[sacw] SACW #2 | 28 Feb. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 28 February 2002

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

#1. Peace Groups Rally Across South Asia
#2. Resolution - India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum
#3. Violence flares in western India
#4. India: Welcome loosening of Hindutva's grip (Praful Bidwai)
#5. India; An Insight Into the Way Shiv Sena Functions (Harish Nambiar)
#6. India: Former Prime Minister snubs BJP stand on Mosque demolition
#7. Arms dealers see bonanza in [Pakistan- India] standoff (Edna Fernandes)

________________________

#1.

February 25, 2002
on Free Speech Radio News

Peace Groups Rally Across South Asia
Peace groups in the subcontinent have decided to hold a peace vigil=20
on the last Sunday of each month - under the initiative of COVA, the=20
Hyderabad based Confederation for Voluntary associations, people=20
across India and Pakistan as well as in other parts of the world,=20
notably the US, came together yesterday, urging their governments to=20
heed their peoples' call for an end to hostility between the two=20
nuclear neighbours. Demands include the immediate signing of a no-war=20
pact, resume communication and travel links and establish trade ties=20
and an end to the nuclearisation of the sub-continent. Sputnik=20
Kilambi reports from Hyderabad India.

http://stream.realimpact.org/rihurl.ram?file=3Dwebactive/freespeech/fsrn200=
20225.ra&start=3D"23:02.4"

______

#2.

India-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum
-------------------------------------- =
=20

The following resolution was adopted at a meeting held at the
Gandhi Peace Foundation on February 26, 20002 :

CONVINCED that the wisest course of action during a
political crisis is to engage in a dialogue rather than in an
armed conflict with a popular rebellion we the undersigned
condemn the extension of emergency by another three months in
Nepal on February 22, 2002 by the Nepalese Parliament to fight
Maoist insurgency. This bodes ill for democratic aspirations of
the people of Nepal. We draw attention to the fact that armed
conflict increases the chances of outside intervention which
cannot be in the interest of the people of Nepal who cherish
their sovereignty.=20

We wish to remind the ruling Nepali Congress party that
establishment of a Republic has been a longstanding demand of the
the democracy movement in Nepal for over five decades.=20

WE, therefore, call upon the Government of Nepal to remove all
curbs placed on people's right to free speech and assembly,
restore freedom of the press to cross verify charges and counter-
charges of killings of non-combatant civilians by the government
or the Maoist forces, and release the 36 journalists detained
under the emergency laws along with all those detained without
filing of chargesheet against them.=20=20

WE also appeal to the Government of Nepal to return to
the negotiating table by resuming dialogue with the leaders of
the Maoist rebellion on the issue of establishing a constituent
assembly in order to let the people decide whether they want the
continuance of the constitutional monarchy or want sovereignty of
the people restored under a Republic.

Finally we demand that the Government of India strictly maintain
a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Nepal.

Anand Swaroop Varma
(on behalf of INPSF)

February 26, 2002
New Delhi

______

#3.

BBC News
Thursday, 28 February, 2002, 11:38 GMT

Violence flares in western India

Reprisals were expected following the train attack

Police in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad say four people have=20
been stabbed to death in violence following an attack by Muslims on=20
Wednesday on a train carrying Hindu activists.

The four deaths came as hundreds of Hindus seeking revenge for the=20
train attack took to the streets of Ahmedabad, ransacking and setting=20
fire to shops and restaurants owned by Muslims.

_____

#4.

"The News", Pakistan, February 28, 2002

Welcome loosening of Hindutva's grip

Praful Bidwai

The electorate in four Indian states has delivered a devastating=20
rebuff to the Bharatiya Janata Party, and sent out a clear message:=20
its ethnic-religious Hindutva politics has lost much of its appeal;=20
it may only have a dim future. The cruellest blow comes from Uttar=20
Pradesh, with a population larger than Pakistan's.

These elections were the first to be held since September 11, in an=20
"anti-terrorism" climate considered highly favourable to the BJP's=20
"National-Security-Under-Threat-From-Terrorists" platform. They have=20
radically changed India's political map.

Four years ago, the BJP seemed to govern the destiny of almost 500=20
million Indians, ruling in states as varied as UP and Gujarat, Punjab=20
and Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra. With the Congress in=20
long-term, historic, decline, the BJP seemed unstoppable.

Today, BJP rule is reduced to just four states -- only two of them=20
mid-sized, Gujarat and Jharkhand. In only Gujarat does it rule on its=20
own. Nationally, it trails behind the now-revived Congress, which is=20
in power in 14 states, in more than half the country, and may become=20
a ruling coalition partner in UP too.

