[sacw] SACW #2 | 28 May 01

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire / Dispatch #2
28 May 2001

----------------------------------

#1. The Taliban should be ashamed
#2. India:A nation of informers
#3. India: Hindu Right takeover of the social sciences hub
#4. India: A renewed Hate Capaign in Punjab

-----------------------------------

#1.

Only the Taliban Should be Ashamed

Badruddin R. Gowani

When the United States' armed forces murdered about three million Vietnames=
e,
Cambodians, and Laotians (in the name of "democracy" and "freedom") during
its twenty-year unjust and savage war against those countries, it is the US
ruling elite who should be ashamed and not the Christians residing all over
the world. Similarly, the Israeli ruling class is responsible for continues
brutalities against the Palestinian people and not the Jews worldwide. The
blame for the Suharto regime's genocidal elimination of 200,000 people of
East Timor - mostly Christians - out of a total population of 600,000, that
is, 33% or 1/3rd of the population, cannot be laid at the door of other
Muslims. For the demolition of the 16th Century Muslim Mosque or Babri
Masjid, the culprits were the zealots of RSS (Rashtria Swayamsevak Sangh),
Bajrang Dal, and other militant religious outfits and not all the followers
of Hinduism.

Recently, another heinous act was committed. The Taliban in Afghanistan
added one more atrocity to their long list of crimes. Despite pleas from
many governments, organizations, and people, the Taliban adopted an
uncompromising posture and destroyed two giant statues of Buddha in Bamiyan=
,
Afghanistan after the Afghanistan Radio announced the "supreme leader" Mull=
ah
Mohammed Omar's order:
All statues and non-Islamic shrines located in different parts of the IEA <
Islamic Emirates of
Afghanistan> should be destroyed. These statues were shrines of infidels an=
d
these infidels continue to worship and respect these icons. Allah Almighty
is the only real shrine and all false shrines should be smashed."

Many governments, including those of Muslim nations, and people condemned t=
he
Taliban, whereas several extremist Muslim groups lauded the Taliban's
action.

The Taliban is solely responsible for this dastardly act and so the other
Muslims, particularly the Pakistani Muslims, should not be ashamed. Saying
that, I am also fully aware of the US media's (and to a lesser extent the
rest of the Western media's), worldwide reach - it never misses a chance to
humiliate Muslims or for that matter any one else. Of course, as human
beings we should all be overwhelmed with a feeling of ignominy for the
Taliban idiocy.

Later, its leaders gave a lame excuse that we destroyed the statues because
the world is concerned for them, but not for the Afghanis who are the victi=
ms
of the unjust sanctions.

Earlier, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, had offered t=
o
talk with the Taliban:
I am confident I will be able to persuade them to stop the demolition. But =
I
have a condition, that the prime minister of India <Atal Behari Vajpayee>
will have to say that the demolition of Babri Mosque was a shameful act.

This kind of - if you do this, I/we will do that - reasoning may seem
appropriate in certain situations, however, in other situations, it would
seem irrational and inhumane. I will make my point clear.

A Sudanese pharmaceutical plant, which was substantially fulfilling that
country's medicinal requirements, was destroyed by the US Tomahawk cruise
missiles. The US claimed wrongly and intentionally that it was a chemical
weapons factory making VX nerve gas. As usual, once the world outrage died
down the US admitted the fact. If in retaliation Sudan would have blown up
an arms and ammunition factory in the US (as US had said its intention was
when it blew up the medicine plant), and/or Sudan would have destroyed a
pharmaceutical plant in the US (as US actually did in Sudan), it would have
had a reasonable justification for its action/s. However, if the Iraqi
government were to kill 4,500 US children every month as a requite because
4,500 of its children are dying every month due to US imposed embargo, it
would be hard pressed to justify, as the children have no role in the embar=
go.

Usually what happens is that the victims of the US (or for that matter any
country or group) atrocities cannot reach the actual culprit and so out of
frustration and humiliation they go after the ordinary people.

Taliban's frustration in face of drought, US embargo, financial crunch, and
innumerable miseries - some inherited, some US imposed, some self-created,
but none Buddha (or Buddhists) given is understandable. What is unfathomabl=
e
is why vent your anger on those beautiful historical monuments? Did it serv=
e
any purpose? May be more people around the world came to know about the
terrible condition in Afghanistan. But then again, many more people also
learned of the Taliban intolerance. Not to forget the reactions of other
communities. The copies of Qur'an were burned in some Indian cities, few
people died in Kanpur, India, and the Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Japan, and
elsewhere were outraged.

The 114 feet and 165 feet high "magnificent" "Buddhas were," Ahmed Rashid
reminds us, "one of the wonders of the ancient world, visited by pilgrims
from China and India." (Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in
Central Asia, Yale University Press, 2000, p. 68.)

(Ahmed Rashid in his extremely well written and highly informative book
writes about the management style of the Taliban:
No warlord faction has ever felt itself responsible for the civilian
population, but the Taliban are incapable of carrying out even the minimum =
of
developmental work because they believe that Islam will take care of
everyone. Pp. 212-21).

Ms. Irum Sarfaraz defended the Taliban action, "Taliban Didn't Put the Musl=
im
World to Shame," (Pakistan Link, April 20, 2001, p. A2), by quoting the
Qur'anic verses 21:67, 3:95, and 21:58. For her it is "people with pathetic
and faltering faith who are putting the entire Muslim world to shame,"
whereas the Taliban are "following the Quran and Sunnah and our prophets."
She believes that "True Islam for a Muslim means following the Quran and
Sunnah." I do not think that any one would any have problem with Taliban or
any other Muslim following Qur'an and Sunnah, until it remains his/her
private matter and does not affect any one else. The real problem arises
when people want others to do the same.

