[Reader-List] relay

Re: [Reader-list] ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL

reader — 2008-05-13T20:15:02Z

Via: "Vishal Rawlley"

This is a follow up post on my intrigue with 'one second films'.

So I took the time to watch all the entries in this annual one second film
festival from the last three years that this festival has existed. And even
though they are only one second long, the films did take a few minutes to
load. Like the drive to the movie hall can be longer than the duration of
the film... traffic jams... buffering of bytes... its the same thing...

There were about 60-80 films each year made by a variety of people: 19 year
old illustrators, 30 year old graphic designers, 40 year old college
professors, lingerie vendors, skateboarders, performance artists, amateur
video artists and one or two filmmakers. So quite a variety of people there
exploring the new format. Like in the early days of cinema when magicians,
inventors, vaudeville entrepreneurs,.. all had their own take on the new
medium.

and here i am suggesting that the one second format is radically different
from the one minute and five minute films that have become a real vogue.

The variety of one seconder's can be clubbed into a few consistent themes,
and then there were a few that did not fit anywhere. Lots of porn clips,
lots of potty humour (a shot of the commode with shit that is flushed out in
a second, a fart and everyone stares with a 'who was that' look, a grunt as
protagonist exerts himself on the toilet seat,...), Bush bashers with their
one second ironies,... so these were the usual people having a lot of fun or
being too serious...

then there were the one second "actualities": lots of eye blinks, lighting
of a match, the popping of a snack into the mouth, a gun shot...

the clever cyclical animations, the unexpected moment (humor), found footage
of a special effect moment,... were also common devices

then the really annoying abstract clips from "art projects"

but the real interesting themes were: city, time, memory

the city:
- a sped up 360 degree shot from a traffic intersection
- the closing and opening of a subway train's doors
- a second of life in a popular cafe in bombay

time:
- a bomb tied to a clock blows off
- a shot of a clock on an old tower without the second's hand

memory:
- a perfect moment: when she smiled and pushed the hair away from her face
- a flap of a butterfly's wings
- a 20-25 frame burst of very popular/ common/ familiar images all of which
one can register and recognize in a fraction of a second!!! (this was a
revelation to me)

there was one beautiful film that had collected just the "the end" credit
from different black and white films when it appears on the last frame of
the film and montaged a bunch of these together in one second. amazing! so
much cinematic memory crammed in that one second.

there was another film which was just a simple smiley emoticon uploaded as a
quick time file!

which makes me think that all these one second films could be called
"emoticons". emoticons are tiny and can be inserted in between words. they
are the new form of hieroglyphic writing. see any chat room and there is a
riot of fonts and colours and smileys and emoticons... and how long does it
take to read or register a word or a phrase? a second? less than that? and
what if each word could be an animated clip? if these one second clips could
be used to punctuate or to add emphasis to textual writing itself?? are we
going to evolve a new kind of communication media??

i do think that the internet shall evolve a new way of communication that
would be radically different from the parent old medias. just as the ancient
hieroglyphs are so different from today's written text and the zoetrope is
different from a DVD player, perhaps so shall the future media be radically
different from today's communication media in its structure and form, in the
way its produced (an animating wand replacing the pen!), the way it is read
and received and in the way it is presented and stored...

and will we still be in conversation, so to speak?

-vishal

On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 2:23 PM, Vishal Rawlley
wrote:

