[sacw] SACW #1 (3 Dec. 01)

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Sun, 2 Dec 2001 22:15:06 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire | Dispatch #1
3 December 2001
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

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

#1.Pakistan: Mood of a Restive Border Town Deteriorates Under=20
Hardship of War (Alissa J. Rubin)
#2. Pakistan: Donors pledge aid to counter 'Religious' Schools (Rauf Klasra=
)
#3. India: Citizens Groups to observe of Black Day - 6th December :=20
Babri Masjid Demolition
#4. Pakistan Peace Activist Painter Jimmy Engineer on peace walk from=20
Rawalpindi to N. Delhi
#5. India: Text of Leaflet for Distribution in Bombay on 6 December
#6. India: Blot on history - Controversy: NCERT deletes crucial=20
portions from textbooks (Kartikeya Sharma)
#7. Najam Sethi Review's Zakariya's Book "The Man Who Divided India:=20
An Insight Into Jinnah"
#8. Prime-time soap operas have undone the efforts of the feminist=20
movement. (Neera Chandhoke)

________________________

#1.

Los Angeles Times December 1, 2001

RESPONSE TO TERROR
The Mood of a Restive Border Town Deteriorates Under Hardship of War
Pakistan: Desperation grows in Chaman, where businesses legal and=20
otherwise are hurting.

