South Asian Progressive Action Collective » International Politics

Desispotting: October 2011

Ramona — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:55:53 +0000

Last updated Oct. 18

I’m sitting on the couch with a cup of chai in one hand, a taffy apple in the other, and a fuzzy blanket covering me. Autumn is officially here. Enjoy my favorite season with some of these intriguing events…

SAPAC’s Voices of Resistance 10: REVISION @ Marwen
Saturday, October 15 @ 7:00pm

Be sure to come to the performance night of our 10th annual VOR, featuring new works by some amazing, talented local artists!

Be the Change @ Indo-American Center
Saturday, October 1 @ 9:00am

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), one of our partner organizations, hosts its annual National Day of Service across the U.S. In Chicago volunteers will meet at the Indo-American Center and then branch off to volunteer sites around the city. This year’s keynote speakers include Amisha Patel, Ann Kalayil, Ameya Pawar, and Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Stride Against Violence @ Lincoln Park
Sunday, October 2 @ 8:00am

Apna Ghar hosts its 5th annual fun run/walk in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Celebration @ Lions Park, Hanover Park
Sunday, October 2 @ 1:30pm

The Gandhi-King Peace Center hosts a celebration honoring Gandhi’s 143rd birthday.

Hindustani Violin Concert @ University of Chicago
Sunday, October 2 @ 6:30pm

U of C’s Department of Music and Committee on Southern Asian Studies present violinist Vidya Dengle and tabla artist Manpreet Bedi in a concert for their South Asian Sound Interventions series. Dengle also leads a violin master class on Monday, October 3.

Journey to Healing Through the Arts @ Chicago Public Library, Budlong Woods Branch
Sunday, October 2 – Friday, October 21

Apna Ghar presents its annual exhibit of work created through its art therapy program for survivors of domestic abuse. AG hosts an opening reception Wednesday, October 5, 5-7:30pm.

Dwaipayan Sen @ University of Chicago
Monday, October 3 @ 8:00pm

U of C’s Social Theory Workshop presents the history PhD candidate in a talk titled “Representation, Education and Agrarian Reform: Jogendranath Mandal and the Nature of Scheduled Caste politics, 1937-1943.”

M. Salahuddin Khan @ American Islamic College ADDED 10/4
Tuesday, October 4 @ 6:00pm

The expert on U.S. relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan speaks and signs copies of his novel Sikander.

Mara Hvistendahl @ InterContinental Chicago
Wednesday, October 5 @ 7:30am

The correspondent for Science magazine discusses imbalanced sex-at-birth ratios in Asian countries including India for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Thom Shanker & Peter Tomsen @ The Chicago Club
Wednesday, October 5 @ 5:30pm

Shanker, a correspondent for The New York Times, covering the Pentagon, the military, and national security, and Tomsen, former Ambassador and U.S. Special Envoy on Afghanistan, discuss the effects of the 9/11 attacks on U.S. national security for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Gyan Prakash @ UIC ADDED 10/6
Thursday, October 6 @ 3:00pm

The Princeton University history professor and “urban archaeologist” discusses his journey writing Mumbai Fables.

Mrinalini Sinha @ University of Chicago
Thursday, October 6 @ 4:30pm

Sinha, a history and women’s studies professor at University of Michigan, presents a lecture titled “The Strange Death of an Imperial Ideal: The Case of Civis Britannicus” for the U of C’s Committee on Southern Asian Studies, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Culture Workshop, and Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. The following day she leads a workshop called “Power: Empires, Colonies, and World History.”

Chicago International Film Festival @ AMC River East
Thursday, October 6 – Thursday, October 20

This year’s festival features a number of films from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, including a gala presentation of Indian film Mausam, with director Pankaj Kapoor in attendance, to launch the fest’s Spotlight South Asia program.

The Flowering Tree @ Harris Theater
Saturday, October 8 @ 7:30pm

Natya Dance Theatre presents the world premiere of its new show about respect for nature.

Anita Chandwaney @ Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
Sunday, October 9 @ 7:00pm

WBEZ hosts a program called “The Art of the Political: Can the Stage Be More Than Entertainment?” featuring local artists in a discussion of theater’s role in weaving politics and art together. The evening includes a showcase of new works by 3 playwrights of color, including Chandwaney’s Helpline.

Rohina Malik @ School of the Art Institute ADDED 10/11
Wednesday, October 12 @ 6:00pm

The Chicago-based playwright, actress, and solo performance artist presents a piece about 5 Muslim women in a post-9/11 world.

