[sacw] [ACT] sacw dispatch #3 (2 Feb 00 )

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #3.
2 February 2000
________________________
#1. South Asian intellectuals call for revival of Lahore process
#2. Pak drafting law on madrassas regulation
#3. India: Bengalis in Banaras Support Deepa Mehta's "Water"
#4. Press Statement from Jan Natya Manch Theatre collective (Delhi)
#5. RSS to defy Kerala govt's curbs on physical training
#6. India: Nominations for M.A. Thomas National Human Rights Award 2000
#7. Website on social justice, democracy & human rights in Pakistan
________________________

#1.
The Hindu
2 February 2000

South Asian intellectuals call for revival of Lahore process

By V. S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, FEB. 1. Leaders of public opinion from South Asian
countries today called upon India and Pakistan ``to take urgent and
decisive measures to defuse the tensions'' between the two countries
``before it is too late''.

In an urgent appeal made public by the former Indian Prime
Minister, Mr. I. K. Gujral, participants at the Neelan
Tiruchelvam Commemoration Programme here, urged the leaders of the two
countries ``to revive the Lahore process so that both India and
Pakistan, along with other South Asian neighbours march together
building a vibrant and prosperous South Asian community.''

The appeal, signed by leading intellectuals from India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh, termed the Lahore Summit as one which demonstrated
the ``political commitment'' of the Prime Ministers of the two countries
``to transcend the burden of their tensions- ridden relations of the past
50 years.''

The ``historic development'' had ``heartened'' the people of both
countries as well as all South Asian countries, who ``perceived that a
new dawn of hope and harmony will usher in the era of prosperity and
well-being.'' However, ``within less than a year the vision for a better
and peaceful future has become a distant dream,'' the statement said,
expressing concern that ``peace is one again in peril in the
sub-continent, raising grave apprehensions of the imminent danger
of outbreak of armed conflict between India and Pakistan. Such a path
will result in unimaginable human and material destruction not only in
the two neighbouring countries but also in the entire region.''

As South Asia was ``already marginalised in the world community, an
armed conflict will only retard, if not reverse, even the faint hopes
of the South Asian people, who constitute one-fifth of the total world
population, to respond to the challenges of the emerging interdependent
and globalised world community.''

The ``time has come for South Asia to make a critical choice between
war and peace, destruction and development, poverty and prosperity, the
appeal said, calling upon the ``public and the media to play a positive
role in moulding a climate of peace''.

In addition to Mr. Gujral, the appeal was signed by Justice P. N.
Bhagwati, Ms. Devaki Jain, Mr. Bishnu Mohapatro, Mr. A. G. Noorani,
Mr. Ashish Nandy and Ms. Veena Das (all from India), Ms. Asma Jehangir,
Ms. Farida Shaheed, Mr. I. A. Rehman and Mr. Niaz Naik (all from
Pakistan), Mr. Kamal Hossein and Mr. Imitiaz Ahmed (Bangladesh), Ms.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, Mr. Gnananath Obeyesekere, Mr. Stanley
Thambiah, Ms. Kumari Jayawardene, Mr. Jayadeva Uyangoda, Mr. P.
Saravanamuttu, Mr. Shibley Aziz and Ms. Deepika Udagama (Sri Lanka).
_________

#2.
The Hindustan Times
Wednesday, February 2, 2000, New Delhi
=46oreign

Pak drafting law on madrassas regulation

Mubashir Zaidi
(Islamabad, February 1)

Pakistan's military government is currently working on a draft law to
regulate and monitor the
workings of madrassas, religious institutions as well as to keep tabs on
sources of their funding and educational operations, Pakistan Observer
reported today.

Quoting sources in the Ministry of Law, the paper said that the ministry
is in the final stages of vetting a law, which will put effective check on
the activities of religious parties and groups.

The paper said that chief executive General Pervez Musharraf held two
lengthy meetings with provincial governors and one very significant meeting
with US Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth along with Chief of US
Department of International Terrorism in this regard. "The decision to make
strong laws to check military activities of religious institutions has also
come in the wake of growing pressure on Pakistan to not to allow its soil
to be used for proxy wars," the paper reported.

The paper said that there is a growing pressure on Pakistan from the
international community to strictly check the Jehadi groups operating in
the country after the Indian plane hijacking episode and intensification of
freedom movement in Kashmir.