By ALISSA J. RUBIN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
CHAMAN, Pakistan -- In the main bazaar of this dusty border town, the=20
best barometer of the fighting in neighboring Afghanistan is a shelf=20
in a bare shop. It is stacked high with Afghan and Pakistani=20
bills--two currencies for a community that straddles two countries.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, money changers set the rates of=20
exchange, betting on the news that comes from travelers arriving on=20
foot, by donkey cart and by jeep and from the shortwave radio that=20
crackles in the corner.
"The money here, this is money for fighting. When blood is being=20
spilled in Afghanistan, the afghani goes up," says Haji Abdul Bari,=20
35, the dapper proprietor, as he flips through a 6-inch stack of 10=20
million afghanis, or about $262. An afghani is worth a tiny fraction=20
of a cent. Since U.S. Marines arrived in Afghanistan, though, its=20
value has been rising, because people believe the Americans are on=20
the side of the popular exiled Afghan king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, Bari=20
says. Chaman, long the epitome of the Kalashnikov culture and=20
smuggling economy of the Afghan-Pakistani border, has become even=20
more rough and ready since the war began. Desperation, a traditional=20
driver of the community, is on the ascent. Anti-foreign feelings run=20
high, in no small part because the U.S.-led bombing has put a dent in=20
the town's economy.
Robberies, especially of foreigners, are not uncommon. A jang, the=20
word for "fight" in Pashto, the local language, is always imminent.=20
Yet for everyone--expatriate Afghan politicians, spies, journalists=20
and soldiers--this is the transit point for everything that comes and=20
goes, legally or illegally, from and to southern Afghanistan.
"The war has really affected our business," says Salahuddin Achakzai,=20
the mayor of Chaman, who implicitly acknowledges that the town is=20
built on smuggling. "For the young people, it is worse now. There are=20
no schools, so they are just finding daily work, taking goods from=20
here to there, and these are bad times for that."
Chaman is in Baluchistan, the westernmost province of Pakistan--an=20
area that was part of Afghanistan until the British drew one of their=20
fabled arbitrary borders on a map. Not far from the border post with=20
Afghanistan, the great railway that Britain built to connect the vast=20
trade routes of Central Asia with its empire in India ends in the=20
desert sand.
A Loyalty to Tribe Over Nation
Those who live here are known as Chaman people, a designation that=20
conveys a loyalty to tribe over country. Above all, this is the world=20
of a desert border, of smugglers, traders and refugees--often=20
desperate but always resourceful. The city is now also filled with=20
deserters from Afghanistan's Taliban regime, many still recognizable=20
by their trademark black or white head coverings.
"These are border people. Since the British times, they have been=20
coming back and forth. They belong to their tribes, that's all," says=20
Haji Jiliani Khan, a leader of a tribe that has members on both sides=20
of the border.
"We cannot say how many are Taliban coming over here, or how many are=20
people against the Taliban going to fight over there. This is not a=20
real border. This was all Afghanistan," he adds.
In the afternoon, the desert dust and sand mingle in the air like=20
fog, except that there is not a drop of water. The miasma leaves=20
faces and shoes, goods and food with a fine coating and lends an=20
almost otherworldly aspect to the barely visible desert track at the=20
city's edge. Donkey- and horse-drawn carts, their drivers often=20
standing with whip in hand, appear faintly through the blowing sand=20
as if they were approaching straight out of "The Arabian Nights."
Just outside the money-changer's shop stretches the hurly-burly of=20
the bazaar, with its hundreds of storefronts. Here, everything is=20
available--cheap plastic shoes from China, traditional mirrored=20
Baluchistani caps, Sony televisions smuggled, according to the=20
merchant, in batches of 300 from Hong Kong. Men in traditional=20
flowing garments, many wearing Afghan turbans, walk along=20
deliberately, considering the hawkers' offerings. The smell of open=20
sewers mixes with the aroma of sweet pastries being fried for Ramadan=20
and the odor of sweaty men--only men--doing business.
In three days, a visitor counted only eight women on the street. In=20
contrast, elsewhere in Pakistan it is not uncommon to see at least=20
older women in the bazaars, buying cloth or carrying a child. But=20
Chaman has a conservative rural culture. The only schools most people=20
go to are madrasas, conservative religious institutions from whose=20
ranks many in the Taliban came.
Walk a few blocks and the bazaar peters out into the free-for-all=20
atmosphere of the desert, where the poor glean everything that can be=20
sold and smugglers of all ages ply their trade. At the top end of=20
these entrepreneurs are the smugglers of cigarettes, cars and opium,=20
who do little of their own transport but have phalanxes of couriers=20
moving their goods. On the Afghan side of the border, it is easy, for=20
instance, to spot lots full of Toyotas, the car of choice for the=20
Taliban.
At the other end of the spectrum are the desert woodcutters. Their=20
camp on the edge of Chaman is surrounded by a large circle of wagons=20
piled 15 feet high with stacks of a desert bush known as the buti.=20
The plant grows only chest high but has both a thick, sturdy=20
trunk--prized for generating the high heat required for baking=20
traditional Afghan bread--and finely twigged branches, valued as=20
kindling.
The cutters gather the wood in southern Afghanistan--not far from=20
where the Marines have set up camp--and transport it to Chaman. For a=20
truckload--which takes four men four to five days to gather--cutters=20
earn about $50.
But the war has taken a bite out of even this meager income.
"We are afraid of the bombardment," says Mahmoud Omar, a woodcutter=20
who, like many people in this part of the world, is unsure of his=20
age. "We do not dare burn the wood, because the helicopters would see=20
us and kill us."
Helicopters Torch Wagons in the Night
One night, he says, helicopters landed near the woodcutters' camp and=20
set fire to two of their wagonloads, destroying both the wood and the=20
tractors that drew them.
"They damaged a lot of people's livelihood," Omar says. "Please tell=20
the pilots that, because of them, we cannot burn the wood and we=20
sleep in the desert and we feel terribly cold."
Not far from the woodcutters, there are more gleaners. Four makeshift=20
wooden wagons piled with scrap metal teeter as burros haul them=20
across the sand. The drivers, 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds, earn $2 to=20
$3 a trip for transporting the scrap, gathered in Afghanistan, from=20
the border bazaar of Wesh to Chaman. From here, it is shipped to the=20
Pakistani metropolises of Lahore and Karachi.
The border crossing itself, especially at early morning and dusk, is=20
a stream of people passing to and from Afghanistan. No visas or=20
passports are required of Chaman people, and they move like shadows=20
wrapped in their long brown, beige or olive shawls, whose colors fuse=20
into those of the desert.
It is on the border that daily news comes from the besieged city of=20
Kandahar, from travelers who have dared to make the journey on the=20
dangerous road between the two cities. However, their accounts, like=20
so many here, often fail to jibe. Travelers disagree on who holds the=20
Kandahar airport, whether there has been shooting and whose troops=20
are on the road. The only consistent information is whether the=20
vegetable market was open when they left the Afghan city.
At dusk, there is an edge of danger in Chaman. The crowd in the=20
bazaar is almost impenetrable. And now, during the middle of the=20
Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when people fast from before sunrise=20
until sunset, tempers flare quickly.
In a refugee Afghan neighborhood filled these days with deserting=20
Taliban, the mood can change from curious to hostile in a matter of=20
seconds. Blink, and the crowd becomes a mob.
A former Taliban official chats cheerfully with foreigners. But=20
others are not so friendly. In a few minutes, the foreigners are=20
surrounded by 50 to 60 youths.
One turbaned man in the back calls out: "Why are you talking to them?=20
They are kafir," which means "infidel."
Another man says, "We can kill them, because we are doing jihad."
As the foreigners hurry into their car, the crowd swells. Faces press=20
against the window. One man pulls open the driver's door and forces=20
him out. Another yanks open the door on the other side. Soon the car=20
is being rocked, banged on, and then, as the driver regains his seat=20
and floors the accelerator, the crowd vanishes in the dust.
All that can be heard as the moon rises is the lonely call of the=20
muezzin from a nearby mosque, calling the Muslim faithful to Asar,=20
the first evening prayer.

