[sacw] SACW | 8 April. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 8 April 2002
http://www.mnet.fr

__________________________

#1. Yankee Go Home (Faheem Hussain)
#2. What went wrong? - I (Gail Omvedt )
#3. The Gujarat onus shifts from Modi to Vajpayee (Praful Bidwai)
#4. Sangh parivar disrupts communal harmony meet in ahmedabad, while=20
the police brutally beat up journalists
#5. We are trying to prepare a list of Organizations working against=20
communalism (SAHMAT)
#6. PM'S Indirect Reprimand To Modi May Not Change The Situation (Batuk Vo=
ra)
#7. Rot-Fed Wrath (Dilip D'Souza)

__________________________

#1.

[7 April 2002]

YANKEE GO HOME

Faheem Hussain

It's about time that this old slogan of the 1960's is
resurrected in Pakistan. In siding with the United
States in its so-called war against terrorism the
Pakistani government is a willing ally of the United
States in its attempt to dominate the world and in its
global war against the peoples of the world. As
Chomsky recently stated in Lahore and Islamabad the
gravest danger to world peace is what he called the
biggest terrorist state in the world, the United
States of America. The gravest threat to the peoples
of the world does not come from a few scattered
Islamic fundamentalists but from the world=EDs one and
only superpower which is set on its course on world
domination. The United States under Bush has embarked
on a unilateral course in which only its own interests
are of any consequence. It is trying to pull out of
the ABM treaty, it obstructs the biological and
chemical weapons treaties, it refuses to ratify the
Kyoto accords on climate change, it obstructs the
setting up of the International Court on War Crimes
(because it does not want any limitations on its
soldiers to kill as freely as they want), it uses the
IMF and the World Bank to impose its ideas of free
trade on the developing countries (thus is directly
responsible for the deaths of millions as a
consequence of these economic policies). This list can
go on indefinitely.

The US has declared war against the rest of the world.
Its leaders, the axis of evil, Bush, Rumsfeld and
Cheney, clearly say so when they say that this war
against terrorism will go on for years. They plan to
attack Iraq, Somalia, North Korea and any other
country which refuses to accept their diktat. During
the last ten years it has replaced diplomacy by war,
bombing and terror, first in Iraq, then in Yugoslavia
and then in Afghanistan. During the bombing campaign
in Afghanistan many, many more innocent civilians,
men, women and children, were killed by US bombing
than in New York on September 11 and don't tell me
that this was collateral damage. Forget the
propaganda. There was no pinpoint accurate intelligent
bombing, instead there was mass indiscriminate carpet
bombing, using "daisy cutters". "cave busters", etc.,
from more than ten thousand meters on villages, towns,
refugee convoys, etc. According to the Pentagon more
than 18,000 bombs were dropped and still the Pentagon
says there were only a few hundred deaths. How is this
possible? Were these bombs being dropped on rocks?
Even if one person is killed by one bomb that already
makes 18,000 deaths more than 9 times the number
killed on September 11. Or is it that US bombs are not
accurate at all and they fall in the desert? Add to
this the butchery and carnage at Mazar-i-Sharif and
other places on the collapse of the Taliban regime and
you see the real face of the United States behind its
nice words of human rights, etc. The United States has
taken on the role of policeman, prosecutor and judge
without any limits to its power. More than six months
have passed since the events of September 11 and still
no credible evidence has been presented linking the
organisation Al Qaeda, let alone the Taliban (however
much we may hate that regime) , with those events.
Nevertheless the US decided, without a shred of
evidence, to illegally attack and destroy Afghanistan
in the name of fighting terrorism. And this is the
kind of action they are planning to do in the future
from the Philippines to Columbia passing via Africa,
Asia and the Arab world. Only by world wide protests
can this mad policy be stopped.

I am writing this in anger and sorrow. By siding with
the United States the Pakistani government is directly
responsible for the massacres in Palestine by the
criminal Sharon. It is shameful that the Pakistani
government (and the other corrupt Islamic and Arab
governments who just suck up to the West and are more
interested in remaining in power at all costs) attacks
and condemns Israel but does not say anything about
the United States which actively supports, with words
and armaments, the murderous activities of the Israeli
terrorists. Israel is massacring the Palestinians
openly in front of the world with the active support
of the United States and the Pakistan government says
nothing, not even a murmur to stop collaboration with
the Americans. Pakistan has become an ally with the US
and therefore bears responsibility for the suffering
of the Palestinian people. How many times has our
government and army betrayed the just cause of the
Palestinian people? Remember Black September and the
role played by the Pakistan Army in attacking
Palestinians in Amman?

