Setu Samudram Project
Via: "Vedprakash Sharma"
Living and Working Conditions of Migrant Workers on Chennai’s ‘IT corridor’ : second posting
Via: "venkat t"
Living and Working Conditions of Migrant Workers on Chennai's 'IT corridor'
Second posting
Sorry for the delayed posting. I was not in town for the best part of
April and thought I would put in more field work before I write to
you.
The work on OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) which is designated to be IT
corridor has been speeded up. Only a small stretch of about 4 km has
been completed and work has moved to another 5-7 kms. One can see
state of the art machinery at work, razing to complete the road on
schedule. The construction activity along the IT corridor is
progressing unabated as multi storied buildings are fast changing the
skyline.
Most of the construction involves unorganised migrant workers from
Andhra as well as from other eastern and central Indian states. They
are housed in camps close to or on the construction site. In one such
camp we saw 500-700 persons coming to work after lunch from dwelling
units that at best could house around a 100. Their houses (which are
usually a few sheets of aluminum or steel) are provided by the
construction contractors as 'temporary housing'. "We provide them with
houses on the site and once work is over here, we move them to the new
site, we have to provide them with a place to live or else they will
not work, they cannot afford it" said a contractor. Thus the workers,
move from one temporary house to another as long as there is
construction work.
From enquiries in different places, we can conclude that a day's
labour to an unskilled male worker fetches anywhere between Rs.110 to
Rs.150, while it is not more than Rs.90 for women. "they (contractors)
also give us rooms to stay for free" added a female worker from one of
the camps. They generally work from 10 am to 6 pm with an hours break
for lunch. While the contractors state that they work only for six
days a week, they are generally working on all the seven days a week.
On one site, where they were working on a Sunday, which was supposed
to be a non working day, the contractor said that they would only work
half a day and go to shop for the week's groceries and provisions.
The children, who are too small, ie under the age of 10, are not
employed in any form. But due to lack of day care facilities in many
of the camp sites, children while away their time around construction
site and at times perilously close to construction activity. There
have been few NGOs, which have set up day care centers, where they
also provide primary level education. One NGO runs a couple of centers
for migrant workers where the teach in telugu medium.
Talking about the condition of the migrant workers, the Director of
the NGO, who was one of the key informants said "they (migrant
workers) live in some 25 or more small camps near the sites of
construction, but the problem is they are a floating population. They
keep moving from site to site and to their native places. They live in
small places with no water or other sanitation facilities, many fall
ill and have to leave, their wages is low and they are also cheated by
the contractors, there are also a high level of fatal accidents in the
construction sites. He said "the wages for a local is around 250/-
while for the same work a migrant male worker is paid 150/-. Ladies
are paid around 80/- a day" but while dealing with issues he did not
raise any specific issue about women though he said women numbered
more than men.
While the contractors deny employing people below 18 years of age, we
did encounter a few who said they were 16 years. (They looked
younger).
There are very minimal facilities for sanitation and health care. Some
workers desired having a medical practitioner visit them on a regular
basis. While they did not complain of any accidents or injuries during
work, they did complain that medical fees were exorbitant. One
contractor said "we do provide them with first aid and bear the
expenses for treatment in case of injuries during work, but for
contracting fever or other ailments they have to go to a doctor at
their cost. Most of them especially those who have been staying here
for long go to a clinic in vallurvarkottam ( approx. 20 kms away)
where they charge nominal fees and also provide free medicines. The
facilities in themselves lack sanitation facilities. But only a more
intrusive investigation would reveal how the workers manage with this
lacuna.
Over the next month, we would be concentrating on building rapport
with the construction workers while also meeting with officials from
the labour department as well as with contractors and companies to
know about the terms and conditions under which the workers have been
contracted.
I am working on setting up a blog and hope to put some of the pictures
on it. I will send the URL soon.
Thank you
Living and Working Conditions of Migrant Workers on Chennai's 'IT corridor'
Second posting
Sorry for the delayed posting. I was not in town for the best part of
April and thought I would put in more field work before I write to
you.
The work on OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) which is designated to be IT
corridor has been speeded up. Only a small stretch of about 4 km has
been completed and work has moved to another 5-7 kms. One can see
state of the art machinery at work, razing to complete the road on
schedule. The construction activity along the IT corridor is
progressing unabated as multi storied buildings are fast changing the
skyline.
Most of the construction involves unorganised migrant workers from
Andhra as well as from other eastern and central Indian states. They
are housed in camps close to or on the construction site. In one such
camp we saw 500-700 persons coming to work after lunch from dwelling
units that at best could house around a 100. Their houses (which are
usually a few sheets of aluminum or steel) are provided by the
construction contractors as 'temporary housing'. "We provide them with
houses on the site and once work is over here, we move them to the new
site, we have to provide them with a place to live or else they will
not work, they cannot afford it" said a contractor. Thus the workers,
move from one temporary house to another as long as there is
construction work.
From enquiries in different places, we can conclude that a day's
labour to an unskilled male worker fetches anywhere between Rs.110 to
Rs.150, while it is not more than Rs.90 for women. "they (contractors)
also give us rooms to stay for free" added a female worker from one of
the camps. They generally work from 10 am to 6 pm with an hours break
for lunch. While the contractors state that they work only for six
days a week, they are generally working on all the seven days a week.
On one site, where they were working on a Sunday, which was supposed
to be a non working day, the contractor said that they would only work
half a day and go to shop for the week's groceries and provisions.
