Swept off the Map: Surviving Resettlement and Eviction in Bawana JJ Colony by Kalyani Menon Sen and Gautam Bhan is a documentary look at the demoliton of "the Yamuna Pushta ‘jhuggi-jhonpdi’ colony, a string of settlements home to around 35,000 working class families - more than 150,000 people – some of whom had lived here for over three decades" to make way for a "riverside promenade with parks and fountains" by the Yamuna river, marketed to the tourists who visit Delhi.

this should be an interesting read, as I read about similar demolitions whilst I was in Delhi - it even happened to businesses; even large well built shopping centres. the book is available @ Yoda Press in India.

Delhi Film Archive is a space that supports the freedom of expression and fearless listening. It is an archive of documentaries, short films, images and all other material that stimulate a collective response to censorship and the control of ideas. DFA is the Delhi chapter of Films For Freedom, an all India collective of filmmakers that emerged in 2003 to protest against censorship at the Mumbai International Film Festival and in different public spaces across India.

when I finished my work project in Delhi last year, I was taken out for lunch by some of the people I worked with. the lunch was really nice, we went to Gurgaon, to a Chinese restuarant. part of the conversation as we were leaving was about how places in Delhi were being rebuilt. I mentioned I'd heard about settlements / villages being torn down and the people relocated to other areas of Delhi, some of them not given new land or payment for their old homes. one of the guys from work said this wasn't true - that the government couldn't take away people's homes without paying them for it or relocating them. so, I was confused then, which was true? here's a few links to articles I've found about it - most are related to the sarai project - Nangla Blog. Nangla Machi was one of the locations used for Sarai's Cybermohalla project prior to it's schedule for demolition.

In Delhi's makeover plans the poor find no place - from Express India

and also New Delhi's facelift pushing away the poor

[quote]
"Singh is among the hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers displaced over the past year as New Delhi officials set about razing the slums and shantytowns that dot the city after the country's Supreme Court ordered authorities to tear down illegally constructed buildings."

"The idea is to create a showcase capital that matches India's global ambitions. And as has often been the case in recent years in booming India, the visibly poor aren't meant to be a part of the picture."

...

"That's not to say New Delhi authorities have gone after only the poor in their demolition drive - everything from glitzy malls to grimy shops have been torn down since the court started ordering the demolitions in 2005."

"But those demolitions have sparked repeated protests and an intense public debate. In contrast, few here have taken much notice or raised serious objections to the destruction of at least five sprawling slums and shantytowns and the forced relocation of their inhabitants - no one can say exactly how many people - to isolated patches of land miles (kilometres) from New Delhi."

"Singh, along with her five children and husband, were packed off last August from Nangla Machi, the slum where they lived on the banks of the filthy Yamuna river, to an undeveloped piece of dusty land owned by the government near this village 40 kilometers west of New Delhi."

""In all my life my neighbours had never heard me raise my voice, and now this is what I'm reduced to," Singh said as she was pushed back from her place in the water line."

"In the eyes of the law, Singh's family and thousands of others are now legally resettled. Officials even say they have helped the former slum dwellers by giving them the right to buy handkerchief-size plots of land."

"In reality, most like Singh are now unemployed because their new houses are too far from their old jobs, and even if they wanted to buy the land - which most don't - many could not afford it. So again they squat."

"Singh's misfortune is in many ways a reflection of India's failure to meet the demands of a fast urbanizing country."

"A lack of planning in dozens of Indian cities - from small regional centers to major metropolises, such as New Delhi – coupled with the pressure of a growing population has led in the past few decades to a complete disregard for zoning or building laws."

"The result across India is chaotic and congested urban landscapes, where the poor often squat within view of gleaming glass towers."
[/quote]

I suspect the hurry to relocate areas of Delhi could be related to Delhi hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games and attempting to beautify the city in time for the arrival of overseas visitors.

from the Finances page of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games bid history page

[quote]
"Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi shall provide additional security; Ministry of Health and CGHS shall provide medical facilities, fire services, traffic services and additional services at customs and immigration. Additional efforts shall be made by the State Government to beautify the City. The flyovers, parks and other infrastructure, will also be upgraded in addition to what has already been envisaged in the Master Development Plan for the city."
[/quote]

and from Channel 4's website :
India's Commonwealth Games quest

[quote]
"Those who live in Delhi's ubiquitous slums are bracing themselves for their makeover, city authorities have taken to arriving in the middle of the night, knocking down their houses and clearing the way for new roads."

"People would like a world class city with better transport links, reliable electricity and water but only if they can live there."

"Authorities say there will be no litter, beggars or cattle will wander onto the streets in 2010, it doesn't seem sporting but the government wants a fast-tracked future and says nothing will slow it down."
[/quote]

I'm not sure Delhi will be transformed this quickly. And to what extent the impact of the speed of these changes will have on the local people and communities.

some videos of the Nangla Machi residents applying for the paperwork to ensure they are relocated

Art Law Forum notice of Supreme Court order for the demolition of Nangla Machi

[quote]
"The hon'ble bench stated that the power house, whose land had been
'encroached' by the inhabitants of Nangla had given "some date for
construction", and that there has to be "balance" - that the land has "uses
that cannot be denied", and that the more settlements are removed, the
"more they come". On the question of the timeline for this construction,
the hon'ble bench stated that whatever the case may be, "occupation of land
without legal authority cannot be allowed. Even people whose lands have
legal rights have been relocated" for projects."

