Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: AANAA, Adil Najam, Aman Foundation, Amna Buttar, Raza Rumi, Taqi, tns | Leave a comment »
Lift the goodwill: Indians, Pakistanis find creative ways to protest hate, violence, bigotry
Posted on October 22, 2015 by beenasarwar
Dunkin’ Donuts sign in Islamabad with the Pakistani and Indian flags: peace meals
The right-wing Shiv Sena’s recent vigilante actions targeting Pakistani musicians, sportspeople, and diplomats in Mumbai have led to embarrassment and widespread condemnation in India, and of course to the right-wing in Pakistan gleefully pointing fingers at India.
There have also been compassionate and creative responses from Pakistanis, who have all too often suffered the poison of bigotry and injection of religion into politics. After a Pakistani family had to spend the night on the footpath in Mumbai because they lacked the requisite papers (Form C) allowing them to stay in a hotel, Pakistani entrepreneur Iqbal Latif responded by offering free meals to Indians visiting Pakistan at his Dunkin’ Donuts franchises. His gesture was widely reported and drew a massive response in India.
A friend in India points out that the hyped up anti-Pakistan protests are a predictable forerunner to the upcoming state elections in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that are critical for the ruling coalition in particular. That may well be the case, but meanwhile, Indians are also finding ways to creatively and peacefully express their distaste for bigotry and hooliganism. After the Sena successful blocked respected Pakistani musician Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai, one Indian made a painting that he tweeted: Continue reading
Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: #ProfileForPeace, BCCI, India, Pakistan, Peace, Peace Velfie, Shiv Sena | 4 Comments »
The real cost of conflict in South Asia
Posted on October 17, 2015 by beenasarwar
My article on the symposium I attended last week at University of Texas, Dallas, published in Aman ki Asha
Peacetalks symposium: Raza Rumi, Pritpal Singh, Amitabh Pal, Nyla Ali Khan. Photo by Beena Sarwar
By Beena Sarwar
Born in the Rawalpindi area in 1943, Suresh Bakshi was about four years old when his family left their ancestral home after Partition in 1947. But he still remembers and has strong feelings for the place where he was born.
These feelings created a powerful conflict when, as an Indian Army soldier, he fought in the 1965 war against Pakistan. Continue reading
Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: #ProjectPakistan, 1965, 1971, Amitabh Pal, Kashmir, Mona Kazim Shah, Nyla Ali Khan, Peace activism, Pritpal Singh, Raza Rumi, UT Dallas | Leave a comment »
Rahul Roy: Addressing “masculinities” through film
Posted on October 2, 2015 by beenasarwar
My blog post for Harvard South Asia Institute on Rahul Roy’s documentary film series on ‘masculinities’
Filmmaker Rahul Roy, right, captures in his films the nuances, masculinities and realities in a slice of urban life over the years. Photo: Ashima Duggal
By Beena Sarwar
Indian filmmaker Rahul Roy first met and began filming four young men in 1999 for his documentary film When four friends meet, interacting with them and filming for about two years in the Delhi slum where they live. He stays in touch with the four – Sanjay, Sanju, Kamal and Bunty – over the years and 12 years later, returns to do a sequel titled Till we meet again. Continue reading
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Harvard South Asia, India, masculinities, Pakistan, Rahul Roy, south asia | Leave a comment »
Journeys to democracy 