[sacw] SACW | 2 July 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch | 2 July 2002

[ INTERRUPTION NOTICE: Please note that there will be no SACW=20
dispatches between the period 3 July - 11/12 July 2002 ]

South Asia Citizens Web:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

South Asians Against Nukes:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/NoNukes.html

__________________________

#1. Please sign an online petition in support of filmmaker Anand Patwardhan=
:
#2. Freedom & Tolerance Under Pressure - Where is the Opposition?=20
(Praful Bidwai)
#3. Present Situation In Gujarat A Day Long Convention (July 14,=20
2002, New Delhi)
#4. The city against itself (Gautam Bhatia )
#5. Note from Dunu Roy Aman Ekta Manch New Delhi
#6. Vasant Rajab Conference, Ahmedabad dated 30.06.02 + Signature=20
campian + Human chain action
#7. Film : Aftershocks : The Rough Guide to Democracy (India)

__________________________

#1.

Please sign an online petition in support of
filmmaker Anand Patwardhan:
http://www.petitionOnline.com/ekta_wp/petition.html

____

#2.

The Praful Bidwai Column
[July 1, 2002]

--
Freedom & Tolerance Under Pressure

Where is the Opposition?

By Praful Bidwai

Nothing in recent days has dented India=EDs image as a democracy with a=20
free press as badly as the deplorable raid on Tehelka and=20
government=EDs paranoid overreaction to a Time magazine article by Alex=20
Perry which questions Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee=EDs physical=20
fitness. Tehelka=EDs persecution thoroughly disgraces democracy. There=20
can be two opinions about the accuracy of some of Perry=EDs=20
observations in his =ECAsleep at The Wheel?=EE. For instance, there are=20
mistakes about Mr Vajpayee=EDs age (he is 77, not 74 as claimed) and=20
about the range of ailments that afflict him.

However, there can be no dispute about the general validity of the=20
view that Mr Vajpayee is far from fit and has an attention-span=20
problem. Nor can there be any dispute about Perry=EDs right to write=20
the article, based on information which has been circulating freely.=20
Irreverential writing about national leaders, like cartooning, is=20
part of the media staple in a democracy. The Western media lampoons=20
Presidents, Prime Ministers and other dignitaries for their=20
angularities, lapses in grammar and personal idiosyncrasies. The=20
French media has called President Jacques Chirac a =ECSuperlier=EE for=20
months.

New Delhi=EDs peevish reaction to Perry=EDs story is especially=20
deplorable because the allegations he makes have already appeared in=20
many Indian and foreign papers, including on his troubles =ECwith his=20
bladder, liver and his one remaining kidney=EE and his taste for =ECfried=20
food and fatty sweets [which] play havoc with his cholesterol=EE.=20
Similarly, other newspapers have written unflatteringly about Mr=20
Vajpayee. Not long ago The Washington Post editorialised: =ECToss a=20
question at Vajpayee, India=EDs dignified-to-somnolent Prime Minister=20
and it hangs aloft for an eternity as he dismantles each dependent=20
clause and inspects each verb for danger or slight. Then Vajpayee=20
begins an answer that will stretch across eons of pauses and epochs=20
of vanilla, invariably leaving his interrogators guessing what he=20
meant or even trying to remember what they had asked.=EE

New Delhi employed all its resources, including the Ministry of=20
External Affairs, the PMO and =ECthe friendly media=EE, to issue angry=20
rejoinders to Perry. Worse, it harassed him by getting the Foreigners=20
Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to summon him to =ECexplain=EE why he=20
holds three passports, as if that were a crime. It is well known that=20
many Western governments allow frequent travellers more than one=20
passport booklet--some even allow dual citizenship. The British High=20
Commission has clarified as much. So the Vajpayee government has cut=20
a sorry figure with its boorish intolerance towards legitimate=20
criticism. It is of course only a coincidence that this happened on=20
the 27th anniversary of the declaration of the Emergency. One=20
sincerely hopes that Time does not apologise for the bulk of the=20
story although it is under pressure to do so.

