[sacw] sacw dispatch (6 Oct. 1999)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
6th October 1999
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#1. E-mail from IK Shukla on BJP's imminent arrival in India
#2. Urgent action request by Nayi Azadi Andolan
#3. 'Murderers of History [in Pakistan]' Op-Ed in News International
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#1.
6 October.
=46rom: <ikshukla@h...>
Depressing poll results. Persecution of dissent and assault on minorities
will increase. Unless the democratic forces band together and undertake
massive grassroots educational and social work all over India,they will be
buried seven fathoms deep. BJP would interpret it as mandate for fascistic
mayhem, and ravage ever more ferociously the political and social fabric of
India with impunity. An added feature: it will get tools of repression from
uncle sam a la Latin America. As quid pro quo,and incessantly. It will sell
out national interest(resources and sovereignty) singing "Swadeshi" and
mouthing "cultural nationalism." US will get another slave satellite,
another imperialist outpost, another stooge to do the bidding of Washington.
If the democratic forces don't wake up by this rude jolt to their
complacency and "ideological purity" obsession, India is not only damned, it
is doomed.
No use softpedalling, no use entering interminable chatter about what
constitutes fascism, no use waiting for the Parliament to deliver. we waited
for over 50 yrs in vain.
------------------------------------
#2.

Nayi Azadi Andolan
New Global Freedom Movement
35 CCI Chambers, Mumbai 400 020
email: educserv@a...

Wednesday, October 06, 1999

Your Immediate Action Can Help

AVERT A MAJOR TRAGEDY IN INDIA

*******Wire, Fax Or Email to President of India*******

Dear Friend of Freedom:

Medha Patkar, a friend of the downtrodden poor villagers of India
and a leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan is now entering the fourth day
of her indefinite fast unto death in a jail in Dhule District of
Maharashtra, India.

She and over 300 peaceful protestors were recently arrested and
put in jail for demanding that:

(1) Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Narayan Rane,
should honor the promise of his government to give
equivalent amount of land to the people of
Maharashtra displaced by Narmada River Dam.

(2) He should also oppose the raising of the height of
the dam, which significantly increases the number
of people displaced and made homeless.

(3) Enter into a meaningful dialog with the protestors
to find ecological sound alternatives for providing
drinking water and irrigation water to farmers.

Instead of this, a terrible repression was let loose on the
demonstrators and they were locked up in jail.

Five others have joined Medha Patkar in her indefinite fast unto
death inside the jail in Dhule.

Your immediate protest letters, telegrams, fax and or email
messages to the following two persons in India may help avert a great
tragedy because several hundred displaced villagers have taken a vow
to drown in the rising waters of Narmada River than to move from
their homes.

Please send copy of your protest letters to Nayhi Azadi Andolan
at the above email address and we will forward them to Narmada Bachao
Andolan.

With best wishes,
Yours for Freedom,

Shrikumar Poddar &
K. S. Sripada Raju
For Nayi Azadi Andolan

P.S. Please broadcast this message to your on email list for maximum
pressure on the President of India and the Chief Ministerof
Maharashtra State of India.

[Sample of Letter to be sent to The President of India and the Chief
Minister of Maharashtra]
(see addresses given below)

Date______

Mr. K. R. Narayanan
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi, India
email address presssecy@a...

Dear Mr. Narayanan:

We are deeply concerned that over 300 peaceful protestors are put
in jail in the Dhulia district of Maharashtra by the Chief Minister
Shri Narayan Rane of that state.

These protestors were exercising their democratic rights
guaranteed under the Indian Constitution to ask for equivalent amount
of land promised to them by the state governments.

The were also demanding that the height of the dam not be raised
so that thousands of additional farm families do not become displaced.

The were also asking that the state government enter into a
meaningful dialog with the Narmada Bachao Andolan to find cheaper and
ecological sound solution to provide drinking and irrigation waters
to the people of the state.

Instead a rein of terror was let loose on the unarmed
demonstrators by lathi wielding police and several hundred were
arrested and put in jail without bail.

We demand that you see that

(1) Medha Patkar and others are unconditionally released immediately.

