प्रेस विज्ञप्ति
28 मार्च 2009, नई दिल्ली

विश्व शांति परिषद के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़ ने अमेरिका के राष्ट्रपति बराक हुसैन ओबामा द्वारा अफगानिस्तान व ईराक को लेकर उठाए जा रहे क़दम की सराहना करते हुए कहा कि यह विश्व में शांति के गठन के लिए अच्छा संदेश है। श्री ओबामा की ओर से शांति के प्रति किए जा रहे प्रयत्नों से दुनिया में विशेष कर मुस्लिम देशों में अमेरिका की तस्वीर साफ होगी।
श्री फ़ैज़ ने पाकिस्तान की मौजूदा स्थिति व तालिबान को लेकर अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति की चिंता व सोच को जायज़ मानते हुए कहा कि पाकिस्तान को लगातार दी जा रही आर्थिक मदद को तुरंत बंद किया जाए। चुंकि किसी देश को दी जाने वाली मदद उसको मज़बूती प्रदान करने के लिए दी जाती है, आतंकवाद को बढ़ावा देने या आतंकवादियों को मज़बूत करने के लिए नहीं। उन्होंने कहा कि पाकिस्तान में तालिबान व अन्य आतंकी संगठनों के क्रियाकलापों से पूरी दुनिया में इस्लाम धर्म की तस्वीर धूमिल हो रही है। पाकिस्तान में लगातार आतंकियों द्वारा इस्लाम की आड़ लेकर गैर-इस्लामिक घटनाओं को अंजाम दिया जा रहा है और पाक सरकार तमाशबीन व बेबस बनी हुई है, जो चिंता का विषय है।
वी.एस.पी. के अध्यक्ष ने कहा कि पाकिस्तान आतंकी संगठनों की राजधानी बन चुका है, जहां से दुनिया भर में आतंकवाद फैलाए जाने के लिए आतंकी मंत्रालय चलाया जा रहा है। इसको तुरंत रोकने के लिए यदि कारगर क़दम न उठाए गए तो दुनिया में अमन व शांति का गठन नामुमकिन हो जाएगा।


प्रेस सचिव
गीता निगम
मो.:- +91-9868607900

The Politics of Violations......

JOYDEEP HAZARIKA

The violation of Election Commission rules by political parties is a common norm in every election today. And a reply to an RTI petition only affirms the fact that the Commission is helpless in dealing with these offending parties.

Elections in India are becoming a joke with each passing phase. With every election, more and more incidents of lawlessness and rigging are being reported. And along with this is also the unabated continuation of the violation of the Election Commission rules by the political parties. It is clearly reflected in the reply to a Right to Information (RTI) concerning the violation of election rules by the political parties.
Afroz Alam Sahil, an RTI activist, had filed an RTI petition asking the number of cases that were registered against various political parties during the last Lok Sabha elections in 2004 for violating election commission rules. The petitioner had filed the application on 27th January this year and the reply came in a month later on 27th February. The reply contained a list of all the political parties who had been booked under committing violation of election rules along with the number of complaints received in the Commission against each party. The list also contained the actions that were taken on account of the Commission against the offending parties. In this list, the Indian National Congress came on top with a total of seven cases filed against them. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came in second with six cases and the Telegu Desam Party came in third with four cases. The list also included parties like Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, etc. each of whom had one or two cases filed
against them.
The actions that have been taken in this regard by the Election Commission falls short of expectations. In the RTI, most of the actions mentioned taken by the Commission are to forward the complaints to the local Chief Election Officer (CEO). And after that, there is no answer as to the present status of the cases. There is no mention of the nature of actions taken by the CEO against the offending parties. In some cases, it is mentioned that action were not necessary at all. But here again, the reason for this is not given in the RTI reply.
The RTI reply also contained information on the BJP's infamous CD scandal which they committed in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. According to it, the Commission had received 19 complaints against the Party and had directed the CEO of Uttar Pradesh to file the same number of FIRs against the State BJP President Lalji Tandon for the production of the CDs. But even today the information on the Police enquiry is awaited by the Commission.
The petitioner, Afroz Alam Sahil, says that it clearly reflects the lack of a strong hold on the election procedures by the Commission. He further says that most of the incidents where political parties openly violate election rules by distributing liquor and rigging votes go unreported. And it is due to this that the political parties get more emboldened to break rules in each poll without any fear of repercussions.
Now with the General Elections next month, flouting of rules will again become rampant. This will be a test for the Election Commission to prove that it is not some toothless organisation which can't punish the offending parties when it is needed. The reply to the RTI has pointed out some serious defects in the functioning of the Commission. The offending political parties have not received any stern punishments due to which a mockery of democracy has been made. It is about time that the Election Commission mended its loopholes so that the political parties can be brought under its proper scanner for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
joydeep1985@gmail.com

