Fact sheet on Kanak Dixit’s arrest

Posted on April 24, 2016 by beenasarwar

Fact sheet on Kanak Dixit’s arrest – used as the basis for an online petition to CIAA Nepal Lok Man Singh Karki

Opposition to the current investigation by the CIAA into alleged corruption by Mr Kanak Mani Dixit is based on the grounds that the process has been flawed as demonstrated by facts:

1. Mr Kanak Mani Dixit had opposed the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as the head of the CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority) at the time of the appointment in 2013 on the grounds that Mr Karki had been indicted by the Rayamajhi Commission for suppressing the people’s movement: Under well-established principles of jurisprudence a judge or investigator with a personal bias or interest in a case should not be carrying out an investigation or pronouncing on a case, and in fact should recuse himself or herself from such a case to prevent prejudice. However though Mr Karki himself was the individual criticised by Mr Dixit, in a public campaign, Mr Karki continues to drive the investigations. Continue reading →

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Media figures call for release of Himal Editor Kanak Mani Dixit

Posted on April 23, 2016 by beenasarwar
Kanak 03

Kanak being arrested at a pro-democracy rally in Nepal, 2006. Photo by Shehab Uddin

Press Statement: media figures call for release of Himal Editor Kanak Mani Dixit

New Delhi, April 23 — Editors and media figures as well as intellectuals and scholars from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, UK, US, Australia and Sri Lanka have called for the release of Himal editor and prominent Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit who was arrested yesterday in Katmandu by anti-graft officials.

The following is the text of the statement:

Continue reading →

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“My only durable identity is my humanity”

Posted on September 4, 2014 by beenasarwar
CG Mishra-pic Farhat Sadaqa

Akhilesh Mishra: humanity and poetry. Photos: Farhat Sadaqa

A short piece I wrote about a South Asian event I was invited to speak at in Toronto; I focused on the speech by the Indian Consul General Akhilesh Mishra. Published in the Aman ki Asha page in The News, September 3, 2014.

Speaking at an informal discussion organised by the South Asian Peoples Forum in the Toronto area in Canada on Monday, Akhilesh Mishra, the unassuming Consul General of India won many hearts with his soul-touching poetry, couplets of which were interspersed throughout his brief speech.

This, coupled with his humane and compassionate outlook, comes as a refreshing change from the kind of talk and posturing one usually gets from diplomats. Continue reading →

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Pakistan’s media wars – my article for Himal Southasian

Posted on July 6, 2014 by beenasarwar

Himal-Growing media, shrinking spaces?Himal Southasian, a publication I’m proud to have been associated with since its inception in 1996, has a new issue on the media. My piece Pakistan’s media wars (below) and Mass media and the Modi ‘wave’ by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta are web exclusives. Two additional points to my article:  1. Corporate media owners in Pakistan have always been part of reactionary and anti-democratic forces in general. Their disputes with censoring governments have almost always had commercial motivations. 2. Journalists have played a positive role whenever they remained united in their professionalism. They compromise this unity when they allow journalistic standards to slip and try to become power brokers themselves.

By Beena Sarwar

4 July 2014

What is the political fallout of the battle between a media behemoth and Pakistan’s largest security agency?
Continue reading →

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The Southasian penumbra

Posted on April 3, 2014 by beenasarwar
IMG_5208

Kanak Dixit: thought-provoking

My PERSONAL POLITICAL column in The News and in Hard News, India, last week

Beena Sarwar

I was curious when my old friend, the Nepali journalist Kank Mani Dixit proposed the topic “To be Desi or Southasian” as the topic of a talk that another journalist friend, Aseem Chahbra from India, was setting up for him in New York.

Continue reading →

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A Southasian vision

Posted on October 2, 2013 by beenasarwar
Himal Southasian: Under the Bollywood Tree - latest issue, launched at the Bangalore Literature Festival recently

Himal Southasian: Under the Bollywood Tree – latest issue, launched at the Bangalore Literature Festival recently

My article in The Friday Times last week (thanks to Raza Rumi for pushing me to write this, despite the tight deadline):

A Southasian vision

For regional peace, development and prosperity, it is imperative to improve India-Pakistan relations