The children, who are too small, ie under the age of 10, are not
employed in any form. But due to lack of day care facilities in many
of the camp sites, children while away their time around construction
site and at times perilously close to construction activity. There
have been few NGOs, which have set up day care centers, where they
also provide primary level education. One NGO runs a couple of centers
for migrant workers where the teach in telugu medium.
Talking about the condition of the migrant workers, the Director of
the NGO, who was one of the key informants said "they (migrant
workers) live in some 25 or more small camps near the sites of
construction, but the problem is they are a floating population. They
keep moving from site to site and to their native places. They live in
small places with no water or other sanitation facilities, many fall
ill and have to leave, their wages is low and they are also cheated by
the contractors, there are also a high level of fatal accidents in the
construction sites. He said "the wages for a local is around 250/-
while for the same work a migrant male worker is paid 150/-. Ladies
are paid around 80/- a day" but while dealing with issues he did not
raise any specific issue about women though he said women numbered
more than men.
While the contractors deny employing people below 18 years of age, we
did encounter a few who said they were 16 years. (They looked
younger).
There are very minimal facilities for sanitation and health care. Some
workers desired having a medical practitioner visit them on a regular
basis. While they did not complain of any accidents or injuries during
work, they did complain that medical fees were exorbitant. One
contractor said "we do provide them with first aid and bear the
expenses for treatment in case of injuries during work, but for
contracting fever or other ailments they have to go to a doctor at
their cost. Most of them especially those who have been staying here
for long go to a clinic in vallurvarkottam ( approx. 20 kms away)
where they charge nominal fees and also provide free medicines. The
facilities in themselves lack sanitation facilities. But only a more
intrusive investigation would reveal how the workers manage with this
lacuna.
Over the next month, we would be concentrating on building rapport
with the construction workers while also meeting with officials from
the labour department as well as with contractors and companies to
know about the terms and conditions under which the workers have been
contracted.
I am working on setting up a blog and hope to put some of the pictures
on it. I will send the URL soon.
Thank you
Hygiene and the City: IFS Post 2
Via: "Chitra Venkataramani"
Hygiene and the City.
Second post.
I have spent the past month figuring out the stories that constitute
the book and collecting data.
The book has three parts. The first part is a compilation of parts of
interviews that looks at individual notions of cleanliness and order,
mostly in domestic set up. It also goes through Advertisements for
cleaning products, objects catalogued as being harmful (taken from old
newspaper articles).
The second and the third parts of the books both chronicle traveling
through the city in trains. But while the second part looks at the
journey as a series of maps, the third is the journey of a medical
student in a crowded compartment, looking at the idea of paranoia and
contagious diseases.
The second part of the book is narrated by a woman who imagines clean
and unclean as ideas that exist simultaneously. Her story maps objects
in a busy market place, the difference between private and public
gardens, and lastly the naala that run along the Central Railway line-
where is it the deepest, where is it murky and where is it clear; what
vegetation grows around it (strips along the railway lines are given
away for farming vegetables like spinach and coriander) and where do
these vegetables go?
The third part narrated by a medical student looks at the idea of
proximity and disease. If we go in a crowded train, what diseases do
we catch? How clean are crowds? Of course, it moves from the
surroundings in the train itself to how he imagines the disease will
enter our bodies. It also looks at ads put inside trains for curing
infections like ringworm to ads for faith healers and the ergonomic
data based on which spaces are designed.
Another part that had to be resolved was the language of each of the
three stories. The fist was pretty clear as each image could change
with the excerpt from the interview. The third borrows its language
from medical posters and from the ads, where figure are drawn out as
stenciled lines or as figures in screen printed pamphlets. I am still
working on a language for the second story.
I will be posting a few images from the book by next week and upload
them onto a blog. Will post that link later next week.
My primary sources of data have been newspaper ads (articles taken
from CED), Books documenting ads from the 40's (especially post war
advertising), books on anatomy, ads posted around the city on
telephone boxes and inside trains, and product design projects like
domestic scrubbers, road cleaning devices and a few medical posters
(hard to get- hospitals do not encourage people taking pictures or
even borrowing the posters)
Hygiene and the City.
Second post.
I have spent the past month figuring out the stories that constitute
the book and collecting data.
The book has three parts. The first part is a compilation of parts of
interviews that looks at individual notions of cleanliness and order,
mostly in domestic set up. It also goes through Advertisements for
cleaning products, objects catalogued as being harmful (taken from old
newspaper articles).
The second and the third parts of the books both chronicle traveling
through the city in trains. But while the second part looks at the
journey as a series of maps, the third is the journey of a medical
student in a crowded compartment, looking at the idea of paranoia and
contagious diseases.
The second part of the book is narrated by a woman who imagines clean
and unclean as ideas that exist simultaneously. Her story maps objects
in a busy market place, the difference between private and public
gardens, and lastly the naala that run along the Central Railway line-
where is it the deepest, where is it murky and where is it clear; what
vegetation grows around it (strips along the railway lines are given
away for farming vegetables like spinach and coriander) and where do
these vegetables go?
The third part narrated by a medical student looks at the idea of
proximity and disease. If we go in a crowded train, what diseases do
we catch? How clean are crowds? Of course, it moves from the
surroundings in the train itself to how he imagines the disease will
enter our bodies. It also looks at ads put inside trains for curing
infections like ringworm to ads for faith healers and the ergonomic
data based on which spaces are designed.