Substantially far more shameful than Perry=EDs harassment is the=20
systematic persecution of Iftikhar Geelani, chief of bureau of The=20
Kashmir Times, and a correspondent accredited with the government=EDs=20
Press Information Bureau, who happens to be the son-in-law of=20
Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, himself arrested under POTA.=20
Journalist Geelani has been subjected to harsh interrogation since=20
his detention on June 9. The police planted stories in the media to=20
the effect he had =ECconfessed=EE to receiving ISI funds--something that=20
the accused man could not even begin to counter. After the police=20
could get no further remand for detaining the journalist, and he was=20
put in judicial custody, he was brutally assaulted in Tihar jail by=20
inmates on June 20.

Such egregious methods can only bring disgrace to the Delhi police=20
and the Union home ministry to which it directly reports. The beating=20
up of detainees by prison inmates, some of them hardened criminals,=20
cannot occur without the warders=ED collusion and political=20
encouragement. Such extreme methods seriously offend democratic=20
sensibilities. Their use is related to the government=EDs evolving=20
Kashmir policy. This policy seems designed to punish and physically=20
repress political currents even within the Hurriyat, which are=20
critical of the official line and might resist participation in the=20
coming Assembly election. The wisdom of the policy is open to=20
question.

However, our political Opposition is doing little either to take up=20
the issue of press freedom and journalists=ED harassment, or to=20
interrogate the government=EDs policies on a number of issues. Its=20
failure on the first count is liable to have serious consequences as=20
the media comes under onerous pressure--through censorship of the=20
market, lobbying by political and commercial interests, and now,=20
increasingly, the government itself as it pilots the Cable Television=20
(Regulation) Amendment Bill through Parliament. Once passed, this law=20
will make the installation of a conditional access system through a=20
=ECset-top=EE box compulsory for cable-television viewers. Besides=20
raising the cost to the subscriber, the measure will allow the=20
government to decide which free-to-air and which pay channel you and=20
I can watch. All =ECinconvenient=EE channels (e.g. Star-TV for its early=20
coverage of the Gujarat pogrom) can be switched off at the flick of a=20
switch by the government.

The Opposition stalled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha in the last=20
session, but there was no worthwhile debate on it. The Opposition has=20
been even less articulate on many other issues, including policy=20
matters, where it has meekly tailed behind the ruling coalition or=20
let it call the shots. The nomination of Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the=20
Presidential candidate is an especially stark example of the NDA=20
outmanoeuvring the bulk of the Opposition by beating up the=20
militarist drum. The Opposition=EDs record of independence on the=20
confrontation with Pakistan, on Kashmir, economic policy or foreign=20
affairs is not much better. Consider this.

* The Opposition warmly welcomed the Lahore summit, the Delhi-Lahore=20
bus, and the Agra process, suggesting that it believes that a detente=20
with Pakistan is possible and desirable. Yet, when the government=20
suddenly turned against reconciliation with Islamabad and threatened=20
it with force in Rambo style, the Opposition meekly gave up its=20
earlier position.

* The bulk of our political parties blithely left the management of=20
the post-May 14 almost-war situation on the border to a government=20
they do not trust because of its communal anti-Pakistan orientation=20
and proneness to jingoism. Some parties, like the Congress, entered=20
vague reservations about New Delhi=EDs military brinkmanship, but did=20
not once outline their own approach--even when given a chance to do=20
so by visiting foreign dignitaries. They could have demanded solid,=20
immediate reciprocal measures from India to Pakistan=EDs termination of=20
cross-border infiltration. But they have not.

* There was a clear case of conflict of interest in allowing Reliance=20
Petrochemicals to bid for IPCL=EDs shares. Reliance stands blacklisted=20
for breach of confidence and of official secrets. But the Opposition=20
sat and watched as IPCL was privatised amidst accusations that Indian=20
Oil deliberately rigged its own bid too low.