As happened in the 1950's and 1960's we have once
again become a pawn of the United States. At that time
in its crusade against communism and now in its
crusade against so-called terrorism. Behind this
campaign against terrorism is the plan to take control
of the rich resources of Central Asia. In this
Pakistan plays a central and willing role providing
bases. By providing these bases we are complicit in
the US plan to dominate the region. The US is also
constructing bases in Kirghistan, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan to add to the bases that it already has in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Then, I mean the 50's and
60's, as now we have lost our sovereignty. In fact our
sovereignty does not exist any more when we have CIA
and FBI operatives roaming freely in the land in
collusion with our own police forces and when people
are handed over to the United States without the
minimum respect for legal procedures, all in the name
of fighting terrorism. What kind of sovereignty is
there when Karachi Airport is under FBI jurisdiction
and data on Pakistani citizens is passed directly to
Washington via the computers set up there? Has there
been any protest by the Pakistani government about the
treatment of its own citizens, whatever their presumed
faults, being held illegally in Guantanomo or in
horrible conditions in Afghanistan? No charges have
been brought against them and they are subject to
humiliating conditions. Do these people have no rights
just because they have long beards? Is not our legal
system based on the principle of innocent unless
proved guilty? Do these people have no rights just
because they profess a different vision of the world?
Are we not descending to an equal level of barbarism
if we deny Islamic fundamentalists basic human and
legal rights just because they are fundamentalists?

If the US and Pakistan were serious about fighting
terrorism they would ask that forces be sent in to
stop the state terrorism of Israel and that Sharon be
arrested and taken to Guantanomo because he is
responsible for killing more people in Sabra and
Chatila than any of those held in Cuba. Is the US
going to bomb Israel to get rid of Israeli terrorists?

First our glorious armed forces build up and sustain
the fundamentalists in the country and then they turn
around 180 degrees to get a few crumbs from the US.
Our ruling classes have taken Pakistan to such a level
of economic, political, social and cultural bankruptcy
that they were unable to offer the slightest
resistance to American pressure to join the so-called
war on terrorism. At least the Iranians were able to
maintain a distance and they are much more honourable
than us. The Pakistan Army with its disastrous foreign
policy of supporting the obscurantist Taliban regime
in Afghanistan has now landed Pakistan in this fine
mess. I believe that it is the duty of all people of
good sense to denounce our government. What is really
shameful is the thundering silence of our so-called
civil society, liberals and leftists when faced with
these facts. (As a parenthesis the horrible term
"civil society" should be banned from the lexicon.
What does it mean? Only those who are Western educated
and liberal? Only those who work for NGOs? What about
the rest of the masses? Yes now that is a word that
has been forgotten in this new jargon of civil
society, stakeholders and all the rest which hide real
power relations.) In the name of fighting
fundamentalists they are willing to accept military
dictatorship and the suspension of human rights and
legal procedures. Using the crutch of the Musharraf
government to promote liberal and rational thought
will in the long run be counterproductive, as they
(the liberals) will (rightly) be seen by the majority
of the people Pakistan as collaborators with the
United States. The liberals are willing to condemn
Israel but not a word against the United States or
against Pervez Musharraf. In this way they will hand
over to the Islamic fundamentalists the leadership of
the genuine resentment of the people of Pakistan and
the growing anger against the United States for its
double standards, its terrorism and its war against
the peoples of the world.

So I say that we should once again raise high the
banner of YANKEE GO HOME!

Faheem Hussain is a former Professor of Physics at
Quaid-i-Azam University.

_____

#2.

The Hindu, Monday, Apr 08, 2002
Opinion - Leader Page Articles

What went wrong? - I

By Gail Omvedt

No one should have any illusions that the forces that ravage the=20
State are absent elsewhere.

REVULSION SEEMS to be the predominant mood among most Indians=20
following the Gujarat holocaust. Calm in most cities and States and=20
now the anti-BJP vote in the Delhi municipal elections appear to=20
indicate, at the very least, a pervasive uncertainty about the goals=20
and means of Hindutva. Ram, after all, had been depicted as a noble=20
hero, a fighter against injustice; not a deity whose name needed to=20
be written in blood and fire on the bodies of the country's Muslim=20
citizens.

It is important at this stage to look very seriously at how such=20
pogroms could happen. It was not simply a matter of riots, of=20
backlash against the brutal killings of Godhra: all evidence shows=20
that it was pre-planned; that Muslim homes, Muslim places of worship=20
and Muslim businesses were identified, pinpointed and destroyed=20
without mercy. Children were burned to death in front of their=20
parents; foetuses were ripped from wombs. Vicious looting and killing=20
were led by the middle classes, while directionless OBC and sometimes=20
tribal youth were pressed into service as mercenaries. The police=20
stood aside; that this was a matter of policy was made clear after=20
the slaughter subsided and the few police officers who had tried to=20
take action were transferred. Even in the refugee camps, nothing has=20
been done so far to show the terrified people huddling there that=20
they are welcome back in their homes. Low-key but highly targeted=20
attacks on businesses and individuals have continued for weeks after=20
the main outburst. No wonder that the thousands in refugee camps are=20
refusing to go home, that Muslims from outside employed in the State=20
are leaving their jobs. The atmosphere of terror continues.

