirements: · Paper size: A4, Font & size: Times New Roman 12, Spacing: Single line, Margin of 1 inch on all four sides. · Title of the paper: bold, Sentence case (Capitalize each word), centered. · Text of the paper: justified. Font & size: Times New Roman 12. · References: Please follow MLA style (Only Author-Date or Number System) strictly. Don’t use Foot Notes, Use End Notes · Titles of books: Italics. · Titles of articles from journals and books: “quoted”. · Articles should be submitted as MS Word 2003-2007attachments only. · The paper should not usually exceed 11 pages maximum, 6 pages minimum in single spacing. · Each paper must be accompanied by i) A declaration that it is an original work and has not been published anywhere else or sent for publication ii) Abstract of paper about 100-200 words and iii) A short bio-note of the contributor(s) indicating name, institutional affiliation, brief career history, postal address, mobile number and e-mail, in a single attachment. Please don’t send more attachments. iv) Give these things in a separate attachment. The papers submitted should evince serious academic work contributing new knowledge or innovative critical perspectives on the subject explored. Mode of Submission: Each contributor is advised to send full paper with brief bio-note, declaration and abstract as a single MS-Word email attachments to email address: vishwanathbite at gmail.com up to 30th October 2011 The contributors are also supposed to submit one hard copy of the same i.e. (i) Full paper (ii) A declaration (with signature) (iii) Abstract and (iv) Brief bio-note typed in above mentioned format on any of postal address given bellow. One hard copy is required for our record. Without hard copy no paper will be considered for publication. Selection Procedure: All submissions will be sent for blind peer reviewing. Final selection will be made only if the papers are recommended for publication by the reviewers. The details of the selection of your paper will be informed to you telephonically or on your email. The editor has the right to make necessary editing of selected papers for the sake of conceptual clarity and formatting. Non-selected papers will not be sent back to the contributor in any form. So, all contributors are advised to keep a copy of their submission with them. Plagiarism Alert: All submissions should be original. Contributors are advised to adhere to strict academic ethics with respect to acknowledgment of original ideas borrowed from others. The editor(s) / publisher will not be responsible for any lapse on part of the contributor. From jeebesh at sarai.net Fri Aug 26 12:35:25 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:35:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Hatred of Democracy : A Review Message-ID: A Review of Hatred of Democracy, by Jacques Rancière tr. Steve Corcoran London: Verso, 2006 (or. pub. 2005) Reviewed by Todd May http://www.anarchiststudies.org/node/261 Jacques Rancière’s political writings have become essential reading for those wanting to extend contemporary political antiauthoritarian thought. Although his major political works, especiallyDisagreement, were published in the 1990’s, he has recently written a text that addresses contemporary political issues in an anarchist way. In fact, Rancière is the only major thinker in recent French thought who is willing to embrace the term anarchist. “Democracy,” he writes in Hatred of Democracy, “first of all means this: anarchic ‘government,’ one based on nothing other than the absence of every title to govern” ( 41). Democracy, Rancière writes, especially in Europe, seems to the elites to be threatened from two sides. First, it is threatened by a certain totalitarianism (whether the earlier Stalinist kind or the later religious fundamentalist kind). Second, it is threatened internally, by “democratic society,” which is co-extensive with individualist consumerism. “Democratic life” seems to contain a double bind. Either it is the anarchic participation of everyone in public life or rampant consumer individualism. Democracy, in a word, is threatened by the demos. They do not have the skills to participate in public life, and, relatedly, left to their own devices, they are about nothing more than personal consumption. The underlying idea is that individualism is good for the elites, who are capable of it, but not for the rest of us, who are driven only by endless needs. How to explain, if democracy is passé, that the same criticisms are leveled against it now that were by Plato? In fact, the issue is not consumerism but politics. When Plato discusses the seven titles to occupy social positions in the Laws, the seventh one is “beloved of the gods.” This is, in effect, a matter of chance. Anyone can be beloved of the gods. This is democracy, that anarchy in which the right to govern is founded on the absence of any right to govern. Democracy is indeed a rupture with the order of filiation, but not in the name of unlimited consumption: rather, it is in the name of heterotopic governance, governance by divine chance, by lottery. If like must govern unlike, and each must govern all, that implies that there must be something more, a supplement, common to each who governs. It is the anarchic title of those who have no title. Politics is the foundation of the power to govern on the basis of an absence of foundation. The scandal of democracy has always been that there is no principle justifying the actions of governments on the basis of human collectivity. “The term democracy, then, does not strictly speaking designate either a form of society or a form of government” (52). All societies are in essence oligarchical. Representational government is simply another form of oligarchy, designating certain people as entitled to rule others in the name of those others. Against this, democracy, Rancière argues, far from being a form of privatization of the kind bemoaned by those who criticize consumer society, is exactly the opposite: the attempt to expand the public realm. Historically, this has meant two things: to extend equality to marginalized subjects and to extend the public character to spaces thought the private domain of the rich. Democracy always involves a reconfiguration of the boundaries of the private and public, the universal and particular. It is precisely the role of governments to turn the democratic struggle to expand the public realm, the realm in which all participate, back into a private realm. They do this in part through an attempt to pacify people, and this pacification in turn is then used as a justification for not trusting people to participate in the public creation of their lives. Rancière ends his critique on a sober but hopeful note. He writes, “egalitarian society is only ever the set of egalitarian relations that are traced here and now through singular and precarious acts. Democracy…is not borne along by any historical necessity and does not bear any…But among those who know how to share with anybody and everybody the equal power of intelligence, it can conversely inspire courage, and hence joy” (96-97). In many of his writings, Rancière engages theoretical reflection with contemporary issues. Hatred of Democracy is inflected more toward the latter than the former. In it, he is engaged with a particular resistance to democracy, a resistance that comes from European elites but in which we can equally see the hand of American elites, from technocrats of a neoliberal stripe to fundamentalist Christians bemoaning the decline of American culture. The common theme that binds them is a denigration of those who would be the subject of politics, and the common goal is to remove power from their hands. Although oriented toward these topical issues, Rancière’s larger political view, alongside his passion for equality, remains intact. For Rancière, it has always been the case that a democratic politics lies in collective action that emerges from the presupposition of equality. In this text, he openly aligns that politics with the term anarchism and allows the historical resonance of that term to be heard behind the specific analyses he provides. From the-network at koeln.de Fri Aug 26 13:43:31 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (CologneOFF) Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:13:31 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?videoart=3A_CologneOFF_VII_-_now_onl?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ine_for_preview?= Message-ID: <20110826101331.1E0FBADF.89AA2660@192.168.0.2> Friday, 26 August 2011 ----------------------------- Cologne International Videoart Festival ----------------------------- Today it is so far, desperately expected - now available for preview online CologneOFF VII - Art & the City - the 7th festival edition in sequence - to be officially launched on 31 August 2001 on occasion of the opening of CologneOFF VII in Beirut/Lebanon ---> http://coff.newmediafest.org http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF7_catalogue.pdf http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF2011_Riga.pdf ----------------------------- Art & the City Standing under the motto of "art & the city", CologneOFF VII will represent the hightlight of all until now realised festival editions. More than 150 single channel films and videos by 120 artists/directors packed in 12 thematic compilations around "art & the city" represent a magnificent manifestation of a specific hybrid type of video art, which can be celebrated in different presentation formats. more info about the selected film and videos---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1686 The 7th festival edition is the most comprehenive one so far, and it's also the first time, that a festival edition is simultaneously launched online and in physical space on three different venues - Beirut/Lebanon- Budapest/Hungary and Riga/Latvia. But CologneOFF VII is not standing alone, but will become the 2nd column of the nomadic festival project "CologneOFF 2011/ 2012 - videoart in global context" and will extend and enrich it profoundly. ----------------------------- The venues - Beirut- Budapest - Riga CologneOFF 2011 Beirut is a cooperation with Shams - The Sunflower Beirut/Lebanon 31 Aug - 3 September 2011 learn more about this Lebanese art center on netMAXX ---> http://maxx.nmartproject.net/?p=198 more info on---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1621 CologneOFF 2011 Budapest is a collaboration with BuSho - Budapest International Shortfilm Festival 1-5 September 2011 learn more about this festival on netMAXX ---> http://maxx.nmartproject.net/?p=22 CologneOFF 2011 - Baltic Sea V - Riga is a collaboration with the cultural organisation NOASS and Waterpieces Contemporary and Video Art Festival Riga/Latvia 8-10 September 2011 learn more about NOASS on netMAXX ---> http://maxx.nmartproject.net/?p=209 more info on---> http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1568 ----------------------------- The catalogues On occasion of this collaboration in the framework of the series of CologneOFF 2011 manifestations in countries around the Baltic Sea, a special catalogue has been released for Riga as an additional venue, which can be downloaded as PDF for free ---> http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF2011_Riga.pdf On occasion of CologneOFF VII online and offline launch, a catalogue has been released which can be downloaded as PDF for free ---> http://downloads.nmartproject.net/CologneOFF7_catalogue.pdf ----------------------------- CologneOFF VII - Art & the City is a coproduction of Cologne International Videoart Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org & Le Musee - divisioniste --> the new museum of networked art http://www.le-musee-divisioniste.org & artvideoKOELN the curatorial initiative "art & moving images" http://video.mediaartcologne.org contact info (at) coff.newmediafest.org ----------------------------- From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 27 04:05:42 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 04:05:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Centre's discrimination against Tripura, .. Message-ID: http://pd.cpim.org/2011/0828_pd/08282011_16.html See http://www.cpim.org/marxist/200803_marxist-centre-state%20relations.pdf as well. