Glimpse to Jumbish n Sign Cafe

This Saturday, PJI was witness to a spectacular workshop by Surabhi Jain, a newbie at Pravah but no newbie at sharing things beautifully :) She conducted a session on the basics of sign-language. Old and new volunteers alike, along with the stalwarts, got to learn something new from this session. A lot of us were surprised to see that sign language uses such common-sensical actions, and it was lots of fun to spell out our names and other words for PJI family members to guess! 

The next in this series of learning Sign-Language is to follow soona fter Jumbish! 

Surabhi is a 2nd year student of B.Com at Kanoria College, Jaipur and works with her mother at the Deaf Women's Society of Rajasthan. Most of us take for granted, our ability to talk and communicate with words and voice. Born to parents who are speech- and hearing-impaired, signing is Surabhi's mothertongue. Her life, and indeed that of her parents, shows us that courage and determination to excel can never hold us back.  

Sunday saw a hullaballoo in true PJI fashion. With over 20 masti-mongers working in and around the kitchen, the plan was to have a cook-out Awesome Style. And indeed, that is what it turned out to be :) WIth someone chopping the onions, another boiling the rice, a group peeling pea's - the Sunday cookout tasted a mouth-watering pulao and chutney! Yum. We should do this again, and soon! 

(Who's hungry? I AM!) 

Till next time, folks! 

Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish 2011

Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish 2011


Why Jaipur?


Our exchange with young people and organizations across the city of Jaipur led us to discover that while Rajasthan is known for its social activism across the world, the young people in Jaipur tend to be very disconnected from this legacy. The city is undergoing a number of changes which is resulting in a lot of turmoil. In terms of aspirations, the city is looking towards Delhi- malls, multi- storied buildings and call centers. Personality development, English speaking classes and tuitions for civil services among others are on the rise. Dealing with this fast paced urbanization while being rooted in the cultural tradition has created a tough situation for young people. In this fast-paced, competitive world, the locus has somewhere shifted from education for development of character and growing up to become an effective human being, to education that merely equips young adults to do well for themselves alone. This has led to a preoccupation of the young person with his/her own development in exclusion of the rest of society.




Why do we need to work with Young people?


We believe that young people can change the world today. We believe that the young people have great energy and passion which infuses young people with the potential to initiate, actualize and sustain positive change in the world. Every young person has a potential to be a change maker, all they need is an opportunity to discover that potential.


In a world where every day brings a new headline to add a sense of insecurity and fear, values like trust, love, peace and interdependence are fast giving way to cynicism, and a desire to focus on just self.


In this scenario, many young people who want to engage often hold back (willingly or unwillingly) for fear of being perceived as mad or being labeled as the odd one out. Often they are held back by their immediate families, who feel that this may take them away from their path towards success.


In this process the young people loose a great opportunity to develop as good human beings, who retain their individuality while valuing interdependence and hence connect their self with the larger society. The ability to think and analyze for one self, look beyond what exists, take stances and action, are all skills which are necessary skills for both career and in life and are learnt in the process of becoming an active citizen. Working with young people to inspire them to become change makers and active citizens is therefore imperative to the health of the entire world.


What is active citizenship?


The word citizenship is often viewed solely from the political lens. To many of us it defines the relationship of an individual vis a vis a state. However, we believe that a citizen is also a denizen of a city, a nation and a world. We have a responsibility as guardians of these common spaces, beyond our homes and institutions.


Citizenship is that, which makes us participative, proactive, and responsible towards society. This citizenship is boundary less, not defined by state, caste, religion, language.


An active citizen is someone who steps out of the comfort zone of complacency and acts for social change. Values of interdependence and ownership are at the core of active citizenship.

What is Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish?


The Youth Jumbish is going to be a space to celebrate the young change makers, inspire young people to get engaged and see how the process will benefit both of them and the world at large. It will also give them concrete spaces to get involved through volunteering and other means, and put the focus on how it can be cool to be an active citizen. The Festival we hope will also help the society at large see active citizenship as an integral part of education of a young person.


We hope that the spirit of fun, celebration and hope, along with real examples will help inspire young people to embark on a journey of self to society, and start the process of creating a community of Youth active citizens who can create their own vision of what Jaipur should be like and act on it.


What will the Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish do?


There are many young people wishing to create social change and becoming active citizens in Jaipur. However, they often find themselves in isolation and feel the need for a platform where they could connect with like minded peers, and discover and enhance their potential as change makers.


