[Reader-list] Report on South Asia seminar curtain raiser - 21 February, 2006]
Jeebesh Bagchi
jeebesh at sarai.net
Wed Feb 22 10:19:42 IST 2006
Listening to the speakers and now reading the report (which is
brilliantly compiled) a few questions surfaced.
(I)
Somewhere, at stake is an understanding of the nature of the
censorial `power` that confronts voices from being articulated and
circulated.
Now what is this `power`? Does it have a manifest location or it is
very diffused and dispersed to locate or fix it?
All `voices` that are /banned/discredited/disallowed seems very
`frail`, `fragile`, `weak` on the surface, in terms of it's reach.
Then why is `power` intimated by it.?
What does this has to say about the nature of power itself?
Is it too besieged, uncertain and weak that a `faint` voice can
destabilize it from it's pedestal.? What would this account of power
mean in terms of practices of `counter-publics`?
(II)
The processes of `intimidation` by censors (here i use it in the
broadest meaning) seems to follow a defined trajectory. Why not have
a public listing of all these intimidation and this can be sourced
from all over and have a engaged thinking of how to `bypass` it if
possible, `confront` it when needed, `publicize` it gain ground, etc.
(iii)
What happens to our sources of self when intimidated, confronted,
faced with the might of the `censor`.?
This is a critical question as there is an increasing doubt on an
`open` life after `authoritarian` assault. Positions gets hardened
and world divide itself into the 20th C grand metaphor of `friend or
foes`. Maybe we can find a way to discuss this.
warmly
jeebesh
On 22-Feb-06, at 1:05 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote:
> Dear Friends,
>
> This is a report on the 'curtain raiser' to the South Asia Seminar
> on Censorship : Free Speech and Fearless Listening - The Encounter
> with Censorship in South Asia - that has already been announced on
> this list. This report, which I am forwarding on to the reader list
> (apologies for cross posting to those already on the CAC list) is a
> narrative of the discussion at Sarai-CSDS earlier today, compiled
> by Saba Dewan (Delhi Film Archive, Campaign Against Censorship) and
> posted on the CACDelhi list.
>
> Looking forward to intense discussion and new ideas in the next few
> days,as the seminar moves to Max Muller Bhavan in Delhi
>
> regards
>
> Shuddha
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [CACDelhi] Report on South Asia seminar curtain raiser -
> 21 February, 2006
> Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:40:19 +0530
> From: Saba Dewan <sabadewan at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: CACDelhi at yahoogroups.co.in
> To: cacDelhi at yahoogroups.co.in, vikalp at yahoogroups.com
>
> Report on the curtain raiser at Sarai, 21 February, 2006
>
> The curtain raiser at Sarai to the South Asia seminar on censorship
> - Free
> Speech & Fearless Listening: The encounter with censorship in South
> Asia -
> organised by the Delhi Film Archive and the Films For Freedom,
> Delhi, in
> collaboration with Sarai and the Max Mueller Bhavan began with a brief
> introduction to the event by Shuddhabhrata Sen Gupta, who chaired the
> session. The panelists were Sudheer Pattnaik, Jitman Basnet, Hasan
> Zaidi,
> Vinod Jose, Malathi Maithri and Andres Viel.
>
> Welcoming the participants to the curtain raiser Shuddha suggested
> that the
> seminar be seen as a celebration of freedom of expression, not just
> a lament
> against censorship. Outlining the contours of the discussions
> planned for
> the next few days of the seminar he spoke of issues related to
> creativity,
> reportage and law and the censorship exercised by the state as
> well as non
> state actors. Shuddha also emphasized the need for a complex
> analyses and
> understanding of the issues related to censorship given the
> diversity of
> positions around free speech. He ended his introductory remarks by
> listing
> out some of the 54 books that have been banned in India through the
> past
> hundred years. These include Mother India by Catherine Mayo that
> was banned
> by the colonial government, Behind the iron curtain in Kashmir, a
> pamphalet,
> The Ramayana by Aubrey Menon and Nine Hours to Rama by Stanley
> Wolpert.
> Recently two books by David Laine on Shivaji have faced a similar
> fate.
