Folks, We recently showed Pradip Saha’s film on the Sunderbans and the vanishing landscape due to climate change which was very well received. He has started a blog on the climate change at http://climatenoise.wordpress.com
Best Wishes
Author Archive for som
Folks,
Two years ago, as SMC was starting off, the first event we organised was the premiere of Pradip Saha’s film “Faecal Attraction: The Political Economy of Shit.†I am delighted to tell you that Pradip is coming back with his new film, “Mean Sea Levelâ€, a documentary on the first climate change refugees, the inhabitants of Sagar island in the Sunderbans in West Bengal.
The film will be screened at the Khalili Auditorium, SOAS, Russell Square Campus on November 21st, 2008 at 7 pm. It will be followed by a question and answer session with Pradip. For those of you who saw the earlier film, you would know that it is an event not to be missed. For the rest, have a look at the details of Mean Sea Level below. Hope to see a lot of you at the event.
Mean Sea Level
Around 7500 Kms from the heart of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] in Geneva or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] secretariat in Bonn, Ghoramara and Sagar islands are going through their own testimony of climate change related phenomena.
CULTURE UNPLUGGED- An online film festival
Published by August 24th, 2008 in Uncategorized and films. 0 CommentsFolks,
Culture Unplugged is an unique initiative with a really remarkable collection of films. This makes for great news for independent film makers. So do go and have a look see. Fellow conspirator and independent documentary film maker Meenu Gaur’s film is show cased in this body of work at http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/464/Paradise-On-A-River-Of-Hell
Cheers
Most of the posts here are focussed on the media in India. We are critical of the media’s practices and more often than not, scornful of news production values.There are good reasons for such critique. The tools we use however are often theories developed in the west, notions of objectivity, dissemination of information, a knowledgeable public sphere and so on. I have been especially scornful of the doses of nationalism which permeates into the language of Indian media. The western media is generally not our sphere of discussion, but today I chose to make an exception.
Many of you will have heard the case of Simon Mann, SAS guerilla who was caught while trying to assassinate the president of Equatorial New Guinea. Yesterday, he was produced in court in the country. The Guardian is the flag bearing liberal newspaper in the UK. The use of language thus becomes even more interesting. The reporter almost accuses the country’s courts for conducting proceedings in Spanish. I wonder if England would have Tamil language court proceedings if an LTTE member is arrested for a coup against the government. The report makes a deal about security proceedings. This by a security obsessed West. The Us and Them game is played out blatantly. My rantings could go on and on but read the story here.
I have stopped putting up my weekly column for Metro Now for several months now. I just could not reconcile our imagined audience of this blog to those commuting every morning from North Delhi to Central and from Karol Bagh to Nizamuddin. The result was gaffes and mistakes. Against my better judgement but on the insistence of a fellow blogger I put up my last column. I apologise in advance for simplifying Foucault’s aesthetics of the self and Marxist dialectics. Here goes:
Home Minister Shivraj Patel, going against the popular sentiment recently stated that people who ask for Afzal Guru’s hanging cannot demand leniency for Sarabjit. This got me thinking about our relationship with the enemy country, my friends here in London and Pakistan and the past few years of joy.
I first met Adnan Sattar in the dimly lit corridors of a student housing complex in London, corridors smelling of stale smoke, cheap liquor and hurried sex. Adnan had the room opposite me and I thought it was someone’s idea of a joke, put these blokes together and lets see if they fight.
We have been doing a lot of stories and comments on climate change issue, trying to make a major correction over the mistake environmentalists did in the past, that is to put the issue under a stupid category called ‘environment’. We are also part of the failure! It is understandable that environmentalists till now have tried to keep a range of mainstream subjects that involves basic well-being and survival of the majority of the earth as a ‘fringe’ concern, just to earn exclusivity. We seriously think that the incapability of large educated population of the world to see climate change as a basic political contradiction of our times arises out of the issue being categorised under ‘environment’
Carbon-free capitalism
(This fist appeared as a leader in Down To Earth)
Climate change is seen as new opportunity to renew old orders
In recent months, Delhi has seen unprecedented growth in star foreign visitors flying in by night to advise us on the impending dangers of climate change and hand out ‘how to’ manuals on reducing the threat. These visitors have Indian friends who have just heard of this strange rogue phenomenon and find it damn cute to organize ‘climate balls’ and ‘climate receptions’. The star guests are invariably former heads of states historically identified as the greatest climate criminals. The hosts are the business class, national or global, whose profit maximizing activities contribute to this crisis in nature.