The major function of the proposed board will be to monitor sources of
funds of institutions, particularly from international donors, to impose
ban on military training, and keeping of weapons at the premises of these
institutions, and control spread of religious confrontation and
sectarianism through these institutions.

The government has established a regulatory board to register all the
existing madrassas to check their activities. "They will also be required
to furnish a statement containing following particulars, (a description of
religious institution, (b) the number of students registered at the
institution whether on full time or part time basis, (c) particulars about
teachers and their salaries, (d) brief description about the courses being
taught at the institutions, (e) any other training whether physical or
technical being given at the institution, (f) final qualification granted
by the said institution, (g) sources of income of the institution, (h)
amount of funding, if any, from government, (i) estimate of expenses
annually incurred, (j) property belonging to the institution, (k) main
sponsors of the institution, (l) affiliation with any University, Jamia etc
and (m) and any other particular which may be prescribed," the paper said
quoting various sections of the legislation.

The Board will have power to suspend or cancel certificate of any
institution if there is a contravention of any of the provisions of the
law.

Contravention of the provisions of the law will be punishable with
imprisonment and fine or both. The past PPP government of Benazir Bhutto
tried to curtail the activities of religious institutions by forming a
Regulatory Board for Religious Institutions, but before the law could be
legislated in the National Assembly, Ms Bhutto's government was dismissed.

The paper said that the government was facing resentment from various
religious parties over the proposed law. "The government has confirmed that
military authorities have held a number of consultations with key religious
leaders over the proposed law. Ironically, no leader is ready to divulge
source of income or agree to a proper audit of their accounts. The only
redeeming factor is that all religious parties agree that Madrassas must
not become hub of terrorists or source of cross border terrorism."
_________

#3.

The Telegraph
2 February

BENGALI TIDE OF SUPPORT FOR WATER

by SUJAY GUPTA

Varanasi, Feb. 1
Deepa Mehta would be glad to know that for every Indian who considers
himself the censor board, there=92s one that believes in telling the truth
like it is.

As destroyers of Mehta's sets for the film Water tightened the chastity
belt around Varanasi, erstwhile protectors of Bengali widows are openly
supporting her to the shock of the Sangh parivar.

The Bengali Association here is leading the backlash against the vandalism
of Sangh parivar outfits, citing real-life and literary instances of widows
falling in love. Families of many of the members of the association used to
provide shelter to the stream of widows from Bengal to this holy city
through the 1920s through to the forties.

Says Amitabha Bhattacharya, a Bengali scholar and member of the
association, "Water is certainly not about widows who have illicit
relations. It is about one widow (played by Nandita Das) who falls in
love."

The Sangh outfits are protesting because of what they call the portrayal of
widows as prostitutes.

"There have been instances of young widows falling in love with prominent
city people. It is certainly not a trend. More of an aberration, but it did
exist. And why shouldn't a film-maker portray this?" asks Bhattacharya.

Mehta has gone on record saying that she had taken Delhi's permission, but
she did not know she would have to contend with Indians who thought of
themselves as individual censor boards.

Last evening, the Bengali Association organised a meeting where scholars
and litterateurs spoke against the RSS propaganda.

Debkumar Basu Mitter, whose family moved here in 1736, said: "Varanasi's
history is full of stories of widows. These are stories of oppression and
struggle. Water shows glimpses of these. Why should we turn away from this
reality?"

Rich Bengali households used to provide for the upkeep of widows who would
sing bhajans and kirtans in the homes of their benefactors. Strains of this
music was heard every evening from the outhouses of these families in the
thirties and forties.

In these homes, there is now disquiet. Nirbhay Dutta, a member of the
well-known Dutta family of Man Mandir, said: "Those who are protesting are
hypocrites. Can one of these protestors truthfully claim there were no
incidents of
Varanasi widows choosing paths that did not conform to tradition? It is
time we look at the film in its broader context."

It is not the Bengalis alone that have raised their voices against the
Sangh. Dr Kashinath Singh, fomer head of the department of Hindi of benaras
Hindu University, said: "A section of intellectuals and Sanskrit scholars
have supported the Kashi Vidwat Parishad, but for the wrong reasons. All
these protests are politically motivated."

The Parishad is spearheading the attack on Water. Taken aback by the
reaction of Bengalis, Ram Raksha Tripathi, a Parishad member, is returning
the allegation with compliments. "I feel political forces are behind this
orchestrated movement against out protests. No well-meaning Hindu can
tolerate the insult to our culture and tradition. If need be, we=92ll go
against the Bengali Association, but not allow our city and its culture to
be tarnished."