* The scandal involving the milking of VSNL by Tata Telesystems was=20
neither exposed nor pursued by the Opposition. This was a flagrant=20
case of fraud: you take over a public sector company by paying Rs.=20
1,100 crores and get that company to advance you Rs. 1,200 crores=20
from its reserves! This riled even telecom minister Promod Mahajan=20
and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, but it didn=EDt provoke the Opposition=20
into active protest.

* The Opposition has failed to nail the disastrous policies pursued=20
by pseudo-Sardar L.K. Advani in the name of =ECnational security=EE, nor=20
questioned his maligning of Indian Muslims as the Fifth Columnists of=20
Pakistan, which he holds responsible for all our internal security=20
problems. It has merely watched the Centre play ducks and drakes with=20
Kashmir, either through the home ministry or its numerous=20
intelligence agencies, or through manipulation by Dr Farooq Abdullah=20
and his son, with their unseemly tantrums.

One can only hope that the Opposition isn=EDt guided by the smug belief=20
that the Vajpayee disposition is somehow going to wither away to be=20
smoothly and automatically replaced by a new, secular, alliance, or=20
by the rosy hope that the electorate will spare it of the democratic=20
obligation to formulate alternative policies or perspectives, and=20
thus demarcate itself from the NDA. Both these assumptions are wrong.=20
After the collapse of the People=EDs Front, and the Congress=EDs relative=20
stagnation--it is unable to break the critical barrier in the Hindi=20
heartland--no alternative coalition can be assumed to be in=20
formation. And as for new visions and policies, the nation=20
desperately needs them. The electorate has become increasingly=20
demanding. It won=EDt be satisfied with vague promises. It wants new=20
programmes to reverse the economic downturn, produce more jobs,=20
restore food security, improve law and order, and promote secular=20
tolerance.

An inarticulate, confused, bumbling Opposition is a sign of an=20
immature and weak democracy, one where the winner-takes-all principle=20
prevails, and where policy issues are not vigorously debated. Without=20
such debate, and without political action, the people=EDs grievances=20
cannot find either voice or redressal. Democracy itself loses its=20
mass character and gets ossified in elitist structures. That=EDs the=20
ideal environment for the forward march of the extreme Right-wing,=20
indeed of neofascism. The Opposition must not allow itself to become=20
complicit in this terrible trend. --end--

_____

#3.

PRESENT SITUATION IN GUJARAT

A DAY LONG CONVENTION

JULY 14, 2002

DEPUTY SPEAKER'S HALL, CONSTITUTION CLUB, RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI-110001

It is over four months now since the carnage in Gujarat commenced.=20
Contrary to what the leaders of the Sangh Parivar, the state chief=20
minister and ministers of the central government are asserting the=20
situation is far from normal. The victims of the carnage in Gujarat,=20
to this date, survive in sub human conditions in over crowded relief=20
camps, which the state government is threatening to close down=20
without any meaningful compensation or rehabilitation. Even a=20
complete and comprehensive documentation of the damages has not been=20
compiled.

And quite ironically the state cabinet ministers are going to visit=20
different states to invite investment, the business community is=20
inserting advertisements inviting people to conduct business as usual=20
while the marauding mobs of the BJP-VHP-BD continue to issue=20
statements asking for economic boycott of the Muslims, asking Muslims=20
to withdraw FIRs and accept all kinds of humiliating conditions for=20
their return to their homes.

Meanwhile, a misconception is created by the Sangh Parivar that the=20
Gujarat society as a whole is endorsing the carnage. There has been a=20
barage of misinformation by the Sangh Parivar channels and state=20
government machinery. The talk of five crore Gujarati=92s =91asmita=92 is=20
the prime example of this. The sane voice of Gujarat is being stifled=20
through coercion and misinformation.

