[sacw] [ACT] sacw diapatch #1 (10 Feb 00)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #1
10 February 2000

Please share the below information with others!
____________________
#1. Press Statement: Protest by Asian Women's groups in the UK
#2. Interview with Gopal Godse, co-conspirator in Gandhi's assassination
#3. Letter from Bombay opposing fundamentalists
#4. ALERT: Support Austrian Women vs. Fascism
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#1.
ASIAN WOMEN UNITE!
PRESS STATEMENT

As an umbrella group representing all the major Asian women's organisations
in Britain and hundreds of individuals, we condemn the Indian government's
failure to protect Deepa Mehta and others working with her on the film
Water from the violence and intimidation of VHP and RSS-backed
organisations. As Asian women in Britain we face not only racism but
domestic violence, dowry-related attacks, and forced marriages in the Hindu
communities in this country, and therefore we find the stand of the Sangh
Parivar organisations particularly galling and contradictory. Why should
this oppression which we and our foremothers have faced be considered to be
both enshrined as a part of 'Indian culture' as well as kept a secret. And
what are the moral values of those who condone Sati and gang rapes. As
for shame, it is this violent
suppression of the freedom of expression which brings shame on India
abroad.

We condemn the UP government and particularly the Chief Minister of UP who
has neither prevented these attacks from taking place nor even condemned
them although the film script was passed for filming by the highest
government authorities. This is a frightening reflection of the rise of
fascist forces which are acting not only against women but against the
democratic rights of everyone in India. We would like to express our
solidarity with Deepa Mehta and others involved with the filming of Water.

Signed Kiran Patel
(on behalf of) Asian Women Unite!, Asha Asian Women's Project Lambeth,
Brent Asian women's Resource Centre. Dostiyo Asian women and girls'
project, Greenwich Asian Women's Project, Hackney Asian Women's Project,
Hopscotch Asian Women's Centre, Kirlees Asian and Black Women's Welfare
Project, Newham Asian Women's Project, Shakti Asian Women's Aid, Southall
Black Sisters and Women in South Asian Solidarity Group,

Londec, Instrument House, 205-217 Kings Cross Rd, WC1X 9DB Tel: 0171-713-790=
7,
=46ax 0171-837-5731, Email londec@h...

__________

#2.

Time Asia
=46ebruary 14, 2000 Vol. 155 No. 6
W e b - O n l y I n t e r v i e w
http://cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/magazine/2000/0214/india.godse.html

"HIS PRINCIPLE OF PEACE WAS BOGUS"
GOPAL GODSE, CO-CONSPIRATOR IN GANDHI'S ASSASSINATION AND BROTHER OF THE
ASSASSIN, LOOKS BACK IN ANGER--AND WITHOUT REGRET

