[sacw] sacw dispatch #1 (23 June 00)

[aiindex@mnet.fr]

South Asia Citizens Web - Dispatch #1.
23 June 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

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#1. Demand an end to Religious Aparthied in Pakistan
#2. India Alert: Hate & Violence campaign of the Muslim Right Wing
#3. India: Excerpts from autobiography of Hindu Far right activist

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#1.

Press Conference on 20th June 2000

DEMAND TO IMMEDIATELY END RELIGIOUS APARTHEID IN PAKISTAN

by

RESTORING THE JOINT ELECTORATE SYSTEM

Respected Ladies and Gentlemen!

1. We are indeed very grateful to you for accepting our invitation to
participate in this conference which has been organized by =91Christian
Organizations for Social Action in Pakistan=92 =96 COSAP. The following
organizations are part of this coalition: Human Development Centre, Toba
Tek Singh, National Christian Action Forum, Christian Study Centre
Rawalpindi, Idara-e-Aman-o-Insaf Karachi, Justice & Peace Commission
(Bishops=92 Conference) Lahore and Justice & Peace Commission (Religious
Superiors) Multan. Also supporting us in our cause and represented here are
Aurat Foundation, HRCP and Solidarity International.

2. In 1979 the then Military Dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq introduced th=
e
Separate Electorate System for the Local Bodies Elections. In 1985, through
a Presidential Order, he thrusted this system upon the Nation for elections
to the Provincial as well as the National Assemblies. He politically divided
the whole country into five religious groups comprising Muslims, Christians,
Hindus, Ahmedis and Parsies, Sikhs other non-Muslims. Each group is only
permitted to elect their own candidates and this amounts to a RELIGIOUS
APARTHEID POLITICAL ORDER. This provision was given statutory protection via
the Eighth Amendment to the 1973 Constitution when it was revived later that
year after the elections.

3. The separate electorate system in fact usurps the fundamental politi=
cal
rights of the entire 135 million citizens of Pakistan. This system deprives
a Muslim candidate to his/her right of vote of the non-Muslim voters of
his/her constituency, just as it deprives a non-Muslim citizen to represent
his constituency in any of the two houses of parliament.

4. Pakistan today is being torn apart by a severe sectarian strife=
which is
leading us to a path of self-destruction. It must be stopped immediately.
Could we ever image that in Quaid=92s Pakistan bullets will be sprayed in
Mosques, religious leaders will be brutally murdered, churches will be put
to the torch and temples will be destroyed. The very root cause of this
sectarianism has been the separate electorate system, which has, like
cancer, attacked they very fabric of the social and religious harmony of our
civil society.

5. For almost 40 years a joint electorate was the norm, until Zia repla=
ced
it with a separate electorate. The supreme irony is that he did not take
this step to protect the rights of the religious minorities but because of
the pressure from the extremist religious parties to whom Zia was beholden
for lending support to legitimize his rule.

6. In a strange quirk of history the role was reversed: in undivided In=
dia,
it was the Hindu majority who was opposing the Muslim=92s demand of a separa=
te
electorate, but in Pakistan the same system was thrusted upon the non-Muslim
minorities, much against their wishes.

7. Pakistan was conceived as a separate homeland for the Muslims of the
Subcontinent, but the fathers of the Pakistan Movement were absolutely clear
that they were not striving for a theocratic state, and had publicly pledged
their commitment to democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights. Had there
been any doubts in the minds of the people about the bona fides of the
liberal school of thought leaders, they would not have so wholeheartedly
rallied behind the Muslim League in preference to the religious leadership
of that time. The people of Pakistan have consciously opted for a democratic
way of life and, so long as the beneficiaries of the popular mandate do not
out-rightly betray the people=92s trust to make a mockery of the rule of law=
,
the oracles of extremist fanaticism are not going to find favour with the
people.

8. Needless to say the onus of warding off the threat of sectarianism =
and
salvaging the democratic way of life is on the ruling elite, of which the
Chief Executive made a firm commitment to the people of Pakistan in his
first address to the nation in October 1999. He must now set the tone for a
democratic dispensation towards decision-making, resolving differences and,
above all in putting an end to religious apartheid in Pakistan by
immediately restoring the Joint Electorate System. Only then will he be
safeguarding the basic rights of every citizen as laid down in Article 25 of
the Fundamental Rights Chapter of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Cecil Chaudhry, SJ, SBt. Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf
Group Captain (Retd) Justice & Peace Commission
National Christian Action Forum Catholic Bishops=92 Conference

Lahore

Mr. Aftab Alexander Mughal Fr. Bonnie Mendes
Justice & Peace Commission Human Development Centre
Major Religious Superiors Toba Tek Singh
Multan

Mr. Samson Justin Mr. Dominic J. Moghal
Idara-eAman-o-Insaf Christian Study Centre
Karachi Rawalpindi

_______

#2.

