LOVE AFTER BABEL AND OTHER POEMS – CHANDRAMOHAN S

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged caste, Chandramohan S, colonialism, creative writing, culture, Dalit, Deeptha Achar, featured, Hayan Charara, Hindu right, imperialism, India, intersectionality, islamophobia, Letters to Namdeo Dhasal, Love After Babel and Other Poems, Malayalam, migration, Muslims, oppression, poetry, post-colonial, radical politics, resistance, South Asia, translation.

By Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

The following was originally published as the afterword to the collection Love after Babel and Other Poems by Chandramohan S, published in January 2020 by Daraja Press. The collection won the Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Outstanding Book Award in January of this year. You can order a copy direct from Daraja Press here.

They ask me why do you write poems?
I write poems – the people have the right to…bear arms.

These lines, taken from his one-stanza masterpiece ‘Why Do I Write Poetry?’, encapsulate the very essence of Chandramohan S’ approach to his craft in his third collection, Love after Babel and Other Poems. These poems are unapologetically weapons, fighting against the pre-modern notion of caste in all its insidious 21st century glory.

THE FARMERS’ MOVEMENT PROTEST

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Inter|national and tagged art, BJP, Delhi, drawing, farmers movement, farmers protest, farming laws, featured, image, India, Modi, Narendra Modi, original art, privatisation, rebel politik, sketch.

by V Arun Kumar / Rebel Politik

Foreground, left: a woman holding a sickle in one hand and a large red flag in the other, and wearing a green scarf over a yellow khadi; behind her, a man in a light orange khadi, a light blue turban, a beard, and raising his fist; in front of her are three ears of corn growing out of green stalks.

Background, center to right: two red farming tractors drawn as if moving up a slight incline, towards the right; one is partially behind the two human figures, and bears a small red flag; the other is fully visible, and bears a small green flag.

Above the two tractors is the text: Unite against corporate slavery of farmers.

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UN VOTES TO COMBAT NAZISM – BUT THE WEST OPTS OUT

Posted on January 2, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged china, cold war, diplomacy, EU, fascism, featured, foreign policy, ideology, India, King Salman, Narendra Modi, nationalism, Nazism, Neo-Nazis, Neo-Nazism, politics, racism, Russia, Saudi Arabia, second world war, socialism, uk, Ukraine, UN, united nations, USA, West, white supremacism, xenophobia.

By Howard Green

On December 16th, the UN General Assembly passed a proposal entitled ‘Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’. 130 out of 193 UN members voted in favour of it, and only two against: the United States and Ukraine. Similarly alarmingly, all EU member states and the UK abstained from the vote. Why are the nations who take so much pride in having defeated Nazism 75 years ago now refusing to vote in favour of combating it?

NORWICH CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME TRIAL

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged arts, basic income, Bolsa Familia, Brazil, Brexit, canada, Catherine Rowett, child benefit, child poverty, clive lewis, Community, Covid-19, economics, featured, Finland, food banks, gender equality, Green Party of England and Wales, India, Jamie Osborn, Labour, mental health, Namibia, netherlands, norwich, Norwich City Council, norwich green party, Norwich Labour Party, organise, Permanent Fund of Alaska, Sierra Leone, spain, Switzerland, taxes, trade unions, training, UBI, UBI Lab Network, UBI Lab Norfolk, Uganda, uk, unemployment, Universal Basic Income, Universal Credit, welfare system, work.

By Sean Meleady

Norwich City Council has backed calls for the government to support a pilot for Universal Basic Income (UBI), which would trial providing a monthly income to all residents of the city, following a recent debate at City Hall. City councillors argued that all residents should receive this fixed monthly amount regardless of employment status, wealth and marital status.

THE BARGING BUDDHI AND OTHER POEMS – SUNITA THIND – REVIEW

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged Bhangra, Black Pear Press, colonialism, colourism, cultural appropriation, family, featured, feminism, Henna, India, marital rape, nature, ovarian cancer, patriarchy, poetry, Punjabi, review, sisterhood, Sunita Thind, The Barging Buddhi and Other Poems, white supremacy.

By Carmina Masoliver

Content warning: brief references to sexual assault

The Barging Buddhi and Other Poems takes us on a journey from human expectations that are created within a set culture, to more cosmic climbs, from which we are brought back to earth with the fragility of life, to then be connected to a wider sense of nature. Sunita Thind’s poetry is rich, sensual and visual. Although her numerous questions throughout the collection hint at self-doubt and uncertainty, she shows a strong sense of voice that is not easily contained, like the ‘pyrotechnical parrots’ she describes, how humans ‘clip their wings to capture the fury of their rainbow constellations / humans devouring them like black holes / sequestered in monster iron cages.’ The collection is strongest when assertive, using imperatives: ‘delete the tears’, ‘stain me’, maroon me.’

INDIA’S DEMOCRACY IS AT BREAKING POINT

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged anti caa, BJP, blackouts, CAA, citizenship, deomcracy, featured, India, Islam, islamophobia, Jammu, justice, Kashmir, Narendra Modi, nationalism, protests, religion, rights, student protests, unrest.

by Ella Wade-Jones

On 12th December India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed the Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA) into law. The series of protests that have erupted and brutal crackdown that has ensued has thrown the country into a state of flux. The highly controversial Citizen (Amendent) Act seeks to fundamentally amend the definition of illegal immigrants in India. Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi and Buddhist immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years. Muslims are not included on the list.