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 27 04:11:23 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 04:11:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Budget for WB Message-ID: only advts and publicity stunts.... ______________________________ NO BUDGET FOR WEST BENGAL Incompetence and Callousness of the FM THE West Bengal finance minister, Amit Mitra, has created a precedent in the country by not placing a full budget on the floor of the assembly. Instead of a budget what was presented was a statement of the finance minister, where he claimed that the revenue earnings of the state will be increased by 31 per cent in the current fiscal year. However, no tax proposal has been mentioned to meet this target, apart from an announcement by the finance minister that taxes will be raised on liquor and lottery. On the expenditure side, allocations have been increased for development planning, school education, health etc. There was no mention either of the sources for increased allocation. But what is shocking is that no extra allocation has been made for the departments of panchayat and rural development or irrigation. There was no transparency of revenue earning or spending. Commenting on Amit Mitra’s annual financial statement, leader of the opposition Suryakanta Mishra pointed out that this would only nudge the state closer to a “financial mess” and prove to be an “embarrassment for the government.” It was also pointed out by him that new proposals are being announced almost every day; but there is no indication as to where will the money come from? Moreover, it is being reported in newspapers that central government is providing grant-in-aid, Central Plan Assistance and Special Central Assistance. But this too finds no mention in the statement of the finance minister. The non-seriousness of the finance minister and the government is also evident from the fact that the minister couldn’t even circulate a copy of his speech. It was just a verbal statement. The government of the day has a duty to place a budget before the house and the people. By not doing so, the Trinamool-led government has bypassed established democratic norms and procedures. It is, in fact, the arrogance of the new government that they are even refusing to submit a clear financial proposal in assembly. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Sat Aug 27 09:10:26 2011 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 09:10:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fisherfolk back anti-graft drive ; Express solidarity with Anna Hazare In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID:  Fisherfolk back anti-graft drive | Aug 27, 2011 8:49:48 AM | http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article2402408.ece Thiruvananthapuram Special Correspondent Express solidarity with Anna Hazare The National Fishworkers' Forum (NFF) and the Kerala Swathanthra Malsyathozhilaly Federation (KSMTF) have expressed solidarity with the movement against corruption led by Anna Hazare. A release issued by NFF chairperson Matanhy Saldanha and KSMTF State president T. Peter said fishermen all over the country were the victims of corruption. They said the governments, both at the Centre and the State level, were sub-serving the interests of corporates even at the cost of the livelihood of the poor, including fish workers. “To quote an example, CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) norms are to a great extent in favour of the corporates, with serious repercussions on the coastal communities of India who are being displaced from their habitat.” The NFF said many politicians and government servants had invested in the fishing industry by acquiring small mechanised boats and deep-sea fishing vessels registered in other names. This, according to the federation, was not only an act of corruption and injustice towards the people, but also responsible for destroying the environment and the marine and inland ecology. He NFF said corruption in the country was so deep-rooted that it permeated all levels of administration. “The spate of scams at the Central and State government levels proves that laws are violated mostly to cater to the needs of corporate lobbies. The common man resorts to corruption, even to get what is rightfully due. Therefore, besides a strong Lokpal Bill, every State must also pass the Lokayukta Bill within a period of two months to bring corruption under control at all level.” Expressing solidarity with the struggle against corruption, the federation highlighted the need to isolate corrupt elements. It exhorted other coastal and inland fishing communities to come out to save the country from the canker of corruption. The release called on the fisherfolk to desist from paying bribes, also called speed money in local parlance. It said success in the fight against corruption depended on exposing those who demanded bribe. From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Aug 29 12:47:34 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:17:34 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Reminder=3A_Screening_of_=27Sengadal_-_Th?= =?utf-8?q?e_Dead_Sea=27_today_in_Bombay/_September_Cin=C3=A9-Club_at_Alli?= =?utf-8?q?ance_Fran=C3=A7aise_de_Delhi_/_Submission_Deadline=3A_8th_-_Ann?= =?utf-8?q?ual_South_Asian_International_Film_Festival?= Message-ID: <8CE3432DBCEA5DC-70C-3CBF5@webmail-m072.sysops.aol.com> 'Sengadal - The Dead Sea' (2010) is a "factual feature film", which captures the fragments of simple lives beaten by an ethnic war in Sri Lanka that lasted three decades. The film will be shown today at Prithvi House in Juhu, Bombay at 7 pm. Entry free. For details of the screening, visit http://on.fb.me/nWOWZ9 Sunday MiD-Day and Mumbai Mirror have carried a story on today's screening. You can read them on http://post.ly/31B8U --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September Ciné-Club Ciné-Club for the month of September For the month of September, our Ciné-Club has decided to bring to the forefront the concerns of the ordinary people, those who usually stay in the shade. PROGRAM: Friday, September 02 2011 : AT THE OTHER SIDE / À CÔTÉ - Directed by Stéphane Mercurio (2007) 91 mins Friday, September 09 2011 : SINCE WE WERE BORN / PUISQUE NOUS SOMMES NÉS - Directed by Jean-Pierre Duret and Andréa Santana (2008) 90 mins Friday, September 23 2011 : LOVE, SEX AND MOPED / AMOUR, SEXE ET MOBYLETTE - Directed by Maria Silvia Bazzoli and Christian Lelong (2008) 95 mins In French language with English Subtitles On every friday 2 sessions : 5:30pm & 7:30pm At M. L. Bhartia Auditorium Alliance Française de Delhi 72, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 3 Free admission, open to all. For further information please send an email to mitushi.khurana at afdelhi.or g ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submission Deadline: In Less than 6 Weeks!!! We invite filmmakers to submit their films for the 8th - Annual South Asian International Film Festival, November 9th to November 15th, 2011 in New York City. SAIFF welcomes films in every genre and format, provided that it exemplifies the mission of our festival: to reflect all the shades of the South Asian experience. The deadline for submissions is: September 30th, 2011. EARLY BIRD DEADLINE -- July 15th, 2011 REGULAR DEADLINE -- August 31st, 2011 LATE DEADLINE -- September 15th, 2011 EXTENDED FINAL DEADLINE - September 30th, 2011 This year, we are accepting submissions through the online system, Without a Box. Submitting through WAB will provide significant cost savings for you as well as expedite your application. In order to submit through Without a Box, please visit www.withoutabox.com and register as a filmmaker. If you prefer to send a paper entry form, please download the application below and send it with a copy of your film in accordance with the rules and procedures outlined. To submit a film to our festival, please download the application below and send it with a copy of your film in accordance with the rules and procedures outlined. 2011 - Download the Application Form http://www.saiff.org/2011/forms/2011_SAIFF_Application_Form.pdf 2011 - Download Submission Rules http://www.saiff.org/2011/forms/2011_SAIFF_Submission_Rules_&_Regulations.pdf If you have any questions about the application, please contact us at programming at saiff.org From asit1917 at gmail.com Mon Aug 29 14:45:09 2011 From: asit1917 at gmail.com (asit das) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:45:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Protest Against Termination and Repression on Maruti Workers Message-ID: *Condemn Maruti Suzuki’s police actions!* *Join in Solidarity with the struggling Workers!* This morning, 29th August, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, IMT Manesar (Plot 1, Phase 3A) *terminated 11 workers and suspended 10 more*, on flimsy and distorted (read: vengeful and punitive) grounds of ‘indiscipline’ and a supposed go-slow action in production by workers. The company has also imposed a ‘good conduct bond’ (read: humiliation ‘by law’), only after signing which, workers can enter the factory premises. Meanwhile around *500 policemen of Haryana and riot-police have occupied the factory since yesterday evening*, with the excuse of ‘preventing violent actions’. This preemptive action totally exposes, again, whose police the state forces are. Accompanying and reinforcing the police, are*‘bouncers’ on the company’s employ*, and some 8-10 tough-men who have been bought over by the company from the surrounding village being used to threaten the workers. Apart from the 21 permanent workers, terminated and suspended, everyday around 2-5 casual and contract workers have been terminated since the agreement on the 16th of June. The production is at a halt, as workers have refused to bow down to the company’s dictates, and are standing united in struggle. Other workers in the industrial area are also expressing solidarity with the workers. Many Unions, independent and affiliated, have also come in support, and stand against the company’s draconian actions. All the 11 terminated workers had been earlier reinstated after a prolonged battle with the company which included a 13-day strike (June 4th-16th) by all workers and unprecedented solidarity among workers and other Unions in the industrial area of Gurgaon-Manesar in Haryana. This strike action was in the context of the demand of the workers to form their own Union, *the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU)*, and against exploitative working conditions and other legitimate workers’ rights. After this defeat of the company, many business honchos had pointed out that this reinstatement sets a bad example to the industry as other workers’ would start demanding their rights too. The Haryana government, hand-in-glove with the powerful company’s “way of life”, rejected the demand of the workers Union on August 14th as a pre-independence day gift to workers, saying that the management-run Union, the MUKU is already in place (even though all the workers have resigned from it, saying it represents the company and not workers). After it becoming clear that the state is ready to do everything to help the company, said Shinzo Nakanishi, MD, MSIL, in a threatening tone, “change will come about gradually through education.” The company has been preparing for an attack since the agreement after the strike, and has mobilised the government, the labour department, the judiciary, the police, bouncers, corporate media, apart from its in-factory harassment techniques, to weed out ‘troublemakers’(read: workers who stand up for their rights). We appeal to all to lend support and solidarity to the workers of Maruti Suzuki, who have a difficult struggle ahead and are determined to take it forward united. .. nayan 8130589127 From the-network at koeln.de Mon Aug 29 15:17:04 2011 From: the-network at koeln.de (netEX) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:47:04 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?netEX=3A_calls_=26_deadlines_--=3E_S?= =?iso-8859-1?q?eptember_2011?