Sanjukta Basu
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Sanjukta Basu is an Indian writer, photographer, digital media activist, political analyst and a public speaker. She has a verified account on Twitter and is among one of the top 50 female bloggers in India according to Femina magazine. She is a TED Fellow and a TEDx Speaker. She is a published author with chapters in two books. She has appeared on television channels and web based channels for news debates and socio-political commentary. She has been interviewed and quoted by Indian and international media both print and web. Since 2005 her projects, initiatives, journalistic reports, political opinions, and photography work have been published on Indian and international media. She came under national spotlight on April 6, 2018 when the TV channel Times Now exposed her identity on national television and targeted her for a meeting dated March 27, 2018 with Indian National Congress leader, who was then the party President, Sh Rahul Gandhi. She has thereafter filed a grievance with NBSA.[1]. She also ran a fund raising campaign on Ketto to fund the legal expenses of filing a defamation suit against the news website. The campaign raised a sum or Rs. 262,000 has been raised [2].
Notable Work
Women with Tattoos
In 2017, Basu started a photo series on women with tattoos, by which she aims to break gender stereotypes against women who sport tattoos and body art. The project have been covered by various media.
Writing about the objective of the project, The Hindu quoted Basu [9]
“I have realized over time that women are always willing to talk about their tattoos, because a listener who doesn’t judge is still rare in this day and age,” says Basu, as she takes a break from bonding with a subject in a Korattur home . “When a man gets a tattoo, it is associated with being something of a stud,” which, she observes, isn’t something a man has to be ashamed of. “But for women, tattoos are associated with a certain kind of lifestyle and mindset, which isn’t always positive, nor always true,” she says.
Basu mentioned in her interview with Hindu that the idea of the project came from her own search for a Tattoo which could portray her free will and love for adventure.
“I always wanted a tattoo, but couldn’t think of a design that would mean enough to ink my skin. It had to be something picked up from my personal experiences. In my 39th year, I finally knew what I wanted,” she says. “I had finally come to accept the fact that I was not the kind of woman who has a 9-to-5 job, steady career or domesticated marriage. My life has no set direction. I go with the flow, and I’m fine with it,” says Basu, citing this very project as an example . “I didn’t take up this project as part of some five-year plan or with some income in mind, but because I love this idea.”
Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle about the meaning of her own tattoo Basu said[4],
“For me, it is a very important statement about my life. So, it is like a status update on Facebook or WhatsApp — it is not going to be for just a day or two, but there forever; something that is part of your identity. That’s for me; for someone else, it can be like a token. I met another lady, who had a small tattoo which she claims to keep her grounded.”
Gender and public space
In 2017, she did a 5 metro city Gender and Space Tour to photo document how Indian woman access the urban space. The work was published as a five part series[10] titled 'Where Are The Women? An Examination of Women and Public Spaces in India' [11] on web media platform Firstpost.
- Part 1: Delhi: It is the men who largely occupy open spaces in Connaught Place
- Part 2: Mumbai: Gender imbalance is an issue even in safe public spaces
- Part 3: Kolkata: Women are almost everywhere, but never on their own
- Part 4: Chennai: High female workforce participation contributes to their effort of reclaiming public spaces
- Part 5: Bengaluru: Of the two genders, only men loiter
In 2011 Basu started a project 'SWBT - Single Woman Budget Travel', to gain first hand experience of traveling through India as a solo woman without a male escort, using public transport and boarding and lodging in budget accommodations and analyze the risk factor. The project was well received among young Indian women. Applauding Basu's courage the women traveler's platform Zafigo wrote[12]
We admire not just the gumption of the lady behind Project SWBT (Single Woman Budget Travel) but also Sanjukta Basu’s discipline in coming up with well-thought out rules for herself, such as:
“No advanced accommodation or transportation bookings to be done”.
“Travel only via railways, state or private buses, shared cabs and other means of public transport. No personal cabs”.
“Stay only at budget hotels with an upper limit of INR 500 per day/night”.
“No tour operators, guides or any other luxurious package deals. The only guide to be taken is the internet”.