No other party had a higher stake in these elections than the BJP. It=20
was in office in three of the four states. In the fourth, Manipur, it=20
had made an abortive bid eight months ago to cobble together a=20
government of defectors.

In UP's 403-strong Legislative Assembly today, the BJP is not even=20
Number Two. Its 88-seat tally puts it a good 11 seats behind the=20
Bahujan Samaj Party, with its core-base of Dalits, and way, way,=20
behind Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (144 seats).

The BJP's tally in UP has shrunk by half since 1996. More important,=20
the negative vote-swing against it is as high as 12.5 percent. By=20
contrast, the SP and the BSP have gained three percent-plus in votes.=20
Even the Congress has picked up one percentage point since 1996.

No less massive is the setback the BJP suffered in the other three=20
states. In Punjab, where it was a junior partner of the Akali Dal, it=20
won -- despite furious campaigning by Vajpayee and Advani -- just=20
three seats, as against 17 in 1997. (The Akalis got a respectable 41).

In Uttaranchal, carved out of UP's hilly region just a year ago, so=20
rapid was popular disillusionment with the BJP due to its=20
misgovernance, that the Congress easily trounced it.

In Manipur, the BJP, in alliance with the Samata Party (of George=20
Fernandes), trails behind three other blocs. Of the 50 results=20
declared, it has won four and Samata two -- in contrast to five for=20
the Communist Party of India, 13 for the Congress, and 12 for the=20
Federal Party of Manipur.

Top BJP leaders, including Vajpayee, have been straining to emphasise=20
that the elections are no referendum on the party, on Hindutva, or on=20
the 27-party National Democratic Alliance ruling in New Delhi. They=20
have done so especially after a series of opinion polls beginning=20
mid-January gave the BJP poor ratings.

In some ways, the elections are a referendum -- above all, for NDA=20
constituents, and for the larger public. The BJP's "secular" allies=20
in the NDA are with it largely out of opportunistic considerations of=20
power, and to an extent, antipathy to the Congress. Many of them are=20
likely to conclude that a party reduced to a little rump in four=20
states cannot provide the fulcrum of a stable national government.=20
They could soon start looking for alternatives.

For Indian citizens, the election results signify a forceful=20
rejection of the politics of Hindu chauvinism and communally driven=20
war-mongering typical of the BJP. The people refuse to be swayed by=20
the BJP's hysterical, ultra-nationalist "anti-terrorism" campaign,=20
which tars Islam and all Muslims, especially Pakistani Muslims, with=20
the fundamentalist, fanatical or terrorist brush.

The anti-Pakistan "nationalist" card didn't work in the elections.=20
Nor did the "Ram temple gambit", the promise to build a temple in=20
Ayodhya where the BJP and associates destroyed the Babri mosque in=20
1992.

During its campaign, the BJP drafted in fanatics of the Vishwa Hindu=20
Parishad, including assorted sadhus, to beat the temple drum, with=20
adroitly timed yatras and a declaration that they would start=20
construction on March 15, violating the law and the Supreme Court of=20
India's explicit orders. Although the BJP tried to tactically=20
distance itself from the VHP, the two were inseparable on the ground.

Even this didn't help. Ultimately, the BJP was judged by the=20
electorate to be unfit to rule any of the four states.

The quality of the BJP's defeat cannot be explained by India's famous=20
"anti-incumbency" factor -- the voter's fatigue and disillusionment=20
with a ruling party. "Anti-incumbency" does not apply universally,=20
without qualifications. In recent years, ruling parties have been=20
repeatedly returned to power: eg the Congress in Madhya Pradesh,=20
Telegu Desam in Andhra, above all, the Left Front in West Bengal --=20
the last, for the sixth consecutive term.

The plain truth is, the verdict represents a resounding rejection of=20
the BJP's market-fundamentalist neoliberalism, its conservative=20
social policies, and a shrinking of its base. The people are=20
unimpressed by Hindutva-style gung-ho nuclear-bomb nationalism, and=20
by the BJP's claims to probity "the party with a difference".

Numerous caste groups are disillusioned with the BJP. In UP, the most=20
important are the low-caste Other Backward Classes, once mobilised by=20
Kalyan Singh, who uniquely personified an OBC-Hindutva combination=20
(but was expelled by Vajpayee). Other groups include Brahmins,=20
Muslims (11 percent voted BJP in 1999) and the bureaucracy.

