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Critical Readings in Human Rights and
Peace This is a book that mingles zeal for social transformation with a critical intellectual rigour that is resolute in interrogating the philosophical foundations of human rights; their political histories and their future under the new challenges attending on the emergent world order. I A Rehman in his foreword writes of how there have been a number of interesting developments in recent years in designing and conducting new courses within and outside the university, which seek to unshackle social sciences from the orthodoxy of academia. The introduction of courses like women’s studies and human rights has made it possible to redefine somewhat narrow parameters of social science disciplines. These works have rarely done justice to the experiences, needs and concerns of those sections of society who are unable to claim the rights granted to all citizens, weighed down as they are by the structural constraints that operate on the lives of the marginalised groups: as women, as the underclass, as Dalits, tribals and ethnic communities in the peripheral regions of South Asia. A course on human rights is not only appropriate but also a significant way of bringing all the marginalised groups of society into the framework of analysis, and further, bringing state actions — or inactions, and laws into scrutiny. The manner in which the reader is organised seeks to democratise interactions by breaking down the hierarchies of contemporary classroom practices operating in universities. For activists and academics working in the field of human rights, an emerging area of study, this volume is both a resource book and a workbook of sorts. According to Uma Chakravarty in the preface to the book, the study of human rights in this volume also goes beyond a linking of the margins as it acts as a complement to fields of study such as international relations, international law, international history, and jurisprudence, all of which have remained state centred in their approaches. The work of feminists in contributing to the understanding of human rights and of redefining ways of thinking about concepts has been significant and this has informed the design of the course as well as the making of this resource book: for example, the module on women in peace and conflict provides a discussion of women’s role in these processes and flags important dimensions of feminist conceptualisations of war.
Set in contemporary Communist-ruled West Bengal, Black Tongue explores the story of a young servant girl and her employer whom destiny brings together in an intricate dance of love and hate. Street-smart and sassy,16-year-old Maya has aspirations beyond her means. Then she disappears. Amrita, Maya’s employer and a social worker is charged with her death. The ubiquitous Party also begins to investigate the murder., a murder that turns out to be not quite what it seems. Maya believes that her black tongue has wrecked Amrita’s beautiful world. Hate simmers in her. Amrita, in a bid to save herself, turns to to ex-lover Paresh, the minister’s right-hand man. Maya’s brother, Naren, a cadre worker, sees an opportunity to make a fast buck in her disappearance. Is this part of a sinister bigger plan? Or are they shielding somebody. Through the novel, Anjana Basu explore the contradictions that connect middle class Kolkata and its slums with rural West Bengal.
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Black Tongue