______

#2.

The News International (Pakistan) Sunday December 02, 2001
Donors pledge aid to counter Madaris
By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UNDP have=20
assured the government of providing required funds for the=20
establishment of modern educational schools along the bordering areas=20
of the country to counter the rising influence of religious Madaris,=20
it is reliably learnt.

According to a preliminary government estimates 20,000 religious=20
schools are operating all over the country imparting strict religious=20
education to thousands of children largely belonging to poor families=20
of rural areas.
The majority of these madaris are concentrated in the southern=20
Punjab, interior Sindh and Balochistan where the poverty ratio=20
according to ADB's recent study has risen to alarming level of 50 per=20
cent.

Earlier, sources said the government had told the international=20
community that if the existing system of decadent religious schooling=20
was continued, the problem of religious fanaticism would not be=20
resolved.
The sources said UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown who met=20
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz here on Saturday also assured him his=20
organisation's full cooperation in setting up such modern schools in=20
these areas. They said the US government, ADB, WB and other Western=20
countries have already assured Pakistan of their full cooperation in=20
the establishment of modern schools in the bordering areas of the=20
country to stop the breeding of new Taliban type religious fanatics.

Saturday meeting was attended by UNDP Country representative Onder=20
Yuncer, Secretary General Finance Moin Afzal, Secretary Finance Yunis=20
Khan, Secretary Economic Affairs Division Nawaid Ahsan and Secretary=20
Planning Division Dr Mutawakil Qazi.
The sources said UNDP officials were of the view that they were ready=20
to extend every financial and technical assistance to the government=20
of Pakistan to launch a project for the establishment of modern=20
schools in the country and were waiting for the government to take=20
practical steps.

The government has already held a series of meetings with other=20
concerned donor agencies and convinced them about the utility of=20
establishment of new schools in border areas.
According to the proposed plan at present being discussed with the=20
worldcommunities, the Musharraf government was of the view that it=20
was necessary to set up new schools in southern Punjab, Balochistan=20
and NWFP provinces with full fledge modern facilities including free=20
education, meal, cloth, stipends, free hostel accommodation etc.

It was also being considered imperative that the poor students must=20
be given modern technical education so that they could get job in the=20
market when they complete their schoolings and that they may not=20
again be trapped by the same religious fanatics.
Similarly, officials added it had been pointed out to the=20
international agencies that due to existing poverty problem, the poor=20
communities across the country were compelled to send their children=20
to religious madaris where education was not only offered free of=20
cost but they were given free meal, clothes, and other facilities.=20
They are used by fanatics for their own vested interests.

The government was of the view that if the world community was=20
concerned about the rising fundamentalism in Pakistan, then it should=20
support the government plan to set up new education institutions to=20
fight the menace of religious extremism that has produced Taliban=20
type students not only within Pakistan but in the neighbouring=20
countries as well.

______

#3.

CHAMPA-The Amiya & B.G.Rao Foundation
CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR SECULAR ACTION
PUCL(Delhi Unit) & others

6th December : Babri Masjid Demolition

OBSERVANCE OF BLACK DAY

Dear friends,
Black Day will be observed on 6th December 2001 in memory of Babri=20
Masjid Demolition by several organizations and activists. A protest=20
Dharna will be held between 3.30 to 5.30PM at Tilak's statue on=20
Tilak Marg, New Delhi (behind Supreme Court) on 6th Dec.2001.
All are requested to join in the said Dharna [sit-in].