In order to discuss the current situation in Gujarat and identify the=20
areas in which all of us can mobilise relief etc, as also to provide=20
a platform for the articulation of the sane voice of Gujarat and for=20
Gujarat a one-day Convention is being organised at the Constituion=20
Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi on July 14, 2002 from 9.30am onwards.

The discussion would take place on broadly the following topics:

THE LIST OF SPEAKERS WOULD BE CIRCULATED IN A DAY OR TWO.

Condition of the Relief Camps

Legal Aspects-Compensation / Criminal

Medico-legal aspect

Rehabilitation

1. Housing

2. Livelihood

3. Compensation

State of Children

1. Trauma

2. Education

3. Long term Rehabilitation

State of women

Societal Responses/ advocacy:

Economic Blockade of minorities

_____

#4.

The Indian Express
Monday, July 01, 2002
=09=20
The city against itself
Gautam Bhatia

Savage riots broke out between Hindus and Muslims in Ahmedabad. The=20
rioting originated in the fashionable part of town in a high rise=20
apartment, between members of the same family. Lokesh Patel, a Hindu,=20
was playing rummy with his brother-in-law Muhammad Latif, a Muslim,=20
when the two began to accuse each other of cheating. Word of the=20
discord spread like wildfire throughout the apartment. The Hindu=20
members barricaded themselves in the kitchen. Armed with knives, they=20
attacked the Muslims cowering under the dining table. A savage battle=20
raged, the Muslims destroying the Kali idol in the puja room, the=20
Hindus retaliating by burning the last chapter of the Koran. Finally=20
using clubs made from furniture legs, the Hindus smashed the heads of=20
the Muslim in-laws, careful to save the carpets from blood. The=20
Muslims reacted by beating the Hindu women. The Muslim maid attacked=20
the Hindu cook. The cook took on the Christian mali. In the melee,=20
the children of mixed parentage rushed about in confusion. By=20
nightfall seven family members - two Muslims, one Christian and three=20
Hindus - lay dead.

I am a Hindu, the product of a mixed family. If a riot were to break=20
out in my family I'll need no voter list to single out my Muslim=20
uncle, identify my Sikh aunt, hunt down my Christian brother-in-law.=20
During a Hindu-Muslim riot I, myself, wouldn't know which side to=20
support, as indeed I didn't during the Hindu-Sikh riot of 1984. But=20
what would I tell the mob when they came to my door with their=20
canisters of kerosene? That I am the product of a Hindu father and a=20
Muslim mother (who converted to Hinduism after marriage)? That my=20
sister's husband is a white Protestant Christian? That on my father's=20
side are a range of Sikh relatives, and that when Uncle Latif, my=20
mother's brother, visited Delhi, he used her Hindu prayer-room for=20
his own Muslim prayers? That when the whole family sat down to eat,=20
except for Buddhism and Judaism, all the major religions were=20
represented at the table? And that my journalist father at the head,=20
like a family Kofi Annan, held the group together with his balanced,=20
tolerant - perhaps slightly edited - views?

Or, I could tell them about my grandmother, who took great pains to=20
explain, often to complete strangers, that the Bhatias descended from=20
Bhatti Rajputs and were therefore high up on the caste ladder. Or, of=20
my father's insistence that that was probably untrue and more likely=20
we belonged to the Bania caste; but it didn't matter. And that=20
beneath the ritual of religion and caste, we were all the same -=20
vulnerable, loving, caring, and far more wary of things like=20
inflation and malaria than of religion or background.

