[sacw] sacw dispatch (6 Dec.99)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
6 December 1999
[On the 7th Anniversary of the demolition of the Babari Mosque in India]
------------------------------------------
#1. Indian Rights Activists demand arrest of Advani on Babri mosque demoliti=
on
#2. The Crimes of the Bajrangi Clowns in India
#3. Sri-Lanka lesbians find a new home
#4. And memory is their weapon
#5. Oct 12 Military Coup in Pakistan: Opinions & Analysis
------------------------------------------
#1.
The Hindu
News Update as at 20.00 hrs (IST) on December 6, 1999

RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DEMAND ARREST OF ADVANI ON BABRI ISSUE

New Delhi, Dec. 6 (PTI): Activists of several social and Human Rights
Organisations today hit the streets of the capital on the seventh
anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition demanding the arrest of
[India's] Union Home Minister L. K. Advani and all others guilty of any
role in the demolition of the historic mosque. The activists, who marched
from the historic Red Fort to Feroze Shah Kotla Grounds under the banner
of `Citizens for Secularism', also demanded that the Ayodhya dispute be
resolved through Constitutional and legal means. ``We demand the arrest of
L. K. Advani and all others guilty of any role in the demolition and
resolution of the Ayodhya dispute through Constitutional and legal
means,'' a statement issued by `Citizens for Secularism,' said.

On the attacks on minorities, it demanded immediate measures to nab the
guilty. The statement alleged that sheltered by the BJP, the forces of the
Sangh-combine, freely used State machinery and State protection to carry
out their attacks on minorities. ``Muslims have always been the object of
their violence, but in addition, they have now targeted the Christian
community-burning their prayer houses, killing their believers and
spreading the poison of communal hate in every part of the country,'' the
statement alleged.
-----------------------
#2.
News From Bangladesh
6 December 1999
Commentary

THE CRIMES OF BAJRANGI CLOWNS
By Narayan Gupta

If one has to write an objective account of the religious intolerance and
demolition of the places of worships over the centuries in the world, South
Asia in particular, the cover page of that book will occupy the black and
white picture of the Bajrang Brigade [Youth wing of the World Hindu Council
a far right group] with crow bars and Trishuls (tridents), Chandan wood
paste lavishly pasted on the fore head dismantling the four hundred years
old monument in the town of Ayodhya in the district of Faizabad in UP,
India.

Tens of thousands of marchers came from all over [=8A] well orchestrated an=
d
the intentions were not any secret to any one. They carried the banners of
the front organizations-Viswa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and Bajrang Dal (Bajrang or Bajarang stands for Hanuman or Langur-a black
faced monkey who according to mythology helped Ramchandra in his fight
against the Rakhshash king Ravana of ancient Sri Lanka). There are
apologists who, would under any circumstances, view hoodlums as simple
hoodlums. They would not recognize where these goondas derive the
inspiration. They are so naive that they fail to appreciate that these
folks are often (not every time) receive inspirations from the religious
texts-which could and are be interpreted by any in any manner by any self
proclaimed Guru of any school-none holding exclusive copy right to do so.
In the end, common people are served with diametrically opposite
interpretations, which often culminates in both, interfaith and intra-faith
mass killings of innocent people.

Talking about the December 1992 episode of Ayodhya, Faizabad, I am not at
all unwilling to call the crowd who assembled there chanting 'Hare Hare
Bhom Bhom' or hoisting festoons of 'Hindu' Parishad as anything other than
what they called about themselves-pure and simple garden variety Hindus.
There is no need to be overly politically correct in dealing with South
Asian events. The Phalangists of Lebanon and recently the Serbians of
former Yugoslavia aptly called the Christian terrorists. Why should then
there be any hesitation to call spade a spade? That does not and should not
blemish other Hindus who had nothing to do with the cowards who assembled
there with cry of 'Dharmajuddha' (something like a Crusade or a Jihad).
After all, any straight person, if he/she is not suffering from total
degeneration of his/her grey cells, will find a fairly good number of
Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and even Jews with open mind and not totally
surrendered to any form of bigotry.

