Ordinary lives in a conflict Zone: Voices from Kashmir Kashmiris air experiences at IIAS seminar Tribune News Service Shimla, June 3 A three-day seminar on “Ordinary Lives in a Conflict Zone: Voices from Kashmir” began at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here today. In his inaugural address, Peter Ronald deSouza, Director, IIAS, underscored the unique character of this seminar, which moved away from the theoretical deliberations about conflict and touched upon the human dimension. “This is a seminar with a difference. It helps us understand how a society like ours responds to the tragedy of Kashmir. It is time now to realise that old formulations are not going to work, and ordinary voices have to be articulated in public domain for healing and plural futures,” deSouza said. Reading out the concept note, Dr Anupama Vohra, Fellow, IIAS, and convenor of the seminar, brought out the significance of testimonies and personal narratives in comprehending not only the present conflict, but also the writing of an alternate history. Iftikhar Geelani, Chief of the National Bureau of DNA, in his paper “Empowering Kashmiri Voices” shared his experience of being a Kashmiri Muslim in Delhi in the post-1989 turmoil. How the police and even the judicial system had been a disappointment for an ordinary Kashmiri in the Capital came across through personal anecdotes that Geelani narrated. On the other hand, how life changed for Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir during the days of turmoil formed the core of Dr KL Chowdhary’s paper. Sharmishtha Kaul, civil services officer and creative writer from Dehradun, in her paper “Revisiting Existence within a Tent: Labelling and Loss of Childhood” discussed the changing contours of childhood in a conflict zone, particularly on those displaced. Muhammad Ibrahim Wani, research scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, narrated an incident, calling it “The Funeral Procession” that he had witnessed. Wani explored various connotations of the incident in his paper. Maqbool Sahil, Associate Editor, Urdu weekly Pukaar, in his paper “Kashmir, the most Dangerous Place to Live on Earth”, spoke about the suppression of journalists in the Valley, with himself having been implicated in a false case. Ashraf Bhat, a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Technology, Delhi, in his presentation “Internalising the Narratives of Haunting Memories”, discussed how his growing years were different from children in other parts of the country and how he carried with him to other parts of the country a Kashmiri identity. As many as 24 participants from across cultural and religious communities are attending the seminar, the objective of which is to bring ordinary people on a platform to share their experiences, communicate and reflect upon the Kashmir conflict. tribuneindia/2013/20130604/himachal.htm#7
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:35:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015