[sacw] SACW | 17 Jan. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 17 January 2002

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

#1. Fear and Flight in Deadly Kashmir (Somini Sengupta)
#2. Sweating Over Kashmir
#3. `People of India, Pak. want peace, not war'
#4. India: Music Concert To Mark The World Peace Day
#5. Communalising Education - History Textbook Controversy (Mridula=20
Mukherjee & Aditya Mukherjee)
#6. India: Film Screening of Vijay Singh's film 'Jaya Ganga' (New=20
Delhi 18th Jan.)

________________________

#1.

The New York Times
January 16, 2002

Fear and Flight in Deadly Kashmir
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Somini Sengupta/The New York Times
Family members from the hilltop hamlet of Nerojal in the Indian state=20
of Kashmir packed up and fled their home recently after the killing=20
of a Hindu in the region, which is populated mostly by Muslims.

EROJAL, Jammu and Kashmir, Jan. 13 - One night two weeks ago, Gulshan=20
Kumar Sharma heard a knock at the door and a voice calling out,=20
"Didi" - older sister, in Hindi. When he answered, the 28-year-old=20
Hindu farmer was gunned down on the threshold of his mud house.

Family members, neighbors and local officials attribute the killing=20
to "militants," members of one of several Islamic outfits that=20
regularly wreak havoc in these craggy, sparsely populated foothills=20
of the Himalayas. Today, having finished the last rites, the others=20
of Mr. Sharma's Hindu clan began a sorry, fearful exodus from this=20
mostly Muslim area, trickling down from their hilltop homes with=20
possessions - bedding, plastic water jugs and trunks - loaded on=20
their backs.

"We have been here 10 generations," lamented the dead man's uncle, P.=20
N. Sharma, 62, a reed of a man and a retired English teacher, as he=20
made the 30-minute trek from his home down to the road. "We have been=20
here during all three wars. We've never migrated."

With India and Pakistan facing the prospect of a fourth war, the=20
story of the subcontinent's 54-year- old division between Hindus and=20
Muslims is being played out in the remote hill towns of the Indian=20
state of Kashmir, not in the epic communal unrest of the past but in=20
small-scale, day-to-day savagery.

During the last 15 days, three members of a family were slain in=20
another village in this district, called Rajouri. Before that,=20
another two were slain in a house perched on a hill, more than three=20
miles from the nearest road. In another village, four members of a=20
family were killed in late December.

Two weeks ago in a village in the Poonch district, a three-hour drive=20
from here, six members of a family, including a 6-month-old baby,=20
were slaughtered just after sundown; a seventh member of the family=20
is being treated in a hospital in Jammu. In another village in the=20
same district, an elected village chief was killed last week.

The civilian administrator of the Poonch district, Ejaz Iqbal, says=20
he hears of an incident every two or three days. Houses have been=20
burned, too, another official said.

India is a mostly Hindu nation, and this portion of Kashmir is the=20
country's only majority Muslim state. India and Pakistan have fought=20
two of their three wars over Kashmir, and India is threatening to go=20
to war again if Pakistan does not clamp down on Islamic insurgents=20
who use Pakistan as a staging ground for a low-level insurgency=20
against Indian forces here.

In the last few years, the militants who roamed the Kashmir valley=20
have made this area their home. Mr. Iqbal believes that many of them=20
come from the Pakistani side of Kashmir, where Pakistan's president=20
has promised to rein in the militant groups. They make their forays=20
through these thickly forested hills, which are nearly impossible to=20
police, sowing mistrust, fear and sorrow for the people who live=20
here, Hindus and Muslims who have lived side by side sometimes for=20
generations.

Often, the victims are Hindus. Other times, they are Muslims, who=20
are, or who are thought to be, sympathetic to the security forces.=20
Sometimes the targets are, like Mr. Sharma, members of village=20
defense committees, a relatively recent invention of the police, in=20
which civilians are armed with rifles. Other times, like the family=20
in the Poonch, the victims are those who have rejected the offer of=20
arms.

Anxiety here has only grown in recent weeks, as soldiers and security=20
officials who had been assigned to patrol these remote hamlets have=20
been moved closer to the border and so-called Line of Control=20
dividing India and Pakistan, said Anil Goswami, the Jammu district=20
divisional commissioner who oversees the entire southern swath of=20
this province.

