[sacw] SACW #2 (2 Dec. 01)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | Dispatch #2
2 December 2001
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

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

#1. Pakistan set to try again to curb schools run by clerics (Yvonne Abraha=
m)
#2. 'He Did It for Allah' - Pakistani Families Face Toll of Forbidden=20
Fight (Susan B. Glasser)
#3. Tales from disappointed jihadis, itching for a fight (Scott Baldauf)
#4. Veil lifted on India's embarrassing friends (Sultan Shahin)
#5. Kabul Retraces Steps to Life Before Taliban (Barry Bearak)
#6. India: Text books issue: Historians give their version (Nilanjana=20
Bhaduri Jha)
#7. India: Does Indian history need to be rewritten? (Sumit Sarkar)
#8. Pakistan - India Peoples' Forum For Peace and Democracy - WEST=20
BENGAL CHAPTER
sit in Demonstration on December 6, 2001 (Calcutta)
________________________

#1.

The Boston Globe
Pakistan set to try again to curb schools run by clerics

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff, 11/29/2001

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf is about to crack=20
down on Pakistan's religious schools, known as hotbeds of=20
anti-American sentiment.
Following through on promises to curb religious extremism in the=20
region, Musharraf is expected in the next week or two to impose=20
strict new rules on the madrassas, or Islamic academies, some of=20
which have nurtured young holy warriors for recruitment into=20
Afghanistan's Taliban.
A new law establishes a 20-member Religious and Sectarian Harmony=20
Commission to oversee the religious schools and to write a code of=20
ethics guarding against inflammatory statements by clerics, according=20
to a draft of the measure obtained by the Globe.
The commission will monitor publications used and distributed by=20
madrassas and ''suggest steps to restrict the circulation'' of=20
publications it decides ''contribute to sectarian hatred and ill=20
will.''

The government also intends to keep a closer watch on the finances of=20
religious schools, especially foreign donations, a source in the=20
government said.
Earlier this month, the government vowed to cut off state funds for=20
madrassas that promote violence and extremism.
But more than 100 of the nation's 4,500 largest madrassas get money=20
from outside Pakistan. Some, run by the religious parties that led=20
the most vehement pro-Taliban demonstrations since Sept. 11, receive=20
funds from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran, said a senior=20
government source, speaking on condition of anonymity. The source=20
said he could not say exactly how much money the other countries had=20
donated.

Foreign influence in the madrassas has worried members of the US-led=20
coalition, who see the schools as encouraging an international terror=20
network.
Under the new rules, the government will monitor the madrassas' bank=20
accounts, and schools will have to account for large infusions of=20
cash. Foreign donations will be channeled through the Ministry of=20
Religious Affairs, according to the government official. Students who=20
are illegal immigrants will be deported, and clerics who break the=20
rules will face long prison sentences.

But change will not come easily to Pakistan's madrassas. Run mostly=20
by Pakistan's Islamic religious parties, the madrassas have been=20
remarkably resistant to past regulation.

The madrassas are an alternative to the underfunded, strike-ridden=20
Pakistani public school system, offering free tuition, room, and=20
board to the poor. Smaller madrassas center around a village mosque,=20
allowing students to live at home. But bigger institutions are=20
self-contained worlds, and students go home only during school=20
vacations.

Even now, clerics say, new rules will be useless, because the schools=20
are governed by spiritual imperatives far beyond the reach of any=20
earthly authority.
At the Jamia Imdadul Uloom-ul-Islamia madrassa here yesterday, school=20
officials were not greatly concerned at the prospect of closer=20
government scrutiny.
''They tried this before,'' said Mohammad Rahim, a 1998 graduate of=20
the madrassa who is now its deputy organizer. ''But they have not=20
succeeded so far. The government is always trying to control the=20
madrassas and provide its own syllabus, but it is impossible.

''The religious parties are united, and they enjoy the support of the=20
people,'' he said. ''Due to this social pressure, the government=20
stopped their project to control the madrassas.''

In the past, Pakistan's religious parties have had limited influence;=20
all of them combined have failed to draw more than about 10 percent=20
of the votes in most recent elections. But since Sept. 11, they have=20
become loud and forceful critics of the government.
Musharraf, uncomfortable with the influence of Islamic clerics in=20
Pakistan, removed military leaders sympathetic to the Taliban after=20
the Sept. 11 attacks. Since then, his government has also clamped=20
down on the leaders of Pakistan's religious parties.

