[Reader-list] Shahidul Alam detained by Indian Border Security Force
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
shuddha at sarai.net
Fri Jun 19 03:11:44 IST 2009
Dear All,
I think the detention of any human being on the grounds that he is
crossing an artificial, ephemeral, man-made border is an affront to
our common humanity. Borders come and go, and people will move across
them, and have always moved across them, regardless of the controls
that seek to restrict movement. Otherwise we would all be
uncivilised, uncouth, provincial barbarians.
Shahidul Alam happens to be a very respected photographer, but his
detention by an Indian border patrol would have been just as horrible
if he were an honest, hard working peasant, agricultural worker,
factory worker, cook, student, plumber or sex-worker from Bangladesh
who happened to have got caught while being on the 'wrong' side of
the insane labyrinth that is called the India-Bangladesh border .
The city of Delhi, where I live, is sustained by the hard labour of
many Bangladeshis who work as domestic help, as informal factory
workers, as people in the formal as well as informal hospitality
industry, as white collar workers. Not all of them are in Delhi
'Legally' but the city would be poorer without them, as would many
cities all over the world. Imagine Rome, London, New York, Melbourne,
Warsaw or New Delhi without the cheerful, ironic, gentle Bangladeshi
who cleans homes, sells flowers, works as a doctor, drives a taxi,
makes love, cooks meals, writes poems, builds houses, turns lathes
and sings songs. The free movement of people is a precondition of a
free world, and the free movement of Bangladeshi people, many of
whom, who with their immense energy, good humour and gentle irony
sustain a more humane fabric of everyday life is what makes life
worth living in many parts of the world. They show you the way in
strange cities. They sing you a snatch of song. Sometimes they give
you an unasked for discount on the bill at the end of a big meal when
you are hungry.
All those who oppose the free movement of people, whether the people
are identified, or choose to identify themselves as Bangladeshis,
Poles, Croats, Palestinians, Israelis, Pakistanis, Indians, Iraqis,
Iranians, Afghans, Somalis or Congolese are inhuman, inhospitable and
enemies of our shared humanity.
On another note, I have said this before, but I will say it again. I
find the detention of Pragya Bharti under preventive detention laws
as reprehensible as that of Binayak Sen or those (many young people)
who are accused of being SIMI or Indian Mujahideen frontmen, or of
being Maoists, or opposed to circumstances of that prevail Kashmir or
in the North Eastern states of India.
Preventive detention, under any circumstances, is an insult to
liberty and should be opposed, no matter who is being detained,
whether it is Varun Gandhi, Binayak Sen, Pragya Bharti or anyone else.
regards
Shuddha
On 17-Jun-09, at 12:35 PM, Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi wrote:
> Dear All, one issue that is concerning me is, are men and women in
> media
> above laws.? If they are doing any project, they can violate laws
> of the
> land.? Is media responsible to citizens of the nation in which they
> are
> operating.? Or they are responsible only to media barons and the share
> holders of the media corporate to share the "profits" of such
> projects.? As
> the humans work in different walks of life, do they become above
> laws if
> they are say, politicians, judicial appointees and executives, or
> are they
> appointed to serve the citizens in best possible interests of the
> citizens.?
>
> Now, as to current matter ubder discussion, it is to be noted
> that if the
> border force do their duties sincerely, no under age married girls
> can come
> in to India and work as dance bar girls, sex workers in as far as
> south
> India, particularly in Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. It is
> true that
> they have practically no opportunities to earn a living in their
> bangaldesh,
> but the sad issue is many of these married girls are in southern
> India,,
> recently Bangalore police with Chennai counter parts ripped open
> the network
> of this illegal trade of human traffick and sex trade. Local news
> network
> channel 9 and Udaya TV and also Suvarna tv covered the issue
> comprehensively. Even with recession and lesser salaries, the
> stressed minds
> are seeking extra carnal pleasures ?
>
> As to this man of media, why he has not taken necessary
> authorisation for
> the project work.? Is he under cover operative for any group.? If Dr.
> Binayak Sen can be held captive in detention for the good work he
> has had on
> record, is not above laws, which ofcourse is obnxious, are men in
> media
> above laws.?
