[Reader-list] Shahidul Alam detained by Indian Border Security Force
A.K. Malik
akmalik45 at yahoo.com
Fri Jun 19 06:43:30 IST 2009
Hi,
Views are very noble, interesting and appreciable from humane point of view. But when you lose your identity,home, job because someone crosses over illegally to your country, things become different. Global brotherhood is easy to talk about, but difficult to implement especially in the current environs.Imagine most Bangladeshis, Africans coming over freely to our country to make our life more pleasant by doing menial jobs and terrorist walking over freely from Pakistan...!!!!!!!
Regards,
(A.K.MALIK)
--- On Fri, 6/19/09, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
> From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Shahidul Alam detained by Indian Border Security Force
> To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Friday, June 19, 2009, 3:11 AM
> 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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> the city.
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Rajen.
> > _________________________________________
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> city.
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>
>
>
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