One Book One Chicago Reading @ Chicago Cultural Center ADDED 10/11
Thursday, October 13 @ 12:15pm

Every Thursday in October, actors from Lookingglass Theatre present thematically-linked readings from the last ten years of “One Book, One Chicago,” celebrating the program’s 10-year anniversary. Today’s program includes readings from Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies and James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain.

Nitasha Sharma @ Northwestern University ADDED 10/10
Thursday, October 13 @ 3:30pm

The professor of African American Studies and Asian American Studies celebrates the publication of her new book Hip Hop Desis: South Asian Americans, Blackness and Global Race Consciousness at the school’s main library in Evanston.

Sekhar Bandyopadhyay @ University of Chicago
Thursday, October 13 @ 4:30pm

The professor of Asian history at Victoria University of Wellington presents a lecture titled “Situating Dalit in the long history of Partition in Bengal 1946-2011″ for U of C’s South Asia Seminar Series.

NAPAWF Fall Mixer @ BIN 36 ADDED 10/4
Thursday, October 13 @ 6:30pm

The Chicago chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum invites all to learn more about its work toward social justice and human rights for API women and girls. It’s a great group with some very active members from our API community.

Subcontinental Drift @ Penthouse above Quartino ADDED 10/4
Thursday, October 13 @ 7:30pm

Chicago’s South Asian open mic, as always, is free and open to all, including amateurs and professionals artists (as well as non-South-Asians!).

MC Chee Malabar & DJ Ali @ Northwestern University ADDED 10/4
Friday, October 14 @ 8:00pm

L.A.-based rapper Malabar and New York’s DJ Ali bring their Post-9/11 Brown Hip Hop Show to Evanston. Party with Chee on Friday, then check him out Saturday at our Voices of Resistance show!

Trikone-Chicago Ladies Night @ Joie De Vine ADDED 10/4
Friday, October 14 @ 8:00pm

Trikone hosts a ladies’ night out. Note that this is a women-only (trans inclusive) event.

SAPAC’s Voices of Resistance 10: REVISION @ Marwen
Saturday, October 15 @ 7:00pm

Join us for the performance night of our 10th annual VOR, featuring original works that address the impact of 9/11 both locally and globally.

Sur Sandhya @ McAninch Arts Center
Saturday, October 15 @ 7:00pm

Anila Sinha Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Chicago’s International House, presents a sarod concert with Ustad Aashish Khan.

India Development Coalition of America Conference @ IIT ADDED 10/15
Saturday, October 15 – Sunday, October 16

The two-day conference, focusing on how to eradicate poverty and mitigate climate change in India, features a number of speakers from India and the U.S.

Dalai Lama Documentary @ Loyola University ADDED 10/12
Monday, October 17 @ 6:15pm

The Tibet Center hosts a screening of a film on the Dalai Lama to commemorate the anniversary of his receiving the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. The Center will also provide some information on his upcoming Chicago visit on Thursday, April 26, 2012. At Quinlan Life Science Building, room 412 on Loyola’s Lake Shore campus (near Sheridan/Devon). Call (847) 492-0809 for more info.

Sharmili Majmudar @ Chicago Cultural Center ADDED 10/18
Wednesday, October 19 @ 1:00pm

The executive director of Rape Victim Advocates joins fellow activist Rachel Caidor for a Cafe Society talk titled “Slutwalk and the Face of Feminism in the 21st Century.”

Inshallah, Football Screening @ University of Chicago
Wednesday, October 19 @ 6:00pm

U of C’s Committee on Southern Asian Studies presents a screening of Inshallah, Football (which also plays at the Chicago International Film Festival) with director Ashwin Kumar at the International House.

Yasmin Nair @ DePaul University ADDED 10/12
Wednesday, October 19 @ 7:00pm

The scholar, writer, and activist joins Owen Daniel-McCarter, founding collective member and project attorney at Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, and Traci Schlesinger, sociology professor and activist, for a panel discussion called “Perspectives: Broadening the Conversation about Gendered Violence.”

Women’s Health Community Forum @ Zeenat Banquet Hall ADDED 10/12
Thursday, October 20 @ 11:00am

The Pink Pashmina Project, a partnership between Asian Health Coalition, Metropolitan Asian Family Services, and Muslim Women’s Resource Center, “is an innovative program to increase breast health awareness and encourage more South Asian and Muslim women to get mammograms.” Join them for this free event that includes info on free screenings and demonstrations in English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati.

