[sacw] SACW Dispatch | 13 Sept. 00

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Thu, 12 Oct 2000 00:07:43 -0700


South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch=20
13 September 2000
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

#1. US to probe minority attacks in India / Pakistan
#2. Black caps, khaki shorts as RSS turns 75=20
#3. The Sangh is Vajpayee's soul
#4. India's Hindu Right: A Change of Heart?
#5. Hindu idols to dip in lake despite protests
#6. Grace Poore's film on incestuous child sexual abuse
#7. Travelling Film South Asia
--------------------------------------------

#1.

Tha Asian Age
13 September 2000

US TO PROBE MINORITY ATTACKS=20

By Seema Mustafa
New Delhi, Sept. 12=20

A day after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee completes
his state visit to Washington as the honoured guest of US
President Bill Clinton, the US Congressional Committee on
International Religious Freedom will meet a panel of Indian
experts for a hearing on the =93increasing attacks on Indian
religious minorities by self-proclaimed Hindu nationalists
since the rise of power of the Bharatiya Janata Party.=94=20

The US congressional committee has invited a number of
individuals from India, Pakistan and the US to depose before
it on religious freedom within the two countries even as
President Bill Clinton lays out the red carpet for Prime
Minister Vajpayee and honours him as a state guest. The
prime ministerial visit will include a joint address to the US
Congress to which the report on religious freedom in India
will be eventually submitted.

In India=92s case, the Congressional committee makes it clear
that BJP rule has seen an increase in violence against
minorities. A covering letter citing the terms of reference
sent to specific individuals for the hearing states, =93Christ=
ian
converts have been intimidated, churches and schools
burnt, nuns raped, priests and missionaries murdered.
Muslims continue to be targets of vandalism and assaults.=94
The letter makes it clear that these attacks have coincided
with the rise of the BJP in India since 1998.

The committee will also hear experts from Pakistan on the
issue. Here the military dispensation has not been held
singularly responsible for the =93harassment=94 of Shias,
Ahmaddiyas and Christians who =93have been detained and
imprisoned on account of their religions.=94 The letter,
however, notes that in April this year, the government
=93abandoned its express intent to soften the blasphemy law.=
=94

The Congressional committee, which meets every year,
prepares a detailed report which acts as an advisory for the
US Executive and Congress. The panel for the hearing on
India includes Professor Ainsley Embree, Columbia
University, Mr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Kashmir American Council,
one Mr Mumtaz Ali Khan based in the US, Mr John Dayal,
general secretary of the Catholic Bishops=92 Conference of
India, and Professor Mumtaz Ahmed, Hampton University,
Virginia. Swami Agnivesh was invited but he declined.

Swami Agnivesh told The Asian Age he had turned down
the offer because he did not recognise the US=92 right to act
as a world policeman. =93First they should settle their own
affairs before dabbling in ours,=94 he said. He said Prime
Minister Vajpayee should take the matter up with President
Clinton when they meet in Washington and lodge a strong
protest against US interference in India=92s internal matters.

Mr John Dayal, who has accepted the offer, made it clear
that he too was of the view that the =93US has no business to
act like a global policeman.=94 He said he was going for the
hearing in his individual capacity for two basic reasons.
One, that he was of the view that at times it was important
for =93communities to feel for each other,=94 and two, the Vis=
hwa
Hindu Parishad had been camping in the US urging the
world community to ban conversions. =93Patriotism is best
served by strengthening Indian democracy, Indian
secularism and Indian pluralism,=94 Mr Dayal said.

Mr Ghulam Nabi Fai, who is very close to the US
establishment, has been playing a key role in lobbying for a
separate Kashmir. He was earlier an influential lobbyist for
Pakistan, and was amongst the point persons to organise a
meeting between representatives of the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference and President Clinton shortly before his visit to
India. He had also flown down to Dubai recently for a
meeting with Hizb leaders Syed Salahuddin and Abdul
Majid Dar at which former chairperson of the APHC Maulvi
Omar Farooq was also present.

The panel that will be deposing before the committee on
Pakistan includes Mr Mohan Shahani, human rights lawyer
from Pakistan, Rev. James Channan, a Roman Catholic
priest, Mr Mujib Rehman, an Ahmaddiya, Mr Marshal
Bouton, executive vice-president of the Asia Society,
Professor Sumit Ganguly, Texas University, and Mr Robert
Oakley, former US ambassador to Pakistan.

