The Siege – A Year Since Abrogation’
This report seeks to draw attention towards and attempts to explore the social, political,cultural and political condition of the valley since the abrogation of Article 370 in a much deeper and broader sense. This report also aims to shed light on the excesses of the Indian Government and Armed Forces in order to suppress the popular resistance movement. It highlights the arbitrary detentions, tortures and means employed by the armed forces to subjugate and disempower people including access to livelihood, education, environment, health and communication. The new modes of resistance and the role of youths in taking the Kashmiri Tehreek forward is evocatively explored as well.
‘The Siege: a year since abrogation’, marking the dark anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution and bifurcation of the state, we have compiled the salient findings of the Commission of Inquiry and updated briefs, which have drawn upon the reports of other Fact Finding Teams that visited the state in the aftermath of August 5, 2019.
Ending the War at Sea: In Pursuit of Permanent Solutions to the India-Pakistan Fisheries conflict
The conflict between India and Pakistan is most often portrayed and imagined as one that takes place on land. The diplomatic turbulence brewing at sea for the last thirty years is not known to the average citizen of both countries. In fact, currently there are 103 Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails and 392 Indian fishermen in Pakistan jail. This raises many important questions of peace and security in the context of people, livelihoods, the environment and resources.
The report sheds light on the kind of insensitive charges, which are put on these arrested fishers, often led to their prolonged sentencing under Arms Act, Banned substances laws (Smuggling & Narcotics provisions), criminal trespassing, etc. Though the interventions in the past few years by civil society groups and the judiciary in India and Pakistan have brought some temporary relief, the fact remains that the fishworkers (Gujarat and Diu) have been made prisoners of war, remains to be addressed.
Fishing in troubled waters
The turmoil of fisher people caught between India and Pakistan
This compilation covers the contemporary history of intense efforts of the last four years in getting the fishworkers released from the other country’s jails as well as creating a mechanism for permanent release of fishermen. It aims at covering the issues faced by fishermen of India and Pakistan and includes a section comprising of a timeline of the efforts made by groups of activists from both sides. It also gives a glimpse of significant dialogue processes between activists and governments of two countries that they have led to.
The compilation of articles in this report include a wide ranging spectrum reflecting the irregularities from governments while handling this issue and the legal complexities that arise; analysis based on factual information about not just the arrests and releases but also details of the fishing areas and the disagreements regarding that; the severity of the situation changing over the years in terms of dialogues and disagreements along with the increasingly hostile attitude towards fishermen post the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack; the environmental aspects and the effect on the catch with the consistently rising pollution levels at the coastlines; the efforts being made by groups of activists from both sides and the circumstances, which the fisher community is faced with.
Siachen: End to the impasse?
The roundtable on Siachen which was held in Mumbai on 14 August 2012, co-organised by Dialogue Action and ‘Sanctuary Asia’, with support and inputs from groups like South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) and members of Pakistan India Peoples’ Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD) was an effort at engaging our respective governments, media and society on the Siachen conflict and the means to transform the same. The dream is to convince the South Asian community that peace in Siachen is not utopian, and that 28 years is long enough a period for these countries to have blown up billions of dollars on the conflict in the Himalayan high mountains.
The dossier on Siachen was prepared as a context-setter to the Roundtable, but its position surely is not limited to it. The effort is relevant keeping in mind that, compilations on this issue that bring together important points, key discussions and a chronology along with historical explanations of country positions are a rarity.This work also attempts at bringing together diverse writings that have appeared in mainstream journals and media regarding the conflict, especially since its violent and war-like turn since 1984.
Where have the fish gone?
The impact of Industrial development on fishworkers in Gujarat
The report ‘Where have the fish gone’ explores how the coastal industrialization has impacted the fishing communities and fishing patterns. The entire coastline, coastal resources and infrastructure are being leveraged for Industrial and economic growth. In Gujarat, fishworkers operating traditional motorized and mechanized boats have been disadvantaged by the current industrial model of the state and have not received adequate support or reinforcement in strengthening their livelihoods. Moreover the rapidly depleting marine resources and artificial national boundaries and demarcations in the sea are leading to their dispossession and disenfranchisement.
ZUVA : Journal of Cross Border Conversations
‘ZUVA: Journal of Cross-Border Conversations’ provides a forum for the people of Pakistan and India to voice their diverse perspectives, and their concerns and aspirations for peace and progress in the region. It is an effort to strengthen meaningful democratic exchange and peoples’ solidarities in their common struggles against authoritarianism. By standing united against the forces that stoke hate and divide us, we may together assert the right to equitable development, justice and dignity for all. Our focus is on alternative perspectives and constituencies that challenge state-centric narratives, which form the hard nut of the Pakistan-India imbroglio. Invariably, any such engagements require focussing on the multiple interdependencies of the South Asian region as a whole. For too long, Pakistan- India hostility has been a stumbling block to the progress of regional cooperation in South Asia. Recent challenges like the pandemic, increasing economic precarity, deepening inequality, growing social disaffection and destabilizing geo-political developments have all emphasized the importance of softer borders which encourage cooperation at all levels of society