As this Column earlier predicted, the Muslims overwhelmingly voted secular.
There is however no clear mandate for any other party in UP. The SP=20
performed worse than expected by many analysts. One reason is that=20
Mulayam Singh took Muslim support for granted. He ignored the BSP's=20
tactic of putting up 86 Muslim candidates. He even gave tickets to=20
more than 15 Hindu-fanatic karsevaks. He has paid for this.

UP's biggest gainer is Dalit leader Mayawati who showed fantastic=20
tenacity and organisational skills, as well as the acumen needed to=20
expand her electoral base beyond the Dalits. As many as 32 of the=20
BSP's MLAs are upper caste, 15 Muslims, 24 OBCs, and four Yadavs.

As of now, the SP seems best placed to form a government if it is=20
supported by the Congress, by about 20 or so of the independent and=20
small-party MLAs, and by the Ajit Singh and Janata Dal (U) groups=20
which were in alliance with the BJP, but which may be willing to=20
desert it.

The numbers add up to the 202 half-way mark even without the BSP=20
splitting, as is its wont.

The BJP's prospects of regaining influence in UP seem set to recede=20
further in the coming months. Erosion of social base and moral=20
authority is its greatest loss from the electoral verdict. Not to be=20
discounted is its likely impact on the presidential elections due in=20
July, and on the shape of national alliance-making. Both these spell=20
serious trouble for the BJP/NDA.

When the next crisis breaks out -- in the economy, over the regional=20
devolution of power, new financial scandals, or the religion-politics=20
issue -- the NDA could undergo fission. That would be welcome for the=20
cause of democracy and secularism.--end--

______

#5.

Chowk.com
http://www.chowk.com/bin/showa.cgi?hnambiar_feb0602

An Insight Into the Way Shiv Sena Functions
by Harish Nambiar
------------------------------------------------------------------------

An insight into the way the Shiv Sena functions

On January 18, three years back, the Shiv Sena was involved in a=20
shameful act of vandalism that sought to disrupt the Indo-Pak cricket=20
series, but shocked a nation.

This is a report of that act, and a look into the behind the scenes=20
maneuverings, the Sena's legacy and the way it functions.

On Monday, January 18, 1999 when 70 Shiv Sainiks ransacked the office=20
of the Board of Control for Cricket in India at the Brabourne=20
Stadium's North Stand,
they froze more than its clock at 2:25. They froze an entire nation=20
whose only pan-Indian religion was cricket. The news of the=20
desecration of India's biggest
cricketing triumph, the replica of the Prudential Cup 1983 World Cup=20
Kapil Dev's team won at the Lord's, was sacrilege.

So much so that even the Shiv Sena, the usual suspects who were=20
always gung ho about owning to any notoriety, slunk away from owning=20
up to the handiwork of its
loyal cadre of street fighters. And this is the same party whose lord=20
and master, the frail but fire spitting, rudraksha heaped chief had=20
proclaimed that if Shiv Sainiks had indeed demolished the Babri=20
Masjid, then he was proud of them.

And therein lies a tale. Why did the Sena baulk from owning up to the act?

On the weekend before, the top leaders of the Sena had met at Sena=20
chief Bal Thackeray's famous house Matoshri, taking stock of the=20
national opprobrium heaped on the Sena and its septuagenarian chief=20
for calling for a ban on the Indo-Pak cricket series that had=20
breached even the heat of the subcontinent's nuclear arms race.

The Pakistan team was to touch Indian shores for the first time in 12=20
years. The party's call for the ban had isolated the Sena from=20
everything and everyone, a
position Thackerey himself relishes. In its isolation the Sena,=20
through its lumpen cadre, always got to snatch the initiative and the=20
headlines. It also made the political careers of several Shiv Sainiks.

The story, reveals a senior Sena functionary, was different this=20
time. After BCCI was vandalized, the Sainiks involved scooted from=20
the scene. Most took cabs to the nearby Churchgate railway station=20
and scampered into local trains that took them to their respective=20
destinations. A small bunch headed instead, too drunk with their=20
triumph to know its impact, to the nearby Jehangir Art Gallery, where=20
Bal Thackeray's shy son Uddhav was holding his much publicised=20
exhibition of wildlife photographs. They proudly informed Uddhav=20
about what they had just accomplished, with the milk still sticking=20
to their whiskers.

Uddhav, who many top Sena leaders say has not inherited his father's=20
fiery cavalier attitude and penchant for posturing, lost his nerve.=20
He panicked at the colossal fallout of the act. He immediately sent=20
out denials of the Sena's involvement in the act to some select=20
reporters. In his panic, and to contain the fallout of the act, the=20
younger Thackerey did not consult his father. The state's culture=20
minister , Pramod Navalkar, who was at hand, too got into the act and=20
sent out the denials to the press.

