[sacw] SACW | 13 Feb. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch | 13 February 2002

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

#1.The Myth of Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia (Zulfiqar A Bhutta &=20
Samiran Nundy)
#2. Women's Action Forum celebrates Pakistan Women's Day
#3. Pakistan: Right to protest (Dr Riaz Ahmed)
#4. Prose poem by Agha Shahid Ali
#5. India: Stop them right there: VHP's latest move calls for preemptive ac=
tion
#6. India: Alternative Education initiative faces closure threat from Govt.
#7. India: Oh, the Heartache! They Want Cupid Banished
#8. India: Children of Lesser Gods (Ram Puniyani)

________________________

#1.
British Medical Journal 2002;324:356-359 ( 9 February, 2002 )

Commentary: The myth of nuclear deterrence in south Asia

Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Husein Lalji Dewraj professor of paediatrics, a=20
Samiran Nundy, consultant gastrointestinal surgeon. b

a Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, b Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,=20
New Delhi, India

It is almost four years since India and Pakistan conducted their=20
first tit for tat nuclear tests. Since then the development of=20
nuclear weapons in both countries has proceeded steadily.1 Today=20
India and Pakistan are believed to have nuclear arsenals and delivery=20
systems capable of destroying all the major cities and industrial=20
centres of both countries.

The protagonists of nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan claim that=20
these weapons act as a deterrent against conventional armed conflict.=20
But events in the past three years have put paid to this notion. In=20
1999 a major conflict erupted in Kargil, Kashmir, and the continued=20
fighting in Kashmir has recently culminated in an unprecedented=20
military stand off.

The current round of hostilities between India and Pakistan is due to=20
several factors. These include the devastating effects of US attacks=20
on al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan and their subsequent=20
dispersion; tentative moves towards reining in religious extremists=20
in Pakistan; terrorist attacks on the Indian parliament; and local=20
political considerations in India, such as the forthcoming elections=20
in Uttar Pradesh. The usual rhetoric has been taken to new heights by=20
irresponsible bluster about first strikes, counterstrikes, and=20
potential victory by one side or the other in a nuclear exchange.2

(Credit: PIERS BENATAR/PANOS PICTURES)
PHOTO: Promoting nuclear weapons as a source of national prestige is=20
misguided and dangerous

It is highly debatable if the acquisition of nuclear weapons by India=20
and Pakistan has increased security in the south Asian tinderbox.=20
India and Pakistan do not possess sophisticated nuclear control=20
systems, nor do they share details of their nuclear capacity. The=20
lengthy border between the countries makes it impossible to install=20
early warning systems. As Helfand et al indicate, evidence of=20
attempts by al-Qaeda terrorists to obtain nuclear weapons or=20
materials and the potential of nuclear sabotage have placed the=20
nuclear arsenals of both countries on an entirely different level of=20
security watch.

The costs of developing and maintaining expensive arsenals in the=20
context of extreme poverty and poor social indicators in these=20
countries must also be emphasised. Many of the roots of the growth of=20
militancy and terrorism lie in poverty and social deprivation (which=20
have been exacerbated by the recent conflicts). Between 1944 and=20
1996 the United States spent $5.5 trillion on nuclear weapons.3 The=20
deployment of such colossal resources on nuclear arsenals seems=20
inexcusable when viewed against the huge needs for human development=20
and child health in developing countries. The incongruity of spending=20
scarce resources on nuclear weapons is especially stark in south=20
Asia. Reddy has stated that "the annual demands of weaponisation (in=20
India) will finance 25% of the yearly incremental costs of sending=20
every Indian child to school."4 The opportunity costs of developing=20
and maintaining nuclear arsenals must also be weighed against the=20
devastation a nuclear holocaust would bring in its wake. 5 6

The horrifying possibility of nuclear conflagration between India and=20
Pakistan is of real and immediate concern. The anguish of families=20
witnessing the severance of the last land link between the countries=20
speaks volumes about their common history, heritage, and culture.=20
Having brought the "Doomsday clock" forward, politicians, who do not=20
speak for the largely disenfranchised masses, must publicly forsake=20
the use of nuclear weapons and resume a political dialogue. Let=20
sanity prevail.

