[sacw] SACW #3 | 12 Jan. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire #3 | 11 January 2002
[Interruption Notice: No SACW dispatches on 12 Jan]

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

#1. Hope withers with the crops along India's mined border
#2. Pakistan- India: Beggars on the prowl
#3. Bush Meets India's Envoy; Fears of Pakistan War Deepen
#4. What's Going On?
Wife of Detainee in Sept. 11 Probes Mourns Lack of Information
#5. RSS chief raises hackles with call to oust Muslims
#6. India: Book Review / Spectre Of Communalism
#7. Internet in border areas banned
#8. Subject: Remembering Graham Staines: Towards Peace And
Communal Harmony In The Indian Sub-Continent
#9.

________________________

#1.

Hope withers with the crops along India's mined border
Luke Harding in Muhawa
Friday January 11, 2002
The Guardian

It was late afternoon, and the group of Indian soldiers was busy unloadin=
g
boxes of mines to lay in the green fields next to the Pakistan border. Nobo=
dy
noticed when their truck began reversing in the wrong place."There was an
enormous explosion. There was a huge thunder. We=20
were =
=20
=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20
afraid that the war had actually started," Sukhwinder Singh, a local farmer=
,
recalled.
The huge explosion near the Punjab border village of Muhawa killed 29
people - 25 soldiers and four luckless labourers who had been repairing the
road nearby. Twenty others were injured. "The tyre went over a mine and
all the mines blew up," Mr Singh explained.

The dead were merely the latest victims of India's unrepentant decision to
defy international opinion on the use of landmines. Over the past three wee=
ks
India has laid thousands of anti-personnel mines across its western front
with Pakistan, as relations with its nuclear rival have teetered on the bri=
nk
of war.

But planting so many mines cannot be carried out without mishap. Since
December 25 at least 10 more Indian soldiers have been killed in two other
devastating landmine accidents in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

These days the newly sequestered fields around the village of Muhawa are
eerily silent. The buffalo have gone, as have most of the villagers. From t=
he
mud embankment where the Indian army was hiding yesterday under=20
camouflage nets,
the lights of Pak istan could be seen twinkling in the gloom.

Muhawa's misfortune is that it lies only half a mile away from the
India-Pakistan border. In normal times this did not matter. The conflict
between the two countries took place far away - not in the Punjab, India's
rolling fertile heartland, but in mountainous Kashmir.

But since five suicide-bombers attacked India's parliament building last
month, plunging relations between the subcontinent's two rivals into
meltdown, life in Muhawa has been transformed.

\The first the villagers knew of it was when a detachment of soldiers turne=
d
up. They sealed off their fields with barbed wire and hung up neat red
triangles. Over the next three days the soldiers were busy: planting
thousands of landmines in the rich soil.

Such was the importance of their work they even carried on at night,
scraping at the earth with one hand while holding a torch in the other. "No
agriculture is going on here any more. The soldiers didn't say anything to
us," farmer Kabal Singh said yesterday.

"Half of the 4,000 villagers have left here, including most of the women an=
d
children. The government has given us no compensation. We would like to
have a war with Pakistan and then we might at least get our fields back."

Other farmers were forced to abandon their homes; they now stand ghostly
and deserted. Along India and Pakistan's vast 1,800-mile border it is the
same dismal story. Attempts by Washington and London to urge restraint appe=
ar,
here at least, to have been a waste of time.

The road to the Wagah border, a short bike ride from the village, winds pas=
t
anti-aircraft guns and new, brown tanks hidden behind old sloping=20
fortifications.
Soldiers crouch between thickets of trees, talking into field radios.=20
The Lahore-
Delhi bus link - a short-lived emblem of goodwill between the two countries=
-
used to travel this route. But it vanished last week when the Indians=20
severed all
transport links with Pakistan.

India and Pakistan (together with the US, Russia and China) have refused to
sign the Ottawa convention against anti-personnel landmines, claiming it
compromises their own legitimate defence requirements. At the same time
New Delhi has been exporting prosthetic feet to its new ally, mine-infested
Afghanistan.