N.D.Pancholi

_____

#4.

DAWN
02 December 2001 Sunday

Jimmy leaves for Lahore
By Our Reporter
RAWALPINDI, Dec 1: Painter Jimmy Engineer on Saturday left Islamabad=20
for Lahore on the second leg of his peace walk from Rawalpindi to New=20
Delhi.
Mr Engineer is perhaps the only painter in Pakistan to have made the=20
partition of sub-continent and the subsequent savagery perpetrated by=20
fanatics on both sides of the border an abiding subject of his=20
life-size paintings.
Talking to reporters about his intention of covering 20kms a day=20
after having walked from Rawalpindi to Islamabad on Friday and=20
staying overnight at a posh hotel, the painter was optimistic that he=20
would be able to reach Lahore in about a month's time. He said that=20
after a brief stay in Lahore, he would leave for India.
A small van slowly drives along the walking painter to allow him a=20
rest whenever he feels like it.
Mr Engineer said that during his walk, he would spend his nights in=20
hotels in all the major and small towns along the road, interact with=20
common people, reminisce on the partition times and emphasize the=20
necessity of peace.
About the visa formalities, he said he had assurances of his sponsors=20
in New Delhi that he would have no problems. However, walking in the=20
Indian Punjab could be a problem that may force him to take a=20
symbolic walk in the Indian capital instead, he added.
He said that on reaching Lahore, he would give another briefing to=20
reporters about his mission of peace. While announcing his decision=20
to undertake the peace walk last Thursday, Mr Engineer had=20
distributed copies of a book entitled, "Partition: A Surgery Without=20
Anaesthesia", among reporters.
The book contains 14 eyewitness accounts of the partition narrated by=20
people like Indian writer Khushwant Singh, painter Satish Gujral,=20
former federal secretary Dr M. S. Jillani and former chief minister=20
of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana.
The articles narrate not only the cruelty perpetrated on both sides=20
of the border but also the kindness displayed by some individuals in=20
saving the lives and honour of the entrapped women and girls of=20
different faiths. The book has been published by Society for=20
Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC).

____

#5.
[ Text of Leaflet for Distribution in Bombay on 6 December]

We Resolve for Communal Harmony and Peace

This 6th of December we painfully recall the demolition of Babri Masjid,
nine Years ago by the communal forces. It was no coincidence that they
chose the day of Mahaparinirvana Divas of Chairman of The drafting
committee of Indian Constitution, Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar
stood for Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Social Justice. His values are
based on the principles of Secular Democracy. The communal forces are
challenging these very values, which are a product of India's struggle for
gaining Independence from the British Rule. The communal politics is
is opposed to the equality of Human beings and also to social and
gender justice.

Today we are painfully witnessing the march of hatred and violence in the
name of religion. There is not only a worsening of the intercommunity
relations; the poison of communal hatred is raising its head as never
before. We are witness to the atmosphere, which is intimidating to the
minorities, Dalits, women and other weaker sections of society. Especially
after the dastardly attack by terrorists on World trade Center and
Pentagon, an atmosphere of hate is being promoted by vested interests.
There is increasing violence against the minorities in the subcontinent.
The Christian minorities in Pakistan, Hindu Minorities in Bangla Desh and
Muslim minorities in India are facing grave challenge to their survival
and identity. The riots in Malegaon sparked by the distribution of a
pamphlet calling for ban on the foreign goods,leading to exaggerated and
out of proportion retaliation from the police resulted in loss of many
lives.

BJP led Govt., guided by politics of hate is condoning the illegal acts
of VHP and Bajarang dal and is directly and indirectly promoting the
poisonous atmosphere in the society. Its sister organisations are
threatening to violate the laws of the land and build the Ram temple at
Ayodhya. UP govt. again led by BJP is refusing to file the fresh FIR's
against the culprits of Babri Demolition and letting off the leaders of
attack on Babri masjid and consequently the values of Indian Constitution,
is an act most condemnable.

*On this day we resolve to work for promotion of communal harmony and
preservation of the democratic and secular fabric of our constitution.
*We demand that UP govt. file the fresh FIR's against the guilty of Babri
demolition forthwith.
*We urge upon the Central Govt. to bring to book any violation of the laws
by communal organizations, to whichever religion they belong to.
*We urge upon the Govt. to secularize the police force whose excess has
resulted in the violence of Malegaon type.
*We urge upon all the Govt.'s of the sub continent to uphold the
principles of secularism, to ruthlessly punish those inciting and
indulging in acts that promote communalism and communal violence.