Siddhartha Deb & Aatish Taseer @ Blackstone Hotel ADDED 10/12
Thursday, October 20 @ 5:30pm

Deb, an author and professor at The New School, and Taseer, an author and journalist, present “A New India, Old Problems?” for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. They will discuss “how instability in the region, economic concerns, and growing problems with corruption, among other challenges, impact India and its neighbor, Pakistan, as a newly activated political class emerges.”

Ami Saraiya & The Outcome @ Logan Square Auditorium ADDED 10/4
Thursday, October 20 @ 8:00pm

Local artist Saraiya joins Chicago’s favorite “circus-punk marching band” Mucca Pazza and Fandanguero for a Halloween Shakedown to support the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.

Diwali Celebration @ Art Institute
Friday, October 21 @ 7:30pm

The museum hosts this benefit to support its programming and outreach associated with Indian art.

Takeover Tour @ Copernicus Theater
Friday, October 21 @ 8:30pm

Hip-hop/dance artists Imran Khan, Hard Kaur, Culture Shock, Sunny Brown, Lomaticc, Baba Khan, H-Dhami, and DJ Kamran perform on the far northwest side of Chicago.

Aakash Mittal @ Elastic Arts ADDED 10/9
Friday, October 21 @ 9:00pm

The 16th annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival brings Mittal to town for a show with Tatsu Aoki’s Shamisen Jazz Venture featuring Francis Wong.

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Citizenship Applications @ Indo-American Center
Saturday, October 22

Immigration attorney Dhenu Savla presents a free seminar at IAC.

Prashant Bhushan @ Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood ADDED 10/11
Saturday, October 22 @ 10:00am

Lawyer and social activist Bhushan gives a talk titled “Reshaping India’s Future: an Anti-Corruption Jan Lokpal Bill,” first at Loyola, and then at Roosevelt University’s Chicago campus at 2:00pm.

Go Garba with ~~Devang Patel~~ Vinod Rathod @ Bolingbrook High School UPDATED 10/18
Saturday, October 22 @ 7:00pm

Vaishnav Samaj Midwest presents a garba with live singers and orchestra and prizes for the best dancers.

Bhangratheque Diwali Night @ Dragonfly ADDED 10/4
Saturday, October 22 @ 9:00pm

DJs Jimmy Singh, RAV-E, and KRUSH provide the music for Bhangratheque’s latest club night.

Aneek & Anwesha @ Elgin High School ADDED 10/18
Sunday, October 23 @ 3:30pm

The winners of Indian TV singing competition “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” perform in Elgin.

Amitav Ghosh @ University of Chicago ADDED 10/12
Sunday, October 23 @ 4:00pm

Ghosh discusses the process of writing his new novel River of Smoke with journalist Victoria Lautman for the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Trikone-Chicago Book Club Meeting @ TBD ADDED 10/4
Sunday, October 23 @ 5:00pm

Join book club members in a discussion of Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy, winner of the Lambda Literary Award and Books in Canada First Novel Award.

Indian Classical Music Concert @ Chinmaya Mission
Sunday, October 23 @ 5:30pm

Chinmaya Mission Chicago presents a concert of North and South Indian classical music featuring Padma Vibhushan Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna & Grammy nominee Pandit Ronu Majumdar.

Kalapriya Dance @ Hamdard Center
Tuesday, October 25

The company’s dancers give a Diwali performance at Hamdard.

IACS Job Fair @ Navy Pier
Thursday, October 27 @ 10:00am

Indo-American Community Services hosts its 2nd annual job fair for students and professionals in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

The Many Worlds of Rabindranath Tagore @ University of Chicago
Thursday, October 27 – Friday, October 28

This 2-day conference “brings together leading scholars from around the world to discuss the different aspects of this extraordinary writer’s life and works.”

Husain Haqqani @ The Chicago Club
Friday, October 28 @ 12:00pm

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States discusses Pakistan’s future and his vision for U.S.-Pakistan relations for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Tibetan Art Talk @ Art Institute
Friday, October 28 @ 2:00pm

Follow a museum education lecturer on an introductory tour through the museum’s collection in this gallery talk.