The militants, whom he described as mostly Pakistani and natives of=20
Pakistan-held Kashmir, had been given a freer reign to terrorize the=20
local residents and foment what he called a communal conflagration.=20
Thankfully, he added, nothing of the sort has happened. "They want to=20
terrorize the Muslims into keeping quiet," he said. "They want to=20
terrorize the Hindus and Sikhs into running away from their homes.=20
That is the game plan."

The village defense committees have only sometimes succeeded at their=20
task. Nor have the police or security forces, even when they are=20
assigned to patrol areas with a vulnerable community, been able to=20
stave off the attacks.

The hamlets in these hills are often four- or five-hour treks from=20
the nearest road. The mud houses, painted turquoise blue in the local=20
custom or adorned with intricate designs, are scattered far from one=20
another amid terraced fields and banana trees. To visit a neighbor is=20
often a long hike through these perilous hills.

"Why do the militants do these things? To create panic," Mr. Iqbal=20
declared. "Sometimes, militants are used by the locals to sort out=20
their problems. Sometimes, militants feel the people are army=20
informants."

Last summer, in Kotdara, another village in Rajouri where members of=20
Mr. Sharma's extended family live, there was a massacre. Sudesh Kumar=20
Sharma, a resident of Kotdara, said the villagers still didn't know=20
who was responsible. But he said a neighbor had given shelter to the=20
gunmen.

Today, as he helped his kinfolk pack up and leave Nerojal, Mr. Sharma=20
said there was "chaos and confusion" in the hamlet where his=20
relatives lived. "Everybody's feeling unsafe in these circumstances,"=20
he said.

When the people of Nerojal begged the police for more protection,=20
they were told there was no one available. Today, the police who had=20
been stationed here since the killing joined them in leaving. They=20
said they had received orders to pack up too, though they did not=20
know where they would be sent.

As twilight approached, the Sharma household was frantic with=20
last-minute packing, stuffing clothes into burlap sacks. But the=20
Sharmas had no place to go, they said, save the streets and=20
schoolyards of the nearest town, Rajouri.

Soon the trail through the hills was a sweating caravan of men and=20
women carrying their cherished possessions down to the road,=20
hurriedly. "There is every apprehension of a mass killing here," said=20
the dead man's uncle, P. N. Sharma.

Just as sad, in his eyes, was that no one was leaving the Muslim=20
houses. The Muslim neighbors had not come to the protection of his=20
family, he said. But he bore no enmity. "It was beyond their power,=20
because here, they're also victims," Mr. Sharma said. "If at all they=20
do, they'll be massacred."

Fakiruddin Gujjar, 40, a Muslim farmer who lives on the next hill,=20
had come to pay his respects at the Sharma home. He had urged them=20
not to leave. But he said he knew that he could not protect them=20
either.

"These are our neighbors; this is our home," he said, standing in=20
their courtyard. "We cannot live without them."

_____

#2.

Far Eastern Economic Review
January 17, 2002
EDITORIALS
Sweating Over Kashmir
Compromise is needed on both sides, and maybe an acknowledgement of history

INDIA AND PAKISTAN continue to trade bullets across their=20
2,900-kilometre border and the danger of accidentally triggering a=20
war is still high (see article on page 20). Diplomatically, though,=20
we may only be as close to war as we were the week before. Which is=20
to say that political ignition remains unlikely. That sentiment was=20
reinforced after Pervaiz Musharraf extended his hand to Atal Behari=20
Vajpayee at a meeting in Nepal of South Asian nations. Mr. Vajpayee=20
reciprocated at the close of the conference. The two also managed a=20
chat in Kathmandu, though Mr. Vajpayee told reporters it was only "an=20
exchange of courtesy. Nothing significant was discussed." Still,=20
courtesies at times like these must be welcome. If only both could=20
see fit to extend courtesies over Kashmir.

At the nub of the conflict is this disputed territory. India and=20
Pakistan will continue to argue as long as Kashmir's status remains=20
unresolved. Without a doubt, the problem was foisted on both by=20
Britain, which, acting by precedents set in Africa and elsewhere,=20
allowed for a hash to made out of the divvying out of territories=20
into the new nations of India and Pakistan. That said, Indian control=20
of Jammu and Kashmir now is a historical fact, and given India's=20
claim to be a nation for all people of all faiths, New Delhi will=20
find it hard-if not impossible-to shed itself of its slice of=20
predominantly Muslim Kashmir just because it is Muslim. Doing so=20
undermines the first principle of the republic. While that does not=20
absolve India of blame for its heavy-handed rule in Kashmir, it=20
brings to mind a similar situation in the Middle East. Just as=20
Palestinians may need to accept the fact of Israel's existence,=20
perhaps Pakistanis also need to accept the status quo represented by=20
the Line of Control.