The Congressional committee is headed by Senator Eliot
Abraham with Dr F. Kazernazdeh as its vice-chairman. The
hearing is fixed for September 18 from 9 am till 3 pm. Other
members include Rabbi David Saperstein, Leila al Marayati,
John R. Boulton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop
Theodore MacCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles R. Smith
and ambassador Robert Sciple.

______

#2.

The Asian Age
13 September 2000

BLACK CAPS, KHAKI SHORTS AS RSS TURNS 75=20

By Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
New Delhi, Sept. 12=20

The 75th anniversary of the founding of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh will be observed by holding a
three-day regional camp at Agra for which 75,000 volunteers
will don the RSS uniform of black cap, white shirt, khaki
trousers and a broad, brown leather belt to participate.

The RSS was founded by Dr Keshav Baliram Hegdewar on
Vijayadashami day in 1925. The camp in Agra, for which
volunteers will be drawn from 14 districts in Uttar Pradesh,
is the flagship show planned on the 75th anniversary of the
organisation. The camp will be held between October 13
and 15, a week after the Vijaydashami function which, as
usual, will be observed by individual shakhas (branches) all
over the country on October 8.

The 75,000 =93ganaveshdhari=94(uniformed) volunteers will be
drawn from Braj-pradesh,the regional unit of the RSS
engulfing districts in the Agra,Bareilly,Farukkhabad and
Bulandshahar areas.Uttar Pradesh is divided into four
regional units(called =91pradesh=92 in RSS
parlance)=97Meerut,Braj,Awadh and Kashi.The Agra camp
has been allotted to the Braj-pradesh unit.

Last year such camps were held at Meerut and in
Ahmedabad.The camp in Meerut saw 51,000
=93ganaveshdhari=94participants.The figure of 75,000 ,kept to
coincide with the platinum jubilee,is unprecedented in the
annals of the RSS .The main focus this year will be on the
Agra function,according to RSS sources.

The camp assumes significance not only due to the venue=92s
geographical proximity to the national capital but also
because it is being held at a time when there is a talk of
redefining the relationship between RSS and it political
arm,the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Incidentally the year 2000 is also the platinum anniversary
of the founding of the Communist Party of India,which was
formally launched in December-end of 1925 at a rally in
Kanpur.While the rightists are planning a somewhat
boisterous anniversary bash,the plans of the two communist
parties is not known yet.
______

#3.