It is precisely this platform that we want to start building through the Jaipur Youth Festival. With this festival, young people will be inspired to become active citizens by creating their vision of Jaipur, celebrating the work of young active citizens and identifying ways in which they can get involved.


It will also create a case for how getting involved in society gives a space to learn many things including skills which help in developing a good responsible human being which will help in both career and life.


All this of course while having fun, and using interactive and creative methodologies like theatre, music, art, and craft among others.


Some questions that we hope the Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish will raise:




- Can Citizenship be more than just a relationship of an individual and a state?




- What are our responsibilities to common spaces beyond our homes and institutions?




- How are our lives connected with those who we have never met?




- What can we do to make love, peace and respect universal values?




- Why is Active citizenship so important?




- How can we move from independence to interdependence?


Vision:


To inspire young people to become active citizens by promoting new thinking and imagination on the theme and recognizing citizenship work done by young people.


Objectives:


- To inspire young people to become active citizens by recognizing and celebrating existing youth citizenship work.


- To create a community of Young active citizens who can engage with social action by helping them identify ways in which they can make a difference through methods such as volunteering.


- To enable young people to make a connection between self and society and make a case for active citizenship as an integral part of an individuals’ education and life.


Possible Outcomes:


- 40 young people register to volunteer with different organizations.


- 30 people sign up for exposure trips


- A forum of young active citizens who meet once every month for sharing what they are doing towards the Jaipur that they want and have imagined and sessions by diff orgs as inputs for the same.


Target Group- 15- 25 years


Scope of Impact- Adolescents, Youth and Parents and the larger society.


How can different people/ groups / institutions get involved :


Schools:


- Send children on the day of the event to participate (sections 9 and 11 pref)


- Choose to create a group to perform on day of event- within which


Option a- To choose a theme and devise it on their own


Option b- they ask us to connect them with facilitators on issues and/ or skill


- Host a film screening followed by a session on an issue to engage people in dialogue.


- Hold an internal debates, discussions and sessions, to talk about what active citizenship is and why it is needed.


- Take the children for an exposure (with or without our help)


- Nominate groups/ individuals who have already been engaged in social action (groups who participated in Project Citizen)


- Ask children to create posters, write poetry, and create notice boards in this issue.


- Hold parents – children dialogue on this issue.


- Hold internal sessions on skill building on how to get engaged in society.


Colleges:


- All of the above


- Give us space to mobilize people and invite them to participate even outside of college if the college does not wish to engage directly.


- Nominate students as volunteers for the fest.


NGOs:


- Stalls during the event


- Facilitators for issues and skills- help facilitate the process


- Take on volunteers


- Facilitate exposures


- Volunteer as part of org team


- Share resources


- Help in outreach


- Help in identifying other facilitators and access to young people


- In case youth or adolescent oriented org then all the options as under schools and colleges.


- Developing creative interfaces between school and college students and the communities that they work with.


Artists- Theatre, painters, photography, musicians etc.: 

- Help facilitate the process with young people.


- Create pieces on social issues which can be exhibited during the event and even before and after to make people think


- Creative ways of communication through the festival


Media :


- Outreach


- Taking up the issue for public dialoguing


These are some of the ideas that we have on ways in which people can engage

By The Way (part 4)

I was reading about static and dynamic energy. Static electricity refers to the buildup of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remain on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge.

I was wondering where I should keep young minds in this definition. I guess, they are static energies, ready to either discharge or transform into dynamic energy.
One example we are seeing in the form of university elections. Such an energy and passion!!But God knows, in which direction this energy is flowing. How many transformation this energy takes…from static to dynamic to light to mechanical to thermal energy. Yes.. lot of heat has been generated in the campus.

Confusion is also an energy form. History is full of such examples where young people have transformed their confusion energy into something productive..I won’t take the name. This task I leave up to you to think those names

In context of energy, I suddenly remembered three young people, who are trying to transform their confusion energy into something. This something is what that I can’t tell you as I don’t have a right to judge or comment but I can observe that they are not sitting idle and watching what so ever is happening or not using their energy in freaking out with friends and not converting this energy into any university election.

Then what are they doing and who are they.. This is the tale of The Ashutosh, The Shyam and The Jaiveer.They struggled with their confusion and I guess still struggling but they are using this confusion as their torch to see their path. This way they have transformed this energy into light and looking for ways in which they can transform it into productive kinetic energy.

By the way.. They are not afraid of confusion. After all confusion gives us options and confusion energy gives us courage to at least try those options… SO FOLKS , LETS BE CONFUSED… and cheers to The Ashutosh , The Shyam and The Jaiveer to enjoying and living this confusion and trying to convert this confusion energy.