Lets say, Indian Muslims starts destroying the Hindu idols, but ultimately,
being a minority loses the "jihad" and are left with no other option but to
escape from their native country, would Pakistan accept them? Remember that
Pakistan has yet to take in the half a million "stranded Pakistanis" who ar=
e
in camps in Bangladesh since its inception in 1971.

If certain Qur'anic verses are quoted to justify the demolition of the
Buddhas, then some other verses can be quoted to justify some other action/=
s.
It is an extremely dangerous game and in today's multicultural and
multireligious world it could play havoc on a regional and/or on a global
level.

Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They
are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall
become one of their number. God does not guide the wrongdoers. 5:51 (The
Koran, trans., N. J. Dawood, Penguin Books, 1998).
Imagine the consequences. How would Muslim parents living in Europe, North
America, Nigeria or Tanzania stop their children from mingling with Jewish
and Christian children at educational institutions? What would happen to th=
e
economy of Muslim countries, which like other under developed countries, ha=
ve
been turned into dependencies following their independence? IMF, World Bank=
,
Pentagon, =E2=80=A6 are all under Christian control. How would the Muslim
governments deal with their Jewish and Christian subjects? What would happe=
n
to those Muslims who are minorities in Israel and Christian countries?

Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the
other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are
obedient=E2=80=A6. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish t=
hem and
forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no
further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme. 4:34
More and more women are becoming aware of their rights and are demanding
(along with many like-minded men) equal treatment, and this would be an
invitation for more social strife.

Once Allah's Apostle=E2=80=A6 said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal=
to the
witness of one man?"=E2=80=A6 <the women> replied in the affirmative. 8:301=
(Sahih
Al-Bukhari, vol., 1)
Many Pakistani women suffered under the two women equal one man law of Zia =
ul
Haq's government.

Blessed are the believers,=E2=80=A6 who restrain their carnal desires (exce=
pt with
their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them: transgressors ar=
e
those who lust after other than these);=E2=80=A6 23:1
The feudal lords and other exploiters who treat their female workers as
slaves and abuse them sexually and psychologically would then have no fear =
at
all of law or society.

Now I would briefly go over the few points she has raised. She objects to
Muslim criticism of the Taliban because that "provide an ammunitions to the
West to hate the Muslims." This risk is always there. Does it mean that one
should avoid criticizing one's own people? Of course, not. Many
conscientious people in the US vehemently denounced and violently protested
against the US brutalities in Indochina. Secular Hindus and other people
severely criticized the Indian government for the Babri Masjid demolition.
Secular Muslims and other people in Pakistan are the ones who come out to
defend the Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus when the Muslim fanatics harass
them.

Her observation that Muslim women with "hijab" and Muslim men with "beards
and caps" are ridiculed is correct, however, she is incorrect that "nuns ar=
e
respected for their head coverings" and the Jewish men for their "beards an=
d
caps." Many a times one can watch programs on television where they make fu=
n
of nuns. Any criticism, even an honest and mild one, of Jews or the Israeli
government on the US media or by the US government is an anathema. Professo=
r
Noam Chomsky has pointed out many a times that there is much more and open
criticism of Israeli policies in Israel itself than there is in the US. In
my opinion there are several reasons: the influential Jewish Lobby, the
geo-strategic interests of the US, the defense and the intelligence allianc=
e
between both countries, avoiding the ever ready trap of "anti-Semite" or
"anti-Semitism," and so on. There is a great opposition to Jewish
fundamentalism in Israel. Therefore, the absence of Jews with beards and
caps should not be taken as a sign of approval. She thinks that a US woman
not working and taking care of her home and children is "glorified as the
'woman of today,'" whereas "when Muslim women stay at home there are social
activists who are dying to 'liberate them.'" She is probably mixing up two
separate issues. I hope she does not mean the people who are glorifying the
US woman for staying at home are the same ones who are dying to liberate th=
e
Muslim women. In Muslim (and other under developed) countries, the
deplorable and slave like condition of many women necessitates the liberati=
on
which could make women economically independent, and if necessary free from
the abusive marital relationship. In the West (or in the East), if a woman
decides to stay home of her own free will there is nothing wrong in it - ev=
en
many men would want freedom from the uninteresting and monotonous work cycl=
e
of ruthless capitalism. However, if she is forced or socially pressurized t=
o
stay at home, than it is wrong. The glorification as the "woman of today" i=
s
a media fad and should not be taken seriously. Tomorrow it can be Jennifer
Lopez, and day after tomorrow it can be someone else.

She questions as to "Why should we alone, as Muslims, be expected to show
'flexibility and tolerance?'" Then she raises questions about the missing
"'flexibility and tolerance' of the West in Bosnia ... in Iraq ... in
Palestine ... in Afghanistan ... in Kashmir." Does it mean that if the West
is committing crimes or is approving crimes of its lackeys and friends, the=
n
it is all right for Muslims to target anyone? This a skewed logic. If the
West is committing a crime against you, then go and fight against the West
rather than aiming at unrelated objects or people.

A country is meant for all its citizens irrespective of their religion,
color, caste, creed, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or any visible o=
r
invisible physical or mental trait/s and/or disease/s.

In any country, a person of any religion should not be stopped from
practicing his/her beliefs, however, he/she should be stopped from mixing
religion into politics or into affairs of the state. Only secularism can
guarantee freedom to all its citizens to pursue their religion - or lack of
religion. Of course, the ideal state would be a non-capitalist secular
democracy.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah or Quaid e Azam (the Great Leader), who before Partitio=
n
was dubbed as Kaffir e Azam (the Great Infidel), was a Shi'a and would have
been, if he were alive today, the first victim of Sipah-e-Sahaba or
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or some other Sunni fundamentalist group. He was aware of
the communal danger and that is why in his very first speech to Pakistan's
first constituent assembly he emphasized, in a clear language that Pakistan
is for every one. Here are few extracts:
... In course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cea=
se
to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal fai=
th
of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.
... In course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority
communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community - because even as
regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shi'as, Sunnis and so on and
among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalees,
Madrasis, and so on - will vanish. ...
If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you=
,
no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had wit=
h
you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first,
second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and
obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.
... The first duty of a Government is to maintain law and order, so that th=
e
life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by
the State.
"You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to
your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan.
We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction
between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or
creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we
are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. "

_____

#2.