Another part that had to be resolved was the language of each of the
three stories. The fist was pretty clear as each image could change
with the excerpt from the interview. The third borrows its language
from medical posters and from the ads, where figure are drawn out as
stenciled lines or as figures in screen printed pamphlets. I am still
working on a language for the second story.
I will be posting a few images from the book by next week and upload
them onto a blog. Will post that link later next week.
My primary sources of data have been newspaper ads (articles taken
from CED), Books documenting ads from the 40's (especially post war
advertising), books on anatomy, ads posted around the city on
telephone boxes and inside trains, and product design projects like
domestic scrubbers, road cleaning devices and a few medical posters
(hard to get- hospitals do not encourage people taking pictures or
even borrowing the posters)
Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan: Stop right wing campaign to stifle Ajoka theatre
Via: "yasir ~"
it will only serve to polish the satire :)
i'd like some more please !
with zia it was the brilliant tv show fifty-fifty - although they may
be living off it, none of the actors have been able to get their
careers straight since - never had that kind of focused attention.
On 4/27/07, Harsh Kapoor wrote:
> http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/Ajoka27042007.html
> www.sacw.net > In Defence of Intellectual and Artistic Freedom in (or
> on) South Asia
> April 27, 2007
>
> Request for action against right wing campaign - State should not
> cave in to pressure from fundamentalists
>
> PAKISTAN: CAMPAIGN TO TERRORIZE THEATRE GROUP
>
> 1. The pro-Taliban elements and their political patrons have made an
> issue of an Ajoka play "Burqavaganza',
it will only serve to polish the satire :)
i'd like some more please !
with zia it was the brilliant tv show fifty-fifty - although they may
be living off it, none of the actors have been able to get their
careers straight since - never had that kind of focused attention.
On 4/27/07, Harsh Kapoor wrote:
> http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/Ajoka27042007.html
> www.sacw.net > In Defence of Intellectual and Artistic Freedom in (or
> on) South Asia
> April 27, 2007
>
> Request for action against right wing campaign - State should not
> cave in to pressure from fundamentalists
>
> PAKISTAN: CAMPAIGN TO TERRORIZE THEATRE GROUP
>
> 1. The pro-Taliban elements and their political patrons have made an
> issue of an Ajoka play "Burqavaganza',
on the politics of Popularisation of Science
Via: "Shiju Sam Varughese"
Dear friends,
My second posting is on the politics of science popularisation and the
emergence of
Public Understanding of Science (PUS) as a specialised area of
investigation within
Social Studies of Science (SSS).
The popularisation of science became an important agenda in the post world war
period. The turning point was a report named 'Science: The Endless
Frontier' produced
by Vannevar Bush, President Roosvelt's policy maker in 1945, where he advocated
autonomy for scientists from the political, economic and social
realms. The report
placed the public at the receiving end in contrast to the pre-war
period in which
science activism was a major trend in many countries. Such a change in
approach to
science popularisation enhanced the view that the scientific community had the
authority over scientific knowledge, and the priorities of scientific
research or
technological policy are produced through negotiation between the state and the
scientific community. Thus science gets assimilated into the hegemonic
ideology of
the modern nation state. Here the public is assumed as ignorant and needs to be
educated by scientists with the aid of the state. According to the
proponents of this
model of science popularisation, the life of citizens is impoverished
by an exclusion
from scientific thought and it was assumed that a wider exposure to scientific
thinking would lead to greater acceptance and support for science and
technology.
Through such construction of a homogenous, inert and ignorant public,
the positivist
image of science as monolithic and disembodied knowledge with a distinct and
impeccable method of investigation acquired acceptability. This
framework is also
successful in distancing science from public scrutiny and places the
scientist at a safe
position beyond public criticism. It legitimates further public
expenditure on science
through popularisation programmes and pays no heed to the public
response. The fact
that science could be problematic for society is ignored and thereby
the model rejects
the multitude of responses from the public as 'anti science'.
However, a new 'social constructivist' approach was proposed in the
late 1980s when
sociology of scientific knowledge turned to be a major trend within
SSS. The newly
proposed constructivist model, which is also known as the
'contextualist' model,
suggested a new perspective on the engagement of the public with
science. The main
proponents of this approach are Brian Wynne and Alan Irwin, and they
developed this
new model based on micro sociological studies, which depicted the
active role of local
communities in negotiating the meanings of science in their daily
life. In their
studies, science appears as a subculture with a diffuse collection of
institutions and
areas of special knowledge and theoretical interpretations whose forms and
boundaries are open to negotiation with other social institutions and forms of
knowledge.
The classic case study of the Cumbrian hill sheep farmers' encounter
with science,
done by Brian Wynne ('Sheep Farming after Chernobyl: A Case Study in
Communicating Scientific Information'. Environment Magazine, 31/2:
10-15, 33-39,
1989) shows how scientists and sheep farmers are different social
groups attempting
to express and defend their distinct social identities. The sheep
farmers of the Lake
District of northern England claimed that the radioactive fall-out
from the Chernobyl
accident had contaminated their sheep flocks and upland pastures. The
farmers found
their social and cultural identities as threatened by the form of
scientific interventions
since the scientists were not willing to take into consideration the
farmers' expertise
on the local environment and the social practices and relationships.