But that's only one scenario. If India and Pakistan were to return to=20
discussions, others may emerge. As Tony Blair rightly put it this=20
week in South Asia, the only way to resolve Kashmir is to seek=20
agreement by dialogue. Anything else would be a temporary victory for=20
one side waiting to be dislodged at the next opportunity. India,=20
however, continues to stick to its precondition that talks will take=20
place only if Pakistan does more against anti-Indian militants. For=20
his part Mr. Musharraf has finally said that "Pakistan rejects=20
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." However, India is=20
looking for deeds rather than a statement. Still, as we go to press,=20
Mr. Musharraf is expected to address his country to outline further=20
decisions on militant groups. Mr. Vajpayee must certainly understand=20
that Mr. Musharraf needs to tread carefully if he is not to be seen=20
out. (And does India think any replacement would be easier to deal=20
with?) So, is the time for gamesmanship not perhaps over?

India and Pakistan's squabble has too long diverted the energies of=20
their peoples towards unprofitable ends. Resolve Kashmir and perhaps=20
soon we will see the end of this disparity: Of nuclear nations where=20
roadwork crews must still break rocks by hand. The end of conflict=20
would be the necessary prelude to both nations finally fully entering=20
the modern age.

______

#3.

The Hindu
Wednesday, Jan 16, 2002
`People of India, Pak. want peace, not war'
By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JAN. 15. ``Goli nahi boli chahiye'' (We do not want=20
bullets but a dialogue), the slogan by veteran freedom fighter,=20
Nirmala Deshpande set the tone for a day-long consultative workshop on

``Peoples' initiatives in promoting peace and harmony in South=20
Asia,'' here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the workshop organised by the=20
Indo-Pak Jubilee Cultural Society, Ms. Deshpande, said war-mongering=20
was confined to the leaders of India and Pakistan and not people, as=20
was wrongly being made out. She wanted the people to raise their=20
voice and force the leadership of the two countries to send their=20
respective armies back to the barracks and establish peace in the=20
region.

``Now is the time for the silent majority to come out on the streets=20
and demonstrate that peace was the only way out and all outstanding=20
issues could be resolved through a process of dialogue,'' she added,=20
narrating how even ex-soldiers of both countries were for a peaceful=20
solution.

At the session on ``building bridges,'' speakers such as Raj Bahadur=20
Gour, journalist A.B.K. Prasad, poet Jwalamukhi, writer Jeelani=20
Bhanu, Mallick said that there should be ``no borders'' between=20
countries, that restrictions on telecast of Pakistan TV programmes in=20
India and vice versa should be removed, the Delhi-Lahore bus=20
re-introduced, and anthology of writing in Indian language in favour=20
of peace should be published. Sardar Ali Khan and Ms. Nirmala=20
Deshpande addressed the gathering.

Ms. Nirmala Deshpande said the civil society and peace activists=20
organised several peace rallies in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi in=20
Pakistan and Delhi and Kolkata in India, but the coverage was poor.

Sardar Ali Khan, former Chairman of National Commission for=20
Minorities, said people were the ultimate sovereign in any society=20
and not the leaders. People should assert themselves at this critical=20
juncture in South Asia and promote, peace, harmony and universal=20
brotherhood.

M. Baga Reddy, former MP, spoke. Prof. N. Gopi, Vice Chancellor of=20
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, narrated a Telugu poem capturing=20
the smouldering situation in Kashmir. Former Air Chief Marshal, I. H.=20
Latif, attended. K. B. Tilak, convenor, Indo-Pak Jubilee Cultural=20
Society, said concerned citizens and social groups should come=20
forward to build bridges across the borders.

______

#4.

15 January 2002
MUSIC CONCERT TO MARK THE WORLD PEACE DAY

Dear .....,

To mark the World Peace Day, Seema Anil Sehgal, popularly hailed as=20
the singing sensation from Jammu & Kashmir, will present a special=20
music concert dedicated to peace and harmony, at Nehru centre,=20
Mumbai, on 30 January.

Seema has specially composed poetry of some of the best-known poets=20
from India and Pakistan. All the nazms/ ghazals/ geets reflect the=20
peoples' desire in both the countries to live in peace.

The poetry is essentially anti-war, anti-hatred, anti animosity. We=20
have titled the concert "Lahoo Ka Rang Ek Hai=8A".