> I for one got quite intrigued by this video festival: Third ONE SECOND
> VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/)
>
> Can a 1 sec clip be called a video at all?
>
> What is 1 second in film time? 25 frames of its video.
>
> But one can also have animations play at different frame rates: 50 fps or
> say 100 fps
>
> So how much can one cram in all these frames?
>
> It became a fun exercise to explore. I made six one second films! Each a
> little experiment. I posted two of them - the two that worked.
>
> 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5arONhAdf1w
>
> 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXyW11dfMM
>
> I had been analyzing the aesthetics of short internet clips for a while.
> They started as animated gifs: short animations between 2-3 frames at the
> most. Then flash animations became quite a rage. Since some of these were
> programmed animations, they could employ the 'random feature' in the coding,
> which meant that even short animations were not repetitive - the position or
> colour or size of the animating object (set to random, or random withing a
> range) could change in each cycle, hence animated loops didn't look loopy at
> all, they seemed organic.
>
> Then there was a fight of the online video formats: streaming format,
> downloadable formats, for fast connections, for dial-ups, each format
> requiring its own player and component softwares installed... You tube has
> largely settled that fight for now...or has it!?
>
> So what is the content and form of these short videos meant for online
> viewing?
> Some are 'actualities' like those early films made by the Lumière
> brothers. Again the porn industry was the pioneer in the video revolution on
> the internet. These actuality clips simply showed a scene as it unfolded
> with little attempt at narrative construction (fixed camera and no edits):
> people bonking, a stunt artist doing daring tricks, someone's pet in a funny
> tangle...
>
> But there are some very clever filmmakers (if they can be called that) who
> actually made beautiful clips: shot precisely, edited crispy, deft use of
> audio, all with a clear narrative purpose. These remarkable films have a
> proper 3-act narrative structure (a beginning, a middle and an end.) within
> 10-20seconds. Although this is difficult, it is hardly inconceivable, we
> view 30 sec ads on TV all the time. These short clips employ a vast range of
> cinematic vocabulary that we are all familiar with. Some images (stills or
> clips) can contain a vast amount of information, just like some hieroglyphs
> which are more than alphabets or words but entire concepts in themselves.
> Using these compact image units, one CAN tell a story in compressed time. As
> our cinematic vocabulary is becoming increasingly rich, it is becoming
> easier and easier to convey a lot in a short clip.
>
> What is this cinematic vocabulary?
> When we see a clip of lightning flashing against a dark sky, we know its
> not an image of a weather report, rather a scene from a horror film or an
> ominous moment in the narrative. Thus a universal cinematic vocabulary has
> been forming (over 110 years of the invention of this medium) which builds
> on all our past viewings. We know from experience what a scene means without
> needing much elaboration. None of us remember being shocked by a simple
> close up or a footage of a train pulling in - exactly the images that had
> drastic reactions from audiences when they were first projected. Now you
> need special effects!
>
> Cinematic vocabulary also includes our vocabulary not just of images but
> also of sound. We know the sound of an error message on our computer from
> the sound of 'download complete'; we know gunshot sounds and the cry of a
> dynasaur without having heard one in reality... Our mental sound bank is
> constantly increasing.
>
> Combining this rich and ever-growing vocabulary, dense and short films can
> be made! But a 1 second duration really pushes limits and is worth
> experimenting with.
>
> Hegemony over universal cinematic language:
> This 'universal cinematic vocabulary' has largely been determined by the
> mass media and its conventions. It is replete with ugly stereotypes and
> dominating ideas of representation. However with a large number of
> individuals and independent groups contributing videos to the web, perhaps a
> new vocabulary may evolve! As we can see, the medium is being reinvented on
> the web, starting with actualities and simple edits, to sophisticated forms
> of continuous organic animations. Together we are evolve a new language!
> Your 1 sec video contribution is therefore important.
>
> May I remind you:
> I am not the paid representative of the third-one-second-video-festival,
> but I am a participant. And you can bet on the winning entry and win! One
> day left!!
>
> Best,
> Vishal
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 2008/4/30 Lele Lingeñere :
>
> > //////////Español abajo/////////Italiano sotto
> >
> > Third ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) extended
> > its
> > deadline till 5/5/2008
> >
> > ////jury:
> > The winner will be selected by a formula that combines the Gambling
> > Online
> > and the algorithm DEEP DREDD (www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////rewards:
> >
> > + In this edition you can bet for the prize-winning video and gain some
> > good
> > money to cash or to spend on our favourite website virtual casino:
> > UNIBET
> >
> > + THE VIDEO WINNER WILL INCREASE HIS/HER ECONOMY IN AT LEAST 500 EUROS.
> >
> > + watch the Bingo conference for the presentation of the festival
> > (spanish)
> > www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=65141081480C642C
> >
> > ////dates:
> >
> > 1 April - 5 May : UPLOAD videos
> > 5 May - 9 May : BETTING on videos
> > 10 May : online PRIZING
> >
> > ////requisites:
> >
> > _ fill up the application form
> > _ upload the 1 second video (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg) _ upload a snapshot of
> > the
> > video
> >
> > //////////English above//////////Italiano sotto
> >
> > El 3rd ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) extiende
> > su
> > fecha limite hasta el 5/5/2008
> >
> >
> > ////jurado:
> >
> > El ganador será elegido por una formula que combinará las apuestas
> > online y
> > el algoritmo DEEP DREDD(www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////premios:
> >
> > + En esta edición podréis apostar por el video ganador y llevaros un
> > buen
> > dinero a cobrar o gastar en la web de nuestro casino virtual favorito:
> > UNIBET (www.unibet.es).
> >
> > + EL VIDEO GANADOR AUMENTARÁ SU PATRIMONIO EN POR LO MENOS 500 EUROS.
> >
> > mira la bingo conferencia de presentación
> > www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=65141081480C642C
> >
> > ////fechas:
> >
> > 1 Abril - 5 Mayo : UPLOAD peliculas
> > 5 Mayo – 9 Mayo : APUESTAS sobre peliculas
> > 10 Mayo : PREMIACIÓN online
> >
> > ////requisitos
> >
> > _rellenar la ficha de inscripción
> > _subir el vídeo de 1 segundo (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg) _adjuntar un still de
> > la
> > película
> >
> > //////////English & Spanish above
> >
> > Il 3rd ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) estende
> > la
> > scadenza per l'invio di video fino al 5/5/2008
> >
> > ////giuria:
> >
> > Il vincitore verrá selezionato da una formula che combina le scommesse
> > online e l'algoritmo DEEP DREDD (www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////premio:
> >
> > + In questa edizione potrete scommettere sul video vincitore e
> > + guadambiarvi
> > un bel malloppo da incassare o spendere nella web del nostro casinó
> > virtuale
> > preferito: UNIBET .
> >
> > + IL VIDEO VINCENTE VEDRÀ LA SUA SITUAZIONE ECONOMICA MIGLIORARE DI 500
> > EURO.
> >
> > Guarda lo speciale sulla rete spagnola Cuatro
> >
> > http://www.cuatro.com/videos/index.html?xref=20060131ctoultnot_15.Ves&view=b
> > aja
> >
> > ////date:
> >
> > 1 Aprile - 5 Maggio : UPLOAD video
> > 5 Maggio – 9 Maggio : SCOMMESSE sui video
> > 10 Maggio : PREMIAZIONE online
> >
> > ////requisiti
> >
> > _riempire la scheda di iscrizione
> > _uploadare il video i un secondo (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg)
> > _allegare un'immagine del video
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________
> > 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/>
>
>
>

