Jai Bhim Comarade Screening

Saturday, March 2, 2013
2:00 pm
MIT Building 32 - Room 155. 32 Vassar St. Cambridge

In 1997, a statue of Ambedkar in a Dalit (Untouchable) colony in Mumbai was desecrated. Ambedkar was a central figure in the Dalit liberation movement in India. As angry residents gathered, police opened fire, killing 10. Vilas Ghogre, a leftist poet, hanged himself in protest.

Jai Bhim Comrade, shot over 14 years, follows the poetry and music of a subaltern tradition of reason that has, from the days of the Buddha, fought superstition and religious bigotry with poetry and art.

With their potent mix of revolutionary politics, Dalit liberation ideology, and performing art, the artists' collective (Kabir Kala Manch) has been subject to intense state repression. Many of the artists featured in the film are now underground to escape arrest. For more info visit www.kabirkalamanch.wordpress.com

Anand Patwardhan has been making investigative documentaries in India for over four decades. His films have often faced state censorship and the wrath of religious fundamentalists.

Co-sponsored by:

MIT Program in Women's and Gender Studies
MIT History Department
South Asia Forum at MIT
Ambedkar International Center (Boston)
The Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia
Association for India's Development, MIT & Boston Chapters

Sunday, March 3, 2013
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
MIT Building 24-121

This event will feature three presentations on Soni Sori, a young tribal teacher from Chattisgarh, India who is a victim of sexual assault and mistreatment. The presentations will discuss the misconduct against Soni Sori, the role of the Indian government, and the details of the Justice Verma Committee report.

This talk is organized by WRise. Moved by the recent Delhi rape crisis, a group of us decided to get together to start a Women's Initiative, WRise. This new initiative is led by women and consists of women who currently reside in the Boston area. In this initiative, we hope to discuss universal issues that affect women and to create a platform where women can freely engage in open dialogues to voice their concerns about issues that affect them.

To get involved with WRise, please contact us at wriseboston@gmail.com. For more information about Soni Sori, see http://sonisori.wordpress.com/

Monday, March 11, 2013
7:00 pm
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Building 4, Room-237

Shweta Narayan is a researcher and an environmental justice activist; she coordinates the Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM) program for The Other Media and has been associated as a volunteer for the campaign for justice for the survivors of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy since 2002. As part of CEM, she provides technical and legal advice to pollution-impacted communities. As a Right to Information activist she has unearthed and used information regarding violations of industries in an effort to hold regulatory agencies and industries accountable, and to assist communities in their quest for their pollution-free environment.

On March 11th she will be talking about overall industrial pollution -current scenario in India and will also film a documentary on Kodaikanal and mercury exposure to workers. Besides, March 7th marks the 12th year of struggle the workers in Kodaikanal are going through against HLL – on this note the talk will also feature on how toxic contamination is perceived in India.

On March 10th Shweta will talk informally at the AID meeting (at Harvard Science center- room 309) on "Industrial Pollution - 1000 Bhopals..."

More details, visit http://www.aidboston.org/.

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