= Message-ID: <20110829114704.E3AC80C9.BB16ABF2@192.168.0.2> netEX: calls & deadlines --> September 2011 ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- newsletter contents *news *calls & deadlines --> 04 Calls: 2011 deadlines internal 29 Calls: September 2011 deadlines external 15 Calls: ongoing external/internal ------------------------------------------------ News CologneOFF VII - Art & the City the 7th festival edition of Cologne International Videoart Festival will be launched on 31 August simultaneously online and the venues in the framework of --> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context nomadic festival project 1 January - 31 December 2011 countinues its successfull tour once around the globe in Septemner 2011 jumping from one venue to another --> CologneOFF 2011 Beirut - @ Shams - the Sunflower Beirut/Lebanon 31 August - 3 September 2011 http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1621 CologneOFF 2011 Budapest is a collaboration with BuSho - Budapest International Shortfilm Festival 1-5 September 2011 http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1581 CologneOFF 2011 - Baltic Sea V - Riga is a collaboration with the cultural organisation NOASS and Waterpieces Contemporary and Video Art Festival Riga/Latvia 8-10 September 2011 http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?page_id=1568 --> CologneOFF 2011 will be presenting in September solo featuring Irina Gabiani, video artist from Georgia All details can be found in time on the project site --> CologneOFF 2011 - videoart in a global context http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/ http://coff.newmediafest.org ------------------------------------------------ Calls & deadlines ---> ------------------------------------------------ Deadlines internal ------------------------------------------------ 4 calls for 2011 extended Deadline 1 October2011 CologneOFF2011 - Football - Soccer - Fussball film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3245 extended Deadline: 1 September 2011 CologneOFF2011 - Let's Save the World!? film and video makers are invited to submit experimental films and videoart http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3251 Deadline: 1 October 2011 CologneOFF 2012 in collaboration with Circuito Electrovisiones_ México Mexican Visions - art & moving images Mexican film & video makers wanted! http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3525 Deadline: 1 December 2011 a+b=ba - art + blog = blogart? released by JavaMuseum http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3569 ------------------------------------------------ September 2011 deadlines: external ------------------------------------------------ 30 September Artist Residency in Rajastan/India http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3616 30 September Arte Video Roma Festival - Rome/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3527 30 September S1/ salon - biennial - Sheffield/UK http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3589 30 September Swedenborg Shortfilm Festival London/UK http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3344 30 September 4th International Thermaikos 2 Minutes Film Festival - Thessaloniki/Gr http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3439 30 September Luminale 2012 - Light Art Festival http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3330 23 September 3331 Artists Residency in Tokyo http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3611 21 September Serial Box Videoart festival - Columbus/Mo/USA http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3593 15 September 8th Animateka - Animated Film Festival - Maribor/Slovenia http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3407 15 September NonBiennale - Web Art Center http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3435 15 September manifestaZOOne 2011 - Cuneo/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3520 15 September Sincronie Remix http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3355 15 September Cinesonika 2 - Surrey/BC - Canada http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3425 12 September Artists Work for Urban Screens http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3609 12 September Designer & Artists 4 Genomics Award 2011 - Leiden/NL http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3579 12 September Exhibitions 2012 at DUMBO Art Center New York http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3497 10 September Experimenta India - Bangalore/India http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3550 10 September 5th L'Aquila Film Festival http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3392 9 September 7th Renderyard Film Festival - Think Tic http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3267 7 September Vox Feminae Film Festival Zagreb http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3490 5 September News from Art - Festival - Ferrara/Italy http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3581 5 September "Set in Concrete" - Urban Screening Paris http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3476 5 September Transfera TV & Madatac 03 Madrid/Spain http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=2984 1 September Linoleum Animation Festival Moskow http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3194 1 September Moebius - new journal of iARTA http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3469 1 September East European Forum 2011 - Jilava/CZ http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3577 1 September Qwartz New Media Art Award 2012 - Sound in Process http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3399 1 September Stuttgarter Filmwinter 2012 - Stuttgart/Germany http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3327 1 September Interactive ART - ACM Multimedia 2011 http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=3502 ----------------------------------------------- Ongoing calls: external/internal ----------------------------------------------- --> Digital Art Wanted by Hex Gallery Kansas City --> Writers who explore the visual arts - wanted for online magazine --> Radius - Radio as Art (Chicago) --> Artsit Residency in Alaska --> SFC - Shoah Film Collection by VideoChannel & A Virtual Memorial Foundation --> Selfshadows 2.= - net based project by Javier Bedrina --> Videos for Bivouac Projects Sumter/USA --> OUTCASTING - web based screenings --> Films and video screenings Sioux City (USA) --> Laisle screenings Rio de Janeiro/Brazil --> Videos for Helsinki based video gallery - 00130 Gallery --> Web based works for 00130 Gallery Helsinki/Finland --> Project: Repetition as a Model for Progression by Marianne Holm Hansen --> US webjournal Atomic Unicorn seeks netart and video art for coming editions --> TAGallery and more deadlines on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?page_id=4 ----------------------------------------------- NetEX - networked experience http://netex.nmartproject.net # calls in the external section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=3 # calls in the internal section--> http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=1 ----------------------------------------------- # This newsletter is also released on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?cat=9 # netEX - networked experiences is a free information service powered by Le Musee di-visioniste -the new museum of networked art - http://www.le-musee-divisioniste.org # info & contact: netex (at) nmartproject.net ------------------------------------------------ From patrice at xs4all.nl Mon Aug 29 15:41:07 2011 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:11:07 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] William Gibson: Cities in Fact and Fiction interview (Scientific American) Message-ID: <4d19e7752c8641aa2e0ddefb62e8133b.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> (bwo Wietske Maas on Twitter) The September issue of The Scientific American is a special on cities: http://www.scientificamerican.com/cities/ There is a piece by William Gibson: Life in the Meta-City http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=life-in-a-meta-city (subscribers only) and a 'web exclusive': Cities in Fact and Fiction: An Interview with William Gibson Author of the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, William Gibson talks about the relationship between his fiction and the contemporary urban landscape interview by By Aaron Shattuck and Gary Stix The city looms large in the fiction of author William Gibson. In the September issue of Scientific American, Gibson's essay, "Life in the Meta-City," details how cities increase "the number and randomization of potential human and cultural contacts" and how they serve as "vast, multilayered engines of choice." Cities that cease to provide choice—or which try to overcontrol their denizens—lose their spark and sometimes perish. In the interview that follows, Gibson shares his perceptions about existing cities and their links to his fiction. Scientific American (ScAm): There is a well-known quote from you: "The future is already here—it's just not very evenly distributed." When you said that in 1999, were you thinking of cities, or perhaps certain cities? Do you think that is the case now to a lesser or greater extent? William Gibson (WG): It's a very scalable observation. We can see it from orbit, as electric light versus its absence. We can see it in the differences in infrastructure in various neighborhoods of a city. I can see it in my house, which was built in 1927 and is in process of having its original wiring replaced. We can see it in a human skeleton: where there's been a joint replaced, the future's arrived. ScAm: Your fiction has depicted wide class gulfs in which "lowlifes" co-exist with the rich and feudallike corporations that concentrate mind-boggling amounts of wealth. Can the "vast squatter conurbs" that you mention in your article in the September issue be seen as a symptom of such widening income disparities? If so, do you think that this disparity will continue to greater extremes as they develop further, and could they potentially restructure the current social order somehow? WG: I depict those socioeconomic gulfs because they exist and because most of the imagined futures I grew up with tended not to depict them. Migration to cities is now so powerful, so universal, that people will create cities, of sorts, simply through migration—cities that literally consist mainly of the people who inhabit them on a given day. ScAm: An early theme in your work was that "the street" finds uses for technology beyond what it was originally developed for. Do you see examples of this in places such as Rio, Mumbai, Nairobi, Istanbul, Mexico City? WG: In less-regulated environments, people may improvise a little more freely, but a perfect example of what I mean would be a detailed technical history of how British tabloids came to discover what could be done with the infrastructure of cellular telephony. ScAm: You have focused quite a bit on branding and marketing, particularly in your recent novels. The phrase "building one's brand" is used constantly today in common parlance. Do you think that the "Disneylanding" of major cities, as you call it, is part of the same phenomenon? Many people have talked about a revival for New York and other cities. But do you think these endeavors, often meant to attract tourists, undercut the vitality of these places? WG: It seems to me that they must, inevitably. Paris, as much as I love Paris, feels to me as though it's long since been "cooked." Its brand consists of what it is, and that can be embellished but not changed. A lack of availability of inexpensive shop-rentals is one very easily read warning sign of overcooking. I wish Manhattan condo towers could be required to have street frontage consisting of capsule micro-shops. The affordable retail slots would guarantee the rich folks upstairs interesting things to buy, interesting services, interesting food and drink, and constant market-driven turnover of same, while keeping the streetscape vital and allowing the city to do so many of the things cities do best. London, after the Olympic redo, will have fewer affordable retail slots, I imagine. ScAm: Do you think some of China's de novo cities—and some other built-from-scratch examples, such as Masdar in Abu Dhabi—have any chance of achieving the eclectic mix of people and experiences that foster the type of creative ferment needed to make a city thrive? WG: Necessity being one of invention's many mothers, I have a certain faith in our ability to repurpose almost anything, provided it becomes sufficiently necessary. Then again, I suspect we've abandoned cities in the past because they were too thoroughly built to do some specific something that's no longer required. ScAm: Has the pace of changing technology made the purpose or meaning of particular cities, or cities in general, different for new generations, or is their essential character as places of concentrated choice something that you think remains relatively constant? WG: The Internet, which I think of as a sort of meta-city, has made it possible for people who don't live in cities to master areas of expertise that previously required residence in a city, but I think it's still a faith in concentrated choice that drives migration to cities. From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Aug 29 17:02:22 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:02:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] skeleton case report Message-ID: CID finds no evidence against Sushanta Ghosh The CID has nothing to say against Sushanta Ghosh who is fully cooperating with the intelligent officials during the interrogation. After a long uninterrupted grilling for the last six days the CID officials have virtually found no tangible evidence against Sushanta Ghosh’s involvement in skeleton “episode.” Ghosh, CPI(M) MLA and former Minister of the Left Front government was arrested on malicious and concocted charges of supervising burial of five Trinamool workers after they were shot to death at Benachapra in Midnapore on September 22, 2002. The CID is investigating the case and Ghosh was arrested on the basis of a FIR lodged by one Shyamal Acharya on Trinamool Congress. The DIG CID (Operation) K Jayraman admitted that Ghosh who was brought to CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan in Kolkata immediately after his arrest in Midnapore was cooperating with them as investigation was going on. Ghosh went for fasting against mental torture in the name of 30-hour uninterrupted interrogation and was removed to SSKM hospital as he fell sick and was treated there. However, after repeated request by the CID officials and attending physicians he later withdrew the hunger strike. A team of Left Front leaders led by Abdur Rezzak Mollah met CID officials to inquire the condition of Sushanta Ghosh. They were satisfied with the medical report. They were expecting a fair investigation. Even after gruelling interrogation no concrete evidence was found against Sushanta Ghosh. He was away from Benachapra on September 22. The bunch of keys found from his house was not of his property. Meanwhile, it was revealed after police investigation that Shyamal Acharya who lodged FIR against Sushanta Ghosh was absconding since December 17, 2009, when his residence at Udaypalli in Midnapore town was raided to recover 250 rounds of cartridges. The same Shyamal Acharya surfaced after the victory of the Trinamool Congress in the last Assembly elections and lodged FIR against Sushanta Ghosh and 40 others CPI(M) workers. The CPI(M) State secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Basu said Ghosh was victim of political vendetta. “it is a clear case of political conspiracy against one of our MLAs.” ________________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Aug 29 18:49:21 2011 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:19:21 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] North East Children's Theater Festival, 6-13th Sept 2011, Kolkatta /Jashn-e-Zabaan: A Celebration of Language and Expressions, SSS-I Auditorium, JNU, New Delhi In-Reply-To: <8CE3461508195AD-70C-3F47B@webmail-m072.