Re: [Reader-list] Free Binayak Sen film festival

reader — 2008-05-13T19:32:02Z

Via: "TaraPrakash"

The list could have/should have included "Whose land it is anyway" but for
the convener?
When people are not getting food, CPI(M) feeds them cars.
I wish there were movies depicting tata versus human beings struggle.
----- Original Message -----
From: "prakash ray"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 2:54 PM
Subject: [Reader-list] Free Binayak Sen film festival

> Release Dr Sen and Ajai TG
> without any delay
>
> Cinemela Collectives
> presents
> Free Binayak Sen Film Festival
> May 14, 2008/10am onwards
> SAA auditorium, JNU, New Delhi
>
>
> Prof Arun Kumar
> Prof Kamal M Chenoy
> Prof Ajay Patnaik
> Prof Mohan Rao
> Dr Rohan D'Souza
> and many other teachers, activists and friends of Dr Sen will speak on the
> man, his contributions and the situation which led to his arrest.
> SCREENING of 10 films (list given below)
>
>
> 14 May 2008 will mark one year of imprisonment for Dr Binayak Sen, the
> well-known public health and civil rights activist, arrested on false
> charges of 'assisting' the Maoist insurgency in Chattisgarh.
>
> In a nation where increasingly the medical profession is becoming
> synonymous
> with unbridled commercial greed Dr Sen dedicated his entire professional
> life to the free service of people in the remotest villages.
>
> In a country, which has health indicators worse than that of sub-Saharan
> Africa, Dr Sen passionately worked for setting up low cost models of
> healthcare accessible to the poor.
>
> And in a land where the problems of public health are deeply intertwined
> with the gross violations of the Indian Constitution by state agencies
> themselves Dr Sen fought for ensuring democratic rights of ordinary
> people.
>
> Dr Sen's detention as a 'threat to national security' stands therefore as
> a
> challenge to every Indian who aspires for a humane, democratic and
> civilized
> India.
>
> To mark the first anniversary of the arrest of Dr Sen, on 14 May 2008 and
> to
> call for his immediate release the Free Binayak Sen Film Festival is being
> organised by concerned citizens and groups around the country. The package
> of 10 documentaries, presented in this Festival, highlight the issues of
> human rights and public health and deal with themes ranging from
> nutrition,
> greed of drug companies, environmental pollution and state atrocities.
>
> They are meant to make all those who watch them wake up and more
> importantly
> resist the Silent Emergency that is creeping upon us in front of our very
> eyes.
>
>
> ***************************************
>
> Films
>
> 1. In the Name of Medicine
>
> K.P.Sasi
>
> On the hazardous and banned pharmaceutical drugs in India.
>
> 2. Antibiotic Resistance for Idiots
>
> Satya Sivaraman
>
> A look at antibiotics from the microbe's point of view and calling for an
> ecological approach to medicine.
>
> 3. It's a Boy, its going to be a boy
>
> Vani Subramaniam
>
> On sex determination tests and female foeticide
>
> 4. Sicko
>
> Michael Moore
>
> Investigates the American health care system, focusing on its for-profit
> health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the
> private-sector U.S. system with the socialized systems of Canada, the
> United
> Kingdom, France and Cuba.
>
> 5. Secrets and Lies
>
> Stavros Stagos
>
> This Greek documentary explores how the Bhopal chemical disaster of 1984,
> which claimed as many as 20,000 lives, continues to affect people today.
> Points an accusing finger mostly at Union Carbide, the multinational
> pesticide manufacturer that owned the Bhopal plant. The company is
> currently
> part of Dow Chemical (makers of Agent Orange) which now denies all legal
> responsibility for the disaster.
>
> 6. The Bitter Drink
>
> P. Baburaj & C. Saratchandran
>
> Chronicles the struggle of the most marginalised section of the Indian
> society, the tribal community, against the mighty global giant Coca Cola.
> It
> also discusses the issue of the ownership of natural resources, mainly
> water.
>
> 7. Development Flows fromthe Barrel of the Gun
>
> Biju Toppo & Meghnath
>
> Documenting the state violence on people affected by development projects
> in
> the country, the film explores the relationship between this violence and
> the new economic policy and globalisation. It puts forward the people's
> viewpoint on development, which is diametrically opposed to that of the
> state.
>
> 8. Tales from the Margins
>
> Kavita Joshi
>
> 'Tales from the Margins' travels to this remote, strife-torn corner of
> India
> to document the extraordinary protests of Manipuri women for justice. And
> through their lives, to focus on a vast human tragedy.
>
> 9. Death of a River
>
> R.R.Srinivasan
>
> A documentary about the Manjolai massacre, which took place when Tamil
> Nadu
> police attacked a procession of striking tea estate workers, their
> families
> and supporters on July 23, 1999. Seventeen people, including two women and
> a
> two-year-old boy, were killed and 500 injured in the police attack.
>
> 10. Resilient Rhythms
>
> Gopal Menon
>
> India's caste system places nearly 160 million people, the dalits, at the
> outskirts of society. It exploits their services, especially to perform
> "polluting" tasks, such as cutting the umbilical cord, disposing of
> night-soil, tending cremation grounds, but at the same time denies them
> acceptance as human beings. Resilient Rhythms deals with a range of dalit
> responses to their marginalization, from armed struggle to electoral
> politics.
>
> *All groups interested in receiving the package of films for organizing
> the
> Free Binayak Sen Film Festival in their areas of work are requested to
> send
> the name of their organization, postal address and tentative date of
> screening to - Wilfred D'Souza, INSAF, New Delhi, insaf@vsnl.com, Ph:
> 09825171919. The package is meant to be screened mostly in the month of
> May,
> particularly around 14 May, the first anniversary of Dr Sen's arrest.*
>
> Prakash K Ray, Convenor, Cinemela Collectives
>
> cinemela.blogspot.com
> _________________________________________
> 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/>

