'Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai' or 'Muzaffarnagar Eventually'

(Hindi with English subtitles)

Film Screening and discussion

Tuesday 24^th February, 7.00pm

Room V211, SOAS Vernon Square Building,

Vernon Square, Penton Rise
London WC1X 9EW

On the thirteenth anniversary of the Gujarat genocide, with the survivors still waiting for justice, we invite you to the UK premiere of this powerful film about a horrific new ‘laboratory of Hindu Rashtra’ and how it is being resisted.

In September 2013, an anti-Muslim pogrom took place in the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of Western Uttar Pradesh in which more than 100 men, women and children were killed and some 80,000  displaced.  In the past, these two districts had seen relative harmony between Muslims and Hindus. What happened this time? ‘Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai…’ (Muzaffarnagar eventually...) explores this question examining the many facets of the massacre- the question of  women’s ‘honour’, which was used by organisations of the Hindu right, including BJP-RSS, to orchestrate communal violence,  the merging of caste identity politics within the larger Hindutva fold, the breakdown of the once powerful farmers’ union, the Bharatiya Kisan Union, whose survival hinged on the unity of Hindu and Muslim peasants,  the various aspects of Dalit politics in the districts, the dubious role of the Samajwadi Party, the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh and the feeling of complete alienation and marginalisation of the Muslim community. The film looks at how the massacre found its resonance in the 2014 Indian General election campaign. Finally, it tells of the continued and growing resistance in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts against the corporate-communal nexus. 

Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai  Nakul Singh Sawhney/2014/135 mins/Hindi with English subtitles

Nakul Singh Sawhney's earlier films include the award winning With a little help from my friends (2005),  Agaurav and Undecided, both in 2006,  Once upon a time in Chheharta and the acclaimed Izzatnagari Ki Asabhya Betiyaan (2012) on “honour” crimes in Haryana

Colonial Misogyny and Women's Activism in Palestine - Possibilities for Transnational Solidarity

How do the Israeli state's colonial strategies specifically target women?

What are the various forms of resistance in which women in Palestine are engaged?

How can we extend and strengthen initiatives for transnational solidarity

Dr Rania Masri

 Associate Director Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, American University of Beirut

Monday 2nd March 2015, 7-9pm

Rm B111 Brunei Building, SOAS Thornhaugh Street, Russell Sq

 London WC1H OXG

Rania Masri is a social-justice and anti-war activist.  Her writings and activism have centred on the occupation of Palestine, and the struggle against apartheid and racism.  She has also written and organized extensively on the sanctions on Iraq, and civil and environmental rights.  A partial listing of her writings and talks can be found on her personal website: http://greenresistance.wordpress.com/my-writings/

Organised by Freedom Without Fear Platform, Decolonising the Mind SOAS, SOAS Students' Union and SOAS Pal Soc