[sacw] SACW | 3 Dec. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

SOUTH ASIA CITIZENS WIRE
3 December 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex)

____________________________

#1. Pakistan: Jihad culture: an American view
#2. Pakistan: Struggle for joint electorate
#3. India: Baba Amte determined to visit Pakistan
#4. South Africa: Peddlers of 'Hindu Culture'
#5. India: Press Release 2000 Human Rights Award for Tessta Seetalvad

____________________________

#1.

DAWN
2 December
Op-Ed.

Jihad culture: an American view

By Prof Khalid Mahmud

WHILE the Indians have been telling the world that Pakistan is the mother
of terrorism in
the region, the scare of Islamic fundamentalist forces becoming
unmanageable and posing a
threat to the status quo in and around Pakistan has been causing anxiety in
the western
capitals. The Americans, in particular, have been warning Islamabad against
letting the
religious warriors a free hand to pursue their agenda.

Among the preconditions set by the US for Pakistan's honourable conduct is
to rein in the
activities of the Islamic extremist groups, some of whom have been
specifically named as
terrorist outfits. However, the Americans do not yet see eye to eye with
the Indians on the
question of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism in the region, since their
perception of a 'terrorist
threat' is substantially different. This is precisely the reason why the
Americans have not
been willing to buy New Delhi's prescription and go for declaring Pakistan
a 'rogue state.'

So long as the Islamic militant groups in Pakistan are primarily engaged in
joining ranks
with freedom fighters in Kashmir their outcries of Jihad do not raise alarm
in the West. But
given their fixation with the extradition of Osama bin Laden, the Americans
can hardly
overlook the Taliban factor in the movement for Islamic revivalism in
Pakistan. Much of
their concern is rooted in the apprehension that if the religious
extremists are not cut down to
size now, it may be a little too late to stop the process of
'Talibanization' in Pakistan.

How real is the threat of Islamic fundamentalists seizing power in
Pakistan, or holding the
existing state apparatus to ransom has been the subject of an unending
debate among
Western scholars, some of whom have been projecting a doomsday scenario for
civil society
in Pakistan. A Harvard University scholar, Jessica Stern, has been studying=
the
phenomenon she calls 'Pakistan's Jihad Culture.' According to her, the
'madrassahs are the
schools of hate which provide readymade material for recruitment as
religious warriors.'
'Madrassahs are the supply line for jihad', a sectarian leader was quoted
to have told her.

Taking a charitable view of the concept of jihad which she says should not
be equated with
terrorism, it has been misunderstood, or wilfully distorted. Jessica argues
that the Islamic
warriors produced by the madrassahs have no qualms about killing innocent
people, or
human rights abuses. She wonders how trustworthy is the government's intent
to take
remedial measures, even though interior minister Moinuddin Haider himself
acknowledged
that some, in the garb of religions training, are busy fanning sectarian
violence, poisoning
people's minds.

Tracing the rise of madrassahs to Ziaul Haq days, she attributes their
proliferation to the
military dictator's political compulsions, in particular his need to garner
the religious parties'
support for his rule, but also to recruit troops for the anti-Soviet war in
Afghanistan.

Initially financed by the government from the Zakat fund, more and more
religious schools
have now secured private sources of funding at home and abroad, freeing
themselves of
whatever control the government once had or could have had now.

Between 40,000 to 50,000 religious schools are now operating in Pakistan,
offering free
education, free food, housing and clothing to their students, and in some
cases a subsidy to
the poor parents.

In the absence of any government supervision, these schools are free to
preach a 'narrow
and violent version of Islam' and send their cadres to militant training
camps.

The government's reform plan, announced by the interior minister some
months ago,
envisaged registration of all madrassahs, expansion of their curricula,
disclosure of their
financial resources, no admission of foreign students without the
government's permission,
and a ban on sending students to militant training camps. Little wonder it
met with tough
resistance from the concerned religious quarters.

According to Jessica Stern, 'if madrassahs supply the labour for Jihad,
wealthy Pakistanis
and Arabs around the world supply the capital.'

