[sacw] SACW #1. | 31 Jan. 02

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Wed, 30 Jan 2002 18:20:22 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #1. | 31 January 2002

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

#1.Forthcoming volume - Gender and Nationalism in Twentieth Century Sri-Lan=
ka
#2. Pakistan: MUSHARRAF VS. THE MULLAHS (Ilene R. Prusher)
#3. - Elections Play Key Role in India's War Footing (Robert Marquand)
- Hindutwa's foot soldiers meet in Delhi (Robert Marquand)
#4. A Vision For The [Kashmir] Valley (A.G. Noorani)
#5. India: 'Vajpayee Can't Talk Secularism With Pakistan, &=20
Communalism With UP' (Rajeev Dhavan in an interview by Shamya=20
Dasgupta)
#6. India: Schools of Hate - NRI [Non Resident Indian] -funded=20
schools imparting 'traditional value education' are sprouting up all=20
over tribal India (Nabina Das)

________________________

#1.

Women and the Nation's Narrative
Gender and Nationalism in Twentieth Century Sri-Lanka

by Nelofer de Mel

Available soon from Suriya Bookshop
425/15, Thimbirigasyaya Road, Colombo - 5, Sri Lanka
E-mail: ssa@e...

______

#2.

The Christian Science Monitor
January 30, 2002 edition

PHOTO: LEFT IN CHARGE: Shafqat Haya Abbasi (c.) has taken charge of=20
the Ashrafa Allum madrassah. The school near Rawalpindi, Pakistan,=20
was left without a supervisor when its headmaster was swept up in a=20
government crackdown on alleged militants.
ILENE R. PRUSHER

MUSHARRAF VS. THE MULLAHS: A FIGHT FOR ISLAMIC SCHOOLS
A Pakistani crackdown on madrassahs may change the way students learn
By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN - Upon his father's cue, Abdul Wahid Zarif=20
closes his eyes and begins to chant a verse from the Koran, rocking=20
back and forth in sync with his slow, mournful trills. At 12, he has=20
learned to memorize great portions of the Koran in Arabic - a=20
language he does not understand.

"Right now he doesn't know what it means, but when he is a man of=20
age, he will understand it," says Khatib Mohammed Zarif, Abdul=20
Wahid's father and the mullah and schoolmaster of one of this city's=20
largest mosques.

As in most madrassahs, or Islamic religious schools, rote=20
memorization is the key method of learning the Koran under Zarif's=20
tutelage, and virtually no other subjects are tackled.

This is Islamic scholarship as it should be, argues Zarif, who=20
supports the Taliban and dislikes the government he fears may arrest=20
him - as it has about 2,000 suspected Islamic activists and=20
militants, in the past two weeks.

"The government should not interfere with the madrassahs because the=20
government does not understand the first thing about it," says Zarif,=20
a white-bearded man who sits on the floor of his study while Abdul=20
Wahid and an older son return religious books, waterlogged and warped=20
by a recent flood, to their shelves. "Pinpointing the weaknesses of=20
madrassahs so publicly is not right."

But Pakistan's government says such sparse curricula are at the heart=20
of what has gone wrong in many of the nation's 7,000 madrassahs. More=20
important, Pakistan's leader says, the country's madrassahs have been=20
used to spread fundamentalist ideas, stir up antigovernment=20
sentiment, and send dogma-infused young men off to wage holy war in=20
Afghanistan and Kashmir - or to join up with terrorist groups such as=20
Al Qaeda.

No longer, says Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president,=20
warning that many madrassahs are due for a major overhaul. For=20
starters, he says, they must rewrite their curricula by March to make=20
sure children learn to do more than recite the Koran. They will face=20
government regulation like any other school, and those found=20
propagating hatred - a minority, he maintains - will be shut down.

"These few impart only religious education and such education=20
produces semi-literate religious scholars. This is a weakness,"=20
Musharraf told the nation in a landmark Jan. 12 speech. "I know that=20
some of these promote negative thinking and propagate hatred and=20
violence instead of inculcating tolerance, patience, and fraternity.