The farmers had
expressed specialist knowledge for the conduct and development of
science, but this
was ignored by scientists in their experiments in the field. The
scientists' ignorance,
lack of interest in local realities, and imposition of false
assumption about the agency
of local people ended up in a loss of trust among the farmers and the
consecutive
failure of scientific experiments and predictions. The expertise of
the farmers was
based on a deep cultural outlook, and which was incompatible with the
scientific-bureaucratic cultural idiom of standardization, formal and
inflexible methods
and procedures, and prediction and control, the study pointed out.
Unlike the former science popularisation model that undertook
large-scale public
surveys with the help of quantitative methods, the constructivist
model provided a
wide range of qualitative analytical tools and variables that made it
a most useful
framework. New areas of investigations have contributed to further
development of
the framework such as the study of scientific controversies, case
studies on science
movements and 'anti-science' movements, historical analysis of the encounter of
different communities with modern science in colonial backgrounds as well as
representations of science in popular culture. Thus the constructivist model
successfully problematises science and the practices of science
communication, and
its emphasis is on understanding how the public understands science. While the
former model blamed the public for lack of appreciation of science, the later
established the agency of the public and demanded scientists to be
more reflexive in
doing science. My study for SARAI draws theoretical tools from the latter.
with regards,
Shiju Sam Varughese,
JNU, NEW DELHI
Dear friends,
My second posting is on the politics of science popularisation and the
emergence of
Public Understanding of Science (PUS) as a specialised area of
investigation within
Social Studies of Science (SSS).
The popularisation of science became an important agenda in the post world war
period. The turning point was a report named 'Science: The Endless
Frontier' produced
by Vannevar Bush, President Roosvelt's policy maker in 1945, where he advocated
autonomy for scientists from the political, economic and social
realms. The report
placed the public at the receiving end in contrast to the pre-war
period in which
science activism was a major trend in many countries. Such a change in
approach to
science popularisation enhanced the view that the scientific community had the
authority over scientific knowledge, and the priorities of scientific
research or
technological policy are produced through negotiation between the state and the
scientific community. Thus science gets assimilated into the hegemonic
ideology of
the modern nation state. Here the public is assumed as ignorant and needs to be
educated by scientists with the aid of the state. According to the
proponents of this
model of science popularisation, the life of citizens is impoverished
by an exclusion
from scientific thought and it was assumed that a wider exposure to scientific
thinking would lead to greater acceptance and support for science and
technology.
Through such construction of a homogenous, inert and ignorant public,
the positivist
image of science as monolithic and disembodied knowledge with a distinct and
impeccable method of investigation acquired acceptability. This
framework is also
successful in distancing science from public scrutiny and places the
scientist at a safe
position beyond public criticism. It legitimates further public
expenditure on science
through popularisation programmes and pays no heed to the public
response. The fact
that science could be problematic for society is ignored and thereby
the model rejects
the multitude of responses from the public as 'anti science'.
However, a new 'social constructivist' approach was proposed in the
late 1980s when
sociology of scientific knowledge turned to be a major trend within
SSS. The newly
proposed constructivist model, which is also known as the
'contextualist' model,
suggested a new perspective on the engagement of the public with
science. The main
proponents of this approach are Brian Wynne and Alan Irwin, and they
developed this
new model based on micro sociological studies, which depicted the
active role of local
communities in negotiating the meanings of science in their daily
life. In their
studies, science appears as a subculture with a diffuse collection of
institutions and
areas of special knowledge and theoretical interpretations whose forms and
boundaries are open to negotiation with other social institutions and forms of
knowledge.
The classic case study of the Cumbrian hill sheep farmers' encounter
with science,
done by Brian Wynne ('Sheep Farming after Chernobyl: A Case Study in
Communicating Scientific Information'. Environment Magazine, 31/2:
10-15, 33-39,
1989) shows how scientists and sheep farmers are different social
groups attempting
to express and defend their distinct social identities. The sheep
farmers of the Lake
District of northern England claimed that the radioactive fall-out
from the Chernobyl
accident had contaminated their sheep flocks and upland pastures. The
farmers found
their social and cultural identities as threatened by the form of
scientific interventions
since the scientists were not willing to take into consideration the
farmers' expertise
on the local environment and the social practices and relationships.
The farmers had
expressed specialist knowledge for the conduct and development of
science, but this
was ignored by scientists in their experiments in the field. The
scientists' ignorance,
lack of interest in local realities, and imposition of false
assumption about the agency
of local people ended up in a loss of trust among the farmers and the
consecutive
failure of scientific experiments and predictions. The expertise of
the farmers was
based on a deep cultural outlook, and which was incompatible with the
scientific-bureaucratic cultural idiom of standardization, formal and
inflexible methods
and procedures, and prediction and control, the study pointed out.
Unlike the former science popularisation model that undertook
large-scale public
surveys with the help of quantitative methods, the constructivist
model provided a
wide range of qualitative analytical tools and variables that made it
a most useful
framework. New areas of investigations have contributed to further
development of
the framework such as the study of scientific controversies, case
studies on science
movements and 'anti-science' movements, historical analysis of the encounter of
different communities with modern science in colonial backgrounds as well as
representations of science in popular culture. Thus the constructivist model
successfully problematises science and the practices of science
communication, and
its emphasis is on understanding how the public understands science. While the
former model blamed the public for lack of appreciation of science, the later
established the agency of the public and demanded scientists to be
more reflexive in
doing science. My study for SARAI draws theoretical tools from the latter.
with regards,
Shiju Sam Varughese,
JNU, NEW DELHI
Pakistan: Stop right wing campaign to stifle Ajoka theatre
Via: Harsh Kapoor
http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/Ajoka27042007.html
www.sacw.net > In Defence of Intellectual and Artistic Freedom in (or
on) South Asia
April 27, 2007
Request for action against right wing campaign - State should not
cave in to pressure from fundamentalists
PAKISTAN: CAMPAIGN TO TERRORIZE THEATRE GROUP
1. The pro-Taliban elements and their political patrons have made an
issue of an Ajoka play "Burqavaganza', which was staged in Lahore in
March 2007. Five MMA MNAs submitted an adjournment motion in the
National Assembly, which was discussed on 26 April 2007. MMA members
used extremely provocative language against the writer/director of
the play and director of Ajoka, accused them of ridiculing Islamic
injunctions and demanded action against them under blasphemy laws.
