[sacw] SACW #2 | 9 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #2 | 09 March 2002
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

Join the struggle against fundamentalism and fascism. Dont let the=20
VHP thugs and their other mates from the "Jang Parivar" wreck peace=20
in Ayodhya on the 15th March 2002.

Check our http://www.sabrang.com for news updates on post riots Gujrat

#1. Language and religion in Bangladesh (Khaled Ahmed)
#2.Pakistan: 8th march: Peasant women demonstration stopped by police
#3. Gujarat -- The Corpse of a Nation's Soul (John Dayal)
#4. Statement by Arundhati Roy - 7th March 2002
#5. Statement in solidarity with the NBA and Arundhati Roy (From=20
student friends, Delhi University)
#6. Feminist Interventions: Rethinking South Asia

________________________

#1.

The Friday Times March 8-14, 2002

Language and religion in Bangladesh
Khaled Ahmed

Left to itself, Bangladesh has been vacillating between language and=20
Islam as two poles of nationalism. At the present time, Khaleda Zia's=20
Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and Hasina Wajed's Awami League have=20
polarised the two nationalisms and made Bangladesh a very unstable=20
state. After 1971, its relations with India have given rise to some=20
conceptual problems that are similar to the ones faced by Pakistan.=20
The waging of an intelligence war has worsened the situation by India=20
and Pakistan inside Bangladesh. Who is winning the war in Bangladesh?=20
One has to say Pakistan is. And that is not a good thing for South=20
Asia because it prompts India to do more funny things inside the=20
neighbouring country than Pakistan as a distant neighbour can ever=20
afford. The only thing in Pakistan's favour is the swing towards=20
Islam in Bangladesh together with a mounting hatred of India - a=20
common passion among the smaller states of South Asia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
he tragedy of East Pakistan was that West Pakistani rulers did not=20
understand the nature of Bengal's language-based nationalism. West=20
Pakistan was deceived into relying on the strength of Muslim Bengali=20
nationalism instead. Immediately after 1947 this policy did not work=20
and state oppression actually pushed East Pakistan's Muslim=20
nationalism down. If it hadn't been for the large-scale exodus of the=20
Hindus after 1947 and the influx of non-Sindhis, language nationalism=20
would have created similar problems in Sindh too. Left to itself,=20
Bangladesh has been vacillating between language and Islam as two=20
poles of nationalism. At the present time, Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh=20
National Party (BNP) and Hasina Wajed's Awami League have polarised=20
the two nationalisms and made Bangladesh a very unstable state. After=20
1971, its relations with India have given rise to some conceptual=20
problems that are similar to the ones faced by Pakistan. The waging=20
of an intelligence war has worsened the situation by India and=20
Pakistan inside Bangladesh.

Winning the Indo-Pak war in Bangladesh: When Khaleda Zia comes to=20
power in Bangladesh, India thinks that Pakistan has actually=20
succeeded in getting the upper hand on its eastern border, somewhat=20
like the feeling Pakistan has about the coming to power in=20
Afghanistan 'of India's proxy', the Northern Alliance. By the same=20
token, when Hasina Wajed comes to power in Bangladesh, Pakistan=20
thinks India has got the upper hand and starts acting funny. Before=20
she raised an objection to Pakistan's lack of democracy at the United=20
Nations in 2001 (without naming Pakistan), Hasina Wajed was actually=20
convinced that ISI was behind the two attempts on her life made in=20
Dhaka. Her government had objected to Pakistan giving a prime=20
minister's protocol to Khaleda Zia when she made a private visit to=20
Pakistan as the leader of the opposition. Now that Khaleda Zia is in=20
power in Dhaka once again, India has become perturbed. Its=20
representatives have blamed 'elements' in Bangladesh (read Khaleda=20
Zia and the ISI) for the firing in front of the American Center in=20
Calcutta. Who is winning the war in Bangladesh?