"If any madrassah is found indulging in extremism, subversion,=20
militant activity or possessing any types of weapons, it will be=20
closed," he added. "All [schools] will have to adopt the new syllabi=20
by the end of this year."

But Zarif and other mullahs here and in the neighboring capital of=20
Islamabad say they will not go quietly. He says that just as=20
Musharraf made a mistake by turning against the Taliban, the=20
president's attempts to bring the madrassahs under government control=20
are doomed to failure.

"We will not allow it, and God willing, Musharraf will not succeed in=20
making this a secular state," says Zarif. "Pakistan is an Islamic=20
republic. Its atmosphere should be Islamic. The culture of everything=20
has to be Islamic. We are Muslims, and Islam teaches us we should=20
enter the religion completely, not half-heartedly."

In fact, the Pakistani government itself once supported these=20
madrassahs wholeheartedly, even encouraging them to send some of=20
their graduates to fight alongside the anti-Soviet mujahideen in=20
Afghanistan in the 1980s. Funding came in from Islamic governments=20
such as Saudi Arabia - which built what claims to be the world's=20
largest mosque in Islamabad - as well as private donors. It has=20
become common for poor families to send at least one son to study in=20
a madrassah with an eye to becoming a mullah or alim, meaning=20
scholar. A main attraction: room, board, and tuition are free.

These days, however, the number of madrassah students has jumped, and=20
the room and board they get are borderline. At madrassah Ashrafa=20
Allum, a roadside school between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, some 80=20
boys had been left without their headmaster, Mullah Insail, after he=20
was arrested before their eyes one night last week.

He was accused of belonging to one of the banned Islamic militant=20
groups responsible for committing violence in the name of Kashmir,=20
which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.

A 17-year-old boy has taken it upon himself to run the school. "We're=20
living on the bare minimum," says Shafqat Hayat Abassi, who oversees=20
boys living 20 to a cement-floored room covered in straw mats. "At=20
least one person in each family should study Islam thoroughly, so my=20
family sent me here."

Having studied nothing else, he is not sure what he can do next,=20
other than teach others to memorize Koran. At another madrassah in=20
Islamabad, a sweet-faced 10-year-old boy, who has already learned 12=20
sections of the Koran, says he has other hopes for what he'll do when=20
he grows up. "I'm studying to be a scholar," says Mohammed Schwaib,=20
"but I would prefer to go to fight jihad."

_____

#3.

The Christian Science Monitor
January 29, 2002 edition

ELECTIONS PLAY KEY ROLE IN INDIA'S WAR FOOTING
The ruling party hopes the troop buildup will sway voters in Feb. 18=20
state elections.
By Robert Marquand | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
AYODHYA, INDIA - India's test last week of a new short-range=20
ballistic missile and its continued massing of troops on the border=20
with Pakistan are keeping tensions and a war of words alive in South=20
Asia.

Yet India's muscle flexing now has less to do with rival Pakistan or=20
the decade-long insurgency in Kashmir, a range of analysts say, and=20
more to do with a stark problem facing the ruling government: staying=20
in power.

A central and ignored storyline of the South Asia standoff, in fact,=20
lies far from the Pakistan border. It is found instead in the=20
swirling politics of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, a=20
northern region often called the Hindi heartland or "the cow belt,"=20
which last week began a campaign for Feb. 18 elections.

If the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "loses its stronghold in=20
Uttar Pradesh, the government in Delhi will begin to crack," says=20
Vireshwar Dewedi, spokesman for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a hardline=20
Hindu group closely linked to the Hindu nationalist BJP.

India's BJP must score well in Uttar Pradesh to retain an effective=20
mandate in New Delhi. Another point is equally clear: not only is the=20
BJP in trouble, but a bad showing could seriously weaken Indian=20
President Atal Behari Vajpayee, whose home base is the Uttar Pradesh=20
capital of Lucknow.

In Uttar Pradesh itself, opposition parties are cynical about India's=20
high state of alert. "The military buildup is now 100 percent related=20
to elections in this state," says Ashok Kapoor, a media spokesman for=20
the Samajwadi in Uttar Pradesh, a party of rural traders and farmers=20
that is leading in recent polls. "Right now it is a survival game for=20
the BJP. The hype about war and terrorism is a necessity for them.=20
They want to woo voters at the last minute."