Although several MNAs from Government and Opposition including women
MNAs wanted to speak on the motion but the speaker did not allow
them. The Minister for Culture Mr. G.G. Jamal announced that the
Government had banned the play and further action will be taken after
a report from the Punjab Government is received.
2. "Burqavaganza" is a satirical play, which uses Burqa as a metaphor
for double standards and cover-ups in the society. The play shows all
characters (men and women) wearing burqas, including politicians,
terrorist leaders and policemen. Issues addressed include gender
discrimination, religious extremism, terrorism, love marriage and
media programmes promoting intolerance. It had been made very clear
in the brochure of the play and before and after the play that the
theme of the play was not critical of any one's religious beliefs or
dress preference, but about the hypocrisy and double standards and
the feudal mindset. The audience loved the play and it got very good
press reviews. The play had been staged in collaboration with the
Lahore Arts Council and the Executive director of the Council greeted
the cast at the end of the play. On great public demand the play was
again staged on 18 April at the Panjpani Indo-Pak Theatre Festival at
Arts Council, Lahore.
3. The capitulationist stand taken by the Government in the face of
MMA onslaught is very disappointing and disturbing. Instead of
telling the fanatic MMA members not to intimidate theatre groups and
the arts councils, he arbitrarily announced a ban on the play and
promised further action. The speaker did not prevent the members from
using defamatory language against two leading theatre practitioner
Shahid Nadeem and Madeeha Gauhar. Reporting of the remarks can incite
fanatics to further harass Ajoka, Arts Council and other artists in
the country.
It is disturbing that the Government of President Musharraf is taking
a weak-kneed and apologetic stand on the continuous challenge by the
pro-Taliban elements. The Government inaction over Jamia Hafsa stand
off, Islami Jamiat attacks in Punjab University and moral policing in
the NWFP have not only damaged government's credibility and ability
to establish its writ, it has also emboldened the fanatics to spread
their tentacles. The Government has totally failed to punish those
who are challenging its writ and intimidating students and artists.
It has also miserably failed to protect those are being intimated and
attacked by the pro-Taliban elements.
4. Ajoka is an independent and non-commercial theatre group committed
to the cause of social change since 1984. It has addressed social
issues boldly but artistically. It is determined to promote a culture
of peace and enlightenment. As the Government of Pakistan has failed
in its duty to protect the rights of freedom of expression and paid
only lip service to the concept of "enlightened moderation' , we
appeal to the democratic governments and international human rights
and development organizations to support us and urge the Pakistan
Government to fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens rights
and take effective measures against the Talibanist who are
terrorizing the people of Pakistan.
5. We will appreciate if you could contact the Pakistan Government
expressing your concern at the harassment of Ajoka and urge the
Government to ensure that Ajoka is able to carry out its work as a
theatre group freely. Please address the letters to:
General Pervez Musharraf
President of Pakistan
President House
Constitution House
Islamabad, Pakistan
Please copy the letters to the following:
1. Mr Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister Secretariat
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
2. Mr G.G. Jamal
Federal Minister for Culture
Ministry of Culture
Pakistan Secretariat
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
3. Mr Pervez Elahi
Chief Minister Punjab
Chief Minister House
Lahore, Pakistan
4. Lt General Khalid Maqbool
Governor Punjab
Governor House
Lahore, Pakistan
5. Copy for information to;
Ajoka theatre
24-B Sarwar Road, Lahore Cantt Pakistan. Fax: 9242-666 5021
Thank you for your support,
Madeeha Gauhar 27 April 2007
Artistic Director
Ajoka Theatre
o o o
[ see also a news report on BBC ]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6598685.stm
BBC News
27 April 2007, 10:14 GMT 11:14 UK
Anger at Pakistan burka play ban
Women wearing burkas
The play is a satire on the wearing of burkas
The head of a Pakistani theatre company whose play about burkas was
banned by the government has said that she is hurt and astonished by
the decision.
The government banned the play because it said that it made
"unacceptable fun" out of Pakistani culture.
Madeeha Gauhar, head of the Ajoka Theatre group, said that there was
nothing offensive in the production against Islam or any other
religion.
She said that she was being pulled up for "promoting moderation".
Parody
Complaints about the issue came to light after Islamist MPs raised
the issue in parliament on Thursday. They complained that the play
was against "Koranic injunctions on the veil".
"The veil has long been part of local culture and nobody is allowed
to make fun of these values," Minister for Culture Ghazi Gulab Jamal
said.
Madiha Gohar
We never expected this from President Musharraf's government
Ajoka head Madeeha Gauhar
The satirical play Burqavaganza was staged this month by Ajoka
Theatre group in the eastern city of Lahore, known as the country's
cultural capital.
The government announced an immediate ban, and stopped it from being
staged in other cities following the end of its run in Lahore.