Café Mohalla- BACK WITH A BANG!!

“Theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can  share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
- Oscar Wilde

Participants-Garima, Gunjan, Dipesh, Ritansh, Jimmy, Sunil, Anand(volunteerfrom faith), Bhomik, Keshav, Shyam, Sangeeta, Mridula, Kritika, Chaitanya, Karan, Shivang, Abhishekand Rajesh.

This Saturday Café Mohalla of PJI started with the celebration of Ritansh‘s birthday and its rebirth (applauds!!). It was best to commence the programme with a brief introduction about CAFÉ MOHALLA from the mouth of Gungun, as the idea of café is the seed of her mind only. She explained the concept of 5th space of PJI and how we can build relationships by sharing keeping importance of money constant.Acquaintance with Café Mohalla demanded introduction of everyone present for the café which was carried out by their respective names along with a gesture each.The programme got a step ahead by the question asking the thing that pops up in mind first when the word theatre is heard, and the question was answered very actively and creatively by everyone like


“projection of feelings- anger,frustration,bliss etc.",

”mean to express humanity”,

”expression of thoughts...”

Naveen took the cafe further by a group game of quickly forming groupsof number of members said in random.Next succeeding was movie making game in which everyone got the chance to add on to the play started by Sunil and to show their acting and creativity skills.The next two wereBang-bang game and the Bhains-gawala (blind fold) game which taught participants the importance of trust and listening skills in a very fun- interactive manner. Non-stop fun called for a breakin which everyone enjoyed delicious and healthy sprouts salad andchaach (butter milk) prepared by Gungun and Dipesh.Fun and learning were more tocome as we got served withFarjistan-Ki-Farzi baatein game, yes-boss game and fake-acting game in our plates by Naveen which worked on their skills likes improvisation, presence of mind and creativity. But the real show stopper was the Pantomime game in which participants were made to sit in two rows and been given themes to enact and hence transfer it along the row. Giving them the feeling of competition and team work and also bringing out the essential life skill of inter-dependency.

The session concluded with a little discussion on what all we had learnt about theatre and life through all these games and how easily all these things also describes the quality of our behavior, emotions and perceptions with others in our daily life.

Overall the café on Theatre was all about fun,acting,spontaneity,sharing and learning in a row. Café Mohalla’s return was at its best and credit goes to Naveen for the way he designed and left no leaf unturned to imply acting through various games and also to the ever enthusiastic PJI volunteers to show so much of energy and interest throughout the session (CURTAINS DOWN !!!!!!!!)

Facilitated by Naveen Sharma and Co-facilitated by Aprajita Sharma.

No one to blame

14 July, 2011- Thursday

As we saw our little chat on recent blasts taking shape of a bigger debate and arising many questions we thought of continuing it further as a bigger discussion in the volunteer group instead of the scheduled open space event. Mumbai, a city that has suffered four terror attacks in the past decade, was once again targeted on Wednesday, when three bombs exploded within minutes of each other in various locations around the city causing 18 deaths and 131 injuries.

The discussion has gone really intense as some of the entirely different view points came up from different people though one thing which was clear enough was that everyone was questioning their beliefs of non-violence.

People came up with different reasons for the attacks like some thought it is another terror attack, some thought it’s a political gimmick and even as a pre-planned strategy to counter the budding Lok-pal bill hype.

A volunteer Jaiveer said that we get pretty much used to and careless after a while. Moreover repetition of such events makes us don’t care about it and we get inattentive which cause loop holes in our security system.

Puneet said that he’s pretty much concerned about these issues and try to do whatever he could but he just don’t know what he can do to prevent them.

Jimmy, from states, said that he doesn’t like to judge people and he has his beliefs in non-violence, but incidents things like that make him doubt his beliefs.

Khalil, a film-making unit member, said that we just talk on such issues and then we forget about them without taking any preventive measures.

Another volunteer Jitendra who was pretty sure that the root cause of all this is our flawed political system and hence our bureaucratic administration. As he said that our stereotypes are so strengthened that sometimes they overshadow the reality. According to him the current corrupted political status is responsible for every bad thing happening to our country and each one of us is equally a culprit for these blasts as we are not aware of our responsibilties and rights and we’re not giving worthy governance to our nation and neither taking any steps against them on an individual level.