Citizen's Coalition For Communal Harmony
(Oraganisations-Bombay Sarvodaya Friends Center,EKTA(Committee for
Communal Amity),Hindustani Ekta Lok Prajatantra(HELP) People's Union for
Care and Reconciliation, Voice of the Exploited(VOTE)Yuva Bharat,Muslim
Intellectuals Forum,)
____

#6.

The Week (India)
Dec 9, 2001

BLOT ON HISTORY
CONTROVERSY: NCERT DELETES CRUCIAL PORTIONS FROM TEXTBOOKS
by Kartikeya Sharma

It is not the first time that a government has rewritten history to=20
suit itself. The Vajpayee government has also done it, and with ease.=20
It got critical portions deleted from history textbooks, triggering=20
an uproar by the opposition and academics.

Up in arms: Dr Satish Chandra, former JNU professor

The National Centre for Educational Research and Training (NCERT)=20
claimed that the move was to protect students from historians=20
hellbent on subverting India's rich cultural heritage. Moreover, the=20
deleted portions hurt the sensibilities of Jains and Sikhs, it=20
reasoned. "It had to be done," said NCERT director Dr J.S. Rajput.=20
"Members of the Minorities Commission wrote to me and Delhi's=20
legislature passed a resolution against NCERT texts."

Not everybody believed him. Arjun Dev, retired head of the department=20
of social sciences at NCERT, called the explanations "a pot of lies".=20
Alleging that the deletions were made without consulting the=20
respective authors, he fumed that saffronisation was too mild a word=20
to describe what critics call the rewriting of history. He preferred=20
to call it communalisation. "It is a fact that Akbar entered into=20
matrimonial relations with Rajput families to strengthen the Mughal=20
empire. But Dr Rajput found it humiliating for the community," said=20
Arjun Dev.
"The whole controversy is stupid," retorted Rajput. "Historians=20
should realise that they are teaching children of impressionable age.=20
If you write that Tegh Bahadur plundered Punjab and Mahavira did not=20
change his clothes for 12 years, a child would make fun or develop=20
disrespect for the person," he said.

Arjun Dev (left) fumed that saffronisation was too mild a word to=20
describe what critics call the rewriting of history
He recommended deletions within the jurisdiction of NCERT. The=20
current course recommended by NCERT was outdated, he said. The last=20
change was carried out in 1988, when ideally it should be changed=20
every 5 years.

Historian Dr Satish Chandra saw the work as an attempt to appease=20
Hindu fundamentalists. "There is archaeological and literary evidence=20
to support the claim that beef was eaten in ancient times. There is=20
no reason to delete these facts from the books," he observed.

According to historian Dr Bipin Chandra, NCERT was trying to teach=20
history in selective fashion. The council, he said, was seeking to=20
convey the impression that Hindus dominated Muslims and that Vedic=20
culture was essentially Aryan. "The whole thrust is racist," he said.

NCERT has not made public the names of the historians writing the new=20
books. "It is horrific," said Dr Satish Chandra, who claimed to have=20
seen the draft of one of the medieval Indian history texts. "The book=20
starts with the Muslim invasions rather than Cholas in the south and=20
the rise of the Bhakti movement in the north." Historian Romilla=20
Thapar, too, was irked by the secrecy in which the books were being=20
compiled.
"I want to protect my authors from unnecessary pressure," argued=20
Rajput. "I don't want the press to hound them." The new integrated=20
textbooks for social science will be out next March. "The=20
anti-saffron brigade will have to shut up," said Rajput, "because=20
their arguments will be countered."

The Congress and the Left parties, which are up in arms against the=20
move, too have deleted portions from history texts. In 1993, for=20
instance, the National Steering Committee set up by the ministry of=20
human resource development evaluated text books taught in Saraswati=20
Shishu Mandirs, schools run by Markaza Maktaba Islami, and government=20
schools in UP and West Bengal. After the evaluation the committee,=20
which had Dr Bipin Chandra as the chief and Arjun Dev as member=20
secretary, urged the ministry to take immediate steps to rectify the=20
biases found in the syllabi.