A NATION OF INFORMERS
I.K.Shukla
Fascism has its own logic, its own innate and compulsive consistency.=20
Theoterrorism that Bharat (Hindu Rashtra) signifies and stipulates has=20
ramifications that go too far beyond the seemingly stray incidents of=20
violence and spasmodic events of vandalism. They envelop and eviscerate the=
=20
society. They terrorize a whole nation into becoming a collective of moral=
=20
midgets and mental cretins. It is easy to rule midgets and cretins. The=20
theofascist state unleashes on the populace its storm-troopers in mufti,=20
the hired hoodlums, and hooligans fired by the ideal of an (un)holy war,=20
fixated on purging the nation of the unwanted - the real builders of the=20
nation, and producers of its wealth.
It is freedom that fascism fears most, and it wastes no time in squelching=
=20
it. Therefore, it seeks "legally" and "juridically" to snuff out all=20
manifestations of liberty, be they conventionally civic or just basically=20
human. These assaults on freedom are justified by the garrison state in the=
=20
name of "national security." This concept of so-called national security is=
=20
rooted in the fear and insecurity that the ruling hoods are unremittingly=20
haunted by. It has nothing whatever to do with the nation. In fact it poses=
=20
a mortal threat to the nation by emasculating it through terror and thus=20
preempting its rally in a real crisis in the future.
The fascists never forget that they may have come to power via votes but=20
they are, in fact, usurpers. Ever afraid of the mandate of the masses, they=
=20
use force and fraud to manipulate the latter. They can't allow a public=20
scrutiny of their misdeeds for they would be found guilty and seditious.=20
The VHP call for disbanding the Liberhans Commission of Inquiry into the=20
Babri Demolition is a case in point. So too, the BJP/NDA fright at the=20
prospect of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Tehelka expose=20
of the massive graft infesting the defense purchases. Its intransigence in=
=20
rejecting this demand of the Opposition is a measure of its funk. Here it=20
is worth recalling the unseemly insistence by George Fernandes on securing=
=20
for himself the Defense portfolio. Everything fits.
That fascism perpetuates itself through mayhem is a commonplace. It is not=
=20
only the murder of Baines family, but also the umpteen murders and rapes=20
all across India, of Muslims and Christians, Adivasis and Dalits that seek=
=20
to serve twin purposes: assertive (we will do what we like), and=20
demonstrative (lesson exemplary to potential dissenters). Theofascists=20
don't want ever to be accountable either to courts or people. Recall the=20
plight of Vishwabandhu Gupta, the Income Tax officer, who dared ask VHP and=
=20
other saffron outfits to account for their massive receipt of funds from=20
abroad. Instead of complying with the IT law and its regulations, the=20
ruling junta had him vindictively transferred to backwoods where he would=20
not be able to peep into the illegitimate horde. Remember HTaliban repeated=
=20
averments to defy court order in respect of Ram Temple.
In this category fall two "unsolved" murders, besides recurrent custodial=20
deaths and marauding police rampages in student hostels (Jamia Millia),=20
viz., that of Baba Lal Das in Nov.1993, the head priest of Ram temple since=
=20
1983 which saffronites wanted to=91liberate', who sought an accounting of R=
s=20
700 crores collected by the Ayodhya Nyas and who asked the VHP-BJP gangs to=
=20
quit Ayodhya and allow the locals to settle the matters relating to the=20
Masjid, and that of an IAS officer, Subhash Bhan Sadh of UP home=20
department, who died mysteriously in a rail "accident" on Apr.30, 2000=20
while carrying important documents for the Liberhan Commission. The files=20
he carried are missing. They were meant to be. This is not the solitary=20
case of inconvenient people or papers having vanished for the benefit of=20
the theoterrorists. Those soft on the minorities (i.e., not mean and cruel=
=20
enough) will be gunned down, like ADM Pathak in Kanpur. The involvement of=
=20
Hindu Taliban in Kanpur riots, from instigation to aggravation, was too=20
palpable to escape notice by the citizenry.
I know friends in India who never receive their foreign mail just because=20
their names sound Muslim or Christian. How the post office has been turned=
=20
into a tool of coercion and crime from its public service role, is=20
revealing, again, of the fascist morality corroding the nation. Cheques and=
=20
drafts to such friends mysteriously end up elsewhere. Thus nothing is safe=
=20
or secure any more.
Talk of national security, as if nation were a reprobate and degenerate=20
cult of fake Hindus. From a religion of immense dimensions and=20
comprehensive compass Hinduism was insidiously mangled and brazenly reduced=
=20
to a cult by the hegemons of Hindutwa junta. It is an achievement no sane=20
Hindu can recall without a sense of pain and shame.
Murderers honored by the state (Rastogi in the NCERT) is a device which=20
characterizes fascism.
It is ingenuous to regard it as something queer. Let it be clear once for=20
all that criminality is the badge of honor and ticket of eligibility for
recruits to enter the Hindu Taliban ranks. The ill-reputed killer of Baba=20
Lal Das is an MP. It is a strategy and a well orchestrated policy of=20