Thus, the Hindu goondas assembled there with sole intention of demolishing
the Masjid. Someone who is now the home minister of India provided the
leadership. At the provincial capital of Lucknow, the chief executive was
no other than Mr. Kalyan Singh [Then Chief Minister of the State of UP] of
the BJP. He had all the police force in hand and many were within stones
throw of the demolition site. The way Indian system is supposed to work-not
that it did not ever function-if there is the local government fails to
discharge its obligations the Federal government should deploy its forces
to enforce the rule of law and Constitution. That did not happen in
December 1992, though in New Delhi there was a Congress government with Mr.
V. P. Narasimha Rao at the helm. He did not send military to disperse the
unruly crowd, though most districts have a contingent of federal force. Mr.
Rao just bade time or looked the other way when the miscreants were taking
out brick by brick of the very foundation of human decency, which in
essence is the in ingredient of a pluralistic civil society. What collapsed
on that day was not a brick and mortar - it was the good sense and
religious tolerance that was attempting to take some root in post-modern
South Asia.

Within weeks of carnage in UP, the other faction of the Hindu goondas
[Thugs], led by an arch Hindu bigot of modern times, started Tandab Nrity
(Dance of Terror) in the Crawford Street and Dharavi areas of Bombay on the
Muslims. The result was close to three thousand dead - even children and
women were not spared. By chance if you are born of a Hindu family and you
are well educated, feel free to remain silent to the terror and crime of
folks of the same feather. And a few others will soon throw away all qualms
of decency and follow suit-as is evident in the web pages of the NFB.

The issue is not whether the mythological hero Ramchandra was born at that
location. Even an infidel child knows that myths are only myths and the
mythical characters are not physically born - that basic rule applies to
all Avatars (Sanskrit word for Prophet) - Ramchandra and Sri Krishna
included. Then why there was so much zeal in the first place to build a
temple at the site, which cannot be backed by any scientific truth. Never
mind, who cares for science these days of unadulterated bigotry. Even after
it became a fad to swear by secularism, the new converts would do anything
that in essence are against the basic tenets of secularism. Does not Mr.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee talk about secularism? Bhuter Mukhe Raam Naam? Please
give me a break!

Indian leaders now will have to demonstrate that the hard earned
constitutionally guaranteed (often flagrantly violated) religious and
ethnic rights are not hollow. No society can claim to be a civil one if its
policies are directed against poor and minorities under whatever pretext.
May be West Bengal Chief Minister was right when he described the
ringleader of the demolition squad as Barabar and Ashbhya (barbaric and
uncivil).

On the seventh anniversary, only one thought that comes to my mind is: The
only way that confidence can be restored is by re-erecting the Babri Masjid
brick by brick at the same site preferably by the Hindu zealots who
dismantled the original structure.

Nothing short of that will be of any consequence.
(Mr. Narayan Gupta writes from Maryland, America)
---------------
#3.
The Times of India
Monday 6 December 1999 | Posted at 0130 hrs IST

LANKA LESBIANS FIND A NEW HOME
By Charu Lata Joshi

The Times of India News Service
COLOMBO: Five years after Sri Lankan men decided to shed their inhibitions
and launch the country's first organisation for people with `alternate
sexualities', women have decided to follow suit.

Forty women from diverse backgrounds gathered Sunday at the `Drop-in
Centre' at the capital's head office for gay men to launch the society's
first formal lesbian organisation. It is indeed a big day in the lives of
these women, who have till now been objects of social ostracism and
ridicule with no support structure to rely on. ``We feel we now have a
home,'' said 22-year-old Ujjwala.