Tehelka.com

THE SANGH IS VAJPAYEE'S SOUL

by Praful Bidwai
=20
The prime minister's Staten Island statement
shatters conclusively the myth that he is "the
right man in the wrong party", says Praful Bidwai
New Delhi, September 11
=20
So adept is the BJP at the game of confusing people that it has woven, and
successfully sold to many, an elaborate myth about itself of its
"secularisation". This holds that the BJP has finally cut its umbilical
cord to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and become a "normal" party
no longer obsessed with Hindutva. Indeed, we are told, the party virtually
reinvented itself at its National Council in Nagpur when it marginalised
"RSS hardliners" and swadeshi-wallahs.
=20
Central to this myth is the larger-than-life figure of Vajpayee, who is no
longer presented just as the=20
Sangh Parivar's "soft face", nor even as "the right man in the wrong
party," but increasingly as a true liberal, a decent, compassionate leader
wedded to modern and humane ideas. On this view, Vajpayee has forced the
BJP to abandon its rusty old trishul: the Ram temple, abrogation of Article
370, and a Uniform Civil Code. Indeed, we are told, he has all but caused a
decisive rupture between the BJP and the RSS.
=20
His Staten Island statement has shattered that myth conclusively and once
for all. What Vajpayee said there to a gathering of sadhus and VHP leaders
leaves no room for doubt whatever on this score. Vajpayee remains a true
swayamsevak; he values this more than the prime ministership, a dispensable
job that "others" too can do.
=20=20
----------
Vajpayee remains
a true swayamsevak;
he values this more
than the prime ministership, a dispensable job that "others" too can do
=20=20
----------
The island, which once served as New York's garbage dump, has consigned
another misconception to the dustbin of history. This is that the Ram
temple has become irrelevant for the "reformed" BJP; that it has dropped
it for good. Vajpayee's "India of our dreams" includes the temple, with
little room for religious and cultural pluralism or diversity.=20
=20
BJP spindoctors, it is a safe bet, will try to "clarify"
that by swayamsevak, Vajpayee only meant being=20
a volunteer in "the cause of the nation". They will put fanciful
interpretations upon disjointed phrases. That would be utterly dishonest.
Vajpayee didn't get carried away at Staten Island. He measured his words,
honing them to his audience and its location. The context,=20
the identity of the hosts and the wording, all point uniquely to the RSS
and Hindutva.
=20
This is only logical. The BJP never did set out to=20
make a break with Hindutva or the RSS, whether
in national executive or council meetings in=20
Bangalore, Madras or Nagpur. It merely sought a=20
new organisational accommodation with the RSS under the latter's tutelage.
This was largely in keeping with changes in the Sangh. After all, the
equation between Vajpayee and Advani, on the one hand, and the much older
servasanghachalaks (Deoras or Rajju Bhaiyya) couldn't remain unaltered once
they gave way to the much younger, less experienced, K S Sudarshan.
=20
Similarly, the BJP's rapid decadal growth until=20
recently, that is, was bound to somewhat reduce=20
its dependence on RSS pracharaks. But that didn't radically alter the
RSS's role as the BJP's ideological mentor, organisational gatekeeper and
political hegemon. The BJP never even attempted a break with that Hindutva
or "Cultural Nationalism". This asserts Hindu primacy, or the idea that
India is, or was, quintessentially Hindu until invaded by "alien
religions", and that this Hindu identity must underlie any endeavour to
build a "great nation"; nothing else can unify the "national will". Whether
in its avatar as the Jana Sangh or a Janata Party faction, the BJP has
always held on this doctrine, with minor variations.
=20
There has never been the slightest evidence that Vajpayee disagrees with
this foundational premise of Hindutva. Vajpayee's visceral prejudice
against Christians (regarded as "converts" - remember his call for a
"national debate on conversion" after the 1998 anti-Christian attacks in
South Gujarat?) testifies to the Hindu-essence idea. And his love of the
Bomb is in line with the RSS's "strong India" militarism.
=20
Those who saw a "secular liberal" in Vajpayee confused softness of
appearance with principled tolerance, equated familiarity with Urdu
couplets with secularism, and a relaxed lifestyle with respect for
libertarian morals. In the last analysis, secularism is not about
assimilating "them", those "others", into "our" mainstream. It is about
recognising that India has always been a multi-religious, multi-ethnic
society; it never was "essentially" Hindu.
=20
"Us" and "them" can't be defined on the basis of religion; politics and
religion must be separated. Citizenship is universal. The BJP, like the
pre-Partition Muslim League, rejects this and roots for one community. It
is this, and not its devotion to violent riots, that makes it communal
(which is not to say it hasn't instigated, condoned or politically used
riots).=20
=20=20
----------
Vajpayee's sacking
of old swayamsevak Govindacharya
wasn't an ideological move against the
RSS. It was inspired
by personal and factional considerations
=20=20=20
----------
=20=20=20
The BJP is not just communal. It is also strongly Rightwing, pro-rich and
against the majority. Its economic agenda has mindlessly promoted LPG
(liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation), destroyed public services,
and widened inequalities. No other party has even attempted such wholesale
transfer of public wealth into private hands as it has. And no other
organisation has been so callous towards the poor. Here, Vajpayee, like his
adopted son-in-law, is even worse than the rest of the BJP.
=20
Apart from past structural links, there is an even stronger reason why the
BJP won't break its RSS bond. The BJP has failed to build a truly popular
mass base. Its national vote peaked at 26 per cent and is now down to 23.
If Uttar Pradesh is any indication, its OBC (Other Backward Castes) base
will vanish, and the party will fall back upon its traditional
Brahmin-Bania upper caste, mainly northern base, similar to the RSS's.
=20
That's why Vajpayee didn't replace Kalyan Singh (whom he sacked) with
another OBC leader but with a nondescript Bania! As the BJP flounders in
its political mobilisation, it could get closer to the RSS. Vajpayee's
sacking of old swayamsevak Govindacharya wasn't an ideological move against
the RSS. It was inspired by personal and factional considerations.
=20
One shouldn't expect Vajpayee to marginalise the RSS. He needs it, just
as it needs him. The Sangh, after all, is his soul.=20

______

#4.