[Reader-list] Free Binayak Sen film festival

reader — 2008-05-13T18:59:01Z

Via: "prakash ray"

Release Dr Sen and Ajai TG
without any delay

Cinemela Collectives
presents
Free Binayak Sen Film Festival
May 14, 2008/10am onwards
SAA auditorium, JNU, New Delhi

Prof Arun Kumar
Prof Kamal M Chenoy
Prof Ajay Patnaik
Prof Mohan Rao
Dr Rohan D'Souza
and many other teachers, activists and friends of Dr Sen will speak on the
man, his contributions and the situation which led to his arrest.
SCREENING of 10 films (list given below)

14 May 2008 will mark one year of imprisonment for Dr Binayak Sen, the
well-known public health and civil rights activist, arrested on false
charges of 'assisting' the Maoist insurgency in Chattisgarh.

In a nation where increasingly the medical profession is becoming synonymous
with unbridled commercial greed Dr Sen dedicated his entire professional
life to the free service of people in the remotest villages.

In a country, which has health indicators worse than that of sub-Saharan
Africa, Dr Sen passionately worked for setting up low cost models of
healthcare accessible to the poor.

And in a land where the problems of public health are deeply intertwined
with the gross violations of the Indian Constitution by state agencies
themselves Dr Sen fought for ensuring democratic rights of ordinary people.

Dr Sen's detention as a 'threat to national security' stands therefore as a
challenge to every Indian who aspires for a humane, democratic and civilized
India.

To mark the first anniversary of the arrest of Dr Sen, on 14 May 2008 and to
call for his immediate release the Free Binayak Sen Film Festival is being
organised by concerned citizens and groups around the country. The package
of 10 documentaries, presented in this Festival, highlight the issues of
human rights and public health and deal with themes ranging from nutrition,
greed of drug companies, environmental pollution and state atrocities.

They are meant to make all those who watch them wake up and more importantly
resist the Silent Emergency that is creeping upon us in front of our very
eyes.

***************************************

Films

1. In the Name of Medicine

K.P.Sasi

On the hazardous and banned pharmaceutical drugs in India.

2. Antibiotic Resistance for Idiots

Satya Sivaraman

A look at antibiotics from the microbe's point of view and calling for an
ecological approach to medicine.

3. It's a Boy, its going to be a boy

Vani Subramaniam

On sex determination tests and female foeticide

4. Sicko

Michael Moore

Investigates the American health care system, focusing on its for-profit
health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the
private-sector U.S. system with the socialized systems of Canada, the United
Kingdom, France and Cuba.

5. Secrets and Lies

Stavros Stagos

This Greek documentary explores how the Bhopal chemical disaster of 1984,
which claimed as many as 20,000 lives, continues to affect people today.
Points an accusing finger mostly at Union Carbide, the multinational
pesticide manufacturer that owned the Bhopal plant. The company is currently
part of Dow Chemical (makers of Agent Orange) which now denies all legal
responsibility for the disaster.

6. The Bitter Drink

P. Baburaj & C. Saratchandran

Chronicles the struggle of the most marginalised section of the Indian
society, the tribal community, against the mighty global giant Coca Cola. It
also discusses the issue of the ownership of natural resources, mainly
water.

