Dear Friends,

I am in full solidarity with Panjab’s anti-Farm Laws protests by farmers, labour, arthiyas, young and old, children, women and men. However, we must also notice that arrogant BJP has remained adamant in its position and is increasingly pushing Panjab towards an immense crises.

Not only the farmer unions, the politicians, even the CM are right now banging their heads against a wall. Meanwhile, essential urea and DAP for farming potatoes and wheat is not reaching Panjab. There is an acute coal crises for power generation. There is huge backlog piling up with industry, could amount to Re 15 lakh crore loss as per ASSOCHAM.

In this scenario, and even in 2018 when the NITI Ayog head told Panjab to no longer be the granary of the nation, what should Panjab do?

From my understanding, I propose a few steps to move towards natural cooperative farming which will actually be a huge social and economic revolution in Panjab. Discussion invited.

I hope sense prevails. That does not mean we end protests. Instead, it means we buy time from the Centre to transition Panjab’s agrarian culture. Thank you Punjab Today for carrying this slightly long piece.

Please read here…

Dear Friends,

Prof. Gurnam Singh invited me to join a panel discussion with Manjit Kaur ji and Gurpreet Singh, President Global Sikh Council and President Institute of Sikh Studies, on Akaal channel UK. The program Panjab Farmers’ Crisis – Solutions was recorded live and broadcast worldwide. It is in Panjabi and about an hour long.

In the second segment, I speak about some solutions that lie ahead of us if Panjab stays together like it is now in its protests. Please listen here …

Dear Friends,
pleased to share that ‘PANJAB: Journeys Through Fault Lines’ is having a good run. It is now long-listed for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Non-Fiction Book Prize.

More here …

Fingers and toes crossed! Pray, Buy!

Dear Friends,

gives me a lot of satisfaction that PANJAB: Journeys Through Fault Lines is long-listed for the Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay award for non-fiction books by the New India Foundation, Bengaluru.

See more here …

Fingers Crossed! Wish the book well!

Dear Friends,

even if they appeared briefly, the farmer, labour, arthiya, small shopkeeper protests against Farm Laws are fast moving out of the pages of newspapers and TV channels. Yet, memory cannot be erased.

Thank you to Down to Earth and Rajat Ghai for choosing to run this extract from PANJAB: Journeys Through Fault Lines which talks about similar protests in the greater PANJAB area more than a century ago – in the early 1900s.

The piece questions what we call the ‘Green Revolution’, portrays the rebellion spearheaded by Sardar Ajit Singh Sandhu and in the second half a sort of listicle on the laws enacted by one the greatest lawmakers – Sir Chottu Ram of the Unionist Party.

The real tragedy of Panjab is our governments since Independence – both state and Centre – have ignored what their predecessors had set up. Unless core issues are solved, protests will continue.

Solidarity!

Please read more here …

Dear Friends,

On September 26, 5 pm to 7 pm IST, on invitation by Ishita Shah and her curatorial entrepreneurship ‘Curating for Culture – Constructing Personal Archives 2020′, I spoke on the Making of PANJAB.

The book PANJAB, its structure, its chapterisation, its voice and tone, all came from my journeys, the way the journeys were structured, the challenges I faced and Panjab’s hospitality. In this session we looked deeper into the process.

The talk is available here …

Dear Friends,

it was my pleasure yesterday to talk about one theme from my book PANJAB: Journeys Through Fault Lines with students and faculty of KREA University. Thank you Seema Dhody Natesan for the invitation.

Owing to the recent voting in Lok Sabha on the Farm Ordinances, the timing of the talk was perfect. Though I focused on the Ordinances only towards the end of my talk. My intention was to give the future generation a background to what ‘land’ means in an agrarian community like Panjab. A community that most urban folks left behind just a generation or two ago.

It was a meaningful conversation and I was impressed by the questions the students and faculty asked. More power to them!

Pictures: one of me on Seema’s computer and another of Seema on her computer.

Dear Friends,

I was honoured that on August 15, 8.30 pm IST, I was invited to a panel discussion with Harinder Singh and Tridivesh Singh Maini. This is upon invite from Sikhri – Sikh Research Institute – a premier Sikh organisation in the US.

73 years ago, two nation-states were carved by the British mapmaking: Hindustan and Pakistan. The historical Sikh Homeland in The Panjab was divided by the Radcliffe line. In now truncated Indian Panjab, a proportion of the Sikhs led many campaigns to fight for economic, political, state, human, and religious rights. What’s next to secure the Sikh aspirations and the Panjab’s autonomy?

Please listen to the conversation here …

Dear Friends,

Manjul Bajaj and my career have almost run parallel. My first book Sepia Leaves came out very close to her debut Come Before Evening Falls. We were both nominated for the Hindu Prize for Fiction in 2013, she for Another Man’s Wife and I for Roll of Honour.

Last year, when I went to my publisher’s office in August to finalise the cover page of PANJAB: Journeys Through fault Lines, I saw Manjul’s book In Search of Heer ready for publication.  In between, Manjul has been prolific and written children’s books too. It has taken me a few months to review In Search of Heer, but here it is.

Please read the review here …