Friends of Abid Ali Dinner @ Ashyana Banquets, Downers Grove ADDED 10/18
Friday, October 28 @ 8:00pm

Indian singer Poonam Bhatia performs at this gala honoring cricket legend Ali. For more info, call Ariff Ahmed at (630) 737-0298.

Jai Ho(rror)! @ Big Chicks ADDED 10/4
Friday, October 28 @ 10:00pm

Trikone-Chicago’s bimonthly dance party/fundraiser is back with its annual Halloween bash and, once again, an incomparable poster:

Building Bridges of Peace Conference @ Hilton Chicago
Friday, October 28 – Saturday, October 29

The Central Asia Institute’s conference features notable speakers including writer Bapsi Sidhwa and actor/activist Faran Tahir.

Diwali Family Celebration @ Art Institute
Saturday, October 29 @ 10:30am

The museum hosts a family festival that includes activities inspired by Indian traditions and workshops led by Kalapriya Dance.

Occupy Chicago Teach-Ins
Throughout October

Though it’s not specifically desi-related, I thought I’d include the numerous teach-ins and discussion groups occurring at the Occupy Chicago demonstrations. They sound like a great opportunity to learn about social and economic justice from local activists and scholars.

847-492-0809

Let the Games Begin…

Guest Blogger — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:00:04 +0000

Guest blogger Samir Goswami, a Chicago-based writer from India, originally wrote this article on the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi for Human Goods.

Samir spent the last fifteen years working toward policy reform for the issues of homelessness and housing, workforce development, human rights, violence against women, and sex trafficking, specifically working with survivors to have a direct say in their governance.

In 2008, the construction site was just a dusty field swarming with hundreds of men, many in tattered clothing and shorts, wearing boots and flimsy hard hats. Hundreds of thousands of visitors would one day go through the New Delhi airport they were rebuilding to attend the 2010 Commonwealth Games, hosted by India for the first time in a sweeping attempt to mold its 17-million-resident capital into a first-rate destination for the sporting fans of the world. For the next two years, the city would rumble with migrants and machines erecting stadiums, metro lines, hotels, and bridges, some of which were doomed to collapse before even being used. But this summer night, a Bobcat was the only piece of heavy machinery on the entire site.

Since the Indian government was spending millions on infrastructure improvements in anticipation of the CWG, my friend had decided to dabble in the construction business. In that typically adventurous and entrepreneurial spirit characteristic of many Delhi-ites, he bought himself a subcontract to build an exterior wall for one of the new terminals at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The prevailing wage for an unskilled laborer was 120 Indian Rupees per day ($2.60), and skilled workers earned 40 Rupees (90 cents) more. My friend, who provided about twenty-five of the hundreds of laborers for the section of the wall that he was subcontracted to build, made a 20 percent profit over his costs. Later, I met the general contractor and asked, if the laborers were offered a better wage and the contractors increased safety precautions—would that not reduce both the financial and human cost of completing the project?

He replied, “Why should I invest in a Bobcat, and pay to train someone to run it, when I can just hire thirty men for half that cost to dig a hole?”

Digging a Hole

Two years later, Delhi finds itself in a hole of its own digging, the depth of which no one is yet quite sure of. From October 3 – 14 New Delhi is hosting the 19th Commonwealth Games, held every four years. Since 1930 the Games have been open to athletes from countries once under the colonial rule of Great Britain. According to the Commonwealth Federation (CGF), “Underlying every decision made by the CGF are three core values: HUMANITY – EQUALITY – DESTINY. These values help to inspire and unite millions of people and symbolize the broad mandate of the CGF within the Commonwealth.”

The 2010 Games, however, have reflected anything but these principles. Reports of exorbitant cost overruns, shoddy construction work, the use of child labor, and the documented increase in sex trafficking to meet the demand for commercial sex have shrouded the Games in controversy. Sadly, when British Olympian Tom Daley was asked by ITN News about the allegations of child labor to build some of the facilities in India in which he will be competing, he replied, “I just have to focus on my performance, because that is the only thing I can do. I can’t sort out what else is happening in India.”

But in a country where a booming economy has not had a significant impact on reducing exploitation and alleviating poverty–a country that is hosting the Commonwealth Games in the first place to showcase itself as a “world class” nation–what better issue is there to “sort out?”

“The sex industry is out-organizing the Games’ planners!”