7. Development Flows fromthe Barrel of the Gun

Biju Toppo & Meghnath

Documenting the state violence on people affected by development projects in
the country, the film explores the relationship between this violence and
the new economic policy and globalisation. It puts forward the people's
viewpoint on development, which is diametrically opposed to that of the
state.

8. Tales from the Margins

Kavita Joshi

'Tales from the Margins' travels to this remote, strife-torn corner of India
to document the extraordinary protests of Manipuri women for justice. And
through their lives, to focus on a vast human tragedy.

9. Death of a River

R.R.Srinivasan

A documentary about the Manjolai massacre, which took place when Tamil Nadu
police attacked a procession of striking tea estate workers, their families
and supporters on July 23, 1999. Seventeen people, including two women and a
two-year-old boy, were killed and 500 injured in the police attack.

10. Resilient Rhythms

Gopal Menon

India's caste system places nearly 160 million people, the dalits, at the
outskirts of society. It exploits their services, especially to perform
"polluting" tasks, such as cutting the umbilical cord, disposing of
night-soil, tending cremation grounds, but at the same time denies them
acceptance as human beings. Resilient Rhythms deals with a range of dalit
responses to their marginalization, from armed struggle to electoral
politics.

*All groups interested in receiving the package of films for organizing the
Free Binayak Sen Film Festival in their areas of work are requested to send
the name of their organization, postal address and tentative date of
screening to - Wilfred D'Souza, INSAF, New Delhi, insaf@vsnl.com, Ph:
09825171919. The package is meant to be screened mostly in the month of May,
particularly around 14 May, the first anniversary of Dr Sen's arrest.*

Prakash K Ray, Convenor, Cinemela Collectives

cinemela.blogspot.com

[Reader-list] Arbitrary Detention of Human Rights Defender in Manipur

reader — 2008-05-13T14:59:02Z

Via: Anivar Aravind

Arbitrary Detention of Human Rights Defender in Manipur
http://www.binayaksen.net/2008/05/arbitrary-detention-of-human-rights-defender-in-manipur/

Name: Sapamcha Kangleipal Meitei (27 years)
Father’s Name: Sapam Shyamsunder Meetei
Address: Nongada Thongkhong, Imphal East, under the Lamlai Police
Station, Manipur
Occupation: Social Activist, President of Manipur Forward Youth Front
(MAFYF)
Date of incident: 7th May 2008
Place of incident: Manipur Press Club, Imphal
Perpetrators: Manipur police of Imphal police station and Manipur police
of City police, Imphal along with Manipur police commandos

Facts of the case:

A team of Manipur Police had arrested Mr, Sapamcha Kangleipal Meitei, a
key human rights defender and prominent youth leader of Manipur for
organising a public discussion on the Arming of Civilians (Similar to
Salwa Judum in Chattisgarh) and Its Possible Consequences (in Manipur)
and making statements regarding the above issue reportedly demanding the
resignation of the Chief Minister of Manipur in response to the failure
of governance.

The youth leader was picked up from the Manipur Press Club on 7 May 2008
on charge of sedition against Government shortly after the public
discussion. The police team reportedly forcibly switched off the live
telecast of the public discussion through a local cable TV network
(ISTV). Mr. Sapamcha has been working at the local grassroots level as
President of the Manipur Forward Youth Front (MAFYF) over the last seven
years.

Action requested

Please write to the Indian authorities and ask them to:

* Take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all
circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sapamcha
Kangleipal
* Release Mr. Sapamcha Kangleipal immediately and
unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary since it only aims at
sanctioning his human rights activities;
* Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the
judicial level, against Mr. Sapamcha Kangleipal as well as against all
human rights defenders in India;
* Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
and other international human rights instruments ratified by India.

For More News on Kangleipal’s arrest and Peoples Protests against arming
civilians in Manipur see http://manipurfreedom.org

Re: [Reader-list] Baggage of JKLF is too heavy to carry-by Dr.Shabir

reader — 2008-05-13T14:25:02Z

Via: Kshmendra Kaul

Dear TaraPrakash

Am specifically picking up your question "Are the elected MLAs Kashmiris?"

You ask tough questions and it will be interesting to hear the answer(s) to this particular one, if any answers are forthcoming at all.

Talking of the "toughness" of your comments, I was looking forward to seeing the response from M Yousuf to your range of comments addressed to him. (On 13/04/08 in Thread "Hindu on Tibet"). M Yousuf has disappeared since then. I hope he is well.

Coming back to your latest question, it is mirrored in what I wrote to someone in a (predominantly Kashmiri Muslim forum). I have blocked out his name.

Kshmendra

Re: [kashnet] Discussion with XXXX XXXX Jee

Dear XXXX XXXX Ji

The nature of your postings in the past and the language therein would have dissuaded me from addressing you. In this last post of yours though there is the attitude of 'dialogue'.
Without getting into the nitty gritty of your ongoing discussion with XXXX XXXX Ji, there are 2 points on which I will request you to do some thinking.