Folks,
SMC has been quiet for a bit. Lack of time and other stuff has kept us away besides a few valiant attempts by Matti keeps the site going. We have had chats about public suicides and stuff. But given that so much is happening in South Asia right now, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet, we will talk of deaths later.
I start playing the devil’s advocate and given the Chinese image right now, this is dangerous. The following is a long passage from Arthur Miller’s autobiography Time Flies. The book was recommended to me by an octogenarian in Paris who said if she was allowed just one book, this would be it. I have felt that the book does live up to the recommendation with an intense portrayal of the early 20th century America and New York. (Recently, I have been accused of being lazy and to prove my detractors wrongs, I have keyed in two whole pages from the book with comments later. Enjoy)
I am finding it absolutely fascinating how the different media covers the incidents surrounding the Olympic torch’s journey across the world. As it nears India, have a look at how the two main newspapers cover it on the net and then have a look at the perspective of New York Times. Says a lot about media, press freedom and objectivity.
12 suggestions from Chinese intellectuals on Tibet
Published by March 22nd, 2008 in Tibet. 1 Comment
On 22nd March 2008, some of China’s leading intellectuals, writers and
artists submitted an open letter addressed to the government of PRC. The
letter outlines “Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation.”
This is a letter of enormous political significance. I attach the letter below.
March 22, 2008
Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the
Tibetan Situation by Some Chinese Intellectuals
1. At present the one-sided propaganda of the official Chinese media is having the effect of stirring up inter-ethnic animosity and aggravating an already tense situation. This is extremely detrimental to the long-term goal of safeguarding national unity. We call for such propaganda to be stopped.
2. We support the Dalai Lama’s appeal for peace, and hope that the ethnic conflict can be dealt with according to the principles of goodwill, peace, and non-violence. We condemn any violent act against innocent people, strongly urge the Chinese government to stop the violent suppression, and appeal to the Tibetan people likewise not to engage in violent activities.
I have come to expect less and less from the morning papers as have so many of us. The same stories, sex scandals, Obama and Clinton soap operas, the same faces, news narratives are bound by its own paradigms. But we still read the papers, for once in a while its ability to surprise us, throw up something delectable. Just a few days back, there was a brilliant condemnation of the “Allied forces” in Iraq by veteran journalist Fiske in the Independent. And today that delectable old Marxist, Tariq Ali has a lengthy tribute to the turbulent 60s, the decade of street protests, songs, marches and the violence. Of course, he is hagiographic, seeing through memory tinted sepia glasses, but it is a delightful read of an era so many of my friends had wanted to be a part of. An old friend would regularly tell me “Born a generation too late.” Here are the memories.
A Tibetan in Beijing has been compiling SMS messages being sent from within Tibet, distressing accounts of what Tibetans are going through as the Chinese forces crack down. This is amongst the few authentic sources of information in light of a curfew on information from the regime. Here goes
Tibet Watch: Chinese authorities shoot at protestors
Published by March 20th, 2008 in Tibet. 0 CommentsChina has called the recent unrest in Tibet a “life and death struggle.” Really, for the military might of China against monks and petrol bomb armed Tibet youths? UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to have a chat with the Dalai Lama and immediately China says it is concerned. Reminds me of a child throwing tantrums and the grown ups pandering to it. I attach a few news articles and blogs. (btw, anyone in India, can you tell us what Goerge Fernandes, that man who professed such love for Tibet, where is he these days. That man, as Amitave Ghosh said has gone through the ideological revolving door so many times that he has no clue where he stands anymore)
NY Times (an article on the Chinese and Tibetans living as neighbours)
BBC (Chinese authorities stepping up the crackdown, videos attached too)
The Guardian (China admits that dissent is spreading, blogs and videos)
Also attach a note on a film I saw aages back called “We are not all Monks”. Very interesting film on the realities of being Tibetan and young. http://laughingsquid.com/squidlist/calendar/9484/2005/3/1
And a letter.
Dear friends,
Our petition for restraint and dialogue in Tibet is exploding, with 253,353 signers since yesterday! Add your voice to the outcry now:
Sign the Petition! <http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/22.php?cl=64508789>
In just 36 hours, 253,553 of us have supported the Dalai Lama’s call for dialogue and human rights in Tibet. This is an incredible response–if each of us can get 4 more of our friends to sign the petition, we’ll hit 1 million this week!
After decades of suffering, the Tibetan people have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. The spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games is now on China, and Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner the Dalai Lama is calling to end all violence through restraint and dialogue–he urgently needs the support of the world’s people.
China’s leaders are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but we’re told many Chinese officials believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China’s leadership is right now considering a crucial choice between crackdown and dialogue that could determine Tibet’s–and China’s–future.