ATTENTION * ATTENTION * ATTENTION * ATTENTION
SABRANG ALERT
SABRANG ALERT

June 22, 2000
Students' Islamic Movement Playing with Fire
Condemn Hate and Violence Campaign launched by SIMI

o Write protest letters to the
=A7 President of India
=A7 Prime Minister
=A7 Union Home Minister
=A7 Chief Minister of your State
=A7 DG, Police of your State
=A7 Police Commissioner of your city
=A7 Newspapers and other media

On June 21, 2000 , The Asian Age has carried a report stating that "the
Students' Islamic Movement of India, a frontal organisation of the
Jamait-e Islami, has started a campaign to prepare Muslim minorities for a
full blown jihad (holy war) against Hindus, "who are responsible for the
martyrdom of the Babri Mosque." According to the paper, "Simi plans to
counter the proposed Vishwa Hindu Pari-shad rath yatra by reminding the
minorities of the Babri Masjid demolition and inciting communal passions. "
We call upon each one of you to effectively protest against the communal
mobilization by SIMI.
We are living in a situation wherein majoritarian communal outfits, like
the RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal encouraged by the BJP-led NDA's
stint in power, are successfully thwarting the rule of law and launching
violent attacks against religious minorities and Dalits. In such a vitiated
climate, for a minority outfit to launch such a provocative crusade is not
merely a recipe for disaster, it shows a callous disregard for the life and
security of ordinary muslims and moreover proves what we at Sabrang have
always reiterated that majority and minority communalism are two sides of
the same coin. There can be no clearer proof that communalism of the
majority and the minority are two sides of the same coin and feed into each
others' hate-based violent mobilizations.
Last year, on the occasion of the anniversary of Dec 6, 1999, SIMI had
plastered provocative posters all over parts of Mumbai of a similar
description. All citizens of India must protest this provocative
mobilization by SIMI.
Write to the following addresses demanding immediate protection by the
state to all minority-run institutes in remote areas of the country

Teesta Setalvad
Javed Anand

2

Addresses for protest letters:
K.R. Narayanan
The President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi 110004
=46ax 91-011-3017290

Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
7, Safdarjung Road,
New Delhi 110001.

L.K.Advani
Home Minister of India
Ministry of Home Affairs,Govt of India
Gruh Mantralaya,
New Delhi 110001
=46ax- 91-011-3015729
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Background Article:

UP students' body calls for all-out jihad
By Amita Verma, Lucknow, June 20 , The Asian Age, June 21, 2000

One of the posters being circulated by the Students' Islamic
Movement, calling
on Muslims to prepare for jihad.
The Students' Islamic Movement of India, a frontal
organisation of the Jamait-e Islami, has started a campaign
to prepare Muslim minorities for a full blown jihad (holy war)
against Hindus, "who are responsible for the martyrdom of
the Babri Mosque."

According to sources, Simi plans to counter the proposed
Vishwa Hindu Pari-shad rath yatra by reminding the
minorities of the Babri Masjid demolition and inciting
communal passions.

Objectionable and provocative posters, inciting the Muslims
to start a jihad against the Hindus, are being printed by Simi
and sold in Muslim-dominated areas in Uttar Pradesh in a
clandestine manner.

One of the posters printed by Simi asks, "Waiting for
Ghaznavi?" The poster carries a photograph of the Babri
Masjid with an inset of the makeshift Ram temple at the
disputed site. The two demolished minarets of the mosque
are shown to be shedding tears, apparently at the
demolition.

The poster is, undoubtedly, a directive to the Muslim
community to start demolishing temples to avenge the Babri
Masjid demolition instead of waiting for another Ghaznavi.
Other posters being circulated by Simi include one that
exhorts young Muslim boys to follow the teachings of Islam
passionately and trample over those who are kaafirs (non-
believers in Islam). Another poster printed by the Stu-dents'
Islamic Movement of India, carries a photograph of Kashmiri
militants shot dead by the Indian Army and asks "Kya inki
qurbani fizool jayegi?"

Two of these posters are being distributed free with every
Simi calendar that is available for Rs 25. Cassettes and
other publicity material, printed in Urdu, is also being
circulated by Simi activists in Muslim-dominated areas with
an obvious intent of inciting communal passions.

It is believed that recorded cassettes of speeches of
Pakistani militant Masood Azhar, that surfaced in Kanpur in
January, was also the handiwork of Simi, which has built a
strong base in Kanpur. Rampur, Moradabad, Saharanpur,
Lucknow and Azamgarh are some of the districts where the
Simi propaganda is being carried out on a large scale.

The Simi office in Lucknow, which distributes the anti-India
material, is situated on the outskirts of the city at Wazir
Bagh. Strangers are not welcome into the building, which
looks like an ordinary middle-class house from outside.
Photographers are chased away and, surprisingly, there is
no signboard to identify the building as the Simi office.

Residents in the neighbourhood admit, on condition of
anonymity, that since the past one year groups of young
Kashmiri boys from the Valley have been frequenting the
place. "They come here, stay for about a fortnight or a
month and then disappear, " says one of the neighbours.
Sources claim that activity in the Simi office has been
stepped up after the hijacking of IC-814 in December last
year.

However, when contacted by telephone, one of the
office-bearers in the Simi office, who refused to disclose his
name, admitted that the office also served as a hostel.
"Boys who learn zardozi work but have no place to stay
come and live with us till they find a suitable
accommodation. Since most of these boys belong to the
Shia community, they are usually tall, well built and fair and
can easily be mistaken for Kashmiris."

