A procession rally was organized by Student’s federation of India at Jantar Mantar on February 20th, as part of their nationwide campaign for student rights. The procession saw attendance in high numbers with comrades from all over the country. The issues raised in the rally ranged from commercialization of education, economic crisis and minority witch hunting to campus democracy. The aim was to unite the student community against "state excesses". This photo feature tries to capture the mood and immediacy of the procession march.


Students from several universities leading the charge

It is Che all the way

Buying a Che bandana

Against "state excesses"

A daily wage labourer who has joined the students to express solidarity

Shadows in the background. In this scene the prison trials of Abu ghraib was replicated by the actors.

Intense helplessness. Help ness was rightly showed by these two ladies across the age extremes.

Series of order. These actors played out pawns of American interests. With each voicing the American interests in different words.

Ultimate power corrupts. These actors enacted the role of American power holders. the emphatic dialogues completed the assertion of meaning.

Subdued emotions. There were many like him who braved around 800 kilometer to show their concern against the witch hunting.

This old man looked tired and despaired with the speed of investigation.

God is not blind.

The grim face shows his confidence in positivity.

For 20,000 Leprosy afflicted people, Tahirpur is home. Tahirpur is also Asia’s largest colony for people affected with Leprosy (Source: The Leprosy Mission), who have been rehabilitated by the World Leprosy Mission. Several of the inhabitants live with their families and go about the regular activities of life- from school and social gatherings, to work and marriages with determination, pride and dreams.
The colony is an amalgamation of religions, cultures and people from various places; some are even migrants. Everyone is welcome here. The mixed group of people share a community feeling that gives them the strength they need to live their lives. They struggle to live and work with dignity and respect, but never is the struggle highlighted. When dusk comes calling, what we see is the confidence, the happiness, the strength and the celebration.
(Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a chronic infection caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It results in damage primarily to the peripheral nerves (the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord), skin, testes, eyes, and mucous membrane of the nose. Access to information, diagnosis and treatment with multidrug therapy (MDT) remain key elements in the strategy to eliminate the disease as a public health problem, defined as reaching a prevalence of less than 1 leprosy case per 10,000 population. MDT treatment has been made available by WHO free of charge to all patients worldwide since 1995, and provides a simple yet highly effective cure for all types of leprosy, source WHO)
Photo Feature:Monis Ahmad

That’s what I am!
Leisure time
Hope she gets a better future!

The Jamia Teacher’s solidarity group along with AISA (All India students association) organized a candle march to express their concern for Palestinian victims in Gaza strip. Photo feature By Monis Ahmed and Babu

By –Moonis Ahmad & Kinley Tshering

As the mercury drops in Delhi, the election fever is on the rise. The capital’s Okhla constituency is gyrating to the tunes of several candidates offering early New Year gift in the form of promises.

For 70 assembly seats in Delhi, 875 candidates are running. The congress which ruled the roost for the last two terms in Okhla is already feeling the heat. Several candidates from across major parties political parties are running for the election.

Dr S.A Muneem Pasha, a faculty in the department of political science at Jamia Millia Islamia, says that there are several issues that will decide the election’s outcome. “Incumbency, price rice, regularization of colonies and the alleged terrorist encounter are some dominant issues that will affect Congress,” he feels.

The competition for the Okhla constituency is tough with claims and counter-claims among the candidates. “The area was in the news for all the wrong reasons after the alleged terrorist encounter. There is huge disgruntlement amongst the people here,” says Wasif Sattar, a development sector professional living in Okhla.

The incumbent Congress MLA, Parvez Hashmi, is hoping to win the next term on the grounds of development work. He feels that congress has always been the welfare party and will come out victorious.

A potential challenge to the supremacy of congress is being seen in the form of Wasim Ahmad Gazi, who is trying his luck on the Samajwadi party ticket. He feels that the people of Okhla are simply fed up with the present MLA. “He (the present MLA) is unapproachable and in the recent furor around the encounter killing, his true face was exposed,” says Gazi. “He is biased and didn’t even speak of justice for the purported L 18 encounter.”

Raza haidar, contesting on the CPI (M) Candidature, has several arguments to put forth. He argues that Congress has always been anti poor and a party which believes in giving fringe benefits to the minorities. “The recent encounter of suspected terrorists needs serious attention. The sitting MLA from congress didn’t take any stand on the controversy surrounding it. Price rise will also kill its chances,” he says.