Human trafficking, the fundamental devaluing of a human being as a good, is not new in India. Unlike under British colonialism where a foreign government enslaved our grandparents, 90 percent of trafficking in India is internal. We traffic our own. According to the extensive 2010 Trafficking In Persons report, published by the U.S. State Department, India’s efforts to prevent exploitation and provide services to victims are dismal. And it’s no wonder: Along with the corruption and extreme poverty that make trafficking rampant is the ongoing mass migration of disenfranchised rural workers to urban centers, crippling the ability of governments and organizations to identify victims of actual slavery.

Building a road in the President’s Estate Quarters as Delhi rushes to finish work for the Commonwealth Games. (photo by Carol Mitchell)

Migration of poor workers into Delhi in search of job opportunities related to the Games exacerbates this already increasing movement of rural Indians to wealthy cities to escape the dearth of options and social infrastructure in their poorer home states. Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an Indian organization working to end sex trafficking and the exploitation of women, led a campaign to pressure the Indian government to address the issue of women who have migrated to Delhi from depressed areas of India to help construct the new, urban, world-class dreamscape.

A specific CWG-related concern of Apne Aap is the lack of planning to accommodate these female migrants. The organization has pressured the Indian government to invest in housing to ensure safety from sexual exploitation that is a common experience of migrant women, and provide for transportation back to their home states upon completion of their work for the Games.

The organization’s director, Ruchira Gupta, is concerned about the lack of options faced by these “hundreds of thousands of migrant young women who have come to Delhi to build the new New Delhi, which is the stadiums, the roads, [and] the houses where the people for the CWG will be living.”

A road in Delhi where laborers build drainage. Women do a lot of the hauling in construction work. There are not enough mobile creches so women bring their children to the work site. Several media outlets have documented the apparent utilization of these children to help speed construction. (photo by Carol Mitchell)

Apne Aap has also documented the increased trafficking of women into Delhi from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and other poor areas to satisfy a demand for prostitution from an influx of tens of thousands of foreign men. According to Gupta, “There are tourists coming from all over the world and from inside of India to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, and based on experience with other sporting events around the world such as the [2010 FIFA] World Cup in South Africa, the sex industry has anticipated a rise in need for prostituted sex. So they have organized very fast to cater to what they anticipate will be a huge demand…in fact they have organized much faster than the organizers of the games!”

Apne Aap alleges that brothel owners anticipate such a high demand for prostitution that they are injecting young girls with Oxytocin, a hormone that hastens puberty and premature physical development, to cater to the many male CWG visitors. Many of these young women are also being taught certain English words to facilitate basic conversations with these buyers of sex.

Unacceptably, according to Gupta, the predictability of these concerns is falling on deaf ears.

Missed Opportunities

A government’s priorities are reflected in its budgets, and we, the citizens, are responsible for electing and re-electing those who set these priorities. The Indian government has already spent 114 times more on the construction of the Games’ facilities than initially projected. Total expenditure has thus far dwarfed investments into crucial social programs such as health and family welfare, the government’s flagship “Education for All” initiative, and schemes to bolster rural employment opportunities that would discourage migration into Delhi. Furthermore, the promises that the Games would actually generate revenue are being debunked in the Indian press. Of the $2.5 billion spent on the Games so far, only $75 million has been recouped from much-hyped corporate sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales.

Plans for the Commonwealth Games Village luxury apartments, built to house athletes, media, and other visitors during the 10-day festivities. The units will be sold, some by the Delhi Developmental Authority, to new residents after the Games.

These fiscal policies are not the actions of a state that prioritizes social welfare in any meaningful way. As of this writing, calls by Indian media pundits to call off the Games, as well as decisions by acclaimed athletes to skip the trip to Delhi, are dominating headlines. The re-interpretation of the Games’ acronym, CWG, as Conmen’s Wealth Gains is seen frequently as the status updates of Delhi’s Facebook users. The government’s continued response is to dismiss such allegations–further evidence that the state is willfully ignoring the values of equality and humanity that the event is supposed to engender.

I am an Indian citizen living in Chicago. My parents live in New Delhi. I visit India every two years, and still consider New Delhi as my hometown. I achieved U.S. Permanent Residency exactly one year ago, but I have no intention to give up my Indian passport to pursue U.S. citizenship when I become eligible for it in four years for one simple reason: Pride.

Many of us expatriates living abroad are proud of the economic progress our country has made and the cultural acceptance Indians have achieved abroad. The latest Bollywood movies are now routinely shown in major U.S. theatres and many of the latest sitcoms now feature Indian characters, however stereotypical. U.S. corporations are increasingly doing business in India and with Indian companies, and investors are looking at the country’s growth and educated workforce as a major opportunity for their own progress. According to most economic and cultural indicators, in a very short period of time since our independence from Great Britain in 1947, we’ve done well.