_____

#7.

Outlook (India)
Magazine | Dec 10, 2001=20=20=20=20

REVIEW
Jinnah Unbottled? Not Yet.
Wolpert recycled, with little that's not already been said about the man
NAJAM SETHI

THE MAN WHO DIVIDED INDIA: AN INSIGHT INTO JINNAH
by Rafiq Zakaria
POPULAR PRAKASHAN
PAGES:276; RS350

Rafiq Zakaria seeks to provide an insight into the mind of Mohammad=20
Ali Jinnah who "single-handedly created Pakistan", yet doesn't cite a=20
shred of unpublished or original evidence in support of his often=20
contradictory conclusions. The disquiet is all the greater as there=20
is not a single annotated reference to the monumental work on Jinnah,=20
the man, and Pakistan, the idea, by world-renowned historians like=20
Khurshid Kamal Aziz and Ayesha Jalal who have demolished many myths=20
about Partition in India and Pakistan.

In fact, Zakaria's excessive reliance on Stanley Wolpert's popular=20
biography of Jinnah-I counted nearly 40 references to him alone in a=20
tally of 223-makes the new addition to "partition literature" rather=20
passe.

Maybe the author was more concerned about flogging his own personal=20
prejudices instead of helping exorcise our historical ghosts. He=20
admits candidly in the preface to the book that his wife Fatma=20
advised him against the project. "I think you should leave Jinnah=20
alone for a while," she mused, "you've badgered him enough." But=20
Zakaria believes some more punishment is in order. "He (Jinnah)=20
divided the Indian Muslims into three-Pakistani Muslims, Indian=20
Muslims and Bangladeshi Muslims who now have no connection with each=20
other...and he did this in the name of Islam," he says.

This assertion-how Jinnah created and exploited a perception of=20
"Islam in Danger" to mould Muslim opinion in his favour-echoes=20
throughout the book. But surely the issue was never so much "Islam in=20
Danger" as it was "Muslims in Danger"-meaning thereby that Jinnah was=20
driven in the '40s by fears, real or imagined, about the political=20
and economic fate of the Muslim community in an independent,=20
Hindu-dominated India rather than by concerns about how the Islamic=20
religion might fare in a sea of infidels.
Zakaria wrote the book because he wanted to get to the truth about=20
claims by Jinnah's followers that "he was a true Muslim, a defender=20
of the faith". According to him, Jinnah has been presented in the=20
last 50 years as "Prophet Mohammad's real follower who treaded=20
faithfully the Islamic path and brought glory to Islam". This is=20
quintessentially Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Barring=20
opportunist politicians and transparently revisionist textbooks, no=20
one of any intellectual substance in either India or Pakistan has=20
ever suggested that Jinnah was particularly "Islamic" in the=20
religious sense of the term. Indeed, the real defenders of the true=20
faith in Pakistan-the mullahs-have always privately decried his=20
secular credentials. So Zakaria is wasting his time recycling stories=20
about Jinnah's eating and drinking habits to prove his point that he=20
wasn't particularly Islamic just as much as he is by reiterating=20
Jinnah's famous speech to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in=20
which he outlined his vision of the new state of Pakistan in which=20
all would be equal citizens of the state without prejudice to caste,=20
colour or creed.

In its bare bones, Zakaria's thesis boils down to this: Jinnah was an=20
apostle of Hindu-Muslim unity until both sides began to distrust him;=20
therefore the supreme egoist decided to plunge for Muslim separatism=20
as a political device to regain leadership; Nehru and Patel=20
unwittingly helped him by blithely rejecting his power-sharing=20
formulas and prematurely succumbing to the demand for Pakistan. There=20
is one acutely telling passage in the book in which Zakaria laments=20
the failure of Nehru and Patel to give in to Jinnah's power-sharing=20
demands as a tactical device to keep India united since such=20
concessions could easily have been reversed after independence. The=20
author barely recognises "the communal moorings of Indian politics"=20
and shirks from discussing the many documented reasons for Jinnah's=20
growing alienation in the late '30s from an increasingly arrogant,=20
exclusivist and communally-oriented Congress leadership.
Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad are spared in this book. Zakaria=20
notes approvingly how Gandhi offered the presidentship of Congress to=20
Azad in an effort to strengthen the party's secular credentials but=20
he ignores Gandhi's suggestion to Nehru that he should offer the=20
prime ministership of India to Jinnah in the interests of a united=20
India. In an aside, however, he notes that Jinnah had cancer and=20
wouldn't have survived in office for long anyway! The Indian=20
communists also come in for some stick because they supported the=20
demand for Pakistan as a "national liberation movement". But Gandhi=20
once again evades censure for his opportunist support to the=20
reactionary Khilafat movement.