The poets are Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ali Sardar Jafri, Sahir Ludhianvi,=20
Qateel Shifai, Nida Fazli, Ahmed Faraz, Anwar Ehsan Siddiqui, Abdul=20
Ahad Saaz, Ismail Mansoor, Yash Sharma, and Atal Behari Vajpayee.

You may recall that we had earlier produced music album SARHAD, sung=20
and composed by Seema. It is dedicated to Indo-Pak amity.

Prime Minister Vajpayee presented SARHAD, as a national gift, to his=20
erstwhile Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharief, during their historic=20
summit at Lahore, in February 1999.

Seema was subsequently felicitated at Harvard University, USA for=20
employment of her music to bring about peace and harmony in the=20
region.

The concert is conceptualized by me, and I shall be presenting/=20
compeering it too.

We would like to hold the concert at Wagah border and send the=20
message of peace and harmony across to our friends on the other side=20
of the fence.

We also plan to travel with the concert to different parts of the=20
country and sensitise the people about the all-important issue of=20
communal harmony.

>From the desk of Squadron Leader Anil Sehgal
602, Sea Breeze, Yari Road, Versova, Mumbai 400 061
Tele 631 45 43.

______

#5.

Maintstream (India)
Volume No. XXXIX, January 16th 2002

Communalising Education
HISTORY TEXTBOOK CONTROVERSY

MRIDULA MUKHERJEE and ADITYA MUKHERJEE

One of the greatest achievements of the Indian national movement,=20
perhaps the greatest mass movement in world history, was the creation=20
of an open, democratic, secular and civil libertarian state which=20
promoted a modern scientific outlook in civil society. Fifty years=20
after independence it is this great achievement that is being=20
threatened by communal forces, which had little to do with the=20
national movement and, in fact, through their loyalist policies,=20
ended up weakening it.

Communal forces in India are deeply aware that communalism is=20
essentially an ideology, a particular way of looking at society.=20
Hence it is in the ideological sphere that they have focused their=20
efforts. What better place to start than the tender formative minds=20
of young children. Communal forces have tried to poison the minds of=20
young children with hatred and distrust about other communities. For=20
many years now, the RSS, for example, has through its Saraswati=20
Shishu Mandirs and Vidya Bharati primary and secondary schools, and=20
through its Shakhas undertaken this project. They have, for example,=20
in books published by the Saraswati Shishu Mandir Prakashan for=20
Classes IV and V, portrayed all communities other than the Hindus as=20
foreigners in India, wrongly described the medieval period as the=20
Muslim period and, following the footsteps of the British, portrayed=20
the period as one of great oppression and decline. These books, in=20
the name of instilling patriotism and valour among Indians, spread=20
falsehoods, treat mythological religious figures like actual=20
historical figures and make absurd claims such as that the Qutab=20
Minar was built by Samudragupta. They claim that Ashoka's advocating=20
of Ahimsa (non-violence) spread "cowardice" and the struggle for=20
India's freedom became a "religious war" against Muslims, and so on.=20
It is not surprising that the National Steering Committee on Textbook=20
Evaluation (consisting of a large number of experts from all over the=20
country), apppointed by the NCERT itself a few years ago, came to the=20
conclusion that "the main purpose which these books would serve is to=20
gradually transform the young children into... bigoted morons in the=20
garb of instilling in them patriotism". One may emphasise here that=20
the communalists have focused attention on history because it is on a=20
particular distorted, and often totally fabricated, presentation of=20
history that the communal ideology is hinged.

WHILE the RSS/ Hindu communal effort to spread a communal=20
interpretation of history has been around for many years, the new and=20
more dangerous trend is the attempt to use government institutions=20
and state power to attack scientific and secular history and=20
historians and promote an obscurantist, backward looking communal=20
historiography. In 1977, when the Hindu communal forces first came to=20
share power in the Indian Government (the Jana Sangh, one of the=20
former incarnations of the BJP, had merged with the Janata Party) an=20
attempt was made to ban school textbooks written for the NCERT by=20
some of the finest historians of that generation. The attempt failed=20
not only because the NCERT itself resisted such a move but also a=20
countrywide protest movement developed on this issue.

In recent years the Hindu communal forces, who have a much firmer=20
grip over state power with the BJP leading the coalition government=20
at the Centre, have launched an attack on secular and scientific=20
teaching and research in History-indeed the very discipline of=20
history is under attack. Anticipating resistance from autonomous=20
institutions like the NCERT or the ICHR the government first took=20
great care to appoint Hindu communalists or those who had decided to=20
serve their interests as their Directors or Chairpersons. Efforts=20
have been made also to fill up other institutions which would have an=20
impact on education and ideology formation such as universities,=20
schools, colleges, and even the UGC with people who would toe or at=20
least not resist the government's communal agenda.