The gravity of this crisis, then, can be measured by the fact that both sid=
es
have mobilised thousands of troops along the international border, as well =
as
across their disputed Himalayan boundary to the north. India claims Pakista=
ni-
backed militants have repeatedly intruded across this line.

As dusk fell yesterday an Indian soldier, or jawan, invited us into his
bunker. "The light over there is a Pakistani border post," he said, gesturi=
ng
into the near-distance beyond his machine-gun. "There are a few mines in
the fields below us. Further on there are mines everywhere."

Should either side now try and mount a conventional attack, they are not
likely to get very far. But the people of Muhawa are not getting very far
either. Prevented from watering their wheat fields, they are forced to watc=
h
their crop slowly die.

The Punjab, the Sikh homeland torn apart by Partition, is now once again on
the brink of another conflict.

How long the crisis will last is anybody's guess. The only thing the villag=
ers
know for sure is that whatever happens it will be a long time before the
mines are dug up and they get their land back.

______

#2.

The News International
Friday January 11, 2002

Beggars on the prowl

Sajad Gani Lone

India and Pakistan seem to be on the brink of a devastating conflict.=20
If the bellicose language, belligerent postures and the free flow of=20
pejoratives are any indications a war or major border skirmish may be=20
the ugly manifestation of the present escalated tension. Is war an=20
optimal instrument to accomplish objectives relating to Kashmir? Has=20
it been successful as a means of resolving the Kashmir dispute in the=20
past? Apart from adding to the army of orphans and widows of the=20
earlier conflicts, will there be any real beneficiaries? And finally=20
how does one describe the present state of relations between the two=20
countries? "Nuclear powers on the brink of a war" or "failed states=20
en route to economic disaster".

The problems facing India and Pakistan may be different, but the=20
citizens of the two countries face the same problems in everyday=20
life. The majority of the population is ravaged by poverty and lives=20
in inhuman conditions. Vast areas littered with garbage, filth,=20
squalor, engulfed by stench emanating from open drains and filthy=20
public urinals, is perhaps the precise sordid description of the two=20
countries. This land of destitution is inhabited by millions of=20
hapless Indians and Pakistanis perpetually on the move in frantic=20
search of livelihood. The similarities are infinite. A crippled,=20
overburdened, primitive infrastructure, bursting at the seams;=20
Overcrowded public transport, begging, queuing up to answer the call=20
of nature with a lota in their hand, sharing dingy quarters without=20
basic necessities in extreme temperatures, slums, stinking garbage=20
dumps, hunger, disease, exploitation, absence of work, sustaining on=20
a few rupees, poverty related suicide - typifies the variegated=20
travails of an average Indian or a Pakistani.

Ignored and treated with contempt at home, these unfortunate citizens=20
are used to a condescending attitude in literally every part of the=20
world. Scarcity of work at home has resulted in economic migration=20
over the last five decades culminating in an oversupply of Indians=20
and Pakistanis into regions, which are no longer hospitable. Forged=20
visas, false political asylum claims and human smuggling are the=20
various routes used to flee economic persecution at home. In the=20
alien lands, they face the stark reality. The unlearning process=20
starts-The congenital enemies are clubbed together as a single entity=20
and subjected to same humiliation and exploitation. If the British=20
call them "Pakis", the Muslim Saudis call them "rafiq".

If the citizens of India and Pakistan are an unwanted lot, the richer=20
sections of international community ie, the donor nations, view the=20
two countries with similar disdain. Perpetually scrounging for aid=20
and grants, the ambit of their role in the international arena has=20
been confined to the puny extent of their participation in=20
international trade, which is cumulatively less than one percent of=20
the total world trade. Since 1947, both the countries have been=20
running huge deficits on their external trade account and have=20
borrowed heavily from the rich Western countries and financial=20
institutions to finance the deficit. A stage has reached where both=20
the countries have been forced to mortgage their economic sovereignty=20
with these institutions, in order to be able to borrow more. They are=20
willing to beg but neither will they agree on the construction of a=20
gas pipeline nor will they allow an increase of bilateral trade.

