[sacw] SACW Dispatch | 11 Aug. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
11 August 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

#1. Pakistan: (Bulleh Shah Day)
#2. India: Urgent Alert- Expulsion Of Chin-Burmese Asylum Seekers
#3. India: Dotcom Delusions
#4. India: Memo by Church Activists to National Commission For Minorities
#5. India: Politicians Swear Off Unsavoury Language
#6. Development / Technology New mailing lists from India

_____________________

#1.

THE ETERNAL SEASONS OF LOVE (BULLEH SHAH DAY)

Bulleh Shah is a folk mystic poet and intellectual whose teachings are
admired and followed all over Punjab and around. He was born in a poor and
respected Syed family in Kasur in 1680 AD. He had his preliminary education
from a mosque after which he went to his mentor Shah Anayat of Lahore for
spiritual training. He opted for poetry and music as a mode of his message
for the people. Through music and dance he spread his message to the
masses and his words became monumental for the generations to follow.
Bulleh Shah departed in 1757 AD. But his poetry and ideas are still alive
in the hearts of the people.

Bulleh Shah comes from the creed of folk mystic poets that starts >from
Baba Fareed Ganj Shakar and includes Lal Hussain. He stands prominent
among them for his forceful expression. He challenges the establishment,
which exploits the masses and divides them in caste, faction and religious
bifurcation. Beyond the classes, factions and religions, he preaches
humanity and speaks for human relationship. He considers the relationship
as sacred love =13 love that unites God and the human being, man and woma=
n,
love that unites Heer and Ranjha to uproot all class differences. Bulleh
Shah through his poetry advocated and spread peace and love.

Bulleh Shah voices the right of weaker and the poor. Bulleh Shah, feeling
the agony faced by the womenfolk, the weakest of all sections in his days,
adopted various characters of women in his poetry.

As the times changed people seemed to have forgotten Bulleh Shah. His
message of love and peace, brotherhood and fraternity is lost in material
pursuits. The establishment has succeeded in creating divisions on the
basis of castes, factions and groups. People got divided and they fell.
Women, minorities and weaker sections of society are facing enormous
oppression. It's one against one rather than a union sought by the mystic
poet. Today we need Bulleh Shah to kindle in us the light of love, to
teach us the essence of peace and love, and to provide the weak majority
of the world with the strength to strive and make it a better place to
live in.

In order to revive in us the spirit of love, peace and harmony, we plan to
commemorate Bulleh Shah Day on August 24, 2000. The programme would include
a seminar on Bulleh Shah's poetry and teachings, followed by recitation
and singing of Bulleh Shah's poetry by folk artists. Bookstalls carrying
publications on Bulleh Shah and Punjabi poetry would be set up. Various
musicians and performers would pay tribute to the great mystic poet through
their performances. At the conclusion of the event there would be
Chiraghaan (lighting through traditional lamps and candles), Dhol and
Dhamal.

We invite you to participate at Bagh-e-Jinnah Open Air Theatre. Your
intellectual and financial contribution to the cause of promoting culture
of peace and love, interfaith harmony would be greatly appreciated.
Truly yours,
Mohammad Tanveer
****
For further enquiries: Journalists Resource Centre (JRC), Suite # 15, 5th
Floor Davis Hytes, Sir Aga Khan Road, Lahore- Pakistan Tel: 92-42-6306998
Fax: 92-42-6369898 http//: www.syberwurx.com/jrc

______

#2.

URGENT ALERT- EXPULSION OF CHIN-BURMESE ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM INDIA

Dear Friends, We wrote to you on August 8, about the arrest of several
hundred CHIN-Burmese asylum seekers in Mizoran state of India's north
East. We were worried that these asylum seekers would be forcibly expelled
and handed over to the Myanmar (Burmese Army) by Indian authorities. We
have just learnt from reliable sources that on August 6, the police of
Mizoram state handed over 85 Chin-Burmese nationals to the Myanmar army.
On August 8 another 25 Chin-Burmese asylum seekers were similarly handed
over to Myanmar army. We have no information about the fate of these 105
Chin-Burmese. However we know that in 1997 several Chin-Burmese asylum
seekers similarly handed over to Myanmar army by Mizoram police were shot
dead inside Myanmar border. We have also learnt that 1005 Chin-Burmese
asylum seekers are currently being detained at various places in Mizoram.
These persons have so far not been produced before any judge or a
magistrate which is a requirement under under the Foreigner's Act, which
these persons are supposed to have violated. We fear that Mizoram police
will forcibly deport them in near future without a judicial process. This
is a violation of Indian constitution as well as case law established by
Indian Supreme court. Under the Constitution of India, Indian state is
bound to protect the "right to life" of all persons within its territory.
The Indian Supreme Court in the past has prevented such forcible eviction
on the grounds that the repatriation to hostile situation might=20
jeopardise the right to life of the persons being expelled. Some of
you have already responded to our earlier appeal for action. We request
you to once again to appeal to the India Prime Minister and the Home
Minister of India. We also request you to write to the Indian diplomatic
missions in your country requesting that the forcible eviction of
Chin-Burmese asylum seekers must be immediately stopped.=20
Thanking you for your cooperation Tapan Bose Secretary General South Asia
Forum for Human Rights Kathmandu, Nepal Atached our earlier message:=20=20
STOP ARRESTS, DETENTION AND FORCED REPATRIATION OF POLITICAL REFUGEES INTO
MYANMAR