Folks,
after a really long time read a good article in a mainstream newspaper. Robert Fiske not only writes well but is a man who knows his history. Enjoy.
With China accusing the Dalai Lama of inciting riots, he has issued a statement saying he will resign if the violence continues. Reminds me of Gandhi and his hunger strike post Chauri Chaura, the same bait of the self in a larger politic. Meanwhile, the Independent reports that China is preparing for a crackdown by clearing Lhasa of witnesses.
The Guardian.
The rioting in Tibet is now reported to be spreading outside of Lhasa. The Dalai Lama is increasingly critical of the cultural domination by China and has accused the Chinese government of trying to overwhelm the Tibetan culture.
The Guardian
The Independent
www.freetibet.org is a good site to follow the happenings.
Also see here.
As the Chinese government given deadline to surrender for Tibetan insurgents loom closer, the rumours on the numbers dead from the clashes vary. We continue to scan some international headlines here.
As the situation in Tibet worsens, and China’s stranglehold increases, the silence of governments across the world is deafning. Mainstream media offers little which illuminates. We at SMC will try to put together as much as we possibly can and keep a watch on the situation. If you do have any information, please do contact us. Individual bloggers can contact us on our emails listed on the site.
Some stories
In The Guardian.
In The BBC
In the NY Times.
In the International Herald Tribune.
I also attach some of the recent history and Chinese role in the country to contextualise the present.
These are interesting links which gives a good overview
This is from tibet.com and has links to several articles.
I have been away too long, me thinks. I was quite keeping up to date with India’s literary scenes, or so I thought, till I read this article in the International Herald Tribune. Not only do those investment bankers make money, now they are writing best sellers. Can anyone do a review of Chetan Bhagat’s books for us, please.
The link to the article is here
The Cynical makers of our reality
Published by February 8th, 2008 in Latest news, Religion, guest writer and journalists and reporters. 1 CommentHegel reminded the philosophers of his time to read the newspapers. Derrida states that the same responsibility today would require us to understand the mechanics of news production. Today again , I was taken into the murky world of how news is made. Yes, news in the West, news in the BBC and the Guardian. And the rest of the right wing pack followed.
The lead story everywhere was the tirade the Arch Bishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was subjected to for his calling for a introduction to Sharia law in Britain (the complete speech). MPs are calling for resignations, the tabloid press is having a field day. The BBC 10 o clock news was brilliantly using archive photos of floggings and amputations. The Guardian’s hard copy headline reads “Uproar as Archbishop says Sharia law inevitable in UK”
A friend actually went to hear what the Arch Bishop had to say. I introduce Priya Singh to you and an email she sent to her friends on the speech.
Priya Singh
The one lakh car and the middle class fear
Published by January 31st, 2008 in Latest news and comics. 3 CommentsWhile avidly following the Tata One Lakh Car’s media campaign, it’s international coverage, which included front pages in The Independent and a section with Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight, we at SMC have not been particularly involved. Call it lack of resources, the grinding PhD process, it was our friend Pradip Saha from CSE who would send us his interesting renditions of what he feels is happening on Indian roads. These cartoons were collected by a friend of his and found our way to us.
I hate to bring in class when the matter is environment. One is quickly accused of being a Socialist and dismissed. But these cartoons are not about saving Planet Earth but a middle class discourse meant for the middle class to enjoy. There is a horror that people from the lower economic strata, known as our maids; the roadside beggars, will be now driving cars. Of course the fear is exaggerated, as cartoons do. But make no mistake, a repition of theme is telling the comfortable middle class of Delhi and Mumbai, now your servants will drive cars, so where will your status be?
To tell you the truth, most maidservants will not be able to afford a hundred thousand rupees, nor will the roadside beggar. What will happen is most of us will buy our second or third cars. We might even give the office help a key to the car to facilitate our work. But it will be us, not whom we consider a threat and thereby want to control. I hate to bring in class to this discussion but again, this is not about the environment.
Suicide bomber hits Pakistani High Court
Published by January 10th, 2008 in Pakistan and Panic time. 3 CommentsJust saw the news. Putting up some links.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/10/news/Pakistan-Bombing.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2238322,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Pakistan-Bombing.html?hp
Folks,
Most of us are aware of the arrest of Binayak Sen, Vice President of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on charges which are strongly suspected to be trumped up against him for his work with the tribals in Chattisgarh.
A petition to the Prime Minister for his release is now online and one can sign it.
I attach the link
http://petitions.aidindia.org/Binayak/index.php
Several other links which has news and background on Der Sen’s arrest follows. We hope that we will get more contributions from our readers who are on ground and know more of the situation.
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2007/sen-updates.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binayak_Sen
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