One has to say Pakistan is. And that is not a good thing for South=20
Asia because it prompts India to do more funny things inside the=20
neighbouring country than Pakistan as a distant neighbour can ever=20
afford. The only thing in Pakistan's favour is the swing towards=20
Islam in Bangladesh together with a mounting hatred of India - a=20
common passion among the smaller states of South Asia. When India's=20
favourite Hasina Wajed was in favour there was a serious military=20
skirmish between the two armies on the eastern border of Bangladesh.=20
The incident indicated the persisting right-wing orientation of the=20
Bangladesh army (pro-Khaleda Zia) and resulted in the increase in the=20
anti-India fervour among the Bangladeshi people. It was expected that=20
after the incident, Hisaka Wajed would lose the elections, which she=20
did.

The pendulum swing of Bangladesh nationalism: What happened in 1905=20
to create suitable conditions for the creation of Pakistan is=20
happening again after an interregnum of language nationalism that=20
broke Pakistan in 1971. Viceroy Curzon divided Bengal in 1905 with=20
the clear intention of weakening the Congress. He appealed to the=20
Muslims of East Bengal who were completely in favour of a partition=20
which would give them control over the new province by making it=20
Muslim-majority. The struggle against the partition of Bengal gave=20
rise to a Hindu Bengali nationalism. Before the partition was undone=20
in 1911, it gave India the dreaded song Bande Matram , created the=20
Muslim League in Dhaka and saw a Muslim delegation call on the=20
viceroy to advocate separate rights for the Muslims of India. What=20
the partition did was postpone the flowering of a strong Bengali=20
language nationalism whose natural leaders were the Tagores of=20
Calcutta. After 1947, Pakistani rulers revived it again by insisting=20
that East Pakistan adopt Urdu as national language. The West=20
Pakistani tyranny of the intervening years enabled Mujib to adopt a=20
song of Tagore as the national anthem of Bangladesh. Today, this=20
anthem sits awkwardly on the masses that are fast succumbing to the=20
kind of Islamic fundamentalism that afflicts Pakistan too. The=20
largest religious congregation after haj takes place in Bangladesh=20
and its youth is increasingly fighting jehad in far-flung regions of=20
the world.

Taj Hashmi in Women and Islam in Bangladesh (MacMillan) has put on=20
record the growing power of the mullah in Bangladesh. Not many in=20
Pakistan know how different the clergy of Bangladesh is from that of=20
Pakistan and how far a mere fatwa goes in affecting the lives of the=20
rural people. The clergy of Pakistan has supported the clergy of=20
Bangladesh against a Dhaka High Court verdict condemning the issuance=20
of punitive fatwas without acquainting themselves of the nature of=20
fatwas issued by the rural mullah in Bangladesh. For instance, in=20
1993, Nurjahan Begum of Chatakchara village in Sylhet was sentenced=20
to stoning to death by a salish (village court comprising the local=20
elite and a semi-literate cleric). She was buried in ground up to her=20
neck and then stoned by villagers 101 times, as a result of which she=20
died. The salish was convicted and its members punished through due=20
process of law, after which the salish tried to palm off the death by=20
calling it suicide.

The rise of the mullah: Nurjahan Begum, the daughter of a poor=20
villager was married to an expatriate Bangladeshi who had sent her a=20
talaqnama (divorce). She was thereafter married to another man, but=20
the salish decided under Maulana Mannan that the second marriage was=20
not right and that adultery had been committed. Her father and mother=20
were also subjected to flogging. In 1992, another salish near Dhaka=20
sentenced one 14-year old Shefali and her mother to 101 lashes of the=20
whip each after she complained that she had been raped by a local=20
influential and made pregnant. The salish found that she had no=20
witnesses and therefore awarded her the sentence. Another salish=20
sentenced Khatun to 101 lashes after she accused a man of raping her.=20
After the fatwa of salish , Khatun committed suicide. Nineteen years=20
old Rina in Feni, and Zohra of a village near Dhaka, were sentenced=20
by a fatwa to 101 lashes to be administered by their husbands. Both=20
committed suicide. One Razia killed herself because she was sentenced=20
to 51 lashes for not doing halala before her husband came back and=20
rejoined her after a period of living with another woman.