The last section of the book is a spotty analysis of=20
post-independence Pakistan designed to prove how it's "failed" as a=20
nation-state and therefore didn't deserve to be born. This is=20
dangerous logic. Many Third World countries haven't "succeeded" in=20
one sense or the other but that doesn't make their national=20
liberation and anti-colonial struggles any less relevant or=20
necessary. It's also a moot point whether several hundred million of=20
the impoverished, untouchable Hindus of India think India has=20
"succeeded" for them in any significant sense. I clutched at this=20
book because Zakaria has many good and informed books to his credit.=20
But he has indulged himself rather unnecessarily here when he=20
should've heeded his better half.

(Najam Sethi is editor of the Lahore-based weekly paper The Friday Times.)

______

#8.=20=20=20=20=20=20
The Hindu Sunday, Dec 02, 2001
Magazine
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/stories/2001120200170500.htm

Counter-revolution in soaps

Prime-time soap operas have undone the efforts of the feminist=20
movement. NEERA CHANDHOKE writes about the enthusiastic audience=20
reception of serials that present women as happily domesticated,=20
though research has shown the traditionally patriarchal household as=20
a structure of power where women are denied even their basic rights.

THE feminist revolution in India has many firsts to its credit, but=20
its main achievement has been to give us a picture of the woman as an=20
individual, as someone who possesses an irreducible identity of her=20
own. While the movement does not deny that women are embedded in a=20
web of relationships, it tells us that she is above all a human being=20
who possesses, by virtue of being human, an innate right to be=20
treated with dignity. For this purpose, the movement abstracted the=20
woman from what is generally considered her natural habitat in India=20
- the extended family, and presented her as an individual whose=20
identity pre-dates that of the identity she has been traditionally=20
allotted - the pillar of the joint family.

This strategy is not unknown in the history of political thought.=20
When Thomas Hobbes, writing against the background of the English=20
civil war, wanted to show that individuals have rights in their own=20
right, he took out man from society and gave him only one identity:=20
that of the individual, who is free and who is equal by the laws of=20
nature. The entire edifice of human rights was constructed upon this=20
strategic ploy of abstracting the human being from his/her=20
constitutive community.

The women's movement adopted precisely this strategy. The woman is=20
entrenched in many relationships, but any relationship between two=20
human beings is sound only if it is based upon mutual extension of=20
respect and not upon female subordination and male superiority. This=20
in short is the essence of the feminist revolution - a recognition of=20
the woman's search for dignity as a human being, the woman's right to=20
be treated as an individual in her own right, and the woman's refusal=20
to be seen as a mere appendage of predominantly male dominated social=20
relationships in a patriarchal society. In India, this was=20
particularly revolutionary given the low esteem with which women are=20
generally treated; witness the adverse sex ratios found in major=20
parts of the country till today. Of course the women's movement has=20
had to battle tremendous odds, storm the conceptual ramparts of=20
historically created and nurtured gender stereotypes of a patriarchal=20
society, in order to accomplish this.

However, revolutions prove the exception more than the rule in a=20
power-bound society and this particular power-bound society - read=20
patriarchal society - has quickly found a way of closing ranks=20
against the feminist revolution. The counter revolution has somewhat=20
laughably taken the shape of the commonplace but admittedly=20
influential soap opera, particularly the kind of soap opera unleashed=20
by Ekta Kapoor and her family firm, Balaji Telefilms. The "K" title=20
monopolises most television channels today, but viewer ratings show=20
that the most watched of all the television serials that present=20
themselves to the collective gaze of Indian audiences is "Kyunki Saas=20
Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" (KSBKBT). And here lies the problem.

