[sacw] sacw dispatch (24 Oct.99)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
24 October 1999
________________________
#1. Press Conference Against Pak. Military Raid
#2. Pakistan's tragedy
#3. Coup in Pakistan: Online Resources
#3. Indian Armed forces "not consulted'' before N-tests
#4. Latest on India's missile programme
#5. 'Hindutwa' men appointed on top Indian Social Science Bodies
#6. VHP schools seek Central [govt.] funding
________________________
#1.
23 Oct.'99
[ From Labour Party of Pakistan]
Dear Friends,

Please find enclosed a copy of the press conference that was held in
Lahore. Shoaib Bhatti, editor, and Farooq Tariq, publisher, of Weekly
Mazdoor Jeddojuhd jointly spoke at the conference. On the occasion,
Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan, president Democratic Women Association, Nighat
Saeed Khan of Institute Of Women Studies, and some leading trade union
leaders were also present.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Jeddojuhd Center
40 Abbot Road Lahore
Date: 22-10-99

Dear Friends,

This is to inform you about the incident that took place on 21st
October. A vehicle load of army men came to the office of Weekly
Mazdoor Jeddojuhd (Workers Struggle). They entered the press premises
and asked the printing workers who is printing the Weekly paper. In
the meantime the Editor Shoaib Bhatti approached them and asked why
they have come to the office. The army men asked him who are behind
you and why are you printing this paper. Shoaib Bhatti told them that
he is editor and he is responsible for the articles appeared in the
paper.

After few minutes of investigation, they left the premises.

We regard this action as an attack on the freedom of expression. This
action is in violation to the promise that the Chief Executive General
Pervaiz Mussaraf made to the nation in his first speech that despite
the military action, there will be no restriction on the freedom of
press.

This main aim is to harass the staff and editorial board members so
that they should not print anything against the military rule. The
first edition of the Weekly, which was printed on 19th October, have
criticized the military take over and have demanded for fresh general
elections. We believe it is this criticism that the military officials
did not like.

We also like to make it clear that we will not compromise on our ideas
and would defend the interest of the working class as a whole.

Weekly Mazdoor Jeddojuhd is printed regularly since 1980 and has been
in the forefront to defend the working class ideas. The paper have
taken a principal stand against the Nawaz Sharif corrupt government
and exposed many faces involved in the corruption at various level.
For two and half years, the paper did not get a single advertisement
from the Nawaz Government. We like to make it clear that our
opposition against the military rule is no support for Nawaz
Government.

We would urge all our supporters in the trade union movement and in
the social sector organizations to protest against this action of the
military.

We also demand from Chief Executive General Pervaiz Mussaraf to order
an inquiry why the military personal have raided the office. We also
demand an end of these actions and for a full freedom of the press.

Farooq Tariq
Publisher
Shoaib Bhatti
Editor
____________________
#2.
The Hindu
24 October 1999
Op-Ed.

PAKISTAN'S TRAGEDY

Pakistan's tragedy is that civilian leaders in the post-1988 era have
not strengthened the democratic institutions by weakening the hold of
the army. They have only used them for narrow financial and political
gains and paid lip-service to democracy. AMIT BARUAH makes a diagnosis.

PAKISTAN HAS entered yet another uncertain phase in its history. For the
fourth time in its 52 years as an independent nation, the Army has taken
power directly in an apparent bid to ``rescue'' the country from a
``civilian despot''.

Had the Army not intervened at this juncture, it could have led to two
possible developments - a final and whimpering acceptance of the Prime
Ministerial authority or a possible revolt from within the ranks of an
angry and frustrated military at a later stage.

Since becoming Prime Minister in February 1997, Mr. Nawaz Sharif
appeared clear about one thing - he had to consolidate his power base to
avoid the fate he met at the hands of the Army Chief in 1993 when Gen.
Abdul Waheed Kakar ended his tenure as the chief executive.

In 1997, Mr. Sharif enacted the draconian Anti-Terrorist Act and an
anti-defection law which made a mockery of parliamentary democracy,
ensured the removal of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and resulted in
the resignation of an elected President after he was divested of the
powers to sack civilian governments or appoint the Services Chiefs.

In 1998, he showed ``zero tolerance'' of suggestions emanating from a
moderate Army Chief, Gen. Jehangir Karamat, who called for
institutionalised decision-making and solid steps to fix a declining
economy. His advice was not appreciated and Gen. Karamat withdrew into
retirement in October 1998.