References
1. Bidwai P, Vanaik A. South Asia on a short fuse: nuclear=20
politics and the future of global disarmament. Karachi: Oxford, 2000.
2. "We could take a strike and survive: Pakistan won't".=20
Fernandes. Hindustan Times 30 Dec=20
2001. (http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/170102/Archive.asp)
3. Schwartz SI. Atomic audit: the costs and consequences of US=20
nuclear weapons since 1940. Washington DC: Brookings Institution,=20
1998.
4. Reddy CR. Wages of Armageddon. III. The Hindu 2 Sep 1998;Sect=20
Opinion:12 (col c).
5. Ramana MV. Bombing Bombay? Effects of nuclear weapons and a=20
case study of a hypothetical explosion. Cambridge, MA: International=20
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1999.
6. Naim SR. "Aadhi Raat Ke Baad" (after midnight). In: Cohen SP,=20
ed. Nuclear proliferation in south Asia: prospects for arms control.=20
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.

______

#2.

DAWN
12 February 2002

WAF observes Women's Day today

KARACHI, Feb 11: Women's Action Forum will be celebrating the=20
Pakistan Women's Day on Tuesday. Women from various walks of life -=20
media, professionals and activists - will get together at a seminar=20
to review and take stock of past and present Activism Strategies,=20
says a press release.
It has been of great concern to women of Pakistan that discriminatory=20
and unjust laws brought about through ordinances continue to be=20
imposed. WAF has taken particular notice of the fact that although so=20
many matters are being examined and positive changes being proposed,=20
in areas concerning women not enough has been done.
The proposals of a report of the Commission of Inquiry for Women,=20
prepared for the government of Pakistan, although accepted as a=20
working document, has not been acted upon. WAF is in particular=20
concerned about the laws which continue to impact women's daily lives.
Legislators, lawyers, law enforcers and the judiciary all agree that=20
laws like the Zina law have many loopholes, and it had made women's=20
position extremely vulnerable. Despite that, no move has yet been=20
made to repeal them. Within three years of its promulgation almost=20
4,000 women had in various ways been affected by it. Crime against=20
women have increased manifold since the Hudood laws. These are all=20
clear indications of the destruction of the essence of justice, where=20
even minor girls are in fear of being accused of Zina if they have=20
been abducted.
Women's Action Forum demands the repeal of all discriminatory laws.=20
These laws were brought through ordinance and can as easily be=20
repealed through another ordinance, the press release concludes.

______

#3.

The News International
Wednesday February 13, 2002

Right to protest
Dr Riaz Ahmed

India and Pakistan are on the brink of yet another war. Like its=20
democratic counterpart in India the military dictatorship of General=20
Musharraf is also not doing much to ease tensions. Pakistanis and=20
Indians are angry at hate-mongering of the governments. Peace rallies=20
are being held in major cities of both countries. The Joint Action=20
Committee, an umbrella group of radical NGOs, socialist organisations=20
and non-NGO peace groups of journalists and professional engineers=20
and statisticians had a successful vigil on Dec 31st at the Karachi=20
Press Club. Encouraged by the response they decided to hold another=20
at Hassan Square, the new city centre. However soon as the protestors=20
gathered on January 7th the police started dispersing them. Some=20
adamant protestors refused to disperse and two were arrested and one=20
bruised. The hundreds who arrived later were turned away. All this=20
brutality took place despite earlier police assurances that sidewalk=20
protest would not be stopped.

Isn't this a usual story? Another issue another protest? Day in and=20
out protesters gather at press clubs around the country and the=20
police allows them a 'side-walk' protest. So what was wrong with the=20
Hassan Square protest? Well, as one of the friends said 'because it=20
was not at the Press Club'.

The question asked by most of the liberals, progressives and those=20
taking the regime of General Musharraf as 'liberal,=20
anti-fundamentalist, anti-war' is that why would this government=20
attack peace-protesters? Isn't the General for peace? Ironically the=20
statement is self-contradictory. The history of the dictator in=20
General Musharraf shows that he and military bosses behind him, in=20
the given circumstances, are playing peace and at other times they=20
have done more to create disruption. Remember those opposing Lahore=20
Declaration, creation of the Kargil debacle, the nuclear explosions?=20
Peace protests have been repressed elsewhere, another example being=20
at Wagah. It will be a folly to expect a military regime to give us=20
the rights it has taken away by imposing military rule. The question=20
here is not that 'why the military regime would attack the peace=20
protesters' but it has to be that 'what causes it to attack all those=20
who criticise, challenge and protest against ruling elite's policies'.