Her sentiments are echoed by nearly a dozen other young women, who recount
hair-raising tales of harassment and physical abuse when they come out in
the open. According to Sri Lanka's leading gay activist, Sherman De Rose,
women have borne the worst of social discrimination. ``While male
homosexuality is becoming a slowly accepted fact in Sri Lankan society,
women had nowhere to go to,'' he said. The organisation, also called
`Companions' like its male counterpart, is now expected to fulfil that role.

Apart from working as a meeting ground for a steadily-growing number of
women who are getting more vocal about their sexual preferences, the
organisation will provide medical and HIV/AIDS counselling, protection and
even residential facilities for displaced women. It will comprise of an
administrative committee and within the next week, the members will
nominate their chairperson. For now, a sum of Rs 1.2 lakh has been set
aside for this exclusive women's organisation - part of which comes from a
Danish grant.

The problems that lesbian women undergo had been simmering for sometime
now. But the immediate provocation came from a recent episode, which put
the country's gay activists on a fast track to resolve the issue. In an
extremely bizarre incident, a lesbian couple, Upeksha and Jaya (names
changed on request) were not only forced out of their homes but also faced
a death threat for their aberrant behaviour. The two fled and sought refuge
in the `Drop-in-Centre'.

``We knew then that something more formalised had to be worked out, so
that such women have a nodal point of contact when faced with such
circumstances,'' said De Rose. In a society battling between conventional,
South Asian societal codes and western cultural influences, acceptability
alternative sexual orientations is proving to be an uphill task.
``Difficult, not impossible,'' says Jaya, with a smile. Quite.
---------------
#3.
The Hindu
5 Dec. 99
=46eatures |

AND MEMORY IS THE WEAPON

The Kumher massacre, in which 17 dalits were killed, was the worst ever
caste carnage in Rajasthan. It attracted nationwide attention and nearly
30 ministers and scores of MPs visited the place after the killings. But
seven years later, charges are yet to be framed against those behind the
attack. Meanwhile, some of the dalits converted to Sikhism in protest.
Noted journalist P. SAINATH on the condition of dalits.

Kumher, Bharatpur (Rajasthan):

KESAR watched in agony from her hiding spot as they dragged her husband
from behind the bushes. Hubbal Ramji's attackers broke his hands, smashed
his ribs and face with rods as he begged for water and then they burned
him alive.

The Kumher massacre had begun.

"The police had arrested a lot of youths from our Jatav (dalit) basti and
we heard that one of our boys was among them. So we went out looking for
him," says Kesar. On the way, Ramji went behind some bushes to defecate.
"I was left near the mandir. Just then, the crowd of Jats came that way
and found him."

The 2,000-strong mob that came after the dalits of Kumher in Bharatpur
district left scores of homes destroyed. In official reckoning, not less
than 17 people died the way Ramji did. The dalits of Kumher believe more
than twice that number was slaughtered. Either way, it was Rajasthan's
biggest ever caste carnage.There was no one to defend them.

"The police had just arrested some 400 of our young men and taken them to
the police station," says Chunni Lal Jatav in Kumher's dalit basti. "They
had raided our colony on the rumour that arms had been stored here. So
when the attack came, the main force capable of opposing the killers
wasn't there."

In nearby Sainthri village some were burnt alive when bittoras (stores of
dung and fuelwood) they were hiding in were deliberately set alight. Six
lost their lives. Many from that village fled their homes for a year. Some
never returned.

That was June 6, 1992. Kesar remembers the day well as she's relived it
often in her mind. "I wish I'd died, too. But it became my responsibility
to find our son." So she stayed hidden behind the mandir and watched her
husband "die by inches."

She often sees the men who killed Ramji. Seven years after the event,
charges are yet to be framed against those who led the massacre.

Purushottam Nand Singh of Kumher town used to be Purushottam Das.

That was before the carnage occurred. He used to pray regularly at the
Hanuman mandir in the basti. And even helped look after it. "They set fire
to it," he says, clearly hurt by the memory even now. "They were also
Hindus. But that didn't stop them. That's when I broke with this
religion."