The transit fees and other goodies accruing to Pakistan in a proposed=20
gas pipeline approximately works to about ten percent of its present=20
exports. Liberalizing trade between the two countries will divert=20
trade approximately worth five billion dollars from the rest of the=20
world to these countries. Instead the entrepreneurs have toiled hard=20
in an extremely competitive environment and a hostile domestic=20
corporate structure, to increase exports, and so have the hundreds of=20
thousands of expatriate workers. Together they have been able to earn=20
some precious dollars for their countries. The governments have=20
lavishly spent these precious dollars on unproductive sectors, mainly=20
the defence. The two states have squandered billions of dollars to=20
undermine each other, because they do not agree on the political and=20
geographical future of Kashmir. These countries urgently needing=20
billions to modernize their infrastructure in order to compete have=20
instead opted to spend billions on development of nuclear weapons in=20
order to keep each other at bay.

After all what is so precious about Kashmir, that it can hold the=20
peace and prosperity of 1,200 million people to ransom? India has=20
Kashmir and is still mired in poverty. What will Pakistan achieve by=20
getting Kashmir and what will India lose by leaving Kashmir. The=20
poverty variables will stay unchanged. The day-to-day problems of the=20
average citizen will still remain the same.

The intangible benefits accruing to a select set of individuals and=20
institutions in India, Pakistan and Kashmir provides the impetus for=20
the dispute to continue. This core group, comprising of sections of=20
the military and political establishment, religious bigots, and the=20
covert institutions, are the direct beneficiaries, and has developed=20
a vested interest in the continuation of the Kashmir dispute.=20
Governed by their malignant and warped self-interest, they have been=20
able to conjure chimerical visions of eternal hostility. This has=20
lead to the political branding of the issue with shibboleths like=20
shah rug, attot ang and has created the surreal impression, that the=20
dispute involves the sentiments of the people and the honour of the=20
nation. The sentimental component of the dispute is purely cosmetic=20
and has been synthesized politically, by the beneficiaries of the=20
dispute. The emaciated rickshaw puller in Old Delhi or the landless=20
peasant in Sindh did not make the issue sentimental. National Honour=20
has been confined to the Kashmir issue.

Any flexibility on the Kashmir issue is dubbed as betrayal of=20
national honour. The presence of red light areas in India, the Heera=20
Mandi in Lahore, wadera menace, bonded labour in the cow belt in=20
India etc do not seem to constitute national dishonour. Take this=20
case which was reported in Pakistani newspapers two years back: A=20
Pakistani committed the cardinal sin of falling in love with a UAE=20
female. The female followed him all the way to Pakistan and a local=20
maulvi performed the nikkah. A week later, on the instructions of the=20
economically powerful ambassador of the tiny country, the Pakistani=20
was jailed and the legally wedded wife was packed to her country.=20
Does it not constitute a national shame? What is the use of nuclear=20
weapons? Only to frighten India! Where are the weapons to safeguard=20
the honour and dignity of the Pakistanis? In India things are even=20
worse. The boy rummaging through garbage to find food, scantily clad=20
young boys and girls begging at the traffic intersections, people=20
selling their organs, poor people dying due to cold weather, rampant=20
prostitution-somehow seem to evade the ambit of national honour.