Press clubs are in the quietest old-city areas. Insignificant traffic=20
passes by, working people don't even know where it is unless they=20
have to protest. That way the protests are limited, controllable,=20
manageable. By allowing protests and pictures of protesters the=20
government appears liberal: safeguarding the rights of its critics.=20
Protesters' anger gets vented and initial small numbers of protesters=20
gets demoralised for lack of solidarity.

If protests are held in public places surely not hundreds but=20
thousands will come to know of them. People will get to see the=20
protestors they sometimes notice in print only. The protestors and=20
the passers-by will come into real-life contact. Ideas will be=20
exchanged, debates made and more will join the protestors. The=20
protesters will get solidarity. The passers-by will know that 'some=20
are protesting'. They will realise that protests 'are possible'. This=20
will be a realisation that may radicalise millions into thinking that=20
it is possible to disagree, it is possible to protest. This will be a=20
first step towards real emancipation of the people -- 'an act of the=20
people by the people'.

Rulers in general and military rulers in particular know that to=20
allow protest is to allow people to think about their own lives and=20
to act to change it. Criticism bares open that which is fetishised.=20
Protests concretise this re-thinking of the masses. They usually=20
begin for retaining past reforms. Military rule relies solely on the=20
threat to use force. However a prolonged military rule itself takes=20
away the might conceived in its coercive stance. This is what=20
happened in General Zia's dictatorship. Five years into his rule he=20
was faced with a massive movement for restoration of democracy. From=20
then on the military ruler had to give in to various demands. This=20
may happen with General Musharraf and more quickly as the state and=20
economy are weak.

Denying the right to protest does not mean that protests will not=20
take place. In fact the recent protests have proved contrary to that=20
assertion. The more people protest the greater there is a desire to=20
protest more. And if the protesters succeed in getting a demand=20
realised then it gives confidence to argue for more reforms. In the=20
past one year or so radicalisation of our society has intensified.=20
Only last month, schoolteachers in Sindh and Punjab staged massive=20
protests, tens of thousands of land-less peasants protested for land=20
rights in Okara and other areas, college teachers in Karachi=20
protested against denationalisation, university teachers protested=20
against repression, anti-war protests were staged all over the=20
country. And most importantly the peace rally at Wagah on December=20
31st which was attacked.

Since the war on Afghanistan the protesters movement has intensified.=20
So when India and Pakistan threatened war the peace activists were=20
quick to respond and within days they were at the Karachi Press Club.=20
Within a week they were out there at Hassan Square and the mood was=20
fantastic. New faces, young people and mostly women -- these are the=20
colours and mix of the new movement.

The military regime of General Musharraf is apparently trying to=20
avoid war and by that token the stance of a peace protester may be=20
the same as that of the regime. But that is a coincidence. By design,=20
military is a war machine, a vital protector of the state when faced=20
with a challenge, be it be internal or external. So the military may=20
be against an immediate war but it would not allow people to protest=20
against the war. The military regime does not need people to be=20
awakened about the dangers of war because soon it may need a war to=20
protect itself. By allowing protest now the regime faces the danger=20
of allowing formation of an internal challenge to a future war or=20
against other policies. To protect itself the ruling class has to=20
ensure that its own house is united. The grouping together of the=20
various shades of political and fundamentalist parties around the=20
military government is testament to that unity. By denying people to=20
protest the military regime denies masses an opportunity to group=20
together. They fear that such grouping in turn itself may rise=20
against the ruling group.

World history shows that like all rights the right to protest is=20
never given by the state; rights are always taken, achieved. The=20
right to protest is one of the most difficult under military rule.=20
But the new movement of resistance has shown that it is necessary to=20
move beyond Press Clubs, out into the larger places and relate to the=20
masses. It has shown that the right to protest will never be=20
legitimised by the state. If our lives have to change and we wish to=20
control them then this right need only be legitimised in the minds of=20
masses. Little preaching can help in restoring that realisation, it=20
needs practice. More protests against war, deprivation and denial are=20
the only way that we can challenge fundamentalists, the repressive=20
rulers and gain the right to protest.

The writer is assistant professor, department of applied chemistry,=20
University of Karachi

______

#4.

Prose poem by Agha Shahid Ali

Dear Shahid, I am writing to you from your far-off country. Far even=20
from us who live here. Where you no longer are. Everyone carries his=20
address in his pocket so that at least his body will reach home.

Rumours break on their way to us in the city. But word still reaches=20
us from border towns: Men are forced to stand barefoot in snow waters=20
all night. The women are alone inside. Soldiers smash radios and=20
televisions. With bare hands they tear our houses to pieces.