LEGACY OF EMPIRE: DARKEST DAYS OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged Anjum Zamrooda Habib, apdp, article 370, Azadi, BJP, british empire, communication, communicaton, Eid al Adha, extremism, featured, Gilgit-Baltistan, Gujarat, Hindu, imperialism, independence, India, islamophobia, israel, Jammu, jkccs, Kashmir, Kunan, Kupwara, Lord Mountbatten, Modi, Muslim, nationalism, Pakistan, palestine, Poshpora, propaganda, Rajputan Rifles, rape, terrorism, Tibet.

by Sarah Edgcumbe, Saba Azeem and Nidhi Suresh

CW: rape, torture

Since 5th August 2019, the Indian government has shut down Kashmir in the most repressive and terrifying fashion possible. 48,000 Indian troops have been moved into the state, making it, with 70,000 Indian troops already posted there, the most densely militarized zone on Earth. These troops are now operating under a “shoot-to-kill” policy and hundreds of Kashmiri human rights activists, academics and business leaders have been arrested. Meanwhile, the Indian government has simultaneously imposed a media and communications blackout, cutting off the internet and thus preventing Kashmiris from being able to communicate their suffering in real time to the rest of the world. Pakistan too revoked state subject rule from Gilgit-Baltistan (part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir) in 1974, in a move similar to India’s current strategy. However, in doing so, there was no media black-out nor curfews imposed. India, on the other , has jailed all Kashmiri leadership, transferring them to jails in New Delhi, as well as, according to a magistrate speaking on condition of anonymity, arresting and detaining over 4,000 Kashmiri citizens since 5th August.

POWER, FOOD AND LAND: HOW THE RICH FEW HAVE MONOPOLISED FOOD AND AGRICULTURE – PART 1

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged agriculture, Andreas Gucklhorn, environment, EU subsidies, farming, featured, food, food system, India, intensive farming, Joao Marcelo Marques, Lotty Clare, middle class, monsanto, The World Bank Group.

by Lotty Clare

Land is a topic that is not at the centre of political news or conversations in the UK, yet land and how we value it is central to environmental, social and economic sustainability worldwide. Land is central to food security, culture, conflict and peace, and society as a whole. Food is a human right, and yet it is a commodity privy to the powers of the market, and not guaranteed for many people. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few mega corporations who monopolise global agriculture and food systems.

THE NUCLEAR STANDOFF

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged china, geopolitics, India, international relations, Iran, missiles, North Korea, nuclear power, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, oil, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, US.

by Gunnar Eigener

Amid simmering tensions between India and Pakistan, in parallel with the Trump White House determined to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and Russia’s illegal missile, which effectively ended the INF Treaty, climate change might not be the nail in the coffin; human society might just jump straight into the furnace.

AGAINST POPULAR ENVIRONMENTALISM

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged canada, capitalism, climate change, coffee cups, corporate, ecology, economy, environment, environmentalism, Erik Solheim, Europe, featured, grassroots, India, levy, Mark Fisher, Michael Gove, Naomi Klein, Narmada, Narmada Bachao Andolan, NGO, non profit, Paris Climate Agreement, policy, private sector, profit, science, South Africa, Tar Sands, uk, UN.

by Scott McLaughlan

The earth is facing major – and quite possibly irreversible – environmental catastrophe and ecological breakdown. No need to panic. The Paris climate agreement was a resounding success, was it not?

On the one hand, one set of researchers estimate that at our current trajectory, we have about a 5% chance of remaining below the 2C threshold set out in the Paris agreement in 2015. On the other, a recent audit of the agreement conducted by the United Nations (UN) made it clear that even if the Paris agreement was to be met in full, it won’t be enough of a shift to avoid a total planetary clusterfuck of epic proportions. In his statement on the matter, head of UN Environment Erik Solheim suggested that “if we invest in the right technologies, ensuring that the private sector is involved, we can still meet the promise we made to our children to protect their future”.

What if the “private sector” is the problem? In order to decode the question we need to be clear what the private sector is, what its objectives are, and the kind of power it has over environmental policy.Continue Reading

India

LOVE AFTER BABEL AND OTHER POEMS – CHANDRAMOHAN S

By Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

THE FARMERS’ MOVEMENT PROTEST

by V Arun Kumar / Rebel Politik

UN VOTES TO COMBAT NAZISM – BUT THE WEST OPTS OUT

NORWICH CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME TRIAL

By Sean Meleady

THE BARGING BUDDHI AND OTHER POEMS – SUNITA THIND – REVIEW

By Carmina Masoliver

INDIA’S DEMOCRACY IS AT BREAKING POINT

LEGACY OF EMPIRE: DARKEST DAYS OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY

POWER, FOOD AND LAND: HOW THE RICH FEW HAVE MONOPOLISED FOOD AND AGRICULTURE – PART 1

THE NUCLEAR STANDOFF

AGAINST POPULAR ENVIRONMENTALISM

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By Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

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