We are concerned that since 25 July 2000 there has been a series of
action against refugees in the Mizoram state of India. We have learnt from
reliable sources which has been re-confirmed by the news paper reports
that arrests and detention of hundreds of refugees in the border state of
Mizoram is being carried out very vigorously. On July 28, Mr. U. Than
Sein, an exiled member of Myanmer Parliament of the NLD party and two
other activists of All Burma Students Democratic Front were arrested.
Though they were released on July 29, the fate of Mr. U than Sein,s son
and daughter-in-law who were arrested along with him is still unknown. =
=20
Though the number of arrests have not been released by the police to the
public, it is estimated to be around a thousand. This number may increase
in the coming days. It is reported that most of the arrested Chin Burmese
refugees have been charged with illegal entry into India under the
"Foreigner's Act" and that they wuld be deported to Myanmar (Burma). =
=20
Mizoram state borders the Chin state in Myanmar and about 40,000 to 50,000
Chin refugees have taken shelter in the Mizoram state due to military
repression and the civil warlike situation in the Chin areas. Majority of
the Chin ethnic people are Christians. There are several incidents and
reports of desecration of places of worship by the army controlled by SPDC
who are predominantly Buddhists. There are instances, of forced
conversions, mass instances of slave labour, looting of homes, rape of
women by the Myanmar army has created an exodus of Chins crossing into
Mizoram state in India.

The increased activities of identifying Chin Burmese nationals in Mizoram
state, their arrests and detention has to be seen in the wake of hectic
parleys between military heads in India and Burma to work together on
border issues.
Government to government strategic relationship between Burma and India
cannot compromise the real issue of refugees who have fled for their lives
in to neighbouring country (India).

According to information received, the arrests and detention of hundreds o=
f
people has taken place especially in Aizwal and five police stations have
been identified where the refugees are being held. The names of the police
stations where the refugees are kept after arrests are: Babutlang,
Bawngkawn, Vaiwakawn, Kulikawn & Luangmual. About 200 people are in these
police stations. We also have reports that due to lack of space in the
five police stations, central jail in Tandril is also being used.

The refugees have been denied permission to see the relatives nor have the=
y
been allowed to take their belongings. There is a threat of forcible
repatriation into Myanmar (Burma) which means the Indian army and Mizoram
police will hand over these Chin-Burmese refugees to Myanmar (Burmese)
army. This heightens the danger of imprisonment, torture and even death in
Myanmar if they are handed over to them. Though the arrests and detentions
have been happening since 25 July 2000, there seems to be no positive
intervention to protect the rights of the refugees by UNHCR or the Indian
government.

Human rghts activists of India and other South Asian countries are
concerned about this situation and seek the
intervention of human rights defenders from all over the world to stop the
forcible detention and expulsion of the Chin Burmese refugees from the
Mizoram state of India into Myanmar (Burma).We request you to urge The
Government of India to intervene
and protect the rights of refugees on humanitarian grounds . We also
request you to urge the UNHCR to take positive steps in this regard and
provide protection to the refugees who are under the threat of
deportation. Please write to; 1. Mr. Atal Behari vajpayee Prime
Minister of India South Block New Delhi 110001 Fax: +91-11-301 9817

2. Mr. L. K. Advani Home Minister of India North Block New Delhi 110001
Fax: + 91-11-3015750 3. Justice A. N. Varma Chairperson National Human
Rights Commission of India Sardar Patel Bhawan Parliament Street New
Delhi - 110001=20=20

--------Issued by South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) Kathmandu, Nep=
al

______

#3.

D O T C O M D E L U S I O N S
by *John Samuel
=20
The new mantra is `Information is power'. But who is being empowered by
the dotcom revolution? The consumers who are rushing for their daily online
fix? The thirsty villagers who have access to neither technology nor
plastic money? Or the merchants and brokers of information, money and
images?

There's tonnes of information floating around the information highways
these days. And there
are hoards of Internet junkies swimming around in dotcom waters. But what
does this
information do for the hungry child or the thirsty village? How much of
this information can fill
an empty stomach? My concern is not about the validity of information, but
that this
contagious information fever is eclipsing reality.

All of a sudden all of Mumbai was filled with dotcom hoardings promising
instant information
nirvana for any problem under the sky: from dating to dancing, from
soyabeans to salvation,
from cars to cricket, and from houses to headaches. The message was that
you would not be
able to survive without a dotcom connection for your daily fix of
information. This was the
direct outcome of the climbing sensex and the boom in the infotech sector.

The important thing to consider here is not the newfound enthusiasm for
information. The
important thing is that there's a process at work here in which
information, image and money
become more vital than the ideas, reality or resources they are supposed to
represent.