The Regulation of Religious Places Bill, passed in January
this year by the UP government, has acted as a catalyst for
Simi activities that mainly focus on Muslim boys in the age
group of 17 to 25 years. "The bill is a direct attack on
minorities and their right to religious freedom and we are
preparing our boys to face this onslaught on Islam," the
Simi office bearer said.

Significantly, in October last year Simi had organised a
conference at Kanpur's Halim Degree College in which the
participants had openly expressed support for international
terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Ladin.

The Kanpur administration had conveniently turned a blind
eye to the highly provocative speeches made at the two-day
conference and local officials later admitted that the fear of
communal riots in the city had made them avoid taking
action at that time Intelligence agencies, meanwhile, have
been regularly informing the UP government about the
activities of Simi and a recent intelligence report sent to the
state government - with a copy endorsed to the Union
home ministry - requests the state government to declare
a ban on the organisation.

However, neither the state government nor the Union
government have responded so far. The UP government,
however, has not yet stirred into action. A senior BJP
minister admitted that any action against the organisation
would be "politically incorrect" since the same will be
exploited to the hilt by the Opposition parties that had
gained maximum possible mileage from the Religious
Places Bill.

Meanwhile, intelligence sources said that the Simi office at
Wazir Bagh was already under surveillance and preliminary
investigations revealed that batches of 35 to 50 young boys,
most of them presumed to be of Kashmiri origins, had been
frequenting the Simi offices in Lucknow and Kanpur.

Though Simi as an organisation aims at organising
campaigns, conferences, conventions and seminars "to
educate the Muslim students about the tenets of Islam and
remove misconceptions if any," its activities, of late, have
adopted a more fundamentalist line.

"In the post-Kargil and the post-hijacking period, Simi is now
actually inciting the young generations in the Muslim
community to strike out against the majority community,"
an intelligence official said.

Top intelligence officials in Uttar Pradesh feel that Simi is o=
n
its way to becoming a virtual tinder box and if activities are
not checked soon, it could set the state, if not the nation,
on fire.

_______

#3.

The following passage from the autobiography of the first Home Secretary of
UP, Rajeshwar Dayal, ICS, clearly shows the sinister designs of the RSS to
break the unity of the country [India] just on the eve of Independence.

"I must record an episode of a very grave nature when the procrastination
and indecision of the UP Cabinet led to dire consequences. When communal
tension was still at fever pitch, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of
the Western Range, a very seasoned and capable officer, B. B. L. Jaitley,
arrived at my house in great secrecy. He was accompanied by two of his
officers who brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When
the trunks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a
dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the Western
districts of the province. The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great
accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast area,
prominently marking out the Muslim localities and habitations. There were
also detailed instructions regarding access to the various locations, and
other matters which amply revealed the sinister purport.

"Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately took the police party
to the Premier=EDs [chief minister=EDs] house. There, in a closed room, Jait=
ley
gave a full report of his discovery, backed by all the evidence contained
in the steel trunks. Timely raids conducted on the premises of the RSS (
Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh) had brought the massive conspiracy to light.
The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of
the Supremo of the organization himself. Both Jaitley and I pressed for the
immediate arrest of the prime accused, Shri Golwalkar, who was still in the
area.

"Pantji [G. B. Pant] could not but accept the evidence of his eyes and ears
and expressed deep concern. But instead of agreeing to the immediate arrest
of the ringleader as we had hoped, and as Kidwai would have done, he asked
for the matter to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet at its next
meeting. It was no doubt a matter of political delicacy as the roots of the
RSS had gone deep into the body politic. There were also other political
compulsions as RSS sympathizers, both covert and overt, were to be found in
the Congress Party itself and even in the Cabinet. It was no secret that
the presiding officer of the Upper House, Atma Govind Kher, was himself an
adherent and his sons were openly members of the RSS.

"At the Cabinet meeting there was the usual procrastination and much
irrelevant talk. The fact that the police had unearthed a conspiracy which
would have set the whole province in flames and that the officers concerned
deserved warm commendation hardly seemed to figure in the discussion. What
ultimately emerged was that a letter should be issued to Shri Golwalkar
pointing out the contents and nature of the evidence which had been
gathered and demanding an explanation thereof. At my insistence, such a
letter if it were to be sent, should be issued by the Premier himself to
carry greater weight. Panditji asked me to prepare a draft, which I did in
imitation of his own characteristic style. The letter was to be delivered
forthwith and two police officers were assigned for the purpose.

"Golwalkar, however, had been tipped off and he was nowhere to be found in
the area. He was tracked down southwards but he managed to elude the
couriers in pursuit. This infructuous chase continued from place to place
and weeks passed.

"Came January 30, 1948 when the Mahatma, that supreme apostle of peace,
fell to a bullet fired by an RSS fanatic. The tragic episode left me sick
at heart. "

=46rom Rajeshwar Dayal's A LIFE OF OUR TIMES, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 93-94.

______________________________________________
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