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CE3461508195AD-70C-3F47B@webmail-m072.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CE346565BA6F26-70C-3F82B@webmail-m072.sysops.aol.com> NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA WITH SHISHU KISHORAKEDEMY KOLKATTA IS PRESENTING A 8 DAYS NORTH EAST CHILDREN'S THEATRE FESTIVAL AT MINERVA THEATR,PURBSHREE, RAMGOPAL MANCH AND SHARATSADAN IN THEIR LOCAL LANGUAGE FROM16TH SEPTEMEBER TO13SEPTEEMBER AT 6PM DAILY. ALL ARE WELCOME. http://groups.google.com/group/cinemalovers/browse_thread/thread/e7ca9aa5979fe868 For more Information contact: Mr.Pankaj Kumar Saxena Co-ordinator-Children's Theater Email: mr.theatre at rediffmail.com Phone:011-23382821 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jashn-e-Zabaan: A Celebration of Language and Expressions, SSS-I Auditorium, JNU, New Delhi Friday, September 2 at 6:00pm - September 4 at 9:00pm A three day theatrical festival of story-telling (Dastangoi), play (Gandhi Park) and poetry recitation (Chand Roz aur Meri Jaan) It’s been sometime since the elegance and charm of one of the most beautiful languages, Urdu has been the cause for a literary or cultural festival in our campus.Recently, the language has been witnessing a sort of revival across the nation as different cultural groups and devoted artists are taking it up as their medium to get their messages across, while weaving the aesthetical pleasure of its delicate beauty into their works of art. We, the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University propose to organize a three-day long Urdu theatre festival in campus, from the 2nd till the 4th of September, 2011, in order to be a part of this revival of Urdu as an attractive language with a wide appeal across the nation and the world. Keeping in mind the popularity of theatre as a medium of communication in the contemporary times, we choose theatre as the orientation through which we propose to celebrate the beauty and appeal of the language. Thus we came up with the idea of a theatre festival, which we believe, be named ‘Jashn-e-Zabaan’ – a celebration of language and expressions. The proposal for the events is as follows: Dastangoi: On the 2nd of September, we shall have Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussain and/or their team to sweep the crowd into the enticing magic of the performance of poetry in Dastangoi. Dastangoi is an ancient form of story-telling that originated from Persia and was lost after the advent of the British rule in India. Very recently, Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussain revived this fascinating art form of oraldramatic- narration and they are enchanting the nation with these captivating tales. Gandhi Park: On the 3rd of September we will present an adaptation of a play written by Manav Kaul. Translated by Ghufran Raghib and directed and adapted by Tarique Hameed, Gandhi Park is a play that explores the issue of eventual displacement of human beings due to socio-economic, sociopolitical and cultural reasons, the issue of identity and the sense of belonging. The play also takes a dig at the normative rules that people adhere to in order to get accepted by the society and often forget to reflect upon their consciousness. Performed previously in campus, this play was popularly received because of its meaningful message of harmony despite differences. Chand Roz aur Meri Jaan: One of the most powerful actresses on the Indian stage, Salima Raza along with the powerful presence of Danish Iqbal, will cast a spell on the crowd with beautiful poetry and magical music weaved into the performance of reciting letters exchanged between Faiz Ahmed Faiz and his wife, on the 4th of September. Entitled ‘Chand Roz aur Meri Jaan’, Salima Raza and Danish Iqbal will breathe life into this prose and poetry and will mesmerize the audience with the magic of their performance. From jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Aug 31 12:02:59 2011 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:02:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Crowds? Message-ID: <60CD86A5-396B-4330-B2AA-42208DDBA8A9@sarai.net> Perplexing why Partha Chatterjee (all entangled in corruption), Arjun Appadurai (fascist gathering), Arundhati Roy (came for reality show) in their argument against the stage/studio so contemptuous of the crowd. As if the connection between the crowd and stage is cemented. Is there no way to read excess, overflow, disconnect, escape in the relation of crowd to the stage? No fear of the Hydra headed crowd in the stage/studio? In Manesar Maruti factory the management has decided to get a "Good Conduct" agreement signed by each worker before they enter the factory. The conduct is to not engage in slow down, sit in, tampering, spanner in the wheel, etc. It is said that few of the workers went to the Ramila Grounds and cam back saying that they will sit on an "anshan". The management panicked and set up a 300 strong police post inside the factory. The 11 day sit in inside the factory in June is the background to this drastic move by the management. warmly jeebesh From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Aug 31 21:40:34 2011 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:40:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bovines Message-ID: Book Review Name of the Book: The Myth of the Holy Cow Author: D.N. Jha Publisher: Navayana, New Dehi Year: 2009 Pages: 207 ISBN: 978-8189059163 Price: Rs200 Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand 'The central fact of Hinduism,' wrote MK Gandhi, 'is cow protection'. Gandhi was not alone in making such a claim. Like him, most Hindu ideologues insist on the centrality of the cow to Hinduism. For them, the cow is not just a four-legged beast but, rather, the goddess Gau Mata, or even, for some, the repository of all the millions of Hindu deities. Worship of the cow, so it is argued, is a cardinal principal of Hinduism, along with vegetarianism. The supposed holiness of the cow and the Hindu ban on beef-eating, Hindu ideologues claim, go back all the way to the period of the Vedic Aryans. The belief in the sanctity of the cow is routinely marshaled by right-wing Hindus as a symbol to distinguish Hindus from others, particularly Muslims, who are treated with disdain on account of their supposed penchant for beef and their alleged constant readiness to slaughter 'the mother cow'. In this way, the myth of the holy cow serves as a powerful tool to create and consolidate a powerful sense of Hindu communal identity transcending caste-class divides, which is premised on relentless hostility to the beef-eating Muslim 'other'. Not surprisingly, then, Indian history is littered with the memory of scores of deadly communal riots between Muslims and Hindus in the name protecting the cow and its alleged sanctity, in which thousands of people have lost their precious lives. Numerous 'upper' caste Hindu revivalists, from the medieval period onwards, sought to stir up Hindu sentiment against Muslims in the name of 'protecting Brahmins and cows'. Reflecting Hindu pro-cow sentiment, the Indian Constitution made it incumbent on the Indian state to 'take steps for…prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves', a demand which right-wing Hindu parties keep raising from time to time, especially when elections are just round the corner, this being a potent vote-catching gimmick. This book, a product of intense scholarly research by one of India's leading historians, reveals that the notion of the cow as a Hindu deity and of the ban on eating beef as being intrinsic to what, for want of a better term, is called 'Hinduism', especially to the early Vedic tradition, is completely fallacious. So, too, it argues, is the belief that beef-eating became a practice in India only with the coming of the Muslims and Islam, a belief, the author indicates, which is deployed by contemporary proponents of the myth of the divinity of the cow to demonise Muslims and their faith. Based on a close and incisive analysis of early Brahminical, Jain and Buddhist scriptures, DN Jha, former Professor of History at Delhi University and one-time General President of the Indian History Congress, argues that the early Hindus, and most definitely the Rig Vedic Aryans, who are regarded as votaries of supposedly 'pure Hinduism', were not just non-vegetarians but, in fact, were voracious beef-eaters. Moreover, they routinely killed cows, on a massive scale, in sacrificial rituals in the hope of pleasing their various gods. The first available textual evidence of cow-slaughter and beef-eating as being an integral part of the Indo-Aryan culinary tradition is present, Jhan informs us, in none less than the Vedas, which modern Hindus regard as containing the essence of 'Hinduism'. The Vedic religion, Jha writes, was characterized by elaborate sacrifices, conducted in the hope of winning the pleasure of a range of tribal Aryan gods. Various types of food offered to these gods in the course of these sacrifices were supposed to be of their liking, and were also eaten by those who performed the sacrifices, including and especially the Brahmin priests. Many of these Vedic sacrifices entailed slaughter of animals on an enormous scale, including, Jha reveals, of cows. The centrality of animal, including cow, sacrifice in the religion of the Vedic Aryans must be seen in the context of the economic structure of their society, Jhan explains. The Aryans, who invaded India in the middle of the second millennium BC, were nomadic pastoralists, their chief form of wealth being cattle. Even prior to their invasions, the Aryans had practiced cow sacrifice, and this was continued after they settled in the country. Their tribal gods were, as the Rig Veda describes them, particularly fond of meat, and a whole range of animals, including cows, were sacrificed to please them and to feed the Brahmin priests, so Jha tells us. Jha provides ample evidence to back his claim. The Rig Veda frequently refers to cooking of ox meat to offer the gods, especially the supposedly greatest of them all, Indra, who is invoked as the destroyer of the forts of the enemies of the invading Aryans—the autochthonous Indian people. The Rig Veda has Indra as announcing, 'They cook for me 15 plus 20 oxen', while elsewhere in the same book he is said to have eaten the flesh of a bull flesh or a hundred buffaloes. Similarly, the Rig Veda depicts Agni, second in importance to Indra among the Aryan gods, as roasting a thousand buffaloes, and he is described as 'one whose food is the ox and the barren cow'. A third key Rig Vedic god, Soma, is also recorded as also requiring bloody sacrifice of animals, including cattle. The later Vedic texts, Jha adds, provide further details of these gory animal sacrifices that formed the core of the Aryan tribal religion, convincingly proving that non-vegetarianism, venerating the cow and proscribing the eating of beef were wholly alien to the formative period of what is today called 'Hinduism'. These animal sacrifices, geared to providing Brahmins with an enormous and free supply of meat, were devised by the priests in such a way as to convince those who performed them that this was a means to please the blood-thirsty Aryan gods. Thus, the texts speak of different types of cows to be sacrificed to different gods, each god supposedly having his own favourite sort: a bull is to be sacrificed to Indra, a dappled cow to the Maruts, a copper-colored cow to the Asvins, and so on. In most public sacrifices (such as the asvamedha, gomedha, rajasuya and vajapeya), the flesh of animals, especially the cow, ox and bull, was required, so the scriptures laid down. The agnyadheya sacrifice required a cow to be killed and the priest to put four dishfuls of