There is a connection between the predominance of finance capital or the
money market, the
high-pitched information market and the emerging politics of images. The
connecting link is
that all these three new protagonists of the market are not real but
something that represents
the real. In other words money, information and image are signifiers of
something else. Money
in itself is useless unless it represents other resources. Money cannot
fill the stomach or
quench thirst unless someone is ready to exchange the real resources (ie
food, drink, clothing,
commodities etc) for money. Money is not wealth. It is something which
signifies wealth,
consisting of material things and services necessary for the survival and
improvement of living
conditions. It is the same with information. Information becomes important
because it tells us
about something else that exists in reality: about things, processes,
situations, people, contexts
etc. An image is some visual or perception that represents something else:
a person, a
situation, an idea etc. They are all in a sense mediums of exchange.

In any society, social, political and economic exchanges and negotiations
happen through
these signifiers that serve as the medium of exchange. The story of each
civilization is also the
story of different kinds of mediations that serve social, political and
economic functions in a
given society at a particular time.

>From ancient rock paintings and pictograms, indigenous modes of social
exchange and barter
systems of exchange, socio-cultural history evolved to innovate mediums and
modes of
exchange. The barter system gave way to metallic forms of representation
like coins and later
paper money, and then plastic money, which is giving way to the concept of
info-money. One
can trace a parallel socio-historical process that has helped to collate
information from local
specificity and utilities to a broader arena of dissemination. This
happened in the case of
images as well, starting with images of the divine, going on to those of
the king, and later
becoming a broader socio-cultural phenomenon.

So what is so peculiar about the present predominance of the three key
signifiers ---
information, money and images -- in our lives? It has, after all, been a
fairly long historical
process. The key difference is that earlier there was a very strong and
balanced link between
the signifier and the signified; between paper money and the resources it
signified; between
information and the reality the information sought to convey; between the
image and the
situation or the person behind the image. With the dotcom revolution, the
free-floating money
market and image merchandising, this vital link has been considerably
strained. In the process
money has taken precedence over resources, information has taken precedence
over real life,
and image has taken precedence over reality.

When the medium itself becomes the message, those who control the
`mediation' become
powerful. That is why Rupert Murdoch becomes more powerful than citizens or
even political
rulers. Because it is not the what and why of information that matters, it
is the how of
information delivery that defines the information itself. When the means
itself becomes an end,
the end becomes redundant.

Why has the sensex all of a sudden turned so sexy? Because the sensex
operates on money,
information and images. If there is a comparative advantage of market
information and
corporate image, the money market is influenced. In the early-'90s, there
was a lot of money
market euphoria over the image boost of the `tiger' economies. The image of
skyscrapers,
hi-tech flyovers and swanky cars in Bangkok and Jakarta propelled the money
market to new
heights. But the hi-tech image of Bangkok concealed the ugly face of
poverty-stricken villages
in northern Thailand. Information about macro-economic growth in terms of
GDP and GNP
said little about the increasing vulnerability of the rural masses. Image,
information and the
money market reinforced each other. The high sensex ratings did not have a
strong
connection with real productivity, natural resources and the distribution
of services. For
instance, during the financial boom in Thailand, agricultural production
actually declined and
the manufacturing sector was more or less stagnant. The magic sensex
euphoria had more to
do with the pattern of spending money in the consumer market than the
pattern of productivity
that creates real material wealth. Eventually, the `tiger' turned out to be
so much market
bubblegum.

In India recently the sensex rating of infotech companies rose to magical
heights, creating a
whole string of dotcom dreams. The dominant images of infotech companies
and the
favourable information flow helped increase the vigour of the money market.
Here the
problem is that finance capital gets value addition without a corresponding
increase in real
assets or productivity. The ever-growing finance capital market is
increasingly becoming a
global casino driven by information and images. Speculative strategies and
money laundering
are akin to gambling. When the link between money/currency and the producti=
ve
assets/resources it seeks to represent is broken, the economic foundations
of a society
become precarious. With the mind-boggling growth of a pure money market,
the very future
of the so-called global economy is on shifting sands.

The so-called movement of international capital is more a movement of magic
numbers in the
computer system and on the information highways than a real movement of
commodities,
services and goods. In a traditional economic setting, the creation of
money is intrinsically
linked to the creation of real wealth or productive assets. Money is
created in balanced
proportion to allow for the effective exchange of goods and services. Under
finance
capitalism, driven by a sort of monetarism, this vital link between money
and real material
resources is broken. As a result, one can create financial assets through
market gambling,
without making any real contribution to the creation of wealth. In this
process those who have
a comparative advantage over information and image can manipulate money
market, with
more claims to wealth but without actually creating any wealth. Such a
delusion of wealth in
fact further marginalises the bargaining power of the real wage-earners,
labourers and
entrepreneurs who are involved in the creation of real wealth.

In the stock market, the money that is invested to buy a new issue of a
company is what is
used for productive assets. Other stock transactions are not always linked
to the creation of
productive resources. One study on US corporations shows that in terms of
the money that
corporations use to support the expansion of their production, only 4 per
cent comes from the
share market; most of the money comes from the retained earnings and the
lion's share of the
rest comes from borrowings.