Street protests, staged by clerics and swelled by madrassa students,=20
have been restricted. A few of the most vocal religious leaders have=20
been placed under house arrest. Maulana Sufi Mohammed, who led=20
thousands of Pakistanis into Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban,=20
was arrested on his return and sentenced to three years in prison.
Such measures have had little effect in the madrassas. Yesterday,=20
talk of jihad was open and optimistic among the crowd of men who=20
passed through the battered, turquoise-and-white-walled main office=20
of the Jamia Imdadul Uloom-ul-Islamia madrassa.

The imminent fall of the Taliban was disappointing, Rahim said. But=20
no good Muslim would give up.
''This has encouraged the people, and morale is not down, but=20
increasing,'' he said. ''The United States calls them terrorists who=20
are jihadis. Mohammed has said that the jihad continues until the day=20
of judgment. That means America will say the terrorism will continue=20
until the day of judgment.''

He and the other men laughed a while at that. Across the yard,=20
hundreds of students, from young children to men in their 40s, sat in=20
and around a mosque, reciting parts of holy texts, listening to a=20
cleric's Pashtun translations, and wrestling with theological=20
conundrums.
One or two men came in to put especially difficult problems to the=20
clerics: What language will they speak in heaven? If a man has=20
improper relations with his mother-in-law, what is the status of his=20
marriage? (Arabic was the quick reply to the first question; the=20
second was taken for lengthier consideration.)

The madrassa's leader, Maulana Muhammad Hassan Jan, a round, polite=20
man with a long gray beard, is an associate of the Taliban leader,=20
Mullah Mohammad Omar. Hassan Jan met with the Taliban leader in=20
Kandahar after Sept. 11, he said yesterday, and Omar assured him that=20
bin Laden was innocent of the airplane attacks on America, because=20
the suspected terrorist had been under close Taliban supervision at=20
the time of the hijackings.

This madrassa did not send its students to fight alongside bin=20
Laden's defenders, Hassan Jan said, although some have gone. ''Those=20
who participated did it individually, and we are proud of them,'' he=20
said. ''But we have no official madrassa policy [on jihad]. We only=20
teach it as a theoretical subject. We have no training camp.''

Among educators, there is mixed opinion on what Pakistan should do=20
with madrassas.

Dr. Anis Ahmad, professor of social sciences at International Islamic=20
University in Islamabad, said Musharraf should avoid a complete=20
crackdown. Instead, the government should be helping to expand the=20
curriculum of the religious academies, he said.

''A crackdown will not change them,'' he said. ''They will become=20
much more introverted, and it will create more distance between the=20
rulers and the ruled, and that is not good for any society. You have=20
to have interaction and give them as much help as possible in=20
improving their system of education, and it's bound to pay back.''

In a concession to that position, Musharraf has proposed several=20
model madrassas, with courses including mathematics, science, and=20
literature.
But Hassan Jan apparently wasn't persauded that such a model is worth=20
imitating.

''Why does the government interfere in our business?'' he said. ''We=20
are not preparing antigovernment people; we are preparing religious=20
minds. Islam is the doctrine on which this country is created. We are=20
protecting that.''

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 11/29/2001.

=A9 Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.

_____

#2.

The Washington Post
Saturday, December 1, 2001; Page A01

'He Did It for Allah'
Pakistani Families Face Toll of Forbidden Fight

By Susan B. Glasser
Washington Post Foreign Service

BIRROT, Pakistan -- In the courtyard of a home high on a Pakistani=20
mountaintop, a congregation of village men has arrived to=20
congratulate Azaker Abbasi on the death of his son. They shake his=20
hand, they smile. Abbasi's son, Zia ul-Haq, has died a martyr, they=20
say, in the faraway north of Afghanistan.

The phone call came on Monday. Zia had died Nov. 17 in Mazar-e=20
Sharif. His family doesn't know exactly where or how. They don't know=20
where he is buried. He was 23. "I was happy," said his mother,=20
Shaheen Akhter, with no sign of emotion. "He was right in what he=20
did. He did it for Allah."

To the south, on the edge of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province,=20
in the dusty village of Hattar, another mother recounted a similar=20
tale. "I feel happy that he was martyred," Iqbal said as she cried=20
big wet tears that spotted her brown head scarf. Her son, Rashid=20
Sultan, ran away in October to join the Taliban's jihad against=20
America. He died Nov. 7 in Mazar-e Sharif. All he left was a letter=20
to his relatives, telling them what he could not admit in person.=20
"God is my friend, and I am going toward him," he wrote.
All across Pakistan, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of=20
families whose sons left to fight a holy war officially opposed by=20
their government. Senior government officials estimate that as many=20
as 8,000 Pakistani citizens are dead or missing in Afghanistan,=20
casualties of an unacknowledged army that did battle for the Taliban=20
even as Pakistan joined the U.S.-led coalition to topple the strict=20
Islamic rulers.