Purushottam became a Sikh. Close to 15 families converted along with him
after the bloodbath. There is caste in his new faith, too. "But it is
still better." Why Sikhism? Why not Islam or Christianity? He sees those
as 'videshi' religions. Sikhism "is a swadeshi dharm." So is Hinduism,
surely? "But it failed me. Hindus have thousands of gods. "Not one heard
our cries. Not one responded."

Some of his family, like his brother Kundan Singh, remain Hindus. And the
pull of the past touches Purushottam, too. On the main walls, pictures of
Krishna, Shiva and Parasuram rest alongside those of Ambedkar and Guru
Gobind Singh. "I do go by the temple once awhile. Such is habit. But I
don't offer puja."

Even Sattu Ram and Moola see the funny side of their situation since the
massacre. Since 1992, these elderly men have made countless trips to
Jaipur to appear in court. They were already close to their 70s when
Kumher erupted. Along with many other dalits they stand accused of looting
a bus. That was one of the events said to have sparked off the Jat
'retaliation.'

"Look at me," says Sattu Ram peering at us through glasses as thick as a
soda bottle. "I wore the same spectacles then. I would have a hard time
sighting the bus let alone looting it. But we were hauled up all the
same."

How did it all begin? There were two main stories trotted out by the
officials of the time. One, that seven dalit boys had entered a cinema
with only four tickets on June 1 or 2. When the theatre watchman, a Jat,
resisted them, they misbehaved. This escalated into a Jat versus Jatav
blood feud.

"They oversell tickets at that place," says Ram Khiladi in the dalit
basti. "And when more people show up, they force a few dalits to get up
and sit on the floor. This time, the dalits were young people who
resisted. That's when a clash of sorts took place. They were thrown out."
Oddly, the film was "Agni" (Fire).

The second story is that in the protests that followed this clash, a bus
was stopped and looted by the dalits on June 3. Horror stories made the
rounds of a Jat woman who had been dragged off the bus, stripped and
mutilated. That lit the fuse for Kumher's explosion.

But as Delhi-based advocate P. L. Mimroth points out: "On June 8, then BJP
Chief Minister B. S. Shekhawat came to Kumher. He ordered an inquiry at
the highest level into the stripping incident. It was found that no such
thing had happened." Mimroth was part of a human rights team that visited
Kumher soon after the killings.

"The bus story was floated to whip up hysteria," Ram Khiladi told us in
Kumher. "The story on arms in our basti was also planted. It was well
planned. They got our youths arrested. They smashed us." The molestation
case proved a fake. But for a few dalit women of Kumher, rape became very
real on June 6. Some were also stripped or otherwise attacked.

The mob that pillaged Kumher and Sainthri included Jats from neighbouring
villages. The violence of June 6 lasted for hours on end. "They came
smashing into my house," says Lachmi, a young widow. "I begged them to
spare my three children. Still, they tried shooting my son Tej Singh. I
was desperate and hit one of them hard with a hoe.

Then we ran in terror from house to house, seeking shelter."

Over 600 families fled Kumher and Sainthri after June 6. Retired
government servant Chunni Lal escaped harm as he was away in Ganganagar at
the time.

"Blood and fire had swept Kumher," says Chunni Lal, who is also a CPI-M
leader in Bharatpur district. "I returned to find the ruins." Property
worth Rs. 70 lakh to Rs.100 lakh was destroyed and over 50 heads of cattle
slaughtered. "The court for the cases against the dalits-the bus 'looting'
case-was located in Jaipur. Charges were framed and hearings quickly
began. The capital city is several hours away. Each trip made to Jaipur
costs a minimum of Rs. 500. And this has been on for years. Imagine the
hardship."

"On the other hand, the court for the cases against the Jats is located in
Bharatpur. That makes it easier for them. Also, it's on their home turf.
So when charges are framed and hearings begin, they can frighten witnesses
more easily. There has been a bias against us all along. From the time our
boys were rounded up to the filing of the cases."