The very sight of the leaders of India and Pakistan, enjoying=20
banquets thrown by foreign leaders, posing for photographs, the=20
facade of camaraderie, is revolting. Do they know how the private=20
citizens of their countries are treated in these countries? Have they=20
ever had to stand in queue at foreign airport specifically meant for=20
Indians and Pakistanis and answer probing questions? Have they ever=20
had to dodge the police because of an expired or an illegal visa? Or=20
are these citizens to be blamed for resorting to illegal means and=20
tarnishing the reputation of the country. Isn't it time, for some=20
soul searching, and see why these people resort to such extreme and=20
desperate actions? Who forces them to do it? Does anybody want to=20
leave his sweet homeland? What must be the conditions that force=20
people to abandon their homeland? Have these leaders ever pondered,=20
why Indian and Pakistani professionals are so successful in the West?=20
Because the West provides them with a system adept at facilitating=20
and tapping potential; a system, which the leaders in India and=20
Pakistan have miserably failed to provide. Do these leaders have any=20
idea of the scale of humanitarian disaster, they are instrumental in=20
perpetrating?

There is a gross mismatch of priorities. The two countries have a set=20
of friends, with whom the population has nothing in common and an=20
enemy with which the population has so much in common-cultural=20
heritage, language, relationships, religion etc. Yet travelling to=20
each other's countries is controlled. It is difficult to obtain a=20
visa. What is the plight of the millions of Indians and Pakistanis,=20
who are related to each other? Take the recent case of Indian=20
reaction. Again ordinary poor people are the victims of the travel=20
restrictions. The Indian move may have yielded some results, and may=20
be scoring high on the diplomatic scale, but it is a move devoid of=20
moral or ethical parameters, and scores low on the humanitarian scale.

And if Kashmir is the shah rug and the atoot ang, of Pakistan and=20
India respectively, what is the plight of the inhabitants of this=20
national honour ie, the Kashmiris? The Pakistani establishment seems=20
to have encouraged the civilian Kashmiri population to fight a=20
professional army ie, the Indian Army. And in India-the land of=20
ahinsa and Darupudi, a cheering audience, applauds an army which has=20
gone berserk, and is on rampage-killing armed and unarmed people=20
alike, burning houses, humiliating ordinary Kashmiris, and molesting=20
women. Both the countries seem to be merrily dancing to the pirated=20
tunes of national honour and sentiments, in the ongoing dance macabre=20
of the Kashmiris.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, all=20
have territorial disputes. But they have not allowed the acrimony to=20
spill into other areas. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and Iranians=20
are working in Saudi Arabia and UAE respectively. Qatar is a fellow=20
member Of Saudi Arabia in the potent GCC.

A hybrid policy based on introspection of past follies and emulation=20
of successful conflict resolution strategies of other countries is=20
needed. There are no painless solutions. But a path involving=20
short-term pain and long-term gain needs to be embraced, rather than=20
a path of pain ad infinitum. The present scenario presents the most=20
opportune moment, to shun decades of political cynicism and chart out=20
a course for the ultimate resolution of the problem. The=20
International community is willing to play a more pro-active role.=20
Despite the Army background, Mr Musharraf for a change seems to be=20
more, patriotic and pragmatic, than any of his predecessors. Mr=20
Vajpayee, too seems to have distanced himself from his party's=20
rightwing gerrymandering, and has exhibited distinct, though scarce,=20
signs of political vision. This potentially decisive combination will=20
not be always there. The liberal and emancipated silent majority need=20
to put their weight behind this combination and isolate the faux naif=20
hawks, or else the hawks will isolate this region from peace and=20
prosperity.

The writer is the son of the APHC executive member,

Mr Abdul Gani Lone

sglone@y...

______

#3.

The New York Times
11 January 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/11/international/asia/11PREX.html

Bush Meets India's Envoy; Fears of Pakistan War Deepen

By DAVID E. SANGER with JUDITH MILLER

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 - President Bush met with a senior Indian=20
official at the White House today as members of the national security=20
staff reviewed a stream of intelligence reports suggesting that=20
tensions along the Pakistan border are rising, and that the chances=20
of a military conflict have grown considerably.

"We are significantly more worried today than we were several days=20
ago," a senior member of Mr. Bush's national security staff said. The=20
official said the administration was awaiting a statement by=20
Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, about what steps he=20
would take to curb Islamic extremist groups that India blames for=20
last month's attack on Parliament.