How could all this happen? The question needs to be taken seriously.=20
India stands at a turning point: one path, still proclaimed by the=20
forces behind the Government in power at the Centre, leads to a=20
"Hindu Rashtra" in which all Muslims, Christians will exist at the=20
will of the proclaimed majority, in which "Aryan" continues to be a=20
banner of racial pride, in which history and education will be=20
pressed into the service of self-justification. Gujarat may in many=20
ways be an exception within India, but no one should have any=20
illusions that the forces that ravage the State are absent elsewhere.

There are several ways in which Gujarat has been unique. First, it=20
has been the only State where the BJP has been in power by itself for=20
a significant length of time. The importance of political power in=20
not only endorsing but intensifying and spreading religious hatred=20
here becomes clear.

The infiltration of the RSS into the bureaucracy and the police; the=20
opportunities for Hindutva forces to tighten their grip on=20
educational and other institutions of civil society, and the powerful=20
support for a murderous goondaism are all founded in the elected=20
political regime of the State.

Second, Gujarat has not been, on the whole, a very progressive State.=20
The pervasiveness of the caste system here is perhaps more=20
longstanding than in many other parts of India: the first Sanskrit=20
inscriptions of India, for instance - those of the early Kshatrapa=20
ruler Rudraman in the 1st century - are found in Gujarat. Most other=20
rulers of this time were still using Prakrit. Sanskrit is identified=20
with the support of Brahmanism and varnashrama dharma; Prakrit, in=20
most cases, meant a support of Buddhism and other shramana religions.=20
Buddhism had very little hold in Gujarat; Jainism had some bases of=20
strength, but it rather early became an enclave religion, content to=20
accept the political hegemony of Brahmanism. Rajputs - the "agnikula=20
kshatriyas" whose duty was to destroy the mileccha, the barbarians,=20
and uphold the varnashrama dharma - became a powerful force. The=20
State's economic prosperity, then, was surrounded by military and=20
social orthodoxy.

During the colonial period, there was no strong upsurge of=20
Untouchables, and in contrast to neighbouring Maharashtra, the=20
non-Brahmans (or former Shudras) appeared ready enough to accept the=20
hegemony of the upper castes. Patels identified as Vaishyas. There=20
was no broad democratic movement of the sort that took place under=20
the leadership of Phule and Ambedkar in Maharashtra, or Pandit=20
Iyothee Thass and Periyar in Tamil Nadu. Among other things, this=20
meant that little positive action was taken for ending=20
untouchability. Dalit students, for instance, did not get entry into=20
hostels until decades after they did in Maharashtra.

Even the ferment in places such as Uttar Pradesh, where OBCs and=20
Dalits are now posed against each other, did not take place in=20
Gujarat, Instead, in the post-Independence period, Gujarati OBCs got=20
absorbed as lower "Kshatriyas" in the "KHAM" alliance of Kshatriyas,=20
Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims. This gave a foundation for Congress=20
political power, but it provided no moral or ideological force for=20
anti-caste social transformation.

A third factor is undoubtedly the unbalanced, inequalitarian and even=20
faltering development Gujarat has undergone in the years of=20
liberalisation - rampant commercialism on the one hand, and pervasive=20
drought and rural neglect on the other.

Finally, Gujarat has been the State of Mahatma Gandhi. The closed=20
gates of the Sabarmati Ashram signal the failure of Gandhism in=20
India. Gandhi had envisaged "Ram Raj" as a harmonious, morally=20
ordered village-based alternative to what he saw as the evils of=20
western industrial civilisation.

He had generally refused to condemn varnashrama dharma, and instead=20
tried to reinterpet it in a way that would allow the removal of=20
untouchability and other excrescences of the caste system. In his=20
1936 confrontation with Ambedkar, who had called for a radical revolt=20
against the shastras, smritis and other religious texts of Hinduism,=20
Gandhi said that "caste has nothing to do with religion... Varna and=20
Ashrama are institutions which have nothing to do with castes. The=20
law of Varna teaches us that we have each one of us to earn our bread=20
by following the ancestral calling. It defines not our rights but our=20
duties. It also follows that there is no calling too low and none too=20
high. All are good, lawful and absolutely equal in status.