The other side is citing this very culture to ruff his argument. Bhartendu
Harishchandra=92s Mallika is a book being discussed here now. Mallika, a
Bengali widow, falls in love with the main character in the book.
_________

#4.

Jana Natya Manch
J 147 RB Enclave, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110063
Phone: 558 4822
Email: jananatyamanch@y...

1 February 2000

PRESS STATEMENT

Jana Natya Manch strongly condemns the attack on the sets of the film
Water in Varanasi by Hindu fundamentalist organizations, most of them
owing allegiance to the RSS.

It is noteworthy that the film crew had secured all the requisite
permissions from all the concerned authorities before commencing the
shooting. In fact, the script of the film was even shown to the I&B
Ministry of the BJP-led government, which has cleared the script
without a single cut, and in fact appointed a liaison officer to
oversee the shooting. After all this, it is reprehensible that the
RSS-backed organizations should be resorting to violent means to
prevent the film from being shot. It is even more bizarre that the
state government, instead of protecting those who have followed the
law of the land, is providing patronage to the criminal elements who
have indulged in acts of arson.

This is not the first attack of this kind. An earlier film by the
same director was also forced off the theatres by the same fascist
organizations and their affiliates. Other works of art and artists
have also been similarly targeted in the past.

The RSS proclaims itself the guardian of so-called Indian culture. In
fact, however, its conception of Indian culture is reactionary,
anti-minorities, anti-lower castes and patriarchal. In this sense the
Hindutva forces are not very different than the Taliban in
Afghanistan. It is the duty of all secular, progressive and rational
minded organizations and individuals to decisively reject both this
conception and the presumed right of the Hindutva forces to act as
cultural and moral policemen.

We call upon the central government to intervene decisively in this
matter, to make adequate security arrangements for the shooting to
take place, and pressurize the state government to arrest the
culprits who ransacked the set of the film.

sd.-
Moloyashree Hashmi
Convenor
Jana Natya Manch
__________

#5.
Rediff On The NeT
January 2, 2000
NEWS | REPORT

RSS TO DEFY KERALA GOVT'S CURBS ON PHYSICAL TRAINING

D Jose in Trivandrum

The Sangh Parivar in Kerala has decided to defy the ordinance promulgated
by Governor Sukhdev Singh Kang imposing curbs on imparting
training in martial arts, unarmed combat and mass drill.

"All the 5,000 units of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in Kerala will
continue with the drill. Let the police arrest our boys. We will fill the
jails in the state," said state Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary P
P Mukundan.

Mukundan told rediff.com that the RSS shakhas (branches) would not apply
for any licence to conduct the drills as prescribed by the ordinance. "We
have 40,000 to 50,000 boys attending the drills every day. All of them are
prepared to go to jail," Mukundan said.

The BJP politician termed the ordinance issued last month illegal and said
the party would challenge it in court. "If the ordinance is implemented in
letter and spirit, even Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union
ministers who are associated with the RSS can be arrested. The ordinance is
a poor legal document. It does not define what kind of activities form part
of the physical training that it intends to curb."

He wondered if police would arrest the prime minister if he inspects a
guard of honour given by RSS workers at any RSS function in the state.

Mukundan said the ordinance was a "mischievous" piece of legislation that
could be misused by parties in power and the police. It would affect the
entire gamut of physical training, including yoga, martial arts, karate,
folk arts, gymnasium activities, sports and club activities.

Mukundan said the motive of the ordinance was suspect because the
government could have waited for the assembly session to begin and then
passed a proper legislation. "The ordinance is a 'last and desperate'
attempt by the CPI-M to check the exodus of its cadres to the RSS and the
BJP," he claimed.

"We will not be cowed down by such attempts. It will boomerang on the
CPI-M since it is not expected to be in power all the time." The CPI-M also
imparts physical training to its cadres.

Kerala BJP vice-president Madikkai Kumaran described the ordinance as a
paper tiger intended to frighten away people flocking to the RSS shakhas.
He said the RSS would enlist the support of individuals and organisations
running gymnasia and providing training in karate, kalaripayattu (a local
martial art) and folk arts to fight the ordinance.