With the Taliban's collapse in recent weeks, Pakistan has been=20
unhappily riveted by the plight of its own warriors but uncertain=20
what to do about it. Many were apparently killed in the prison=20
uprising in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif this week. Many=20
others are believed to be trapped in the besieged southern city of=20
Kandahar, the Taliban's last stronghold. Already this month,=20
officials said, 2,000 Pakistani families in border areas have=20
appealed to the government for help in locating their missing sons=20
and fathers.
But there is no public mourning for the dead, and those who make it=20
back alive face the threat of imprisonment. The government of Gen.=20
Pervez Musharraf has threatened to arrest and charge fighters=20
returning from Afghanistan. Some religious leaders who led their=20
students to join the jihad, or holy war, have already been jailed.
And the government has vowed to crack down further on the militant=20
Islamic groups that recruited and sent Pakistanis to Afghanistan.=20
Musharraf ordered his security advisers this week to prepare a new=20
campaign to curb religious militancy, according to senior officials.=20
The plan would ban all groups from recruiting fighters or soliciting=20
money for the Afghan war and restrict the curricula of the religious=20
schools, or madrassas, that inspired many of their young students to=20
fight.

"General Musharraf has recognized that only a military government can=20
rid Pakistan of a very small minority of religious militants who have=20
defaced this great country," said a top adviser to the Pakistani=20
president.
But at the same time, Musharraf has not been able to disavow=20
completely the thousands of Pakistani jihadis, as the fighters are=20
known here. He has publicly appealed for humane treatment of=20
Pakistanis taken prisoners by the Northern Alliance and has privately=20
lobbied -- so far unsuccessfully -- for the United Nations or another=20
international group to take charge of those who surrender.

Musharraf's dilemma reflects the ambivalence of Pakistani society,=20
which remains sharply divided over his decision to abandon support of=20
the Taliban after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United=20
States. Public protests against that decision have waned in recent=20
weeks, suggesting passive acceptance if not outright endorsement of=20
Pakistan's new course.

And as fighters trickle back across the border, some have recounted=20
their disillusionment with the Taliban and their uncertainty about=20
why they risked their lives for a cause that pits Muslims against one=20
another as much as against the United States. Some militant Islamic=20
groups here have started to reconsider their support for the jihad in=20
Afghanistan.
"Our teachers have categorically stated that jihad can only be=20
launched against an infidel army occupying an Islamic state, and=20
Afghanistan never fit that criteria," said Qari Salim Jan, 21, a=20
member of a radical religious group called Lashkar-i-Taiba.=20
"Afghanistan is essentially an intra-Afghan Muslim battle with an=20
infidel army perched up in the skies."

But critics on both sides blame the government for tacitly=20
encouraging young men like Zia and Rashid to receive military=20
training in Afghanistan right up until September. And even=20
pro-Western liberals fear that Pakistan has now abandoned such young=20
men to Northern Alliance warlords who may massacre them.
Some of the Islamic militant groups say they will continue to recruit=20
soldiers for the Taliban's last stand. Those include=20
Jaish-i-Muhammad, the organization that sent both Rashid and Zia to=20
their deaths in Afghanistan, according to their families. Despite its=20
losses, the group this week launched a new campaign for the Taliban.

"We have to start a genuine struggle against the United States. This=20
struggle has to continue till the destruction of the Great Satan.=20
Time has come for all Muslims to join hands," wrote Maulana Masood=20
Azhar, the leader of Jaish-i-Muhammad, in a letter distributed in=20
mosques across the country on Wednesday.

In Birrot, however, Zia's family is not entirely convinced. Despite=20
the congratulatory handshakes, the smiles and the outward confidence=20
of Zia's mother, Zia's father recalled his own doubts about this=20
jihad and his many efforts to persuade his son not to fight.

"I didn't want him to go," said Azaker. "He wasn't properly equipped=20
to fight. This war is not our war. But I could not change his mind.=20
He did what he wanted to do."