Maybe, the family would be torched for its excessive tolerance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian city, once caught up in the drive for variety, has today=20
produced an unfortunate modern corollary: diversity has led to the=20
creation of separate enclaves
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly, the formation of the Indian city, once caught up in the drive=20
for variety, sharing and living amongst diverse peoples, has today=20
produced an unfortunate modern corollary: diversity has become reason=20
enough to create separate enclaves. It is a curious Indian paradox=20
that in order to be recognised as individuals, every individual must=20
also belong to a collective - to a family, caste, religious=20
community, professional peer group, political party or social club.=20
The banding together of individuals is even given its unmistakable=20
public stamp of identification. In Delhi, journalists form=20
professional alliances to acquire land and live together in=20
landlocked Press Enclave. Lawyers do the same in Niti Bagh. The=20
Bengalis carve out their own niche in Chittaranjan Park. Jews in=20
Cochin, just a few hundred, still preserve their identity in Jewtown.=20
In other places, religious rivalry produces housing subdivisions. In=20
Ahmedabad, housing projects built in the last ten years are oriented=20
inwards and, like the traditional Pol houses, have turned a blind=20
wall to the streets around. The insularity of their design is based=20
on the mistaken belief that the isolation will produce the best=20
quality of life. Not far from them, in the old city and using the=20
same ideology, the Muslims are now permanently housed in the Yusaf=20
Latif camp; the Hindus in Hindu Navrangpura, Hindu Atira and Hindu=20
Usmanpura. As a result, cooperation has come to mean cooperating with=20
people whose close proximity is unlikely to produce cultural,=20
economic and ethnic ripples. A married, orthodox, Bengali Muslim=20
chartered accountant is not likely to live next to a Jewish South=20
Indian couple. It is a much safer bet living with a neighbour who is=20
racially, spiritually and economically your equal, than attempting to=20
savour the uncertain benefits of diversity.

Certainly, economic, ethnic and religious polarisation is not new to=20
the layout of the Indian city or village. Outside our home in=20
Ranikhet, are two villages - one belonging to the Thakurs, the other=20
to the Brahmins - each with TVs, satellite dishes, and rituals so=20
distinct and archaic you would hardly believe possible in the 21st=20
century. Yet the very structure of life there necessitates and indeed=20
encourages a healthy mixing of communities.

Take Delhi. There is a mosque in an essentially Hindu neighbourhood;=20
a group of Buddhist monks is attending a peace conference at the=20
India International Centre. A Sikh kirtan is in progress at a local=20
gurudwara. Life goes on. The passive individual among these, given to=20
the daily rituals of secularism in his own life, becomes occasionally=20
fanatical and vents his collective rage in unambiguous ways - killing=20
a Hindu, burning a Christian, maiming a Dalit.

Sure, these are heinous crimes. But then, aren't these merely=20
difficult but natural reminders of excessive tolerance in an open=20
society? Aren't a couple of caste-related murders, odd cases of=20
ethnic cleansing, people shot in trains, far better than the kind of=20
institutionalised cleansing murder and rape that Gujarat witnessed?=20
In fact, given the proximities and social overlaps and indeed the=20
daily infringement of one community on the life of another, it is=20
surprising that there are so few incidents. And more people don't=20
kill each other just because someone doesn't like the shape of your=20
nose, or the smell of your food or the outline of the building you=20
pray in...If the mob does enter the house, I know I'll be safe,=20
knowing full well that every one of them is also of mixed background.

(The writer is a well-known architect and author of the recent=20
book,'A Moment in Architecture')

_____

#5.

From: "Aman Ekta Manch" <peopleforpeace@r...>
Subject: collective action
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 09:31:38 +0530

Dear Friends,
At a recent meeting of the Aman Ekta Manch it was agreed that a=20
long-term strategy needs to be devised for combatting communalism and=20
the disintegration of democratic spaces. For this purpose a small=20
group was set up to explore ways in which this could be done. At the=20
first meeting of the group, three basic issues were examined: 1. How=20
to build political pressure for the restoration of sanity and=20
livelihoods in Gujarat; 2. How to prevent the spread of the hate=20
campaigns from Gujarat to other States; 3. How to preserve the=20
democratic fabric of our society, particularly in the context of the=20
nexus between globalisation and religious fundamentalism.

