The crisis of electoral politics in South Asia: The case of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India
Le samedi 27 janvier 2024, à 10h30.
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The crisis of electoral politics in South Asia: The case of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India
(Panel) Discussions
January 27th, 2024
7:30 am PST / 10:30 am EST / 9 pm IST / Sharp
Registration required: tinyurl.com/yhk8yyup
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, face varied crises related to electoral politics. These panels are designed to address aspects of this issue that may differ in detail, but reflect a common democratic deficit that surfaces in most of South Asia despite elections. In India, majoritarian rule that demonizes minorities and trashes constitutional safeguards has come to influence election results, in a manner reminiscent of Nazi Germany. In Sri Lanka as well, majoritarianism is very evident. In Pakistan, the military establishment’s choice exercises an outsize influence on the electoral process and outcome, while Bangladesh has become a virtual one-party state as shown by the recent election. These factors and others will be highlighted and discussed during the panels that will also attempt to focus on the possible role the South Asian diaspora can play in support of those working for justice and the safeguarding of human rights in the region.
* Discussion 1: Leading up to 2024 elections in India: Ram Mandir and shifting of social fabric, 10:30 EST
Speakers:
Mathur Sathya is a public policy researcher, political consultant, educator and activist. His talk will focus on anti-caste organizing, the situation of Dalit-Bahujans and the politics of appropriation of BJP & RSS.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay is a Delhi-based journalist, author & playwright with a special interest in Hindu nationalistic politics. His talk will focus on the January 22th, 2024 inauguration of the Ram Mandir at the venue of the demolished Babri Masjid in 1992. He has written two books on the Babri Masjid-Ram temple dispute, one in 1994 and the other in 2021. The recent one is titled, The Demolition and the Verdict Ayodhya and the Project to Reconfigure India.
Prashant Bhushan is a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. His talk will focus on legal aspects and analysis of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir.
Ajay Gudavarthi, is a political theorist, analyst and columnist in India. He is associate professor in political science at Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is a regular contributor to leading news dailies in India that include The Hindu, The Telegraph, The Wire and Newsclick. Internationally, he has written for or appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera, The Time Magazine among others. His talk will focus on the broader political context of India and implications both for people in India and the diaspora.
Moderation: Sydney Bhalla, organizer with SADAC
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* Discussion 2: Crisis of electoral politics - Bangladesh; 12 noon EST
Speakers:
Rimon Tanvir Hossain is a senior editor at the Bengal Gazette and policy researcher. He founded the Bengal Gazette in 2018 as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and has a Masters in Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Kaliph Rahman is a senior editor at the Bengal Gazette and digital media artist. He studied Politics & Economics at the University of Winchester in 2020.
The Bengal Gazette is a global publication covering all topics related to Bengal. We are both a registered student publication at UC Berkeley since our founding in 2018 and a non profit media organization accepting contributors from across the world and irrespective/without institutional affiliation since 2020.
Hossain and Rahman will provide insights and analysis on the most recent election in Bangladesh and contextualize it within struggles for democracy in South Asia and the world.
Moderator: Sydney Bhalla
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* Discussion 3: Situation in Pakistan; 12:45pm EST
Ashar Mumtaz & Zahra Haider: A conversation on Balochi genocide, culture of fear in Pakistan and restrictions on overseas Pakistanis
Co-organized by South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC) and CERAS (South Asia Forum)
* We regret not having been able to confirm a speaker from Sri Lanka.
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