[sacw] [ACT] sacw dispatch #2 (22 March 2000)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #2.
22 March 2000
----------------------------------------
#1. The RSS & Gandhi's assasination
#2. Christian leaders denounce Kashmir massacre
#3. Poems by Usha Verma
#4. Valentines day is Western Culture [read Bad]... Nuclear Bombs are
Indian Culture !
#5. Five Islamic seminaries in Hyderabad have issued fatwas to Muslim film
stars
#6. Repression is no way of tackling the naxalite "rebellion"
#7. Labour Party Pakistan demo against Clinton visit
----------------------------------------

#1.

THE RSS AND GANDHIJIS ASSASSINATION by Shamsul Islam.
As per reports in the different Indian newspapers carried on March 20,
20000, the present RSS chief Mr. KS Sudarshan while addressing a rally in
Calcutta, the Capital of West Bengal on March 19, indicated that his
organization might decide to take legal action against those who continue
to link the organization with Mahatma Gandhis assassination. While talking
to mediapersons he also claimed that it had been proved several times in
the past that the RSS had no hand in Gandhijis murder but people "still
try to link us with that unfortunate incident".
Interestingly if the RSS wants to take legal actions against those who
blame it for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi then they will have to
start with Sardar Patel, the first Home Minister of independent India, Of
course, posthomously. Sardar Patel who continues to be a favorite of the
RSS, in a letter, dated September 11, 1948, to Guru Golwalkar, the then
chief of the RSS, while referring to RSS role in the assassination, wrote,
"It was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthuse the Hindus and
organize for their protection. As a final result of the poison, the
country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji.
Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government, or the people, no more
remained for the RSS. In fact, opposition grew. Opposition turned more
severe, when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after
Gandhijis death. Under these conditions it became inevitable for the
Government to take action against the RSS".
-------------------

#2.
United Christian Forum for Human Rights(Representing the Catholic, NCCI
and Evangelical Churches) President: Archbishop Alan de
LasticCoordinators: Archbishop Vincent Concessao Bishop Karam
MasihNational Convenor: John Dayal
Ph: 9811021072
PRESS STATEMENT
New Delhi, 21 March 20000
Christian leaders denounce Kashmir massacre
Church leaders and the Christian community have expressed its deep shock
at the massacre of 36 Sikh men in a village in South Kashmir last night.
In statements issued today, leaders of the Catholic Church, the Church of
North India, the All India Christian Council and the All India Catholic
Union, as well as prominent citizens, condemned the ghastly act in the
northern state which has seen such bloodshed and sorrow in recent years.
Expressing solidarity with the victims of violence, the Christian leaders=
=20
denounced efforts create divisions between various communities. In
Kashmir, Hindus and innocent Muslims had suffered for years. The
targetting of Sikh men last night was a dangerous escalation of
violence. Violence, they said, would not achieve anything, but would only
increase the suffering of innocent people.
The Christian leaders called upon the Central and state governments to
strengthen vigil against such violence and to take steps necessary to
restore the confidence of the people.
Archbishop Alan de Lastic, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of
India and of the United Christian Forum for Human Rights, expressed his
deep anguish at the death of so many men, many of them youth who had still
to fully live their lives. Such senseless killings, the Archbishop
said, added tot he tears and the misery. Violence, he said, was not a
solution to any issue or problem.
The Archbishop urged upon the central and state governments to take
necessary steps to enforce the rule of law in the state and. Expressing
solidarity with the victims of violence, the Archbishop conveyed the
prayers of the community to the bereaved families in their grief.
Delhi CNI Bishop Karam Masih condemned the as dastardly the killing of
innocent men. It was an act of cowardice to target innocent persons. In
state after state, we had seen that violence did not achieve anything. The
entire nation, he said, shared the agony of the bereaved families.
In their joint statement, All India Christian Council president Joseph
d'Souza, All India catholic Union president Norbert De Souza and United
Christian forum national convenor John Dayal called on the governments
of the state and the centre to address themselves to the crisis. The
peaceful population of the State was being held hostage to violence in
this grim action.
The massacre of the Sikhs, after the spate of violence against Kashmiri
Pandits and innocent Muslims, by terrorists was designed to force a divide
between communities, they said. The violence also exposed the lapses in
security.
-------------------

#3.
[Thanks to Meghna Guhathakurta in Dhaka for sending these poems]

POEMS BY USHA VERMA*

These poems have been translated from Hindi and published in Usha Verma's
first anthology of poems "Horizons To Be", Book Plus, New Delhi, 1999.
Price: Rs.150/ 5 pound sterling

*Usha Verma was born in Barabanki, India. She obtained her M.A. in
Philosophy from Lucknow University and P.G.C.E. from Bradford, U.K. She
has been a lecturer of Philosophy in India and also taught Hindi, Indian
Philosophy at York and Bradford, U.K. Currently she teaches at a Women's
Centre.
Contact email: mkv1@y...