As the media hordes bulged from a trickle to a deluge, the denials=20
were also aired. The Sena had for the first time in its history=20
committed to a denial issued by no less than a Thackerey. All evening=20
the phones never stopped ringing at the editorial office of Saamna,=20
the Sena's mouthpiece. Reporters of other newspapers were constantly=20
checking for the Sena supremo's statement. It never came. Thackeray=20
senior did on that Monday night something he had never done in recent=20
memory.

He did not react to a big story where his party was involved.=20
Thackeray pausing to think, in itself was big news.

Throughout the two weeks of controversy over Indo-Pak cricket matches=20
that the Sena chief ignited and fanned, and Shiv Sainiks kept feeding=20
through their acts at Kotla and the inane threats of a Sena satrap in=20
remote Delhi, things were spiraling out of control. The prime=20
minister, head of the national government of which the Sena was an=20
important constituent, publicly castigated the Sena chief, taunting=20
him to send his Sainiks to fight at the borders, and reminding him=20
that digging up pitches under the cover of darkness was no act of=20
bravery.

The Sena's relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party, its ally at=20
the Centre as well as in Maharashtra, was already strained. But when=20
the prime minister himself took on the Sena chief and his party,=20
Thackeray was quick to singe.

Says Prakash Akolkar, an authority on the Shiv Sena with a book on=20
the history of the party to his credit, "The entire idea (of the=20
rampage at BCCI) was to get
back at the BJP. The timing was crucial. The Union Home Minister (L K=20
Advani) and the country's top BJP leader was in the city as the guest=20
of the state
inaugurating a flyover outside Mumbai. The state's top functionaries=20
(Chief minister Manohar Joshi of the Sena and Gopinath Munde, the=20
BJP's deputy chief minister with the Home portfolio) were on the dais=20
with him. The only way to let BJP know who was the boss was to=20
accomplish it now and here."

If Thackeray expected the prime minister to have got the message and=20
call him, Vajpayee did not oblige. Instead the Prime Minister's=20
Office called the constitutional head of the state, the Sena's chief=20
minister and the current Union Minister for Industries Manohar Joshi.=20
And the call made the chief minister get all hot under the collar.

Said a close aide of Joshi, " The prime minister clearly said that he=20
was willing to even chuck the state government. And in no unclear=20
terms the PM told Joshi that he did not want to talk to Thackeray.=20
The prime minister would talk to the chief minister, and he wanted=20
the culprits arrested."

Manohar Joshi could not have missed the menace in the prime=20
minister's voice. The Sena, stuck with a knee jerk denial and a prime=20
minister willing to sacrifice the state's government, had little=20
choice. The top leaders of the Sena like Sudhir Joshi, Pramod=20
Navalkar, Subhash Desai, besides the chief minister, converged at=20
Matoshri to brainstorm on how to handle the situation.

Already three days had passed without an arrest by the police, and=20
the pressure from the government at the center was getting more and=20
more unbearable. And
BJP's Munde, the deputy chief minister of the state and the second=20
most powerful man in the state government with the Home portfolio,=20
was only too willing a
conduit. He let the pressure pass on straight to the police.

A case to the point was when, on the day after the BCCI ransacking,=20
several journalists and others protested outside the Eros Cinema at=20
Churchgate, hardly a
stone's throwaway from the BCCI office, a nervy police caned them.=20
The news spread across the city and an eager opposition, the=20
Congress, seized the situation.

Leader of the opposition in the Lower House, Madhukar Pichad, reached=20
the Cuffe Parade police station where the arrested protestors were=20
being held, to highlight the case.

When the deputy chief minister Munde of the BJP got to know he called=20
up the police station and almost shouted obscenities at the senior=20
police inspector. Says a source close to Munde, " He used the=20
choicest gaalies, and asked them where had their bravery gone when=20
the Sainiks had attacked the BCCI. And now, they were showing their=20
bravery by caning journalists." Munde also told crime reporters of=20
the city papers "the identities of those who ransacked the BCCI is an=20
open secret," alluding to the Sena's obvious involvement.

The Sena top brass met at Matoshri on January 20 for four hours. The=20
firefighting was on. One of the ideas tossed, said a source that=20
attended the meeting, was to present 40-50 youngsters to the police.=20
They would own up to the responsibility, but would be tutored to=20
parrot that they were not Shiv Sainiks, nor were they connected to=20
the Sena in any way. The Sena attempted, since they were the bigger=20
party of the ruling combine, to co-opt the city police chief into the=20
scheme.

