We are shocked at the way Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia
(WIPSA) has treated the theatre group Tehrik-e-Niswan from Pakistan in
its programme ’Staging Peace’ in Lucknow on 27th November, 2005, forcing
them make a pre-mature departure. WIPSA is accusing Tehrik-e-Niswan of
breaching the trust by going and performing at the Coalition for Nuclear
Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) convention a day earlier than the formal
event organized at I.T. College by them in Lucknow. It is also troubled
that the play ’Jikr-e-Nashunida’‚ a joint endeavour of Sheema Kermani,
the lead artist, and Prasanna Ramaswamy, the Director, and performed by
Tehrik-e-Niswan, is ’anti-American’. It is to be noted that the WIPSA
event is being funded by Ford Foundation India. The functionary incharge
of this programme from WIPSA, threatened the Pakistani group
Tehrik-e-Niswan on 28th November night to leave India in two days.
Otherwise, she said, their Visas would be cancelled and police would be informed.
This is the ultimate insult to Sheema Kermani, the leader of the
Pakistani group.
Tehrik-e-Niswan is going back to Pakistan without being
able to perform according to the schedule at Varanasi and Bhubaneshwar.
It is a shame for us that we‚re not able to respect the talent of Sheema
Kermani and her group, which has very graciously handled the entire
situation, and have caused them much mental agony. We feel badly let
down by WIPSA and very strongly condemn its immature way of dealing with
the Pakistani group.
Such an action on part of WIPSA makes mockery of the
right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Constitution of India and
also is a blot on the heritage of pluralism and inclusiveness that is
cherished for long on this sub-continent. Moreover, such a behaviour of
an organisation mandated to work for peace in South Asia is not only a
big setback to the people-to-people level confidence building process
but also an embarrassment to the peace process undergoing between the
governments of India and Pakistan. We would also like to raise two
crucial issues of censorship and control of discourse by supporting
bodies which in turn are doubling as facilitators of fascism besides
proving their subservience to the Nation State.
SHEEMA KERMANI and her group consisting of 9 other people (MAHVASH
FARUQI, SHAMA ASKARI, ASMA MUNDRAWALA, SHAZIA QAMAR, SAIFE HASAN,
MAHMOOD BHATTI, ATIF SIDIQI, SALEEM MAIRAJ and ANWER JAFRI) have decided
to stay in this country till Monday, 5th December 2005. They have a
non-police reporting visa valid for one month. Yet, they were asked to
vacate the Chandiwala Estate Guest House, Kalkaji (near Nehru Place),
New Delhi on 1st December late night without any reason.
We the undersigned demand unconditional public apology from Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA) for misconduct of such consequences by its important functionaries and take immediate and exemplary action against them failing which we will be forced to campaign within the peace movement in both the countries
and at international level for social boycott of WIPSA and the people
associated with it.
Sandeep Pandey & Arundhati Dhuru, National Alliance of People’s
Movement (NAPM)
Anil Chaudhary, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
Anand Patwardhan, Peace Activist and Filmmaker
Shabnam Hashmi, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD)
Achin Vanaik & Sukla Sen, Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)
Amerjeet Kaur, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
Praful Bidwai, Journalist and Columnist
Sumit Chakravarty Editor, Mainstream
Javed Naqvi, Journalist and Columnist
Suhas Borker, Film Maker
Shahid Jamal, Media Consultant
Gautam Navlakha, Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy
Surendra Mohan, Senior Socialist Leader
(Please send your protests to WIPSA at wipsaindia eth.net)