Aastha Agarwal of Indian Women Blog wrote,[13]
The word Travel strings some really odd wires inside me. Sanjukta Basu, a Traveler, a Photographer and a Storyteller, ignited my love for traveling all over again. I couldn’t contain my curiosity and dug into her life like a fan in the making.
Journalistic and documentary
Her documentary photographs of Babar Ali's school in Murshidabad, India have been published by several publication houses in India and abroad.
- Terra Green Magazine
- Oxford University Press
- Annick Press among others.[14]
Basu has traveled with activist Harsh Mander's 'Karwan E Mohabbat' and the photographs by her has been published on Scroll.In [15], Daily O [16], Firstpost [17].
A photo documentary by Sanjukta titled 'The Women of Nizamuddin Basti: Aga Khan Trust for Culture brings a new light into their lives' featuring AKTC's developmental work for women of Delhi's Nizamuddin Basti was published on Firstpost[18]
A photo documentary by Sanjukta titled 'Delhi's Kathputli Colony demolition' was published on Firstpost.[19]
Two of Sanjukta's photographs were part of the photo documentary titled 'Finding Delhi's Lost Monuments' by Vishal Arora published on The Diplomat.[20]
One photograph by her was part of the photo documentary titled 'India's Most ‘Notorious’ Campus' by Vishal Arora capturing the imagery of Jawaharlal Nehru University published by The Diplomat[21]
Two of her photographs were part of the photo documentary by Vishal Arora titled 'Photos: The sights and sounds of Delhi's Mini Tibet' published on Scroll[22]
Digital Media
Sanjukta started blogging in 2005 and in Oct 2017, Basu was listed among the top 50 women bloggers in India by Femina magazine.[23] For her blogging activities she was awarded the TED Fellowship in 2009 [24] and she was interviewed by TED Blog. [25]
Delhi Bloggers Community
Sanjukta was among the group of bloggers who spoke out against the Government of India's attempt to block certain internet sites. Quoting Basu, in their report the Guardian UK wrote,[26]
"This is a clearly an infringement of fundamental right [of freedom of speech]," said Sanjukta Basu, a lawyer.
Ms Basu says a 300-strong Delhi blogging community is considering a petition to the high court.
"The government only ordered to block some 20 blogs and has a duty to ensure this is carried out in an orderly manner without infringing our rights. So we are looking at the courts."
In With her initiative in May 2006 Sanjukta helped the team of BBC World Radio producer Julian Siddle, broadcaster Gareth Mitchel and British technology writer Bill Thompson to meet the Delhi bloggers for an episode of their weekly podcast Digital Planet (Now known as Click). It was one of the biggest offline meeting of Delhi bloggers at that time. Acknowledging her efforts in organizing it, Bill wrote on his blog[27]
The meeting was organised by Sanjukta...it was really great of her to put so much effort into it all.
Bangalore bloggers community and Barcamp
Between 2007 and 2010 Basu lived in Bangalore where she constituted and led the bloggers community and undertook many campaigns.
- Blogathon India, covered by NDTV[28]
- Free Hug campaign, covered by Bangalore Mirror
- Barcamp Bangalore, covered by Bangalore Mirror.
BBC [29] In Oct 2017 she was listed among top 50 Indian female bloggers by Femina magazine [23].
She has spoken at three TEDx events at Jindal Global University[30] and ITM University, Gurgaon [31]
Global Voices Summit
Basu is a contributor on the collaborative blog Global Voices.[32]
Digital Citizen Summit, 2018
Basu curated and chaired a panel on Internet and Civil Liberties at the Digital Citizen Summit held in November 2018 organized by Digital Empowerment Foundation. In the panel, four other speakers discussed topics like Fake News, Trolling, Internet Shut Down, democratic media for tribals in Chhattisgarh. A report is here.[1]
Netizens For Democracy Conclave, 2018
Basu was part of a Panel Discussion on trolling and fake news at the Netizens For Democracy Conclave where she shared her experience of facing online abuse and trolling and what gives her the strength.[33]
Samyukta Media
Basu started her own Solo Entrepreneurial venture, Samyukta Media, to help unlikely users and community such as the non-profit organizations, academics, students use social media as a powerful tool of communication. She has worked with several NGOs during this stint, she initiated services like Live Blogging which was then unknown in both corporate and NGO sector. The project was covered by Sunday Guardian.[34]
Social Activism
Sanjukta has worked in the development sector with women's rights and communications and outreach and is currently a freelance columnist and political analysts [35]. She contributes opinion columns on various digital media platforms, most recently Daily O and Firstpost. She is active on Twitter and her Tweets are frequently quoted by digital media platforms on issues related Indian politics [36] [37] [38].