In a sense the ongoing dotcom euphoria is a corollary to finance-driven
sensex capitalism. In
a speculative market, one expects high returns. It has been reported that
in recent years, the
highest investment returns in the US were in the finance sector. Similarly,
the high-pitched
images of dotcom money-making kids propelled a gold rush to the information
highways. As
the dominant image of quick returns is in favour of the finance and
information sectors, a large
number of highly qualified and high-calibre people jumped from the real
process of asset
creation to that of a much quicker process of making money in the finance
and information
sector. Hence, the visible boom in the finance and information sector may
also undermine the
real validity of actual resources. As a result, those who control the
mediation of finance and
information become much more powerful than the real producers of material
and social
resources. This will create development delusions based on the well-being
and welfare of a
section of visible people, wonder stories and magic entrepreneurs. We may
be thrilled about
the fact that anything can be ordered through the Internet, provided you
have access to plastic
money through credit cards. But we may also conveniently forget that the
dotcom revolution
will bring food, water and sex to only a privileged few who have access to
technology and
plastic money. The dotcom revolution will not bring food to a hungry child
or water to a
thirsty village. Because they neither have access to the technology nor to
plastic money,
though they contribute more than the info-entrepreneurs to the real
production of real material
and social resources. That is how the signifiers actually swallow the
signified. That is how the
mediators of information, money and images become more powerful than the
creators and
producers of real material or social assets.

These days the frequently quoted one-line rationale for the marketing of
information is that
`Information is Power'. So get dotcommed and get empowered. It's as simple
as that! In that
case, all that we need to empower the people of the world is to ensure that
like water,
electricity and telephone connections, everyone will have dotcom
connections as well. But
alas our problems are more complex. They will not be wished away with
online mantras. If
information is indeed power, why has the ongoing information revolution not
brought about a
socio-political revolution? Why is it that wider information dissemination
manages to inform
but fails to empower ? Why is the right to information failing to check
corruption in
governance?
The questions we need to ask are: In whose hands does information become
powerful? Who
controls, disseminates and mediates information? What is the difference
between data,
information and knowledge? Who controls the production and dissemination of
knowledge?
Such questions will ensure that we are not carried away by the dotcom
syndrome. Such
questions are age-old questions that arose at every historical juncture and
political transition.

What we need to realise is that information in itself may not have
intrinsic value. Information
derives importance because of the fact that it helps us understand
something else in a given
context. It is the `mediation' process of information that makes
information powerful. Hence,
it is not necessarily the consumers of information who get empowered, it is
the merchants,
traders and brokers of information who get empowered. By controlling
information they can
control the market as well as power politics. When an election survey is
commissioned by a
major newspaper or a popular newsmagazine, it is not the readers of these
magazines who
become powerful, but the editors and owners of the newsmagazines. This
comparative
advantage of `mediating' and `brokering' information is what makes them the
power-brokers
who bargain their way to ministerial chairs and the backdoor of parliament.

One of the biggest information banks is controlled by the financial banks
which control plastic
money -- Citibank, Standard Chartered, American Express etc. They know who
buys what,
when, where and how. By interpreting their data the bank can also know why
a particular
group of people buys a particular product. Yes, in the hands of media
empires, software
companies, market enterprises and political power-brokers, information
becomes powerful;
because they are in the business of mediating and controlling information.
Meanwhile, the
consumers of information have only the illusion of empowerment.

We have to make a distinction between data, information and knowledge. Data
by itself does
not necessarily convey much. For instance, if one has the data on primary
school enrollment,
one does not necessarily get a picture of primary education in the country.
When one
contextualises the data in a particular situation, the data becomes
information. If one
contextualises the data of primary school enrollment in a particular
district or state in the
overall context of literacy levels, social development etc, that data makes
sense. When you
interpret the data with a particular political, ideological or analytical
framework, information is
transformed into modules of knowledge. Hence the interpretation of
information on primary
school enrollment may be different for people with differing ideological or
analytical
perspectives. Knowledge is often value-loaded. That is why the leftists,
rightists and liberals
interpret historical information in entirely different ways. That is why
fanatical Hindutva
elements were worried about the `knowledge' propounded by an Amartya Sen,
Romila
Thapar, Bipan Chandra or Irfan Habib. The actual powerplay is not in the
information market
but in the production and dissemination of knowledge. In a way, Ignatius
Loyola is one of the
most powerful visionaries in history; precisely because he identified the
power of
disseminating knowledge through the institutionalisation and control of
education. In fact,
colonisation was not merely about the extraction of goods and resources, it
was about the
production and creation of a market for the knowledge system that ensured
hegemony
through creating consent. All of history is recorded and interpreted in
order to sustain political
power.

