‘Can journalists be activists?’ – Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023 – II

Posted on March 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

Following up from my earlier post, here’s the video recording of the Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023 I delivered online recently for the Center of Excellence in Journalism at IBA, Karachi.

Text of my talk below with slides.

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Filed under: Freedom of expression, journalism, Media, Pakistan, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

‘Can Journalists be Activists?’ Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023

Posted on March 21, 2023 by beenasarwar

Wednesday, 22 March 2023, 6 pm Pakistan time / 9 am ET

Register at this link

Honoured and humbled to be invited to present this year’s Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture, named for someone who remains a role model for so many journalists and women, someone I knew personally and admired greatly.

Time: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 06:00 PM (Pakistan)

Agenda

  • 5:50 – 6pm Producer at CEJ to admit registered attendees
  • 6:00 pm: Amber Shamsie, CEJ director, – Welcome and introduction to Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture lecture series
  • 6:05 pm: Remarks by Dr Akbar Zaidi, IBA Executive Director
  • 6:10 pm: Umber Khairi, Coordinator RBMI Lecture Series, introduces lecture and speaker
  • 6:18 -7:00 Beena Sarwar
  • 7:00: Umber Khairi moderates Q&A session and discussion (questions sent via zoom chat)
  • 7:30 pm: Umber Khairi will conclude and thank

I believe the session will be broadcast live at the CEJ-IBA YouTube channel. If not, the recording will be available there later anyway,

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

A personal tribute: Zia Mohyeddin, truly one of a kind

Posted on February 18, 2023 by beenasarwar

Another obituary I wish I didn’t have to write. Farewell Zia sahib. What a life – and what a contribution to the arts and progressive thinking, with your immaculate performances and recitations. Thanks to The Wire editors for pushing me to write this piece, sent out as a Sapan News Network syndicated feature to several publications.

The master narrator of prose - Zia Mohyeddin
Zia Mohyeddin: An unparalleled orator. Photo: Courtesy Dr. Ghulam Nabi Kazi, Flickr

Born: 30 June (or 20 December) 1931, Lyallpur; Passed on: 13 February 2023, Karachi

The great Zia Mohyeddin was already a legend when I first interacted with him as an adult in the mid-1990s. He had recently moved to Lahore where I then lived at Lakshmi Mansion at Regal Chowk. I was working on the launch of weekly The News on Friday, a brainchild of my editor the multi-talented Imran Aslam who revered Zia sahib. 

Both were alumni of the prestigious Government College Lahore and its GCDC, the Government College Drama Club. Knowing my family’s connection to Zia sahib, Imran asked me to approach him for a weekly column.

Pakistan’s progressive movement revolved largely around the great poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, whose work Zia Mohyeddin so eloquently recited in his signature style, his distinctive, gravelly voice setting him apart from others. As part of the same circle, Zia sahib, born in 1931 in then Lyallpur (Faisalabad), Punjab, knew my father Dr M. Sarwar who led Pakistan’s first nationwide student movement, the Democratic Students Federation, 1948-54.

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Filed under: Art and activism, Culture, Obituary, Progressive politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

A Bollywood lyricist’s daughter in Pakistan and other stories

Posted on February 13, 2023 by beenasarwar

Some steps in a journey sparked by India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998

Screenshot from Sapan News site, designed by Aekta Kapoor.

Inspired by email updates from Isa Daudpota and Harsh Kapoor of South Asia Citizen’s Wire (SACW) after India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons, I too had begun a bcc email list. This developed into my beena-issues Yahoo-group in 1998 but I had begun to post more irregularly after 2009 when I started a WordPress blog, Journeys to Democracy. Yahoo shut down its Groups platform a couple of years ago.

Now, as I work on developing a new media entity, Sapan News Network syndicated features which emerged from Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network (thanks to Aekta Kapoor for the beautiful website), SubStack seems like a good place to revive something like the Yahoo-group community feel. But then there’s also Medium where I have over 2.4K subscribers. All very confusing. Welcome feedback and suggestions.

