[sacw] sacw dispatch #2 (11 Jan 00 )

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #2
11 January 2000
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#1. Lighting Candles on the Tank Bund: A peace vigil in Hyderabad, India
#2. NBA activists Occupied the Maheshwar Dam Site
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#1.

LIGHTING CANDLES ON THE TANK BUND
- a vigil for peace in the millennium
Hyderabad - Sunday January 2 2000

- a personal account from Lalita Ramdas

=46or those of us who continue to believe that `people to people' contact is
the only way of building bridges between nations born out of complex
political and religious compulsions such as India and Pakistan -the year
end brought little cheer. As we watched the drama of the hi-jack unfold
from minute to minute over the television screens, it was apparent that the
tentative efforts to build towards friendship, peace and democracy through
groups like the Pak-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, had
received a severe blow thanks to the systematic targeting of the `Pakistani
hand' in the planning and implementation and the final denouement of the
hijack episode. Media and officialdom alike never attempted to make a
separation between the Pakistani state and the people. Xmas, Ramzan, New
Year notwithstanding-the accusations became shriller with each passing
day-and there seemed to be little that any of us could do to counter the
massive information and evidence that pointed to the complicity of our
neighbour in this heartless exercise.

We drove up from Alibag on Xmas Eve-the hijack took place that same day. It
was impossible to think about much else in the days that followed. We had
hoped that we would kick off the millennium with a large joint convention
of concerned citizens from India and Pakistan to raise our voice for peace
and sanity in our region. But the growing climate of anger and outrage that
was developing made such fond hopes recede into an increasingly distant
future.

A few of us spoke informally here in Secunderabad soon after Christmas to
share our concerns, and our hopes about creating a constructive climate for
the mobilisation of voices of reason and balance. Over a post Iftar late
night dialogue, was born the idea of a candle-light vigil in a popular
public thoroughfare joining the twin cities, on the Sunday after the New
Year. The notice was impossibly short-the timing scarcely opportune-[a day
after the release of hostages], with government leading the hysterical
denunciation of Pakistan's role and demanding their being named a
`terrorist state'-and a weekend when people might be too tired to stir out
after new year and millennium revelries. But an intrepid local group
decided it was worth the effort and we agreed to meet at the statue of one
of Andhra's revolutionary poets on the Tank Bund, appropriately opposite
the towering and benign presence of the Buddha in the middle of the Hussain
Sagar Lake . One retired Admiral and former Chief of the Naval Staff, our
son-in-law and I were the first three to arrive-and we looked around
sheepishly wondering whether anybody would actually be as naively
optimistic as to join us.

Gradually people began to roll up in twos and threes-one carrying a newly
painted banner of the Pak India Forum-others placards and postcards in
Telugu, Urdu and English urging people to vote for peace-and candles and
more candles which we were doubtful of using up.

And then a miracle slowly began to unfold before our eyes-as the first gang
of about twenty of us old and young, men, women and children lit our
candles and stood under the banner for a photograph around dusk:
inexplicably, people on this the busiest road in a busy city slowed down,
stopped to peer at the candle-holders-and then more closely at the banner
which began with the words PAKISTAN-INDIA FORUM =8A=8A..Intuitively a small
group of us began to solicit passers by-beckoning with candles and an
invitation " would you like to light a candle for peace? Stop a minute and
join us if you believe that violence and war serve no purpose?"

It was a beautiful exercise in instant communication, education and
learning-and an experience that demonstrated as nothing else could have -
that people from all walks of life were willing and ready to spare those
few moments for peace because they were weary of the messages of anger,
hatred, war and terrorism. `A, unrehearsed, impromptu HAPPENING-in the
best sense of that word.

Those who came to stop and stare, were drawn in as if to a magnet-was it
the magic and the unique cosmpolitan history of this city of Hyderabad
captured in the black stone and granite statues of its many heroes and
poets and revolutionaries? Was it the surrealistic presence of the Buddha
rising out of the Hussain SAgar Lake? And there were enough of us with
activism and education in our blood stream to engage several in
conversations which were enlightening as they were revealing . A young
Gujerati couple-out for a stroll on a lovely evening-actually got into a
lengthy discussion-"but ofcourse `we' [Indians] always want peace -it is
`those' [Pakistanis] who are causing all the trouble-`But how do you know?
have you met any of " those "Pakistanis? "No no-but we know it is true-ask
anyone-see what the TV and press says-they are like that!" See what they
did when Vajpayee went to Lahore? "Dont you think that ordinary people are
like us-be they in Pakistan or anywhere else?" "No-`they' are different!"
"Shall I tell you a story? My daughter is married to one of those
Pakistanis, and I have a little grand-daughter who is and Indo-Pak product.
Believe me they are like you and me-and want to live in peace . Should we
not try to speak to the ordinary people to influence both our governments?"
Silence. "Yes, maybe you are right-you see we dont know any one-we only
know what we are told over TV-and what we hear our friends saying." Others
in response to our question-`so what do you think is the purpose of this
vigil?' "Oh yes-we know-it is to tell us that the Muslims can do what they
like and get away with anything" - " Let us discuss that-but why dont you
light a candle first for peace? " " Peace-certainly-we are all for that,
but you must tell `them'!" And our Tamil friend stands next to a retired
Navy Chief and a burkha clad woman, lights a candle-as do his wife and
son-but he is not fully convinced"

A group of young teenagers from a Church Group, rehearsing for a church
social, are persuaded by one of our group to join us and strum their guitar
so that all of us-by now nearly a hundred persons-can join in singing 'Hum
honge Kamayab'=8A=8A.Hogi Shanti Charon Aur Is Din=8A=8A..[We shall over
come=8A.There will be peace all around one day=8A]

Gangs of young men out for the evening , stop, listen, light candles, and
are reluctant to leave as the discussions get more and more animated-`Is
peace really possible? Yes-we want to do business-but if there is violence
and war, it will be impossible." "Exactly-so will each of you go and talk
to five more of your friends in your workplace or colleges or homes?"
Yes-we promise =8A=8A.