The dotcom revolution is going to lead to even more information anarchy.
The global
information order will thrive on the confusion propelled by that anarchy.
Information anarchy
and information order are in fact two sides of the same coin. At the
receiving end there will be
so much information output that one will find it difficult to know what is
useful and what is
junk. One will have no time to interpret such information and transform it
into a strong
knowledge base. On the contrary, the information explosion via your dotcom
receiver can
create a sort of information-immunity wherein the information will fail to
affect your feeling,
thinking and action. Now there is so much information about corruption,
people are no longer
shocked by any scams; they have got used to it. It is not because of lack
of information that
Dalits are still burnt alive in India, but because information about
atrocities and arson no
longer shocks you; you have got used to it.

The emerging information order, finance market capitalism and image-driven
politics will in the
long run create more social and political insecurity in real life. Because
the delusions of
development, wealth and participation they create will not effectively
change the ground
realities of inequality, mistrust, social paranoia and moral degeneration.
When a signifier
eclipses the signified and the link between them is broken, it will create
a crisis in the very
process of socio-political and economic exchange. In the new age, it is the
comparative
advantage of technology and time that determines the `mediation' process of
money,
information and images. However, the overemphasis of such technology-driven
mediation can
in effect adversely affect the real creative and productive potential of
human beings. Such a
scenario calls for an urgent rethink on the present information euphoria.
_________
*John Samuel writes on social change. He works with the National Centre for
Advocacy
Studies, Pune
For electronic version of this article visit:
<http://www.humanscapeindia.org>http://www.humanscapeindia.org

_______

#4.

REPRESENTATION AND MEMORANDUM GIVEN TO THE HONOURABLE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL
COMMISSION FOR MINORITIES AND ITS MEMBERS AT ANNEXE HOUSE, AHMEDABAD, ON
8TH AUGUST, 2000

From,

Mr. Samson C. Christian,
National Executive Member,
All India Christian Council.

Father Cedric Prakash, S.J.
Convenor Gujarat State,
United Christian Forum For Human Rights.

Rev. Yohannan Mathew,
President,
United Christian Association.
Gujarat State.

Respected President,

Warm greetings from the Christian Community of Gujarat State!

You are quite aware of the various types of atrocities against Christian
minorities being committed in the State of Gujarat by the fundamentalist
Sang Parivar activists like VHP, Bajrang Dal, ABVP, RSS, Hindu Jagaran Manc=
h
and other such outfits with the full patronage of the ruling BJP Government
and their machinery. In this connection, we humbly submit that:

After the BJP Government came into power in both the Centre and the State
of Gujarat
with their Hidden Agenda against minorities, these extremists have came int=
o
force trying to wipe out Christianity from this land. As the BJP Governmen=
t
came into power on Hindu Card with the support of RSS, we have all the
logical reason to believe that the incidents that have happened during last
two years are supported by the State Government directly or indirectly.

On several occasions, the Christian leaders have approached and represente=
d
before the Government with the hope that the Hindu extremists will be
restrained from acting against minorities. But to our great surprise we
have observed that the Government has not taken enough measures to control
these forces in time and as a result, these forces have gone to the extent
of demolishing the places of worship of Christians since the Christmas Day
of 1998.

"SAFFRONIZING GUJARAT' gives a comprehensive view of all the major events
that shook and shocked the Christian Community of Gujarat.

We present for your kind knowledge and further action some of the incident=
s
where the minorities are targeted and even their fundamental rights have
been violated by the fundamentalists with the support of the government
authorities . We present the real incidents of the involvement of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and B.J.P. activists which were accepted in the
investigation of police and the arrest of the culprits in different
incidents. The State of Gujarat in their reply affidavit recently filed to
our petitions in the Honourable Gujarat High Court in special civil
application No. 9557 of 1998 also accepted the involvement of VHP and
Bajrang Dal in the incidents of I Cr. No. 346 of '98, Vadodara District. I=
n
this incident, by the investigation of the police, five VHP activists were
arrested, in I Cr. No. 276 of '98, against six activists of fundamentalists
in Rajkot City were arrested on 24-7-98. In I Cr. No. 34 of 98, 31 persons
of VHP, ABVP and Bajrang Dal were arrested in their attempt to disturb the
programme of Isu Mahotsav at Pologround, Vadodara by Abundant Life Ministry=
.
It is a real and serious case of involvement of VHP, ABVP and Bajrang Dal
and their allies. Nobody can deny their involvement in this case. In I Cr=
.
No.92 of 98, in Palanpur City, police arrested ten to fifteen youth
belonging to Hindu organization in connection with the religious programme
organized on the day of Good Friday at Karmachari Kalyan Tantra Bhavan,
Palanpur between 10-4-98 and 12-4-98. Fundamentalists entered in the hall
from the backdoor and ransacked the kitchen material, damaged a mini bus an=
d
tore religious books. Charge sheet was filed in the court on 5-6-98.