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In Cambridge MA, where BLM protestors have been demonstrating since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, more protests over police shooting of a Bangladeshi student

Posted on January 25, 2023 by beenasarwar

Police shootings in the USA claim over a thousand lives a year, with many going unreported, and 2021, the year after George Floyd’s murder, recorded as one of the deadliest years on record. A disproportionate number of those killed in such incidents are persons of colour.

#JusticeforFaisal demo at Harvard Square, 14 Jan 2023. Photos: Beena Sarwar

The summer of 2020 saw massive Black Lives Matter protests across the USA. Although these protests have largely died down, a small group has continued to demonstrate in Cambridge MA, standing at the corner of Prospect and Broadway streets every Friday afternoon. No media outlet has picked up the story of these peaceful demonstrators holding up BLM signs, including: ‘All lives matter but not all lives are threatened with racist violence’.

In Spring 2022, one of my students at Emerson College did a video report on these Stand-outers as they call themselves. It includes comments from two of the group’s members, retired pediatrician Dr. Alan Meyers and history professor Dr. Tom Johnson (erroneously mentioned as Robinson in the video) on why they continue demonstrating. Report below, shared with the student’s permission:

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Filed under: Human rights, Resistance, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Opinion / India: A tale of two pardons

Posted on November 26, 2022 by beenasarwar

The latest Sapan News syndicated feature, by Ramon Magsaysay awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey on the difference between the release of convicts in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case and those convicted in the Bilkis Bano case. He argues that the premature release of one set of convicts cannot be used to justify another — one was set free by the courts, while administrative decree was behind the other. One poses no threat to the victim’s family, while the other has sent witnesses into hiding.

Read more at Sapan News Network.

Available for use with credit to Sapan News Network.

Filed under: Communalism, Gender, Gujarat 2002, History, Human rights, Southasia, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Lessons from journalism, tai chi, and life

Posted on November 22, 2022 by beenasarwar

Exploring a way of looking inwards, confronting my own demons, and competing with my own best self

My keynote commencement speech at the first AAPIDA – Asian Pacific Islander Desi-American – affinity graduation, Harvard University, 23 May 2022

With my mother Prof. Zakia Sarwar, plus Harvard School of Education graduates after the ceremony: Najwa Maqbool and Nishant Singh from India, and Nigel Gray from Sri Lanka. Their families couldn’t make it so we were glad to be there for them. Photo: Lipofskyphoto.com

Beena Sarwar, video and text of speech below. Also published in Sapan News Network

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Filed under: Interfaith, Islam, journalism, Peace, Personal, Politics, Progressive politics, Resistance, Student politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Three events and a report

Posted on November 19, 2022 by beenasarwar

Sharing some recent updates from our lovely new initiative, Sapan – we wouldn’t be able to do all this without the amazing volunteerism of those involved

First, the report: Friend Nadra Huma Quraishi’s inspiring piece on the Society of Pakistan English Language Teacher (Spelt)’s unique Teacher Stories competition, a brainchild of Prof. Zakia Sarwar – From the Philippines to Dubai and beyond, a groundbreaking platform for educators provides new ways to collaborate – a Sapan News Network syndicated feature, published at Sapan News Network and other places. Available for use with credit to Sapan News.

(Yes, Zakia Sarwar is my mother, but on merit, it’s a great idea and the writeup was lovely. Hope it’s not seen as nepotism).

The events:

Nov 19-20: Sapan Film Club pilot screening of Bani Singh’s award-winning documentary Taangh. Excited and grateful she has made her film free for 24-hours for Sapan members starting Nov 19. Watch at your own pace. We will have a discussion with her on Sunday 10 am ET / 8 pm Pakistan time. The registration link has details of other time zones. More details at this post on the Sapan website: Sapan Film Club: Bani Singh’s award-winning documentary ‘Taangh’ – register to watch free.