Beena Sarwar

I like how the Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit refers to the Indian sub-continent: Southasia. One word. Kanak explains why, in the respected magazine Himal Southasian that he edits, that I am proud to be editorially associated with since its launch in 1997. As a magazine “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space – without wishing any violence on the existing nation states – we believe that the aloof geographical term ‘South Asia’ needs to be injected with some feeling. ‘Southasia’ does the trick for us, albeit the word is limited to English-language discourse. Continue reading →

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“Allow Woeser the freedom to express and to travel”

Posted on March 31, 2012 by beenasarwar

“Allow Woeser the freedom to express and to travel”: Prominent Asian intellectuals appeal for Tsering Woeser 

Chinese authorities have not only prevented the Tibetan writer and historian Tsering Woeser from receiving the prestigious Prince Claus Award for 2011 in Beijing (being awarded by the Dutch Ambassador to China) but her movements within Beijing have been restricted, says a statement issued from Kathmandu by Prince Claus laureates Arif Hasan (Karachi, Pakistan), Ganesh Devy (Vadodara, India), Jyotindra Jain (New Delhi, India), Kanak Mani Dixit (Kathmandu, Nepal) and Mehrdad Oskouei (Tehran, Iran). Continue reading →

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Once more for the Spinal Beetle and Southasia connectivity

Posted on November 22, 2011 by beenasarwar
Spinal Beetle with its Nepali eyes arrives in Pakistan

Here’s the latest report of the Southasian journey undertaken recently by my friend, civil rights activist, writer and journalist (editor Himal Southasian) Kanak Mani Dixit, his wife Shanta (a teacher) and son Eelum (an actor, and yes, his name derives from ‘ilm’ which means knowledge, named by his dada, Kanak’s father who is a prominent writer).

Eelum, Kanak and Shanta Dixit: A great drive

The family started their 1100-mile odyssey in Kathmandu, Nepal, ending in Peshawar, Pakistan, to raise funds and awareness about the need for spinal injury rehabilitation. Those who have been following this issue would know that Kanak injured his spine in a trekking accident a decade ago. He survived, making a near miraculous recovery, and started the Spinal Centre Nepal in 2002, inaugurated by the late Sir Edmund Hillary. The coverage they’ve got on this journey has helped publicize their drive tremendously but the required funds have not arrived, and they are well short of their target. This is a personal appeal. Please donate what you can for this important cause. And do read this riveting account of their journey, includes important insights and information… Continue reading →

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A Spinal Beetle update: striking a blow for Southasian land connectivity

Posted on November 15, 2011 by beenasarwar

Kanak collecting the earth from Fatehgarh Sahib outside Sialkot, the childhood village of 96-year-old Barkat Singh 'Pahalwan' of Jalandar, India at his special request.

I’m sure the Dixits – Kanak, Shanta and Eelum – have soon share photos, video and stories about their Spinal Beetle fundraising drive from Kathmandu to Peshawar but meanwhile, this brief update.

Many things about their journey were striking and moving. There’s the romance of driving from Kathmandu via Lucknow, Delhi, Agra, Amritsar, Lahore and Rawalpindi to Peshawar, much of it along the ancient Grand Trunk Road that dates back to the Maurya Empire (3rd century BC), later extended by Sher Shah Suri in the 16h century, from Calcutta to Kabul. Continue reading →

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The Great Nepal-India-Pakistan Spinal Beetle Rally: A SouthAsian fundraising drive (literally)

Posted on October 29, 2011 by beenasarwar

A small car with a big task

Calling all those interested in post-disaster care, spinal injury, Southasian connectivity, people-to-people contact, VW Beetles…! 

Kanak Mani Dixit, a journalist (Editor of Himal Southasian) and civil rights activist, made a near-miraculous recovery from a spinal injury received during a trekking accident in Nepal.

Kanak being arrested at a pro-democracy rally in Nepal, 2006. Photo by Shehab Uddin

Being Kanak, he threw his considerable energy and vision to launch a Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Nepal, inaugurated in 2002 by none other than the late, great Sir Edmund Hillary (facebook page SpinalNepal; twitter: @spinalnepal).

Kanak’s latest attempt to raise funds for the project as well as build linkages with like-minded institutions in Southasia is: The Great Nepal-India-Pakistan Spinal Beetle Rally
A fundraising drive across SouthAsia for spinal injury rehabilitation
USD 100 per mile, a journey of 1100 miles
Starting Nov 4, 2011: Kathmandu-Lucknow-Delhi-Amritsar-Lahore-Rawalpindi-Peshawar

Details >>… Continue reading →

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