"Just consider," says Purushottam Nand Singh: "Our people suffer
atrocities. Then our people go to jail."

Maharaj Singh 'Captain' is intelligent, articulate and self-assured. He
describes himself as a Congressman who once ran for MLA. That he was named
by many dalits and various reports as being a key figure in the violence
leaves the former army officer unfazed. "I believe there was some truth in
the bus story," he told me in Kumher. "Maybe it was exaggerated, but
something did happen. There was violence. I was passing through Kumher on
the night of June 3 and was attacked."

"It was dark so they didn't know who I was. Then I heard someone say: 'it
is captain saab.' And they stopped beating me. Then the very dalits who
had hit me carried me to hospital dropped me there and fled. Such is my
standing. Interview any dalits and they will tell you: 'he is our man.'
What followed was really a police failure. Had they arrested the
troublemakers, nothing would have happened." "Cases were filed against me,
under all sections of the criminal code. But I think nothing will come of
them. They are meaningless. And you see," he smiles, "no dalit will give
evidence againt me. All of them know I am their man."

Then how come the charges against him are so many? "That's because the
police are ill motivated. And then all those political leaders came here.
That really drew the caste divisions firmly. The Jatavs have improved
their economic situation. We Rajasthan Jats are second rate citizens here.
Once the Jatavs were keepers of the keys of the royal palace of Bharatpur
in the old Jat Kingdom. But now they have turned against us."

"It's like Lincoln and the negroes in the U.S. He set them free-and then
what happened? They turned against the Whites. Now the Jatavs are getting
up and fighting us."

In Jaipur, Rajasthan Government chief secretary Arun Kumar says he has not
kept up with the Kumher case. "There was an error of judgment, it seems,
on the part of some officials there at the time." He is sorry to learn of
how it has gone. But, he points out, the high profile case was also handed
over to the CBI. What about their performances?

In short, the matter is forgotten. Even the official inquiry (Lodha)
commission's report has not been made public. That too, has been
forgotten.

But in the dalit basti of Kumher, no one has forgotten.

"Please understand that Kumher is first and foremost about a fight for
dignity," says Chunni Lal. "There was some minor land reform here in
1947-48. Dalits got some tiny plots of land. Not enough, but something.
What it gave them was a sense of dignity, a striving for equality. In the
early period, the Jats sometimes grabbed our lands. Even our cattle. They
also imposed forced labour on us."

"Over years, we improved our situation. If you look at the Jats in western
Rajasthan, they're more like us. They've fought the same battles as we
have-against the Rajputs. But the Jats of Bharatpur were once rulers and
can't forget that. They still want to treat us as their ghulams. Like in
the cinema, they wanted the boys to sit on the floor."

"When I was young, we had to wear black bands on our wrists and black
collars. It was that bad. But things have changed. Our people are much
more educated. Even better off than we were years ago. Today's youth are
far more rebellious. More assertive of their rights. There are huge
stirrings of unrest. Nobody here has forgotten Kumher."

Among the young in his basti, the refrain is: "all we want the
administration to do is step aside. We'll tackle the Jats ourselves."

But at the time of the atrocity, the Collector was a dalit. So was the DIG
of police. So too, the divisional commissioner. Didn't that make any
difference?

"They simply went into a save-my-job mode," says Chunni Lal. "They were
bothered about their posts and the important people above who could hurt
them. Class interests prevailed there."

"The police were against us. The courts don't respond to us. Close to 30
ministers from the Centre and state visited this place. We had a busload
of MPs come down from Delhi promising us action. Nothing happened. The
press was here in battalions. If after all this, charges cannot be framed
for seven years, under what circumstances can we expect justice? That's
why what happened in Kumher is so deep in people's minds here. With
everything else lost, their memory of it is the one thing they have."

And memory is their weapon.
------------------
#5.
THE OCT 12 MILITARY COUP IN PAKISTAN:
OPINIONS & ANALYSIS
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Pakcoup.html
__________________________________________
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(http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since1996.