"In response to a request on deliberation on the question of cut-off dates
for eligibility for relocation, the hon'ble bench stated, "from what was a
few tenemants" it has grown to "thousands", and "each tenemant had a
family". They have been "growing and growing", that it was becoming
difficult to "deal with the problem". It also stated, during the court
proceedings, that if public land is occupied, it will "have to be vacated",
that the right to shelter did not mean that "everyone be given shelter"."

"On the question of Ghewda being without any infrastructure or facilities
(where the inhabitants of Nangla Maanchi will be temporarily relocated),
the hon'ble bench stated that in Bawana, a resettlement colony, people had
sold off their plots of land. On the question of the difficulty of being on
the streets in this intense heat, the hon'ble bench stated that it is
"never comfortable to live out", that there will always be intense heat, or
cold, or rainfall in the city. The hon'ble bench suggested that people need
not come to Delhi, unless they can afford to live in the city."
[/quote]

the Nangla Blog has many more articles and stories from the people living in Nangla Machi

I'm back in Auckland again for work, and have been catching up on emails over the Easter weekend break. A couple of emails to the Sarai reader list have led me to read about workers in Gurgaon (an industrial city with many call centres near Delhi) and watch videos from Indian women in villages producing their own video magazines.

---

The first email was a blog post by Shivam Vij called "Who is a Bairagi?" asking questions about OBC (other backward classes) in India and do people there really know who these people are and how they live. The post was from a journalist who sometimes writes for Tehelka (the people's paper). The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has lists of names / castes for people classified as OBC. The Delhi list can be found here and full list for Indian regions found here. There's even a Questionnaire for consideration of requests for Inclusion and complaints of Under-Inclusion of backward classes in Central list - criteria such as Social, Economic and Educational.

---

Another email to sarai reader list highlighted a new law resource in India - Between Law and Justice: A Law and Society Reader, a DVD database with (so far) over 400 articles on topics such as :

1. Legal histories
Colonial
Postcolonial
2. Constitutional promises and perils
3. Siting struggles: human rights and social justice
4. Roti, kapadda aur makaan: law, livelihood and development
5. Supreme, yet fallible
6. Crime and punishment
7. Access to justice
8. Citizens/denizens
9. Edge of desire: law, gender and sexuality
10. In a minority
11. Green justice
12. Media law & free speech
13. Governance
14. Life of law amidst globalisation
15. Legal education
16. Interdisciplinary challenges
17. International law

---

Another email was a promo for a new documentary :

"INDIA UNTOUCHED - Stories of a People Apart" is a new documentary directed by Stalin K. and produced by Drishti. Drishti is a a collective of film & documentary makers in India.

Video Volunteers is part of the Creative Visions foundation and aims to setup Community Video Units and train local Community Video Producers to produce video magazines based on local issues which are screened monthly in 25 villages reaching more than 10000 people in these communities. Members of the communities speak about what matters to them and the CVU allows them to have a voice which is then shared with other members of the community.

http://videovolunteers.org/
http://videovolunteers.org/videogallery.php - to view the videos

India's Frontline magazine has a story about Video Volunteers.

http://videovolunteers.org/video_change.php
[quote]
The impact of social change media

Video empowers the poor with leadership and critical thinking skills and makes them partners in the development process. Even non-literates can learn to make videos in a matter of months. Here are some success stories from NGOs around the world:

* Bangladesh: Village women submitted video testimonies of the domestic abuse they have suffered and avoided intimidation in the village court.
* India: Rickshaw drivers made articulate video pleas that convinced local banks to give them loans for the first time.
* Mexico: Merely the site of a camera and fear of being caught caused police to withdraw from an illegal raid in Chiapas.
* Nigeria: A cholera outbreak was less severe in villages where a video on clean water was shown.
* Egypt: A group of women abandoned the practice of genital mutilation when they heard the call for change from community members' video interviews.
[/quote]

Other related organisations helping to teach people video making skills in India are :

Barefoot Workshops, a not-for-profit media and music based educational organization where adults and youth are taught video, photography, music, and art as a way to document their surroundings, make change in the world, and most importantly, make change within themselves.

Velugu is the largest poverty project in the state working in over 860 mandals in 22 districts and aims to reach 29 lakhs (1 lakh = 100 000) of the poorest of rural poor. Velugu enhances the poor's capacities to manage their resources and helps access public services. SERP's uniqueness is in the blend of professionals and trained activists working at the grassroots. SERP has committed professionals, Community Coordinators who are working with the poor communities. It also creates the necessary critical mass by building the social capital through facilitating the identification of community activists and trains them as barefoot professionals, as paravets, botanists, social activists etc. This cadre of rural development professionals are managed by the mandal federations.

