INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE V O L U M E X X IV
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Price Re. 1/- INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE v o l u m e X X IV. No. 1 january-february, 2010 IIC Annual Day EXHIBITION, FILM and TALK: To Mark the Centenary of Dr. Homi Bhabha, January 22 The IIC Annual Day was celebrated as a centenary tribute to the legendary physicist, Dr. Homi J. Bhabha. This included an exhibition, a film and a special lecture by Professor M.G.K. Menon. The exhibition, with photographs from the TIFR, brought alive the close personal bond between Nehru and Bhabha. Established during a visit to England by ship, when Indira Gandhi was also present, this bond led to the formation of the TIFR and the propelling of India into the nuclear age. Indira Gandhi once said that no matter how busy her father was, he always had time for Homi Bhabha. The film In Love with India revealed the multi-faceted Dr. Homi J. Bhabha personality of Homi Bhabha. This was followed by Professor Menon’s lecture, titled ‘Homi Bhabha—A The arts he enjoyed, but science was what he wanted Modern Leonardo da Vinci’. He observed that, like to do professionally. He realized early on that he Leonardo da Vinci, Bhabha was a polymath. He also wanted to study Physics and his role model was spoke of the strong link between Bhabha and C.D. Paul Dirac. In Cambridge, Bhabha achieved the Deshmukh and C.V. Raman, who said that ‘Bhabha explanation of relativistic exchange scattering called is a great lover of music, a gifted artist, a brilliant ‘Bhabha scattering’, among other works. But when engineer and an outstanding scientist’. he came to India, he realized the role of science in national development. Born on October 30, 1909, Homi Bhabha’s life had five distinct phases. The first phase (1909-1927) Professor Menon listed the characteristics of consisted of early studies in India; the second phase Homi Bhabha as intensity, deepest commitment to (1927-1939) included studies at the University of nationalism, realization of the importance of energy Cambridge; 1939-1945 was the continuance of for development, and vision of abundant economic outstanding research at Bangalore’s Indian Institute nuclear power. Underscoring the role of science, the of Sciences. From 1945 to his tragic death in an importance of new areas, of institution building, aircrash in1966, Bhabha dedicated himself to building and determination were some other remarkable institutions, setting up the atomic energy programme characteristics. and focused on the development of electronics. RACHNA JOSHI history diary past. This paradox underscores the importance of Pakistani Punjab cultural policies for national identity formation. TALK: Language and Nationalism in This was the crux of the presentation as she actually Pakistan – The Case of Punjab investigated the language-culture-nation linkage Speaker: Dr. Alyssa Ayres through the paradigmatic case of Pakistani Punjab, the hub of ‘Punjabiyat’ (Punjabi culture), adopting Chair: Professor Alok Rai, January 7 ‘Urdu’ and forsaking Punjabi. Contrary to its Indian counterpart, the Pakistani Punjab is hegemonic, Even though Pakistan was founded in 1947 as a militarily as well as politically, a fact that makes cultural homeland for South Asia’s Muslims, it has been accreditation an imperative for them. beset with conflict and multiple fissures since its inception. Dr. Alyssa Ayres examined the Like several pacifists on both sides of the border, historical vicissitudes right down to the current Ayres advocates the usage of cultural commonalities spectre of Talibanization, and also explored the as a mode to forge peace. In this context, she importance of culture to political legitimacy. As mentioned ‘Ajoka’, a theatre group that stages Punjabi she went over the history of the region, she said plays highlighting commonalities on both sides of the early leaders selected the Urdu language to craft a border. In his concluding remarks, Alok Rai praised national identity, although it was the language of a Nehru who allowed India to be split up into linguistic miniscule percentage of Pakistanis mainly because territorial configurations. it was synonymous with the great Islamic cultural GURPREET MAINI In the discussion with Ashis Nandy, it was mentioned that the Green movement—very prominent in the Gandhi and Iran June elections—is connected with the colours of Islam and Shi’ism. This civic movement comprises three TALK: The Gandhian Movement in Iran main groups: the intellectuals, students and women Speakers: Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo; and and has gained a moral legitimacy. Iran is presently Professor Ashis Nandy divided between the moral legitimacy of this civic Chair: Professor Shail Mayaram, January 6 movement, and the illegitimate or coercive power of the theocracy. This