It became clear through the group discussion that only forms of=20
collective and widespread action could build up enough social and=20
political pressure to influence the direction in which societies are=20
moving. Already many protests and demonstrations have taken place in=20
different parts of India, as well as outside, which indicate the=20
health of democratic aspirations. However, is it possible to mesh=20
these together. Thus, one of the suggestions that came up was to=20
exert moral pressure on the organs of the State to fulfill their=20
Constitutional obligations. It is proposed to place before the Manch=20
at its weekly meeting on July 5, the idea of organising a day-long=20
hunger strike and dharna (on July 9) outside the office of the=20
Resident Commissioner of Gujarat or Gujarat Bhavan, to demand=20
adequate releif and rehabilitation in Gujarat as well as the=20
cancellation of the various Rath Yatras that are being organised to=20
exploit communal feelings. Several such ideas will be further=20
discussed at a strategy meeting of the Manch on July 14.

Before that, on behalf of the Manch, we would like to explore with=20
you the possibility of joint and concerted action on different=20
issues. If, for instance, there is a protest outside the offices of=20
responsible Government bodies on the same day and same time at at=20
least twenty locations, then it would have a significant social and=20
political impact on the establishment as well as society. Would you=20
please consider this idea and get back to us on how you respond to=20
the idea?

With best wishes

(Dunu Roy)
for Aman Ekta Manch

_____

#6.
MOVEMENT FOR SECULAR=20
DEMOCRACY=20=20=20=20

C/o, Narmad-Meghani Library, Opp. Natraj Railway Crossing,=20
Mithakhali, Ellis Bridge, AHMEDABAD-380006.Tele/Fax: - (079) 6404418.=20
E-mail: - <mailto:dnr@i...>dnr@i...

Date : 30.06.02.

Campaign launched demanding NHRC's recommendations mandatory;
Government held responsible

State level Vasant Rajab Conference, Ahmedabad dated 30.06.02

A state level Vasant-Rajab conference was held today at Himavan=20
Paldi, Ahmedabad. Vasant-Rajab is the symbol of supreme sacrifice for=20
communal harmony and life long struggle for socio-economic justice.=20
In the present communal disturbance in the state, this conference was=20
very significant. Inspite of rain, delegates from different part of=20
the state covering various aspects of life attended this conference=20
and participated on the main resolution that was placed by Shri=20
Prakash N. Shah, convenor of Movement for Secular Democracy(MSD).

The resolution covered various aspects of ethnic cleansing of present=20
day and turn it is as a 'pogrom' by the ruling BJP Government. The=20
resolutions demanded NHRC recommendations mandatory failing which=20
people's movement will be launched. A one-month notice to the=20
Government has been given for the fullest implementation of NHRC=20
recommendations because the Government has totally failed in relief=20
and rehabilitation of the victims. It urge to improve condition of=20
the relief camps keeping the torrential rain in view and continue the=20
relief camps so long rehabilitation is not made properly.

About 35 speakers participated which includes Shri Girish Patel,=20
Justice A.P. Ravani, Prof. Abid Shamshi, Fr.Cedric Prakash, Manishi=20
Jani, Elaben Pathak, Abhinav Shukla, Kirit Bhatt, Dr. Swati Joshi,=20
Dinesh Shukla, Ilaben Joshi, Trupti Shah, Naina Shah, Saraben=20
Baltiwala, Chintamani Panchgaonkar, Ganpat Rathod, Pravin Pandya, Dr.=20
Anjana Argare, G.K. Parmar, Mahadev Vidrohi, Fr. Williams, Martin=20
Macwan, Darshini Mahadivya, Dwarikanath Rath and many other trade=20
union, women activists.=20

In between Gujarati translation of 'Communalism in Indian Politics'=20
by Shri Rajni Kothari translated by Fr. Williams was released by=20
Justice A.P. Ravani.