In 1999, Mr. Sharif took the support of a handpicked Army Chief, Gen.
Pervez Musharraf, in running military courts in Karachi and recovering
electricity dues across the country, but Kargil spelt trouble for the
relationship.

As the blame game over Kargil assumed ominous proportions, Mr. Sharif
realised that Gen. Musharraf was no Karamat. The General would not go
voluntarily and announced loud and clear on September 23 that he would
complete his tenure as the Army Chief ending on October 6, 2001.

The disastrous strategy planned for dismissing the General was a result
of the fear felt by the Prime Minister. ``He (Mr. Sharif) was a threat
to himself. He suffered from an acute insecurity syndrome,'' said Lt.
Gen. Talat Masood (retd), a leading analyst.

Mr. Sharif was the Army's man until he became ``too big for his boots''.
After having been ``selected'' for politics in 1981 and having become a
provincial minister in Punjab, he never looked back and was never out of
power barring the period 1993-1996.

``Direct military rule in Pakistan has on a number of occasions been
followed by the adoption of civilianisation strategies, focussing on a
tactical withdrawal and accompanied by measures to ensure the military's
political dominance. This controlled transfer of power has placed severe
limitations on the functioning of civilian governments and on their
ability to resolve long-standing problems through structural change,''
Ms. Samina Ahmed argues in a chapter on `The Military and Ethnic
Politics' published in ``Pakistan 1995-96''.

Mr. Sharif, who was picked for ``politics'' by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq's
Governor in Punjab, the late Lt. Gen. Jilani, could not resist the
temptation of bringing the Army to heel during his second tenure - a
temptation that led to his downfall.

The ousted Prime Minister wanted to finally free himself from the
overburden of the military. Had it been done in a situation where the
civilian leadership was credible and was seen as locking horns with an
authoritarian military, the people would have supported Mr. Sharif.

But Mr. Sharif proved inept and wanted to enact the 15th amendment or
the Shariat Bill, which would have established himself as a de jure
civilian despot. There is, in Pakistan, a sense of relief that Mr.
Sharif departed without being able to turn the Shariat Bill into law.

Apart from displaying visible autocratic tendencies, Mr. Sharif and his
associates showed little interest in tackling the problems of the
people. All his populist schemes were ill- conceived and only served to
add to the growing bad loans of public sector banks. His love for road
construction did not recognise fiscal limits or requirements.

There was little in Mr. Sharif's rule for the common Pakistani. After
announcing a whopping 30 per cent subsidy in electricity bills through
an address to the nation, the Prime Minister withdrew it quietly - under
possible pressure from the International Monetary Fund.

Kargil, in a sense, was the epitome of the contradictions that
characterised Mr. Sharif and his Government. He first approved the
Kargil operation and then sought to put the blame on Gen. Musharraf who,
no doubt, was the one who planned and executed the misadventure.

Also, what signal did the Sharif-Musharraf combine send out to India and
the rest of the world? That it was ``okay'' to sign the ``historic''
Lahore declaration in February even after taking over the heights of
Kargil? The Pakistani state was displaying its ``split personality'' as
never before.

Writing in the Dawn, Ms. Asma Jehangir, Pakistan's best-known social
activist, said, ``.... General (Musharraf) must disclose the timing of
his shaken faith in the former Prime Minister. Most reports point
towards the debacle of Kargil. What upset the General needs to be shared
with the nation. Was it the decision to start the (Kargil) war or to end
it? Or was it both?

``If it was because the decision to start Kargil was taken by the Prime
Minister and then abandoned clumsily, then the General has a genuine
grouse. However, if the General shared the decision to conduct the
Kargil operation, then he shares as much responsibility as the former
Prime Minister for a faux pas. Both men have shown they can be rash and
adventurist. Then why should one be preferable to the other? Why the
jubilation?,'' Ms. Jehangir wanted to know.

She has hit the Kargil nail on the head. Both Gen. Musharaff and Mr.
Sharif were responsible for India-Pakistan relations hitting the rock
bottom and the unnecessary and tragic deaths of over 1,000 Indian and
Pakistani soldiers.

A revolt of the co-opted civilian leadership, put in place in the
post-Zia Pakistan, has been effectively quelled by the military masters.
They have had to come out and rule openly once again. However, given the
new international predilections, a ``hybrid martial law'' has been put
in place.

