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Hello everyone,
I hope these long, warm summer days are treating you with kindness. My name is Niharika; I’m the newest member of the The Rights Collective team, and I feel so honoured to talk to you today.
I’d like to begin by simply asking: how are you? How have you been? The month of July seems to have passed us by with haste, crammed full of everything we’d hoped to return to over the last few years – perhaps even more! - and I find myself scrambling to keep track of it all. Beneath the weight of the world, all that’s etched across our news screens, things feel both brand-new and ancient to me, happening to all of us all at once. As I write this – or read it, for those of you listening – I want to hold you all in a moment of slowness. Offer you a space to breathe, to recentre yourself, and urge you to let go of whatever it is you’re carrying today, even for a second.
To briefly introduce myself: I’m an artist, writer, and curator working across London, with a particular focus on furthering access to creative practice and arts education for marginalised groups. I’ve been following The Rights Collective almost since the beginning, and was part of the تحریر // Tehreer writer’s programme last year. I owe so much to this wonderful community, and I can’t wait to give back.
Much of today’s newsletter focuses on opportunities for knowledge-building that we’ve been engaging with. To learn together, sharing valuable skills and resources with our peers, is something I’ve been particularly grateful for this year; I feel myself growing with each conversation I have, each text I read, and every person I meet. It’s an exciting time, if tumultuous as ever, and I invite you all to share in this excitement with me. Pick up a new skill, or practice an old one – whatever you do this summer, I hope it brings you joy and contentment.
I’m looking forward to rainfall and a cooler breeze as we hurtle towards the autumn; in the meantime, I wish you happiness and hydration!
Yours,
Niharika
Carrying forward our work in collective community learning with the anti-caste reading circle from last year, we are back with the second series, where we’ll be exploring transformative justice with a view to understand abolitionist frameworks of justice and accountability in the context of the South Asian community.
We are excited for this reading circle and cannot wait to learn together. We have a few spaces left for this cohort, sign up by clicking the button below.
📝Connected Sociologies Curriculum Project
Our team attended several events at Connected Sociologies’ recent Summer School event, a two-day series of lectures and workshops hosted for students, educators and community organisers. With topics covered ranging from the climate crisis and racial capitalism to crime and policing, there were a variety of excellent speakers providing crucial insight into ongoing discussions surrounding educational practice, and how best to convey the histories of empire and its legacy to today’s youth.
In a room packed with educators from all walks of life, determined to do better by their students, we couldn’t help but feel optimistic, looking towards a world where our histories are not merely condemned to the final few pages of a textbook, but instead acknowledged, celebrated, and remembered.
Utmost thanks to Connected Sociologies for putting together this amazing event; we can’t wait to bring everything we learned to The Rights Collective. As Stella Dadzie pronounced during the concluding panel discussion, it is our revolutionary duty to share knowledge with the community and beyond: each one teach one!
Meet our team! 👩🏽💻
Meet Huma, volunteer
Huma Khan is a resident Psychiatry doctor in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Her clinical, academic and personal interests include forensic, global and conflict psychiatry in addition to wider inequalities within education and health specific to intersections of race, gender and social class.
1. What book are you currently reading?
“Do you hear it?” “Yes,” Mikal replies. “It’s a battle, isn’t it?” “Yes.” “It’s the world,” one of the other men says. “The world sounds like this all the time, we just don’t hear it. Then sometimes in some places we do.”
I am currently re-reading The Blind Man’s Garden by Nadeem Aslam. The novel is set in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the months following 9/11. The narrative explores the devastating aspects of the war through the lens of a family. Nadeem Aslam, for me, is one of those writers whom you get once a century (if the world is lucky). His prose is poetic, his imagination is unimaginable and the way he taps into the emotions you never realised you had - just mind blowing!
2. What is one gift you want to share with the world? I want to share a poster from the Khwaab Tanha Collective with the world! This poster depicts the revolutionary Punjabi poet, Pash, along side an extract of one of his most famous poems. The text translates as “The most dangerous of things is the death of our deams”. KTC is the brainchild of Delhi based Shiraz Husain who is known for his political poster art in India, which is regularly featured in various social campaigns, which has recently included the Farmer’s protest in India. His work can be found on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
3. What is your favourite thing about The Rights Collective? My favourite thing has remained the same from the day I joined to this very moment, which is the people at The Rights Collective. The space we have created is one of care, compassion and love. At times I even wonder how I managed to get along in life without these people in life. It is relatively easier to work and exist in life, in the face of adversity… but it is quite rare to find people who check-in on you during your emotional turmoils, root for you during the tough battles and cheer alongside you on the other side. For me, THAT is the life at The Rights Collective made by each collective member. And it will always be home for me.
Meet Varun, our Peer Advisor
Varun Khanna is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics (Sanskrit) at Swarthmore College. His work seeks to understand the links between Sanskrit Grammar, Advaita Vedānta, and Social Justice. Over the years, he has become increasingly interested in the intersections of caste and gender among other modes of oppression present within Sanskrit literature, leading him to become more engaged in feminist and anti-caste activism.
1. What is one piece of advice to my younger self? Question everything more! Stop pretending that you know the answers to everything. Also, stop hesitating to try new things.
2. What is your favourite song of all time? Pehchaan by Penn Masala
📣 Events we’re attending…
Hot Strike Summer! Nijjor Manush’s Bangla Fora session is looking at the histories of worker militancy in Britain and Beyond. Join them on August 16th to learn more about the garment workers union in Bangladesh and how to organise in your workplace. Register here.
Join some of the collective members on August 26th at the Daytimers summer party at Somerset House! Tickets here.
The Moth is hosting a poetry slam event at the RichMix on Wednesday, showcasing open-mic talent and story-telling. You can book tickets here.
📚Things we’re engaging with right now…
We are loving these helpful infographics created by queer and trans-owned bookstore Room Of Ones Own in Wisconsin, USA! Here is an abolition reading flowchart below.
Dear Bradford is a heartfelt letter by Farhaan, reflecting on his community, his upbringing and his identity. But most of all, it is about acceptance. Watch the video here.
Resources
Have you read our resource hub yet? We compile and regularly update articles, podcasts, and videos to expand and aid existing knowledge on issues of caste, class, race, anti-racism, and more. Click the link below to explore.
Help us continue our work
Most of our spaces, workshops and events are free but if you feel called to contribute to the community and invest in sustaining our work, please donate here.