Sacred Sites Violence: Gujarat and the Challenge of Accountability and Hindu-Muslim Relations (9 Nov in New York)

Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion

This week at CDTR, we're excited to be hosting an array of fascinating speakers, including the Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, Nicholas Lemann, representatives from Human Rights Watch and The International Crisis Group, and two of India' foremost experts on the aftermath of religious violence, Shabnam Hashmi of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy and Vijay Parmar of the Jan Vikas Society.

Details on all of this and more are below, or at our website and Facebook. All events free and open to the public.

FEATURED EVENTS

Sacred Sites Violence: Gujarat and the Challenge of Accountability and Hindu-Muslim Relations


Wednesday, November 9, 12:00 – 4:00

Faculty House, 3rd Floor

INCLUDES: a screening of Parzania.

Wednesday, November 9, 6:00 - 10:00

Faculty House, 3rd Floor [Columbia Un

A workshop with Shabnam Hashmi (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy); Vijay Parmar (Jan Vikas Society); Christophe Jaffrelot (CERI, Sciences Po); Elazar Barkan (Columbia); Karen Barkey (Columbia); Rajeev Bhargava (Columbia)

The 2002 pogrom in Gujurat, India resulted in 2,000 mostly Muslim casualties. It was exceptional not only because of its magnitude, but also because of its spread to the countryside, where a large number of Muslims were attacked by their Hindu neighbors. After the pogrom, NGOs committed themselves to relief work, judicial assistance and attempts at reconciliating Hindus and Muslims. This workshop will engage NGO activists involved in reconciliation work to share their experience and assess the impact of their efforts. The workshop is part of the ongoing Sacred Sites project, organized by Karen Barkey and Elazar Barkan.

Parzania is an award-winning Indian film from 2005 based on the true story of ten-year-old Parsi boy Azhar Mody who disappeared during the violence in Gujarat. Starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sarikah, it won the 2006 Silver Lotus for Best Actress and 2006 Golden Lotus for Best Direction. Screening will be followed by a discussion by conference speakers, including: Shabnam Hashmi (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy); Vijay Parmar (Jan Vikas Society); Christophe Jaffrelot (CERI, Sciences Po); Elazar Barkan (Columbia); Karen Barkey (Columbia)

Co-sponsored with The Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life (IRCPL), the South Asia Institute, The Columbia University Seminar on History, Redress, and Reconciliation, and the Columbia University Institute for the study of Human Rights.