Named after Pakistan's former dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, who=20
supported the "Islamization" of Pakistan during the 1980s and allied=20
himself with conservative religious groups, Zia had long talked about=20
going to fight. Described by his family as shy but stubborn, Zia was=20
drawn into Jaish-i-Muhammad about two years ago.
Seven months ago, he went to the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad,=20
to conduct business for his father's grocery store for the day. He=20
never came home. At first, the family thought he had been kidnapped.=20
Four months later, a phone call came from Afghanistan, saying Zia was=20
safe and in Mazar-e Sharif.

Zia's father, however, soon began to have nightmares in which he was=20
building a new house -- to him, a sure sign that his son was in=20
trouble. On Monday, the confirmation came. It was another unknown=20
voice calling from Afghanistan.

"He was always religious, wanting to fight for Afghanistan and=20
Islam," Azaker said. "I tried to tell him the other side of the=20
story, but he didn't want to listen."

Now, Azaker is waging that argument with Zia's 16-year-old brother.=20
He, too, wants to go to war against the Americans. Hanging on the=20
wall in the courtyard of the family house is his own sign of=20
defiance: a paper cutout of a Kalashnikov rifle.

Like Zia's father, Rashid Sultan's mother told him not to go --=20
pleaded with him, even. "He said he wanted to fight for Allah," she=20
said. "I told him, 'Why can't you fight for Allah here, why can't you=20
continue jihad in Pakistan? Don't go so far away.' "

A crowd of 18 relatives, cousins and brothers and sisters, listened=20
as Iqbal remembered her son. "America is a very big terrorist," said=20
one beautiful, shy cousin. That sentence, it turned out, is=20
practically the only English she knows.
Iqbal, who says she is about 45 and who cannot read or write, said=20
she had hoped when her son was young that he would grow up to be an=20
educated man, "a person with a future." He never made it past middle=20
school.

Not much is left with which to remember Rashid. His favorite food was=20
boiled rice, his mother said, and he wore only simple clothes. There=20
is a modest stack of pictures, much cried over. One shows Rashid at=20
his father's bedside before he died of cancer. Another shows him=20
playfully hoisting a younger brother into the air. The last picture=20
taken of Rashid shows him as he was just before he left, wearing=20
baggy white pants, a blue-and-red vest and a white Afghan hat. This=20
is the one that his mother Iqbal kisses.
Rashid was the oldest of six children. With his father dead, his=20
mother hoped he would support the family. But he never found a job=20
that paid enough, working sporadically at a factory for low pay while=20
dreaming of jihad. "As a Muslim, I am happy that he fought for=20
Allah," she said. But she comes back, again and again, to the reason=20
for her tears: "Now there are only two brothers left, only two=20
brothers."

Even as she spoke, the loudspeakers of the mosque next door boomed=20
out her son's name, seeking other village men to finish the battle=20
that claimed Rashid Sultan. He was brave, exhorted the mullah, a true=20
religious man. "Those who don't have the courage to fight this war=20
are weak Muslims," he said.

Special correspondent Kamran Khan contributed to this report.

=A9 2001 The Washington Post Company

______

#3.

The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 27, 2001 edition

UNDER ARREST: A Northern Alliance soldier (right) pulls along a=20
Pakistani prisoner of war, captured during a night raid on a village=20
in Tarkhar Province. Many Afghans resent foreign Muslims coming to=20
fight a jihad on their soil.
IVAN SEKRETAREV/AP

Tales from disappointed jihadis, itching for a fight
Many foreign Taliban supporters were captured before engaging any US troops=
.
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
KHEWA, AFGHANISTAN - They share a medieval prison barracks, a cold=20
stone floor, and an unwavering faith in the importance of defending=20
their religion against America.

They are Pakistani volunteers, numbering about 160, and they are just=20
a few of the thousands of foreigners who came to Afghanistan in hopes=20
of protecting Taliban rule in what they consider to be the world's=20
purest Islamic state.

Typical of the volunteers is Torki Ahmad, a religious student from=20
Karachi, Pakistan, who says he came to Afghanistan just two days=20
after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We want to destroy America. The battle of the Crusades was announced=20
by President Bush, so we are coming to sacrifice ourselves in the=20
cause of Allah," says Mr. Ahmad, in excellent English. He appears too=20
young to grow the full beard typical of Taliban fighters and their=20
supporters. "My only regret is that we haven't found an opportunity=20
to fight against the US soldiers, because they haven't come here yet."

