Jamia Journal Independent Student-run News Website of Jamia Millia Islamia (a Central University)
The Jamia Outreach Programme organized a one-day workshop on conflict writing, conducted by Githa Hariharan, an award-winning author, on February 15, 2012 at the Nehru Guest House.
About the Workshop
The workshop considered some major challenges of writing about conflict — be it the more obvious examples of war or riots, or the more covert day-to-day experience of prejudice and discrimination. The workshop used a combination of conversation, writing exercises, and discussion of texts from different parts of the world, both prose extracts and poetry.
The seven extracts analyzed were: “The Prisons we Broke” by Baby Kamble, which deals with caste conflict in India; “Karukku” by Bama Faustina, which also deals with caste conflict in India; “A Woman in Berlin” by Anonymous, which deals with the degradation of Berlin women at the hands of the Russian troops in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War; “Fugitive Histories” by Githa Hariharan, which deals with the Gujarat pogrom of 2002; “The Bridge” by Mourid Barghouti, which deals with the conflict in Palestine; “Under the Gun: A Palestinian Journey” by Ahdaf Soueif, which also deals with the conflict in Palestine; and a poem titled “Dear Shahid” by Agha Shahid Ali, which deals with the conflict in Kashmir
About Githa Hariharan
Githa Hariharan has written novels, short stories and essays for many years. She is the author of the award winning “The Thousand Faces of Night” and the more recent “Fugitive Histories.”
Hariharan has also been visiting professor or writer-in-residence in several countries over the years. She is, at present, Scholar-in-Residence at Jamia Millia Islamia.