The number of women subjected to cruel illegal fatwas arose after=20
1994 to become 3,000 annually. During the period of 1990 to 1995, the=20
10,000 victims of rape, murder, abduction, forcible marriage and=20
arbitrary divorce, were poor rural women with no social support. In=20
1993 alone, 6,000 women committed suicide trapped in fatwa=20
situations. The obsession with Sharia law was always there and had=20
received a fillip through the Islamisation processes unleashed by=20
General Ziaur Rehman and General Ershad, but it reached a new furore=20
after the Taslima Nasreen incident in 1994. The main agency of=20
mischief was the salish , the rural court ruled over a local mullah=20
whose fatwa was given validity by the locally powerful groups.

Bengal had come under the influence of puritanical movements as early=20
as the Faraizi Movement in the 19th century. Later influences came=20
from Deoband, Farangi Mahal Lucknow and from such established texts=20
of female behaviour as Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi's Behishti Zevar .=20
Hinduism, through the anti-women teachings of Ramakrishnan, had=20
inclined the rural Muslim Bengali to misogynism. Local=20
cleric-scholars amplified the misogynism of Thanvi and wrote their=20
own Behishti Zevar , as for instance, Maulana Gholam Rehman's=20
Maksudul Momineen (1935) which had sold 45 editions in Bangladesh by=20
the year 1994, and Maksudul Momin by Maulana Karamat Ali, which=20
became the basis of Taslima Nasreen's vituperations in 1994. The=20
books are extremely misogynous and do not come up to the minimal=20
standards of learning in Islam.

RAW and the ISI in Bangladesh: Anwar Dil and Afia Dil in their=20
comprehensive account Bengali Language Movement to Bangladesh=20
describe the extent to which the post-Mujib Bangladesh was penetrated=20
by India's RAW and give evidence of how local politicians and=20
journalists were 'persuaded' to support India. Pakistan counter-acted=20
this especially after India tried to outflank it in Afghanistan by=20
moving closer to the Rabbani government. One army chief of Pakistan=20
actually bribed his Bangladeshi counterpart with Rs 10 crore to bring=20
Khaleda Zia to power and help revive Jamaat Islami. (A 'drinking'=20
journalist who accompanied the general to Dhaka missed out on the=20
adventure as he lay recovering in hotel Intercontinental from a=20
hangover). Today Indian journalists write of the many strongholds of=20
the ISI in Dhaka under the benign regard of the Bangladesh army and=20
Khaleda Zia's party. So strong is the swing of the pendulum in favour=20
of Islam that the secularists have been thrown back on the defensive.

Sheikh Mujib gave Bangladesh a secular constitution in 1972 and asked=20
the Hindus to come back, promising them restitution of property. His=20
assassination brought to power the 'liberator' general Zia-ur-Rahman=20
who changed Article 12 of the Constitution in 1977 through=20
proclamation and removed 'secularism' as one of the guiding=20
principles. He later 'regularised' it through the 5th Amendment in a=20
parliament dominated by his Bangladesh National Party (BNP). 'To=20
reflect the faith of the majority of the country' he put 'Bismillahir=20
Rahmanir Rahim' at the beginning of the Constitution and removed=20
Sheikh Mujib's ban on religious parties.

General Zia-ur-Rahman was killed after 20 military revolts against=20
him in a year. The 'liberators' in the army were overpowered by the=20
'repatriates' led by General Ershad who introduced the 8th Amendment=20
through his Jatio Party majority, naming Islam as the religion of the=20
state. After 20 years of direct and indirect army rule in Bangladesh,=20
Islamisation has taken root, and religious parties are rapidly=20
spreading their communal message at the grassroots level. Of the four=20
main parties of Bangladesh, three openly defend Islamisation, while=20
Awami League has muted the pledge of its return to secularism. This=20
state of affairs was reversed in 1997 when Awami League came to power=20
again, but its appeal did not last into the new millennium. Today=20
Bangladesh is well set in its destabilising pattern of pendulum=20
swings between language and religious nationalisms.

_____

#2.

Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 19:03:04 +0100 (MET)
From: Labour Pakistan
Subject: 8th march: Peasant women demonstration stopped by police

Peasant women demonstration stopped by police

Hundreds of peasant women were prevented by police at different districts i=
n
Punjab to attend the protest demonstration on the eve of 8th March 2002.
Police had blockade the main roads leading to Lahore to stop women reaching=
at
the venue. The demonstration was called by Women Workers Help Line and ladi=
es
wing of Anjaman Mozareen Punjab AMP (Tenants organization Punjab).

