[sacw] SACW Dispatch | 22 Sept. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch
22 September 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex
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#1. Debating religious freedom in India & Pakistan
#2. Pakistan: What is the national interest?=20
#3. India: The BJP & The Muslim Factor
#4. India: Insaf International Press Release
#5. Pakistan: Newly Converted Couple Stoned To Death=20
#6. India: Booklets by Yoginder Sikand
=20
-----------------------------------

#1.

DAWN - the Internet Edition
21 September 2000 Thursday=20=20=20=20=20
Opinion

Debating religious freedom in India & Pakistan

By Tahir Mirza

THE US Commission on International Religious Freedom, set up two years ago
under an act of Congress, held its first hearing of the year this week,
picking up Pakistan and India as its subjects. Last year, the commission
had held hearings on China and Sudan.=20

The spotlight, unusually so for such forums, was more on India than on
Pakistan, for the obvious reason that the recent wave of attacks against
Christian missionaries and Christian properties in India has been seen as a
new and disturbing development in what is depicted as the world's most
populous functioning democracy. The hearing (partly reported in Dawn) was
held on the day after the Indian prime minister ended his visit to
Washington and left for New Delhi, but a spokesman for the commission
denied that the timing was meant to embarrass the Indians.=20

The evidence given by various participants in the hearing generally
followed set lines, but a representative of the All Indian Christian
Council, Mr John Dayal, spoke in chilling terms of the anti-Christian
campaign instigated by right-wing Hindu organizations. He said there might
not be "rivers of Christian blood" flowing in India yet, but an atmosphere
of fear had been created.=20

Mr Dayal also indicated how the destruction of the Babri Mosque should not
be seen as an isolated act on the part of a few bigots, but as a reflection
of the extremists' desire to re-write or correct Indian history. He said
the demolition of the mosque had "seared the psyche of the nation and
brought death, destruction and pain in its aftermath".=20

On the crusade against Christians, Mr Dayal said: "The hate campaign
against Christians questions our roots, attacks the tenets of our faith,
targets our priests and nuns, institutions and social work. Senior members
of the Sangh Parivar, including some who are in the current Union
government as ministers or head various frontal organizations, mock Virgin
Birth and blaspheme against the Resurrection."=20

The Hindu concern about conversions, particularly among the Dalits, and the
work of Christian missionaries was described as the likely cause leading to
the hate campaign against Christians. Professor Ainslie T Embree of the
Columbia University also expatiated on the theme, and asserted that if
Hindu nationalist organizations had quite noticeably lessened their
propaganda and physical attacks on Muslims, they had intensified them on
Christians. He thought one of the explanations could be that Indian
churches had more vigorously begun to minister to the poorest and most
oppressed segments of the Indian population, tribal people living in the
most backward and depressed areas of the country.=20

Professor Embree was perhaps the only participant in the hearing who
attempted to find a link between communalism and social and economic
factors, although there is irrefutable evidence that, for instance, where
Indian Muslims are concerned, riots have usually occurred in places where
the Muslims were beginning to enjoy greater economic clout.=20

While the Indian situation occupied much of the attention, Pakistan did not
escape censure either. The problem in any comparison between the two
countries with regard to religious freedom is that in India manifestations
of communalism are often seen as aberrations in a nation with a secular,
democratic constitution, but in the case of Pakistan they are considered to
be inevitable products of the constitutionally mandated Islamic character
of the state.=20

Professor Embree was among those who emphasized this difference. He said
India's political system had permitted freer discussion of the underlying
issues, and the most important difference with Pakistan was that the
latter's constitution unequivocally declared Islam as the religion of the
state, "with its leaders pledged to preserve the Islamic ideology on which
the nation had been founded".=20

This is something that keeps cropping up in any discussion about religious
revivalism in the subcontinent, and it is not easy to defend such
constitutionally sanctioned devices as separate electorates or the
motivations that led to the declaration of the Ahmadiya community as a
minority. Incidentally, a spokesman for the Ahmadis gave some disturbing
figures at the hearing. He said from April 1984 to December 31, 1999, 753
Qadianis had been booked for displaying the Kalima and 379 booked for
"posing as Muslims".=20

You may argue about the political or even strategic purpose behind the
convening of hearings like those of the Commission of International
Religious Freedom or the publication of periodic State Department reports
on human rights in various countries and debates on religious militancy,
but these precipitate a fairly high level of open discourse and often the
presentations made are scholarly and detailed.=20

This represents one of the strengths of American society, and is in sharp
contrast to the death of dialogue in our own country, especially on
religious issues and issues which have assumed a religious or ideological
connotation such as Kashmir. We carp a lot about what the West is doing to
us but are not prepared to confront the vexed questions facing us or to
adopt a more liberal and tolerant approach to such questions.=20

[...] .

