letter writing activism article

You wait with bated breath after each such five-star petition and there seems not a hint that the messaging went anywhere. For instance, King (1963) compares himself to Apostle Paul, who set out on a journey to convey the message of Christianity all over Greece and Roman. Both paid with their lives for their convictions. There is a rash of web-based sessions, which, while seeming to connect people from different parts of the country, have also introduced an element not just of social distancing but also of revolutionary distancing. The first paragraph of your letter should provide an introduction as to why you are writing so that your reason for contacting the person is obvious from the beginning. The letter writing had a more personal aspect to it and a multiplier effect, when individual letters were authored by people from different parts of the world. Only then will we be paying sincere tribune to the struggles of Bhagat Singh and Shankar Guha Niyogi. I was 10 years old when my father, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Write out the full date. Thank heavens the farmers of India decided to take matters in their hand and take to the streets. Help with formal and business letter writing. Finally the article assesses Gatot Lestario's impact, after his execution, on the development of a long-term advocacy network for Indonesia's political prisoners. They often have no well-thought of addressee, no information of how they will be delivered and attempt to catch the attention of the target person, and also no timeline (Very often, they are formally addressed to the functionaries of the very state that has initiated the oppression.). But it seems to be ubiquitous – if you belong to certain circles and certain groups, then there is a high likelihood of one petition or the other in your mailbox every week, if not more frequently. This case study illustrates the disappearance of Indonesia's previously close and solidary relationship with the socialist world and its replacement at the people-to-people level with human rights activism involving Western activists. Letter Writing and Transnational Activism for Indonesia's Political Prisoners Gatot Lestario and His Legacy Author: Vannessa Hearman Abstract: Amnesty International estimated in 1977 that between 600,000 and 750,000 Indonesians had been or were still imprisoned as a result of the Army-led anti-communist violence in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. The number of signatories becomes a bragging point (“3000 signatures” etc) and a certain brilliant linguist and activist from MIT is often the most sought after signatory. Another petition bites the dust, another petition disappears in the Super Massive Black Hole of Petitions. To the editor — The future of our country depends on each of us. However, nothing really changes. Curtains Down For Amnesty International In India, Hathras Horror: NAPM Condemns the Rising Caste and Gender-based Violence in  BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh & Gujarat, Odisha: College girls turn ‘teachers’ for tribal kids as they failed to access government’s online education, Open Letter to the Chief Minister Of Uttar Pradesh, Why The Farmers Need English Education? The Indian progressive and activist class seems to have taken to this mode of expression with particular enthusiasm. SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER, Share:WhatsAppFacebookTwitterTelegramRedditEmail This article is based on the 25th Chandrashekar Memorial Lecture delivered on 20 September 2020. They probably have no use for petitions and webinars anyway. Either way, skip two lines and write today's date. The suggestion is not to discard entirely the idea of petitions; one need not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The need of the hour is mass mobilizations and expressions of resistance. Therefore, in writing a letter to the editor, you generally want to begin by referring to a previously published article in the newspaper, or to a well-known event. And though I was heartbroken, I also remember being moved to learn that members of the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by the great Roberto Clemente, refused to play in the days following, out of respect for my father.. But one should also note a crucial point regarding the difference between the original idea behind Amnesty letters and the more crowdsourced and anonymized method of petitions. Formal Letter Writing How to Write Formal Letters. District Judge William Conley, an appointee of President Barack Obama, ruled that Wisconsin absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can be accepted until Nov. 9-- a full six days after the election. ; Then, in the following paragraphs, provide specific details about your request or the information you are providing. They had generally specific targets and destinations. They merely seem to be a way to assuage and channel outrage in the most innocuous and tranquilizing way, involving the least effort. Last but not least, the government most recently passed modifications to labour laws during the monsoon session. However, this sloth and diffidence of the Indian progressive class to take to the streets seems very strange – and unfortunate. A summary of writing rules including outlines for cover letters and letters of enquiry, and abbreviations used in letters. Petitions have a history and have played a crucial role in many campaigns. We are yet to see any mass scale expression of outrage in protest. One is to be counted in The road to revolution seems littered with a million petitions. 