=46ifty-two years ago, on Jan. 30, 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was shot dead by
Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. Godse believed that the Mahatma, or
great soul, was responsible for the 1947 partition of India and the
creation of Pakistan. Godse and his friend Narayan Apte were hanged. His
brother Gopal and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment for
their part in the conspiracy. Gopal Godse remained in jail for 18 years
and now, at 80, lives with his wife in a small apartment in Pune. He is
still proud of his role in the murder. Although Godse is largely ignored
in India and rarely talks to journalists, he agreed to speak with TIME
Delhi correspondent Meenakshi Ganguly.
TIME: What happened in January 1948?
Godse: On Jan. 20, Madanlal Pahwa exploded a bomb at Gandhi's prayer
meeting in Delhi. It was 50 m away from Gandhi. [The other conspirators]
all ran away from the place. Madanlal was caught there. Then there was a
tension in our minds that we had to finish the task before the police
caught us. Then Nathuram [Gopal's brother] took it on himself to do the
thing. We only wanted destiny to help us -- meaning we should not be
caught on the spot before he acted. TIME: Why did you want to kill Gandhi?
Godse: Gandhi was a hypocrite. Even after the massacre of the Hindus by
the Muslims, he was happy. The more the massacres of the Hindus, the
taller his flag of secularism.
TIME: Did you ever see Gandhi?
Godse: Yes.
TIME: Did you attend his meetings?
Godse: Yes.
TIME: Can you explain how he created his mass following?
Godse: The credit goes to him for maneuvering the media. He captured the
press. That was essential. How Gandhi walked, when he smiled, how he
waved -- all these minor details that the people did not require were
imposed upon them to create an atmosphere around Gandhi. And the more
ignorant the masses, the more popular was Gandhi. So they always tried
to keep the masses ignorant.
TIME: But surely it takes more than good publicity to create a Gandhi?
Godse: There is another thing. Generally in the Indian masses, people
are attracted toward saintism. Gandhi was shrewd to use his saintdom for
politics. After his death the government used him. The government knew
that he was an enemy of Hindus, but they wanted to show that he was a
staunch Hindu. So the first act they did was to put "Hey Ram" into
Gandhi's dead mouth.
TIME: You mean that he did not say "Hey Ram" as he died?
Godse: No, he did not say it. You see, it was an automatic pistol. It
had a magazine for nine bullets but there were actually seven at that
time. And once you pull the trigger, within a second, all the seven
bullets had passed. When these bullets pass through crucial points like
the heart, consciousness is finished. You have no strength.
When Nathuram saw Gandhi was coming, he took out the pistol and folded
his hands with the pistol inside it. There was one girl very close to
Gandhi. He feared that he would hurt the girl. So he went forward and
with his left hand pushed her aside and shot. It happened within one
second. You see, there was a film and some Kingsley fellow had acted as
Gandhi. Someone asked me whether Gandhi said, "Hey Ram." I said Kingsley
did say it. But Gandhi did not. Because that was not a drama.
TIME: Many people think Gandhi deserved to be nominated TIME's Person of
the Century. [He was one of two runners-up, after Albert Einstein.]
Godse: I name him the most cruel person for Hindus in India. The most
cruel person! That is how I term him.
TIME: Is that why Gandhi had to die?
Godse: Yes. For months he was advising Hindus that they must never be
angry with the Muslims. What sort of ahimsa (non-violence) is this? His
principle of peace was bogus. In any free country, a person like him
would be shot dead officially because he was encouraging the Muslims to
kill Hindus.
TIME: But his philosophy was of turning the other cheek. He felt one
person had to stop the cycle of violence...
Godse: The world does not work that way.
TIME: Is there anything that you admire about Gandhi?
Godse: Firstly, the mass awakening that Gandhi did. In our school days
Gandhi was our idol. Secondly, he removed the fear of prison. He said it
is different to go into prison for a theft and different to go in for
satyagraha (civil disobedience). As youngsters, we had our enthusiasm,
but we needed some channel. We took Gandhi to be our channel. We don't
repent for that.
TIME: Did you not admire his principles of non-violence?
Godse: Non-violence is not a principle at all. He did not follow it. In
politics you cannot follow non-violence. You cannot follow honesty.
Every moment, you have to give a lie. Every moment you have to take a
bullet in hand and kill someone. Why was he proved to be a hypocrite?
Because he was in politics with his so-called principles. Is his
non-violence followed anywhere? Not in the least. Nowhere.
TIME: What was the most difficult thing about killing Gandhi?
Godse: The greatest hurdle before us was not that of giving up our lives
or going to the gallows. It was that we would be condemned both by the
government and by the public. Because the public had been kept in the
dark about what harm Gandhi had done to the nation. How he had fooled
them!
TIME: Did the people condemn you?
Godse: Yes. People in general did. Because they had been kept ignorant.

Write to TIME at mail@w...
=A9 2000 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.
_______

#3.

Dr. Ram Puniyani

Secretary

EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity)
B-64, IIT Qtrs, Powai, Mumbai 76

Ph.5783522, 5705045

Sir/ Madam

The recent episode of attack on the film unit shooting the film Water and
the reaction to the theme of the same by different groups makes an
interesting observation. The Hindu fundamentalists went on the rampage and
even without bothering to see the script ensured the packing off of the
unit, well assisted by the BJP led Govt. of UP. The Muslim fundamentalists
not to be left behind, went on to protest against the 'heretical
act' of shaving of the head of Shabana Azmi, the lead role of the film.
Meanwhile one witnessed that Taslima Nasreen, whose novel Lajja was
widely promoted by the BJP saying that Taslima is a courageous and honest
writer, this time around came to bear the brunt of the same BJP,which
called for her arrest. Their eariler promotion of her novel was mainly
because it attacked the Bangla Desh's Muslim fundamentalists' mad response
to the Babri demolition. This time they could not stomach her courage and
honesty as she went to criticise the Hindu Fundamentalists for their
intolerance and for suppressing the freedom of the filmmaker. After all,
the wave length on which these fundamentalist forces operate is the same
:opposition to the democratic liberties, and intolerance towards freedom
of expression when it hurts their vested intrests.

Ram Puniyani
________

#4.

Please write letters to the Austrian Govt. & Protest. Posted below is a
letter requesting support from Austria
In Solidarity
(South Asia Citizens Web)
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

WAVE AND THE AUSTRIAN WOMEN'S NGOS NEED YOUR HELP

Dear friends,
Please help us because otherwise most of Austria's women's NGOs have to
close down. The work of decades can be ruined very soon. Please, remember
last week's plead. Send us lists of addresses (preferably e-mail) of the
most important media and politicians in your country!!
Here is our statement which we will ask you to pass on:

& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &
Women's NGOs threatened Right-wing Austrian government abolishes Women's
Ministry
& & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