A signature campaign has been released addressed to the President of=20
India to make NHRC recommendations mandatory. On 6th of July a human=20
chain programme will be taken demanding justice and peace at Nehru=20
Bridge from 4 to 5 pm and similar programmes will be taken in various=20
part of the state.

On 1st of July the date of martyrdom of Vasant-Rajab floral tribute=20
will be paid at the Memorial, Jamalpur.

The conference ended with comraderi and spirit for communal harmony=20
and peace. The meeting ended with the song 'we shall overcome'.

News by

(Dwarikanath Rath)

For Movement for Secular Democracy=20=20=20=20

SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN BEGINS FROM VASANT-RAJAB MEMORIAL: GUJARAT DEMANDS=20
PEACE, HARMONY AND JUSTICE.

The memorial of the martyr duo Vasant-Rajab who courted martyrdom for=20
communal harmony on 1st July, 1946, in Jamalpur Khand Ni Sheri was=20
attended by a large number of people this morning at 9 a.m.

Prakash N. Shah, Convenor, Movement for Secular Democracy, Prof.=20
Shamsi, Dwarikanath Rath and other activists of Movement for Secular=20
Democracy along with Nav Nirman leader Manishi Jani, CPI member=20
Prabhakar Dahake, Piyush Desai of Asha-Kiran Trust and others paid=20
emotional tribute to the memorial.

The specific feature of the programme was the signatures collected in=20
the letter to be sent to The President of India, according to the=20
resolution passed in Vasant-Rajab Conference on 30th June, 2002. In=20
the letter, The President of India is requested to compel the Gujarat=20
state government to immediately implement the recommendations of NHRC=20
considering them as commands.

Taking this message of Peace, Harmony and Justice, Movement for=20
Secular Democracy has decided to form a Human Chain on 6th July at=20
Nehru Bridge.

,

HUMAN CHAIN Programme on 6th July At Ahmedabad

Dear friends,

As per the decision of the VASANT RAJAB conference that was held on=20
last D.30-6-02 it was decided to stage a Human Chain programme=20
demanding the recommenadations of the NHRC mandatory.The Human chain=20
programme will be held at Nehru Bridge. The Time of the Human=20
chain is From 4 P.M.to 5 P.M. Please spread the message of this=20
progamme as quick as possible and try to make this programme=20
effective one and successful. Waiting for your response and=20
mobilisation.

With best wishes
yours

Dwarikanath Rath=20

_____

I am enclosing some information about a film I worked on during March=20
2001 - February 2002. It deals with Development/ Displacement,=20
Environment, Peoples' Rights and Democracy. The film has won several=20
international awards and has been invited to many film festivals. It=20
might be of special interest to you vis-a-vis globalisation as it=20
specifically deals with displacement on account of developmental=20
projects( fossil fuel based power plant) for which both World Bank=20
and ADB sanction country loans from time to time. In a nutshell, the=20
film explores the same range of issues that were highlighted by the=20
anti-Narmada Dam movement. This story deals with power sector=20
"reforms" and its impact on a microcosm!

It is an independent self-financed film, made without any grant,=20
contribution or funding. I am now attempting to recover part of the=20
costs by selling VHS copies. I am likely to use the money for my next=20
film and to continue documenting the story of the 2 villages featured=20
in the film . Please let me know whether you would be interested in=20
buying one or more copies of the film [US $295 + 5 ( for postage) ].=20
Individual activists may write to=20
<mailto:actindia@v...>actindia@v... to get a copy at a=20
discounted price.