rice on the hide of a bull. In the asvamedha, the most important Vedic sacrifice, more than 600 animals and birds were killed, and this display of gore ended with sacrifice of 21 sterile cows. The gavamayana sacrifice involved the sacrifice of three barren cows offered to Mitravaruna and other deities, while in the grhamedha, a lavish feast, an unspecified number of cows were killed. The gosava or sacrifice of a cow was also an important component of the rajasuya and vajapeya sacrifices and the agnistoma ritual. An element in the pancasaradiyasava ritual was the immolation of seventeen dwarf heifers aged under three years. In the sulagava sacrifice, an ox was killed to please Rudra, its tail and skin thrown into the fire and its blood poured on the grass for the snakes. Jha argues that beef was considered such a choice dish by the early Aryans, forefathers of today's Hindus, that it was generally offered to special guests. A special rite, mentioned in the Vedic texts, called arghya or madhuparka, which entailed killing a cow, was devised in order to greet honoured guests. The Rig Veda also indicates that cows were slain for other festive occasions like marriage. In the Vedic period, Jha tells us, 'cattle, in fact, seem to have been killed even on what would appear to many of us to have been flimsy grounds.' For instance, some texts recommended that a person who desired a learned son with a long life should eat a stew of meat, including beef if he so chose, along with rice and ghee. Cow slaughter was also an integral part of the Vedic Aryan cult of the dead, Jha explains. One Rig Vedic passage refers to the use of skin and the fat of a cow to cover the dead body, and the Atharva Veda seems to speak of a bull being burnt along with the dead to supposedly rise with in the next world. The Gryhasutras, Brahminical texts about domestic rituals, mention the slaying of cattle when a death occurs and of distributing different limbs of the animal on those of the corpse. The rules of sraddha, a ritual for the dead, mention that the ancestral spirits or pitrs had to be well-fed with beef, and so, besides other animals, cows and bulls were slain in the sraddha ceremonies. Apparently, different types of animals, if killed, were believed to please the spirits for different periods of time, but, Jha notes, their 'preference for beef was generally unquestioned […] It was only in the absence of meat that vegetables could be offered to the pitrs.' Jha indicates that the Vedic texts themselves clearly indicate that the cow was definitely not seen as sacred in both the Vedic period, and that beef eating was common, including and especially among the Brahmins. At the same time, however, the cow, being a symbol of wealth in a pastoral economy, received praise in some texts, and it is this, Jha believes, that might have provided a basis for the later development of the myth of the holy cow, although it was certainly not considered holy in the Vedic period. Yet, even within the Vedas, he writes, there is evidence of a gradual shift in attitudes towards the cow, with the notion that a cow owned by a Brahmin beginning to acquire a degree of inviolability, and with the cow gradually becoming an ideally preferred form of sacrificial fee or dakshina to the Brahmin priest. The post-Vedic texts began to speak of the dire consequences one would face if one injured or stole a cow owned by a Brahmin as well as the supposed benefits one would receive if one donated a cow to a Brahmin—an incentive obviously geared to promote the fortunes of the priestly caste. Yet, Jha insists, this gradually evolving notion of a special importance attached to a Brahmin's cow cannot be used to argue that Vedic cow was sacred. Indeed, he points out archaeological evidence from various Vedic period sites indicate the slaughter of cows and thus the widespread eating of beef. Jha opines that the Vedic texts are characterized by a lack of consistency on the issue of the cow. While the Rig Veda unambiguously sanctions cow slaughter for a range of sacrifices, later Vedic texts provide indications of efforts to find substitutes for ritual cattle sacrifice, in the form of offering praise, animal effigies or a fuel stick instead. This tendency towards ritual substitution gained ground from the later Vedic period onwards, and, Jha writes, should be seen against the background of the gradual weakening of Vedic pastoralism, which was giving way to settled agriculture wherein cattle were prized for their usefulness in agricultural operations. This tendency appears in the Upanisads, some of which questioned the efficacy of animal sacrifice, although some of them continued to approve the sacrificial cult. The idea of ritual sacrifice as futile culminated much later in the doctrine of ahimsa, which is the defining trait of Buddhism and Jainism, both of which assertively challenged the worth of the Vedic religion based on animal sacrifice. Yet, Jha writes, despite this growing stress on non-violence, the ritual and random killing of animals for sacrifice and food continued to enjoy Brahminical and dharmashastric approval, with the Brahminical texts of the post-Mauryan period abounding in contradictions on the issue of meat-eating and killing cows. Thus, the Manusmriti, considered by orthodox Brahmins as the ideal code of personal and social life, the Bible of Brahminism as it were, mentions that porcupines, hedgehogs, iguanas, rhinos, turtles, fish, hares and various domestic animals may be eaten, and also lays down that eating meat on sacrificial occasions is a divine rule but that on other occasions it is demonic. Hence, it ordains, it is not wrong to eat meat while honoring the gods and guests. Intriguingly, Manu exempts the camel from being killed for food, but not the cow. Manu gives lip-sympathy to the doctrine of ahimsa, probably to preempt Buddhist criticism, but also claims that killing animals on ritual occasions is actually 'non-killing', and injuring them, as enjoined by the Vedas, is actually 'non-injury'. Further justifying the Vedic practice of animal sacrifice, he argues that cattle and birds killed in sacrifices attain higher levels of existence, adding that the so-called 'twice-born' man who knows true meaning of Veda and injures animals for the purposes of hospitality and sacrificing to the gods and ancestors' spirits causes himself and the animal he slays to go to heaven. If he refuses to eat the consecrated meat, Manu threatens, he will be reborn as a beast for twenty-one existences. He claims that the person who daily devours the animals which are believed to be destined to be his food commits no sin, for the Creator Himself has created both. In this way, Manu removes all restrictions on meat-eating and gives full freedom to all who like to eat it, while rhetorically extolling ahimsa. Jha also notes that Manu permits meat-eating on certain specific ritual occasions like madhuparka and sraddha, on which killing cows was a Vedic practice. Hence, he argues, 'one may not be far from the truth if one interprets Manu's injunctions as a justification for ritual cattle slaughter and beef eating […]' Yajnavalka, another key dharmasastric scholar, echoes Manu's arguments, clearly indicating that eating meat, even beef, was not yet a taboo at this time. He mentions a number of animals, like deer, sheep, goats, boar, rhinos and partridges, whose meat, he claims, satisfies the spirits of the ancestors, adding that a student, king, teacher, friend and son-in-law should be offered arghya and a priest should be offered madhuparka on all ritual occasions (both of which, according to Vedic practice, entail cow-killing), and that a learned Brahmin should be welcomed with a big ox or goat and delicious food. Despite vague references to ahimsa, the Upanisads, Jha points out, do not mention killing of kine as a sin, and it was only in the later sutras and sastras that it came to be considered so. Even then, Jha writes, it was regarded as a minor sin or upapataka by most Brahminical law-givers. While, from Manu on, the Brahminical lawgivers are almost unanimous in describing cow killing as a minor sin, they do not lay down a uniform penalty for it. Thus, some consider the appropriate punishment to be feeding Brahmins, while others recommend or fasting for a certain period, shaving one's head, wearing cow-hide as an upper garment and lying down in a cow-pen. If the cow belonged to a Brahmin, the sin was considered more serious than if it was a non-Brahmin's, but even here, Jha says, the killing of the cow was not seen as a major sin. Some Brahminical law-givers of this period saw it as no more than a minor indecorous act, which explains why, for example, Atri equates beef-eating with cleaning one's teeth with one's fingers and eating only salt. Eating meat is also amply testified to in the key Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, which were finally redacted in the post-Buddhist period, and were probably written with the purpose of defeating Buddhism. Jha writes that the Mahabharata gives ample evidence that non-vegetarianism was the norm, rather than the exception, for many. Thus, Yudhishtra, who is said to abhor violence, regularly hunts deer to feed his brothers, their shared wife Draupadi and the Brahmins living in the forest. In the asvamedha sacrifice that he arranges, a number of animals, including bulls, are killed. Draupadi offers Jayadratha and his companions a meal of fifty deer, promising that Yudhishtra would also provide them with black antelope, spotted antelope, venison, fawn, rabbit, deer, boar, buffalo and several more species. The Mahabharata mentions that two thousand cows were slaughtered every day in kitchen of king Rantideva, who achieved unrivalled fame by distributing beef with food-grains to Brahmins. In the Anusasanaparvan of the Mahabharata, Narad declares that one should present meat, among other things, to Brahmins, and Bhishma recommends that various foods, including beef, fish, mutton, rabbit, goat, boar, fowl, venison, and the meat of buffaloes, rhinos and red-skinned goats, should be offered to the departed ancestral spirits. Similarly, Jha notes, Valmiki's Ramayana contains numerous references to killing animals for sacrifice and food. Ram's father Dasrath, desirous of progeny, performs a sacrifice in which the 'sages' bring forth several animals, including horses, snakes and aquatic animals, permitted by the sastras to be killed in rituals. In the sacrifice, some 300 animals were tied to the sacrificial poles, obviously for ritual slaughter. Valmiki depicts Ram and Laxman as killing game for consumption and sacrifice, and portrays Sita as promising the river Ganga that she would offer it rice cooked with meat and thousands of jars of liquor on her safe return with her husband. Sita's love for deer meat makes Ram chase and kill Marica, who is disguised as a golden deer, and Ram gives the pregnant Sita different kinds of wine while his servants serve them with meat and fruit. Bharadvaj regales Bharat's troops with meat and wine and, Jha notes, even slaughters a 'fatted calf' to welcome Ram. Jha also surveys a range of classical Hindu medical texts and other secular literature to show the long persistence of a non-vegetarian culinary tradition, including beef-eating. Thus, Caraka, while extolling ahimsa, recommends the therapeutic use of meat, including beef gravy for intermittent fevers. Similarly, Susruta regards beef as a cure in various diseases and even describes it as 'holy'. The celebrated Meghaduta by Kalidasa, alluding to a legend in the Mahabharata, has Yaksa asking the cloud-messenger to show respect to Rantideva, who sacrificed numerous cows whose blood flew in the form of river. Bhavabhuti's Mahaviracarita, in dealing with Ram's early life, describes a scene wherein Vasistha requests the angry Parasurama to accept king Janaka's hospitality, which includes the killing of a heifer. In another play, called Uttararamacarita, Vasistha is depicted as feasting on a 'poor tawny calf' in Valmiki's hermitage, and one of the latter's disciples declares that 'according to the holy law it is the duty of a householder to offer a heifer or a bull or a goat to a srotriya guest'. Yet, Jha goes on, by the middle of the first millennium AD the Brahminical texts begin to show disapproval of cow killing, leading finally to a ban, with medieval Brahminical jurists now declaring that a range of earlier customs prevalent in the Vedic period, including cow slaughter, should be given up in the kali age. Thus, by this time, the cow, which formed a central item in the Vedic culinary and religious tradition, was transformed into a sacred object, and new Brahminical scriptures were penned declaring cow-killers as antyajas or untouchables and as destined to hell. Even then, Jha notes, the texts that forbid cow slaughter recognize it as an earlier practice, and some dissenting voices continue to insist that cow-slaughter and beef-eating are still permissible. Thus, for example, the thirteenth century Narasimha holds it obligatory to eat beef at the madhuparka ceremony. Further, despite the ban on it during kali yuga, cow-slaughter was not considered