The militant groups, she says, employ several methods to raise funds but
the bulk comes in
the form of 'anonymous donations sent directly to their bank accounts.' For
instance, the
Lashkar-i-Tayabba, which raises funds on the Internet, has managed to
collect so much
money, mostly from sympathetic wahabis in Saudi Arabia, that it was
reportedly planning to
open its own bank.

Jessica was told by some Pakistani critics that jihad was a lucrative
business for some 'who
were in this for the loot'. She was invited by a militant group's leader to
his mansion which
she found 'staffed by servants and filled with expensive furniture.'
Quoting Milt Bearden,
the CIA station chief in Pakistan from 1986 to 1989, she says the US and
Saudi Arabia
'funded some 3.5 billion into Afghanistan and Pakistan during the Afghan
war' making
'jihad' along with guns and drugs the most important business in the region=
.

Many irregulars who fought in Afghanistan are now fighting in Kashmir and
are likely to
look for 'new jihads to fight' - even against Pakistan itself, says Jessica=
.

In the interviews, she had with several irregulars she came across,
responses such as 'we
won't stop even if India gave us Kashmir... We will also bring jihad here.
There is already a
movement here to make Pakistan a pure Islamic state. We want to see a
Taliban-style regime
here.'

Some irregulars are financially dependent on what they consider jihad,
others are spiritually
and psychologically so, but criminals are also often hired to do the dirty
work. They tend to
be less committed to the group's purported goals and more committed to
violence for its
own sake or for the money.

The Pakistani militant groups, says Jessica, are now exporting their
version of jihad all over
the world. She was told by the 'chancellor of Khudamudeen madrassah' that
the school was
training students from Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal Chechnya, Afghanistan, Yeme=
n,
Mongolia and Kuwait, and out of 700 students at the madrassah 127 were
foreigners.

Similarly, Darul Uloom Haqania, the madrassah that created the Taliban, has
more than half
Afghans in its student body, and is also training students from Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan,
Russia and Turkey. Many of the militant groups associated with the
madrassahs have been
regularly proclaiming their plans to bring jihad to India proper as well as
the West which
they believe is run by Jews.

Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, she says, has announced its plan to 'plant Islamic flags
in Delhi, Tel
Aviv and Washington,' and its website includes a list of purported Jews
working for the
Clinton administration.

The jihad against the West may be rhetorical, at least for now, says
Jessica, but the
ten-year-old sectarian war between Pakistan's Shias and Sunnis is real and
deadly. Sectarian
clashes have killed or injured thousands of Pakistanis since 1990, as the
largely theological
differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims have been transformed into a
fullfledged
political conflict, with broad ramifications for law and order, social
cohesion and
governmental authority.' 'An impotent Pakistani government,' she says, 'has
essentially
allowed Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran to 'fight a proxy war on Pakistani
soil, with
devastating consequences for the Pakistani people.'

Pakistan, according to Jessica Stern, is a weak state, and the government
policies are
making it weaker still. Its disastrous economy, exacerbated by a succession
of corrupt
leaders, is at the root of many of its problems.

Yet, despite its poverty, Pakistan is spending hundreds of millions of
dollars on weapons
instead of schools and public health.

The US wants Pakistan to crack down on militant religious groups and close
down certain
madrassahs - a task which, according to Jessica, is not easy to accomplish.

"Does America expect us to send in troops and shut the madrassahs?" a
Pakistani official
asked her, as he called jihad a mindset which developed over many years
during the Afghan
war.

According to her, the most important contribution the US can make is to
help strengthen
Pakistan's secular education system. Assisting Pakistan, she says, will
make the world a
safer place, as conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir is one of
the most likely
triggers of nuclear war in the world today.

In conclusion, the Harvard scholar sounds a note of warning to Pakistan
saying it must
'recognize the militant groups for what they are, dangerous gangs whose
resources and
reach continue to grow, threatening to destabilize the entire region.'
Pakistan's continued
support of religious militant groups, according to her, suggests that it
does not recognize 'its
own susceptibility to the culture of violence it has helped create.'
_____

#2.