With a history of institutionalized inequality that pre-dates the establishment of the British Raj in India in 1858, in 1950 we adopted one of the world’s most progressive constitutions when we became a self-governing democracy. Our constitution was supposed to eliminate a rigid and hierarchical caste system that Mahatma Gandhi fought tirelessly against. Laws, enacted through democratic processes, were created to bolster human rights and guarantee equality of opportunity to those who had been oppressed on the basis of caste, economic condition, or gender.

A rickshaw driver pedals a couple past sprawling construction of Delhi’s expanded metro system. (photo by Bruce Thomson)

The 2010 Commonwealth Games were intended to catapult my country into the status of a “world class” nation based upon real progress. It was an opportunity to showcase India’s evolution as the world’s largest democracy whose recent exponential economic growth has benefited all. Instead, the international spotlight is focusing its bright beam on the failure of the illusion of progress that India’s ruling class has unsuccessfully tried to portray to the world.

Instead of trying to rectify this failure in a meaningful way, organizers and elected officials are now attempting to shamelessly save face by rejecting and ignoring the mountains of evidence of mishandling that plague the Games.

How the other half lives: Old (North) Delhi. (photo by Mani Babbar)

The finger-pointing will undoubtedly continue and reigning officials might lose the next election. But that is not enough. If New Delhi wants to establish itself as a “world class” city, then we must hold it and ourselves to a higher standard. It is up to all of us–Indian citizens, foreign visitors, audience members, Commonwealth athletes and members of the Commonwealth Federation. We must set and enforce a basic set of moral standards grounded in human rights that any city that aims to host the world’s next global sporting event should adhere to.

In a few months I will return to Delhi to visit my parents. I will probably go through the terminal that now stands on the field swarming with migrant laborers that I visited in 2008. I’m sure the airport will seem as modern and spectacular as the Indian government claims it to be, and New Delhi will be as vibrant and bustling as ever with the dream of collective prosperity. When I land at the airport, however, I will know that I am walking through a deep, deceptive hole into a city relentlessly hawking what has become as much a commodity as the hands that built it: Illusion.

Header images by Seaview99, Esthr, and Eileen Delhi

Protest photo by Joe Athialy

Anti-mining Victory in Orissa

Umang — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:15:22 +0000

On August 25, the Indian government rejected a bid by a London-based company, Vedanta, to develop a bauxite mine in tribal regions of Orissa. In its rejection, the government acknowledged the environmental catastrophes and cultural destruction that would occur in areas that have been inhabited by Adivasis for generations.

In addition to bauxite (an aluminum-containing rock), this area produces a significant amount of coal, iron, and chromite. In February 2010, Amnesty International published a detailed report of a yearlong, on-site investigation. Findings included minimal local involvement in development plans, distribution of misinformation about the project, human rights and legal violations associated with use of the land in this way, and inevitable air and water contamination. The report also noted that local people have yet to benefit from the presence of national and international extractive companies; Orissa is one of the poorest states in the country, with 46% of the population living under the national poverty level (less than US$330 a year). In fact, the study reported anecdotally that local people have suffered economically as a result of these industries, experiencing decreased employment opportunities, loss of grazing land and farmland, and increased prices due to influx of laborers.

Dharma Deen Alliance: Exploring Hindu-Muslim Unity

Guest Blogger — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:49:37 +0000

Guest blogger Ravi resides in Chicago and is a co-founder and blogger for Dharma Deen Alliance. He has also written articles for other magazines such as Clamor and Hinduism Today.

When it comes to South Asia we’re given a continual stream of news stories about communalism and sectarian violence or tension between Hindus and Muslims. Mobs in Gujarat attacking each other, violence in Mumbai, and a slew of rhetoric from both sides that seek to inflame tensions. This focus on intolerance from mainstream news sources also further miseducates the public and contributes to increasing divisions.

What if, instead of always providing undeserving exposure to nationalists, terrorists, and hate mongers wrapped in fanaticism, we focused on cooperation between these two communities that are supposedly hostile to each other? What if you read about practitioners who follow the real tenets of Islam and Hinduism by aiding each other and living in peace? Does that sound too far-fetched or hard to imagine?