Over the weekend, captured fighters like Ahmad staged an uprising at=20
a detention facility in Mazar-e Sharif that claimed scores of lives,=20
including that of an American adviser. But the hundreds of US Marines=20
who began arriving yesterday near the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar=20
in southern Afghanistan present the most visible target so far for=20
Islamic extremists ready to die for the Taliban cause.

To date, surprisingly few have had the chance.

Many, like these prisoners in Khewa, had no weapons when they were=20
captured by anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces and their ethnic=20
Pashtun allies in eastern Afghanistan. While they still use strong=20
Islamic rhetoric, some were actually planning to head back to=20
Pakistan at the time of their capture.

Others were determined to join the Taliban in the mountains. But in=20
what appears to be a rule of Afghan politics, the most important=20
thing that separates these hardened jihadis (holy warriors) from=20
their Afghan captors is not their religious beliefs or lifestyle, but=20
simply short-term alliances.

"I captured one group on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul," says=20
Sher Afzal, a young soldier on guard duty at Khewa prison. "They=20
said: 'We have come to make jihad against America.' We said: 'You=20
have come too early, the Americans aren't here. You should go make=20
jihad in Kashmir or Pakistan. Why come here?' "

Syad Afzal, another guard at Khewa prison, says he feels sorry for=20
some of the prisoners. "Some belong to Sufi Mohammed, and I feel sad=20
for them," he says, referring to the Pakistani religious leader who=20
recruited thousands in October to fight an expected US-led invasion=20
against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network.=20
"But some Punjabi [Pakistani] people belong to Al Qaeda, and they=20
have been here a long time. I don't feel sorry for them. They should=20
go do their jihad somewhere else."

The bulk of the prisoners in Khewa prison say they were captured days=20
after the fall of Kabul. Most say they have been treated well. Their=20
only complaint is that they have not received water to wash before=20
their daily prayers.
"I am not unhappy. Allah will help us to try again," says Gulab, a=20
young man from Waziristan, a Pakistani border region with strong=20
ethnic ties to the Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.

Gul Nabi, another jihadi from Waziristan, says he came more than a=20
month ago but never saw any Americans. "I was caught trying to=20
[return] home outside of Jalalabad. It is in the hands of almighty=20
Allah whether I get free."

Farther east, in the former front-line village of Shunbar, life is=20
returning to normal after nearly five years of guerrilla war. Village=20
chief Haji Noor Beg says the Taliban had 300 fighters garrisoned=20
here. Half were Afghans; the rest were foreigners, including Arabs,=20
Chechens, and Pakistanis. "At first, we thought the Taliban were good=20
people, and we surrendered our weapons to them," says Mr. Beg,=20
stroking his henna-colored beard. "But then they started beating=20
people [and] searching their houses for weapons.

"The Taliban wore the outfits of Muslims, and they spoke like=20
Muslims, but their deeds and their foreign supporters were not like=20
real Muslims. They were cruel," he says.

While some Afghan villagers in the eastern provinces say they are=20
confused by a war between Muslim brethren, the farmers in the fertile=20
village of Kasamabad Bisur, near Jalalabad, say they are just=20
relieved the fighting has stopped for now. "The Taliban are local=20
people and the new rulers are also local people, so we have seen no=20
difference between them," says Said Ahmad.

Copyright =A9 2001 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

______

#4.