The war on terrorism, in fact, is considered enough of a vote-getter=20
by BJP strategists, that the party has temporarily muffled plans to=20
play on local anti-Muslim Hindu sentiments in the state through the=20
time-worn Babri Masjid issue [see box below].

So low had the BJP dipped, in fact, that analysts argue India is=20
being kept on high military alert to gain a patriotic Uttar Pradesh=20
surge of support in the election season. Only after Dec. 13,=20
following an attack on the Indian parliament that outraged the=20
country, had the BJP's plummet begun to stabilize - partly because of=20
a get-tough "war on terrorism" campaign drumbeat that every party has=20
adopted. "We want better roads and drinking water," says the BJP=20
president of Uttar Pradesh, Kalraz Mishra. "Development is an=20
important issue. But the most important issue is terrorism. Terrorism=20
and internal security. India is the victim of so many groups from=20
Pakistan. We don't want war. But if anyone compels us, then it shall=20
be war."

Stump speeches and travel by BJP officers is attended by bristling=20
teams of machine-gun toting "black cat" security men who dramatically=20
leap out of car convoys, startling sleepy villagers.

Uttar Pradesh is regarded as the great repository of power in Indian=20
politics. By itself, the undulating northern plains state of 170=20
million would rank as the seventh largest country in the world. No=20
government in Delhi for 50 years, including the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty,=20
has been able to retain rule of India without Uttar Pradesh -=20
something akin to winning both the South and California in US=20
presidential politics.

The Hindu nationalist BJP rose to power in the 1990s largely due to=20
the support from Uttar Pradesh region. An aspirant middle-class=20
urban- voter base here was electrified by the BJP's heady message of=20
a muscular Hindu "awakening" that would restore India to its former=20
greatness.

Weeks after winning office in spring 1998, Mr. Vajpayee ordered the=20
test of two nuclear devices - breaking India's long- standing refusal=20
to "go nuclear." The following month, Pakistan tested as well. Last=20
month, after the Parliament attack by alleged Pakistan-based=20
militants, India responded with the largest military deployment in 30=20
years.

Indian leaders equated the Dec. 13 attack with the Sept. 11 World=20
Trade Center attacks. American and British diplomats, fearing a war=20
between the nuclear rivals - one that could impact US-led operations=20
in Afghanistan - spent weeks talking the sides down. The dynamics=20
seemed to culminate on Jan. 12, with a historic speech by Pakistan's=20
president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to reverse the tide of "jihadi"=20
elements in his society, and with the detention of some 1,500 Islamic=20
radicals in Pakistan.

Given Pakistan's military assistance to US forces, and the domestic=20
task of reversing years of a "Talibanizing" of Pakistani society, few=20
analysts feel Pakistan is in a position to foment a war. Yet Indian=20
leaders, who cautiously praising General Musharraf, still take a=20
wait-and-see attitude on cross-border operations and imply that the=20
Army will remain deployed for "a couple of months," according to Home=20
Minister L.K. Advani.

The US dispatched Gen. Tommy Franks to Islamabad and Delhi for more=20
talks this past week after India's missile test - broadcast on Indian=20
TV nationwide - caused bitter words from Islamabad.

In the past year, rank and file Uttar Pradesh voters have been=20
disillusioned with the BJP. Partly the problem is corruption. The BJP=20
displaced the age-old patronage-laden Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh=20
largely with promises of clean hands and incorruptible candidates.=20
Yet last year the BJP chief minister had to resign after a series of=20
scandals, including one involving million-dollar "tea parties."=20
Observers credit new Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh for=20
restoring discipline in the BJP.

The Samajwadi Party, currently in front, has featured its own vote=20
magnet - film star Amitabh Bachchan, known recently as the host of=20
India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The Congress=20
Party, the original "freedom struggle" party, is bouncing back and=20
has turned to what one observor called "the ultimate weapon" -=20
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of the late Prime Minister Rajiv=20
Gandhi.