Most of the Austrian women's organisations and projects are faced with the
possibility that they will receive no or not enough state funding as a
result of the controversial right-wing government's decision to abolish the
Ministry for Women's Affairs. This not only means that women's affairs have
been demoted to a junior department in a sprawling Ministry of Social
Affairs but also that the budget will come to about forty per cent of last
year's level.
This accords with the overall policy of the new government, comprising the
conservative People's Party and the populist right-wing Freedom Party,
which defines its policy with regard to fifty per cent of
>the population basically as an integral part of family policy.
Vice-chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer claimed in a televised interview on
=46ebruary 8, 2000 that the former women's ministry had been merely symbolic
because it had no budget and no powers (both claims untrue). She used this
argument to justify the ministry's abolition altogether. There will not be
a larger budget for women; at least not for independent organisations.
Discrediting NGOs
The new coalition partner, the right-wing Freedom Party, is not reticent in
voicing its opinion on the role of NGOs. For thirty years, they claim, they
have received funding ? from a government lead by Social Democrats ? for
doing nothing. This not only discredits the invaluable work done by NGOs in
Austria (and world-wide) and disregards the recognition NGOs have received
in all the relevant international bodies like the UN and the EU. It is
slander.
Massive protest in Austria Since it became clear that for the first time in
Europe a party whose members praise the Nazi regime and play down its
atrocities will be allowed into government, a wave of protest has spread
across the country. Peaceful demonstrations by thousands of people are
being held every evening. A big rally will be taking place on February 19,
2000. About a quarter of a million demonstrators from all over Austria are
expected.
We urge you to support the women's NGOs in their struggle to survive and
all Austrians who are strictly against allowing racists and neo-fascists to
govern a country in the European Union!
Please, write letters of protest to the new Federal Chancellor Wolfgang
Sch=FCssel who is mainly responsible for bringing the Freedom Party into
government (schuessel@o...) =B7 to Austrian President Thomas Klestil
(thomas.klestil@h...)

MEDIA
Please, also support us on an international level and address your
governments to put further pressure on this shameful Austrian Government, =
=B7
address the media in your country to keep reporting on the situation

MONEY
Please, help us with donations to get us through this crisis: our account:
Verein autonome =F6sterreichische Frauenh=E4user WAVE our account number: 61=
0
782 021 our bank details: Bank Austria, Mariahilfer Strasse 70, A-1070
Vienna, Austria, bank code: 20151, international swift code: BKAUATWW
____________________________
SOME EXAMPLES who we were supported so far:
>Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 14:54:23 +0000 >To:
<thomas.klestil@h...>, schuessel@o... >From: Stigamot
<stigamot@s...> >Subject: From icelandic women > > >Mr. president
Thomas Klestil and mr. Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel! > >
The women at the icelandic incestshelter strongly protest against the new
government in Austria! We are afraid that the new government will cause a
lot of organisations to close down and that the situation of Austrian women
in society will certainly severely deteriorate. > >We want you to know that
we are ashamed of the Icelandic government, that is not going to protest
against you! > >How could you get Haider's Freedom Party into power???? >
On behalf of the women at the Icelandic incestshelter > Runa Jonsdottir >
__________

Dear Sir, I am writing on behalf of my organisation, (The Green socialist
Network), our organisation is at the forefront of libertarian socialism and
had looked to your country as one of the most politically stable in Europe.
However I must express the GSN's revulsion at the inclusion of the Freedom
Party in the new coalition government for your country, a party that
represents the most extreme racist and facist ideas in Europe today. We
fully understand that you have got both the Peoples Party and the Freedom
Party to sign statements committing them to democracy. It is our concern
that, as with Adolf Hitler in Germany, many promises were made only to be
broken later and launch Europe and the world in to the bloodiest conflict
ever seen. We believe our concerns are confirmed by the speeches and
writings of Jorge Haider, leader of the Freedom Party. Speeches that have
favoured Hitlers approach to employment and supported the Waffen SS.
We regard it as an insult to all who suffered under Nazism that you, as
President of Austria, can sanction the Freedom Party in government and with
the majority of ministerial posts. We also regard it as very dangerous,
your action will be seen to legitimise every pocket of facist and racist
activism in Europe however small, already we see reports of the Northern
League in Italy supporting Haider openly. It is our hope that you listen to
the protest of the vast majority of the Austrian people, other nations
within the EU and elsewhere and groups like ourselves who do want to start
the new century with the worst elements of the last. Please for the sake of
humanity take immediate steps to reverse your decision and earn Austria the
praise it deserves rather than condemnation.

Peter Brown Chair person, Green Socialist Network, 15 Linford Close,
Harlow, Essex, CM19 4LR Great Britain.

****
Thank you very, very much!!
Verena & Birgit
WAVE Office
c/o Information Centre Against Violence
Austrian Women's Shelter Network
Hofgasse 9/1/4 A-1050 Vienna, Austria
phone: ++43-1-5482720 fax: ++43-1-5482720-27 <wave@x...> web site:
<http://www.wave-network.org >
__________________________________________
SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WEB DISPATCH (SACW) is an informal, independent &
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