serious enough to be classed among the major sins, which including slaying a Brahmin, drinking liquor, and engaging in sexual intercourse with the wife of one's teacher. Jha traces the Hindu ban on killing cows in this period to the fact that the transformation in the economy, leading to settled agriculture based on massive land grants to the Brahmins, for whom cattle were now required in large numbers for a range of agricultural operations. The evolution, in this period, of the belief in the sanctity of the cow drew on notions contained in the early Aryan texts about the supposed purificatory role of the cow and its products at the same that these texts also recommended cow-sacrifices. Yet, the later dharmasastras continue to provide evidence to confirm that despite the evolution of belief in the supposed purificatory role of the cow and its products, it was still not considered a deity that ought not to be killed. This is evidenced from the fact of contradictory reports in the shastras about the cow. Thus, Manu states that food smelt by a cow has to be purified by putting earth on it. Yajnavalka contends that food smelt by cow has to be purified, and insists that mouths of horses and goats are pure but not the cow's. Angirasa claims that bronze vessels smelt by cow or touched by a crow and those in which a Shudra has eaten are to be purified by rubbing them with ashes for ten days, as do Parasara and Vyasya. Vijnanesvara and Mita Misra insist that all eatables smelt by cow need to be purified. There is, Jha remarks, no Brahminical lawgiver who describes the mouth of the cow as pure. (The notion of the supposed impurity of the mouth of the cow, Jha tells us, developed from the post-Vedic period onwards, and is repeated in many the later Brahminical scriptures, echoing the Puranic legend about Vishnu, who cursed the cow Kamadhenu so that her mouth should be impure and her tail holy forever.) Thus, Jha shows, even while belief in the supposed purity of the products of a cow evolved, it went along with belief in the impurity of the animal's mouth, thus revealing the deeply contradictory position of the overall Brahminical tradition with regard to the animal. Jha's masterly survey of the evolution of the myth of the Hindu holy cow clearly indicates the central role it has played over the centuries in fortifying Brahminical supremacy and ritualism. It also indicates the actual nature of the tribal Aryan religion, which, as Jha clearly shows, was based on killing of animals on a vast scale in order to appease tribal deities and was geared to serve the interests of the Brahmins, an image that contrasts sharply with that projected by Brahminical scholars for whom the Vedas are the epitome of divine wisdom. By proving, from the Brahminical texts themselves, that non-vegetarianism and beef-eating were, far from being considered anathema, central to the Aryan religious tradition, Jha brilliantly exposes the politics that have been played—and continue to be—in the name of the cow. That said, Jha does not provide a detailed explanation as to why the Brahmins raised the cow, from a favourite food item and object of ritual sacrifice to the status of a deity, beyond cursorily mentioning the transformation of the Aryan economy and the influence of the Buddhist and Jain ahimsa doctrine. This issue is, however, dealt with in an article which is appended to the book, penned by Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the foremost scholars of Brahminism in recent times. The article is a long excerpt from Ambedkar's classic work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? Ambedkar, echoing Jha, remarks that it is clear that the Rig Vedic and even later Aryans did eat beef. He quotes the Taittiriya Brahmana, a key early-period Brahminical text, as even specifying the types of cows and oxen to be sacrificed to different deities (a dwarf ox to Vishnu, a drooping horned bull with a blaze on forehead to Indra; a black cow to Pushan; and a red cow to Rudra). The same text mentions the panchasaradiya seva sacrifice that entailed the immolation of seventeen five-year old hump-less dwarf bulls and the same number of dwarf heifers under 3 years of age. Besides for ritual purposes, cows were also regularly killed for feeding guests. So extensive was this practice, Ambedkar remarks, that the guest was called go-ghna or 'the killer of the cow' Based on ample evidence in the early Brahminical scriptures, Ambedkar maintains that 'there was a time when the Brahmins were the greatest beef-eaters'. 'In a period overridden by ritualism', he continues, 'there was hardly a day on which there was no cow sacrifice to which the Brahmin was not invited by some non-Brahmin. For the Brahmin every day was a beef-steak day. The Brahmins were therefore the greatest beef-eaters.' The yajna of the Brahmins, Ambedkar reveals, 'was nothing but the killing of innocent animals carried on in the name of religion with pomp and ceremony with an attempt to enshroud it in mystery with a view to conceal their appetite for beef'. But even more, Ambedkar contends, the Brahmins 'were not merely beef-eaters but they were also butchers'. Why, then, did the Brahmins give up eating beef, and, instead, begin worshipping an animal that was once among their favourite foods and of their gods as well? Ambedkar contends that this was simply a matter of strategy in order to defeat their most powerful opponents, the Buddhists. Given that over time the majority of the non-Brahmins had turned Buddhist, the Brahmins were faced with a grave challenge, for their power rested on the utter subjugation of the former in the name of religion. With many kings adopting Buddhism, the Brahmins also lost patronage in the royal courts. Because Buddhism had made such a deep impression on the non-Brahmins, it was impossible for the Brahmins to counter it directly. Accordingly, they deliberately adopted certain Buddhist practices which the non-Brahmins deeply cherished, in a bid, as it were, to out-Buddhisize the Buddhists. Thus, for instance, in a major departure from Vedic tradition, they began building temples, wherein they installed images of various Hindu gods, with the intention of attracting Buddhists, who prayed in temples that hosted massive Buddha statues. The Buddha had completely rejected the Brahminical religion, of which animal, including cow, sacrifice, formed a central core. The Buddhist objection to cow sacrifice had, Ambedkar writes, taken a strong hold among the masses, especially since they were now an agricultural people and for them the cow was a very useful animal. It is likely that the Buddhists' relentless opposition to the Vedic animal sacrifices (besides their opposition to Brahminical hegemony) was one of the major attractions that Buddhism provided for the non-Brahmin majority. Such sacrifices, geared to promote the interests of the Brahmins, were probably a major financial burden on the non-Brahmins. The Brahmins had, so Ambedkar says, probably 'come to be hated as the killer of cows', and so they sought to outsmart the Buddhists by completely transforming their religion in order to bring the Buddhist majority into the Brahminical fold and thereby restore the Brahmins' lost power. This entailed giving up the sacrifice of the cow, 'suspending or abrogating,' Ambedkar argues, 'a requirement of their Vedic religion in order to overcome the supremacy of the Buddhist Bhikkus.' The object of the Brahmins in giving up beef and taking to vegetarianism, Ambedkar explains, was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikkus the supremacy they had acquired in the eyes of the masses due to their opposition to animal sacrifice, which was the essence of the Vedic religion. But, contrary to common perception, the Bhikkus were not strict vegetarians, and so the doctrine of strict vegetarianism devised at this stage by the Brahmins can be explained, Ambedkar argues, on the grounds that by doing so the Brahmins sought to appear to be even more wedded to ahimsa than the Buddhists, and thus, as it were, on a higher pedestal than the Bhikkus, so as to draw the masses back to the Brahminical fold. The Hindu ban on beef-eating, Ambedkar concludes, is thus a result of the historical struggle between Brahminism and Buddhism and a means by which the Brahmins successfully sought to reimpose their hegemony. This fascinating book simply cannot afford to be missed by scholars of Hinduism and Indian politics. By bringing to light the reality of the myth of the holy cow, it clearly indicates the consistent history of the manipulation of a key religious symbol for the purpose of promoting Brahminical domination. Given the salience of the cow in Indian politics, the animal being continued to be deployed by right-wing chauvinist Hindu groups in order to stir hatred and violence against Muslims (and others, too, such as Dalits), the contemporary relevance of this historical survey is obvious. It certainly deserves to be translated into a range of Indian languages, possibly in the form of pamphlets summarizing its contents, in order to reach a wider readership. _______________________________________________________________________ Best A. Mani -- A. Mani CU, ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Wed Aug 31 23:35:32 2011 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:35:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bovines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: is this the book or just the review? So looong! On Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 9:40 PM, A. Mani wrote: > Book Review > Name of the Book: The Myth of the Holy Cow > Author: D.N. Jha > Publisher: Navayana, New Dehi > Year: 2009 > Pages: 207 > ISBN: 978-8189059163 > Price: Rs200 > Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand > > > 'The central fact of Hinduism,' wrote MK Gandhi, 'is cow protection'. Gandhi > was not alone in making such a claim. Like him, most Hindu ideologues insist > on the centrality of the cow to Hinduism. For them, the cow is not just a > four-legged beast but, rather, the goddess Gau Mata, or even, for some, the > repository of all the millions of Hindu deities. Worship of the cow, so it > is argued, is a cardinal principal of Hinduism, along with vegetarianism. > The supposed holiness of the cow and the Hindu ban on beef-eating, Hindu > ideologues claim, go back all the way to the period of the Vedic Aryans. The > belief in the sanctity of the cow is routinely marshaled by right-wing > Hindus as a symbol to distinguish Hindus from others, particularly Muslims, > who are treated with disdain on account of their supposed penchant for beef > and their alleged constant readiness to slaughter 'the mother cow'. In this > way, the myth of the holy cow serves as a powerful tool to create and > consolidate a powerful sense of Hindu communal identity transcending > caste-class divides, which is premised on relentless hostility to the > beef-eating Muslim 'other'. > > Not surprisingly, then, Indian history is littered with the memory of scores > of deadly communal riots between Muslims and Hindus in the name protecting > the cow and its alleged sanctity, in which thousands of people have lost > their precious lives. Numerous 'upper' caste Hindu revivalists, from the > medieval period onwards, sought to stir up Hindu sentiment against Muslims > in the name of 'protecting Brahmins and cows'. Reflecting Hindu pro-cow > sentiment, the Indian Constitution made it incumbent on the Indian state to > 'take steps for…prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves', a demand > which right-wing Hindu parties keep raising from time to time, especially > when  elections are just round the corner, this being a potent vote-catching > gimmick. > > This book, a product of intense scholarly research by one of India's leading > historians, reveals that the notion of the cow as a Hindu deity and of the > ban on eating beef as being intrinsic to what, for want of a better term, is > called 'Hinduism', especially to the early Vedic tradition, is completely > fallacious. So, too, it argues, is the belief that beef-eating became a > practice in India only with the coming of the Muslims and Islam, a belief, > the author indicates, which is deployed by contemporary proponents of the > myth of the divinity of the cow to demonise Muslims and their faith.  