is why the Green movement may become politically strong in the future. A well-known Professor of Philosophy from the University of Toronto, Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo is Iran-India relations are centuries old and Gandhian an ardent admirer of Gandhi. He began his lecture thoughts have an Islamic and Shi’ite connection, by pointing out that the principles of the Islamic said Jahanbegloo. Gandhi had once declared that Republic of Iran are an outcome of a revolution Pathans were the best satyagrahis. The spirit of and popular sovereignty. Since justice and freedom Shi’ism in today’s Iran is non-violent and the present are Republican ideals, political authoritarianism, language of resistance comes from Iranian rituals economic stagnation, a high degree of corruption, and Islamic theology. Modern technology, such as and growing violence have eroded popular support the internet, help to widen these Republican feelings for the theocratic regime in Iran. This is why the among civil society groups and this development Gandhian movement has special significance in may lead to change. Iran today. BERYL ANAND 2 diary art free to mix. New exchanges occurred between Urdu and (variants of) Hindi, even as reformists tried to Frontiers of History establish their separate paths: poems oscillated between TALK: Print and Pleasure – Bazaar Poets and Urdu and Braja; barahmasas appeared in Urdu, kissas in Bestsellers of Nineteenth Century Hindi/Urdu Devanagari; the two scripts were sometimes printed in Speaker: Dr. Francesca Orsini parallel. The democratization of reading came through Chair: Professor Vasudha Dalmia, January 15 vividly, from Sayyid Ahmad Khan mocking the pretensions of those with mere chapbook literacy, to a Whetting listeners’ appetites for her new book, Print reader noting how a serial like Fasana-e Azad benefited and Pleasure, Francesca Orsini described how in the those who would not otherwise read newspapers. late nineteenth century registered books formed but Chandrakanta’s investment in wonder over character- islands in a sea of cheap songbooks, barahmasas and building may have meant it later failed Ram Chandra tales. They became critical in expanding the reading Shukla’s criteria for literature, but not, Orsini public, and feeding new forms like theatre, as seen contended, that it relied purely on the ingredients of from Radheshyam Kathavachak’s autobiography. the dāstān to hold readers. It drops dilated description Impressive reprint figures, notwithstanding the in brief, fast-paced chapters—arguably influenced challenges of attracting predominantly illiterate by the new theatre, naturalizes and familiarizes the audiences attuned to performance, suggest a process strange by providing mechanical explanations for of cross-fertilization: ‘women’s songs’ were now tilism or naming local trees, and effects a Hinduization circulated among bazaar poets, in a supra-local dialect. and domestication of the dāstān with caste framing Books brought genres together, stimulating, as with romance and inheritance driving plot. Parsi theatre, eclectic tastes, that the self-educated felt NIHARIKA GUPTA new wave, parallel cinema, item number, infotainment, Annual C.D. Deshmukh and so on. Lecture Quoting cinema historians and social thinkers of TALK: Tradition, Modernity and Post Modernism today, as well as Tagore in Indian Cinema who had recognized it as a Speaker: Shyam Benegal new art with great potential; Chair: Professor M.G.K. Menon, January 14 Shyam Benegal constrained then by technology and financial limitations, Benegal defined stereotypes of tradition (Indian, good), and modern This annual flagship lecture was given by film (Western, evil) in early popular cinema, which was director Shyam Benegal, who, like his mentor Satyajit meant for mass entertainment. Modernism brought Ray, inspired a whole new way of looking at and big ideas—equality, industrial growth, democracy— interpreting the content of Indian cinema, almost as that motivated him and would engage more serious far back as the seventies. Recalling the start of his audiences. Today, the ‘modern’ has been propelled personal journey, which followed Nehru’s view that into the ‘post modern’ with the deluge of mass communication must carry a hidden message and be media, and a market-driven economy that motivates a catalyst for social change, Benegal analyzed Indian the content of Indian films. Moral distinctions have cinematic trends from the perspective of his own failed. Success is the new buzzword, and rural life has consistent ‘socialist’ agenda, wryly commenting on been pushed aside by a glamorous urban culture. the labels that have become part of the vocabulary: RAZIA GROVER 3 eco diary elaborated Latin America’s authoritarian tradition by categorizing it as: personalized, institutionalized and Violence and Memory populist authoritarianism.