[Reader-list] films on partition and East Bengal refugees

Sat Aug 18 08:46:29 IST 2007

No MRSG, I don't think all of them are about
liberation. Many of them have been produced in India -
it would be good if you could download and see them
from the link I mentioned. Many of them talk about the
sorry state in which the Bengal migrants are. And I am
sure some recent ones do talk about the Hindu
minorities in Bangladesh.

I am copying below a mail send by Shohini Ghosh (who
couldn't post to Sarai) which lists some recent films
from Bangladesh that are sepecifically addressing the
communal issue. 

Dear Yousuf: 

For some reason I can't post on the Reader's list so I
am sending you this mail directly. You may want to add
the following to the list of films from Bangladesh.The
last two are devoted to the contemporary - actually so
is Nina's film.

1. The Clay Bird - Tareque and Catherine
2. A Certain Liberation- Yasmina Nina Kabir 
3. Teardrops of Karnaphuli- Tanvir Mokammel 
4. Muslims or Heretics? - Naeem Mohammad  

All these films address the crisis of communalism. 
Love
Shohini 

--- MRSG <mrsg at vsnl.com> wrote:

> Dear Yousuf, You are totally wrong. The films you
> are talking about are all 
> about the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. In
> that liberation also 
> 90% people killed were Hindus numbering about 25
> lakhs. But that liberation 
> lasted a few years for the hindus-buddhists-tribals
> of Bangladesh. Then it 
> again became same as Pakistan. The films you have
> mentioned have nothing to 
> do with the continuous presecution and ethnic
> cleansing of non-muslims in 
> Bangladesh. No one has ever made any flim on them.
> West Bengal posing as a 
> secular citadel has always kept mum about this
> Islamic onslaught. In 2001 
> after the election in Bangladesh more than 1 lakh
> refugees entered India. 
> For more details you may see the websites of
> Bangladesh Hindu Buddhists 
> Christian Unity Council or Human Rights Congress of
> Bangladesh Minorities.
> M Ray
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Yousuf" <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
> To: "MRSG" <mrsg at vsnl.com>; <internal at sarai.net>;
> <reader-list at sarai.net>; 
> "mahmood farooqui" <mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com>;
> "Rahul Asthana" 
> <rahul_capri at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 9:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] films on partition and
> East Bengal refugees
> 
> 
> > Dear MRSG
> > Partition is not a past thing, and the recent
> films on
> > the subject certainly do not ignore Bangla
> refugees.
> > Although my knowledge is limited and I would like
> > someone from Bengal/Bangladesh to enlighten us
> about
> > some new films being made on the topic, but below
> I am
> > giving a list of some very interesting new and old
> > (docu) films that have been made specifically on
> the
> > sufferings by the partition migrants.
> >
> > "Dateline Bangladesh" - During the years 1970,
> 1971,
> > Gita Mehta was a television war correspondent for
> the
> > US television network NBC. Her film compilation of
> the
> > Bangladesh revolution, Dateline Bangladesh, was
> shown
> > in cinema theatres both in India and abroad.
> >
> > "Tale of the Darkest Night"
> > This film tells the story of the killings by the
> > Pakistani army in Dhaka University. Surviving
> members
> > and witnesses speak, and bring alive the havoc of
> that
> > night. Second Best Film Award, Film South Asia '03
> >
> > "Song of Freedom" - Song of Freedom is a
> documentary
> > film which explores the impact of cultural
> identity on
> > the liberation war, where music and song provided
> a
> > source of inspiration to the freedom fighters and
> a
> > spiritual bond for the whole emerging nation. A
> group
> > of Bengali cultural activists traveled through
> refugee
> > camps and battle zones performing rousing songs
> which
> > capture the essence of the Bengali nation.
> Directed by
> > Catherine and Tareque Masud
> >
> > "Tears of Fire" - A Documentary by Sentu Roy
> related
> > to the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh committed by
> > Pakistan Army and the agents. The director
> interviews
> > international journalists, activists and
> expatriate
> > who were witness to the Genocide.
> >
> > "Liberation Struggle of the Bengalis" - A twenty
> five
> > minutes long documentary by the Liberation War
> Museum
> > describing the havoc of 1971 war.
> >
> > "Nine Months to Freedom": The Story of Bangladesh
> -
> > Directed by S. Sukhdev, a special documentary on
> the
> > refugee camps set up at the no man's land
> > (Bangladesh-India border) during our Liberation
> War.
> > The documentary depicts the plight of eight lakh
> > Bengali refugees and tells of the East Pakistan
> war
> > between Pakistan and the freedom fighters of
> > Bangladesh helped by the Indian army, leading to
> the
> > creation of the free state Bangladesh.
> >
> > "Ekush Shotoke Bangladesh" - Based on the book
> "Ekush
> > Shotoke Bangali" by Shirajul Alam, "Ekush Shotoke
> > Bangladesh" is a documentary by International
> > Historical Network, speaking about the history of
> > Bengalis, the aboriginal people of Bengal and its
> > later inhabitants.
> >
> > (some of the above films can probably be
> downloaded at
> > http://www.banglagallery.net/vdo/index.php)
> >
> > Now for some recent films on the partition in the
> > non-Bangla side:
> >
> > "A Season Outside" (Amar Kanwar) 30 mins
> > A personal and philosophical journey through the
> > shadows of past generations - a film that starts
> at
> > Wagah border.
> >
> > "The Sky Below" (Sarah Singh) 75 mins
> > The film explores the multi-dimensional
> relationship
> > between India and Pakistan post 1947.
> >
> > "Rabba Hun Ki Kariye" (Ajay Bhardwaj) 65 mins
> > Thus departed our neighbours. People from (Indian)
> > Punjab reveal the painful memories of partition.
> >
> > "Khayal Darpan" (Yousuf Saeed) 100 mins
> > Impact of 1947 partition on the classical music
> > traditions of Pakistan
> >
> > "Crossing the Line" (Anita Brar)
> > A film about the partition experiences of Indians
> and
> > Pakistanis residing in Australia
> >
> > "Stories of the Broken Self" (Furrukh Khan)
> > A Pakistani scholar visits Delhi to explore the
> > stories of partition.
> >
> > Besides the above, there are many films produced
> by
> > the Films Division at the time of Partition.
> >
> >
> > Yousuf
> >
> > --- MRSG <mrsg at vsnl.com> wrote:
> >
> >> From a number of references it seems partition is
> a
> >> past thing - now we can
> >> sit back comfortably and chat, make film or write
> >> book on it. BUT IT IS NOT.
> >> Hindu refugees have never stopped coming from
> East
> >> Pakistan / Bangladesh.
> >> everyday they are running away from the Islamic
> >> country. The population of
> >> the hindus have come down from 29% to 9%, biggest
> >> ethnic cleansing in recent
> >> history. And when I am writing these lines some
> >> people are crossing the
> >> border. Partition is still a reality in West
> Bengal
> >> and North east. Well
> >> nobody will dare to write or make a film on that.
> >> You all know why.
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message ----- 
> >> From: "Rahul Asthana" <rahul_capri at yahoo.com>
> >> To: "mahmood farooqui"
> <mahmood.farooqui at gmail.com>;
> >>
> >> <reader-list at sarai.net>; <internal at sarai.net>
> >> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 7:21 PM
> >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Partition Dastans-at
> the
> >> IHC 14 August
> >>
> >>
> 
=== message truncated ===

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