Reports from India suggested that New Delhi was considering beginning=20
military exercises along its border with Pakistan, a move one=20
official said the administration feared "could heighten the chances=20
for a major miscalculation." However, officials cautioned that they=20
are not certain that the exercises will take place, and they raised=20
the possibility that India was bluffing.

Meanwhile, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security=20
Agency, one official said, were intensifying their surveillance of=20
the border area and looking for any evidence that the two sides were=20
putting their nuclear arsenals on alert.

"So far there is no evidence of that," one official said.

Nonetheless, the nuclear arsenals of the two nations clearly have the=20
administration worried. Last week, some officials had expressed the=20
hope that the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides would prevent=20
India from retaliating for the terrorist attack by going over the=20
Line of Control, which separates the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled=20
areas of Kashmir. This week, however, there are more doubts.

One official noted that neither India nor Pakistan "seems to have a=20
great grasp of the other's doctrines or limits."

With the tensions rising, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has=20
scheduled a trip to both countries next week.

White House and State Department officials said that the=20
administration's concern had been bolstered by a daily stream of=20
warnings that India and Pakistan had, in one senior official's words,=20
"tripped the warnings and indications" that could precede the=20
outbreak of armed conflict.

The C.I.A. closely monitors indicators like the deployment of=20
missiles out of bunkers, the forward movement of troops to front=20
lines, the call- up of reserves and increased discussions among=20
military personnel.

One official said the call-up of forces by both India and Pakistan=20
was the biggest mobilization since Pakistan's independence, adding=20
that this was the tensest moment in India-Pakistan relations since=20
the Pakistani Army incursion into the Indian state of Jammu and=20
Kashmir in 1999.

"The Indians are almost at full mobilization," a senior=20
administration official said. "And that hasn't happened since the=20
1971 war." He called the deployment of India's million-member army=20
"fairly unprecedented."

India has made clear what it is looking for in General Musharraf's=20
speech: a commitment to end any support of violence along the Line of=20
Control. But General Musharraf took over the country promising to=20
take a tougher line on Kashmir, and any indication that he is backing=20
off on Pakistan's claims could undermine his hold on power.

If the Pakistani leader denounced terrorism unequivocally, the=20
American official said, India might be placated and tensions could be=20
diffused. If he stops short of that, "the Indians will harden," he=20
said, "and we will have missed a good chance to defuse the crisis."

Mr. Bush's conversation with India's home minister, Lal Krishna=20
Advani, was clearly intended to reassure the Indian public that the=20
United States is willing to pressure General Musharraf to do more to=20
fight terrorism. At a news conference, Mr. Advani thanked Mr. Bush=20
for what he called American support of the Indian position, words=20
that the White House was careful not to use in describing the meeting.

"The president told Minister Advani that he has urged President=20
Musharraf to take appropriate steps against extremists operating in=20
and from Pakistan," Ari Fleischer, the president's press secretary,=20
said today. "The president also stressed the importance of solving=20
the India-Pakistan differences through diplomatic and political=20
means."

Mr. Advani said little about the meeting itself, but told reporters=20
"you can't have a terrorist being described as a freedom fighter,"=20
referring to the view on the Pakistani side of the border that the=20
Islamic groups lashing out against India are merely seeking the=20
liberation of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman, Aziz Ahmad Khan, was quoted in=20
several news reports as calling the rebellion against Indian rule in=20
Kashmir "a genuine freedom struggle for the right of=20
self-determination."

Officials said that India had privately hinted to Washington that it=20
would take no unprovoked military action against Pakistan as long as=20
American-led diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis were continuing.

Robert D. Blackwill, America's ambassador to India, also returned to=20
Washington for consultations today at the White House. He left=20
tonight for New Delhi.