प्रेस विज्ञप्ति
नई दिल्ली, (22 मार्च 2009)
भाजपा के पीलीभीत (उत्तर प्रदेश) संसदीय क्षेत्र से प्रत्याशी वरुण गांधी द्वारा दिए गए आपत्तिजनक भाषण से श्री वरुण के दिमागी दिवालियापन का सबूत मिलता है। विश्व शांति परिषद के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़ ने प्रेस को जारी एक बयान में कहा कि श्री वरुण द्वारा फैलाए जाने वाले साम्प्रदायिक ज़हर से देश का शांत वातावरण एक बार फिर से प्रदुषित हो रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि वरुण ने अपनी गलती पर अफसोस और माफी के बजाए गर्व से कहा है कि मैंने कोई गलत कार्य नहीं किया है, जबकि फॉरेंसिक रिपोर्ट से पूरी तरह साबित हो चुका है कि उनके भाषण की सीडी से किसी प्रकार की कोई छेड़छाड़ नहीं की गई है।
श्री फ़ैज़ ने इलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट द्वारा वरुण को मिली अग्रिम जमानत पर भी अफसोस जताते हुए कहा कि सीडी की फॉरेंसिक रिपोर्ट आ जाने के बाद भी जमानत मिल जाने से देश के साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द को ठेस पहुंची है, और साम्प्रदायिक शक्तियां वरुण के आपत्तिजनक कार्य पर जश्न मना रही हैं। शिव सेना सुप्रीमों बाल ठाकरे का यह बयान कि मुझे ऐसा ही गांधी चाहिए, बेहद अफसोसजनक है। चुंकि वरुण की इस ओछी राजनीत से पता चलता है कि वह वरुण “गांधी” नहीं, बल्कि “विवादी” है।
श्री फ़ैज़ ने वरुण की माताश्री मेनका गांधी द्वारा दी गई परवरिश पर भी प्रश्न चिन्ह लगाते हुए कहा कि कुत्ते, बिल्ली, ऊंट, हाथी, गदहे, घोड़ों के प्रति अपनी ममता और प्यार न्योछावर करना केवल राजनैतिक ढोंग है। जिसका बेटा भारतीय सभ्यता पर कीचड़ उछालता फिरे तथा एक विशेष सम्प्रदाय के प्रति नफरत की आग में इस क़दर खूंखार हो जाए कि आम जन सभा में कत्ल कर देने की बात कहे, ऐसे बेटे और मां दोनों से देश के विकास के प्रति कोई आशा रखना मुर्खता होगी।



प्रेस सचिव
विश्व शांति परिषद
मो.:-+91-9868000999

Women of SAARC: Partners in Development

30-31 March 2009
New Delhi


The Context

The geo-cultural region of SAARC comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is linked together by age-old cultural, social and historical traditions and commonalities that constitute solid foundations for regional cooperation to address the economic and social needs of people, especially, women and girls.

Home to 39.2% of the world's population half of whom are women, South Asia is the planet's poorest region. About 540 million people, or 45 percent of the region's population, are living below poverty line, with daily incomes of less than one dollar. This proportion is higher than in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific region including China.



Women’s Rights as Human Rights

The SAARC Gender Database shows that women are less likely to have access to health services, enjoy civil, political and legal equality with men and less likely to benefit from economic and social security. Women in South Asia are more vulnerable to discrimination, social injustice, gender inequality and violence as compared to those living in Western countries. The majority living in poverty implies lower status in nearly all human development indicators: life expectancy, sex-ratio, HIV status, disability, occupational health or health in work settings, reproductive health, family planning, pre-natal peri-natal, post-natal services, infection control, micro-nutrient supplements, water and sanitation, nutrition, literacy, shelter, control over local resources and extreme vulnerability to shocks associated with natural/environmental disasters and human events including armed conflicts. All these lead to increased debt bondage and further deprivation especially among rural women who, given their lower social status in the patriarchal systems of South Asia, are more severely affected.