Read the story of Hindus in Gujarat who helped reconstruct a Sufi shrine? Heard of the Muslims in Kerala who allow their mosque to serve as a temporary mandir to Hindus traveling on pilgrimage? How about the Hindus who helped Muslims break fast by sharing their food after their homes were destroyed in flood-hit Bihar? Maybe you didn’t know that Muslim artists in Kashmir helped renovate a decaying temple or that there are communities where Hindus and Muslims celebrate Eid and Navratri together.

This is where the idea of Dharma Deen Alliance came from: a website that to aims to restore some balance to all the negativity surrounding Hindu-Muslim relations. Why should all the fanatics and people uneducated on their religions’ canon monopolize all the publicity? Dharma Deen is a blog run by both a Muslim and a Hindu seeker. Not only will we present news stories on interfaith unity, we’ll discuss in depth the tenets, concepts, and laws of our respective spiritual paths. And unlike the extremists whose intention is to foster division, we’ll back up our call for harmony by directly quoting our scriptures, our prophets and avatars, and the saints who were steeped in both traditions.

Visit us on the web for weekly posts or subscribe by email to our blog @ www.dharmadeen.com.

Extra: Check out this video on Malerkotla, a shining example of communal harmony.

Dharma Deen: Exploring Hindu/Muslim Spirituality

Aparna — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:29:39 +0000

Check out this new blog that was posted to the SAPAC listserv: http://dharmadeen.com. It aims to counter the misconception that Hinduism and Islam cannot co-exist.

More on the project, from its founders Azeem and Ravi:

WHAT IS DHARMA DEEN ALLIANCE?

The word “dharma” is Sanskrit and “deen” Arabic.

Both loosely defined mean “righteousness” or “path”–specifically the spiritual path. A true devotee’s goal is following this path–not wasting time on petty issues, not rivalry about which religion is superior, not bothering with extremist ideology, or seeking converts. A devout Hindu must follow dharma, while a devout Muslim must follow deen. Dharma-Deen Alliance is a blog run by two aspirants on their respective paths to Higher Truth, and it will explore scriptural law, proper living, and devotional love.

In addition, Dharma Deen Alliance will counter the misconception that Hinduism and Islam can’t co-exist together. Because of our South Asian backgrounds we’re especially bothered by the consistent focus in the news about violence between Hindus and Muslims. We’ll post news stories ignored by the media documenting unity between both communities. Working and living together peacefully with no quarrel, taking care of each other’s temples and mosques, and celebrating holidays and festivals side by side. And we’ll honor the lives of saints and seekers who worked to reconcile both faiths such as Shirdi Sai Baba, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Ramakrishna, and numerous others.

Read the authors’ purpose statements here:
Azeem: http://dharmadeen.com/about/purpose-statement-by-azeem/
Ravi: http://dharmadeen.com/about/purpose-statement-by-ravi/

Of Torture and Inquiry

Umang — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:52:05 +0000

On July 6, 2010, the British government launched a judicial inquiry into the collusion of British officials with acts of torture carried out by U.S. officials as part of the so-called “War on Terror.” In accordance with the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, proven victims will receive financial compensation. This monumental decision was announced one day before the fifth anniversary of the 7/7 Tube bombings, and so somewhat ironically, coincides with heightened security measures and counter-terrorism efforts in the U.K.

Hopefully, the U.K.’s willingness to open this line of inquiry will increase pressure on the U.S. government to investigate this inglorious part of its own history and to reconsider the strategies it currently employs as part of anti-terrorism campaigns. There has been wide-ranging resistance from U.S. officials to exploring claims, prosecuting perpetrators, and compensating victims.

This issue seems particularly relevant here and now because of the recent trial of former Chicago police detective Jon Burge. Burge’s alleged torture of African Americans on the South Side of Chicago has been documented by the Chicago Reader for two decades. Burge was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice as related to past abuses, but the statute of limitation has expired for prosecution for the torture itself.
The South Side of Chicago, Guantanamo Bay, secret detention camps in Pakistan, Abu Ghraib: very different settings, all too similar stories. People detained (often without just cause), abused, and eventually released. Public officials colluding with cover-ups. Racial and religious profiling and persecution.

I don’t know if it was a coincidence that the U.K.’s torture inquiry opened the day before the anniversary of the Tube bombings. It seems to me an acknowledgment that an essential component of assuring the security of any country is a willingness to openly discuss and redress past injustices.