You must have heard Rizwan was killed. Rizwan: Guardian of the Gates=20
of Paradise. Only eighteen years old. Yesterday at Hideout Caf=E9=20
(everyone there asks about you), a doctor - who had just treated a=20
sixteen-year-old boy released from an interrogation centre - said: I=20
want to ask the fortune-tellers: Did anything in his line of Fate=20
reveal that the webs of his hands would be cut with a knife?

This letter, insh'Allah, will reach you for my brother goes south=20
tomorrow where he shall post it. Here one can't even manage postage=20
stamps. Today I went to the post office. Across the river. Bags and=20
bags - hundreds of canvas bags - all undelivered mail. By chance I=20
looked down and there on the floor I saw this letter addressed to=20
you. So I am enclosing it. I hope it's from someone you are longing=20
for news of.

Things here are as usual though we always talk about you. Will you=20
come home soon? Waiting for you is like waiting for spring. We are=20
waiting for the almond blossoms. And, if God wills, O! those days of=20
peace when we all were in love and the rain was in our hands wherever=20
we went.

A prose poem taken from The Country Without a Post Office by Agha=20
Shahid Ali (WW Norton, =A38.50). Ali was an award-winning Kashmiri poet=20
praised by, amongst others, John Ashbery and Edward Said. He died=20
last December.

______

#5.

Indian Express
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
EDITORIALS & ANALYSIS

Stop them right there

The VHP's latest move calls for preemptive action

The VHP has never made any secret of its abundant disrespect for the=20
law of the land and democratic norms, it has made no promises it=20
doesn't intend to keep. Messrs Singhal, Giriraj Kishore et al, have=20
never pretended that in the matter of the construction of a Ram=20
Mandir at Ayodhya their brigade of sants, mahants and the rest would=20
defer to either a court settlement or a negotiated resolution. The=20
VHP has been clear from the very beginning. But the BJP has not had=20
the luxury of the same clarity, which, it must be pointed out, has=20
not always been a bad thing for the party. The fine balance it has=20
been forced to strike between the tug of power and the pull of the=20
core agenda it shares with its sister organisations, has had its=20
advantages. Every now and then, the embers could be stoked and=20
politically encashed, without allowing them to flare into a=20
conflagration that could consume its government. Sunday's=20
announcement by the VHP of its programme, date and all, to transport=20
carved pillars etc. for temple construction at Ayodhya, however,=20
alters this tableau. Now that the VHP has moved from open-ended=20
threats to a programme of action, the BJP's room for equivocation has=20
shrunk. After Sunday, the nation waits for the BJP-led government at=20
the Centre to clearly spell out what it will do - not after another=20
terrible deed is done at Ayodhya, but before that, to prevent it from=20
taking place.

It may even be, as some have been quick to point out, that we're=20
taking the VHP more seriously than it deserves. That Sunday's setting=20
of dates is only more of the same posturing it has offered as a sop=20
to its restive constituency so far. It could be, as is also being=20
argued, that the entire clamour is synchronised to perfection with=20
the Uttar Pradesh polls. That the VHP is only doing this to line up=20
the 'Hindu voter', of whichever caste, behind the BJP in that crucial=20
state. That after polling day, the noise will die down. After all,=20
despite its brash rhetoric of risking bullets and the demise of the=20
BJP-led government, isn't it true that even the VHP cannot be mad=20
enough to court that latter danger? But the question here is, why=20
must the nation have to count on the VHP's sanity, or the remnants=20
thereof, to avert another catastrophe at Ayodhya? The question also=20
is, can we afford the build up, even to a non-event? It is not just=20
what the VHP may or may not finally do at Ayodhya. What is also a=20
cause for concern is the toll its dangerous brinkmanship on this=20
crucial issue can take on the often fragile peace between communities.

No, the BJP cannot afford to sit back and wait for the VHP's plan of=20
action to unfold. It cannot afford to merely point to the political,=20
or logistical, untenability of it all. There is no room for=20
complacence here, and the time to act is now. Almost a decade ago,=20
one government at the Centre was caught napping, quite literally so,=20
even as the Babri mosque was being brought down at Ayodhya. The=20
nation will not condone a repeat performance. More, it expects some=20
lessons to have been learnt from history. The time to act is not=20
after the pillars, etc, have reached their destination. They must be=20
intercepted on the road to Ayodhya.