Violence against Women and the Law

Violence due to rituals, religious customs and traditions, crimes related to property, dowry, bride burning and honour killings represent one of the most disturbing aspects of South Asia. The sex ratio in all SAARC countries except Sri Lanka and Nepal ranges from 92-98 per 100 males, which points to continued practices of female foeticide and infanticide (UNFPA, 1999). The legal response to these has resulted in a slew of Ordnances and Acts which need to be tested vigorously and widely in the courts of law. Difficulties of definition and proof, and threats of physical and sexual violence often prevent criminalisation of these types of acts. Studies support the view that normative standards need to be set up by the criminal law through a new process of law reform in this area.



Women’s Rights and Control over Land, Property and Resources

The relationship between gender, land and property rights for women is critically and adversely impacted by gender relations and the gaps between ownership and control. Women’s ability to retain ownership and control of land, however meager, is circumscribed by gender relations within families whose members continue to seek to dispossess her. Strictures on women’s visibility, mobility and behaviour whether internalized by women or imposed on them by threats, reprimand or violence, impinge directly on their autonomy and ability to claim and control land and resources.

Genetically modified seeds have been a source of great controversy and distress in agriculture. These affect women more severely. Several viable alternatives have been demonstrated in the region and they need to be shared on a wider platform.


Women’s Livelihoods

Home, land or non-land based livelihoods of women in the SAARC region are under severe threat in the age of globalization. South Asia has the highest share of the informal sector work in non-agricultural employment in the world. South Asian women have been termed the “invisible and unrecognized backbone of agriculture” which continues to be the mainstay of two-thirds of women despite the declining overall trend of numbers engaged in agriculture. They participate as laborers, managers of homesteads, livestock management, and crop production in addition to unpaid household and farm jobs. One of the main points of difference between male and female self employment is that a higher percentage of women are engaged in home based and casual employment linked to industries for much lower wages than that for men. The gender gap in wages varies between 32.19% in Pakistan to 59.64% in Nepal. (Mitra, 2000). The feminization of occupations is reflected in concentration of women in relatively low wage, low productivity sector of the labor market.



Women and Girl’s Education

Education has been a proven agency for social transformation and empowerment for girls and women. The UNFPA report and WEF (2008), while they differ in their approach to global reality, agree that there are compelling economic advantages flowing from the empowerment of women through education. Yet the report shows that 66% of the world’s illiterates are women and 70% of children out of school are girls, 45% of whom live in the SAARC region. Given that child labor and trafficking are the obvious spaces that children out of school can occupy, education offers dual benefits of empowerment and security from exploitation. Several successful alternative modes for girls’ education have emerged across the region and there is need to engage with these and learn from them.


Women’s Movements in SAARC

These challenges are being vigorously addressed by the women’s movements in South Asia. However, the vast literature on women’s movements for the most part is characterized by three broad tendencies: (Basu, A, 1999). Firstly, it ignores women’s movements in the post-colonial world, a problem of omission and silence; Secondly much of the literature considers women’s movements as correlated to industrialization and urbanization, led by middle class women; whereas in fact, poor women (and Dalits) have also been at the forefront especially in the SAARC region where the women’s movement has been radicalized by the activism of poor women who have not only raised employment and wage demands, but also fought domestic violence, displacement, environment degradation and issues related to local governance, among others. (Basu, A. and Kumar, R. 1999). Thirdly, it assumes sameness in the forms of women’s oppression and women’s movements cross-nationally, which is indeed not the case. In India for instance, attempts to appropriate symbols of women’s power took the form of re-interpreting myths, epics, folktales and unearthing historical forms of women’s resistance in India. Effects of globalization, large scale displacements in the name of development have also served as a peg for resistance and change.

There is need to consolidate the tremendous advances made by the women’s movements in South Asia and address challenges to these movements.


Women and Peace Building

Women in the SAARC region have a rich and unique history of participation in and contribution to the process of nation-building and peace-making. More frequently than in any other region of the world, women have distinguished themselves as Presidents, Prime Ministers and political leaders in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This is despite the abject poverty and social deprivation afflicting the majority of women in South Asia.

Peace processes in SAARC countries have often adopted feminine, non-violent ways of resistance and assertions. There is need to document the signal role women have played as peace builders and peace keepers in the region and to learn from each others’ efforts. Most local efforts are not widely known across the region, whether it is, for instance, the role of the Mirapaibis in Manipur (India) addressing the Armed Forces Act, or the signal role that women activists have played in Pakistan.


Women in Local Governance

Many South Asian countries have an emerging presence of women in local governance. This process needs to be strengthened and its appropriation by those traditionally in power can only be addressed through collective reflection and solidarity of women. Instruments such as the Right to Information Act have also been effectively used by women to address several issues. Such experiences need to be shared and strengthened.