Struggle for joint electorate
Upper Sindh Hindus Panchayats decide to boycott local polls

>From Ali Hassan

JACOBABAD: The Hindus community in Sukkur and Larkana divisions on Friday
evening unanimously decided to boycott local council elections.

This decision was taken by delegates of the Panchayats from over one
hundred towns and cities.

The "All Hindu Upper Sindh Convention" was hosted by the Jacobabad Hindu
Panchayat. The host, Sudham Chand Chawla, local president, while
welcoming the guests briefed them about the one- point agenda. He said
'Hindus have been given the status of a fourth-class citizen in Pakistan.'

The resolution declaring their boycott of the local council elections was
read by Rochi Ram a lawyer from Mirpurkhas. The participants adopted the
resolution with a resounding voice and raised their hands.

In the first phase of the devolution of power, plan introduced by the
government of General Pervez Musharraf elections to local councils are
going to take place on December 31. Nomination papers have to be filed on
December 5. If the boycott persist, it would be hard blow to the entire
process.

While Muslims have been given the right of five votes. Hindus would
exercise the right of only one vote. Is this not a discrimination?" pointed
out various speakers, arguing that the constitution empowers citizens with
equal rights'.

Participants wore black arm bands. The convention was opened with a
recitation from the Gita and concluded with 'Pakistan Zindabad'. "Sohni
Dharti, Allah rakhey qadam qadam abad," was also frequently said throughout
the proceedings of the convention.

Speakers from small villages and big towns of upper Sindh condemned the
separate electorate system which, according to them, 'caused bitterness
among the minorities and hardships on various issues.

Speakers who included former members of the national and provincial
assemblies, were of the firm opinion that a joint electorate was the
solution to different problems faced by the minorities'. Hari Ram
Kishorilal, a former MPA said 'I belong to Mirpurkhas and it is difficult
for the people of Jacobabad to locate me in case they need the to solve
their problems as the entire country is our constituency.

Mulkhi Sarwanand, former MPA, Petambar Sehwani, former MPA, Ms Kalpana
Devi, Hari Ram Kishorilal, former MPA, Sudhamal Chand Chawla, President,
Jacobabad Panchayat, Dr Mehr Chand, Milki Mal of Rohri, Ram Chand of
Khandkot, Dr Premchand of Shahdadkot, Dr Balchand of Badani, Lachman Das,
advcate of Ghotki, Mewa Ram Odh of Dokri, Mukhi Bakhshomal of Thul,
Khaniyalal of Kashomore, Dr Ramesh Lal of Kamber, Choudhry Jamna Das of
Khandkot, Ramesh Lal of Thul, Sari Chand Lal of Jacobabad and others spoke
at the gathering.

Speakers exhorted the audience "to remain united and fearless about the
repercussions if any". A peaceful struggle to reintroduce the joint
electorate system should be launched. A handful of participants asked "what
would happen
if people contest the elections in violation of the conventions decision?"
Rochi Ram told them that the convention had taken a unanimous decision and
if people violate it, they would be the dealt of their community."

When some speakers attempted to offer an overall picture of the conditions
which Hindus had been experiencing, the organisers asked them to confine
themselves to the agenda of the convention.

Kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping of girls, subsequently their conversion
under what they said was 'coercion' and discrimination on various counts,
are the factors which have made the Hindus of upper Sindh lose heart.

Source: Daily Star, Karachi, dated December 02, 2000

_____

#3.

Rediff on the Net
2 December 2000

Amte determined to visit Pakistan

Gandhi Peace award recipient and prominent social worker Baba Amte is
determined to visit Pakistan to foster peace between the two countries.

His determination can be gauged by his statement, ''Visa or no visa, I
will go to Pakistan''.

''I am going from Nagpur on Sunday to New Delhi and from there to
Pakistan. There is no question of my return without visiting Pakistan.
Only my body will return'', he said.

Expressing his anguish over reports in a section of the Marathi press that
he had been denied visa to visit Pakistan, Amte, who arrived in Nagpur
Saturday morning, admitted that he had not received his visa so far. But,
''It has not been rejected by the Pakistan government'', he added.