Currently, the BJP's main "trump card" in Uttar Pradesh, say sources=20
in Delhi, is a list of 20 terrorists who the Indian government says=20
reside in Pakistan. India is pressuring Pakistan to quickly turn over=20
14 of the terrorists who are not Pakistani nationals, including=20
Ibrahim Dawood, allegedly responsible for the bombing of the Bombay=20
Stock Exchange in 1993.

"If they [the BJP] can get even a handful of those terrorists=20
extradited, it would legitimize everything India has been saying=20
about Pakistan for 10 years," says a Delhi-based official with a=20
leading international organization. "It would be the kind of triumph=20
that could swing the vote in Uttar Pradesh."

Copyright =A9 2002 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

o o o o

The Christian Science Monitor
from the January 29, 2002 edition

PHOTO: MEN ON A MISSION: Hindus head for the site of Babri Masjid, a=20
mosque destroyed in 1992, to advocate the building of a temple.
ROBERT MARQUAND

A HISTORIC (AND POLITICAL) HINDU PILGRIMAGE
By Robert Marquand
Swords raised, faces painted, a small mob of Hindu foot soldiers bus=20
into the muddy river town of Ayodhya - arch-symbol of a Hindu=20
movement that altered India in the 1990s.

Shouting the name of "Lord Ram," they start a "chataveni rathyatra,"=20
or warning journey, which ended in Delhi on Sunday. They want to warn=20
India: The Hindu forces will finish what they started. They want to=20
finally erect a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque they tore down=20
10 years ago, a demolition that caused riots and bloodshed in 300=20
Indian cities.

Now they don't want to wait any longer. Backed by other radical Hindu=20
groups, they even have a date to start work, March 12 - a date they=20
say Indian President Atal Behari Vajpayee publicly promised them last=20
year.

Next month, just as elections begin in Uttar Pradesh, the activists=20
will recovene here, and 20,000 sadhus, or saints, will burn fires and=20
repeat certain chants several hundred thousand times.

"No one can stop us from building now," says Harsh Vardharan, a young=20
radical organizer from a small town in UP. "We will build the temple=20
whether or not the government approves."

Maybe; maybe not.

"Babri Masjid" is etched in every Indian mind. Here in Ayodhya in=20
1992, Hindu radicals destroyed a 500-year old mosque reputedly built=20
over a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram.

That destruction, led by current Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani,=20
unleashed Hindu-Muslim rancor - but set the moorings for a Hindu=20
"awakening" that later brought the ruling BJP party to power.

Critics called it the end of a secular and plural era in India.=20
Salman Rushdie wrote about the trashing of the mosque, "The police=20
... stood by and watched the forces of history do their=20
history-obliterating work."

Yet the "temple issue," as it is known, is now vexing BJP leaders in=20
Delhi. They worry that if the party does badly in next month's=20
elections, the unbuilt temple could create internal divisions in the=20
party between political moderates and hard-line Hindus.

For hard-liners, many of whom are part of a galaxy of Hindu radical=20
groups of which the BJP party is only one face, the lagging spirits=20
of voters and anomie in the Hindi countryside is due to an unfinished=20
Hindu agenda. The chief symbol is the unbuilt temple. Even now, less=20
than a trident toss away from the heavily guarded, flattened Babri=20
site, stonecutters work 24 hours a day shaping a prefab temple.

Yet for the BJP elite - busy trying to govern India and develop its=20
image abroad as a stable and trustworthy anchor for investment in=20
Asia - the Babri Masjid issue has lost much of its luster. Terrorism=20
has more voter appeal. And the party does not want to create=20
instability in parts of the country where it is in power.

"We do better if the temple is always about to be built, not built,"=20
says a highly placed BJP insider.

This week, Mr. Vajpayee dampened the ardor of the radicals, saying=20
that the Indian Supreme Court must decide if the contested land can=20
be handed over to the temple builders. Muslims privately feel the=20
court will take decades to make the decision.

Yet Muslims also fear that the Babri Masjid is a "card" the=20
hardliners can easily play, and often do. For example, as the=20
"warning journey" convoy passed a mosque in the neighboring village=20
of Faizabad, the buses stopped, and the small mob alighted, shouting:=20
"Sons of Babar, go home. Go back to Pakistan."