(2) Section 144 prohibiting assembly by five or more persons be
lifted and the people of India be permitted to peacefully seek
redress of their grievances.

(3) State Government should enter into a meaningful dialog to find
cheaper and ecologically sound solutions for water resources for
drinking and irrigation.

We will appreciate your quick action to help avert a great tragedy in
the Indian subcontinent if the displaced villagers keep their vow of
drowning in the rising river waters of Narmada and the six persons
including Medha Patkar on indefinite fast unto death should end of
giving up their lives.

Please let us know what steps you are taking in this urgent matter.

Sincerely yours,

Your name

Please also contact:

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Mantralaya
Mumbai, India

=46ax numbers are 91-22-202-9214 or 91-22-363-1446
------------------------------------------
#3.
The News International, Pakistan
Wednesday, October 6, 1999
Opinion
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct99-daily/06-10-99/oped/o5.htm

Murderers of history
By Suroosh Irfani

A political culture of violence spawned by an intolerant interpretation of
Islam and a distorted view of history lies at the heart of Pakistan's slide
into a terrorist society, of which recent sectarian killings are the latest
example. Indeed, the blurring of boundaries between terrorism and Islam
that we are witnessing today is the logical outcome of an opportunistic use
of religion and politics by successive governments and political groups
over the last 50 years. And even though such opportunism has spelled the
twin disasters of Pakistan's breakup in 1971 and subversion of the nation's
institutions by former dictator Zia's Islamisation, there seems little that
we have learned from these national catastrophes.

Indeed, the self-righteous distortion underpinning our interpretation of
Pakistan's breakup and glorification of narco-religious terrorism
instituted by General Zia has made falsehood a foundation of our sense of
history and national identity.

Consequently, confusion, terror and outright lies have become intrinsic to
a discourse of power bereft of a sense of authenticity and self-esteem.
Small wonder that democracy and electoral politics notwithstanding, our
leaders hanker for Washington's blessings for self-validation and
legitimacy, even as they pander to the whims of religio-political parties
and the blackmail of homegrown armed terrorist groups.

Such a state of affairs makes it imperative to take serious note of KK
Aziz's ground breaking analysis of "the falsehoods and plain lies" that
have a share in shaping a Pakistani subjectivity in the name of ideological
education being imparted in schools and colleges. Entitled "The Murder of
History" (Vanguard: 1993), Aziz's study is in fact a white paper
cataloguing the lies, bigotry and bias that successive governments have
systematically passed on through tailored courses and textbooks on history
and Pakistan studies. The hundreds of examples and extracts that the author
cites from some 65 textbooks and helpbooks are a disturbing testament of
the ignorance, hatred and prejudice that has gone into shaping our cultural
self.

=46or example, a book on Pakistan studies for intermediate students gives th=
e
following account of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, after making it clear that
East Pakistan's secession was brought about "with the connivance of major
powers":

"In the 1971 war, the Pakistan armed forces created new records of bravery,
and the Indian forces were defeated everywhere=85The Hindus of East Pakistan
engineered anti-Urdu demonstrations during Jinnah's time and at last the
federal politicians accepted the humiliating situation and declared Bengali
a second national language. This movement sowed the seeds of hatred".(p53)

As Aziz rightly comments, if in 1971 the Indians were beaten everywhere,
why did the victorious Pakistan Army surrender to India in Dhaka? Moreover,
why was it humiliating for the government of Pakistan to accept Bengali as
a second language? Demography, democracy and morality dictated that Bengali
should be made the national language of the country.

Aziz also cites extensive passages from a "prized" textbook on Pakistan
studies designed by a special committee of distinguished professors and
research directors headed by a vice chancellor as a compulsory course
introduced in all colleges, both Urdu and English medium. These passages
make a tragic reading of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of an
intelligentsia whose personal bias, ignorance and opportunism have been
allowed to pass on as 'history'.