Another PRAVAH member Abhishek questioned are we really playing our part in being active and attentive citizens. We’re blaming our politicians and defence forces but are we really aware of whom we’re selecting as our representatives in assembly elections.

Soon after our discussion came to an end we get to see some of our politicians giving statements on the blasts when mumbai was still struggling to get back on its feet. But it din’t had much effect on our ministers as they continued to get in their blame game once again. As Rahul Gandhi told journalists that 99 per cent of terror attacks in the country had been halted thanks to improved intelligence and other measures. It is very difficult to stop any single terrorist attack. Our home minister P Chidambaram said it’s not an intelligence failure as it was a coordinated terror attack of ISI and IM. At the other end Raj Thackeray aimlessly blaming the migrants from north and east India for the blasts in Mumbai. While Advani pointed out at Pakistan and ISI, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley commented on TADA. At a time when the political class needed to come together, it's their contradictions which have come to the fore.

But looking at the government’s counter-terrorism record, it shows a complete different picture. The unpleasant truth is that the much-vaunted police modernisation effort the government began after 26/11 has just not delivered. Not one of the five urban terrorist attacks that preceded the latest Mumbai bombings has been solved.

In my perspective, whatever the reason may be but one thing I’m sure of is that these things aren’t going to change any sooner if we won’t start acting like a reponsible Indian citizen. And to some extent I do agree to the point that we all are equally responsible for these attacks. Political statements as such shows us the drastic socio-political status of our counrty and the unprofessionalism of our intelligence and investigation agencies, but that doesn’t mean that we all our innocent. As it is our responsibilty to prompt policemen when we see negligence in security, it is our responsibilty to see in what hands our country’s governance and defence is going in and it is our job to make people aware of such facts by public disussions and awareness campaigns. Otherwise we have no right to blame anyone, so are we really playing our parts?

Story Telling Workshop

Story Telling Workshop

Pravah Jaipur Initiative organized a 3-day workhop (June 7,2011 – June 9, 2011) for the members of PJI’s Critical Video Unit (CVU) and youth interested for film making internship. This was to improve the writing skill in script writing and story telling.

Mr. Manak Matiyani, trainer for this workshop, from Commutiny Media, New Delhi, was really inspiring. He shared his knowledge and taught the skill of writing to the volunteers through simple examples such as the popular story of “the Hare and The Tortoise” and experiences makes it easier for the volunteers to understand.

The concept was explained through interesting mediums like graphs, presentations, video screenings, discussions, etc. A very important concept of story mapping was taught by a powerpoint template of a graph to show where a story needs to have a point of interest.

Through traditional and popular stories volunteers identified the essential elements of story such as Plot, Conflict, Climax, Resolution, etc. The symbolic ability of a story and its perspective as one way of telling stories differently gives a different identity to a story. On the first day, a group activity of innovation on a film was done and all the volunteers enjoyed it fully by making a remake of “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” to a hilarious movie “Dilwale Dulhe le Jayege” in a proper structure giving it a new look.

Everyone shared their individual stories looking at innovative ways of telling and structuring. A very essential 3-Art Structure of scripting was explained by looking at the structure of a popular bollywood film “Sholay” and 3-Act Division, Plot points, teaser and tag was taken in detail and the volunteers learned breaking up the story to organize their ideas and follow a simple structure and identified transitions, symbolism, visual and audio elements and layering by looking at some short videos and discussing on it.

Had screenings of PJI short film and identified the 3 act structure. Also seen and discussed movies which do not follow this structure, knowing when and why you are breaking the rule and innovations on the three acts.

As PJI always works on youth development and talks about social issues, a concept of social cinema i.e. messaging through movies on social issues was taken deeply by taking cues from advertising of Jagori’s, MustBol, Indian Railway, etc. After discussing upon these, volunteers learnt that a target audience need to be defined with tone, plot, narrative style. A story with a emotional and personal connect is more effective in conveying a message.

Manak, the mentor also tried to meet the expextations of our volunteers and explained the differentiated the concept of story, script, screenplay and story board. The feedback of the volunteers for the workshop was very positive. “I had so much many stories in my mind but never knew how to express it effectively. Now I can write it in an interesting way” said Mohammad Khalil. “After this workshop I know how a social issue can be shown in an appealing and interesting manner” added Abhishek Chawariya. - Kritika Shukla

Story Telling Workshop

Story Telling Workshop

Pravah Jaipur Initiative organized a 3-day workhop (June 7,2011 – June 9, 2011) for the members of PJI’s Critical Video Unit (CVU) and youth interested for film making internship. This was to improve the writing skill in script writing and story telling.