It is in this context that the NCERT has introduced a new National=20
Curriculum Framework which virtually seeks to take history out of=20
school textbooks until Class X in the name of reducing the weight of=20
the current heavy schoolbag. Only certain 'themes' from history are=20
now to be integrated with civics and geography and taught as one=20
subject. Unlike 1977, this time round the attempt is not to ban these=20
books but to do away with them altogether in the name of bringing in=20
new books with the changed syllabus. For Classes XI and XII the=20
existing history books are being doctored with until new books are=20
produced. Paradoxically the present regime is imitating Pakistan=20
which made a similar move in the 1970s of keeping history out upto a=20
particular level and then prescribing a distorted, one-sided version=20
at the senior level. Regimes uncomfortable with history or with an=20
agenda which is narrow, sectarian and undemocratic often seek to=20
suppress or distort history.

What is particularly alarming is that the NCERT has brought in such=20
major changes in the curriculum without attempting any wide=20
consultation, leave alone seeking to arrive at a consensus. This when=20
education is a concurrent subject (involving partnership between the=20
Centre and the States) and virtually since Inde-pendence the=20
tradition had been to put any major initiative in education through=20
discussion in Parlia-ment and the Central Advisory Board of Education=20
(CABE), a body which includes among its members the Education=20
Ministers of all States and Union Territories. The NCERT has arrived=20
at the new curriculum without any reference to the CABE thus=20
violating both tradition and procedural requirements.

On the contrary the NCERT with the full backing of the Education=20
Minister has launched a veritable attack on some of India's best=20
historians. The NCERT Director J.S. Rajput, a self-proclaimed adoring=20
shishya of Murli Manohar Joshi, in a signed article (The Hindu,=20
October 23, 2001) says that the NCERT had been "taken for a ride" for=20
"the past several decades" by authors of particularly its history=20
books who allegedly were furthering their "narrow political agenda".=20
He is thus maligning some of the most eminent and internationally=20
acclaimed historians such as R.S. Sharma, Satish Chandra, Romila=20
Thapar and Bipan Chandra-former Head of the History Department of=20
Delhi University and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical=20
Research, former Chairperson of the UGC, and the last two, currently=20
Emeritus Professors of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Also maligned=20
thus is Prof Arjun Dev, a former Dean of the NCERT and author of some=20
of the best history textbooks produced by the NCERT. Criticism of=20
some of the finest scholars who have done India proud by a virtual=20
nobody who no one had heard of till he acquired recent notoriety by=20
attempting to introduce communal considerations in what is taught to=20
our children by what the Editor of Hindustan Times calls the=20
"Talibanising" of our education. (November 25, 2001)

THERE is in fact a concerted attempt to malign and thus seek to=20
delegitimise the major scholars who wrote the history textbooks for=20
the NCERT. It is alleged that these historians monopolise official=20
patronage and as Tarun Vijay, the Editor of Panchjanya (a mouthpiece=20
for the RSS), puts it, they go for the three P-s, that is, Paisa,=20
Power and Prestige. It must be pointed out here that the prestige=20
both national and international that these historians command is not=20
a result of any official patronage. It is a result of their=20
formidable scholarship and the large number of books and articles=20
written by them that are read and cited all over the world. One=20
cannot imagine how they wield any power by writing textbooks. As for=20
paisa it is perhaps not well known that the authors received hardly=20
any payments for writing these textbooks. Romila Thapar, for example,=20
is reported to have received a princely sum of Rs 650 for one of the=20
books written by her for the NCERT which has sold several lakhs of=20
copies. What most of the authors receive annually after they have=20
revised their books is not more than what they would make by writing=20
two or three newspaper articles! These authors agreed to take on the=20
arduous task of writing these books because they felt that books for=20
children should be written by the best of scholars.