``While the military has found it relatively easy to take power owing to
the weakness of civil society, it has found it extremely difficult to
acquire legitimacy as it invariably faces political opposition... the
military's strategy of depoliticising society by weakening civilian
institutions has also helped it to retain control over the state....'',
Ms. Samina Ahmed argued in ``Pakistan 1995-96''.

Pakistan's tragedy is that civilian leaders in the post-1988 era have
not tried to strengthen democratic institutions by weakening the hold of
the Army. They have only ``worked'' the institutions for narrow
financial and political gains and paid lip-service to democracy.

The rise of extremist forces, a result of state-backing, and Pakistan's
disastrous Afghan ambitions are a direct result of a failed democracy.
The October 12 coup is a frightening pointer to the state of Pakistan as
a nation.Rather than looking upon themselves as the arbiter of
Pakistan's destiny, the Army and Gen. Musharraf would do well to
appreciate the merits of an unfettered, uncontrolled and unbridled
democracy where coups do not happen.
___________________
#3.
Coup in Pakistan: Online Resources
Asia Society, USA

"This Special Report includes annotated links to [15] selected commentaries
from the international press, a list of [nine] news sources providing
extensive coverage of events as they unfold in
Pakistan, and links to several [six] relevant organisations."

URL http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=2641
___________________
#4.
[Excerpted from]
The Times of India
24 October 1999

ARMED FORCES "NOT CONSULTED'' BEFORE N-TESTS
The Times of India News Service

NEW DELHI: Lamenting the near absence of strategic thinking among
planners and decision makers, Lt Gen (Retd) Eric A Vas said the armed
forces were ``not consulted'' by the Vajpayee government before the
nuclear tests in Pokhran in May last year.

``This momentous decision was taken solely on the advice of clever
scientists and bureaucrats who lacked constitutional responsibility or
accountability. The military chiefs had not been consulted about a
matter which had far- reaching security consequences,'' Gen Vas said. He
was delivering the Field Marshal Cariappa Memorial Lecture here.

Gen Vas maintained that Pokhran-II was followed by ``a period of
confusion with several ministers making irresponsible and contradictory
statements.''

Of the National Security Council (NSC), the retired general said the
government appointed a special task force (STF) ``in order to fulfil its
election manifesto and also to offset criticism or irresponsible ad
hocism.''

Stating that the STF recommendations should be examined by the
government, he sought a high-level review of all aspects of intelligence
and the involvement of ruling and opposition parties in the selection of
top officials for the security and intelligence agencies.

Gen Vas said there was an urgent need to integrate the defence ministry
and the three service headquarters. During Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, after
the Sri Lanka and Maldives operations,``a strategic shift'' occurred in
the role of the armed forces which were ``now being ordered to defend
India's interests beyond our geographical borders''.

``This radical change of role was decided without even a debate in
Parliament. It was done on the whims of an immature PM based on the
perceptions and adviceof bureaucrats who lacked responsibility or
accountability,'' he said.

Gen. Vas, who retired as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern
Command, said that after these two operations, ``many MPs belonging to
different parties were unhappy with the politico- military
decision-making system.''
[...] .
_______________
#5.
Press Trust of India

INDIA TO PRIME ITS MISSILE PROGRAMME WITH `SURYA'
WASHINGTON: India is likely to launch a 5,000-km range missile,
``Surya,'' in mid-2001, the Defense News weekly said. India has already
spent $50 million on the development of ``Surya'' and the missile would
be powered by a Russian cryogenic engine which uses liquid fuel cooled
to a very low temperature, the weekly said quoting Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists. India is building its own
cryogenic engine but it will not be ready by 2001.

India, said the weekly, had a deal with Russia for cryogenic engines
through 2002. The first engine was received in December 1998 for a large
satellite booster. One of the next cryogenic engine deliveries would be
for the ``Surya''.

DRDO's missile plan also included an upgradation of the range of India's
existing short-range ``Prithvi'' missile from 150-km to 350 km. A naval
version of the ``Prithvi'' missile, with a range of 250 km, is expected
to be tested later this year. Also, about 20 ``Agni'' ballistic missiles
with a range of more than 2,000 km will be manufactured by 2001 at a
total cost of $150 million, the weekly said.

DRDO is also planning to develop a medium range air-to-air missile
called ``Astra'', to be fired from combat aircraft such as the Sea
Harrier, MiG-29 and Su-30.

India is expected to provide fresh funding for a major push to missile
research and development taking into account the tactical value of
missiles in the country, the weekly said, quoting government sources in
New Delhi. A missile research plan, submitted earlier this year by the
DRDO, costing $800 million, was not acted on but now it was being dusted
off as a basis for a wideranging new programme, the sources said.