The police commissioner of Mumbai, Ronnie Mendon, a policeman of the=20
highest integrity, and already under pressure from his own boss Home=20
Minister of the state Munde, the central government, and a nosy media=20
unsympathetic to the state of his nerves, flatly refused to play=20
along. All evidence pointed to the Shiv Sainiks, and there was no=20
question of arresting dummies, he reportedly said.

The drama was hurtling towards the climax. The D-Day arrived. The=20
Pakistani cricket team was readying to board their flight to New=20
Delhi, when Thackeray and
Advani were closeted in a closed door discussion in a last ditch=20
attempt to settle the matter. From a bilateral sporting matter the=20
issue of the 1999 Indo-Pak cricket series had become a prestige issue=20
between two political allies. For Advani it was a matter of prestige=20
of the union of India. For Thackeray and the Sena it was a question=20
of publicly stated ideology that had at stake their power in the=20
state of Maharashtra. But the decibel and TRP level had already=20
heightened the stakes so much, that Thackeray was already in search=20
of a face saving formula.

Advani flew into Mumbai on the morning of --- carrying the seal of=20
the Prime Minister Vajpayee with him, and promptly delivered to=20
Thackeray the threat that Chief Minister Joshi had got to hear=20
directly earlier on the day of the BCCI ransacking. Take it or leave=20
it.

Thackeray immediately made his choice. He said he'd leave it. The=20
protest, that is. He then added a pathetic face-saver " But only for=20
this year."

Meanwhile, the police arrested 14 Shiv Sainiks for their involvement=20
in the BCCI ransacking case the very same morning. Among those=20
arrested one man was
missing, who everybody believed to be the man behind the vandalism of=20
the BCCI. Shiv Sena Member of Legislative Assembly, Shrikant=20
Sarmalkar. Proximity to
Thackeray saved Sarmalkar. In the meantime, Chief Minister Joshi's=20
crony Vinod Khopkar was in the slammer. At least for the week of=20
judicial custody he had
been remanded to. Incidentally, Sarmalkar was the man who led the=20
infamous protest in underwear outside thespian Dilip Kumar's house.

Part - II

Seven years ago Vinod Khopkar was your average Shiv Sena shaakha=20
pramukh in central Mumbai's Marathi heartland Dadar, home to the=20
party headquarters, the
Sena Bhawan. It also is, incidentally the constituency of the former=20
chief minister, Manohar Joshi. When he, Khopkar, wanted a promotion=20
along the monolithic Sena's hierarchy, he approached a man the Sena=20
chief hates, a 57-year-old architect and planner called Madhav=20
Deshpande.

Deshpande was a founder member of the Shiv Sena. In many ways he had=20
contributed to the projection of Bal Thackerey as the one-man leader=20
of the Shiv Sena.
But he had been the first to leave the Sena because of differences=20
with his leader in 1978. "Khopkar wanted me to recommend him to=20
Manohar Joshi and his
brother in law, Sudhir Joshi for a promotion in the ranks. I told him=20
it was useless. Balasaheb only recognizes worth in terms of how much=20
money you are willing to pay", says Deshpande.

Vinod Khopkar is now a vibhag pramukh. When Deshpande met him next=20
and enquired about how he had managed to move up, he said "I took=20
your advice and
started collecting money from hoteliers and shopkeepers in my area=20
and reached it to Matoshri".

Airbag Pramukh Khopkar, now considered close to the then chief=20
minister Manohar Joshi, would not be able to wish his supreme=20
commander on the latter's
seventy-second birthday on January 23rd that year. He missed the=20
annual opportunity to be noted and blessed by Thackeray because he=20
was cooling his heels in the lockup after being remanded to judicial=20
custody till January 28th. He had been arrested for being part of the=20
Sena's goon squad that ransacked the BCCI office. He was among the=20
fourteen Sainiks under arrest and had also been there to disrupt the=20
Ghulam Ali show at the Centaur hotel in Juhu in early 98.