Kamran Siddiqui, an independent electoral candidate, has several grouses from the present MLA. “Congress has defied the cause of Muslims who are time and again betrayed. The recent encounter killing of suspected terrorists had placed the Okhla neighborhood on the back foot. Whether it is Babri Masjid or L-18, Muslims have always been targeted and victimized in the name of terrorism.” he says.

Another theory which is doing the round is about how Bhartiya Janata party is aiming to capitalize on the split in the Muslim vote bank. “Congress is spreading this phobia amongst the Muslims in order to garner support,” feels Asad khan, a computer engineer with CSC. Asad, a congress loyalist is planning to exercise a different choice this time. The BJP candidate Surenda Bidhuri is working on his campaign by highlighting on terrorism and security, along with price rise. The delimitation of constituency by the election commission will work to his advantage. Similar views are held by Bahujan Samaj party candidate, Brahm Singh.

Vikas Shukla, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia and a local resident feels that the encounter issue will dictate the electoral results in this area. “I want the best candidate to win so that the grievances of Okhla residents are heard,” adds Vikas.

The results that will be declared after December 8 will decide the outcome of this area and of the party which will celebrate New Year in pomp and style. Till then it is congress versus the rest.

Buddhism accords important place to monks within its religious fold. The Buddhists itself are led a monk popularly referred to as Dalai Lama These pictures were taken in the famous monastery of Namgyal in mc leodganj, dharamshala.

Faith

A monk involved in the routine prostration

A monk engrossed in deep thought

A name revered and believed in

The conflict between China and Tibet is centuries old. Time and again there were many debates about China trying to dominate and Tibet feeling oppressed under Chinese supremacy. The question of autonomy and independence for Tibetans still remains unresolved.

For Tibet the struggle doesn’t end there.

The Dalai Lama has sought a departure from his earlier demand for independence from the PRC, People’s Republic of China to a Third Way approach. This attempt which is aimed towards mutual understanding between the two countries, seeks to achieve an amicable solution to the problem. The demand is now for genuine autonomy (division of authority) between Beijing and Lhasa, says Thubten Samphael, the Information Secretary of Department of Information and International Relation, Tibetan Government in exile. “Dalai Lama wants enough political space for the productivity and happiness of our culture. But Chinese on the other hand likes to play the role of an estranged father”.

The story about Tibetan movement has grabbed coverage only on a timely basis. In March this year the whole world witnessed this voice in the form of an uprising. Thubten Samphel adds, “Peaceful protest carried out by the monks of Sera monastery, Lhasa, was simply blown out of proportion. The Chinese planted agents amongst the monks and participated in looting and violence all throughout in March.”

The Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, have been led spiritually and politically by him after the infamous exile of 1959 from their homeland. The process of talks started in the late 1970s between his holiness and the then Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping.

“The fact finding mission which was sent in 1979 fell flat, as Chinese had to face severe embarrassment,” opines Thubten Samphael. He further adds that in the 80s there were some power shifts happening in the form of Soviet Union disintegration and embarrassing events like Tiananmen Square. The period between 1987-1993 saw Tibetan protests and Chinese crack down.


However, not all Tibetans have one opinion regarding a possible solution for the issue. For some one like Lhasang Tsering, a poet activist, the “Third Way Approach” of Dalai Lama is sheer abdication from their stand and responsibility towards independence. “We can’t simply give up our claim for free Tibet. It is our homeland and Tibetans aspire for it. The leadership of Dalai Lama is essential for sustaining the Tibetan cause. But at the same time we simply can’t compromise on the issue of independence”, he adds.

Similar views are held by Tenzin Tsundue, the famous Tibetan writer who unfurled Tibetan flag during Chinese premier’s visit. He says, “Tibet is for Tibetans. And we must strive for our independence. China by bringing in outside population into the mainland Tibet (Kham, Amdo, and U-tsang) is violating all norms under the guise of development.”

For Tenzin Lekshey, coordinator of India-Tibet coordination office, China is the biggest human rights violator. He is one of the many émigrés who has grown up in his parents’ adopted homeland in India. “The Chinese system is based on hypocrisy and dishonesty. Tibetans don’t respect the Chinese communist party,” he says.

The future of Tibetan movement raises several questions, especially about the impending scenario in the absence of his holiness. According to Thubten Samphael the movement might get more vocal in future. “The Tibetans will then have a critical responsibility to handle the period of gap after his death and pass over the level of maturity to the 15th Dalai Lama.”

Another development which has been brewing up in the form of an undercurrent is a section in Chinese society which doesn’t identify with Chinese nationalism. They are seeking solace in the spiritual heritage of Tibetan Buddhism.