Mr. Manak Matiyani, trainer for this workshop, from Commutiny Media, New Delhi, was really inspiring. He shared his knowledge and taught the skill of writing to the volunteers through simple examples such as the popular story of “the Hare and The Tortoise” and experiences makes it easier for the volunteers to understand.

The concept was explained through interesting mediums like graphs, presentations, video screenings, discussions, etc. A very important concept of story mapping was taught by a powerpoint template of a graph to show where a story needs to have a point of interest.

Through traditional and popular stories volunteers identified the essential elements of story such as Plot, Conflict, Climax, Resolution, etc. The symbolic ability of a story and its perspective as one way of telling stories differently gives a different identity to a story. On the first day, a group activity of innovation on a film was done and all the volunteers enjoyed it fully by making a remake of “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” to a hilarious movie “Dilwale Dulhe le Jayege” in a proper structure giving it a new look.

Everyone shared their individual stories looking at innovative ways of telling and structuring. A very essential 3-Art Structure of scripting was explained by looking at the structure of a popular bollywood film “Sholay” and 3-Act Division, Plot points, teaser and tag was taken in detail and the volunteers learned breaking up the story to organize their ideas and follow a simple structure and identified transitions, symbolism, visual and audio elements and layering by looking at some short videos and discussing on it.

Had screenings of PJI short film and identified the 3 act structure. Also seen and discussed movies which do not follow this structure, knowing when and why you are breaking the rule and innovations on the three acts.

As PJI always works on youth development and talks about social issues, a concept of social cinema i.e. messaging through movies on social issues was taken deeply by taking cues from advertising of Jagori’s, MustBol, Indian Railway, etc. After discussing upon these, volunteers learnt that a target audience need to be defined with tone, plot, narrative style. A story with a emotional and personal connect is more effective in conveying a message.

Manak, the mentor also tried to meet the expextations of our volunteers and explained the differentiated the concept of story, script, screenplay and story board. The feedback of the volunteers for the workshop was very positive. “I had so much many stories in my mind but never knew how to express it effectively. Now I can write it in an interesting way” said Mohammad Khalil. “After this workshop I know how a social issue can be shown in an appealing and interesting manner” added Abhishek Chawariya. - Kritika Shukla

Share-A-Smile Cafe

On Friday, Ashutosh hosted a Cafe meeting to informed the volunteers about the Share-a-Smile program and its Project Yatra. The project is a program to help members explore themselves, learn about different social issues, and contribute their own skills by teaching English in a government school.

The first phase of Project Yatra is the "virus" stage, which aims to make people more aware of the ways they are linked to and play a role in social problems. This will be achieved by hosting public meetings. In the cafe, the members started out playing games which forced them out of their comfort zones and urged them to consider different concepts, such as efficient use of resources.

The cafe participants then discussed the next two phases of Project Yatra. The next phase is "Gyan", in which the participants will go to government schools in Jawahar Nagar and other areas of the city. They will seek to help the students by teaching them English.

The last stage of the project is "Khoj", an exploration of one's self, in terms of skills, options, and active consideration of the choices we have in life. Ashutosh speaks about how Kabir said that the only question we can really seek to answer about ourselves in "Who Am I?", and this will be a central part of "Khoj".

Share-A-Smile is actively seeking volunteers to join the Project Yatra campaign for the next two years! If you are interested or would like more information please contact Ashutosh at 8302485842 or shareaasmile@gmail.com.

Environment Day Cafe!

The Pink Square Mall was host to a Cafe Mohalla meeting on International Environment Day, June 5th. PJI celebrated by hosting an interesting and interactive cafe meeting in the mall, where we played games, watched films, and did other activities relating to the environment.

We started by playing a few energizers and games which relate to concepts and the environment, such as "seed to tree". Then we watched a few short films on topics such as environmental crises and climate change. One animation on what we can do to help protect the environment was made by our very own volunteer Chaitanya.

"At the cafe, we interacted with lots and lots of people. The environment was very good. People became more aware of what they are doing and what they should do," Chaitanya said. "I havent showed my film on such a large scale, like in a mall...it was really very good to know that the crowd who I dont know, they also like my movie."

Afterward, we had an intensive discussion on these issues, along with what steps we ought to take in our own lives to help solve environmental problems. We did a "kabaad se jugaad" activity, in which we made bookmarks from old newspapers, in order to conserve our resources and put them to a good use. To help publicize this cause, our volunteers went out in to the mall to distribute kits made of "kabaas se jugaad", as well as tree saplings generously donated by the Pink Square Mall.