______

6.

[Hoshangabad Science Teaching Program is a pioneering middle school=20
science teaching program (HSTP) running in rural areas of Madhya=20
Pradesh (India) for more than two decades. The Govt. is planning to=20
shut down the programme. This alternative education initiative lays=20
emphasis on doing experiments and learning through activities. HSTP=20
is a part of Ekalavya an organization of radical educationists and=20
pedagogues who design people centered teaching content, based in=20
Bhopal,. See an SOS message below from Eklavya]

o o o

Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 07:44:59 +0530
From: Eklavya Hoshangabad <eklavyah@y...>
Subject: HSTP-SOS

Dear Friends,

On 7-2-2002, the District Planning Committee of Hoshangabad decided=20
to recommend to the state government the closure of the HSTP in=20
Hoshangabad district. The following is a brief resume of the recent=20
developments.

During the last week of January we were told that Dr. Sitasharan=20
Sharma, BJP MLA from Itarsi has written a letter to the District=20
Planning Committee (DPC) of Hoshangabad questioning the relevance of=20
HSTP and demanding that the programme be closed down.

This agenda was taken up in the Education subcommittee of the=20
district panchayat on 29th of January. The district education office=20
gave all the relevant details and also said that any decision in this=20
regard can only be taken by the state government.

Subsequently district education office also prepared a brief note for=20
the DPC agenda, which was held on 7th of February. We discussed the=20
matter with the collector and couple of DPC members. Unfortunately=20
Ms. Savita Diwan Sharma the Congress MLA from Hoshagabad, who may be=20
more sympathetic to the programme, was away in UP and could not=20
attend the meeting. Eklavya representatives were also invited to the=20
DPC meeting to put up our case. Kamal and Rajesh attended the meeting.

When this particular agenda came up the Itarsi MLA had following to say:

1. In this era of globalisation you should not have something that is=20
restricted only to some pockets, either a programme should be=20
implemented all over the country or should be stopped altogether.

2. HSTP follows an approach where a child is supposed to try out=20
everything that s/he has to learn, the book says that to figure out=20
whether the current is flowing in the wire, the child should touch=20
live wire and find out.

3. HSTP does not link either with the lower or the higher classes.

4. Children are supposed to collect leaves in HSTP and they find it=20
quite inconvenient. (this was stated in his letter to DPC).

5. The HSTP approach might be good for schools with low=20
teacher-student ratio and where the teacher is committed but neither=20
in Madhya Pradesh, nor anywhere else in India do we have such a=20
situation so the HSTP should be closed down.

Kamal was given a few minutes to respond. The Chairperson i.e. the=20
minister who is in charge of Hoshangabad district, Ajay Narayan=20
Mushran, (the finance minister)-asked Kamal to speak as even the=20
'condemned were allowed to defend themselves'. After Kamal had spoken=20
for a few minutes, the chairperson intervened and said that the house=20
unanimously feels that HSTP should not be followed any longer in=20
H'bad district. As Kamal protested and requested more time to=20
explain, the minister concluded the discussion saying that the=20
verdict for capital punishment has been given (fansi ho gayi).

There were banner headlines about this decision next day on local=20
pages of two of the major regional newspapers. Expecting that we had=20
also given an immediate press release which was carried partially in=20
these.

Matters relating to school curriculum are not in the purview of the=20
DPC; at best it can only give recommendation to the state govt.=20
Nevertheless, we feel that the issue should be taken head-on. In=20
response, at the moment we have planned and are carrying out the=20
following actions:

1. We will be submitting a detailed petition to the secretary and=20
chairperson, DPC with copies to all the DPC members asking for a=20
review of this decision.

2. Approaching members of the DPC and trying to see that at least 2-3=20
of these ask for a review on the basis that there was no adequate=20
discussion on the issue, they were not posted with all the facts and=20
aspects of the case=8A.

3. We have started a signature campaign amongst teachers, parents and=20
students who have cleared middle school.

4. We are also trying to keep the balance in the local/regional media=20
as far as the coverage is concerned.

5. We plan to hold some kind of meetings at least in the major towns=20
like Itarsi, H'bad and Pipariya so that resolutions from these=20
meetings can be presented to the elected representatives.

6. We will be sending the details of the petition with relevant=20
papers to all our resource teachers and resource persons, so that=20
everybody can decide on the possible action plan at the respective=20
level.

We are mailing this summary to as many addresses that we have. Please=20
do forward it to (or inform) others who did not get this mail.