A CHANGE OF HEART?

Dr. Jawaid Quddus

It appears that wisdom has finally dawned on the Sangh Parivar, or maybe
the Indian Muslims have paid heed to the RSS Chief=92s recent demand that
they Indianize themselves and have done so! I am referring to the recent
announcement by the new President of the BJP Mr. Bangaru Laxman, telling
us all that =91Muslims are blood of our blood and flesh of our flesh'.
Within days of this announcement the RSS full-timer and prachar pramukh
Shrikant Joshi (TOI, Sept. 10, 2000) also commented on this indicating that
=91It's a continuation of the same policy. Muslims ko chahiye ke sanjidagi =
se
iska adhyayan karen (Muslims should take it seriously).' He further urged
that `I would urge Muslims not to look upon themselves as minorities.
Ethnically, historically, geographically, linguistically, they are no
different from us. Only our way of worship is different=92. Chandraprakash
Sharma, the General Secretary, South Delhi Shakhas, perhaps was more
pragmatic to suggest that `The reality is we cannot afford to ignore the 15
crore Muslims of this country.'=20

Why this change of heart? Wasn=92t it M. S. Golwalkar, the RSS Chief
appointed by Dr. Keshav Rao Hedgewar, the founder, who had very precisely
defined the Sangh Parivar=92s concept of how to deal with the minorities
=91From this stand point, sanctioned by the experiences of shrewd nations,
the foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and
language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must
entertain no idea but those of glorification of the Hindu race and culture,
i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge
in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the
Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any
preferential treatment, not even citizen's rights. There is, at least
should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us
deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races who have
chosen to live in our country'. (M. S. Golwalkar, We or Our Nationhood
Defined, 1938, p. 35).

Decades ago, in 1967, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya had also stated `Musalman hamare
shareer ka ek ang hain, unka khoon hamara khoon hai' (Muslims are a part of
us, the same blood runs in our veins). It, however, did not seem to make
any difference. Events over these 23 years is replete with atrocious acts
perpetuated by the Sangh Parivar against the Muslims in India, be it the
riots in Jabalpur, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Hashimpur, Maliana, Mumbai and
most recently in Rajeshtan and Surat. Guru Golwalker, were he alive today
would certainly be very proud of his storm-troopers ! That these riots
were well planned in advance by the Saffron Brigade needs no comment.
Several commissions instituted by the Indian Government have very aptly
indited members of the Sangh Parivar, some members of the Police and other
paramilitary forces such as the PAC responsible for such carnage.
However, no one has been punished and probably never will be! The
Commission, in the case of the Hashinpura incident in 1987 had indited
several people including PAC units and Officers, but no action was taken.
Some of the accused officers were subsequently promoted following this
event. The Srikrishna commission report indicting the Shiv Sena activists
and the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is still gathering dust. Add to
this the Liberhan Commission appointed by the Home Ministry to investigate
the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Even after 8 years, despite several
court dates, it has been unable to force its principal witness, Mr. Kalyan
Singh to testify. It appears that Mr. Kalyan Singh is just too sick to come
and has failed to appear before the commission time and again. Of course,
since Mr. Kalyan Singh is the chief witness, unless his testimony is
recorded, the Liberhan Commission has indicated that it cannot ask the
other accused such as Mr. Advani , Dr. M.M. Joshi and others to testify.
The Commission=92s term of Office is due to expire in about two months, so =
we
know where this investigation is heading! Very soon, maybe, this incident
will be declared timebarred and that will be the end of it.

Miracles do happen, views, perspective and opinions do change. We Indian
Muslims need to be pragmatic and give the Sangh Parivar the benefit of
doubt. Maybe we can even prod them along and remind them that if they are
serious about Muslims joining their organization, they should, at the
minimum, make efforts to do the following:

Reconstruct Babri Masjid and remove form their agenda the other 3000 or so
masjid=92s slated for destruction. This does not preclude the construction =
of
the Ram Mandir at a site adjacent to but different from the exact spot
where the Babri Masjid stood. Alternateively constitute a commission drawn
from UNESCO or some other World Body comprising of scientists who can apply
high tech methodology such as carbon dating etc. to ascertain whether or
not a temple existed on the site where the Babri Masjid stood.