1. Are ALL KMs on the politically opposite side of the KPs?
You write " On that very note there are differences between pandits and KMs and both believe that the other party is wrong.I as a KM dont see any reason why a pandit cannot join the ongoing freedom movement.But for that to happen a pandit has to put aside the differences and the pro india approach has to go.Similarly KMs need to accomodate pandits accordingly."

You suggest that ALL KPs are pro-India. That would be difficult to argue against.

You also suggest that ALL KMs are part of the "ongoing freedom movement".

That is factually incorrect.

If someone from 'jangbadi line ke uss paar' were to make such a generalisation, it could be dismissed with an amused smile as a complete lack of knowledge about Indian Controlled Kashmir (ICK). But you Abid Ji are not from Pakistan Controlled Kashmir (PCK), are you?

Yes in ICK there are the "hurriyat pasand" who are a part of the "ongoing freedom struggle" but they are only ONE PORTION of the KMs in ICK. They are not ALL of the KMs.

The KM support base in ICK of National Conference, Congress, Communists and to a great extent that of the PDP too are NOT a part of the "ongoing freedom struggle". You might choose to dismiss them as "enemies of the movement" or as "Indian Agents" but the fact remains that whatever be arguably the percentage they form of the KMs in ICK, they are NOT a part of the "ongoing freedom struggle".
2. What is 'KASHMIRIYAT"?
"Kashmiriyat" is a word that gets thrown around a lot in such discussions. It is much used. Much abused I think.

Is "Kashmiriyat" to be defined by the KM alone? The question rather should be if "Kashmiriyat" is to be defined by those KMs alone who are a part of the "ongoing freedom struggle".

What about those KMs who are not a part of the "ongoing freedom struggle"? Do they have no right to lay out the profile of what constitutes "Kashmiriyat"?

What about the KPs? Has anybody cared to ask them what the KPs understand by "Kashmiriyat" and what definition of "Kashmiriyat" the KPs are comfortable with?

If there has to be inclusiveness in "Kashmiriyat" then certainly a particular interpretation of "Kashmiriyat" held by ONLY those KMs who support the "ongoing freedom freedom struggle" cannot be thrust down the throats of the KPs with an "accept or die" kind of threatening.
Please think over these points. Your comments/reactions are welcome.

Kshmendra Kaul

TaraPrakash wrote:

I am sure it is a minority voice in J&K that desires freedom from "ruthless
India and Indians"
In fact there are certain "ruthless Indians" who want Kashmiris be given
right to self determination. There may be other "ruthless Indians" who want
all the Muslim Kashmiris to be exterminated.
The point is that when you try to impose a homogenous identity and a
singular ambition on the people, you might be committing the same crime as
Indian government and many other colonial powers did. Your voice is that of
a political elites who change the will of the masses sometime by brutal
"ruthless" means and sometimes by sheer eloquence.
What do Kashmiris want has not always remained unchanged. There was a time
when United States of America was looked at expectantly in Kashmir, now it
is not. We don't hear the US government calling Kashmir a disputed
territory. How can you say that the relations between Indians and Kashmiris
have not transformed or will not transform over the time?

However, I don't see any point of going on unless you define what you mean
by Kashmiris and Indians. Are the elected MLAs Kashmiris?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rebellious Koshur"
To: "S. Jabbar" ; "junaid"
;
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2008 2:52 AM
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Baggage of JKLF is too heavy to carry-by
Dr.Shabir