A frequent charge against the authors of the "offensive" textbooks is=20
that they are Marxists who owed their selection as textbook writers=20
to the cartel of Marxist historians who exercised monopoly over=20
history for many years. While leaving aside the question of whether=20
they accept these labels or not, it is necessary to nail some lies.=20
The All India Panel for History which entrusted the task of writing=20
textbooks to Romila Thapar and Bipan Chandra in the early 1960s was=20
constituted of the foremost nationalist historians of the time, with=20
no Marxist among them: Tara Chand, Mohammad Habib, Nilakant Shastri,=20
D.V. Poddar. The next panel was headed by S. Gopal, another eminent=20
nationalist historian. If historians influenced by Marxism made an=20
important mark among Indian historians from the mid-1970s, it was not=20
due to textbook writing by some, but because of the scholarly work=20
produced by D.D. Kosambi, R.S. Sharma, Sushobhan Sarkar, A.R. Desai,=20
K.M. Ashraf, Satish Chandra, Irfan Habib, Bipan Chandra, B.B.=20
Chaudhuri, Sumit Sarkar and many others. One may point out that some=20
of the world's most outstanding historians such as E.P. Thompson,=20
Eric Hobsbawm, Christopher Hill or E.H. Carr were influenced by=20
Marxism and the world has not thought any the less of them because of=20
it.

It has also been said repeatedly by the NCERT Director, J.S. Rajput,=20
the head of the education wing of the RSS, Dinanath Batra, and=20
columnist for the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, Atul Rawat, that the=20
existing textbooks are outdated. The question again arises as to how=20
this conclusion is arrived at without involving any committee of=20
historians. Even accepting that they are outdated, why are the=20
authors not asked to revise them, as they had done in many instances=20
earlier? If the present authors are unwilling or unable, the task of=20
revision or even of writing new textbooks could be assigned, through=20
a proper process of selection by a committee of historians, to=20
another group of recognised, possibly younger, historians. But that=20
would assume that the purpose is indeed to update the books, which it=20
is not.
In fact, one of the ironies of the situation is that despite all the=20
talk of Bhartiyakaran or Indianisation, the historiography that the=20
RSS ideologues and followers espouse is essentially colonial. And=20
though they like to call others the children of Macaulay, they are=20
the direct descendants of James Mill, who first divided the history=20
of India into the Hindu period, Muslim period and British period. The=20
notion that Hindus in the medieval period were suffering under Muslim=20
tyranny is also a colonial construct, as the British rule could then=20
be projected as having freed the Hindus from this tyranny. Further,=20
depicting the Hindus and Muslims as warring communities created the=20
justification for the British presence in India, and also prevented=20
them from uniting against the British. The communal interpretation of=20
Indian history is based on the colonial interpretation; it merely=20
adds a few more elements to it. This colonial and communal=20
historiography has been effectively critiqued by the painstaking=20
efforts of large numbers of historians since Independence. In India,=20
communal historiography has virtually died out for the last 40 years=20
or so, and as was once said very aptly by Irfan Habib,
Now we only have communalists, not communal historians. One could=20
have argued with R.C. Majumdar, but how does one argue with those who=20
do not know any history?

The situation today is that historians have abando-ned communal=20
history, only the communalists believe in it. They are, therefore now=20
trying to invent communal historians, to create them where they do=20
not exist. In doing so, they are trying to take Indian history=20
backwards, to undo the gains of fifty years of research. Can we=20
really believe after all this that they are motivated by a genuine=20
desire to update textbooks and incorporate latest research in them?

THE NCERT has now instructed the Central Board of Secondary=20
Education, CBSE, after of course the eminent historian, Prof. D.N.=20
Jha, was unceremoniously sacked as the chairperson of the History=20
Syllabus Committee to delete passages from history books written by=20
Romila Thapar, Satish Chandra, R.S. Sharma and Arjun Dev. This was=20
again done without following proper procedure and legality. The=20
authors were not consulted, nor their permission taken, before the=20
changes were made, thus violating the copyright agreement entered=20
into with them.

Further, the deletions were not made after consul-tation with or on=20
the basis of the recommendations of any recognised group of=20
historians. The NCERT has not been able to name a single well-known=20
nationally and internationally recognised historian who is associated=20
with the changes sought to be made in the syllabus. It has been done=20
secretly and the Director of the NCERT has publicly refused to give=20
the names of the historians involved in the revision or the writing=20
of the proposed new books which will apparently be prescribed by=20
March 2002, on the flimsy ground that if those names are given the=20
authors will be "disturbed". It is indeed worrying that while on the=20
one hand we are told that new books will be introduced by March 2002,=20
till mid-December 2001 there is not a single historian whose name has=20
been given as the author of these books, and many newspaper reports=20
in recent days have suggested that the NCERT seems to be having=20
trouble finding willing authors from among historians. This either=20
means that the entire job of getting new books ready is being=20
undertaken in a cavalier fashion, or that the books are really being=20
prepared by people whose names will not pass scholarly and popular=20
scrutiny. Either scenario is a recipe for disaster as far as school=20
children, in whose name and for whose welfare this entire exercise is=20
being carried out, are concerned. Instead of books by internationally=20
recognised historians, what would possibly be dished out is=20
thinly-veiled communal propaganda literature.