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says that the play is a parody
on the burka - the enclosing garment worn by conservative Muslim
women.
Pakistan has stringent laws for blasphemy against Islam or the
Prophet Mohammed with a maximum penalty of death.
"They have committed blasphemy against the Holy Prophet", Razia Aziz,
a conservative female parliamentarian told the assembly.
But the Ajoka Theatre group has said that it has not received any
official notification of the ban.
Censorship
"We have just heard the news from the press... the government has not
contacted us so far," Ms Gauhar said.
She said told the BBC that while she was not surprised that hardline
Islamists had raised the issue, she was "astonished at how the
government has reacted".
Ms Gauhar said that the Ajoka theatre group was one of the oldest in
the country, and had faced censorship before, particularly during the
military government of General Zia ul-Haq.
"But we never expected this from President Musharraf's government", she said.
Members of the Ajoka Theatre group in a play about family planning
The Ajoka Theatre group tackles controversial social issues
"They have promoted arts and artistes so far, in line with a policy
of enlightened moderation.
"The government now appears to be going back on its own policies.
"These are ominous signs for Pakistan.
"We are trying to end the evils from society, we are against forcing
women to wear the burka. I condemn the ban," she said.
Correspondents say that the play reflects what many see as the
aggressive behaviour of the burka-clad students attached to
Islamabad's Red Mosque.
Baton-wielding students of two schools linked to the mosque have
launched "morality patrols" targeting music and video shops and local
brothels.
http://www.sacw.net/FreeExpAndFundos/Ajoka27042007.html
www.sacw.net > In Defence of Intellectual and Artistic Freedom in (or
on) South Asia
April 27, 2007
Request for action against right wing campaign - State should not
cave in to pressure from fundamentalists
PAKISTAN: CAMPAIGN TO TERRORIZE THEATRE GROUP
1. The pro-Taliban elements and their political patrons have made an
issue of an Ajoka play "Burqavaganza', which was staged in Lahore in
March 2007. Five MMA MNAs submitted an adjournment motion in the
National Assembly, which was discussed on 26 April 2007. MMA members
used extremely provocative language against the writer/director of
the play and director of Ajoka, accused them of ridiculing Islamic
injunctions and demanded action against them under blasphemy laws.
Although several MNAs from Government and Opposition including women
MNAs wanted to speak on the motion but the speaker did not allow
them. The Minister for Culture Mr. G.G. Jamal announced that the
Government had banned the play and further action will be taken after
a report from the Punjab Government is received.
2. "Burqavaganza" is a satirical play, which uses Burqa as a metaphor
for double standards and cover-ups in the society. The play shows all
characters (men and women) wearing burqas, including politicians,
terrorist leaders and policemen. Issues addressed include gender
discrimination, religious extremism, terrorism, love marriage and
media programmes promoting intolerance. It had been made very clear
in the brochure of the play and before and after the play that the
theme of the play was not critical of any one's religious beliefs or
dress preference, but about the hypocrisy and double standards and
the feudal mindset. The audience loved the play and it got very good
press reviews. The play had been staged in collaboration with the
Lahore Arts Council and the Executive director of the Council greeted
the cast at the end of the play. On great public demand the play was
again staged on 18 April at the Panjpani Indo-Pak Theatre Festival at
Arts Council, Lahore.
3. The capitulationist stand taken by the Government in the face of
MMA onslaught is very disappointing and disturbing. Instead of
telling the fanatic MMA members not to intimidate theatre groups and
the arts councils, he arbitrarily announced a ban on the play and
promised further action. The speaker did not prevent the members from
using defamatory language against two leading theatre practitioner
Shahid Nadeem and Madeeha Gauhar. Reporting of the remarks can incite
fanatics to further harass Ajoka, Arts Council and other artists in
the country.
It is disturbing that the Government of President Musharraf is taking
a weak-kneed and apologetic stand on the continuous challenge by the
pro-Taliban elements. The Government inaction over Jamia Hafsa stand
off, Islami Jamiat attacks in Punjab University and moral policing in
the NWFP have not only damaged government's credibility and ability
to establish its writ, it has also emboldened the fanatics to spread
their tentacles. The Government has totally failed to punish those
who are challenging its writ and intimidating students and artists.
It has also miserably failed to protect those are being intimated and
attacked by the pro-Taliban elements.
4. Ajoka is an independent and non-commercial theatre group committed
to the cause of social change since 1984. It has addressed social
issues boldly but artistically. It is determined to promote a culture
of peace and enlightenment. As the Government of Pakistan has failed
in its duty to protect the rights of freedom of expression and paid
only lip service to the concept of "enlightened moderation' , we
appeal to the democratic governments and international human rights
and development organizations to support us and urge the Pakistan
Government to fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens rights
and take effective measures against the Talibanist who are
terrorizing the people of Pakistan.