Karwan E Mohabbat
Basu is part of the Karwan E Mohabbat team and has traveled with activist Harsh Mander and his team to various parts of India to document hate crimes and mob lynching. Her experience during this journey is published in two books
- Reconciliation, based upon the Karwan journeys edited by Mander and others [39]
- Battling For India by Speaking Tiger Books[40]
Bell Bajao campaign
Basu worked for the NGO Breakthrough on the internet outreach of the campaign Bell Bajao. This was the first time the campaign was making internet outreach. Basu's work was documented as a best practice by digital media consultancy, India Social.[2]
Times Now Controversy And Defamation Case
On April 6, 2018 she came into the spotlight when TV channel Times Now on a two-hour program outed her identity showing her name and photographs on TV labeling her with accusatory slurs like 'vile troll' 'Hindu Hater' for a meeting with Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Mar 27, 2018. Sanjukta has called the program as a media hit job to silence her voice and has sent legal notice to Times Now.[41]. Dissatisfied with the reply from Times Now, Sanjukta filed a complaint with News Broadcasting Standards Authority which found Times Now in violation of Broadcasting Guidelines and sent notice to both parties for a hearing on 1 May 2019 [1]
TEDx talks
In 2011, Basu delivered a TEDx talk at the Delhi Technological University on her "Journey from being a distracted money to Social Entrepreneur".[42]
In May 2013, Basu delivered her second TEDx talk at the ITM University in which she encouraged women to speak up against sexual violence.[43]
In Feb 2017, Basu delivered her third TEDx talk at the Jindal Global University in which she spoke about the relationship between gender and nationalism.[44]
Influence and Controversy
Basu has often been mired in controversies emerging on Twitter, most often for her provocative contrarian opinions that goes against right leaning ideology, and use of expletives and slang words. However she also commands influence in the social media space as several of her articles and blog posts have been widely read and become both popular and controversial.
Defence of Vogue Empower Ad film
In April 2015, her blog post on the controversial Vogue Empower My Choice ad film received wide circulation among Bollywood celebrities making the post instantly viral receiving over 100s of comments. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap [45] and actor Atul Kulkarni [46] both shared the blog with positive recommendation.
Defence of Kangana Ranaut
In September 2017, Basu wrote an Open Letter to Singer Sona Mahapatra[47] challenging her views on feminism, and defending Actor Kangana Ranaut's right to express herself in public and talk openly about her personal life. Kangana Ranaut in a later interview referred to Basu's open letter. Denying the charge that while Hrithik Roshan has a lot of supporters she doesn't have any she said,
"That is not true," Kangana says emphatically. "Sanjukta Basu has written a beautiful piece about me (In an open letter to singer Sona Mohapatra who accused Kangana of cleaning her dirty linen in public, Basu wrote on Huffington Post that 'Kangana deserves applause for talking about her life without being apologetic about it'). She is a scholar in feminism. It is not that people are not supporting me." [48]
Controversial Tweets and articles
In a Daily O column Sanjukta opened up about her mother's death to cancer and made very scathing observations about the profession of doctors which caused an uproar. News portal has slammed Sanjukta for being insensitive.
In May 2017, Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon slammed Basu [49] for taking a sarcastic jibe at her for her Tweet claiming Hindu mythological epic Ramayana was part of historical fact. Tandon alleged that she was being trolled by Basu which instigated her fans to troll Basu in retaliation. Basu however clarified in her blog that Tandon was not trolled by her.
In March 2019 Bollywood actor R Madhavan hit out Sanjukta for making a sarcastic comment about his tweet.[50]
In February 2019, in the aftermath of terror attack at Pulwama, Kashmir, right wing media published news articles [51] targeting Basu for her political view on the issue and linking her with the political party Indian National Congress, following which Basu faced online abuse.