Punish the people responsible for the destruction of Babri Masjid, those
involved in the Merut and Maliana massacre, in the riots in Mumbai and all
other such incidents of violence against the minorities, including the
Christians, the Sikhs and the Dalits. Provide for adequate compensation to
the victims of violence so that they can start their lives over again with
dignity. Ensure that such incidents do not take place in the future, and
if they do, that they be curbed without bias.=20=20

Provide for adequate representation for the minorities in government
service, especially the police and paramilitary services and the armed
forces, in admissions to schools and institutions of higher learning, in
proportion to their population statistics.

Stop the unnecessary harassment of the Muslims, Muslim institutions like
Madarsas, AMU, Jamia Islamia and Shibli College in the pretext of going
after ISI agents or other anti-national entities.(TOI 11 April, 2000, The
Hindu, April 26, 2000)

Stop the uprooting of Muslims and the other minorities from their homes and
jobs, as has been going on in Gujrat, U.P. and other places around the
country.(Humanscape April 2000 )

This is probably too much to ask for, but if the Sangh Parivar is serious
about involving the Muslims in the =91national mainstream=92, this is what =
they
need to do. This will guarantee the support of the Muslims and the Sangh
Parivar will achieve their objective of sustaining power and a stable
government for years to come!! Failing this, one may conclude that this
sudden empathy for the Muslims is just a ploy. We Muslims may be poor, may
be illiterate, but we are not stupid enough to be misled by the shenanigans
of the Sangh Parivar. The objective of this sudden love for the Muslims is
not for the benefit of the Muslims, it is infact directed at the liberal
and secular Hindus. For those who can see the writing on the wall, the
message is clear. The Sangh Parivar is unable to fully implement its
hidden agenda as has been very aptly stated by our PM in New York recently
, `We have done a lot being a minority government. When we (the BJP) is
given a majority, we will build an India of everyone's dream.=92 (IE, Sept.
11, 2000). To establish a majority government and to transform India into
the land of their dreams, (read Hindu Rashtra), the Sangh Parivar needs to
increase its vote bank. They know that this support will never come from
the minorities in India, hence they must woo the liberal Hindus and maybe
some beguiled Muslims.. Gallant as this effort maybe, the liberal and
secular Hindus and the minorities love their motherland much too much to
get caught in this devious web.=20=20

Postscript: What makes India great? People like T.A. Majeed of Kerala and
Vidya Bhusan Singh of Gopalganj, Bihar.

T.A. Majeed has constructed a Jain temple at a cost of Rs. 45 Lakh and has
donated it to the Jain community at Palitana, about 250 kilometers from
Ahmadabad. This he did as his contribution towards religious aminity.(The
Milli Gazette, 16-31 August 2000)

Vidya Bhusan Singh has began to send his two grandsons to the local Madarsa
instead of the local village primary school located in Gopalganj. This is
because the two primary
school teachers drawing salaries of Rs. 10,000 a month, are always absent
from the school. The Madarsa on the other hand is being run very
efficiently by the head maulvi and his two assistants. Initially there was
a hue and cry among the Rajput community, from which he hails in Meera
Tola-Khetapur village. People from his village taunted him for converting
to Islam, however there has been a change in the attitude of the people
since then. Now about 70 children belonging to the Hindu community study in
the same Madarsa where there are 400 other children. The head maulvi did
not object to the presence of Hindu children studying in the Madarsa
although he got the surprise of his life when he saw two boys, aged three
and five, reading Urdu while donning a topi, like the other kids in the
Madarsa .=20

Vidya Bhusan Singh believes that sending his grandsons to the Madarsa does
not intrude on his religion and believes that his grandchildren will have a
greater perception of their own religion and also other religions. (TOI, 10
September, 2000)
______

#5.

