Writeups

Reflecting on the theme for this edition, Libraries and Schools, the Torchlight editorial team felt that the act of listening (really listening) to the voices of primary users of the school library - its students - is a valuable part of library work. Now, we are delighted to share the experience of listening with you, through this audio piece which details the experiences of students from a government school in Delhi. The piece presents a range of reflections, responses and meanderings from interviews with students from classes 3 to 8, about their relationship with their school library and with library books. So settle into your seat and get your tiffin-box (and headphones) out, as you hear what Anisha, Yogit, Naved, Shivam, Sameer, Mayank, and Anshul have to say.   Interviews b...

15 दिसंबर को जामिया मिलिया इस्लामिया में सिटीजन अमेंडमेंट एक्ट (CAA) के खिलाफ शांतिपूर्ण विरोध करते छात्रों और शिक्षकों पर दिल्ली पुलिस ने डंडे बरसाए; पुलिस ने इस हिंसा के दौरान डॉ ज़ाकिर हुसैन लाइब्रेरी में भी उपद्रव मचाया । इस घटना  से उत्पन्न “रीड फॉर रिवोल्यूशन” एक शक्तिशाली अहिंसक विरोध है । पुलिस की बर्बरता ने नागरिकता संशोधन अधिनियम के खिलाफ चल रहे राष्ट्रव्यापी आंदोलन को एक नया प्रोत्साहन दिया । पूरे भारत में लोग बड़ी संख्या में CAA के खिलाफ अपनी असहमति व्यक्त करने के लिए इकट्ठा हो रहे हैं । यह क़ानून और इसके लागू होने का तरीका असंवैधानिक होने के साथ-साथ हमारे देश की धर्मनिरपेक्ष परंपरा पर भी सवाल उठाता है । जामिया के छात्रों का विरोध - जो पुलिस हिंसा के वक़्त उनके पुस्तकालय में हुए नुक्सान के बाद शुरू हुए - असंख्यक रूप लेता है । इसमें शामिल हैं गीत और कविता, भाषण, कैंडल मार्च और रीड ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single school in possession of a library must censor its collection. Or so we suspected. Schools are inevitably ideologically charged institutions that represent precise social and historical concerns of their times, and function with their own frameworks of disciplining/ shaping the cultural understanding of their students. It follows that certain texts would be considered inflammatory, unsuitable, or too dangerous for students (children) to read... texts that could turn them mad, bad or wicked! Along with the educators and administrators of these educational institutions, parents, peers, and even children themselves may participate in the act of censorship. It also follows that young readers would be keen to access forbidden texts and and f...

From the Margins Being able to criss-cross the globe on the strength of the Internet has made it possible to engage with creative ideas, conversations, and experiences which otherwise would be beyond our reach—and at times, even beyond our imagination.  On The Same Page will bring to the reader of Torchlight, a combination of textual-audio-visual curated content, about and around libraries and bookish love. In a world beset with inequities, it’s not surprising that marginalised people are in the majority. Over the centuries, libraries have made available to marginalised populations what has been consistently denied to them: access, voice, and visibility. Together they lay the foundation for their empowerment. Here are some glimpses from across the world of what place libraries have in th...

She sits at her desk— A thirty-year-old Sharing her love for books With a class full of students. She taps the Pen in her hand Between her teeth, Reminiscing. Recording… * Age: Five Lusaka. School. The one hour she loves— Library Hour! In a darkish corner Of the library, She curls up— Cat-like— Lost in her own world, Ignoring her classmates Who clearly don’t care To read. A pony-tail, shorts and tee, Knee-length socks and A pair of pink shoes Wander through a maze of books. In the yellow light, The stacks seem tall… intimidating, Like giant tomes against her Puny height. A tiny, unsure hand Picks a book. She buries herself— Like the bookworm-in-the-apple-artwork Splashed across the library wall— Into a beanbag on an Alphabet-mat, Immersed in a world of Very human animals. * Age: Te...

“Hindus got enraged and started the genocide of Muslims…Englishmen were the rulers and Hindus were the enemy,” reads one of the lines from a class 9&10 school textbook from Punjab, Pakistan (Subject: Urdu Grammar and Composition for the Academic Year 2012-2013). Another book from the same academic year, designed for a younger age group of class 5 states, “Hindus can never become the true friends of Muslims.”[1] Both of these textbooks are endorsed by the Pakistani government and distributed across public schools as well as many private low-income schools across the province. Textbooks from other provinces too often do not fare much better. Stories of one-sided violence of Hindus and Sikhs against Muslims at Partition are entrenched in the literature and reinforced in classroom setting...