Asia Times
December 1, 2001

Veil lifted on India's embarrassing friends
By Sultan Shahin
NEW DELHI - To India's great consternation, Afghan women's leader=20
Samina Kabir has sought to expose the "crimes" of the Northern=20
Alliance, whose government India recognizes and supports unreservedly.
In her tour of the length and breadth of the county, she is seeking=20
to raise consciousness about the plight of women in Afghanistan and=20
their fears regarding the dispensation that is taking shape in the=20
United Nations-organized conference in Bonn, as well as on the ground=20
in Afghanistan itself.
Representing RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of=20
Afghanistan), Samina Kabir, a long-time anti-Taliban activist, is now=20
focusing her ire mostly on the Northern Alliance that has taken=20
control of most of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul. In=20
speech after speech in places as diverse as Vishakhapatnam,=20
Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, she has been narrating=20
harrowing tales of life under the Northern Alliance.
Indeed, according to the Indian Express, she stole the show on the=20
first day of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA)=20
conference in Vishakhapatnam. In a widely reported speech, Kabir, who=20
also uses the pseudonym Sahar Saba, said that the fall of Taliban=20
will not make any difference in the lives of the Afghans, especially=20
the women there, as the Northern Alliance was no better than the=20
Taliban. "Do not trust the Northern Alliance. It is another criminal=20
group with a similar ideology. They are criminals who do not want to=20
be exposed as such. In fact, Burhanuddin Rabbani should be brought to=20
the International Court of Justice for a criminal trial," she said,=20
referring to the head of the Northern Alliance.
The root cause of all atrocities in Afghanistan is the domination of=20
fundamentalist ideology, whether upheld by the Northern Alliance or=20
the Taliban, she added. Only democracy can save the Afghans, she said.
RAWA, established in 1977, is the only feminist organization in=20
Afghanistan. Many of the organization's members lost their lives in=20
the struggle to free the Afghan women from fundamentalist oppression.=20
It provides education to females and also organizes programs to=20
enable women to earn a livelihood.
Since 1977, members of RAWA have risked death to expose that reality,=20
and more recently have begun doing so online. When the Taliban took=20
power in 1996, members of RAWA, a Pakistan-based group of more than=20
2,000 Afghan women, began working in secret to document and publicize=20
through the Internet the cruel treatment of the women and people of=20
Afghanistan.
On behalf of RAWA, Samina Kabir has addressed annual sessions of UN=20
Human Rights Commission in Geneva and audiences in universities in=20
the United States, Italy and Spain, among other countries.
Kabir said that the first step towards peace would be disarmament of=20
the warring factions. "Sixty-five percent of Afghans are women. We=20
want a government based on democracy."
Even as questions about the post-Taliban regime in Afghanistan=20
continue to crop up, RAWA is not the only group to condemn and fear=20
the Northern Alliance. Apart from many Afghan women interviewed by=20
the media around the world, Mary Robinson, UN high commissioner for=20
human rights, too, has shifted the focus on the Alliance - not as a=20
favorite to form a future government but as a force that could prove=20
to be more dangerous and despotic than the Taliban.
According to RAWA, the Northern Alliance troops can fuel greater=20
violence than the Taliban have ever done. This sentiment is being=20
echoed by many Afghan women in New Delhi during interviews with the=20
media.
"The alliance would not stop from fanning the fire of another brutal=20
and endless civil war in order to retain power. The wounds of the=20
years 1992-96 have not healed yet," said another Afghan woman=20
activist Nazia Barak, in an earlier meeting, referring to the period=20
when members of the current Northern Alliance held Kabul after=20
driving out the Soviets and the communist Afghan government they had=20
installed. According to these women, the alliance has not changed=20
from the days when it unleashed a civil war on Afghanistan.
Robinson, too supports this view, stating: "The situation in=20
Afghanistan could get worse because the track record of human rights=20
violation committed by the Northern Alliance is no better."=20
Apparently, some of the alliance leaders who could be asked to head=20
the new government have in several cases violated human rights=20
themselves.
It is generally thought, said Samina Kabir, that in a backward=20
Afghanistan there is no resistance to fundamentalist regimes.=20
Contrary to popular belief, the Afghan people don't give up too=20