The Museum
When the heat outside
Had scorched my flesh
All inner juices dried up
All images of the heart melted
-Church, Gurudwara, Temple, Mosque
Became museums
Then we'd all look at their inscriptions
Laughing, weeping, would learn
Would go round with these monuments
Pen in Hand
Would take notes
Wouldn't take off our shoes
Nor cover our heads
Nor ring the bells
Nor offer prayers
Would look, see and learn
Laugh, smile and move away
-Would not become their followers,
Nor kill day after day.

[RSG]

Truth Alone Triumphs

Truth alone triumphs
They say
But Truth, I have
Everytime, seen
You lose out
Spread your cloth
Begging for evidence
Bent at your knees
Seen you kneeling
'Ram helps the weak',
I have heard people say
But, O Ram, I have
Every weak one
Seen being belted
Those who menial jobs
Perform
Their hopes alone
Have I seen shattered
'Have patience'
'Have a heart'
This the people advise
It's the patient ones
Who sweat and toil
Everyday (Its them)
I've seen go hungry.
Truth alone triumphs!

HCN

I Am Strong

You use your violence
In my name
Heap your pride on me.
One day
A politician came and said
Hindi will be our State Language
Not a handmaiden, but queen supreme
Will rule nine hundred million
Will traverse daily
The King's Road.
>From the back-door
Hindi came shy, embarassed
Leave these high words
Political moves, counter-moves
Let me be just a servant
Let me serve the people
Let me visit each home
On my own feet
Keep to yourself
Your violence, your pride
Your crowns, your jewels
I need none of these
You have come to rape me,
Thou proud man,
I am strong.

[RSG]
-------------------

#4.
Once again, the Hindutva gang has appropriated *all* of 'Indian Culture'.

-sg

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 1:10:03 PST
=46rom: AFP <C-afp@c...>
Newsgroups: clari.world.asia.india, clari.world.asia+oceania
Subject: Hindus attack Valentine couples in India

NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (AFP) - Rightwing Hindus harassed and attacked
young couples celebrating Valentine's Day in a northern Indian town,
saying the festival was alien to Indian culture, newspapers reported
Tuesday.
As many as 230 couples came under attack, while at least
half-a-dozen restaurants offering Valentine's Day specials were
damaged on Monday in Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, The Hindustan
Times said.
Both the Times and The Indian Express identified the attackers
as members of a student group allied to the RSS, a hardline Hindu
nationalist organisation which counts Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee as one of its members.
The Times said the police arrested 12 men following the
violence.
The protestors had warned restaurants and greeting card
galleries not to mark Valentine's Day, which has become increasingly
popular in India in recent years.
"Several couples were punished publicly," the Express said,
adding young men and women fled from restaurants when they came
under attack. Some men were beaten up on the streets.
"At a pastry shop, some boys and girls were humiliated and freed
(by the activists) only after they promised to maintain dignity of
Indian culture," The Times said.

-------------------
#5.

Indian Express
Saturday, March 4, 2000

Shabana's bald head results in red faces among clergy
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
HYDERABAD, MARCH 3: Five Islamic seminaries in the city have issued fatwas
to Muslim film stars to "renew their faith"" as they were practising
polytheism in films. The seminaries felt that the polytheism was
tantamount to "atheism and infidelity". One of the seminaries, Darul-uloom
Sabil-ul-islam, declared that it was "unlawful" for Muslims to act in
films. The fatwas were issued when the matter relating to the tonsuring of
the head by film actress Shabana Azmi, who is to act in Deepa Mehta's
controversial film "Water", was referred by Syed Fazil Hussain Parvez,
editor of Gawah, an Urdu weekly, to the seminaries- Jamia Nizamia,
Dauril-uloom Sabil-ul-islam, Darul-uloom Hyderabad, Daurl-uloom Rahmania
and Almahad al-ali-ul-islami. If a woman tonsured her head without any
Shariah excuse, it would be a violation of the Islamic doctrine, the
fatwas issued by Darul-uloom Rahmania has declared, according to a press
release from Gawah, which has published the fatwas in its latest edition.
The release said the Jamia Nizamia has termed all sorts of polytheism as
'atheism' and terming it as professional compulsion even while knowing
that due to these acts a Muslim loses his faith, was an "excuse which was
worse than the sin itself". The performance of such acts was 'infidelity'.
Hence, all the film stars who call themselves as Muslims must renew their
faith.
Copyright =A9 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd
-------------------

#6.
Attention: This civil war is growing
(Violence for violence is no way of tackling the naxalite problem, warns
Manoranjan Mohanty)

Another TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act), yet
another ban on a Naxalite organisation now proposed in Madhya Pradesh,
killings in false =E2*=98encounters=E2*=99, acquisition of even more sophist=
icated
weapons by the police, and, of course, a coordinated strategy by the state
governments of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Orissa
under the leadership of the Union home ministry.