Sun. 27 Nov: ‘Beyond Partitions – Shared Histories, Ways Forward‘ with acclaimed writers: Aanchal Malhotra, Anam Zakaria, Ananya Jahanara Kabir. Thrilled and honoured that Urvashi Butalia in Delhi and Hameeda Hossain in Dhaka will join and present closing remarks.

Nov. 18: Ahead of UN World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (Nov 20), Sapan gets into Twitter Spaces. Also today, we had a great Zoom meeting with some awesome people working on the issue – here’s the Facebook live video recording. We could do with some traction, so hope you will ‘like’ and share.

For more details, visit http://www.southasiapeace.com. Will be grateful to all those who share with their networks. Jo share karey uss ka bhala. Jo na karey uss ka bhi bhala (Wishing well those who share and also those who don’t).

Love and solidarity

NOTE: Posted earlier in Substack – my Personal Political feed.

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

Asma Jahangir Conference; Pakistan-India cross-border collaborative reporting; a cautionary tale from Sri Lanka; and a Bhutan peace initiative – Sapan News Network

Posted on October 28, 2022 by beenasarwar
Justice Qazi Faez Isa, late Asma Jahangir, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Manzoor Pashteen: Collage by The Friday Times/Naya Daur

Sharing four recent offerings from Sapan News Network – the most recent one in full below, pegged on the Fourth Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, on the ‘ ‘Crisis of Constitutionalism in South Asia’, that I’m thrilled to have co-authored by aspiring young journalist Abdullah Zahid, published in The Friday Times/Naya Daur, South Asia Monitor and other media outlets. Plus three other recent syndicated features:

A teach-in on Sri Lanka’s ongoing crisis, with eminent thought leaders Amita Arudpragasam, Nalaka Gunawardene, Marlon Ariyasinghe, Rehana Thowfeek.
East-West Centre Fellows and alumni from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka converge in Kathmandu – Photo: courtesy Lubna J. Naqvi
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Filed under: Balochistan, Freedom of expression, Human rights, Progressive politics, Resistance, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Writing for peace. And activism in Himachal Pradesh

Posted on September 19, 2022 by beenasarwar
Lee Krishnan in Mumbai, Mohsin Tejani in Karachi: Breadloaf friends, great synergy. Photos: supplied.

Really enjoyed this Sapan online family writing workshop by educators and teacher trainers Mohsin Tejani in Karachi and Lee Krishnan in Mumbai, hosted by the amazing Khushi Kabir in Dhaka, joined by educationist and writer Benislos Thushan in Jaffna – looking dramatic due to a power cut, just before dashing off for an overnight bus to Colombo. Human rights activist and physician Fauzia Deeba from Quetta now in New Jersey talked about the floods in Pakistan and shared the In Memoriam section designed by a young journalist Sushmita Preetha in Dhaka. Senior journalist Namrata Sharma in Kathmandu delivered the heart warming closing remarks that the piece starts with.

Namrata Sharma: “Who and how can anyone say that Southasia is divided?” – screenshot from the workshop.

Lovely writeup on it by young agriculturist-researcher-educationist M. Waqas Nasir in Lahore, published as a Sapan News Network syndicated piece in several media outlets. Read it here: Divided by borders, united by aspirations. This piece and the event would not have been possible without the efforts of data analyst and researcher Priyanka Singh in New Delhi. Both she and Waqas are Sapan founder members.

I’m also happy to share this piece young lawyer Vishal Sharma in Shimla, also a Sapan founder member. I love how hard and patiently he worked on the article, taking in feedback from various friends to shape it into what it became. I also learnt a lot by working with him on it, especially the idea of ‘Himachaliyat’ which reminds me of ‘Kashmriyat’ – promoting pluralism and peace. Published in Himachal Watcher. Read it here: A young leader’s activism may be a gamechanger for the Congress in Himachal‘. Vishal had the visual specially made by an artist friend.

Vikramaditya Singh uses the shield of “Himachaliyat” and “Virbhadra Singh Vikas Model” to counter political rivals. Visual by artist Deepak Saroj in Noida

Filed under: Art and activism, Environment, Floods, journalism, Literature, Pakistan-India, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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