Muslim Women in SAARC

The status of Muslim women in South Asia, who form a large proportion of the population, calls for particular attention. Muslim women were at the forefront in the demand for education in the early nineteenth century. Rokeya’s Dream, an account of an imagined society where women occupy the public space and men are secluded and how the world is thus transformed pre-dates western radical feminist thought in this genre by several decades. Muslim women writers and activists have since been at the forefront in feminist thought in the region. Anjuman Khawateen e Hind and the Anjuman Khwateen e Panjab were the first women’s organizations in colonial India, set up in the late 1890s and were active long before the All India Women’s Conference. However, as the Sachar Committee in India points out, the status of Muslim women and girls by and large remain very low.

The issue of personal or religion based and differentiated family law remains controversial although individuals can, in some countries such as in India, can choose secular alternatives. Subtle differences in law can have huge impact for empowerment. For instance, while in Pakistan, as in Syria, the nikaah is valid only after registration of marriage, in India, it is only very recently, that compulsory registration of all marriages has been mooted.

These and other issues relating to Muslim women can be addressed more effectively through cross-national and regional sharing and collaboration.


SAARC Social Charter

The SAARC Social Charter seeks the establishment of a people-centered framework for social development to guide their work, to respond to the immediate needs of those who are most affected by human distress and in the future, to build a culture of cooperation and partnership. In particular, the Charter reaffirms the belief that discrimination against women is incompatible with human rights and dignity; that it prevents women from realizing their full potential and participating on equal terms with men in the political, social, economic and cultural life of the nation.

The SAARC Social Charter affirms the need to empower women through literacy and education, recognizing that such empowerment paves the way for faster economic and social development of the country as a whole.
The SAARC Social Charter provides a useful framework for people-to-people initiatives among the women of South Asia. Article II, 2 (xvii) recognizes that empowering “people, particularly women, to strengthen their own capacities……requires the full participation of people in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of decisions”.


The Way Forward

Women in the SAARC region have been engaged in systematic exchanges and collaboration on a wide range of issues and themes. These exchanges have strengthened over the last two decades. This maturing of interactions provides opportunities to initiate sustained and focused networking among organizations in SAARC countries on critical issues related to women and girls. It is proposed that Myanmar, an Observer with SAARC, may also be included in this initiative.

The objective of the proposed Conference is to enable and facilitate partnerships between various groups in South Asia who have proven experience in providing conceptual understanding and in generating field-based action for the empowerment of women in the areas of education, environment, livelihoods, women and girls’ rights to safety and equal participation, literature and the arts, health, crafts, law among others.

As partners in these areas from each country come together, share their experiences and learn from each other, it is expected that partners would identify best practices among those with whom they share common interests. Thereafter, once the networking has been established, partners can evolve sustained plans of action for working together in the future.

Key areas envisaged for partnership, networking and collaborative action among women’s groups in South Asia are:

· Strengthening Collaboration among Women Writers, Poets and Artists : Collective Creative Voices of SAARC Women
· Education of Women and Girls
· Craft based Livelihood and Marketing by and for women
· Sustainable and Environmentally Sensitive Agro-practices
· Addressing and Reducing Violence Against Women
· Gender Equitous Legal Reforms
· Improving women’s Human Development Indices
· Strengthening women’s participation in local governance


Organisers

Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) is the literary wing of the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, a non-profit cultural organization based in New Delhi. FOSWAL has been accepted as an Apex Body of SAARC in recognition of the meaningful and significant contributions it has made to strengthening interactions and cultural connectivity among the creative individuals and groups in SAARC countries.

Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established in 1920, became a Central University in 1988 through an Act of the Indian Parliament. At its campus in New Delhi, apart from regular teaching departments, there are several centres for interdisciplinary studies. The Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies was set up in 2000 under the University Grants Commission with the goal of promoting research, networking and initiating multidisciplinary collaborative activities related to gender/women’s studies. This Centre, in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution will be a nodal agency for the WOMEN OF SAARC : PARTNERS IN DEVELOPMENT initiatives.


The organizers feel greatly honoured that Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh has graciously agreed to inaugurate the Conference on 30th March 2009 and to deliver the keynote address on WOMEN, MICROCREDIT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION.

