LAND, WATER, SEEDS: THE ROOTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL CRISIS IN INDIA, HAWAI‘I, AND BEYOND:

A week of events (9/30-10/4) featuring P. SAINATH

P. SAINATH is the recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award (often described as Asia’s Nobel Prize) in 2007 and of Amnesty International’s Global Human Rights Journalism Prize in its inaugural year in 2000. His book EVERYBODY LOVES A GOOD DROUGHT is a classic of journalism and has won awards around the world. He has received honorary degrees and lectured at many universities around the world, most recently having taught at Princeton in the Fall 2012 term. His journalism has profoundly affected public policy in India. Sainath has transformed the reporting on the agrarian crisis in India, most especially by writing about neoliberal policies and farmer suicides.

Monday, Sept. 30: Kūlana ‘Ōiwi, Moloka‘i. 6:30-9. Reception and roundtable, “Land and Water,” featuring Kaleikoa Ka’eo (Hawaiian Studies, UH Maui College), Noe Goodyear-Ka‘opua (UH-M Political Science Dept.), Andre Perez (Hawaiian cultural practitioner and community activist), P. Sainath. Moderator: Walter Ritte (Keawanui Fishpond farmer, community organizer)

Tuesday, Oct. 1: Church of the Crossroads. 5 pm screening of a performance by The Madras Players of the playWATER! by Komal Swaminathan (trans. S. Shankar). 6:30-7:30: Dinner sourced from local farms. 7:30-8:30: “Whose Water? States, Corporations and Struggles over the Essentials of Life.” Panelists: Charlie Reppun (organic farmer), P. Sainath, S. Shankar (UH-M English Dept.), Kapua Sproat (UH-M Law School). Moderator: Cynthia Franklin (UH-M English Dept.)

Wednesday, Oct. 2: Hālau ʻO Haumea, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, UH-M. 12-2:30. Luncheon and roundtable. “Environment and Community: Institutional Obligations.” Participants: William Aila (Director of the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources); Tom Apple (Chancellor, UH-M); Maenette Benham (Dean, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, UH-M) ; Malia Chow (Superintendent of National Marine Whale Sanctuary); Gordon Grau (Director, UH SEA Grant); Brandon Ledward (Director of ‘Aina-based Education at Kamehameha Schools); P. Sainath. Moderator: Walter Ritte (Keawanui Fishpond farmer, community organizer)

Thursday, Oct. 3: UH-M Art Auditorium. 6-9. Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS) Reception followed by evening public lecture by P. Sainath entitled “When Farmers Die: India, the Agrarian Crisis and the Age of Inequality.”

Friday, Oct. 4: Saunders Hall, UH-M. 2:30-4. Lecture for the Political Science Colloquium Series by P. Sainath entitled “Media in Contemporary India.”

This visit is made possible by generous funding from the Chancellor’s Office and the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS). Co-sponsors: Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, the English Department, the Political Science Department, Hawai’i SEED, ʻŌlelo, Great Life Cuisine/Mohala Farms, Olakai Hawai’i, Food Sovereignty Hawai‘i, and The UH GMO Education Project

All events are free and open to the public.