:: Drishti :: A South Asian Discussion Group ::
We are a registered student organization of Princeton University who meet to discuss issues related to South Asia. The idea is to learn about South Asia through discussion and debate.
Usually each meeting is based on some book (or articles/other references) which a member would like to discuss with others. She or he reads (all or part of) the book and gives an informal presentation to the rest of the group. It is followed by debate and discussion on the topic. Sometimes we screen documentaries (usually followed by discussion).
We welcome suggestions on topics, and look forward to more members making presentations on interesting books.
The meetings are held twice a month and will be announced here and in a mailing-list. To sign up for the announcements, please send an e-mail to Abhra Mitra (abhra at princeton dot edu).
Ḍṛṣti (Drishti) in Sanskrit means Vision.Monday, November 8 7 pm McCosh 46
Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat which followed the burning of 59 Hindus in the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on Feb 27, 2002. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscent of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s.
The film has won awards at international film festivals in Hong Kong and Berlin. It was initially denied certification by the Censor Board, on the grounds that it might incite communal violence (this certification was finally granted in early October).
[ More information about the film| Location Map ]
Rakesh Sharma is an independent documentary film-maker based in India. He began his career as an assistant director on Shyam Benegal's 'Discovery of India', and has had a long involvement with the broadcast industry ever since.
Sponsored by the Committee for South Asian Studies and the Office of Religious Life.
Thursday, October 21 7 pm Computer Science Small Auditorium (CS 105)
After four wars, Kashmiris and their land are divided between Pakistan and India, and the issue of Kashmir continues to divide the two nations. The tragedy of the conflict is also the tragedy of nationalism and miscommunication: each side tells the story of the injustice and violence of the other, and feels only the suffering of their own. This path-breaking independent documentary film, made in Pakistan, rejects the national ambitions of Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians alike, and offers a vision of a shared future for all of South Asia built on a common humanity.
[ More information about the film| Location Map ]
Pervez Hoodbhoy is a nuclear physicist and activist. He has been a faculty
member at the Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad
since 1973.
Zia Mian is a physicist and member of the research staff at Princeton
University's Program on Science and Global Security. His work focuses on
nuclear weapons and nuclear power issues, especially in South Asia.
Thursday, October 7 5:30-7:30 pm Bowl 2, Robertson Hall (Woodrow Wilson School)
There has been much controversy recently over the estimation of poverty in India. While some of this has to do with methodological questions, the issue is also extremely relevant to the ongoing debate on the impact of economic liberalization in India. Professor Deaton will present an overview of the evidence, and discuss its implications in the context of global poverty. The talk is intended for a general audience.
[ Background Reading | Location Map ]
Angus Deaton is Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. He has written extensively on health, economic development, the measurement of poverty and the analysis of household behaviour.
Struggles for Housing in India: Voices of the Urban Poor: a talk by Celine D'Cruz, coordinator of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), currently a visitor at the Yale World Fellows Program.
Friday, April 23 7 pm, Computer Science Small Auditorium Free and open to the public
The SDI is a global network of slumdweller organizations across Asia and Africa which seeks to combat urban poverty and to promote land security, housing finance, and basic amenities. Their goal is to achieve this by helping slumdweller organizations negotiate directly with state institutions. Celine became the coordinator of SDI after spending 15 years with the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), an NGO that works in more than 40 Indian cities and towns to build the capacity of organizations representing the poor.
More information
Drishti screened the fifteen films of TFSA 2004 over a week from Monday, March 22nd, to Sunday, March 28th. Event Announcement
Postponed from March 5. Documentary: Out of Status followed by discussion with the film-makers Pia Sawhney and Sanjna Singh.
Due to unforeseen circumstances the film-makers are unable to come on March 5, and hence we are postponing the screening to another day. New date TBA. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
In post 9/11 America, the curtailment of civil liberties in the name of national security has had a direct and enduring impact on individuals of Muslim background. This community, collateral damage in the war on terror, is further alienated by selective enforcement of new and existing immigration policy. Families are being separated and communities uprooted. The film follows three families as they fight to stay with their loved ones in the country that has become their home. The filmmakers have been awarded a NYSCA grant to continue work on this project. More details can be found at www.chaibreak.com.