Against the request of the DRDO for $800 million for 1997-2000, the
government allocated it only $142.8 million. But this is set to change,
according to finance ministry and DRDO officials. The plan was outlined
in a letter from DRDO chief and father of Indian missile technology A P
J Abdul Kalam to defence minister George Fernandez but was largely
ignored due to the Kargil conflict and national electons, the weekly
said.

Now, however, government would take a fresh look at the comprehensive
missile plan drawn up by the DRDO, which aims at developing a wide range
of modern missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The plan
focuses on early deployment of a number of new missiles, including two
versions of an inter-continental ballistic missile.

According to one Indian official, medium-range naval missiles and
air-to-air medium-range missiles would be developed and tested within
the next two to four years. (PTI)
_____________________
#6.
The Hindustan Times
24 October 1999
Features

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
BY Akshaya Mukul

In his last stint as human resource development minister, Murli Manohar
Joshi had packed the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) with
18 historians known for their Hindutva orientation. Last week, fresh
from victory in Allahabad, Joshi appointed BR Grover and ML Sondhi as
chairmen of the ICHR and ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science
Research) respectively.

This time, however, Joshi was at his belligerent best, labelling the
critics of his new appointees as 'fascists' - a term usually reserved in
India for those whose agenda is a Hindu Rashtra.

This remark wasn't the only reason why the capital's intellectuals
blanched. For, in appointing Hindutva sympathisers to the ICHR and
ICSSR, Joshi has shown that he understands well the role history can
play in subverting the past to legitimise the present and secure the
future.

In Grover, Joshi has a person who might just achieve this. For, in the
late Eighties and early Nineties, it was he who provided the BJP with
the archaeological "evidence" that the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya had been
built over a Ram temple. Unfortunately for the ICHR, apart from the
Ayodhya project, there's not much more to its chairman's credentials.

With the patronage of Marxist historian and former West Bengal governor
Nurul Hasan, Grover got into Jamia Millia Islamia and retired from there
as reader. The few articles he penned in historical journals were on the
revenue terms of Mughal rulers - not a particularly profound subject of
research.

But Devendra Swarup, a historian close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, differs: "Scholarship is not limited to books. Grover's article
has been quoted by historians like CA Bayly." This could have been
overlooked but for the fact that Grover will occupy the post once held
by Nihar Ranjan Ray, RS Sharma, Irfan Habib, Ravindra Kumar, Lokesh
Chandra and AR Kulkarni, famous internationally for their pioneering
research work.

Sondhi, on the other hand, is a former Indian Foreign Service officer
and a Jawaharlal Nehru University professor. He fought on the Jana Sangh
ticket in 1967 from New Delhi.

Two major issues have emerged from these appointments. First, Joshi's
justification that every regime appoints its own people to these bodies.
Second, why is the BJP in such a tearing hurry to saffronise these
institutions?

Historian Sumit Sarkar of Delhi University pooh-poohs Joshi's claim
about the biases of earlier regimes. Out of the first seven ICHR
chairmen, only Irfan Habib and RS Sharma were known Marxists, he says.
Lokesh Chandra, in fact, is the son of Jana Sangh leader Raghuvir and is
himself a BJP member. Says Sarkar, "Grover himself was member-secretary
of the ICHR in the 80s. How can Joshi claim that Left historians had
been propelled by Congress governments into the ICHR?"

Sarkar points out that Habib, a CPM member, was appointed by Rajiv
Gandhi in 1986 despite the Congress having a tie-up with the CPI which
was then at loggerheads with the CPM. Habib's second term in 1989 came
when both the CPM and BJP were supporting the VP Singh government.

Argues Sarkar, "The basic thrust of the BJP is to construct an enemy.
Rhetorically, they might have succeeded in achieving this, but it also
needs to be concretised. For this, rewriting history, especially school
textbooks, becomes very important. The BJP's main fight is more with
history than with political parties."

Historian Bipan Chandra feels that with the BJP putting aside the three
main instruments of the Hindutva agenda - Article 370, uniform civil
code and Ram Mandir - it is now pursuing ideological penetration, hoping
to mould the nation's psyche. This is why the ICHR and ICSSR are
crucial.

"They know that unless civil society is communalised, they won't get
power. The best way to pursue this is through textbooks," says Chandra.
He draws a parallel with UP's Provincial Armed Constabulary, which was
gradually communalised by recruiting RSS volunteers.