Later, the buses reconvened next to a BJP election rally.

"I don't worry about the local Hindus," says Mohammad Shahazad, who=20
was at the Faizabad mosque when the Hindus started shouting. "It is=20
the groups they bring from outside, the radicals, that we worry=20
about. But I'm an Indian. I'm not leaving."

_____

#4.

The Hindustan Times (India)
30 January 2002

A VISION FOR THE VALLEY
A.G. Noorani

Significantly, the one passage from the famous Kumarakom Musings=20
which the prime minister reproduced in his New Year eve article was=20
the one on his Kashmir policy: "In our search for a lasting solution=20
to the Kashmir problem, both in its external and internal dimensions,=20
we shall not traverse solely on the beaten track of the past.

Rather, we shall be bold and innovative designers of a future=20
architecture of peace and prosperity for the entire South Asian=20
region."

For different reasons, his initiatives on both dimensions last year=20
came to a naught. Not a few feel that the domestic challenge has=20
suffered gravely due to neglect or, when it managed to receive=20
attention, from the inept and contradictory policies pursued by=20
various actors in the play. This is by no means a recent phenomenon.=20
It existed even in Jawaharlal Nehru's time as the memories of some of=20
the inter-meddlers of the time revealed. The time has now come when=20
the curtain must be brought down on this endless play. To use a=20
clich=E9, the Centre must get its act together.

It must devise a coherent policy after full deliberation and=20
implement it with a sense of purpose and direction. It must also=20
reckon realistically with the prospect of repeated setbacks, not a=20
few caused by persons within the establishment.

The stalemate in Indo-Pak relations is no reason for neglecting=20
problems at home. The prime minister cannot afford to lose time in=20
translating his vision into policy. Jammu and Kashmir is due to go to=20
the polls before October. Will it be another farce, another one-horse=20
race like the one in 1996, staged to ensure the return to power of=20
Farooq Abdullah?

One of the purposes of the K.C. Pant mission was to initiate parleys=20
with all sections of the people of the state in order to pave the way=20
for a meaningful poll. To no one's surprise, he failed.

In a singularly imaginative move, Wajahat Habibullah was recently=20
appointed as interlocutor. A senior civil servant of unimpeachable=20
integrity, he has the rare qualities, besides, of genuine sympathy=20
for the people and a caring attitude which won him their confidence=20
when he served in the state. But he is confronted with obstacles he=20
can well do without.

Like it or not, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference is a prime player,=20
if not the prime one. Its three-man team, which visited Delhi early=20
this month, conveyed a message by its very composition - Syed Ali=20
Shah Geelani, Abdul Ghani Lone and Yaseen Malik. For the last two=20
years, the APHC has been hamstrung by a rift between the first two.=20
They had come for talks in Delhi. Precisely then the security forces=20
cracked down on their lieutenants in Srinagar. They went back home.

It is a notorious fact that the PMO and the Union home ministry spoke=20
in different voices during the short-lived ceasefire declared by the=20
Hizbul Mujahideen in July 2000. No less notorious is the fact that in=20
the past, the intelligence agencies (central and state) and the=20
security forces have intervened actively to sabotage promising=20
political initiatives by the Centre.

The Hizb's deputy supreme commander, Masood, who had represented it=20
in the talks with the central team on August 3, 2000, was arrested in=20
the night of July 24-25, 2001, and killed the next evening. The=20
authorities claim it was an "encounter". Popular belief attributes=20
the deed to the dreaded Special Operations Group of the state police.=20
In the preceding months, he had acquired note as a columnist in the=20
respected Srinagar weekly Chattan. In an article written shortly=20
before he was killed, he lamented that "criminalisation is creeping=20
into Kashmiri society and it is now incumbent on us to go for a=20
peaceful and durable solution to this (Kashmir) problem".

