Reflections: Baba Bujha Singh, revolution, poetry, and democracy

Posted on July 27, 2020 by beenasarwar

Sharing below an informative, moving and insightful piece by friend Jaspal Singh in Cambridge commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Baba Bujha Singh’s extrajudicial murder in Punjab, India. The story is reflected in other instances of police brutality elsewhere too. And so is his comment on democracy. He regularly dispatches his ‘Reflections’ to friends via email; a list I feel privileged to be on. Over to Jaspal ji:

Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, democratic political process, Human rights, Pakistan-India, Progressive politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Pakistan’s ‘best kept secret’ (not The Samosa)

Posted on July 26, 2020 by beenasarwar
Sumaira Samad, Shahid Nadeem, Anwar Akhtar at Lahore Museum (screengrab)

Anwar Akhtar is a Pakistan-origin cultural activist based in London who started The Samosa many years ago — think cross-culture, activism, media, teaching. We had met several years ago and reconnected recently when he reached about his intriguingly titled documentary, Pakistan’s Best Kept Secret. I invited him to write about it for Aman Ki Asha. Sharing the documentary, as well as his piece, here:

Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Give peace a chance: Activists urge India, Pakistan, to step up for #SouthAsia

Posted on July 16, 2020 by beenasarwar

The Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) has begun a series of online discussions aimed at reclaiming the people’s narrative. The PIPFPD The page has several video excerpts from these and other discussions. Below reports on both discussions by Neel Kamal, published in Times of India and Aman Ki Asha.

Continue reading →

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

MSR’s ongoing incarceration: “There still remain journalists in this country determined to hold their ground”

Posted on July 7, 2020 by beenasarwar

The March 12 arrest of Mir Shakilur Rahman sent shockwaves through journalist and human rights communities, Here’s a link to my piece about this issue in The Washington Post today: In Pakistan, a bizarre arrest shows how media freedom is being squeezed.

  • Updated screenshot of my piece in Washington Post. Editors replaced the earlier photo after…
  • …I conveyed the feedback that he doesn’t normally wear a ‘topi’ (religious skull cap) and this photo highlighted religiosity in Pakistan which is not relevant to the topic.

But even if he is granted bail now – after over 100 days of being denied his liberty and that too at a time of Covid — this will be a minor victory  achieved at a huge cost, not only for Rahman, but also for media freedom and democracy in Pakistan.

Continue reading →

Filed under: censorship, Freedom of expression, Human rights | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The need for ‘radical love’ – Cornel West, Dalit and Sheedi solidarity, and a #WC4BL Boston report

Posted on July 2, 2020 by beenasarwar

This is a follow up to my earlier post about physicians of Pakistani and Indian origin, already in the frontlines of the Covid19 battle in the US, stepping up in the war against a longer-running pandemic, racism. We know that racism is not limited to the US. In our home countries in South Asia, it is expressed as casteism and oppression of vulnerable communities.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, Culture, Human rights, Pakistan-India, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

%d bloggers like this: