SAJAforum tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-345526 2012-01-23T12:04:38-05:00 The official SAJA blog - news and analysis for anyone interested in media issues and more affecting South Asia, the South Asian diaspora and members of SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association. New stuff daily. TypePad A journalist’s 12-year crusade finally leads to arrest in woman’s honor killing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451dd1469e20162ffffbd77970d 2012-01-23T12:04:38-05:00 2012-01-23T12:04:38-05:00 By: Jasmeet Sidhu (@JasmeetSidhu), a student at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Nearly twelve years ago, an Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu was found beaten and dead in a rural ditch outside of Ludhiana in Punjab, India, after secretly... Jasmeet Sidhu

By: Jasmeet Sidhu (@JasmeetSidhu), a student at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Nearly twelve years ago, an Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu was found beaten and dead in a rural ditch outside of Ludhiana in Punjab, India, after secretly marrying a poor rickshaw driver.

When journalist Fabian Dawson, a previous recipient of SAJA’s Daniel Pearl Award, broke the story, he immediately suspected something amiss in Jaswinder’s death. Teaming up with Harbinder Singh Sewak, publisher of the South Asian Post, Asian Pacific Post and Filipino Post newspapers in Vancouver, Dawson’s suspicions led the duo to a decade long crusade around the world to find the truth about Jaswinder’s death.

Vapr_20100609_a004_stillnojusticef_112164_mi0002

After 10 trips to India, three documentaries, a made-for-TV movie, a website called justiceforjassi.com, and a book of the same name, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued arrest warrants on January 6 against Jaswinder’s mother and maternal uncle, who are currently being held in custody pending an extradition hearing to India where they face charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

Jaswinder’s death brought to light the dark and harrowing world and culture of violence against women amongst some South Asians in North America. Dawson spoke to SAJA about the recent arrests, his own personal dedication to seeking out the truth, and what happens next in Jaswinder’s story.

In addition, click here to read the Vancouver Province column that Dawson wrote on the case.

How did you feel when you heard about the arrests of Jaswinder’s mother and uncle, and their pending extradition hearing to India?

I was relieved, but also surprised at the timing of the incident. It has been over 11 years. We had just released our book, “Justice for Jassi” three weeks earlier, and we were working with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) when the police decided to execute the warrant. The big question is, why aren’t they charged in Canada? They have just been arrested at the request of Indian authorities to be extradited to face charges. So while there is some sense the wheels are justice are moving, it is moving very slowly.

After news broke of Jaswinder’s death in 2000, what was your first indication that there was more to her death than met the eye?

I went to her house to cover the murder story, another tragic story of a Canadian killed overseas. I had no idea what was behind this thing. But as I was talking to the Uncle at her house, he kept saying, “we are not involved, we didn’t do anything, we never killed her.” It was an unsolicited response. When I got back to my office, I started phoning India, and it wasn’t very long for the story to unravel, with the Indian police saying they suspected it was an honor killing orchestrated by the mother and uncle in Canada.

In reading about the investigative work you took on to find the truth about Jaswinder’s death, it sounded at times you became less of a journalist, and more of a personal crusader.

You don’t normally do this. In every journalist’s life, one or two stories tend to stick with you. Sometimes in journalism you can’t be a mirror for social change and reflect what is going on. You also have to be a vehicle for social change.

What was it about this story that led you to stick with it for more than a decade?

First was the innocence of the girl, but mostly it was because the story kept developing at every turn of the way. The story had a life of its own. After my original story, it kept being followed up around the world because others were fascinated by the sensational killing. It gave an insight into the culture clash in the South Asian community in North America. It’s a curious phenomenon, as in the people in India are far more modern and Westernized than some families that live here. Families live in cocoons and bubbles, and manifest the stuff against the children who have grown up in the Western world.

What did you learn about honor killings in the process of reporting this story?

I am a firm believer there is no honor in honor killings. Honor-based violence like the Jassi case are very extreme. I’m confident that more than 95% of honor-based violence goes undetected. It’s not honor, but it’s greed and money, wrapped around honor, especially in the South Asian community. It’s also an issue that happens in a variety of communities.