______

#2.

The Friday Times
22 September 2000

Editorial

What is the national interest?=20

Nearly a year ago, we, the press, told the world that the people of
Pakistan welcomed a reprieve, even one ordered by the military, from
the corrupt, incompetent and suffocating "democracy" of an elected
prime minister. That view was supposed to express the "national
interest". Did we take the right perspective?=20

General Pervez Musharraf's regime is treading on thin ice. It has
offended mainstream political parties, religious minorities and ethnic
communities. It has alienated businessmen and the liberal intelligentsia.
It is isolated in the international community. The public has become
cynical and prickly. Religious fanatics are running riot. Separatists are
sprouting in Sindh and Balochistan. Foreign-inspired terrorists are
grabbing the headlines. India is itching to trigger an implosion in our
country. Worse, unaccountable corruption at the top echelons of the
armed forces has all but denuded the military of whatever moral
legitimacy it once enjoyed as a "national security institution" of the las=
t
resort. Should this government retain the confidence and goodwill of the
independent press?=20

General Musharraf exhorts us to be "positive". The economy is
supposed to be picking up (wait for the IMF to bail us out); the people
will be empowered shortly (one-unit will be back); Kashmir will be
liberated through jihad (get ready for a fourth round with India). And
so on. What is worrying is the good general's sanguine belief that not
only is he, as chief of the armed forces, the sole repository, interpreter
and defender of the "national interest" but that if he should think it
necessary to obfuscate or scatter the truth in pursuit of his
interpretation of the "national interest", the press should dutifully
back him to the hilt. We beg to disagree.=20

Conceptions of the "national interest" may differ not only in time and
space but also as amongst persons, groups, classes and institutions within
the same time/space matrix. It all depends on the vested interests of
who formulates the parameters of the national interest debate at any
given time/space. For instance, the military coups of 1958 and 1977
were justified by the coup-makers and their supporters in terms of the
country's national interest at that particular juncture. Yet we are all
now agreed that those coups turned out to be against the national
interest. Similarly, the conflicts with India in 1965 and 1971 and 1999
were sold as serving the national interest. But when passions dried up in
the face of defeat or dismemberment or catharsis, we were quick to
decry the perpetrators as having acted against the national interest.=20

An editorial in a leading newspaper recently said that Kashmir should be
put on a back burner while we concentrate on liberating our economy.
Nonsense, berated a columnist in another newspaper, citing the national
interest. Who is right? What constitutes the national interest?=20

Is it in the national interest that there should be ruthless,
across-the-board accountability? No, as defender of the last resort, it
is in the national interest to exempt the sacred cow of the armed forces.
Is it in the national interest to protect the freedom of the press? No, it
is in the national interest to spread and believe the government's
propaganda. Is it in the national interest to curtail the jihadi forces?
No, it is in the national interest to export them far and wide across
nation-state boundaries. Is it in the national interest to provide a
timetable for unencumbered general elections as soon as possible? No,
it is in the national interest to keep the politicians out for as long as
possible. Is it in the national interest to fulfill IMF conditionalities s=
o
that Pakistan can be bailed out immediately? No, the national interest
demands that we kick out the IMF and become self-reliant immediately.
Was it in the national interest to postpone nuclear testing until the
economy was strong enough to shrug off international censure? No, it
was in the national interest to explode our bombs when we did even if
we had to freeze forex accounts, face sanctions and cripple the
economy. Is it in the national interest to negotiate a signing of the
CTBT without tit-for-tatting India? No, it isn't. And so on.=20

Clearly, no one has a monopoly on defining the "national interest".
Therefore no one can claim to be the fountainhead of "national
security". Notions of "patriotism" too may legitimately differ in
complex situations. In fact the nation would be richer in thought and
deed if these notions were not bandied about carelessly.=20

General Pervez Musharraf must not succumb to the arrogance of power,
as many heads of government before him have done. Indeed, he would be
a potential winner rather than a sure loser if he were to encourage and
learn from, rather than gag and condemn, free debate, discussion and
criticism in pursuit of the common good. God knows his sincerity has
been flogged mercilessly by his errant advisors.=20
_____

#3.