25 women at Manga Mandi police station were detained for over three hours. =
6
coaches of the peasant women were also stopped at the outer side of Manga
Mandi, 30 kilometers from Lahore. Two buses were stopped at another point a=
t
Wah Radha Ram, some 70 kilometer from Lahore. Two buses were not allowed to
enter Lahore at Shahdra just outside Lahore. Such incidents were reported a=
t
Sarghoda, Faisalabad, Okara and Khaniwal.

Despite all the efforts of the police over 500 reached at Lahore where they
were not allowed to leave the place to hold the demonstration. At Shimla
Pehari of Lahore hundreds of policemen were at full alert to stop the women
coming out of the park where they were to gather as a starting point of
demonstration. A protest meeting at the park was held.

Speaking on the occasion, Azra Shad, chairperson WWHL told the gathering
that police have stopped us with force but they can stop us demanding land
ownership rights. She said police behavior with the demonstration exposed t=
he
dictatorial nature of the military regime despite all its claims of being
liberal. She said working class women are in full solidarity with the=20
peasant women
in their struggle for ownership rights of the land.

Romana Shabnum a city counselor spoke of the courage of peasant women and
urged for a greater unity of the working class to fight the exploitation.

Farooq Tariq and Shoaib Bhatti, general secretary and chairman of Labour
Party Pakistan demanded the arrest of the military officer involved in the
killing of a peasant leader. They told the gathering that LPP will=20
fight shoulder
to shoulder with the peasants. =93 We must get rid of the politics of the r=
ich
and join the party that fight for your rights=94 they told the jubilant pea=
sant
and worker women and men present in the meeting.

Leaders of AMP also spoke on the occasion. On the invitation of the
administration and police secretary to governor of Punjab received a=20
four-member
delegation at governor house. They handed over a petition demanding that 68=
000
acres land should be handed over to them as they are cultivating it for ove=
r
100 years. They also demanded that a murder case should be registered again=
st
Colonel Mohammed Ali who was responsible for the killing of Mohammed Bashir=
, a
peasant leader on 7th January 2002.

Hundreds of women at Manga Mandi, where the police stopped them, refused to
go back for few hours until the LPP leaders come and speak to them. Speakin=
g
here at 5.30pm, Farooq Tariq paid great tribute to the courage of the peasa=
nt
women who are ready for any sacrifices. He said, LPP would not leave them
alone in this hour of need. He said it is an insult of the international da=
y of
women done by military regime that working class women were not allowed to
take out the demonstration and busses were stopped.

Here LPP leaders made strong representation to the Assistant Superintendent
of police for stopping women to go to Lahore. The ASP had nothing to say.

The leaders of AMP and LPP are addressing a press conference tomorrow to
tell the press the inhuman behavior of police with the peasant women at
different areas of Punjab.=20

report by Amir Suhail

_____

#3.

For Indian currents 8 march 2002

Gujarat -- The Corpse of a Nation's Soul

Secular Civil Society, and an Independent Media, specially TV news=20
channels, must ensure that vested interests do not succeed re-writing=20
current history of the systematic state-protected violence in=20
Gujarat. They have begun the exercise, as can be seen by the sound=20
bites on some competing channels, and in the writings of a stream of=20
the print media whose Editors sit in the Rajya Sabha wearing saffron,=20
if not khaki. What is required at this time is the authentic Voice of=20
the Victim, which no future coercion can change. The Centre, now=20
ruling in Lucknow too through the Governor, has announced it is=20
relaxing curbs that had kept away kar sevaks from Ayodhya. A massive=20
and aggressive gathering of `simple pilgrims=92 (as union minister of=20
state for Home Affairs I D Swami describes them, as simple pilgrims)=20
is inevitable for the worship of the stone pillars already ready for=20
installation. It is time to learn the lessons from the Liberhans=20
commission=92s painful course of hearings on the demolition of the=20
Babri Masjid, and from the probes of 1993 anti Muslim riots and the=20
murderous 1984 anti-Sikh arson. The NDA partners have made it clear=20
their first priority is to remain in power. New allies want a bite of=20
the cake =96 and both J Jayalalithaa and Mayawati have said they have=20
no hesitation in cohabiting with the Sangh parivar, warts,=20
blood-dripping trishuls and smoke-stained hands notwithstanding.=20
After all, an aroma is just a stink one has learnt to like.

