[Reader-list] july 7th book bazar dharna

Fri Jul 1 00:09:25 IST 2005

Buck up ,Bharti!! 
I will join you with my friends..!!

What can be done by being there, right there physically, cannot be done any other way.

Resistance on Street is the best.

Let the motto be clear: Our rights or we bite!! 

Bharati <bharati at chintan-india.org> wrote:

lawrence and others : while all these issues you mention have been discussed when the sunday bazar was shut down and then brutally pruned, we have decided to jump into the fire and begin with a protest. i am not sure an on-site protest is someting many people on this list may wish to participate in, (given the arguments about fighting it through the courts which should not, in my opinion, be done wihtout the kabaris saying yes and actively participating in it) but the dharan is what many of the kabaris want to start with. you are all welcome to join. the invite letter is as below. 

bharati

***************

 Oppose MCDs Decision to Close Down Sunday Book Bazaar

You might be aware that the MCD has decided to close down the historic Sunday Book Bazaar at Daryaganj in Delhi.

The book bazaar has existed for over four decades. It is a paradise for book lovers all over Delhi and beyond as a mind-boggling variety of rare books is usually available in this market at very affordable prices. Its a cliché to say that books one cant find anywhere else would be available in Daryaganj Sunday Bazaar. For many students this is the only place from where they can afford to purchase a book. From students to artists to designers to theorists to activists- Daryaganj is the favourate place to be on a Sunday. This is the reason why this bazaar has occupied an important place in the collective psyche of book lovers in Delhi for generations. 

The decision of the MCD to close down the book bazaar has come as a rude shock since this bazaar is an integral part of Delhis culture and heritage. Harit Recyclers Association (HRA), a registered organization of small junk dealers, many of whom have been associated with the Sunday Book Bazaar, has decided to oppose this decision. Chintan-HRA have joined hands to hold a Dharna outside the MCD office on July 7th as a first step. 

We request all of you to come out in open against the arbitrary decision by the MCD. We request the members associated with Sajha Manch and other organisations and individuals to fully support and participate in Dharna.

For more information, please contact Shashi Bhushan Pandit of Chintan-HRA 9350271397 or quick mail at hra at chintan-india.org, you can also snail mail at 

12-Jangpura Market, Near Eros Cinema, New Delhi-110014. 

Date of Dharna:             07 July 05

Venue:             Town Hall, MCD Office

                                    Near Chandani Chowk

Time:                            11:00 a.m 

> Hi all 
> 
> 
> Just to follow up on Ravi's suggestions, I am thinking aloud on the kinds 
> of 
> strategies that one may think of. One of the usual strategies, if one 
> sees 
> past judicial strategies when it comes to asserting rights of street 
> hawkers/ vendors has been a right to life and right to trade argument. And 
> again apart from a few 'sympathetic' sweet nothings, the SC has generally 
> rejected these fundamental rights arguments. 
> 
> 
> It however be interesting in terms of a campaign to argue, apart form a 
> livelihood argument, an argument of a violation of freedom of speech and 
> expression. Since the SC has held in favour of right to information, it 
> would be useful to start thinking of the question of infrastructures of 
> information in addition to the question of access. This can also be 
> pursuasive given that a large number of the book sellers sell basic text 
> books. While the question of the link between infrastructure and freedom 
> of 
> speech has thus far been used only by large media players (the Indian 
> express case argued that costs of news print can affect freedom of 
> speech), 
> how do we start using these arguments to speak of infrastructures for 
> common people? 
> 
> 
> I am also interested in looking at the connections between these urban 
> cleansing programs and the question of the emerging regimes of 
> information, such as copyright. I am not sure if there is a linkage that 
> is 
> being made here , or any pressure that is asserted by say, the Indian Boo 
> Publishers Association, because a few years ago I was in a meeting 
> organised by the IBPA and one of the things that they were advocating was 
> stringent action against street book sellers. 
> 
> 
> Lawrence 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/28/05 3:08 PM, "Ravi Agarwal" wrote: 
> 
>> Dear all, 
>> 
>> I will be happy to participate and / or help in taking this forward. We 
>> should consider a range of options, including legal remedies, media, 
>> street 
>> protest, letters to mcd...but first we must also we should ask the 
>> street 
>> book sellers what their view on this is..... 
>> 
>> ravi 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "shivam" 
>> To: "Anand Vivek Taneja" 
>> Cc: "Reader List" ; 
>> 
>> Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 4:06 PM 
>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] sunday book market faces closure. 
>> 
>> 
>> They did the same in Mumbai recently. What, just what, is wrong with 
>> these guys? Sarkari monsters who work at the "municiopal corporation" 
>> seem especially berserk. "Municipal corporation(s)" have special teams 
>> to withdraw the menace of cows and rabid dogs from the city. These 
>> teams are equipped with a huge van and nets and what not. I suggest 
>> establishing a paralell municipal corporation (with maoist help from 
>> nepal, if you please) and putting our cattle-catching team after these 
>> sarkari monsters. 
>> 
>> May I float a conspiracy theory? Has the MCD been requested, 
>> pressurised, bribed by Daryaganj's publishers and booksellers into 
>> doing this? 
>> 
>> sv 
>> 
>> 
>> On 6/25/05, Anand Vivek Taneja wrote: 
>>> Dear All, 
>>> 
>>> Woke up to the horrifying news in this morning's Hindustan Times that 
>> 
>> 
>> www.shivamvij.com 
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> 
> _________________________________________ 
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> Critiques & Collaborations 
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ONE LIFE. ONE SHOT. 

Happiness, Health & Peace, 
Syed Khalid Jamal   

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