The callings of a Brahman - spiritual teacher - and a scavenger are=20
equal, and their due performance carries equal merit before God and=20
at one time seems to have carried identical reward before man... And=20
there is nothing in the law of Varna to warrant a belief in=20
untouchability. (The essence of Hinduism is contained in its=20
enunciation of the one and only God as Truth and its bold acceptance=20
of Ahimsa as the law of the human family)."

Underlying and giving meaning to this position of Gandhi was the=20
general framework of elite thinking during the colonial period - that=20
"Hinduism" was the national religion of India. It is this basic theme=20
which has to be re-examined today.

_____

#3.

The Daily Star
8 April 2002

The Gujarat onus shifts from Modi to Vajpayee

Praful Bidwai writes from New Delhi
Mr Vajpayee's response has been bland, tokenistic and gutless. He=20
lacks the courage of a decent politician. Within the NDA, the dice=20
are loaded against him. The BJP's brief dominance in Indian politics=20
is unravelling...Most of us won't mourn the NDA's demise, the BJP's=20
eclipse, even Mr Vajpayee's fading. Mr Vajpayee has himself caused=20
this decline by hunting with the hounds and running with the hare.

After the National Human Rights Commission's "preliminary" report on=20
Gujarat, Mr Narendra Milosevic Modi's continuation has become=20
completely untenable.

The report confirms what civil society activists have said about the=20
organised post-Godhra violence, and the state's demonic complicity in=20
it. It also demolishes Mr Modi's claims about having brought the=20
situation under "control" within "72 hours".

Even five weeks on, as Mr Vajpayee discovered during his April 4=20
visit, Gujarat bristles with insecurity and fear. This "broke his=20
heart", but it didn't persuade him to sack Mr Modi.

The NHRC report is the most scathing indictment of Mr Modi's=20
government yet by a semi-official agency. It is not a political=20
document and does not recommend his dismissal.

The report's conclusions are clear: the government failed to=20
discharge its "primary and inescapable responsibility ... to protect=20
rights and to be responsible for the acts ... of its own agents", and=20
"non-State players within its jurisdiction". It says: "The burden" is=20
on Mr Modi to rebut this "adverse inference".

The NHRC takes the government to task for "serious failure of=20
intelligence and action" and "failure to protect life." It says=20
"grave questions" arise about Mr Modi's "fidelity to the=20
Constitution".

It says it cannot repose faith in his ability or will to prosecute the guil=
ty.

So poor is the NHRC's opinion of the state police that it wants the=20
CBI to investigate incidents such as Godhra and Naroda-Patiya in=20
which 222 persons were burned alive.

The Commission's recommendations on "rehabilitation" and "police=20
reforms" reflect lack of confidence in Mr Modi.

The NHRC report, and media coverage documenting the state=20
government's culpability, confronts Mr Vajpayee with a stark choice:=20
shield Mr Modi for South Asia's worst pogrom in half a century; or=20
defend the Constitution.

Mr Vajpayee's choice is between people like Mr Praveen Togadia, who=20
reject peaceful Hindu-Muslim co-existence, and the political-legal=20
obligation to defend secularism and protect citizens' rights,=20
irrespective of religion.

Gujarat has further polarised the two options. Mr Togadia now openly=20
says (Gujarati weekly Chitralekha, March 25) that the Hindus are=20
"finally" behaving the way they should like Mahmood of Ghazni.

These fanatics see nothing wrong in Hindus imitating the "barbaric"=20
conduct which they attribute to Muslim "conquerors" to claim Hindu=20
"victimhood".

They equate justice with bestial revenge and retribution, thus=20
practising Mr Arun Shourie's odious appeal to claim "both eyes for an=20
eye and the whole jaw for a tooth".

Against them are ranged secular democrats, who regard the Gujarat=20
pogrom as a grave threat to pluralism. Democracy ceases to mean=20
anything in the absence of the citizen's right to life.

This large group comprises the liberal intelligentsia, working=20
people, and progressive movements. Buttressing them is world public=20
opinion, and now, sentiment within the business community. This has=20
become important since Mr Deepak Parekh demanded Mr Modi be sacked.=20
Other figures like former London School of Economics director I.G.=20
Patel have spoken out too.

Mr Vajpayee has responded to Gujarat with platitudes and tasteless=20
poems which speak of "deep scars and broken glass" or of faces which=20
have become benaqab (unmasked) a strange inversion of his own=20
description as a mask (mukhauta).

Mr Vajpayee can only invite ridicule by contrasting the Vivekananda's=20
and the VHP's Hindutva, and then not opposing the latter. The longer=20
he delays dismissing Mr Modi, the more he contributes to the=20
Constitution's subversion, breach of law, and his own political=20
irrelevance.
Mr Vajpayee has got isolated with the BJP's ignominious defeat in=20
election after state election. (The latest is Delhi where it sank=20
from absolute majority to a miserable 17 seats out of 134).