Whose interests were served by his death? In warning against=20
criminalisation and pleading for a peaceful solution, Masood did not=20
stand alone. The APHC's leaders have been speaking in the same vein.=20
Two years ago, on January 17, 2000, the then acting chairman of the=20
APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, warned that foreign elements "will=20
increase and we cannot resist it as frustration among the youth is on=20
the rise. Militancy is taking a new shape which will be beyond any=20
control now". He has been a consistent advocate of a dialogue with=20
the Centre.

The present chairman, Abdul Ghani Bhat, made an important statement=20
on January 19. "The boys with the gun have done their duty. They have=20
done the job by highlighting the movement. Now, it is for the=20
politicians to capitalise on it." More to the point, "he who talks in=20
terms of 'a religious issue', perhaps forgets that if and when the=20
right of self-determination is granted to the people of the state, it=20
will be exercised by each one of us; irrespective of caste, creed,=20
colour and religion."

Nothing will invest the assembly polls with greater meaning than the=20
APHC's participation in them; a consummation for which parleys are an=20
indispensable preliminary. This brings us to a familiar track.=20
Elections are not an end in themselves. The urgent need is the=20
restoration of civil society in the state, a task for which the=20
Farooq Abdullah regime has revealed itself to be utterly unequipped=20
and incompetent. Why not make an effort in that direction, making a=20
dialogue with the APHC and the holding of the oft-promised free and=20
fair elections to the state assembly in the wider battle for a=20
peaceful, civil society.

Mehbooba Mufti made a telling point in a TV debate on January 20;=20
that tall promises made in election campaigns in Kashmir - such as=20
the reopening of the Srinagar-Rawalpindi road; solution to the=20
Kashmir problem; or restoration of the state's autonomy - result in=20
popular disillusionment and rob the poll process of integrity and=20
meaning. Why not address, instead, the immediate needs of the people=20
in education, health, employment, civil liberties and protection=20
against the arbitrary exercise of power? Why not create a caring,=20
responsive administration?

This does not imply that urgent political issues should be forgotten.=20
The alienation of the people will not be assuaged by any economic=20
relief whatsoever. It is too deep. Their political grievances,=20
aspirations and trauma of remembered wrongs must be addressed with=20
equal earnestness. Even if 'cross-border terrorism' is ended, the=20
alienation will survive. The people are crying - their self-respect=20
has been hurt by arbitrary arrests, searches and crackdowns.

The APHC ought to realise that the days of hartals and bandhs are=20
over. They do not affect the morale of the authorities; but only=20
disrupt the daily lives of the people. It would do better, instead,=20
to dispel any impression of reliance on militancy, rather than mass=20
support, concentrate on democratic, peaceful agitation and on=20
redressal of grievances in matters of direct and immediate concern to=20
the citizens. This ought to be done regardless of the result of any=20
talks with the Centre or a decision on contesting the elections.

It is, in turn, the Centre's duty to exert itself towards the=20
creation of a peaceful atmosphere by checking violations of human=20
rights, permitting peaceful protests and encouraging free=20
communication between the people. Officially sponsored seminars,=20
whether conducted openly or sub-rosa through intelligence agencies,=20
bring nothing but discredit to the enthusiastic participants who=20
fancy themselves as performers in track II diplomacy. All that the=20
State needs to do is to cease to intrude and obstruct.

NGOs in India should interact with NGOs in the state like the J&K=20
Freedom of Civil Society Organisation (JKFSO). This umbrella group of=20
17 NGOs was set up in June 2000 to campaign on women's rights,=20
environment, trade unions, corruption and human rights. Its convenor=20
is a noted lawyer and activist, Pervez Imroz, founder of the=20
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons. JKFSO has interacted=20
with other NGOs in the country. But how many have taken interest in=20
the APDP or, the travails of the people of the Valley?

There is now a new atmosphere in an altered situation. The chairman=20
of the Kashmir Committee, set up by Pervez Musharraf, Sardar Abdul=20
Qayyum, former PM of PoK and a critic of armed militancy, proposed in=20
an interview on January 7 that Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC=20
should be given an opportunity to sit together and deliberate. This=20
can be done in Delhi, to begin with.

But all of this can only be part of a comprehensive policy. The prime=20
minister must lose no time in formulating one.

_____

#5.