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This is particularly evident in the increasingly important role played by members of Amnesty International, the Quakers and other overseas organizations concerned with Indonesia. These mobilizations also need new leadership from among the people on the ground, with real-world experience. The situation caused by the pandemic currently has given rise to another digital pandemic, that of webinars. The original lecture was delivered in Hindi and the event was organized by Punashcha, the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) and Koshish. The final aim of the petition seems only a hop, skip and jump away. And then as the migrant workers, facing distress at their homes as well, have started returning to their earlier places of work, they have come back to no improvement in their conditions or any changes in the provision of social guarantees to them. Observe also how many women are also part of the protests. So they are protesting in the manner they know best – physically, out on the streets, by means of rasta rokos and rail rokos. This article charts the relationship between members of Amnesty International and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) with a political prisoner on death row in East Java, Gatot Lestario, a former leader of the Indonesian Communist Party. Download complete article from Taylor & Francis Online, Home | Books | Sample Articles | Sample Issue | New Issue Alert | Board | Site Map | Search | Contact Us. Yet, we saw protests in Hong Kong, in the United States, in Thailand and in Belarus. Often, there was something heartfelt which went in the individual message of support from each letter writer. Indian English Day Diary, Mohammad Al Halabi  – Israel’s Abuse of Innocence, Religion & Politics: US, Vatican clash over China-Vatican agreement, How Covid-19 is shifting free market tectonic plates, Chilakamarti : Andhra’s Great Reformer and Writer. They represent the ideal of armchair activism. Many of them are actually well-meaning, left-leaning urbanites. Is Universal Health Care a ‘proxy’ for an Insurance-based selective health care to the people? If you are writing a business letter, use the company name and address instead, or just write on company letterhead. In the letter, he references many notable personalities in order to set a basis for the aim of his writing. Amnesty International estimated in 1977 that between 600,000 and 750,000 Indonesians had been or were still imprisoned as a result of the Army-led anti-communist violence in Indonesia in the mid-1960s. Petitions take away that individualized statement of support, outrage and protest. Whatever be the cause, the way the recent changes have been pushed through against the working classes – including the peasantry – and the way dissent is constantly suppressed, it is less certain if rather tame methods like petitions will have any effect. While the country witnessed a brutal lockdown that resulted in untold suffering to millions of workers, especially migrant workers, while the governments stood by the sidelines, after having caused the chaos, much of India’s organized labour formations remained strangely inactive and silent – for the well-being of their own comrades of the working class, despite the tinkering of labour laws as well! This is a classic example of a judge ignoring the … Referring to a previously written article helps make the letter relevant to the newspaper staff, and it is more likely to get printed. Sep 28 marks important days in the lives of two revered icons of revolutionary action in India – Bhagat Singh and Shankar Guha Niyogi. Niyogi worked shoulder-to-shoulder with mine workers in Chhattisgarh. As one of the most recognizable practitioners of the art of making a plea on behalf of those whose rights have been denied, Amnesty International’s foundational and time-tested method of letter-writing has proved its efficacy. Especially, even during the most severe phases of the covide pandemic, the world witnessed rousing protests for rights in different parts of the world, especially where the power of the authorities is disproportionately strong. However, the story of Paul is not the only influencing factor that King uses in his letter. Can India  sustain a safe sanitary culture? As individuals we have two immediate responsibilities we mustn’t shirk. One of the commonest tools in the activists toolbox these days seems to be the petition, which is often poorly imagined and unevenly circulated. Both exemplified a sense of identification with the issues of the masses and sought to join the struggle while on the frontlines. This article draws on the letters he wrote over a period of three years before his execution in 1985 and interviews with his pen pals. The letter writing had a more personal aspect to it and a multiplier effect, when individual letters were authored by people from different parts of the world. 19 September 2014 (British) or September 19, 2014 (American) are both preferable to Sept. 19, 2014 or 19/9/14. Friends, comrades gathered here; I am very honoured to be invited to deliver the Chandrashekhar Memorial Lecture this year but I cannot[Read More…], Activists Must Do More Than Mobilize, Part I, Telling Local People’s History: An Interview With Hartford Activist Steve Thornton, Moving away from Petitions and Webinars – Protest and Activism Beyond Digital Jantar-Mantars, America’s Maestro of Death and Destruction, Lunar Lunacy: Competition, Conflict and Mining the Moon, Hathras: yet another victim of the caste-driven rape culture in India, Babri demolition case: Media, upholding court verdict, chants ‘Jai Sri Ram’, Universal Declaration Of Human Rights And Sri Lanka. It traces the ways in which he encouraged his pen pals to advocate for human rights in Indonesia and their responses, as well as his own involvement in political prisoner advocacy. 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