By John Dayal

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, and was=20
shot dead in New Delhi. The institutionalised, Constitutional State=20
as born in New Delhi, and has died in Gujarat. Burnt alive, so to=20
speak.

At some time in the future at some Judicial commission, the state=20
government will file an affidavit giving the official number of those=20
dead in the violence. No one will believe in this figure. There are=20
all too many reports of bodies burnt to ashes, buried in mass graves=20
even without a proper recognition by parents, wives and relatives.=20
There are too many reports of police not registering FIRs, the first=20
information reports that become the basis of subsequent enquiries.=20
The Commission of police of course is on record saying, in slightly=20
different phraseology, that his boys too were human, and had reacted=20
to the burning of the kar sevaks in the Sabarmati express at Godhra=20
in an emotional response from their heart. The best ones just watched=20
Muslims being burnt alive. Others participated in the lighting of the=20
living pyres.

There are no reports yet of any major Sangh parivar leader arrested=20
from among the hordes of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal cadres=20
who ruled the towns and villages from 1st to 7th March 2002. Nor=20
indeed are reports available of policemen suspended for dereliction=20
of duty. The comparative data on arrests from the two communities=20
will also have to wait for much more time. If the Gujarat police=92s=20
luck holds out, the shila pooja and succeeding events after 15th=20
March may well overtake the Gujarat event, diverting media attention=20
and shifting the political protest from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has exonerated just about=20
everyone he could =96 the police, the administration, the VHP and the=20
Bajrang Dal. Union Home minister Lal Krishna Advani has exonerated=20
Narendra Modi. The Prime minister, in first requesting the RSS to=20
intervene and then making the Shankaracharya of Kanchi his main=20
emissaries to bring peace to Gujarat, has exonerated the very=20
ideology that set Gujarat on fire. And if Union defence minister=20
George Fernandes, rattles that his car and motorcade were attacked by=20
the ravaging mobs, at one stage seemed to have blamed the state=20
government for delaying the military from staging its rout marches =96=20
by its delay in not providing them the smaller trucks the army=20
required =96 the close friend of George Fernandes and his former party=20
president Jaya Jaitely, mad the strongest defence ever of the Sangh=20
Parivar=92s government and the cadres of the parivar.

Relief is another matter altogether. Chief minister Modi set new=20
standards of equity for the dead =96 Rs 2 lakh for the dead of Godhra=20
and Rs 1 lakh for the victims of the state sponsored arson. His=20
argument is that the kar sevaks were victims of terrorism. Modi of=20
course had the precedence of the earlier BJP government under whose=20
patronage; relief was distributed on caste and religious lines=20
amongst the victims of the earthquake 13 months ago.

The world saw terror unleashed on the living and the dead of=20
Ahmedabad in the photograph of the wild eyes infant, his head=20
bandaged, who died a few hours after the flash of the camera, and it=20
was visible in the picture of the youth whose home had been set on=20
fire. That has been the contribution of a vibrant section of the=20
Media =96 NDTV=92s Rajdeep Sardesai and his brave colleagues, not=20
forgetting the anonymous cameramen, Manas of The Hindu and Rathin Das=20
of the Hindustan Times and their many collagues formed a select band=20
of newspersons who are an inspiration to their generation of media=20
persons. They deserve the gratitude of the nation for having overcome=20
the fear of retribution beyond the call of duty. It is tougher than=20
reporting from a bunker, dangerous as reporting from Kargil is. There=20
at least the state was on the media=92s side, and the media on the=20
state=92s.

It is thanks to these young men and women, and at least one or two=20
not so young, that the Voice of the Victims was first heard. Teesta=20
Setalvad, Shushobha and Cedric Prakash went later and have kept us=20
abreast of the emerging conspiracy of silence. More will go as the=20
dust settles and the smoke dissipates.