David Albright, a nuclear expert who has followed India and=20
Pakistan's nuclear programs closely, said that the United States knew=20
relatively little about both countries' nuclear arsenals and=20
strategies. He said that Pakistan was believed to have enough highly=20
enriched uranium and plutonium for 30 to 50 weapons. He estimated=20
India's arsenal at almost twice that - 50 to 100 weapons. "But we=20
really don't know very much about either side's bombs or their=20
delivery systems," said Mr. Albright, president of the Institute for=20
Science and International Security, an independent study center.

"Either India, but especially Pakistan could well have a few=20
surprises." Mr. Albright was one of several government and private=20
experts who met at the State Department on Wednesday to discuss=20
proliferation concerns. He declined to discuss what was said at the=20
meeting.

______

#4.

ABCNews.com
Jan. 11, 2002

What's Going On?
Wife of Detainee in Sept. 11 Probes Mourns Lack of Information

By Leela Jacinto

Jan. 11 -- More than three months after her husband was taken into custody
in the government's investigations of the Sept. 11 attacks, Uzma Naheed
finally got the chance to see him in jail this week.

Her husband, Anser Mehmood -- the sole breadwinner in the household =97 has
been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in the New York City
borough of Brooklyn since Oct. 3.
In a saga of loss, bureaucratic nightmare and desperate attempts to
understand an unfamiliar system with the odds seemingly stacked against
her, Naheed was not allowed to see Mehmood for more than nine weeks after
he was detained.

It was not until various community and immigration rights groups took up
her case that the 39-year-old immigrant from Pakistan was allowed to see
her husband through metal bars in a bleak high-security visiting room.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/detainee020111.html

______

#5.

RSS chief raises hackles with call to oust Muslims

by Ajit Sahi, Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) An influential Hindu leader has raised the hackles
of liberal Indians with his call to "complete" the sub-continent's 1947
partition, by sending Muslims from India to Pakistan and taking in Hindus i=
n
return.

Prominent Muslims as well as Hindus Sunday reacted to the statement by K.S.
Sudarshan, 70, chief of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), with horror terming it "ridiculous" and "detrimental to Indian
nationhood".

Many of them said Sudarshan's view betrayed the anti-Muslim bias of the RSS=
,
the ideological parent of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP).

There was no immediate government reaction to the statement, made Saturday
in the Hindu temple town of Puri, in Orissa state. But a BJP leader said
there was no question of asking Muslims to quit India.

"It is too late to exchange populations although it should have happened as
a matter of principle" in 1947 when Britain carved out an Islamic Pakistan
out of Hindu-majority India, veteran BJP leader J.P. Mathur told IANS.

Despite the partition, and the large-scale transfer of Hindu and Muslim
populations from the two countries amid mass killings, millions of Muslims
chose to remain in India.

Mathur added: "India became a secular state only because it is a Hindu
country. That is why people belonging to every religion have a right to liv=
e
here. There is no question of throwing out Muslims."

Syed Hamid, a former vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)=
,
remarked: "Sudarshan's suggestion would be against the cultural ethos of
India as Muslims have always stood up for India at every crisis."

Added Ambika Soni, a general secretary of India's main opposition Congress
party: "These statements are detrimental to the ethos of Indian nationhood.
One can't keep reacting to such absurd statements from such communal
elements."

Sudarshan's view reflects a dormant but persistent stream of thought within
the Hindi nationalist ranks that believes India should not be secular but a
Hindu theocracy.

Muslims number around 140 million in India's population of one billion and
form its largest minority. India has more Muslims than any other country
barring Indonesia.

Sudarshan, who trained as an engineer, had claimed that exchanging Hindu an=
d
Muslim populations would be the only way to "complete" the "unfinished task=
"
of partition. He also referred to alleged "atrocities" on Hindus in
Bangladesh.

Said Anwar Alam, an assistant professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University
here: "India is essentially a secular and plural country and will remain so=
.
That is its strength. Sudarshan's thinking is foolish."

Mouzzam Ahmed, the deputy head cleric of the 17th century Fatehpuri mosque
here, urged the government to take action against Sudarshan.

"Indian Muslims have participated in nation building and will continue to d=
o
so no matter what communal elements say," he said. "There is no question of
Muslims migrating to Pakistan. This is our land and we will live and die
here."