"The BJP has not given ideologically important ministries like HRD and
culture to its allies," observes Chandra. "In fact, culture has been
taken away from Joshi who, though dogmatic, is not dynamic enough, and
given to Ananth Kumar, a more ardent RSS man. I'm surprised the BJP's
allies have not raised objections to its desire to rewrite history."

Others are perturbed at Joshi's desire to 'Indianise' history. Asks JNU
historian KN Panikkar: "Will it be a Hindu version of Indianisation or
Muslim or Christian?" Adds Sarkar, "They will first subvert the known
notions. The fact that Aryans came from outside will be changed. The
word adivasi will be replaced by vanvasi. The idea is to attack the
origin of everything."

The grand old man of Indian anthropology, BK Roy Burman, feels this is
only to be expected in the prevailing context of globalisation. "People
seem to be fed up. Ideology can temporarily act as a binding force," he
says.

Devendra Swarup disagrees: "How can they foresee so many dangers?
Actually, they are afraid their history will be questioned and may be
revised. Anyway, the National Council of Educational Research and
Training has to revise books every 10 years - and it's time."

Swarup's grouse is that NCERT history books, especially those pertaining
to the medieval period, are lopsided because of their "Marxist
interpretation." But he fails to cite any example.

Partha S Ghosh, director (research), ICSSR, says fears about the BJP
pursuing its own agenda are unfounded. "Power has its own glue. If they
stay on for long, they will mellow and might even accommodate
intellectuals belonging to the opposite stream," he soothes.

But quite the reverse seems to be happening. In states like UP and
Rajasthan, where the BJP has ruled for long periods, textbooks have been
brazenly revised. As a member of a school textbook review committee,
Chandra came across a Class VIII history book in which RSS chief
Rajendra Singh talked about India possessing nuclear weapons in ancient
times. He even claimed the nuclear proliferation treaty had existed
then. On the committee's objection, the book was withdrawn.

The fear is, there might not even be a committee to raise objections to
myths peddled as history. For instance, the committee appointed to frame
the syllabus for open schools was recently disbanded after it had put in
two years of hard work. It is suspected the presence of Sarkar and
Pannikar was the problem.

Then, the ICHR has decided to bring out all volumes of the Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan history series edited by the controversial RC Majumdar.
Says Pannikar, "It's wrong to waste money on this series. The volumes
are not only awfully out of date but are a first rate communal work."

What's the way out? Claiming it is difficult to control the intellectual
life of a diverse country like India, Chandra suggests a three-pronged
strategy - secular opposition parties should raise these issues; the
secular intelligentsia should see the impending danger and protest; and
finally, the BJP should not be allowed to grow in states where its
presence is minimal.
_____________________
#7.
Deccan Chronicle
24 October 1999

VHP SCHOOLS SEEK CENTRAL FUNDING
New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad wants the government to fund its
Ekal Vidyalaya (one-teacher school) scheme, saying it is the only
effective programme to uplift the poor and check conversions to
Christianity.

"The scheme has been successful in resisting conversions. But we need
funds, and the government should give us funds. We don't want them to
give the money just like that, they should give it only on the basis of
the results we have produced so far," B P Singhal, adviser to the
Samskriti Raksha Manch, the cultural wing of the VHP, told this
correspondent.

Singhal, who is also a BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, said the teacher
in ekal vidyalayas at present got only Rs 1,200 every month, "which was
far less than what a missionary got to convert people into
Christianity."

Under the ekal vidyalaya scheme, VHP volunteers are sent to villages,
especially those with a tribal population, where they live among the
people. "We don't have a level-playing field. The United States,
Britain, Holland, Denmark and Germany have pumped in more than $10,000
million during the last ten years for conversions. The church documents
show this," Singhal said.

"But if we ask for even Rs 1 crore from the government for the good work
that we are doing, there will be a great hue and cry. Nobody minds when
the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation gets Rs 100 crore from the Central
government. Now it is for the government to think, it has to take the
initiative.

It should identify the genuine projects and fund them," he said.Singhal
said there was a sudden spurt in conversions since 1985, and in the last
five years, conversions were being done on a war-footing. "The aim is to
have a church is every pin code and a Bible in every hand. I am not
saying this, the church records show this. Opening more and more ekal
vidyalayas is the only way to resist it," he claimed.
____________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH is an informal, independent &
non-profit citizens wire service run by South Asia Citizens Web
(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.