It is thanks to them that one hard of senior administrators who first=20
shaved off their stubbles and then ventured forth. It is through them=20
one read about the four senior police officers, all Muslims, who had=20
to call in extra security to their home, and of the Muslim constables=20
attacked in their barracks by their own colleagues. And it is because=20
of the media that I now know of at least two Gujarat High court=20
judges who too had to flee their houses and seek refuge in the warm=20
bosom of their community and friends.

What has the state come to if the government cannot protect judges,=20
and senior police officers feel insecure?

The implications of even two High Court judges having to leave their=20
homes, if even for a short time, are grievances and far reaching.=20
This nation cannot live with the images of a judiciary that can be so=20
threatened. At this critical moment, the Judiciary is the arbiter of=20
issues that may spell life or death not just for those unfortunate to=20
be caught in a future conflagration that may be triggered by persons=20
and groups defying their judgments one way or the other. It is no too=20
difficult to imagine the stress under which the judiciary would be=20
functioning, in Gujarat, in Allahabad, and in New Delhi. There is no=20
risk of contempt of court, and a night in Tihar jail, in saying this.

There is little sympathy for the National Minorities Commission, now=20
really feeling how marginalised it has become. The National=20
Commission for Human Rights earned for itself the respect of the=20
people. The Minorities Commission chose to be an agent of the=20
Bharatiya Janata party, masquerading as a wing of the government. The=20
state government has told it there is no security for its members if=20
they come to the state to probe the violence. And surely now the=20
commission cannot coerce anyone, the Church included, to get them to=20
dialogue with the murderous ideology, and ideologues, of the Sangh=20
Parivar. It has itself to blame for opting out of the peace with=20
justice system.

This role today is with brave individuals in Gujarat and elsewhere=20
who are mobilising people of conscience, bringing consolation, peace=20
and relief to the victims, identifying the guilty at the risk of=20
their own lives. To safeguard the sanctity of the secular=20
protestations of the Indian nation. And the pluralism of its ancient=20
heritage.

_____

#4.

Statement by Arundhati Roy
7th March 2002

I stand by what I have said in my Affidavit and I have served the
sentence which the Supreme Court imposed on me. Anybody who
thinks that the punishment for my supposed 'crime' was a
symbolic one day in prison and a fine of two thousand rupees, is
wrong. The punishment began over a year ago when notice was
issued to me to appear personally in Court over a ludicrous charge
which the Supreme Court itself held should never have been
entertained. In India, everybody knows that as far as the legal
system is concerned, the process is part of the punishment.

I spent a night in prison, trying to decide whether to pay the fine or
serve out a 3-month sentence instead. Paying the fine does not in
any way mean that I have apologized or accepted the judgement. I
decided that paying the fine was the correct thing to do, because I
have made the point I was trying to make. To take it further would
be to make myself into a martyr for a cause that is not mine alone. It
is for India's free Press to fight to patrol the boundaries of its
freedom which the law of Contempt, as it stands today, severely
restricts and threatens. I hope that battle will be joined.

If not - in the course of this last year, I would have fought only for
my own dignity, for my own right as an Indian citizen to look the
Supreme Court of India in the eye and say, "I insist on the right to
comment on the Court and to disagree with it." That would be
considerably less than what I hope this fight is all about. It's not
perfect, but it'll have to do.

There are parts of the Judgement which would have been deeply
reassuring if it weren't for the fact that citizens of India, on a daily
basis, have just the opposite experience - "Rule of Law is the basic
rule of governance of any civilised, democratic polity... Whoever the
person may be, however high he or she is, no one is above the law
notwithstanding however powerful and how rich he or she may be".
If only!

The Judgement goes on to say "after more than half a century of
Independence, the Judiciary in the country is under constant threat
and being endangered from within and without". If this is true, would
the way to deal with it be to do some honest introspection or to
silence its critics by exercising the power of Contempt?

Let me remind you of the paragraphs in my Affidavit which were
held to constitute criminal contempt of court, that undermined the
authority of the Judiciary and brought it into disrepute.

"On the grounds that judges of the Supreme Court were too busy,
the Chief Justice of India refused to allow a sitting judge to head the
judicial enquiry into the Tehelka scandal, even though it involves
matters of national security and corruption in the highest places.