Amte, who is enroute to Delhi to receive the ''Babasaheb Ambedkar
International Award'' on December 6, said the only hurdle is the special
ambulance which has been specially readied for his travel across the
border. Normally, the driver, the patient and a doctor is permitted, but
''in my case, due to the back ailment, a special ambulance done up at a
cost of Rs 1.27 million to carry a ten member group including my wife
Sadhanatai, son Dr Prakash and his wife Mandakini, a doctor and other
staff''.

Another problem is of an indemnity bond which as per law is thrice the
cost of the vehicle which would come to Rs 3.5 million and the bank
commission on it, Amte said adding that no bank would give him a bond of
more than Rs 2 million.

''I am hopeful for the visa and in case it does not come, I will
infiltrate,'' Amte said adding that he was determined to go to the
international border.

He claimed an overwhelming response to his much publicised Pakistan visit
not only from India, but also from across the border.

He quoted an e-mail from Pakistani poet Dr Khalid Javed Khan which said,
''We are preparing a reception to you''.

The social worker said he had written to Paksitan's Chief Executive Gen
Pervez Musharraf about his intentions of visiting Pakistan.

He said he was going with the concept of ''you live in peace, we live in
peace''.

The social worker was all praise for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
declaring a unilateral ceasefire on the eve of the holy month of Ramzan.
''The declaration has isolated Gen Musharraf even among Muslim countries
along with major powers like the United States and Britain as everyone has
welcomed the bold and strategic step," he said.

However, he was not happy with Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti's decision
to cancel India's cricket tour to Pakistan.

When asked what he would do in Pakistan, Amte said he would only work for
peace.

''My next mission is to visit Burma (Mynamar)'', he added.

- UNI

_____

#4.

S.Africa-India-Culture

Conference to explore Indo-African commonalities

by Fakir Hassen, India Abroad News Service

Durban, Nov 30 - The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of South Africa (APS) will host =
a
three-day international conference here with the theme "Indian and African
Cultures in the New Millennium" to explore similarities between African and
Indian culture.

The conference, which will mark the 75th anniversary of the APS in South
Africa and the 125th anniversary of Arya Samaj in India, will be held from
December 1-3, and a number of delegates and speakers from India, Mauritius
and African countries are expected to attend. Papers will be presented on
several themes exploring similarities between African and Indian culture.

"There are a number of things that we share but which we tend to overlook,"
APS president Bisla Rambilass said. "These include religious practices and
spirituality, the role of 'lobola (the African dowry system)' and Indian
dowry systems, the place of ancestors in African and Indian worship and the
use of alternative medicines in African and Indian traditions. We have
invited papers on all these themes," he added.

Rambilass said the APS had chosen to celebrate its anniversary by
highlighting plans to bring together the African and Indian communities in
the true spirit of the African Renaissance which had been announced last
year by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

"We need to remove from our communities the racial stereotypes that we have
been indoctrinated with. It would be a great fallacy to be politically
correct and pretend that the African and Indian communities in Kwazulu-Nata=
l
in particular, are all happy and there is no need for concern," Rambilass
said.

The province of Kwazulu-Natal is where Indians first arrived in South Afric=
a
and is home today to about 70 percent of South Africans of Indian descent.
The province is also the home of the largest indigenous African group in th=
e
country, the Zulus. In 1949, political tensions led to a huge flare-up
between Indians and Zulus but they have lived in relative calm since then.

The APS was the first formal religious body to be established in the countr=
y
at the turn of the 20th century after the first Indians arrived here as
indentured laborers in 1860.

"Indentured laborers came from the lowest socio-economic rungs of the India=
n
population and the Arya Samaj fought against the caste system through which
the indentured immigrants labored under the misconception that they were no=
t
worthy of belonging to the higher class," Rambilass said.

Similar processes were followed in the establishment of branches in
Mauritius, Trinidad, Fiji and British Guyana to improve the lot of the
working class. The first leader of the Arya Samaj in South Africa, Swami
Bhawani Dayal, was also chairman of the Natal Indian Congress for some time=
.

The APS has also embarked on a number of successful projects. The Aryan
Benevolent Home catered to indigent Indians at its inception in 1912. After
being forced to move to the Indian suburb of Chatsworth in the 1960s, it is
now one of the largest welfare institutions in the country, taking care of
the frail, the aged and destitute children of all races. It now has five
branches across two provinces.