>
> Shuddha then invited Sudheer Pattnaik, a media activist and
> journalist from
> Orissa to share his thoughts. Sudheer contextualised his
> presentation within
> the contemperory situation in Orissa and spoke pf the culture of
> questioning
> that has been emerging from amongst the tribals, the peasantry and the
> fishing communities who for decades have been promised development
> and well
> being through the setting up of by big projects such as NALCO and the
> Rourkela steel plant. Over the years people have realized the
> hallowness of
> these attempts to gain popular legitimacy. Interestingly and
> pointedly it is
> not only the state that is trying to repress this questioning through
> measures that are completely violative of human rights like mass
> arrests but
> various arms of the civil society too are not far behind in
> suppressing the
> voice of the people. The mainstream media, corporate sector as well
> as the
> NGO's have joined in the chorus of a "conspiracy theory'' and finger
> pointing at possible "culprits" who have ``instigated" the "innocent"
> tribals. This theory rests on the belief that the poor are not
> capable of
> thinking for themselves. It also makes it a crime to share the
> truth with
> people.
>
> Sudheer shared that his group the Independent Media consisting of
> filmmakers, writers and journalists have been trying to share this
> process
> of questioning by different groups of people with others in similar
> position
> in Orissa. They have been producing Samadristi an Oriya fortnightly
> news
> magazine and also creating videos, screening films and producing
> diverse
> literature that challanges the censorship being faced by the people.
>
> Jitman Basnet, a journalist and lawyer from Nepal now living in
> exile in
> Delhi shared his personal experience of censorship both by the
> Maoists and
> the monarchy. He was abducted by the Maoists for publishing in the
> monthly
> magazine edited by him, Sagarmatha Times , reports of the
> destruction caused
> by the political group. Subsequently he was arrested by the Royal
> Nepal Army
> and kept in detention for over 9 months for writing against the
> human rights
> abuse by the army and about the private assets of the king. Giving
> a broad
> outline of the climate of censorship that prevails in Nepal today,
> Jitman,
> said that over 20 journalists and 1500 political and human rights
> activists
> are still in custody of the Royal Nepal Army. More than 500 Nepali
> people
> are missing for the past 4-5 years .Press censorship is being
> forced on the
> media and no adverse reports on the monarchy are allowed. Several
> places in
> the Kathmandu valley have been declared restricted areas where no
> demonstrations or protests are allowed. Civilian areas have been
> bombed by
> the army and these have resulted in the death of so far uncounted
> civilians.
>
> Hasan Zaidi, filmmaker, journalist from Pakistan and also director
> of the
> Kara Film Festival talked of the anomolous situation in Pakistan
> today where
> under the present military regime media has seen a huge boom.
> Karachi alone
> has 9 FM radio channels and all over Pakistan atleast 25 new private
> television channels have come up. Hasan also shared that with the
> increase
> in TV channels there has been a reduction in the diversity of
> programming.
> Fierce competition for audiences has resulted in the complete
> phasing out of
> more "serious" programming like documentaries.
>
> The media boom in Pakistan has to operate within given
> restrictions. For
> example officially FM channels are not allowed to broadcast
> anything on
> politics. Some channels have flouted this restriction and one of
> them has
> been regularly re broadcasting the BBC's Urdu news. Similarly although
> Indian film music is banned it is broadcast regularly by the FM
> radios.
> Certain issues are tabboo for all media. Any issue categorised as
> "in the
> national interest" and that could include anything, is precluded
> from
> media scrutiny. Thus for example, issues related to development if
> examined
> from a critical or "hardline" perspective can be a cause of
> official ire.
> Similarly the role of the military, though open to being
> questioned, can
> only be done at one's peril. After 9/11 there has been a debate and
> requestioning of what constitutes freedom of expression and this
> has led to
> self censorship within the media. Hasan also talked about the role
> of the
> multinationals as censor bodies, apart from the state, since they
> provide
> funds for media outfits.
>
> Vinod Jose from the Free Press a Malayalam magazine that was
> published from
> Delhi by a group of young journalists shared how the periodical was
> forced
> to close done by the state and business interests. Letters from
> readers to
> the magazine were routinely scanned by the IB. Bundles of magazine
> on their
> way to Kerala would be picked up by the intelligence agencies.
> Increasingly
> no press in Delhi was ready to print the magazine and for some
> time it was
> printed from a press in Meerut. The newsprint suppliers too refused to
> supply newsprint under pressure from the state agencies.
> Distributors of the
> magazine as well as the Kerala based reporters were harassed and
> pressurised
> to leave the Free Press. Vinod Jose's family and acquitances too were
> questioned by the police.
>
> Sharing with the audience the possible reasons of this continuous
> harassment
> in the 16-17 months of the Free Press's existence Vinod talked of the
> investigative stories that the magazine had done about some of the
> biggest
> corporate interests in the country. One of the article had exposed
> the role
> of Reliance in the black economy and had listed 300 benami
> companies that
> operated from Reliance address and had taken crores worth of bank
> loans. He
> also talked about another investigative story on Intel Microsoft
> project in
> Kerala to impart computer education that had been riddled with
> corruption.
