Announcements
Dr. Asif Farrukhi
Interim Dean & Associate Professor,
School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Habib University Karachi
NAZIR AHMAD: A FABULIST FOR THE MODERN AGE
Generally regarded as the first novelist in Urdu literature, Nazir Ahmad was a man of letters with his writings covering a wide range from social themes, religious issues to a translation of the Holy Quran. Inability to find good textbooks for his children led him towards writing stories with a didactic purpose, but through this he introduced a new form of writing. His story of the tussle between a strictly religious father and his pleasure loving son in Tauba-tun-Nusooh and the struggle of an Indian Muslim who copies the ways of the English in Ibnul Waqt are two central images for representing the dilemmas of his age. He wrote profusely, although his novels have overshadowed his other work. The talk will explore the overall literary career of Nazir Ahmad, taking into consideration some of his lesser-known works.
Date: 8 May 2017, 2 pm
Venue: SAI, Room E 11
State Religion Debate and Blogger Killings: current legal and human rights issues in Bangladesh
 | Presentation and discussion with SARA HOSSAIN (Lawyer, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and very prominent human rights activist) NABA KUMAR RAHA (Director, Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali, Bangladesh) Venue: SAI, R Z10 Date: Monday, April 11, 2016, 2 pm Further Information is available on the poster. |
State Religion Debate and Blogger Killings: current legal and human rights issues in Bangladesh
As the war crime tribunals are still going on, recent developments have again triggered controversy and friction among political and social actors in Bangladesh. These have deepened the impression generated in the aftermath of the Shahbagh movement, namely that Bangladeshi society is being polarized as seldom before, with proponents of secularism on one side and those opting for Islam as guiding principle of state and society on the other. The killings of bloggers propagating secular orientations since February 2015, attacks against religious leaders of minority communities, and the failed petition to remove the declaration of Bangladesh as an Islamic State from the Constitution, are the most prominent recent issues in this regard. How is Bangladesh’s government, with its increasingly authoritarian practice in matters of press freedom etc., going to tackle these developments?
In this panel discussion, prominent lawyer SARA HOSSAIN and human rights activist NABA KUMAR RAHA will give introductions to their take on the current state of affairs. This will be followed by an open discussion.
The Guest Speakers:
SARA HOSSAIN is lawyer at the Supreme Court, Dhaka, and a prominent human rights activist. After studies in Oxford and Middle Temple, she joined the chambers of her father, the former Minister of External Affairs of Bangladesh, Dr. Kamal Hossain. Much of her work is of a voluntary nature, e.g. directing the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Blast). A few days ago she received the International Women of Courage Award of the US State Department.
NABA KUMAR RAHA is director of the Gandhi-Ashram in Noakhali (Bangladesh). The founding stone for the trust was laid by M. K.
Gandhi during the Noakhali riots after Independence. Communal harmony and Khadi work continue to be priorities of the Ashram. In 2014, Naba Kumar Raha received the "G. Ramachandran-Ikeda Award" from Delhi for his merits.
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