These add up to more of the same approach to the Naxalite movement that has
been in operation during the last 33 years. Attacks on police stations,
killing select targets such as landlords, politicians, and police officers,
and landmine blasts continue to figure prominently in the politics of some o=
f
the Marxist-Leninist (ML) groups such as the People=E2*=99s War Group (PWG).

In this confrontation between the state and the ML movement, observers have
generally failed to note the rising consciousness of the deprived sections o=
f
society, who are today more determined than ever before to struggle for land=
,
forest resources, minimum wages, social dignity, and self-governance.

Instead of recognizing this new consciousness among Adivasis, Dalits,
peasants and women as a positive democratic phenomenon, our rulers have
chosen to see them as outbursts of violence and nothing more. Home minister
LK Advani has even said that talk of socio-economic roots of Naxalite
violence should be abandoned since that gives them respectability.

It is this coercive approach of the rulers and the Naxalites=E2*=99 retaliat=
ion,
which have unleashed a new wave of violence in central India.

The Koyyuru incident in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh on December 2,
1999, is a landmark in the recent history of brutal suppression of the
Naxalite movement. Three top leaders of the PWG, Nalla Adi Reddy alias Shyam=
,
E Santosh Reddy (Mahesh) and Seelam Naresh (Murali) were killed in the
Koyyuru forest area. A joint civil liberty investigation has confirmed it wa=
s
a =E2*=98false encounter=E2*=99 staged by the police. The three had gone to =
the
house of
Govinda Reddy, who used to give them shelter in the past but had now been wo=
n
over by the police and helped in this operation.

According to the fact-finding team of several human rights organisations,
Shyam, Mahesh and Murali were taken into custody in a swift operation by the
AP police in Bangalore on December 1, and flown to Hyderabad by a helicopter=
=2E
After interrogation and torture, they were taken to Koyyuru forest. Another
incredible dimension was added in Koyyuru. A peasant named Lakshmirajyam, wh=
o
was guarding the harvest in the field in Garjenapalli village with other
farmers, was picked up at night and killed along with the three leaders. Thi=
s
was done to lend credence to the police story that the four died in exchange
of fire when the Special Police Force (known as Greyhounds) were combing the
forest area.

The PWG reacted violently. The assassination of the Madhya Pradesh minister,
Lakhiram Kavre, a few days later was described as an act of revenge. Whether
such acts of individual assassination, which have very little connection wit=
h
the ongoing democratic struggle, can be an act of revolutionary violence is
questionable.

The attack on a police station in Vishakhapatnam district by a huge, armed
group on February 18, in which more than 10 policemen were killed, was also
described as a reply to the Koyyuru killings. The landmine blast in Bastar
last week, which killed 27 policemen in a van, caused widespread concern.

One can visualise a continuing train of violent attacks and counter-attacks
in this expanding civil war in central India as neither side shows signs of =
a
change in approach.

The recent elections did not see much disruption by the PWG and MCC, who gav=
e
a boycott call in all four states. Barring one landmine incident in Bihar in
the first round of polling, they did not intimidate voters.

The Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) in Andhra Pradesh led by former
civil servant SR Sankaran and PUCL president KG Kannabiran, who have
conducted dialogue with the AP government as well as the ML groups, has
appealed to both not to force voters either to vote or abstain. It has had
some salutary effect. The right to vote, after all, has been achieved throug=
h
a long history of struggle. If it has been turned into an exercise
legitimising oppressive rule, that has to be exposed through a political
campaign rather than coercion.

The policy of liquidating Naxalites in =E2*=98encounters=E2*=99, far from su=
ppressing
the movement, has only exposed the brutal face of the state. Such killings
violate Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution, which require the state to
treat arrested persons according to the process of law. If the agencies of
the state do not follow the law, how can it expect others to abide?

Meanwhile the ML movement remains a major challenge to the system. The
greater the resort to =E2*=98encounters=E2*=99 =E2*=94 275 killings in 1998,=
226 in
1999, and
over 2,000 during the last 20 years in AP =E2*=94 the greater the
identification of
the people in the struggle areas with the ML group. Moreover, when leaders
are killed, the sober minds may have been lost.