The Narain Jeawon Vedic Center at the Durban suburb of Sea Cow Lake provide=
s
primary health care at a nominal cost to hundreds of mainly black residents
in the area.

The Pandit Nardev Hindu Dharma Prachar Trust has been established to publis=
h
literature on Hinduism in the two largest indigenous languages, Zulu and
Xhosa. Veteran Zulu politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi will launch the first
two publications in a series of five at the Conference. The aim of these
publications is the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue between the Africa=
n
and Indian communities.

The APS has also launched an initiative in recent years on Raksha Bandhan
day, when members of the African and Indian communities are encouraged to
tie a thread on each other's wrists as a symbol of the new relationship tha=
t
needs to be fostered between these communities. Sisters tie the threads on
the wrists of brothers to secure a pledge to protect them at all times.

-- India Abroad News Service

_____

#5.

Recieved From: Balram Sampla
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 23:42:15 -0000

PRESS RELEASE

2000 HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT

A Seminar on "Human Rights Education for Prevention of Violence" at Mumbai
on the occasion of the 52nd Anniversary of UN Declaration of Human Rights
will be organized on 11th Dec 2000 at 3 p.m. jointly by the Chennai based
NGO: Dalit Liberation Education Trust and Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Social
and Economic Change, Mumbai.

Dr. Justice K. Ramaswamy, Member, National Human Rights Commission and
former Judge of the Supreme Court of India will inaugurate the Seminar.Mr.
Feodor Starcevic, Director, United Nations Information Centre, Mrs. Veena
Nayyar, Member - National Commission for SC / ST, Justice. V. Suresh, Dr
John C.B. Webster, Editor of Dalit International Newsletter, Bishop M.
Azariah, Dalit Theologian and Chairman of DLET, will participate in
addition to scholars and human rights activists. Dr Bhalchandra L.
Mungekar, Vice Chancellor of University of Mumbai will preside over the
Seminar

The Dalit Liberation Education Trust is happy to announce that Ms. Teesta
Setalvad, Journalist in Mumbai has been chosen for the year 2000 Human
Rights Award, to be presented during the commemoration of the World Human
Rights Day at Mumbai on 11th December 2000. The DALIT LIBERATION EDUCATION
TRUST instituted Human Rights Award in the year 1995 to the persons who
made outstanding contribution in the field of Human Rights. The names of
the past recipients are given in the annexure below*. Ms. Teesta Setalvad,
journalist, has been chosen for the year 2000 Human Rights Award for her
service through research, education and promotion of human rights through
multimedia and commitment to protect the rights of Women, Children,
Minorities and Dalits. Her use of internet for documentation to protect
and promote human rights is a great tool for elimination of violence and
violation of peoples rights in India. An integral part of Ms.Teesta=92s
work is her contribution to education on human rights and pluralism,
re-writing of history and social studies to make the curriculum more
representative and democratic and less hegemonistic . In this educational
process she has created and conducting, coordinating the KHOJ education for
a plural India project that today runs in over 30 Mumbai schools in
addition to her work as one of the editors of Communalism Combat. Teesta
Setalvad's work is representative of what she and her colleagues at Sabrang
Communications as a team have been doing in the area of combating hate
politics, intervening in the area of an alternate vision for education and
using the electronic media for human rights media alerts and monitoring of
the media on rights' issues.

We are privileged to contribute to the evolution of humanity and to make
the world a better place with human rights becoming the new paradigm of
development for 21st century.

On behalf of our Trust, I extend you a personal invitation to you to be
present at 4 p.m. on 11th December 2000 at the Convocation Hall of the
University of Mumbai, Fort, Mumbai 400032 when we give this Human Rights
Award to Ms. Teesta Setalvad and to participate in the Seminar=20=20=20

Looking forward to your kind participation,

HENRY THIAGARAJ, Managing Trustee, Dalit Liberation Education Trust, Chenna=
i=20

Dated 23rd November 2000 =
=20
[...] .

______________________________________________
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