The State Government has also instructed the Director General of Police wh=
o
in turn has instructed through the police agencies from time to time on the
need for firm action against any attempts to create communal disturbance.
Even printed pamphlets containing provocative language were distributed by
some fundamentalists. In this connection, Ramesh B. Chaudhary, the
convenor, Hindu Jagran Manch had organized a rally in Ahwa (Dangs) on 29-6-
'98. A printed pamphlet containing provocative language was distributed on
25-6-'98 in Ahwa town for the propaganda of the rally which hurt religious
sentiments of members of Christian Community. In this connection, an
offence vide Ahwa police station I Cr. No.47/98 u/s 153(A), 114 of IPC has
been registered against Rameshbhai B. Chaudhary on 25.6.'98. The accused
was arrested in this connection and charge-sheet was filed in the court on
8-8-'98. Another offence was registered at Ahwa police station I Cr. No.
28/98 u/s 135, B.P. act against accused Rameshbhai B. Chaudhary, convenor
Hindu Jagaran Manch, as they shouted provocative slogan, i.e. "Christians
Bhago, Dang Bachao", "Padario Bhago, Dang Bachao". During the rally
organized by the accused on 29.6.'98, charge-sheet was submitted before the
court on 29.7.'98.Similarly, one more offence has been registered with Ahwa
police station (Dangs Dt.), vide. I Cr. No. 65/99 u/s 153(A) 114 of Indian
Penal Code and section 37 (1) 135 of Bombay Police Act against Premji
Avjibhai, proprietor of Shivam Press, Jalalpore and Janubhai A. Pawar,
president, Hindu Jagran Manch, for printing, publishing and circulating
provocative pamphlet. Accused Janubhai Pawar was arrested on 9-12-'99. Al=
l
these above mentioned incidents are clearly proved by Home Department
(Special), Government of Gujarat for the involvement of Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarti Parishad, Hindu Jagran
Manch etc.(see Annexure No.1). We received this information recently this
year. So we are including it in this memorandum.

The Bajrang Dal activists themselves have accepted and proved their
involvement in such an incident which had taken place in Vivekanandnagar at
Hathijan, Ahmedabad City. Similarly, in this case, one Sharmistaben
Bharatbhai Bhatt have filed a special civil application no.4824 of 2000 in
the High Court of Gujarat. In this petition, the petitioner prays that the
State Government should ensure an atmosphere by which the petitioner and
like-minded people of the area to have freedom of conscience and the right
to freely practice their Hindu religion. Similarly, the other direction
sought is that the State Government should call upon the Christian
Missionaries to disclose in advance the area/locality where they propose to
go for propagation with time and date in the interest of public order etc.
But the division bench of the Honourable High Court passed the order that
the minorities have a right to propagate their religion as the majority.
For this reason, the Court refused to entertain this petition. This petitio=
n
is rejected (see FIR I 103/2000, Kanba District and Order dated 10.5.2000
for SCA/4824 2000 as annexure No. 2).

Even after the Government of Gujarat had taken action against the leader=
s
of the fundamentalist group, who printed, published and distributed the
pamphlets for the propaganda which hurt religious sentiments of members of
the Christian community, in this connection the fundamentalist was arrested
but their activities are still going on in every part of Gujarat. Some of
the latest pamphlets which were printed and published by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad Dangs Unit, (see Annexure No.3a). Even Sant Shri Asaramji Ashram,
Sabarmati, Ahmedabad distributed notebooks at the beginning of this academi=
c
year with printed cover pages in Tribal areas of South Gujarat with
provocative writings to hurt the sentiments of minorities (see annexure no.
3b). One latest pamphlet distributed in Anand District from Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Gujarat unit has hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian
Community (see annexure No. 3c). Besides these, the religious and social
sentiments of the minorities are hurt by the propaganda against the
religions of the minorities through the campaign by the printing, publishin=
g
and distributing of different types of pamphlets by different groups of
fundamentalists systematically in the State of Gujarat. But no action is
taken by the Government against the culprits (see annexure no. 3d colley).

Recently, in Dangs District, Dang Devsthan Yathra Samiti has organized
and stated one Dang Devsthan Yathra from 27-7-2000 to 14.8.2000 for 15 days=
.
Such a yathra is arranged for the first time in the history of Dangs.
During this Yatra, there is a possibility of classes with Christian society
of people, damage to property and prayer halls. According to past
experience, whenever such yatras and rallies are called at such time,
Christian Community is made the target and the minority has to bear heavy
loss of persons, property and prayer halls. Government of Gujarat is
already aware of losses to Christian Community, such as physical, economica=
l
and psychological. In this connection, the concerned officer from Dangs
District had not permitted the above mentioned yatra till 26-7-2000. The
District Superintendent of Police of Dangs District arrested leaders of Dan=
g
Devsthan Yatra Samiti on 27-7-2000 for the punishment of not taking
permission for this rally from the concerned authorities from Dangs. The
District Collector of Dangs and District Superintendent of Police were
serious on this occasion of the rally in view of the past experience of
similar rallies against the Christians. On 27-7-2000 after the arrest of
leaders, the Government gave instruction to the authorities of Dangs to giv=
e
permission for the above mentioned rally under pressure from the
fundamentalist groups because till 26-7-2000, the Collector of Dangs had no=
t
given permission for this rally. Suddenly, after the arrest of leaders, th=
e
Government gave permission, which shows that the Government of Gujarat is
totally under the control of fundamentalist forces. So our humble request
to your honour is to please take serious and urgent steps and give
appropriate instruction to the Government of Gujarat and if it is possible
to your honour to visit the Dangs to observe the situation and know the rea=
l
situation and also to know how the Government of Gujarat is functioning in
the hands of fundamentalists. These rallies, programmes and pamphlets are
attached here as annexure no. 4.

