I have previously written, briefly, about Institute of Peace and Secular Studies (IPSS) in my transformation essay (parts 2-3). IPSS was part of a group of non-profits that were established in Pakistan during the late 1980s and 1990s. After the fall of USSR in 1991, a lot of leftist intelligensia and workers found a home in such non-profits focusing on human rights issues. Many of the non-profits received international funding, which was reflected in their donor-driven work. Some big non-profits refused to take any funding from the United States. Among this group, IPSS was a small player. In the mid to late 2000s, the focus of international donors was on an illusory idiom, ‘countering violent extremism’ or CVE. IPSS applied for and received a few thousand dollars from the U.S State Department to work in that area.
I remember visiting their ‘office’ for the first time in late January 2010 and it looked like a two-room apartment that had been modified into a makeshift office space with some spare area for sitting, with floor cushions etc. There was a book rack full of books in one corner. The lady who managed the place (Diep) was present there. During my visit, I learned about an ‘Introduction to Politics and Economy’ course that IPSS was offering and a separate lecture series on tracing the roots of religious extremism in Pakistan. I signed up for both.
I learned a lot from both of those courses and I used the lessons I learned from those courses in my writings and activism. During the religious extremism lecture series, I also got the opportunity to meet some of the most prominent liberal intellectuals in Pakistan. Outside of these two, I also visited IPSS for open mics and sometimes just to hang out. They had a formal volunteer position, which I thought about taking, but it involved a lot of time commitment.
In January 2011, I was taking my final exams for medical school. I got an email from IPSS inviting me to volunteer for an event that they were holding to demand relaxation of visas between Indian and Pakistan, a cause that I fervently support. That event fell on a Saturday and I had my Surgery exam on Monday. Since I was burned out and looking for opportunities to do things that were not medicine, I decided to volunteer. I took part in planning meetings at IPSS, and spent the first half of Saturday at a convention center for the event. As soon as the event was done, I drove to the library and started studying for my surgery exam.
Later on, when I was thinking of starting a podcast, I went to IPSS to “audition” some of the regulars there. I also met Diep at various protests and social events in Lahore. It felt like a second home to me, a place where I could let my guard down and talk to like-minded people without risking my life. Diep wanted me to call her ‘Maa ji’ (Mother) and not the usual ‘Aunty’ that one uses for older females in your social circle.
When I applied for the “Emerging leaders of Pakistan Fellowship”, one of the items in my CV was volunteering for IPSS. People from the Atlantic Council reached out to IPSS and Diep denied that I had ever volunteered for them. At that point, I was contacted by the Atlantic Council to reconcile this matter. I had just finished a 30-hour hospital duty and had arrived home to get some food. I felt horrible. I sent the Atlantic Council a copy of the certificate that I had gotten from IPSS when I had finished the “Introduction to Politics” course, co-signed by Diep. I also sent them a link to IPSS’s Facebook page where they had a photo of me with a name tag that said “volunteer” from the India-Pakistan visa relaxation event. I also messaged Diep who did not respond so I called her. She told me that their certificates held a lot of value (in getting people scholarships and fellowships) and they don't just give them out to everyone. Despite my documentary evidence, Diep and IPSS remained steadfast and refuse to acknowledge me. My contact at the Atlantic Council was frustrated by this stonewalling and I got the fellowship.
Later on I talk to some other regulars at IPSS who told me that I was not the only one who had to go through this ordeal. They told me about a guy who had officially volunteered and still hadn't gotten anything from IPSS. I don't know if the place still exists and I wish them nothing but the best of luck.
There have been a serious ban on such organisations.