It would help if you can send a letter of protest to the district=20
collector, Hoshangbad with a copy to us.

And do get back to us with any suggestions, queries etc that you might have=
,

We will keep you posted on the developments,

HSTP Group & other members of Eklavya

______

#7.

The New York Times
February 12, 2002
BOMBAY JOURNAL

Oh, the Heartache! They Want Cupid Banished

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

The Associated Press
PHOTO caption: A party member smashed an advertisement for a=20
Valentine celebration.

The Associated Press
PHOTO Caption: Facing threats from a radical Hindu political party=20
over Valentine's Day, card-shop owners like Kalyanji M. Chheda have=20
produced "Love Day" cards, with no mention of Cupid or St. Valentine.=20
The party, Shiv Sena, views Cupid as a symbol of the West's=20
corrupting influence.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOMBAY, Feb. 11 - In the Indian imagination, this has long been the=20
place where women could wear short skirts and dance with men. where=20
lovers could take in the lights along Marine Drive and life could be=20
like the movies.

Today, Bombay is called Mumbai, and there is a red rage brewing over=20
Valentine's Day.

The Shiv Sena, the radical Hindu political party that is a powerful=20
force in the city and state governments, sees in Cupid the very=20
avatar of Western culture, a symbol of its corrupting influence over=20
traditional Indian society.

Last year, supporters of Shiv Sena - literally, the Army of Shivaji,=20
the 17th-century Hindu king who warred against several Muslim rulers=20
- stormed shops that carried Valentine's Day greeting cards,=20
overturned display racks and made bonfires on the streets.

This year, Sena leaders issued another death warrant of sorts against=20
Valentine's Day, calling it a frivolous occasion that sullies Indian=20
values and gives young people another excuse to spend their parents'=20
money.

Pramod Navalkar, a Shiv Sena man and the former culture minister of=20
the state of Maharashtra, of which this is the capital, declared:=20
"Drinking, dancing. Drinking, dancing. These two D's are destroying=20
us. If our boys go and demonstrate in front of those shops, we cannot=20
stop them. We have not asked them to demonstrate, but they might do."

"What you need," he added, "is to create some public opinion on this."

Taliban of the Hindu right, guardians of Indian values, or killjoys=20
of the Bombay spirit? Public opinion on the Shiv Sena here is by no=20
means uniform.

What is certain is that their crusade against Cupid is merely the=20
latest sign of a creeping puritanism that aims to make this India=20
metropolis less freewheeling.

The passion over Feb. 14 is just the latest effort by the Shiv Sena,=20
a coalition partner in the national government led by the Hindu=20
nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, to weigh in on Bombay's cultural=20
life.

In recent years, their supporters have raised a ruckus over a Muslim=20
artist's nude portrayal of a Hindu goddess, disrupted the concert of=20
a Pakistani ghazal singer, and stormed movie theaters to protest a=20
lesbian relationship portrayed in a film.

During his tenure as state culture minister, Mr. Navalkar campaigned=20
against park benches that could encourage public cuddling; he urged=20
that single seats be installed instead.

To hear Mr. Navalkar tell it, the Sena's grievances cover a gamut of=20
social ills.

Mr. Navalkar is opposed to the proliferation of Western clothes;=20
soon, he fears, Indian women will have forgotten how to wear the=20
traditional sari. He is also against the proliferation of=20
restaurants, for fear they will deprive long-married couples of the=20
one thing they have to talk about every day - shopping for fish and=20
cooking.

"The lifestyle has totally changed," Mr. Navalkar lamented.=20
"Gradually this Westernization has grabbed the entire society."

Such attitudes have more than a few detractors among those who regard=20
the Shiv Sena's latest vendetta against Cupid as a political gimmick.=20
One of those is Kiran Nagarkar, a Bombay-born playwright and=20
novelist, who has felt the wrath of Shiv Sena himself.

"Thuggishness is their primary objective," he said of the party's=20
campaign. "They don't have any causes left."

Despite the Shiv Sena's best efforts, Bombay remains, by many=20
accounts, the most do-as-you-dare, most cosmopolitan of Indian=20
cities, a place where women can, for the most part, safely walk the=20
streets at night and order a gin without turning heads.

But card makers and sellers today cannot help but pay heed to the=20
Shiv Sena campaign. Some in Bombay, as well as in nearby Pune and a=20
few other Indian cities, have been forced to reduce or stop the=20
production of Valentine's Day cards altogether. One card shop chain,=20
Archie's, has asked the Indian Supreme Court to issue an order=20
preventing a repeat of last year's mayhem.