What’s next in the case?

We expect (the mother and Uncle) to apply for bail hearing and be released. If they face charges, that might take between 5-10 years. The story is not going to go away anytime soon.

 

 http://www.sajaforum.org/2012/01/a-journalists-12-year-crusade-finally-leads-to-arrest-in-womans-honor-killing.html GLOBALIZATION: OWS in South Asia tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451dd1469e2015438c7d2b1970c 2012-01-04T11:53:49-05:00 2012-01-04T11:53:49-05:00 When the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began on Sept. 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, it was hard to imagine that the protest would spread across many cities in the U.S., let alone go viral and become global. Ravi Kumar

When the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began on Sept. 17, 2011, in New York City's Zuccotti Park, it was hard to imagine that the protest would spread across many cities in the U.S., let alone go global.

Here's a look at OWS in various South Asian countries.

OWS IN INDIA: 2011 was a year of anti-corruption and "people power" protests long before anyone had heard of Zuccoti Park. Therefore, the traction that OWS has received in India has been mixed. 

Occupy Dalal Street was launched in October. Dalal Street of Mumbai is like the Wall Street of New York, but the "ODS" has failed to gain momentum. In October, Hindustan Times reported that ODS Facebook page had only 36 likes. As of today, the Facebook page has only 192 likes and it was last updated on Nov. 4.  However, other, more individualized protests have arisen in other parts of the country.

The Times of India recently reported that the movement  “already incubated a 'community-owns-resources' experiment at Hazaribagh in Bihar” (which is India's 12th largest state).

The Indian version of OWS is also against corporations. According to an article in India Times, the Indian version of OWS “has emboldened those Indians who oppose the World Bank-piloted economic models designed to satiate appetite of big corporations and re-colonizers."

Mining companies are a particular target. Banwari Lal Sharma, the leader of the Bihar protesters, said, "Our alternative model allows the local communities to partner in economic growth, which is otherwise appropriated by the corporates."

Protesters in India are learning lessons from what they consider American failures.  Speaking against corporate takeover, Sharma said, "If retail chains like Walmart can benefit farmers, why 14 lakh farmers of America are surviving on heavy government subsidy?" ("Lakh" is a Hindi unit of measure for 100,000, so he's referring to 1.4 million US farmers).

On a larger level, the anti-corruption movement pioneered by Anna Hazare in India is being compared to the Occupy Wall Street movement. In September, CNN reported that the anti-corruption movement has gained momentum but it has a long way to go. However, Hazare did force the government to respond by going on a hunger strike.

According to CNN: 

“The Indian Parliament passed a resolution last week supporting many of the protestors' demands. In turn, Anna Hazare, the 74-year-old leader of the movement, called off his 13-day hunger strike after the resolution acknowledged his central demands, including the creation of the post of the ombudsman known as the Jan Lokpal.”

OWS in Pakistan:

Pakistanis marched towards the World Bank offices in Islamabad and protested against capitalism. In October, Press TV reported that Pakistanis are against “privatization” and “neo-liberalization”:

“Our serious problem is the policies of new liberalists and capitalists, for example the privatization of the telecommunication company has been a total disaster, restructuring of railway company has been a disaster and the big dams we built with World Bank money has also been a disaster environmentally, socially and economically,” said a protester.

Dawn.com, a Pakistani media outlet published an article with a headline “Occupy Wall Street irrelevant to Pakistan.” The article makes an argument that since the stockholders of KSE, the financial hub of Pakistan, are not as wealthy as Wall Street or Dalal Street stockholders, there is no reason to have a movement against capitalism in Pakistan. The article also states that it is really hard to figure out who is wealthy in Pakistan: “No one in Pakistan can name, with absolute confidence, the richest tycoon.”

However, the general public in Pakistan seems to know what they are protesting against. A video by The Express Tribune shows students and professors from Karachi University protesting against economic inequality. 

Enhanced by Zemanta