If professional historians have not made these changes then who has?=20
Clearly RSS ideologues have played the major role. In fact, the=20
General Secretary of the Vidya Bharati which runs a large network of=20
schools and colleges for the RSS, Dina Nath Batra, complained that=20
Murli Manohar Joshi was moving too slowly. Vidya Bharati had=20
suggested 42 deletions but the NCERT had carried out only four=20
(actually there are ten deletions from four books) so far. (Outlook,=20
December 17, 2001) In a book edited by Dina Nath Batra of the RSS,=20
called The Enemies of Indianisation: The Children of Marx, Macaulay=20
and Madarsa, published on August 15, 2001, one can find an article=20
listing 41 "distortions" in the NCERT books and another by the NCERT=20
Director, J.S. Rajput, which adds a few more. (Rajput was also=20
present at the function releasing the book later.) Significantly, the=20
deletions from the NCERT books ordered by the CBSE on October 23,=20
2001, on the basis of a NCERT notification, removed some of the=20
'distortions' listed in Batra's book. It may be also pertinent to=20
point out that the author of the list of 41 distortions is a Mr Atul=20
Rawat, a regular columnist for the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser. This Mr=20
Rawat, whose academic credentials apparently do not go beyond an=20
M.Phil. in international relations, was appointed as consultant by=20
the NCERT to review the history books written by professional=20
historians with great academic standing. If this is not bad enough=20
the NCERT has appointed to its Executive Committee and Departmental=20
Committee people like K.G. Rastogi, a self-proclaimed RSS activist,=20
whose only claim to fame is his confession that he killed a Muslim=20
woman during a riot.

IT is being repeatedly claimed that the deletions are in deference to=20
the religious sentiments of minorities. Unfortunately, the claim=20
appears spurious, as all the books from which deletions have been=20
made are being withdrawn from March 2002 (the beginning of the new=20
school session) anyway, and children have already covered that=20
portion of the course in which these extracts (barring one) are=20
present. The immediate purpose thus seems to be to try and garner=20
votes in the forthcoming Punjab and UP elections by putting forward=20
claims of protecting religious and caste sentiments. However, the=20
larger purpose is clearly to create doubts about the books in=20
people's minds by making allegations that they violate the religious=20
sentiments of different communities, and thus divert attention from=20
the real motive: to replace secular history with communal history. If=20
those who are master-minding the whole show had any concern for=20
minority sentiments, would Dina Nath Batra, the head of the education=20
section of the RSS, say in justification of the deletions:

Jesus Christ was a najayaz (illegitimate) child of Mary but in Europe=20
they don't teach that. Instead, they call her Mother Mary and say she=20
is a virgin. (Outlook, Decmber 17, 2001)
Given that these books have been around for at least two (and=20
sometimes three) decades, it is very remarkable that all of a sudden=20
they have hurt so many sentiments! The NCERT Director claimed that he=20
had received 50,000 letters (The Indian Express, November 26, 2001)=20
and then changed this to hundreds and thousands of letters of protest=20
(statement made during TV show 'The Big Fight' on December 1, 2001);=20
Arjun Dev, who retired from the NCERT in February 2001, asserts that=20
in his entire career of about 30 years, not more than 100 letters=20
would have been received. And even if one was to concede that=20
religious sentiments have been hurt, the NCERT could have done what=20
it has always done on the few occasions when complaints have been=20
received in the past: send the complaints to the authors, get their=20
response, and try to arrive at a solution which upholds the essence=20
of what the author is saying while altering some phrases or words=20
which have caused misgivings. This had worked fairly well and there=20
is no reason to believe it would not have worked now. Therefore, the=20
suspicion that the motive is not redressal of (real or imagined)=20
grievances, but the opposite: manipulation of religious sentiments=20
for narrow political ends, and that too at the expense of school=20
children.
Apart from handing over the textbooks to RSS activists and=20
supporters, an equally dangerous trend has been started with the=20
NCERT Director asserting that he
would consult religious experts before including references to any=20
religion in the textbooks, to avoid hurting the sentiments of the=20
community concerned. (Italics ours-authors)
(The Times of India, October 5, 2001)
This extremely pernicious notion has been reiterated by the Education=20
Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, who states that all material in=20
textbooks connected with religions should be cleared by the heads of=20
the religions concerned before their incorporation in the books. (The=20
Hindustan Times, December
4, 2001)