From a central Asian institution, the office of the Dalai Lama has become a global one. As Tenzin Lekshey puts it, Tibetans need semshook (courage and determination) to reach a possible solution to the problem. However the cquestion remains whether they can rely on sustained global support.



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By—Moonis Ahmad

Can you convey an idea in 60 seconds? That is what 60 filmmakers from India, Pakistan and Britain tried to do in 60x60, a project by Motiroti, an international arts organization based in London.


The James Beveridge media resource center of AJK Mass Communication Research Center (JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA) hosted the screening of these 60 one-minute-films on diasporic identity on 29th September for students, filmmakers and academia. The programme called 360 degree Britain- India- Pakistan aims and attempts to depict the cultural spaces between these three countries.


Ms Sabina Gadihoke, faculty of video and television in Mass Communication Research Center opined on the films breaking the pattern of linearity. “The movies offered variety in its thought and conceptualization. Innovatively named as Grey, Me, Winds Have Changed, Benefits of War, and Importance of Bicycles etc. the movies wanted to go beyond the usual,” she said.


“The aim was to take the issues beyond rhetorical debates around identity and culture. The discourse about multiple identities, memories and abstraction were translated by the contributors,” says Ali Zaidi, Artistic Director for Motiroti.com.


According to him, “the film makers wanted to address the issues of cultural hybridity (synthesis) and migration nostalgia primarily”. He further adds the surfacing of new issues hovering around boundaries, nationality and nationhood will push forward the debate concerning culture and ethnicity.


The contributors in this project were a mix of amateurs, artists, filmmakers and students. The usage of animation and graphics for putting across the message caught the attention of students and filmmakers. For Ali Zaidi the approach was to use different narrative techniques, comical dramas and performance based style while giving creative treatments to their works.


Mr. Pawas Bisht, whose film was part of the project, commented on the inclusion of elements in the films. His film about his native village in Uttaranchal saw mixed reactions.


The screening was followed by discussion involving students and filmmakers. The usage of voices and language (melting pot of English, Urdu, and Punjabi) interested many. Ali Zaidi added that the one minute medium was challenging and testing for the filmmakers. “The project jury while selecting the proposals had to go through rigorous contemplation,” he said.


Earlier the movies were shown in the journalism festival of Kamla Nehru College (Delhi University). These screenings will be carried forward in Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore, Pakistan in the coming week.

By-Moonis Ahmad and Babu
A solidarity procession was organized by the newly formed Coordination Committee of Indian Muslims along with other Muslim advocacy groups to voice their concern against terrorism and police action on 26th September, Friday at Jantar Mantar.

The rally was attended by major Muslim organizations, leftists, intellectuals, students and social activists. The leaders condemned all disruptive terrorist acts and serial bombings as well as the incidents of State bias.

“The 19th September Batla house encounter of suspected terrorists had created enough commotion amongst the residents of Okhla and Muslims in general,” confesses Irfanullah Khan, chairman of Jamia Nagar coordination committee. “Earlier it was madarsas, and now educated Muslim youths are being targeted by the police. The aim is to bottleneck them educationally and economically.”

While addressing the gathering, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, severely criticized the media for demonizing and labeling Jamia Millia Islamia and Okhla as the hubs of terrorism. He said, “If Atif was behind Delhi bomb blasts, then who is to be blamed for the blasts at Nanded, Ajmer Dargah and Mecca Masjid of Hyderabad.”

The members of JNU student’s union also participated in the agitation. The union’s President, Pradeep spoke against the state’s high handedness in this clamp down. “The role of RSS in this polarization and its involvement in bomb explosions should be thoroughly investigated,” he demanded.

Abu Asim Azmi, Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh opined: “The media has tarnished the image of Muslims, Islam and azmis (a title used by the Muslims from Azamgarh) in Mumbai and Delhi.” He further added that “Azamgarh has produced patriots like Maulana Shibli Nomani, Kaifi Azmi and Brigadier Usman”

The students and demonstrators in the agitation were holding various placards like “we want CBI/judicial enquiry”, “we are against terrorism” and “stop arresting innocents”


Another JNU union member Monisa voiced that all the resistance movements in India should unite. She further added that all the marginalized voices, whether Muslims, dalits, adivasis and Christians should fight for their rights.

The rally witnessed loud sloganeering by the emotionally charged participants against police, media and the state. However, the leaders promptly controlled the mob.