Roughly 25 members came to the Cafe meeting, which was organized by Amreen and Bhavya. We collaborated with the NGOs Message and Muskaan in hosting the cafe. This is the first monthly cafe which will be held at the Pink Square Mall, which we hope to establish as an open space and platform for youth in Jaipur. We are grateful to Nitin and everyone else at the mall for hosting these cafes.

Family Day Event with Muskaan!

On May 15th, PJI collaborated with Muskaan and Taabar on a festival to celebrate International Family Day! The event was held at Pink Square Mall and featured folk performers, musicians, and many different activities for people of all ages. The theme of the event was "The World is Our Family."

Muskaan planned this event in order to spread awareness about family, and its connection to domestic violence and the concept of a happy family. The event was also intended to spread awareness about the importance of balanced relationships, and how the lack of balance can create critical situations in the family. "The World is Our Family" means that the boundaries of our family can include neighbors, friends, and all members of society.

Many PJI members assisted in making this event a success. Ritansh performed an original rap on this topic to help spread awareness. The event also features skits, puppets, acrobats, a magician, face-painting, and fun games.

Protest Against AFSPA: Vapas Lo!

Dozens of PJI volunteers joined the protest against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, organized by PUCL yesterday. We gathered at Albert Hall at six o'clock to begin the protest, and together with the public we watched a street theater performance by members of PUCL on this topic. Afterward, all the protesters marched together down JLN Marg, shouting our slogans of peace and handing out information about AFSPA to onlookers.

AFPSA is used in the North East and Kashmir to allow the military to engage in undemocratic activities. It gives them the right to arrest anyone suspected of being a separatist or insurgent, and even to kill based on suspicion. There have been many high-profile cases of military brutality as a result of this law. Iron Sharmila, an activist from Manipur, has been fasting for over ten years in an attempt to persuade the government to overturn AFSPA.

This issue has come to Jaipur via the play "Le Mashale", a one-person show performed by Ojas in many locations throughout the city. PJI helped to host and publicize these performances. More recently, PJI volunteer Shyam Bansal was instrumental in planning this protest with PUCL and mobilizing our members to join the movement.

Join PJI for a Peace Rally on May 22nd!

PJI volunteers are leading a peace rally on Sunday, May 22nd at 6 pm. The march will protest the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and military abuses in Manipur. Come to support the movement and Irom Sharmila's struggle against violence! The notice is below:

REPEAL THE DRACONIAN

Armed Forces Special Powers Act

STOP THE CRUSHING OF DEMOCRACTIC RIGHTS IN

NORTH EAST AND KASHMIR

LET US ASLO LIGHT A TORCH FOR IROM SHARMILA'S STRUGGLE

AND DEMAND THE REPEAL OF AFSPA

Join us at 6 pm in front of Albert Hall Museum,

22nd May, 2011

The Torch Rally will go upto Badi Chaupar.

For the last 54 years, Independent India has had a law in the North East states and Kashmir called the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. It gives extraordinary powers to members of the armed forces-to arrest without warrant and shoot to kill on the basis of suspicion-and no legal action can be taken up against the armed forces without prior sanction from the Centre. On this day in 1958, the Indian Government promulgated an ordinance much worse than its predecessor, used by the British to crush the Quit India Movement and the Naga rebellion in the North East. On the 18th of August, this draconian law got the stamp of the Indian Parliament.

In the pretext of controlling insurgency, this Act in free India has only intensified the insurgency in these regions and legitimized thousands of gross human rights violations like rape, torture, murder and “disappearances” of innocent people in the North East and J&K.

Various movements in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir and human rights groups across the country have consistently for the last several years have been demanding the repeal of AFSPA as it is anti constitutional. One protest demanding the act's repeal that has stood out for the last ten years has been the fast of Irom Sharmila of Manipur, who has refused to eat anything. She is in an Imphal hospital under arrest by the Manipur Government and been forced fed by tubes.

This act has been opposed by the Government’s own commissions and committees appointed to look into the matter. The Committee to Review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, headed by Justice B. P.  Jeevan Reddy in 2005, the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Dr. Veerappa Moily in 2007 and several others have recommended its repeal. Internationally, UN bodies including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and recently the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders have urged for its repeal.

If we have to save Indian Democracy, then from all over India we must support the voices of the Irom Sharmila, the millions of people of the North East and Kashmir and put pressure on the Government of India that a law like AFSPA has no place in the Indian democratic system.