=46or example, this prized creation of Zia's regime lists Maulana Mahmood
Hassan and Maulana Maudoodi among "the founders of the ideology of
Pakistan", without mentioning that they were opposed to the Muslim League,
or that Maudoodi was against the creation of Pakistan. Also, the discussion
on Muslim revival in India completely ignores the Muslims of Bengal, even
though they spearheaded the movements of Muslim revival in the subcontinent.

Such a sectarian outlook of history is also extended to the NWFP where the
Khudai Khidmatgars are not even mentioned. The Unionist Party in Punjab is
dubbed as a party of "big land holders (which) created a spirit of hatred
in the province"--never mind if Allama Iqbal and many other prominent
Muslims (who were not landlords) were among the founders of this party.

As for the 1977 movement against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government, rather
than informing students that the movement was sparked off by an opposition
protesting election rigging, the following account is given without any
mention of Bhutto's name:

"The PPP government failed to establish an Islamic system in the country,
did not treat the provinces equally, and created a feeling of deprivation
in NWFP and Baluchistan. For this, a movement was started in 1977, which
resulted in change of government the change which came on July 5, 1977 in
the shape of the imposition of martial law, might have been on the surface
a political incident, but in reality it was the starting point of an
Islamic revolution" (pp91-92)

A passage that Aziz cites from a helpbook on the same course
(Mutala-e-Pakistan) adds: "General Ziaul Haq was chosen by destiny to be
the person who achieved the distinction of implementing Islam law The real
objective of the creation of Pakistan and demand of the masses was
achieved." (p93)

Such fabrications are also extended in describing the importance of Urdu. A
helpbook for class-IX students, whose author is described by the publisher
as "a poet of Islam of which the country is proud," has this to say about
Urdu: "The special feature of Urdu is that it is spoken not only in every
nook and corner of South Asia, but people who know and understand it are
found in the whole world Urdu is the only language which has no equal in
the world. The fact is that even English and French languages are losing
their popularity and importance before the Urdu language." (p39)

Even if the shocking contents of Aziz's book have so far failed to "shake
every reader and throw every parent into a panic", it might be worth our
while to reflect on the author's concluding note: "What our children are
being told are not even half-truths or exaggerations they are falsehoods
and pious frauds. A moment to ponder, dear reader, a moment to ponder, and
to mourn the death of what we profess to live by--Haq, the truth, which is
the first teaching of Islam". (p145)

Even so, while a complicity of governments, educationists and parents may
have given the textbooks unhindered circulation, the subjectivity
underpinning these books is shared by both sides of the political divide.
=46or example, if former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was given to
portraying herself in Washington as a stalwart against fundamentalism even
as her government was supporting the Taliban's putsch in Afghanistan, her
successor has followed a similar track. While projecting himself in
Washington as Pakistan's only alternative to fundamentalism, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif is bent upon Talibanising the country by enforcing a Shariah
Bill, which critics fear may well become a licence for unrestrained power
in the name of Islam. That such apprehensions are will founded is borne out
by the government's indifference to the threats its religio-political
allies are making about killing the critics of the Shariah Bill.

While such threats might be typical of the mindset of the sectarian
terrorists on the rampage from Peshawar to Karachi, what is disturbing is
that a resonance of such a mindset also seems to run through our
parliament. A case in point being a session of the upper house in August
this year. This session refused to even discuss a resolution condemning the
killing of women by their relatives in the name of family honour. With only
four senators in the house supporting the resolution, the Senate's session
held on August 2 made one thing clear: that Pakistan can do without the
fineries of moral outrage against terrorist acts, in as much as such acts
reflect a way of life and are directed against women.

As for the Senate's proceedings following the October 1 massacre of Muslims
in a Karachi mosque, reports appearing in sections of the national press
reflect a disturbing picture. The "light-hearted" and "insulting" attitudes
of Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the Oxford educated
Senate Chairman Wasim Sajjad have come under fire, with the chairman
reportedly dubbing a visibly shaken opposition deputy's grief at the
massacre as mere theatrics (tamasha).

Even so, as KK Aziz's somber study shows, the most tragic tamasha of all is
the one we are collectively enacting as defenders of ignorance and
murderers of history, even as we are poised on the brink of a new century.

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