Creative Visions - The Creative Visions Foundation was inspired by the life of Dan Eldon -- artist, adventurer and activist - who was killed in 1993 while covering the conflict in Somalia as a photojournalist for Reuters News Agency. He was 22. Founded by his family and friends, CVF is a publicly supported 501 (c) (3) organization that supports "creative activists" like Dan -- social entrepreneurs who use media, technology and the arts to create awareness of environmental, social or humanitarian issues -- and inspire positive change.

Drishti Media are a group of media professionals working on issues of gender justice, human rights and development. They use video, theatre, radio, other media and the arts to contribute to struggles for a just, humane and peaceful society.

Watch the video

I finally bought a sari! Ted (from work) took a video of the shop assistant showing me how to wear it but I accidently deleted it. so I tried it on that night to take another video so I'd remember how to do it later. it's dark blue/purplish in colour with pink/magenta highlights and gold trimming. I think I paid too much but I probably won't buy too many of these. though I am hoping to get a couple of cheaper cotton everyday versions rather than this silk one. they gave me a brochure in case I forget also.

http://flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/sari/

12/11/2006

01/05/2006

30/04/2006 - 2

Humayan's Tomb, Delhi

30/04/2006

gps data - world view

May 15 2006

gps data

Delhi to Agra / Taj Mahal

16 July 2006

more photos @ http://flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/tajmahal/

gps data - Delhi to Shimla

gps data : NZ, Australia, UK, India

There's so many crazy things in the papers here in Delhi, and then there's so many that don't make the papers or are buried so deeply that people probably don't find them. Luckily I came across the independent paper Tehelka whilst staying in the other hotel on my last trip. The articles in this paper were heart wrenching. Most of the time I kept thinking, what year is this? how can these things be happening in this day and age. Here's an example - this notice arrived via the sarai reader list (www.sarai.net)

[quote]
National Association For Social Action (NASAindia) in collaboration with National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) is organising a protest programme and will pay tribute by lighiting 1000 lights of Dignity to demand justice for the Bhotmange Family and for entire dalit community. i am inviting you in the said programme. please be there to raise the voice of justice and light a candle in favor of justice. there will be more than 5000 activists from all over india will be there.

10th Nov 2006 at 7:00 pm in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
[/quote]

For more details on Khairlanji issue please go through following web site.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main22.asp?filename=Ne111106Dalits_like.asp

Workshop @ Sarai: FLOSS Fellowships Final Presentations

Translocations 1: New media practices in the urban context

17th and 24th November 2006,Seminar Room, Sarai-CSDS

Facilitated by Tapio Makela, researcher and artist in residence at Sarai

This workshop looks at new media practices in urban contexts.

The introductory session will take place at SARAI/CSDS seminar room on Friday, November 17th 11.00-13.00/14.00-16.00.

Second session on November 24th, same time.

http://www.sarai.net

Workshop @ Sarai: FLOSS Fellowships Final Presentations

Translocations 1: New media practices in the urban context

17th and 24th November 2006,Seminar Room, Sarai-CSDS

Facilitated by Tapio Makela, researcher and artist in residence at Sarai

This workshop looks at new media practices in urban contexts.

The introductory session will take place at SARAI/CSDS seminar room on Friday, November 17th 11.00-13.00/14.00-16.00.

Second session on November 24th, same time.

http://www.sarai.net

Click here or on the image to listen to the audio recording

we had a chat at work about marriage and castes in India not long after arriving. it was interesting for us and the Indian guys to hear how it works and the differences between love marriages in the West and arranged marriages as well as the process involved in India. in these modern times, websites are used for arranging marriages, similar to the online dating sites that crowd the late night tv advertorial space.

some of my questions / comments sound quite dumb now that I know more about the place and people here but it was my first week in Delhi and didn't know much about Indian customs.

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

this evening we went to dinner at Azzurro at the Saket PVR. we spent most of the night gazing out the window at the people walking by. it's amazing how the people here can look right past other people as if they don't exist. I probably shouldn't have taken photos/video, but I wanted to remember it and this helps me to remember.

why indeed..

Saket, New Delhi, India

09/09/2006

music is Kal Ho Naa Ho from the KAL HO NAA HO movie soundtrack

on a related note, this is an interesting project by one of the Sarai Independent fellows 2006 - Home Street Home: A Street Child Survival Guide for Delhi

http://ifellows2006.wordpress.com/fellows/anjali-jyoti/

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

today we went to Red Fort in Delhi, India. 03/09/2006. it's a huge fort next to Old Delhi. there's a museum also with a few artefacts from Mughal days - some weapons, cloth and clothes as well as photos, paintings and and old copy of the Koran.

earlier we went to the spectacular Akshardham temple - no photos are allowed there though. it's a newly built temple with amazing carvings which tell ancient stories told around the grounds as well as intricate designs inside the temples. there's even a boat ride and cinema show and at night a light and sound show though I didn't see this. another time hopefully.

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

a slideshow video of a cycle rickshaw ride through old delhi & chandni chowk, showing the busy streets, markets, people and life. the place has a special character of it's own.

pictures taken 09/05/2006

music is Through the Loop by Pendulum