> Sonia,
>
> The problem with "activists" like you is that you pick and choose the
> issues which concern you and not the people on ground. The issues which
> you have raised are least of the concern for Kashmiris. Our prime concern
> is not the wealth acquired by the pro-freedom politicians but it is
> freedom from ruthless India and Indians. People, who claim to be our
> friends as we don’t need masters, should support us in our endeavors.
>
> The issue of accountability of our politicians is an internal matter of
> Kashmiris which we are proficient enough to deal with. We know who has
> done what; you need not bother yourself with our internal affairs. Being
> an Indian it is your responsibility to question the presence of Indian
> army in Kashmir ; the brutality of Indian soldiers; the criminal policies
> of Indian politicians. Demonstrate your principled stand vis-à-vis Indian
> policies on Kashmir . We the people of Kashmir will take account of the
> blunders of our politicians and militants. We know who killed whom and
> why. We know where from the money came, for what it was spent, and how
> much did the politicians use for themselves. We till now have and in
> future will do the needful. You please keep out of it, because this is not
> India . It is Kashmir . You, the Indian civil society activists, seem to
> be behaving in the same hegemonic attitude which the Indian statecraft has
> exhibited so far in Kashmir .
>
> It is ridiculous when you say Kashmiri society is “deeply divided”. Is it
> not true for India ? Is it not true for Delhi ? Is it not true for the
> small locality where you live in Delhi ? Yes Kashmiris are divided and I
> see it as the democratic mindset of the people. The division which you are
> talking about is the difference of opinion which is present everywhere in
> the modern democratic world.
>
> You have asked a Junaid how many JKLF men were killed by army and how
> many by Hizbula Mujahideen. It is useless to misinterpret things as people
> here know the truth about each and every killing. There is no need for
> them to share it with you. Why should we trust you?
>
> For the purpose of clarity, I would like to quote the figures of a survey
> done by a Srinagar based organization, Coalition of Civil Society.
> According to their survey in Baramulla district, the total number of JKLF
> men who got killed in Baramulla only is 180. Out of the 180 JKLF men 115
> have been killed by Indian armed forces. Hizbul Mujahideen has killed 8
> JKLF members while as other militant organizations have killed 15 JKLF
> men. JKLF itself has killed 3 of there members. There are around 39 JKLF
> members who have been killed by “unidentified gunmen”. People here in
> Kashmir understand who these unidentified gunmen are.
>
> What I could understand from your post was that you think JKLF has
> suffered more because of Hizbul Mujahideen compared to Indian army while
> as the truth according to the Baramulla survey of Coalition of Civil
> Society is that 87 JKLF members have been martyred during the encounters
> with Indian army. 13 have been killed in custody. Another 6 have been
> subjected to enforced disappearance from Baramulla district amongst the
> JKLF members.
>
> Why are you unnecessarily defaming JKLF cadres? I know you have great
> friendship with Yasin Malik but even he won’t deny that India is his enemy
> and not Hizbul Mujahideen.
>
> Qalab Hussain
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Sent from Yahoo! Mail.
> A Smarter Email.
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
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> List archive:

[Reader-list] Conditions of Palestinian children in Israeli jails shocking

reader — 2008-05-13T10:12:01Z

Via: "S.Fatima"

Britain-based Save the Children organization revealed
facts described as "shocking" related to incarceration
conditions of Palestinian children in Israeli
occupation jails, pointing out that the most
disturbing phenomenon observed by international
organization was that Zionist regime kidnap children
and issues sentences against them harsher than others.

According to the organization, Zionist regime's
troops kidnapped 6,000 Palestinian children since the
beginning of the Aqsa Intifada eight years ago, and
there are currently more than 320 children behind
Zionist regime's bars, adding that the occupation
forces detains on average about 700 children every
year.

Greg Ram, the deputy director of international
operations of the organization, underlined that the
Israeli measures represented by the arrest of
Palestinian children even for simple reasons deprive
hundreds of them from enjoying their natural rights.

Ram explained that the Palestinian children at the
age of 12 get arrested for the most trivial reasons
and are taken away from their families to jails inside
Israel, adding that Israeli army deprives them from
seeing their families for long periods of time and
probably do not provide them with lawyers during
interrogation.

www.qodsna.com

From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/citygroups/

[Reader-list] Petition for Dr. Binayak Sen's release

reader — 2008-05-13T05:08:01Z

Via: "Sujata & Samantak"

Dear All,
On 14 May 2008, Dr. Binayak Sen will complete a year of unjust (and possibly
unlawful) imprisonment.
This is a request to consider signing a petition for his release.

Can we also think of other ways of registering our outrage and protest at
this (continuing) miscarriage of justice on 14 May? I know its difficult to
think of new ways of protesting, and anything we do is likely to prove
ineffective anyway, but I do think we need to register our protest in our
own ways - no matter how small.

Apologies, as usual, for this unsolicited mail.

Samantak/Buju/Pupu

Dear Friends,

Dr Binayak Sen will be completing one year of detention this 14th May. His
well wishers have demanded his release. If you consider that Dr Sen's
detention is wrong please sign this petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/Solitary/petition.html

Dr Binayak Sen is the General Secretary of the Chhattisgarh unit of the
Peoples Union of Civil Liberties, probably the foremost reason why he was
detained. Today this doctor who devoted himself to treating the poor in
rural India is behind bars because he rightly perceived disease to be an
offshoot of social injustice.

Please read the petition to know more about this doctor who received a peace
prize very recently while still in prison.

Unfortunately today he himself is the victim of the same injustice that he
fought.

He is in solitary confinement for crimes he did not commit. The decision to
arrest him was taken before he could do anything wrong.

Please sign the petition. The good doctor should be released. We need more
doctors like him if we are to seek health in this diseased society of ours.

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS IN YOUR GROUPS. 14th MAY IS ONLY ONE DAY AWAY.

[Reader-list] Chattis Garh has lost the plot (another arrest)

reader — 2008-05-13T04:08:02Z

Via: "TaraPrakash"

Siddharth Varadarajan

One year after jailing the eminent doctor, Binayak Sen, State authorities have arrested another leading civil liberties activist, journalist and filmmaker,
Ajay T.G.