THE BJP AND THE MUSLIM FACTOR
=
=20
Asghar Ali Engineer
(Secular Perspective, Sept. 15 - 30, 2000)

Mr. Bangaru Laxman, on being elected the new president the the BJP in its
Nagpur session said, in his speech, that the BJP cadre should reach out to
Muslims. He said this among other things but this part of his speech
aroused extra-ordinary interest of various observers and commentators. This
was widely commented by political commentators also. It became as if a
milestone in the history of the BJP which has been hostile towards
minorities. It is interesting to note that Mr. Bangaru Laxman, himself a
dalit, tried to woo the Muslims. He is reportedly the Prime Minister
Vajpayee=92s choice and it is also quite possible that this pro-Muslim stan=
ce
was also adopted at his instance. The new team of office bearers announced
by Mr. Laxman also contains mostly Vajpayee men. Those who are thought to
be =91RSS loyal=92 are merely three.=20

Is it compulsion of the coalition politics or is it the result of genuine
change of heart on the part of the BJP ideologues? Different opinions have
been expressed. However, ground reality has been changing so fast that the
BJP cannot maintain the old hostile attitude towards minorities,
particularly towards Muslims. Even if it does, it will have to pay heavy
political price. Those who have followed the chequred history of the
evolution of the BJP would know that there have never been ideological
consistency in the BJP=92s political history. Shyama Prasad Mukherji formed
the Jan Sangh supposedly with a wider base and disagreed with the RSS
ideologue to maintain its ideological purity. He argued that in a democracy
such purity is not possible. Shyama Prasad had served as a minister in
Nehru=92s cabinet and had different ideas from the narrow sectarian politic=
s
of the RSS.

However, the Jan Sangh could never free itself from the vice like grip of
the RSS. Its pracharaks formed its core. Often some hot-heads became its
presidents. Balraj Madhok was one of them. When he became its President in
1967 the Jan Sangh adopted militant line and in its Ranchi session it
adopted a resolution to Indianise Indian Muslims as if they were not and
they had come straight from Arabia. However, there were also those in the
Jan Sangh like Deen Dayal Upadhyay who propounded the theory of =91integral
humanism=92 and thought that Muslims were our flesh and blood. But he was
mysteriously pushed from running train and killed.

Then during emergency the Jan Sangh ideologues again changed their colour
and said, =91we have understood the Muslims better being together in Jails
with the Jamat-e-Islami leaders.=92 Even some RSS leaders made such
statements. Not only that the Jan Sangh leaders agreed to merge with
socialists and others to form the Janata Party and, at the instance of Jay
Prakash Narayan, even agreed to shed its communal ideology and adopt
secular outlook. Mr. Vajpayee, then an opposition leader, even campaigned
along with the Shahi Imam appealing to the Muslims to vote for the Janata
Party, and the Muslims in North India did so. However, despite its merger
with the Janata Party, it could not free itself from the clutches of the
RSS. The duel membership controversy (membership of the Janata Party as
well as that of the RSS) took its toll and it (i.e. the Jan Sangh) undid
its merger with the Janata Party and came in to its own.

But them it faced an identity crisis. It had taken a vow at the Gandhi
Samadhi to be secular and Gandhian socialist. To shed it and to adopt
communal stance once again would have been acutely embarrassing. Hence it
assumed now a new Awatara and renamed itself as the Bhartiya Janata Party
and made Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its new president. Under his leadership it
fought 1984 parliamentary elections and faced disastrous defeat. It won
only two parliamentary seats. Thus the new ideological stance of secularism
and Gandhian socialism did not augur well. It soon shed its new stance and
went back to its hard communal posture under the leadership of Shri
L.K.Advani. Rajiv Gandhi, by opening the door of Ramjanambhoomi temple
offered the BJP an issue on silver platter which it was desparately looking
for.

It was this hard communal posture which paid rich dividends and it went on
increasing its number of seats in Parliament until its score reached 182.
It was during the Ramjanambhoomi campaign that it widened its political
base. It realised that without attracting the dalits and other backward
class Hindus it cannot win any more seats in the Parliament, let alone form
a government. Earlier it was purely an upper class Aryavarta Party. Now it
began to embrace Dravidians and other non-Aryans. But during late eighties
and early nineties, more it widened its political base among lower caste
Hindus more hostile posture it took towards Muslims. In fact when it
embraced the Hindu untouchables, it distanced itself from =91Muslim
untouchables=92. It was during this phase that it had boasted that we have
shown that the Muslim votes are not indispensable and that one can win
without Muslim support. It was, in fact urging upon the Congress that you
need not =91appease the Muslims=92. Also, it was during this period that it
framed its Hindutva agenda, which it popularised with great gusto.