RSS general secretary H V Seshadri termed the ordinance an infringement of
the democratic rights of citizens. "The act of the CPI-M government is
constitutional violence. The Constitution safeguards one's right to protect
his life," he said.

The ordinance issued on January 22 makes it mandatory for organisations
imparting training to their cadres on methods of attack in martial arts to
obtain a licence from the state government. It makes it incumbent upon
persons and organisations providing such training to obtain a permit within
three months from the date of commencement of the ordinance.

Contravention of the provisions of the ordinance will be a cognizable,
non-bailable offence under the Criminal Procedure Code and could result in
imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of up to Rs 5,000.

The ordinance gives police officers of the rank of sub-inspector and above
the power to inspect training centres.

Interestingly, the government has not started implementing the law yet.
Mukundan believes it is waiting for the route march of the CPI-M's youth
wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India, to get over. The DYFI is
now imparting physical training to its cadres for taking part in the route
march.

RSS state secretary A R Mohanan said the ordinance is politically
motivated. He said it was born out of the CPI-M state secretary's statement
that the RSS drills were responsible for the recent political violence in
Kannur. Pinarayi Vijayan had aired this opinion at the
<1999/dec/07kannur.htm>all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister E K
Nayanar at Kannur in December.

Mohanan said the government was trying to achieve through the ordinance
what the CPI-M cadres had failed to achieve through muscle power. "If the
government thinks it can suppress the RSS through laws, it is mistaken. The
RSS exists not because of the drill alone. The drill is only one aspect of
the RSS ideology. One cannot kill a whole organ by destroying one part," he
said.

Mohanan said the government was trying to invoke laws as the communist
parties had failed to fight the RSS on the ideological plane. "We welcome
anybody to fight us ideologically. We have a strong ideological base, which
can withstand any attacks," Mohanan said.

"The Sangh Parivar is not afraid of the attempt to suppress the movement
through laws. History has given us enough lessons that a movement only
grows from strength to strength when there is suppression. The Communists
should know it better since their movement grew when they were suppressed
most," Mohanan remarked.

He said former chief minister K Karunakaran had also tried such measures
against the RSS when he was in power. The courts had struck down as
undemocratic his government's orders banning RSS drills and imposing
restrictions on lending school premises for the purpose.

Official sources admit the ordinance is an offshoot of the recent
political violence in parts of Kannur district. The government believes the
violent tactics adopted by the Sangh in Kannur were learnt through secret
training imparted to the cadres.

The sources said the ordinance was warranted by reports that some
organisations were giving training in arms to their cadres to attack rival
party workers. The government hopes to get a clear understanding of the
activities of such organisations by keeping a watch on them, the sources
said.

The state government has already started a hunt for explosives, firearms
and illegal weapons dumped in the northern district. A 600-member Malabar
Special Police team has been pressed into service to unearth the weapons.
__________

#6.
2 Feb 2000

M.A. THOMAS NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD 2000.
PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

Nominations are open for the M.A. Thomas National Human Rights Award 2000.
The Award honours individuals/organisations in India who have made
significant contribution for protection and promotion of human rights in
India in the recent past and continues to be working on issues
directly related to human rights. The Award instituted by Vigil India
Movement Trust in 1993, carries a cash award of Rupees One lakh and a
citation. Nominations for the award are to be submitted in the prescribed
form available with National Office of Vigil India Movement, 61, Charles
Campbell Road, Cox Town, Bangalore =96 560 005, before April 28, 2000. The
recipients of the Award include Ms. Medha Patkar (1999), Justice V.R.
Krishna Iyer (1998), Mr. Ravi Nair (1997, Smt. Malladi Subbamma (1996, Mr.
Balraj Puri, Dr. C.T. Kurien (1995), People's Union for
Civil Liberties (1994).

=46or further information contact:
Saji Thomas
Programme Coordinator, Vigil India Movement
Email vigil@v...,
Tel: 080-548 7114 / 548 6831 / 548 6237
_________

#7.
2 february 2000

AAJ KAY NAAM (IN THE NAME OF TODAY) WEBSITE:
on social justice, democracy, and human rights in Pakistan.
http://www.solidarity.freeserve.co.uk

- anti-militarisation campaign, details to be found on the website.
- a section called 'Poetry of Resistance' which contains
poetry from Zbigniew Herbert, Faiz, Wole Soyinka, and others.

contact:
<aajkaynaam@y...>

__________________________________________
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.