On the 22nd May 2011, let us in Jaipur join hands with fellow citizens all over the country and stand up against AFSPA. Join us at 6 pm outside the Albert Hall Museum, Ram Niwas Marg and light a torch for Irom Sharmila and the people of the North East and Kashmir to express our solidarity with their struggle. We will take out a march to Badi Chaupar.    

For more information, you may contact : 

Pappu (2594131, 93151562965) and Shyam (7737757778 & 9352908580)

Khula Manch 2011-2012: Featured Volunteers

Introducing PJI’s Khula Manch 2011—a gang full of energy, drama, fun, and sensitivity. These are the people who make PJI what it is: a space where we have fun, learn, and love each other. Each is unique in their own, but are together on the journey of “Me to We”.

These volunteers are at various stages of their journeys, but have all been with us for at least the past three months. This list will continue to evolve over time, as we are joined by new friends and old ones go to pursue their next opportunity in life. 

Our Active Citizens, in alphabetical order, are:

A member for the CVU team, Abhishek Chawariya is very mature for his age and very committed to his work. He always looks forward to learning. Given some work, you can count on Abhishek to finish it. He is very genuine, honest, and open to feedback.

Ankita Rawat is one of the liveliest volunteers at PJI. Although she has only been around for the past few months, she is already a crucial part of PJI with her heart and soul. She is a people person and ropes in everyone around her. Ankita was very helpful in developing the PJI facebook page for us. It has been a pleasure to have her in PJI, and we shall miss her and hope to see her here back!

Aprajita Sharma loves to learn and is keen to know as much as she can. She is always asking questions, which we love about her. She has been volunteering with the NGO Faith for some time and it is great to see the way she has engaged with the kids there. She is someone who is really passionate about making a change in the society.

Ashish Khandelwal is sensitive and committed. He has been involved with Faith through the UVP Program for a while and his commitment, love for the children and the space is something to aspire to. We love seeing Ashish around and are always delighted to hear his stories. 

Ashutosh Nandwana has been with us for a long time and has grown beautifully over the years. His ability to receive feedback and move on through struggles is an inspiration for all the volunteers. In his journey from “ME to WE,” he has now gone to next step and starting his new venture “SHARE A SMILE.” He makes us proud and gives everyone smiles.

Banwari Bhamaniya is one of our older volunteers, who has been coming on and off to PJI but is nevertheless a core part of the space. He is our Self Defense champion, and has taught many of us how to defend ourselves and mobilized youth through his self-defense workshops around Jaipur. With always a smile on his face and lots of passion for this place, he deserves much praise.

Bhavya Soni, one of the older volunteers, is always supportive and had been a backbone for PJI. He writes beautiful poetry, plays the fiddle expertly, and is really passionate about these and other talents. Soft spoken, he is always helping us with his creative thoughts.

Bhomik Jain’s quest to explore self and his desire to share that with all gives us a lot of excitement and knowledge. An adventurer, he is always open to new avenues. Though he studies engineering, he is a master of many other skills. A Khoji to the core, always exploring more!

Deepa Jhangyani is our interior designer, and has been working very hard to make the space livelier and prettier. She is a hardworking girl with a sweet smile always on her face, whatever happens. You see her everyday working to get funding and discussing the new design with volunteers. It has been a pleasure to have Deepa around, and we are looking forward to the renovation of the office. 

Our Jolly Dolly wins our hearts with her smile. Her dedication and love gives us a lot of energy. She is Ssensitive to everyone’s need, soft spoken but with a determination to go on. One of the member of our Trimurthy gang who also takes PJI as her second home, she is someone everyone misses when she’s not around. 

Gunjan Thakur is a bolt of lighting that comes into PJI and spreads smiles and laughter all around. With so much love and energy, Gunjan calls PJI her second home and this home is definitely incomplete without her. Her inquisitiveness is contagious. She is our Chota Bomb.  

A true volunteer in the heart, Jaiveer Rathore brings a lot of joy and fun to PJI.  He is always open to feedback and change. Jaiveer is a gem of a person, loving and friendly involving everyone around him. It has bee great seeing Jaiveer growing, becoming a leader, and discovering his newfound love for theatre. We look forward to seeing more of his plays and the growth of his Action Project PUKAAR!

Jimmy Potter has given us “ANOKHA MOKA” and brought Kabir and Kabir ke dohe into the space. He is a great singer and the best thing in him his willingness to accept and try out new things—for example, his fluency in Hindi. Every time Jimmy is in PJI he brings a lot of smiles and happiness.