The shine went off the Vajpayee leadership months ago. Now its=20
survival itself is in jeopardy. Its "inside" opponents now falsely=20
claim that Indian secularism is "dead" the title of a rotten magazine=20
cover story.

This is nonsense. In reality, Gujarat is an exceptionally communal=20
state. Some 95 percent of India's population has not been=20
"riot-prone". Eightytwo percent of the urban population has never=20
experienced riots. And villages only account for four percent of all=20
deaths in communal violence.

The vast majority of Indians, including Hindus, regard secularism and=20
pluralism as the core of democracy. Or else, one can't explain the=20
shame they feel at the Gujarat pogrom, the response of the=20
journalistic and artistic communities in rallying to the victims'=20
cause, or citizens' campaigns everywhere.

These campaigns have compelled disparate leaders to share platforms,=20
including Ms Sonia Gandhi, Messrs V.P. Singh, H.S. Surjeet, Amar=20
Singh, and A.B. Bardhan.

Citizens need to do more: collect evidence of the culpability of=20
individuals, file FIRs, record victims' testimony, and shame the=20
police.

Political parties must steadfastly demand that the guilty be=20
punished. They must take to the streets.

We also need to explore all possible forums for prosecuting the=20
guilty, including the International Criminal Court, due to come into=20
being in July. It can hear cases involving crimes against humanity.=20
India must become its member.

Only public pressure, combined with expression of international=20
concern, could impel Mr Vajpayee to control the damage. So far, he=20
hasn't even promised to punish the guilty in an exemplary way.

Mr Vajpayee's response has been bland, tokenistic and gutless. He=20
lacks the courage of a decent politician. Within the NDA, the dice=20
are loaded against him. The BJP's brief dominance in Indian politics=20
is unravelling.

Most of us won't mourn the NDA's demise, the BJP's eclipse, even Mr=20
Vajpayee's fading. Mr Vajpayee has himself caused this decline by=20
hunting with the hounds and running with the hare. He is now uneasy=20
with Hindutva hardliners. But the swayamsevak himself has encouraged=20
them time and again.

What must concern us is the damage that the NDA is likely to inflict=20
upon the nation before it retreats into ignominy. This must be=20
limited, rolled back and reversed before it consumes us all.

Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist.

_____

#4.

Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 22:05:55 +0530

Sangh parivar disrupts communal harmony meet in ahmedabad, while the=20
police brutally beat up journalists
The meeting on 7th April, 2002 at Gandhi ashram (Ahmedabad) was=20
organised by several NGOs and forums working for peace and communal=20
harmony. The call for the meeting was issued by Mallika Sarabhai,=20
Girish Patel and others. The meeting was attended by representatives=20
from Citizen's Initiative, Vishwa Gujarati Samaj, Movement for=20
Secular Democracy, Muslim Relief organisations, SAVE and=20
others. Medha Patkar, who happened to be in Ahmedabad, also attended=20
to express her concern for communal harmony. Over 300 activists from=20
Ahmedabad and different parts of India attended. A large group of=20
Gandhians led by Ilaben Bhatt, Chunibhai Vaidya and Narayan Desai=20
discussed the relevance of Gandhian praxis in today's time of=20
communal frenzy.
The objective of the meeting, was circulated during the inaugural=20
introduction session as:
"This meeting has been called to try and find long term solutions to=20
the climate of hatred and violence that is surrounding us in the=20
country today. It is a meeting to try and devise strategies to=20
inculcate values of coexistence and tolerance into the populace once=20
again so that the torn fabric of India can once again be made whole.=20
We need to devise long term plans to make peace and coexistence=20
national agendas of paramount importance so that we again live=20
without fear and hatred. While recognizing that acts of
terror and hatred will continue, the great question that we must find=20
a solution to is of how to stop revenge being meted out to entire
communities for what are individual acts of inciting violence or terror.
The people we have amongst us today represent organizations that have=20
worked in these areas in different ways in different parts of the=20
country and with different segments of the population. Our great task=20
is to synergise all these movements into one cohesive one to stem the=20
cancer of divisiveness.
Our single agenda therefore must be the search for a comprehensive,=20
long term and all pervasive strategy to inculcate the vital values of=20
peace and coexistence."
Some youth came to the meeting place around 11 am and were angrily=20
discussing among themselves about the large presence of Muslims in=20
the meeting and the daring of the organisers to talk about communal=20
harmony. They went away. An hour after Medha Patkar came to the=20
meeting during lunch, around 2 pm a small mob and a huge contigent of=20
police landed. The mob led by Amit Thakur and V K Saxena, President=20
of National Council for Civil Liberty (NCCL), started=20
screaming anti-NBA slogans, while some youth (BJP goons, described as=20
"BJP activists" by Saxena to the PTI) began beating up Medha and=20
others. The police, led by Mr. Parghi (IPS, DCP Zone1) attacked the=20
journalists with lathis and rifle-butts. Dimant Purohit (AAJTAK TV)=20
and Pranav Joshi (STAR NEWS) were badly injured.
The Narendra Modi government, aided by the communal Gujarati=20
press, will try to evade responsibility for the violence, pinning the=20
blame on Medha Patkar. But the brutal attack on the media and the=20
disruption of the meeting for peace action (not Narmada dam) cannot=20
be justified by any sensible citizen and has to be condemned in the=20
strongest terms. The attack on the meeting reveals the=20
fascist culture in Gujarat and the worse to come to throttle any=20
voice of sanity and peace.
Please send your protest (in solidarity with the secular peace forces=20
in India) to the President of India and/or the Indian Ambassador in=20
your country.
- wilfred, ahmedabad
April 7