> Another article had exposed the succesful attempt by a South India
> based
> industrialist to get a river transferred to his name! This had led
> to a stay
> order in the court.
>
> Malathi Maithri a Feminist poet writing in Tamil talked about the
> need to
> speak out when violence
> and exploitation of all manner is being unleashed by the poweful.
> There is
> a need to formulate one's own means of resistence. Sharing her
> personal
> experience of being a women poet writing on female desire and the
> body she
> shared how large sections of a conservative literary mainstream had
> labeled
> her as an "anti cultural element" and she has been reported by the
> press as
> being "immoral". She said that women poets like her were not only
> writing
> about desire but also about the material hardships faced by women.
> However
> the latter aspect has never been highlighted by the literary
> mainstream who
> have been vocal about their outrage at women writing about sexuality.
> Feminist today, said Malathi, is one of the most abusive terms in
> Tamil
> literature.
>
> Andres Viel, noted filmmaker from Germany talked of the subtle and
> hidden
> ways in which censorship can be exerted by a coalition of interests
> that
> includes the state as well as economic forces. Direct economic
> pressure in
> the form of threats to stop advertisements are an effective way to
> silence
> investigative reports. Another way is more subtle. Journalists can be
> threatened with not being given a future chance to get any more
> information
> about a company if they were to persist in carrying on with their
> present
> story. Andres talked about his personal experience with censorship
> during
> the making of Black Box Germany when his house seemed burgled
> without any
> forced signs of entry or anything missing. It was a subtle threat
> that worse
> could follow. This form of censorship casts a shadow of fear and
> the longer
> this form of subtle intimidation continues the greater the erosion of
> confidence in the journalist or filmmaker about the validity of his
> investigation. This can eventually lead to self censorship.
>
> There was a vibrant discussion following these presentations.
> Sanjay Kak and
> Lawrence Liang spoke about the censorship regime posed by copright
> laws in
> the west and its advent to India. The discussion then geered back to
> Sudheer Pattnaik who spoke of his group's long term strategy plan to
> organise readers collectives to protect their magazine from being
> shut down
> as Free Press had been forced to do. The need to mobilise people -
> readers,
> audiences - as a vibrant and active force to challenge the censorship
> regimes was stressed. Arundhati Roy however made an insightful
> observation
> that it is easier to organise people to protest against
> censorship of
> information around "just" causes such as development but society
> itself
> can pose a threat to freedom of expression when it is seen to be
> violative
> of existing norms as in the case of Malathi Maithri and other women
> poets
> writing about female desire in Tamil.
>
> Tomorrow, 22 February, the seminar begins at the Max Mueller Bhavan
> at 9.30am sharp. Please find below the schedule for tomorrow -
>
> 22 February 2006 Wednesday
> Max Mueller Bhawan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg
>
> 9:30 - 10:00 am : Opening Remarks:
> Rahul Roy / Delhi Film Archive
>
> 10:00 - 11:30 am : Reports from the Region
> Hassan Zaidi (Karachi) Jitman Basnet (Kathmandu/ Delhi) Prasanna
> Vithanage
> (Colombo) Tanvir Mokammel (Dhaka) Tenzin Tsundoe (Dharamsala) Video
> Intervention: May Nyein (Burma) presented by Nem Davies Chair Amar
> Kanwar
>
> 12:00 - 1:30 pm : Framed by the law
> Lawrence Liang (Bangalore) Sara Hossein (Dhaka) Discussants: Jitman
> Basnet /
> Prasanna Vithanage / Hassan Zaidi Intervention: Shahid Amin (Delhi)
> Chair
> Usha Ramanathan
>
> 2:30 - 4:00 pm : Court Encounters
> PA Sebastian (Mumbai) Sara Hossein (Dhaka)
> Discussants: Lawrence Liang / Prasanna Vithanage Chair Prashant
> Bhushan
>
> 4:30 - 6:00 pm : Silences from Srinagar & Shillong
> Aijaz Hussain (Srinagar) P G Rasul (Srinagar) Robin S Ngangom
> (Shillong)
> Tarun Bhartiya (Shillong) Intervention: Parvaiz Bukhari (Srinagar)
> Chair
> Sanjay Kak
>
> 6:00 pm l Screening
> Black Box Germany (102 min)
> dir: Andres Veiel (director present)
> discussant: Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>
>
>
> ..
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Saba Dewan
> A-19, Gulmohar Park
> New Delhi 110049
> Tel: 00-91-11-26515161
> Fax: 00-91-11-26522230
> Email: sabadewan at gmail.com
> khel at vsnl.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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