Jitendra Sharma is a passionate singer and poet. He is wonderful at articulating life’s experiences in words and through music. PJI is full of his fans of his poetry and singing. Jitendra has been with us for a while and is always around to support us and be with us.

Joey Stromberg is from the U.S. and taken a year off to volunteer in India. Professionally he is a journalist and an environmentalist. Joey has been with us for the past year and has been a big support in keeping us updated on our Blog and FB. He has loved and lived India and PJI to the fullest. He is someone eager to learn new things and especially Hindi. He is a favorite of all in PJI.

Keshav Modi is Pravah’s computer champion, but his skills go far beyond. He is someone who knows a lot and is always there in PJI wherever required. A blossoming entrepreneur, Keshav is on the way to success already. We hope to continue seeing him and his creative ideas in PJI.

Krishna Kumar comes into PJI quietly and is always in his own way sensitive to all. He has been learning to play flute and we are looking forward to hearing him play.

Over the past six months, Maneesha Singh has become a central part of PJI and we are all so sad to see her go. Her friendliness, enthusiasm, and energy makes her a big sister figure to everyone at PJI. For planning exciting new events, meeting new volunteers, or being a leader to help the group overcome challenges, no one is better than Maneesha. We wish her the best of luck in Delhi and thank her for being such an amazing presence in PJI!

Meenu Pareek, a member of the CVU team, is a hard worker and very kind as well. Whenever we need anything in PJI Meenu is the person to ask and she strives to help everyone. She is our perfect resource person and a crucial part of the space.

Mohamad Khalil strives to change the future of his community through the lens of camera. He is always one of the first to meet all new volunteers with a smiling face and very passionate about filmmaking.

Praveen Garg is always courteous and one of the sweetest boys around. He is always ready to help and have fun. His help in our database renovation is worth applause. Off to become a teacher, he will be a great one with a lot of patience and love.

Rahul Aggarwal is new to PJI and is already seen frequently. He is someone who takes on new ventures and has all the skills to complete them. Rahul is always ready to help out and is a valuable part of the PJI crew.

Rahul Sharma is part of the CVU team and is one of the CPs who is closest to our volunteers. He is someone who is open to new ideas and a good learner. Always smiling and dancing, he brings in a lot of energy to PJI every day. He aspires to become a filmmaker, and his technical skills give him great potential for accomplishing his dream.

 

Rajesh Khotiya can be quiet, but when he speaks, he is very observant and provides very clear analysis of the discussion. He is a big asset for PJI. He wants to continue to work as a filmmaker and want to make documentaries on issues related to marginalized communities.

Ravi Saini is one of the oldest volunteers of Pravah and the most frequent. His newfound love for jewelry-making and ‘Kabaad se Jugaad’ shows his creativity and we love it. Ravi’s down to earth attitude and sensitivity towards all the volunteers make him a good friend to everyone.

Ritansh Pandey, our rapper, wins everyone’s heart wherever he goes. For him, rap is a passion, as is using his musical skills to address social issues. His journey is an inspiration for all the new volunteers, as he brings a different side of music to the table. His passion and dedication towards his music is mind-blowing. We hope to see him in PJI more often and have him teach us how to RAP!

Sangeeta Deshwal enters PJI every time with a determination to do something. Once she has a job—be it calling volunteers, or messaging about an event—we know it will be done. She has been with us for over a year and has always been a support to us in whatever way possible, constantly ready to take on more. 

A singer and lyricist in making, we met Shivang Shukla during this year’s Fly Peace Campaign, and he won a lot of hearts through his singing. His simplicity and honesty is one of his strongest assets. Shivany is open to new ideas, and seeing him more often at PJI brings in fresh air for us. 

Shivangi Dadhich is a breath of fresh air for PJI. Her energy lights up the space every time she visits. She is always enthusiastic to try and learn new things. Though she has been here for only a few months, she has become an integral part of PJI and takes full ownership of the place.

Shyam Bansal has been with us only a little while, but has already brought in a lot of energy to the space. His ability to take different initiatives and readiness makes him an invaluable part of PJI. He is always ready on call and brings in new ideas for the growth of PJI. Shyam is truly a passionate young man with a lot of potential.

Bubbly Sonia Yadav is someone you know if given responsibility will always get the job done done. She is always ready to volunteer for PJI and gives us the support to go on. She makes tasty Maggi and feeds all of us with love. Our happy-go-lucky girl is always ready to accept her challenges and is always positive.