This is not the first time Sudarshan has raised eyebrows with what many say
are partisan statements. Last year, the RSS chief ignited protests by askin=
g
India's Muslims and Christians to accept Hindu gods.

He has repeatedly maintained that there was a need to "Indianise" the
country's minorities.

--Indo-Asian News Service
______

#6.

The Telegraph (india)
11 January 2001

BOOK REVIEW / SPECTRE OF COMMUNALISM

BY ARNAB BHATTACHARYA

BRUISED MEMORIES: COMMUNAL VIOLENCE AND THE WRITER
Edited By Tarun K. Saint,
Seagull, Rs 475

Communalism is hydra-headed. Almost every spurt of communal violence=20
has been followed by polemical writings, political discourses,=20
demagogic harangues and false re-affirmations of faith in the=20
"peaceful" co-existence of communities. Yet there has been little=20
attempt to dialogically engage with the issue, to get a measure of=20
its multiple interrelated implications and to examine the devious=20
ways in which these are historically over-determined by the=20
stereotypes and the dynamics of community consciousness prevalent in=20
the subcontinent.

It is time to address subtler strands of this issue. Is communalism a=20
pathological by-product of secularism itself? Is not hypersensitivity=20
about preserving cultural distinctiveness giving a fillip to cultural=20
jingoism, secretly fanning the flames of communal animosity? Should=20
only religion be blamed for communal unrest? Does some kind of siege=20
mentality hinder the intelligentsia from making a meaningful effort=20
to achieve inter-community negotiations? Is the freedom of the press=20
being misappropriated by local media? Is there any serious limitation=20
to the linguistic representation of the issue at stake?

These questions are perhaps behind the publication of Bruised=20
Memories, an anthology of poems, plays, stories, essays,=20
recollections and panel discussions by literary figures. It makes an=20
interesting study of the intricate mechanism of the author's response=20
and his re-orientated subject-positions. The motifs of homelessness,=20
estrangement from the past, disintegration of belief systems=20
vis-a-vis the loss of social identity are recurrent. Ashis Nandy's=20
recollection of communal violence during Partition, in "The Death of=20
an Empire", and Amitav Ghosh's depiction of the agony and anxiety of=20
a Sikh family after Indira Gandhi's assassination in "The Ghosts of=20
Mrs Gandhi" reveal a stark horror.

Some of the short stories, like Badiuzzaman's "Ravan" and Tarun K.=20
Saint's "Broken Mirror", and poems such as T.P. Rajeevan's "Balloon",=20
Dileep Jhaveri's "Khandit Kand Poems", Nabaneeta Dev Sen's "Dharavi"=20
and Bilquis Zafirul Hassan's "City of Sieges" abound in splintered=20
hallucinatory images as recorded in the consciousness. There is=20
pathos in Hussain-ul-Haque's story, "The Foundation Stone", while=20
Mahasweta Devi's "He said, Pani" strikes with its sarcastic satire.=20
The two poems by K. Satchidanandan sparkle with wry wit.

The only play included in the volume is "The Tiger" by Sisir Kumar=20
Das, written shortly after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. It=20
operates at different layers of consciousness with the overlap of the=20
verbal and the visual, myth and reality.

Ketaki Kushari Dyson points out that over-familiarity with the ideas=20
of democracy, secularism and religious fanaticism has often made us=20
overlook the inconsistencies implicit in them. The panel discussion=20
among Ashis Nandy, D.R. Nagaraj and Harish K. Trivedi, which tries to=20
explore the meaning of modernity and the psychology of the=20
caste-system, is illuminating. Saint's identification of every=20
thinking individual in the present south Asian context with=20
Melancthon in Borges's A Theologian in Death, is both brilliant and=20
innovative.

______

#7.