The way the Sena reacts and sends the message down the line to the=20
activists is never direct, says Akolkar. "In the early days, the Sena=20
leadership, besides the
Supremo, met at Matoshri. Among those who were in the inner circle,=20
were the two Joshis, Manohar and Sudhir (who was the state education=20
minister then),
Pramod Navalkar, Subhash Desai and others. A decision was taken and=20
conveyed to the cadre through the Saamna the next day. It was never=20
direct, it was always
rhetorical and the Sainiks were used to reading the message. The=20
exact way in which it was accomplished was left to the Sainiks. "

By Thackerey's own admission, as a cartoonist he was trained to read=20
between the lines and through the decades that the Sena grew, its=20
cadres were also taught to
read between the lines of the rhetorical Saamna editorials. Thackerey=20
has also scored amazing success with Marmik, the cartoon weekly he=20
had started, which
became hugely popular in the 60's and 70's I the Marathi households=20
of Mumbai. Though started with the professed idea of 'being a Sunday=20
of relief', it soon
mirrored the founder cartoonist's own pre occupation. And Thackerey,=20
the cartoonist who had left the Free Press Journal in a huff, used=20
sarcasm and irony to telling effect.

A regular reader of the Marmik, Prakash Paranjpe remembers how=20
Thackerey got his readers all excited, and started to galvanize the=20
germ of his weekly's
popularity through his first cause - 'jobs for Maharashtrians', and=20
he targeted south Indians who robbed the locals of their jobs.

"Unable to raise huge amounts of money, he used to pore over the=20
telephone directories and publish the list of the Boards of Directors=20
of blue chip companies and public sector enterprises, which were full=20
of non Maharashtrian names. This list would always have nothing but a=20
searing headline that said ' Read and keep your cool'." Recollects=20
Paranjpe. The tricked worked. Readers themselves came up with names=20
on the Boards of their own companies and supplied them to Marmik.

Incidentally, Thackerey had always said that he wanted his Sainiks=20
like "live burning coals'. And the Sena was structured, since its=20
inception, to be responsive to only one leader, Thackerey. Deshpande=20
himself is the first to admit that when the Sena was formed in the=20
late 60's, it was the need of the hour to have a party with only one=20
leader, and Thackerey was chosen for his oratorical skills, his=20
seniority and the fact that he owned a hugely popular weekly.

Later Thackeray 's cadre was always excited through his emotional=20
outbursts. One of the Shiv Sena's early sensational attacks was in=20
1970 when a communist
MLA, Krishna Desai, was killed. Desai had started to threaten the=20
Sena, and had started his own bunch of volatile bodyguards called the=20
Red Guards. Thackerey
countered by forming his own band called the saffron guards. He then=20
exhorted them to attack Desai, but had allegedly kept it secret from=20
the Sena leadership,
remembers Deshpande, 'He exhorted them by playing on their emotions.=20
He told them that this man was leading their party. Their leader=20
would be no more. He
would have been comfortable being a cartoonist, but he was doing this=20
for them."

Though Thackerey has never admitted publicly that he was involved in=20
this incident, an old Shiv Sainik remembers that at the private=20
meeting at the Robert Money school in Girgaum, south central Mumbai,=20
he had owned up to exhorting the saffron guards.

What Thackerey does, is use the love of the Shiv Sainiks for him and=20
by playing on their emotions, turns that love into a heinous crime.=20
But, in the current situation, Thackerey's Shiv Sainiks have become=20
motivated by their own gain. Each seeks to outdo Shishir Shinde in=20
acts of vandalism, because that is the only way they can reach close=20
to their leader, ' says Deshpande. Shinde's most notorious act was=20
digging up the Wankhede pitch in 1991 on the eve of a cricket match=20
with Pakistan.

Soon enough he was given a ticket to the Corporation election. And=20
this weak voiced portly man rose of to be a mobile wielding Sena MLC.

"We have never allowed the cadre to think independently', says=20
another Shiv Sainik,'otherwise we will never be effective.=20
Balasaheb's sentiment is made public on any issue and then it is for=20
the Sainiks to act according to their own resources and daring. The=20
only guarantee they have is that Saheb will never abandon them. He=20
will always own up to Shiv Sainiks, whatever they do and that is the=20
prime motivation for the Sainiks'.

However, that all Sainiks are selflessly seeking to further their=20
supremo's cause is a myth was publicly stated by Manohar Joshi=20
himself at a meeting with the Sainiks in the second week of December=20
in 1998. Joshi observed, 'all karyakartaas want to be shaakha=20
pramukhs, all shaakha pramukhs want to be vibhaag pramukhs, and all=20
vibhaag pramukhs want to be Chief minister. But there can only be one=20
Chief Minister'.

Joshi's own record illustrates what he castigated the Sainiks for.=20
When the Sena's turn came to nominate the mayor for Mumbai in the=20
seventies, he was superceded by his brother in law, Sudhir Joshi.=20
'That whole year Manohar Joshi did not go even once into the mayor's=20
office. And in fact he did not go to visit his sister even on=20
Bhaubeej. ' Bhaubeej is a festival when traditionally all=20
Maharashtrian brothers visit or meet their sisters.