Kalyanji M. Chheda, owner of Satyam Collection card shop, in the=20
heart of Bombay, around the corner from Eros Cinema, has mounted a=20
smaller-than-usual Valentine's Day spread this year. But he would not=20
drop it altogether.

How could he? Last year, he sold 50,000 Valentine's Day cards, just=20
short of New Year's Day card sales of 75,000; Diwali and Eid, the=20
largest Hindu and Muslim holidays here, saw card sales of 50,000 and=20
25,000.

This year, to take some of the Shiv Sena heat off, the card-makers=20
association has proposed thinly disguised Indian alternatives to=20
Valentine's Day.

There are new "love cards," affectionate missives adorned with red=20
hearts and pink roses but with no mention of that foreign interloper,=20
St. Valentine, or his unclothed sidekick, Cupid.

Card-makers say they also hope their new invention, Prem Din Utsav,=20
or Love Day Celebration, will soothe even the Sena's hearts.

But the Sena's threats have hardly erased the commercial promise of=20
Valentine's Day.

At least one nightclub is having a Valentine's Day party. Newspapers=20
are chock-full of ads for Valentine's Day movie screenings, vacation=20
packages and specials on Eric Segal novels.

The other day, at St. Xavier's College, a hip and prestigious=20
Jesuit-run school where the prom was recently banned, students leaned=20
against the cool stone pillars and yawned at the Sena's threats over=20
Valentine's Day.

"Maybe because we're becoming more globalized they're afraid of it=20
becoming more American," said a fourth-year student who would give=20
only her first name, Karen. "This is their inferiority complex way of=20
preserving it."

______

#8.

Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:01:24 +0530 (IST)

Children of Lesser Gods

Ram Puniyani

>From last more than a decade social space and the major newspaper space is
full of the news to build the Temple for Lord Ram. The 'Noble People', the
saffron robed saints, their associates, the 'Hindu Nationalists' of RSS
and their followers have been wielding Trishuls and lathis to wipe away
the 'symbol of shame'. They assert that as per their 'faith' their Lord
was born was born exactly at the spot where 'symbol of shame' was
situated. Thanks to their hard work, at least one symbol of shame, Babri
masjid has been done away with! For the Hindu Rashtra this is THE core
issue. It is not a coincidence that at the same time the problems of the
'tribe of Shambuk' the Dalits, have been shunted to the margins of social
psyche and the media. It is in this backdrop that the Bhopal Declarations
of Dalit Rights (Jan 12-13, 2002) went unnoticed. The Honorable President
of India, K.R.Narayanan in his republic day speech tried to bring it to
our attention but again in vain. Dr. Narayanan in his anguish said, "The
discrimination being suffered by women, the scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes is a crying denial of the democracy that is enshrined in our
Constitution. Recently a conference was held in Bhopal of Dalit and tribal
intellectuals and activists. They issued a Declaration called the Bhopal
Declaration charting out a new course for Dalits and the tribal people for
the 21st century."

What is this Declaration, which the President thought worth mentioning in
his Republic day address? While the popular opinion is being doctored by
those in power and those who control the media, for war against the
neighbor, against terrorism etc. what business President has got to talk
about the plight of Dalits, women and other weaker sections of society?

Today Dalits occupy lowest rung of the ladder in social development,
access to facilities like water, education, health care and jobs. They do
share their plight with the 'dreaded' minority, the Muslims. One can very
well ask that when so many provisions, 'reservations' etc. have been made
for them, so why this complaint? Is there not a quota for them in jobs, in
admissions in professional colleges etc.? Is it not that to pamper these
our 'meritorious' children are suffering? So why this advocacy by the
President to improve their lot, why this Bhopal Charter, which calls for
restoring their land to them with compensation, giving them living
agricultural wages, right and opportunity to use the common social
property, gender parity in wages, quota in the capital share, access to
compulsory quality education and reservation in private sector. It calls
for democratization of capital, proper application of Prevention of
Atrocities act amongst others. Were the earlier provisions not enough? And
if the country is to bother about all this for this 'pampered' lot who
will take care of the temple of Lord Ram for which even our 'worthy sons
of the soil', settled in Dollarland are sending money as a gesture of
their 'patriotism' for this Rashtra of theirs'?

