Written by Louis Werner Photographed by Shahidul Alam / DRIK
Split not quite in half by the border between India to the west and Bangladesh to the east, crowning the Bay of Bengal, the world?s most complex river delta works like South Asia?s showerhead?one the size of Lebanon or Connecticut. Fed by Himalayan snowmelt and monsoon runoff, carrying a billion tons a year of Asian landmass suspended as sediment, the three great flows of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna rivers all end in one vast estuarial tangle, one of Earth?s great water filters, the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans. Continue reading “Forest of Tides: The Sundarbans”
The photographs I had shortlisted for exhibit in the Robi Photo School Contest
Overall winner. Photo: Mohammad Fahim Ahamed Riyad
The photographer wins a one year scholarship to study at Pathshala Photo: Tajul Islam Khan Photo: Sucharit Biswas Mithu
I am starting this project with the hope that people across the globe can help me identify and hopefully trace as many people as possible in these photographs. I shall be regularly uploading images and linking them up with my social media. Please comment, link, tag, share these images and help me locate the people in them. Please also feel free to share insights into the situation, particularly if you happen to have been present.
I would like to complete this by 2021, when I would like to curate a major show to commemorate 50 years of Independence. Please feel free to send me pictures to. Please try to provide as much information as you can about the photograph and the photographer. Ideally we would like all the photographs to be credited.
Thanks for your help.
Shahidul Alam.
Here is the first image. It was taken by one of our finest photojournalists, and a dear friend,?Rashid Talukder. The photograph was taken on the 10th January 1972, when Mujib returned to an independent Bangladesh upon his release from captivity in Pakistan. The person dangling from the jeep with the Rollei hanging is another famous Bangladeshi photographer Aftab Ahmed:
The return to Bangladesh of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, released from captivity in Pakistan. Photo: Rashid Talukder/Drik/Majority World You may tag individuals in this photograph here?(Requires Facebook)
UNTIL 1971 Pakistan was made up of two parts: west and east. Both Muslim-dominated territories were born out of India?s bloody partition 24 years earlier, though they existed awkwardly 1,600km apart, divided by hostile Indian territory. Relations between the two halves were always poor. The west dominated: it had the capital, Islamabad, and greater political, economic and military clout. Its more warlike Pashtuns and prosperous Punjabis, among others, looked down on Bengali easterners as passive and backward. Continue reading “The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide.”
As far as Shahidul Alam is concerned, he does not live in the third world or the developing world. While the photographer’s home is in Bangladesh, a decidedly poor country, he thinks of himself as residing in “the majority world.”
Boy playing with home made ball, in shelter built for earthquake victims in Pakistan. Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World
Most people today do not live in Europe or North America, or have white skin. Yet the world’s economy and media are dominated by a handful of Western countries, and the reporting on developing nations is not always done by people who know their subjects well. Continue reading “Wresting the Narrative From the West”
A collective exhibition featuring stories from Queensland College of Art and Pathshala South Asia Media Institute students.
Image: Louis Lim Beneath the Neon Lights 2013 Thursday 23 May ? Saturday 25 May
Opening night 6pm Thursday 23 May Guest Speaker: Dr Shahidul Alam
RSVP 07 3735 6106 or qcagalleries@griffith.edu.au
Gallery opening hours Tuesday to Saturday 9 ? 5pm
Bangladesh Exhibiton Flyer(1)
Hundreds of thousands of people?have held?protests in Bangladesh to demand?that the government introduce an anti-blasphemy law that would include the death penalty for bloggers who insult Islam.
Protest organisers called Saturday’s rally the “long march”, with many travelling from remote villages to the capital, Dhaka’s Motijheel area that became a sea of white skull caps and robes. Continue reading “Al Jazeera: Bangladesh protesters demand blasphemy law”
Want to take a sneak preview of the contents of Positive Light? This preview shows the introduction plus the first five spreads of each section of the book. The original contest was broken down into Culture, History, Place and People. DO NOT BUY THE BLURB COPY from the link above! We are only using Blurb for preview purposes. Pledge to buy a copy (or copies!) of Positive Light
Don’t forget, up until 31 March 2013 you can pledge to purchase Positive Light at our pre-sales crowdfunding campaign at this link. Every little bit helps — and more importantly this campaign will help Drik continue its work in social justice in Bangladesh.
We are immensely pleased to announce that proceeds from Positive Light will also support WildTeam’s efforts to protect nature, particularly the Royal Bengal Tiger. Bangladesh has one of the last remaining strongholds of tiger populations. Tigers are an endangered species, which has lost 97 percent of its population over the last century. There are 3,200 magnificent tigers left in the world and these face huge poaching pressure as the demand for tiger parts continues to rise with rising incomes across Asia.
The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest on earth, can hold approximately 400 tigers. This remote corner of India and Bangladesh is a unique stronghold for tigers. Here, WildTeam is working alongside the local people to overcome tiger threats and build a future for tigers in Bangladesh.
The founders of Crowdsourced Travel cannot imagine a world without tigers. And that?s why we?ve committed a part of the proceeds of Positive Light project to raising funds and awareness for Bangladesh? premiere tiger conservation organization WildTeam.
Positive Light and WildTeam – What a Team!
By purchasing Positive Light you are also supporting the efforts of WildTeam in Bangladesh. Thank you. Ten percent of Positive Light’s profits are going to WildTeam’s work in preserving tigers.