HinTaliban to institute terror as a tool of control. Why they thrive on=20
lies and keep no membership records is no mystery. Recall some of their=20
historical lies: RSS is a cultural organization, Jan Sangh is a secular=20
party, etc. And, add some recent ones of Advani and Vajpayee and their=20
cohorts. Vajpayee assured the Pope there was no violence or discrimination=
=20
against Christians. He certified there was no caste- or community- based=20
discrimination in the distribution of relief materials in Gujarat. He=20
delivered himself of the biggest lie: there have been no suicides of=20
farmers. And, that sequent to globalization-privatization, poverty has come=
=20
down in India by 10%. Such a stridently false assertion could come only=20
from one deliberately blind to national reality, or choosing to be=20
criminally ignorant of current history which records nation after nation in=
=20
Latin America and Africa going to dogs in consequence of the imperialist=20
onslaught now fancifully called global, as if it ever was anything less.
So, fascism thrives on lies, sustains itself on lies, and is based on lies.=
=20
Everything noble in human sensibilities is its bete noire. Violence,=20
villainy, and vice are not incidental but integrally essential to it. It is=
=20
in this background that its recent fiat about foreign guests should be=20
understood. Afraid of censure for its numerous violations of human rights=20
in the nation, it seeks to blanket its crimes with such fatwas. Talibans of=
=20
Kabul are greenhorns compared to the veterans of theofascism, the HTaliban,=
=20
who have been much longer on the scene, three quarters of a century. Kabul=
=20
Taliban are an inferior strain of theoterrorism. That is why they so=20
crudely carry out their pogroms. They could learn a lesson or two from the=
=20
HinTaliban in low intensity warfare against minorities, white lies, maiming=
=20
and demolishing of history, looting of minority properties, declaring rape=
=20
and murder as patriotism and massive deprivation (distributive injustice)=20
as cultural nationalism.
Hinduism posited as a householder's duty a warm welcome to a stranger as if=
=20
he were a god. Atithi dewo bhawa. Hindu Taliban have issued an edict that=20
all foreign guests be reported to
the neighborhood police station. Another door wide ajar now to corruption=20
(bribery) and crime (blackmail) and abuse of authority and erosion of civil=
=20
liberties. If NDA is a party to this diktat it deserves being routed and=20
relegated to oblivion. As for the BJP it would be imperative that people
of India consign it to the dustbin of history's nightmares and our misfortu=
nes.
What in effect this decree outrageously attacks is our civil liberties and=
=20
human rights. It orders neighbors to snoop on our visitors and thus prove=20
to be "patriots". Hindu Taliban have already certified rape as patriotism,=
=20
murder as super-patriotism, discrimination as culture, viciousness as=20
nationalism, injustice to minorities as dharma, selling of national assets=
=20
to TNCs as poverty-reduction, subordination of our sovereignty to the=20
imperialist bandwagon as pragmatism, building of temples and demolition of=
=20
mosques and churches as national priority, distortion of history as=20
nation-building, purveying of fairy tales and contrived myths as history,=20
propagation of darkness and dumbing down of the populace via varsity=20
courses in astrology as value(less) education. The list of such "grand"=20
undertakings is too long to bear detailing here.
The truth is that the nation was never so vulnerable, so fractured, so=20
destitute, so insecure (Pokhran 2, and great power delusion), so lacking in=
=20
self-respect and moral backbone, so hated by neighbors, as it has been=20
since the ascendancy of the HinTaliban. All that India had earned in=20
reputation and goodwill since 1947 has been dissipated in a mater of=20
months. The latest draconian
intrusion in the private lives of the citizens proves to the hilt how=20
mortally afraid and how egregiously contemptuous the BJP coven is of the pe=
ople
The sovereign people of India who vested authority in the state, and whom=20
the state is pledged to serve not subjugate, owe it to themselves to defy=20
such a lawless regimen, drag it down to pits, and get rid of the shame and=
=20
sleaze the junta avowedly installed as its guiding principles. Asking=20
citizens to spy on their guests and neighbors is one more proof of the=20
desperation and fright that HTaliban are currently hounded by, thanks to=20
the results of the assembly elections where they came a cropper. Such ones=
=20
set afire the place when forced to quit. Kargil was one such ignominy Shall=
=20
India wake up before it is too late? There may be no next time left.
Communal fascists repudiating the Constitution should have been long ago=20
barred from electoral politics. Failure to do so, dithering and compromise=
=20
in the matter, has brought the nation precipitously close to total ruin.=20
And, as for any advice to or expectation from the Hindu Taliban, let=20
Tulasidas clinch the issue: Jo suni samujhi aneetirat, jaagat rahai jo soi
/ Updesibo jagaaibo, Tulasi uchit na hoi (One who indulges in immorality,=20
with deliberation, who is asleep even when awake, it is not proper to wake=
=20
or sermonize him, says Tulasi).