In a way the Bhopal declaration and the Ram Janmbhumi campaign are two
contrasting poles of our society. With the freedom and bringing in of
democratic constitution the politics in the name of religion was quiescent
for some time. It is not that the seeds of this politics were not laid.
Ram was already given the place of 'Symbol of Nationalism' as the glorious
monarch of this land. But the followers of this Hindu rashtra politics
were on the margins. First three decades of the republic saw a painfully
slow but sure journey towards the social transformation, towards Liberty
Equality and Fraternity. Even during this period the reservations, which
were meant for the downtrodden, were sabotaged by the entrenched upper
caste/class hegemony. Some benefits did accrue to the Dalit sections. The
rise of these sections, though small, threatened the status quo to which
this society had been used to for centuries and the counter-reaction to
this minimal gain began with the rise of VHP and other children of RSS,
who by word of mouth spread the poison against Dalits, their being
non-meritorious, their being the son-in-laws of the Govt. etc. This poison
seeped in to the elite sections of society and it burst out first in the
anti-Reservation riots in Gujarat in 1981. The think tank of the Hindutva
politics soon realized that it may be better to co-opt the elite sections
of Dalits in its own gambit and instead target an 'enemy', who is outside
the Hindu fold, the Muslim (Christians were to be the next) and keep the
social attention sidetracked to the issues which have no real relevance to
society. The idea as one can see in the hindsight was to intimidate the
society through communal violence. And in the terrifying atmosphere
created through the anti-Muslim violence the social transformation and
quest for human rights as such can be undermined in the name of
'patriotism.' And that is how, Lord Ram and the Sants came to the rescue
of Hindutva politics. And through the emotive (religious sounding)
appeals, Rath Yatras, etc. the elite upper caste/class sections were
brought together into the political fold, which supported the demolition
and in a way indirectly promoted the communalization of society. And thus
the Ram politics, which was on margins, came to the center stage and
problems of tribe of Shambuk were pushed to the margins. With this, every
affirmative action came to be being looked as pampering or appeasement,
at the same time shedding the crocodile tears for the plight of 'our
Vanvasi brethren', or our 'poor Hindu' brothers.

The 'brilliance' of this statrategy has paid heavy dividends to the social
elite. It is not only at electoral level. At social level while the guns
are targeted against the 'internal threats to Hindu Nation' (Muslims,
Christians and Communaists, a la M.S.Golwalkar, the RSS ideologue) the
real intent of the exercise is to ensure the preservation of status quo or
better still push it backwards in the space of time and reverse whatever
little could be achieved by these children of the lesser Gods. It is in
this direction that the attacks on Christian missionaries have been
engineered. These attacks achieve two simple purposes. On one hand the
literacy and health facilities being offered by the missionaries need to
be stopped, as nothing can be worse than an educated Adivasi, aware of his
rights etc. So instead fill the 'vacuum' by Ekal schools, a Hindutva
training center where all 'glorious' aspects of Hindu Rashtra are dished
out to make the compliant followers. Where there is no need for the modern
education, as it is a 'symbol of mental slavery' to the West. In cities
the regular outbursts of communal violence and communal hatred
manufactured by different 'innovative' mechanisms will ensure the halting
of any semblance of progress, which threatens the social equilibrium.

So we have two alternative paths lying in front of us. Indian
Constitution, Secularism, democracy, affirmative action, and struggle for
social transformation, and in this direction the declarations like Bhopal,
on one hand. On the other is the currently assertive politics of Hindu
Rashtra, scrapping the 'Western-values based constitution' and return to
Hindu Holy scriptures, politics of Ram Janm bhumi, then Krishna JanmBhumi
then...till all the vestiges of 'foreign rule' are wiped out and 'self
respect' is infused courtesy the Sants, Mahants and Khaki Knickerwallahs
i.e. all those who had nothing to do with our freedom struggle and process
of formation of India in to a Nation. According to this path Hindu society
has already achieved the 'best' set of social and universal values,
meaning thereby that pre-independence status quo has to be restored and
the deviant path adopted by Nehru (Modernization) and Ambedkar's
constitution has to be buried for good. So today like no time before in
the past the choice in front of us is starkly clear, towards Ram temple
and all that or Bhopal declaration and improvement in the lot of oppressed
and exploited sections of society. Can we dare the dangling Trishuls on
our heads and give a thought to the plight of oppressed and exploited, to
Bhopal Declaration?

(Writer works with EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai)

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