Based > on a close and incisive analysis of early Brahminical, Jain and Buddhist > scriptures, DN Jha, former Professor of History at Delhi University and > one-time General President of the Indian History Congress, argues that the > early Hindus, and most definitely the Rig Vedic Aryans, who are regarded as > votaries of supposedly 'pure Hinduism', were not just non-vegetarians but, > in fact, were voracious beef-eaters. Moreover, they routinely killed cows, > on a massive scale, in sacrificial rituals in the hope of pleasing their > various gods. > > The first available textual evidence of cow-slaughter and beef-eating as > being an integral part of the Indo-Aryan culinary tradition is present, Jhan > informs us, in none less than the Vedas, which modern Hindus regard as > containing the essence of 'Hinduism'. The Vedic religion, Jha writes, was > characterized by elaborate sacrifices, conducted in the hope of winning the > pleasure of a range of tribal Aryan gods. Various types of food offered to > these gods in the course of these sacrifices were supposed to be of their > liking, and were also eaten by those who performed the sacrifices, including > and especially the Brahmin priests. Many of these Vedic sacrifices entailed > slaughter of animals on an enormous scale, including, Jha reveals, of cows. > > The centrality of animal, including cow, sacrifice in the religion of the > Vedic Aryans must be seen in the context of the economic structure of their > society, Jhan explains. The Aryans, who invaded India in the middle of the > second millennium BC, were nomadic pastoralists, their chief form of wealth > being cattle. Even prior to their invasions, the Aryans had practiced cow > sacrifice, and this was continued after they settled in the country. Their > tribal gods were, as the Rig Veda describes them, particularly fond of meat, > and a whole range of animals, including cows, were sacrificed to please them > and to feed the Brahmin priests, so Jha tells us. > > Jha provides ample evidence to back his claim. The Rig Veda frequently > refers to cooking of ox meat to offer the gods, especially the supposedly > greatest of them all, Indra, who is invoked as the destroyer of the forts of > the enemies of the invading Aryans—the autochthonous Indian people. The > Rig Veda has Indra as announcing, 'They cook for me 15 plus 20 oxen', while > elsewhere in the same book he is said to have eaten the flesh of a bull > flesh or a hundred buffaloes. Similarly, the Rig Veda depicts Agni, second > in importance to Indra among the Aryan gods, as roasting a thousand > buffaloes, and he is described as 'one whose food is the ox and the barren > cow'. A third key Rig Vedic god, Soma, is also recorded as also requiring > bloody sacrifice of animals, including cattle. > > The later Vedic texts, Jha adds, provide further details of these gory > animal sacrifices that formed the core of the Aryan tribal religion, > convincingly proving that non-vegetarianism, venerating the cow and > proscribing the eating of beef were wholly alien to the formative period of > what is today called 'Hinduism'. These animal sacrifices, geared to > providing Brahmins with an enormous and free supply of meat, were devised by > the priests in such a way as to convince those who performed them that this > was a means to please the blood-thirsty Aryan gods. Thus, the texts speak of > different types of cows to be sacrificed to different gods, each god > supposedly having his own favourite sort: a bull is to be sacrificed to > Indra, a dappled cow to the Maruts, a copper-colored cow to the Asvins, and > so on. In most public sacrifices (such as the asvamedha, gomedha, rajasuya > and vajapeya), the flesh of animals, especially the cow, ox and bull, was > required, so the scriptures laid down. The agnyadheya sacrifice required a > cow to be killed and the priest to put four dishfuls of rice on the hide of > a bull. In the asvamedha, the most important Vedic sacrifice, more than 600 > animals and birds were killed, and this display of gore ended with sacrifice > of 21 sterile cows. The gavamayana sacrifice involved the sacrifice of three > barren cows offered to Mitravaruna and other deities, while in the > grhamedha, a lavish feast, an unspecified number of cows were killed. The > gosava or sacrifice of a cow was also an important component of the rajasuya > and vajapeya sacrifices and the agnistoma ritual. An element in the > pancasaradiyasava ritual was the immolation of seventeen dwarf heifers aged > under three years. In the sulagava sacrifice, an ox was killed to please > Rudra, its tail and skin thrown into the fire and its blood poured on the > grass for the snakes. > > Jha argues that beef was considered such a choice dish by the early Aryans, > forefathers of today's Hindus, that it was generally offered to special > guests. A special rite, mentioned in the Vedic texts, called arghya or > madhuparka, which entailed killing a cow, was devised in order to greet > honoured guests. The Rig Veda also indicates that cows were slain for other > festive occasions like marriage.  In the Vedic period, Jha tells us, > 'cattle, in fact, seem to have been killed even on what would appear to many > of us to have been flimsy grounds.' For instance, some texts recommended > that a person who desired a learned son with a long life should eat a stew > of meat, including beef if he so chose, along with rice and ghee. > > Cow slaughter was also an integral part of the Vedic Aryan cult of the dead, > Jha explains. One Rig Vedic passage refers to the use of skin and the fat of > a cow to cover the dead body, and the Atharva Veda seems to speak of a bull > being burnt along with the dead to supposedly rise with in the next world. > The Gryhasutras, Brahminical texts about domestic rituals, mention the > slaying of cattle when a death occurs and of distributing different limbs of > the animal on those of the corpse. The rules of sraddha, a ritual for the > dead, mention that the ancestral spirits or pitrs had to be well-fed with > beef, and so, besides other animals, cows and bulls were slain in the > sraddha ceremonies. Apparently, different types of animals, if killed, were > believed to please the spirits for different periods of time, but, Jha > notes, their 'preference for beef was generally unquestioned […] It was > only in the absence of meat that vegetables could be offered to the pitrs.' > > Jha indicates that the Vedic texts themselves clearly indicate that the cow > was definitely not seen as sacred in both the Vedic period, and that beef > eating was common, including and especially among the Brahmins. At the same > time, however, the cow, being a symbol of wealth in a pastoral economy, > received praise in some texts, and it is this, Jha believes, that might have > provided a basis for the later development of the myth of the holy cow, > although it was certainly not considered holy in the Vedic period. Yet, even > within the Vedas, he writes, there is evidence of a gradual shift in > attitudes towards the cow, with the notion that a cow owned by a Brahmin > beginning to acquire a degree of inviolability, and with the cow gradually > becoming an ideally preferred form of sacrificial fee or dakshina to the > Brahmin priest. The post-Vedic texts began to speak of the dire consequences > one would face if one injured or stole a cow owned by a Brahmin as well as > the supposed benefits one would receive if one donated a cow to a > Brahmin—an incentive obviously geared to promote the fortunes of the > priestly caste. Yet, Jha insists, this gradually evolving notion of a > special importance attached to a Brahmin's cow cannot be used to argue that > Vedic cow was sacred. Indeed, he points out archaeological evidence from > various Vedic period sites indicate the slaughter of cows and thus the > widespread eating of beef. > > Jha opines that the Vedic texts are characterized by a lack of consistency > on the issue of the cow. While the Rig Veda unambiguously sanctions cow > slaughter for a range of sacrifices, later Vedic texts provide indications > of efforts to find substitutes for ritual cattle sacrifice, in the form of > offering praise, animal effigies or a fuel stick instead. This tendency > towards ritual substitution gained ground from the later Vedic period > onwards, and, Jha writes, should be seen against the background of the > gradual weakening of Vedic pastoralism, which was giving way to settled > agriculture wherein cattle were prized for their usefulness in agricultural > operations. This tendency appears in the Upanisads, some of which questioned > the efficacy of animal sacrifice, although some of them continued to approve > the sacrificial cult. The idea of ritual sacrifice as futile culminated much > later in the doctrine of ahimsa, which is the defining trait of Buddhism and > Jainism, both of which assertively challenged the worth of the Vedic > religion based on animal sacrifice. > > Yet, Jha writes, despite this growing stress on non-violence, the ritual and > random killing of animals for sacrifice and food continued to enjoy > Brahminical and dharmashastric approval, with the Brahminical texts of the > post-Mauryan period abounding in contradictions on the issue of meat-eating > and killing cows. Thus, the Manusmriti, considered by orthodox Brahmins as > the ideal code of personal and social life, the Bible of Brahminism as it > were, mentions that porcupines, hedgehogs, iguanas, rhinos, turtles, fish, > hares and various domestic animals may be eaten, and also lays down that > eating meat on sacrificial occasions is a divine rule but that on other > occasions it is demonic. Hence, it ordains, it is not wrong to eat meat > while honoring the gods and guests. Intriguingly, Manu exempts the camel > from being killed for food, but not the cow. Manu gives lip-sympathy to the > doctrine of ahimsa, probably to preempt Buddhist criticism, but also claims > that killing animals on ritual occasions is actually 'non-killing', and > injuring them, as enjoined by the Vedas, is actually 'non-injury'. Further > justifying the Vedic practice of animal sacrifice, he argues that cattle and > birds killed in sacrifices attain higher levels of existence, adding that > the so-called 'twice-born' man who knows true meaning of Veda and injures > animals for the purposes of hospitality and sacrificing to the gods and > ancestors' spirits causes himself and the animal he slays to go to heaven. > If he refuses to eat the consecrated meat, Manu threatens, he will be reborn > as a beast for twenty-one existences. He claims that the person who daily > devours the animals which are believed to be destined to be his food commits > no sin, for the Creator Himself has created both. In this way, Manu removes > all restrictions on meat-eating and gives full freedom to all who like to > eat it, while rhetorically extolling ahimsa. Jha also notes that Manu > permits meat-eating on certain specific ritual occasions like madhuparka and > sraddha, on which killing cows was a Vedic practice. Hence, he argues, 'one > may not be far from the truth if one interprets Manu's injunctions as a > justification for ritual cattle slaughter and beef eating […]' > > Yajnavalka, another key dharmasastric scholar, echoes Manu's arguments, > clearly indicating that eating meat, even beef, was not yet a taboo at this > time. He mentions a number of animals, like deer, sheep, goats, boar, rhinos > and partridges, whose meat, he claims, satisfies the spirits of the > ancestors, adding that a student, king, teacher, friend and son-in-law > should be offered arghya and a priest should be offered madhuparka on all > ritual occasions (both of which, according to Vedic practice, entail > cow-killing), and that a learned Brahmin should be welcomed with a big ox or > goat and delicious food. > > > > Despite vague references to ahimsa, the Upanisads, Jha points out, do not > mention killing of kine as a sin, and it was only in the later sutras and > sastras that it came to be considered so. Even then, Jha writes, it was > regarded as a minor sin or upapataka by most Brahminical law-givers. While, > from Manu on, the Brahminical lawgivers are almost unanimous in describing > cow killing as a minor sin, they do not lay down a uniform penalty for it. > Thus, some consider the appropriate punishment to be feeding Brahmins, while > others recommend or fasting for a certain period, shaving one's head, > wearing cow-hide as an upper garment and lying down in a cow-pen. If the cow > belonged to a Brahmin, the sin was considered more serious than if it was a > non-Brahmin's, but even here, Jha says, the killing of the cow was not seen > as a major sin. Some Brahminical law-givers of this period saw it as no more > than a minor indecorous act, which explains why, for example, Atri equates > beef-eating with cleaning one's teeth with one's fingers and eating only > salt. > > Eating meat is also amply testified to in the key Hindu epics, the > Mahabharata and the Ramayana, which were finally redacted in the > post-Buddhist period, and were probably written with the purpose of > defeating Buddhism. Jha writes that the Mahabharata gives ample evidence > that non-vegetarianism was the norm, rather than the exception, for many. > Thus, Yudhishtra, who is said to abhor violence, regularly hunts deer to > feed his brothers, their shared wife Draupadi and the Brahmins living in the > forest. In the asvamedha sacrifice that he arranges, a number of animals, > including bulls, are killed. Draupadi offers Jayadratha and his companions a > meal of fifty deer, promising that Yudhishtra would also provide them with > black antelope, spotted antelope, venison, fawn, rabbit, deer, boar, buffalo > and several more species. The Mahabharata mentions that two thousand cows > were slaughtered every day in kitchen of king Rantideva, who achieved > unrivalled fame by distributing beef with food-grains to