27May2001

_____

#3.

Frontline
26May 2001

SOCIAL SCIENCES
ICSSR conflicts

Two Sangh Parivar affiliates are locked in a war within the Indian Council=
=20
of Social Science Research in a bid to change the course of its scholarly=20
activities.

T.K. RAJALAKSHMI

NEVER before, it would seem, has any party in government in India made such=
=20
a sustained effort to pack institutions under its control with people who=20
subscribe to its own ideology, ignoring academic calibre and credentials.=20
Ever since assuming office, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National=20
Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has reconstituted various committees=20
in premier research institutions, including the Indian Council for=20
Historical Research and the National Council of Educational Research and=20
Training (NCERT), or, as in the case of the Indira Gandhi National Centre=20
for the Arts (IGNCA), "taken over" as an institution. The latest=20
controversy involving the Human Resource Development Ministry concerns the=
=20
Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR). The institution is in a=
=20
state of chaos and siege, and the blatant manner in which the whole=20
exercise has been undertaken has surprised the academic community.

M.L. Sondhi, Chairman, ICSSR.

The case of the ICSSR is peculiar in that it involves the conflicts and=20
contradictions within the Sangh Parivar. The protagonists of the struggle=20
are the Chairman of the institution, Manohar Lal Sondhi, who was appointed=
=20
during the current dispensation, and the HRD Ministry, ostensibly with the=
=20
backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Sondhi, a former Indian=20
Foreign Service officer and Jan Sangh Member of Parliament, was appointed=20
Chairperson of the ICSSR soon after the BJP took over the reins in 1999.=20
His appointment did not come as a surprise, for it was but expected that=20
the government would choose someone who was ideologically close to it.=20
Also, there were 12 vacancies in the governing body of the academic=20
council, which the previous United Front government had left unfilled.=20
Taking advantage of the vacuum created by its predecessor, the HRD Ministry=
=20
under Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi nominated persons of its choice to the=20
Council. While Sondhi was appointed by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, the=20
majority of the governing council members were HRD Ministry nominees. The=20
Council consists of a Chairman, 18 social scientists, six government=20
representatives and a member-secretary. All the members are nominated by=20
the government.

It was expected that the general ideological affinity would make the job=20
comfortable for the Chairman. But it was not to be. Sondhi was never=20
perceived as a Sangh Parivar faithful (Sondhi attributes this impression to=
=20
his tenure at the Jawaharlal Nehru University), although he did his bit to=
=20
make peace with the hardliners by regularly inviting their leaders to=20
lectures and functions at the ICSSR. Soon it became clear that not=20
everything was harmonious with the new team.

The ICSSR became witness to petty politicking and one-upmanship -=20
nit-picking dominated the discourse - while academic and research issues=20
took the back seat. Sondhi and seven of the Ministry nominees began=20
adopting a confrontationist posture and this did not go unnoticed by the=20
hardliners who accused Sondhi of using the ICSSR to promote himself and of=
=20
using his apparent proximity to Vajpayee to browbeat the rest of the Counci=
l.

While the first meeting of the Council in July 2000 was largely uneventful,=
=20
the same could not be said about a meeting on February 13. Ten members had=
=20
on January 9 written to Sondhi seeking a special meeting of the Council.=20
When this was raised on February 13, Sondhi insisted that the agenda for=20
the special meeting be discussed first. He apparently tore up the letter=20
given by the 10 members, sparking pandemonium, which resulted in members=20
storming out of the meeting. Later, when the minutes of the meeting were=20
circulated for approval, Council members rejected it on the grounds that=20
the meeting was held without quorum. The meeting and the minutes thus=20
became infructuous.

Resentment against Sondhi had been growing ever since he took over. Members=
=20
complained that meetings were not being held regularly, while huge sums=20
were spent to hold high-profile seminars and lectures.

On the other hand, Sondhi was finding it difficult to get funds released=20
from the Ministry. Resentful of the pressure from the HRD Ministry, Sondhi=
=20
wrote to the Prime Minister, first on April 3, saying that "the potential=20
danger facing the ICSSR is now the gravest it has faced in 30 years", and=20
again on April 18. In his second letter, he mentioned that a cabal of seven=
=20
members - Dr. J.K. Bajaj, Director, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai;=20
Professor R.N. Pal, Punjab University, Patiala; Professor S.K. Gupta,=20
Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh University; Dr. N. Vijaya, Osmania=20
University; Dr. S.U. Kamat, Chairman, Mythic Society, Bangalore; Dr. S.N.=20
Navalgundkar, from Pune; and Dr. Sardindu Mukherjee from Delhi - had=20
imperilled the status of the ICSSR, and hence he recommended their=20
replacement. He stated that some of them were attempting not only to=20
interrupt the institution's scholarly activities but to change radically=20
the course and force it into "intellectual obscurantism".

He alleged that this group was seeking to pre-decide issues, and requested=
=20
the Prime Minister's intervention to "end the state of siege". Sondhi also=
=20
wanted it to be made clear "at the highest level" that scholarly research=20
would not be subordinated to any political or ideological requirement.=20
Sondhi also wrote to Murli Manohar Joshi in March about the obstacles=20
created by certain disgruntled members, saying "a few members affiliated to=
=20
a faction of a political wing are trying to dominate administration and=20
dictate terms as to how I should run the Council." He also expressed his=20
distress at a Joint Secretary in the Ministry seeking his explanations=20
regarding his order for the revision of pay scales for the academic staff=20
as per the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. The Ministry told him to=20
reverse the decision.

Sondhi also alleged that a certain extra-constitutional authority was=20
calling the shots. (This was apparently a reference to Devendra Swaroop=20
Aggarwal, an RSS old-timer and a columnist in Panchajanya, the RSS=20
mouthpiece.) Swaroop denied any role in the ICSSR's matters, although he=20
expressed concern over the direction in which the institution was headed.=20
According to sources within the Council, Aggarwal had been invited by=20
Sondhi to the ICSSR several times in the past. So, that they fell out with=
=20
each other was baffling. Explaining his position to Frontline, Sondhi said=
=20
that the HRD Ministry had been particularly unkind to the ICSSR. The number=
=20
of government nominees on the Council should be reduced by half, and the 27=
=20
institutes funded by the ICSSR should be able to nominate members, he=20
suggested.

There are close to 25 members on the governing body and the majority of=20
them happen to be either government nominees or ex-officio members. "The=20
nominee raj should end," Sondhi said, quite forgetting that he too is very=
=20
much a political nominee. He said that he had suggested to the Council=20
members that the ICSSR move more in the direction of policy making. But=20
over time, he said he had realised that the Ministry was getting hegemonic.=
=20
His request for two deputational posts - of a financial adviser and of a=20
chief accounts officer - was turned down. The Personnel Department of the=20
Comptroller and Auditor-General of India said that no recommendation for=20
the posts had come to them. The Ministry apparently had a role to play in t=
his.