Later in the evening, some leaders including Muslim Majlise Mushawarat president Dr. Zafrul Islam Khan, Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind went to the PMO where they handed a memorandum listing their demands.

For most students like Vikas of Jamia Millia Islamia the procession was important because it brought all concerned citizens on a common platform

By
Moonis Ahmad

Prophecy raises several questions and generates great interest amongst its believers. But when it is combined with photography, it evokes even greater curiosity.

The packed affair at the lecture on ‘photography and prophecy’ by Professor Christopher Pinney, an anthropologist and an art historian from London School of Economics, was an indication to go by. The media resource centre of AJK MCRC organized the talk on September 3.

The occasion also saw debates on various traditions in photography. From colonial to post-colonial trends, the shift in practices of photography from an instrument of measurement to current visual popular culture backed by technology.

“Whatever that is recorded by facts must have also been captured. This gives primacy to photography as a discipline,” Prof Christopher Pinney argued. “The period prior to 1830s saw the dominance of painting as an art form to depict the surroundings, rather an era where only gods and kings had faces. With the coming of portraiture in photography this barrier was transcended.”

Reading excerpts from his book ‘Photography’s other histories’ attention was drawn to Alkazi collection of pictures and how there was a coincidence between photography and telegraphy. The colonial photographic archives were based on representing heroism and other ‘British Raj’ achievements, he said.

With the coming of portraiture in photography, it became performative in nature bordering on moral instruction. The significance of colonial photography was mainly in the creation of metropolitan self identity, the professor writes in his book, Camera Indica.

The power point presentation of the photos of colonial period depicted the culture and historical consciousness of the era. The picture of Humayun tomb in Delhi after the revolt of 1857 drew debates and responses from the participants. Ms Sabina Gadihoke, faculty of Video and TV, MCRC, shared her understanding about the colonial photography and zenana (women) photographers.

The whole lecture tried to break the popular myth that photographic history is best seen as the explosion of western technology.

Sunil Gupta, an independent photographer, drew a parallel between colonial photography and the present practice of embedded photojournalists. “The trend followed by American administration in the Middle East and Afghanistan needs to be looked at closely and is similar to colonial traditions of photography.”

The questions raised at the end of the lecture were limited because of time crunch. Some students found the academic nature of the lecture difficult to follow. However, the participants agreed that it did open a new perspective towards photography as a discipline.

By
Moonis Ahmad


“Aao aao natak dekho, Jamia ka natak dekho,” echo theatre enthusiasts in Jamia Millia Islamia campus these days. Once more, the university is seeing the revival of theatre after many years. Energetic thumping, shouting and adrenaline loaded gusto amongst theatre wallahs of the University has set the platform for speech and expression.

From theatre veteran Habib Tanvir to groups like Jan Natya Manch, big names have performed on the University soil in the past. However, their influence soon withered away over time.

Things are now changing for theatre in Jamia.

Talking about the revival of theatre, Professor Ghazanfar Zaidi of fine arts department, says: “The University has witnessed its passivity (in theatre performance), but the last six years has seen a dramatic change in the psyche and dynamics of administration towards it.”

Though theatre is a part of the curriculum for social work, fine arts and mass communication disciplines, its culture was subdued till few years back.

In the last half a decade several theatre groups have mushroomed within the University. Apart from Jamia Drama Club which is the drama society of the university, there are others like IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), Sangwari, Awam and Pratibha Unnayan Natya Manch.

Adnan Bismillah who runs the theatre group, Pratibha Unnayan Natya Manch, says; “The present trend was started by Jamia Drama Club way back in 2002, when it stood third in the north zone festival in Allahabad. Since then there was no looking back.”

Most of these groups are primarily influenced by Marxist thought. The plays of IPTA, Sangwari, and Awam are mostly political satires, anti-communal and anti-capitalist in nature.

The University has just come up with an art gallery and has also provided an open space specifically meant for street theatre performances.

A new endeavor in this regard has been the revival of Talimi Mela (a cultural festival initiative) by the present vice chancellor Professor Mushirul Hasan three years back. The festival aims at promoting cultural activities, wherein theatre performances are a core part.

K.S Kusuma, a lecturer of traditional entertainment at AJK Mass Communication Research Centre says that theatre culture is finally permeating amongst students. He is also the head of the street theatre club of the University. Mr.Kusuma says that “ organizing a street theatre festival is also in the pipeline”
The question is whether the garnered momentum in this direction will be able to sustain itself. Freedom of speech and expression under the garb of theatre lovers is finally knocking the doors.
So, are you game for some nukkad natak?