Proceeds from this inqlab will be forwarded to grassroots activity in Pakistan and India. Inqlab was set up because we wanted to make a statement about common culture, ancestry and history. We think it's pretty special that a diverse group of people can come together and work in unity towards common aims that cut across national borders and ethnic tensions. We are also making an important gesture by splitting the money between India and Pakistan, especially because of the recent bomb blasts in Mumbai and the subsequent increase in political and religious tensions between the two nations.
As always, proceeds are being donated to causes that inqlabees have close and personal links to.
On the Pakistani side...
The earthquake that hit northern Pakistan in October 2005 was one of the most severe to occur anywhere in the world in recent time. There were many deaths and a huge number of people sustained serious injuries. In response, a group of people (including some inqlabee family members) decided to set up a small hospital in Abbottabad (located in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan) to provide artificial limbs to people affected by the earthquake. As of the end of June, the hospital had successfully installed 40 lower knee limbs and 5 Upper Knee limbs. Some of the money raised on the night will be donated to the hospital and put towards continuing efforts to provide free artificial limbs to those who would otherwise never be able to afford them.
On the Indian side...
Malia is an area located in the Little Rann of Kutch, an extremely dry and arid part of Gujarat State in West India. A huge swaft of the area was devastated in a severe earthquake in 2001, which destroyed much of the little infrastructure that existed. The area is considered as highly drought-prone and the lack of good drinking water is a big problem in the area.
The villages in this area lack electricity, access to roads, healthcare facilities and other basic necessities. Summers are usually very harsh, with severe water shortages and a lack of earning opportunities for the local population - the majority of which are tribal or lower caste communities - and almost all living in poverty.
Another inqlabee family member has been visiting the area over the past two years, teaching and volunteering for a local charity. Some of the money raised on the night will go towards building water harvesting structures on rural school sites in Malia, so that children will not go thirsty whilst attending school.