Yet, when it comes to an absurd, despicable, entirely
unsubstantiated petition in which all the three respondents happen to
be people who have publicly - though in markedly different ways -
questioned the policies of the government and severely criticized a
recent judgement of the Supreme Court, the Court displays a
disturbing willingness to issue notice.

It indicates a disquieting inclination on the part of the court to silence
criticism and muzzle dissent, to harass and intimidate those who
disagree with it. By entertaining a petition based on an FIR that even
a local police station does not see fit to act upon, the Supreme
Court is doing its own reputation and credibility considerable harm."

On the 23rd of December 2001, the Chief Justice of India, in an
Inaugural Address to a National Legal Workshop in Kerala, said
that 20% of the Judges in this country across the board may be
corrupt, and that they bring the entire Judiciary into disrepute. But of
course this did not constitute Criminal Contempt.

Now let me read you what a former Law Minister said in a public
speech some time ago: "The Supreme Court, composed of the
elements of the elite class, had their unconcealed sympathy for the
Haves i.e. the zamindars---anti-social elements i.e. FERA violators,
bride-burners and a whole horde of reactionaries, have found their
haven in the Supreme Court."

In this judgement, the Court says that the Law Minister's statement
was permissible because "the criticism of the judicial system was
made by a person who himself had been the judge of the High Court
and was the Minister at the relevant time."

However, they go on to say that "all citizens cannot be permitted to
comment upon the conduct of the Courts in the name of fair
criticism, which if not checked, would destroy the institution itself".
In other words, it is not just WHAT you say, nor its correctness or
justification, but WHO SAYS IT, which determines whether or not
it constitutes criminal contempt. In other words, the assertion
contained in the beginning of this judgement - namely: "whoever the
person may be, however high he or she is, no one is above the law
notwithstanding how powerful or how rich he or she might be" - is
contradicted by the judgement itself.

I wish to reiterate that I believe that the Supreme Court of India is
an extremely important institution and has made some enlightened
judgements. For an individual to argue with the Court, does not in
any way imply that he or she is undermining the whole institution. On
the contrary, it means that he or she has a stake in this society and
cares about the role and efficacy of that institution. Today, the
Supreme Court makes decisions that affect - for better or for worse
- the lives of millions of common citizens. To deny comment and
criticism of this institution, on pain of criminal contempt, from all but
an exclusive club of 'experts', would, I think, be destructive of the
democratic principles on which our constitution is based.

The judiciary in India is possibly the most powerful institution in the
country, and as the Chief Justice recently implied, the least
accountable. In fact, the only accountability of this institution is that i=
t
can be subjected to comment and criticism by citizens in general. If
even this right is denied, it would expose the country to the dangers
of judicial tyranny.

I was also puzzled by the statement in the judgement that says:
"...showing the magnanimity of Law, by keeping in mind that the
respondent is a woman, and hoping that better sense and wisdom
shall dawn upon the respondent..." Surely, women can do without
this kind of inverse discrimination.

Lastly, I wish to point out that the Judgement says that I have
drifted away "from the path on which she was traversing by
contributing to the Art and Literature". I hope this does not mean
that on top of everything else, from now on writers will have to look
to the Supreme Court of India to define
the correct path of Art and Literature.

FREE SPEECH CAMPAIGN
c/o F 10/12 Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 110 017 / Phones: c/o 668
0883 / 747 9916 / 98104 04580
Email: c/o cwaterp@v...

_____

#5.

March 8 , 2002

FEELING COMPELLED TO DO THE BEST WE COULD

Statement in solidarity with the NBA and Arundhati Roy
>From student friends, Delhi University

March is the month when exam =91terror=92 begins to grip students at=20
Delhi University Despite that some of us have felt compelled to do=20
the best we could to stand by the NBA and Arundhati Roy over the last=20
couple of days. We have done this because

(1) we have had a fairly continuous association with the valley, its=20
beauty, its people and their 15 years old struggle
(2) we have felt that the NBA, Arundhati Roy, the PUDR and others=20
including all of us have the right to critique and rigorously=20
scrutinise any judgment of the Supreme Court
(3) we have felt that nit-picking aside, none of these critiques,=20
including Arundhati=92s, can be seriously considered abusive or=20
contemptuous of the Supreme Court.