5. We will appreciate if you could contact the Pakistan Government
expressing your concern at the harassment of Ajoka and urge the
Government to ensure that Ajoka is able to carry out its work as a
theatre group freely. Please address the letters to:
General Pervez Musharraf
President of Pakistan
President House
Constitution House
Islamabad, Pakistan
Please copy the letters to the following:
1. Mr Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister Secretariat
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
2. Mr G.G. Jamal
Federal Minister for Culture
Ministry of Culture
Pakistan Secretariat
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
3. Mr Pervez Elahi
Chief Minister Punjab
Chief Minister House
Lahore, Pakistan
4. Lt General Khalid Maqbool
Governor Punjab
Governor House
Lahore, Pakistan
5. Copy for information to;
Ajoka theatre
24-B Sarwar Road, Lahore Cantt Pakistan. Fax: 9242-666 5021
Thank you for your support,
Madeeha Gauhar 27 April 2007
Artistic Director
Ajoka Theatre
o o o
[ see also a news report on BBC ]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6598685.stm
BBC News
27 April 2007, 10:14 GMT 11:14 UK
Anger at Pakistan burka play ban
Women wearing burkas
The play is a satire on the wearing of burkas
The head of a Pakistani theatre company whose play about burkas was
banned by the government has said that she is hurt and astonished by
the decision.
The government banned the play because it said that it made
"unacceptable fun" out of Pakistani culture.
Madeeha Gauhar, head of the Ajoka Theatre group, said that there was
nothing offensive in the production against Islam or any other
religion.
She said that she was being pulled up for "promoting moderation".
Parody
Complaints about the issue came to light after Islamist MPs raised
the issue in parliament on Thursday. They complained that the play
was against "Koranic injunctions on the veil".
"The veil has long been part of local culture and nobody is allowed
to make fun of these values," Minister for Culture Ghazi Gulab Jamal
said.
Madiha Gohar
We never expected this from President Musharraf's government
Ajoka head Madeeha Gauhar
The satirical play Burqavaganza was staged this month by Ajoka
Theatre group in the eastern city of Lahore, known as the country's
cultural capital.
The government announced an immediate ban, and stopped it from being
staged in other cities following the end of its run in Lahore.
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says that the play is a parody
on the burka - the enclosing garment worn by conservative Muslim
women.
Pakistan has stringent laws for blasphemy against Islam or the
Prophet Mohammed with a maximum penalty of death.
"They have committed blasphemy against the Holy Prophet", Razia Aziz,
a conservative female parliamentarian told the assembly.
But the Ajoka Theatre group has said that it has not received any
official notification of the ban.
Censorship
"We have just heard the news from the press... the government has not
contacted us so far," Ms Gauhar said.
She said told the BBC that while she was not surprised that hardline
Islamists had raised the issue, she was "astonished at how the
government has reacted".
Ms Gauhar said that the Ajoka theatre group was one of the oldest in
the country, and had faced censorship before, particularly during the
military government of General Zia ul-Haq.
"But we never expected this from President Musharraf's government", she said.
Members of the Ajoka Theatre group in a play about family planning
The Ajoka Theatre group tackles controversial social issues
"They have promoted arts and artistes so far, in line with a policy
of enlightened moderation.
"The government now appears to be going back on its own policies.
"These are ominous signs for Pakistan.
"We are trying to end the evils from society, we are against forcing
women to wear the burka. I condemn the ban," she said.
Correspondents say that the play reflects what many see as the
aggressive behaviour of the burka-clad students attached to
Islamabad's Red Mosque.
Baton-wielding students of two schools linked to the mosque have
launched "morality patrols" targeting music and video shops and local
brothels.
Re: [Reader-list] unblog the web
----- Message de monica@sarai.net ---------
> Quite true. I suggested blog as I thought it was technically easy to use...
unfortunately, yes
it's one reason why it has become the generic form of online
publication, people choose it by default or conformism
one should be able to use a form which is adapated to function
it distresses me to see all those sarai related blogs, even all using
the same template
> Another place i would recommend is www.openmute.org where you can
>> Get a yourname.omweb.org address for your website with 5MB space
oh, yes, didn't think of that one
the url is
http://www.openmute.org/
> In the light of this great place (part of the extended network that
> sarai is part of) another one seems unnecessary, even if made by Sarai,
> unless it can offer more... (which we are still thinking about). What
> we are about to start is planet.sarai.net where people can find others
> in the sarai community together...
ok, i'll be watching that
f.
http://pleine-peau.com
> Quite true. I suggested blog as I thought it was technically easy to use...
unfortunately, yes
it's one reason why it has become the generic form of online
publication, people choose it by default or conformism
one should be able to use a form which is adapated to function
it distresses me to see all those sarai related blogs, even all using
the same template
> Another place i would recommend is www.openmute.org where you can
>> Get a yourname.omweb.org address for your website with 5MB space
oh, yes, didn't think of that one
the url is
http://www.openmute.org/
> In the light of this great place (part of the extended network that
> sarai is part of) another one seems unnecessary, even if made by Sarai,
> unless it can offer more... (which we are still thinking about). What
> we are about to start is planet.sarai.net where people can find others
> in the sarai community together...
ok, i'll be watching that
f.
http://pleine-peau.com
Re: [Reader-list] unblog the web
Via: Monica Narula
Quite true. I suggested blog as I thought it was technically easy to
use...
Another place i would recommend is www.openmute.org where you can
> Get a yourname.omweb.org address for your website with 5MB space
Also, its a space that believes in opensource/free software solutions.
As they say, their mission is:
Mission
OpenMute is a web resource project aiming to support cultural
practice in the information age. Through the provision of server
space, tools, practical guidance and critical contextualisation, we
seek to develop open and collaborative ways of working, and
contribute to the kind of public knowledge architectures that will
serve practitioners' needs over the long term.