South China Morning Post
Tuesday, September 12, 2000
INDIA

HINDU IDOLS TO DIP IN LAKE DESPITE PROTESTS
=20=20
by S. N. M. ABDI in New Delhi=20=20

Hardline Hindu religious groups will immerse 12,000 idols in a picturesque
lake in Hyderabad today, defying a call by Indian environmentalists to stop
the annual ritual, which causes flooding and pollution.=20

The immersion of thousands of idols of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha -
some four metres high - causes water levels in the Hussainsagar Lake to
rise above safety levels, inundating areas in the heart of the southern
city. Conservationists said that a "big environmental disaster" could not
be ruled out after right-wing Hindu groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD) rejected repeated appeals by environmentalists
not to go ahead with today's ceremony.=20

According to the Forum for a Better Hyderabad, a non-governmental
organisation (NGO), the religious rite pollutes the lake because the idols
are coated in toxic paint that take a heavy toll of marine life. The lake,
covering an area of eight square km, is named after king Hussain Shah Wali,
who built it in 1562 to provide drinking water to the twin cities of
Hyderabad and Secunderabad.=20

The forum said the controversial ritual was a slur on the reputation of the
cyber-city that aspired to be India's Silicon Valley, and it blamed Andhra
Pradesh state's Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, for not banning the
practice.=20

Ranked second after Bangalore as one of the premier centres of India's
growing information-technology industry, Hyderabad figured prominently on
US President Bill Clinton's itinerary earlier this year.=20

Besides environmentalists, civic authorities had also appealed to the VHP
and BD to spare Hussainsagar lake and immerse the idols in wells and
smaller lakes instead.=20

Reports from Hyderabad said that the idols were immersed in wells and
smaller lakes until 1980 when the VHP started immersing idols in
Hussainsagar despite objections by several government agencies and NGOs.=20

Newspapers reported that the number and size of idols had increased each
year. Some idols were so big that cranes were used for their immersion.=20

"There are more than 1,000 polluting industries situated in the catchment
area of Hussainsagar," said Purushottam Reddy, of NGO Citizens Against
Pollution.=20

The immersion of idols has worsened the situation. Fisherman complained
that there was a time when they could catch 500kg of fish a day in
Hussainsagar but now they got no more than 50kg because the water had been
polluted.=20

The lake was once the venue for major water sports events, but they were no
longer held there. An Asia-Pacific regatta was called off last year after
some competitors who fell from their yachts in high winds developed skin
rashes and stomach ailments.=20

Reports from Hyderabad said nearly 11,000 policemen had been deployed to
avert Hindu-Muslim clashes, which marred the immersion festival last year.
Violence erupted after VHP activists chanted provocative slogans and held
up posters as the immersion procession passed through Muslim areas.=20=20=20
______

#6.

Vasudev/Ammu on 04/09/2000 01:30:09 AM

Subject: Grace Poore

4 September 2000

Dear All,

Sorry about this mass mail but I thought I must alert you to an
incredibly sensitive yet powerful documentary film titled The Children
We Sacrifice made by Grace Poore on the subject of incestuous child
sexual abuse, focussing on the South Asian community on the
sub-continent as well as in the diaspora. Screenings are scheduled in
Washington and Johns Hopkins in the near future. Some of you in the
general neighbourhood might like to check on dates via e-mail.

I'm usually wary of films on such delicate subjects but I found this one
absolutely flawless in its handling of this painful topic. Grace comes
across as an extremely sincere, sensitive, compassionate person with a
very balanced approach to the issue (despite -- or because of? -- her
own history as a survivor).

South Asian communities -- on the sub-continent and in
the diaspora -- are by no means free of it and the problems of South
Asian victims/survivors are compounded by various social and cultural
factors. Despite the subject, the film is not at all hard to watch,
thanks to the special efforts of the film-maker.

The film-maker is available for screenings preceded and/or followed by a
discussion/workshop. She has also produced a very useful resource book
to accompany the film, which includes more information and insights as
well as guidelines for discussion and suggestions about how theatre can
be used to facilitate discussion/work on incest. She has already
facilitated workshops in several American colleges/universities
(including the Seven Sisters) as well as in other settings in the US and
in India. She is currently here but will be back in the US in a couple
of weeks.