TV/Radio Appearance
Basu's Tweets have been quoted by the media on political [52] and social issues [53]. She has been invited to appear on TV news debates or digital debates and discussions.
- Appeared on India Ahead News debate, 'Does Politics of Handout Work?'[54]
- Appeared on Daily O Debate, 'Will Ram Mandir, Secularism and Rafale Impact The Elections?'[55]
- Appeared as a guest on the Al Jazeera English program AJ Stream talking on the issue of Honour Killing.[56]
- Appeared on BBC World Service Radio Program on Fake News and trolling in India with Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson of BBC World Service program BBC Click.[57]
Invited By Google India
In March 2017, the Google India team invited Basu to visit district Purulia to meet the Google Internet Saathi.[58]
Interviews of Sanjukta Basu
'One woman's mission: travel alone, on a budget, in India', We Go India [3]
Interview: Sanjukta Basu on slaying online trolls and fiercely defending free speech, January 17, 2019, Sabrang India, [4]
Diversity is her flavor, A woman of many words- Sanjukta Basu, March 1, 2012, Twenty 19 [5]
TED Blog
“Parks Not Only For Men To Loiter,” Solo Traveler Sanjukta Basu Reclaims Public Spaces', Indian Women Blog, [6]
'Interview with Sanjukta Basu, feminist writer and polymath', May 11, 2019, Counter Currents [7]
Personal life
Basu was born in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal on 23 January 1977, in a middle class Bengali family. Her mother Mita Basu was a home maker, and a poet and Pankaj Kumar Basu has retired from the Customs Excise and Service Tax Tribunal where he worked for over four decades. She studied in Lady Irwin School in New Delhi, did her Bachelors in Arts from Maitreyi College, LLB from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and a Master in Women And Gender Studies from IGNOU. Her grandparents from mother's side hail from the Chittagong district and her grandparents from father's side are from Jessore district of erstwhile East Pakistan now Bangladesh. Sanjukta has one younger sibling. Both siblings grew up in Delhi with modern liberal values with rich Bengali cultural influence due to her mother's interest in music and poetry.
Basu is never married [59].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "NBSA Issues Notice to Times Now for Calling Woman 'Hindu Hater', 'Vile Troll'". The Wire. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Ketto. "I am taking Times Now to Court: Sanjukta Basu". Ketto. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Majumdar, Meghna (2017-07-24). "Tales in ink, on skin". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Purushothaman, Kirubhakar (2017-07-30). "Capturing inked identities". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Chaudhuri, Zinnia Ray. "An Indian photographer is challenging the idea that 'a woman with a tattoo is a slut'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ↑ "A call for women who are inked and pierced". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ "Women tell their tattoo stories". Deccan Herald. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ 100010509524078 (2017-07-20). "Photographer explores feminism in body art". dtNext.in. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ "Tales in Ink, On Skin". The Hindu. 24 July 2017.
- ↑ "Where are the women? - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ "Where are the women? - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Dutta, Aditi (18 Jan 2016). "On A Mission: Single Women Budget Travel In Delhi". Zafigo.
- ↑ Agarwal, Aastha (2018-12-18). ""Parks Not Only For Men To Loiter," Solo Traveler Sanjukta Basu Reclaims Public Spaces". Indian Women Blog.
- ↑ Scandiffio, Laura (2016). Fight To Learn. pp. 2–16, 166. ISBN 978-155451-797-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Mander, Harsh. "In Odisha, no blood spilt but the fires of communal hatred are touching the skies". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ "Karwan-e-Mohabbat: Targets of hate crimes are not just minorities and Dalits, but women too". www.dailyo.in. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ "Karwan e Mohabbat: Uncovering how violence against minorities has been normalised". Firstpost. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Basu, Sanjukta. "The Women of Nizamuddin Basti: Aga Khan Trust for Culture brings a new light into their lives". Firstpost. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ Basu, Sanjukta. "Delhi's Kathputli Colony demolition: Residents protest the loss of homes, and a way of life". Firstpost. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Diplomat, Vishal Arora, The. "Finding Delhi's Lost Monuments". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Diplomat, Vishal Arora and the Delhi Photo Expedition, The. "India's Most 'Notorious' Campus". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ Arora, Vishal. "Photos: The sights and sounds of Delhi's Mini Tibet". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Bloggers Takeover". Femina Magazine (Oct 15 ed.). Worldwide Media Private Limited. 2017 – via Zinio.