Once such a veto over what goes into textbooks is given to religious=20
leaders or community leaders, as this government has started doing,=20
it would become impossible to scientifically research and teach not=20
only history but other disciplines, including the natural sciences.=20
Deletions have already been made from textbooks for pointing out the=20
oppressive nature of the caste system in India, presumably because=20
some 'sentiments' were hurt. 'Sentiments' have been hurt in India=20
among some when the practice of sati was criticised. Would this mean=20
deletions of references from textbooks regarding this evil practice?=20
Sentiments could be hurt if science lessons questioned the=20
'immaculate conception' or if they proposed theories of origin of man=20
which were not in consonance with the beliefs associated with most=20
religions. Should such lessons be altered or 'Talibanised' according=20
to the dictats of various religious leaders or if it becomes too=20
difficult should teaching of modern scientific advances be banned=20
altogether?

EQUALLY alarming is the trend to attack those who do not agree with=20
the kind of interpretations or fabrications promoted by the Hindu=20
communal forces. They are being branded as anti-national. The RSS=20
Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudershan, calls those who are resisting the=20
revisions of the NCERT textbooks as "anti-Hindu Euro-Indians".=20
(Organiser, November 4, 2001) Sudershan laments that these anti-Hindu=20
Euro-Indians hate 'Vedic maths' and do astonishing things like not=20
believing that in ancient India we knew about nuclear energy and that=20
Sage Bharadwaja and Raja Bhoj not only "described the construction of=20
Aeroplanes" but dicussed "details like what types of aeroplanes would=20
fly at what height, what kind of problems they might encounter, how=20
to overcome those problems etc." Calling them anti-Hindu and=20
anti-national is not enough, now a group of Arya Samajis has demanded=20
that the historians Romila Thapar, R.S. Sharma and Arjun Dev should=20
be arrested and the HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi, at whose=20
residence this group had collected, defended the deletions from their=20
books and called for a "war for the country's cultural freedom".=20
(Hindustan Times, December 8, 2001)

Civilised societies cannot ban the teaching of unsavoury aspects of=20
their past on the grounds that it would hurt sentiments or confuse=20
children or it would diminish patriotic feelings among its children,=20
as the present government is trying to do. Nor can we fabricate=20
fantasies to show our past greatness and become a laughing stock of=20
the world. America does not remove slavery from its textbooks or=20
Europe the saga of witch-hunting. Let us stand tall among civilised=20
nations and not join the Taliban.

The communal attempt to distort Indian history and to give it narrow=20
sectarian colour in the name of instilling patriotism and=20
demonstrating the greatness of India actually ends up doing exactly=20
the opposite. It in fact obfuscates the truly remarkable aspects of=20
India's past of which any society in the world could be justifiably=20
proud. The Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen, for example, argues that the=20
"India's persistent heterodoxy" and its "tendency towards=20
multireligous and multicultural coexistence" (aspects vehemently=20
denied by the communalists) had important implications for the=20
development of science and mathematics in India.("History and the=20
Enterprise of Knowledge", address delivered to the Indian History=20
Congress, January 2001, Calcutta) Arguing that the history of science=20
is integrally linked with heterodoxy, Sen goes on to say that
the roots of the flowering of Indian science and mathematics that=20
occurred in and around the Gupta period (beginning particularly with=20
Aryabhata and Varahmihira) can be intellectually associated with=20
persistent expressions of heterodoxies which pre-existed these=20
contributions. In fact Sanskrit and Pali have a larger literature in=20
defence of atheism, agnosticism and theological scepticism than=20
exists in any other classical language.

He goes on to say that rather than the championing of "Vedic=20
Mathematics" and "Vedic sciences" on the basis "of very little=20
evidence" ...what has... more claim to attention as a precursor of=20
scientific advances in the Gupta period is the tradition of=20
scepticism that can be found in pre-Gupta India going back to at=20
least the sixth century BC particularly in matters of religion and=20
epistemic orthodoxy.
Let us hope no group with hurt sentiments now demands the arrest of=20
Amartya Sen as yet another son of 'Macaulay, Marx and Madarsa'.
______

#6.
INVITATION

Silhouette Films are pleased to invite you to a Habitat Film Club=20
screening of Vijay Singh's internationally- acclaimed film
JAYA GANGA
at The Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
on
18th January 2002 at 7 p.m.
(Entry recommended through Gate No 3 Vardhman Marg)

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