Tehelka.com
30 January 2002
'VAJPAYEE CAN'T TALK SECULARISM WITH PAKISTAN,
AND COMMUNALISM WITH UP'

Eminent Supreme Court lawyer Rajeev Dhavan says the Supreme Court status
quo applies to the entire 67-acre land in Ayodhya, and that Vajpayee cannot
assume different avatars while dealing with different problems, in an
interview with Shamya Dasgupta

New Delhi, January 29

Is the status quo announced by the Supreme Court applicable to the=20
entire 67 acres of land at the Babri Masjid site, or is it limited=20
only to the disputed 2.77 acres?
On record I can say that the order should be applicable to the entire area.

Under the Acquisition of Certain Areas Act, 1993, what are the legal=20
implications?
The legal question here is an irrelevant question. The issue has now=20
been referred to the law minister. That is nothing but a political=20
trick and it shows the lack of statesmanship of the current=20
government. If the matter could have been resolved so simply by the=20
law minister, then it would have been resolved ages ago and wouldn't=20
have continued for so long.

But now the law minister has come into the picture
How do they expect the law minister to resolve it, especially a law=20
minister like Arun Jaitley, who is well known for his orthodox views?=20
The message that comes through from this is that the Vajpayee=20
government wants to accept, and make the country accept, the Vishwa=20
Hindu Parishad (VHP) point of view. It is a matter of perception as=20
to whether it was the Ram Janmabhoomi or not, but fact also is that=20
if the Supreme Court has declined the reference, the law minister can=20
do nothing to resolve it.

A clause in the Act lays down that the land can be handed over only=20
to organisations that have come into being after the Act was passed.=20
In that case, the VHP-controlled Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (RJN) doesn't=20
qualify, does it?
No. It can be handed over to anyone. I have the statutes with me, and=20
I have argued this issue in the past also. If the Central government=20
is the legal trustee for the entire land, then, according to the=20
Supreme Court, it can be passed on to anyone. It doesn't make a=20
difference if the organisation comes into being afterwards or before.=20
If that were the case, then what is stopping the VHP from creating=20
yet another group specifically to take care of this clause in the Act?

Therefore the onus now shifts to the prime minister for all practical purpo=
ses?
The Central government therefore assumes the role of the power=20
simplicitor. Broadly speaking, without getting into the=20
nitty-gritties of the statutes, I would say that although the=20
schedules of the Act describes the certain areas, it doesn't go deep=20
enough for this answer. What our prime minister has to do now is that=20
he has to take a stance. One thing that is clear in my mind though,=20
is that Vajpayee can't talk secularism with Pakistan, and communalism=20
with Uttar Pradesh (UP). He can't assume a secular stance with=20
respect to Kashmir, and then preach communalism to the people of UP.=20
And what he is doing right now is clearly hypocritical. Political=20
tricks are fine, but he can't assume such clearly contradictory=20
stances on two issues moving simultaneously.

The other issue of course is the problem of encirclement. The Babri=20
Masjid area is right in the middle of the entire area, and therefore,=20
if the rest of the land is given to the VHP, the Masjid will become=20
encircled.
That's the whole point! The whole area needs to be kept free. The=20
government has to take possession of the whole area and treat it=20
properly. If the government claims that its moves are in the interest=20
of peace and harmony in the area, then all its actions should be in=20
the interests of peace and harmony.

______

#6.

Tehelka.com
30 January 2002

EKAL SCHOOLS:
LESSONS WITH A SAFFRON HUE

NRI [Non Resident Indian] -funded schools imparting 'traditional
value education' are sprouting up all
over tribal India, writes Nabina Das

New Delhi, January 29

Ram mandir and Hindu Rashtra may be the immediate catchwords for the=20
Sangh Parivar for the forthcoming Assembly elections, but this is not=20
the lone agenda for which the saffron brigade seems to be working.=20
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is not just wooing the=20
mainstream, but is also making inroads into the tribal belts of=20
India. The killing of missionary Graham Staines in Orissa in a most=20
horrific manner as a statement of tribal resistance to western=20
influence may have been a singular incident. The approach taken by=20
the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India (EVFI), an organisation with=20
obvious Sangh sympathies, of changing the tribal mindset is a more=20
sustained process.