easily. Afghan women in particular have put up a stiff resistance.=20
RAWA, for instance, is one such hope and voice for women. RAWA aims=20
to get the world to know the realities of Afghanistan, in spite of=20
the fact that women fighting for their rights in Afghanistan are=20
labeled as sinful, immoral or atheist, or even communist prostitutes,=20
by the fundamentalist preachers.
Despite the Indian government's embarrassment at the continuing=20
exposure of the mujahideen as a criminal fundamentalist force, many=20
in India are echoing Samina Kabir's view and the approach of most=20
other Afghan women that any future dispensation in Afghanistan should=20
have a strong presence of women.
Noted columnist Praful Bidwai, for instance, says that the best=20
solution might be to place Afghanistan under UN trusteeship for two=20
to three years, during which an interim government, with strong RAWA=20
representation, rules under a multilateral peace-keeping force. "To=20
combine principle with practicality, this solution will need the UN's=20
energization along genuinely multilateralist lines.
"After five years of darkness," says Bidwai, "Kabul's playing fields=20
are being used not for public executions, but for football. The music=20
is back in the streets, so are beardless male faces, and above all,=20
women out of burqa [veil]. But those replacing the Taliban are no=20
liberators, no respecters of human values. The Northern Alliance is=20
essentially a collection of former mujahideen thugs, with a=20
horrifying human rights record. The NA constituents ruled Kabul=20
between 1992 and 1996 through death, torture and loot. Such was their=20
pillage, mass rape, and brutality that Mohammed Najibullah's regime,=20
itself no model of democracy and compassion, became something to be=20
longed for.
"In 1996, after 50,000 civilian killings, and thousands of rapes,=20
many Kabulis welcomed the Taliban. At least they didn't rape. And=20
they imposed some order, however despotic. We shouldn't be misled by=20
fond descriptions of the NA as 'foot-soldiers' of the 'international=20
coalition' or the suave images of NA ministers like Abdullah, Qanooni=20
and Fahim. What they hide is the ugly reality of General Rashid=20
Dostum, or of the militias who, for instance, in 1997, massacred=20
thousands of prisoners of war after torturing and starving them.=20
Dostum has a hair-raising record: tying suspected defectors to tanks=20
which would be driven round and round till their bodies were chopped=20
into pieces ... other NA generals too have used unspeakably barbaric=20
methods. Most NA militiamen come from mujahideen groups which fought=20
the 1979-89 Soviet occupation with Western [and Saudi] encouragement=20
and arms. The mujahideen's Islam was a penal code of severe=20
strictures, robbed of culture, compassion and even mysticism. They=20
paved the way for the Taliban ideologically, socially and=20
politically."
Bidwai describes the RAWA as "that remarkable organization of=20
Afghanistan's only true heroes" and says that it is against the NA,=20
as well as the Taliban. This raises questions about Afghanistan's=20
regime succession. It would be a tragedy, he says, if one terrible=20
abomination were replaced with an only slightly less terrible one.
Much to the consternation of the government, which seems to relish in=20
its follies and its myopia, such views have been echoed in the media=20
throughout the country. Seema Mustafa, a columnist with the=20
influential daily Asian Age, for instance, wrote on the eve of the=20
Bonn conference, "The UN's seriousness of purpose will be reflected=20
in one, whether Afghan women are invited to Bonn, two, how many women=20
are invited and three, who are the women from Afghanistan selected to=20
participate in the Bonn meet. There is a genuine apprehension that=20
RAWA might not meet the requirements of those who are uneasy about=20
its fierce independence, and would prefer to deal with women=20
figureheads who can be controlled into playing a secondary role.
"Afghan women have fought the occupying forces, their own militia and=20
all repressive elements of society with more tenacity, unison and a=20
sense of purpose than the men. They have remained consistent in their=20
vision of a democratic, progressive and secular Afghanistan. They=20
have refused to allow the lure of power to corrupt their ideals, and=20
have continued to struggle despite overwhelming odds, for what they=20
believe. It will be a travesty of justice if only men, from all over=20
the world and Afghanistan, now sit around the table at Bonn to work=20
out their future. A government born out of such discrimination will=20
not be able to take Afghanistan out of the cesspit, for it will=20
continue to deny one half of its population dignity, respect and true=20
freedom."
Unfortunately, this is precisely what is happening.