In the light of this great place (part of the extended network that
sarai is part of) another one seems unnecessary, even if made by
Sarai, unless it can offer more... (which we are still thinking
about). What we are about to start is planet.sarai.net where people
can find others in the sarai community together...
best
M
Monica Narula
Raqs Media Collective
Sarai-CSDS
29 Rajpur Road
Delhi 110 054
www.raqsmediacollective.net
www.sarai.net
On 26-Apr-07, at 2:33 PM, fmadre@free.fr wrote:
> May I ask why you suggest a blog ?
> this ancient form is not specially well suited for posting pictures
> perhaps we could turn people to doing websites
> there are a number of providers that offer webspace for free, most of
> them with ads and some not. I suggest brinkster
> http://www.brinkster.com/
> I have researched ~20 of those for my next piece and brinkster is
> unobtrusive (which is not what I was looking for)
> also you could use live spaces or googlepages
> http://spaces.live.com/
> http://www.googlepages.com
> googlepages doesn't have ads, I think they assume eveybody is going to
> add theirs...
>
> if you are concerned with hotlinking there is tripod
> http://www.tripod.lycos.com/
> they have that really ugly system in place which replaces your
> hotlinked image with thei logo and a message, brrrr
>
> now if you want to have the full sponsored web experience you should
> go for fortunecity or geocities
> they produce really scary sites
>
> most of those will have aids to produce the html, most of them
> fairly ok
> then you could learn html or just use some tool to do it and upload
> your files, it's very easy
>
> of course a top solution would be that sarai opens hosting for its
> researchers with photo albums, etc, but that is a political choice
> about location as well as property
>
> the web should be preserved in its diversity
> there are enough blogs already
>
> f.
>
>
>> Hi Madhura
>>
>> The problem with posting images on the list is that there is a very
>> high possibility of virus getting through the administering of the
>> list as well - we must dismiss at least 50 spam/virus messages a
>> day...
>>
>> But i agree that those images should be seen
>>
>> Can i suggest that you start a blog? Places like blogspot make it
>> very
>> easy and if you go to http://freetemplates.blogspot.com/ you can
>> also
>> get a different template from the usual one.
>>
>> Once you have uploaded images on to that, members of the reader-list
>> could visit the blog and see the images.
>>
>> There are many on the list who keep blogspot blogs - i'm sure that
>> they can give more advice!
>>
>> best
>> M
>>
>> Monica Narula
>> Raqs Media Collective
>> Sarai-CSDS
>> 29 Rajpur Road
>> Delhi 110 054
>> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>> www.sarai.net
>>
>>
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request@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/>
Quite true. I suggested blog as I thought it was technically easy to
use...
Another place i would recommend is www.openmute.org where you can
> Get a yourname.omweb.org address for your website with 5MB space
Also, its a space that believes in opensource/free software solutions.
As they say, their mission is:
Mission
OpenMute is a web resource project aiming to support cultural
practice in the information age. Through the provision of server
space, tools, practical guidance and critical contextualisation, we
seek to develop open and collaborative ways of working, and
contribute to the kind of public knowledge architectures that will
serve practitioners' needs over the long term.
In the light of this great place (part of the extended network that
sarai is part of) another one seems unnecessary, even if made by
Sarai, unless it can offer more... (which we are still thinking
about). What we are about to start is planet.sarai.net where people
can find others in the sarai community together...
best
M
Monica Narula
Raqs Media Collective
Sarai-CSDS
29 Rajpur Road
Delhi 110 054
www.raqsmediacollective.net
www.sarai.net
On 26-Apr-07, at 2:33 PM, fmadre@free.fr wrote:
> May I ask why you suggest a blog ?
> this ancient form is not specially well suited for posting pictures
> perhaps we could turn people to doing websites
> there are a number of providers that offer webspace for free, most of
> them with ads and some not. I suggest brinkster
> http://www.brinkster.com/
> I have researched ~20 of those for my next piece and brinkster is
> unobtrusive (which is not what I was looking for)
> also you could use live spaces or googlepages
> http://spaces.live.com/
> http://www.googlepages.com
> googlepages doesn't have ads, I think they assume eveybody is going to
> add theirs...
>
> if you are concerned with hotlinking there is tripod
> http://www.tripod.lycos.com/
> they have that really ugly system in place which replaces your
> hotlinked image with thei logo and a message, brrrr
>
> now if you want to have the full sponsored web experience you should
> go for fortunecity or geocities
> they produce really scary sites
>
> most of those will have aids to produce the html, most of them
> fairly ok
> then you could learn html or just use some tool to do it and upload
> your files, it's very easy
>
> of course a top solution would be that sarai opens hosting for its
> researchers with photo albums, etc, but that is a political choice
> about location as well as property
>
> the web should be preserved in its diversity
> there are enough blogs already
>
> f.
>
>
>> Hi Madhura
>>
>> The problem with posting images on the list is that there is a very
>> high possibility of virus getting through the administering of the
>> list as well - we must dismiss at least 50 spam/virus messages a
>> day...
>>
>> But i agree that those images should be seen
>>
>> Can i suggest that you start a blog? Places like blogspot make it
>> very
>> easy and if you go to http://freetemplates.blogspot.com/ you can
>> also
>> get a different template from the usual one.
>>
>> Once you have uploaded images on to that, members of the reader-list
>> could visit the blog and see the images.
>>
>> There are many on the list who keep blogspot blogs - i'm sure that
>> they can give more advice!
>>
>> best
>> M
>>
>> Monica Narula
>> Raqs Media Collective
>> Sarai-CSDS
>> 29 Rajpur Road
>> Delhi 110 054
>> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>> www.sarai.net
>>
>>
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request@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/>
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