But it was the children-already excited with balloons and other goodies -
who cajoled and pulled in their somewhat embarrassed parents to join the
peace brigade. Once the ice was broken-conversations were started - people
found that they worked in the same institution-a librarian met a professor
from his college-others found they were from the same neighbourhood. The
baloon walla, the moomphalli walla, the boy selling candy floss, women in
Burkhas out after Iftar, families on scooters, the list is long and
diverse. But they all took time to stop-light a candle - ask what the
banner meant and why-and the message moved along in ever widening
circles-which drew in over two hundred citizens in the space of the two
hours we spent-

The press came too-mainly interested to interview this odd phenomenon-a
former military person actually out in a peace demonstration. We asked them
if they would have come if we had just been normal citizens without a
celebrity in our midst?! They protested that they too were committed to
waging peace-why else would they give up a Sunday evening? The questions
kept coming fast and furious-what about kashmir? Will we ever find an
answer? Can there be peace without it? Is eternal conflict written in to
the destinies of our two countries ? And so we finally wound our way home
after two or more hours-exhilarated by this experience-still disbelieving
that in this cynical urban milieu, such a happening had actually occurred
=8A=8A. OUR FIRST BATTLE FOR PEACE IN THE MILLENNIUM HAD INDEED BEEN WON-AND=
WE
WANT TO SHARE THIS MOMENT WITH OUR FRIENDS WHEREVER YOU ARE AS WE CONTINUE
OUR JOURNEY=8A=8A=8A
_____________

#2.
Press Release, Dam Site - Jalud January 11 2000

NBA ACTIVISTS OCCUPIED THE MAHESHWAR DAM SITE
THOUSANDS ARRESTED FROM DAM SITE

Inspite of heavy police protection, as planned earlier, the NBA activists
walking throughout the night occupied the destructive Maheshwar dam site
today morning at 6.45 am and stopped the work on the dam. Among the 4000
odd affected people and activists who captured the site, senior NBA
activist Chittaroopa Palit, noted writer-novelist Arundhati Roy, veteran
Gandhian Jyotibhai Desai, prominent film makers Pradip Kishen and Jharna
Jhaveri and large number of supporters from Delhi, Bombay, Kerala, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Indore are also there. About 1500 people were prevented by the
police on the way itself from moving towards the site.

More than 1500 people, who were on dharna at dam site and before police,
were arrested at about 1.00 pm with force by the Madhya Pradesh Police.
Police also misbehaved with the people including Arundhati Roy, Jharna
Jhaveri and Chittaroopa Palit. Also, Padhri Verma and Annapurnabai of
village Pathrad and Chandrashekar and Chandu of village Sulgaon were
terribly beaten up by police inside the bus while taking them to the police
station.

Earlier at 6.45 am the people started dharna at the site with slogans and
songs and the officials including the Khargone District Collector
Mr.Bhopalsingh came forward to pursuade the activists to withdraw their
agitation. The talks went on till 10.45 am but without result. At about
1.00 pm about 1500 people including Arundhati and others were arrested
forcefully and taken to Mandaleshwar Police Station.

It may be recollected that for the past 3 years, a strong agitation is on
against the destructive Maheshwar Dam and it was exactly two years back on
11th January 1998 that the Maheshwar Dam was occupied for more than 20
days. That occupation has led the M.P.Governmentto set up the Task Force.
This Task Force after ten months study has recommended a comprehensive
review of the Maheshwar Project to reassess the cost-benefit ratio and the
viability and disirability of the Project. However, instead of acting on
this recommendation of its own Task Force the Madhya Pradesh Government
allowed the private company S.Kumars' to push ahead with the project and
supported it by unleasing repression on the affected people. The occupation
of the dam site is to demand complete stoppage of work on the project and a
comprehensive review as recommended by the Task Force.

It is to be noted that, although the project will have a proposed installed
capacity of 400 MW, the average firm power will be only 82 MW, and power
production in the 8 non-monsoon months will not be more than one-and-a half
hours a day. Yet the cost of power from this project will be prohibitively
high-an average of Rs. 6 to 8 per unit, with the cost of peaking power
being Rs. 8 to 10 per unit at the point of production. It may be recalled
that the project was privatized in 1994 and handed over to the S. Kumars,
and that the S. Kumars have, even prior to the financial closure, inflated
the project costs by 5 times from Rs. 465 crores to Rs. 2000 crores in the
course of just 5 years.

NBA along with its vast number of supporters from the state and all over
the country, warns the state government that truth and reality cannot be
suppressed through repressive method of forceful arrest, etc upon the
non-violent agitators and it will carry on strong agitation against the
destructive Maheshwar Project.
Alok Agrawal
Delhi Contact: 6426783 & 6237724

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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.