At a glance, some prominent trustees on the board of the EVFI are B K=20
Modi, founder chairperson ModiCorp; Justice P N Bhagawat, former=20
chief justice, Supreme Court; Dr L M Singhvi, MP and former=20
ambassador to UK; Dr Abid Hussain, former ambassador to US and member=20
of the Constitution Review Committee; Sadhvi Bhagwati, international=20
director (youth education), Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh; several=20
NRIs, and a whole host of top brass of the ModiCorp and Modi=20
Foundation.

The EVFI is supposedly a non-government, non-profit organization, and=20
is registered as a trust. The main objective of the foundation is to=20
help in the "overall development of remote tribal villages".

Interestingly, the EVFI also has a branch in the US. The Ekal=20
Vidyalaya Foundation of USA, along with home-bred organisations, are=20
committed to create a "people's movement involving thousands of=20
selfless dedicated Indians, NRIs and other people of Indian origin,=20
in order to wean children of remote tribal areas of India away from=20
illiteracy, and consequently superstition, exploitation, ill-health,=20
poverty and crime," said sources.

The EVFI offers five years of free schooling for children, especially=20
in the tribal belts of India. A typical class has around 30-40=20
children in the age group of four-15 years, and is often conducted in=20
rural environs. All study materials are provided free of cost.=20
Although the EVFI website has a large portrait of poet and writer=20
Rabindranath Tagore, obviously referring to his "nature is our=20
teacher" philosophy, there is not any pertinent information on the=20
syllabus taught. The EVFI apparently imparts "basic alphabetic and=20
numeric knowledge, health and hygiene, character-building and moral=20
values" and "sanskaars", whatever that may mean.

As teachers, the EVFI appoints locally educated youths (generally=20
those who have only studied till high school) who are "specially=20
trained" to become key figures and catalysts of change and "character=20
building" for the entire village or area. Besides, the schools are=20
also supposed to conduct health camps, cleanliness drives and=20
environment awareness programmes among rural tribals.

Classes are more like informal teaching sessions comprising katha=20
(story-telling sessions), natak (dramas), lok-geet (folk songs), and=20
pravachan (religious discourses).

State-wise distribution of EVFI schools

State August 2001 March 2002 (Est) August 2002 (Est)
North East 660 690 960
West Bengal 325 325 540
Orissa 510 510 600
Bihar 270 450 450
Jharkhand 720 970 1060
Uttar Pradesh 420 715 1150
North Zone 120 450 600
Rajasthan 240 480 780
Gujarat 300 390 570
Maharashtra 450 630 930
Madhya Pradesh 1140 2370 2880
Chhatisgarh 660 1260 1530
Andhra Pradesh 540 1000 1080
Karnataka 60 240 360
Tamil Nadu 180 240 270
Kerala 90 180 240
Total 6685 11100 14000
The US wing of the group estimates that it only costs $365 to run an=20
Ekal Vidyalaya for a whole year.

Non government organisations (NGO) that have been identified to help=20
set up more EVFIs are the Birsa Seva Prakalpa in Bihar, Bharatiya Jan=20
Seva Sansthan in Rajasthan and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Society in=20
Tamil Nadu.

Some 3,000 schools are being run by NGOs like the Friends of Tribal=20
Society, Bhartiya Kalyan Pratishthan, Bhartiya Lok Shiksha Parishad,=20
Bhartiya Jan Sewa Sansthan and Janhitay in the states of Rajasthan,=20
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,=20
Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and West Bengal.

At present, the EVFI enjoys the status of a charitable trust.=20
Donations to EVFI are 50 per cent tax exempt. It has even received=20
Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) permission to receive=20
donations in foreign exchange on actual receipt basis. Funds from the=20
US are obviously a big asset for the group. In fact, the mission of=20
the ECFI and the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA is to set up=20
100,000 Ekal Vidya Mandirs in the remote tribal villages by the year=20
2010. Imparting sanskar and moral values should then be easier for=20
the saffron brigade, once its movement gains ground.

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