The WOMEN OF SAARC NETWORKS that we will seek to establish after deliberations during the Conference are as follows :

i. Women and Microcredit – to be coordinated by GRAMEEN BANK, Bangladesh (Ms Nurjahan Begum, General Manager);

ii. Women and the Environment – to be coordinated by Dr Vandana Shiva, Navdanya

iii. Women and Education – to be coordinated by Jamia Millia Islamia ( Prof Janaki Rajan, Head of the Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies );

iv. Women in Peacemaking – to be coordinated by Jamia Millia Islamia ( Prof Radha Kumar, Head of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution );

v. Women’s Malnutrition and Hunger – to be coordinated by Dr Mira Shiva

vi. Women and Creativity – two networks, one on Arts and Literature and the second one on Crafts and Textiles to be coordinated by FOSWAL

CIC seeks Batla House encounter documents from Delhi Police

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter.
New Delhi: Giving a big jolt to the Delhi Police the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked it to submit before the commission all documents related to the Batla House encounter in which two suspected terrorists and Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma were killed at Batla House area in Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008.

Since the encounter, the Delhi Police has refused to part with the documents like copy of FIR and post-mortem report about the encounter. The CIC has given the police time till March 5 to furnish before the commission the copies of the FIR registered by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, post-mortem reports of the terror suspects Atif Amin and Sajid and Inspector Sharma.
The CIC bench headed by Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah gave the directive to the police on March 3 on an application filed by eminent Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

Prashant Bhushan is representing Ziaur Rahman, son of the caretaker of L-18 flat where the encounter took place. Rahman has been made accused in the Delhi serial blasts that took place on September 13 last year.

Earlier RTI activist Afroz Alam Sahil had also made several attempts to get the documents but he was denied.

On September 25, 2008, Sahil had submitted an RTI application with Delhi Police seeking information on post-mortem reports of those killed in the encounter, the First Information Report (FIR) and other details. He also submitted a similar application with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The petitioner had sought information on how the corpses were brought to the hospital after the encounter, when and how many corpses were examined post-mortem, at which level was it done and who was the doctor, and were these corpses handed over to the police or their family members? However, both the Delhi Police and AIIMS refused to divulge any of the information sought.

Double Whammy- JAI HO-(Jamia Millia Islamia) India does it Again !

This Time it’s Sony World Photography Award at Cannes
After the recent super success at the Oscars (MCRC, Jamia Alumnus Loveleen Tandon was the co-director), India can look forward to another big news thanks to the three member team led by Prof। Farhat Basir Khan, only this time it’s at the Mecca of all creative pursuits Cannes that has been bowled over।

Walking the red Carpet will be Prof. Farhat Basir Khan, Prof. Media & Communication at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia & his two students. Neal Kartik & Pranab Kumar Aich. There is plenty of reason to celebrate. Thanks to them India will be representing Asia at the World Photography Award, as they’ve secured top honours at the Sony World Photography Awards - Asia. (This also included Russia)

Beating top Asian Universities from 9 countries, China: The China Academy of Art, Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Pakistan: Fatima Jinnah Women University,
 Philippines: University of the Philippines

Russia: Saint Petersburg State University of Culture & Arts

Singapore: LASALLE College of the Arts

Turkey: Anadolu University
 including the very formidable 
Japan: Tokyo Zokei University, Sony homeground.
The competition spans six continents Europe, South America, North America, Africa/Middle East, Asia, Australaisa. And representing Euraasia the largest continent after beating some of the finest photographers, is this trinity comprising of this brilliant photographer & academic who has taught some of the most prominent names from across the TV & Film industry including Shahrukh khan, Barkha Dutt, Roshan Abbas, Lovleen Tondon & a host of others.

Commenting on this occasion Prof. Farhat Basir Khan says it is indeed a proud moment for India & his university Jamia Millia Islamia. It is the sheer hardwork & determination of his boys Neal & Pranav that has won us this prestigious honour. Professor Khan who has served on the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC Jury (Design Team) has many accolades to his credit. Apart from being attached to Vatavaran International, he is also the co-founder of Academy of Photography for Excellence. This resounding win of the World Photography Eurasia is another feather in his cap. It was his insight & careful selection of Images that helped this team bring the laurels home.

This winning team is now slated to travel to Cannes where their work will be exhibited & then will travel across the globe to be showcased in some of the leading galleries across the world. They will then be part of the select gathering of the worlds finest photographers & the biggest photography agencies, in April. This is also where a final face off will happen between them & the other winners from the remaining five competing continents to bring the World Photography Award home.