- ↑ "TED Fellows Profile".
- ↑ "Fellows Friday with Sanjukta Basu". TED Blog. 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ↑ Ramesh, Randeep (19 July 2006). "Bloggers' fury as India blocks sites". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Meeting the Delhi Bloggers – The BillBlog". Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ NDTV (2008-04-30), Banglore citizens launch blog-a-thon, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ "BBC World Service - Digital Planet, Technology and Fake News". BBC. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ Why For All My Love For My Country I Would Never Say Bharat Mata Ki Jai | Sanjukta Basu | TEDxJGU, retrieved 2019-07-29
- ↑ Have we survived the Rape and Violence? : Sanjukta Basu at TEDxITMU, retrieved 2019-07-29
- ↑ "Global Voices · Sanjukta – Contributor profile". Global Voices. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ "PM Modi's Critics Speak About Social Media Abuse, Trolls". The Times of India. 20 January 2019.
- ↑ Pradhan, Anjana (27 March 2011). "Event Based Live Blogging Is Good For a Company's Profile". The Sunday Guardian.
- ↑ "Interview with Sanjukta Basu, feminist writer and polymath". Countercurrents. 2019-05-11. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ↑ "Global Voices - In India, opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi steps down after losing elections to Narendra Modi". Global Voices. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ "So PM Modi Didn't Diss Vijayvargiya's Son? Twitter Wants Clarity". The Quint. 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ "This woman's priceless reactions to England's World Cup victory are going viral". The Indian Express. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ "Review: An Attempt at 'Reconciliation' of a Fractured Country". The Wire. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Basu, Sanjukta (2019). "Violence Against Minorities The New Normal". In Hariharan, Githa; Yusufji, Salim. Battling For India. New Delhi: Speaking Tiger Publishing Pvt Ltd. pp. 147–153. ISBN 978-9388874182. Search this book on
- ↑ Times, Asia. "Asia Times | Fear, loss of jobs as Indian TV brands people 'Hindu haters' | Article". Asia Times. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
- ↑ Samyukta Media (2011-09-29), Journey from a distracted monkey to social entrepreneur - TEDxDTU talk by Sanjukta Basu, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ TEDx Talks (2013-05-11), Have we survived the Rape and Violence? : Sanjukta Basu at TEDxITMU, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ TEDx Talks (2017-03-23), Why For All My Love For My Country I Would Never Say Bharat Mata Ki Jai | Sanjukta Basu | TEDxJGU, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ "Anurag Kashyap". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ "Atul Kulkarni". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ "Dear Sona Mohapatra, By 'Washing Her Dirty Linen In Public' Kangana Ranaut Is Helping Feminism". HuffPost India. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ "I have lived on the edge for too long". Rediff. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ Pathak, Harshvardhan (2017-05-25). "रामायण पर ट्वीट करने के बाद रवीना टंडन ट्विटर पर हुई ट्रोल". India News.
- ↑ "R Madhavan demolishes Congress troll Sanjukta Basu with a powerful tweet". rightlog.in. 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ↑ "Congress Supporting abusive troll claims Pulwama was an inside job by India". Op India. 2019-02-15.
- ↑ "'Is This Election Rally?' Veterans Slam Modi's War Memorial Speech". The Quint. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ "Class topper gang raped in Haryana, India". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ↑ IndiaAheadNews (2019-01-29), Does Politics of handouts work? part 1 | IndiaAhead at 9, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ DailyO (2018-10-04), Will Ram Mandir, secularism and Rafale impact 2019 general elections?, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ "India: Why did Kausalya prosecute her own parents?". Al Jazeera Stream. 19 March 2018.
- ↑ "Technology and Fake News". BBC Click. 14 Aug 2017.
- ↑ Google India (2017-03-08), #DayWithASaathi: Women's Day 2017, retrieved 2019-03-14
- ↑ "40 साल तक सब उसे बदसूरत कहते रहे और फिर एक दिन...– News18 हिंदी". News18 India. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
External links
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