However, this phase also did not last very long. It soon realised that
religious frenzy could not be maintained forever and that real issues
cannot be avoided forever. With its Hindutva agenda no one dared to touch
it with a pair of tongs and despite its wooing other parties it could not
last in power for more than 13 days in 1998. It thus changed its
ideological stance once again and shed its hard Hindutva stance and formed
an alliance (NDA) and adopted a common political agenda. It was only with
this common NDA agenda that it came to power.=20

The BJP, despite its alliance with 22 other parties, is facing acute
political crisis. It has reached a plateau and is finding it extremely
difficult to grow further. Except perhaps in Gujrat where it is in power by
itself and faces no serious challenge from any other political party, it
finds itself in deep trouble everywhere else. It is not only stagnating in
states like U.P. but is also fast losing ground. In U.P. there is internal
dissension and serious external challenge. The upper caste Hindus are
getting more and more disillusioned from it and are veering towards other
parties. A section of Backward Caste Hindus whose active support under the
leadership of Kalyan Singh had helped the BJP tremendously have become cool
to it with the his (Kalyan Singh=92s) expulsion. In Bihar it is merely a
junior partner of the Samata and other parties. All its antics could not
weaken the hold of Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav on Bihar politics.=20

The U.P. and Bihar are major states in terms of Parliamentary seats and
also of Muslim population. With acute division in Hindu votes along caste
lines Muslim votes become crucial for any party aspiring to come to power.
The BJP, in the absence of any kind of Hindu wave, cannot consolidate its
Hindutva vote bank and has to fall upon other sections of voters. As shown
above, it has never remained consistence in this matter and has always
changed its political stance as its search for power is as important as
anything else. It would be wrong to think that for the BJP, unlike other
parties, ideological purity is supreme. Its slogan, =91Party with a
difference=92, was meant to capture the imagination of those voters who had
been disillusioned by other political parties. In fact the Jan Sangh or the
BJP has never been different from other parties in the business of power
politics, be it corruption or opportunism or vote bank politics.

The BJP has also tasted power and wants to retain it at any cost. Today
the BJP controls some crucial ministries and has power to appoint its own
people and those of the RSS in several key posts besides controlling huge
funds which it can disburse with to institutions of its own choice. The RSS
also knows this as it is busy putting its people in key posts in various
governmental and semi-governmental organisations. Thus if power can be had
with the Muslim support, Muslims should be wooed. Whatever the BJP=92s boas=
t
in late eighties (that Muslim votes can be dispensed with and still one can
come to power) it knows very well that Muslim votes cannot be dispensed
with if it wants to come back to power. It is too large a minority to be
ignored.

Thus the BJP is now trying to woo both dalits and Muslims with full
consent of the RSS. The RSS leaders readily endorsed the Laxman line which
has been adopted after a careful consideration. The RSS-BJP think tank does
not adopt any line without first fully debating it. Any political line is
first carefully weighed and then adopted. A dalit president of BJP would
not make such a crucial statement inducing Muslims to support the BJP
without prior approval of the powers that be. Such a statement has an added
advantage - convincing the coalition partners that the BJP is after all not
a communal party or a minority baiter it is made out to be by its enemies.
=93So you need not feel embarrassed by your support to the BJP.=94

Thus the BJP is playing a complex game with full knowledge and approval of
the RSS. The BJP leaders also know that Laxman=92s invitation to Muslims to
come to the BJP will not create any big response from the community. Some
have suggested that the speech by Mr. Laxman was not so much aimed at
Muslims as liberal Hindus. This may or may not be true. But in this era of
coalition politics the BJP wants to clear the decks for its coalition
partners. It may also induce a few Muslims to join the BJP. The BJP today
has no Muslims in the party worth the name. Mr. Sikander Bakht has been
alienated for various reasons and Mukhtar Naqvi is a political light weight
and does not count much in the world of power politics.=20

But even if a few political aspirants among Muslims join the BJP, Muslim
masses are in no mood to extend their support to it. This will not happen
as long as the BJP is member of the Sangh Parivar. The BJP neither can nor
does it want to extricate itself from the Parivar. It will play politics
only within this political paradigm. In a democracy of the Indian
diversity, rigidity and purity can only become serious hindrances. The
Sangh Parivar is fully aware of this. Hence they do not want to seriously
impair their growth. They may or may not be flexible on certain issues but
they want to be seen as flexible, and Mr. Bangaru Laxman=92s speech urging
the BJP cadre to reach out to Muslims is part of this exercise. The Sangh
Parivar has its ideological job divided among its members. The RSS who
heads the Parivar guards ideological purity, the VHP and Bajrang Dal make
right noises and maintain aggressive militant stance and the BJP presents
itself with political finesse and needed flexibility. Thus it is the =91Ram
Rajya=92 which will prevail, not the =91Laxman Rajya=92.

(Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai:- 400 055., India)

_____

#4.