_____

#5.

New York Times December 2, 2001

Kabul Retraces Steps to Life Before Taliban
By BARRY BEARAK
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 1 - Dr. Nazifa Tabibzada cut into the=20
abdomen of someone named Abdul last week. It was a routine procedure=20
for a reliable surgeon, remarkable only because she had not operated=20
on a man in five years. Under the austere restraints of the Taliban,=20
men and women were not permitted to mingle, even if one was under=20
anesthesia.

Full text at : http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/international/asia/02KABU.=
html

_____

#6.
The Times of India DECEMBER 02, 2001
Text books issue: Historians give their version
NILANJANA BHADURI JHA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
EW DELHI: They may have leftist leanings or they may not, but right=20
now the four historians whose works have suffered cuts by the NCERT=20
are certainly seeing red at the charge of the saffron brigade.
Accused of being anti-Hindu Communists misguiding the nation's young,=20
Romila Thapar, Arjun Dev, Satish Chandra and R S. Sharma on Saturday=20
sought to tell their side of the history text books story that the=20
Bharatiya Janata Party has recently hijacked as a key election issue.=20
[...].

http://203.199.93.7/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D1955927532
_____

#7.
The Times of India 2 December 2001

Does Indian history need to be rewritten?

SUMIT SARKAR
No. BJP's doctoring of history, so reminiscent of totalitarian=20
states, is an attempt to turn the clock back and, if possible, do=20
away with history altogether
The Prime Minister has justified the deletion of ten passages from=20
NCERT history textbooks (to be followed soon by their replacement and=20
then the abolition of history as a separate subject till Class XI) on=20
the ground that these books are "one-sided''.
How does he know? And how does being Prime Minister give him the=20
authority to issue such a fatwa? It is nobody's contention that the=20
NCERT books are perfect, but any revision must be based on at least a=20
minimum level of competence in the subject. It is significant that=20
the names of those writing the new textbooks are being kept strictly=20
secret.
A second justification, offered by BJP spokesmen like V.K. Malhotra,=20
is even more dangerous. The books are not factually inaccurate, but=20
they are unsuitable because they hurt the "sentiments'' of children=20
of sundry communities and religions. Once again, who decides, when,=20
and whose sentiments?
The passage in Satish Chandra's book about the execution of Guru Tegh=20
Bahadur, which no one had objected to even at the height of the=20
Khalistani movement, suddenly comes under attack, and sadly, first of=20
all from the Delhi Congress - just on the eve of Punjab elections.
And what if "sentiments'' are mutually opposed?
References to the oppressive aspects of the varna system and, no=20
doubt soon, any criticism whatsoever of the ancient Brahmanical=20
society, are to be deleted. Dalits, subordinated castes, women, have=20
obviously no "sentiments'' worth bothering about.
Even more importantly, is it the function of history to ignore all=20
"unpleasant'' facts, and become a collection of moral fables or happy=20
tales, its contents dictated by "religious'' and/or "community''=20
leaders chosen by the Sangh Parivar for its political games? Surely,=20
education is worthwhile only if it stimulates rational thinking and=20
questioning and much of inherited common-sense necessarily comes=20
under scrutiny: as when children learn that, contrary to the evidence=20
of their eyes, the earth moves round the sun. Maybe, the scientific=20
explanation for eclipses should be banned, for it might hurt the=20
belief that they are caused by Rahu?
But it is dangerous to be sarcastic about such things, for we have a=20
minister who might think this to be a good idea....
"History'' of a particular kind is vital for the Sangh Parivar, to=20
consolidate its claim to be the sole spokesman of the "Hindus'' who=20
have to be convinced that their interests and emotions are and have=20
always been unitary and inevitably opposed to those of Muslims or=20
Christians, regardless of differences of caste, gender, class,=20
immense regional variations.
There had once been a certain fit between such assumptions and the=20
habit, derived in part from the British, of slicing up Indian history=20
into "Hindu'' and "Muslim'' periods, treating religious communities=20
as unchanging blocs and defining eras in terms of the religion of=20
rulers. All this changed as history-writing came of age and=20
progressed beyond the deeds of kings and great or evil men.
The BJP's doctoring of history, so reminiscent of totalitarian=20
states, is an attempt to turn the clock back and, if possible, do=20
away with history altogether.
(Sumit Sarkar is a professor of history at Delhi University)
_____

#8.

Pakistan - India Peoples' Forum For Peace and Democracy - WEST BENGAL CHAPT=
ER,
[...]

Dear Friends,
SIT IN DEMONSTRATION ON December 6, 2001
In a joint struggle with 40 other mass organizations, trade unions,=20
social, cultural and human right organizations PIPFPD West Bengal=20
Chapter is participating in a sit in demonstration on 6th December=20
next (Thursday) to protest against:
Barbarian imperialist aggression on people of Afghanistan perpetrated=20
by USA and its allies combined, Govt. of India and Govt. of West=20
Bengal's proposal for legislating draconian, undemocratic, anti=20
people Act like POTO or POCA for preventive detention of the people=20
under the pretext of fighting 'Terrorism', Spreading of communal=20
hatred under the auspices of the ruling party BJP against a=20
particular community and creating social tensions leading to communal=20
frenzy and riots as we witnessed on and after December 6, 1992 when=20
Babri Masjid was demolished.

We request all our members, friends and well- wishers to participate=20
in this anti imperialist, anti authoritarian and anti communal joint=20
struggle so that we can unite with the peoples' struggle world over=20
against imperialism, authoritarianism and communal and religious=20
hatred and disharmony.

Sit in Demonstration on December 6, 2001 At Rani Rassmoni Road,=20
Dharmatalla. [Calcutta]
>From 12 to 4 PM. Participants will assemble at Raja Subodh Mullick=20
Square at 11 AM and will
March to Rani Rassmoni Road.

Sincerely Yours
Amit Chakraborty

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

SACW is an informal, independent & non-profit citizens wire service=20
run by South Asia Citizens Web (http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex) since=20
1996. To subscribe send a blank message to:=20
<act-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> / To unsubscribe send a blank message=20
to: <act-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
________________________________________
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.

--=20