On being asked about the state of Photography in India Prof. Khan says it’s a brilliant time for photography in India especially after the advent of digital, Indian photographers never had it better, their works are now showing in some of the best galleries across the world, photography today has emerged truly as serious art form. He only rues about the fact that the government is yet to wake up to the power of photography & the recognition due to photographers & the infrastructure required to propagate photography education is yet to be taken note of seriously. For it’s potential today is tremendous & remains largely unexplored.

In this competition, students were invited to submit photographs, which would highlight environmental issues specific to their country. The winners were selected by a prestigious judging panel from the photographic community including: Tom Ang - Leading Digital Photography specialist, Ruth Eichhorn - Director of Photography GEO Magazine, Mary-Ellen Mark - Documentary Photographer, Adrian Evans - Director of Panos Pictures and Susan Welchman - Senior photo editor at National Geographic. The 2 students from MCRC are part of a selected group of 12 budding photographers from 6 institutions spanning 6 continents.
We wish them the very best for putting India firmly & resoundingly on the Global map in Photography, one of the most important visual art forms of today। The student community, Academics & the entire Photographic Community congratulates AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia and Professor Khan (the father of modern Photography education in India) for his excellent guidance and hopes that they will continue to add laurels to this prestigious institution and the country.

Asia – India – Jamia Millia Islamia- The winning entries.
Fallen Angels Pranab Kumar Aich
A small sleepy village in Orissa sleeps no more; instead spends wakeful nights bracing itself to the aftermath of vast deforestation & unchecked industrialization. With the vanishing nesting sites it is now not so uncommon to find eggs fallen on the earth, helplessly lying, awaiting to be crushed under the inevitable wheels of human greed.

With Each Diamond Eye: Neal Kartik
Kalinga Nagar in Orissa was a quiet area of paddy fields and lush green forests; today it feeds construction demands of the fastest growing steel hub of India. This is where flows the river Baitarani, sadly enough tons of sand is deposited in the riverbed due to silting making it flood prone. As a result come monsoon the Baitrani takes on a life of it’s own, washing away with it all, what we take from it. Poetic Justice indeed...



Prof. Farhat Basir Khan
Professor Media and Communication

FB Khan is currently Professor of Media & Communication at AJK MCRC.
An activist practitioner and a teacher who holds the distinction of having taught at an MA level programme for over two decades now, has several firsts to his credit. From being the senior most faculty member of the prestigious AJK MCRC, he was also the first to develop Photography programmes for UGC and NCERT to be taught at both degree level and at 10+2. He also help set up several institutes across the country. And is now considered to be the country’s top most expert on Media, communication & Photography. He has recently also served on the Jury of IBC (Amsterdam), the world’s biggest International conference on Broadcasting & content for Media.

Having pioneered Photography education in the country he has also been actively involved in the Industry and has distinguished himself both as an Industrial and an Advertising Photographer. Having worked with all leading advertising agencies like Lintas, Grey, Leo Burnett, he’s given us some memorable campaigns, like the Oberoi Maidens, Atlas, Avis, Delhi Police, Grasim- the list is endless.

International projects too have been a part of his vast repertoire. Having been chosen to make the 50 year commemorative Audio- Visual for both the UNICEF and the WHO from amongst the Photographers all across the world he is the only professional photographer to hold this singular distinction. Recently he has just concluded a training programme for UNICEF delegates on Unspooling the Documentary process. The trainees were delegates from as wide a spectrum as the Harvard business school, MIT, Russian Film School.

He also represented MCRC and presented a paper for the Italian Embassy conclave on the “NEW & OLD Media- Conflicts and Discourses Within”. It was very well received and critically acclaimed as incisive, perceptive, and holistic.

He believes in constantly innovating and assimilating new technology platforms. Photography is a product of a very vibrant marriage between technology and art says he. And one can never know so much…. As every new day opens up more possibilities.

He has spearheaded the Photography, Multimedia & Audio- Visual Section of the MCRC, of which he has been the faculty in charge for over two decades & is also currently the placement officer as appointed by the University. He hopes to give shape to another visionary project of his here which is the first MA in Photography in the country, which has just been approved by the UGC due to his strenuous efforts.

He is also the Founder Director of the Academy for Photographic Excellence- a Jindal Photo Initiative, the first of it’s kind Academy which is a true synergy of the Academic, Professional and the Corporate. And has translated his vision into a School for all Professional and aspiring Photographers.

He contributes regularly to several Electronic Print & Web Media on the latest development in New Media Platforms & the avenues that media & communication offer today.


Contact: +91-9891297717; email: fbkhan@gmail.com