"I did not bargain for extra-constitutional authorities when I took over.=20
No doubt I had been in a political party but I am an academic as well,"=20
Sondhi said. Matters came to a head when Prof. Kiran Saxena from the JNU=20
offered to do a study on Hindutva and wanted to go to Stanford University.=
=20
"I don't have much discretion but this group of seven raised such a=20
hullabaloo." Saxena apparently went to Stanford finally but the entire=20
episode and the manner in which the trip was managed left Sondhi with few=20
supporters in the Council. Sondhi then held that his opponents within the=20
Council wanted the editorial board of the ICSSR journal Indian Social=20
Science Review to be reconstituted in order to accommodate people of their=
=20
choice. The group of seven, Sondhi alleged, had held the Council to ransom=
=20
on more than one occasion.

S.U. KAMAT, a member of this group, told Frontline over the phone from=20
Bangalore that from the very beginning Sondhi had tried to sideline Council=
=20
members. His intention, Kamat maintained, was to "monopolise" the Council.=
=20
Kamat wanted to work on a project on oral history spanning one century, but=
=20
Sondhi rejected the proposal. On January 9, he said some 12 members had=20
sought the convening of a meeting to discuss the by-laws of the Council,=20
but Sondhi instead called for a regular meeting on February 13.

Among other things the special council meeting was to discuss violation of=
=20
rules by the chairperson. The dissenting members signed a memorandum=20
seeking to prevent Sondhi from spending funds without the Council's=20
approval, but he tore it up. "He never asked any of us to present any=20
papers. He does not have an economics, sociology or any social science=20
background and does not know a thing about local economic problems," said=20
Kamat. On the question of the RSS' interference in the Council's affairs,=20
Kamat retorted that Sondhi was chosen only because of his BJP background.=20
"What business does he have blaming the RSS?" Kamat asked.

Dr. Partha Ghosh, one of the directors of the ICSSR, feels that much of the=
=20
controversy over saffronisation was inherent in the Council's=20
circumstances. The government of India, he told Frontline, had always=20
controlled the selection of the ICSSR's governing body. Autonomy was a=20
chimera. What was unfortunate was that none, either in the Ministry or in=20
the Council, had understood what ailed the ICSSR, he said. "The only person=
=20
who realised this structural lacuna was the previous Chairman, Prof. D.M.=20
Nanjundappa. He strove for a formal representation of the ICSSR=20
professionals in the governing body but the Ministry turned it down."

Ghosh recently wrote in the Economic and Political Weekly lamenting the=20
non-appointment of a regular member-secretary for the Council. Now, for the=
=20
first time, a non-academic, Bhaskar Chatterjee, a Joint Secretary in the=20
HRD Ministry, has been appointed to this post. The rules lay down that the=
=20
member-secretary should be a distinguished social scientist, Ghosh said.

Another long-standing problem has been the steady reduction in project=20
grants since 1997. While a sanctioned budget of Rs.40 lakhs for project=20
grants exists, the ICSSR has not been able to spend this amount. In=20
addition, the irregular release of non-Plan funds committed to the ICSSR=20
affected salary payment. The Ministry was adamant that the ICSSR revoke all=
=20
promotions before it could lay its claim to non-Plan funds.

Another academic, Dr. Partho Mukherjee, Director of the Council for Social=
=20
Development, feels that the ICSSR had been the epitome of autonomous=20
research in the country, and that that structure should be maintained. He=20
told Frontline that while there was talk of evolving a national policy on=20
social science, it would be disastrous if there were designs behind social=
=20
sciences. The tradition of selecting the best social scientists to the=20
governing body was established by J.P. Naik, who became the first=20
member-secretary of the ICSSR when it was set up in 1969. Even that=20
criterion has now been ignored.

In what he calls a move to create space for the ICSSR, Sondhi has announced=
=20
the setting up of two committees. One of them, set up in March, is headed=20
by retired Delhi High Court Judge V.K. Bahri. The purpose of this committee=
=20
will be to examine and review the Council's functioning and see to it that=
=20
it conforms to the Constitution. The other committee, headed by Prof. Y.K.=
=20
Alagh and with Prof. Janak Pandey as member-secretary, will review the work=
=20
of the ICSSR during the last decade and suggest programmes for the next 10=
=20
years.

The crisis is not over yet. The situation in the ICSSR is but a reflection=
=20
and an extension of the conflict between the BJP and the RSS. For the=20
hardliners, it is a case of "their own nominee" having let them down. It is=
=20
evident that Sondhi's move to distance himself from the RSS has not been=20
welcomed. Substantively, the approaches of the BJP and the RSS towards=20
academic institutions have never been at variance with each other. What is=
=20
lamentable is that the ICSSR has become the murky ground for internecine=20
battles in the Sangh Parivar.

_____

#4.

Frontline
26 May - 8 June 2001

A RENEWED HATE CAMPAIGN

Anti-Muslim chauvinism gets a new impetus in Punjab, thanks to the=20
activities of some fringe fundamentalist organisations.

PRAVEEN SWAMI in Amritsar

AFTER the end of the Partition riots, no one at the Hall Bazaar Jama Masjid=
=20
in Amritsar had ever felt the need for guard outside its gates. Until, that=
=20
is, the morning of March 21. At 11-30 a.m. that day, half a dozen activists=
=20
of an obscure communal organisation, the All-India Hindu Suraksha Samiti=20
(HSS), burnt a copy of the Koran outside the building, and then pushed=20
their way inside, throwing raw pork as they did so. HSS activists left=20
behind signed pamphlets proclaiming that the attack was intended to avenge=
=20
the slaughter of cows by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as part of sacrificial=
=20
rituals after the demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas. The attack on the=20
150-year-old masjid was the most visible among half a dozen communal=20
incidents in Punjab this summer, all but one of them directed at the=20
State's tiny Muslim community.

