Personal Political: Plays and books, not bombs

Posted on March 12, 2010 by beenasarwar

Pakistan's foremost sculptor Shahid Sajjad at the Retrospective exhibition at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Feb 2010

My monthly column for Hardnews, India, also published in The News on Sunday, (March 7, 2010)

Feb 25, 2010

Beena Sarwar

“New Karachi literary festival hopes to turn page on bombs,” trumpeted a headline in the Independent, UK.

Inspired by Jaipur, the festival in March “may not turn the page on the bombs,” as Siraj Khan, a Boston-based Pakistani commented in an email, “but it is very inspiring. In my recent 7-month stint in Karachi, I saw and felt this breath of fresh air myself. This has not happened overnight and it’s not just the new crop of writers who are turning the tide.” Continue reading →

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CONVERSATIONS-3: Let’s introspect

Posted on March 12, 2010 by beenasarwar

Printed in the aman ki asha page of Political Economy, The News on Sunday, March 7, 2010

Dilip D’Souza and Beena Sarwar continue their email exchange, attempting to share thoughts honestly, without fear and hostility, seeking ways to bridge the gulf between Pakistan and India

Mar 2 2010

Dear Beena,

Since we’ve started on this path of exploring the anti-the-other-country feelings, let’s take it a little further and see where it goes.

First, you draw a distinction between the (sometimes) elected Pakistani governments and what you call the “establishment” – the army/bureaucracy nexus, if you will. Nawaz Sharif was, you tell us, pro-India, but this establishment undermined his government’s efforts in that direction. Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

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