The spate of mass rallies in AP in recent weeks, and the massive meeting in
Hyderabad on February 14 convened by as many as 46 organisations (through
court order when the police withdrew permission) are indications of the
common people=E2*=99s disgust with =E2*=98fake encounters=E2*=99. In fact,=
the National
Human
Rights Commission in its order on March 29, 1997, had not only forbidden fak=
e
encounters but had instructed the Andhra government to punish those police
officers found guilty of such illegal acts.

It is important to note that the PWG is now also engaged in constructive
programmes, such as building irrigation facilities, ensuring primary
education and primary healthcare, besides demanding full benefits of
government programmes for tribals. Some ML groups, such as CPI-ML
(Liberation), now participate in election and open mass programmes. Social
oppression of Dalits and women in the struggle areas of Telengana and centra=
l
Bihar is much reduced due to local people=E2*=99s alertness.

However, cases of extortion by ML groups and inhuman punishment to police
informers are also reported from these areas. Violence for violence is no
policy. It breeds more violence while social problems accumulate.

Chandrababu Naidu=E2*=99s policy of cyber-capitalism instead of drinking=
water in
every village, LK Advani=E2*=99s new package for the =E2*=9Ceffective=
state=E2*=9D (the
criminal law amendment that strengthens the hands of the police), and the
RSS=E2*=99 Hindutva offensive do constitute a policy. But it is a wrong
response to
the democratic upsurge for people=E2*=99s rights in contemporary India. It i=
s
likely to invite further turbulence if even the democratic possibilities
provided by the existing constitutional system are not realised to help the
poor.

---------------

#7.
22 March 2000

Labour Party Pakistan demo against Clinton visit

By Farooq Sulehria

The Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) Organized a protest demonstration on
March 22 outside US Consulate in Lahore against US President Bill
Clinton visit to South Asia including Pakistan.

The demonstration was held in an atmosphere of repression as only
three days earlier, the government had announced a ban on political
parties and strikes. The military dictator, who calls himself Chief
Executive, had given a press statement that the ban was imposed also
because of the Clinton visit.

LPP had agreed with another left party, Communist Workers Peasant
Party (CMKP), to hold this demo against Clinton visit. But a day
before the demo, after the ban, the CMKP stayed back and did not
participate in the demo. It was mainly out of fear of arrests and
police action.

LPP initially decided to hold a token demo with only five comrades but
in the end it decided to go with atleast 50 comrades because there
were lot of comrades who wanted to be at the demo. It was the first
and only demo so far on this issue in whole Pakistan by any Left
party. Also it is only LPP that has opposed Clinton visit. Even the
big fundamentalists welcomed Clinton saying Clinton was a guest and
Islam taught respect for guests. These parties did not want to go in
contradiction with Army rulers.

In India there were hundreds of demonstrations against Clinton visit.
Even In Bangladesh, there were militant demos by students. But in
Pakistan there seemed no opposition apparently, though there is a
great hatred among the masses against US imperialism.

The fear of repression can be gauged from the fact that the press
photographers had reached the party office before the demonstration
had started. They asked to take photographs of the comrades, as they
feared that police would not let the demo held.

Comrades carrying placards went along with press persons to the venue
of demonstration, which was only five minutes, walk from the party
office. Comrades carrying placards with slogans like Clinton Go Back,
Killer Clinton, Killer of Iraqi children, were chanting slogans
against US imperialism. It was a 50-strong demo. But it attracted the
passersby. Some went by flashing V-signs. Others stayed to hear the
speeches by LPP leaders. There was a truckload of police but it did
not intervene. There was a lot on national and international press.
This meeting was also the first demo after the imposition of political
activities and strikes.

Speaking at the occasion, LPP chairman, Comrade Shoaib Bhatti said
that Clinton visit was aimed at pushing imperialist economic policies.
He said if implemented, these policies would add to the poverty and
imperialist exploitation of the region. Addressing the demo, LPP
general secretary Farooq Tariq said that Clinton visit was a
conspiracy against the working class of the region. He appealed to the
trade unions and working class of India, Pakistan, and the region to
boycott the Clinton visit.

He criticized Jamaati Islami for welcoming Bill Clinton visit of
Pakistan. While the Jammat Islami, is conducting a national referendum
to oppose the CTBT, it is welcoming the main advocate of this treaty.
He said it exposed the hypocrisy of the religious fundamentalists in
Pakistan that they are anti imperialists. Comrade Farooq Tariq said
LPP will jointly hold a demo in London on 23rd March and a public
meeting is being held at Karachi in collaboration with other Left
parties on 24th March. He demanded the military government to go back
to the barracks and fresh elections are immediately held under the
committees of workers and peasants.

The LPP will be seen as the only fighting party after this demo and
will help introduce the party across Pakistan.
_________________________________________
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