V. SUDERSHAN In Amritsar, a scene on the road outside the Golden Temple - a=
=20
file picture.

Punjab Police guards were soon posted outside the masjid, but a similar=20
attack took place in Patiala. This time HSS activists set on fire a copy of=
=20
the Koran at the crowded Arya Samaj Chowk. Again, HSS pamphlets were=20
distributed to the crowd that gathered to witness the March 22 protest. On=
=20
March 27, residents around Bhagat Singh Chowk in Jalandhar discovered more=
=20
HSS pamphlets, wrapped in red cloth and left outside a local mosque. These=
=20
called on Hindus to unite and avenge the sacrifice of cows by the Taliban.=
=20
The Jalandhar incident constituted the fourth attack against Muslim=20
institutions since January 14, when Hindu Shiv Sena cadre demolished a=20
section of a mosque in Dhariwal near Gurdaspur. On that occasion a Siva=20
idol had been installed amidst the ruins of the mosque.

Other communal organisations have been joining in. Amritsar almost saw=20
Hindu-Sikh violence on April 1, for the first time in years. Cadre from=20
Amritsar fundamentalist leader Surinder Kumar Billa's All-India Shiv Sena=20
and the local Bajrang Dal set up a marquee for an all-night religious=20
celebration on the road outside the Channi temple. Sikh leaders objected to=
=20
the location of the marquee, pointing out that it blocked access to the=20
Golden Temple. Billa, who controls one of the two groups responsible for=20
running the Channi temple, refused to relocate the marquee. Almost a=20
hundred Punjab Police personnel had to be posted there to prevent rioting,=
=20
and negotiations to resolve the stand-off continued through the day. Billa=
=20
finally agreed to relocate the marquee inside the temple, but not before=20
scoring points among his constituency.

On the face of it, Punjab is an improbable location for anti-Muslim=20
violence. Hatred of Muslims is entrenched among Punjab's Sikhs and Hindus,=
=20
and this is propagated through popular literature and religious texts, but=
=20
the ethnic cleansing carried out during the Partition riots left few=20
Muslims behind to hate. Amritsar has an estimated Muslim population of just=
=20
70,000, while Jalandhar has 50,000 - the bulk of them migrants from Uttar=20
Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana. Bar the odd clash in Malerkotla,=20
the only Punjab town with a significant Muslim community, the State has=20
seen almost no anti-Muslim violence after 1948. Conflict between Hindus and=
=20
Sikhs has been more common, particularly during the 1980s, but even the=20
Khalistan insurgency failed to provoke any generalised confrontation.

Harish Sharma spends his time at his father's small, hand-operated printing=
=20
press, tucked away in Amritsar's Chaurasti Attari area. Having secured bail=
=20
just two weeks after the Hall Bazaar Masjid attack, the 27-year-old=20
district head of the HSS is only too happy to hand over a lurid red=20
visiting card, and to discuss what led him to commit the outrage. "When the=
=20
Taliban leader Mullah Omar said they would sacrifice a hundred cows, we=20
knew we had to retaliate." But why attack the Hall Bazaar Masjid? "Aren't=20
they Muslims? The Muslims support the Taliban." What about the cows=20
slaughtered for meat all over the world? "Whoever kills cows is our enemy.=
=20
We will take action against them all."

While Hindu communalism in the old city area of Amritsar is rooted in the=20
antagonism that preceded the Khalistan insurgency, Sharma's politicisation=
=20
seems to have followed a different path. He joined the Rashtriya=20
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a teenager, when the Khalistan conflict was all=
=20
but over. Two years ago, Sharma says, he felt frustrated that the RSS "was=
=20
not actually willing to take action to protect the rights of Hindus. They=20
were cowards. I joined them because they brought down the Babri Masjid, but=
=20
then their leaders pretended to have nothing to do with it." Around the=20
same time he saw HSS posters calling on Hindus to take direct action to=20
protect their faith. Sharma contacted its Patiala-based president, Sanjeev=
=20
Bharadwaj, and then set up a cell in Amritsar. "Hindus are surrounded by=20
enemies," he says, "and we were ready to do anything, even take up guns, to=
=20
protect our religion."

MAULVI HAMID HUSSAIN QASMI has lived most of his life in the Hall Bazaar=20
Masjid. "The real problem," he says laconically, "is that no one wants us.=
=20
Those who wanted Pakistan have gone there. We chose to stay here, but=20
people do not trust us." Qasmi believes that the series of anti-Muslim=20
attacks that have taken place in Punjab this year form part of a larger=20
process. Hindu and Sikh communal bodies, he argues, have been using=20
resentment against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism to defame Muslims. "When=20
the Indian Airlines jet was hijacked to Kandahar," he recalls, "hundreds of=
=20
young men stood outside this masjid, shouting slogans against Pakistan. I=20
would have liked to tell them, though I could not, that they would have=20
been better off walking to the border, which is not very far from here."

Anti-Muslim chauvinism is driven by factors other than India-Pakistan=20
conflict as well. In Amritsar, anti-Muslim and anti-economic migrant=20
sentiment go hand in hand. Local jewellery artisans, for example, have=20
faced competition from migrant craftsmen from West Bengal. Successful=20
Muslim entrepreneurs in Amritsar who are active in the fruit, carpet, and=20
shawl trades, are often subject to their competitors' jealousies. Then the=
=20
growing rate at which land is purchased by Gujjar migrant herdsmen from=20
Jammu and Kashmir, many of whom now live in Punjab through the year, has=20
again seen economic rivalries take communal form. "Businessmen who trade=20
across the border," notes Qasmi, "are the most vulnerable. They are=20
sometimes given fake hundred rupee notes. If they get caught, the police=20
here ask for bribes. Over a hundred are in jail now. I should not say this,=
=20
but a Hindu never spends so much time in jail when he is caught with a fake=
=20
note."