INSAAF International

A Demand For Justice

Press Release

Bhatinda 20.9.00

Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee Prime Minister of India has asked the Chief
Secretary, Government of Punjab to take appropriate action in the Rajiana
molestation case. Jarnail Singh father of the two young girls, victims of
police repression and molestation had sent a copy of the investigation
report of Insaaf International with his complaint to the Prime Minister on
29.8.00. The office of Prime Minister informed Jarnail Singh to this effect
through letter number 16/03/2000-PMP-Z/78756 dated 5.9.00.=20

Since 1991 Jarnail Singh has a property dispute with Sadhu Singh who latter
became ruling Akali Dal MLA. Under political influence Jarnail Singh was
‘picked up’ and tortured by Moga police many times to
pressurize him to withdraw criminal case against the MLA. When Jarnail
Singh did not bow down, women folk of the house were made victims of
extreme humiliation and repression on 16.8.00.=20

Insaaf International after talking to the victims, eyewitnesses, villagers,
Akali MLA, SHO and SSP concluded that heavy police force headed by the ASI
raided the house of Jarnail Singh and his brother. No male member was
present in the house during the raid. ASI abused, misbehaved and molested
the two daughters of Jarnail Singh. Police official threatened the two
girls of rape and to parade them naked in the village if their father did
not withdraw the case against MLA.

We condemn the Moga Police chief for stage managing the 'clean chit' to the
guilty police official and MLA by conducting a hoax of an inquiry through
his subordinate officer. In the inquiry it was stated that the girls did
not show the torned clothes to the inquiry officer. According to reports
the inquiry officer hardly spent a few minutes with girls. The girls had
shown their torn clothes to the pressmen at Bhatinda during a press
conference on 26.8.00. A photo of girls showing the torn clothes is being
released to the press.=20

The report of Insaaf International was sent by the father of the two
victims to the Chief Justice Supreme court, Prime Minister of India,
National Human Rights Commission, Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High
Court, Punjab Human Rights Commission for immediate action against the
guilty police officer.

Dr. Vineeta Gupta
General Secretary, Insaaf International
Kishori Ram Hospital Building, Basant Vihar, Bhatinda, Punjab, India
Phone 91-164-215400 (work), 91-164-253903 (home), Fax 91-164-214500
Email <insaaf@g... > and < vineetag@c...>
Website: www.geocities.com/insaafin

_____

#5.

India Abroad
20 September 2000

NEWLY CONVERTED COUPLE STONED TO DEATH=20

India Abroad News Service=20

Sargodha (Pakistan): A Christian couple, who
had embraced Islam, were stoned
to death by the wife's family near Sargodha in
the Punjab province of Pakistan.=20

The husband, identified simply as Alam, and
his eight-month pregnant wife
Noreen Bibi embraced Islam a year ago after
marrying against the consent of
Noreen's parents, NNI news agency reported.=20

Due to a backlash from the Christian
community, the couple left their native
village after marriage and settled in
Sargodha, NNI quoted a report in The
Nation newspaper.=20

Almost eight months after they settled in
Sargodha, Saeed Masih, an uncle of
Noreen, approached the couple and assured them
the family had reconciled to
their decision of becoming Muslims and
marrying against her (Noreen's) parents'
wish.=20

After Saeed Masih's assurance the couple
returned to their native village, where
Noreen's father, Bashir Masih, and her two
brothers, Yaqoob Masih and Pervez
Masih, were waiting with a pile of stones and
bricks.=20

The family immediately attacked Alam first
beating him up and then stoning him
to death before turning to Noreen. Ignoring
her pleas for mercy she too was
stoned to death, the report added.=20
_____

#6.

21 September

Dear Friend,
I have written the following booklets, each priced at Rs. 10 [Indian] or =
=A31=20
[UK] or $1.50 {US} [costs include postage and packing]
Each booklet is between 30-40 pages long.

1. The Baba Budhan Giri Dargah Controversy
2. Dara Shikoh and Inter-Faith Dialogue
3.Religion, Dialogue and Justice [interviews with Indian theologians and=20
activists]
4. Inter-Religious Dialogue and Liberation Theology [Interviews with Indian=
=20
theologians and activists]
5. Building Bridges of Harmony: A Speech by Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri
6. Islam and Kashmir: An Analysis of the Writings of Sayyed Ali Shah Geelan=
i

Copies can be ordered from:
Yoginder Sikand
4304 Oakwood Apts. IV
8th Main, 1st Cross
Koramangala-III
Bangalore-560034

email: ysikand@h...
Payment either by money order or cheque payable to Y.Sikand

_____________________________________________
South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch (SACW) is an
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