Moderated by Munizae Jahangir & Mandira Nayar
20 years after the Neemrana Declaration in 2000 where civil societies pledged strengthening regional interaction, journalists Mandira Nayer and Munizae Jahangir speak across borders to
Nandita Das, Mohammed Hanif, Syeda Hameed & Salima Hashmi
engage in a cross border conversation with
Munizae Jahangir & Mandira Nayyar
on the eve of partition.
"20 yrs ago SAHR was born out of the Neemrana declaration, the organization resolved to a belief in the inalienable #HumanRights of all individuals in #SouthAsia. I remember there was a lot of hope at that time. Sadly that dream has not been realized", says @MunizaeJahangir pic.twitter.com/qbX1y43jha
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 16, 2020
"When Manto was banned in Pak, Salima Hashmi protested with peace activists demanding the ban be lifted. That was amazing, as it was not prompted by filmmaker, it was spontaneous", says @nanditadas #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/5f828kciow
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 16, 2020
“There was a movement for democracy and peace in India but the iron hand and the COVID 19 pandemic put a dampener on it", says @syedaIndia #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/RErLIcSxo3
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 16, 2020
“There is a curiosity of young people about each other on the other side of the divide. And if there is no rhetoric then people will find their own way or even love.”, says Salima Hashmi #IndependenceDay2020 pic.twitter.com/gpCjCHAdYz
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
“I feel peaceniks now do not have the same strength they once did, they are not as articulate or strong as war mongers”, says @mohammedhanif #IndependenceDay2020 pic.twitter.com/XoYbca4anw
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
“I would love to buy into your optimism , but I had read optimism is the opium of the masses so I am skeptical. So if our establishment becomes friends with India, how will they justify their spending”, says @mohammedhanif #IndependenceDay2020 pic.twitter.com/HvCGUYftaJ
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"Maybe young people who are not so engaged because there is such a strong right wing narrative that has been going on for decades", says @nanditadas #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/9kONgabike
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"Being a Muslim I cannot say some things or take positions that I have in the past. If Kuldip & Asma were alive I wonder how they would have led us. The struggle is ongoing", says @syedaIndia #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/D3TN1lQlso
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
“I went to see my father (Faiz) in Beirut where he was exile during Zia rule, he asked me to tell him jokes about Zia ul Haq and I did, to which he said the people still have it in them to resist & find humor as a form of protest.”, says Salima Hashmi #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/prAdRnQgMA
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
“Right now we have the largest number of people who have disappeared from all walks of life which include poets & intellectuals but then there are many things you can get away with which you can cleverly express yourself.”, says Salima Hashmi#IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/T2CeANMxmW
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"I think artists, writers, and performers they learn ways of subterfuge and this can take many forms, it can take the form of humor", says Salima Hashmi #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/THuXj6KDqg
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"Maybe one reason why we got Independence was to censor our people well, perhaps the British did not have the mindset to do this, but we have done it well", says @mohammedhanif #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/UQHviFstGB
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"Any form of censorship or banning of art and literature will not give you that space for it to flourish. You need freedom and you do not have to fear freedom. In any case with the internet, everything is out there", says @nanditadas #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/FXeOSqw0fV
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"The third form of censorship that is increasing over the years is self-censorship. even mainstream cinema has suffered", says @nanditadas #IndependenceDay2020 pic.twitter.com/oVTRpm445Z
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 15, 2020
"I think we have space for now online. But don’t think the other side is sitting quietly. We are already hearing about a cyber attack in Pak, so using that as a justification we may be muted. Before we are, we should create mayhem", says @HashmiSalima #Indepedence pic.twitter.com/zD9DbA9uQv
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
"When we used to visit Wagah border with Kuldip Nayar and Asma Jahangir for a vigil, we were very hopeful about the dawn of peace but now I find it hard to even breathe under this regime, especially being a Muslim in India", says @syedaIndia pic.twitter.com/VWllJrANEr
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
"Security agencies asked us why we are even protesting about how the copies of ‘A Case of Exploding Mangoes” were seized. That is the level of expectations authorities have from writers that you should not even protest", says @mohammedhanif #IndependenceDay2020 pic.twitter.com/RAQiMbncUe
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
"But when the Urdu translation came out, Zia-ul-Haq’s son sent me a legal notice saying I have humiliated his father. I responded saying that you were alright about me humiliating your father in English but not in Urdu",says @mohammedhanif #independencedayPakistan #Independence pic.twitter.com/3aBpFm7XLq
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
"Now censorship has acquired many forms there is one with the govt, then there are self-proclaimed custodians of culture", says @nanditadas #IndependenceDay #IndependenceDayIndia #independencedayPakistan pic.twitter.com/HREhlHMsoU
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
"When you are provocative there are going to be people who will try to censor you. It happened with Fire & then Water, we were attacked during the shoot. As you know Shabana Azmi & I were the initial cast of the film & then they had to change", says @nanditadas. #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/ksOTlxSjMV
— Voicepk.net (@voicepkdotnet) August 14, 2020