I hope you can give this film some space on your website and=20
circulate it to your mailing list.Information about the film is=20
enclosed below. I would be grateful if you could forward a copy of=20
this email to those who you think may be interested in extending=20
support to this film.
Regards
rakesh sharma

Aftershocks -The Rough Guide to Democracy India 66 minutes=20
2002
Awards : Le Prix de la Presse politique award for the best=20
documentary film at the 16th Fribourg International film festival in=20
Switzerland (March 2002). Bronze for best documentary feature, Big=20
Muddy film fest (USA), April 2002, John Michaels memorial award, Big=20
Muddy film fest (USA), Best Documentary, Black International Cinema=20
festival, Berlin
Festivals: Indian Premiere at Mumbai International film festival on=20
Feb 9, 2002 by MIFF and Indian Documentary Producers' Association.=20
Other festivals include the 26th Hongkong International Film Festival=20
(April 2002), the Calcutta Festival of Social Cinema(Feb 2002),=20
Directors' View fest (USA), Bare Bones fest (USA) and Festival Voces=20
Contra el Silencio ( Mexico), April 2002.Dokfest Munich (May 2002),=20
Beeld Voor Beeld film festival, Amsterdam (June 2002), Shanghai TV/=20
doc festival, June 2002, Papua New Guinea international film=20
festival, May 2002 and the Black International cinema festival in=20
Munich/ Berlin/Dusseldorf (May-June, 2002).
Invited to : Ecocinema 2002, Greece ( Sept 2002), Zanzibar=20
International film festival ( June 2002) and Docudays, Beirut (Oct=20
2002)

Review blurbs : in major daily newspapers
"It is an expos=E9=8Ait shocks, it jolts=8A" - Indian Express
"The film delves into the complexities of caste=8A" - Hindustan Times
"Aftershocks captures brilliantly the 'business as usual' philosophy=20
of our elites - Hindu
"The quake was used to harness corporate goals=8AAftershocks captures=20
the proceedings"- The Independent(UK)

SYNOPSIS
On January 26, 2001, Kutch (Gujarat, India) was devastated by a=20
massive earthquake. Over 20,000 people died and tens of thousands of=20
homes were destroyed. Bhuj, Anjar, Rapar and Bhachau, the most=20
severely affected areas, received attention from many international=20
relief agencies, national and international media, even personal=20
visits from Prime Minister Vajpayee and Citizen Clinton.
This film is set in Julrai and Umarsar , two villages in Lakhpat,=20
near the India Pakistan border, close to the Gujarat coast, and too=20
far away from Bhuj to be in focus. Umarsar is an upper caste Durbar=20
village, while Julrai's entire population comprises low class=20
Rabbaris, semi-nomadic shepherds, who began to settle down into=20
permanent villages only in the last couple of hundred years. The two=20
villages have nothing in common except that both were almost totally=20
destroyed during the quake and both are sitting on top of lignite=20
reserves. The Government-controlled Gujarat Mineral Development=20
Corporation has a monopoly over any mining activity in the region.=20
GMDC is likely to be privatised completely over the next few years;=20
26% of its shares were sold to corporates, financial institutions and=20
investors in 1997-98.
This film traces the story of GMDC's attempts to acquire the two=20
villages. Eight weeks after the quake, on March 26, 2001, our camera=20
accidentally bumps into the GMDC acquisition survey team in Umarasar.=20
Over the next few months, the film moves in and out of Julrai,=20
Umarsar and the GMDC's existing lignite mines and probes the=20
processes of displacement and resettlement.
Did GMDC succeed in exploiting the earthquake as a God-sent=20
opportunity to hasten the acquisition? How did the obviously=20
vulnerable quake-affected people of Julrai and Umarsar deal with it?=20
What was the role of the state government machinery, entrusted with=20
the welfare of its calamity affected people? How have the existing=20
mines and the power plant affected the lives of the people living=20
nearby? Have the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislative taken=20
note of this human impact before they paved the way for the new mines=20
and the new power plant? The film is a hitchiker's journey through=20
the labyrinthine universe of Democracy, as it exists in its lowest=20
unit level - the Indian village.
This 68 minute film has been shot and edited entirely on Digital=20
Video -miniDV ( Sony TRV900 and MatroxRT2500-Adobe Premiere).=20
Languages spoken by the people include Kutchi, Gujarati, Hindi and=20
English. The film has been subtitled in English.

--=20
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