---------- Forwarded message --------- From: shabnam hashmi <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 12:12 PM Subject: ANHAD STATEMENT : THE TRUTH ABOUT THE RESIGNATION To: Shubha Menon <[email protected]>, Amrita Nandy < [email protected]>, Harsh Mander <[email protected]>, abanraza . < [email protected]>, mukhtar. uri <[email protected]>
ANHAD STATEMENT *THE TRUTH ABOUT THE RESIGNATION* ANHAD was formed on March 6, 2003 in the aftermath of the 2002 carnage in Gujarat. Witnessing the hate and atrocities on the ground Harsh Mander, Shabnam Hashmi and KN Panikkar came together to form ANHAD to ideologically challenge forces of divisiveness and to take the vision of an equal, just and harmonious India to the people at large and the young generation in particular. Over 15,000 young people have undergone ANHAD’s democracy and secularism training camps in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, J & K, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. ANHAD worked at multiple levels from working in over 50 villages in J&K, Mewat, Bihar at one time to organizing the first ever tribunal in 2008 challenging the narrative according to which innocent Muslim boys were being targeted as terrorists. ANHAD provided livelihood to over 700 families after the earthquake in Kashmir and floods in Bihar provided literacy and basic education to over 5000 women in Kashmir, Mewat, Bihar, and Delhi. ANHAD has celebrated India’s cultural diversity and engaged with artists to create new repertoires of cultural expression around peace and harmony. Anhad has traveled across India with Youth Aman Karwan ( 2004) and Reservation Express ( 2010) for women 's political participation reaching out to lakhs of young people and women. Similarly Anhad traveled with artists' karwan to cities and villages. ANHAD along with Janvikas was in the forefront of the fight for providing the compensation to the victims of 2002 carnage, which took 5 long years. ANHAD has stood up against the tyranny of the state on many occasions when there was complete silence and atmosphere of fear. ANHAD has been a hub of all activists and groups from across India and has bubbled with energy and ideas and resistance. ANHAD was a space that welcomed all. Everyone considered it their own and people did not hesitate to enter it or being scrutinized before being helped in any matter they brought to ANHAD. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: In June 2017 after deliberations, ANHAD's founding and other senior trustees decided to move out and hand over the running of the Trust to the next generation. Aban Raza , Amrita Nandy , Dhruv Sangari , Leena Dabiru, Mukhtar Sheikh, Ovais Sultan Khan and Shubha Menon took over the Trust in June 2017. Harsh Mander, KN Panikkar, Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Shabnam Hashmi moved out. Shubha Menon, Aban Raza and Dhruv Sangari (managing trustee at that time) who were inducted earlier, continued on the Trust. Dhruv Sangari vacated the managing trustee 's post in favour of Ovais Sultan Khan. After one year, many friends of ANHAD felt that it would be good for a few of the founding trustees to rejoin the Trust, at least for a while, to ensure continuity of Anhad’s values along with change. A meeting of the Trust was convened by the new trustees, which all except Ovais Sultan Khan attended, despite notice and consent. The trustees jointly decided to request Shabnam Hashmi and Harsh Mander to rejoin the Trust. There was no proposal to ask Ovais Sultan Khan to step down as Managing Trustee. The young and new trustees would still be in a majority. Shabnam and Harsh agreed reluctantly to join for a limited period to help the transition. But Ovais Sultan Khan did not abide by the unanimous decision of the remaining trustees and instead, three hours before the Trust meeting unilaterally appointed two other trustees, whose names were never discussed either in the trust or otherwise. Due to this, and the need to sustain greater democratic functioning, along with a clear and consistent adherence to the uncompromising secular politics that are the hallmark of ANHAD, the trustees decided to not have him continue as Managing Trustee and passed a resolution unanimously to that effect. He would continue as a regular Trustee. It was after this that Ovais Sultan Khan went public with his resignation and his long and factually incorrect public statement, which diverts from the real facts of what led to his exit from Anhad. We do not want to get into any public dispute with Ovais. We reiterate that we wish him the best. We believe our battles must be against rising hate and division, and even with some differences, we are all allies in this battle. Only the facts needed to be clarified, hence this brief statement. TRUSTEES: Aban Raza Amrita Nandy Harsh Mander Mukhtar Sheikh Shabnam Hashmi Shubha Menon -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