0 0 0
[ See News Report]
The Times of India, SUNDAY, APRIL 07, 2002

Mob attacks Medha Patkar, journalists
by SHYAM PAREKH
http://203.199.93.7/Articleshow.asp?art_id=3D6167476

______

#5.

Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 07:27:06 -0800 (PST)
From: Sahmat India <sahmat_india@y...>
Subject: (From SAHMAT) We are trying to prepare a list of=20
Organizations working against communalism

Hello,

I am writing on behalf of Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT). As=20
you know, Sahmat has been working to combat the rising tide of=20
fundamentalism and communalism in India for a long time. We are=20
trying to collate a list of like-minded organizations and outfits,=20
both in India and abroad, who are also engaged in the task of=20
fighting communalism. Such a list would be useful for many reasons,=20
first of all, to know our strength, second, to possibly synergize=20
efforts so that they are not duplicated, and to provide opportunity=20
to seek out comrades who might be in a position to help across the=20
world.

Please send info. about organizations to this e-mail address with the=20
information requested below. We are aware of the sensitive nature of=20
this information. Rest assured that this information, at least at the=20
outset, will be kept confidential until we have figured out a safe=20
way to make the collected information available to the=20
respondents. Under no means will this information be broadcast. It=20
will be shared only amongst the respondents as a research tool. Pls.=20
Forward to all relevant parties, and reply back to the following=20
e-mail address: sahmat_india@y...

Name of Organization/Web-list/Discussion Group:
Purpose/Aims of Group/Collective:
Legal/Other Status (whether NGO, cultural group, academic collective, etc.)=
:
Web-address:
E-mail address:
Postal Address:

Sincerely,
Arindam Dutta
Assistant Professor,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

_____

#6.

By Batuk Vora
--------------------
PM'S INDIRECT REPRIMAND TO MODI
MAY NOT CHANGE THE SITUATION

Ahmedabad: "My sandesh to Narendrabhai Modi is to obey Rajdharma. Men=20
bhi shashan karta hun to rajdharmaka palan karta hun. Observing=20
Rajdharma means you do not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed=20
or religion," uttering of these words of wisdom by Atal Bihari=20
Vajpayee did not appear to fall on receptive ears of the man-sitting=20
and moving all the time next to the prime minister- chief minister=20
Narendra Modi. He even dared to retort Vajpayee that "vohi to men kar=20
raha hun men"

Vajpayee clarified further that "Godhra was not a clash between two=20
communities"Politicians should act with responsibility and officials=20
should do their duty conscientiously. Law and order machinery has to=20
be unbiased."

Prime minister's words were falling on deaf ears, if the surrounding=20
activities of some officials and ministers during the PM's visit were=20
any indication. Ashok Bhatt, one of the top BJP ministers loudly=20
taunted a delegation of ?Citizens? Initiative? led by Mallika=20
Sarabhai right in the foyer where the PM's team was receiving=20
delegations that ?where were all these 70 NGOs during the past riots=20
of 1982-85 and later on? How come they have suddenly become active=20
only now? We know at least 10 Gos receive foreign funds and some=20
favour anti-Narmada dam movement!?

Further, according to sources inside the state government's officials=20
handling the list of citizens and organisations wanting to see the=20
prime minister, one top official scrutinized the list "in a partisan=20
manner," according to veteran 87-year old Gandhian Chunilal Vaidya=20
and Ila Pathak, a leader of women's organisation 'Awaz.' Both of them=20
waited in the hot sun for at least 30 minutes outside the circuit=20
house annex where the PM was receiving delegations under heavy=20
security guards and watchful eyes of Sangh Parivar mob. Both these=20
important people had to go back without approval to go inside as the=20
citizens representatives.