While the Sainiks themselves may fight with each other, as the second=20
rung leadership does over the spoils, Thackerey has maintained an=20
almost mythical cult around him. If ever he is displeased with his=20
own leaders, all he has to do is let it be known. Like in March 1998=20
when he hit out against Joshi and his ministers publicly through=20
Saamna, and announced that he was embracing three months of forced=20
sanyaas. Sainiks converged on his bungalow and when the leaders=20
rushed to Matoshri to placate an obviously disillusioned Sena chief,=20
even the most elder Sena ministers and ideologues were heckled and=20
abused by the Sainiks. Thackerey had once again communicated to his=20
flock, as well as the pretenders to his authority, who was the boss.

Thackerey dramas are something of folklore. Deshpande publicly=20
accused him of promoting dynastic rule in the Sena, when in 1992 he=20
had inducted his son
Uddhav, and nephew Raj, into the party high command. The next day=20
Saamna carried a blazing headline; Aakhercha Jai Maharashtra'. Once=20
again announcing his
resignation. He gloated over the spectacle of Sainiks rushing to=20
pacify him. This emotional bond is something he evokes whenever he=20
feels weakened within the
party.

Thackerey's hold over the imagination of Maharashtrian youth has=20
helped him cultivate and manipulate the kind of actions that Sainiks=20
have become notorious for. In fact, with this kind of political sex=20
appeal, criminals easily get swayed to join the Sena. Says Deshpande,=20
'All they see is that the Sena chief owns them up whenever they=20
create a dramatic public nuisance. They think of the Sena as an=20
opportunity to go legit by being seen as doing things for a public=20
cause.'

This political sex appeal of Thackerey is the reason that Shiv Sena=20
shakhaas have sprung up in Haryana and Punjab and other such remote=20
corners where the party has no following. This has nothing to do with=20
the Sena or its ideology or any level other than the rank opportunism=20
of encashing the name and seal of Bal Thackerey.

Says Akolkar, "I went to a meeting of Shiv Sainiks in Haryana and=20
found them raising slogans like Jai Bhole and Bum Bhum Bole. When I=20
asked around they said
they figured that Shiv Sena meant lord Shiva's army. They did not=20
even know that it meant Shivaji's army."

(An abridged version of this report was published in the Sunday=20
Magazine section of The Telegraph, Calcutta, on January 24, 1999.)

______

#6.

The Times of India
FEBRUARY 28, 2002

Rao snubs BJP stand on Masjid demolition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2002 1:39:32 AM ]
EW DELHI: Deposing before the Liberhan Commission Wednesday, former=20
Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao criticised the BJP's ideological=20
justification, in the party's white papers (WP) for demolition of the=20
Babri Masjid.
When the commission's counsel drew Rao's attention to five points in=20
the BJP's WP under the heading ''The historical and immediate=20
provocation'', the former Prime Minister's immediate response was:=20
''Straightaway I can tell you I don't agree with any one of these.''
On Hindu resentment to pseudo-secularists, Rao remarked, ''This is=20
totally wrong. Either we are secular or non-secular. There is nothing=20
called pseudo-secular. If minorities are given certain rights, it is=20
according to the Constitution.''
To the second BJP justification - allergy of the most parties to=20
Hinduism is behind the resentment - Rao said, ''Absurd. But for the=20
support of Hindus, other parties would have never come to power in=20
states and the Centre.''
Rao also scoffed at the third justification that the Babri Masjid was=20
a victory monument. ''Invasion took place all over north India. So=20
there is no point saying there is one monument to represent 250=20
years,'' he explained.
Rao also did not believe that pseudo-secular parties have ignored the=20
truth in Ayodhya. ''If anyone has done it, it is the BJP,'' Rao said.
Rao also made it clear that the structure in Ayodhya was a mosque.=20
Gupta referred to the BJP statement that the Congress government, by=20
calling the mosque at Ayodhya a ''structure'' in its WP, has conceded=20
a vital point. Rao retorted, ''What do you think it was? A dwelling=20
unit? Of course, it was a mosque.''
Asked if the BJP's rath yatra was its answer to VP Singh's 'Mandal',=20
Rao had entire commission laughing. '' Rath yatra also started when=20
VP Singh was the Prime Minister. Then 'Mandal' came. We thought it=20
was cooperative movement. Second, I don't know if there was a=20
cleavage or not.''

_____

#7.