Border policemen are not the only ones in search of a quick buck. The=20
demolition of the Dhariwal Masjid in January is widely believed to have=20
been the outcome of a land feud. Local residents say that the Shiv Sena's=20
local vice-president, Pawan Tandon, wished to take over the land on which=20
the masjid stood, land adjoining his own. In mid-2000 the Sena had coerced=
=20
village Muslims into not carrying out urgently needed repairs on the=20
mosque, presumably hoping that it would fall of its own. And Hindus are not=
=20
the only players in the cash-from-communalism game. On April 22, Sadiq=20
Shah, the head of a Muslim shrine in Takhanvadh village near Moga, reported=
=20
that a copy of the Koran had been set on fire. Punjab Police investigators=
=20
later discovered that Shah had burned the book himself in order to=20
discredit a competing group seeking control of the shrine.

It has been little noticed that the rise of Sikh chauvinism in Punjab was=20
mirrored by a mushrooming of Hindu fundamentalist organisations. In 1983, a=
=20
retired Punjab Police officer, Pandit Kishore Chand, proclaimed that the=20
Hindu faith was in threat, and set up the Hindu Shiv Sena in Amritsar. Part=
=20
of that organisation, led by Surinder Dogra, joined the better-known=20
Maharashtra Shiv Sena last year, while another faction, led by Billa,=20
formed the All-India Hindu Shiv Sena. Billa has had past affiliation with=20
the Amritsar Congress(I), unlike other fundamentalist leaders based in the=
=20
city who in general trace their political roots to the Rashtriya=20
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Meanwhile, in Patiala, another Hindu=20
fundamentalist leader, Pawan Sharma, set up the HSS. Leaders of these=20
organisations had past RSS linkages, but rejected the established=20
leadership of the Hindu Right.

Feeding on fears fed by the growing power of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale,=20
bodies like the Hindu Shiv Sena and the HSS acquired financial support and=
=20
media visibility wholly disproportionate to their actual extent of=20
influence. Outside their base among the bazaar traders of Amritsar,=20
Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala, these fundamentalist bodies had little=20
mass support, and even less political legitimacy. Nonetheless, the new=20
groups had at least two things going for them. First, the state apparatus,=
=20
desperate for any allies against the Khalistan insurgency, often provided=20
opportunistic support for these groups. Then, the local Congress(I) sought=
=20
to use these groups to break the RSS' constituency among urban Hindus.

But, almost two decades on, the political uses of Hindu fundamentalism have=
=20
changed. Most political analysts agree that there has been a sharp erosion=
=20
in the level of urban Hindu support for the BJP. Hindus have been incensed=
=20
by the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) flirtation with the Sikh Right. The=20
State government's soft treatment of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, who was=20
arrested on April 11, has been the most recent of a series of incidents=20
that has created bitterness. Zaffarwal's Khalistan Commando Force (KCF)=20
faction was responsible for a series of communal killings, notably the=20
massacre of six persons in Dasuya in January 1984. The BJP is blamed for=20
its coalition partner's politics, and the alliance government's record of=20
governance has not helped matters. The attacks on the masjid are clearly=20
designed to bring about Hindu consolidation.

Sharma denies any connection between him and the RSS, or any political=20
motive. "They only talk," he says, "they don't do anything. We have nothing=
=20
to do with them, or the BJP, or the Congress(I)." But apart from his own=20
RSS and Bajrang Dal background, Sharma's ideological position is=20
indistinguishable from that of the RSS. RSS activists in Punjab are=20
energetically pushing their Sikh front, the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, intended=
=20
to bring about a Hindu-Sikh communal alliance directed against Muslims.=20
Sharma, in similar vein, insists that "Sikhs are our brothers". "Some of=20
them were misled by Pakistan, but our ties are deep. Our real enemies are=20
Muslims who support Pakistan. They have no right to live in this country."=
=20
He is acid about Billa's effort to create friction outside the Golden=20
Temple, saying that "it undermines the larger struggle to protect Hindus."

Allied or otherwise, it is impossible to miss the convergence of Hindus=20
between the HSS and the RSS. The SAD-BJP is acutely aware of the growing=20
movement of Hindu voters to the Congress(I), and the consequences this=20
would have for the formation's prospects in the Assembly elections which=20
must be held before February 2002. Of Punjab's 117 Assembly constituencies=
=20
30 are in urban areas. Hindu votes are crucial to the outcome here. Another=
=20
35 are semi-urban, and Hindu voters again have a decisive say in who wins.=
=20
On the record, politicians from Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal=20
downwards have condemned the anti-Muslim violence. But the alarming=20
regularity with which these incidents are taking place, and the ease with=20
which Sharma and other HSS cadre have obtained bail, would seem to suggest=
=20
that the SAD-BJP formation is not particularly unhappy with such events.

If there is reason for hope, it lies in the fact that many ordinary Hindus=
=20
seem to see the new hate campaign for what it is. For the past 50 years,=20
Tilak Raj Mahajan has made a living selling caps, belts and trinkets=20
outside the Hall Bazaar Masjid. When Sharma and his cadre attacked the=20
masjid, the 70-year-old Mahajan blocked their way, and held on to one of=20
the HSS activists as long as he could. "They're just criminals," he says.=20
"If I'd been a few years younger, I'd have given them what they deserved=20
then and there." On the streets of Amritsar, there seems to be little=20
sympathy either for the HSS or for their Sikh chauvinist counterparts. If=20
this good sense holds until after the Assembly elections, the SAD-BJP could=
=20
find that the seeds of hate it is sowing may never ripen.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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 at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/act/messages/ . To subscribe send a blank
message to: <act-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> / To unsubscribe send a blank
message to: <act-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
________________________________________
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.

[ All interested and concerned by the dangers of Nuclearisation of South
Asia are invited to join South Asians Against Nukes Mailing List. =3D> send=
a
blank e-mail message to : <saan-subscribe@l...> ]