VIDEO SYNOPSIS

Shot in India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States, "The Children We
Sacrifice" is a documentary about incestuuous sexual abuse of South
Asian girls. Through stories by women abused from as young as two, the
61-minute video looks at the social and cultural resistance to dealing
with incest and how it affects victims.

Throughout the documentary, images of childhood innocence and the warm
wash of colours visually juxtapose the harsh reality of the home as
source of refuge and source of violation, family as source of comfort
and source of betrayal. This is no sensationalist treatment of the
women who share their stories of abuse but a celebration of struggle and
resilience. It also collapses the distinctions between image-maker and
"imaged" by including the videomaker's own history of surviving incest.

VIDEOMAKER'S BIO

Writer, producer and director Grace Poore has firsthand knowledge of
what it was like to grow up in a violent home. It is this personal
experience that drives the focus of her documentaries and the passion
for her work as an activist who produces and uses videos to advocate for
an end to violence against women and girls.

Her straight documentary approach is intercut with creative expressions
of poetry, paintings, dance and music by survivors of "private"
violence, to provide a forum for art that captures the pain of and
triumph against violent trauma.

Her recent documentary, "The Children We Sacrifice," won the 2000
Rosebud Award and is being shown in major cities in the US and Canada.
Her earlier documentary, "Voices Heard Sisters Unseen" (about domestic
violence) has screened internationally and received a 1996 Bettina
Russell (Canadian) award for social issue documentary.

In addition to video production, Grace has worked for the U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Violence Against Women in Sri Lanka as well as the
US-based National Coalition Against Domestic Violence for nine years.
She was born and raised in Malaysia (she's of Indian/Sri Lankan origin)
and has lived in the US for the past 19 years.

Her production company is called SHaKTI PRODUCTIONS and is based at:

8403 16th Street #6
Silver Spring
Maryland 20910-2831
USA

Phone: 301-589-4462
E-mail: shaktivideo@a...

Warm regards,
Ammu

______

#5.

ANNOUNCING Travelling Film South Asia 2000

15 outstanding documentary films from the Subcontinent (schedule below)

September 29 to October 1
Columbia University, Lerner Hall, 115th Street & Broadway

For more information, contact Jyoti Thottam at TFSA2000@h... or visi=
t=20
www.filmsouthasia.homepage.com.

TICKETS
Opening Night $10 ($15 at door)
Saturday Pass $10 ($15 at door)
Sunday Pass $10 ($15 at door)
Weekend Pass $25 ($30 at door)

PURCHASE advance tickets at http://www.ersvp.com/reply/tfsa2000

$2 admission to film screenings for Columbia students with ID at the door=20
only Saturday and Sunday.
$5 single screening tickets at the door only Saturday and Sunday.

SCHEDULE OF FILMS
All films are in English or subtitled in English.

Friday, Sept. 29
7 Doors Open
7:30 Three Women and a Camera - Three photographers examine their work as=20
photographers, as women and products of their times. Joint Winner, Second=20
Best Film. Sabeena Gadihoke. 1998. 56 min. India.
8:30 Reception

Saturday, Sept. 30
12 The Forgotten Army - Veterans of Subhash Chandra Bose=92s Indian Nationa=
l=20
Army retrace their historic march. With recovered footage from 1942-45.=20
Winner, Grand Jury Prize. Kabir Khan. 1997. 105 min. Pre-1947 India.

2 Don't Pass Me By - =93Macho=94 locals and the tourists who love them at t=
he=20
Nepali resort town of Pokhara. Sarah Kapoor, Christina Lamey and Kristi=20
Vuorinen. 1999. 40 min. Nepal.

2:45 Duhshomoy (A Mother's Lament) =96 A 16-year-old garment factory worker=
is=20
picked up by the Dhaka police, allegedly gang raped and dies in custody.=20
Yasmine Kabir. 1999. 26 min. Bangladesh.

3:15 Voices of Dissent: A Dance of Passion - A female classical dancer, a=20
male Kathak dancer, a film actress and a mullah reflect on dancing in=20
Pakistan. NoorKhan Bawa. 1999. 22 min. Pakistan.

3:45 Skin Deep =96 The search for femininity and how it permeates the=20

_____________________________________________
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 blank message to <act-subscribe@egroups.com>
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[Disclaimer : Opinions carried in the dispatches
are not necessarily representative of views of SACW compilers]