We further pointed out that the state police is also obstructing the
exercise of religious freedom on the part of Christians. By way of an
example, it may be pointed out that while issuing permission for holding
religious Congregations, the police officers insist on certain conditions t=
o
be fulfilled at the Congregations if permission is to be granted. A
condition was also imposed that video shooting will be undertaken by the
police for the whole occasion. Similarly police insisted that healing
demonstrations should not be made during Congregations. Copies of such
conditional permissions are attached here as annexure no. 5.

We humbly state and submit that recommendations to the State Government
were made by letter dated, 18-9-'98 by the National Commission for
Minorities and action taken/proposed to be taken by the State Government an=
d
reasons for not accepting recommendations, if any, by the State Governmen=
t
of Gujarat. All these recommendations are not implemented at all. All
these are only for show on paper to show that the Government is committed t=
o
the protection and welfare of the minorities but the ground reality is that
there is no improvement in the situation of harassment of the minorities by
the members of the Sangh Parivar. In fact, the situation is getting worse
for the minorities even after the assurances given by the Government to th=
e
Honourable High Court which have remained only on paper (see annexure
no. 6).

We request your honour for your kind attention that in the State of
Gujarat, concerned District Collectors and District Superintendents of
Police in all parts of Gujarat are not so serious about cemetery problems o=
f
minorities. The Revenue Department also purposely harass the Christian
Community under political pressure by not giving permission to build
religious places of worship such as prayer halls. Several times, our
associations represented the matter to the concerned authorities and the
Collectors for taking serious action. But they have not taken these
seriously due to indirect political pressure. The law and order situation
and sentiments of Christians are violated by the police in Alina village,
Mahuda Taluka of Kheda District. Similarly, in Mehmedabad of Kheda
District, the Mamalatdar has stopped to build a protection wall for which
permission was given by the Nagarpalika of Mehmadabad. Many times,
correspondence and representations by Christian Community were given to the
Collector of Kheda district. But no action was taken by them till today.
As a result of the attitude of the District Collectors in several parts of
the State, religious sentiment of the Christians are hurt and law and order
situation is becoming worse. Even regarding the Christian cemetery in
Sabarmati in Ahmedabad City, no actionis taken by the District Collector of
Ahmedabad and the Government Gujarat is not serious about this problem (see
annexure no.7).

After the BJP came into power in Gujarat, the Sangh Parivar and their
allies have been very active to implement their hidden agenda by taking law
and order into their hands without any fear of law. They have been
attacking minorities under any pretext. They strive to stifle the voice of
Christian leaders and organizations. One such incident took place in Bage
Firdos Ward in Ahmedabad City where two BJP ex-councillors and their allies
physically attacked the Principal of Good Shepherd School on 19-7-2000. In
this connection, All India Christian Council's Executive Member Samson
Christian also was beaten up by two Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders on
21-7-2000 at Good Shepherd School. In the case of the Principal, the polic=
e
of Vatva GIDC police station has filed only non-cognizable offence.
Similarly, under pressure from fundamentalists and politicians, police file=
d
a false cognizable offence against the Principal in support of the
culprits who had beaten up the Princiapal. In the case of attack on the
leader on 21-7-2000, Vatva GIDC police station filed a FIR No. I 81/ 2000
under IPC section 323, 504, 506(1), 337, 114 and BP Act 135 (1). Mr. Samso=
n
informed the Vatva GIDC police inspector about the name and address of
culprits but no action was taken by the police to arrest the culprits till
today under political pressure So in the State of Gujarat, police is not
able to discharge their duties freely and fairly and the activists of Sangh
Parivar such as Bajrang Dal and VHP have been taking law and order situatio=
n
in their hands. It appears the government is indirectly controlled by the
Sangh Parivar. From these incidents it is clear that the Sangh Parivar is
trying very hard to silence the voice of the Christian leaders who are
struggling to safegaurd the fundamental rights of Christians (above
mentioned incidents are attached as annexure no. 8).
We give below the list of 13 major incidents of attack and violation of
fundamental rights against the Christian minority from January 2000 to 31
July 2000 (see annexure no. 9). We submit our demand that:

1. Fundamental rights of believing and professing of one's own faith be
restored in Gujarat immediately.

2. Instruct the State Government to take immediate action by the District
Collectors and the District Superintendents of Police to protect
the minority rights.

3. Extremist organizations like VHP, Bajrang Dal, ABVP and Hindu Jagran
Manch and other organizations should be banned.

4. A permanent cell be established in Adivasi areas where proper
representation be given to the Christians and to the other minorities
and to the Adivasis to look into the matters of atrocities against
minorities and Adivasis.