For what Ms. Kapoor has succeeded in doing, is in taking the woman=20
out of the space that had been forged for her with great difficulty=20
by the women's movement, and putting her back into the claustrophobic=20
joint family. She has in the process normalised both the idea of the=20
sindoor laden, overdressed, and over-bejewelled women, as well as the=20
idea that women spend their time in household tasks or in conspiring=20
against each other, or indeed competing for the favour of men. Women=20
are set against women, and the gain of the women's movement, that of=20
women's solidarity, has been rent apart, as also the image that women=20
are perfectly capable of doing things other than what is=20
stereotypically considered feminine. For the only things that the=20
women in Kapoor's teleserial do, is to pray, keep karva chauth, dance=20
the dandiya at Navratri and think of ways to out manoeuvre each=20
other. Superficial, scheming, petty, and stupidly emotional women are=20
the staple stereotypes of KSBKBT.

These are not normal women who are capable of so many things; they=20
are clich=E9s. For instance, Tulsi, the protagonist of KSBKBT, is a=20
confident, intelligent woman, who could well be the CEO of a=20
corporate house given her capacity for out-thinking other schemers.=20
Yet she never seems to read a book or the newspaper, she never goes=20
out with friends for coffee or a movie, nor does she ever engage in a=20
discussion about what is going on outside the household. The=20
September 11 attacks in the U.S. or the bombing of Afghanistan may=20
have never happened as far as the female protagonists of the serial=20
are concerned. Their domain is the household, and their pains and=20
pleasures are purely personal and self-referential, the outside world=20
and its problems simply do not exist.

Savita who represents a silly caricature of an egoistic, power-hungry=20
woman, is preoccupied solely with ways in which she can outwit and=20
control her in-laws. And what picture of the working woman do we get=20
from the soap? Consider the hapless Mandira, a doctor whom we never=20
get to see practicing medicine, but who is busy wilting for love.=20
Obviously professional interests fly out of the window when love=20
enters from the door. Arti used to work in the family business, she=20
gives it up on the insistence of her husband, and now she moons over=20
someone else's child. And that poor Payal who is the only full-time=20
working woman is portrayed as such a vamp that she puts Bollywood=20
vamps of yore to shame.

Arguably we are witnessing a deliberate and insistent attempt by the=20
producers of soap operas to reconstruct a female subjectivity, or=20
what may be called a "national female imaginary" in the last two=20
years or so. What this form of entertainment has done is to take the=20
woman who had been emancipated from her given traditional roles by=20
the feminists, and relocate her in the domestic arena. In the process=20
it has given to us a politics of representation and a politics of=20
femininity, which does not recognise the travails of the ordinary=20
woman who performs a delicate and a consummate balancing act between=20
her domesticity and her own aspirations. And women who can do much=20
more than turn into watering pots over personal squabbles have been=20
domesticated once again.

The problem would not be serious if we did not recollect that prime=20
time TV soap opera is the most popular form of entertainment in=20
contemporary India. And it is popular precisely because it gives us=20
clear-cut definite images, a fairly uncomplicated story line, and the=20
promise that <147,1,0>things would be OK only if people did what they=20
had to do and not tread on others' toes. There are no contradictions,=20
only manageable tensions in our social institutions. And this is not=20
innocent by any means, for roles, which quickly turn into=20
stereotypes, and which are attractively packaged for public=20
consumption and imitation, serve to fortify the dominant images of a=20
patriarchal society. To put it differently, soaps forge and shape the=20
symbolic means by which our patriarchal society reproduces and=20
legitimises itself. What is more troublesome is the enthusiastic=20
audience reception of serials that present women as happily=20
domesticated, at a time when feminist research tells us that the=20
household is a structure of power where women are battered and=20
humiliated and denied their basic rights on a daily basis. The=20
feminists have been out-manoeuvred by the ordinary soap opera!

This is understandable for in challenging the structures of the=20
patriarchal household, which is the microcosm of society, feminism=20
has succeeded in challenging society. Therefore, the soap functions=20
to re-legitimise a society that badly needs to be shaken up from top=20
to bottom. It serves to integrate watchers into existing structures=20
of patriarchal power, to socialise and to normalise. The private=20
fantasy world of the TV family drama in effect proves the psychic=20
counterpart to India's patriarchal society. Certainly our patriarchal=20
society benefits from all this but I wonder who else benefits. The=20
producers of the tele-serial?

Or perchance the manufacturers of sindoor?

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

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service run by
South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since 1996. To=20
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.

--=20