During the representations also, Law Minister Arun Jetley scrutinized=20
all the memoranda presented to the prime minister and he was seen=20
diverting the presentations to the problems of rehabilitation only.=20
Any complaint against the administration was heard with totally=20
unmoved and stoic faces of central and state ministers surrounding=20
the prime minister all the time, that included such a hardliner Uma=20
Bharati and Vijay Goel.

"Finally, despite all the powerful and heart rending complaints made=20
to the prime minister, the Sangh Parivar appeared to have taken a=20
decision beforehand not to disturb Narendra Modi and not to heed to=20
even the report of the National Human Rights Commission," commented a=20
top official who preferred to remain anonymous.

As a result, lots of social workers and NGOs have decided to launch a=20
campaign to present thousands of affidavits before the state=20
appointed enquiry commission with former judge K.G.Shah as its head=20
swearing to boycott it and expressing their agreement with the report=20
of the NHRC.

It is true, the prime minister spoke before 8000 refugees at Shah=20
Alam relief camp with a heady mix of emotions and anger. Chief=20
Minister stood besides him without expressing any kind of feeling=20
while staring across Vajpayee. He was visiting this camp for the=20
first time and behaved as if he had nothing to do with the inmates.=20
It was left to Jetley and others to listen to the victims? tales of=20
horror.

Modi had done everything to justify post-Godhra carnage in his sleezy=20
run-down manner, even an editor of a local language largely=20
circulated daily, notorious for its inflammatory contents throughout=20
the carnage, said that "No official or police in charge was=20
available for any official briefing from the very first day of Feb.=20
27th onwards. No official set up was available for checking=20
information and rumors received from common people. Chief minister=20
never called any meeting of the editors of different newspapers=20
during the whole period and once when it was arranged during the=20
visit of L.K.Advani, it was cancelled later on."

Outcome of the prime minister's visit, according to a leading NGO=20
activist Lalji Parmar, was largely disappointing, except his personal=20
words of sympathy and expression of anger. So far as specifics are=20
concerned, he did not offer anything except some money out of the=20
prime minister's relief fund. It appears that either he did not want=20
to stake his position before a menacing and surrounding mob of Sangh=20
Parivar or may be he still was under an illusion that Modi would=20
observe the tenets he preached in public. THE END

______

#7.

Rediff.com, April 6, 2002

Dilip D'Souza

Rot-Fed Wrath

When I feel the little bump, it doesn't seem like anything to be=20
concerned about. The guy in the Indica behind has accidentally, but=20
gently, nudged my autorickshaw. My driver, a burly 55-year-old,=20
gestures in mild irritation, in a sort of half-hearted way. Even=20
though it was the Indica man's fault, it clearly could not have=20
caused any damage either to the rickshaw or to the Indica itself. So=20
we drive on.

But only seconds later, the Indica pulls alongside and forces us off=20
the road. When we come to a stop, the man emerges in a flash. Shiny=20
shoes, starched trousers, button-down shirt, about 30 years old, he=20
could be an executive somewhere. He's certainly dressed far more=20
spiffily than I am. Face contorted with rage, he advances on my=20
driver, yells something about having sounded his horn three times.=20
Within seconds, the two are nose-to-nose and abusing each other at=20
the top of their voices.

I try to pacify them, and for a brief moment I think I have calmed=20
the Indica man down. A very brief moment. Because he suddenly turns,=20
runs back to the car, takes out absolutely the last thing I expect. A=20
long, sturdy lathi. Before I can react, he swings and whacks my=20
driver on his forearm, generating one of those cliched but accurate=20
sickening thuds. Whacks him so hard that the lathi breaks in two.=20
Then he jumps into the Indica and is gone.

I am simply speechless.

For two days, I have seen and heard enough about the killings over=20
religion in Gujarat, been sickened and dejected enough by it all. But=20
this incident has nothing to do with any religion. An ego dented --=20
more than his car -- because his horn was ignored, and that's enough=20
for the Indica man to wield his stout stick so hard that it breaks.

Two more days since this happened on the busy Drive-In Road in=20
Ahmedabad, and I am still unable to quite believe it did. Is it=20
normal to carry a lathi around in your car? Normal to pull it out and=20
assault a stranger over an accident so minor it hasn't left so much=20
as a mark, an accident that is your fault anyway? Normal to feel rage=20
on this scale?

Is it that a month of killing across Gujarat has produced behaviour=20
like this? Or is it the other way around -- has ugliness such as the=20
Indica man displayed made the slaughter possible? Whichever it is, or=20
even if neither, I'm standing on Drive-In Road wanting to throw up.