5. Adivasi labour classes must be protected well from exploitation.

6. Those who publish provocative pamphlets should be arrested and punished
and for the future the Government must take long term steps t=
o
stop such publications which hurt the sentiments of minorities.

7. The Government should arrest the culprits in the above mentioned 13
incidents mentioned in annexure no. 9 and punish them according to the
law.

8. The Government should prevent fascist activists from carrying and usin=
g
weapons etc. to intimidate the minorities and from taking the
law into their hands.

9. The Government should not give any permission to hold religious rallies
to any organization which will hurt the sentiments of minorities especially
Christians in all parts of Gujarat including Tribal areas.

10. Strict action should be taken against the press who give biase=
d
report and instigate communal hatred against the minorities.

We hope your excellency will look into our submission and do the needful t=
o
restore the fundamental rights and religious freedom of minorities.

Thanking you and assuring you of our co-operation,

Yours sincerely,

sd/
Samson C.. Christian
National Executive Member,
All india Christian Council

sd/-
Fr. Cedric Prakash, S.J.
Convenor,
United Christian Forum For Human Rights

sd/-
Rev. Yohannan Mathew
Chairman,
United Christian Association

_______

#5.

South China Morning Post
9 August 2000

POLITICIANS SWEAR OFF UNSAVOURY LANGUAGE

by S. N. M. ABDI in New Delhi

Parliament has put together a 520-page etiquette guide to help honourable
members mind their language when the House is in session.

The hard-bound book, published by the parliament's secretariat, has
exhaustive lists of words and phrases deemed to be unparliamentary.

Besides English, it lists objectionable words in Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi,
Gujarati, Assamese and other regional languages, which are taboo in the Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the two Houses of parliament.

Indian MPs are notorious for driving home a point with abusive language or
silencing opposition on the House floor with swear words. Many
educationists regularly protest against live parliamentary debates on TV,
citing their bad influence on young children.

The new book forbids MPs using in their parliamentary diatribe words and
phrases such as: alcoholic, creep, bitch, beggar, bugger, blackmailer,
black-marketeer, barking dog, anti-national, hopeless case, first-class
fool or drug addict.

It also advises MPs to refrain from using words such as pimp,
bloodthirsty, stooges and spies to run down their colleagues during heated
debates.

Similarly, no foreign head of state should be described as a
"genocide-perpetrating racist", an "enemy of India" or "a combination of
Hitler and Idi Amin".

Words which can be considered disrespectful to women have also been
banned. All references to a woman's clothes, hair and looks have been
proscribed.

Copies of the book have been despatched to all state legislative
assemblies, some of which have even witnessed violence, with members
attacking one another with microphones and chairs, resulting in bloodshed
and, sometimes, serious injuries.

_______

#6

DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY New mailing lists from India

We take pleasure in announcing the recent launch of two new
mailing lists, dealing with development / technology issues from
South Asia. If you, or anyone you know, would like to subscribe
to either mailing list, just send an email to fred@v...
giving a brief self-introduction, and mentioning on which list
you read this note. Thanks, Frederick Noronha, Freelance Journalist.

CR-INDIA: This list aims to campaign for the use of community
radio as a means of non-profit, low-cost and pro-development
communications in India and the other countries of South Asia.
Radio holds out immense potential in countries like ours, but for
long this medium has either been totally government-controlled,
or opened to only big commercial players. Non-profit and
educational organisations (including universities) could
contribute significantly if they are given permissions to run
their own stations. With the FM frequencies becoming available,
thousands of low-powered frequencies can be opened up across the
region. As we learn from the experiences in nearby Nepal (Radio
Sagarmatha, etc) and Sri Lanka (Kothmale's experiment with radio-
browsing, etc) this list is being used to share appropriate
information about how community radio can and is being used both
in South Asia and elsewhere in the globe.

BYTESFORALL: Welcome to South Asia. This talent-rich, resource-
poor, tragic-powerhouse of immense software skills, finds its
abilities recognised across the globe. And yet millions here
can't find the solutions that could make life a little less of a
struggle. Likewise, software brains from the region are serving
some of the biggest companies in the globe... But it also finds
itself ironically unable to afford the prices of 'legal'
software that it very badly needs for itself.
Some of the most relevant software/Internet/computer/IT ventures
in South Asia, ironically, fail to get the attention they merit.
Attending to the needs of the poor doesn't make good business
sense. bYtES For aLL is an attempt to swim against the tide.
Through a website <http://www.bytesforall.org> and an e-mail
based mailing list <bytesforall@g...>, we hope to update
interested readers about interesting ventures. Attempts that
focus on people before profits. After being launched in July
1999, this venture which is based entirely on volunteer
participation, currently has its key supporters based in
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and abroad.
[...]

___________________________________
South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch (SACW) is an
informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service
run by South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex)
since 1996. Dispatch archive from 1998 can be accessed
by joining the ACT list run by SACW. To subscribe send
a message to <act-subscribe@egroups.com>
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[Disclaimer :
Opinions carried in the dispatches are not representative
of views of SACW compilers]