For these reasons we felt that if Arundhati Roy were to be convicted=20
on March 6th for contempt of court-as she indeed was in an=20
unabashedly gendered judgment- the conviction would be on flimsy=20
grounds, frightening people from speaking out their minds rather than=20
upholding the dignity of the court. Arundhati=92s conviction, would try=20
to silence her, the NBA and all those people=92s movements fighting for=20
creating a better, more humane tomorrow. Her conviction, in a way,=20
would be ours as well.

But there is more that brought us out on to the streets as=20
volunteers and supporters, this time. Over the last few years, but=20
especially since the happenings of September 11th and December=20
13th,we as students have felt walls coming up all around us, fear=20
driving us into our homes and class rooms. State encouraged paranoia=20
about terrorism and war with Pakistan, the sustained onslaught on the=20
very meaning of education, attempts at enacting new laws such as=20
POTO, and efforts to politically disarm labour in the name of =91labour=20
reforms=92, have all been aimed at creating a submissive, uncritical=20
population which would be too scared to challenge authority and=20
power, making it easier for the state to push through its own=20
economically unfettering and socially irresponsible agenda.

The climax came with Godhra and the carnage of Muslims that followed=20
all over Gujarat. This was no riot. It was straightforward Genocide.=20
As human beings we had to say NO now, but we also felt that tomorrow=20
we could be attacked for simply saying NO. The ABVP did, infact,=20
carry out an unprecedented attack on our campus on March 1st last=20
week.

Gujarat for us has been the final straw. Exams or no exams we knew we=20
had to stand by Arundhati and the NBA because if we didn=92t fight now=20
to protect our right to speak, tomorrow there may not be any dreamers=20
left. And our dreams we hold really close to our hearts. So we came=20
out to be with Arundhati and the NBA and we hope we will continue to=20
have the courage and stamina to carry on in battle.

______

#6.

Feminist Interventions: Rethinking South Asia
May 3-4, 2002, University of California, Santa Cruz
Location: Kresge 159, UCSC campus

This conference intervenes in current geo-political formations of=20
South Asia through an investigation of issues of social justice,=20
legal jurisprudence and religious intolerance in the region. In doing=20
so, we seek to explore what constitutes the subjects and studies of=20
the terrain of "South-Asia," especially within the current volatile=20
political atmosphere in the region. Central to the mutually informing=20
discourses of gender and history in rethinking the concept-metaphor=20
of "South Asia" will be an added discussion of questions of borders,=20
diasporas, migrations, nationalisms and militarisms to name a select=20
few.

University of California Participants at the conference will include:=20
Radhika Mongia (UCSC), Vanita Seth (UCSC), Anjali Arondekar (UCSC),=20
Piya Chatterjee (UCR), Parama Roy (UCR) Saloni Mathur (UCLA), Gayatri=20
Gopinath (UCDavis), Rosemary George (UCSD), Madhavi Sunder (UC=20
Davis), Raka Ray (UC Berkeley), Lawrence Cohen (UC Berkeley), Nayan=20
Shah (UCSD), Bishnupriya Ghosh (UC Davis) and Bhaskar Sarkar (UCSB).=20
Several other leading scholars have also agreed to attend. They=20
include: Kamala Visweswaran (UT-Austin), Indrani Chatterjee (Rutgers=20
University) Purnima Mankekar (Stanford University) Mrinalini Sinha=20
(Penn State), Malathi De Alwis (New School), Geeta Patel (Wellesley=20
College), Paola Bacchetta (University of Kentucky), Akhil Gupta=20
(Stanford University), Sunaina Maira (University of Mass.) and=20
Anindyo Roy (Colby College).

For further information, contact conference organizer, Anjali=20
Arondekar, Department of Women's Studies, UCSC=20
(aarondek@c...)

Co-Sponsored by the Humanities Research Institute, and the follow=20
units at UCSC: Center for Cultural Studies, The Religion and Culture=20
Research Cluster, the South Asia Studies Initiative, Departments of=20
Women's Studies, Literature, Sociology and Anthropology, the Ad-Hoc=20
Committee on Current Events, Center for Justice, Tolerance and=20
Community and the Center for Global, International and Regional=20
Studies.

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