The first time I felt uneasy in Gujarat was the first time I visited.=20
A skinny college student, I spent a summer as an apprentice at an=20
Ahmedabad textile mill. An even skinnier college buddy and I are on a=20
bus one morning, chatting in our usual lingo, a mixture of English=20
and Hindi. Out of the blue, a number of grown men begin shoving us=20
around, barking in our faces that if we don't know Gujarati, we=20
should not have come to Gujarat and had better leave the state right=20
away.

We get off the bus as soon as we can, shaking and bewildered. It's=20
the first time I have glimpsed mindless chauvinism like that, and it=20
won't be the last. But I still remember wondering what could make=20
large adults threaten and manhandle a pair of college weaklings. Even=20
over language.

On a trip to Ahmedabad a dozen years later, the driver of the car I=20
am in pulls out to overtake a bus. Nothing unusual there, except that=20
the bus is itself already barrelling down the wrong side of the road,=20
itself overtaking a slower car. In that already crazy traffic, we are=20
zooming along two lanes deep into oncoming traffic. My hair stands on=20
end. Then I see a scooter heading straight for us, carrying two=20
women. There's another bus to their left, so they don't have the=20
space to move over and avoid us. There's not enough time for them to=20
slow down and slip behind that bus. The only way to avoid a=20
collision, it seems clear to me, is for us to quickly brake and get=20
out of where we shouldn't have been in the first place. I'm shouting=20
at our driver to do just that.

But no! Apparently this is the old game of who-blinks-first, and he's=20
not about to give in. To a scooter! To two mere women! He leans on=20
his horn and actually breaks into a smile. Next thing I know, the=20
scooter bounces off our fender. I turn to see it wobbling away, the=20
women fighting to keep it from falling on its side and under the bus.=20
They succeed, but it's a close thing.

A dozen years after that first time, I'm shaking again in Ahmedabad.=20
I turn back to our driver. In my spluttering anger, I'm barely able=20
to speak. But his smile widens. He says: "Why should I have moved?=20
These things happen." He has nearly killed those women, but "these=20
things happen". The man in the back seat nods in agreement. "You," he=20
says sagely, "are used to life in the West. Doesn't work that way=20
here."

Life here, I suppose I am to conclude, has no place for ordinary=20
humanity. Not, at any rate, while playing who-blinks-first.

Another decade later, I make a trip to Godhra, then on to Ahmedabad.=20
The carriage -- that carriage -- looks like nothing so much as those=20
rows of closely spaced bunks in Dachau or Auschwitz. As I walk=20
through it, over piles of ash, over charred memories of lives once=20
lived -- a bag of rice here, a child's notebook there -- my knees=20
weaken and I sink on to what used to be a berth. To think I'm inside=20
this box where 60 humans were roasted, to even try to imagine how the=20
demons who did this could have done it, is nearly too much for me.

In the village of Dehlol only hours later, we stop at the remains of=20
a mosque where 40 more humans were slaughtered after Godhra. Then I=20
get into a discussion with an increasingly hostile young man, paunch=20
encased in a grubby vest. "This had to be done", he says. "They=20
torment us so much on our border, then Godhra happened. So we had to=20
hit back." At innocent people? I ask. Indians must be killed here=20
because we have border clashes?

"Yes, so what? The days of that chootiya Gandhi are gone," he sneers.=20
"If someone hits me on one cheek, I'm not going to offer him my other=20
one" -- and here he sticks his right cheek at me in a way that I=20
never thought could be as crude as he makes it look. Walking out of=20
the village through staring, hostile crowds whose sniggers I can hear=20
behind my back, I wonder -- have I been talking to one of the=20
killers? Walking among them? Do demons come in grubby vests?

In a relief camp, a ten-year-old tells me how her home was burned,=20
her family assaulted. A horrible tale, but she tells it to me in a=20
soft, even voice. But then she is suddenly sobbing, sobbing, for her=20
best friend. Another young girl. Stood through the carnage in their=20
village, saying over and over again that her father would come to=20
save her. Only, he never did. He was already dead. And as she called=20
to him, as this weeping waif watched, she herself was cut down.

What do you say? I can find nothing.

It's with these Gujarat memories on my mind -- from that inexplicable=20
bullying of two college kids to the wrenching sobs of this wisp of a=20
girl -- that I climb into an autorickshaw to meet a friend for lunch.=20
On Ahmedabad's busy Drive-In Road, an Indica gently bumps us from=20
behind.

Blood flowing from his arm, my driver is doubled up and bellowing in=20
pain. The broken off piece of the lathi lies on the ground. I look at=20
him, at it, at the grinning, curious crowd that has gathered.

It takes all I have not to scream: What is happening in this state?