>
> Amusingly, the fate of Prajna Thakur and 12 others who are under
> detention
> for months now without any shred of proof has no defenders of human
> rights
> talking or them.! None is concerned about these detentions of Prajna
> Thakur.? Perceptions of a few seem to be taking over the rights and
> wrongs
> in society, when it comes to human rights of the humans.?
>
> Regards,
>
> Rajen.
>
> On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 11:16 AM, anupam chakravartty
> <c.anupam at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Photographer Shahidul Alam spends 6hrs in BSF custody:
>>
>> http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=87461&cid=2
>>
>>
>> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Bangladeshi-photographer-held--
>> crossing--Indo-Bangla-border/477648
>>
>> Two versions of the same story. However, if as per the BSF
>> officials are
>> claiming that Alam crossed over in the Dhubri sector, which is
>> also my home
>> district, the Brahmaputra river is itself the border. during the
>> floods
>> immigrant bangladeshis in connivance of BSF and BDR enter India on
>> boats
>> carrying pineapples from across the border. the no man's land
>> mentioned in
>> both of the reports is actually river brahmaputra.
>>
>> thanks anupam
>>
>>
>> On 6/17/09, Santhosh Kumar <santhosh.kanipayur at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> it is hard to believe that you will believe....
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 9:53 AM, Pawan Durani
>>> <pawan.durani at gmail.com
>>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hard to believe .....
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 7:55 PM, Shun-Ling Chen
>>>> <schen at law.harvard.edu
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>> http://unheardvoice.net/blog/2009/06/16/shahidul-alam-detained-by-
>>> indian
>>>>> -border-security-force/
>>>>>
>>>>> Dr Shahidul Alam, well-known photographer, and founder Drik, was
>>>>> detained by Indian Border Security Forces while working on the
>>>>> Bangladesh side of the border on his Brahmaputra project. He
>>>>> called
>> me
>>>>> at 18:21 pm to tell me that the guards had asked him to come over,
>> and
>>>>> then detained him at Sahapara 21 IPP, across the border from
>>>>> Rowmari.
>>>>> His two colleagues are on the Bangladeshi side of the border, and
>> can't
>>>>> get to him.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please contact Home and Foreign Ministry officials requesting that
>> they
>>>>> do all possible to get him released immediately. It is worth
>> mentioning
>>>>> that the Indian BSF have detained and killed many innocent
>> Bangladeshis
>>>>> in recent years, in the border areas.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/content/view/387/1/
>>>>> News - South Asia
>>>>> By David Brewer
>>>>> Tuesday, 16 June 2009
>>>>>
>>>>> Reports from Bangladesh say that Shahidul Alam, the photo
>>>>> journalist,
>>>>> blogger and founder of the Drik picture network has been
>>>>> detained by
>>>>> Indian border security forces while working on the Bangladesh
>>>>> side of
>>>>> the border.
>>>>>
>>>>> In a message to this site from Dhaka, Alam's partner says he was
>>> working
>>>>> on a multimedia project about the Brahmaputra with two colleagues
>> when
>>>>> border guards took him awa
>>>>>
>>>>> There are now fears for Alam's safety and supporters are
>>>>> calling on
>> the
>>>>> international community to push for his release.
>>>>>
>>>>> The last message from Shahidul Alam came through at !8:21 on
>>>>> Tuesday
>> 16
>>>>> June when he called home to say that border security guards had
>>>>> asked
>>>>> him to come over to the Indian side of the border where they
>>>>> detained
>>>>> him at Sahapara 21 IPP, across the border from Rowmari.
>>>>>
>>>>> His two colleagues are on the Bangladeshi side of the border, and
>> can't
>>>>> get to him.
>>>>>
>>>>> At the time Alam was working on the Bangladesh end of the river
>>>>> Brahmaputra project. He had travelled to Kurigram with two Drik
>>>>> colleagues to take photos, video and stills.
>>>>>
>>>>> Contact has been made with a number of local and international
>>>>> media
>>>>> organisations and government officials, including the Indian High
>>>>> Commission.
>>>>> _________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> Rajen.
> _________________________________________
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