The Nation (Pakistan)
11 January 2002

Internet in border areas banned
By Munawar Hasan
LAHORE-Pakistan has banned internet access in certain areas including=20
border belt with neighbouring India as a security measure in the wake=20
of war threats emanating from India, it is reliably learnt here on=20
Thursday.
As a result of unannounced ban on internet access, subscribers of=20
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not been able to connect the=20
ISPs through telephone lines. "Every time I try to connect to ISP,=20
the message 'the line is busy, please try again later' emerged," said=20
an internet subscriber.=20
"We lodged many a complaints with our respective ISPs but no=20
sufficient answers were being provided in order to resolve the=20
problem," said a net user. Due to the ban, internet cafes situated in=20
the border area, including Batapur, have been closed. Similarly, the=20
use of prepaid calling cards for international dialing have also been=20
banned in the border areas.
Pakistan's long-standing differences with India escalated last month=20
after India blamed an attack on the Indian parliament by the Kashmiri=20
separatist groups, allegedly backed by Pakistan. A military build-up=20
has been accompanied by travel bans and sanctions unilaterally=20
imposed by India.
Meanwhile, an official of a leading ISP told The Nation that many of=20
its customers were facing problems in connecting Universal Internet=20
Number (UIN) from their located exchanges, to the exchange of the=20
ISP. He said that the telephone exchanges of Mominpura, Garden Town,=20
Baghbanpura, Mustafa Town and Kahna Nau were the most affected areas=20
where hundreds of web-surfers are unable to use this facility.
When contacted, highly placed officials of Pakistan Telecommunication=20
Company Ltd (PTCL) did not confirm or negate the development. They=20
said: "We are looking into the matter".
It may be noted that India already shut down local Internet access in=20
the Kashmir and was policing Internet cafes in an effort to check=20
communications.=20
The ban was instituted on December 18. The clampdown also extended to=20
intelligence agencies patrolling Internet cafes for Kashmiri Muslims=20
communicating outside India. India has also imposed a ban on long=20
distance calls from Kashmir for an indefinite period.

______

#8.

INSAANI EKTA MUHIM
Campaign for People's Solidarity
C-2/111-C, Lawrence Road, Delhi: 35
# 7182115, 2228633, 3744308

Invitation
You are cordially invited to attend and participate in
the under mentioned seminar being organised by the
Insaani Ekta Muhim:

Subject: Remembering Graham Staines: Towards Peace And
Communal Harmony In The Indian Sub-Continent

Venue: Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg,
New Delhi:110001

Date: Saturday, Januray 19, 2002

Time: 3.00 pm

Kindly enrich the seminar with your valuable presence
and contribution.

Aurobindo Ghose
(Convenor, Insaani Ekta Muhim)

______

#9.

Hanuman the first terrorist
Deccan Chronicle

Lucknow, Jan. 9: "Hanuman was the first terrorist who burnt down Ravan's
kingdom in Lanka. If Shivaji was not a guerilla warrior, then what was he?
In the last century, from Bhindarawale to Prabhakaran - all have been
terrorists.

Doordarshan has been telecasting 'India's Most Wanted' programme in which i=
t
has been showing photographs of Naxalites when actually it should have been
showing photographs of Bal Thackeray, Advani, Sudarshan, Ashok Singhal and
Vinay Katiyar"

This is an excerpt from an editorial written in monthly Hindi magazine Hans
by its editor Rajendra Yadav and the Bharatiya Janata Party, expectedly, is
up in arms against the article.

BJP's regional media incharge in Uttar Pradesh Narendra Singh Rana has file=
d
public interest litigation in the court of the chief judicial magistrate an=
d
the petition has been admitted.

Rana, in his petition, has pleaded that the controversial article has hurt
the sentiments of the Hindu community and by terming national leaders as
'terrorists', the writer has committed an anti-national act.

The petitioner has pleaded that the accused be given an exemplary
punishment - be ordered to leave the country immediately on charges of
treason.

Hans a reputed Hindi monthly was founded by renowned Hindi litterateur
Munshi Premchand and is now edited by Rajendra Yadav.

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

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