Brahmins. In the > Anusasanaparvan of the Mahabharata, Narad declares that one should present > meat, among other things, to  Brahmins, and Bhishma recommends that various > foods, including beef, fish, mutton, rabbit, goat, boar, fowl, venison, and > the meat of buffaloes, rhinos and red-skinned goats, should be offered to > the departed ancestral spirits. > > Similarly, Jha notes, Valmiki's Ramayana contains numerous references to > killing animals for sacrifice and food. Ram's father Dasrath, desirous of > progeny, performs a sacrifice in which the 'sages' bring forth several > animals, including horses, snakes and aquatic animals, permitted by the > sastras to be killed in rituals. In the sacrifice, some 300 animals were > tied to the sacrificial poles, obviously for ritual slaughter. Valmiki > depicts Ram and Laxman as killing game for consumption and sacrifice, and > portrays Sita as promising the river Ganga that she would offer it rice > cooked with meat and thousands of jars of liquor on her safe return with her > husband. Sita's love for deer meat makes Ram chase and kill Marica, who is > disguised as a golden deer, and Ram gives the pregnant Sita different kinds > of wine while his servants serve them with meat and fruit. Bharadvaj regales > Bharat's troops with meat and wine and, Jha notes, even slaughters a 'fatted > calf' to welcome Ram. > > Jha also surveys a range of classical Hindu medical texts and other secular > literature to show the long persistence of a non-vegetarian culinary > tradition, including beef-eating. Thus, Caraka, while extolling ahimsa, > recommends the therapeutic use of meat, including beef gravy for > intermittent fevers. Similarly, Susruta regards beef as a cure in various > diseases and even describes it as 'holy'. The celebrated Meghaduta by > Kalidasa, alluding to a legend in the Mahabharata, has Yaksa asking the > cloud-messenger to show respect to Rantideva, who sacrificed numerous cows > whose blood flew in the form of river. Bhavabhuti's Mahaviracarita, in > dealing with Ram's early life, describes a scene wherein Vasistha requests > the angry Parasurama to accept king Janaka's hospitality, which includes the > killing of a heifer. In another play, called Uttararamacarita, Vasistha is > depicted as feasting on a 'poor tawny calf' in Valmiki's hermitage, and one > of the latter's disciples declares that 'according to the holy law it is the > duty of a householder to offer a heifer or a bull or a goat to a srotriya > guest'. > > Yet, Jha goes on, by the middle of the first millennium AD the Brahminical > texts begin to show disapproval of cow killing, leading finally to a ban, > with medieval Brahminical jurists now declaring that a range of earlier > customs prevalent in the Vedic period, including cow slaughter, should be > given up in the kali age. Thus, by this time, the cow, which formed a > central item in the Vedic culinary and religious tradition, was transformed > into a sacred object, and new Brahminical scriptures were penned declaring > cow-killers as antyajas or untouchables and as destined to hell.  Even then, > Jha notes, the texts that forbid cow slaughter recognize it as an earlier > practice, and some dissenting voices continue to insist that cow-slaughter > and beef-eating are still permissible. Thus, for example, the thirteenth > century Narasimha holds it obligatory to eat beef at the madhuparka > ceremony. Further, despite the ban on it during kali yuga, cow-slaughter was > not considered serious enough to be classed among the major sins, which > including slaying a Brahmin, drinking liquor, and engaging in sexual > intercourse with the wife of one's teacher. > > Jha traces the Hindu ban on killing cows in this period to the fact that the > transformation in the economy, leading to settled agriculture based on > massive land grants to the Brahmins, for whom cattle were now required in > large numbers for a range of agricultural operations. The evolution, in this > period, of the belief in the sanctity of the cow drew on notions contained > in the early Aryan texts about the supposed purificatory role of the cow and > its products at the same that these texts also recommended cow-sacrifices. > Yet, the later dharmasastras continue to provide evidence to confirm that > despite the evolution of belief in the supposed purificatory role of the cow > and its products, it was still not considered a deity that ought not to be > killed. This is evidenced from the fact of contradictory reports in the > shastras about the cow. Thus, Manu states that food smelt by a cow has to be > purified by putting earth on it. Yajnavalka contends that food smelt by cow > has to be purified, and insists that mouths of horses and goats are pure but > not the cow's. Angirasa claims that bronze vessels smelt by cow or touched > by a crow and those in which a Shudra has eaten are to be purified by > rubbing them with ashes for ten days, as do Parasara and Vyasya. > Vijnanesvara and Mita Misra insist that all eatables smelt by cow need to be > purified. There is, Jha remarks, no Brahminical lawgiver who describes the > mouth of the cow as pure. (The notion of the supposed impurity of the mouth > of the cow, Jha tells us, developed from the post-Vedic period onwards, and > is repeated in many the later Brahminical scriptures, echoing the Puranic > legend about Vishnu, who cursed the cow Kamadhenu so that her mouth should > be impure and her tail holy forever.) Thus, Jha shows, even while belief in > the supposed purity of the products of a cow evolved, it went along with > belief in the impurity of the animal's mouth, thus revealing the deeply > contradictory position of the overall Brahminical tradition with regard to > the animal. > > Jha's masterly survey of the evolution of the myth of the Hindu holy cow > clearly indicates the central role it has played over the centuries in > fortifying Brahminical supremacy and ritualism. It also indicates the actual > nature of the tribal Aryan religion, which, as Jha clearly shows, was based > on killing of animals on a vast scale in order to appease tribal deities and > was geared to serve the interests of the Brahmins, an image that contrasts > sharply with that projected by Brahminical scholars for whom the Vedas are > the epitome of divine wisdom. By proving, from the Brahminical texts > themselves, that non-vegetarianism and beef-eating were, far from being > considered anathema, central to the Aryan religious tradition, Jha > brilliantly exposes the politics that have been played—and continue to > be—in the name of the cow. > > That said, Jha does not provide a detailed explanation as to why the > Brahmins raised the cow, from a favourite food item and object of ritual > sacrifice to the status of a deity, beyond cursorily mentioning the > transformation of the Aryan economy and the influence of the Buddhist and > Jain ahimsa doctrine. This issue is, however, dealt with in an article which > is appended to the book, penned by Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the foremost > scholars of Brahminism in recent times. The article is a long excerpt from > Ambedkar's classic work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became > Untouchables? > > Ambedkar, echoing Jha, remarks that it is clear that the Rig Vedic and even > later Aryans did eat beef. He quotes the Taittiriya Brahmana, a key > early-period Brahminical text, as even specifying the types of cows and oxen > to be sacrificed to different deities (a dwarf ox to Vishnu, a drooping > horned bull with a blaze on forehead to Indra; a black cow to Pushan; and a > red cow to Rudra). The same text mentions the panchasaradiya seva sacrifice > that entailed the immolation of seventeen five-year old hump-less dwarf > bulls and the same number of dwarf heifers under 3 years of age. Besides for > ritual purposes, cows were also regularly killed for feeding guests. So > extensive was this practice, Ambedkar remarks, that the guest was called > go-ghna or 'the killer of the cow' > > Based on ample evidence in the early Brahminical scriptures, Ambedkar > maintains that 'there was a time when the Brahmins were the greatest > beef-eaters'. 'In a period overridden by ritualism', he continues, 'there > was hardly a day on which there was no cow sacrifice to which the Brahmin > was not invited by some non-Brahmin. For the Brahmin every day was a > beef-steak day. The Brahmins were therefore the greatest beef-eaters.' The > yajna of the Brahmins, Ambedkar reveals, 'was nothing but the killing of > innocent animals carried on in the name of religion with pomp and ceremony > with an attempt to enshroud it in mystery with a view to conceal their > appetite for beef'. But even more, Ambedkar contends, the Brahmins 'were not > merely beef-eaters but they were also butchers'. > > Why, then, did the Brahmins give up eating beef, and, instead, begin > worshipping an animal that was once among their favourite foods and of their > gods as well? Ambedkar contends that this was simply a matter of strategy in > order to defeat their most powerful opponents, the Buddhists. Given that > over time the majority of the non-Brahmins had turned Buddhist, the Brahmins > were faced with a grave challenge, for their power rested on the utter > subjugation of the former in the name of religion. With many kings adopting > Buddhism, the Brahmins also lost patronage in the royal courts. Because > Buddhism had made such a deep impression on the non-Brahmins, it was > impossible for the Brahmins to counter it directly. Accordingly, they > deliberately adopted certain Buddhist practices which the non-Brahmins > deeply cherished, in a bid, as it were, to out-Buddhisize the Buddhists. > Thus, for instance, in a major departure from Vedic tradition, they began > building temples, wherein they installed images of various Hindu gods, with > the intention of attracting Buddhists, who prayed in temples that hosted > massive Buddha statues. > > The Buddha had completely rejected the Brahminical religion, of which > animal, including cow, sacrifice, formed a central core. The Buddhist > objection to cow sacrifice had, Ambedkar writes, taken a strong hold among > the masses, especially since they were now an agricultural people and for > them the cow was a very useful animal. It is likely that the Buddhists' > relentless opposition to the Vedic animal sacrifices (besides their > opposition to Brahminical hegemony) was one of the major attractions that > Buddhism provided for the non-Brahmin majority. Such sacrifices, geared to > promote the interests of the Brahmins, were probably a major financial > burden on the non-Brahmins. The Brahmins had, so Ambedkar says, probably > 'come to be hated as the killer of cows', and so they sought to outsmart the > Buddhists by completely transforming their religion in order to bring the > Buddhist majority into the Brahminical fold and thereby restore the > Brahmins' lost power. > > This entailed giving up the sacrifice of the cow, 'suspending or > abrogating,' Ambedkar argues, 'a requirement of their Vedic religion in > order to overcome the supremacy of the Buddhist Bhikkus.' The object of the > Brahmins in giving up beef and taking to vegetarianism, Ambedkar explains, > was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikkus the supremacy they had acquired > in the eyes of the masses due to their opposition to animal sacrifice, which > was the essence of the Vedic religion. But, contrary to common perception, > the Bhikkus were not strict vegetarians, and so the doctrine of strict > vegetarianism devised at this stage by the Brahmins can be explained, > Ambedkar argues, on the grounds that by doing so the Brahmins sought to > appear to be even more wedded to ahimsa than the Buddhists, and thus, as it > were, on a higher pedestal than the Bhikkus, so as to draw the masses back > to the Brahminical fold. The Hindu ban on beef-eating, Ambedkar concludes, > is thus a result of the historical struggle between Brahminism and Buddhism > and a means by which the Brahmins successfully sought to reimpose their > hegemony. > > This fascinating book simply cannot afford to be missed by scholars of > Hinduism and Indian politics. By bringing to light the reality of the myth > of the holy cow, it clearly indicates the consistent history of the > manipulation of a key religious symbol for the purpose of promoting > Brahminical domination. Given the salience of the cow in Indian politics, > the animal being continued to be deployed by right-wing chauvinist Hindu > groups in order to stir hatred and violence against Muslims (and others, > too, such as Dalits), the contemporary relevance of this historical survey > is obvious. It certainly deserves to be translated into a range of Indian > languages, possibly in the form of pamphlets summarizing its contents, in > order to reach a wider readership. > > _______________________________________________________________________ > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > -- > A. Mani > CU, ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > 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/> -- Rajkamal