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Charkha, Delhi : Newsletter for May 2005
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Charkha!
The core of the Charkha vision lies in enabling the marginalised and the poor to use the various forms of communication tools toward the process of their development. Working toward this aim, Charkha has over the past few months entered into new forays that have led to some innovative associations. One such fruitful association has been with the India International Centre, New Delhi for an exhibition of paintings, Mountains of the Mind Journey with a Tibetan painter by young painter, Tenzin Jamyang (see website www.iicdelhi.nic.in). In fact, it has been the first exhibition of paintings outside Dharamsala for any Tibetan. Inaugurated by Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs. Shiela Dikshit on 23rd April 2005 at the IIC Annexe, the extraordinary success of this weeklong exhibition has proved yet again that the youth can go a long way with appropriate encouragement and guidance.
India has been a home for the Tibetans since 1959. In this light, the Tibetans not only face the hardships of everyday life, but also are living with the identity of the displaced. Charkha has attempted to go beyond the narrow definition of the marginalised, by providing them a platform through the neutral medium of paintings.
In another innovative first-time project, Charkha supported a research project by Dr. Rahul Ramagundam, during the last Assembly elections in February 2005, on the political situation in Bihar that has enabled a single man stay in power for 15 years even as the socio-economic conditions of the rural communities continue to deteriorate. In collaboration with the Indian Habitat Centre, the writings and the findings of this project were released into a monograph, Why does Bihar lack a capacity to aspire? Representation and Empowerment A field view on 2005 Bihar Assembly Elections on 13th May 2005 by Dr. T.B. Singh at the IHC. The research done in Bihar will help Charkha plan better for its future initiatives in rural communication in the state, for it seeks to understand the polity of Bihar from the perspectives of the rural poor and the marginalised.
While these initiatives have led to new and creative associations, the aim of these projects is to innovatively understand the process of development for the marginalised communities, so that we may empower them better through the use of communication tools.
Indrani Dey
Email - charkha@bol.net.in |
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