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=3DView&c=3DArticle&cid=3DFT34TEF3=
6YC&live=3Dtrue

Financial Times

Arms dealers see bonanza in standoff
By Edna Fernandes
Published: February 26 2002 19:27 | Last Updated: February 26 2002 19:32

While the international community calls for restraint on the=20
IndoPakistan border, governments led by the UK and the US are=20
jockeying as never before for a bigger slice of India's growing arms=20
budget.

In recent months, the Delhi government has played host to a=20
succession of overseas ministers seeking to ease IndoPakistan tension=20
while pitching for defence contracts. Jack Straw, Britain's foreign=20
secretary, is the latest, arriving in India today for talks on=20
security. But officials say Mr Straw is also expected to use the=20
opportunity to lobby for a =A31bn (E1.6bn, $1.43bn) deal to sell BAE=20
Systems Hawk jets to India.

Last week top defence officials from around the world were in town to=20
sell arms at the Delhi Defence Expo exhibition. More than 140 foreign=20
companies and government officials attended, led by teams from the=20
US, UK, Israel, Russia, France and South Africa.

Industry officials were unabashed in admitting that the current=20
regional tension between the nucleararmed neighbours is a unique=20
selling opportunity. "Israel and India both face a similar problem in=20
terms of terror," says Rephael Raz, deputy vice-president of Israel=20
Military Industries. "We're selling our unfortunate expertise in this=20
area and the Indian government is very receptive right now."

The policy of preaching peace while selling arms is controversial as=20
India and Pakistan remain locked in a standoff. But competition for=20
India's defence business has never been greater.

While countries such as Israel, the UK and France have long been=20
involved in Indian arms exports, the US is just beginning to take=20
advantage of a potential sales bonanza.

This month General Richard Myers, US chairman of the joint chiefs of=20
staff, came to Delhi with the message that the world's biggest arms=20
manufacturer was ready to resume arms trade with India for the first=20
time since sanctions were imposed following India's 1998 nuclear=20
tests.

On the back of warming USIndo relations and increased co-operation=20
after the September 11 terrorist attack on the US, detailed talks are=20
under way for India to buy a weapon-seeking radar system. Gen Myers=20
signalled further defence sales to India were now likely.

Last week a US defence sales team, including Raytheon and officials=20
from the US Department of Commerce, were in Delhi to pitch for=20
business. Brad Botwin, director of the strategic analysis division,=20
said US defence exports to India were undergoing a "seachange" after=20
the attack.

"It's unfortunate it took a 9/11 situation to get our governments=20
talking and doing things. But we have a highlevel delegation here and=20
there's now a seriousness on the US part about exporting arms to=20
India."

Defence deals were on the cards, he said, because India and the US=20
had established better trust, which allows the US to export sensitive=20
arms technology.

"We're still in the dating phase. Sensing each other out. But we like=20
what we see and want it to become a longterm relationship."

At present much of the Indian defence equipment is Russianmade,=20
harking back to cold war times when India was seen as being closer to=20
Russia than the US.

In the new climate, the US believes it can compete on sales with=20
worldclass technology. Defence sales could begin with ammunition and=20
software defence products for key needs such as surveillance,=20
eventually moving to tanks and aircraft, said Mr Botwin.

At the same time, British ministers have lobbied hard to persuade=20
George Fernandes, India's defence minister, to seal a deal for 66=20
Hawk advanced training jets from BAE Systems. This has dragged on for=20
more than 16 years and now appears to have stalled over price.

British officials say they want to see a lot more collaborative=20
defence deals between India and the UK as rules regarding foreign=20
investment in defence are loosened up and defence spending is=20
expected to rise. Some British leftwing commentators have criticised=20
this plan, calling it irresponsible to pursue defence sales to India=20
in such volatile times.

But the commercial reality remains that India is one of the biggest=20
defence spenders at a time when too many companies are chasing too=20
few sales. Defence analysts estimate India spends $12bn a year on=20
military expenditure, including $5bn on military equipment and=20
hardware. "India is a mega economy. Outside of the US and Europe, you=20
don't get many economies like that. Maybe India, China and Brazil,"=20
says Rolf Rue, BAE Systems regional director, explaining why everyone=20
wants a piece of the action.

But as BAE Systems knows, there is no fast buck in India.=20
Negotiations are drawn, say analysts, because of India's slow and=20
unwieldy procurement process, which has been further damaged by=20
corruption scandals. The last scandal forced Mr Fernandes to resign=20
temporarily - after journalists posing as arms dealers filmed=20
officials negotiating bribes.

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

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