On May 5, the Chhattisgarh police announced the arrest of Ajay T.G., a Raipur-based journalist and filmmaker, under the State's draconian Special Public
Security Act (PSA). He has been charged with sedition under the Indian Penal Code and with having unlawful contact with a banned organisation, the Communist
Party of India (Maoist), under Sections 3, 4 and 8 of the PSA. Like Binayak Sen, who was arrested last year on May 14, Ajay is a leading member of the
People's Union for Civil Liberties. He is also a prominent social worker whose contribution to the education of young girls from poor slum-dwelling families
is well known. The circumstances leading to his arrest are so bizarre and reflect so poorly on Chhattisgarh's approach to dealing with the naxalite problem
that they bear recounting in some detail.

During the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, Ajay was part of a fact-finding team that visited a number of interior villages in the Dantewada region of the State
to study the reaction of ordinary villagers to the Maoist call for a poll boycott, on the one hand, and heavy CRPF deployment, on the other.

The team went through several deserted villages before arriving at a village around 4 p.m. As Ajay started taking photographs of a deserted polling booth,
the team was surrounded by a group of angry, young Maoist villagers. The youth accused the group of being police agents and detained them for several hours.
They were eventually allowed to leave late in the evening but Ajay's camera was confiscated.

For Ajay, the loss of his camera was a real blow. His only source of income was the freelance filming he did as a mediaperson. His family was also terrified
at the thought that the Maoists believed him to be a police agent and decided not to file an official complaint with the authorities. But as word spread
in Raipur about the threats to which the fact-finding team had been subjected, the Maoist leadership in the State moved to control the fallout and declared
that it would compensate him if the camera was not recovered. The fact that this incident occurred and that Ajay and his colleagues were the victims of
Maoist high-handedness is public knowledge because the media covered it in June 2006.

A year-and-a-half later, on January 21, 2008, the Chhattisgarh police intercepted an alleged arms drop by two Maoist women. When the house of one of the
women was searched, they recovered a letter addressed to the Maoist spokesman by Ajay on the letterhead of the "The Campaign against Child Labour" (an
organisation of which he is convenor). The letter, written in 2004, was about the return of the same camera. When the police arrived at his house to question
him, Ajay, in the presence of lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, readily acknowledged authorship of the letter and also explained the unfortunate circumstances in
which it had been written. Nevertheless, the police seized his computer.

Since filmmakers these days rely as much on their computers as on their cameras, Ajay moved the local courts for the return of his PC. His case was posted
for hearing on May 10. Five days before that, however, the police came and arrested him, invoking the Public Security Act which was not even in force in
2004 when the letter was written. Incredibly, stories are now being planted in the local press about how the police only discovered he was the author of
the letter after going through his computer and conducting "handwriting analysis."

Think about this for a second. Here is a journalist who was actually the victim of a crime committed by the Maoists. For weeks, the family fretted about
what the Maoists would do to Ajay since they seemed to believe he was a police agent. And now, the same police steps in to victimise him again, this time
with perhaps deadlier consequences since the grant of bail under the PSA -- as Dr. Sen has learned -- is well-nigh impossible. The irony is that the police
are prosecuting Dr. Sen for his alleged connections with the naxalites without pausing to ask why, if he was so well connected, a fact-finding mission
of which he was a member was illegally detained by the Maoists in 2004.

The fact of the matter is that both Dr. Sen and Ajay T.G. are being targeted because of their association with PUCL. And PUCL is under attack because it
is one of the organisations inside Chhattisgarh -- besides the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram of Gandhian worker Himanshu Kumar,
and others -- that have been trying to expose the ugly reality of Salwa Judum, the State-run vigilante death squad that has led to the death of hundreds
of civilians and the forced displacement of tens of thousands of adivasis. CPI leaders in the State are routinely harassed. Himanshu of the VCA, a long-time
associate of the late Nirmala Deshpande, is being threatened with eviction from the land on which his ashram was legally built for documenting Salwa Judum
atrocities. Courageous local journalists such as Kamlesh Paikra and Afzal Khan have also been attacked and intimidated for exposing state-sponsored violence.
When CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta tried to travel to Dantewada to support the protest of local adivasis against the expropriation of their land for a big industrial
project, he was denied entry by motivated mobs with the police a silent spectator.

Despite the growing ranks of those critical of Salwa Judum, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh continues to brand its critics as "naxalites"
or as persons influenced by the "psychological war machinery of Maoists" -- a claim the Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan made about Ramachandra Guha and Nandini
Sundar in an interview to the Pioneer on April 3. The Maoists' psywar machinery is clearly formidable because among those it has now managed to "influence"
is an expert committee of the Planning Commission, which includes former IB Director Ajit Doval as member, the Veerappa Moily Committee on Administrative
Reforms and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, all of which have documented the Salwa Judum's excesses or called for it to be disbanded.
The Chhattisgarh government should realise that countering an armed insurgency requires tact, and intelligence. The arrest and intimidation of prominent
critics such as Dr. Sen and Ajay show the utter non-application of mind on the part of its police force. The Salwa Judum is doomed; its withdrawal can
be delayed a little but not prevented. The sooner it is withdrawn along with draconian laws like the PSA, the better.